a Mazing trip

>
> Still alive here. I have not written in a long while. Busy I guess.
>
> Last week I was at Utah campmeeting in Springville until I got sick
> late in the week and Mark and I headed home. Seemed to make no
> sense to stay and just be miserable in the camp.
>
> Mark and I took the scenic route to camp meeting. Traveled the
> southern route across Vegas and St George so we could go swimming
> in Lake Powell and then up to Hanksville for supplies before
> spending three days in the Maze District of Canyonlands. I have
> wanted to visit that area since I was 10 and finally made it. We
> drove slow 4x4 roads each day, we hiked to the bottom of one Maze
> canyon in the middle of the day with temps around 100F up on the
> canyon rim, we met hikers who had come up from rafting on the
> river, we drove out to river overlooks where you could see the
> Needles district and Island in the Sky from a whole new point of
> view. We slept under the stars, we got rained on.
>
> Thundered and rained and blew almost every day, what's up with
> that, I thought the monsoons came in July and August. Next it was
> off to Moab for two nights. Before we dropped off the Chalet
> folding trailer to enter the Maze it was hit by a gust of wind and
> rain while it was open and it flew apart, broke the bungee cord
> tethers at the top of the roof and the front roof half folded open
> and was punctured by the front hitch. It was also twisted and bent
> on the piano hinge. Mark and I managed to close it up and lock it
> and then we drove off for three days. Now it was time to haul it to
> Moab, set it up and see what was damaged.

When we got to Moab, we camped at the same RV park we have used
before, $25 night and before you get to town, right nest to the old
log style steak house. Our camping spot turned out to be right next
to another Adventist family from WA who had two boys, 13 and 17,
Daniel and Alan. The boys hit it off and before we knew it we had
been invited to drive the White Rim trail the next day with our new
friends. Since we did not have a camping permit, it would need to be
a one day drive, about a 140 mile circle. Along with the Maze
district, the White Rim has been on my list of must do drives for a
very long time. Of course we did the drive the next day.

I will post a few pictures from the trip.
>
> Then it was off to work at camp meeting and then home.