Vacation at St. George

We have driven through St. George a few times, but we never have time for Joe to enjoy the beauty the southern Utah has to offer. I was able to get a few days off around Memorial Day so we decided it would be the perfect time to enjoy a trip there. We invited my Mom to come with us. We didn't know for sure if she would be able to come with us or not due to potatoes, but that morning we were about to leave, she got a call she could come! We were excited to have her join us.

We stayed at my Grandpa and Grandma Neibaur's home in St. George, such a nice place to stay at. We arrived Friday evening. We left Saturday morning with the intention of going to Zion's Canyon (the main reason why we were there in the first place) but got distracted by a sign stating the Grand Canyon was just over 100 miles...Who would have guessed that it was so close to where we were? My mom and I had been to Zion's Canyon, but no one had been to the Grand Canyon....it was unanimous!! We headed south to the North Rim and were so surprised at the thick trees. We were expecting the desert. It was not too hot and offered some fun hikes that allowed us to see the landscape.

I have to add the both my mom and Joe were nervous about the heights and standing so close to the edge. I knew this about Joe, but I had no idea that my mom was afraid of heights... I had to tease them a little bit.

We also visited some ruins of the ancient Indians who would migrate from the rim to the bottom of the canyon according to the seasons.

 It was hard to show the beauty and the extreme depths of the Canyon...my camera doesn't do it justice.

One of the few wildlife we came across....

 I had to take this candid pic. I think my mother is such an amazing person. I love her so much.

We had taken of few of the hikes that were recommended by the visiting center. We were pretty tired, but wanted to make one last hike before we called it the day. We started off, and it was a slow steady climb uphill...I kept thinking, ok we just have to make it at the crest of that hill, and that crest never showed up!! After what seemed like a ways up, I decided to that I was toast and called it off. By the time we got home, we were exhausted (I can't speak for mom) but here's a pic of Joe ready to pass out =0)

Long story short....that night we ran into some problems with the water heater. So we went to my Grandparent's ward, and at the end we talked with one of the Bishopric asking if he had any recommendations of who to call. It turned out that he knew exactly what was wrong and was willing to help us out. What a huge relief!! Unfortunately our Sunday was messed up because of this ordeal, but we felt so blessed to get help. We were able to sneak in a visit to the Jacob Hamlin home. 

Monday we went to a temple session. This was Joe's first time in the Temple. It is a favorite temple of mine. I love the pioneer spirit these older temples have. There is so much pride and love put into the building of dedicated to the Lord. 

We were hoping to make it to Zion's still, but it just didn't work out. Oh well, that will be saved for next time.