Girls weekend...plus Pete of course!

Julie had some of her girlfriends come visit us for the weekend.  Of course we wanted to show them all that Saint George had to offer which included a full dose of Pete.  You see, they have been following Pete on this blog, but never got to "experience" him up close and personal. This was their chance.

The girls, I will call them Christine and Michelle (actual names) arrived late Thursday night from the Bay Area.  We made them comfortable in their rooms and then went straight to drinking.  Michelle does not like to drink and I can only say I would hate to see her if she actually enjoyed it, if you know what I mean....  Sorry, no pictures of that.  We got up Friday morning at a reasonable time and waited for Pete to accompany us on a "starter" hike in Snow Canyon State Park, 5 minutes drive from our home.  The hike is on a dirt road that goes into the end of the canyon.  Not steep or rugged, but enough to give them the flavor of what we do here.

Christine, Julie, Michelle in Snow Canyon State Park

The hike was about five miles.  As the group spread out, Pete kept walking back to the lagging folks, then went back to the front of the pack.  "What is that all about?" asked Michelle.  More steps of course.  It never ends.  After the hike we took them to the Tuacahn Amphitheater in Ivins, also 5 minutes from our house.  It is a beautiful facility nestled in the end of yet another canyon and features nightly musicals such and Peter Pan, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and various musical groups.

Later in the afternoon we road bikes in our neighborhood.  The girls got to ride the cruisers while Julie and I road our mountain bikes which are a bit more challenging.  Afterwards we sat out by our fire pit and enjoyed a variety of wines.  I recently purchased a bottle of Carnivore at my favorite wine shop, Costco in Las Vegas.  I have to say that it was the hit of the party.  Even "non-drinker" Michelle tore it up!  I will try not to be a wine critic, but it has a cool name, the label with rips in it as if some wild creature had clawed it and I'm not talking about Michelle reaching for a third glass...  It also tastes good and has a great price point.  Try it!

The following morning it was up at the crack of dawn, well actually in the middle of the night to get to the Angel's landing Trail head before the crowds.  Pete entertained us on the ride out regaling the girls with "interesting facts" about the local area, geology, history, etc...  Shortly before sunrise we were on the trail up to Angel's Landing.  Michelle did not plan to take the final trail out to the end so we quickly divided into two groups...crazy and not so crazy.  As you can imagine, Pete, Christine and I were in the crazy group headed to the very edge of the earth.  Pete quieted down on the hike up which is often the case as his air is no longer available for luxuries such as talking.

As the trail narrowed towards the top (2.5 miles up), the number of hiker also thinned out as many get to Scout's landing and opt not to traverse the narrow trail to Angel's landing.  Keep in mind, Pete and I have done this hike a number of times and could probably do it with our eyes closed, although I do not recommend it.  We came upon a couple who were taking down the camp they had set up just off of the trail.  I did not know that was possible.  While it looked cool, I could only think of the fall that might occur if someone had to get up through the night to use the potty...  Pete greeted the couple and promptly asked "Where is Angel's Landing?".  Now, I previously mentioned that he and I have done this trail numerous times, there are chains up all along the course to prevent most deadly falls, and here he is asking for directions...  Perhaps he was just trying to make small talk, or was looking for Observation Point, another outcropping on an adjacent mountain so he says.  I'm not sure which it is, but I will not let him live that one down.  Anyway, we moved on and finally made it to the end as I have pictures to proved!

Christine on the chains!  Easy...

Christine and Pete at the top!

Dave, Christine and Pete at Angel's Landing

We had another exciting experience that day besides getting Christine to the top.  How many of you have ever seen a California Condor in the wild?  Well, there we were at the top when all of a sudden two huge birds go drifting by.  We knew immediately that they were condors just because of their size.  I quickly whipped out my phone and took these pictures which will never do these amazing birds justice.

California Condor 

Condor.  Note that their feet hand down during flight rather than being tucked up.  

On a previous hike we spotted Big Horn Sheep.  I wanted to include them because I often see similarities between Pete and the wild life.  See if you don't see it as well.

Majestic Big Horn Sheep

Majestic Pete in his natural habitat

Ok, if you did not see that similarity, see if you can see this one....

Gollum from Lord of the Rings.

Pete from Mississippi...

Did you see it?  Ok, let's try another one....

Pete....

Gollum...."my precious..."

Julie, Christine, Michell and Gollum...I mean Pete!

One last thing.  We had a great time with the girls and Pete and hope they want to come back some day as we have other adventures to share with them such as crossing the Grand Canyon!  Seeing the condor was really a highlight for me.  I kept telling Julie how cool it was to see them so close and in the wild.  Never wanting to be outdone, she took this picture...

Julie sharing a smooch with a "condor" in the Human History Museum at Zion.  Lucky bird!

Pete and I are off to Moab for a bike trip.  Julie was supposed to go as well but had a bit of a tumble on her bike resulting in a fractured radial bone in her forearm.  No cast, but she has wisely chosen to skip the trip and let her arm properly heal.  Pete and I will miss her terribly, especially me.