We had a very productive weekend including, but not limited to: the removal of our garden materials, a trip to the dump, and fertilizing our lawn and gardens and Daniel's lawn. We were pretty spent by late afternoon on Saturday, but when we returned from our lovely sushi dinner at the Ninja, Bubby noticed the light on our only deciduous tree, and she insisted on this photo. She took it herself. Not too bad.
Sunday was Sunday. Choir practice before the block, the block, choir practice after the block, dinner preparations, home teaching (2/3 families visited), enrichment planning meetings, dinner with Daniel and family (the obvious highlight), and a new choir practice that evening. I thought this was supposed to be a day of rest! I was certainly glad to lay my head on the pillow late that night.
On Monday morning (the Harvest Holiday) Bubby and I rose early (5:30 departure) and headed toward Escalante for a day in the sun with some of our favorite people. Stacy, a former student of mine and a long time friend, met us on the slick rock with her two daughters. We went on a walk (we didn't walk far enough to call it a hike, probably only 2 or 3 miles) in search of Moki Marbles. As you can see from the photo above, we didn't have any trouble finding them. Of course we were in the Escalante-Grand Staircase National Monument, so we didn't collect any samples. We just had a great time picking them up and seeing them both concentrated as erosional "lag" on the surface of the slick rock and more widely dispersed in the Navajo Sandstone itself.
The girls had a grand time. They thought the funny ironstone balls were really interesting and they stopped to examine them close up every time we passed a bunch.
Bubby even got into the act of examining them carefully. Actually it was a magnificent fall day, temperature in the mid-70's, and it was a "pure D" pleasure just to be outside with good friends and beautiful scenery. Of course there were misadventures along with the adventure. Bubby and I got stuck in the sand, not once, but twice! We decided to take the Acura so the drive over and back would be more comfortable. However, it doesn't have much ground clearance. It got stuck in the sandy areas. Fortunately Stacy has a four wheel drive pickup and she even had a tow rope. She pulled us out with very little ceremony both times. After the second episode, however, we abandoned our car and rode the remaining distance in the back of the truck.
I called this one a glamour shot of the two little girls. They were absolutely delightful. Polite, considerate, and really enthusiastic. You can tell that this kind of recreation (being outside in nature) really appeals to them. I think Stacy is raising them to enjoy this country as much as she does. No one knows better hikes in the Escalante area than Stacy does.
After our walk, we fired up the briquettes and did a little Dutch oven right in the road. I have some old galvanized trash can lids that work well for containing the mess. We had spare ribs (with Famous Dave's BBQ sauce), a delicious corn pudding side dish, apple salad, and a fresh peach pie for dessert. The food was fabulous, the company outstanding, and the scenery, well, it speaks for itself. We lingered until the wind began to be a nuisance, and then we had to head back to the pavement. We never saw another soul after we parked the truck at our destination. We had this location all to ourselves.
On the way home, Bubby couldn't resist the cottonwood trees along the Esclante river. The light was right, and they really were striking. We had such a lovely ride home. It seemed like the perfect ending to a perfect day.
One more photo. Bubby made me stop at the Mossy Cave parking area so she could take this hoodoo shot. We live in such a natural wonderland. Furthermore, I am convinced that most of the best part of it is in the areas we visited during our little outing. Everything was exceptional, the weather, the color, the company, the food, and the drive. So glad we got to do it. We were wishing you all could have joined us.
Buboppy
No comments:
Post a Comment