Flamingo on a Stick

A beautiful day at Red Rock Canyon The kids are back in Iowa and John and I are relaxing from all the activity. It is New Years Eve in Las Vegas and we are spending it in the rig relaxing. Ah-h-h-h-h-h. Big Horn Sheep at Valley of Fire So today I am dedicating this post to Evelyn (of the Chronicles of Kevelyn). We had the privilege of meeting Evelyn and Kevin on our Thanksgiving visit to Vegas. In her blog she mentioned that she thinks maybe the bighorn sheep are really just imaginary creatures because everywhere they were told they would see them in their travels this fall, they never were there. The had no sitings in their travels. Well Evelyn, I found them, actually twice and I wasn’t really looking for them. The first time was leaving Valley of Fire and there it was just grazing bedside the road. Was able to get a nice photo. The second time was a couple days ago on our last jaunt with the kids to Red Rock Canyon. The park was so packed it was hard to find a place to stop an...

Valley of Fire Hoover Dam It has been great having my kids around again. Being in Vegas didn’t seem very much like Christmas and we didn’t exchange gifts as their trip here is the gift for all of us. None the less, I wouldn’t trade a moment of this holiday for any other Christmas. So far we have checked out the strip, the boys learned to play craps (not sure how useful that skill is), went to a comedy show at the Improv, visited Hoover Dam, went to the movie Tron, went bowling here at Sam’s town,and hiked the Valley of Fire State Park. We still have 3 days left and more things to check out. On Christmas Eve we drove to Hoover Dam. Both John and I have been there previously (separately though) and really wanted the boys to see it. What none of us had seen before was the new bridge that takes you from Arizona to Nevada without going over the dam. It is quite a site. My photos didn’t turn out as well as I would have liked because of where the sun was but it will give you an idea...

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The peaceful Virgin River a week ago The raging river at Zion River Resort Monday December 20th Water pouring over the cliffs On Monday our plans were to get a morning start to Las Vegas to meet our sons for a couple days and then bring them up to Zion River Resort. It had been raining for 3 days and when I left the trailer to check in at the office and give them our emergency number the first thing I heard was the river. The Virgin river runs along the park and normally you could hear it if your rig was in the row next to it but now you could hear it everywhere in the park. In the office it was apparent that things were a little tense. This area flooded 5 years ago and that was when they had built the earthen berm to protect the campground. A USGS official was there explaining that the river was up and as a precaution they wanted the rigs along the river moved to the higher (only by a couple feet) part of the campground. Our rig was on the edge of that area and since we wou...

It has been raining for 2 days and I am ready to go back to that nice desert weather. I am getting some things done inside but it would be nice to mix that in with a good walk and it is not good walking weather. Monday we head to Vegas and our son's should arrive Monday evening. I am so looking forward to seeing them. I am a little worried about the weather messing things up but I can't control that part so will just go with the flow.  In advance of their visit I baked the one thing that I knew we needed for Christmas, Kringla. This is a tradition in our family and it is a cookie that is a little like bread but sweeter and made into a figure 8. My kids (and John and I) love them. My Norwegian Grandmother had them all the time when we visited but they are a pain to bake so I limited it to Christmas. Baking in my oven is interesting. Usually I used 2 racks moving them from the bottom to the top as they baked to get them just right. This oven only has one rack so it was a littl...

Ok, so I’ll tell you our theory on the footprints. Even though I like Dawn’s explanation of the little Bigfoot. I think Judy is close to the truth. We decided it was someone either hiking or running in the Five Finger shoes. She is right about the barefoot running really taking off. If you have never read the book Born to Run , John and I would highly recommend it. This book is what really gave the barefoot running a boost. Five finger Shoes When we first came across the footprint our first reaction is who in the world would be barefoot this time of year, did you notice the snow in the photo? Though the day was very mild, in the 60s, it is still winter and the creek temp is not that warm.Our next guess is a hiker wearing the Five Finger shoes. John has the five finger shoes, that many of the barefoot runners wear, and we came across a second print we looked closer and sure enough there were some markings that made us sure that someone was out here hiking in these shoes. I took some...

While at Kolob Canyon John and I found and interesting footprint in the mud. Here is the photo, sure looks like a bare foot to me. We have a theory but I thought I’d put it out there and see if any of you have a good theory for our footprint. Now notice the snow, that is an interesting factor I think. Tomorrow I’ll let you know what we think. You can thank MidlifeCrusier for this little mystery to solve. She recently went on a trip and left us clues as to where she went. I was “clueless” in that mystery. :) Last night we had a spectacular sunset here. We were inside by that time reading when you could tell the lighting outside had changed. I looked up and knew it was the golden light that every photographer loves to have. Grabbed the camera and out the door, sometimes that lighting only lasts a few minutes. I was lucky and had more than a few thanks to the clouds. Thought I’d share a sunset from our little piece of paradise here at Zion River Resort. Happy Trails....................

Kolob Canyon From the Overlook Such a beautiful day yesterday we knew we had to get out and hike. There is another entrance to Zion National Park called Kolob Canyon so we decided to head up there. It is about 15 miles from here. This is a much smaller area than the main entrance we were at before. We did the scenic drive to the end and the hike from there to the overlook about .5 miles out. This area is much higher elevation than the other part of the park, so there is more snow still on the ground. The warm weather has been melting it (they got the snow around Thanksgiving) and so it is pretty muddy out but with hiking boots you just slog through it. The Overlook is a photographers playground. The photo above is a panoramic I did on Photoshop Elements. I need to do more of these. Notice all the mud on my pants. Taylor Creek trail Moon over the mountain Next we went down to the Taylor Creek trail. We didn’t get started very early and the trail is 5 miles round trip (...

Friday we took off to get my hair cut and to check out Sand Hollow state park near Hurricaine (oh yah, it is pronounced Her-kin, I’ve been corrected more than once.) Getting a hair cut is a bit of an anxious moment for me. I’ve always had stylist I knew and never had to worry about a bad hair cut. Now, I’ve kept my style a little longer and very simple with the hopes that no one would really screw it up. I know you are just waiting for me to say it was a disaster (you know who you are-lol) but so far so good and I have been going to the salons at Walmart. Had it cut at one back when we were overnight at a Walmart in Oklahoma and now in Hurricaine. Whew!!! FHU campground at Sand Hollow Up the hill to the dunes So off to Sand Hollow. A few of the RVers here recommended it as an alternative. We definitely agree. They have one campground loop that is FHU at $28 a  night. They also have primitive no hook up sites. Also if you are into four wheeling (OHVs) this is the place for yo...

Weeping Rock Went back to Zion National Park today to do some more hiking and to try out my new camera lens. Our intent was to hike to Weeping Rock and then to Hidden Canyon. Weeping Rock went well, easy hike and interesting to see this enormous rock face that is always went and constantly has water running down it. We started up the Hidden Canyon trail but it was vey icy so we changed courses and decided to take the Grotto trail to the Upper Emerald Pool trail. We knew we would see some of what we had hiked through on Tuesday but I didn’t have my camera and lens with me then (those photos were actually taken on my phone) so I was more than willing to repeat. The last part of the trail to the Upper Emerald Pool gets a little steep, glad I had my hiking pole, these short legs sometimes need some help. At the pool we met a couple from Michigan that had brought along Santa hats. I took some photos of them with their hats nad they lent them to us for a photo. The photo didn’t turn out...

Today we headed to St George to do a little shopping, well, maybe more than just a little. I hit the outlet stores for a couple more long sleeved shirts and another quarter zip fleece. Jeans, t-shirt and a quarter zip fleece is my winter uniform of sorts.  Then I got my Christmas present, a new lens for my camera. My long lens is a Canon 2.8, 70-200mm and it is a great lens but a beast to carry around so I usually don't. For outdoor photography I don't necessarily need the 2.8 lens so I have been looking for a new longer focal length lens. Here is what I chose: Tameron AF 18-270 f/3.5-6.3 DiII VC LD Aspherical (IF) Macro I already have one Tameron lens that I love so I am excited about this one. Tomorrow we are headed back to hike in Zion if the weather cooperates and I will be trying out my new lens, can't wait. We went to the pot luck tonight in the resort and had a great time. Mason, the manager and Becky who is next to us were at our table. We got laughing so ha...

Zion National Park Today we headed into Zion National Park to hike. The day reminded me of a song I sang when I was little. Do you remember it? The Happy Wanderer. It goes like this: I love to go a-wandering,  Along the mountain track,  And as I go, I love to sing,  My knapsack on my back. Val-deri,Val-dera, Val-deri, Val-dera-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha Val-deri,Val-dera. My knapsack on my back. I love to wander by the stream That dances in the sun, So joyously it calls to me, "Come! Join my happy song!" So anyone else sing that song??  John byt he lower Emerald Pool The canyon follows along the Virgin River and the first hike we took was the Riverwalk trail at the end of the Scenic Byway. It is a paved very easy trail but the scenery is incredible. John and I walked along without even talking. The sites just leave you speechless. There were a few others on the trail but much of the time we were alone with Zion. Wow. I don’t know what else to say. Our...