THANKSGIVING 2009 I guess it's the best sentiment to say "this is the best holiday thus far" instead of "ever," because I have enjoyed many memorable ones! However, I think there were so many unexpected, wonderful surprises with this one that it's really standing out in my mind. When I realized that all my children had plans elsewhere, since we had all been here last year, I proposed to my friend Bev Lewis that we go to Moab and see Arches National Park. She was interested, so after searching websites we made our decision to go. She made final reservations since I am quite busy with my missionary activities and she really scored for the team! The Lodge was having special rates for the holiday weekend, and our savings there far outweighed the fee for Best Westerns/Days Inn, etc. with in-house continental breakfasts included. We were delighted to dine at the adjacent coffee shop for breakfasts under $5 that were delicious. Our most pleasant Turkey day surprise was the meal. Who would believe a 5 star Chef would be working at "Buck's Grill"? The building is unassuming, the decor is western and we'd been promised seating in the lounge at 4:30 p.m. OR seating in the dining room at 7:30 p.m. Bev had opted for earlier meal, and when we arrived we were seated in the dining room after all. The menu was a Thanksgiving special with choices of traditional turkey, leg of lamb or trout. The salad was goat cheese and mixed greens with a blueberry vinaigrette that was delicious. Hot sour dough loaves of bread were the accompaniment! When the large chop plate was served we had a moist dressing with wild rice and mushrooms, julienne green beans and yellow squash, a mound of mashed potato garnished with parsley and gravy, a generous serving of turkey and homemade cranberry/orange sauce. The cranberries were so good, I asked for more. It tasted wonderful with every bite of dark and light meat. Desserts were a choice of pumpkin or pecan pie or apple cobbler. Every morsel was wonderful! What a delightful meal for us to enjoy after our drive out (7 hrs. with stops at Cove Fort, gasoline, etc.)

Friday we dedicated to Arches National Park. Every pull out was something else spectacular. When Bev wanted to walk more than I could, I encouraged her to explore and sat in the car to read from the various books we had picked up at the Park gift shop. The balanced rocks and the arches and windows are absolutely amazing. Next trip: I want to go early, right to Delicate Arch and make that hike---you can only see it from a distance from the viewing site and it is situated against a precipice of some sort that looks quite dramatic. We saw many other arches at closer range and out cameras were just clicking away! The layers of sediment are varied in colors so it is gorgeous! While studying the maps ahead of the trip I noticed that Canyonlands Nat'l. Park was also very near to Moab. Bev was game to hit that on Saturday morning, so we stopped first at a beautiful, full-service market and had sandwiches made to order and off we went on the next adventure. The portion of Canyonlands that we were able to enter is a portion called island in the sky. That is because it is the triangle of land surrounded on East by Colorado River winding its way south and on the west is the Green River, with their confulence at the tip of the triangle. From the car lookouts, the vistas were immense---quite the opposite from being at Arches and standing at the base of a balancing rock or arch and looking up. The cuts into the land from the meandering water action and erosion are amazing. As we walked up to the first lookout, Bev's comment said it all. "I certainly didn't expect this!" At one point the road passes through a neck of land with drop offs on both sides! She's not much on heights, so it was probably good she was driving rather than sight-seeing! I actually gasped, I must admit. The real way to get a perspective on this park would be from the water! We had seen many ads for jetboat trips, barge floats, white-water rafting and now we knew why. Our overall impression was this was a place we'd like to return, with some of these day trips reserved in advance. The weather would be a factor, also--as we had our jackets, gloves and long-johns on yo stay warm and toasty (45 degrees was the warmest it ever got). I bet May or June would be splendid for all the water sports without roasting in hot, hot heat of summer!

Our finale was a snowstorm at Summit after we were southbound on I-15 around 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, but it lightened through Cedar City and the Blackridge was dry, so we arrived home safely in 5 1/2 hrs.; I actually felt quite rested and ready to get back into my missionary activities come Monday! I would recommend this vacation area to one and all! We found the yarn shop and the quilt shop and only went to one as the other was closed due to family funeral, but there are more art galleries and other boutiques that we saved for the future.