Still in St George area...

Well, I thought we would be headed north by now, but the weather is still cold farther up So here we are. Dylan, John's youngest, has been keeping us entertained with his climbing stories of his day. And we continue to explore the surrounding areas around St George. Virgin River Gorge, Snow Canyon, Black and Tan Wall, Little Black Mountain Petroglyphs [the latest area].

Dylan was climbing back in the canyons at a wall called "Phalanx of Will"

At our latest stay camping in Snow Canyon we met Alan and Ziva. {Right before the Petroglyph place}

Ziva is a mixed breed and a total sweetheart. I got my much needed dog fix! Hope to meet up with them on our way through Salt Lake to say HI! And maybe get a decent pic of Ziva... Of course, at just over a year old she is not one to stay still for too long!

 

Time to go and set up camp somewhere.... Mo's I think. A bouldering place outside of town, and new for us.

Til the next stop sign,

Scott and Johnney

 

 

The Hills are alive with the sound of Music!

Spring is starting in this part of the desert. Birds are singing everywhere, cactus and flowers are starting to bloom,

and the spring rains are here. The desert smells like fresh sage after a rain. A very different smell from what I remember from back east.
We have continued to stay in the Southwestern Utah. The weather has been great - 70's during the day, and cool at night -  50's. And John's youngest son has been in the area rock climbing. We continue to hang with him after his climbs, camping in different areas around St George. The last few nights we have been back in Snow Canyon, which is really beautiful! So lots of day hikes for us!
Southern view from campsite:



Snow Canyon has a lot of petrified dunes. Very old sand dunes that are now rock, with very interesting formations.

In our hiking we found some "Lava Tubes", underground tunnels where the lava used to travel in it's path to the surface. Sometimes part of the roof has collapsed, allowing entry into the tube itself. If it hasn't collapsed, you can hike quite a ways in. Definitely bring a flashlight!
While in Snow Canyon we have stayed at a campground. Love the hot showers! But it's time to head back to the desert for a bit! And as the weather warms we will head north.

 More on that after the next stop sign. Til then,

Scott and Johnney

Boise and beyond

A big hello to everyone!
It's been awhile since I've blogged here. Missing you all...
Last blog we were in Salt Lake around Halloween. From there we made our way to Boise to see John's sister Sue, his niece Katy, husband John, and kids Kai and Mia. It's always a great time since they all live next door to each other. We were there til the end of January. Great time catching up, eating, and hanging out for the holidays. We did have a few small jobs. Indoor stuff like a minor bath remodel, painting, installing a water heater and a few other minor jobs. Christmas was fun [ yes, I did say that] with the kids around. And a few parties with the family. It was the most Christmas stuff I've done in many a year!

 

Thank you Sue for all that you are.

 

At this point I took a week to go to Florida to see my Dad. It was so good to see him, and I loved all the humidity.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

But it is good to be on the road again. And away from Boise's inversion! The air quality was really bad for a long time. It finally lifted shortly before we left.
After leaving Boise we stopped in Salt Lake for a few days to see Chris and Missy [same place as Halloween]. They are having new wood floors put in. Can't wait to see!
From there we went south to St. George to see one of John's brothers. Next pic is the view from our site up in Snow Canyon...

Next stop was the Virgin River Gorge in the very northwest corner of Arizona. We met up with Dylan, John's youngest, who was rock climbing there. Had a few days with him before he headed off to Nevada. This pic is the view from our site in the Virgin River Gorge. It is so nice to be back in the desert! Cedar Pocket was the campground there, right on the river. Really nice and 20 miles from any direction to civilization! We met another couple, Dave and Michelle, and had a nice time hanging with them a few times. And I got my dog fix with the two dogs they have - Peanut and Aruba!

 

 





 

 

 

We did take one day and went to Mesquite, Nevada to see a cousin of John's he hasn't seen in several years. She is a hoot!

Also looked for jobs in St George. But being a strong Mormon town that wasn't going to happen. They don't like non-Mormons. It can be very uncomfortable with them.

So onward we went, up towards Zion National Park. Stopped along they way just outside the town of LaVerkin in this canyon known for it's "cracks" The top of the mesa was spider-webbed with "cracks", some coming back as much as 30-40 yards. And very deep.



 

 

 

On the second day we hiked down the canyon to the river. Lots of sandy beaches. Beautiful, sunny day. And a very long and steep hike back!

 

From there we headed closer to Zion, spending our next night on Kolob Terrace, again by the river. Wasn't sure the bus would make it down the "road" but it has never failed us. Suspension creaks and groans sometimes... but don't we all as we get older!

Tonight we are in Springdale, right outside the gates to Zion. We needed a good hot shower, propane, diesel, laundry, and internet.
Tomorrow?
 Depends on whether we go left or right at the next stop sign...

big hugs!
Scott and Johnney

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winter has arrived...Happy Holidays!

Hello everyone!
  Last we were in Moab and had a great time. Sure do miss the warm weather. Having missed cold winters for the last couple it is trying to acclimate once again. We are in Boise, Idaho, and the temps for the last week have been below zero to the low 20's during the day.  Bitter cold!
  After Moab we stopped in Salt Lake to house sit for family. We arrived a few days early so we had some time to visit before they headed off for Turks/Cachous. And I had just purchased a new [for me] mountain bike. Top quality bike that needed some tuning. Since Chris [John's nephew] is a bike fanatic and mechanic he overhauled everything that needed fixing! It runs great and I am a very grateful rider. It's a huge improvement over my last bike. And thank you Dave and Alice for making it available!  We had a great week of touring around Salt Lake in a Mustang convertible visiting some old haunts of John's. He grew up there and we were able to connect with some old friends from high school that he hasn't seen since. Great bunch of people! Unfortunately an Uncle of his passed away and so we stayed an extra week for the service. More family arrived, and since everyone was there for Halloween, we built a fire out front, passed out candy with Michael Jackson's Thriller playing in the background.

This pic is of the view from our campsite in Horse Canyon. Not a campground but plenty of places to park off the beaten path. As you can see not a town or dwelling in sight.  It is halfway between SLC and Moab so we stayed there on the way to and the way back from Moab.

  From Salt Lake we said our goodbyes to everyone and headed for Boise. The snow was on the peaks and everyone was talking about skiing the following weekend. Meaning it was getting cold.
  We quickly settled into life in Boise at sister Sue's house. Getting the yard/ gardens cleaned up for winter. And with the grand kids next door there is always something going on. Like piano recitals...
 

                                                                                                    Kai

 

                              Mia

 

and hot springs!

 

But it isn't all fun and games. We are working the odd job: painting, plumbing stuff, small carpentry, massage, etc. We need to get enough to head south to warmer climes for a few months. We will be back in Boise March/April.

 

Have a Happy and Safe Holiday Season!

The best to you all...

Scott and Johnney

back in red rock country at last! for a while...

A big hello and hugs to all!!!
Lava was a blast as always. It really is a wonderful group of friends we have there.
We were there for about 5 weeks and got the old porch torn down and the new one rebuilt from the ground up. A few design changes along the way, and knowing Kathryn some additions will be upcoming!  First pic is the old porch...roughly 8x12 with a shed roof. New deck is 16x20 with a pitched roof. And a really nice swing!

We visited Chris (John's nephew,) Missy and Ian [and wife and son] in Salt Lake valley, in route to Moab.  We'll be house/pet sitting for them at the end of October while they are traveling so we will return October 17.
Made it to Moab for one night in town and then moved up river [20 miles out of town in the middle of nowhere] to camp at a friends place. It's nice to be back out of town and in the desert again and to be among the WONDERFUL  red rocks again.  Life has a way of helping us along with good invitations and great rendezvous'!
The canyon country has had an unbelievable amount of rain this year and continued with showers last night so the desert is green and flowering again! Some views from our current camp...

til the next time,
Scott and Johnney 

I can't believe how much time has passed since the last entry. If your still reading, sorry for the delay.

Our time on the east coast was not long enough and harried as usual. John's oldest son graduated from the University of West Virginia with his PHD in Sports Psychology. It was a great weekend for him, and we were honored to share it with him! And very proud parents!

 On the way back from West Virginia we stopped in DC to see my new great nephew. He is so cute and the happiest baby I've met in a long time!

While on the east coast we had some time with my two sisters, brother, and my Aunt Sally. I do miss having my family close by. We had several days with my older sister exploring some of the White Mountains. It was so wonderful having a tree canopy overhead again, hiking in the woods! But I do not miss the mosquito's and black flies...

And many thanks to Robert and Liz!
After we got back to Phoenix it took us several days to load up the bus, and shut Dave's house down for the summer. We also finally got a kitchen sink installed!! Running water!!! A dream kitchen at last!
After many hugs and see you agains we headed out one morning. At nine am it was already 90 degrees so we were looking forward to heading north for cooler temps. I don't know how people live in Phoenix year round in temps of 100 - 115 on a daily basis.  It was slow going, even for the bus, since everything north of Phoenix is gaining in altitude. But we did make Flagstaff by early afternoon. Picked up supplies and continued on to Bonita, a campground we stayed in before, not far north of Flag. And it is 5-6000 ft in altitude! For us, it was the first time in weeks it was cool in the evening. Dropped to 47 degrees actually. We fell asleep to the breeze in the pines [ponderosa pines], the "who, who" of an owl and the quiet of a deep forest under a bazillion stars.  NO traffic noise! We could see the stars again! No hum of air conditioning. Wild animal noises. It was a glorious night!
At this point we knew we would head to Boise, Idaho. We had an offer for some work. But we had to stop over in Lava. First was Salt Lake though. Some time there with John's nephew. And Dyl [John's youngest, the rock climber] came to spend time with us. His van broke down in Salt Lake, so he has been working for a few months. We spent one day with him up in Alta [the ski mountain] hiking with him. A warm and beautiful day, with snow still on the mountains.

We had the bus that day, and it was very slow going. We had to get to the trailhead at 8000 feet. No problem. The bus engine is not fast but a real workhorse. The problem was coming down. Even though we were going real slow, I could smell the brakes overheating badly. We pulled off right away and got out. There were flames coming out of the front wheels from the brakes! They were easily put out and we had to wait on the side of the road for an hour til they were cool enough to make it the rest of the way down.
As I said earlier, from there we headed of to Lava. Somehow people knew we were coming and a short while later we were sitting down to dinner with 10 or so friends. Word got out and they just kept coming in. It was really great to see everyone again! As one thing lead to another we ended up staying for almost a week instead of a few days. After all, we couldn't miss Milan's birthday party!

After a week of festivities we headed of to Boise. We had a house to paint, with some stone work, and a fence to put in. The owner was getting anxious to get started! So back to work we went. Long days and achy backs but it is now finished - 4 weeks later. In the meantime Sue, John's sister, the owner of said house, has been telling her friends about the work on her house. We now have more work than we can handle! No complaints there! We are in the middle of our last house paint in Boise for this year as we need to be in Lava on September 3rd for a construction project there. Then it's off to Salt Lake to house sit for John's nephew in October. 3 dogs and a cat...

So the question is: where do we spend the winter???
We miss you all,
    John and Scott

Time for a new chapter

The end of winter here in Phoenix, and spring has sprung. Hard to tell except the temps have already hit the 100 degree mark. It's already too hot for us.
John's sister Sue was here for a few weeks!!! And Rob from Boston too!!! So we went exploring the places we still wanted to see before we leave. Places like Deer Valley Rock Art...

The Phoenix Museum of Art which had an installation called "Order, Chaos, and the Space between". This included 30,000 butterflies winding their way around...

Southeast of Phoenix, in a town called Florence, is St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Monastery. They have six different chapels in various styles and many acres of gardens, fountains, and statues. All very beautiful.

From there we headed a little farther south towards Tucson to the Bioshere 2. It is a huge series of buildings where everything is enclosed and self sufficent. The first experiment had 8 people living there for 2 years without any thing from the outside world.  It's called a window to the future. Hmmm...

Recently we went to this "house" called Mystery Castle with our friend Bern. A large stone house with quite a history! All hand built, recycled materials, for his daughter. She lived in it until she passed in 2010.

second floor

With Spring come the flowers. And the desert is blooming!

 

It is now May... the winter has gone by and it's time to think of our next chapter. The next few actually.

First, we are headed to the east coast. On May 14th we will fly with Dave to Portland where his son will pick him up to go to New Hampshire for the summer. John and I will be staying in Scarborough for a few days before heading south towards West Virginia. John's oldest son, Ian, will be graduating again, this time with his PhD in Sports Psychology. He has worked so hard for this! What a great day!

Then it's back to Portland with a stop in DC to see my new great nephew. Then to New Hampshire to see my sister for several days. The next week will be all around the state [Boston, Rhode Island too] for various people before heading back to Phoenix on June 4th.

The chapter after that will be... hmmm....left or right at the next stop sign...?

Scott and johnney