Trip to Zion with Best Friends

Our campsite below Sentinel Mountain and beside the Virgin River, just outside the park in Springdale.

We left Friday morning, May 14th, for a short trip to Zion National Park to meet Connie and Sherm. The weather was perfect, the campsite was right next door to the Shermans and we had a wonderful Saturday, Sunday and Monday with them. Saturday we went to Coral Pink Sand Dunes and that was beautiful. Sunday we went to Kolob Canyon, part of Zion at the North end. Also visited the Rockville Cemetary where Dennie and Connie's Great Grandmother, Amy Hansen, is buried.

This is the Sentinel, an Indian face, on Sentinel Mountain, towering above our campsite.

Sadie kind of liked the river, although she won't swim.

Indian Paint Brush.

The Virgin River, not quite as muddy as usual.

This is down the canyon, almost to the "narrows". The narrows was closed because of high water.

The Court of the Patriarchs. (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob)

Such a good girl!!!

Coral Pink Sand Dunes National Park. Look close and you'll see that the wind has blown a little twig all the way around making a circle in the sand.

On the way home, just past the carved-out canyon where the highway goes through.

What a great trip. We're looking forward to more like this after Dennie gets laid off and retires!!! Soon!

My pond garden....

Almost a year ago, while I was visiting kids and friends in Oregon, by myself, Dennie and Ethan undertook the creation of a pond for me! Although it was a bit more of a job, I think, than they thought it was going to be, it's now a pretty cool garden. I'm landscaping it with “water-wise” plants because of the high cost of water in this area and having fun learning about the drought tolerant plants and buying them locally from the Ramona Garden Club Sale and local nurseries. We've visited the Cuyamaca College Water-wise Garden a couple of times and bought plants there too, and I recently went on the Ramona Garden Club Tour. I think whatever you study and learn about, you end up loving. This is true with drought tolerant gardening! (And I realize roses are not 'water-wise' but I love them and I'm converting some lawn areas to more drought tolerant plants so I can have the rose garden. At least it saves on buying cut flowers!) The pond was crystal clear in the winter and we have eight fish, five Koi and three Goldfish, but now with the warmer temperatures and more sun the water is getting kind of murky again and we're going to have to do a little more research on the problem. Here are some pictures of plants in my pond garden and some birds (I've also become a “birder”) that I've seen since the pond was completed. Most of the pictures are closeups because it's a work in progress and there are still a lot of areas that I don't know what to do with. But I did include one taken from the gate looking at the whole garden, or almost.