utah

husband scott and i were in utah last week. we had never been. (scott just corrected me. he has been to utah. it was the second time for me since i helped michelle move). it is so pretty. i wish we had more to time to spend there. when i helped daughter michelle move there from arkansas via texas, we couldn't stop and enjoy all the great stuff between texas and utah, especially the grand canyon. it's hard enough maneuvering a 14 foot u-haul truck.

i would have loved to take the time to do that again. instead we had a week and flew to las vegas, took a shuttle to st george where michelle picked us up to drive about an hour to cedar city. cedar city is a little city of about 28, 000 & about 5400 feet above sea level with mountains all around. it has a few sweet places to walk around...

we walked around suu and i took a few photos of some pretty trees, but they're on michelle's computer, so here is a photo of us walking around the trails up the hill from milt's steakhouse (mmmmmmmmm). although it doesn't look that cold (note to self: puffy jackets make one even more puffier), it was. there was patches of snow...

and bear tracks!










just kidding...no bear tracks, but then, again, there could be...or not...



we were about 40 minutes drive from brian head ski resort. so, we drove up and skied a couple of days. the first day looked like this...

this is a view from our window. so beautiful.

this what we skied in on our last day. it was snowing and really cold. and it was very foggy and misty. mist when it is icy kinda' hurts your face...


it was also very hard to see past about 5 feet, so it made skiing waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more exciting.


plus, it was deep powder...well...deep for us since we are use to the icier packed snow of colorado. i kept my weight on my heels just to keep my toes up and that isn't, probably, the proper way to ski...


of course, i am definitely NOT a proper skier...


not by a long shot.

doesn't michelle look cute with her fox hat and go pro?


i think so.

the next day, we drove about an hour from cedar city to zion national park, in dru's awesome jeep. we decided to challenge ourselves to a hike up angel's landing. that was the sorriest performance by me...ever. i had to stop, ALL THE TIME, because i was out of breath and my calves were burning. i was so disappointed in myself, but we made it to scout's lookout.

it was soooooooo beautiful. scout's landing is so worth every calf burn and every ragged breath i took.

i chose not to go on to the summit. i would like to say it was because it was recommended not to because of snow and ice, and also because of my hurt finger, but reality was that i was too out of shape to tackle it.

husband scott & dru started out towards the summit, but scott decided it was too intimidating with those icy, snowy and slippery conditions (& tennis court shoes...really?).

michelle and dru have made it to the summit, (twice for dru). i would like to return, some day, and try again.


i would have to make sure NOT to read this sign as i pass it to screw up my courage to continue...

it says something about 6 people have died climbing angel's landing, since 2004.

scary...




also, hurt fingers make it harder















after our climb, we went to eat lunch at blondie's diner in springdale. it was dee-double-licious. the french fries were really good, especially with the fry sauce...

which is mayonaise and ketchup mixed together, and it is a utah thing. apparently one can ask for fry sauce anywhere in utah and they (the utahans) will know what that is.









but, you know what really made this diner so special?

it was because of lori. she was so very nice and has the best sense of humor. she truly made this place extra special. i wanted to take her home with me. i love her!

seriously, she made this diner top on my list, and the lady behind her helped her serve and she was great, too. of course, when you work at a place where you see this from your window...

how can one not be in a better frame of mind, right?