Back in Arizona

 On our way back home we stopped at the 
north rim of the Grand Canyon.

We camped two nights on BLM land and
experienced the best star show ever!

At 8,803 ft elevation, Point Imperial Vista is the 

highest place to view the canyon.

From Walhalla Overlook it was cool that we could see 

Desert View Watchtower on the south rim. 

The Aspen trees were glowing.

After leaving the Grand Canyon we drove on Alt 89 along
the Vermilion Cliffs and

over Navajo Bridge that crosses the Colorado River. 

The water is green because of the minerals and algae. 

After spending the night in Springerville we took 191 

on the eastern side of Arizona to Clifton. 

It is a very challenging, curvy road!

Don't take this road unless you have several hours, 

lots of patience, and a good vehicle. 

We pulled off the road at a scenic view and 

almost stepped on this Horned Frog! Great camouflage!

The scenery is beautiful but then the road takes you 

right through Morenci Mine! Unbelievable!

Clifton is an old mining town where homes or shacks are

built on the hillsides and some are still occupied.

After a drive around Clifton we came home to some
grazing cows! After dark one kept bawling around the back of
the camper. Life is an adventure. Not coming back here again. 

Clifton Cliff Jail.
That was how it was done in the old west!

Our last camping spot was in Safford, Arizona. We participated
 in the Safford Salsa Festival where Mexican restaurants
from miles around converge and gave out samples of their salsa
for you to taste with chips of course.  A Mariachi band was
playing on the stage which added to the festivities.
A good way to end our summer travels!
This will be our last blog while we enjoy Arizona for the
next several months!
We hoped you learned something from reading our blog!

Attractions Around Zion

North of Zion is the city of Parowon.

There are hundreds of petroglyphs at Parowan Gap.

This large wall of petroglyph is several feet tall!

It is worth the drive just off Interstate 15.

Next we drove up to Cedar Breaks National Monument

 and saw several trees turning colors. At over 10,000 feet
in elevation the temperature was 43 degrees!

Okay, we just had our fall and winter lets go down to a lower
 elevation and some warmer temperatures!

Navajo Lake
Mountain lakes are so beautiful!

The hike to Cascade Falls was cool. 

It included this wonderful bench to sit, relax 

and enjoy the scenery.

Spectacular!

Cascade Falls

Not very impressive this time of year. 

I love this photo of Scott taking in the beauty of God's country!
We are so blessed!

Another day trip that we took was to Grafton ghost town.

To find it we had to look for this little sign in Rockville, 

which is on the way into Zion.

Cross over this old bridge and go down a back road

where you see interesting art.
Chairway to heaven.

 Just around the corner we found Grafton.

 This building, made with handmade adobe bricks,
was used for school, church and meeting house.

Alonzo Russel home circa 1862 

is in the process of being restored.

The back door was open so we went inside and upstairs.
It was amazing to see and touch something over a hundred
and fifty years old.

 John and Ella Wood home circa 1877.

We stopped by the cemetery on the way out of town.
1866 was a bad year. Diphtheria, Scarlet Fever, two girls died
on a swing accident, and several residents were killed by Indians.

Zion National Park & Hurricane Peach Days

Our friends, Ed & Johnna met us in Hurricane, Utah for 

several days. We went to Zion and saw lots of bighorn sheep.

Some were curious and stopped to check us out. 

Others were just hanging out. 

We saw about 25 that day, which is the most 

we have seen the whole month.

It rained off and on the day we were there so we just took a few

short hikes. This is the view out the tunnel on the east end.

We rode the shuttle through the park until the rain stopped and

walked up to Weeping Rock. Notice the dirt filled waterfall.

This view is from the side at Weeping Rock.

The next day we played pool at the clubhouse with our

friends because of the rain. 

During Peach Days one of the many activities was the rodeo.

Now we are city folk and have only been to one rodeo before

this one. It is great to experience different lifestyles and events. 

Here the kids are participating in the Chicken Chase. We 

laughed and had so much fun watching them running 

around trying to catch the chickens. If the kids gave the 

chicken back they received a dollar. A few carried 

their chicken around for several hours. Poor chickens!

 

There were several different classes of Bull Riding, Barrel
Racing, Mutton Bustin, Steer Riding, Team Roping,
& Cash Sheep. 

This little gal who was about 4 years old walked her

horse around the barrels. Notice her legs are too short to even

reach the stirrups. Slow but very cute!

Another event we have never seen is the Cash Calf.

 They attached money to two calves and the kids 

chased them down to grab the money.

The finale was the Hide Race.  The horse and rider started at one

end of the arena with a large hide attached to a rope. 

They trotted down to the other end where they went

around a barrel and a partner jumped on the hide, 

held on for dear life while the dirt was kicking up in their 

face and raced back down to the end.

A form of entertainment we have never witnessed. 

It was a great event for the families and the community.

 Another great hike in Zion is the Canyon Overlook Trail

 which is right after the large tunnel on the east side. You can
 see Bridge Mountain, The West Temple, Alter of Sacrifice, 

The Streaked Wall, The Sentinel and Pine Creek Canyon from 

one vantage point. Notice the road with hairpin turns. That is
how you get up here. Stunning!

 It is a one mile sandy, narrow trail with

a scary wood and iron bridge that jets out and creeks!

Just like life, you never know what is around the corner. 

Bryce Canyon National Park

We are staying in Hurricane, Utah for a month so we are 

doing several day trips around southwestern Utah.

Here we go down Queen's Garden Trail at Sunrise Point.

When we were here a few years ago it started raining and 

had to turn around, so glad it is a beautiful sunny day.

It is cool to see the hoodoos from below.

This is the largest group in the world.

Queen Victoria formation. 

Two Bridges

Thors Hammer

A long way back up to Sunset Point. Then we walked the 

Rim Trail for half a mile, back to Sunrise Point
where our car was parked.

If you go to Bryce be prepared for cooler
weather because the elevation is 9,000 feet.