The birthday girls of summer

I trying to catch up on all my summer posts before summer is over.  There is some fall color on the mountains outside my window.  We had a marvelous birthday party at the Herriman Reservoir high on the hill above Herriman in the southwest corner of Salt Lake Valley.

It was the choice of my beautiful Ruby for her 12th birthday celebration.

All of the little ones had a grand time playing in the sand.

There was food, cake, and ice cream as well as presents to be opened.

We were fortunate enough to have our granddaughters in town for their birthdays. (Actually this happens pretty often:)  Mabel shared in the gift and card receiving as well.

When her actual 6th birthday rolled around, Mabel had her own water fun in her great grandparents' backyard.  Her cousins came and helped her celebrate.

She's a cutie!

Her other grandma gave her a pretty new dress and some fun makeup. 

Her older sister dolled her up and then we had a photo shoot.

Sweet girl!

She's a keeper!

Draper Temple at Sunset

A month or so ago we were visiting Draper and decided to drive over the mountain rather than take the I 15 back to Provo.  We drove by the Draper Temple just in time to witness the temple and a beautiful sunset.

A long way to Arizona, Part 4

After leaving Arches National Park we soon found ourselves in Arizona and at Canyon de Chelly.

It was our first trip back since our first in 1981.  Spider Rock where two canyons converge is still spectacular.

This beautiful canyon has been home to many peoples and the Navajos still farm and live here.

The ribbon of green shows where the stream flows.

Parts of ancient homes are still visible in the canyon sides.

It is a magical place.

But also one of sadness as Navajo Indians were rounded up here and driven to Fort Defiance in what is now New Mexico back in 1863.

It was their own "Trail of Tears" but is now known as the "Long Walk."

There are drives along both the north and south sides of the canyon with many overlooks.

We had just enough time for the south side as we still wanted to make it to Hubbell Trading Post before it closed.

Next visit we plan on taking the jeep tour through the bottom of the canyon for a different view and for the stories told.  In a bit of a spoiler we were very disappointed to see that nearby Chinle looked so neglected.  There were pan handlers, flying trash, and a drug deal going down at the service station where we stopped.  It looked like it was struggling.

A long way to Arizona, part 3

We woke up in Moab to a beautiful day.  We got an early start and that was a good thing as we had a very short line at the entrance to Arches National Park.  When we left a few hours later, the line seemed to be a mile long.  Our first stop was a hike which leads to an overlook of Delicate Arch.  It was a bit steep but not long.

A few last rock stair steps and there it was, an iconic rock formation.

I loved these hardy flowers in the pathway.

There are many beautiful rock formations through out the park.

Park Avenue is also a must see stop.

Once again some hardy flora.  We enjoyed our early morning hours in this beautiful park.  Upon leaving, we still had many miles to go before arriving in Arizona.

Long Way to Arizona, Part 2

After leaving Utah and Dinosaur National Monument, we traveled east to Colorado and then south on the western side of the state.

The mountains were green and beautiful and we found ourselves on a very high pass before coming down into the Grand Junction area.  We entered I 70 and turned west towards Utah.

A short time later, we exited I 70 and took Highway 128 south at what used to be the town of Cisco. It is pretty much deserted now but used to be a location where trains were serviced.  We soon found ourselves driving along the Colorado River.  The Dewey Bridge was built and finished a hundred years ago in 1916.  It was the second longest suspension bridge west of the Mississippi at the time.  The Colorado River is joined by the Delores River near this bridge. The Delores River is formed by run off from the San Juan Mountains and the Colorado Plateau.

These are closeups of the plaques which memorialize the bridge which is a National Monument.  The bridge center burned in 2008 as a result of a wildfire.

The highway follows the Colorado for miles through beautiful landscapes.

We had no idea that one could follow along the river for such a long distance before reaching Moab.

Fisher Towers rise majestically from the floor of Professor Valley.

We elected to take the dirt road for an up close look and walked up to the Towers along the trail.

We soon encountered a snake!

The Fisher Towers were beautiful and majestic.

A shot with Glen to prove we were there.

Truly lovely.

This was our beautiful view looking back at the Colorado River from whence we had come.  We continued on our way south enjoying every minute of our drive along the Colorado River.  We would spend the night in Moab.  The next day we visit beautiful Arches National Park.