Ok I Am Back!

I cannot believe how long it has been since I made a blog entry! I guess first of all I was gone for a couple of weeks. In the photos above you can see my backyard. Well close enough in any case. Living in the Southwest all of those photos are within a days drive from where I live. I cannot see them from my house but I can get there easily when I want to see them. The photos are actually in reverse order of my trip. The first one is Hovenweep a small obscure National Monument a stones throw from Four Corners in Utah. It was an amazing site with five different sites of ruins. The only downside was the biting gnats.

The next photo is of Capital Reef. What an amazing place! The geology there is just spectacular. We spent one day hiking and saw some wonderful views from the high places down onto the giant uplift of the earths crust. The uplift goes for over a hundred miles.

Then of course there is Bryce Canyon (which we learned is not really a true canyon). I always love going there to see the unique hoodoos. Hiking into the canyon gives such a different perspective than from above. We spent a wonderful morning winding around the trails inside the canyon looking back up at the rim.

Zion is the next one. Now that place is one of a kind. Sheer rock walls and amazing views if you are up to hiking up the steep trails. We went out to Angel's Landing. Now that hike is not for anyone that has a fear of heights as you are actually climbing out on a large rock 1600 ft above the canyon floor and in many places there are chains to hold onto. One slip and you will plummet to your demise. The ranger said there are about two deaths a year. This is the third time I have gone out there. Yep I guess I have a few missing screws.

Then my favorite, the Grand Canyon. Nothing else like that anywhere. It always takes my breath away. I think that next summer I am going to try to get reservations to hike it. The girls are getting older and we do lots of hiking with them. You really do not get the grandeur of the Canyon until you hike into it. The photo was taken at sunset on the North Rim from the patio at the Lodge.

Now that I have been home I have been trying to get caught up on my quilting. Last week I quited 3 quilts. Now I am trying to finish piecing an Irish Chain that is a commission. I got the top finished yesterday and only need to add borders and it will be ready for the machine. I am currently working on a large quilt that is getting a sea turtle panto. Last night I changed the bobbin and it was late. I got the thread off the path and had to frog for about 45 min and went to bed.....................well I do hope to get that one done today!