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2 out of 5 Ain’t Bad
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2 out of 5 Ain’t Bad

We are finally acting on Laurie's longtime desire to visit Utah. Although the ultimate desire to visit The Mighty Five cannot be completed at this time we are hoping for Bryce and Zion as well as other National & State Parks around our area. Read more
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  • CWBuff2 out of 5 Ain’t BadTraveler
    1This is very cleverThis is titled The Last Supper but instead of...

    Southern Utah Museum of Art

    August 10 in the United States ⋅ 🌬 90 °F

    The Southern Utah Museum of Art (SUMA) is a free, public academic art museum located on the campus of Southern Utah University (SUU) in Cedar City, Utah. Part of the $39.1 million Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts, SUMA hosts rotating regional and national exhibitions alongside a substantial permanent collection.
    Named the best-designed museum in Utah by Architectural Digest, the building was designed by Brooks + Scarpa. Its sweeping, dramatic roofline mirrors the natural curves of Southern Utah's famous slot canyons.    Read more

  • CWBuff2 out of 5 Ain’t BadTraveler
    The dinner that wasn't
    Shared appetizerMy arugula salad w/chickenLaurie's Chicken Caesar saladRefreshing carbonated drink

    Dinner

    August 10 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 88 °F

    It's been awhile since we had crepes and the place had good reviews so why not?
    The problem was that in a typical French fashion there was no A/C 😳🥵
    Not with these temps ... upper 90s to mid 100s.

    So we switched to some good ole standby Italian and were not disappointed.
    The place was hopping.

    A word on Apple Beer:
    This is a popular, award-winning non-alcoholic, caffeine-free soda manufactured by the SodaBeers Brewing Co. in Utah.
    The Origin: It is based on a century-old German recipe for fassbrause—a herbal, fruit-flavored drink designed by Bavarian brewmasters as a non-alcoholic alternative to beer.
    The Experience: It features a foamy head just like regular beer but tastes like a refreshing mix of crisp Sicilian green apples and light spices.    Read more

  • CWBuff2 out of 5 Ain’t BadTraveler
    From all the way up thereTo here 🤩❤️

    So what did we see?

    August 10 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 84 °F

    The actual Shakespeare play was "Troilus and Cressida", but we were not in the mood for a "Greek" tragedy, Trojan War or not.
    So what we saw was "Something Rotten!" - a hit comedic musical set in the 1590s that follows two brothers, Nick and Nigel Bottom, as they try to write a hit play while living in the shadow of the Renaissance rock-star playwright William Shakespeare.
    (https://share.google/fTA5P7fNmlW5aseKz)

    If one knows Shakespeare and musicals , this is a delightfully hilarious show.

    And to add to our delight when we walked into the theater, we were sweetly upgraded from our next to the last row in the Gallery to a Row C smack in the center Orchestra 😳😁
    Camino still Provides.

    It took us about 90 minutes to get back to Mesquite to end a happy day .    Read more

  • CWBuff2 out of 5 Ain’t BadTraveler

    Zion

    August 11 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 79 °F

    We're coming to Zion
    Beautiful, beautiful Zion
    We're looking upward in Zion
    The Awesome Creation of God

    Zion National Park needs no introduction, but I need to mention that, unlike the previous parks where we looked down from the upper rims, here we were looking UP from "the bottom of the canyon".
    And Boy did we truly feel small    Read more

  • CWBuff2 out of 5 Ain’t BadTraveler
    1

    Pa'rus Trail

    August 11 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F

    The Pa'rus Trail is an easy, 3.3-mile out-and-back paved path in Zion National Park, Utah. It follows the Virgin River from the Zion Canyon Visitor Center to Canyon Junction (Shuttle Stops 1 to 3), taking about 1 to 1.5 hours to complete with a minimal 147-foot elevation gain.Read more

  • CWBuff2 out of 5 Ain’t BadTraveler
    Virgin River

    Zion shuttle

    August 11 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

    On a strong suggestion of a Park Ranger we are leaving our car on the VC lot and utilizing the shuttle.
    We took it all the way to the end (last stop #9) and will start working back

  • CWBuff2 out of 5 Ain’t BadTraveler
    I feel like they all started in Sarria 🤣The end of the line

    Riverside Walk

    August 11 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 82 °F

    The Riverside Walk in Zion National Park is an easy, 2.2-mile round-trip paved trail that traces the banks of the Virgin River and serves as the gateway to the world-famous slot canyon hike, The Narrows.

    Shaded by cottonwood and ash trees, the walk showcases vibrant weeping "hanging gardens" blooming out of wet sandstone walls, weeping pools, weeping rocks, and occasionally ephemeral waterfalls.    Read more

  • CWBuff2 out of 5 Ain’t BadTraveler
    Special boots to rent

    Into The Narrows

    August 11 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

    The Narrows is a famous slot canyon hike in Zion National Park, Utah. The route involves wading and hiking directly through the flowing water of the Virgin River, flanked by massive sandstone walls up to 1,000 feet high.

    Bottom-Up Route: The most popular choice for day hikers. You hike up to 9.4 miles round-trip from the Temple of Sinawava up to Big Springs and back. No permit is required for this direction.

    Top-Down Route: A strenuous 16-mile trek starting at Chamberlain's Ranch that requires a wilderness permit and private shuttle arrangements.

    No we didn't go there although the suggestion was made by one of our acquaintances couple of months ago.
    I honestly would not attempt it without my poles, rubber tips detached.    Read more

  • CWBuff2 out of 5 Ain’t BadTraveler

    The Grotto Trail

    August 11 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F

    This is an easy trail that started off Stop #5.... and ended at Stop #6 with no actual grotto (got covered by rock slide quite some time ago 😞)

    This disappointment sort of did us in.
    Even as we just had our protein lunch...it was way to hot in a day and we ditched last couple of trails we were planning to do.

    We took a scenic route out of the park, saw some mountain goats while at it (couldn't stop to get a photo - no place to park) and did a roundabout way back to Mesquite driving through a good part of Arizona and still continuing marveling at everything we saw.

    Back home we ate dinner "in" which is what we'll do for the remainder of the trip.    Read more

  • CWBuff2 out of 5 Ain’t BadTraveler
    We just emerged fro another underpass like that.

    Red Cliffs National Conservation Area

    August 12 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F

    The Red Cliffs National Conservation Area is a stunning 45,600-acre protected sanctuary situated right at the convergence of the Mojave Desert, Colorado Plateau, and Great Basin ecosystems. Often celebrated as a quieter "mini-Zion," this dramatic desert playground features soaring orange-red Navajo sandstone cliffs, hidden slot canyons, and a rich density of prehistoric artifacts.

    We were quite disappointed in the beginning but turned out that we took a wrong turn into the Preservation area (although the sadness is real inasmuch as the human race continues to rape the land... tons of new developments probably not a mile away from that 2st spot).

    So another 20 minutes or so got us to our destination    Read more

  • CWBuff2 out of 5 Ain’t BadTraveler
    House ruins with different roomsPit housePithouse 2

    Archeological site of Early Pueblo Settlers

    August 12 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

    The Red Cliffs Archaeological Site preserves the ancestral farmstead ruins of the Virgin Ancestral Puebloans (historically called the Anasazi), who lived intermittently along Quail Creek from about 500 A.D. to 1200 A.D.. It provides a rare look into how early indigenous families transitioned from nomadic hunting to structured desert farming.Read more

  • CWBuff2 out of 5 Ain’t BadTraveler

    Dino tracks

    August 12 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    We abandoned the Red Cliffs trail as it was going up the mountain with a chain for a rail and went on a shorter Silver Reef one to check out Dinosaurs foot prints left behind approximately 190 million years ago. These trackways were created when bipedal, carnivorous theropods—such as Dilophosaurus and Megapnosaurus—walked across soft, wet mud along ancient stream margins.
    This particular trail culminates at a tilted block of sandstone containing 17 clearly defined, identical track impressions left in the sediment. Interpretive panels detail the exact species—including Grallator, Kayentapus, and Eubrontes (well-known dinosaur fossil footprint classifications (ichnogenus) ) - that stepped here.    Read more

  • CWBuff2 out of 5 Ain’t BadTraveler

    St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm

    August 12 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 88 °F

    After our time at Red Cliffs we decided to go and check out St. George.
    With Dino tracks still fresh on our minds it's no surprise that this was our 1st stop

    The museum is built directly over an actual Early Jurassic dig site and features an immense concentration of Grallator and Eubrontes tracks, alongside the world's largest collection of rare dinosaur swim traces.

    https://share.google/HBp1VaV1NpVs1N109    Read more

  • CWBuff2 out of 5 Ain’t BadTraveler
    Ansestor Square
    Opera House - Originally constructed in 1864 as a wine cellar for sacramental offeringsMuseum of Art

    St. George

    August 12 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 90 °F

    Founded in 1861 by Mormon settlers sent by Brigham Young to grow cotton, St. George currently has a city population of over 95,000 and serves as a major hub for outdoor recreation and tourism near Zion National Park.

    As always, looking for a "Historic area" we drove to Ansestor Square but that turned out to be more of an outdoor shopping district akin to our Peddlers Village.

    Nearby we glimpse the Opera House and Museum of Art.

    The museum currently presents 2 exhibitions
    Samantha Killinen
    Inside: Conditions of Care (textile compositions),and Megan Knobloch Geilman
    Between Symbols and Stories (digital compositions)
    I'm primarily highlighting a selection from the latter one.

    Sadly enough the heat was really getting to us; reckon our age does show 🥵, slowly as it may be. (I actually keep on quipping that on Camino I'd be long in my Albergue, showered and rested, not still walking 😁)

    We scrapped any other potential stops (incl. Pioneer museum and Brigham Young's Winter House) and headed back to Mesquite to get more provisions and to eat our dinner.    Read more

  • CWBuff2 out of 5 Ain’t BadTraveler

    And on the 7th Day

    August 13 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 90 °F

    ...We Rested

    Not exactly but all over the surrounding area the weather prognosis were pop-up thunderstorms at any given time from midmorning into afternoon. So that cancelled out any further hikes and "touristy" outings for which I'd have to drive some distance (and here you have to drive some distance to get ANYWHERE).

    There is nothing to do in Mesquite which we didn't do already when we got here; the only things remain are the Casinos - not our cuppa tea.

    So we are chilling inside, doing wash (love when these units come with W/D 😍) and slowly packing.

    It will be an early night and an early riser tomorrow morning as I need to return the car at 6:00 am...    Read more

  • CWBuff2 out of 5 Ain’t BadTraveler
    Approaching The Strip
    Excalibur CasinoNYC Casino1

    Goodbye Las Vegas

    Yesterday in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 81 °F

    Coming out from pretty much dark desert you can see Vegas 10 miles out, easily 😁
    We took couple of shots of The Strip on our way to the airport.

    Terminal D gate D7 - we are here, no issues as we both have TSA Touchless ID

    Everything is on time

    (Update: 5:20 PM - we are at PHL waiting for our train. Another successful trip under the belt)
    😁👍😍    Read more

    Trip end
    August 14, 2026