Well, last weekend was fun. Karen and Lynn came for a visit and some down time away from the hustle & bustle. They rented ATV's, played some golf, spoiled the dogs, volunteered at Best Friends, & took a little time to take in Las Vegas. OK, maybe not so much "down time", but we enjoyed having them. We also hosted a birthday party for our friend Jamie that her husband John meticulously planned. All good! Bring on Labor Day!!!

August 18 and 19th Daron worked at the Powwow. I helped for a few hours on Saturday with the art contest but I stayed home on Sunday! The first photo is Thunder Mountain. The last photo with the veterans is one of my favorites. I really like Tim who is holding the red flag. His Indian name which I cannot spell or pronounce means "One who carries dough" apparently as a child he used to steal the fry bread dough from his mother and grandmother and eat it raw. When he was telling Daron and I the story I thought it meant "One who carries doe" and that he saved a young doe from harm. I was wrong!

Coyote Painting

In two weeks Kanab celebrates the Western Legends. There is a parade, they show movies that were filmed here, they have an art show and other celebrations. I am submitting my Coyote painting in the art show. Since I don't do ANY cowboy or landscape painting it was the closest western theme I could come up with!

Daron and I headed to the Hidden Canyon trail in Zion on Sunday for a early hike. The weather is finally cooling down a bit but the middle of the day can be around 99 degrees. The mornings are amazing and so are the evenings. Here are a few photos of the hike.

Well lil' Lisa is well into her training for the Louisville Police Dept. and she has the crew cut to prove it! Of course, she didn’t have to go to such extremes but you know Lisa. She is all or nothing and a crew cut just seemed appropriate! Luckily, she has a great head and a beautiful face so she can get away with it! Dan came in town and Karen as well. Unfortunately, Daron and I couldn’t get out there for the weekend (We would have spent more time traveling than visiting!). Dan looks so good and has lost weight, Crummy looks fabulous as usual and the dogs were happy to see all their buddies.

Unfortunately, Nala lost her battle with cancer on July 22nd. Luckily, she had a great weekend with Lisa and Chase. She went out to a fancy restaurant on Friday, went to the park on Saturday and Sunday morning. It took her fast Sunday evening and Lisa was there with her as she went over Rainbow Bridge. When Lisa comes to visit we will hold a Blessing in honor of Nala at Angels Rest. She was an amazing dog that will be remembered fondly by all of us. When a dog that weighs 100 pounds starts smiling and bouncing through the house it is not something you easily forget! I find comfort knowing that Nala is up there running around with Skippy, Sealy and Graham Cracker!

See the makeshift ladder from a log and a broken rope ladder on the side.

My Friend Lisa (above)

Brian and Lori (above) moved here from Chicago

Me and obstacle #1 (above)

I took a hike last week that was really awesome. It was another river hike but this one had some really neat "challenges" or "obstacles" along the way. I am so thankful that Daron and I have met a group of active people. It really is fun when we can explore and enjoy the surroundings.

Corbett Family Reunion in Montana

Mary, Tom, Jim and Bill (along with their families)were able to spend a week at Uncle Toms cabin in Montana. From the photos it looks like they had a wonderful time and really enjoyed eachothers company. As far as I know nobody got too out of hand!

Well, I missed the deadline for the art contest held by the National Anti-Vivisection Society (navs.org)so I thought I would go ahead and post what Daron and I came up with. There are a bunch of products that are not tested on animals, many of which we already use (like Bath and Bodyworks!) Anyhow, www.caringconsumer.com has a list of animal friendly companies. Daron and I came up with a couple of tag lines like: The price of beauty. Mirror, Mirror on the wall who is it that suffers most of all. I will have to have Daron add his because I forgot!

Best Friends 60's Party

Playing Cards

Daron and I got together with some friends to play some poker and we had a great time. Tonight we have a work party that has a 60's theme. I went to the local thrift store and ran into a bunch of coworkers. Everyone was looking for 60's attire. It should be interesting to see all the outfits. We will be sure to take many photos.

My 2 cents. Let me just tell you that hike was totally incredible! I mean I've been all over the world and this great country. I've been to Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, the East Coast, the West Coast,Hawaii, AcaPulco,Cancun, Yellowstone, Vancouver, seen whales in the Puget Sound,taken a helo to the bottom of the Grand Canyon,etc, etc. And I think that this was the most amazingly beautiful and just plain awesome thing I've ever seen or done! Pictures can't possibly do it justice. As you are having fun playing and hiking in this crystal clear 60 degree river if you look up the sheer walls of this slot canyon stretch as far up as you could possibly believe. It is a MUST experience for our visitors from now on as long as it is in the summer... Here is one hi-res picture so maybe you can get some idea of the awesomeness. Is that a word? D

Carry your POOP out? What kinda hike is this?

Daron and I are newbies when it comes to hiking. During orientation we discovered we had to carry everything out (which we figured) we just didn't think about carrying OUR poop out. Sure we carry our dog poop our of parks, neighbors yards etc. but when it comes to our own poop...never. Anyhow, we prayed for constipation and were very happy when the only bodily function required during our 6 hour trip up and down the river was urinating. Since we walked IN the river it made it extra easy (wink wink). Thank goodness for the high water areas since as you can see from the photos there were no trees to squat behind. We rented neoprene socks, special shoes and walking sticks. I didn't think I would use the stick but it came in handy on the rocks that were slippery. There were over 15 of us (mostly Best Friends people and spouses) that went which made it even more fun. All of us said on the hike "We live here, how cool is that?" The Zion Narrows (which is the hike we took) is a 35 mile drive from our house. Yea, we're cool.

I apologize for all the times I said Daron didn't like to hike. He actually likes to go on hikes that are adventurous and exciting. My parents sent us some money for our wedding anniversary which came in handy when we bought our camelbaks. One bag carried 2 liters the other 3 liters. The $140 bucks we paid for the camelbak backpacks was well worth it. We drank all our water and could have used some more! We headed down the trail at 10:30 and returned about 4:15. Daron was my hero because he carried this guys backpack the last mile. The poor guy fell and scraped his head all up. The first people on the "scene" asked if anyone had a first aid kit and I did!!! It was little but I was able to put some antibiotic ointment on his head which helped stop the bleeding. The guys pack weighed at least 50 pounds and it was really awkward. Going over slippery rocks with a pack that is a good 12 inches higher than your head and wobbly is not good. Besides the metal frame broke when the guy fell. Our friend Brian stayed back with us and was willing to take the pack if Daron twisted his ankle. Brian (and I) were praying Daron made it safe. I didn't want him to hurt himself and Brian didn't want to carry that damn pack! Ha. He made if (of course - he's superman) and we were all glad to get back to the rest of the group and more importantly the cold beers in the cooler. Daron and I had a great meal in Springdale after the hike. I had scallops and a salad and Daron had a pizza. Needless to say, we slept like rocks (no pun intended) when we got home!