I need a vacation after my vacation!

There's a saying: "Work hard, play harder." Last week I did just that. I played hard. It was my first full week off, and the boss lady wouldn't let me come back early. She said I had to take an actual break

from work. Sheesh!

Laurel came out to visit over my break, and we began the week in the Escalante area. Of course, I had to show her the Peek-a-Boo and Spooky canyons.

We got to talking as we exited Peek-a-Boo, and I completely forgot about the sharp right required to keep us on the loop trail through Spooky. Knowing the trail went in a clockwise direction, we eventually made our way back to the trail.

Quite frankly, I wasn't looking forward to the boulder fall in Spooky, but someone had installed a rope since my previous visit, making the climb down easier. We weren't sure if it was dependable, so we waited until the scouting family on the trail behind us caught up. Laurel and the young man in that group went down first. Laurel helped the elders (me and the guy's mom) at the first descent, and the man tested and guided us down the rope. In this picture, Laurel has finished helping us, so she makes her way down the rope.

With heat in the 90s, we didn't find much shade after exiting the slot canyons, so we welcomed the car's AC as I wondered how people lived in pre-air conditioned days.

The next morning we were back at it, only this time we hiked Willis Canyon in the Kodachrome Basin. This isn't a technical hike and was much easier than the previous day. Plus, cool water flowed in the canyon, making it easier for us to keep our bandanas wet.

The next day we welcomed the long drove to Las Vegas. We got to sit in the car for about six hours...in AC.

I have a friend who works for a resort in Vegas, and he got us a discount on a room. While neither of us are much into gambling, we were looking forward to understanding what Vegas is all about. (I was just excited to get a nice meal and maybe some breakfast the next morning because the restaurant situation in Escalante is lacking.)

After spending the hot afternoon beside the pool, we decided to hit the main drag and see the town.

We finally found a place for dinner: Batista's. I'd heard that Frank Sinatra used to eat there, and after seeing Manicotti on the menu, I knew we had to order. The garlic bread was both light and crispy. It was amazingly delicious. Laurel and I shared the bread basket; otherwise, I would have eaten it all.

The next day, we headed toward Lake Havasu City in Arizona. As one of the hottest places in the US, I wanted to understand what the desert felt like in summer. We stayed with my good friend Brenda, and I enjoyed seeing how well her garden had progressed despite the extreme heat. In addition, I got to play with Cowboy, one of Buena's puppies. We were there for two days in the mostly 100-teens heat. Despite the heat, we found some respite at a pool.

We left Havasu, stopping for awhile to run Buena and to take pictures by the Joshua trees. We finally made it back to Escalante, arriving sometime after midnight. Laurel had to get back to Kansas City and left the next morning, driving all day and well into the night. She drove the 1113 miles in one sitting!