MONDAY the 17th - Hoover Dam to Mesa, Arizona
I'd been to Hoover Dam previously, but as a kid, and so I didn't really remember anything. The elevators were not functioning, for some reason, so no tours into the power house were available. We walked over the "memorial bridge" which provided a great view
Then we parked and walked down into the main dam area. Lots of people milling around - lots of foreign languages. We looked at all the exhibits and watched a slide show which documented the construction of the dam.
We finally got to Mesa after a long day of driving. Had a nice reunion with the Taylors and went to Coldstone for ice cream.
This is their home.
TUESDAY the 18th - Day one in Mesa with Taylor's
We spent this day driving all over the Phoenix area. Both Sharla's and Wilford's family came to the Mesa area with the pilgrims, so they know all the sites and clobs of people. We drove by the Mesa Temple
And by this interesting museum.
We went out to a state park in the Superstition Mountains, had a picnic (Subway) and took a short hike.
We really loved the Saguaro cactus
They took us up further into the mountains to visit some of the lakes they frequented when their kids were little and they had a boat..
Sharla and Wilford are the coordinators for Just Serve in their ward. Tuesday night they needed to go to the Food Bank - we went with them.
Apple Jacks and Cheez-its were put into small plastic snack bags.
WEDNESDAY the 19 th -
the Taylors have put in their papers to serve another mission. They indicated on their papers that they would do anything. Soon they got a letter from the legal department in SLC asking them to come up for an interview. Wilford was a lawyer in his pre-retirement life, and so they expected that the interview would have something to do with serving a "legal" mission. Sure enough they have been called to be a legal counsel somewhere in South America - prob in Buenas Aires (but they wouldn't tell us until they get an official call). So even though they told us they had not wanted to do a legal mission, because they wanted to do something different, they are being faithful members and going where there is a need.
Since they were not around on Wednesday, we drove south - past Tucson - to Karchner Caverns State Park. I have no photos The scenery was classic southern Arizona....sand...brown...dry. And, no photos are allowed in the caves. It was a great tour, however...interesting because the guide told all about how the caves had been discovered in 1973 and how development of the caves had proceeded to properly display the geologic formations and to avoid the pitfalls which other caverns had had. Really didn't see anything different, but the history was different.
THURSDAY the 20th - today we drove a bit west to visit the Gilbert Temple and ate at a yummy
bar-b-que restaurant.
The Gilbert Temple has lovely grounds, but contradictorially, there are heavily trafficked roads on all four sides, so there was a lot of noise.
Here's the restaurant
This is Dad's two meat lunch with two sides. I got a baked potato with brisket and sauce.
And prickly pear ice cream with prickly pear topping. Delish!
Drove back to Mesa.......honestly it seemed like we drove forever in the Phoenix area. We had an appointment at the Mesa Temple Reconstruction/Restoration/Remodeling Trailer in the corner of the construction area.
It wasn't what I thought it'd be - a movie about the church and the restoration...etc. Instead it was about the remodel. There is a senior couple there serving a mission. The Elder was in the construction business, and his job is to daily inspect everything that is being done. The Sister goes everywhere and photographs everything and thoroughly documents by words and photos what all is happening. Eventually her work will be put into a book for the .....historical dept, I suppose. Anyway, they presented an interesting program
That evening the Taylors had a bar-b-que with their family - mainly to tell them that they will be called to a 'legal' mission \" There were a lot of people there and a lot of kids. Everyone should have had a name tag.
After dinner we went to a musical performance put on by the Dutton Family. They are a big Mormon family with a lot of musical talent and dancing abilities. They have a theater during the summer season in Branson MO, and their winter home is in Mesa. Their performance was good!
Our final moment of reminiscing and playing with our phones - we were setting them m up with Marco Polo accounts.
FRIDAY the 21st - left Mesa and headed north.
Along the way we stopped at Montezuma Castle and went to the Visitors Center
It was interesting. Of course we couldn't go through the ruins. but a diorama showed 16 rooms were inhabited by about 50 or so people over a duration of 300 years.
On the way out we got lunch at an Indian fry bread shop..
Alongside the road we also saw this and decided to visit. In hindsight, I don't think it was worth the 40 mi round trip.
Our main goal of the day was to get to Horseshoe Bend on the Colorado. I've seen many photos in magazines, brochures and on line and I thought that you had to drive a jeep for miles, then transfer to a donkey, and then hike the rest of the way. However......this scenic spot is practically on the highway. We parked in a big parking lot operated by the City of Page, paid our ten dollars, parked, and walked about twenty minutes ....and there it was! We were so close that it was difficult to get a good photo. And...if we weren't careful, we could have fallen over in the the canyon/river below.
Now, where to spend the night? The map showed a rest stop up the road, but when we got there, in the dark, it seemed to be a parking area for an Indian Interpretive Center. We drove on to a gas station where the attendant told us about a wide flat place a ways up and off the road where truckers often stop. And that's where we went....all by ourselves in the middle of nowhere. I could hear cars pass by occasionally, and when they did, the inside of the camper lit up due to their headlights.
In the morning we realized that we were nestled up against the Vermilion Cliffs Natural Monument. The scenery was incredible with all the colors.
We finally intersected with Interstate 15, and our days of isolated driving ended. Stopped by Cove Fort which was a Mormon outpost for 23 years back in the late 1880's. It was there mainly as a telegraph station and a place where passersby could stop. We had a nice tour given by a sister missionary from Colorado. Great restored old pioneer place.
This is Ira Hinckley's home from Coalville - moved down here to add flavor
Finally we got to Ivan's
Connected up with Natalie
Got pizza
And went to Culvers for frozen Custard
Sunday we went to church.
Dad helped Magnus make a second jump for his mountain bike exploits
Ivan helped Dad replace the fin antennae on the top of the truck which Dad thinks is what is causing the leak.
Good times!
