If you pay no attention to the snow and pine trees in this picture, squint your eyes, and only look at the lava rock in the foreground, you can pretend you're on one of the Hawaiian islands. But since there are pine trees and snow in this picture, we know the truth that we are actually approaching Brian Head. Population - 83. Eighty Three. Eight. Three. The elevation is 10,152 ft. I stepped out of the car long enough to snap a photo and hopped back in, telling Dave "It's freezing! Let's hurry up and get to St. George so I can warm my bones!"
When we checked in with our cat-sitting friend she texted that back at home, she'd woken up to a new three inches of snow that morning.
It's incredibly beautiful, but also incredibly cold this time of year. We cranked the car heater up for my feet and then continued southward down the road.
The red rocks of Zion National Park feed my soul.
Now it was time to feed my belly.
At my age, I don't really like to eat while driving. The days of reading a book or browsing the pages of a magazine while munching on trail-mix (not the healthy kind, but the kind that makes a traveling child/teenager a very happy and quiet traveler. Recipe posted at the end of this blog entry. But be aware, it's highly addictive and highly not very nutritious.
As we drove slowly through the small town of Springdale, the protein drinks, and the ginger chews having long worn off, we were ready to find someplace to eat. I was gazing at the scenery on one side of the road and Dave gazing at the other, when I felt the car turn off the road onto a gravel drive-way.
"Look at this place Allyson....it looks like it might be fun to eat outside...." The man knows my love language. Wild Thyme Cafe at Spring Ranch https://wildthymespringdale.com/ The temperature outside was in the low 70's and there was just enough of a breeze to rustle the leaves of the massive cotton-wood trees lining the property. The restaurant had only been open for less than two weeks, but the service was excellent as was our food. Dave always has me order my top two favorite things and then we share. A burger, and pulled pork with jerk seasoning and coconut rice and a side salad. We ate half and passed on having dessert. We were heading to St. George next and I had my favorite frozen Greek yogurt on my mind.
We packed up our leftovers, put them into the cooler in the back seat and drove the rest of the distance to St. George. We met up with Dave's parents Ed and Fran and stayed at the same hotel.
Dave did the responsible thing and unloaded the car and nicely put all our things away.
I did the less responsible thing and immediately switched out of my travel leggings and t-shirt, and into a bathing-suit to try and catch what sunlight remained.
Twenty minutes into feeling my bones finally thawing, Dave texted me that we needed to get ready for a large family wedding dinner for his cousin's son that evening. "cousin's son....." is that "second cousin"? or "first cousin once removed"? I've never figured it out; but who cares. It's family and who doesn't love weddings and food?!
The groom an Air Force pilot in training, wanted to have the wedding-eve dinner at an airport hangar. It was lovely, and right up Dave's dad Ed's alley who is retired Air-Force and also a pilot. He was in his element. I hardly knew a soul, but I love to be an observer of people and watch the faces light up when sharing child-hood memories and the affection being shown from reconnections brought about by such a happy event.
Naturally the Bride and Groom had to take an evening flight, which puts me in a state of worst-case scenarios in my mind, so instead of watching them fly off into the sunset, I busied myself with clearing tables and stacking chairs.
The next day was wedding day. After a hotel breakfast with Ed and Fran we drove separately to the St. George temple. With seating limited and we never even having met the young couple before this week, they'd be attending the wedding ceremony and we'd be attending a regular temple session. It has recently reopened after having undergone an extensive renovation and I was so anxious to see the changes. A young man with a beautiful smile greeted us at the new entry doors and welcomed us.
I could have just stood in the entry alone for hours observing every detail. Such beauty. But more than anything, as always, such a feeling of peace washed over me and Dave and I proceeded to our separate dressing rooms to change into our white ordinance clothing. As I put the white slippers on my feet, I paused and took just a moment to silently pray that I could feel my parents and other loved ones that have passed with me this day. I walked down the hallway towards the chapel, stopping at the beautiful artwork of the Savior and His life. As I took my seat, I noticed in front of me two rows ahead that there was a woman with hair that looked so much like my mama's. My heart had an instant tug. Glancing further left down the row, an older woman with hair that could have easily have been my grand-mother's sat next to her. And then just a little further, a woman with hair that was so similar to my mother-in-law Pearl's. "Don't turn around.....don't turn around....just let me have this moment...." This is where I feel all things are whole and pure and right, no matter the state of the world outside.
When our session was over, Dave and I met up with the Bridal party outside. The photographer was getting all the great couple and family shots, but I had to capture a couple of sweet moments I observed as well. Blurry and taken from a great distance, their love still shines through.
Time for lunch! I insist we go to my favorite https://www.nickthegreek.com/stgeorge We ordered a variety of dishes, pita & hummus, Greek salad, greek fries, gyros, and kebab plates and then of course we shared a Greek yogurt, baklava, honey dessert. My mouth waters just remembering it! The tanginess and creaminess of the yogurt set off by the drizzle of sweet honey and crisp buttery layers of the baklava. Just beyond delicious. I purchased two baklava triangles so I can try and recreate this at home.
Home. The weather report showed snow in the forecast. Even St. George temperatures dipped the day we left. We drove back through Zion just because and decided against doing a hike since it was so windy. As we got closer to home and headed up the canyon the snow was beginning to fly. Dave pulled in at Bridal Veil falls so I could take a picture. It's never not stunning. Just like every happy bride. Beautiful.
Yesterday I went to the local Redmond Farm store and replenished our milk and yogurt. I'm going to try and make frozen yogurt. It's gotta be slightly healthier than the trail mix we made for road-trips with our kids for years and years.
Trail Mix Recipe
Ingredients
1 bag of M & M's
1 bag of Peanut M & M's
1 bag of Peanut Butter M & M's
1 bag of Almond M & M's
1 bag of Pretzel M & M's
(you get the idea....all the M & M's)
1 bag of Ranch flavored corn nuts
1 box of Sugar Babies candies (these will slow you down a little so you can't completely inhale the rest too quickly)
Instructions:
Mix all the above ingredients in a large bag.
Divide into small zip-lock bags.
Hold the bags of candy hostage until you simply can't take the kid's whining, fighting anymore and then dole them out.
Listen to the sound of silence (and a little chewing but if that bugs, just put a pillow over your head)
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