Meet Paul . . . .

I’m pushed back in the lounger with Reggie on my lap when I hear a male voice, “You look comfortable.”

A tall, slender man with light red hair and beard, wearing a knit cap, approaches our campsite.

I learn his name is Paul and he’s from Idaho, semi-retired.  He’s a soft-spoken guy.

Paul only intends to stay at Ponderosa Grove overnight.  He has to get back to Idaho for a job.

In the morning, when I hear his van’s engine start up, I trot over to his driver-side window to say goodbye.  He reaches behind his seat and holds out a small box of fruit.

“Here, take some Asian pears.  My tree had a bumper crop this year and these will spoil soon.”

~ ~ ~

Kathryn and Mark . . . .

This California couple camps in a van with a pop-up top.  I meet Kathryn first.  She’s an accomplished jewelry designer.  She reveals in a few remarks her love of natural beauty.

“You must go over to the dunes!” I suggest enthusiastically.  “It’s beautiful over there!”

Next time Reggie and I walk by their campsite, Kathryn comes running out with a small arrangement of dried plants in a clear, glass vase with pebbles in the bottom.

“Look what I found!” she exclaims, gently touching the dried flowers.  I admire her artistry and smile while Kathryn gushes about the light and colors of the dunes and the variety of interesting plants that grow there.  Her delight is endearing.

Mark is a residential architect.  He comes trotting out to join us.

“Look at this!” he exclaims, holding up a pale coral stone to the sun.  “It’s translucent!”

A perfect orb, smooth to the touch, and heavy.  Mark tells me he found it by the many footprints in the sand as he and Kathryn followed the path from the dunes, a treasure overlooked by others.

Later I sit with Kathryn and Mark at their campsite.

This day is Yom Kippur or The Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the year in Judaism. Like Kathryn, Mark experiences life with enthusiasm and this includes his exploration of eternal mysteries.

Reggie snoops around the campsite as we talk. 

His pal, Bella, camped in this site a few days ago.  Maybe he picks up her scent . . . .

Kathryn recently read writings of Herodotus, the Greek historian of the fifth century BC, and she is fascinated by the account of Cyrus the Great, King of Persia.  In the dim light of sunset, she retells the story for us.

Mark gets up and tends the aluminum foil-wrapped potatoes and various vegetables roasting in the campfire.  The sun has set, and, at the proper time, he will break his fast for Yom Kippur.

~ ~ ~ 

Moving to our next camp!

In the previous post Reggie and I cross the Kaibab Paiute Indian Reservation in northern Arizona on our way to a new camp.

We pass sage brush and tan, desert grass on a flat plain to our left . . . .

Looking down the stretch of road (Route 389) we’ve already traveled

On our right, the massive Vermilion Cliffs!

I stop to give Reggie a chance to roam around and do his business.

We resume our journey. 

More majestic, red cliffs appear, made even more magnificent by a bank of white, puffy clouds through which rays of light highlight the rock face.  I drive along, excited at this serendipitous opportunity to snap My Stupendous Photo Of The Year.

Darn it all!  Frustrating!

All along the highway, right smack in the view of the cliffs, are wires strung between cross posts…. on and on and on.  I stop and get out, thinking I might be able to change the angle enough to remove the ugly from the beautiful.

Nope.  Can’t do it.  Errrgh!

At long last the wires go underground.

By this time Colorado City appears at the base of the rock mountain.

Approach to Colorado City at the border of Arizona and Utah

Now’s my chance! 

I park and jump out of the Perfect Tow Vehicle.

I’ll zoom in on those highlighted cliffs, catch some of the white clouds gleaming above . . . Aww, too late!

A big, thick, dark cloud has moved in.

The luminosity is gone!

Quite a backdrop for a town, eh?

I look at the scene that once was glorious, and still is very impressive.  I snap the photos you see above and below and we continue on our way.

Riding toward Hurricane, Utah, the landscape is too spectacular for me to capture in a photo.

Part of me doesn’t want to post any of these photos because they diminish what one really sees!

I’m glad we came this way . . . .

We turn onto Route 9 at Hurricane and go further west.  I shop at Wal-Mart and give Reggie another walk-around.

We board Interstate-15 and cross the city of St. George, heading southward.

An exhilarating, magic-carpet ride through the Virgin River Gorge takes us to the exit for Cedar Pocket Campground!

Crossing over the interstate to Virgin River Gorge Recreation Area

“Reggie, honey?  We’re home!”

rvsue

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