Happy Days in March 2021

 

Exploring Simpson Springs and 

Surrounding Areas

I had seen all these great photos of the wild horses out at Simpson Springs on a Facebook page so for our anniversary weekend I told Kent wanted to go see if we could find them...

I'm sure he thought, 'they are just horses,' but he obliged anyway.

We didn't see a whole lot of horses but we did see some beautiful country. 

Being early spring we had all kinds of weather from sunny skies to snow. 

It really was a great day and...

...it made our anniversary more memorable and fun.

There is nothing better...

...than going out exploring with my handsom husband!

Our truck got pretty muddy. While we were on our way back home I saw these dark shadows walking along side the road. I got really excited thinking they were a heard of horses...turns out it was just a scout troup (or something like that) carrying their packs. So funny!

Life in March

Top Left: Kent bought me these pretty tulips and I love them! Top Left Middle: Curly hair days need to be documented. Top Right Middle: I was invited to do this photo shoot for WiO the home and the views out the back were breathtaking! Top Right: We did face painting for young womens. Bottom Left: More curly hair documentation. Bottom Left Middle: Check out that gorgeous kitchen! Bottom Right Middle: Braxton and I took 30 seconds to stop and take a picture with the Monticello Temple while we were down there for spring break. Bottom Right: More curls.

Top Left: For our anniversary date night we went bowling and then went downtown and walked around the City Creek Mall. After that we went to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and had a very tasty...very fancy dinner. I decided to take a picture of this story of how she made sure people in a hurricane were fed and didn't allow her food to go to waste. Top Left Middle: Kent decided to go ice fishing with Mike and while he was shopping for bait I saw this worm threader and it reminded me of Grandpa Holdaway because he used to use on of those. Top Right Middle: Cort came in one night after going to bed and told me, "Mom, I found Orion..." Right Middle: ...Sure enough I pulled out my constellation app and there it was Orion. Cort had indeed found him. Top Right: I keep thinking Marshal is going to grow up to become a demolition man. He found our bricks and decided to get s hammer and start destroying them at the bottom of the slide of all places. Bottom Left: On our date downtown I saw the restaurant Itto Sushi. It reminded me of when Liesel was little and said her name Itto so I have to snap a picture to send to her. Bottom Left Middle: Kent got an old smoker from work and got it running. He smoked this very pretty and super delicious roast. So tasty! Bottom Right Middle: There is NOTHING like a good puddle in a rain storm! Bottom Right: I gifted myself a sand art sandscape. I bought this little one for work and a larger one for home. It is fun to watch. 

Top Left: I really like the artwork in our hotel in Monticello so I decided to take pictures of them. Top Right Middle: Another hotel photo I liked Middle: One last photo I liked. Top Right: We finally got started on painting and updating Cort's bedroom. I'm excited for it to look nice. Bottom Left: More before photos of Cort's room. Bottom Right Middle: Cort room again. Bottom Right: Final photo of Cort room before. I'll post photos when it's complete. Top Left Middle: I really enjoy this photo of Emma playing with her kids. It's a good reminder. Bottom Left Middle: I can't hardly wait until the temples open back up. It feels like an eternity since I have been there!

  

Left: A great reminder of how to live my life...especially as a parent. Top Left Middle: Isn't this and amazing herd of elk that someone posted on Facebook? Bottom Left Middle: I found it facinating that there is braille on a sign instructing employees to wash their hands. Made me wonder if they wash before they read the sign. Middle: Interesting facts at Subway. Right: You've gotta love Jonathan and his bear hugs for Brian! 

Most of these photos are to show the craziness of the world we are living in today. The Top Middle: This was from a survey of the Jordan School Districts parents. I was surprised at how many parents enjoyed not having school on Fridays. 67% were satisfied. Bottom Left: Thank you bumper sticker on the back of the car that is telling me to stop breeding. 😒 Bottom Right: One day Brian and Cheryl and I got talking about Critical Race Theory and our youth. It dawned on me how ahead of the times Jeaneen Brady was. She had everyone represented in her books and the white kid even had a black eye. lol 

Beautiful World in March

"No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn."

Hal Borland

"Behold, my friends, the spring is come; the earth has gladly received the embraces of the sun, and we shall soon see the results of their love!"

Sitting Bull

Spring Break at Canyonlands National Park-March 2021

 

Canyonlands: Island in the Sky

Mesa Arch was very cool. 

Definitely a place I would love to see at sunrise!

This canyon is definitely a place worth exploring!

Words and pictures don't do justice to the beauty of this area.

We also enjoyed the views of Aztec Butte

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed 

by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do." 

- Mark Twain

More views from Aztec Butte

After Aztec Butte we enjoyed a hike up to see Upheaval Dome

Mesa Arch, a couple photos from Aztec Butte and this beautiful desert.

Some of the views on our way out of the park

More Upheaval Dome

"Let your brilliance shine! Even if everything around you is withered and dry!"

quotemaster.org

"For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. 

I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move." 

- Robert Louis Stevenson

There is nothing like exploring in a place you have never been before!

“The desert is so vast that no one can know it all. Men go out into the desert, 

and they are like ships at sea. No one knows when they will return.”

- Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio.

“If a flower can flourish in the desert, you can flourish anywhere.” 

- Matshona Dhliwayo.

More views of the Upheaval Dome

“Like water in the desert is wisdom to the soul.”

- Edward Counsel

"We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us." 

- Anonymous

On the way into Monticello we were travelling in a big snow storm. 

Thankfully it is spring so the snow didn't last too long. 

We enjoyed views of the Monticello temple, enjoyed singing along 

with the radio and took in dinner at Zax in Moab. It was a good day!

Beautiful evening skies near Monticello

Canyonlands: The Needles

“The desert does not mean the absence of men, it means the presence of God.”

- Carlo Carretto.

Day number 2 included a visit to Elephant Hill and a hike to Chesler Park. 

The drive to Elephant Hill left a lot of dirt in the tail pipe of the truck. 

These rocks stacked one on top of the other helped us find our way along the trail. 

They lend themselves to lots of life metaphores.

The boys had a good time going on this beautiful 8.6 mile hike 

(4.3 miles in and 4.3 miles back). 

"I don't see the desert as barren at all; I see it as full and ripe. It doesn't need to be flattered 

with rain. It certainly needs rain, but it does with what it has, and creates amazing beauty."

- Joy Harjo

We were impressed with their ability to hike that far 

on a hike that was up and down the whole way.

“Magic of the shadows can best be seen in the deserts.”
- Mehmet Murat İldan.

We enjoyed the beautiful slot canyons & the carved out rock stairs!

While we were on the hike Cort started asking 

all of the other hikers that we passed where they were from.

Must have some Holdaway blood in him! 😆

Marshal told everyone on the way back that, "We had a great adventure!"

For a kid with very tired legs I was happy to hear Marshal's outlook.

Indeed, we had enjoyed a great adventure! 

“If the desert is holy, it is because it is a forgotten place that allows us to remember the sacred. 

Perhaps that is why every pilgrimage to the desert is a pilgrimage to the self. 

There is no place to hide and so we are found.”

- Terry Tempest Williams.

With beautiful windmills and cows crossing the road our trip 

away from society was everything we needed. 

We saw beautiful winter willows on the way home and did a quick stop to the temple.

One of the highlights of the trip was counting over 150 jeeps that were in Moab for the Jeep Safari that was beginning. Looking for jeeps has become a favorite family game because of this trip.

“But in the desert, in the pure clean atmosphere, in the silence – there you can find yourself.”

- Father Dioscuros