Zion National Park

We drove up to Zion National Park, parked the car in Springdale and took a shuttle. We went to the last stop, Riverside Walk and took a hike along the Virgin River. Here are a few of the pictures, I took along the way.
We also went to another part of Zion, as well as a place called Cedar Bluff where the temperature was so cool you had to put on a jacket. It was 10,350 feet up. I had a problem with my video camera and had left the battery back at the campground so no pictures of Cedar Bluff. As sharp as these pictures may be, they don't compare to being here in person. God surely made a wonderful world and put lots of breathtaking beauty in this part of the country. From Utah, the Happy Travelers journey on to Nevada. More later.

St. George and Hurricane, Utah

These were the mountains in front of our campground name St. George but in Harrisburg, Utah. What a sight...I never get enough...so majestic.

We drove into downtown St. George and they have a lovely park in the historical district where the families come and children play in the water. There is even a shallow concreted river-type basin to play in. There were lots of flowers and benches....just a nice place to hang out.
There was a small museum in Hurricane, Utah dedicated to the pioneers, especially those folks who settled in Hurricane. The wind was really blowing the day we were there and I tried to take a picture of the monument and the flag flying...so you got two pictures of the monument...one you see the flag and one you see the monument.

Can you imagine having to pack up everything you owned and traveling across unknown land in this?

Lake Powell, AZ

I just couldn't get over the water being so blue...was it the rocks or was it the sky? It was beautiful.
You can see that there were house boats. There were many boats of all types and skidoos. There was a large resort across the road from us and they brought people in by the bus load.

The sites at the campground had the trailers going in with one facing up and one facing down with landscaping separating the two...was nice...you didn't have to face your neighbors sewer hose. They planted draught resistent trees and plants and used a lot of rock.

A couple of videos

Before I try to publish any more pictures/videos of Lake Powell and my Utah visit, I have a couple from Jerome and Sedona I would like to share. The first one is from Jerome....I cut off the Je... and the second one is at the Chapel of the Rocks. You can hear a fountain and lots of wind in the background. Here goes.

Sedona Views

This is Kat, Ron and me at the Chapel of the Rocks in Sedona. Also several shots of the rock formations in the area.

Jerome, AZ

This is Kat Drayton, Matthew's aunt, who has been a resident of Sedona for over 12 years. She was so gracious to serve as our tour guide. Our first stop was in Jerome, AZ, the wildest town in the West.
This is now a hotel on the top of the mountain in Jerome.
One of the cute little shops in Jerome---The house of Joy---can you imagine what this building housed at one time!

Maybe the best thing Jerome has going for it is its view. We are way up in the hills--up from Sedona.

J.T.'s tenth birthday

Tomorrow, June 25, 2009, my J.T. (James Thomas Kohout) will be 10 years old. He is my first grandchild. It seems like yesterday when I got a call from J.T.'s father, my son, Rob, telling me that J.T. had been born. He said, "Mom, he's purple like Barney". Purple or not, I thought he was a real miracle and I couldn't have been happier. Well, J.T. has grown into a fine young man. He is a very good student and a good ball player. I am in Nevada and he is in Maryland. My wish for him is that he has a wonderful birthday. J.T., your Pop and I love you bunches and send you lots of hugs and kisses.

Quick Update

Dear Friends, we did go to Sedona. In fact, Matthew's aunt, Kat, a resident of Sedona, was kind enough to be our personal tour guide. We went up into the hills to a town name Jerome, one of the wildest towns in the west at one time. Now it is filled with cute boutiques, restaurants and even a biker bar....but the view, oh the view is outstanding. We had a delicious lunch at the Red Planet...UFO's and Star Trek throughout the decor. On to the the Chapel of the Rocks, a Frank Lloyd Wright design built into the side of the red cliffs...WOW!!! Then we made a stop at Tlaquepaque, the most beautiful shopping establishment. The builder loved trees and refused to cut any down. So he built the building with the trees going through the roofs of the shops...big trees...at angles....fountains, flowers....very relaxing...and a shop that actually sells "ROCK" chairs, and they are comfortable.
I have lots of pictures and some video but we are now in Lake Powell and my signal is not strong enough to download...it keeps kicking me out so the pictures will follow. More later from the Happy Travelers.

More Grand Canyon

Folks, here we are at the GRAND CANYON. Wow! I took so many pictures that I am having a really hard time deciding what to put on the blog. Here's a few and when I get home, if you want more, let me know. I got a ton. This place is really amazing, there is a great hotel and a wonderful couple of gift shops, a really nice cafeteria. There is even a cemetary for people who have worked for the Grand Canyon at least 3 years when they pass away. There were lots of Ponderosa pine trees along with some cacti. We had the greatest weather and there were tons of people here---lots from other countries. I took a picture for a couple from Holland and a family from Mexico. Well, I hope you enjoy these pictures.








A couple of pictures of native flowers.

Caught this guy having a snack. The Happy Travelers had a blast today, made friends, saw some awesome landscape and had a real spiritual experience. Tomorrow we are off to Sedona and more wonderful scenery. More later folks.

The GRAND CANYON

We took a tour today with Marvelous Marv's Tours to the Grand Canyon. Marv was a fantastic tour guide with lots of facts and a real comedian to boot. There are not enough adjectives to describe the Grand Canyon. It is enormous. The colors are fabulous. I was really pretty speechless. Marv wanted us to know that the Colorado River did not make the Grand Canyon. He explained the process and I have already forgotten but there is no geological evidence that it was the river that made the Grand Canyon. I don't care how you try to explain it---God gave us something to really take our breath away. I am going to try and publish a few videos that are not that great of quality but maybe you will be able to catch a glimpse of the majesty that can be found here.

Williams, AZ

On the way to Williams, we stopped at Walnut Canyon for a quick break. Saw a truck and popup from Virginia with "California or Bust" on their back window. Never did find them to say "HI". The Indians built their homes down in the lower portion of these cliffs. They cleared out the softer rock, built new fronts and put partitions in the space for homes for different families. No windows---and no way to vent the smoke so the rooms were black from the smoke. Not my favorite place to abide.
This was a very interesting pattern on display in the gift shop at the restaurant where we had lunch.
Isn't this a lovely quilt! I would like to try this pattern at home.
We had lunch at the Pine Country Restaurant. This was the display by the table where we had a great late lunch.
This fellow called us into his establishment where we each got a walking stick. We have hopes of big hikes in our future. Let's hope we don't trip on the darn things. Ron's stick even has a compass, if we can figure out how to use it.
Can you see this little lady hanging out of the window? She is beckening folks to come and stay in her hotel. Ron said he saw a tattoo on her upper chest missing someone named B.C. Know anyone with those initials who loves Williams, AZ?
This is the street sign for Route 66 in Williams, AZ, a town that still embraces all that is Route 66.
You can get tee shirts and all sorts of collectibles with the Route 66 logo.
A Route 66 diner complete with some old beauties.
Route 66 is everywhere in this little town.
There was a car show today in Williams. Unfortunately, we got in as they were all leaving but we did follow this beauty. The Happy Travelers will be traveling to the Grand Canyon on Saturday. More later.

Still shots of Petrified Forest/Painted Desert

Behind the Visitors Center at the Petrified Forest, they have a walk with whole trees that have been petrified as well as hunks of trees. The colors are unbelievable.
Everywhere in the park, they used wire to make a cage for the rocks to hold the fence posts.Petrified wood at the Visitors Center.
The views go on forever.
Can you see the color striping in these rocks?
They named this area "Tepees".
More from "Tepees"

These are pictures of the Painted Desert. The colors were amazing---lots of red. The view stretched out for miles in the distance. Well the Happy Travelers had to go back to their home away from home and prepare dinner so till next time, folks, enjoy the day wherever you may be.