Monday, January 12--Monday, January 19

From Amarillo, we drove into New Mexico, on route to Santa Fe.  John's first visit was with his family when he was about five.  He recalled lunch at the La Fonda fondly, so we made a reservation to stay for two nights.  We had a corner fireplace, which we lit, while we watched the national college football championship game.  We were also able to visit the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum and the Art Museum of New Mexico, as well as, enjoy two meals at a Spanish tapas restaurant.  It snowed a good bit, which made touring somewhat challenging, but doable.  

We found that the 7000 foot altitude was also a bit of a challenge and were pleased to arrive at the La Posada in Winslow, AZ, for an overnight stay at a much lower altitude.  The La Posada was one of the Fred Harvey hotels on the railroad line that once brought New York tourists to the wild west.  On route, we visited the Pertified Forest.

From Winslow, we drove north and west to Zion National Park, where we were met by our friends, Susan Baker and Michael Brenner.

We spent three lovely days in Springdale, Utah.  We visited galleries and participated in a Saturday "Gallery Day," where Michael and John walked the main drag while Susan and I popped from gallery to gallery in the car.  I was able to purchase a lovely pair of earrings. from our favorite gallery, for Renee's upcoming birthday.  We also hiked several trails in Zion NP including the Riverside Walk, where we constructed hoodoo's.  We also hiked to the three Emerald Pools.  We all made it to Pool Two but only Michael made it all the way up to Pool Three.  It was a surprisingly warm day and we all discarded garb as we moved up the trail.  Our meals were fabulous, most prepared by Michael, but John and Susan each participated.  We stayed in "Villa Two," the two bedroom version of "Villa One," where we have stayed on several past visits to Zion, including Christmas 2012 with the kids and grandkids.  Despite the broken tv and cranky internet, we enjoyed it and were only briefly wistful for Villa One.

After departing Springdale on Martin Luther King Day, we stopped at the western edge of the park and hiked the muddiest trail we were ever on.  It did end with a lovely vista overlooking a spectacular valley.  

The Brenners were returning home by the eastern route which allowed them to visit Bryce Canyon.  That night we stayed at a very lovely Westin resort just outside of Las Vegas--no gambling and no smoking.  The resort was on a small lake with lovely views.  After a restful night, we began the final day of our journey to California.