Court of the Patriarch’s

Wednesday June 23, by my count this is day five of our vacation. We have reached the half way point!

I woke up Wednesday morning with some very distinct memories of dreaming that I had fallen asleep with my camera still hanging around my neck. 

We hit the breakfast bar again and I snapped a few shot of the casino inside the Hilton!

Just outside the buffet area was this massive area called “The Superbook”, the Hilton website calls this “The world's largest race and sports book which features more than 30,000 square feet, more than 60 televisions, including 28 giant monitors and one "eye-popping" 15' x 20' massive screen, more than 300 comfortable seats, 19 wagering windows and Nevada's largest sports ticker.”

Being that this was Las Vegas there were actually people sitting in these very comfortable black leather chairs and it was well before 10:00 am in the morning.  There was lots of glitz, lots of  flashing lights and lots of folks all spending time at the various tables. I am neither a sports enthusiast nor a gambler so the appeal of sitting in one of these chairs for hours upon end totally escaped me. But there were folks, lots of folks!

I am so thankful that the appeal of gambling has passed me by.

I will confess to y’all that we did spend a total of a whopping three dollars at on of the slot machines the day before. After it was all said and done I walked away wondering what all the fuss was about. I could have bought an ice coffee at McDonalds with that three dollars and been much happier!

 

We left Las Vegas and headed into Utah.

Under the category of “Things I Have Not Encountered Before” as we were driving out of Vegas I note a road sign that reads “Prison Area – Hitchhiking Prohibited” good to know I thought!

Note to self! No hitchhikes' especially the ones wearing prison whites or ankle bracelets! Ya THINK!

We had tentatively made plans to try and take a tour of the Mormon Tabernacle when we passed through Salt Lake City. However the hubs had a discussion with my Uncle and he made the suggestion of making a stop at Zion National Park.

He and his wife are big hikers and have visited many of the more notable sights in the country. On his recommendation we point the car in the direction of Zion National Park.

I’ll take God’s creation over man’s any day of the week!

The Park Ranger at the Welcome Center told us that the travel time for the entire route was about an hour and a half. We decided that we would hop on the bus and head to the half way point

The one draw back was they did not allow you to drive your own vehicle into the park. We had to park at the Visitor Center and take the shuttle bus in to the park.

Try taking a good picture from a slanted tinted window of a moving, bumping, jerking shuttle bus with two sleeping children sitting next to you! However, there was  just something to precious about this little sweaty curly headed child. She was dead to the world. She looked like a dashboard bobble head as with each bump of the road, which were many, her little head would rock back and forth. Her sister was sitting next to her and there was just enough room on the edge of the seat for me to perch my rather large hind end. Mom and dad were sitting watchfully from the seat across the isle!

The most notable point of interest for me at Zion was The Court of the Patriarch’s.

Standing on the look out point and gazing up at those majestic peaks named after the patriarchs, well it was a bit overwhelming.

The placard pointing out the names of the individual peaks comments:

“Today it is not hard to imagine how the grandeur of this view could inspire such reverence.”

I could not agree more with this assessment!

Here are some more facts I gather about this awesome display!

“The Court of the Patriarchs in Zion National Park near Springdale, Utah, are sandstone cliffs named for three towering figures of the Old Testament. They hold court over Birch Creek Canyon and that section of the Virgin River. In 1916 Frederick Vining Fisher, a Methodist minister, gave the religious names to the peaks.
On the left you can see Abraham Peak (6890 ft; 2101m), in the center you’ll find Isaac Peak (6825 ft; 2081m) and on the right, almost hidden behind Mount Moroni (5690ft; 1734m), is Jacob Peak (6831 ft; 2083m).”

   As I stood before these massive natural monuments I was so very thankful that a man of faith was so moved to place such significant names on these magnificent mountains. I think Father Abraham would be well pleased!

It seemed that at every turn and with every new day (except for maybe Vegas) we found ourselves gazing upon another example of God’s handy work! Geologist may have many varied scientific name for things but I call it down right amazing and another example of God’s unique and unmatchable creative powers!

I just stoop looking up and drinking it all in!

Just across the road from the look out point for The Court of the Patriarchs was a small stream, I am assuming it is the Virgin River. We took a few minutes to walk down through the brush. I popped off the ol’ flip flops and put my feet in for a few minutes. I enjoyed watching this little boy with his fishing net splash about in the cold water!

 

If we had had the extra time and if I had hand my bathing suit and a towel you can bet your hinny I’d have been right in the water with these guys. It was not quite as hot as it was in Las Vegas but the water was wonderfully refreshing. These two gentlemen certainly had the right idea! I so wanted to just slide right down into it and soak for a good long time!

 

We lolled around the river bank for a few minutes waiting for the next shuttle bus to head in our direction and then we hitched a ride back to the Welcome Center and hit the road.

Our next stop the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park!

Blessings

R