Thankful for Thanksgiving!

Thankful that Scott surprised me and flew over for the weekend

Thankful for Matt and George for making that happen

Thankful that I have the beautiful china my Daddy brought back from occupied Japan and the silver that was my mothers.

Thankful that John, Monica and Isabella came over the celebrate with us

Thankful that we get to enjoy our adult children and our granddaughter

Thankful that all the food tasted wonderful.

Thankful that Isabella loves turkey and mashed potatoes.

Thankful that Monica is a wonderful mother to our precious, little granddaughter

Thankful that Johnny took over the job of baking rolls and had great success.  The torch is passed!

Thankful that Monica is adapting so well to our distinctive American traditions.

Thankful that George did the dishes!

Thankful for games of Uno and Apples to Apples. 

Thankful for all the 'stuff' I've collected over the years.

Thankful for all my 'stuff' that makes Thanksgiving even more fun!

Thankful for Matt's help in putting all of the 'stuff' away!

Thankful for jumping!

Thankful that even though Isabella started the day dressed adorably with a ribbon in her hair.  She ended it a wild jumping Tarzan!

Thankful that Mary and Mark have their cute little bundle of joy.  Because he is a foster baby we can't show his face so you'll just have to trust me that he has squeezable chubby little face and an adorable smile.

Thankful that Mary and Mark could celebrate Thanksgiving with Mark's wonderful family since they can't be here with us.

Thankful for Thanksgiving - a holiday that makes us pause to remember all our many blessings.

Goblin Valley on Halloween

What better place to spend Halloween than - Goblin Valley!

There are definitely some spooky looking rock formations. 

Goblin Valley is a Utah State Park and it was not crowded at all on this Halloween Day.

 The hiking was quite an adventure. 

We explored this wash and made our own trail.  There was no danger of getting lost since we had some unusual rock formations to mark where we had started.   

I loved walking on these narrow, sandy trails at the bottom of the canyon. 

This desert lizard didn't seem at all bothered by the paparazzi!  He was just soaking up some rays. 

A longer hike took us around behind the rock formations to see the "Goblin's Lair". 

The Goblin's Lair looked very "Lord of the Rings-ish."  I could picture the goblins up there throwing boulders down on us! 

Great last stop before we started back to Boise.

The drive to Provo was also an adventure.  We listened to our GPS which decided to play a trick on us and took us on a crazy drive on what was barely a road.  At one point the GPS didn't even think it was a road!  No worries though as we made it to Provo to spend the night with Tammy and Richard and then home the next day.  I love making memories!

Monticello

I love Monticello, Utah!   Here was where the seeds were planted that culminated in my baptism into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  My Aunt Dawn Boyle and my two cousins, Scott and Bill still live here.  When we decided to do our little trek across Utah, I knew that Monticello had to be on our itinerary! We were welcomed by Scott and his wonderful wife, Cassie.  These are the two Mary and I visited in Madagascar and they are simply the best in every way.  Cassie's homemade bread alone would be worth the drive! Yum! 

Monticello has the first of the small temples the church has recently built. With smaller temples, more can be built so that many more members have easy access. 

We had planned a day of hiking but the weather didn't cooperate too well.  It was very cold and rained so we took a short little jaunt to the top of "Salvation Knoll."  Many members of our church will know the story of the so called "Hole in the Rock" pioneers.   Here is a very brief explanation.  The route they took is similar to the route George and I had just driven in our warm, comfortable car. 

At the call of Mormon church leaders in 1878, a company of pioneers was sent to colonize the San Juan Valley in South Eastern Utah.  Throughout the winter of 1879-1880, these Mormon pioneers built a wagon road, through the terribly rugged terrain between Escalante and the Four Corners area.  As the main body of pioneers labored to widen the treacherous descent through the 'Hole' or cleft in rock above the Colorado River Gorge, four advance scouts traveled through this area, searching for the most feasible route between the Colorado River and Montezuma Creek.  By the time the scouts reached this area, they were lost and out of food. 

On Christmas morning 1879,George Hobbs climbed to the top of this knoll searching for a recognizable landmark.  Hobbs recorded, "This was surely salvation knoll.  For looking to the northeast...I discovered the Blue Mountains about 10 miles away.  This was the landmark we had been looking for the last several days."  Although hindered by severe winter storms, the scouts, George Hobbs, George Moreel, Lemuel Redd and George Sevy succeeded in plotting a wagon route through some of the most difficult terrain in North America. 

That knoll that George Hobbs climbed is the very one we climbed. 

And we also could see Blue Mountain from the top.  And yes just like for the scouts, it was cold and windy.  So glad we could go back to our warm car! 

Blue Mountain is right by Monticello.  One of its claims to fame is the horse's head that is easily visible.  Can you see it?  I remember as a little girl trying so hard to find it.  Once you see it, it is totally clear.  It is right in the middle of the photo.  A horse head with a white blaze.... 

Of course the main reason we had come to Monticello was not hiking or mountains but the Boyle family that I love so much.  My Aunt Dawn is one of the kindest, sweetest, most pleasant people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing.  She married my mother's brother, Eddie Boyle, lived in Lonoke for a short time and then moved to Monticello where they raised their family.  Our summer visits to them are what led me to the Church.  

I have 3 Boyle cousins, Doug who passed away a few years ago, Scott, and Bill.  All wonderful men who married well!  Bill's wife Linda wasn't home the evening we visited them.  

Here we are....cousins, in-laws and even a dog cousin!
 I am so glad that Families are Forever!  And that they are my family!

3rd National Park - Capitol Reef

Our 3rd and final National Park on this trip was Capitol Reef. 

Probably the least known of the Utah National Parks but certainly just as stunningly beautiful. 

I learned that Capitol Reef encompasses the Waterpocket Fold, a warp in the earth's crust that is 65 million years old. It is the largest exposed monocline in North America. Monocline is a new word for me.  It means  a step-like fold in rock strata consisting of a zone of steeper dip within an otherwise horizontal or gently-dipping sequence.  Does that describe this?  I think so! The park is filled with brilliantly colored sandstone cliffs, gleaming white domes, and contrasting layers of stone and earth.

The area was named for a line of white domes and cliffs of Navajo Sandstone, each of which looks somewhat like the United States Capitol building.  See that dome under the arch? 

Early settlers referred to parallel, impassable ridges as "reefs", from which the park gets the second half of its name. The first paved road was constructed through the area in 1962. Today, State Route 24 cuts through the park traveling east and west between Canyonlands National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park, but few other paved roads invade the rugged landscape.

We hiked by what is called the 'Pioneer Registry'.  Early pioneers of the LDS Church were called to settle here.  Their names are immortalized on the sandstone. I think they did take President Young's words to heart  as he sent settlers to remote corners of Utah "… make gardens, orchards, and vineyards, and render the earth so pleasant that when you look upon your labors you may do so with pleasure, and that angels may delight to come and visit your beautiful locations." When the area became a National Park, the orchards were preserved and today you can buy delicious fruit pies made from that fruit.

Just so happened that today was our anniversary so we were excited to see this heart rock placed carefully just for us!  Do you see it? 

Spectacular canyons! 

And yes we did carry water!  Supposedly the outlaw Butch Cassidy had a hide out in this canyon. 

We hiked up on one of the ridges with some people from Boston.  So fun to listen to them talk about the Wild West!  Right in the middle of the photo you can see a hiker on the canyon bottom.  It was quite a scramble to the top. 

The purpose of the climb up was to see these natural water tanks.  Important natural resource in this desert country! We wondered how the pioneers found them.  I assume the Indians knew about them and shared their knowledge. 

Another fantastic day in Utah....I think instead of 'greatest snow on earth' as a state slogan, they should say something about 'greatest rocks on earth'.

Bryce Canyon

This was my first trip to Bryce Canyon and I loved it.  Here you are on top of the canyon looking down into quite a magical landscape.

The unique rock formations are called hoodoos or, the name I prefer, fairy chimneys.   From wikipedia, "a hoodoo is a tall, thin spire of rock that protrudes from the bottom of an arid drainage basin.  Hoodoos typically consist of relatively soft rock topped by harder, less easily eroded stone that protects each column from the elements.  They generally form within sedimentary rock and volcanic rock formations". 

The difference between hoodoos and pinnacles (or spires) is that hoodoos have a variable thickness. 

Some say that the hoodoos look like totem poles. 

The sun kept the temperature high enough that we were comfortable.  George was comfortable as long as we weren't too close to the edges!

Another perfect day!

The day was made even more perfect when we discovered ice cream cones at the general store! 

Shunes Canyon - Almost

Our goal for this recent trip to Zion was to attempt to get as close to the property line of the old Lewis Ranch as we could while staying on BLM and National Park land.

I should explain a bit about the ranch.  George's Uncle George K. Lewis purchased the ranch, which is located just outside Springdale, Utah, many years ago.  Another family owned the land between the Lewis Ranch and the road into town. The drive into the ranch was on a jeep trail and involved 2 river crossings.  The other side of the ranch backed up onto Zion National Park.  It is a very remote and stunningly beautiful place that boasts a natural spring which is like gold in this desert region.

In the 1970s just before George and I got married, George's dad purchased the ranch.  George asked me to marry him at the ranch - in fact he proposed in a grotto up the very canyon we were planning to explore!

Because life at the ranch was pretty primitive, it was not a great place for George's Mom to live.  She suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and needed to be close to medical care.  So after having the ranch for a few years, Dad decided to sell.  The new owner of the ranch bought the property between the highway and the ranch and did a lot of development to the site.  That owner died and his estate sold  for an crazy HIGH price to Paul Allen.  Yes Paul Allen, former Microsoft executive and owner of both the Seattle Seahawks and the Portland Trailblazers.  He treated the ranch as a Sanctuary and was serious about keeping it private so we knew crossing his land was not an option.  He died shortly before this trip but that didn't make us feel any more confident of a welcome on his land.

One of the National Park canyons, named Shunes Canyon, ends at the ranch fence. Both John and Tammy remembered hiking from the ranch and then climbing UP from the canyon to the top which is on BLM land so the plan was to drive to the top, climb down, hike in the National Park to the fence line, and hopefully get a look into the ranch.  Only problem was that Tammy and John remembered coming up at slightly different places.  Both possible routes looked extremely difficult but we decided to attempt the one Tammy remembered.  Keep in mind that the hikes they remember were more than 40 years ago.  A lot can change in a remote area in that time - rock slides, growth of the vegetation....to say nothing of how we had changed during that time.  40 years is a long time.

There seemed to be no way down except a climb down a small crack so our two experienced rock climbers, Brent and Matt tied a rope and guided us down.  Well, the 3 women went down!  The men were afraid of heights and just didn't feel comfortable.  I'm glad that they weren't watching their wives climb down and then back up.  Tammy, Katherine, and I waited on a ledge while Matt tried to find a way down.  It was impossible.  Very steep with lots of loose rock or sheer cliffs which was not what we wanted to be climbing down! So now we had to go back up.  Matt demonstrated the climbing moves necessary and got to the top.  He talked Katherine up but it made him so nervous that he came down to stay with me and talk me through it.  I'm glad he did.

According to Matt the climbing moves we were making were what you call a Class 4 free climb.   Look carefully and you can see how far down we would have fallen. 

You can see him here showing me where to put my hand to go up more. 

Sometimes I had to remind him that I am almost a foot shorter than he is and when he would say put your foot there, I couldn't reach.  But I did make it out!  Thanks to Matt's expert advice and encouragement! 

I think he was glad I made it!  And again, I'm glad George wasn't watching.  In fact, I think that this photo would make him nervous. 

The plan is to try John's route next year.  Maybe I should take some rock climbing classes!!!!

Lewis Clan at Zion

 

Here we all are!

Happy Lewis family at the Narrows in Zion Canyon.

Matt, George, Marilyn, John, Katherine, Brent, Richard & Tammy Sheffield, Karen

Oh Zion!

George's family holds an annual meeting in the fall.  This year we met in Zion National Park for a few glorious days enjoying that breathtaking scenery and our time together. We chose Zion for the meeting location to honor George's Dad, Walter Malin Lewis who loved Zion!  The ranch that he owned here was named, "Vivid Valley" and it is easy to see why that name was selected. Fall is the perfect time to experience Zion.  The red rocks and the changing leaves are most definitely 'vivid'.

Being here reminded me of one of Dad's favorite poems which seemed especially appropriate.

Oh God, let this be heaven-

I do not ask for golden streets

Or long for jasper walls

Nor do I sigh for pearly shores

Where twilight never falls

Just leave me here beside these peaks

In this rough western land

I love this dear old world of thine-

Dear God, you understand.

Oh God, let this be heaven-

I do not crave white, stainless robes

I'll keep these marked by toil.

Instead of straight and narrow walks

I love trails soft with soil;

I have been healed by crystal streams,

But those from snow-crowned peaks

Where dawn burns incense to the day

And paints the sky in streaks. 


















Dear God, let this be heaven-

I do not ask for angel wings

Just leave that old peak there

And let me climb 'til comes the night-

I want no golden stair. 

Then when I say my last adieu

And all farewells are given

 Just leave my spirit here somewhere

 Oh, God, let this be heaven!