Hot Fountains

The famous 'volcano' fountain show at the Mirage
was one of my favorite things on the Strip.
Night sight-seeing was quite entertaining.
We walked about 3 miles in 95 degree heat
(even at midnight, it was still about that hot)
and the glitter was fun to see.
The Mirage is not the only fountain show,
but I liked this one the best.

Vacation Extremes

I just got back from vacation with a girlfriend.
We went to Zion National Park-
and Las Vegas.
Geographically they are not far apart.
But oh are they ever different in style!!!
I enjoyed the posh hotels and sights in Las Vegas,
but Zion was by far my favorite....

Family Vacation

And what did we do on vacation
(other than take a tour of Monument Valley)?

We went to church locally on Sunday morning
(most of us did, anyway).

Monday morning we took a very short hike up to see a neat arch-
the arch was in shadow but it was fun to hike together.

Ted practiced math games with the kids on his iPad.
He says he got his iPad as part of a research grant.
(!!!)
(Of course, I can't complain... my university is sending me to Italy in the fall...)

Then while we adults napped or biked or read,
the boys played endless games.
House of cards seemed to be a favorite.

Puzzling sequel

For several days, the Neuschwanstein puzzle occupied my spare time
(and my dining room table).
However, after a week or so of late nights, this was the result:

I enlisted Ethan's help to carry it to my office.
Very gently.

I had to put it up pretty high but it still looks great!

Now I need another 3D puzzle of a famous monument... (heh heh)

Camping with Mom and Dad

Near Kanab, we also went camping.
(Sequentially, this is before the reunion.)
We found a great State Park: Coral Pink Sand Dunes.
It's just a few miles from the Arizona border.
And is it ever neat!

Though the pristine scenery is somewhat marred by dune riders on golf-cart looking vehicles, they aren't allowed out between 10 pm and 9 am.
The dunes are best in the evening (above), but we had a lovely walk in the morning with some interesting views.

Lots of blooming yucca, and yellow wildflowers (as yet unidentified.)

And in the morning, the dunes were covered all over with strange little tracks!
Insects, probably.
We saw one (very small) tarantula actually making lacy pretty tracks (rather different from these).
And NO, I did not photograph it.
Are you kidding??!

Post Reunion Vacationing

We went to Bryce after the reunion, and they miraculously had space in the Sunset campground.
I persuaded Mom and Dad to go on a short hike,
down part of the Queen's Garden trail,
starting at Sunrise Point.
This is Sunrise Point, with Barney Top in the distance.


Although Bryce is an East-facing park, evening (before the shadows get too long) is still very beautiful for photographing there.

On the way home we also drove through Cedar Breaks,
so Mom could get her passport Stamp there.
It was mid day- I'd like to go back during good light
(that would be evening: Cedar Breaks faces West,
and is the other end of the colorful hoodoo-filled plateau that forms Bryce on the other end.)

Porter Reunion in Style

Escalante is a cool place.
(Below: the Dogfoot formation.
Look on the white layer of rock to see it!)

All the campgrounds (and hotels) near Escalante were full.
So we rented a motorhome!
We did find RV parks with availability.

It was pretty spacious inside, and had electric and water and a furnace to warm Dad in the morning when he felt chilled.
It was a pretty big rig, though: we needed Dad to do all the driving.
And the gas cost was pretty high.
Still, it was fun to try it out.

Here at the Porter Reunion in Escalante are all the remaining first cousins:

As you can see, they are getting on in years, and all their parents are gone.

So...

2008 will be the 30th (and LAST) Jared Riley and Alice Porter reunion in Escalante.