HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA

 This year we had a three day celebration of our country's independence. Because the 4th of July fell on a Sunday, the celebrations started on Saturday, the 3rd and went until Monday, the 5th.  On the 3rd, we went to Deon and Gary's home for a barbecue and to watch the Midway fireworks. Gary's sister, Doris, and her husband were in town for a couple of days so we joined them at the Fuller's for hamburgers. At 10 P.M., we went outside on their deck to watch fireworks. Because of the location of their home, we had a pretty good view of the fireworks that were being shot off Memorial Hill in Midway. Fireworks were banned in Wasatch County and the city of Heber because of drought conditions so it was good to be able to see  a few, even if they were very far away.

Taken at last year's firework display. We were too far
away to get any good pictures

Sunday, I fixed a steak dinner for Paul and I and waited for Ryan and Katie and their family to arrive. They decided to come this direction for the 4th in order to get away from the heat of St. George and because Katie's sister was coming here for a couple of day. Katie and Ryan arrived late because they wanted to attend their new ward in St. George and their sacrament meeting didn't even start until 1:30. We were glad they arrived safely and after visiting for a while, we all retired so we could get up the next morning and begin our 4th of July celebration activities.

Bright and early on Monday, the 5th, we piled in the cars to travel to Provo for the 4th of July parade. We picked up Deon and Gary, drove to Provo, and found their friend's home on Center Street to watch the parade. Every year, their friends, the Hallidays, open their yard for family and friends to come sit and enjoy the parade. They also provide dozens of donuts and countless drinks for their guest to consume while they watch the parade. Such a kind and generous thing for them to do. There were bands from most of the local high schools and many floats from the surrounding cities but the best part of the whole parade were the missionaries. When they came by, the whole crowd stood and clapped and cheered. It brought back so many memories from then we were missionaries in the Utah Provo Mission and marched in this parade.

Waiting for the parade to start and enjoying donuts and soda pop.

The BYU float

The missionaries - always gaining a standing ovation

The missionaries carrying a huge flag

The senior missionaries

We left the parade and went to Gandolpho's for lunch with the Fullers. That evening, the Winn family joined us. Anna Winn is Katie's sister and they had just spent several days in Colorado for a family reunion. We hadn't seen them for a couple of years and it had been at least 8 years since they have been in our home. We invited Deon and Gary to join us for dinner - another hamburger barbecue. It was a great evening. We got a kick out of the Winn children who couldn't get over the feel of our grass. They live in Texas and their grass is a Bermuda type grass that is prickly to walk on. 

The next two days were spent with the Millars and the Winns. Tuesday the children just played around the house, loving being together and being in our home where there are lots of things to do - playing foosball, pool, air hockey or jumping on the trampoline, watching a movie, or lounging in the hot tub. They did it all. Ryan had to leave Tuesday, early evening, to get Aubrey back to work Wednesday morning. Katie and the rest of the family stayed till Wednesday evening and Anna and her family left early Thursday morning. We love to share our home with friends and family.

The Winns and Millars, minus Ryan and Aubrey
who left the day before to get Aubrey back to work.

Thursday, we picked up Deon and Gary and drove to Salt Lake via Guardsman pass. They had never been on that drive and we were anxious to share it with them. We love the panoramic views of Heber Valley and the incredible mountains along the way. We stopped at Freddie's for a bite of lunch, then to Jon's to deliver something to him before going back home to Heber. 

That evening we met our neighbor's, Joyce and Jeff Smith, and the Nophskers for dinner at the Back 40 restaurant. Pam and Ted Nophskers are in our ward and have just returned from a long stay in Texas where Ted underwent many medical procedures. Ted was baptized a couple of weeks before he left for Texas and Jeff, being his minister, wanted to get to know him and Pam better. The goal was to help them feel comfortable attending the temple prep class he and Joyce teach. We had a wonderful time. They are an incredible couple. It will be great to see Ted progress in the gospel.

The following Monday, Paul and I left Heber to go on a trip that we had to cancel last year due to forest fires. This was to be the week of our family reunion in McCall, Idaho but, with such busy schedules, none of our families could come, so we changed plans. We canceled 5 units in McCall and booked 5 days in Grandby, Colorado at the Worldmark there. It was just the two of us. We had invited Deon and Gary but they were unable to join us so we packed the car and took off alone. We left Heber in mid morning, timing it so we could eat lunch in Vernal, get ice cream in Steamboat Springs, and arrive in Grandby in time to unpack and cook dinner. 

Our favorite ice cream store in Steamboat Springs,
Fuzziwigs, didn't disappoint.

The trip took about 7 hours, bringing us to the base of Rocky Mountain National Park. Our condo looked out onto a links golf course and was surrounded by mountains. We were anxious to explore, so early the next morning we jumped in the car and headed North toward the entrance to the National Park.  As we got closer to Grand Lake Village, we were saddened by the devastation we witnessed from the fires of last year. We were told last year that the fires were within 8 miles of the resort and we saw first hand just how close they had come to the town of Grandby. We drove to Grand Lake Village and were amazed that it had been spared fire damage. There were still signs all around thanking the fire fighters for their efforts in protecting this little town. We parked and walked around the village and then back to the beautiful lake from which the village was named. We enjoyed just sitting by the lake and enjoying the cool weather and watching people.

Enjoying the view

Grand Lake

Grand Lake Village - a quaint old fashioned town

As we left Grand Lake, we drove to the Grand Lake Golf Course to check it out as we had packed our golf clubs for a little golfing on this vacation. When we arrive, we were taken back by destruction caused by the fire. The fairways were still green and lush but the surrounding trees and mountainsides were charred. So sad.

Notice the mountains in the background. The trees
on them are totally burned all way to the top.

Luckily, they only lost one storage shed.
The clubhouse was spared.

After Grand Lake, we travel East, along highway 40, to check out Winter Park. We were also looking for a place to have lunch and found a little sandwich shop which advertised the best sandwiches in Winter Park. After about a 20 minute wait, we got our sandwiches and they were, indeed, delicious. I wanted to go back there again another day but time would not allow it.

We had been told that we would need a timed entry permit in order to drive through the Rocky Mountain National Park and that they were hard to come by. We were given a website to get onto at 5 o'clock the day before we wanted to visit the park as they released a limited number of one day passes. Of course, we were on the computer right at 5 and were lucky enough to secure a pass for the next morning. We were thrilled as driving through the park was one of the reasons we wanted to come to Grandby.

Wednesday morning, we got up early enough to be at the park entrance right at 9:00.  At first, all we saw was the fire's destruction and again amazed that it didn't burn the whole park. Soon we were high enough to see some beautiful vistas. We took advantage of all the turn outs so as not to miss anything.

The burned out forests

We thought it strange that their snow markers
were just longs sticks stuck in the ground along the road.

When we got to the summit, we were above the tree line and into what they called their tundra. We got out at the Alpine Visitors Center and watched people walk up to the top of a hill for a better view. We were above 12,000 feet in altitude and I knew I would not be able to make it to the top so we didn't even try to walk it. While there, we noticed cars coming into the parking lot from a dirt road. When we asked someone about the road, we were told it was the Old Fall River Road which was still  being used. It is a dirt road and is only one way going uphill. The person we talked to said it had lots of hairpin turns and steep drop offs.  'Scary but a blast' is what he said. We knew we didn't have time on that day to drive it (you can only go 15 to 20 miles an hour)  but committed to come back with the Fullers someday and tackle it.

Some snow fields

We then stopped at Lava Cliffs before going onto the Forest Canyon overlook. We got out and walked up a short trail for a beautiful view of the tundra and surrounding mountains.

The Lava Cliffs

The Tundra

Here are few more pictures taken along the road through this gorgeous National Park.

Beaver Meadows

At the East end of highway 34, you come to the cute tourist town of Estes Park. Of course, we had to get out and walk around this interesting little town. The town sits at the base of the Rocky Mountains and there's a river that runs through it. They built a paved park area to walk though and enjoy the sounds and sights of this river. We enjoyed pizza here for lunch before heading back to Grandby. 

Estes Park's setting - surrounded by mountains.

Instead of back tracking and going home to Grandy through the park, we decided to add 45 minute to our drive and go home through a couple of national forests, coming onto highway 40 from the East, thus making a complete circle. It was so worth the extra time to get to Grandby. The forests were beautiful and we passed through some interesting little cities along the way. All in all, we were on the road from 8:15 in the morning until 4:30 in the afternoon. A wonderful day seeing so many of God's amazing creations.

Thursday was designated as a golf day. We checked out the golf course right by our Condo as well as one about 20 minutes away, called Pole Creek Golf Course. Lastly, we stopped at the Grandby Ranch Golf Course. To get to it we had to travel through a neighborhood and onto a dirt road. We ended up in a dirt parking lot and could finally see the golf course. We decided to golf this one as we could get a tee time immediately. There was not a tree on the whole golf course but it was set in a beautiful valley surrounded by hills and mountains. The weather was cool enough so the shade of trees was not missed. We golfed 9 holes and had a good time, even though our golf games leave much to be desired. 

After spending some time in the condo's hot tub that afternoon, we went to dinner at a local restaurant. It was an old garage converted in to a bar and restaurant. The atmosphere was fun and the wings and salad we split were delicious. It was then home for our nightly movie. The next morning we checked out and drove the 7 hours back to Heber.  A very fun and relaxing vacation.

The World Mark pool and hot tub

The sunset right outside our balcony.

The last thing we did this month was take another quick trip to St. George. Grace was in the musical Wizard of Oz and we wanted to see her perform. She was only in a couple of parts as a singer but it was the first big show she has been a part of. We traveled to St. George on Tuesday, checked into our Worldmark condo and then went to Ryan and Katie's home for dinner and to visit for a while. Since we were there last, they have rented a home which is in the neighborhood and ward where their home will be when it gets built. They are revising their house plans to make their home one they will want to live in for a long time so we walked through some homes that were under construction. They wanted to take measurements to know how big they needed their great room/kitchen area. 

The next day, Paul and I decided to drive to Cedar Breaks National Monument. We had never been there and it was only an hour and twenty minutes away from St. George. It was a beautiful drive to the monument, climbing to 10,000 ft.  Along the drive, through the national monument, there were three overlook points at which we saw what was like a mini Bryce Canyon - lots of red rock formations. We made a complete circle, passing through Brian's Head ski resort on our way back to Interstate 15. We were back in St. George in time for Zuppa'a for lunch. A fun side trip, for sure.

Dinner that night was hamburgers and hot dogs off the grill and then to ice cream at the Alumni Creamery. A BYU graduate decided to open up an ice cream store using the BYU creamery's ice cream. They have to drive to Provo each week to get the ice cream. There are no wholesale prices for them so they pay full price and sell their ice cream at a high enough price to make a profit. Judging by the number of people who were buying ice cream cones, the $4 a scoop didn't bother them, or us. 

Thursday, we attended a Worldmark sales presentation to get clarification on some new policies and then had the rest of the day to ourselves. We went to pizza for lunch, checked out Chico's and Penney's for some pants for me (with no luck), and hung out at the condo till it was time to go to Grace's play. We loved the production. It was put on by two children's performance groups of which Grace in a part of one, Broadway Bound. It was held at the historic opera house and was very well done. The costumes, staging, and acting were wonderful considering the ages of the cast being 8 to 18 years old. Grace did a great job and seemed to love being a part of the production. After the show, we took everyone out to dinner at Don Pedro's Mexican restaurant. We said good bye after dinner and headed home the next morning. 

Julia and Aubrey couldn't attend this performance
due to work for Aubrey and dance for Julia. 
They went the next evening.

At the restaurant, waiting to be seated.
Aubrey and Julia met us there.

A couple of things to think about before I end this month's blog. Corona virus is raising it's ugly head again because of a Delta variant. It is highly contagious but not as life threatening. The government is trying to control our lives again saying to mask up even if you are vaccinated.  The media is trying to put fear into the American people again, hyping it up as much as possible. If the democrats can make this variant as scary as the original COVID 19 then they will have an excuse to cheat on the 2022 elections as they did in 2020, claiming the need for mail in ballots and uncontrolled voting drop boxes. It's all political and could ruin our country and take away our freedoms. Enough said. Putting faith and trust in our Father in Heaven is the only place to find peace in this crazy mixed up world.

AND THAT'S A WRAP......for this month anyway.