We are back on line with our blog. We arrived today in Las Cruces, NM following an amazing and uplifting visit with my sister in Phoenix. She is doing well and feels good. Her son, our nephew, Richard and his wife, Jeannine also reside in Phoenix. Richard was just listed in Meetings magazine as one of the 25 most influential persons in that industry. More importantly, they are a wonderful and caring couple. We enjoyed several meals at their new home and my sister, Nat, gained five needed pounds during our 10 day visit.
We now plan to spend the Labor Day weekend in Las Cruces followed by five days in Santa Fe. We expect to have more photos to share soon. Best to all.

Man, is it hot in Phoenix, 104 outside and 92 inside the RV with our A/C doing its best against great odds!
We left the canyon district of south Utah yesterday. It is a beautiful area full of geologic mystique and wildlife. The photos that follow are our goodby to Utah. They were taken from the side of the road. None of them were taken in national or state parks. Enjoy them.
So...since we left Florida to escape the heat, you might ask, why are you in Phoenix? Good question. Phoenix was not in our plans but my 85 year old sister lives in Phoenix and she has just been diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. She is a special lady and we feel fortunate that we were close to Phoenix when this came to our attention. We plan to spend 10 days of quality time here so will probably have little to blog about until we move on. When we do, we will start heading east to our daughter's place in Madison, Wisconsin. On the way, however, we plan now to have stops in Tuscon, Les Cruces, NM, Santa Fe, Colorado Springs followed by a two day tour of the Winnebago plant in Forest, Iowa. There we will see where our RV was born. So check us out in a couple of weeks. The blog will start up again then.

Our little piece of Utah in Deer creek Village.

Zion National Park was made a national park in 1919. It attracts over 3 million visitors every year and that is no surprise. Zion and Bryce are fairly close to each other, about 80 miles. But they are very different. In Zion, the spectator roams the valley floor and looks up. In Bryce, the spectator roams the rim and looks down. Enjoy these photos taken in Zion. Be advised, however, that no photo can do justice to this amazing place.

Three blogs in one day. It must be raining. Why, yes it is. All the photos below were taken in Bryce National Park in Utah. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Breathtaking!  Amen.

Have you ever heard of Cedar Break National Monument? We had not. It's about 15 miles from our campsite in southern Utah. WEe are also about half way between the Bryce and Zion National Parks. What a beautiful area and full of wildlife too. The photos below are all from Cedar Breaks.

All these photos were taken from about 10,400' above sea level. Can you find us some spare air please.

The word cedar was incorrect because the surrounding trees are not cedar trees. Notice the white footing at the edge of the canyon. The indians discovered that when stepping on the edge, the edge often breaks off. It's 2000' down; hence Cedar Breaks. Go figure.

It has been a while since being in touch thanks to the fact that our guest modems have either been sick or non-functioning in the Utah boonies.
Several days ago we enjoyed a three day fun filled reunion with the Meslers and Nolens in Salt Lake City. In our view, Salt Lake City has three must see experiences; the 36 acre Mormon campus, Kennecott's immense copper mine and Park City, the nearby venue for the 2002 winter Olympics. The great salty lake was a disappointment. Lake levels are low and the seashore looks like a huge salt flat. Boating life looked margainal too.

The Mormon Temple with the Mormon Tabernacle behind. We attended an organ recital in the Tabernacle that was breathless and remarkable, both for the sound and for the complexity of the pieces selected. We spent the better part of a day at the family geneology center where I found the missing link (6 generations ago) in my family lineage. Penny found a wealth of new information about her family.

The grounds around the Mormon campus were an illustration of floral excellence interspersed around the buildings and sculptures. Penny was thrilled to find so much flora that she had never seen before.








This photo shows about 10% of the Kennecott Copper mine. It is immense. A mountain once stood here. They extract 100s of tons or ore daily and supply about half of America's copper.

We are standing in front of one of the tires used on the 90 gigantic trucks used for removing ore from the mine. Perhaps you will notice Don Nolen's fingerprint at the top of the photo. LOL

This was another of those magical totally unplanned days. Last night we pulled into a delightful RV park in La Grande, Oregon en route to Salt Lake City. It was so delightful that we decided to double up our driving for the next two days and stay another day. Checking out the map, we noticed a town called Joseph, Oregon about 1 1/2 hours away that had mountains surrounding it. Go for it and we did. Well, Joseph is one of the nicest and most scenic villages of our trip. Downtown is a lot like downtown Lake Placid but with better shops featuring the talents of local craftsmen. The lake just south of Joseph is crystaline with a gondola that ascends Mount Howard. Northeast of the lake is about 40 miles of wilderness generally known as the approach to Hell's Canyon. It was a joy of uninterrupted scenic delight. If we travel west next summer this will be a major stop on our itinerary.

A sample of downtown Joseph

There are several excellent brass scuptures around town, mostly at all four corners of the major intersections. This one was in the center of the block but was our favorite.








Lake Wallowa south of Joseph. Notice the rafts where boaters can tie up for picnics, swmming or sunbathing. Real classy.









View of Lake Wallowa from the summit of Mount Howard. Joseph is at the far end of the lake.










Penny at the summit.

It is not unusual for us to start our days without a plan other than to decide to look for the unexpected. This has really worked well for us. Today we ventured north and turned left where we saw a sign, 'Scenic drive". Was it ever! We found our way to Kiwanda Beach in Pacific City, Oregon. It is probably the finest beach we have seen. First of all it is huge with a large dune and outcropping to the north. There are no rules other than, no fireworks. Four wheel vehicles park on the beach. Boats are launched and hauled. People fish off the beach. There is surfing and boogie boarding on the smaller dunes. There were camp groups and a large touch football game. Some dogs were leashed, others not. Some folks openingly drank beer and wine. Kites of all sizes and shapes held steady in the breeze. Camp fires are allowed at night. In spite of all this, there was plenty of room for everyone and the beach was clean everywhere; no junk or trash left behind. No police or lifeguards anywhere. Some of my photos did not turn out well today but the first three were taken at Kiwanda Beach.
Tomorrow, we leave for a three day trek to Salt Lake City.

Please forgive the fingerprint at the top of the photo. Looking north at Kiwanda Beach. Notice the automobiles. The dune to the right has probably 100 kids climbing up and down. Cool!

Haystack Rock, about 1/2 mile offshore.

Kiwanda Beach, looking south

Another spectacular beach 4 miles north of Kiwanda.

The central part of the Oregon coast is spectacular with wide and long spans of beach separated by rocky bluffs. Small islands sit off shore of the bluffs having been separated from the mainland by waves, seawater erosion and time. The water is cold due to the natural upwelling of sea water from the cold ocean bottom as the sea shallows near shore. This creates a soup of kelp, algae and sealife. Birds, otters, sea lions and whales thrive here. We have seen many blow holes from whales from shoreside viewpoints. Take a look...

We saw several whale sightings from this location. Notice the bluffs in the forefront and the long beach further along.

This proud lighthouse in Newport, Oregon has been in continuous service for 140+ years. We both climbed all 112 steps to the top.

Photo taken from the top of the lighthouse...more beautiful shoreline.

Everymeal since arriving here has been seafood. It is all the best. These are the guys who bring the fish and crabs home. The port of Newport is a very active fishing port.

This is a beach at the point where a bay near Lincoln City and the Pacific Ocean meet. This is a calm day with 10-12 knots of wind. Would love to see this spot on a rough day.