They smiled the whole way

 The little town of Dinosaur plays host to the visitor center.   

All Bev needs is to get a dog and then move onto the crosswalk.  

Joe poses in along side this sign just inside the entrance gate.

After a long drive, Andy is all smiles at the Harper's Corner trail-head.  In the background is Steamboat Rock.  This is where the Green and the Yampa rivers converge.  

There are many scenic views from the trail.

The road in the valley is the one we will take later this day.

The point of convergence is hidden behind the cliff.  In order to see it, one must hike.  Oh well, maybe in my next lifetime! 

The strata of the white cliffs and the red cliffs are almost perpendicular.  This indicates major faulting during a geological time long ago.   

I understand the locals call these little green areas parks.  They really are beautiful.  

Joe and Andy blazing the trail for me.  

Steamboat Rock.  Notice the ancient oxbow circle formed by a meandering river millions of years ago.

Telescopic shot of Steamboat Rock.  The Green and the Yampa converge right behind this cliff.

The Yampa just before the convergence behind the rock.

This is one of my favorite photos.  We would soon be on this road.

Harper's Corner Trail.  Yes, they smiled the whole way.

Great picture of Steamboat Rock.

The Green River after the convergence.  

Notice the uplift of the strata.  

View of Steamboat Rock in the background.  This is one of my favorite pics, ever. 

This is the real west

Heading east from Utah, we entered the little town of Dinosaur, Colorado, located right on the border.  Because of my rather unusual interest in older-type places, I fell in love with this quaint town.

On the north side of the road is this lovely creature.  I guess the question is:  Which came first, the town or the dinosaur?  

All of our eyes were trained on Dino as I took this picture, and to our delight, a bird exited from his mouth.  Notice the hole in front of his teeth.  A nest is located inside.  

  

Okay, no desert town is complete without it's old -car refuge.  Actually this is just a part of a very large auto collection, and if one were to look over the collection carefully, he could actually find some older models in pretty good condition.  For the hobbyist interested in restoration, I believe some of these autos could become someones pride and joy.

In some past time , an enterprising person decided to open a restaurant. Obviously the town didn't prosper enough to justify keeping the cafe open. 

As you can tell from the photo below, the tourist business must have dropped to rock bottom.  

On the east end of town is another motel - for sale.  If you think you would like to try to fix this place up, please give the owner a call. Yes, I guess you can call this a free advertisement.  

A couple of cottages adorn the property, but what I really love is the mesa in the background.  For a geologist, this country is a paradise.  

You may think this a funny-kind of post, but really it's just a prelude to my next few postings.  This is big country with fantastic  vistas.  This is the real west, where rivers meet, mountains rise, and winds blow, and it all starts here in the little town of Dinosaur.

I got some great pics, so check back in about a week.  Goodbye for now. 

Nick and Jason took stage center

It was an evening for a lot of smiles as Nick and Jason took stage center for their induction into the order of Eagle Scout.

Cupcakes forming an American flag adorned the refreshment table.  I see 20 stars.  Are there not 50 states in the Union?

Oh yeah; but for the purpose of decoration this flag has only 20.  For the sake of curiosity though, I found that Mississippi was the 20th state admitted to the Union, December 10, 1817.  Interesting, huh?

Somehow Rachel always seems to find her way to the forefront of any gathering. Ha ha.  I think she takes after her grandmother, don't you?

Matt seems a little shy in this picture, but believe me, he is not.

Erin, Mike, Jenna & Katie wait anxiously for the court to convene.

Nick is all smiles, and deservedly so.  Greg, our college student earned his Eagle badge just last year.

Greg has the honor to be the first of my offspring to sit in the eagles nest.  This is a first in the history of my family.  I am so proud of him.  Neither myself nor his father will ever have this privilege because we didn't earn the right.
 

Jason knows how to set a good example, and Matt is really "eating it up."

One thing that really impressed me was the number of peers that were supporting Nick and Jason.  This photo show only a few in attendance.

Nick and Jason

Norm, Sharron, myself and Beverly are the proud grandparents. 

For Erin this day was special

It is not every day a person becomes a teenager, but for Erin this day was special.  It was noon by the time I saw her, which meant her day was already half over,  but we did have lunch together at Cafe Rio.  How she was able to finish that whole burrito, I will never know; but then again does a 72 year old ever know what the younger generation is capable of doing? 

Let me answer that before going on.  Probably not! 

  

Me (72) & Erin (13) later that evening.

After she finished eating, her mother rushed her back to the middle school, and I understand that the kids in her choir class sang "happy birthday" to her.

Jim eyes Erin's presents.

The party was a duel birthday celebration.  The other person honored was Sydney Palmer.  She is one year old now.  At the end of this posting is footage of Mike charming her.  You have got to click on the link.  I promise you that if you do, all of your worldly concerns will be forgotten, and that joy will also fill your heart for a couple of minutes.   

Even teens like cereal.  

I actually thought of trying to break my tradition of giving a box of cereal to the grand-kids for birthdays, but alas as I walked by the Lucky Charms display, I gave in.  After all, St. Pats day is almost here, right? 

I had to give her a little book on God's word for Teens.  She likes to read, and this book gives short, concise biblical advice to young people, on a variety of moral issues.    

Okay!  Here is the you-tube link.

Mike charms Sydney

You will be impressed!

Piano recital a success!  All Bev's students played seemed well prepared and all played well.  Notice that all the girls have smiles, while the boys seem more serious.

As an encore, Erin and Bev played "What Child is This?"  They also played the same piece in a church service in December.

For those of you who missed the youtube video of Ben's performance, please click on the following link.  You will be impressed!


An upcoming star!

Matty has great possibilities.

Junior Jazz basketball now has a new star.  His name is Matthew McKea, and 40 is the number on his shirt.  At the game last Tuesday, he showed how much hustle it takes to help his team win.  On the offensive side of the court, he showed how he could shoot, making at least 4 baskets. 

Defensively he pulled in rebound after rebound, often dribbling the entire length of the court to attempt a score.  When the ball was not in his hands, he was able to keep his man under control.  Both his Father and I noticed how aggressive he played and we both agreed that Matty has great possibilities for future stardom. 

During one of the breaks, Matthew happily posed with us.  

Matty poses with his beautiful sister, Jenna.

Rachel was also at the game.  I think she is looking at the scoreboard.

Before the game the team receives instructions from the coach.

After the game a beautiful 11 year old consented to pose with a proud grandpa.

Be sure to see Matty in action on the following YouTube link:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwG9E2s_5M4&feature=youtube_gdata