April 26, 2014.  The long-awaited day that we meet our friends from GA and WYO in Zion National Park!  I understand the Atlanta contingent is already gathered in Las Vegas, where they will pick up their Airstream, spend a couple of hours learning to hook it up, work all the systems and drive pulling a 3.5-ton trailer.  Piece of cake!

Richard and Polly from WYO are arriving first today and will scope out three adjacent campsites (we hope).  At Zion, the campsites are guaranteed, but are available on a first-come basis.  Up till now. we have been able to reserve a specific spot, which is nice.  They also have offered to have us all to dinner tonight at “their place.”  Polly is a grand cook, so that will be a real treat I am sure.    I have come prepared to cook for the crowd on three nights this week.  I have a bin in the truck with all the non-perishable ingredients for Chicken Marbella (from the old Silver Palate cookbook), white chili, and a great beef rib stew that my friend Joyce makes.  We bought the fresh ingredients in Cortez yesterday.  It is a little hard to manage refrigerator and freezer space for a week’s worth of groceries, but we did it fine.

Yesterday afternoon, Brad took a tour of Glen Canyon Dam and then we drove around Page to see what it is like.  It is a town that (like Las Vegas and Hoover Dam) exists only because of the dam construction.  It is not particularly remarkable other than that.

When we returned to the campsite, our Dutch neighbors were just returning from a foray to a beautiful canyon somewhere nearby — set up as a photographic tour.  They invited us over for drinks to show us the photos they captured.  Just amazing.  We enjoyed meeting them (they are both mathematitions, Jay) and we hope to see them in Zion, where they are heading next.

Packing up now to head to Zion!

Our Dutch friends at Lake Powell