The kids had new kitchen
countertops installed over the summer. A final detail is installing a backsplash. They selected a rustic green rectangular tile to be laid in a square pattern. Check out Kent’s handiwork. Walls also go from a dark mustard yellow to misty fern (sort of mint). A last touch is repainting the floor pattern in the heaviest wear area in front of the sink. It all looks great. 
The cake is a hit as are the cake-pops. Gifts overflow and kids run crazy. Happy birthday Hazel.
We are off to New York today to join in celebrating Hazel’s 2nd birthday then to hang out and bask in the “grandparent aura” for a couple weeks. I can’t wait! It is an uneventful trip and Mike picks us up at the airport. I join him picking up Willa after school and am in seventh heaven when she come running shouting “Nana, Nana”. What a joy! Hazel’s vocabulary is growing and she has added what sounds like “Where’s Nana”. No one is sure if that’s really what she means but, I’ll take it!
I’m baking birthday cake
again this year. At two Hazel hasn’t voiced a specific shape or idea so I’m going with her love of nature and the outdoors. The cake is an orange aster assembled from cupcakes…. plus, I am trying cake-pops. Cook’s sampling says they are all delicious and they are pretty cute. Check out the bugs and butterfly details.
Hazel opens her gift from Granpa on the 13th, her actual bday. Note to self, always wrap in tissue paper. She loves ripping it apart! The train is a hit too.
One more day exploring 
red rock formations. Dixie National Forest Powell ranger District includes a large red rock canyon and they have developed a nice network of trails to explore it. It is kind of a mini version of the Utah National Parks, beautiful and amazing to look at and with maybe 1/10th the visitor traffic. We walk about 8 miles total along a loop following Cassidy, Rich and ledge point trails passing through shaded side canyons, out on rocky points, among rock formations and winding through forested sections. There are more trails but we are feeling done for the day. If you are passing through on UT 12 heading for Bryce or Zion, it is worth at least a quick stop.
Today we are off to Cedar Breaks National Monument. We have managed to skip by here all other times through the area and are curious to see this place that exists entirely above 10,000 feet. Here and at the adjacent Brian Head we are at the highest point of the Grand Staircase, the geologic formation built from ages of sediment laid down by shallow seas, thousands of feet of volcanic ash, multiple lava flows, gigantic fault shifts and centuries of erosion.
Mother Nature works on an absolutely amazing scale! Here, we look down into a 3 mile across, 2000-foot-deep bowl with multiple radial ridges like spokes of a wheel all adorned with multicolor hoodoos. Like Bryce but different.
It has been below freezing most nights up here so snow that fell a few days ago is still hanging around. Trails are snow covered or slick with sticky, icy mud, not exactly what one hopes for when hiking canyon rims trails! We limit our stops to overlooks. I build a tiny snowman. We spot mule deer in one of the high valley meadows. We are glad we made the stop this time. I think the rim trail might be fun given warmer drier weather. Maybe there will be another time.
Our trip into the park yesterday told us that even in October this place is busy mid-day. So, we set the alarm for 6:45AM.
It is in the mid-20s and first light glints off the heavy frost on everything. Distant mountain tops in all directions sport a new dusting of snow creating a perfect backdrop for fall colors. Off we go. We are in the park and at Rainbow point by 9AM. Parking is no problem, yeah. We have lots of clothes with us and the sun is toasty. We set out to explore.
We start with views from the rim beginning at the furthest stop on the scenic drive, Yovimpa and Rainbow Points, then moving in toward the main amphitheater. Views are absolutely amazing and different from every angle and every stop. On this far end of the canyon it is all the work of nature. The hordes of tromping boots are mostly held up on the rim; minimizing trail scars among the hoodoos below. 
Between the overlooks the bristlecone pine loop takes us past these hardy ancient pines that manage to survive in the cold, wind, scarce water and rocky ground above 9000 ft. Gnarly, 1000+ years old and amazing. Check out the namesake cones. We move on stopping at every pull out and taking dozens of pictures.
Now it’s time to wander among the hoodoos. On the recommendation from the ranger (amazing hoodoos and not many other hikers), we choose the Tower Bridge Trail. It is short, just 1 1/2 miles each way but it does go to the bottom of the canyon meaning an 800 ft drop in elevation. It is an out and back; so, yep that’s 800 ft back up. All this starts at 8000 ft elevation. We wind among ever changing formations, rocks, spires, castle-like, spiraling walls, and sentinel towers standing solo among the many. Trail side signs encourage extra care as we make our way through a sensitive vegetation area, another “grove” of bristle cone pines. Our toes are cramping from the continuous downhill when we reach crisscrossing streambeds, this must be the bottom! There just ahead, is the Tower Bridge hoodoo. Definitely castle-tower-like and pretty cool. 
It is absolutely silent here. What a perfect place for lunch break. Our pace up is just perfect for admiring lots more hoodoos from differing angles…..Back at the car we log in at 4.89 miles total door to door for this walk and 1095ft elevation change. Well worth it to get the unique perspective of hoodoos from right among them.
We are back home entertained by the prairie dogs all around us. There is dinner then a beautiful black night sky. We fall into bed with the milky way arching across overhead.
Willa will be Jafar from Alladin this Halloween.
We are not quite sure why she is so obsessed but she has been saying it for weeks and still not waivered. Something about having evil magic powers. Who knows. We bring out last year’s witch costume and add a red lining to the cape, create a turban from Mom’s wool hat and some flower arrangement sprigs, and she and I create the iconic serpent scepter. With a bit of face paint, she is quite Jafar-like.
The bear
costume Willa wore when she was two just fits Miss Hazel. It is adorable on her.
It is chilly and rainy this morning. We start off slowly but are out of the house before noon to check out trails and sights for the upcoming days. We pick up maps, check out the park movie, I get my Bryce medallion, and we get advice from a ranger on hikes. Clouds are building and we run through a bit more rain on our way back to camp. It is a breezy but relaxing afternoon. I am hoping for clear sky tonight. Camp is very dark and should be great for star gazing, if the coyotes don’t move in too close!
Kent just saw a report from
Cedar Breaks, the entrance sign is snow covered. We plan to head there Wednesday. I wonder what we’ll find?
We are rolling south on I-15 again, still into the wind, through an unusually cold weather front. Here in Utah, mountains flanking us east and west are all receiving a new dusting of snow. It is lovely. UT 20 winds and climbs through a pass among 10,000 to 12,000 ft peaks to US89 for the last leg of our drive for today. Our reservations are at Bryce Canyon Springs campground near the tiny town of Hatch between Bryce Canyon NP and Cedar Breaks National Monument. I call for final directions. Seems the address and coordinates provided don’t lead to the same place. Hmmm. Turns out the address is better, still a bit of wondering as we wander through sagebrush but we do find our way. The place was a bit over-sold online. There is no one here for the mandatory check-in and site assignment. It is a large graveled lot – fenced off from the pasture land thankfully- with some 6 or 8 sites occupied by travel trailers. They are long level sites. They are full-hookup (never mind the portable sewer snake at one site). No bathrooms. A semi-finished cabin and a “vintage” trailer neither quite occupiable just yet. But it does work out. I do have enough cell coverage to remote check in. We find a suitable site.
White-tailed Prairie Dog
Utah Prairie Dog
We are in the middle of a huge sage brush prairie backed up to mountains with a second snowcapped ridge beyond them. It is a wild, open-range kind of lovely. Prairie dogs scurry about, including a threatened sub-species the Utah prairie dog. Coyotes howl at night and we spot a couple pronghorn. It is going to be just fine.
It rains off-and- on all evening and we get a surprise, sleet. Temps at night are to dip into the low 30s or even 20s. We have power, that means heated mattress pad and an electric heater, we are good.
After a last minute course correction by our Garmin shortened the route by 45 minutes, we settled in for 9+ hours in the seat covering 520 miles while Kent wrestles with high gusty headwinds much of the way puts us overnighting in the Cabella’s lot in Farmington, UT. We accomplish our goal; plus, it puts us in a place for our first-time dinner at Mo’Bettah’s, for ‘Hawaii style’ fast food. We go for sort of sampler plates and wind up trying their sweet smoked pork (kalua pig), teriyaki steak, and signature teriyaki chicken all with lots of rice and of all things, macaroni salad. Two dinners, way more food than we can finish, and it is delicious. One doggie bag please. It is a bit pricey but portions are big. We could easily have shared one entrée. The Cabella’s lot is brightly lit and noisy as we head to bed but things quiet down soon and we get a pretty good night’s sleep.
We saw pronghorn along the way! Always a treat to see.