Oct 19--Fri. Such a beautiful day we took off for Kolob Canyon, another section of Zion about 45 minutes away. Started up Taylor Creek, a trail we've always liked, but midway veered off into the north fork and bushwacked (no trail) up it for quite a while. Had expected cool weather but it was quite warm. As afternoon commenced the walls of the canyon deepened in their rosy glow. The sun rarely gets into these two canyons this time of the year. Back and forth, back and forth across the stream we went so many times. Birds we saw were Clark's Nutcrackers, many flickers, WB Nuthatch, Scrub and Stellar Jays, Chickadees, more.

Oct. 20--Sat. Charlie decided that he'd rather change the motor home house batteries now rather than in colder days of March when we return, so we drove to St. George and found four 65 lb. batteries which he proceeded to change out with intense labor while I did laundry. Along the way to St. G we stopped at the RV park where we'd left the mh last year in order to find a space, only to find that they were filled up. We'll have to sort this out in the next few days.

Oct. 21--Sun. Cool and breezy, so we drove down through Virgin and up to Kolob Reservoir. Very evident that there has been a recent flood--much disturbed and damp area on either side of the stream. Looked for the raptors we'd seen here before at this season but saw only one Marsh Hawk. However, we had the joy of seeing four California Condors (among them numbers A6 and 54) perched on the same rocks as the twelve we'd seen last year. Nearly froze out there trying to get a pic of them--it being only one degree above freezing and the wind very intense. On each small lake there was a skiff of ice. Along the way, most of the colorful leaves had been blown off the trees.

Oct. 22--Mon. A day for returning old batteries and finding a roosting place for the mh for four months. Accomplished all. Tried to re-up for another two days at Zion but found it filled over next weekend. Got one extra day. Charlie wrestled with the heavy batteries once again and now all that tough work seems to be over.

On TV we've been watching with awe the horrendous fires in CA. There is nothing to prepare a person for anything so overwhelming and so sad.

Oct. 23--Tues. Charlie got an a-ha this AM, suspecting that somehow our inability to get an extended reservation here at Zion had to do with the call-in reservation system. He decided to call them, and lo and behold! we squeezed out one more day. We now leave Saturday, Oct 27. Got quite a chuckle at our trickery.

Took the bus to the top of the canyon and began walking downward beside the rather truncated Virgin River. Hiked quite a while, watched a number of American Dippers snagging whatever it is they eat in the rapids, caught sight of four mergansers having the time of their lives sailing down the current. Had a good lunch outside at Zion Lodge. Other birds we saw were two kinds of chickadees, RCs, Juncos, Flickers, Canyon Wrens. At home, dumped the overflowing gray tank and watered up.

Oct. 24--Wed. Trip up to Cedar Breaks Nat'l. Mon., about 70 miles from Zion and about 10,500' in altitude. The small visitor center was closed (they apparently believe that winter begins on Oct. 9th here) but we defied the written word by sitting on the side of a cliff (Chessman Ridge) and having lunch--very comfortably. We also dropped by to see the old, old bristle cone pines nearby. There are thousands of dead conifers in this large area, I guess victims of the beetle. The quaky leaves have all been blown off by the winds. We looped back through Panguitch--back through pinion and juniper again. Charlie swears that the town looks the same as it did forty years ago.

Oct. 25--Thurs. Spent time at the library when canyon winds were blowing--it was nice to surf the Web at a more reasonable pace. Lunch down by the Cinema, then hopped on bikes and let the Zion bus haul them and us to the top of the canyon again. Leisurely ride down with stop at Zion Lodge. Many people sitting outside in shorts and tee shirts, enjoying ice cream and snacks. Couldn't ask for a balmier day. Stopped, too, at the Weeping Wall. A scientist has stated that it takes 1200 years for water to seep through the many layers of various kinds of rock there. A variety of plants, including Maidenhair fern, grow from the walls of this cave. Saw Western Bluebirds today, and also two more CA Condors. At home, we sat outside and read and gazed up at the beautiful red rock walls looking down on us.

Oct. 26--Fri. Our last day in Zion. Felt we needed to hike in a canyon, but instead found ourselves climbing way up slick rock to a pour-off, hoping to discover a canyon behind it. Okay for a while, but large "granny rocks" lurked and we turned back. Both on the way up and down I noticed folks pulling off the road and snapping pics of us. Perhaps they had never seen old codgers trying to act like mountain goats--made me chuckle! It was necessary to stop from time to time and look out over the valley to absorb the beauty of this place. Took one last bus ride up the canyon and rode our bikes down on another awesome day.

Oct. 27--Sat. The sun usually shines brightly on the red mountains in the mornings, but today the brilliance was muted because of cloudy skies and a considerable blanket of smoke (the small was not smell bad, however.) Did all the preliminaries to pulling up the anchor and made our way down to St. George. Temple View RV Park is an expensive and busy place. Many cars and trailers rumble up and down the narrow roads, and you can hear heavy traffic from nearby streets, as well. We are surrounded on both sides and back by RVs, a couple with accompanying motorcycles, and across the street there is a long row of park models staring at us. It would be sheer torture for either of us to live in a busy, noisy place like this. There are no real trees and no grass. (But I think they have bingo as a compensation.) We worked like dogs to get all our sorting-out and packing work done and then went out to dine at a Golden Corral, which also was jammed. Early Sunday morning we'll leave the mh in the lot here and hit the road for MT.

Oct. 28--Sun. Charlie winterized the mh, we got it parked and took off. Dealt with the usual clots of traffic in Utah but seemed to avoid lots of the usual weekday truck traffic till SLC, which is always a mess. One night in Pocatello, then home late Monday afternoon. Weather fine, clear. Now for all the home tasks.