Moon set

With our view of the Las Vegas valley, we see all the beautiful sunrises over the city. However, the best view ever is once a month when the full moon sets near Mount Charleston. On some of the mornings, it is truly a sight to behold.

Talk to you soon.

First attraction in a year!

Since we left Biloxi last March, we haven’t gone anywhere you would need to go into a building, unless it was absolutely necessary. We met with our attorney to update our estate planning which had to be signed and notarized in person. We had to do the same to close on our new home in Sun City Anthem. But yesterday, given that we have both had our 2^nd dose of the Covid vaccination, we splurged and visited the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve. We actually had to go into the office and check in, but we masked up and took the plunge.

We had a great time, even though it was a bit chilly. We walked the entire preserve, and despite the considerable number of cars in the parking lot, we bumped into very few people, most of them masked. We spotted the normal water birds, but had some fun looking for more unusual spots. We found a Red-Faced Coot, which is a jet black ducklike water bird, with streak of deep red on the front of its face, and a bright yellow tip of its bill. We spotted one Snowy Egret dinning in the shallows of Pool 5. For the time of year, we really felt like we did good!

Talk to you soon.

2nd dose in arm!

Yippee! I got my second dose yesterday morning. It was totally without stress or issues – just hanging around in Walgreens with a small number of folks waiting for my needle to be prepared. I didn’t feel it at all at the time, and had no reaction whatsoever. Even the injection site has only a slight soreness, mostly just to the touch. In two weeks, my immunity will reach its peak – can’t wait! Tomorrow morning, the Woman will join me as she gets her second dose as well.

Talk to you soon.

Continuing our pre-Pandemic experience

We learned that about half way to Zion National Park, just outside the small town of Rockville Utah is the historic town of Grafton. Established by Brigham Young and his Mormon settlers, in the 1840’s, Grafton became a farming community supporting itself and other nearby communities. By 1864, nearly 170 folks farmed the nearby fertile fields.

A handful of buildings and homes from the mid-1800’s remain, and a historic district was established to try to maintain the structures. We got to visit all the buildings and even to stroll though the historic cemetery. The structures and the setting near Zion Canyon attracted the movie industry, and in 1969, portions of the infamous Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were filmed in Grafton, including the iconic scene with Paul Newman riding the bike with Katherine Ross on the handle bars.

Next, we tried to find Glitter Mountain. Also known as The Old Gypsum Mine or Sparkle Mountain, it is an active Selenite mine operated on BLM land just across the border in Arizona. Selenite is a variety of Gypsum still used on the manufacture of sheet rock for the construction and homebuilding industries. It is called Glitter Mountain because the crystals of Selenite literally glitter in the sunlight.

Google seemed to know where it was located, even though there was no signage whatsoever. We diligently followed Google’s instructions until we were 2 ½ miles away, and Google told us to park there and walk – estimated time of arrival over an hour. I ignored Google and kept driving along unpaved, but decent roads. At about a mile from Glitter Mountain, we came to a deep, narrow wash that Google said we need to continue in. It was too narrow to drive, in my opinion, so we set out to walk.

The ravine was actually a fun and pleasant walk. While it took us a bit, when we finally emerged from the wash, there it was – glittering in the sunlight, right next to the parking lot, complete with informational signs. It turns out that we could have easily driven right to Glitter Mountain, but just couldn’t find any source of direction. All in all, I think the way we came may have actually been more fun than if we had just driven there. We got exercise and still got to our cool destination.

Talking to you soon.

Just like before the pandemic

After enjoying Zion, we searched Google and found a couple of places to go that we had never been before. One, just across the Utah – Arizona border and just outside of St. George a bit, the Little Black Mountain Petroglyph Site was our first destination. The directions were sketchy, and there was only one sign pointing the way at the beginning of a maze of dirt roads through the high desert. With roads branching off constantly, we just tried to stay on the one that looked like it had the most traffic. After several miles, off in the distance we spotted a sun cover, a porta-potty and a picnic table – bingo!

According to the BLM, this site, consisting of over 500 glyphs, was made by members of several different native American groups over an 8,000-year period. Scientists believe the site was used for religious and ceremonial purposes, as well as for seasonal observations. This was certainly not the most impressive grouping of rock art that we have seen, but it was quite impressive.

The big bonus is that it has literally been a year since we have done any exploring like this. We had to search out the site from pretty sketchy directions. When we finally got there, it was a really cool find. On top of it all, it was so remote that there was nobody there, so we explored to our hearts content, and didn’t have to even think of the potential of Covid exposure. Oh, the feeling of momentarily being back to normal was awesome!

Talking to you soon.

Zion National Park

We decided to venture out and visit Zion National Park. Beginning next month, you can only visit the canyon by boarding a shuttle bus which isn’t something we would even consider. However, in the months of January and February, you can drive into the Park in your car. So, even though it is still a bit chilly, we decided to head up and explore a bit.

When our kids were young, we would visit a dude ranch on the edge of Zion National Park. We remembered hiking into the Park from the dude ranch, making our way down the entire north wall of the canyon, and then picking up a shuttle bus which took us back to the dude ranch. We set out to see if it was still in business, and were pleased to find out it was.

Although we had been to Zion NP many times in the past, there were many areas we discovered where we had not visited before. Kolob Terrace was one. To the early Mormons, Kolob meant the place where the Gods lived. Kolob Terrace must have been one of those places. The scenes were magical with the snow cover and the clouds moving amongst the peaks.

We also visited Smithsonian Butte National Backcountry Byway. This, of course, is not named for the Brit who left a fortune which founded the museums on the capitol mall in Washington DC. No, this is named for Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism and the church of the Later Day Saints. While it was a challenge to drive up, even in a 4WD vehicle, the views made it well worthwhile.

Talking to you soon.

Best birthday present ever!

Today I got the best birthday present ever, and one I certainly didn’t expect. One down, one to go!

Talking to you soon.