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. En savoir plus

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Début du voyage
7 août 2026
2 out of 5 Ain’t Bad Voyageur
And so it begins
7 août, États Unis ⋅ ⛅ 90 °F
David, our son-in-law, graciously dropped us off at Warmister train station.
About 1.5 hours to the Airport
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VoyageurWhere are you headed?
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VoyageurStaying in Mesquite NV but overall plan is Utah's Parks. Bryce, Zion and other in the area
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VoyageurStay safe! Lots of fires this time of year!
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VoyageurThanks. Will keep our fingers exd
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At PHL
7 août, États Unis ⋅ ☁️ 91 °F
A nice reasonably comfy ride, a breeze through TSA (touch less TSA Prev definitely helps) and we are now chillin at Sabrina's Cafe.
Some grub is in order be it that we'll get nada on an almost 6hr flight.
Turkey sandwich por moi and Banh Mi for Laurie
(Guess who got the brews I 😉)En savoir plus
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Looks like we made it
7 août, États Unis ⋅ ☁️ 97 °F
Well... The flight out of PHL was on time... until it wasn't.
The incoming plane was late (we did have a steadily deteriorating weather throughout the afternoon) so our boarding was delayed. Although we pulled out the gate at 6:07PM (only 7 minutes late) it took forever to take off and then had to go around the bad weather area.
We finally landed in Las Vegas about 1/2 hour late so with getting out, getting the rental and driving for 1.5 hours we finally got here 😁
The place is HUUUGE 2 bedrooms 2 bathrooms garage and even a golf cart (tempting as it is I most likely won't bother with it 😉)
Here are photos I took upon arrival and then we promptly hit the bed ...
It's been a long day...En savoir plus
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VoyageurGlad you finally made it. Have a great time!
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VoyageurThanks
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VoyageurHmmmm, don't go looking at the photos of my albergue tonight...you will be wanting to swap 😂😂😂
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VoyageurJeanette - you darn well know I'll swap for ANY Albergue on Camino!!!
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Serene Morning #1
8 août, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F
This is what morning looks like and that's what we can expect later on (Mesquite upper right corner)
😳😳🥵
And that's our driveway and the surrounding area view.
I hope you can see the mountains - they are gorgeous 😍
We are off to stock up on weekly provisions
and will figure out what to do with the remainder of the day when we returnEn savoir plus
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Voyageur You live on pilgrimage!
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VoyageurThat's true Buen Camino 😁
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Voyageur Wow 😍
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Mesquite
8 août, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 106 °F
Today is a short day just to get ourselves organized and oriented. And it's getting hotter by minutes ..
So (again) a short outing to get a scoop on our "home base".

Mesquite is a growing desert resort city in Clark County, Nevada, located in the northeastern Mojave Desert. It sits next to the Virgin Mountains and red rock mesas along Interstate 15 in the Virgin River Valley, about 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas next to the Arizona border. The population is roughly 24,000 residents. It is known for golf courses, casinos, and retirement communities. (figures!)

Mesquite was settled by Mormon pioneers in 1880, who called it Mesquite Flat. The community was finally established on the third attempt after having been flooded out from the waters of the Virgin River. The name was later shortened to Mesquite, and the city was incorporated in 1984. The community was named for the mesquite timber near the original town site.

We learned that and much more by visiting the Virgin Valley Historical Society Heritage museum . It's
housed in a historic Pueblo-style stone building from 1941. Originally constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps/National Youth Administration, it served briefly as a library before operating as the town's hospital until 1977. It is listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesEn savoir plus
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Voyageur Wow... that's a little scary. Hope you both are having fun. Ha ha
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VoyageurWell.. for all the times that I made you laugh 😉
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Voyageur Still beautiful
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Donkey Museum
8 août, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 109 °F
The Donkey History Museum in Mesquite, Nevada, is a family-friendly venue operated by the Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue. It explores the deep historical contributions of donkeys, burros, and mules to human advancement, American history, and the building of the United States.

The 20 Mule Team refers to the famous string of 18 mules and 2 horses used from 1883 to 1889 to haul massive wagons loaded with 10 tons of borax across 165 grueling miles of the Mojave Desert from Death Valley to Mojave, California. Today, it survives as a cultural icon of the American West

It also seems to me that mules and donkeys had a pretty large set of their own groupies 😁

And everything military ...

And humorous...

Deserted streets of Mesquite... too 🔥 🥵.. but oh those mountains 🤩En savoir plus
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Voyageur 😍
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Voyageur 😂😂😂
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Voyageur Very telling photo
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VoyageurAgreed
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Voyageur 😊
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2 out of 5 Ain’t Bad Voyageur
Lower Flat Top Drive
8 août, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 111 °F
Lower Flat Top Drive in Mesquite, Nevada is a scenic paved road best known for hosting a quirky collection of handcrafted sandstone rock carvings.
Located about 2 miles north of the interstate, it features intricate folk-art figures expertly carved directly into the compacted desert sand banks on the right side of the road. Created by local artist and former Olympian Pete Karns, the installation spans roughly 3/4 of a mile. Notable carvings include miniature replicas of Mount Rushmore, the Statue of Liberty, Easter Island Heads, a Sphinx, and a tribute to the Vegas Golden KnightsEn savoir plus
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Lower Flat Top Drive 2
8 août, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 111 °F
Voyageur 🤣
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Voyageur 😍
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Humble Menu del Dia
8 août, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 111 °F
It only got hotter as the day wore on so we called it quits.
In solidarity with all other Pilgrims out there we prepared and ate our humble dinner of tiras de pollo fritas con tomate y aguacate washed down with some tinto verrano

We will use the remainder of the day to do some planningEn savoir plus
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Voyageur Looks great...yay for pilgrims dinners 😂
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VoyageurYummy
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Virgin River Gorge
9 août, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F
On our way to Bryce Canyon.
Turns out we clip a tiny corner of Arizona before crossing into Utah. A big chunk of that is travelling through Virgin River Gorge.
The Virgin River Gorge is a dramatic, steep canyon in the far northwest corner of Arizona, carved by the Virgin River along a 29-mile stretch of Interstate 15 between St. George, Utah, and Mesquite, Nevada. Completed in December 1973, building this section of I-15 was an incredible engineering feat that required rerouting the river multiple times.

Disclaimer: all of the photos and videos of today simply do not do justice to what we saw.
😕En savoir plus
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Voyageur Wow 😍
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Voyageur Beautiful 😍
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Voyageur Similar to what I am seeing...a world away! 😁
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Red Canyon
9 août, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F
After driving for over 2 hours we turned onto UT-12 East.. and were totally stunned by the sight in front of us... So much so that we didn't reach for the camera immediately
The Red Canyon - most famously refers to the striking red-rock area in Utah's Dixie National Forest along Scenic Byway 12, located about 13 miles west of Bryce Canyon National ParkEn savoir plus
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Voyageur 😍 stunning!
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VoyageurBeautiful!
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Voyageur That's my kind of road.
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VoyageurRed? 🤣🤣🤣🤣
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Bryce Canyon Visitors Center
9 août, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F
We're here. And 1st time use of my America the Beautiful SC Lifetime Pass. (Will definitely pay for itself by the end of this trip).
The weather is holding up so far and it's not hot at all.
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Voyageur 😲that is so cool
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VoyageurWe use our lifetime pass a lot.
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VoyageurWe don't have too many National parks around Philadelphia so there wasn't anything I thought about. Plus I only became eligible 2 years ago and clearly took advantage 'fast enough ' 😁
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The Amphitheater
9 août, États Unis ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F
Bryce Canyon National Park is a stunning reserve in southern Utah famous for its vast collection of crimson-colored hoodoos, which are unique, spire-shaped rock formations created by frost wedging and stream erosion.
Stunning Amphitheaters: Features massive natural bowls filled with thousands of pink and red rock spires.

And we are by one of them (most popular) ...and something is not working correctly with my photos. I specifically took my SLR camera with me (you definitely can notice the difference between which camera took which photo) plus Laurie usually shares some of hers.
Well... Somehow this time around the stats (date, time & location) are getting lost during files transfer. 😞
So I'm forced to lump everything together into a couple of general footprints

To make some distractions - we walked the Rim trail to Sunrise and Sunset Points and started onto Inspiration Point but it started to rain so we beat a hasty retreat back to the car and were driving from that moment onEn savoir plus
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VoyageurLovely!
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Voyageur 😍
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Voyageur Cool photo!
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VoyageurWhy thank you milady
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Amphitheatre 2
9 août, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F
In addition, we wound up in different Time Zone (MDT) and that scrambled cameras info as well.
In any case, a little more History:

Created as a national monument in 1923 and a national park in 1928.

Named after pioneer Ebenezer Bryce who homesteaded the area in the 1870s.

Features a quiet, remote high-elevation environment ranging from 8,000 to 9,000 feet.

Enjoy what you can and remember what I said earlier: no pictures or videos can do it justice

P.S. the photos just didn't download to here (FP) 😭
so videos only
Will have to wait until I get home to try and fixEn savoir plus
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VoyageurLovely!
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Voyageur Wow, just...wow!!!
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Voyageur Beautiful!!!
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Vistas Beyond
9 août, États Unis ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F
VoyageurAmazing scenery 😍
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Voyageur Wow, I really like this one. I don't miss the flowers at all with all these rocks.
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Voyageur Looks like a sheep's head
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Dinner
9 août, États Unis ⋅ 🌬 108 °F
Located inside the Conestoga Golf Club in Sun City Mesquite, the 1880 Grille is a casual American restaurant open to the public. It honors the area's early pioneers with a rustic theme, offering hearty comfort food, scenic golf course views, and a friendly neighborhood atmosphere popular with both golfers and locals.

Didn't mingle with locals but food was good 😊En savoir plus
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VoyageurThe cactus might actually bloom after the rains you had.
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VoyageurI hope so. Plus I also hope to see other flowers 😃
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VoyageurFood looks delicious!
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VoyageurAnd tasted delicious too
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Cedar Breaks National Monument
10 août, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F
ve
Cedar Breaks National Monument sits at over 10,000 feet on the Markagunt Plateau in Iron County, Utah. It features a colossal, half-mile-deep geologic amphitheater filled with colorful hoodoos, spires, and subalpine forests.
As we were told by the Ranger it is the youngest canyon out of all others at only 40 to 50 million years.
We were there in slightly less than 2 hours (and still jumped a Time Zone)En savoir plus
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Voyageur What a lovely photo!
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Point Supreme Overlook
10 août, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F
Since its establishment in 1933, Point Supreme Overlook has served as the primary scenic viewpoint for visitors to the rim of the Cedar Breaks Amphitheater. From this point, at 10,350ft, visitors can see the incredible formations created by the weathering and erosion over thousands of years.En savoir plus
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Voyageur Stunning 😍
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VoyageurBeautiful! Makes you feel tiny in comparison doesn't it.
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VoyageurYes it does. We've been feeling tiny since we got here. Even the surrounding mountains feel huge
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Sunset trail
10 août, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F
The Sunset Trail at Cedar Breaks National Monument is an easy, 2.0-mile round-trip (1.0 mile point-to-point) paved path that connects the Point Supreme Overlook to the Sunset View Overlook.
The path runs along the forested rim, culminating in panoramic views of the amphitheater's signature red rock hoodoos.En savoir plus
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VoyageurWhat incredible scenery!!
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Chessmen Ridge
10 août, États Unis ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F
Chessmen Ridge Overlook is the highest elevation overlook in Cedar Breaks National Monument, sitting at 10,461 feet (3,188 meters) above sea level. Centrally located along Rim Road (Highway 148), this easily accessible drive-up viewpoint offers panoramic vistas of the amphitheater's deeply sculpted canyons and vibrant red-rock pinnacles.
The overlook gets its name from the unique, naturally eroded hoodoos and geological formations below that resemble giant chess piecesEn savoir plus
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Alpine Pond Trail
10 août, États Unis ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F
The Alpine Pond Trail is a scenic 2-mile double-loop trail located within Cedar Breaks National Monument that sits at an impressive elevation of over 10,000 feet. This relatively easy path offers a perfect sample of the park's diverse landscapes, taking hikers through dense subalpine forests, vibrant wildflower meadows, and along the dramatic rim of the ancient red rock amphitheater.En savoir plus
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Voyageur Darn 😂
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Voyageur 😍
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VoyageurLots of flowers this time. Sorry about the lack of wild life. You'll find something/someone to harass soon I'm sure.
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VoyageurIt only takes until the evening 😜🤣🤣
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Upper Trail back up
10 août, États Unis ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F
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North View Overlook
10 août, États Unis ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F
The North View Overlook is the northernmost scenic viewpoint inside Cedar Breaks National Monument, situated at an elevation of over 10,000 feet along Utah Highway 143. It provides visitors with the park's widest panoramic view of the half-mile-deep geologic amphitheater and stunning vistas looking north toward Brian Head Peak.
Offers the widest perspective of the multi-colored rock amphitheater's hoodoos, fins, and spires.

Brian Head Peak is a 11,307-foot (3,446 m) mountain in southwestern Utah. Located in Dixie National Forest just north of Cedar Breaks National Monument, it is the highest point in Iron County and on the Markagunt Plateau, offering panoramic views stretching into Nevada and Arizona.En savoir plus
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VoyageurBeautiful photos! 😍
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VoyageurThanks 🙏
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Voyageur So beautiful!
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Shakespeare Festival
10 août, États Unis ⋅ 🌬 90 °F
Turns out they have a Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City . It's a Tony Award-winning professional theater company celebrating its 65th Anniversary Season from June 18 to October 3, 2026. Located on the campus of Southern Utah University in the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts, it stands as one of the oldest and last true rotating repertory theaters in North America. The festival draws nearly 100,000 visitors annually to experience world-class Shakespearean classics, modern masterpieces, and vibrant musical theater.
Of course we had to go 😊

This Garden of Characters greeted us right where we parked on Campus. The sculptures are beautiful ❤️En savoir plus
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⛲ Stillman Sculpture Court
10 août, États Unis ⋅ 🌬 90 °F
Designed as a quiet "outdoor room" complete with walking paths, native drought-tolerant plants, and stone benches.
Features permanent bronze installations, including Seedlings by Marvin Nelson alongside The Sower and Threshold by Jane DeDecker.En savoir plus
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