alexandriacardinals

[They kicked us out!  I guess it’s true what they say, guests, like dead fish, can begin to stink if they hang around too long.  But seriously, Jeanne and Ken were great hosts, we had a lovely time, but more of their family were arriving on this day (well, at least that’s what they told us?  😉  ).  So, we hit the road north . . .]

[This was our first stop up I-15.  It’s actually the northern extension of Zion.  The ranger told us it’s actually better to drive through here in the afternoon because of the lighting. Boy, was he right – but we didn’t have an option.]

[I found it somewhat amazing that after all this time in the West we didn’t know a single person at this overlook?  😉   ]

[Then these were on the drive out . . . ]

[To a quick stop at Cedar City, home of Southern Utah University and the Utah Shakespeare Festival.]

[In case you hadn’t noticed, out of Cedar City we’re heading toward snow-capped mountains and Provo.]

[I shot out the side window for a while until we hit the mountainside “Y.”  If you can identify what the “Y” stands for you win a dry roasted lightly salted peanut.]

[We drove around a bit in “Y” country, so by now you know we’re on the campus of . . . ]

[Women . . . for rent?]

[One could say the “air game” was born here.]

[Amazing tectonic activity here!  As a geography major who also took Rocks 1 & 2 in college, I know the technical term for these rolling striated strata is “bread dough spun with a spatula.”]

[The technical generic term is “water falls.”  The world nods in agreement for that choice of term.  This one specifically is Bridal Veil Falls, of some repute.]

[This is all along scenic US Highway 189 between Provo and Heber City.]

[And this is where we ran across Bob’s place.  Robert “Sundance Kid” Redford, we just call him Bob, holds his annual Sundance Film Festival here.]

[So, let’s go up and take a look around at Bob’s place.  Maybe he’ll be there?]

[We had a good time looking around.  Unfortunately, Bob wasn’t there.  I left my card lest he need promotional advice in West Central Minnesota.]

[Onward (east) toward Heber City.]

[Past Deer Creek State Park . . . ]

[Our first night layover.  You may recall we stopped in Green River, Utah, on the way out.  This one is in Wyoming, about the size of Alex and more than just a Subway for dining.]

[Their museum featured a statue of John Wesley Powell, the intrepid one-armed explorer and surveyor, and outlaws of the area, including that Butch Cassidy Gang.]

The American girl makes a servant of her husband and then finds him contemptible for being a servant.  ~  John Steinbeck

Up next:  Day Eleven.

[Our last day with our hosts in Utah.  Where does the time go?  More Howell family members were arriving on this day, so again we thought it best to get out of the way so Jeanne and Ken could prepare for their guests.  Something about quilting . . . ?]

[Zion was handy so we decided on another visit there.]

[Despite a relatively late arrival, we found a parking spot amazingly close to the one we had two days previously.  We decided on a shuttle ride through the park again.]

[Another beautiful day for a ride in the park.  We got off at the first stop, the Zion Human History Museum (the building above) because we hadn’t the first day and wanted to see the film on the park.  While you can get on and off the shuttle at every stop, everybody usually takes it all the way to end to begin and then get off and on at the other stops on the way back.  So, when we got back on this time, nobody got off so I had to stand all the way to the end.  Something to remember.]

[This is the end of the line, the shuttle turn around point.  The Super and I would have had the shuttle all to ourselves going back except for the woman sitting on the right and a woman friend.  I over heard them talking, i.e., I eavesdropped, on the way back.  They were serious rock climbers – something totally beyond my comprehension.]

[Reminder:  This is the most important facility you will find at any park.]

[We’ve completed our tour.  If you just ride the shuttle up and back, it’s a little less than an hour and a half round trip.]

[Then just outside the park, we wanted to pay a visit to this place – we missed it on our previous day here.  I recall this from years ago, going by when the gentleman had a little more pride in his first name – back then it was the “Obert C. Tanner” theater, not the totally less interesting “O. C. Tanner” theater.]

[Unfortunately, “Obert” locked us out!?!]

[This, apparently, is what the place looks like.]

[So we looked for a nosh in beautiful downtown Springdale, just outside the park, and found this Mexican restaurant with this not too shabby view.]

[We passed through Virgin on the way home (Virgin Books has so many connotations).]

[And that pretty much covers everything you ever wanted to know about Zion National Park but were afraid to ask.  I feel like (‘feel’ is the operative word) I’m a real expert having visited here four times now.]

A man who has never made a woman angry is a failure in life.  ~  Christopher Morley

Up next:  Day Ten

WARNING:  This is the 666th blog posting.  It’s about Las Vegas!  Coincidence?  Or are there more sinister things afoot??

[We left our neighborhood (actually, this is Washington, Utah, but Hurricane, Washington, and St. George pretty much blend together) on this day to give Jeanne and Ken some quiet time to catch up on their cross stitching.  We were going alone to Las Vegas, a place to which Jeanne and Ken would go multiple time with family.]

[They did advise that the road to Las Vegas (120 miles from St. George) would be among the most scenic on our trip so far as I-15 follows the Virgin River gorge through the Beaver Dam Mountains.]

[And they were right!  With even better photos on the trip back.]

[Then we came out of the canyon and soon were able to see Vegas in the distance and the Sheep Mountains.]

[Now before I go any further, I have to report that . . . ]

Las Vegas, 43 years ago . . .

My first visit was in 1972, I had just been discharged (for good behavior but nary a medal) from the Army and stopped here on the way home.  I was here again sometime in the 80’s, and the place still looked not unlike the following photos.  The original Caesar’s Palace marked the end of The Strip.

[Grandma and Grandpa Obert met me there.  They were on their annual vacation, March 1972.]

[Back in the here and now, we weren’t really sure what we wanted to do here.  I just wanted to drive around to see what all the hoopla was about – how much it had changed!  The Super was not beyond going in some place to eat and maybe wagering a bob or two (I’m not a gambler – way too cheap).  After driving up and down The Strip and environs for about an hour, we ultimately determined there is absolutely no public parking anywhere in this city (be aware of that if you go).]

[So while she drove around, I took pictures.  No need for explanation.  If you’ve ever seen a movie or watched any TV, you already know all these places!  🙂  ]

[Americana on steroids!!]

[Just as we were about to give up and head for home, we made a wrong turn or something and ended up . . . ]

[In a mall parking garage?  Plenty of parking spaces.  Why not?  So we did, and it was perfect.  The Super wanted to dine at the Venetian outside on the canal.  The Venetian was kitty-corner from where we parked.  Luck smiled upon us.  Let’s go for a walk . . . ]

[The Super is now so happy!!]

[This was a structure at the mall.  We would dine here momentarily . . . ]

[The Super is still so happy!!]

[Even the people who served us here didn’t know what this was?]

[Walking to the Venetian.  Like the Twin Cities, there are skyways here.  But they are open air . . . but necessary for old people cross multi-laned city streets without becoming hood ornaments.]

[We entered here into a grand foyer.  There was a huge room ahead, and to the left and right.  Each room was packed with poker tables and each table was packed with poker players.  A hint of tobacco smoke filled the air.  My kind of place – NOT!]

[We went back outside to the canal, which really is a marvel.  And all the while, here and throughout the trip, I kept asking myself – where are they getting the water?]

[She wasn’t excited about the outdoor dining at the facility . . . ]

[So we decided to head back to the mall . . . ]

[And that’s where we delightfully discovered a Maggiano’s, the No. 1 Italian chain restaurant, out on the mall deck under the “flying saucer,” and with a view of the Venetian.  A little pizza, a little beer, and we were good to go!   🙂   ]

[A final goodbye to New York, New York, another hour driving through the city, paralleling the freeway but finding no entrances (they don’t want you leave!!), and we were on the scenic drive home.]

[As I recall, the Howells greeted us with a home-cooked meal upon our return.  🙂  ]

She was so glad to see me go, that I almost have a mind to come again, that she may again have the same pleasure.  ~  Samuel Johnson

Up next:  Day Eight

[Next it was time to explore the neighborhood.  Zion National Park was only a little over a half an hour away.  Get an early start, beat the crowds.]

[And we picked up two more Alexandrians when we got there.  Before we all left, we discovered Kathleen and Bruce Pohlig would be at Zion, staying at a local lodge, this very day, so we made arrangements to meet up with them for park exploration.  🙂  ]

[Actually, we were arriving . . . ]

[We’ve boarded the shuttle for the ride in the park . . . ]

[Shot out the window . . . ]

[Shot out the roof.]

[Go Cardinal fans!]

[Our photographer.  I believe his name was Fred.  But that’d just be a guess.]

[This is where we were.  The end of the line, The Temple of Sinawava, where we will hike along the Virgin River Trail.]

[Kathleen and Ken . . . ]

[The river . . . ]

[The walls . . . ]

[A lovely stroll, beautiful cool weather to do it in.]

[Hanging gardens . . . (subsequent DNA evidence proved the gardens innocent and they should not have been hanged).]

[I think I was shooting the hikers by the water but not successfully.]

[Kathleen believed the object at hand to be a tree, a flora of the woody variety.]

[We had to be alert at all times for dangerous critters – this guy (or gal) had absolutely no fear of us.]

[Bruce contemplated a two-and-a-half gainer with a full twist but decided the water was too cold.]

[You know, they do fall . . . eventually.  And you wonder about that.]

[“Scoop” Howell in action.]

[Duck!!]

[Reminding . . . it’s still desert.]

[Kathleen checks our Triptik.]

[One of the most popular, if long and strenuous, “hikes” in the entire country.  If you look closely at the closer-upper shots, you can see lines of people working their way up on switchbacks.  We didn’t do it this time. so let’s take you back to those glorious days of yesteryear . . . ]

Zion National Park, 32 years ago . . .

We visited Zion National Park twice on this trip, during which time I regaled our captive audience about the time I climbed Angels Landing. It was exactly 32 years ago (pre-Super), and my traveling companion in those days was Basketball Dan. It’s a strenuous, 5-mile, 5-hour uphill hike, and now there is a sign at its commencement noting that 6 people have died from falls on the trail in the last decade! Oy!

 

[With Basketball Dan, same time of year in 1983.]

[Back in current time, the group is on the move from the Grotto (eyeballing Angels Landing) to Zion Lodge.]

[And at the Lodge we took this trail.]

[As you may know, Continental Bridge out of Alexandria, Minnesota, was previously Bruce’s company, and many bridges such as this all over the country have his trademark on them.  Whenever we came to a bridge, Bruce hustled up to see if it was one if his.  He has some here but not this particular one.]

[The view from “not Bruce’s bridge.”  And those are our ‘peeps’ on the bridge.]

[And here we have “Scoop” Howell in action again, under the watchful eye of his producer/director.]

[Did you see Kim Kardashian?]

[Goodbye for this day, from another “not Bruce’s bridge.”]

[So let’s have a little outdoor lunch before we say goodbye to the Pohligs.]

[Pterodactyl?]

In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man – if you want anything done, ask a woman.  ~  Margaret Thatcher

Up next:  Day Eight.