Wasatch Quilt Shop Hop

I was so excited when I realized I would be in Utah during the Wasatch Quilt Shop Hop.  Even better, I would have my oldest granddaughter in Utah with me.  Luckily, Janae and her boys had moved into their new home just in time to let Toby hang out with them while we hopped.  Toby would have hated the Quilt Shop Hop in direct correlation to how much Heather enjoyed it.

The theme this year was old yet timeless TV series.  If you just guessed that Thimbles and Threads was "Gilligan's Island" you would be correct. There was a beachy theme in the basement.  I love this shop in an old building in Draper which used to house chickens or at least their eggs.  We didn't leave empty handed.  Heather got some material that looked like it would work for a doll mermaid costume and I bought a pattern and some fabric for another Schnibbles quilt.

I couldn't leave Draper without a visit to Relation Street and a family history lesson for Heather.  This little house is one of the oldest in Draper.  Lauritz Smith, the Danish blacksmith, built this house for his first wife when the Edmunds Act was passed in 1882 and it became illegal to have two wives in the same dwelling.

This was the first time that I noticed the plaque in the front yard telling about the house.  Her grandson, Joseph Lauritz Smith, eventually took over the home.

Glen's grandmother, June, was born in the older part of the house to Joseph and his wife Melissa Ann Fitzgerald. June was eventually joined by 8 more siblings all raised in this tiny little house.  June went on to raise her family in a home she and Raymond Baker built just down the street.

It was so peaceful here as we stopped and gazed from the street.  There were birds winging from tree to tree and butterflies and dragon flies flitting about.  I know that one of Lauritz's descendents still lives in this home in its park like setting.

Our next stop was Quilt Etc. in Sandy.  I neglected to take any pictures, but the classroom area was set up as the bar in "Cheers."  Lucky for us, there were giant pretzels, peanuts, nachos, and drinks so that pretty much provided lunch.  Heather was thrilled with the "bounce game" and the fat quarters that she won.

Before taking out the camera again, we also stopped at the Deseret Book store in Fort Union which has a quilt store upstairs.  They had appropriately selected "Little House on the Prairie" for their theme. I found a bit of Ruby fabric to use for the backing of my doll bed quilts and I let Heather pick out her favorite of the pioneer dressed rag dolls.

I found my camera again when we reached Elaine's Quilt Block.  They were in "Mash" mode.

I loved this sign pointing the way to all 14 shops participating in this hop.  We didn't make all of them, there just wasn't enough time (or energy :) plus we didn't want Toby to wear out his welcome.

This fun military ambulance was parked out front and there were free books for the children and patterns for the adults.

I heard that someone in the neighborhood owned the ambulance and loaned it for a few days usage at Elaine's.

We decided to try and make our way to Sugar House home of Piper's Quilts and Comforts next.  This was also a new stop for me.

It will now be a regular stop.  It was homey and cute and very creative and even had smocked garments on display as well as a few patterns.  Piper has started an American Girl Doll Club and that caught Heather's interest right away.  I bought her first pattern and kit for a dress and sun hat for 18 inch dolls.  Looks like I'll have to check in monthly to see her latest doll designs.

Her display doll was actually Pottery Barn's version of an AG doll.  She told us that she likes Pottery Barn's doll better and talked us into checking them out at the Pottery Barn store at Trolley Square.  So that was the end of our quilt shop tour.  It didn't take much to convince us to change plans because I had been wanting to check out bookshelves and Heather wanted to see the dolls.  We had a great time exploring both Pottery Barn Kids and the main store.

And Janae's child care payment for keeping Toby?  We popped into the Western Garden Center just west of Trolley Square and rummaged through the last of their veggie plants.  We picked up some tomato, basil, cucumber, pumpkin, and watermelon plants for the garden grow boxes left behind in her new backyard.  I even went back a few afternoons later and helped Janae and the boys plant them out.  Next year, I'll have to visit the quilt shops on the west side of the Salt Lake Valley.

Fishin' Grandpa style

On the Saturday morning before Father's Day we were up early for a short drive south to Spring Lake.  Glen had learned of a place nearby that had his kind of fishing hole.

Janae and boys had moved back to Utah during the week, so there were one-half of the grandchildren available to go fishing with Grandpa Glen.  Raymond caught the first fish.

Fishing poles were provided, and bait, and help putting on the bait and even taking the fish off the hook.

It was also peaceful with seating provided for little boys with broken legs like Henry.

Best of all, it was calm and green.

There were three trout stocked spring fed ponds.

The gentleman in waders was everywhere helping everyone and in a very nice way.

Some people pick very special places to build their homes.

There were enough fish so that everyone could catch one, but there were not so many that you didn't have to work at it a bit.

TJ's fish.

Heather's fish, one of the larger ones.

Don't let it get away Heather.

Toby's fish.

We caught a dozen in all.  The best part, wader guy cleaned and filleted them all.

We just had to pay him by the pound before he started with his knife.  Grandpa Glen bagged them up and put them on ice for the ride home.  On Father's Day I dredged them in flour, salt and pepper and cooked them in butter just like my mother used to do.  No, my dad was not a fisherman but my great uncle Emery Thomas was.  On Idaho summer mornings he would be out on the streams at first light and would often drop off some trout for our breakfast.

See Sally. See Sally run!

We found ourselves on the streets of Provo on a beautiful June Saturday morning.  Heather handmade a sign in honor of her Aunt Sally who had risen before dark that same morning to begin her 26 mile + run down Provo Canyon and on to the streets of downtown Provo.

We, however, had slept in, enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, and then driven as close as possible to the finish line.  We soon learned that lots of lean young women with blond pony tails were running this marathon.

And then there she was, swift and strong heading for the finish line as we madly shook our cow bells in welcome and admiration.
 

All of her siblings along with friends and spouses and, of course, her mother (along with MIL, me :) showed her the love.

Sally and several of her Ragnar Team members had made the trip from Arizona for the marathon where the altitude had hit them a bit as well as hills that went up as well as down in the canyon.

I'd sit down on the pavement, too.  Oh, yeah, I was pretty much doing that anyway.

Great job ladies!  I can not even comprehend such devotion nor stamina.

Your niece was pretty impressed (and don't let your daughters see this picture! I don't want them to feel left out :)

2nd day of exploration on way to Provo

We woke early, cleaned up, and packed before Jacob Lake Inn opened for the day.  We joined in the line of tourists waiting for breakfast.

Sometimes it is fun to sit on the bar stools in a big square and people watch while you eat.  Heather wanted to make sure that her traveling companions were in a picture, too.  We were traveling in two cars, Heather with me in mine and Toby in grandpa's.  This meant I would have more freedom and flexibility once in Provo/SLC.

It also worked out well since the Tahoe's speedometer went out.  I got to be the leader as well as set the pace!  We did park my car and go together a couple of times on Day 2.  I parked in the church lot in Fredonia while we drove west across the Arizona Strip to Pipe Springs National Monument.

It has been a few years since we have stopped in at Pipe Springs and it has changed.  It is jointly run by a Paiute Native American tribe which borders the monument and the National Park Service, hence the wikiups.  There is also a new museum which gives the story of ALL the peoples who have lived on this land.

Natural materials were used to build at this dry place with its large natural spring. It was first a large cattle and sheep operation. The original settler and rancher plus a ranch hand were killed by the Indians.  The Mormon church purchased the location from the widow and her nine children.

Ponds were created to store water for cattle, sheep, and crops.

Because of the problems with the natives, a large stockade was constructed and was named Winsor Castle.

My grandmother, Rhoda, grew up north of here in Orderville and she remembers coming to Pipe Springs with her father and it was most probably in a wagon like this one.

This plaque is located on the northeast corner of the stockade.  It appears that some inscription was once visible on the sandstone.

There were pioneer implements and tools for the children to explore once inside.

This is the east side of the enclosure which is a bit lower than the west side.

We first entered on the northwest side on the bottom floor into the main living quarters and kitchen.  Notice the thickness of the walls.

I am honestly so drawn to this simple, homey living.  I know it was hard work, but I've often felt I was born in the wrong century.

Doesn't this vignette pull you in?  Pipe Springs cooks were known for their good food and pies. 

The story is that John Wesley Powell would make it a point to make long visits to Pipe Springs to rest up and eat pie during his explorations of this part of the West and the Grand Canyon.

There were sleeping quarters upstairs for the parents. . .

and the children.  Those little holes in the wall were for guns if needed for protection.  This level later had a door put into the west wall as it opens out at ground level as the stockade is built next to a hill.

The balcony was also used as a work space.  This is a bobbin winder.

It is just across the doorway from the treadle loom.

We then followed the guide east across and down to the east side of the complex.

Looking back at the west side.  That is not a chimney in the middle but an updraft to help in the expulsion of excess heat.

Pipe Springs was also a telegraph station and this is the quarters of the operator who had to be counted on to keep everyone's secrets.

Her quarters were off a common middle room. . .

which also included quest sleeping areas including the "bed/sofa" covered with patchwork quilt.

The doors into the center of the stockade were wide enough to accommodate a wagon.

The final area we explored was the lowest and coolest level.  The spring water runs in troughs through this room making it ideal for cheese making and dairy storage.  The picture is of a storage lazy susan.

The room north of the cool room included this giant vat were milk could be heated in preparation for becoming cheese.  The guide is standing at the outer door which exits on the east side.

We next walked up the hill overlooking the Arizona Strip to the cowboy quarters.

They were a bit more rustic and not nearly as inviting as Winsor Castle.

There was space for many ranch hands and it was all in all a pretty nice bunkhouse.

Coming back down the hill, this is the south wall and east side of the castle and you can see the doorway we exited at the end of our tour as well as the the spillway where the spring water exits the cool room on the very southeast corner.

Part of the springs are diverted to feed into the pond.  This spring runs year round and comes from water making its way through the sandstone for years before hitting a layer of slate which is impervious to water and diverts the water until it exits at the south end of a large plateau.

The water is used to water grape vines, orchards, gardens, and animals.

Sometimes the best way to water the plants is to flood them in a mini-flash flood.

After retrieving my car in Fredonia, we drove on to Mt. Carmel where I once again parked my car and then we traveled east together through the mile long tunnel into Zion's Park.  The tunnel runs through that large rock wall above the Tahoe.

This is a view of the west side of the canyon.  We drove down to the bottom and took the natural gas powered tram line along the Virgin River before heading back this same way and once again splitting up into separate cars for the final drive to our destination.

You will notice that one of Heather's traveling companions earned her Ranger's badge!