Saturday 29th April
We left sunny, warm Phoenix and headed north. Driving through Flagstaff was a bit icky. At 8000 ft there was still lots of snow around. Brrrrr, keep on driving Dean, I don’t want to pull out my one and only pair of trousers.
Ahhhh. Back to sunny goodness. Down to 3000 ft. Vermillion Cliffs National Monument was a great place to spend the night.
It’s only a 467 foot drop to the Colorado River.
This relic of a boiler used to power steam engines for gold mining. Lees Ferry is also a staging area for raft trips through the Grand Canyon.
The Prickly Pear cactus blooms are lovely.
We have been in St. George for a month and had a good time. Plenty of Pickleball and lots of hiking in the surrounding area.
You know I love the playing the slots. Even though I turned sideways and sucked in the bubble tummy, I could only make it partway in this one.
A real bonus was a series of Petroglyphs on one section of wall. They are very well preserved.
We hiked a few miles to see the “Vortex” For over a hundred years people have climbed down and carved their names around the bowl. The less adventurous are now carving their names around the top. Are these Petroglyph of the future?
We were thrilled to visit a little bit with this Desert Tortoise. He took his time crossing the trail. We figure due to his huge size he must be at least 50 years old. He had to have weighed a good 10lbs. The Hedgehog Cactus are showing off.
We just love holes and…..
cracks.
Desert Sage and Desert Marigold are blooming all over. I picked quite a few leaves and petals to add to a couple of batches of soap.
The swirls and ridges of different colors make hiking in this area a real delight on the eyes.
This rock was a little too slanted for a nap but a good place for a quick rest.
Ahhh. This one is way more comfy.
We were on the lookout for hiking sticks. The Sotol stalk on the left is too young. The one on the right is too skinny and bendy.
Score! Dean snagged some prime Sotol stems. It’s a very versatile plant. Hundreds of years ago the leaf fibers were used to make rope, sandals, mats and the base was cooked and eaten. The Sotol plant produces a flower stalk every few years. It is now gaining popularity as a type of tequila. When the plant has matured about 10 years, the base root is roasted, fermented and distilled.
The stick on the right is what Dean bought for $5 in Mexico on our adventure across the Rio Grande in 2015. He has hiked several hundred miles with this sturdy stem. Now a chance to create his own masterpiece.
We snagged a few more. After trimming and sanding Dean left his rustic but he made me a nice blingy one. It has been very handy especially when….
we’ve been clambering up and down steep cliffs like these.
Hiking and scrambling among all these red rocks is a so much fun.
Onwards to the hinterlands of Escalante.
THE BUS STOPS HERE 
A nice Rose and Dean sunny pick me up, a welcome respite from a soggy Oregon spring! Bring that sunshine back when you head to the Northwest 🌞
Luckily for us we had no rain this month. Just washed the camper so hope thats not a rain invitation.
Love your pictures and travelogue.
Thanks Maxine.
What beautiful sunshine! Please send some home to GP. Excited to see you guys soon. We are thinking of coming up to Redmond to see you if that is okay. We will talk to you about it and look for a vacant site at the fairgrounds. Keep on traveling! Love you guys.
I sure hope a trip to Redmond works out. Would love to have some good visiting.
Rose! May I have your soap recipe!? They look lovely! Kevin and I are in Molokai for two weeks. Just spent 1 week in Maui in Haiku. We could not take the rain any longer in Bremerton. We set a 120 yr record for rainfall this winter. We took a last minute flight down to Anza and Joshua tree to warm up and see the wildflowers. kevin’s father had fallen on his face so we also saw him and Kevin’s mother. They both turn 90 this year. My mum is hanging in at 97 in November. I am going to Vegas myself to see CHER! I am so excited. Meeting there other girlfriends in 3 weeks. Then, in late July taking a Vegan Fusion class with a girlfriend in Denver for 10 days. I should learn something in that amount of time! We love your adventures! Soap? Good for your skin? Hello from Kevin, too! Mahalo! Janell
From: THE BUS STOPS HERE To: jawheelock1@yahoo.com Sent: Saturday, April 29, 2017 1:36 PM Subject: [New post] St. George, Utah #yiv9103030612 a:hover {color:red;}#yiv9103030612 a {text-decoration:none;color:#0088cc;}#yiv9103030612 a.yiv9103030612primaryactionlink:link, #yiv9103030612 a.yiv9103030612primaryactionlink:visited {background-color:#2585B2;color:#fff;}#yiv9103030612 a.yiv9103030612primaryactionlink:hover, #yiv9103030612 a.yiv9103030612primaryactionlink:active {background-color:#11729E;color:#fff;}#yiv9103030612 WordPress.com | Rose and Dean’s Travels posted: “Saturday 29th AprilWe left sunny, warm Phoenix and headed north. Driving through Flagstaff was a bit icky. At 8000 ft there was still lots of snow around. Brrrrr, keep on driving Dean, I don’t want to pull out my one and only pair of trousers.” | |
Yikes! that’s way too much rain. Sounds like you are having a good time in Hawaii. I don’t think I could go down that vegan route. I love cheese too much. Will email you that soap recipe.
Hi Rose and Dean, your photos are beautiful. Looks like an amazing trip. What a great adventure. We just got back from 10 days in France with Peter’s brother and his wife. We spent the last 4 in Paris. What a beautiful city. We had so much fun! Enjoy your trip to Escalante!
I have been enjoying seeing Peters Facebook pics from your trip to France. I took Jay to Paris when he was 15. All he wanted to see was the Mona Lisa in the Louvre. It was rather disappointing. I love looking at large gems and there was a temporary Russian jewelry display on at the time so I got a good eyeful. That was it for the Louvre.
Awesome pictures, we love living vicariously through your adventures and travels. Thanks a million.
Thanks so much John. It seems a pretty good way to keep all our family and friends up to date on where we are.
I love the trips we take with you and never leave the swing. We have been around the world and back and never spent a penny. Thanks for all your updates, keep it up, see ya next trip!
Your swing is pretty nice. Hopefully we will latch up and have some swinging times together before too long.
We love following your blog. So sorry we will miss you at the reunion. John says he needs back up support.
We sure will miss seeing you guys also. Would love to see you again. We are heading to South Dakota next year to renew drivers licenses and snag a few more NP in SD,ND and MI. Will be staying in the high states coming back west. Dean stay “May the force be with you in Sept.”
Love all the fun photos! Glad to see you all are alive and well! 😉
Still hanging in there. Are you selling lots of houses?
Thanks for sharing your adventure. Love the pictures.
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Thanks so much.
It’s always a great fun to go through your bus stop. Just stay healthy and enjoy the life. I am sure you both are going to see century. Are you coming back to Florida?
No plans on Florida in the near future. Heading to South Dakota next year to renew drivers license.