Dar Dar and Lols Gallivant! POSTED three years late...

Darwin and I have started a new tradition with each other: we take day trips, and they are fabulous fun.  I had no idea.  

We explore places close to home--places that we may have overlooked or forgotten about, like Pipe Springs and the town of Moccasin, Arizona...the north rim of the Grand Canyon...going up highway 89 to

When I say “explore”...I mean we dawdle.  We ride up and down the streets, gawking at yards, houses, people...trying to get a feel for the area.  We look up the town history, stop at historical markers, and try to build our background knowledge about the area.  We follow our noses.

Since we have no kids with us, we can do whatever we darn well please.

I vividly remember watching my mother, Alice Stratton, and my step-dad, Ermal Stratton, taking off on little jaunts after they were both retired.  “It’s called the Golden Years for a reason,” my mother would say.  (I never, but NEVER called her “Mom.”  We grew up saying “Mother” because that’s what she taught us to say from the cradle--and mother it still is to this day!)

Jealous pangs would slice through my heart as I heard what little trips they were taking.  “I want to go to the Devil’s Posthole!”   Or… “I want to make the loop up Kanarraville Mountain and down over Kolob!”  They would pack a lunch, and off they would go.

Well, Darwin and I are well into our Golden Years...so it’s time to follow Pappy’s (our term of endearment for Ermal!) and Mother’s example...leave the kids behind...and gallivant about.

Today we decided to go explore the little town of Enterprise, Utah, then make a loop over to Newcastle and take the dirt road to Pinto and back to Pine Valley...thence home.  

Enterprise rather knocked our socks off.  I remembered it as being fairly boring and slightly dumpy (I am NOT describing ME!), not a place I would ever consider living in.  Today, my world-view of Enterprise made a huge shift.  

As we toodled around the streets, we must have started in one of the best parts of town.  Here’s how the conversation went:

Me: “Look at all these new homes.I am so surprised. I thought this town was basically dying.”

Darwin: “What do these people do for a living? Where do they work? What..????”

Me: “Look at that one.  Look at those yards. Look at all the Halloween decorations! Cute!”

Darwin: “I thought young people got out of here as fast as they could! But these are upscale homes with toys, slides, bikes..these aren’t old retired geezers!”

We were charmed by Enterprise.  I’m sure our attitudes were helped by the autumn light filtering through golden leaves, by the perfect still warm, but not hot, weather, by the tall trees, the cool new high school, the green alfalfa fields surrounding the town, the school kids sauntering home, laden with backpacks, but poking along in the golden light.

Charming.  That is the word.  We drove up and down streets, trying to find the ghetto areas.  Yes, there were ratty yards (reminiscent of mine!) and older homes falling into disrepair...but not nearly as many as the cute ones.

We stopped at Marv’s original hamburger joint to get some food...and that may have been the most disappointing thing we did.  We wanted old-fashioned milkshakes made with real flavor and real ice cream.  We both ordered chocolate shakes...and while they looked impressive, the flavor was a real let-down.  They were made with soft-serve vanilla with some chocolate syrup mixed in.  I don’t love Hershey’s syrup...but that’s what my shake tasted like.  Dang, I was disappointed.  I want a chocolate shake made with chocolate ice cream. Honestly?  Wendy’s frosty desserts taste far better.  Shame on you, Marv’s.  Here’s the good part: the fries were made with real potatoes and the burgers had fresh, tasty beef.   Our total bill was a little hard to swallow: over $25.  We threw most of the shake away, couldn’t finish the fries, and my burger was covered in pepper and had a very hot onion, so I couldn’t eat that, either.  Ah, well.

After cruising a beautiful new subdivision on the north hills of Enterprise, we headed on over to Beryl Junction.  Darwin remembered his dad playing for a dance over there in the olden days.  We were trying to find where that might have been.

It would be fun to cruise over the Beryl area in a helicopter.  There are crop circles galore...all alfalfa. The green looked amazing in mostly desert area.  

The best part of the trip began when we took a road leading out of Newcastle heading for  Pinto. It was freshly graded and good...and finally we were seeing country neither of us had ever seen. It was a beautiful drive, with unexpected sights around each bend...sights as simple as rustic ranches nestled in little valleys, red leaves glowing in the sun, cattle leisurely strolling across the road, hills building higher and higher as we neared Pine Valley mountain.  

The first big surprise for me was the town of Pinto. Ever heard of it?

What??? It's been two years already???

I find myself with an insatiable urge to blog suddenly.  Never you mind if no one reads it. Why would they when there's been no action here for two years?

BURSTING WITH HEALTH!

I made a healthy thing and an unhealthy thing today.  I made this delicious non-fat yogurt, spinach, frozen half banana,  and pineapple-in-its-own-juice, Usana Super Power powder smoothie.  

Now I remember why I get frustrated blogging.  I can't make the pictures go where I want them.  And..why can't I get the text to wrap?  Arrrgggghhhh.  If YOU know, tell me!  (See how I secretly think someone will find this and actually READ it?)

Here comes the unhealthy item:  I just took a Fiesta Banana Cake with walnuts out of the oven. It smells heavenly. Arrrrgggghhh again.  I just clicked on the link I cleverly inserted above and it says error.  It should send me into the fabulous cloud to my google drive, where I have the recipe.  Google hates me.

On a happier note, Darwin and I saw this cool tree trunk yesterday.

Can you see the jibbering face?

We also saw this adorable girl yesterday...our little Millie Cakes (Julianne and Austin's baby daughter, Amelia Kate Beecher).  Oh, we're in grandparent heaven having an actual baby close by who we can help spoil, love, kiss like crazy, and cuddle till the cuddlin's done!!!

But wait, wait...there's MORE!  We got another grand baby...Andy and Jill's 7th (Yes, I said SEVENTH!!!) child, Stewart Henry Gifford.  The number 7 is magic.  I'm the seventh out of 7, I had 7 kids, and Jujie is my 7th.  What would we do without her? Or any of the ones who came before???

So my 7th child's 1st child met my 2nd child's 7th child (ha, ha, couldn't resist.  I love amusing myself) a week or so ago...Stewart is only a week or so old in these pics...and Millie 2 months.  The pics are blurry, but I find them cute and hilarious.

Millie is apprehensive, Stewart is chill.  (And only a few days old!!!)

Uh, oh.  The closer he gets, the scarier it is to have a boy cousin!

Tee hee.  Millie is NOT a happy camper.

Complete change of subject:
I love this girl.  I've know her since she was a smiling Sunbeam in Primary, sitting on the front row while I led the music...face beaming with joy, and singing at the top of her lungs.  I fell in love right then.  I've watched her grow up, because the Beatty's live only two houses away.  I was her Laurel leader.  I still loved her!

Naomi Beatty, daughter of Rick and Kelli Beatty
She is as good as she is beautiful.

Naomi completely flabbergasted me one Sunday a month or more ago.  She asked me to sing in her missionary farewell.  Now, you must understand...Naomi's whole family is musical.  They sing.  They play instruments.  They are talented.  They often sing together.  And she was asking...ME???  I immediately teared up.  I almost couldn't understand why she asked me.

Well, I searched around for missionary farewell songs.  None of them struck me for Naomi.  So I decided to write one.  I wanted the theme of light...both Naomi's light and the Savior's light...shining forth to the world.  My dear nephew, John Houston, added accompaniment for me.  He is magic that way.  He exudes music like Naomi exudes light.  How lucky was I???

John played for me yesterday at Church while I sang.  I really felt the lyrics of the song...and I think other people did, too.  Here are the lyrics.  I will add an audio clip after I record it at John's studio.

Song for Naomi

      

(Naomi, singing as a Sunbeam in Primary)

Tell me the stories of Jesus...I love to hear.

Things I would ask him to tell me...if he were here…

Scenes by the wayside, tales of the sea,

Stories of Jesus, tell them to me.

1. As a Sunbeam on the front row your face shone with joy,

Light streamed from you like the sun in the sky…

When you spoke of His love---

Reflecting light from above.

I had to wipe a stray tear from my eye.

2. Let that same light shine forth as you go serve the Lord.

Share gospel truths - with all of the world.

Let His children all know

That He loves them so

And the banner of truth’s been unfurled.

Chorus

Light, light, shine forth to the world

Truth, truth, from the Lord…

God will protect you, He will defend you,

His light and His love be your guard…

3. Naomi, keep that light shining, though the journey gets hard.

Find His lost sheep….who have strayed from the fold.

Let His children all know

That He loves them so

Stand up for the truth and be bold.

(Repeat chorus twice, key change 2nd time)

The redhead is Naomi!  She leaves for the MTC in Mexico City TOMORROW! They are about to be bombarded with LIGHT.


God bless you and keep you, Hermana Beatty.

Anniversary Trip

Monday, June 4, 2012
Today DarDar and I awoke in Torrey, Utah, in the cutest little rustic motel. Torrey is charming as the gateway town to Boulder Mountain and to Capitol Reef National Park.

We ate breakfast at the log cabin general store...I had southwestern fritatta, and Darwin had scrambled eggs, pancakes, and sausage.  Before you start drooling, let me tell you: his food was wretched...even to me.  Mine, however, was muy delicioso, and I mean that sincerely.  Wow.  


I was charmed by our motel and the picturesque market.  It had a deer horn for the handle on the screen door.

Torrey reminded me of growing up in LaVerkin.  They had open irrigation ditches gurgling with tempting water...and lined with grasses, weeds, etc.  

Capitol Reef National Park is right next door to Torrey.

We had a fun Sunday evening exploring the park at our leisure.  It’s filled with fruit orchards that were started by the original settlers.  I’m proud of the park service for keeping the orchards up.  The green of the fields and orchards against the red rock cliffs in gorgeous.


We were happily surprised to find some Gifford history at this park.

They sell fruit pies from the Gifford home every day but Sunday...so we missed it.  The ranger at the park said they were home baked by someone in Torrey and delivered fresh each day.

This is the view from the Gifford home's front lawn.  How would it be to wake up to that each day?

Since we paid our respects to the park last evening, we cruised on towards scenic Hanksville today.  I say scenic with tongue in cheek.  Hanksville is not so beautiful.  It’s like Mother Nature dropped a huge vat of bleach on the mesas and hills right outside the park...they become drab so quickly.  First there is an eerie blue-grey color like you are on a strange planet...then it fades to lunar landscape beige. I do NOT want a home in Hanksville, thank you very much.  The town looks as depressed as the surrounding hills.  We gassed up there at $4.20ish or so a gallon.  Some tourist in Torrey said he was  told that  gas was 50 cents a gallon cheaper in Hanksville.  Ha! Someone was laughing up his/her sleeve, I’ll bet.  Harrpumph!  We DID gas up at a real hole in the rock place...hole in the mountain is more like it.  The whole place was dug out of the hillside.  I felt rather like a hobbit! 

Things prettied up fast as we left Hanksville to motor southward towards Lake Powell...highway 95, I think.  Our goal was to end up in Cortez, Colorado (where I’m writing this as DarDar snores gently), but we wanted to see Bluff, where the Hole-in-the-rock pioneers settled.  So we chose what we figured was the best route, and it WAS!!!  Oh, my.  The canyon we went down was amazing...rock so deep red it was almost purple...with more hoodoos and fanciful shapes than you can imagine.  We felt like we were being guided to the prettiest places...well...before and after You-Know-Where!  (Poor Hank, to have such a ghetto ville!)

Taken from car at high speed...not the most fanciful formations...just the ones I happened to catch!

We saw the beginning of part of Lake Powell down our canyon...suddenly the dry stream bed  wasn’t dry...it was muddy water, which quickly turned to green...and there was one arm of the lake.  My cameras (yes, both digital and cell phone!) were clicking away.  I could NOT stop myself.  Everywhere I looked there was another vision for the eyes.

 We crossed the mighty Colorado River on a bridge...(don't you love taking pics out of the window?  I call it a drive-by-shooting!)

then started to ascend back up onto a high-desert plateau which reminded me a lot of Cedar City...red hills dotted with pinon and juniper trees, and slickrock stream beds and canyons...oh, such rugged beauty. 



We decided to go on highway 261 to Mexican Hat, then on to Bluff.  We climbed into thick trees...couldn’t see anything but trees for many miles.  I thought, “Oh, they’ve lied to us about how dry and desolate southeastern Utah is!”  Then, all of a sudden we emerged from the trees to find we had come to land’s end.  I mean, the trees were just gone, the ground was just gone...and we were at the edge of a precipice where we could look straight down at the ground below, and gasp at how many thousand feet it was.  We had been traveling on  top of one of those massive buttes, and the mountain decided it was time for us to disembark.  It was almost like you had to slam on your brakes or you’d go over like one of those crash test dummies on the Hurricane Mesa.  (Aaron later told me it’s the Moqui Dugway)

Darwin slammed on the brakes at a little turn out at the tippy-top and said, “I’m glad there is a cement retaining wall and a chain link fence!”  Both our legs (All of our legs???) were rubbery.  The land below was as treeless as a baby’s rump, and stretched out as far as the eye could see...into Monument Valley, because there were impressive edifices (could you say, “edify?”) jutting up from the desert floor way off in the shimmering distance.  I just cannot begin to tell you how dramatic this was.  

There was a sign that said to drive 5 miles an hour down the switchbacks, and we could immediately see why.  The road turned to a gravel/dirt road, whereas it had been a state highway before, and it clung precariously to the edge of the vast mountainside.  Whoever engineered this road was either a genius or a madman!  We inched our way along with both of us getting rubbery legs at the mere thought of diving over the edge.  We stopped at every turnout, and I snapped away.  The road turned back to asphalt the minute we got the the bottom.  Weird, huh.  

I took pictures all the way to Bluff.  All of the formations were so unexpected.  Some were hilarious.  I think God had fun designing this whole wild and wooly area.  

Bluff had buff-colored sandstone cliffs that looked like someone had frosted them with caramel frosting.  We immediately found a historic site for the Hole in the Rock pioneers who founded Bluff.  It not only had interesting history, it had clean restrooms, and by then I was in dire need!  We checked out the historic sites, then snuck away.  There were some site guides who would have monopolized our whole day...but we had other plans.  On and on we went.

Almost as soon as we left Bluff, we were immediately plunged into the world of the Navajo nation.  It depressed me a lot to see their homes and towns.  Montezuma Creek ?
ghetto...hopeless...dry...drab...grafitti, bars on windows of service stations, homes willy nilly all over, no water and even no power in some.  Sad.

We entered Colorado on that sad note...still in the Indian nation.  Four Corners was our next destination.  It is run by the Navajos...still on the rez...and we HAD to go there and get our pictures taken with body parts in each of the four contiguous states,  I DID it, and so did the Darster.  Four states at once...how cool is that?  

The Indians (I can still call them that, right? It IS the Bureau of Indian Affairs, is it not? ) had set up booths all along the perimeter of the Four Corners monument.  You could buy all sorts of jewelry, souvenir t-shirts, etc.  There was even a couple of trailers that were serving Navajo fry bread and tacos.  Dang.  I wasn’t hungry!

All the rest of the way into Cortez we were lamenting for the poor Indians, who had been given such harsh land for their settlement.  My heart aches for people who are raised a certain way, and have almost zero chances of getting out of the culture when it’s dysfunctional.  I want the Lamanites to blossom as the rose...and these folks have a hard time.  We noticed that the sides of the highways were literally covered the broken glass booze bottles...for miles and endless miles.  I wonder if they are trying to make a statement here.  The road signs were all shot up, too...and there were bars of every window of the place we stopped for gas. There is just a pervading sense of hopelessness.  

After Four Corners, we skedaddled for Cortez.  It didn’t look much different from the reservation as you entered from the southwest.  But there were fields and fields of hay growing, and that was pretty.  The town got prettier the farther east we went.  

We stopped at one upscale looking motel, and they wanted $125 a night.  NO WAY.  This trip isn’t about luxuriating in a destination-type hotel.  It’s about dawdling along and seeing things.  So we headed to this EconoLodge...and it was clean and decent...AND we could back up right to the door.  We both loved that!

I used an app Julianne recommended I install...Urban Spoon.  I wanted to see what eating emporiums this town boasted.  Here’s the answer:  not many that look like you would even set foot in them.  The only place that was rated 100% in customer satisfaction was a burger joint...so we went there and tried it.  It was fun because they had bonafide carhops.  Huzzah.  I loved that.  Oh, shades of Larsen’s Frostop!  And the hamburgers WERE good.  Hooray for Urban Spoon, because it wasn’t a place I would have even tried if not for the reviews.  

And so to bed.  I’m sleepy!

Irish Fetish

Ever since my bookclub had a theme dedicated to Ireland...Irish literature, books about Ireland, Irish authors...you could pick whatever interested you as long as it had strong Irish connections...I have been absolutely fascinated by Ireland. I chose to read about Ireland's long and troubled history. I read about the huge impact of the potato famine. I read about the on-going and current troubles (as they call it...The TROUBLES) between the Catholics and Protestants. OH, it is gripping stuff.

I read novels set in Ireland. I read novels by Irish authors. I literally wallowed in all things Irish. I loved it.

That's been almost a year ago...I think we did that theme in honor of St. Paddy's day 2011.

Here's what brought my Irish ramble on today:
I bought an 18-month mid-year calendar last year, IRELAND, when I spied it on sale in some local emporium...and I was about to toss it out today because we somehow acquired calendars galore (I adore calendars...good ones with cool art by the likes of Edward Hopper, or interesting photos...Greece was good, Ireland is awesome!), and we simply didn't need this gem anymore. BUT...I made the fatal mistake of sitting at the kitchen table and perusing the whole thing anew. I looked at the photos in detail, I read the captions, and I got fascinated all over again. ARRRGGGHHHH. It was ever thus.

Have you ever wondered why Ireland has no trees to speak of? The Emerald Isle is emerald green, but not because of trees. I decided to find out WHY today. Thus began an internet tour. I found out about Sitka spruce (fascinating) trees,

Did you know that they usually only grow in certain coastal regions and can get moisture from summer fogs? I now know where their native habitats are on Mother Earth! (Thanks for the pirated photos, Google images. Am I going to get sued for using these?)

I found out about a couple from Minnesota who have dedicated themselves to reforesting their 20 acres (another fascinating read)follow this LINK

The cover of my alluring calendar had these fabulous stones on a beach that looked like purchased pavers. I wondered if they were man-made for a moment. The magic of the internet told me that they were a natural wonder--or made by the giant Finn McCool--part of an amazing place called the Giant's Causeway. Who knew? I even know how it was formed, now. Ha!

My tour rambled from one interesting tidbit to another. (And believe me, I totally realized that I would NOT have the luxury of an internet knowledge cruise, which is the only type of cruise I am likely to go on, without me being disabled and not working right now!) I LOVE KNOWLEDGE CRUISES!!!!!!!!!!

How can I possibly toss this calendar into the trash now? Oh, shades of a hoarder! Grit your teeth, Lols. In it goes. Hence the blog to preserve the moment.

If I won a grand vacation in Ireland, I would not complain.

Annual Clatter Day

It has happened again...the leaves on Paula's and Vera's Mulberry trees across the street have all fallen to the earth in one day. (See my blog in fall,2009) We have been making bets on when they would go...Yesterday they were like this:

And today they are like this.

I love the way mulberry trees let the leaves hang on and hang on in the fall, then suddenly one day decide, "Today I'm finished. Off ya' go, leaves!" And they really do make a clatter when they come down. They're NOISY little critters.

I feel bad I missed the yearly event by being in Church. The trees were absolutely nude by the time I got home, the shameless hussies!

I stole this photo off Lonnie Ballard, who posted it on facebook. I really did ask him for permission, but he didn't respond, so I just DID IT! He was saying how he had to clean the leaves off his car before he could go to church. SEE??? Those mulberry trees just don't care when they fling their leaves off.

Did I mention that I love, love, LOVE autumn?

Now we shall talk about the fact that the Gifford's have not ONE Christmas light up yet...nary a one. Every weekend it seems like there is a reason we haven't been able to drag the lights out of storage and string them about. Yesterday, our dryer went kaput, and it seemed more important for Darwin to fix that nagging little problem. It's always something. Our neighbors have put us to shame...we are surrounded by lights...but alas and alack...we are still gloomy and dark. Maybe we'll have them up by Christmas. Then we can leave them up till the daffodils poke their heads through the frozen ground!

Sabbath Thoughts

I love Sunday. I love all that it implies: Church, study, serving, relaxing,(those previous two sound diametrically opposed!) and being with family. I love all that it doesn't imply: going to work at HIS, laundry, shopping, the slings and arrows of daily life. This morning I am sitting in my basement at the downstairs computer, the Fixity (Janna's and Juje's psycho cat) curled up beside me, listening to the sounds of...silence. Everyone else in this household is still asleep.

I am singing in Sacrament meeting in LaVerkin today--a medley of favorite Primary songs and hymns. Well, two songs, really: "Whenever I hear the song of a bird..." and parts of "How Great Thou Art." I came down here to run off words so I won't stand at the podium and have a brain blackout. Any other day I would feel in such a hurry to go, to do, to run, run, run...but not today.

I just want to thank my Heavenly Father for the Sabbath day. He knew what he was doing, consecrating one day in seven to be a day to worship, to ponder, to serve in many different ways than we serve during the week. Last Sunday was a busy day for me--going to Church at 9:00, going over to the Beehive House to sing a special number for those precious people over there, having our new home teachers visit, going to choir practice, making spaghetti for the family...but all the busy-ness was different busy-ness than I do on other days. It felt GOOD, not burdensome. I felt a happy kind of tiredness at the end of the day.

Probably my favorite part of Sunday is being with family. They are my favorite people to hang out with. I ended last Sunday by reading about family, too...Janna curled up beside me as I read aloud from Grandma Stratton's book, Look to the Stars. Oh, how grateful I am that she took the time to record her life for her posterity. I LOVE THAT PRECIOUS MOTHER OF MINE!

Oh. I'm caught. I hear footsteps above my head. Before I head off to the day, I want to say how much I love my Heavenly Father and his son, Jesus Christ. I am thankful for at least a zillion things today...and I want to NOTICE and pay attention to my blessings today. I want to live the words of the songs I will be singing...

"He gave me my eyes that I might see the color of butterfly wings,
He gave me my ears that I might hear the magical sounds of things,
He gave me my life, my mind, my heart:
I thank him reverently
For all his creations of which I'm a part.
Yes, I know Heavenly Father loves me." Clara McMaster Thanks, Clara!

This, too, will be a joyous Sabbath. I can feel it in my old bones.

The Wasatch Back: My Summer Dream Home

I love southern Utah. I really do. But I love the summers less and less the older I get. I don’t do heat very well anymore. Brigham Young really had the right idea: winter in the south, summer in the north.

This is the summer home I want, right in the heart of Huntsville,Utah!

Darwin and I took a 43rd anniversary jaunt last week. We had a free night coming at a condominium in Huntsville, on the shores of Pineview Reservoir.Our condo is across the lake, tucked up on the shore clear on the left. See it, see it??? Of course you don't...this is too dark of a pic, but it's the only one I can find right now.

We both have a thing about Huntsville, now. It’s the most charming town. There are no curbs, no gutters, just green grass growing clear to the edge of the pavement.
Here's what people have in their backyards--green--horses--water. Sigh.
SO GREEN, SO GREEN!!!!!!!!

People actually live this way. I cannot believe it!






Here's a great place to eat--a few minutes away from Huntsville in Eden.

Julianne and her friends (Hayley, Cole, and Brett)came with us. It was FUN.


We saw a sign that beckoned us to a monastery a few miles away.
This is Father Patrick and me. He is my new BFF...and I do mean the forever part. He is a Trappist Monk and has taken a vow of stability, so he never leaves the monastery, except to get his teeth cleaned. He says his next move will be vertical...and that he'll save me a place. He sold me this honey.

Okay. I'm going to shut up now. But I really, really, REALLY do want a summer home in Huntsville. I don't care how high the snow drifts are in the winter, because I'll be HERE...in my WINTER home in southern Utah!!!