Family Reunion and Bryce Canyon National Park

On Friday night, we started our weekend out with a quick stop at Smith & Edwards (on our way out to Brigham City).  Smith & Edwards is part army surplus, part thrift store and a whole lot of Wal Mart.  They have some unusual candies too....if you want an "Idaho Spud" this is your place.  And yeah, we picked up a couple....just because we could -- and can't in Southern California.  We still haven't opened one up to eat it yet, I'm not sure they're even any good?!

Because we were in Brigham City, we HAD to get some cherries.

And, the reason we were in Brigham City was to eat at Maddox....love that fried chicken!

Saturday, July 12th -- Orton Family Reunion, North Ogden, Utah.
That's my 90 year old, Uncle Harold Orton (my mother's brother) in the purple cowboy shirt.  He's a World War II veteran and a wonderful carpenter (he build his home as well as a cabin in the Uinta Mountains).  He's lived in Morgan for decades.  With him on the left, is his wife, Marco.  Next to him in the yellow blouse is my Aunt JoAnn.  JoAnn is my mother's youngest sister.  Her mother (my grandmother) died just days after her birth and she was raised by her father and largely by her oldest sister, my Aunt Virginia.  Next to her in the red, is Aunt Leona, she is the widow of my Uncle Howard.  

Uncle Harold and Aunt JoAnn are the only surviving siblings (of six children) of my late mother, Verda Orton Krause.

On Sunday, John and I headed down to Bryce Canyon National Park.  If all you've ever done is drive through and look down at the formations, you're missing out on the fun of hiking down into the canyon and exploring the fun of being down among the formations and some great (and not too tough) hiking trails.  

 The mighty fist of "orange power" (John kind of blended in with the hoodoos.)

We hiked down to the Queen's Garden and Navajo Loop on our first evening.  This is a hike that anyone (of almost any age) can do to get down into the canyon.

 Can you see Queen Victoria here?

 This is looking down the Navajo Loop trail at all the switchbacks that take you down into the canyon.

On Sunday Night, we went to Ebenezer's, just outside Bryce National Park to enjoy a good dinner an the Bar G Wranglers (a really entertaining western musical group -- guitars, bass, fiddle and some good cowboy music).  

As we were being seated at our table, right toward the front, I got a little shoulder hug from our dear Ontario friend, Mark Hendrickson. He and his wife, Connie and their three beautiful daughters (Heidi, Nicole and Jodi) and their families were there that night too -- talk about a really fun coincidence.  They made room for us at their table and it was a treat seeing 12 of their grandkids all together and having fun with each other. 

 On Monday, we hiked along the Rim Trail and the Bristlecone Pine Trail, spent time at the lodge, enjoyed some pizza in the park and stayed for the evening ranger show on dinosaurs.  Another fun, long weekend.

Las Vegas, 2014

Memorial Day Weekend in Vegas, 2014

Last year we attended a fund raising dinner for the UC Riverside Medical School and, in a silent auction, we won two nights lodging in Las Vegas. 

One thing I've learned about going to Vegas is you've got to have a plan....if you don't, you end up just wandering the streets and watching the fountains in front of the Bellagio with every other drifting tourist.  

So this time, I got tickets to a few events a couple of months ago.  We started our weekend in Vegas on Friday afternoon with dinner at Margaritaville.....not so much for the food as for the outside table overlooking the strip.  People watching in Vegas is an extreme sport and we were not disappointed -- European tourists, exhibitionists, lots of flirting, and tons of tattoos.

After our dinner we went to the Donnie and Marie show....and, you know what, it was fun, upbeat entertainment.  Its nice to see people our age looking good an putting on a great and wholesome show.  I'd go again.  Because I planned so early, we had some great seats and, as you can see below, we got a few souvenir glasses (one is for you Sue Carter).

On Saturday, we drove out to Mesquite to visit my 85 year old father and had lunch with him at his favorite place there, Peggy Sue's.


From there, we drove back into town and went to the Mob Museum.

We grabbed our favorite Bobbie sandwich at Capriotti's.

After that, we headed to the north end of Las Vegas Boulevard (the Strip) to the Neon Sign Boneyard for a night tour.  We love this old stuff and had a great time.

 This giant guy has a rebar mullet....oh yeah.....

On Sunday morning, we got up and headed up Sahara to a little restaurant called The Egg and I and had split two breakfasts, a ham and cheese crepe and some stuffed french toasts....















We got lucky on the drive home and found an Angel's baseball game just starting on the radio. The game ended just as we hit San Bernardino.   The Angel's won and it just felt like a day at the ballpark....now that was a great weekend.  (Now we get to BBQ and swim with the family on Monday while the rest of the schleps are stuck in traffic.)