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| Our View during Dinner |
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| Flowers and candy delivered to our room. |
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| Couldn't pass up this hot pretzel appetizer |
Last Monday I suggested to Dad that we make reservations for our anniversary dinner at a high-end steak house here in St. George. The next morning he handed me a confirmed reservation for a one night stay at Zion Lodge in Zion Canyon. He had also rented a car for the trip, as we have been driving Moroni's pickup truck since we returned. It's very convenient to have the truck around town, but it is not so comfortable for a road trip. (Our car turned out to be a sporty little Cadillac that was very fun to drive, but a bit difficult for my decrepit old back to negotiate the entry and exit contortions. We have decided that we are SUV people.)
We had a beautiful drive to Zion, which is takes about and hour and a half. We saw the restaurant as we drove through Springdale, but it was only about 3:30, so we drove into the park and checked in at the Lodge. About 5 minutes after we arrived in our room, a lodge employee knocked on the door and presented us with flowers and chocolates! She said our daughter had dropped them off at the main desk. I found that a little odd, as I knew we had left our only daughter in the area at home with 3 small children.
When we got to King's Landing, we were invited to choose our table, and since it was such a pleasant evening, we opted for the outdoor patio. We had a front row view of the great scenery, and it was much quieter than the indoor restaurant. Our wait staff was very attentive, and the food was presented beautifully, as well as being delicious.
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| And Dad got the pork porterhouse with a little different topping than I got. |
When we got to King's Landing, we were invited to choose our table, and since it was such a pleasant evening, we opted for the outdoor patio. We had a front row view of the great scenery, and it was much quieter than the indoor restaurant. Our wait staff was very attentive, and the food was presented beautifully, as well as being delicious.
As we dined, there was a young lady that came by frequently to refill our water glasses. Her name tag read Arya. That is an unusual name for southern Utah, so I asked her about it and found out that King's Landing is a city in the TV show Game of Thrones (we have only seen the ads for it, neither one of us has watched it). Arya explained that the staff members could choose names from the show for their tags. She assured us that Arya is a good character in the show. When our waiter, Clemente, came out the next time, we asked hime about his name. He laughed and said that Clemente was his real name, because when he is busy he doesn't have time to stand around and talk about the character and the story line in the show.
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| One dessert with 2 spoons is our usual. |
We want to express our thanks and gratitude to each of you for making such a memorable evening possible. We felt your love and support by the unexpected gifts and kindness.
I also want to share a bit of the "rest of the story" with Tracy's permission. She went on a group page on FaceBook and started asking questions about arranging for a special event in the Zion Park-Springdale area. She got good recommendations for King's Landing, and she found someone who was willing to deliver flowers and candy if she could get them to Hurricane, because that person worked in Springdale (this was evidently the "daughter" who dropped off the gifts). She was checking with all her siblings along the way, to make sure they thought the ideas were good. Tracy went to Costco with 3 kids in tow, and made the purchases and then took them to Hurricane 20 miles down the road from Costco and dropped them off to the lady who was willing to transport to Zion Lodge. Unbeknownst to us, Tracy was on the phone with the staff at King's Landing when we arrived and helped them identify the "cute couple who just came in and the man is wearing a Hawaiian shirt?" She really did a phenomenal amount of work on very short notice! I was impressed, and we were both humbled to know that our easy, enjoyable evening had such a busy backstory.
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| Court of the Patriarchs |
The hike was beautiful, and we got to enjoy the short lecture that was given by one wrangler, as the other wrangler checked the cinches on the line of horses that made it difficult to pass on the trail. If I was a little bit more sure-footed, I probably could have caught up to Steve by passing by on the outside of the rails, but I didn't want to take a chance.
So we listened to the story of the early Christian visitors to the canyon naming peaks for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Then later Mormon visitors named a 4th peak Moroni. We also heard of the ancient dome rock that blesses and protects the canyon in Native lore, and the peak that is the first to be touched by the sun rising, as well as the last to be shaded in the sun setting.
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| Mickey waiting for the horses to pass Court of the Patriarchs Zion Canyon August 17, 2023 |
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| Steve on the Court of the Patriarchs hike Zion Canyon August 17, 2023 |
We made a stop at Ballard's Nursery, and I found parsley for my herb garden and a new succulent plant to refresh my planter bowl.
We took full advantage of our route and having some time, to get a couple of errands done before it was time to turn the car into the rental agency.
Thank You for a beautiful Memory!
