Wander With Wayne

This morning we drove from Green River to Payson. It was only 2 1/2 hours long, but I was so tired that I had to fight hard to stay awake while driving. This afternoon we watched Kaneesha's soccer game. It was a very cold afternoon with wind, rain, and even hail. She got another shut-out, her team won 3-0. For dinner Selina's father cooked a wonderful meal. There were noodles, cucumber salad, breaded chicken with breaded scrambled eggs on the chicken. Truly a culinary delight.

Myranda was up a number of times during the night with her "common vomit." I call it her "common vomit" because it seems like every time she goes to cousins or has too much fun in a day, she ends up vomiting for a night (or a day) and then is all better. Last night was one of those times, but it lead to a migraine headache. We left the hotel and headed for Arches National Park. Noell and Myranda dropped us off at the beginning of a trail and drove to the end to pick us up. When we arrived after the short hike, Noell informed me that Myranda was feeling so sick that they would go to Green River to our next hotel and let Myranda rest. We dropped Myranda and Noell at the car (we brought both the car and van on this trip (because we had 8 people and our van is a 7 passanger van). The remaining group went to Double Arch (I waited in the car for a parking space to open up, a very crowded parking lot). The others hiked in, and I expected them to return from the sho...

FOUR CORNERS Wayne, Myranda, Andreas (Selina's dad), Selina, Lucie (Selina's sister) This morning Myranda, Selina, her father, and sister went with me to Four Corners. Noell, Kaneesha, and Tanner stayed at the hotel to get more sleep. When we woke up it was raining. We drove through some very serious rain, and some pockets that didn't have rain. When we arrived at Four Corners, we took a few photos and were too cold to do much more. Myranda and I picked out some desert tortoise necklaces to give to Selina, Lucie, Sophie, and Myranda. We then hurried back to meet Gary Guymon for a local tour of the places that few people know about. We first saw some dinosaur tracks in a riverbed. We then hiked up a canyon to a cave dwelling that is about 1000 years old. Gary said it is the second most pristine (untouched site) of any known in Utah. He made certain that as we approached the trail that we spread out to prevent it from building a trail. As we got up to the d...

This morning we did some things in Payson, then headed up Payson Canyon to show Selina's father and sister the waterfall on the Grotto trail. Everyone was disappointed to learn that the road has not yet been open from winter. We decided to pack up and head out on our trip earlier. We drove toward Blanding and on the way stopped at Dead Horse Point (an upper overlook of the Grand Canyon). While the view was amazing, the wind was blowing hard and put dust in the air, which especially limited the visibility. We did have a good time taking photos and seeing the river below from many different vantage points. We ate dinner in Moab, and arrived at our hotel in Blanding at 10:00 tonight. Poor Andreas & Lucie, their bodies are accustomed to a completely opposite time schedule. While they seemed to have fun, they are used to being awake when we're asleep, and visa-versa.

Last night Selina's father (Andreas) and her sister (Lucie) arrived at the Salt Lake Airport. While Selina was born and raised in Germany, her parents are both from Poland. At the airport while waiting, Selina was so excited, at times she even jumped up and down (definately not the amazingly reserved Selina). She had a smile full of excitement and anticipation. When they finally arrived, Selina ran over to give them hugs. As reality set in, that they were truly here, she and Lucie broke into tears. While they video-visit almost every week over Skype, there is nothing like being together in person. We loaded up, then braved the construction traffic in Utah County. When we returned home, they opened their largest suitcase (it was much larger than any suitcase we own). The suitcase was full of German chocolates, candies, foods, and gifts. Of course, we loved visiting with Andreas and Lucie and listening to Selina talk with them. They laughed and talked until Selina finally said,...