Gooseneck River

I forgot about our adventure to The Goosenecks. It was amazing, we saw the rock formation Mexican Hat on the way. But too far away to get a good picture with the iPhone.

Well I took several pictures like this, but you just can't even get near the full effect of how breathtaking it all was.

So I turned to my trusty app (I LOVE my phone!) and mushed six or seven pictures into one to make a beautiful panorama!

Amazing!!!!

These photos still don't do it justice. You'll just have to go there yourself!

Don't Hassle Me I'm Local

As I said before Drew and I headed down to Bluff to help build a cabin, dedicated to the man pictured below.

So I decided to catch Drew up on our heritage before we got there. And I read him Jens' history. A brief summary of his life; Jens crossed the plains with the Willey Handcart Company. They were caught in a severe snow storm in their travels. Jena being a large man standing 6'7" tall and having large feet wore through his shoes causing him to get frostbite on his feet. He told his wife Elsie, "Leave me here to die, I cannot go any further." their oxen had died on the journey and they were pulling their own wagon. Elsie said "I will not leave you. Ride in the cart." Elsie pulled him the rest of the way. After arriving in Salt lake the Jens Nielson family was called to travel down to what is now Bluff, Utah. They were the pioneers who what is known as the 'Hole in the Rock'. And also conquered San Juan Hill. You can read the whole story in a book newly written by Gerald Lund, the title is Undaunted Courage.

These are the cabins in Cove Fort. The cabin facing you on the very Left of the picture is Jens' cabin.

This is a picture of Drew chinking the cabin, so that mortar could be placed in between the logs.

This is the side of the cabin, pre chink and mortar.

This was Drew teaching me how to mortar. It was so funny seeing people come up with their own ideas about how to get the mortar in between the logs. One couple on their cabin were literally throwing the mortar at the cracks then trying to smooth it in. Wonderful!

Looking out of the front door. Probably a pretty realistic picture of what the pioneers would see every morning.

After a good long day of work we headed off to see some Native American ruins. Drew told me when we were dating, one of his life goals was to go see the Native Americans who built their homes right in the cliff. Well Done and Done!

I learned from my Utah Obscurities book that the paintings on the walls done by the Natives are called pictographs. And the chiseled art are called petroglyphs. Lesson learned!

These ruins are so remote and hard to find, they have not been roped off yet. So we were able to delicately explore them up close. It is truly amazing to see up close.

Don't Come in We're In The Bluff!

My grandma told me that what happens in Bluff, stays in Bluff! And most of the late night jokes and story telling will remain a secret. However the adventures had to be documented.

We headed down to Bluff, Utah this weekend. To participate in the building of a cabin. Dedicated to my great great great grandpa Jens Nielson. My Utah Curiosities, book came in super handy once again. On our adventures through Utah.

We don't make it down to the four corners area of the United States as often as we should. So we had to make the most of our drive down there. First stop Utah Curiosities led us to was Ray's Tavern in Green River. A local hotspot for river runners.

The walls hold shirts from river runners all around the world.

It was a quaint little place and we had fun with the ketchup squeeze bottles. Well... I did. Next stop Arches National Park!

We did a hike up to delicate arch! Beautiful!!

Seriously more beautiful then I can describe. And it was a nice 2 hour hike to break up the driving.

Then our tour guide book told us to check out Newspaper Rock.

We tried to get a picture with the ancient petroglyphs. Too much wall...

Too much us...

Ahh just right.

We cruised through Blanding. Got a drive by picture of the local family store;)

We pulled into Bluff and grabbed a quick bite at the only open restaurant in town. Yes it was 9:30 p.m. Why would any place stay open that crazy late?

Best cups I've ever sipped out of! What a beautiful town!

Swiss Days

Drew and I just got back from the Midway, Swiss Days!

It was so fun! I headed up by myself and Drew joined me after work.

Just a picture of a Midway gas station. My absolute favorite country I have been to is Switzerland.

It was so majestic and quaint. This is a picture of the city I stayed in Zermatt. You can't tell me there is a prettier place on this planet!

Swiss Days was almost as fun, just no little boys in their lederhosen herding goats down cobblestone streets!

They had so many cute shops, I thought these hand made motorcycle 'rocking horses' would be so cute in a little boys room!

I would put signs like these in a cabin. Something about the colors I am always drawn to.

Drew and his GIANT scone! I thought we were going to have a repeat of Disneyland, where Drew had so much fun he threw up! We seem to be good so far! Ha!

We watched this lady make and carve candle for 20 min. It was amazing how accurate she was with knowing how much wax to get on the candle to have all of the colors coordinate.

It was fun to watch the candles grow as she was dipping them.

Her hands were so steady! It was real talent!

Some of them are a little too cheesy for me to own, but I did love the pumpkin candle!

I can't wait to decorate for Halloween!

HAPPY SWISS DAYS!!