Red Canyon and Bryce Canyon in Utah

I know you can tell from my last few posts that there is nothing, and I do mean nothing, going on here. We go to work, come home, eat dinner, then veg out on the sofa, doing nothing. Maybe go across the road to the campfire sometimes and have a beer, but not often. Because we haven't been anywhere much lately, I decided to show you some pictures from Red Canyon and Bryce Canyon for last month. I hope you enjoy seeing the pictures as much as we enjoyed seeing the real things:

This is in Red Canyon, on the way to Bryce Canyon, north of Kanab in Utah:
You have to click on the pics to make them bigger, they are awesome!

Also in Red Canyon:

A tunnel in Red Canyon

Bryce Canyon. Nice but I like the Grand Canyon better:

Another view of Bryce. You can see the hoo doos better in this one:

Casinos and Chiropractors

On our last days off we decided to go to Mesquite, Nevada to spend the night. The main reason we decided to spend the night is because FabGrandpa had an appointment with a chiropractor in St. George at 9:30 a.m, and that is 125 miles from our trailer. The reason we went to Mesquite is because the Oasis Casino there only charges $32 per night for a room and they give you $10 for gas and $5 for playing the games. What a deal!

It was a beautiful day:



So, off we went . We had to drive through the Virgin River Gorge between St. George, Utah and Mesquite. It is difficult to describe this area. There are huge rock mountains on both sides of the interstate, so big that they dwarf semi's on the road. But even that does not convey the enormity of it.

If you look at the picture below, you will see the curve in the road, and the semi trucks on the other side, but it still does not show the 6 and 7 percent grades, the winding curves, the sheer drops off the side of the road into the gorge below, and the Virgin River winding through the bottom of it all. It is so spectacular, that I wonder sometimes why people even bother to come to the Grand Canyon after they have driven through this gorge for free. (well, almost, I would still come here...).






We arrived at the Oasis around 4:30 p.m., checked in, took our luggage to the room, and went straight to the casino. I sat down at one penny slot machine and played it for four and a half hours on the free $5.00 they gave me. I was up to about $85 at one point, but you know me, I don't know when to say when, so when I finally walked away from there I was broke, but I still had fun.


We got up early the next morning. The sky was overcast again, outside of the casino, and it did make it look like an Oasis:


We drove over to Dr. Allen's office in St. George, well, really in Washington City, which is right next door to St. George, to the east. The office was about one block off the main drag of Telegraph Road. I dropped FabGrandpa off and went to find a place to park.
When I came into the room, Dr. Allen had FabGrandpa standing behind a screen of sorts that measured how much he was out of alignment. (I love that term, 'out of alignment', it makes me think that his tires are wobbling...) This episode all started because the light bulb blew out in the vent hood over my stove. I need plenty of light to be able to see to cook, so I nagged him long enough until he finally was bent over sideways trying to figure out where to put the new light in. Next thing I know he can barely walk, so off we go on this chiro adventure.

After FabGrandpa was measured and the problem determined, he was taken to the torture chamber, I mean other room down the hall, where Dr. Allen commenced the adjustment procedure. He didn't exactly crack the bones, but he punched and probed, and used a little instrument all over his back and hips, and pretty soon it was all over.


FabGrandpa had a couple of days of soreness and discomfort, but now he is back to his old self, good as new. Thank you, Dr. Allen, you did a great job! Oh, and if you all need a chiropractor while you are in this area, you really should give him a call, he is a very nice guy and a good sport, putting up with me taking pictures and asking tons of questions while I was there.

The Road To Zion

Back on May 10, FabGrandpa and I and one of our co-workers, went to St. George, Utah to buy some boots, which we are all required to wear on the job. The drive over there is amazing, if only because it looks so different from Georgia, my home state. You go through views of Vermillion Cliffs, huge geological formations such as I had never seen before. I took a gazillion pictures, and it was really hard to choose just a few to show you here.

After driving for about 80 miles or so through views like that, you come to Hurricane, Utah. A little green valley in the midst of the desert. Here is a view of Hurricane from the mountain road:
This little shop is on the side of the road in "downtown" Hurricane. I know I will be stopping there someday soon:

After we did our shopping in St. George, we decided to take the road through Zion National Park on the way home. Or, Sally, our co-worker, badgered Jim into going that way. I stayed out of the discussion, because 1. I wanted to go, and 2. I knew from Jim's remarks that he did not want to go that way, but Sally doesn't know him well enough to have recognized it. Anyway, we went that way, and in the end, Jim told Sally, "Thanks for making me take this road."


On the way to Zion, we passed this river. There was no sign or anything telling us the name of it, but it was nice to look at:

This the town that is right outside of Zion National Park, to th west of it. I think it was called Springdale. I like that the shops are all lined up, and unless you look really hard, you can't tell where the roofs end and the rocks begin.

It i so hard to imagine these rocks being eroded by water and wind. They look so chisled, so clean cut in places, that it looks like sculptors did this. These pictures don't really convey the true beauty of the area.


I just can't come up with the right words to describe this area. This cliff, with its huge boulder like rocks, made our truck look tiny.


Look closely near the center of this picture, near the bottom, right above the trees. You will see an opening in the rock. We thought at first it was a cave, but it is actually a window in the tunnel that goes through this mountain.

On the other side of the tunnel, we saw some mountain sheep. We got out and walked down a short trail to get pictures of them. The pictures did not come out that good, so I can't share them with you, so you'll just have to believe me that I saw them.

After driving through this fabulous national park, we stopped in Kanab, Utah to buy groceries. I felt like it was rather odd to see all this wonderful scenery, then just hop into the grocery store to buy milk, eggs, and butter. But, I guess that is how it is for people who have lived here all their lives, who drive to work down that road.