ward auction

Today our ward had an auction to raise money for the youth pioneer trek project this summer. Sylvia donated a cherry pie and if there ever was any question about her legendary reputation there should not be now. It sold for $45!

Rough Riders at Escalante 2011

This spring ride was in the fabulous canyons around Escalante. We boarded our horses at the abandoned race track which worked out really well. It was great to have Lisa back to remind us all what real riding is all about. This was her first ride in 13 years!

We had a bigger than usual group, but the more the merrier!

Lisa, Matt, Larry, Carol and Bruce Selk, Richard, me, Legrand, Dave and Todd.

We rode the beautiful Casto and Losee Canyons the first day. They are called "little Bryce Canyon without the crowds."

Then on to fantastic Coyote Gulch, which may be one of the best places to ride on the planet.

It was a little tough to get in.

But then it was just magnificent. I'm not sure that Matt and Lisa noticed though, because they were so focused on each other!

This is jacob Hamblin Arch. I don't know if it is the biggest arch in the world, but it is certainly the biggest that I have seen, and beautiful.

It was really fun to gallup along the smooth sandy stream bed.

There is miles of wet sand that the horses love.

Todd's Lady is 24 now and still going strong. She is the oldest equine Rough Rider.

Matt rode Dave's horse Silverado who was really rough at first but Matt got him right under control and rode very well. It ain't easy to find a mount to match Matt's size.

For years I had heard about "Muley Twist" and it was a kind of "bucket list" item for me, so we trailered down the Burr trail to get there. They say that the pioneers used to drive wagons down here, but they must have hauled a lot of rocks to get past places like this.

I wonder what Richard's back surgeon thinks about this?

After a short struggle in the lower Muley Twist, we went on to the upper branch and it was superb! This is where we had lunch, overlooking the "Waterpocket Fold".

Here is the other view of that remarkable geologic formation.

We found several nice arches and rock formations in the upper part of the canyon.

The trail was really fun with some nice variety.

Another view of interesting rock formations and a prety Lady Rider.

Coming back Legrand and I galluped our horses for the last 3 miles and they loved it.

On Saturday we took a short ride in the mountains above Bryce. The cool mountain air and majestic Ponderosa Pines were nice.


There were a few low points on this trip; like the 34 mile washboard Hole-In-The-Rock Road, Peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches in the bottom of saddle bags, a crumby restaurant next to our hotel, lost horseshoes, a balky truck, the impassible lower Muley, etc. But the beauty and fun far outweighed all that stuff and we now have another great memory!

James and Hannah wedding

Bill's son James married Hannah in the American Fork temple today. We had seen them a lot since they have both been going to BYU.




It was fun to have all 6 Low siblings together.

Here's the happy couple leaving the temple.

The Low and Lybbert families.

Hernia

When we came home from Hawaii 2 months ago I blew out a hernia in my right groin trying to wrestle laggage off of the cowded carousel. I had hoped to wait till next winter to get it fixed because we have a lot of plans, but it just bothered me too much so I finally decided to get it fixed. I had Craig Cook, Dick Thomas' son in law, do it. He has a laparoscopic procedure that is supposed to have a much faster recovery time and he has had only 2 recurrences in over 1,000 cases. Well now it has been about 24 hours and I can't believe it! I hardly even know I had anything done. Sylvia had to forbid me from mowing the lawn today. So far so good.

We spent this weekend with our friends Paul and Deon Coon at their Daughter's fabulous winter home at Entrada.

Most of the time was cold and rainy but we had some good golf moments and lots of fun. We watched the BYU playoff game, which we almost won, at the Galland's home. I have known for years that they were very rich (like a 38 million dollar private jet etc) but have never really been acquainted with them. They turned out to be very gracious friendly hosts and their home was wow! A 1500 sq foot theater, 8 waterfalls, 2 pools and the most beautiful decorating. One of the pools is for diving, it is 15 feet deep and has a 30 foot cliff overhanging it. The cliff has no steps, only irregular footholds, and the handrails are molded brass tree branches that look like they grew there.

Well I'm still very grateful for the comfortable home that we have, but it is fun to see how some rich folks live.

St. George and Mesquite with Jerry and JJ

After a long cold winter Jerry was ready for a break wo he took us and his family to St. George for the weekend. We played the new Kokopelli course east of Hurricane. It has a spectacular layout but will be better when the grass is more mature.

This is the 15th hole at sand Hollow where Jerry got a hole-in-one a couple of years ago. He wasn't quite as lucky this time, but we had a good time there.

The next day we got back to Wolf Creek which was as tough and beautiful as ever.

Our good friends Dick and Sharlene Thomas invited us to spend a golf week with them in Arizona. They own a home there on the Mesa Country Club. We have gone there with them many times before and it is always fun.
on Sunday we went to visit the family and that was fun too.

After a long cold winter in Utah this kind of scene was a welcome relief.