The rolling rally continues...

On Friday our group took off in different directions.  We went with Jerry and Hessie shopping in Cortez and to the church bazaar!  Ted got me a beautiful pair of Onyx and Opal earrings and necklace!  Then our group met up at the Guy Drew Vineyards outside of town.  We all had fun doing a tasting and even found some wine to buy!

Friday evening we attended the buffet at the casino.  I had a huge pile of crab legs and ate every bite!  Everyone had a good dinner and a little gambling and back to the campground preparing to leave on Saturday!

Monument Valley, Utah/Arizona

On Saturday morning we headed to Monument Valley to the Gouldings Campground.  We all arrived safely and settled in.  We were all on our own on Saturday afternoon and Ted and I went over to the Lodge and took a look in the gift shop and the museum.   There is a lot of movie history in the valley as well as the interesting story behind the Gouldings and their arrival in the Valley. 

On Sunday Ted and I drove to the Gooseneck State Park.  The San Juan River “goosenecks” around the canyon, it is pretty interesting how the land rose up around the river.

We came back to the Lodge and had a nice lunch before heading back to the campground.  I had put 5lbs of Pot Roast in the crockpot and Hessie had added potatoes, carrots and onions.  The other ladies made delectable items and we had a great dinner!

On Monday morning we all met before 8:00 a.m. for our 3 ½ hour Monument Valley tour.  We had arranged it so it would just be our group.   It was a great tour and you can appreciate how the Valley got its name.  We also were able to tour a part of the Valley that people are not allowed to visit unless they are on certain tours.  We stopped at a home and got a demonstration on spinning sheep wool into yarn and on making a rug in a real Navajo Hogan.  The young Navajo woman had gone to college but was back in the family home helping out.  She made it really look easy!

We asked the drive to stop by the Lodge restaurant on the way back to the campground and he agreed and said he’d come back and get us and take us the ½ mile back to the campground.  We had a good lunch!   We had an ice cream social for dinner that evening!

On Tuesday, everyone did their own thing and we met for dinner at 5:00.  Lou and Carol were barbecuing chicken for the group.  It was pouring down rain but we managed to have our picnic under the cover.  We had a delicious dinner and met an interesting couple visiting from Germany.  We were fine until it started thundering and lightning!

Moab, Utah

We headed to Moab Wednesday morning.  We again arrived safely.  We decided to go to town for dinner and Lou picked Pasta Jays.  We had a good dinner and were joined by John and Romola, part of the Travel Supreme club that had been up in Oregon at Fort Vancouver and met us in Moab!

On Thursday we were on our own and several of us headed to Arches National park.  We spent several hours touring and then had a picnic lunch in the park.  It is such a pretty park and I enjoyed visiting it again.  Thursday evening we had a group potluck of soups, salad, dessert and more. 

Friday everyone was on their own again hiking, sightseeing and more.  Ted was busy cooking his “famous” enchiladas.  Which ended up being his “famous enchilada casserole”!  He was busy chopping onions, cooking hamburger and compiling the ingredients to make the casserole.  The casserole was delicious and the ladies again, had wonderful side dishes!

Before dinner on Thursday, I was speaking with one of the ladies in the campground and the lightning started with a huge clap of thunder.  Within seconds it was hailing and pouring rain!  Then again after dinner the “weather” started again!  During the night, there was the loudest clap of thunder I ever remember hearing with a huge bolt of lightning!  We all sat straight up in bed.  Sophie, who sleeps through everything, was startled!  Then the pouring rain and blustery wind started.  We felt very sorry for the little pop up camper with tent like slides!

Today four of the ladies had a shopping trip in town.  We visited several stores and bought a few things before having a nice lunch!  This afternoon we are planning a visit to the Moab Brewery for snacks and drinks.  If the rain subsides, we are planning to visit the North and South Windows in Arches for sunset…will keep you posted!