Spring

It's Spring!  Time for new growth and refreshing views....green grass, tulips blooming, trees budding.  Oh, of course, Mother Nature has to throw a few snowflakes in the view too!  Nothing to stick to the ground here, so it's just fine.  

It was a year ago yesterday that we moved into our apartment here in Hudson.  Moving to an apartment that is about 2/3 the size of our house has been an adjustment.   We moved some things up here that we have discovered that we aren't using and maybe never will.  Then I am certain there are other things we have not even looked at since we moved.   

The apartment complex is gong to be cleaning and sealing the underground garage next week and we need to get things off the floor in front of our car.  We do have a storage area that is about 5 feet by 7 feet just around the corner from our car to put things into, but it's full.  So our goal is to pull everything out of the storage and see what's in there.  Then we have to decide if we're going to keep or give away.  

Yesterday, we took a cursory view of the storage unit....ugh!  It looks like we just threw things in there without any rhythm or reason.  Guess what?  That's what happened.  I found a large tote bag on the top of the pile and I pulled it out and found it full of other totes.  So not only do we have plastic totes full of stuff, we have cloth totes full of nothing.  

I already had about five tote bags in the apartment and now I have eleven tote bags on my bed, waiting for me to decide which to keep and which to give away.  This tote obsession goes along with my purse collection.  Some people have a closet full of shoes, I have purses and tote bags.

Since the weather is not warm enough to be outside or travel much, I have not had much opportunity to use my purses or tote bags, so the task should be easy, right?  Time will tell.

Saving for????

Saving for.... a rainy day, the kids, preservation.  I guess that the things I have saved (read previous blog some of the things I found in a tote) were saved for preservation and a rainy day as there are no kids.    I may have thought that some rainy day, I would look over these things and memories would come back.  

Yes, my totes are my treasure chests. Full of "treasures" or mementos from years ago.  I have looked through the mementos and found plenty that I have discarded in the garbage.  Even the memory of the event or occasion is not worth the hassle of keeping.  It's no longer a treasure!  It's a burden.




However, I have years of cards from hubby and those I gave to him, also.  Will I, in the future, need to see those cards to remember that we loved each other?  Probably not.  If I reach a point in my life that I don't remember him or our love, I don't think a card will make much difference.  If you know someone who has lost their memory or lost your loved one and the saved cards were valuable, please correct me if I'm wrong? 

I am still reviewing my photos and my writings.  What should I keep?  Should I re-type my writings and incorporate them in my in autobiography?  Photos, oh my!  Lots of bins of photos that I want to put into a scrapbook.  I have lots of material for scrapbooks and I need to either use it up or get rid of it as it's clogging my closets.  

Yes, I am on a de-cluttering kick and I'm proud of it!  If nothing else, getting most of the "saved" items in a scrapbook will free my mind and my closets.  Wish me luck!

   

Memories

Memory
All alone in the moonlight
I can smile at the old days
I was beautiful then
I remember the time I knew what happiness was
Let the memory live again
                from "Cats"



Today, I took a long walk down memory lane.  I dragged a heavy tote out of the corner of our bedroom to the living room and started going through years of mementos.  Some things I am very glad I kept, others I wondered, "Why?"   

Here are some of things I found in the tote:

• Freshman college beanie
• High school graduation honor award cords worn with our robes
• Cross stitch from high school home economics class that I never got framed
• Match book from the first (and I think only) strip club that my college housemates took me to in Milwaukee
• UTBU playbook from high school with phrases changed to make the play G-rated.
• Letter to Santa Claus that I wrote when I was 8 years old that my second grade teacher got from the Post Office and gave to me when I was in college.
• Valentine to my Daddy that mom made on my behalf when I was six months old.
• Letter from my sister, Romey, that was written on over six feet of toilet paper.

To paraphrase a current commercial...What's in your TOTE?  

There was all my 4-H projects including two years that I chose "Child Care" and wrote reports on my youngest siblings at the time, Ronald and Rachel.  I think I will pass those reports on to them or their kids as some of the report is on their behavior and their likes and dislikes.  It was fun reading.

The majority of the tote was, I swear, every card that Paul and I have given or sent each other.  Our relationship started out long-distance, so for a time we were supporting Hallmark in our card purchases.  In the tote there were a good number of letters too.  OMG!  What lovers won't say to each other.... I blushed just reading them!  

I can smile at the old days

I was beautiful then

Family

Today, our family was not exactly jumping for joy..... getting too old to do that!  At least not jumping physically, but emotionally it was a joyous day.  Our mother turned 85 years old four weeks ago and we were all together today to help her celebrate.  All eight of her kiddos were together, again!  

We have been very fortunate to get together very often.  Over the years, several of us have lived in other parts of the country and it seemed that we were still able to all be together at least once a year.  Now that we all live in Wisconsin and Minnesota, our opportunities to convene together have increased.  

Convening together does not always mean being together for any length of time.  Let me explain.  Part of the dilemma we face is that there are so many of us siblings.  It's hard to have conversations with all our siblings, and before you know it we're leaving for home.  "Oh shoot, I didn't get a chance to ask so-and-so how their son is doing!  I didn't get a chance to ask so-and-so about their job and how it's going."  We have quantity time, but not always quality time.   

I know that the solution to this dilemma is committing to visiting each sibling and having those one-on-one conversations.  Does it happen?  Not very often.  I seem to let time slip away and not take initiative to have those visits....until the next time we're all together for a birthday, shower, wedding or funeral....and then I regret not having the time to talk with them.  

Yes, I need to "jump" on the bandwagon and make sure that I have those conversations that I feel I miss in our large family gatherings.  Large family gatherings are good and we're so fortunate to have so many of them, but I'm ready to take this jumping for joy to a different level...a personal level.  

I've Been Everywhere

Johnny Cash sang the song, "I've Been Everywhere" 

I've been everywhere, man.
I've been everywhere, man.
Crossed the desert's bare, man.
I've breathed the mountain air, man.
Of travel I've had my share, man.
I've been everywhere.

Then the songs goes on to list a LOT of cities and states that the "man" has been to.  The other day I was reminded of ALL the places I have been to.  

At the cemetery where my uncle was buried, there was a relative of his with a special stone monument recognizing him as part of the Wisconsin unit in the Civil War.  It reminded me of all the huge monuments erected in honor of the different states and their heroes that were in the Civil War.  I have seen these monuments in Georgia, Tennessee and Pennsylvania.  They are quite impressive and I was telling my sister about these places.  Then I remembered seeing a Civil War reenactment on a Civil War battleground in Georgia.  What an experience seeing the troops charging each other, hearing the cannons booming and feeling like I was right in the middle of all the action.  

In sharing that memory with my sister, I had the overwhelming feeling of gratitude....how dang lucky and fortunate I have been in my life!  I have been in all 50 states, I have been to a lot of historical, natural and national landmarks.  Some of these places and roads, I have traveled not just once, but twice.  

Yep, I've been everywhere, man! 

Cry Baby Cry

I am going to be very honest here.... I cry at funerals and memorial services.  It does not matter if I know the person (I have gone to services to support the living relatives) or if I was close to the deceased person...I cry!  Especially when the songs are sung.  There's something about the old hymns that just get the tears-a-jerking!




 Therefore, to further my honesty, I hate funerals and memorial services.  Because I cry!  I rarely cry and when I do, I don't look pretty.  Granted I don't look pretty when I don't cry, but when I do cry, what a mess.  When I cry at services, I feel like a hypocrite.  I say that because I think that when people notice me crying, they must think, "Oh, she was so close to that person, look how upset she is." As I said before, I have gone to funerals of people that I don't even know or have even met and I cry.  Why should I be crying?  

Today was the funeral of my cousin's father.  In my adult years, I have not seen him very much, mainly because I have lived away from the area.  But last fall, my mom and I stopped in at his apartment in an assisted living building and had a brief visit.    I remember him from my childhood as a quiet man, hard-worker and the fact that after lunch/dinner, he always took an hour nap on the bed.  It's rather funny, how certain memories stick with a person.  I can still visualize seeing his feet on the bed through the open door from the kitchen while he slept.  Now, he is at rest forever.  

When I die, I don't want a funeral or memorial service.  Maybe my decision will spare someone else the embarrassment of crying in front of others.  As much as I love the old hymns, I have always wanted to put some of my photos on CD with a hymn playing.  And then if someone wants to cry about my passing, pop in a CD and watch my photo show and cry if they want in private.  I guess I had better get going on that CD, as you never know when your time is up.  Cry, baby, cry! 


 

Shadows

Upon reviewing my photos from our 3 months trip to Arizona, I found several photos that the subject looked washed-out in the sunlight and I found several with deep rich colors in the shadows.  Such as the photo below of Antelope Canyon.  

The rock is blocking the sunlight from hitting the underside of the canyon and the colors grow richer and darker the lower in the canyon our view goes.  

A shadow is not permanent, it's shape and definition changes as the light source that created the shadow changes.  Sometimes in our lives, we may feel like we live in a shadow or a shadow is following us.  Maybe we feel hindered by the shadow, or we may want to hide in the shadow for a bit to get our bearings.  Its dark and deep sensations offers us a reprieve from the bright light of sunshine or the light that reflects off other people.   If there is no light shining on us, we can hibernate and isolate for a while.  Maybe, no one will notice me here in the shadows.  

Today, in the Christian world, I would label as a Day of Shadows.  The death and dark of Good Friday is over.  Christ is buried in the tomb, and his followers isolate in the dark shadows of the buildings, trying to get their bearings and figure out "What just happened?"  

Of course, we know the that tomorrow will bring brightness that will change and chase away the shadows.  It's Easter and we celebrate the risen Christ!  Bright colors of eggs and candy, bright colors of new outfits, trees budding out and flowers poking their way up to soak in the sunshine. Some of us will worship the risen Christ and some of us will worship the sun. Some will do both!

Even in the canyon of my photo, the changing position of the sun coming through the slot in the canyon can change the shadows and coloring of this view.  At certain times of the day and year, this canyon wall may be bathed in sunlight for much of day and no shadows will be cast. 

To everything there is a season,

a time for every purpose under the sun.

With sunlight, there are shadows. Without sunlight, there are no shadows.  Both sun and shadows are part of our lives and they serve a purpose in our lives.  Whether you are in the shadows or the sunlight, be aware, acknowledge and accept your "season" and this "time" of your life. 

Stuck?

Are you stuck?  We often talk about being stuck.....in life, marriage, job, habits, etc.  "I can't change.... jobs, spouses, locations, eating habits, exercise habits."    We lament to ourselves and others, don't we?  We feel like there is no way out of our situation, we're stuck.

Tonight we saw the movie, "The Shack."  One of the lines in the movie was, "You're not stuck because you can't.  You're stuck because you won't."  Whoa!  It hit home with me, how about you?  CAN'T indicates external sources are keeping us stuck, while WON"T indicates internal (self) motivation is keeping us stuck.  All of sudden, it changes everything.  First of all, it changes our attitude and motivation.  When we choose to say we're stuck because we won't change, we can't blame others any longer.  The responsibility is ours and ours alone.  

Taking responsibility for our thoughts, actions, and changes is not always easy.  Our habits and our society makes it easier to blames others by saying, "I can't."   Look closely at the image I copied above with the word stUck.  "U" is right in the middle of the word.  "You" are right in the middle of being stuck.  

So, one of my common lamentations of "I can't lose weight," needs to be changed to "I won't lose weight."  In other words, right now I choose to NOT change eating and exercise habits so that I CAN lose weight.  Suddenly, it shifts my ways of thinking and maybe, in the future, I will choose to make changes to my habits so that I can lose weight.  Right now, I will focus more on the sticky concept of Can't versus Won't.  I can do that!  

Wednesday's Child

Do you remember this nursery rhyme?

Monday's child is fair of face,
Tuesday's child is full of grace,
Wednesday's child is full of woe,
Thursday's child has far to go,
Friday's child is loving and giving,
Saturday's child must work for a living,
But the child that's born on the Sabbath day,
Is fair and wise and good and gay.

Last night before I fell asleep, I thought, "Tomorrow is Wednesday."  And then the verse, "Wednesday's child is full of woe" popped into my head.  As a child born on Wednesday, I used to feel bad about being full of woe, in other words, sad.  It's probably more appropriate to say I felt sad about being a Wednesday's child.  The poem was written to teach children the days of the week.  I guess you could say that Saturday and Wednesday's children got the short end of the shaft on personality.  😉

I tend to get serious, sometimes even sad in my writings.  For the most part I am a calm, quite fulfilled, positive thinking person.  But as you have probably already gathered if you have read my blog for any length of time, I bare-it-all at times, including my sad thoughts.  So maybe the title "full of woe" is appropriate.  

Last fall, one of our neighbors (in her 50's) had a massive stroke.  In fact when we left for the winter, she had been in rehab facility for months.  Upon our return to our place, we heard that she was back living in our building.  She has to wear a helmet as part of her skull was taken out to release pressure and it has not been replaced.  Today, another neighbor had her 91st birthday and treated us during our coffee hour.  So the lady who is recovering from her stroke came too. Now, if anyone had a reason to be full of woe, it's her!  She is basically relearning all the skills that we adults take for granted.  Reading, remembering details, playing an instrument, speaking the appropriate words, and baking.  Because she is the next-door neighbor to the birthday lady and loves her dearly, she brought down her flute that she is re-learning to play.  Her therapist has told her that playing the flute will help her right arm and shoulder become stronger.

As she began playing her flute, I found myself thinking of her as a seven year old girl just learning the flute.  But, with a couple of false starts, we could recognize song, "Happy Birthday" and sing along hesitantly.  She was proud to complete the song and then told us that she had only been playing the flute about 3 years before her stroke and had played in concerts and recitals.  Was she full of woe about re-learning to play an instrument that she had perfected just a few years ago?  No, the smile on her face after her recital for us was one of triumph!  As she was telling us of her occupational therapist coming to her place to help her bake cookies, she couldn't remember the names of some of the ingredients.  This afternoon, I happened to see her leaving her apartment.  I asked, "How did your baking go today?"  She beamed and said, "I just left some cookies (for birthday lady) on her door."  

What a lesson in perseverance and positive-thinking I learned today, Wednesday.  Wednesday's child was an adult lady recovering from a stroke.  Wednesday, a day full of woe.....NOT! 

Sense of Accomplishment

I am feeling an internal sense of accomplishment tonight!  Ever since we arrived home last week, I have been opening the wrong drawers and cupboards to get things.  For some reason, my brain thinks that items should be where they are not... at least not until today.  I cleaned and rearranged drawers.  Things are now where my brain thought they should be.  For some odd reason, everything seems more logical.  

Tomorrow, I will have another internal sense of accomplishment when I tackle the cupboards. The reason I am calling my sense of accomplishments internal, is because no one but me will even know I did spring cleaning.  All my work is behind closed doors and drawers.

Oh well!  Doing spring cleaning where others can see it out in the open is fine and good.  But doing spring cleaning where only I can see it really gives me a sense of accomplishment, because I could have just as easily left it the way it was as no one would ever know.  But guess what, now you all know what a good housekeeper I am.  Next time you visit, take a look in my drawers!  😉

Mountain Canyons

For the past five nights (since we arrived home) I have been dreaming about being in the canyons of mountains. In each of these dreams I am looking for something or looking for a way out of the canyon and/or to the top of the mountain.  There is a phrase, "mountain-top experience," which signifies that one has made it to the mountain top and oh, what a view!  What an experience!  What a high feeling!

Realistically, not very many people make it to the top of mountains.  



For one thing, there is not a lot of space on top.  For another thing, the climb is strenuous and taxing on the body and soul. We travel through the canyons of mountains and sometimes we may reach a summit.  There are usually signs there listing the elevation and even though I am traveling in a car, I get a sense of accomplishment! 😉

Traveling through the canyons below the mountaintops is quite the experience.  Looking up the walls of the canyon and seeing different patterns and colors in the rocky formations is awesome!  I took hundreds of photos of these walls during our travels recently.  Why then, am I dreaming about canyons in a somewhat negative way....trying to get out or find something?  I know enough about dream analysis that I am feeling stuck in the canyons of my life, wanting something different.  But what?  Because when I awaken, I feel just fine about my life and what's happening.  

Or do I?  Yesterday's blog I wrote about Handel's "Messiah."  I woke up this morning realizing that I may have presumed some things about Handel.  He was restless, independent and free-spirited, but does that mean that he didn't have a strong relationship with Christ as I insinuated? No, I find that I like to blame my waxing and waning relationship with Christ to my free-spirit.  Being free-spirited is a badge of honor for me.  Yes, I believe in Christ but giving my everything and all to Him is tough.  I feel like I will lose a part of me.  I have struggled with this in my life....seems like forever.  I go whole-hog (whole-heartedly) into the worship (church) atmosphere and then run away from it for awhile (waxing and waning).  

The other day, I bought a CD of songs, the good old spiritual songs that I heard in my churches and from my grandmother while she worked at home.  I love these old songs and I often find the hymns being my "earworm."  Today, it was "Softly and Tenderly" and I think I hear Him calling me.  Lord, give me the strength and courage to listen and stop my restlessness.  Maybe it's the church that I am searching for in my dreams.  Maybe it's the mountain top that Christ wants to take me to.  Come along as we travel through this phase in my life.  

Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,
Calling for you and for me.
See, on the portals, He's waiting and watching;
Watching for you and for me.

Come home, come home,
Ye who are weary come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling;
Calling, "O sinner, come home!"

O for the wonderful love He has promised,
Promised for you and for me.
Though we have sinned He has mercy and pardon;
Pardon for you and for me.

Come home, come home,
Ye who are weary come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling;
Calling, "O sinner, come home!"

Come home, come home,
Ye who are weary come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling;

Calling, "O sinner, come home!"

Messiah

As we enter the Holy Week, the word messiah becomes important to all Christians.  Messiah, the one to lead and save the world.  Handel created a musical piece by the same name, Messiah, that was originally intended for the Easter season.  However, our modern times have relegated this piece to the Christmas season.

Today our local art center offered the Messiah performed by local musicians (instrumental and vocal) to kick off Holy Week.  We sat in the front row and had a great view of all the musicians.  Luckily they also gave us a "cheat sheet," showing what they were singing.  Between my hearing loss and the operatic singing, I was very glad to have the words in front of me.

Being in the front row, there were no "filters" between us and the performers.  It was a spine-tingling performance!  You may be familiar with the crescendo singing of the words, "Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace."  "Hallelujah!  King of Kings and Lord of Lords."

Having the cheat sheet with the lyrics got me thinking, "Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."  Truly the story of Easter.  However, in reading about Handel, he was not in cahoots with any church like the other famous composer, Bach.  He also was a quick composer, not taking months or years to compose his pieces.  A Smithsonian article lists Handel as having a restless independence and free-spirited musical entrepreneurship.   Does restless, independent and free-spirited sound like someone I know?  Me!

I wrote earlier that I found this performance spine-tingling.  Maybe because I could I identify with the feelings of the creator, Handel.  Was he also questioning his beliefs?  Was he unable to rely on Christ for his support, choosing instead to be independent?  Was he free-spirited, instead of Christ-spirited?  Yes, I am questioning.

Water

Water is so important to our bodies and our lives.  We often take for granted how important it is to our health and well-being.  Today I'm not going to write about our bodies needs for water, but our soul's well-being need for water.  

Many people are attracted to the water in the forms of lakes, rivers and oceans.  They live within a short distance from water and/or they take vacations by water or travel on cruises on the water.  The water is like a magnet, attracting us to it's shores.  

Today, our season membership in the Phipps Art Center had a show offering that we chose on The Mighty Mississippi.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but the show was unique in that it offered songs, videos, photos and education about the river and the transformations it has gone through in our lifetimes.  Specifically, the Clean Water act of the 70's which has mandated boundaries between agricultural fields and the river shores to prevent the soil/silt with fertilizer and pesticides from entering the river.  

I was proud to see that the St. Croix River has some of the cleanest waters going into the Mississippi.  The St. Croix River is the river that I was born within 5 miles of its shores and now 65 years later, I can see from our apartment home.  In this community of Hudson, I feel so at home.  Every time I drive around, I just smile.  Yes, it's good to be home and it's good to be reminded of what a great river we live near.  We must take advantage of getting on it more often this year.  Do I see a boat purchase in the future?  

 😄

Tired!

I can't think of any other word to describe myself today than "tired."   We had less than five hours of driving today, but I was fighting sleep most of the time while I was driving and when not driving I was sleeping.   I thought that I got a good nights sleep last night.  

Tonight, while watching TV, I dosed off.  Oh my, I think I am going to bed early tonight.  I will finish unpacking and will do laundry tomorrow!  

"One More Sleep"

"One more sleep" until we are back in Wisconsin....at home near family, king-sized bed, hand-held shower, dishwasher, and recliner chairs for BOTH of us!  I hope I have my priorities in order, ha-ha!

I have a Facebook friend that posts the number of sleeps (nights) before she will see her grand kids in Texas.  Her posts always put a smile on my face and I can imagine it puts a smile on her grand kids faces too.  So this morning when I awoke and realized that I had one more sleep before I would be home, I smiled again!  Yep, I'm a grand kid at heart.  Good night, sleep tight!

Travel Time

Today was a planned travel day.  We weren't sure what we would wake up to when the forecast was for SNOW.  But only about 3-4 inches and the sun was out bright and shiny this morning.  Our hotel was right on the banks of the Dillon Lake (or Lake Dillon), so here's couple of scenic views.

Got on the road after finding out that I-70 eastbound was open.  The roads were plowed, but wet and lots of snow and salt spray from other vehicles.  Otherwise a speed limit shot to Denver.  Paul was driving so I took some photos out the window of our Rocky Mountain High!

Georgetown, Colorado (west of Denver) was the cut-off point of no more snow.  Breezed through Denver and now we are staying in Kearney, Nebraska....home of the Crane (as in Sandhill Crane) Festival.  Went out looking for Sandhill Cranes tonight and found plenty of them at dusk.  Just like them, we are heading north tomorrow....via Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  

Highs and Lows, Twists and Turns!

Today was a travel day, going from Bryce Canyon to Dillon, Colorado.  Beautiful scenic drive along Utah Hwy 12, a highly rated scenic drive.  We drove through more rock formations, deep into canyons and on a ridge road that literally was as wide as the road.  Upon reaching this section of road, we came up a hill and there was no vegetation on either side and it felt like we were going to over a cliff as all you could see looking forward and up was sky!  I stopped the car and we inched forward.  Uffda!

Then we drove to the top of the mountains, 9600 feet elevation, and saw lots of snow, aspen, and pine.  Beautiful!  Sorry, no photos today, too tired to review and select. 

We drove through Capitol Reef National Park, another wonderful way our nation is preserving this land of ours for generations to come.  I must say that I wish I was younger as I travel, because too many trails are too strenuous for me.  However, when I was younger I didn't have the time for all this traveling nor the money.  Catch-22.

Driving on Interstate 70 in Colorado is a road full of twists and turns, white knuckle driving at times.  Especially because half of Denver were returning home after skiing all weekend!  We hit another high of 10, 630 feet elevation at the Vail summit.   Now, we're safely in our hotel room right on the shores of Lake Dillon.  Snow covered mountains surround us, what a Rocky Mountain High that I feel.  But my blood sugar feels low, I had better eat soon.  

HooDoo You Love?

"HooDoo You Love?" is a phrase I saw at the Bryce Canyon National Park visitor center on their T-Shirts and mugs.  In case you're wondering HooDoo's are the geological formations caused by water getting into cracks, freezing and thawing and erosion of the sandstone into pinnacle shapes...sometimes referred to as a fairy or tent.  The photo below is good example of HooDoos.

As you can see Bryce Canyon got some snow last night.  In the place we stayed it was about 4 inches, but in higher elevations of the park 6+ inches.  When we woke up this morning, it was still very overcast and some snow flurries.  Weather apps on our phones forecasted some sun by 10 am, so after breakfast, we headed to the park.  We found very quickly that only about 10% of the park was open as there is only one main road through the park and it was closed after a certain point.  We went to the furthest point we could and took some photos and I could quickly see that they were dark.  

I felt it was not a photographer's best-case scenario, so we went back to hotel room for a while. That's a definite advantage to being over 62 years old, we both have lifetime passes to the national parks and monuments.  Therefore, we can go back and forth to the parks without having to pay $30 per/vehicle.  

The clouds did start lifting and sun started peaking out, so we took a drive north for a bit and saw three pronghorn antelope and then went east on Hwy 12 which goes through the park and got that top photo.  Turned around and went into the park.  

Wow!  HooDoo I love?   love HooDoos!  So many HooDoos and so many photos that I took.  Here's one that's approximately the same scene as above, yet the sun is out 

Once we got done with several observation points, we found the main road had opened.  We were excited as we wanted to see the Natural Bridge about nine miles down the road. However, when we got down to within a mile of the bridge observation point, the road was closed again. As it turned out we did see about half of the park.

Here's one that Paul liked... reminded him of the Easter Island figures.  The figures, known as the “Moai,” were carved by the Rapa Nui people on a remote Chilean island in the Pacific Ocean. 

Bryce Canyon scenes are surreal!  So glad we got to see this natural wonder.  At some points today, all I could think of was the song, "How Great Thou Art."  A person could sing that song at both Zion and Bryce Canyons.  So glad and thankful that we saw both parks.  

Oh Lord, my God
When I in awesome wonder
Consider all the works
Thy hands have made....How great thou art!