Road Trip 2010

I have not done a road trip in a long time. (I don’t count trips to and from Lake Powell as road trips because we leave and get to the destination in one day.) My favored method of transport is by plane. I like to go far away and get there fast. My parents and I decided to tackle a road trip for the weekend. A lot of things were happening the same weekend so we just decided to connect the dots and make a road trip out of it. I will break it down for you.

Leg #1: My parents and I drove to Manti, Utah. Some of you might be wondering, “Where is Manti, Utah?” I am surprised you have to ask where this booming metropolis is located. I’m not exactly sure where it is, but if I had to guess, I would say central Utah. Google it if you would like a more precise location. Our first stop was the Manti Temple.

The Manti Temple was built in the 1870s-1880s. It was dedicated in 1888. The craftsmanship and furnishings were from that time period. I felt like I was stepping back in time. It was so great to be in that old building! They just don’t do ornate door frames and doorknobs like they used to.

Another reason we went to the booming metropolis of Manti was to see the Mormon Miracle Pageant that takes place on the Manti Temple grounds for a few weeks every summer. We got there early to get a good seat and settled in for the evening. The Pageant was so good! It had been eleven years since I had seen the pageant. The pageant portrays the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and major stories from the Book of Mormon. I highly recommend it if you need something to do on a hot June night. After the pageant was over, we drove to Richfield, Utah for the night.

Leg #2: On Saturday, my parents and I drove to Bryce Canyon National Park. The first thing we did was watch the video in the Bryce Canyon Visitor’s Center that gave us an overview of the park. Armed with knowledge, we drove to the end of the canyon, Rainbow Point, and worked our way back to the entrance. We walked around Rainbow Point and looked at the vast canyon. We ate lunch at a picnic table there. We stopped at quite a few different areas in the Canyon. It was so beautiful! My favorite stop was called Inspiration Point. The land was so unique! Amazing! The pictures don’t do it justice! You have to see it if you have the opportunity!

The pictures don't do it justice! You HAVE to see it!

Leg #3: From Bryce Canyon, we continued south to St. George. It didn’t take us as long as we thought it would. We attended a family friend’s wedding reception. It was held in a backyard. The backyard was in the shade, but it was still in the high 90s. Apparently the wedding was also held in the backyard earlier that day in the afternoon. I was surprised the bride didn’t melt into a puddle of sweat! It would have been so HOT!! My parents and I love pizza from The Pizza Factory in St George so that was where we headed for dinner. The pizza tasted delicious! I highly recommend it!

On Sunday, my parents and I drove around St. George. It had changed so much since we had first visited 30 years ago! (Of course, we have visited since that time.) We attended church at a random ward house that we happened to come across at the appropriate time of 11 AM. As we sat in the car waiting for the time to go in (because we don’t want to enter too early), we saw a lot of older people entering the church. I mean OLD as in the most common accessory we saw was a walker! We thought maybe we had unknowingly picked a senior citizen ward. Then we saw a younger family pushing a stroller so we figured it was a regular ward and proceeded inside. The speakers were very interesting. Here’s my low down on each of them:

· The first speaker was a really old lady. She had to be over 90 years old! She gave a nice talk about how she met her husband and all the good friends she has had through the years. Her talk was handwritten on paper that looked like it came off a notepad that you get from a hotel. She was very cute! Her talk lasted maybe five minutes.

· The speaker after her was a big, farming guy. He draped himself across the pulpit. (Apparently, he didn’t have enough strength to hold himself up. Thank goodness for the pulpit!) He gave a five minute talk just like the old lady. The talk included horses, cows, and other farm animals. After he finished, he sat down and promptly fell asleep.

·The last speaker had about a half an hour to speak. Amazingly, he filled the entire time! Kudos to him! (When I spoke in church a week ago, I could barely squeak out twelve minutes!)

Leg #4: After church, we headed home. We made the drive from St George to our home in about four hours. We had a blast on Road Trip 2010. We are already planning Road Trip 2011!