Several months ago I was invited to vacation in Boulder City, Nevada. Kevin’s daughter and family live there and he visits them each spring. He has three young grandsons who he loves to visit. He drives there because he stays for a month or more and needs his transportation. It’s a long trip. I decided to go with him and we began to plan.

We stayed at my brother’s house in LaCrosse the first night. We started being tourists right away and got a great tour of the city on the Mississippi. The geography there is interesting and the history is too. We visited the Dahl Ford museum which was right up Kevin’s line. He has worked for Ford dealerships for a long time. The hospitality at the Smith house was excellent and chef Jean Claude fed us so well.

Our next stop was Frederick, Colorado where we stayed with Kevin’s friends Dean and Jean Elliott. (Elliott with two l’s and two t’s – the right way). While there we had a great dinner at The Roost in Longmont. The next day they went with us to Estes Park. Rocky Mountain National Park is there. My camera is FULL of mountain scenes that will remind me of how breathtaking it was. We had a short hike to a waterfall and I learned about alluvial fans. Now I see them everywhere in this mountainous country.

Our next stop was Parowan, a beautiful desert town in a valley. That day’s drive through parts of Zion National Park was spectacular. The Virgin River Gorge was… a real gorge! There is a 15 mile stretch of I-15 that winds through it. It was the most expensive stretch of highway at the time it was made in 1973. Photos were taken but they never do justice to the 400 foot limestone cliffs on either side. Wow. Wow.

We reached our destination, Boulder City, Nevada on Sunday, March 1st. We are definitely in the desert. This time of year there are more places that have had water recently. There are flowers and green grass to see. Kevin and I both are gardeners so we spend time identifying the plants and trees we see around us. It’s a different world from the northwoods of Wisconsin.