North Rim/Jacob Lake rain get away!

 We just wanted a quick, beautiful getaway!  We got a one night stay in a little cabin at Jacob Lake and spent a day at the North Rim.  And...it rained!  We got everything we had hoped for!  Beautiful walks at the Grand Canyon and at Jacob Lake, rain falling and beautiful views and fresh, rain washed air, and forests and flowers!  It was GOOD!  The day we got back we had a fun "Pie and beer - Pioneer Day" family dinner at Juge's.  We had great food and fun times playing her Pioneer Cranium game.  No pics. 

Little bits of wisdom that I love

On my blog page layout there's a place called the sidebar-right.  It has things called gadgets.  They consist of a picture with some words...and they will not print in my blog books that I print every year.  I really like them, so I decided to put them on my regular blog as a post.  They take up a bit more room there than they do on the side, but I want them to print in this year's book.  Here they are.  I've been collecting these from the beginning of my blog years ago.   

Walk Lightly

"We have forgotten how to be good guests, how to walk lightly on the earth as its other creatures do." 

~ Barbara Ward

Wilderness

Wilderness is not a luxury, but a necessity for the human spirit! ~ Edward Abbey

Nature

In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks. ~ John Muir

I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order. ~ John Burroughs

Flowers

The earth laughs in flowers. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Listen..

The earth has its music for those who will listen; Its bright variations forever abound. With all of the wonders that God has bequeathed us, There’s nothing that thrills like the magic of sound. 

~ Reginald Holmes

                                                                              Colors

Colors are the smiles of nature. ~ Leigh Hunt

  

Snow music

The snow is melting into music. ~John Muir

Nature's peace

"Climb the mountains to get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn."

~John Muir

                                                                        Nature's heart

"Keep close to Nature's heart...break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean." ~ John Muir

Supreme Creator...

...all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator. -- Alma 30:44

2 Nephi 4:34

"O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever."

Renewal of the spirit

It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men's hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air, that emanation from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit.  ~ Robert Lewis Stevenson

The finest workers of stone are not copper or steel tools, but the gentle touches of air and water working at their leisure with a liberal allowance of time.  ~ Henry David Thoreau

We simply need that wild country available to us, even if we never do more than drive to its edge and look in, for it can be the means of reassuring ourselves of our sanity as creatures, a part of the geography of hope. ~ Wallace Stegner

Art

Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. ~ Pablo Picasso

America...

Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written.  Ether 2:12

America is another name for opportunity. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Little drops of water, little grains of sand...

We, ourselves, feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But if that drop was not in the ocean, I think the ocean would be less because of that missing drop. I do not agree with the big way of doing things. ~ Mother Teresa

Life...

isn't about waiting for the storms to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain.

Being happy...

doesn't mean everything's perfect. It means you decide to see beyond the imperfections.

Look fear in the face

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Gifts...

The first great gift we can bestow on others is a good example. ~ Thomas Morell

Legacy

Your legacy exists in the lives of people you’ve touched.

Motherhood

There is no way to be a perfect mother, and a million ways to be a good one.

Love...

Real love stories never have endings.

Getting out on Cedar Mountain - Paul still has his boot on!

 I'd rather be camping...but the check up only gave Paul another two weeks in his boot.  So, Friday we were ready for a day away.  Cedar Mountain is close and cooler, so we opted to go there for a drive and a picnic.  We first drove over to check on Navajo Lake.  It is lower than I think I've ever seen it, but still beautiful!  We saw lots of flowers blooming and found out there is a little lodge/general store and little rental cabins.  Who knew?  Not us!  We checked them out and enjoyed the find.  

Next we drove around the the mountain and stopped off to see the stream by Aspen Mirror Lake.  I love that spot.  Then we continued on over to a great little picnic spot near some ginormous lava piles.  It was a peaceful, unhurried picnic...so nice.  More beautiful flowers there.

 Next we drove on around and to Cedar Breaks.  I always love to go there.  They have the best store and it is just so beautiful and awesome!  Paul took a little nap in the Chessman Overlook parking lot, and Bean and I took a little hike along the ridge trail there.  Then we went to the Visitor's Center. I got a Jr. Ranger book this time.  We walked a tiny trail and saw lots more flowers!  

Then it was time to head down the hill.  We took the Brian Head way.  We drove some side roads and discovered a historic steam engine from Brian Head's past.  It was used to power lumber mills at several sites around the area from 1903-1939.  Very interesting to see it sitting there among today's giant "cabins".  Then we went down the hill to Parowan and stopped in for shakes/root beer float at the Dairy Freeze.  Then we headed home.  It did us the good we needed to be up there in the cool mountain air and among the forest beauty!  And, it made me want to go camping.  

Picnics and morning walks beauty

 Right now I have to take morning walks without Paul.  Sometimes I vary the routes since I have more time since I'm retired.  This week I found some fun things on different versions of my morning walks.  One morning a little bird was enjoying taking a bath in the overspray from a neighbor's sprinklers.  It was so cute!  We also had our first ripe tomato one morning this week!

This collage is a mix of morning walks, a picnic at Oak Grove and a picnic at Pine Valley.  We also got ice cream using up what was left on a gift certificate we had to the Brandin' Iron.  Both picnics were lovely and the walk on the Red Hill this morning was wonderful.  We've been having a little cool snap that has also made it really nice.  Paul and I also walked on some little paths at the hospital the other morning after his cardiology appointment and discovered some fun things there too.