From St. George, Utah back to Pittsburgh

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We still had some traveling to do before making it home to Pittsburgh. On our way to Las Vegas we went to Hoover Dam. That part of Nevada along Lake Meade was stark, dry but surprisingly green from an unusually wet winter and spring.

We did spend almost 3 days in Las Vegas with Marra, Bob, Dillon and Ryan. We saw "Ka" an amazing "Cirque du Solei". The casinos are of course devoted to gambling but each has a different theme, New York, Paris, Treasure Island, etc. They are truly beautiful settlings. On our way home we stopped at the Valley of Fire State Park. The natural setting had a different kind of beauty. But we forgot the camera on this trip.

We left St. George on June 1st, a hot day, after about 2 weeks of almost 100 degree, sunny weather. In Green River, Utah, we met Moki Mac, our river rafting outfitters. The weather immediately turned cold, raining most of the 2 days, with MUD that sucked you in, like quick sand. The tenting was fine but the bathroom facilities were wild(really). It was a long muddy walk to the "outhouse".

They told us the worst case scenario before getting in the raft, I had been telling Jim I didn't think I was going to go, but by then there wasn't any choice! The rapids were on the edge of being class 5 (the top class) in Westwater Canyon. The ride down this section of the Colorado was much fun but too short. I ended up telling Ike, the river guide at the oars, I wanted BIGGER waves. He laughed. Oh, and the food was delicous.

We continued home stopping at Vail, Co., Abilene, Ks (Eisenhower's home) and Independence, Mo. (Truman's home) . Our last stop was in Columbus, Ohio, where we had lunch with Karen and Sarah, Jim's daughter and grand daughter.

We arrived home the evening of June 8th. Now it is time to catch up, organize, clean the car, etc. and get used to Pittsburgh again. Pittsburgh is home, still the best place to be.

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Photos

Standing in the gooey mud- - -.
ready for the Colorado rapids.

Ike the oarsman
Ike was lifted out of his seat a few times on the rapids. Behind is Chuck, the retire lawyer who travels to buy rugs and ethnic art in 3rd world countries.

Getting ready to raft
In the rapids one must bail, and hang on, not take pictures.

Kolab Canyon
Northern section of Zion

Looking over part of St. George
Taken from our condo hill

A house in Kayenta, Utah
On the edge of St. George

Three Generations
Sarah, Jim and Karen

Sarah took this one
Joan, Karen and Jim
Note proud mother and grandpa
Good job, Sarah!

Comments

[anonymous]

Welcome Back
Hope you didn't forget your Ramblers' trip, Joan! You missed an awful lot of the West, so you will need to do that again a few more times. - Bruce Sundquist

[Bob Tait]

I like your picture and sound like you had a great time Maybe we can get a group together from the Ramblers and do a raft trip on the Alleheny