April 28, 2014.  Two weeks into the journey and still no calls to our divorce lawyer!  We had toyed with the idea of getting a side car for the Airstream to bring him along, but we decided that may prevent us from qualifying for passage through some of the tunnels out here, so we didn’t.  So far, we don’t regret it.

Today, we split into several contingents to mill about smartly in Zion.  Rufus, Vickie and Bill went for an 8-hour hike in The Narrows — can’t wait to hear their descriptions and see the pictures — walking and wading through the icy waters of the Virgin River at the narrowest point between mile-high canyons, ears pricked for the tell-tale sounds of a possible flash flood!  Richard spent a couple of hours this morning working while Polly made brownies and cole slaw for our feast tonight.  They later went for a good hike in the canyons and just came back looking healthy and invigorated.

Brad and Mara and I had a great time this morning.  We  scoured Airstream Classified.com to see what is available in the way of a late-model International 27FB.  Found a great one in TX for a five-digit steal!  SPOILER ALERT — Mara will surprise Bill with it later tonight.  We cut up vegetables for our beef rib stew for tonight and got that started in the crock pot.  Then, Mara, Brad, Doris and I went exploring antiques stores and art galleries in the area and had lunch in Springdale.  (As we were driving out of the campground, Brad spotted our Dutch friends from Lake Powell (Margoralina and Barry)!  We invited them to join us for dinner, but they were heading out to their next destination.  How funny to run into them again — I really did not expect to.)  At a wonderful old museum/gallery chock full of antiques and Native American curios, I bought a beautiful hand-woven Navajo rug in the Red Mesa design and a small framed picture from 1938 of Mexican calendar girls modeling their fancy dresses.  It (the rug) is in muted tones of red, orange, gray, white and dark brown — I’ll probably hang it on the wall in our new sitting room at the farm to remind us of this great trip.   I also got (at a different store) two folk art chickens made by photo-identified Navajo individuals from the Four Corners area.  If I had looked in all the booths at Four Corners Monument, I probably would have seen these and definitely would have gotten them there.  I’ll just pretend that I did!

In the town of Springdale, several of the galleries have wonderful wind vanes made of silver or copper verdigris that swirl in eye-catching dances in the steady wind — some moving slowly like somnolent ballet dancers, other spinning like dizzy dervishes.  We studied them carefully for the best one to take home.  So far we have not homed in on one — plus they are ridiculously expensive.  $1,100 for the lotus one my heart currently desires.  I’ll sleep on it — which usually cools my ardor to a manageable degree.

Back at the ranch, we are trickling in from the day’s activities and looking forward to a camp fire and communal pot luck dinner followed by s’mores and tall tales.  Tomorrow we pack off to Bryce Canyon, not too far away.

Brad, Mara and Doris shopping in Springale

Lunch spot — good tacos!