A DAY OF PLAY... not Pickleball

Well, too much practice isn’t good either, so after about 1 hour today, Don and I headed off to the beautiful Snow Canyon State Park in NW St. George.  We’d been here before, but didn’t see all the sites so once again it was a  “revisit” tour.  The park opened in 1962 and has an elevation of 3200’ to 4100’ making it ideal for hiking and biking if you’re there on a beautiful day like today… only 75 degrees.

Navajo sandstone makes up the predominant rock in the park.  Between 1.4 million years ago, and as  recently as 27,000 years ago, nearby cinder cones erupted and capped sandstone ridges that were once canyon bottoms.  Fantastic…  A quick lunch “could be dinner” and we headed back to the Best Western. 

Beautiful sandstone formations guided us into the park...
check out those green trees!!!

And a relative of Casper guided us to

Jenny's Canyon

A narrow slot canyon where 

we posed and then took photos of
people who photographed us.

And a few wildflowers were still in bloom.
I don't know the name of this 

but this one is called Datura.  In 1980 Don
picked some for me one morning while

we were houseboating on n Lake Powell.  I wove a tapestry
that represented images from that trip,

and the 4' x 5' tapestry hangs in our new vacation home
in Gold Canyon AZ, next to a burnished copper and glass
mirror that I also created.

Then it was time for a little geocaching

as we wandered the wash

and Don located his first geocache that contained a travel
bug "flipper" so we took him with us...

Some famous movies were also filmed here.

This is a shot of a sandstone mountain covered with volcanic rock!!!

Once again, lots of "Kodak" moments invited us to
stop and visit.   And look at all those wildflowers
still in bloom and it's mid-Oct.

Don continued clamoring around on a variety of rock piles

and located a couple more geocaches.

This friendly fountain greets guests as they arrive
at Best Western - Abbey, St George UT, our
home away from home till Thursday Oct 16.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT...

We’re now in St George UT, for the Huntsman World Senior Games.  When I picked up my registration packet yesterday I was informed that there were 10,400 “senior athletes” age 50+ participating in this years “games”… and 500 were here for Pickleball and there even was another Nancy Harvey (but I don't know for which sport).   So my partner Dee (for Women’s Age Group and Women’s Skill Level) are busy practicing at least 3 hours per day.  I’m also playing Mixed Doubles with Hank Winawer - a resident of Sun River, a Del Webb community here in St. George.  He and his Men’s Doubles partner are meeting up with Dee and myself at 8:00 each day to practice.  Of course a whole lot of other people are doing the same thing on the 20 pickleball courts.  I’ve added a few photos of our 4-day fun, frolic and oh yes, practice before the games begin on Monday Oct 13th.

YES...

Nancy & Dee with the Senior Pickleball Player Athlete Poster

In the vendor area... someone had a good personality!!!

While catching up on laundry at the Best Western Abbey Motel
(someone's got to do it)...

The views weren't  all that bad.

And things looked good as we strolled to dinner.

Practice

more practice

Dee takes a turn.

Don shot some video, hope it will play for you.   I'll be back after the games...

GET READY... MORE RED ROCKS!!!

Today was an “in-between pickleball”  day, so Don and I ventured off to Red Rock Canyon only about 18 miles SW of our hotel.  It was a lovely day, about 80-85 degrees with a gentle wind.  This is a small BLM facility located just off State Route 159.  It was designated as Nevada’s first National Conservation Area in 1990.  It includes a 13-mile scenic drive, more than 30 miles of hiking trails and is a world renown rock climbing area.  In addition, Tortoise, wild horses, desert big horn sheep and burros roam here.  Even though we kept our eyes “peeled” the only wildlife we saw  were  homo sapiens!!!

However the Visitor Center was world class as it combined indoor and outdoor exhibit areas with extravagantly creative, and unique artwork backdrops which visually enhanced and blended successfully with the environment, all of which made learning even more delightful. We’d both go again, just to re-explore the Visitor Center. Our summation:  The Best of the Best, another Gem!!!

Once again, the vivid contrast between green grass, red rocks
and blue sky was stunning.

Not a bad sign either!!!

Never saw a "hairy" scorpion before - glad this one
wasn't moving anymore.

Each of four major exhibits representing Water, Earth, Air & Fire
were depicted in a similar manner.

Each was unique and outrageous to say the least.

Fire - what a view in the distance.

And many display boards like this.

The massive sandstone formations

that were created 180 million years ago

were from the largest sand dune that ever existed
on earth.

Wouldn't you like to be the researcher
whose job it was to research this stuff?

What else can I say...

except they got the "scenic" right on this scenic drive!!!

PICKLEBALL MANIA - Ready, Set, Go...

After settling in at the Luxurious Aliante Casino Hotel, in North Las Vegas, Pickleball practice started.  The courts were right across the street and it only took me 5 minutes to walk there after a short stroll thru the casino (where I picked up a complimentary coffee), went out a side exit and crossed the street.   My partner Dee (who lives in Las Vegas) and I both played poorly our first 3 games, (Nevada Senior Games) but got our act together and did lots better our second 3 games.  We were really outclassed, but it was good for us to practice together before heading up to St George UT to play in the Huntsman World Senior Games in the 75+ category!!!  

Before the Games

That's Nancy in green...

Don, Dee Nancy & Bob are glad the day is over...
It took 7 hours from first game to last...  Over an hour
each game in our 6 game round robin!!!

VALLEY OF FIRE

On our way to N Las Vegas, our adventure for the day was to revisit The Valley of Fire State Park (North East of Las Vegas on the Valley of Fire Hwy, between I-5 and Hwy 169).  It was another Gem.  It is Nevada’s largest and first State Park, established in 1935.  It was designated as a National Natural Landmark in 1968.  It wasn’t developed at all when we were there last, in the early 1970’s, but the scenery doesn’t change, just the facilities.  Valley of Fire was named for the magnificent red sandstone formations that were formed from great shifting sand dunes during the age of the dinosaurs more than 150 million years ago (Mesozoic Era).  

National Natural Landmark

Blue Sky - Red Sandstone & "Sage"  sagebrush.

Who is it,  Elephant Rock - see the trunk?

Could be Jay Leno - gazing towards the sky...

Historic Cabins built by CCC 1930's as shelter
for passing travelers.

At Seven Sisters - Nancy waves

while standing below this.

A typical entrance into another surprise...

On the way to Mouse's Tank named for a 1890's renegade
who used the area as a hideout.

We saw more "figures".  See the elephant on the
left being guarded by a giant spook.

Then I looked up to see a large lumbering
creatures rise above the skyline.

And we saw many petroglyphs - all recorded on video!!!

Rainbow Vista

Fire Canyon & Silica Dome

Close up of canyons in Fire Canyon

The road to White Domes

was anything but "white"...

None of these photos were "tweaked" except by Mother Nature.