To Kolob and Beyond

Mon-Tues, Oct 30-31…

Susan & Bob's

Monday’s agenda included chores – pressure washing various vehicles and the driveway, reorganizing part of Bob’s garage, and getting all our stuff back in the MH in preparation for tomorrow’s departure. Bob hosted the neighborhood council meeting at 6pm, so Susan brought cheese, crackers & a variety of leftovers out the MH and the 3 of us munched our way through games of Scrabble and gin rummy. Later we soaked in the best hot tub ever - super powerful jets! (Greg & I have already decided our next house - coming spring of 2018 - should have a hot tub. Now I'm hoping we can afford a really good one.)

Tuesday morning I enjoyed one last long, hot shower before we set off for Bryce Canyon. Bob urged us to stop at Kolob on the way, and we were glad we did. (I also picked up a layman's book explaining the geology of Utah so I can eventually get at least a basic understanding of when/how all these amazing landscapes came to be.) 

(Not terribly legible, but you see the multi-canyon concept.)

Up close and personal.

Timber Top Mountain

(Nope, just a stick.)

Maybe just a peek, but you can
always see "forever."

(I do love trees.)

After Kolob, we swing into Cedar City - drop off a return at UPS, grab lunch at Taco Time (not quite the same as in WA). By far the most interesting/unnerving thing in Cedar City is the I-15 interchange, where traffic briefly reverses lanes. I'm sure there's some rationale that makes sense to engineers, but it's freaky when you first realize what's happening. Check out this "flow chart."

We were traveling from the east (blue) when I suddenly saw (yellow) cars heading toward us.
(The overhead view appears logical - driving in clueless, not so much.)

As we approached Bryce Canyon City, we noticed a beautiful paved bike path along the highway. It continues into and through the park - what a great amenity. Arriving in Bryce City, we joined 11 other RVs at Ruby's Inn (231 additional campsites were empty). Later research showed that "Ruby" controls at least half the commercial venues in town. Lazy afternoon. I walked the campground to get my steps in. 

Dinner was interesting. At our last Walmart stop Greg picked up some Lloyds BBQ ("Bigger & cheaper than Jack Daniels"). I remember buying Lloyds products way back when, so OK. Just before dinner, we realize we have no cabbage (hence, no cole slaw). The local "General Store" (packed full of T-shirts and pricey gift items, exactly like Yellowstone) actually has decent looking produce - but no cabbage. I do find packaged slaw in the deli. Again, OK. But neither was OK. Greg didn't actually spit his out, but I didn't bother to finish my sandwich. Thank heaven for Milk Duds to end the meal on a positive note.

BlogThought... I just finished reading My Sister's Keeper (premise: family has a daughter w/ the worst type of leukemia and decides to have another child - genetically engineered - who can be a donor). There were moments when I was really impressed w/ her wording/image choices, but I wasn't convinced all of the subplot material was necessary, and I didn't come away w/ a strong opinion re the ethics of the parents' choice.  Still glad I read it.

PartingShot...  I think I posted a cold weather version of this picture early in the trip. My seat has a fully extended leather leg/foot rest, but I'm comfier with legs straight out, and the dash is exactly the right distance. (You can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl. 😃)