Winter already?

I went out to get the paper this morning and this is what greeted me. It's too early for the snow we're getting and my poor flowers are in shock. The rose was trying to be brave though. 

It kind of looks like it's wearing a Santa hat!

Shakespeare and Bryce

“Before there were any Indians, the Legend People, To-when-an-ung-wa, lived in that place. There were many of them. They were of many kinds – birds, animals, lizards and such things, but they looked like people. They were not people. They had power to make themselves look that way. For some reason the Legend People in that place were bad; they did something that was not good, perhaps a fight, perhaps some stole something…the tale is not clear at this point. Because they were bad, Coyote turned them all into rocks. You can see them in that place now all turned into rocks; some standing in rows, some sitting down, some holding onto others. You can see their faces, with paint on them just as they were before they became rocks. The name of that place is Angka-ku-wass-a-wits (red painted faces). This is the story the people tell.”

Legend of Bryce Canyon by a Paiute elder

We visited Bryce Canyon on a brisk and drizzly fall day.

The rain made the trails a little bit slick and since I'm not very sure footed anymore we didn't want to hike very far. It's been 20 years since I hiked to the bottom of the canyon. This time the high elevation (8500-9000 feet) left me huffing and puffing. 

The canyon is beautiful from the rim but even more intriguing from inside where you can see fascinating formations (hoodoos).

Maybe the weather will cooperate next time and we can try again to hike further down.

But for now views from above will have to suffice. 

We enjoyed a great getaway to Southern Utah, staying three nights in Cedar City. It's always fun to visit the Utah Shakespeare Festival there. This year we enjoyed Hamlet and Les Miserables. 

Beautiful scenery, good food, entertaining plays, chocolate, shopping, 

and time with my best friend; 

what more can I ask?