Blanding

We spent last weekend in Blanding, Utah. It is a little town in southeastern Utah. It is near the four corners and just north of Monument Valley. It is a beautiful little town where I grew up. I lived there when I was 2 until I was 11. My Dad was raised there and I have a lot of family there. I don't go back very often. It is a long drive (about 8 hours) across the desert. I have so many great memories of my childhood there. It was a very safe place. Now that I am a Mom I appreciate the fact that my Mom was able to let us roam around town without worrying at all. We had a great life there and I am thankful that I had the opportunity to live there. It is always fun to go back and be reminded of my happy life there. We went for my family reunion. It is always so much fun to see cousins and Aunts and Uncles that I only see every couple of years.
This is my cousin Christianna. Dave always jokes about me turning our girls into cowgirls. I tell him that if they turn out like this darling girl I will have no complaints. You should see her work a whip. She could make Jim Craig (the man from snowy river) blush.
This is my Uncle Erik with my cousin Cody. My Uncle Erik is one of the true cowboys left out there. (Notice he is wearing spurs and a bandanna). This is not his get up for the reunion. He dresses like this EVERY day. I love it. He is classic. Cody is recently married but he has a handsome older brother looking for a girl who can keep up with him on the country dance floor. Anyone???
And this handsome young cowboy is my Dad. I love you Dad. Thanks for giving me a great life with so many great adventures and memories.

not to be outdone my girls discovered the art of calf roping. They drug this poor little cow all over the place. Way to go girls.


One day we took some time and went to Natural Bridges. It is only about 45 minutes away from Blanding. It is where the water and weather has eaten away at the rock until it has formed holes in the rocks. We used to go here for field trips in elementary school.

you can see one of the bridges just over Cameron's left shoulder.

Lauryn standing in front of one of the bridges and picking her nose.

At the reunion my Dad and his brothers set up a sheep camp just like the one they used to live in for the summers. My girls thought it was the best play house ever. Some of the cousins were roping horse dummies. They made ropes and branded leather. My kids were in heaven. They had so much room to run around. They got to ride in a carriage and best of all they just love playing with their cousins.

We were also able to visit Bluff, Utah. It is where my ancestors first settled after crossing Hole in The Rock. We visited the remains of some of the homes and replicas of a tee pee and a hogan which were traditional Indian homes. Many of the Indians on the reservation still have tee pees and hogans.

This is one of the handcarts that actually went through Hole in the Rock.

A Navajo Hogan


I wonder if they would have made it across the plains.

My favorite part of the whole trip was going to church at my old church. I LOVE this church. It is an old pioneer church. All of the brick was hand made by the pioneers. At one time they were going to tear it down and build another one. My Dad was the bishop at the time and he went to Salt Lake and fought to restore it. It was actually more expensive to restore it than it would have been to rebuild it but it would have been tragic to tear it down. In the chapel hangs a picture of Christ with some little children. It is a big painting hanging up above the choir seats. It is one that I have only seen once other than in this chapel. When I was a little girl I used to look at the picture and imagine that I was one of the little girls with Jesus. When I walked in the chapel and saw this picture I burst into tears. It was a great experience for me to be able to see this picture again.

To get to Blanding you have to drive through Monument Valley. It is such an interesting and beautiful place. The rock formations are amazing.