Becky and the Parents, Day Two continued: Zion National Park

On Saturday, after our tour of Antelope Canyon, we drove from Page, Arizona, to Kanab, Utah where we ate lunch at Houston's Trail's End Restaurant.  After lunch, we went to Zion National Park. I'm telling you, if you are easily overwhelmed by spectacular views, don't come to this area! We found ourselves wondering how "they" decided one place should be a national park and another place was just ordinary. I don't know how "they" decide this, but I wouldn't want that job. If I were the one having to make that decision, I think half of northern Arizona and southern Utah would be one huge, continuous national park. 

 

The photo above is of the scenery just opposite the entrance station to Zion National Park. I could look at that every day, yes I could. 

 

 

FabGrandpa and Becky at Checkerboard Mesa in Zion National Park. 

Out the window of the car as we drove through Zion.

 

It was such a fabulous day here, the sky really was that blue.

 

As usual, these photos don't show how really grand this landscape is. 

 

Gorgeous!

 

We drove all the way through Zion, starting on the east side, then out the west gate into the town of Springdale. At the far end of Sprindale is Springdale Fruit Company. They have the best smoothies, made with apple juice from their apple orchard. MMMMMM.  We also got some of that delicious Old Navuoo jam they sell there.  Then back in the car, to drive back through Zion, west to east. 

 

 

This is in Springdale, headed back into Zion National Park. 

 

This place is so amazing! 

 

We stopped to watch and photograph a herd of Mountain Rams. These two just posed and posed for us. I got a video of them, too. 

 

This is the Utah countryside on the way back to Kanab, where we spent the night that night. We went to dinner at Nedra's, Too, a great Mexican restaurant in Kanab. We stayed at the Best Western in Kanab, on the top floor I might add. We got some good sleep that night, but the wi-fi didn't work. Oh, well, I guess you can't have everything.

Gluten Free In Kanab, Utah

I have written about Kanab, Utah before. It is only seven miles north of the Arizona-Utah border, out in the middle of nowhere. The town was settled in the 1860's, first as a fort for defense against the Paiute Indians, then as a Mormon settlement. It is now a tiny town of about 5,400 population.


It serves as a hub for agriculture, recreation, and tourism in this area, being located in the center of the triangle formed when you draw lines between Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park.


You can see why the town thrived, even though it was in a remote area. The Kanab Creek provides water, and makes the town look like an oasis in the middle of desert country.

We like doing business in Kanab, because the people here are so friendly. We can get just about anything we need here, from a good lunch at the Mexican restaurant, to new shoes, to tires and repairs to our diesel truck.

I love it that I can get lots of my favorite gluten free products at Honey's Jubilee, a local independently owned grocery store. Last year, when I shopped there and found Bob's Red Mill, Mi-Del, and Glutino products on the shelves, I was so happy I cried. When I checked out that first time in the store, I thanked the cashier for having such a good selection of gluten free products. She told me that the owner was celiac.

(Terrell, the owner of Honey's Jubilee)

Not that I'm glad that Terrell is a celiac, but if he has to be, then I am glad he owns a grocery store. Because he has to eat a gluten free diet, he stocks things in his store that he can eat. It makes life easier on all of us in town (and out of town as well) who must eat the same gluten free way.

(look at the gluten free section in Honey's!)

When we went to Page, a much bigger town, that even has a super Wal-Mart, AND two chain grocery stores, there was NOT ONE gluten free item to be found. No pasta, no bread mix, no buckwheat cereal, NOT even the gluten free Rice Chex. I was so disappointed with that. At one of the grocery stores, I even asked at the service desk and the girl said, "No we don't have anything gluten free here. One of my co-workers found out last week that she is gluten intolerant and she can't find anything here." Isn't that sad that a whole town has nothing to offer a person who is gluten free?


I was delighted to see that they had the new Betty Crocker Gluten Free mixes on the shelf at Honey's. I didn't need any of them this time, or believe me, I would have gotten one of each! I did get Bob's Red Mill Bread Mix and some Creamy Buckwheat Cereal; Mi-Del Ginger Snaps; Glutino Frozen Bagels; Van's Apple Cinnamon Waffles; and some Shar Table Crackers. I was in gluten free heaven!


So there you go! If you are a gluten free girl or guy, and you are planning to go on a trip to see Zion, Bryce, and North Rim Grand Canyon National Parks, go knowing you will find a gluten friendly place in Kanab. Honey's Jubliee Grocery Store at 260 East 300 South - Kanab, Utah. And if you do go there, go to the service desk and ask for Terrell, and tell him FabGrandma sent you!

Another Gluten Free Biscuit

Look at that! Biscuits that actually get browned. AND they tasted GOOD. These tasted almost like the real thing. These were made with Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Biscuit and Baking Mix. It was reasonably priced, and makes a lot of biscuits. A big batch of biscuits took 2 1/2 cups of mix, 1/2 cup of Crisco, and 3/4 cup of milk. (You can also use water). I served these buttered with a pot of chili. I will definitely be buying this mix again. I may even experiment with it this week to see if it will make dumplings. As in chicken and dumplings. I sure hope so.



I have been really impressed with the small independently owned grocery stores in Kanab
because I have been able to get cookies, bread mix, cracker, and other gluten free items there, even though Kanab is such a small town. Last week when we were at Honey's Jubilee in town, I told the cashier as I was checking out, "I want to thank y'all for having such a good selection of gluten free items here. It has made my stay in the area so much better because I am able to get the things I need here, instead of having to always go to St. George." And she said, "The owner of the store has Celiac." Well, there ya go, that explains everything.

Finally Applied For My Passport

(my official passport photo, ick)

FabGrandpa and I have been talking about getting our passports for a couple of years, but never got around to doing it until today. We went down to Kanab, Utah to the county clerks office to get the applications. With applications in hand, we walked over to Linda Lou's Coffee Shop to get a cup of coffee and fill them out. Since it was such a beautiful day, we decided to sit outside. While we were sitting there, our neighbors George and Nancy walked up, so they joined us at our little table.


We have not had much opportunity to just sit down and talk with them before today. While we were talking, we discovered that they live in San Diego, (when they are not volunteering at the Grand Canyon) and that George taught school in National City. Why that surprised us is because FabGrandpa grew up in Imperial Beach and went to Mar Vista High School, not far from where George taught school.


When we finished filling out the applications, which were actually pretty simple, we walked back over to the county clerks office. The information needed to fill out the form included the names, dates of birth, and place of birth of our parents; the name, address and telephone number of an emergency contact; and our own names, dates of birth and places of birth. We also had to supply certified copies of our birth certificates, a picture ID, and two 2 inch by 2 inch pictures of each of us.


The clerk went over the application to make sure it had been filled out completely, then attached the pictures and birth certificates to the applications. We gave her two checks, one made out to the county and one made out to the Department of State. The total amount per passport card is $45. We should receive our new passport cards in the mail in about two months. Yay! now we can go to Mexico this winter.

We also went to Kanab T-Shirts and got a T-shirt for my son, Seth.

(Seth with his baby boy, Owen)

Seth had surgery for sleep apnea last Friday, and has not been feeling good. He loves the movie Napoleon Dynamite, so we got him a "Vote For Pedro" T-shirt. That should cheer him up! When I talked to him tonight, he told me that he is feeling a little better, and that he can already tell the difference. He can breathe a lot better and is getting rested from his sleep. He had this condition for a very long time, if not his whole life, so we are glad the surgery is working for him.

Western Legends Days In Kanab

I had four hours of "comp" time, so I decided to combine it with four hours of annual leave, and go to Kanab last Saturday morning. My neighbor, Sue, and I headed out early.

I had read in the newspaper a month or so ago that they have a farmer’s market in town every Saturday morning, and that there was a lady there who bakes gluten free breads, cakes, and cookies. I have really been wanting to check it out.

But, when we got to town, we discovered that Western Legend Roundup was going on, and because of the festival they did not have the farmer’s market.

The Western Legends Roundup a big festival where they celebrate the history of the town and some of the old western stars who made movies in the area way back when, where in town for the celebration. The only one I saw was Clint Walker, but he looked old. I mean really old, and nothing at all like the picture of him from his movie making days. I didn’t even take his picture because I was so disappointed.

There was a vendor row, where Sue and I ran into our neighbor, John, who works with the Grand Canyon Association at the Visitor Center book store. He had some things from the book store on display there.

At noon, there was a parade, with the old cowboy stars riding in horse drawn wagons. There were several beautiful halflinger horse teams with beautiful wagons.

One wagon was drawn by a two ox team. Those animals were awesome! It was the first time I had ever seen oxen in real life. Each one had a young boy riding it bareback.

The best thing I saw in the parade were little girls from the Kaibab Paiute Reservation dancing down the street in their native costumes. They were so cute!

This wagon had the entire class of 1958 from Kanab High School riding in it!

After the parade, we walked across the street to the food vendors. I had a corn on the cob on a stick, with butter and salt, and a peach iced tea. A little pricey at $6.00 for the two of them, but boy was that cold iced tea good!

Yeah, that was worth the trip!