State Parks pass...good to the very last!

We played so much last week that we needed to do some business catching up on Memorial Day and get ready to head back to work on Tuesday.  After a full day of bookwork, laundry, yard watering, etc. we were ready to take a break, so for our evening walk we decided to use the parks pass that we inherited from Supe and take our evening walk in Snow Canyon.  The pass expires today!  We went on a trail we had never done before.  It's called Whiterocks Trail.  It's not the one that starts on Hwy. 18, but takes off of the Lava Flow Overlook trail and goes over the top and back down to join the Hwy. 18 trail.  It was so pretty with it just about dusk and flowers blooming and perfuming the air, green everywhere and not one other person to be seen on the whole trail. Since is was pretty near dark by the time we got over the top, we just walked along the highway and down the road back to our car.  It's a really nice (a little sandy in a few spots) trail with fantastic views.  As we were leaving, we had our moon roof and windows open and could smell all the camper's fires...mmm.  It really made me wish that I was camping out. Glad we got every bit of good we could out of that pass and really enjoyed ourselves in the process!  Today it was back to work/school for me and Paul. 

Our get out of school get away!

We decided it would be fun to do something with the grand kids to celebrate the end of the school year.  Some of them couldn't make it being otherwise engaged, but we did get to take some of them with us up to some friend's cabin in Pine Valley (they gave us the key while they are out of town celebrating).  We started by just getting together with the Borrowman gang for dinner at our house.  Then we packed up the kids and headed for the hills.  We got unpacked and went out for a walk to enjoy the cool air and beautiful scenery.  We got to see Moss and Christie and Brenden up at Christie's family cabin.  They let us ride their hand made 3 wheeler.  That was pretty scary!  Then we went up to see the new, maybe not so improved, campground areas.  When we came back it was pretty late, but we opted to stay up and eat popcorn and watch a movie anyway.  In the morning after breakfast we went up to hike around and look at the beautiful waterfalls.  There is so much water this year that waterfalls are gushing everywhere.  When we were all tired out and hungry we headed back to the cabin stopping in at the Pine Valley chapel for the tour. Then Ferf came up, bringing a very tasty blueberry pie from Veyo Pies with her.  It had ginger crystals on the top crust.  That inspired everyone to eat all of their lunch so they could have dessert.  Then it was time for the tired out kids to head home with their mom and Koen.  It was a good time!  After that Paul had a project he wanted to do at the cabin.  To turn on the water you have to go down through the floor to the crawl space.  It's several feet down and the way down is to step onto a  tall, somewhat teetering stool on the uneven ground of the crawl space.   He's been wanting to build a little ladder to use instead, so we got to work on that.  We took a little break when Anna Lou and Janet came by to visit for a little while.  We got it finished up in time to cook up some dinner, go for another little hike, watch a movie and hit the sack.  We attended church at the Pine Valley branch, along with a capacity crowd in town for the Memorial Day weekend.  It was wall to wall people and with TVs in every available room to broadcast the meeting.  We ended up in the kitchen area.  It was too cold, but they did have chairs set up out on the lawn too.  People came in whatever they had on smelling like campfires, suits and Sunday shoes with no socks, ladies in jeans, etc.  One lady apologized in Sunday School for being in pants confessing that she had forgotten her skirt.  It was a great meeting very focused on Memorial Day topics and we heard from a 3 star admiral and Korean and Iraqi war veterans.  After lunch and cleaning up the cabin, it was back to St. George.  It was fun to camp out in the mountains - easy style.  Now it's back to work!

Another year of school is over!

I have lived through and loved through another year of school.  Living through it...some days you think  you will go crazy with all the band aids, shoe tying, unhooking kids from their mom's legs, telling bus kids over and over to sit down on their seats, don't hang out the windows, don't eat, hold on to that ball, etc., etc.  Other days, they are the most darling, fun kids you can imagine.  As an example, one girl on the bus this year was absolutely the most irritating person...wouldn't sit down, wouldn't be quiet, sang incessantly some days, was irritating to everyone around her, just a real pain in the neck.  And she thought I was the most irritating person in the world always nagging her.  The last few days, she suddenly had a change of heart and just loved everyone on the bus. She wrote me this funny note:  "Mileena ________ is beautiful and loveably.  Ms. Lillywhite is nice, lovely and beautful.  She deserves everything."  So funny! Amazing how the end of the year changes your perspective.  So, yes it was another great year! You are glad to see it end, but also sad to see it go. 

My church calling...hiking with the Webelos

There are some things about my church calling that make me crazy, but I have to say that this part of it is pretty fun. I was on the staff of the District Webelos Day Hike and since I was the first volunteer and the only one to show up to the first planning meeting, I got the sweet job of being the hike leader for the activity.  One of the things that made it the most fun is that lots of the boys that were there were former kindergarten students, or siblings of former students, in the class that I aide in.  It was fun to hang out with a bunch of fun kids and adults in the beautiful out of doors for most of the day.  We hiked, tied knots, learned about Leave No Trace and fire building and made ropes and fished for crawdads.  The Order of the Arrow came and entertained us and the boys got to participate in their feather dance.   One of the kids said, "Wow, this is the best hike I've ever been on!" At the end, one little guy, a very energetic one, told me that he guessed that he probably wouldn't feel like riding his bike after he got home after all.  Knowing him and his activity level, I think we did a good job of wearing these little guys out having a great time and learning a lot in the process.  I think I can say that we reached our objectives.  The adult leaders were absolutely great.  One young couple in our stake that are Webelos leaders came, brought their boys and to do it had to bring their one year old in a back pack too.  The little guy had a great time eating rocks and playing in the dirt and wasn't any problem.  The leaders of the different classes were great too.  So, all together, it made for a great day. 

White Pocket, Paw Hole & Cobra Arch...wind, sand and spectacular scenery!

Wednesday and Thursday were all we had left to get out there before I headed back to school, so we decided on some sites that had been  in the file waiting to be enjoyed.  They are all places that could be pretty hot in the summer, so we decided now was the time to get to it.  They are all over in the area between Kanab and Page.  White Pocket and Paw Hole are very close together, but Cobra Arch is across the Dive of the Buckskin/Pariah Canyon, so even though you can see White Pocket from Cobra Arch, you have to go back out and come in another way to get to it.  So much for location.  We left Wednesday about noon and just kind of goofed our way out to White Pocket stopping in Kanab to get some of our favorite raspberry jalapeno jam and stopping in at the BLM office there and out by the Pariah Outpost to make sure we had proper directions and the latest road conditions.  That ended up being a good thing because the roads to these places can be very tricky. 4-wheel drive is a must and you better be good at going really, really fast through some of those very, very sandy spots...Paul is!  We arrived at White Pocket about 6:00 pm and set up camp as quickly as we could so we could go out on the rocks before it got dark.  We had the place all to ourselves.  It is so spectacular!  Some people say it is better than or at least as good as the Wave.  I say is it absolutely comparable, but not better.  You don't have to be in a lottery to go there, or even get a permit, which is a plus in it's favor and there is a free area to camp, but I am glad I've jumped through the hoops to go to the Wave too.  So anyway, we got out there and couldn't stop taking pictures!

When it started getting dark we headed back to our camp and ate dinner in the truck.  It was very windy and pretty cold and threatening to rain.  After we ate and got ready for bed we just stayed in the truck and watched a movie (Up) on the laptop and then hit the sack.  It rained in the night, but we were cozy and it stopped by morning.

Notice the big smile rock in the upper left hand corner of this collage :o)

We went out to see the yet unseen parts and take more pictures and then came back for breakfast and broke camp and headed over to Paw Hole.  There is a shorter way to White Pocket on a road that passes Paw Hole, but in the big truck we deemed it too rough and they didn't advise it, so we took the long way around and back there.  It is a pretty place, but pales in comparison to White Pocket and you do have to get a permit to see it. We saw one car go by while we were in the parking area, but didn't see anyone while we looked around.

We spent some time hiking around there and then took off to find Cobra Arch.  It's about a 6-mile round trip hike and is within sight of the Dive of the Buckskin, but we had to park about a mile and a half from the trail head because the road had been ruined by a washout in one area and we didn't want to chance it.  Again is was windy and sandy, but not too hot because of the overcast weather.  We were getting pretty tired of wind and sand, but it was worth the hike.  The arch is perfectly named and really looks like a big cobra...wouldn't want to meet any cobra and especially not one that big!

Cobra Arch...looking very serpentine!

The directions are kind of vague (it starts at a trail head that leads down into Dive of the Buckskin and then takes off that a little bit after that and doesn't even mention Cobra Arch on the sign), but once we found the trail it was good and when we got below the rim of the canyon, some good person had put up lots of cairns and also left a nice set of tracks for us to follow and we made it without any unnecessary wandering around.  Again, we didn't see a soul other than a horse and rider where we parked the truck.  We made it back to the truck just as it started to rain and went in to Kanab, ate dinner, and made it home in time to rest our sandy trail weary legs in front of a movie and head off to bed.  These places are all worth seeing, but you will need 4-wheel drive vehicle, have to be a gutsy driver, and not mind some sandy hiking to get there! 

Resting up for the next adventure...and getting some work done

Today we did some resting up.  We went over to clean up Moss and Christie's stonework.  It turned out really pretty I think.  We won't have to wonder if we have the right house anymore!  After lunch we went up to check to see if the road to the Sequoia was open yet (Scout business) and then stopped by the job site in New Harmony.  The view of Kolob Fingers was just spectacular from there!

The elusive windlass...found at last!

I'm feeling a little guilty...and euphoric.  Guilty because right here at the end of the school year when I'm so ready to be done, I get to take a few days off because Ms. Godfey is doing the mandated individual testing of the kindergartners. (I could be there making materials, but technically I'm not supposed to be...and I'm taking advantage of that technicality.)  She deserves a break much more than I do. Euphoric because it feels just like the last day of school only like I somehow cheated it and got out early!  So I'm trying to pack the days with fun, and then I'll go back, get out and then go back again for summer school.  Monday we decided to go to Water Canyon, first to check it out for a possible Scout trip and also in the process we hoped that this time, with a better map than ever before, we would finally be able to locate the old windlass that they used to lower logs down from the top of Canaan Mountain to Canaan Ranch way, way down below.  Paul used his amazing compass skills to interpret the map and we found it!  The day was pretty cool and the hike steep but we came off the mountain feeling stuffed with beauty!

The windlass...found at last.  Now that's some heavy duty equipment.  Check out the drop those logs had to make to get down to Canaan Ranch. 

Ahhh...the water! If only it had been warm, I would have been in it!

Amazing rocks - White Domes, Black Rocks, The Notch - all of these were route markers we needed to find to know we were on route to the windlass.  Every time we found one, we got more excited knowing we might actually find it this time.  You can also see Zion in the background looking majestic.  Also pictured is Canaan Arch and me when we reached the top of the Water Canyon Trail saying hallelujah!  

Here's some other fun stuff and Paul doing his compass thing.  One of those dead trees looked like a giant spider coming to get us.  The flowers were beautiful and the little pebbles were laid in the cracks so perfectly.  The old pot was at the windlass site.

Zader #3

The blowing of the candles - sorry it's B&W - too much window light so it worked better.

Sunday evening we got to celebrate with Zade for his #3.  He's a cute little guy and we had a lot of fun doing the birthday stuff with him even though it was a little belated.  We love you Zade!  

Little boys, a snake and Genghis

Oops, forgot one less artsy Saturday happening.  I went out beside the house and found this cute little snake trying to hide.  I knew the neighbor boys would love to see it, so I called them over.  We decided Genghis would enjoy this little playmate and took it out back to show him.  He does enjoy them.  The nice thing is that he doesn't enjoy them enough to eat them or even damage them, so they always end up getting out of range of his rope after a while.  The boys had to take it over to show their parents too and then they carefully brought it back.  Brenden sort of liked seeing it and then we left it to play with Genghis and then escape back to the rocks where it came from. Just a note - the boys were a little worried at first and wondered if it was a "venison" snake, or could they pick it up?  I took it that "venison" meant venomous, and assured them that it wasn't and that it would be ok to pick this one up.

Saturday of the Arts

Saturday we had a fun time enjoying the arts around the area.  After getting some need to dos done in the morning we got into it.  First we attended a little art show out at the Santa Clara Town Hall.  We go to a lot of these things and are pretty familiar with some of the artists.  Some we even know personally through church association.  Since it was small, we could actually visit with some of them and they let us take some pictures of them and their work.  One of them even told another artist to come over and let me take his picture by the other guys work, just for fun.  It was cool to see some of the work in progress as we watched.  If I was loaded with cash and had a house that would hold it, I would sure want to have some of these pieces...but I can just enjoy visiting them too.  Unfortunately that doesn't do much for the artist's pocketbooks.

 

Later that evening we went to the opening concert at the O. C. Tanner Amphitheater in Springdale, Broadway Under the Stars. It was the Southwest Symphony with Alex Boye. (It included a BBQ dinner in the parking lot beforehand.)  Even if the music hadn't been delightful, and it was, you just revel in the beauty of the venue.  We don't afford to do such things often, but every once in a while I just have to go to a concert up there.  And is is cheaper than the ones down here at the college.  So, there you have our artsy Saturday in a nutshell.

The Lover's Gate - my drive by discovery

The other day I didn't take my usual route home and made a sweet little discovery - The Lover's Gate.  I'm sure it's been there for quite a while, but I just hadn't seen it.  I didn't have time to stop then, so on our morning walk we went down to check it out a little more.  What a fun thing.  I thought that people should take it one step further - just a few blocks over is the place where you can actually lock your love forever in the most permanent of ways. Still, I wouldn't mind getting one of those little heart locks and having it engraved, but then I would have to try to think how to express all that love I have for Paul in a very short way.  That would be one tough thing to accomplish. 

The rest of Saturday - more Ironman and family food and fun

After we finished up at the Ironman, we headed home and I wasn't tired, but promptly went to sleep in the car until we got there.  We ate, showered and napped and then went down to check out the bike and run legs of the race.  We saw lots of people we knew and were there for the overall winner's arrival.  Then it was back to the house and getting stuff ready for the the family get together for Mother's Day and last chance to see Supe before he leaves for Africa and Bean before he heads back up to his mission.  Thanks to all the kids for the National Park's pass...can't wait to make use of it.  Thanks to Moss and Christie for the sweet personalized mouse pad too!  I get to enjoy the family picture every time I'm working at the computer!  Thanks for all the good food and great company too.  Can't think of a better Mother's Day gift than a great family like I have!  After clean up all who didn't have to get home, walked down for a little more Ironman and then it was time to call it a day...quite a long day...but a fantastic one.

This year's overall pro male winner with a time better than last year's winner.  Supe posing with the Wheaties Champions - we made him do it!

 

Ironman #2 - an adventure at the lake

It's been another busy, enjoyable weekend at the Lillypad.  Paul and I told Moss we thought it would be fun to come out and see the swim leg of the Ironman this year since we had seen quite a bit of the ride and run section last year.  He invited us to help out on one of the docks.  That included camping out at the lake on Friday evening with him and Christie and Supe which was lots of fun.  We hung out around my little camp lantern eating junk and talking.  We were up at 4 am for the volunteer meeting and to grab a bite to eat and then got boated across the lake to the dock.  We got to go down and watch the pro and amateur starts at 6:45 and 7:00 and then headed back to tend to helping get people who had to quit out of the boats and turn them over to medical personnel if need be, and remove their race chips.  This year the weather and water temp. were so great that we ended up with only 14 people between us  and our lifeguard, Lyndsey, on one dock and Moss and Christie and Derek on the other dock.  The finish line was right between the two docks so we had a ringside seat to the drama.  Some of my favorite things were the two guys who stood on surf boards paddling and leading the swimmers out of the start and the whole way.  The guards on kayaks and paddle boards (Supe was on one of those) and the search and rescue boats were all cool too.  They were all so good at their jobs.  The swimmers were truly inspiring and the coolest thing was watching all of them finish...even the last few who didn't make the time cut off.  The last guy to make it in on time (4 people didn't quite make it) was so cool with all the kayaks, surf board guys and paddle board guards pretty much in and kind of lined up in escort fashion and encouraging him to keep it up and finish in time.  Everyone who finished the swim or even trained hard and then couldn't quite get the job done for one reason or another were an inspiration. 

First pro male to make it in!  (Didn't get a shot of the first female pro to come in.)

First male amateur to make it in!

First female amateur to make it in!

Getting ready first thing in the morning.

The swim crew getting set up, Moss and Christie's dock, the amateur start and our sweet boat ride back across the lake. 

Happy birthday Kaebri...we love you!

Once again we gathered for our family feast of the fast over and also to wish Kaebri a happy #9 birthday.  We also got to add Paul's sister, Sheryl, to the fun.  She is here to help Grandma K out during her rehab from surgery on her neck. (She's doing great by the way.) Derek and Weed cooked up some fantastic elk steaks, chicken and tube steaks and everyone else added their contributions to the delicious meal.  We had cheesecake and strawberries for the birthday cake.  All of it was so good and especially to the grumbling fasting stomachs.  It's so much fun just hanging out and visiting.  The 3 little boys are still in the process of learning to share - they all love cars and the one that someone else has is always so cool they just need to have it too.  They crack us up with all their two year old funny ways of saying things.  Kaebri is a sweet girl and we are all so happy she is part of our family.  Happy birthday Kaebri.  We love you

A visit from a cat burglar

The other night when Paul and I went on a walk I saw this ball of hair cat.  I gave it a little bit of petting.  It followed us for a little bit more, and then a little bit more, and then it just decided to follow us all of the way home...several blocks.  It wasn't about to give up and tried to come in the house with us.  It's fat and someone must be feeding it, but it acted like it was planning on moving in.  It yowled at the door and Genghis went crazy trying to get out there and see who was in his territory.  Finally we put Genghis to bed and just forgot about the other cat.  We have been sleeping with our window open and after we got to bed we hear that cat yowling up on our windowsill.  We just ignored it.  Later in the night we hear it yowling and then suddenly, it's in our room!  Don't know how it did it, but the screen was part way off - it didn't tear a hole in it or anything.  Paul jumped out of bed, threw it back out of the window and shut the window.  So, I guess you could say we had a cat burglar trying to steel some of Genghis' exclusive territory.  Crazy cat.  It was still here the next morning and had a hissing and growling duel with Genghis.  They just sort of hung out eyeballing each other all morning.  Thought it was gone later in the day, but this morning it was back, so I took this mugshot of it.  That was one weird experience.  Hope we never have a real live cat burglar.