Wednesday, September 14 through Tuesday, October 4, 2022: Bryce Canyon, Family, New Yard, Hurricane Ian, Geocaching, and Scottsdale Overnight

Tom and I were ready to drive the 5 1/2 hours to Bryce Canyon National Lodge. But, the dogs needed to be dropped off at the Grand Canyon Railway Kennel.

It was a rainy day drive up to Bryce. Tom and I have a suite at the Lodge at Bryce Canyon --- inside the national park.

We arrived at the lodge around 4:00 p.m. We are staying in the Rueben C. Syrett Suite. After unpacking and settling in our room, we walked the several minutes to the Bryce Canyon Amphitheater.

We were fortunate to find a kind tourist to take our picture.

After our first canyon visit, we walked to the General Store to get several breakfast burritos. Our suite has a small refrigerator and a microwave. We had adult beverages in our room before heading downstairs for dinner.

The next morning, we took a walk along the rim to Sunset Point. There, we walked down into the canyon on the Navajo Loop Trail. 

Our first significant site was the beautiful Wall Street.

We then reached the canyon floor.

We walked by Two Bridges and then headed back up to the rim. The Navajo Loop Trail is just a 1.3 mile trek.

By the time we got back to our room, it was time to have some lunch. We decided to go to Ruby's Inn --- about ten minutes away. I had not been to Bryce Canyon since March, 2012. The property where Ruby's Inn is located was incorporated in 2007 and named Bryce Canyon City. We had lunch at Ruby's Canyon Diner.

Ruby's Inn has a very large gift shop. One of my tasks these three days was to buy a hoodie sweatshirt for my girlfriend Barbara Coad. Her mother's maiden name was Bryce. She bought a Bryce Canyon hoodie sweatshirt years ago, but it was stolen at a breakfast buffet in Los Angeles. I took photos of several hoodie versions and texted them to Barbara. She selected this one.

While in Bryce Canyon City, I looked on my Geocaching app to see if there were hidden caches nearby. I saw that there were three in the vicinity. So, Tom and I went to find them! The first one was near the bicycle trail leading to Bryce Canyon National Park.

The second and third caches were across the street from the Ruby's Inn property

Tom and I then headed back to the national park. Of course, we had to have a photo in front of the park entrance.

I still needed more Fitbit steps. So, I had Tom drop me off at the shuttle stop near Inspiration Point. I walked to upper Inspiration Point and enjoyed the view.

I then walked back to the lodge. On my way, I and ran into Williams residents Kim and Jordana Kelley. Kim is Pastor Joe Kelley's wife and Jordana is their sixteen year old youngest daughter. I knew that they were doing a Utah road trip, but never expected to see them here!

I called Tom and he met us in the lodge lobby.

Before dinner, I decided to purchase a Bryce Canyon hoodie that I had been eyeing in the lodge gift shop.

That evening, we went back to Ruby's Inn and had dinner at their Steakhouse.

On Friday, we had 1:00 p.m. reservations for a one-half day mule and horse ride into Bryce Canyon. We decided to have an early lunch at the Bryce Canyon General Store.

After lunch, we went back to our room and prepared ourselves for the mule and horse ride. We then walked over to the stables.

Tom was given a horse named Lewis to ride.

Our guide was Quincy and there were nine of us in the group. It was a manageable number of riders.

The nice aspect of the three hour ride was seeing parts of Bryce Canyon that I had never been to --- Peepkaboo Loop Trail and the Wall of Windows. We stopped halfway for a water and bathroom break. My horse was named Wahweep.

It was now time to head back to the stables.

That evening, we dined a second time at the Bryce Canyon Lodge Dining Room. Both of our dining room servers --- Summer and Ben --- treated well.

The next morning, I got up early and went to Sunrise Point to catch the sunrise. It was a beautiful morning.

The coloring of the canyon was awesome!

Tom and I left the lodge at about 9:30 a.m. Three important events were taking place this day, September 17. My Italian son Francesco was getting married in Milan to Thomas.

My brother Peter and his two sons were in South Bend, Indiana, for the Cal vs Notre Dame football game. Cal lost, but they had a great time.

Another part of their "Boys Weekend" was going to Chicago for a Cubs Baseball game.

That weekend as well, Pat Wheeler had a high school reunion in Olivet, Michigan. Both Pat and Bill enjoyed the event.

Tom and I arrived back in Williams around 2:00 p.m. We picked up Kelsey and Jamie at the kennel and settled in for the evening.

My landscaper, Troy Mortensen, texted me. On Monday, he is ready to update my front lawn. I took several photos on Sunday --- to get a nice before and after.

Troy arrived at about 11:00 a.m. He took out an old stump.

He took out the cement circles around three trees and filled them in with decorative rock.

The final project looks outstanding --- neat, tidy, and a huge improvement. Thank you, Troy!

Thursday morning, I looked out our kitchen window and saw a doe and two fawns. It was difficult getting a photo --- as the mother was very protective of her babies.

At ten o'clock, I played pickleball with Don from Phoenix, Jeana, and Robin. In the afternoon, Tom and I drained the water out of the spa. A spa technician came to our house while we were vacationing at Bryce Canyon. The technician could not find the leak. Summit Spa sells a product that you can place in the filter drains. It is called Fix a Leak. Many of the Summit Spa customers have used this product and found success. It was worth a try!

Friday morning, I walked to Cataract Lake. I love the clouds where we live! 💕

I then continued to walk to Elephant Rocks Golf Course. There was a geocache I was not able to find last week. Apparently, someone had moved it and the cache owner found it and placed it in the correct area. Yeah, I found it!

Our musician friend, Omar Mondragon, is retiring from his 14-year stint at the Best Western Plus Inn. Tom and I have enjoyed his music for the past five years. We stopped by to hear him sing for our last time.

The Williams Kiwanis Club had an Arts & Crafts Fair on Saturday. I went to the fair and bought a colorful Kleenex holder.

I walked home along Cataract Lake Drive and came across a Burlington Northern Santa Fe Choo Choo train.

That afternoon, Tom helped me fill the spa with water. All clean again!

Sunday morning, I went to church. Later, I walked to Cataract Lake again.

This time, I continued on into town. The Grand Canyon Railway Hotel has a new Red Caboose on its property. Cute!

Coconino County sent me the official paperwork naming me a Republican Precinct Committee Member. I decided to have it framed. Yes!

On Monday, Kelsey and Jamie had an appointment with Elsa Marie Underwood --- a groomer in town. Both of them had their nails trimmed.

I had lunch with the Highland Meadows Ladies at El Comedor Cardenas. It was surprisingly good food.

I then went to find a geocache at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel called "Howie's Riding the Rails." The hint was clever and I found the cache.

Tuesday, I had a late afternoon MRI appointment at the NorthStar Medical Offices. I have an acoustic neuroma in my brain that is checked every two or three years. It was an easy in and out.

On the news for the past few days was the advent of Hurricane Ian heading to Florida. On Wednesday, September 28, it hit the southwest section of Florida. Tom's sister Pat Warner lives in Ft. Myers. That is where it did a lot of damage.

Pat and her husband Frank weathered the hurricane in their home in Gulf Harbor. They sustained water damage from a leak in a unit above them. No electricity and no utilities for some time.

I asked Tom if he would like to do some geocaching with me. That afternoon, we found four caches. One was "A Random Geocache."

Another --- that Tom found --- was named "The Golden Log."

On Thursday, Doug from DirecTV came to look at our system. Our satellite has not been communicating with our DirecTV box.

It turned out that there were some loose cables. Doug tightened them and everything worked out. It is expected that when Colleen was dusting last week, she may have pulled out the box. In the afternoon, I went looking for geocaches near the Kaibab National Forest headquarters and Buckskinner Lake. The first one I found was a traditional old cache box.

I found two more caches closer to the lake.

The next day, I drove to Kaibab Lake, parked, and walked around the lake. It is a nice, easy path.

My sister Carrie posted a photo of her two puppies, Noah and Dutton. They are already five months old. What cuties!

On Saturday, October 1, I drove to town. I had forgotten that the Route 66 JDM Classic car show was in town. This charity car show highlights Japanese cars that are 25 years or older (from 1997 or older).

This car show began 13 years ago --- but at that time, all the cars were Datsuns. The car show was expanded in 2008.

 

 

I decided to look for some more geocaches. I left my truck parked downtown and I walked to a geocache in the national forest near the Mormon Church. It was called "A Walk in the Woods."

 

There was another cache about .4 miles away called "On The Rails Again #1." I now have 34 caches under my belt. 😊😊😊

On Sunday morning, I took the dogs to Cataract Lake.

It was so beautiful with the clouds on display.

Tom and I are heading to Phoenix tomorrow. I decided to drop the dogs off at the Grand Canyon Railway kennel for two nights. Tom has two eye doctor appointments in Scottsdale for his glaucoma.

Early Monday morning, I walked around the golf course. It was a beautiful morning.

Tom and I left for Scottsdale at about 10:30 a.m. It was a little over 2 1/2 hour drive to our hotel. We were staying the one night at a Tru Hotel by Hilton.

It was time for a bite of lunch. Fortunately, there was a White Castle Hamburger --- a few minutes walk from the hotel. We didn't want to eat too much, as we knew that we were going to have a seafood feast dinner at Eddie V's Prime Seafood.

The hotel was quite nice. Tom found it through Hotels.com. It had very high ratings. Tom went to his 3:00 p.m. appointment at the Arizona Glaucoma Specialists office in Scottsdale. I worked out at the hotel gym.

 

At 5:00 p.m., we had adult beverages in our room before driving the fifteen minutes to the restaurant. The first time we had dinner at Eddie V's was December, 2020 --- in the thick of Covid-19. It was nice to know see the restaurant at full capacity. Our waiter. Miro, was from Serbia. He was elegantly dressed in white tails. We ordered The Big Eddie: King Crab, Maine Lobster, Tuna Poke, Shrimp and Oysters.

The next morning, we had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, we packed our bags, and loaded the car. Tom drove to his 9:00 a.m. appointment with Glaucoma specialist, Dr. Kay. I walked the three miles to Dr. Kay's office. It was a nice morning. We headed back to Williams at about 11:00 a.m. Tom and I picked up the dogs at about 3:00 p.m. They were happy to be home.