Southern UT to Western CO

After we left Zion we were on our way to Colorado so that Ray could meet his second goal of going skiing. We looked at prices fir Breckenridge and everything was so high. We put a call out to friends for affordable but good skiing in CO. Wolfcreek was mentioned by several so we set our sites there.

We stopped in Moab UT for the night. While on the way there we kept searching for information about skiing conditions and costs. When we got up in the morning all sorts of great deals popped up for Breckenridge plus the snow was much better there.

When we went outside we were greeted by more beautiful red rocks. Southern Utah how I love thee!

Can you see the green in the rock below? Beautiful!

We turned the back toward the north and east and headed for the Rocky Mountains.

More from Colorado next!

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Zion National Park

We spent the night in Hurricane Utah. We had planned to drive to Springdale but turned back stopped not too far after Hurricane and turned back as accomodations were more affordable. We were rewarded by amazing views the next day.

The first picture shows a ridge that has formed along the hillside. It was clear why rock and mudslides occur here. It’s hard to see but the rock curves out.

The drive to Springdale, through Zion National Park and into Glendale was breathtaking. I took hundreds if pictures, pared it down to 80 for facebook and about twenty to share here.

I will return to southern Utah. I was just awestruck.

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Las Vegas

We arrived in Las Vegas and stayed off the strip. It seemed we were not in one of the safest areas but it was well lit and patrolled.

The night before we had stayed at another resort hotel just over the NV border because Ray was on the bike , night fell and it was very cold! We went to their casino but it wasn’t our cup of tea. Mostly slots.

We went to the casino next to our motel in Vegas. It was better than the first. Gambling is not my thing. This was Ray’s goal. He was happy with the gambling he did. No big winnings.

We took a ride down the strip on the bike. Lots of things to see including show girls dressed to the nines walking the strip. I took many pictures of the sights but the New York New York casino was amazing! The NYC skyline!

We saw the original Fremont Street sign but I didn’t get the whole thing.

Can you tell I’m in love with the mountains? We went to a Harley shop and loaded the bike for the remainder of the trip. This is northern Nevada heading for Utah.

I live in Mesquite TX so had to get a shot of Mesquite NV. You can really see the landscape change again.

This little oasis tucked away along the highway intrigued me.

We headed into the St George gorge. I was driving and at the mercy of Ray’s picture taking. I was white knuckle driving through all the twists and turns.

After three attempts at navigating a double roundabout we made it to Superior Threads. I got there 10 minutes til close but they stayed open a few minutes longer for me. They directed me to the fabric side where I had another hour to browse. The picture is of the side of the mountain where the store is nestled.

Here is a shot of St George as night fell. I loved southern Utah and can’t wait to return!

More from Utah later!

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The Colorado River

The plan was to go to Needles, CA and then continue on to Las Vegas. There, I’ve been to California. When I arrived at the motel I asked the desk clerk what I would see when the sun was up. She said mostly AZ. I also mentioned seeing the Colorado river and that I was disappointed that I didn’t get any good pictures. She quickly pulled out a hand drawn map of the area and showed me how to get to the Colorado.

I went back to the room and showed Ray the map and told him we were going to the river in the morning. We looked over a few brochures I had picked up to see what else we could do while there. I must have mentioned that I was picking up rocks as the clerk told me that if you went into California toward Barstow there was volcanic rock lying along the road. I mentioned this to Ray and also looked for information on Barstow. We saw that there was a Route 66 museum there. We checked over the fire maps to make sure we would not be driving into danger.

When I got up in the morning I went outside to investigate. The last picture in my previous travel post was what I saw when I looked up the hill behind the motel. I was just not satisfied that Inhad really seen California. Barstow here we come!

We drove down through a small resort community into a public park. There it was! The glorious river.

We watched the ducks paddle against the current. The water was so clear and smooth. It was very deceptive of just how forcefully the water was flowing. We skipped rocks, picked up a few rocks to take and explored the sandy beachy edge. It was a remarkable experience.

We left the river heading to Barstow.

We stooped along the way near the Mojave National Preserve.

Not many miles later we began seeing black rocks along the road. We stopped and picked up a few. I looked over the landscape to see if I could figure out the source. Nothing stood out.

We continued on to Barstow and found the museum.

Ray will talk to anyone!

I snapped a picture of this motorcycle only to find out later Ray’s grandfather owned one just like it. They had lots of interesting artifacts there that people had donated to the museum over the years.

I found these street lights interesting.

This was on the side of the road to note we were on route 66.

We continued on to Las Vegas from here. We have now been on the road for a week. My goal was to be heading back East by Saturday so that we could get home by the 24th.

More from Vegas!

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OMG Update

My goal this month was to make the 49 alternate blocks for a Double Irish Chain quilt. Back in October I bought a ziploc bag that had one block, lots of strip sets and some yardage for $2 from tbe guild table at the Canton, TX quilt show.

I knew there was an error somewhere but wasn’t quite sure what it was. I worked on the 25 patch blocks and got them all done. 50 in total. I looked at the remaining strip sets and saw the navy being used for the corners ofthe alternate blocks. I knew there wasn’t enough navy to make them so started shopping for a close match. I didn’t realize how hard navy is to match! I found something and bought it. It’s enough to make the back and borders too.

I sat down and cut the strip set for the alternate blocks, sewed one and layed it next to the 25 patch. There was the error! The corners should have been the print. I did have enough of that. I knew my background fabric was going to be clise to enough.

I cut all my strips and went to subcutting. Luckily my friend interrupted me because I had cut all the cuts a .5” short! Argh!! I cut the rest correctly and then unsewed some unused strip sets. Ultimately I got all the blocks made and only had 2 blocks I had to piece fabric for. I got lucky!

I sewed all the blocks into pairs and pairs into rows. Thursday I went to a sit and sew and decided I would pin the rows into pairs then work on something else. Before I knew it I was sewing all the rows together and had a completed center!

My goal was to get the alternate blocks done. I overachieved and have a complete center. Now to figure out next steps.

Linking up with Elm Street Quilts.

Do you want to hear more travel stories? Without comments it’s hard to know if you’re interested.

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