Feline Friday and the Second Day of the Bicycle Race! September 10, 2021

Image credit  HERE

Since so much of the Utah scenery is red and orange tones I chose a Ginger cat for today's Feline Friday!

Enjoy and have a meowy nice day!

~~~~  

The following photos were taken around 5:40am on

Saturday August 28, 2021 outside by our motel Prospectors Inn. 

A great place to stay! These four are some of the

tough and intrepid hard core and crazee bicycle racers!

Here are some more before they all blasted off at 7am!

Then after they left Russell and I took off to explore on our own! 

We first headed back up to Escalante so the we could see the Anazasi Indian Village State Park! 

Well worth backtracking to see it! 

I only took two photos of it- so be sure to explore this site.

Their web site explains my few photos: 

"Explore an Ancestral Puebloan (Anasazi) village that was likely occupied from A.D. 1050 to 1200, and one of the largest communities west of the Colorado River. Outside the museum, tour a life-sized, six-room replica of an ancient dwelling and view a portion of the original site. Inside, view artifacts excavated from this site and learn the lifeways of these people."

From there we drove further north on 12 and then

hooked up onto 24 driving up and down summits of 9,000' and 8000'! Amazing views and parks that we drove through stopping hither and yon to take short hikes and take photographs. It was an Unforgettable and Amazing day! Here are just a few photos:

We stood on the edge of massive beauty.

And then we were back on the road.....

coming down 62 and onto 89 where we stopped in Circleville the to visit the home of Butch Cassidy!  

No kidding!

I took some interior photos - there's a bit of glare from the plastic shields keeping folks from walking into the space.

Had to get a photo of Russell in front- the last time he was here was way back in the 1960's! He really wanted to come back and see if it had survived! And it had because this guy below helped restore this piece of history!

 

We finally pulled into the town of Panguitch UT

as all the bike riders showed up!

They were ready for hot showers and a delicious dinner

and then to bed! As tomorrow is the final ride back into 

gorgeous St George Utah!

Thanks Sandee for sharing this Feline Friday space with all the bike riders! Cheers!

~~~~~

Brian's Thankful Thursday September 9, 2021

 Thanks to Brian for Thankful Thursday!

After a delicious dinner Thursday evening we all retired early as the time for Friday's start was 7 am! Here are a few photos of the Cliffside restaurant:

Here's Lap and his daughter. Lap arranged our pleasant get together at the Cliffside- a perfect kick-off for the race!  

Here are two stellar views from our table! The Cliffside was the perfect choice for our get together!

Friday August 27, 2021 was the first leg of this intense Three Day 500 mile bike race. Our friends left at 7am and screeched in right around 8:30pm. Russell helped crew for two of the racers and I drove 3 hours up to Escalante. I first drove up I-15 north to exit 95 where I went east a bit on 20, then hung a right on 12 traveling through the Red Canyon and part of Bryce Canyon National Park. Once again such a gorgeous eye massage of landscapes. There were several high elevation climbs of over 7,000 feet. I got in early and figured out where to pick up all the dinners people had asked me to get for them as they were coming in so late. I went to the Circle D restaurant around 7pm and ordered my dinner to eat there while also ordering their "to go" meals to be ready by 8:30pm. I sat by the front window, sipped my beer, ate and watched for our buddies and just about the right time here they came in...and came in with BIG appetites! I packed up their food, paid the bill and brought the meals to their motel rooms. They were all famished and exhausted. All I had to do was drive 3 hours and purchase food. Russell enjoyed riding along helping the bicyclists with water, food, and resting in the car. Here are a few of the photos I took while driving along. Saturdays drive for us will be shorter- only an hour and a half to Panguitch which means Russell and I can do some exploring. We will be together as they will not need Russell's help that day. Here are a few photos I took the first race day. 

All the riders are getting ready to start! 

After exiting I-15 this National forest was on my right as I first went down 20 and then on 12.   

Entering the Red Canyon area, 

I played tourist a bit by stopping at a few touristy places. This one had a huge exhibit of local wildlife. Evidently a taxidermist spent 40+ years helping create this Natural History Museum. Here are a few of the many exhibits. 

A person could spend a whole day here, but after awhile I left and indulged myself in feeding the wild deer and local goats for an additional $2.00 for the corn.

Did not take long to get to the motel from here. I relaxed before going to get the riders their much earned yummy food!

Tomorrow we will head to Panguitch Utah- a short drive!

I am thankful for this enriching experience. Thanks to our good friends who included us in the adventure!

And big thanks to Brian!

Wordless Wednesday September 8, 2021

 Driving from Salt Lake City Utah to St George Utah!

Fortunately Wednesday's drive was only 4 hours! We planned on arriving a day early so we could explore before all the other folks arrived and things would get very busy. So after we got settled in to our hotel we did some exploring of St George's city and then Thursday we drove through Zion National Park . The weather has been hot and dry- thank goodness not humid! Our hotel has a nice pool so we took advantage of that and relaxed and read our books. Tomorrow will be super busy with everyone arriving and all of us getting together for dinner Thursday night. Here are some photos from our tour of Zion National Park. Enjoy!

I am not sure what flowers these are-

the views and far away vistas were stunning. 

There were a series of tunnels that we went through and as we made the choice of not taking the shuttle bus there was a point where we had to turn around and retrace our drive. But that was fine as by turning around we saw more views.

Later in the day we joined our friends at the great restaurant called the Cliffside! I will post photos of that event when someone sends them to me-  I was too busy eating and chatting and forgot to take a few snaps! It was a great place to visit and eat- delicious food and a great view!

Have a great day! Enjoy!

I'll be back tomorrow with the beginning of the race!

Happy Tuesday! August 24, 2021

 Baker City, Oregon to Salt Lake City, Utah!

We had to drive 6 hours and 22 minutes to get there! It was a long but peaceful and scenic drive. I had only been to Salt Lake as a 7 year old child so it was as if I'd never been there before! My father and I were driving to Cambridge MA. It was shortly after the war and he was going to Harvard to get his degree in Architecture. Once we got to Boston we met up with my Grandmother ( his mom ) who had secured us a nice furnished apartment. Then my mom and little brother flew out from the Bay Area to join us for this adventure! We were there for 2 years and another brother joined us during that time. I actually walked my Mom to the Hospital across the street from where we lived as she was in labor! My dad was in school and a neighbor took care of my brother while I as an 8 year old held my Mom's hand as we walked to the ER.  I look back at that event and am amazed at how grown up I was.

Okay, now back to Salt Lake City. Here's the view from our hotel room when we got up early before blasting off to St George Utah! Only another 4 hour drive to get there thank goodness! 

Here are some photos from the drive to St George:

Lots of farmlands before we got to the

spectacular Red Cliffs National Conservation Area

Spectacular and amazing to my eyes- I had never ever seen anything like this. And this was just the beginning!

More to follow tomorrow! Cheers!

Awww Monday! The beginning of our Travel Project! September 6, 2021

On August 23, 2021 we began a 9 day

bicycling odyssey. We did not cycle

500 miles in a three day whirl, but

our friends did and we helped support

them while they went up, down and 

around the high altitude mountains 

and thru the majestic and colorful canyons

 in Southern Utah near the city of St George. 

I will be sharing some photos over this week

and maybe even next week! 

The first day we drove 6 hours and 22 minutes

to Baker City, Oregon where our good friends 

Tom and Sarah live. We originally met them

in St Victor la Coste, France working on a restoration

 project La Sabranenque . We had a great visit

and the next day set out for the 4 hour drive

to Salt Lake City!

Arriving in Salt Lake City, Utah.

There are old mansions interspersed 

between skyscrapers. 

Too big a city for me.

~~~~~