PRELUDE TO COUSIN CAPERS THREE ; Part 2, VALLEY OF FIRE

Susie had a surprise for me, and nothing could have excited and entranced me more than our outing

to Nevada's Valley of Fire.

It is located east of the Moapa Indian Reservation; a gem of a place that rises up in shocking colors from a bland desert floor; colors that are brazen even in red rock country!

Two things make it unique when compared with other red rock areas:

the variety of holes of all sizes,

and the brilliance of the red.

My husband and I have visited and hiked in Arches, Bryce, Canyonlands, and Zion National Parks, 

yet I have never seen anything so astounding as this little Valley of Fire.

Surely most of the thrill was that I could climb down (and up) into

holes to look for great effects in shadow and light for creating my own unique photos:

I want to give tribute to Susie for another reason:

She must be the "Fastest Brake in the West"!

She stopped for photo ops almost before the words even came out of my mouth to ask!

Of course it figures that her sensitivity allowed her to know even what I was thinking, before saying something out loud, because that is the way we were for each other as roommates at BYU, 

starting 54 years ago.

 East of the Valley of Fire is the "Lost City".

Early settlers discovered remains of ancient pueblos, and in

modern times, actual pueblos were constructed

over the foundations of  a small settlement.

This val verde tree was such a contrast to the stucco of the visitors' center:

This is part of the reconstruction of the Anasazi Pueblos:

PRELUDE TO COUSIN CAPERS THREE; Part 3; Las Vegas

We went to the Bellagio where the entire high ceiling of the hotel lobby is covered

in Chihuly original, huge glass flowers:

I was so excited to see all the colors from different angles of lighting that

I nearly toppled over backwards to take photos:

Another section of the main hotel is dedicated to different themes, seasonally.

While we were there, it was a Holland flowers theme, and

it was fun for me to single out different vignettes:

 Here in our own Pacific NW Tulip Country, I have never seen

this variety that has pink-stripes on the leaves:

Such vibrantly-deep blue hyacinths such as I have never seen:

Susie took me to a nearby shopping area called "Tivoli"

where we browsed a Farmer's Market and had lunch, outside, of course.

These reflections in 2nd-storey windows caught my attention as we were sitting to eat:

THIRD ANNUAL COUSIN CAPERS; Part 1

Together again at last!

We 4 "girl" cousins reunited for the 3rd year of fun and laughter and discovery.

Our base, again, is the home of one of the girls in St. George, Southern Utah.

We know there are endless opportunities there for hiking

and adventure, in ideal weather in April and May.

One day was spent searching for and finding a certain ghost town.  We ended up

at the back side of Zion National Park, or at least with a view of parts of the park from behind.

Before we came across Grafton, after traveling dusty, un-maintained dirt roads, we saw

the original Grafton cemetery.

Only 5 families stayed long enough to make a little town and be memorialized here:

Lots of history here on this headstone!

A couple of buildings have been somewhat restored.

This was a large home for the era, and is actually the structure used as

the hotel in the movie, "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid":

What a view from the front porch!  That is the back of  Zion's

"Great White Throne" in the far distance, left:

Part of the original settlement; more rustic.

We had to scramble through scratchy sagebrush to get such photos:

Grafton was a dusty, oh-so-quiet place while we "girls" were there.

The gap between history and us seemed almost non-existent.

Scrambling comes naturally to this large wild Jackrabbit:

The restored community house, as reflected in a cousin's glasses:

What is a ghost-town without tumbleweed and old wood?

THIRD ANNUAL COUSIN CAPERS, Part 2

We spent one day hiking in Kolob Canyon - a new area for us.

The Taylor Creek canyon, after we reached the bottom:

This is the park department sign at the top of the trail, showing the trail route and amazing

surroundings of our hike:

This rock outcropping gave us shade and a bench for a resting place.

Nature had much to offer!

We came across this 1920's-era cabin; the environment had been too harsh for homesteading, but

we loved making up stories of the occupants and their activities:

 No, this photo is not turned sideways.  I was looking straight up.

I loved the dark old sentinel against the bluest of skies: 

And looking down was just as rewarding:

THIRD ANNUAL COUSIN CAPERS, Part 3

These few photos represent things close to my cousin's home and places nearby.

Every morning we began the day with an early walk up Snow Canyon from their home. 

It was so very pleasant, and this photo represents the hope we had in each day's plans for adventure.

My cousin's home is bordered by a lovely little river.  Here lily pads sit atop a red-rock reflection:

Also in the river, a heron.  I have never seen a soggy heron before!

This guy is preening himself, just like a cat who lost the mouse.

This fisherman came up without his catch, and proceeded with body language that says,

"Me, fishing?  Nah...just taking a bath!"

Different sunsets from the back of their home:

 Each one as stunning as the scenic adventures of the day, 

and seemed to say, "Hurry back, there's more!"

We have already calendared next year's visit!