An Adventure in Zion Narrows

Our recent vacation began at Zion National Park. It was our second visit in just over a year. It's such an awesome place that on the first day of this trip we decided to come back on our way home to do some more hiking. We made another reservation for the nice, comfy Pioneer Lodge and we were set.

So, after the week in Park City we made our already reserved stop at the Cedar City KOA (this was suppose to be a rest stop on the way home) and stayed in one of their cute little "Kabins". "Cute" and "cheap" are probably the perfect way to describe them. If you're looking for a comfy bed and a good night of sleep...forget it! The beds were horrible! Even our teenage daughter woke up aching. Here's a picture of it's cuteness....


In the morning we dressed for hiking, loaded up, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and headed straight to Springdale (about one hour away) to catch a shuttle into Zion National Park. We planned to hike "The Narrows", a hike we did last year and absolutely loved. So far, it's the best hike we've found anywhere. It's sooooo much fun! The weather forecast was great...sunshine and 0% chance of precipitation. It was going to be a great day!!!

The hike starts at the far end of the park, where the shuttle has to turn around because the canyon gets too narrow. There is a paved path for about a mile or so from "The Temple of Sinawava" (the name of that area). At the end of that we went down some steps to begin the best part...a hike up the river. The trail is mostly in the river with a few areas here and there where there is some dirt, rocks, and vegetation on one side or another. The canyon walls are probably 1,000 feet or so straight up on each side and there are parts of the river trail that the canyon narrows to widths around 20 feet (I think there are some areas that are much narrower). Generally, the water level is ankle to knee deep. On a hot day it's the perfect hike! The picture at the top is of a wider area near the beginning of the trail.

Here are some pictures of narrower sections. Notice the tall walls and the beautiful color of the water...



We hiked several hours up into the canyon where we noticed red dust and rocks that had recently blown down from the top (maybe the day before in an afternoon wind or thunderstorm?). Later, wind started blowing down from the top dropping leaves and dust onto us. The sky (what we could see of it through the top opening of the canyon) began to cloud up. Shortly after that we turned around and the sky began to rumble. Our daughter got a bit nervous and so we picked up the speed of our down river hike. Then, a few drops began to fall. Hmmmmm? (Remember, it was forecast for 0% precipitation!). We picked up our speed a bit more as it really began to rain.

I noticed other hikers were also moving quickly and now quietly downward. The raindrops were bigger than we had ever seen or felt. They were so big that they pounded down the brim of my husbands hat and within seconds we were completely soaked. Whoa! Ok! We'd all thought about the possibility that this could happen and of what to do but now we were in it. I suggested a small indent area on the side that was well above the river to hang out in but my husband said, with nervousness in his eyes that I'd never seen, "let's keep going".

We picked up our pace from quick hiking to running, even in the water (not easy). He remembered an area that he thought we were near and was trying to get us to. Whew! We made it! It was high above the river and had ledges even higher (if we were to need them) and it was like a wide open rock cave that the river had dug out over thousands of years. High and dry (the spot, but not us!!!) It was perfect! And, just in time. The sky opened up even more. Within a few minutes of the rain beginning we started to notice waterfalls showing up on various parts of the canyon walls. The short amount of time that these grew from nothing was astounding!

Here's one that was probably over 1000 feet above us, to our left, that may look small but it was so big that we saw a log come over the top....


A few minutes later we noticed a trickle of water come from up above us and over to our right a bit. As we said, "oh...look..." it became a big waterfall that fell so hard that water was falling the width of that canyon and hitting the other side. Rocks were coming off the top with it. Pictures just don't show the true beauty and power of the water and the falls. Here's a picture of when it first got started. This looks like it was taken close to the river level because we hiked down a bit from our "safe spot" to take it. Notice the edge of the overhanging rock that we were under...


We knew we were in a good spot and that even if the water were to rise many feet we would probably be fine. We just didn't know how long we would be there. But, Now that we were in a safe spot we were able to enjoy the sights.

It was interesting to see how other people were reacting to the situation. There were actually some people heading up the river! Crazy!!! We saw one man running and dragging his young son down the trail and river...I warned him of the falling rocks and pointed out the safe area we were in but he yelled at me and kept going, through the waterfall and rocks. Wow! That could have been deadly! I guess that's what panic looks like.

We felt so good that we had remained calm. We were blessed to come upon this space at the right time, and that we were safe there with four other really nice people. The seven of us discussed the situation, enjoyed the beauty of nature and the spectacular show it was giving to us, took pictures, and waited.

When the waterfalls had receeded and we felt it was the right time, we went down the river together, as a team. It seemed like the best way. The water had risen at least a foot or more. On the way up we were ankle to knee deep in water. On the way down it was mostly knee to waist high and the current was a bit stronger. We looked out for each other, caught one person as she fell and started to get swept away, and we all made it down safely.

Here's a picture of our group. And, in the words of the nice man in the middle front...."this will be the best picture of the whole day". And...it is!


What an awesome adventure we had that day! It's something we have never experienced and may never again. It's something you try to avoid. But, it was amazing, thrilling, beautiful and we feel extremely lucky to have experienced it and blessed that it all worked out so wonderfully!

Yeeeeehaa! Here's to vacations, the thrill of adventure, and awesome people! :-)

Back to the Pioneer Lodge to check in, shower, eat and get a good night of sleep.

The Sundance Resort

We made a little detour last week on our way from Park City, Utah back to Zion and stopped at the Sundance Resort. I had heard it was a nice place to visit and I'm a big fan of the Sundance Catalog (I love just about everything in it...unfortanately, it's expensive.). It turned out to be a much shorter detour than we had expected and reallllly beautiful. From the main highway we drove up a canyon that was only wide enough for the two lane road and a river that ran down the side. The air was cool and we could hear the river rushing along as we drove up. It was wonderful! When we got to the resort we couldn't stop taking pictures. There were beautiful things to see in every direction...flowers, butterflies, waterfalls, rivers, art, nice buildings, etc., etc. This little outdoor shop was the first thing we checked out. The bikes are so colorful and I love the rustic look of the building...


This is one of the many flowers in the gorgeous landscaping...


We found a butterfly struggling in a spider web on the ground and resuced it. It clumsily flew up into this bush where I took it's picture. It's wings are a bit tattered around the edges but it's still so pretty...


There were a lot of big yellow butterflies. They were gorgeous! This one landed in the parking lot and right after I took this picture it climbed on my finger for a brief second. It felt so soft and delicate. It was awesome!...


I was so excited to visit the General Store and maybe...just maybe...splurge on something that I've been eying in the catalog. Unfortunately, they didn't have much in the store that is in the catalog and I didn't find anything I couldn't live without. So, I left with free and wonderful souvenirs of memories and pictures. Maybe someday I'll have the opportunity to visit one of their catalog stores and be able to see some of their items in person, try things on, and pick something out for myself.

On every trip I go on I look for local yarn shops and stop in for a visit whenever possible. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find a single yarn shop on this whole trip. I looked in the phone books where we stayed and it looked like there were quite a few in Salt Lake City but we weren't able to make it over there. That's probably for the best anyway because I have more than enough yarn to keep me busy for a while. :-)

Stay tuned for pictures and details about last weekend...an adventure of a lifetime! It was spectacular!!!

Flowers and a Dream...

We spent last week in Park City, Utah so our daughter could attend harp camp. It was an awesome week for her. She met a lot of other young harpists (a rare event, as you may guess, since there aren't a lot of harpists) and was able to work with world renowned harpist and the head of the University of Arizona Harp Department, Carrol McLaughlin. It was a an intense and exciting week of workshops, concerts, and fun.

When I wasn't sitting in on workshops, my husband and I were off hiking, biking or sight seeing. What a gorgeous place! It is so green and beautiful and there are more kinds of wild flowers blooming than I could count. I took a lot of pictures. Here are a few kinds of flowers that I had never seen before...




The natural landscape was stunning but the man made landscaping was beautiful too. Everything was kept up so beautifully. The Columbine flowers and Lupines were soooo pretty. I never knew they came in so many colors. Here are some that were growing in a flowerbed by the park and library...


Here's a Peony outside our hotel. They were so big...this is just one flower in my hand. So pretty! They don't grow here where I live so these were such a treat. They smelled pretty too.


We had one of the most awesome mountain bike rides ever. We rode the Beaver Creek Trail just outside of Heber City. It was so pretty! I have seen pictures of Aspen groves and single track trails for years and dreamed of riding in a place like that but never had the chance until last week. Wow! There were so many great things to see. The trail ran along a river (sometimes next to it and sometimes above it), There was green and flowers everywhere; more puff balls (dandelions) than I'd ever seen in one place; there were Beaver damms and ponds they had created; even cows...in the forest...that was weird but interesting to see. I just wonder how the ranchers find all their cows when they are so spread out and wandering through the trees like that. They were kinda scarry to come upon on the trail too cuz they were sooo big! The trail was a fairly steady uphill climb for miles but the pretty stuff kept me going. The uphill made for a super fun ride back down. It was so awesome! Here's a picture of me living a dream on my bike...


Here's another picture of a gorgeous Aspen and Pine forest from a hike at the Park City Ski Resort...


Tomorrow...pictures from the Sundance Resort. And, later this week I'll post pictures from this last weekend and what turned out to be an adventure of a lifetime!!!

Ahhh...Zion!

I just got back from a wonderful summer trip with my husband and daughter. The main purpose of this trip was to take our daughter to harp camp in Park City, Utah. But, we decided to make it into a mini vacation as well. We started out with a weekend in Zion National Park. We spent some time there last year and it was so beautiful that we were excited to go back again.

The first weekend was spent in Springdale, Utah, just outside Zion National Park. We stayed at the Pioneer Lodge (a great place to stay) and had an awesome view up into the Zion Canyon. Next to the motel were some fenced green pastures with Long Horn Cattle, Elk, sheep, and Bison. They were so fun to watch...especially the baby Long Horn that loved to run and kick up it's little heels. Adorable!

The first big adventure on this trip started out early on a Saturday morning as the sun was rising....


We hiked up about 1400 feet to Angel's Landing. This part of the hike is called "Walter's Wiggles". Such a fun name and it looks so cool! The whole hike was quite a workout but soooo worth it! It was awesome!!!


Here's a view from near the top looking down into the canyon. You can see the teeny tiny shuttle bus toward the left. It's that small white speck in the shadow.


I carried a small knitting project in my pack and knitted a row at the top...just because! :-) I had hoped to do a lot of knitting on this trip but I was only able to finish a wash cloth, make one more and do a few rows on my Crescendo Shawl. I wish I could knit in the car because I would have gotten many hours of knitting time in but it tends to wig out my eyes. So, I could only squeeze that little bit in between adventures, workshops at harp camp, eating, sleeping, etc.

Tomorrow I'll post some pictures from our time in Park City. It was gorgeous there!

Made in the U.S.A.

I don't always read the Sunday comics but today it was the first section of the paper that I read and I'm so glad. "Family Circus" was great!.....

Billy said... "Know what? My pants were made in Thailand, and my shirt was made in Mexico. I bet we don't have any clothes made in the U.S." His sister said, "Wrong, Billy! I know this sweater was made in this country 'cause I watched Grandma knit it!".

Wow! That's so cool! Another great reason to knit! As if there weren't enough great reasons already!

It seems like there isn't much of anything in stores these days that's made anywhere but China, Thailand, Indonesia, Mexico, etc. I'm happy for those people to have jobs but what about jobs here? I've been hearing of more and more mills and factories closing in America...some that had been existence for generations...and production of fabrics and other goods are now being done in China. As a result, I wonder if a lot of skills will be lost in America. That's a sad and scary thought. It's exciting when I find something that's been made here in America or somewhere like Canada or Europe. I hope we don't lose that completely.

I think I'll go do some knitting now and make something in the U.S.A.!!! :-)

It's in the bag!

I finished my knitting case/bag yesterday...all but a buckle, button or bow to hold it closed. It's holding most of my needles...except for the ones that are tied up in projects that my daughter and I are doing. I was even able to fit my circular needles as well as stitch markers, holders and counters. I tried storing the circular needles without their cases but realized I needed the cases to know the lengths and some don't have sizes marked on the needles. Plus, they were a little wild and crazy without their cases to coral them. Luckily I made the pockets wide enough that I'm able o fit the circulars in their cases and double them up. I think that it will hold all of my needles with room to spare.


Here it is open.


The top folds down to hold the needles in.


Like this....


Then it rolls up to keep all my needles safe and secure.

I'm pretty happy with it. It's just a lot bigger when it's rolled up than I had expected. But, it will do what I wanted it to do...hold all my needles and stuff to take on trips in the RV and be available for any wonderful yarns I can't pass up on my yarn store adventures. That way I can spend my money on pretty yarns and not more needles. :)

I've seen cases in yarn stores with crazy high prices on them...some close to $100!! I can't afford that. I think it's pretty cool that I was able to make this with scraps from a quilt I made last year, felt that worked for batting, and some antique lace that I had. The only thing I had to buy for this was red thread.

Pretty Colors!

Last month I found some yarn that I couldn't resist. It's a yarn that I've looked at for years and always thought I'd buy some...someday. But, now they have new colors that are so pretty and the price is amazing...only $1.69 at Michael's. It's Lily's "Sugar 'N Cream" cotton. I love cotton!

I bought a few colors and immediately started knitting some wash cloths. You can see them here. They're simple, but I think that makes them really nice. And, they're fun to make. I decided they would make great gifts. That gave me an excuse to buy more....and more! These are some of the colors that I picked up this last week when they were on sale for only $1. I can make two wash cloths with one, two ounce ball. That makes them a very affordable gift. I plan to add some nice soaps and such and I think they'll be great. It's a gift I'd love to receive. I just finished up two more last night in a variagated blue for my mom.


At one of the Michael's stores I was in last week I found big, 14 ounce balls of "Sugar 'N Cream" in different colors that were also really pretty. They had two that I especially liked. I just got this one for now. It's called "Cupcake". And, with my coupon it was only $4! I plan to make a shopping bag or two out of this. Isn't the color beautiful?! I love it!

Have a wonderful, colorful, yarn filled weekend! :- )

Card Crafting

Still busy. Still having fun. Still crafing. Today my daughter and I are crafting cards for some special days coming up. They always seem to come in groups. This time we need to make four father's day cards and two birthday cards. And, I may be crafting but knitting is always on my mind...as you can see with this card I'm making for my mom for her birthday. It was fun. I took a couple of toothpicks, filed the ends a bit and glued on some beads. I used some of my favorite warping cotton (I love it for dish towels) to knit a few rows (not easy to do with toothpicks!) and I made a couple hanks of yarn for the basket. I just have to come up with something clever to write on the inside. With the card I'm giving her some hand knitted wash cloths and a bottle of "Soul Soother Shower Gel" that smells reallllly good.

We're working on a card for my mother-in-law that's shaped like a bottle of wine. We're going to make a label that's special for her. The gift it will go with is a little flag and stand to put out by her patio that says "Wine a Bit", "You'll Feel Better". Perfect for her because she loves to have a glass of wine just about every night. And, she loves to have little cutesy things in her yard.

I can't show any of the the dad's day cards cuz there's a chance that hubby/dad might see them on here. We still have a couple more cards to design and make for Grandpas.

The background of this picture and of several other pictures I've posted in the past is the coffee table in our family room. It has handpainted flowers on the top and it seems to work out great for posing projects for pictures. I didn't think of that when we bought it. It was just a cheap table with the right colors. I liked it when we bought it. I love it now. :)

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

Wow! This week has flown by so quickly. This is my daughter's first week of summer break and we've been so busy. I hope the whole summer doesn't go by this quickly. But I do hope it continues to be so fun and productive. We've been exercising every morning. Yay for us! That's a great accomplishment! We've also been busy sewing, knitting, and finishing up various little projects. The picture above is of some chenille rugs we wove earlier this year and I finally finished the edges of them and softened them up in the washer and drier. My daughter wove the one with pink for her room. It' looks great alongside her bed. It matches the many pillows and quilts she has. The green one is one that I wove for our bathroom. I've made quite a few. They make great mats for stepping on outside the shower. I've made longer ones too that are great for towels.


I'm really enjoying all the things we've been doing but I haven't been able to knit as much as I'd like. The days are entirely too short!!! None the less...I have gotten some done on my Crescendo Shawl. The pattern calls for size 13 needles which are entirely too large for the yarn I'm using. I started out with size 8 needles, a size that seemed perfect for the yarn, and I increased the amount of stitches to make up the difference to make it wide enough. I was excited that I was able to do it but it seemed a bit tight and was curling up a lot. The texture wasn't showing up as well as it could have with the dark blue I was using either. So, I tried size 10 needles with another color that I have of the same yarn and it looked a lot better. So, I decided to make it with this yarn and 10's. The texture shows up a lot better and it's sooooo soft (alpacca). It's not colorful but there are times when this color (or lack of) will work out great. It looks a lot better in person than in the picture. I'm having so much fun knitting this. And...I haven't used a single lifeline! Maybe I shouldn't say that. lol But, so far so good. I'm doing fine with the pattern. Yay!!!

I got a chance to work on my knitting needle case yesterday and it's coming along. I'm trying to figure out how I want to quilt it right now and I hope to have it done soon.

We have a busy weekend ahead. My daughter has SAT's in the morning. And, hubby is doing "Ride Around the Bear" tomorrow on his bike. It sounds crazy but he's really looking forward to it. It starts in Redlands and goes up the mountain to Big Bear, around the lake, and back down to Redlands. I think it's around 120 miles. He rode it a few years ago and loved it. I was amazed when he called me around 1:00 or 2:00 and said he was finished. Incredible! It would take me forever!!! I can't imagine climbing that mountain...especially in one day!!! While I wait for them I'll get time to knit! Fun!!!

BAT Truck

I'm back on my BAT bike (Bicycle As Transportation) but this time I've got a BAT truck (trailer) to help me carry stuff. I'm calling it a BAT truck because it looks like a little stake bed truck and it's more fun to say than BAT trailer. We bought this trailer about 18 years ago from Toys R Us to use for hauling stuff around. It was cheap and it worked out great for groceries and trips to the beach to haul an ice chest, chairs and other stuff. A couple years later we strapped our baby daughter's car seat into it and took her for rides until we got her a better kid trailer. This trailer has rarely been used since. We didn't want to get rid of it cuz it's pretty cool. We pulled it out last year to haul our dog around on bike rides at the beach and stuff. She liked it so much that hubby added a carpeted platform for her to be more comfortable. This weekend he added the side rails. It even has a little storage compartment. So cool!

This morning my daughter and I took it out for a BAT trip to the grocery store. Notice in the picture above what we would have taken otherwise...a gas guzzling Yukon XL. We have that to haul the harp around and to pull our camping trailer on vacation - but it's my regular vehicle too. I don't drive much but the gas prices really hurt. So just one trip to the grocery store probably saves about $4. Not bad. Especially if we make a habit of this. And it feels so great to do something like this without using gas.



Here's a picture of it loaded with groceries at a stop at the park to get a drink of water.


This is my daughter taking a turn at riding it home, pulling the load, saying, "I think I can...I think I can". lol We were joking that we're the lil BAT bikers that could! lol It's a little harder with the load but we did it! If we keep it up we'll definitely get stronger.

We used our Trader Joe's insulated bag for the cold stuff and re-used paper grocery bags for the other stuff.