Sherry was intensely interested

The weekend at the cabin was really fun.  Sherry had brought a candy game for us to play on one of the nights.  Most of the prizes were actual candy, but a few were not.  Katie was given one of the "nots," and it was a jar of nail polish.

Sherry was intensely interested.






Matty was in "seventh heaven" as he spent a lot of time with Dayle Jr.  Grandma Zucc & I have commented in the past that the two boys looked enough alike to be brothers, but alas, they are only first cousins.

I got a kick out of Erin and Dayle.  As you can tell Erin got splashed the most.  Those of us on the beach kept yelling for Erin to fight back, but fighting is just not in her nature.  Oh, she did try to splash him somewhat, but it was too little, too late.

Meanwhile, back at the van, the others prepared the food.  Panguitch Lake is mainly a fishing lake, so I was glad that nobody got any hooks caught in their feet.  Ever wonder how it got it's name?  The word "Panguitch" comes from the local native american indians and means "Big Fish".  So now you know!

After swimming, we visited the local mercantile store, for obvious reasons.  I don't think we bought anything, but the little room got quite a workout.  Ha ha.  The humming birds were out, so I took this really cool pic of one, from the front porch of the store.

Next to the store was a neat cabin.  I named it the honeymoon cottage; however I don't think I would have stayed there if it were my wedding night.  It is isolated though, and there are no windows, so nobody could peek in, and that is the only plus.

Later in the afternoon, we went salamander hunting!  

Don't you just love their little feet?

The kids love this activity, but you got to be fast.

Matty finds the only rock in the pond.

Adam and Eve before the fall?

Table games!  Table games! Table games!  We are experts!  One of our favorites is called "Ticket to Ride!" 

Before we left the cabin, we did a general clean-up.  Dayle was insistent on being the one to vacuum the main family room, but everyone had their assignments.  We even stripped the beds and did the laundry!  No wonder the owners like to have us come!  Ha ha.  

Sunday morning, we all attended church at Brianhead.  Services were held in the town hall, and lasted under an hour.  Greg got to bless the sacrament, while Jason and Nick passed it to the congregation.  One thing I liked about going to church in this town is the fact that we did not have to wear suits.  About half of the men had a white shirt and tie, but casual wear was acceptable for both men and women.

Mom and Mike pose before church services.  

Aw!  Life in the mountains is so relaxing - peaceful breezes and so relaxing.  While reading a book on the back deck, I heard soft thunder in the distance, so I took this pic.  You can almost picture a young girl in the right side of the clouds, blowing up a storm.

Soon the wind became stronger, so I took my book inside.  As I reclined I saw a beautiful scene.  It almost looked like a painting hanging on a wall, but it actually is the view out of a window.

Dayle visits the Zucc family!

Our trip to Utah's Dixie was fun, but the days following were significant for me and Grandma Zucc.  Monday morning Dayle Jr. arrived for a week's stay with us.  We discovered, to our delight, that he had turned into a nice, responsible young man with a great since of humor.  We had always known that he would be successful some day, because of the great training given to him by his parents, the BSA, and his church, but frankly we were a little apprehensive as to what a 15 year old, may want to do during a week's stay with us.  After all, we are both over 65.  

From the time he met us at the airport and throughout the week, he was more than helpful, running a variety of errands, and working odd jobs for his Zuccy Grandparents.  I was particularly impressed with the job he did painting our garage.  It took him three days, working before noon, in the cool of the morning, to finish the job, and he did this with a smile on his face.  I enjoyed working with him too, as his since of humor kept me entertained. 

     

During the week, when we worked we worked hard, and when we played we played hard.  Every day, to my delight, we played table games.  He was happy doing this, and I was happy he didn't expect me to go hiking, repelling, or sky diving, or some other sort of "high adventure" activity.  Ha ha.  The closest I got to high adventure was watching Men in Black III in an air conditioned dollar theater.  

On Thursday, after we totally finished the garage job, I took Jr. and Erin out to visit the Kennecott Copper pit.  Traffic was stopped in both directions, for mining activities, at the entrance for about a 30 minutes. Erin decided to go rock hunting along the roadside for pyrite.  Little did she know that I was going to take this photo!  

The hilarious thing about the above photo is that I think that she was totally oblivious to the sign, but hey, ignorance is bliss.  She was not caught, and she did get some really nice pieces of pyrite.  She has to have gotten the "rock hunting" bug from me.  Ha ha. 

Friday, we took off for Brianhead Ski Resort near Parowan,  for a fun-filled and relaxing weekend at the Davis cabin.  They are such nice people to let us visit once-in-a-while.  Dayle was particularly excited to see his Cousins.

   

This particular weekend adventure deserves to have a posting        all of it's own, so be sure to check back in a few days.

We finally arrived

We finally arrived in Cedar City.  Shakespeare  is the big attraction here.  We try to come here once a year for the experience.  This year we attended "Merry Wives of Windsor."  It was held in the intimate Adams outdoor theater.  The actors did their dialogue without microphone help, and most of the time the audience could hear what was being said. Vocal projection is very important in this type of setting.  Anyway, we arrived at the theater a little early so we could attend the Green Show, a lively show put on by students outside the Adams arena.

I think it is called the Green show because the audience sits on grass instead of  in chairs.  Anyway the performers were all talented.  In a way, the Green Show was almost as interesting as the Shakespearean play.    

Mike & Debbie head to the Green Show

We traveled with our friends, Mike & Debbie to the Dixie area of our state.  Now, the real Dixie everyone knows, is the southeastern United States, but in Utah it is everything south of Cedar City extending to the border.  One of the great places  to stop along I-15, is the cheese factory in Beaver.  Here we bought  yummy ice cream cones and some squeaky cheese curds.  One thing I like about this shop is the cheese tasting station.  Yes, you can actually sample it before you buy it!  Next time I think I will buy the spicy curds.

We were surprised when our next door neighbors walked into the store while we were there.  Here we were, so far from home, yet our friends were there, by chance.  Who would ever guess?  So, I was glad we were on our best behavior.  Ha ha.

Old towns that have their origins back into the 1800's, certainly have interesting dwellings.  Most of the real old ones are boarded up, and one wonders what the history of each dwelling is.  Perhaps, some day I will attempt to retrieve some of the story of selected buildings, and publishing them in a book.  This would be a fascinating endeavor.  

Vacant Beaver home with newer roof and TV antenna

The next day we traveled to Saint George, just 50  miles south of Cedar City.   We got into our Sunday best, and attended the Temple, another old Utah structure.  I was fascinated by the ornate furnishing on the inside, like the hand carved chairs, inlaid tabletops, and the carved handrails.  The Vale Room was also very beautiful. 

Our hotel was new, and very nice.  I wanted to go swimming but the pool was outside, and with the temperature 109 degrees, I decided to stay inside.  Finally, it was time to go to Tuacan to see a Broadway play called "Hairspray."  It didn't start until 8:45 PM, and the temperature had cooled down to 102 degrees.  We suffered a little from the heat, but the production was so well done that we were well rewarded.  Photos and recordings were strictly prohibited, but I took this one of the stage set before the announcement was made.   

On the way home, we stopped at a rest stop, and I was able to take the follow photo of a desert thunder shower.  I love these types of scenic photos.  

                                     Grandma and Grandpa Zucc at the Shakespearean festival.

Congrats to Greg!

Last Friday, Sherry invited us to go to dinner with their family to Porter's Place in Lehi, to celebrate the approval of Greg's Eagle project by his district leaders.  Now, he is not an actual Eagle yet, as his papers now have to be approved by the state council, then approved by yet even a higher council, in Texas.

Of course, we said we would go!  It has been years since we had been to Porter's, and of course, we will do anything to celebrate a great achievement by one of our offspring.

Now, a little bit about Porters Place!

To quote a fact from the place mat:  "Porter's Place is an independent family owned restaurant that is dedicated to honoring the heritage of Mormon Pioneer Orrin Porter Rockwell."

He was the territorial marshal in Utah in the late 1800's, and he apparently was  one of the great legions of the old west, sometimes mistaken for one of the "bad guys," but died with honors spoken of his life by Apostle Joseph F Smith.

I love the front facade of the building.  As I approached the door, I felt almost that I was being transported into another era.  The door is made of old wood and the latch was loose.  I had to fight the door to get  into the saloon.  Once inside, we were greeted by a real cowboy - hat, long white beard, and boots.  I almost expected to be asked to check my gun at the bar.

Greg

According to the place mat, "The bar ....... was built in 1881.  It came from a saloon in Montana and has been here since the restaurant opened in 1971."

Of course the bar now only serves non-alcoholic beverages, such as Rattlesnake Venom, and other appropriately named drinks.  The place is  family friendly, and now-a-days, you can go in with tee shirt and shorts and not be laughed out of the building!  Ha ha.

The boys "belly up" to the bar.

After about 10 minutes of waiting inside the saloon, Greg, our guest of honor, and his family arrived.  As you can tell Greg was really excited to be there, as he knew steaks were soon to be dished up.

Once seated in a back room, most likely used originally to play poker in, our waitress, a cute little bar maiden, was kind enough to take a pic of us.  In order to do this she had climb upon a chair.  We did leave her a nice tip for her service to us.  

Bar maid waits for Greg to make up his mind

On our way out,  I was able to get Greg to pose one more time, right in from of a picture of Rockwell.   

Upon leaving that evening, I told Greg that in getting his Eagle award, he had accomplished something neither his Dad or myself did, and that it was something to be proud of.  His mother was insistent that he obtain this award, so I advised him as to the value of mentors as he makes his way through life.  Hey, we all need them in order to succeed.  Anyway, congrats to Greg!  Grandma Zucc and I will be at the actual court of honor, for sure.  

Sidewalk of fire

The annual "Sidewalk of Fire" show commenced in front of Mike and Katie's house, on July 24th, just as twilight was turning into darkness.  It was quite an occasion, with maybe 75 persons in attendance.  A table was set up with lots of cookies of every variety to snack on.  The neighbors brought their own lawn chairs to sit on, and as the show began one could hear all the Oohs and Ahs as, one by one, the fiery little monsters were set off.

Being from California, I was not descended from Mormon pioneers, but my Grandfather did hale from Louisiana in the late 1800's, arriving in the L.A. area then moving to Northern California to make his fortune.  He was born in Alabama in 1859, and later moved with his family to Louisiana.

Nonetheless, I love the 24th celebration, with all the concerts, parades, family get-to-gathers and pioneer stories.  I have lived in Utah since 1963, so I guess I can now claim to be a Utahan, after all these years.


Each year Mike's show becomes a little fancier.  I remember when he first stared, sparklers were about all that he had.  Now he has evolved into a "Fire King," using a torch to set his fiery little monsters.

 

Actually I was quite impressed with the quality of the fireworks this year.  As you can see they were quite spectacular.

The shaded areas in front are a couple branches of a tree.  My camera is pointed almost straight up.

I really like this one.  It didn't rise too far off the ground, but had a lot of sparkling variety.  Also a lot of whistling noise, and popping.

 I don't know how many more years the "Sidewalk of Fire" show continue, probably until the kids leave, or until Mike burns out, whatever the case may be.

One thing for sure though, neighborhood sidewalk celebrations will somewhere continue, as long as there is a Pioneer Day.

Again, branches appear on the right side of the photo.

This is what the street looked like after the show.  Thanks to technology, I was able to take this in the dark using the available light setting on my camera.

I drove by the next day, and it was all cleaned up.  Mike said he even dowsed the empty casings with water to make sure they were all out.  What a guy!  What a show!