Thursday, January 01, 2009

On the road to Utah December 23

It is o'dark thirty because we get up before the sun comes up. We don't even need an alarm clock. So here we are, about an hour outside of Vegas, thinking about breakfast.

See how much knitting I did? I'm going to fiddle with a couple of ideas I've been thinking about (this is a pattern I've been using for the last 25 years). I want to see if I can add a sideways ribbing, instead of picking up stitches later. So here is where I'm going to make my new little changes. I have about six hours of dry road to fiddle with,

6:30
Is this gorgeous or WHAT? This is the Virgin River Gorge, outside of St. George, Utah. It used to be the bottom of the ocean, so what you are seeing are layers of sedimentary rock, which used to be sand and silt. This is the same part of the world where you can find dinosaur tracks






The ground around here and down south into Arizona (Bryce Canyon, Zion and Grand Canyon) is the most beautiful colors of red and pink and peach. Couple that with the forest greens and weathered greys of the sun-bleached wood...it is really beautiful.

7:15
Outside Cedar City...
Uncle Howie lives here.
Look! some snow!
I heard on the news that there is a big storm headed towards Seattle. I'm hoping that we get a little snow on this trip. But right now, just a little up on the landscape is more than enough for me. We brought chains and I had the car prepped for super cold temps, but I don't even own a warm winter coat. I forgot my Dux boots, but I figure that they have stores even in Utah.

7:45
Parowan, Utah
My friend Karen lives here

8:30
Manderfield
My old room mate from college, Carolina, lives here. She has eight kids. I think her husband is some kind of a farmer.

9:30
Meadow,Ut
Yet another friend from college, Fawn Hunter, lives here.

10:30
Scipio
The roads are dry but we saw deer! (You take the road thru Scipio thru Orderville to Kanab and Tuba City. I taught there for one summer when I was in college and really wanted to teach at the reservation school. For one, it would have canceled out my student loans (I also thought about teaching in Appalachia). But my mother did not send me to BYU to go teach a bunch of poor children. (And what have I been doing my entire career?) Anyway, I liked my time at the Navaho Nation, even though it was a boarding school and there was an immense amount of grinding poverty, drug and alcohol abuse and very young mothers. Knowing what I know now, I'd be a better teacher NOW. Then? I had a sack on my head. I was a do-gooder. Sincere, but without a clue.

11:30 am
Nephi, Utah
It is just now starting to actually snow. Big fluffy soft dry powdery flakes and just at the end of town. I used to work in Payson (about 45 minutes from here). Before I-15 was put in, Nephi had the only stoplight between Orem and, well, Nephi. I was driving to work one day in a terrible snow storm and I missed my exit and didn;t notice it until I stopped at the light in Nephi. I had to find a payphone (long before cellphones) and call in to let Pat know I was going to be late.

5 comments:

Novel said...

Wow - you drove through some incredible scenery. You seem to know people everywhere, too!

Anonymous said...

How long were you in Utah? I only visited you the one time, but you were gone forever.

charliwrites said...

I have only been to Utah once that I can remember, and I was like 12. I love to travel to see all of the different scenery...and meet people too! Sounds like you had a good trip! Happy New Year!

PERBS said...

You certainly have a lot of friends that you have kept in contact with over the years. Did you stop to se each one?

PERBS said...

Forgot to say that I left a comment on your last 4 posts. Finally catching up. Had to put things in perspective -- if there is snow on the ground, that takes priority over everything!