Wednesday, August 1, 2007

St. George Vacation 2007 - Days 2-6


Lots has happened since I updated the sight. As you can well imagine, taking a family on a vacation that encompasses nearly 3,000 miles of road time doesn't leave too much time for web work. Regardless, I'm up this Wednesday morning while most of the family is still sleeping (it's 9:30 a.m.!), so I thought I'd take the opportunity. Last Friday we continued our trek toward St. George and visited the Pueblo Indian ruins at Mesa Verde - of much more interest to Noel and me than to the kids. Then we stopped at Four Corners monument, the only place in the US where 4 states are contiguous (don't know why, but it's been a childhood dream of mine to visit here). It was hot and barren - nothing around for miles except the landmark and some outlining booths manned by local Indians from the Navajo Reservation. We stopped by to peruse some of their wares. I'm sure Ivy bought something there. From there we went to Kayenta, AZ for the night in a Holiday Inn that left much to be desired. On Saturday, we drove through the famed Monument Valley of many John Wayne movies. I'm very glad Noel talked me into going there; the rock formations were absolutely stunning! From there to an afternoon swim in Lake Powell at Lone Rock (forgot to take pictures! Dough!) and from there to St. George and to our condo. Our condo is very nice - sleeps 6 comfortably and is perfect for our family. It was 103 degrees at 7 p.m. when we pulled into St. George. I guess that's about average for this time of year. Sunday we visited Westside Baptist Church where Greg Wright, a friend of mine from school, pastors. He planted the church about the same time we planted Immanuel/Flatirons back in 1993. Anyway, I had forgotten that he was here so it was a blessing to see his name in the phone book and surprise him when we walked into church. It was a great sermon from Numbers 11 on the flesh and its tendency to complain. Made me wanna preach the text myself. Then a lazy afternoon and back to church that night for a follow up sermon from Numbers 11 and then volleyball afterward. Lots of fun! Monday was a "lay around the condo" day ending with dinner at the Red Lobster and dessert at Coldstone Creamery. Boy am I gonna have to lose weight again after this vacation! Tuesday, July 31st, we took our day trip to the Grand Canyon's North Rim. Drove through the fundamentalist Mormon community of Colorado City on the UT/AZ border. I believe nearly everybody in this little town is polygamist - oppressive even driving through it. Then on to the Grand Canyon for some more grand views and opportunities for Monk and Jami to hunt for lizards. That evening back in St. George we had dinner at the Wright's; our kids mesh really well with their kids (plus they've got a pool and 4-wheelers!). We have really enjoyed the added bonus of being with their family on vacation. Ivy said, "Now that's a family I'd like to come back and visit sometime."

Hope you're doing well in your regular routine or wherever else you might be. I'm thoroughly enjoying my time here but miss my routine as well. We've got much to do yet; I'm sure I'll update the blog in a few more days. Don't forget to look at the updated pictures at the bottom.

Love to all,

MJD,Sr.

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