Vacation - Sunday Surprise

After a day and a half at Mesa Verde, we went to church Sunday morning in Cortez, CO - a nice, small, welcoming congregation that was only a block or two from our hotel! Then we changed, checked out, and hit the road - a long drive to Western Utah and the next National Park on our agenda. We knew we'd be driving some six hours today.

It was interesting to note how the landscape changes and how the rocks change. Different landscapes, different colors, different vegetation, or no vegetation at all! Our drive took us out of Colorado, into New Mexico (VERY briefly, for only a mile or so), and then into Arizona. So I got two more states crossed off my list of those I have been to (now up to 37, I think).

But as we were driving, we came to a National Park we did not know would be there: the Glen Canyon dam. I never even heard of it. But it is nearly as big as its better known neighbor, Hoover Dam, and quite impressive. It was interesting to learn how they built it and all that went into it. Very cool.

So after a brief and unexpected stop, it was back on the road until we reached Zion National Park.

Now, those of you in the know, know that Zion is the most popular of all of Utah's "Mighty 5" National Parks. On this day, however, we arrived later in the day and so didn't really spend much time in it except to drive through the eastern part to arrive at our hotel. The eastern part is very different than the more popular western part (a tunnel separates the two) - but it was cool in its own right. We were hoping to see some Bighorn Sheep, but alas, they are too shy and too well camouflaged.

Anyway, a few first day pictures . . .

The famous "checkerboard" mesa.

The view from just outside our hotel room!

Dinner at the Spotted Dog Restaurant.

Swimming and some ice cream capped off the day. One week in the books, one week to go . . .

Tomorrow: Zion

Vacation - History Day

So on Friday we took the morning a little easy after a couple of long and hot days in the desert at the first two National Parks, and because we had reservations at our next stop on Friday night. So we walked through the town of Moab (where we stayed) and learned some of the history of the place.

Over the Colorado River as it makes its way through Moab, UT.

Then after lunch, we headed back to Colorado to our next stop: Mesa Verde National Park.

The sign says: "Welcome to Colorful Colorado"

We checked into our hotel in Cortez and immediately saw some new friends: Prairie Dogs with their tunnels right by the hotel. :-)

Friday night we had reserved tickets for the Twilight tour to Cliff Palace. What is Cliff Palace, you ask? This:

Mesa Verde is home to the where the Navajo Cliff Dwellers once lived, and there are many of their dwellings that still exist and have been preserved. Very cool! The twilight tour, the last tour of the day, is smaller than the others and more leisurely - we probably had 1.5 hours to go through it and talk with the ranger. The daytime tours shuffle you through in 30 minutes. I was a little apprehensive at first, nit knowing how we were going to get down to the dwellings (the Navajos just climbed down the cliffs!), but it wasn't bad.

We also spent Saturday going through the parks and seeing more of the dwellings. Here are some pictures:

Some of their writing is still visible on the inside of a tower.

We returned to Mesa Verde first thing on Saturday morning to sign-up for another tour, this time for the dwelling called Balcony House . . .

This one was a bit harder to get into! Above the 32 foot ladder we had to climb, and below one of the tunnels we had to go through.

And some other dwellings that were cool, but that we could not get into - just see from a distance:

Tower House

Spruce Tree House

(Was open for self-guided tours, but a rock slide closed it down now. :-(

Statue out in front of the Visitors Center of a Navajo climbing a cliff. 

After after this, back to the hotel for some swimming and dinner. Three parks down and three to go . . . or so we thought . . .

Tomorrow: Travel Day and a Surprise!

Vacation - Arches

So we heard of our next National Park how popular it is and how awful the lines to get in can be (up to two hours at times!). So we woke up especially early Thursday morning and got in to Arches National Park before the crowds.

Some of the arches we got to see . . .

This is the famous "Delicate Arch." We didn't take the hike back to it as it was getting along in the afternoon and we were getting pretty tired. So this one just from afar.

Double arch in the background.

Some you could climb up and into and see up close and personal!

And then a couple friends we saw along the way . . .

Another thing that surprised me out west - how fast we closed some of the distances. Out east, you see a mountain in the distance, and you could drive a long time and never get to that mountain. But out west, I'd see a mountain or mesa or something in the distance and then in just a few minutes, it seemed as if we were there! Not sure what was going on with that - just interesting (to me, at least!).

Tomorrow: Back to Colorado

Vacation - On to Utah!

After spending the night in Grand Junction, we got a car and headed to Utah on Wednesday morning, headed to our next stop in Moab, UT, which is between two of Utah's five National Parks. It wasn't a particularly long drive (maybe 2 hours), but in that part of Utah, there's a whole lot of nuthin'!

First stop was to Canyonlands. One of the things that shocked me was how large these parks are! Once you get to them, you often drive 20 minutes just to get to where you want to go in them.

A few pics . . .

They let you walk right up to the edge of some of these cliffs and canyons!

As I said, there's a whole lot of nuthin' out here, and the lodging places know it, so they charge an arm and a leg. So we stayed in an RV park that also had some "cabins." Little, but did the trick. :-)

I know this picture won't do it justice, but the sunrise the next morning.

We woke up early Thursday morning because we heard how awful the lines can be to get into our next park if you don't get there early. So we did.

One of the disappointing things this trip was that we were hoping to see the stars at night. But there were always clouds that rolled in in the afternoons and stayed for the evenings. Those, coupled with smoke from the wildfires in northwestern Utah and Nevada, meant no stars for us. Bummer.

Tomorrow: Arches!

Vacation, Days 1-3

We're back from our vacation out west, so thought I throw a few pictures up and let you know about where we went and what we did. We did a big vacation this year, going to Utah and Colorado to visit the National Parks there. The first thing we did was take the train out west. We thought a couple of days to just rest and decompress would be good. We went from DC to Chicago (Sunday PM to Monday Noon), and then took the California Zephyr to Grand Junction, CO (Monday PM to Tuesday PM).

At a rest stop after climbing through the Rockies in Fraser, CO, elevation 8574 feet. And yes, we're all wearing sweatshirts because even though its hot outside, inside the train the temperature is normally a balmy 50 degrees!

A view out of the observation car.

A view of "Dead Man's Curve." That shiny object on the hillside is a car! Some teenagers tried to take the turn too fast, but fortunately, their car stopped and did not tumble all the way down the hillside! (If you cannot see it, click on the picture to enlarge.)

When we went to eat dinner in Grand Junction, we walked around the town a little and found a couple of pianos that they put on the sidewalks for anyone to play!

Tomorrow: on to Utah!

Higher Things, Day 5

Repeat after me: It is important to pay attention where you are going while driving.

It is important to pay attention where you are going while driving.

So, okay, we took a short cut last night. A long cut. It's stupid when you're on one interstate and just by staying straight it magically turns into ANOTHER interstate and since you were having too much fun playing games in the car you didn't notice until you were almost in Tennessee and then had to turn around and go back and get into the hotel 2 hours late. #stupidinterstate

So yeah, it was a late night. Google says 6 hours of driving today, but probably a little longer since we'll be dropping off on the way. But at least I could turn around in the shower this morning! Did I tell you that? The dorm showers at Higher Things were kinda on the small side. Think: transporter pod and you kind of get the idea.

I think I am sleep deprived.

Anyway, yesterday was a good day. :-)  Our team officially lost the Tetramorph challenge, but we really won. Everyone knows it. The other team just got mercy. Here are the conference stats:

We made our traditional stop at Cracker Barrel for dinner. Here are some pictures:

Ever wonder what the pegs see while you're playing the game? #scary

Susan won! Yay!

So now breakfast and back on the road. Thank you all for your support of our youth and helping them attend the conference again this year. It really means a lot. The solid worship, the theological conversations, and the reinforcing teaching is important. 

Next year the theme is "Concordia."

Higher Things, Days 4

Thursday. The penultimate day. Always lots going on. And always the peak of the free time entertainment for the week. :-)

The morning is the regular routine: breakfast, Matins, announcements, and a plenary session, followed by lunch. The afternoon starts with Vespers, then two breakout sessions, followed by dinner. I taught my breakout for the second time on Thursday afternoon - they gave me the first and last sessions of the conference! But it went pretty well. Always smoother the second time around. I did also manage to get a little more other work done, squeezing it in here and there - but not enough. Next week's gonna be tough. :-(

After dinner was Evening Prayer and then free time. Kitty and I entered the "Chant Off" which is putting the lyrics to modern songs to chant tones - not to mock chanting, but to mock the words of modern songs, which sound so ridiculous when chanted. It's a lot of fun. We entered as a duet (a bit unusual) and got second place! :-)  We actually should have won, but that's another story . . .

So today, a normal morning, but then the closing Divine Service in the afternoon, and then the loooong drive home begins. (Did I mention it's going to be loooooong?)

And the pictures you've been waiting for . . .

Costume contest.

Kitty and I in Round 1 of the "Chant Off"

(Yes, I know the quality isn't very good. I'll post more when I get them.)

Waiting for Matins to begin.

Group photo . . . but all is not well . . . see any mischievous looks here?

Then this . . .

Then this!

And a few more friends . . .

Pastor Randy Blankschaen and Bob Myers from Pensacola, FL.

Pastor Ian Pacey, now in Texas, but who I first got to know when I was in NY and he was helping a parish in Greenwich, CT.

Pastor Steve Cholak from Roswell, NM, who helped interpret the conference for the deaf.