Meet the Peterson Family!
Once again through Ruby's tail wagging efforts I met this very nice family from Kansas City.
They were on their way to Vegas when I met them at our motel in Ogden, Utah...this is on the final Thursday of the trip.
The girls were really excited about going to Circus Circus, while their parents were going to see the shows.  I kept pushing the dad (I don't remember his name!) if he was going to gamble...in front of his wife and kids he kept saying no,no,no...when she left for a few minutes he whispered to me that he was going to gamble but no one in the family was going to know about it!
While on this trip I kept reaching the same conclusion when I've encountered happy, successful couples...there seems to be one secret that has eluded me as I've gone through life but now think that I've learned my lessons and that my next relationship will last until my final breath.
By the way...another it's small world incident...Mr. Peterson lived on Balboa Island for 2 years while he was stationed at El Toro...he like so many other California men that we've met, relocated to other parts of the country to be with the woman that they love...and no thats not the secret..maybe part...but it's much simper than that!

Ruby and I upon leaving Ogden set out to see the Great Salt Lake.
Boy did we get lost...this was one of the few times that I actually used the nav to find out where the hell we were and how to get the hell out of there!
I guess that there is an easy way to get to the water at Salt Lake...but do we ever do anything easy?  Hell no!
About 40 minutes off of I 15 we finally came to this spot where my nav ran out of road...it was seemingly a hundred yards or so to the lake from this point...so Ruby and I hopped out and began to hike toward the lake...it was like that scene from the "African Queen" where Humphrey Bogart got out of the Queen and began pulling her thru the brush, only to get covered in leaches in the process.  It was dense and frankly a little foreboding...the entire time we were there, the fur on Ruby's back was up and that low scared big dog growl was ever present!
It was a little creepy...we hadn't seen another car, cow or horse for 15 minutes on the way to this spot. 

I think that this was the last gate before we reached the lake...only we didn't proceed past this point for, what I consider to be very good reasons...this close to home I didn't want to end up like Ned Beatty in "Deliverence"...notice the bullet holes in the fence?....see the water and mud in the background?  I don't know if the Salt Lake has leaches, but I certainly wasn't going to find out!
We scrapped our pusuit of the Great Salt Lake at this spot...my macho rational?
I wasn't nervous...but come on...Ruby just had a bath!!

I loved this scene with the Thistle rising above the livestock grate and what must have been incalculable odds for it to live and to bask in the sunlight of a spectacular Utah day!
It struck me that what is true of many people is also true of all living things...the unstoppable will to survive and flourish relishing the beauty that each day brings...sunny or cloudy! 

The beauty of success!

From Ogden we set off to see Bryce Canyon.
Now Bryce is a little bit off the beaten path (about 45 miles), we needed to stop there...after all we were now on the governments nickle after having already broken even in Montana.
This was a free view that the government didn't charge anyone for...Red Canyon...on the way into Bryce!

We had very limited time at Bryce and when checking with the Park Ranger (there's still something about those uniforms that gets me all riled up).  I told her that we had maybe a hour and half to see what we could see...you could easily spend 2 days here...with hiking seemingly the way to go.
She pointed us out and off we went!
Ladies and gentlemen...our 1st view of (part) of Bryce Canyon!

Same location as above but a totally different direction.

By now you know how much Ruby craves attention from everyone who crosses her path...this very nice family from Germany were Ruby's favorite from our 1st Bryce stop...wonder if the fact that they were having lunch and slipping her the crusts had anything to do with it?
Naaa...she just loves people..and dogs!

The 2nd stop at Bryce...Ruby wouldn't get out of the car for this one...it was 87 degrees...I've finally figured out that her threshold outdoor temp is in the 55 to 60 range.  This is one of the major issues between the World Famous Dog and her humble attendant!
I like heat! 

Another view from the same viewpoint...

You know I was certain that we would see some Buffalo in South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana or Idaho.  Little did I expect to find them in Utah!
Much like seeing the moose in Maine (which I really wanted to see), I had pretty much given up any hope of finding them...but here they were...a whole herd!
Apparently there were many other people that hadn't gotten their buffalo fix as the side of this road must have had 20 cars lining it with people packed by the fence snapping away!

Welcome to Zion...
I have been here before and wanted to see it again...what the hell, I basically had to go thru it to get to St George and back on I 15 from Bryce anyway!
This National Park is a hour and a half from Vegas...someday if you aren't too hung over..devote 5 or 6 hours to seeing it..you'll be glad that you did!

I'm not sure if I liked Bryce or Zion better.

Probably Zion...I appreciate the grandeur of those places where you can actually view the scenery from the ground looking up, rather than at the top looking down...don't get me wrong, they are both amazing.
Being on the canyon floor gives me a better feel for the magnificance of god's work...you look up and see these awe inspiring cliffs and I'm reminded once again just how fleeting our time is on this planet...we must live each and every day to the best of our abilities...when we are gone and distant memories...these mountains and cliffs will still be here, inspiring future generations, as they have inspired me.

We are so lucky to live in this majestic country!

Leaving Zion on the way to St George...even on the way out, Zion hits you with it's overwhelming beauty.

I hadn't gotten any rocks during the trip to keep as souvenirs ( Ruby has quite a few in her bag!) adding to my collection of t shirts, Tabassco sauces, honey, fireworks, great recipes and the list goes on.
So...I stopped at this "Rock Store"?, just outside of the entrance/exit to Zion.
The young man on the left is Jeremy and apparently a budding geologist and the store owner Ray, who apparently is good friends with Jeremy....I found 2 rocks (don't remember what type) that I liked.  One reminded me of the Devil's Tower and the other an exact replica of the "mitten" at Monument Valley.
Ruby was asleep in the car when I met these 2 guys (to help dispell any nasty rumors, I actually can meet people without the Rubes!)
Ray is a very animated guy, always in motion always talking...he dominated the conversation!
The conversation revolved around California...Ray is originally from the Bay Area...put him in a tied shirt to go along with his pony tail and I can see him at Golden Gate Park during the summer of love, tripping on acid!
Great, fun guy...in my top 5 of interesting people I've met over the last 2 months.
He said he left California 20 years ago because he...well...hated it!
Each to their own.

Seven is my lucky number...people who know me well will get why this pic is significant to me.
This was the highest altitude that we reached on our final day of exploring on what really was the final day of our trip...

This was our final sunrise in St George beginning the final day of our trip home...to say I was feeling a little choked up at this moment would be an understatement!
I have one more day of the final leg from my parents home back to Corona Del Mar...look for it tomorrow.
Then I would like to go back and hit some of the more detailed points of the trip.
Stay tuned!!