Queen's Garden/Navajo Loop Trail II

One of the two bridges.

Chandler, McKayla, and Shanley amongst the hoodoos.

Chandler in a natural cave.

A look back down the switchbacks.







For the rest of the day, again many spent most of their time in the pool. Vicki, Melissa, Tonya, and I took a few kids and went to the Visitor's Center and watched an interesting film and looked through the museum.

That night we all did some "Minute to Win It" games. I'll post pictures of that later! Then we roasted Starbursts and marshmallows and enjoyed some S'Mores.

Wednesday

I began early Wednesday morning by leaving the campsite at 5:30 am with Melissa, Dawnette, Spencer, Kelsie, and Shanley. We watched the sunrise from Sunrise Point and then hiked Fairyland Loop. This was an 8-mile loop described as a strenuous hike (it wasn't). It was, however, very pretty. Unfortunately, my camera batteries were dead so I have NO pictures.

Several others left about 9:30 am to hike the Rim Trail. Still others spent most of the day at the pool.

That evening Darin, Jolyn, Melissa, Vicki, Kevin, Alec, Garrett, Avery, Natalie, and I went for a drive and stopped at several viewpoints for breath-taking views like these:


Jolyn, Garrett, Melissa, Natalie, Alec, Vicki, and Kevin at Farview Point.


Alec and Natalie at Farview Point.

Natural Bridge - a very impressive sight!

We saw a lot of Pronghorn Antelope and Mule Deer. We even saw some very young antelope. They were scampering around playfully chasing each other. It was so fun to watch! We also saw lots of chipmunks, prairie dogs, crows, and other birds.

Deer are always a favorite with me. I think they are one of the prettiest creatures ever created!

That night there was an Astronomy Festival. They had a keynote speaker (Todd and Darin attended) and then had huge telescopes set up to view the stars. Many of the group went. I decided I wanted sleep more than I wanted stars in my life!

more Mossy Cave

Yes, I took hundreds of pictures of Bryce Canyon. It was so gorgeous! I am going to have a hard time narrowing down pictures to post.
Todd with ben's baby, Isaac.

Cory and his daughter, Hannah. I guess Hannah wasn't as enthralled with the scenery as I was.

Alec throwing Kevin off the bridge. heehee!

Mossy Cave

We arrived at the Ruby's Inn Campground in Bryce Canyon City on Tuesday afternoon. We got there later than expected due to: (1) a trip to Instacare where the doctor determined McKayla had just badly sprained her wrist (2) Kevin having to do some mortgage work before we left and (3) deciding that we had to get passports for the kids before the prices go up next week (but that's a whole other story)

Finally, we were on the road! Yea! Chandler got sick and threw up when we were only about an hour away from our destination - not a great start!

As soon as we arrived, the kids found the pool. After everyone arrived and had had dinner we took the short hike to Mossy Cave. It was gorgeous (and the only water we'd see the entire stay). The entire gang went (all 40 of us).






Natalie, Neal, and McKayla

Avery, Emily or Erica (yes, it's been almost 12 years and I STILL can't tell the twins apart), and Maggie

Natalie and McKayla

peeve

This is pretty mild as far as pet peeves go but I do dislike it when people refuse to share their recipes.

I understand if the recipe is used to make a living. I won't ask for the recipe if you're trying to sell the product. I get that.

What I don't get is people who just WON'T share.

Years ago we had a lady in our ward (she's long gone from here) who made a delicious cake/pie every Christmas. If you were lucky enough to be on her Christmas list, you got one. I asked for the recipe a few times but was always refused because she "wanted to keep the recipe in her own family."

I was irritated but I'm pretty non-confrontational so I said nothing.

About a year ago I went on an intensive hunt trying to find that recipe. Guess what? Found it!

Since I believe in sharing, here's the recipe:

Swedish Cake (Pie)
1 C sugar
1 C flour.
4 T margarine (melted)
2 eggs
2 t almond extract
sliced almonds to put on top

Mix the first five ingredients and pour into a greased 8 inch pie pan. Place almonds on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. (It makes its own crust)


This recipe is seriously delicious! Feel free to copy it and share it with whomever you like!

women and guilt

A study done by a Harvard professor led to the conclusion that men and women really do think differently.

Women tend to be three-dimensional thinkers. They don't just think in terms of what is right and what is wrong but they also think in terms of "how will it affect others?" In other words, the decision making of women is much more complex than that of men.

It is this added dimension of how will my decision affect others that leads to so much guilt in women. Our decisions are not simple thought of as right or wrong. We think of our decisions as having consequences for others and we worry about the effects on others. Therefore, guilt is almost inescapable.

I also believe that it is this added dimension of thinking that made it so that Eve (click to see my previous post on Eve) was the one who made the decision to eat the fruit in the Garden of Eden. Not only was her choice to do so carefully considered in terms of right and wrong. Eve most likely weighed her choice of whether or not to partake of the fruit based on the long-term effects for others. Should she choose not to eat, others would not have the opportunity to come to earth and gain a body and be proved.

I am equally sure Eve felt guilt about her choice. By choosing to partake of the fruit, she probably felt guilty about no longer being able to dwell in the presence of the Father and the Son. However, that guilt is probably less than the guilt she would have felt had she denied others the opportunity to fulfill God's divine plan.

half-marathon

I've been working on speed and hills for the past week. It's probably too little too late but I am feeling more prepared for my race.

I don't discount this feeling. The mental edge is super important!