Georgeous Fall Day

The advantage to being the Mom is the sometimes special treatment you can get. Today was one of those days. Cortney agreed to take me on a Harley ride up to Zions National Park. We left around noon with the sun shining bright but a chill of Fall in air. We had our scarfs, gloves, levi jackets, long pants, and face shields on when we first took off, but by the time we got to Oscars for lunch in the mouth of of the Park we were peeling the stuff back. The smells of burning leaves, woodstoves and pine filled our noses as we rode up the canyon. We ate our favorite Garlic Burgers then walked up to the candy shop for some snacks. After lunch we rode into the park and through the huge tunnel that is cut thru the rock mountain. For many years there has been an annual Harley Davidson ride called "Thunder Tunnel" held here because the noise in tunnel is unbelievable when the motorcycles go through it. Today was our day and it was really cool. We went up near the top of the Park, took a short break then headed back down the canyon. During one stop we met a tourist from Denmark named Henrik. He had just bought a new Harley and was admiring Cortney's. We rode down the canyon with Henrik and he offered to buy us an refreshing adult beverage in Springdale. We sat on the patio at Amigos Mexican restaurant enjoying the views and a tasty brew. We exchanged contact info with Henrik and off we went. Nice guy, this was his 3rd Harley...his other two are in Denmark and this one he plans to leave with a friend in St George so when he visits he has a ride. Wouldn't THAT be nice. I was so disappointed to find that when I went to take some photos, I had left my memory card in my computer at home, UGH!!!

After we got home we headed over to Dave & Sharyls for Tacos, Pumpkin Carving and Root Beer Floats. It was fun enjoying the evening with everyone there.

Tuesday of this week I head to Austin Texas to see my sister Gail and to celebrate her Halloween 50th Bday. WHOO-HOO! I will have lots of pics to share when I return. If you have a chance, go to the link to Tawni and Jasons blog and check out Jason & Tawni's costumes at their Halloween Party. HYSTERICAL! Jason is such a DORK.

When I return from Austin, I'm home for a few days then off to Provo, Utah for a 2-day business convention. I'm not sure if I'll stay in Salt Lake (Hi Jody & Kevin!) or near the convention in Provo. Two days after I get home from there, my friend Patrick will be here from Maine. And for those of you who haved asked, Patrick is a wine salesman that I worked with at National Distributors. I got to know Patrick a little better after he hurt his back on the job and I spent the evening with him at the Emergency Room of Mercy Hospital. I handled all the comp injuries at work and I knew that he didn't have any family in Portland so did what I could to help. Since then he has been my friend. He and Scott share a passion for good Scotch and they used to make recommendations to each other when they found something worth sharing. I guess he figured I wasn't coming back to Maine so if he wanted to see me ever again, he would need to come here! I have a list of things for us to do while he's here, most of which will be in the outdoors hiking, biking, and driving to cool places. I am so excited for his visit, not just because he's a nice friend, but because he's a part of a group of people I love and miss a lot.

Enjoy the slideshow. I love you all...