Mom and Dad's 60th Anniversary

When we got back from our trip on the Green River, we heard from my Mom and Dad. They had decided to head to the west coast to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary. They had made it to Glenwood Springs the first day and were now heading to visit with us in Vernal, Utah. We were very excited to learn that they would be here on the actual day of their anniversary, which is September 8. I am very proud of my parents for many reasons, but to be able to spend the special day with them was just awesome. Kim and I have been married for 36 years, but that does not seem very impressive when you compare it to 60 years. The best part is they seem to be as happy together today as they ever have.

The bad news is that I did not take a single picture on that day. I have no idea what I was thinking. We ended up having a great dinner at the best restaurant in Vernal.

On September 9, I decided to take Mom and Dad for a tour of the many sites around Vernal that we have seen. We started by driving backwards on the Red Cloud loop. This allowed me to get a better look at the beautiful canyon just outside Vernal that I did not get to see because of the rain I had encountered on my ride a few days before. We had a beautiful sunny day and the pictures came out pretty well.

After touring the canyon, I drove up to the overlooks on the mountains above Vernal. Dad really enjoyed the views of the mining operation. We stopped at the overlooks and read all of the information on the interpretive signs. It is a huge operation. They move the phosphate in a slurry through a pipeline to a plant up in Wyoming. The phosphate in mainly used for fertilizer. Almost all that you can see in this picture is the open mine. The ground in the front is overburden that has been restored.

We also got a nice view of Red Fleet reservoir. It is called Red Fleet because the rocks resemble a fleet of ships and they are of course, red.

We finished the day with some fresh trout for dinner. No, I did not catch the fish. I was standing talking to a neighbor the day before and a guy came up and asked if we wanted some fresh trout. He had caught them and did not have room in his freezer. I took him up on his offer and we cooked them on the grill for dinner. They came out pretty good.

Mom and Dad got back on the road the next day on their trip west. We have really enjoyed the time we have been able to visit with them over the past month.

Our time in Vernal was winding down. I had a very successful fitting with the Merrell foot lab and was looking forward to being more comfortable when hiking in the future.

Before we left, we had a couple more things we wanted to do. I will write about those things in my next entry.