Friday, October 5, 2000
It’s a beautiful, sunny but cool fall day here at the cabin. Nellie and I have enjoyed a glorious and peaceful morning here by ourselves, taking a breather after our move from Ivins to a condo in St. George. As things are ever changing in our lives, the cabin seems to remain as a constant familiar place full of memories and happy events.
We looked through the cabin scrapbook together and had lots of laughs as wee looked at the photos and remembered the events surrounding 4 generations of experiences at the Ponderosa. The cabin certainly has gone through as many cosmetic and structured changes as all of us have! What really stuck us as was the number of people who have enjoyed the cabin over the years – both in and out of the family. Tomorrow is Grandpa Rogers’ birthday and we thought he and grandma would be pleased at the joy the cabin has brought to so many people. It has truly become a safe haven for us all in a world of turmoil. What a wonderful blessing from our Heavenly Father!
Nellie and I “ran away from home” yesterday and took a long drive to enjoy the fall colors. I am working on a commission painting of a beautiful old brick home in Panguitch and had to go up there to study the house and get some photos. That was the catalyst for our adventure.
After a stop in Cedar City to see Jodi and Trisha, we headed up Cedar Mountain for a picnic. Of course I came armed with 8 rolls of color film as we stopped about every mile to take pictures. The brilliant golds of the aspens against the dark green spruces creates a visual contrast that is truly breathtaking. A few rain clouds added drama to the blue sky and we soaked it all in like water on a dry sponge.
We stopped at Navajo Lake and picnicked at Duck Creek where Nellie collected some gorgeous autumn leaves (which she pressed in my day planner).
After a few peaceful hours on the mountain, we drove on up to Panguitch to get our pictures of the house. Coming back down Hwy 89 we decided to make a side trip to Bryce Canyon. I hadn’t been back there for about 20 years and it was more like 30 years for Nellie. The canyon was as pretty as ever, but found the main road under massive reconstruction and found ourselves in a California-style traffic jam which dampened our enthusiasm, along with the exhorbitant $20 entrance fee. The sunlight also went away as the clouds rolled in so we headed out again for the cabin.
We enjoyed the ride down 89 with the cottonwoods in their yellow glory and the late afternoon sun dancing across the oak-covered hills.
We arrived at the cabin just after dark and discovered we didn’t bring a flashlight so we retired immediately to the Honeymoon Cabin where we knew we had a battery lamp. It was only 8:30pm but we were so tired from all our driving we decided to go straight to bed. Barbara and Jim had brought up a new bed and we found it to fit the bill nicely. Another peaceful and fabuous escape to the cabin.
Roland