Thursday, November 24, 2011

Back to Arches for two more hikes today...

Yesterday, we drove part of the White rim trail, did a short hike to Mesa Arch and visited Dead Horse Point State Park. i will write more about these places tonight! Until then, click the link in another post and go see our pics on Picasa Web!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Follow the Picasa web link given below...

If you want to see our vacation pics for 2011, go to the link below, please...
http://picasaweb.google.com/SackerVacation2011

My Husband...My Knight in Shining Armour

Today, we hiked the Fiery Furnace hike in Arches National Park in Utah. This was a hike that I have been dreading since Brother Sacker started talking about doing it. It is a difficult, strenuous hike under the best conditions. Add wearing a denim skirt into the mix, a woman who DESPISES climbing on, around or over rocks into that mix and a woman who has a fear of heights also into that mix! What does that give you? ME!! So, of course I have spent almost a month trying to dissuade Brother Sacker from doing this hike! I even told him I was sure I could find something to do while he did the hike without me! To absolutely NO avail! So, when Brother Sacker was violently ill last night (we think it was something he ate at ZAK'S restaurant last night), my second thought was...great, he will probably be way too sick to do this hike! My first thought was uh oh...my husband is VERY sick! Little did I know that Brother Sacker touched God's heart for a quick healing and got it, too! So, off we go this morning (Tues.) to meet our ranger led hike with about fifteen other crazies...I mean hikers! I fell during a hike several years ago and broke a rib and my hiking self-confidence has suffered quite a bit. We had to climb rocks, jump across crevices (where if you fall...splat! Nuff said!) squeeze through crevices, I could go on and on, but if you want a good idea of this hike...google Fiery Furnace hike in Arches National Park and you'll see how difficult this hike is. Brother Sacker helped me climb over rocks, jump those crevices, anything and everything else this hike entailed...he helped me and didn't complain once! He encouraged me when I said that I couldn't do something and rejoiced with me when I accomplished something! So...to Brother Sacker...thank you! You are my knight in shining armour. I love you. And, I appreciate your encouragement. And, on a side note...Brother Sacker told me that he can see my self-confidence growing with every hike we do...whoo hoo!
Brother Sacker is working on our pictures on Picassa web, so I will hopefully post links to all our vacation pics soon.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

We explored the Bonnevile Salt Flats and the Bonneville Speedway today

After breakfast today, we drove around the Mormon Temple Square, but decided not to take the tour...we wanted to be outside today enjoying the cold and snow!!  The public transportation here is these really neat looking trolley cars, and from what we could see, a whole lot of people ride them.  We drove to the Bonneville Salt Flats and walked about a mile round-trip, just talking and being tourists.  Then, we drove to the Bonneville Speedway...AWESOME is an understatement!!  We took our Rav 4 out on the speedway salt flats, which was way cool!!  The actual Speedway is ten miles long and 80 feet across.  (Thank goodness for 4 WD!!  We love the Rav 4 and will start looking for one in Tulsa when we get home.  I know...about time, huh?!)  I did get some small pieces of the salt to take home.  Then, we had lunch at the Salt Flats Cafe.  The Salt Flats Cafe is a small restaurant out in the middle of nowhere, but had some of the best Mexican food we've eaten in a long time.  Then, we decided to head back to SLC and check out their REI store.  Talk about a really cool outdoor adventure store...this place puts all other outdoor and adventure stores to shame!!  I needed another pair of silk liners for hiking (they go under your thick socks, to wick moisture away from your feet and also help prevent blisters forming.) and a nice warm hat.  I love the hat Brother Sacker got me...and it is very warm, mainly because it is a knit hat with a fleece lining in it.  Then, we went to a small cafe...the Citris Cafe and had some salad and chicken wraps for a late dinner.  Here are pictures of the Temple, the trolley, the Salt Flats and the Speedway:

The Temple
 
SLC Trolley
 
Bonneville Salt Flats
Welcome to the Bonneville Salt Flats
Right now, the Speedway is closed...you can
see the standing water covering the Salt Flats.
 
Brother Sacker at the Salt Flats...it looks like
he is walking on snow, doesn't it?!
It really is salt for miles and miles!!
 
Inside the Salt Flats Cafe...it isn't very big,
but the food is fabulous!
Reflection of the mountains in a small lake, not
the Great Salt Lake, though
 
 











Friday, November 18, 2011

YIKES...Four months to catch up on!! And, we're on vacation, again!! And, something kind of funny, or a little bit bizarre, , kind of creepy, or maybe just weird happened to me at the Tulsa Airport this afternoon!!

A LOT of things have happened in the Sacker household since I last blogged...sorry!!  We had a wonderful time in Death Valley, CA and in Yosemite National Park over the July 4th holiday.   Will try to post a link to our Picassa Web album so y'all can see the hike we did, the gorgeous water falls, our lovely hotel and the mama bear and two cubs we were blessed to see.  I am absolutely terrified of bears...Brother Sacker calls me bearanoid!!  In fact, next July (2012), we are driving to Glacier National Park and will be there for about three weeks...hiking, playing tourist, etc.  He has advised me that we will need "bear bells" and new bear spray...although he is planning hikes where few bears have been spotted...just great!!  Yes, I'll make sure that I'm prayed through and can run faster than Brother Sacker!!

Some amusing things have happened to me while out shopping with my friend, Sister Taylor, from Beggs.  However, I will post blog entries on those things later.

So...as I mentioned up in my title, we are now on vacation in Utah!  We both LOVE Utah!!  We are staying at the Little America Hotel in Salt Lake City for two nights (Fri., 11/18 and Sat. 11/19), then driving to Moab, where we are staying at the Red Cliffs Lodge for five nights, then, back to SLC for one night, then flying home on Sat., 11/26.  We rented a 2011 4WD Toyota Rav 4 and really like it...I'm hoping to get to drive it just once!!  Our hotel room is fabulous!  We originally had booked a Courtside room with a queen bed.  They upgraded up twice while we were checking in and we have a Tower room in the main hotel building...I'll try to post pics...if not while we are in UT, then when we get home.  I have to use Brother Sacker's laptop to do it...can't do it on my iPad.  We landed in SLC, flying through snow, but it was only raining on the ground.  After picking up our SUV, we drove out into SNOW falling.  It is just beautiful!  I texted a couple pics to some of you, but will try to get some more posted.

This is the sitting room and bedroom of our suite.
This is the view from our suite of downtown Salt Lake City.
  
We went to have sushi at Simply Sushi...delicious sushi.  We both tried miso soup tonight, too...turns out it is just fish broth...very tasty.  Our server was a delightful young lady, Mary.  Her buddy, Harrison, AKA Dexter (don't have a clue why he is also known as Dexter!) delivered our sushi to us and we ended up taking their pics...which I will post ASAP...as I promised them both I would do!!

Mary and Harrison, of Simply Sushi.
Now...to that kind of creepy thing that happened to me at the Tulsa Airport today...I actually had put my hair up at home, then took it down because last time I wore it up when we were flying from Tulsa, the hairpins set off the alarms in the X-ray machine, and they messed my hair up, looking for...well...who knows WHAT they were looking for!!  So, today, I step into the X-ray machine thingy, and the lady there told me to step out, that she was going to do a upper body search on me!!  Apparently, the beading on my dress/top had metal in it and set off the alarms!!  So, I stepped aside and she explained what she was going to do, and how she was going to do it.  Actually, she barely even touched me, then told me to step over to this other strange looking machine thingy.  Which, of course, I did!  She then proceeded to wipe a piece of cloth over both of my hands, then insert it into the machine.  Then, she told me I was cleared to go.  I asked her what the cloth wiping routine was all about and she said, (and, I quote!!) "I was testing to see if you had been handling explosives"!!  OK...do I really look like the kind of nut that would be playing around with explosives?!  I certainly hope not!  I told a friend of mine about it and her husband asked her...well, was she?!  I am SO uncoordinated that I would probably blow myself and half my neighborhood up...IF (and that is a really huge IF!!) I ever even reamed of imagining handling explosives!  I mean, come on...a Unabomber wannabe I am NOT!!  Anyway...it was kind of creepy, but I really don't understand why other people have made such a big deal out of the kind of search they did.  The lady barely touched me and it certainly did not embarass me in the least...it was just one of those weird things that happen to me!

We are exploring Salt Lake City tomorrow, then heading to Moab on Sunday.  We have several hikes planned and some off roading adventures to take and some rocks to collect!  We will be visiting/hiking/driving in Arches National Park and in Canyonlands National Park.  Hope all y'all have a wonderful weekend.