We went to lunch........

.......30 miles away, in Morgan, UT.



They have the best raspberry shakes.



We decided to take the scenic route home.



We had never noticed these rock formations before



The Fall colors were beautiful.



We relaxed where the 1847 Pioneers had trod.



We also found we were not the only ones on the road...



88 miles and four hours later we got home. A long way for a hamburger and a shake, BUT.... the weather was glorious, the scenery beautiful, and the company THE BEST....
it doesn't get any better than that.

Goodmorning Utah!!!!

This is actually the rising sun in St. George, Utah.
We went to Southern Utah for 4 days with a day in the middle to visit Las Vegas for Hannah's blessing.
We visited one of our favorite places.



Zion National Park.
We had to wait 20 minutes in line to enter the Park and since the parking lot was full we were not able to get the shuttle so just drove through the tunnel to the "checkerboard mesa". We met a nice couple from Ohio. I confess, I was disappointed that the fall colors were not rampant. Maybe we need to go next weekend. :o)

Then on Sunday morning we went to meet Hannah.
What a beautiful girl, she is a keeper.


This is our baby, with his baby, and her baby, and Grandpa. Four generations.!!



Hannah enjoyed G'pa singing "My Sweet Lady"



A great time!! but there is no place like home.
But then "Home is where the Heart is"

Utah's Best Kept Secret....

.....at least as far as I am concerned it is.

Yesterday we drove to Pine Valley, Utah. For those who do NOT know it is 40 miles from St. George. Drive north on highway 18 and turn right. Here we are in the midst of sagebrush and red sand and rocks and suddenly the road widens and there is a beautiful verdant valley with a settlement up against the mountains. No stores, no gas stations, one LDS Church.

The church has been replicated and is displayed in the Pioneer Park at "This is the Place".
A State Park and a reservoir with people fishing.

The Church was built by a Scotsman who knew how to build ships but not a building, so he was told to build an upside down boat. We took a tour of the building and saw into the roof and the workmanship involved. If you look at the ceiling line you can see the curvature as in a boat. We will plan to attend Church here next time we are in St. George.

We also visited the cemetery there. At first it looked overgrown and neglected but it is anything but. It is designed to lie among the sagebrush and is well visited and tended, with newer graves among the pioneer ones. Although I say it is Utah's best kept secret at least two of my children have visited there and many out of staters have also found out about it and there are quite a few (a lot) of new homes of the ostentatious caliber. Most of the people are summer residents although there are about 50-60 families that live there year round. You would have to make a VERY complete and comprehensive shopping list.
A beautiful place and to crown it all IT RAINED :o)

UTAH... This is the Place

I recently returned to Utah after a trip to California. We entered through St. George. Everytime we cross the Utah State line I sing various bits of hymns as in, "Firm as the Mountains Around Us" or "Utah, We love Thee". I say bits because inevitably I only sing one or two lines before I am crying. :o) I LOVE UTAH. When I cross the border, I AM HOME. Driving north on I-15 I look upon the green fields with pleasure and gratitude and recognition, I'm in UTAH. I always notice there are lots of "Utah" plates, I AM HOME. Even when flying into Salt Lake City I know when I am in Utah airspace, I'M HOME. Back in 1962, Lesley (4), Archie (2 1/2) and Timothy (15 months) and I traveled from Washington DC to Chicago by train, and from Chicago to SLC on the California Zephyr. On the afternoon of the 3rd day as we crossed from Colorado into Utah there was a line painted on the canyon wall "Utah/Colorado", I cried. I was in Utah for the first time. "Now, therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners but fellow citzens with the Saints" Eph. 2:19 I just found out we have a new State song,I asked my Granddaughter Emily to sing the last verse for me.