Day 2 - Shoe Tree

On the way back to Cedar City, we encountered a "shoe" tree. We aren't sure of the significance of it, but it was well worth a photo op!

Here's a close up...

On our last night in Cedar City, we went to dinner at O'Sullivans where we had a fabulous waiter that made all of our dreams come true! (like bacon that shatters for Lex and endless cokes for Lynn) The experience at O'Sullivans was so much fun, we even documented it!

We then went for our last shows of the trip. Sarah and Mark decided to go with a tragedy and watched Othello. Me, Lex, and Lynn decided to go with a comedy and saw, Taming of the Shrew set in the 1940s in Italy. It was a very interesting version of it and they pulled it off very well.

Just before the play, Lex got to pose with Shakespeare. I personally think he was drunk, but he at least sat for the picture and didn't charge us for it.

On Sunday, we ended the trip a little early then we intended. Those mushrooms from Brad's Hut did a number on our driver, Lynn most of Saturday night. (I won't go into detail) So, after hitting a sacrament meeting, we decided to take the leisurely drive back to SLC instead of goofing off some more in Cedar City.

Oh, and for those that wondered, we did manage to play in the pool during the weekend so the quest for Mark's new bathing suit was not in vain! (Mark wouldn't let me post a picture of him in that new bathing suit...party pooper!)

Day 2 - 100 year old Fruit Cake

Hurricane, Utah was our next stop on our big adventures. Why go to Hurricane?? Because that is where they have a 100 year old fruit cake! How cool is that???!!!

Yes, we went to the Hurricane Museum and talked with a lovely lady who told us all about the history of Hurricane and showed us the famous patina covered fruit cake. (Patina = "A thin greenish layer that forms on copper or copper alloys, such as bronze, as a result of long exposure to the elements and often valued aesthetically for its color." Apparently, patina can also be found growing on fruit cake! Ask Lynn to say the word "patina," it brings a smile to my face, every time."

"Two top layer cake baked in 1907: Yes, this was once a four layered cake made by Mrs. Dave (Maria) Ballard of Grafton, Utah for Ella Wood and Jow Scow. It is a fruitcake, originally with fresh pink blossoms of "dew plant." It also used to have little pink candies on it. Ella and Joe's children, Clinton, Itha and Milden took care to make these candies gradually disappeared. This unusual item has been a much treasured heirloom." [Taken from the card describing the fruit cake. Edited for content. They forgot to proofread it..]

Apparently, at the Hurricane Museum, they specialize in old food, because they also had 50 year old bacon! Found in someone's attic ...it doesn't really look like bacon. But they swear to it.



Another plaque that gave us a some history of the area was "Mollies Nipple" I'm not kidding here. "It's a Butte." Literally. I really am not making this sign up! They actually printed it as seen here...

The hard part was finding the actual butte in real life. We couldn't find it until after we sat in the back of the museum to recover from the excitement of the old fruit cake and decrepit bacon. But alas, I spotted the "nipple" just due south...

Quest - Bathing Suit

Mark forgot to bring his bathing suit on our big adventures and at the Knight's Inn there was a nice swimming pool. So, it was our goal to find the perfect bathing suit for Mark!

We found a sporting goods store and started our search. The first possibility was a speedo. Although Mark is smiling in the picture, he was not happy about the first option we gave him.

But luckily, we found another pair - on sale no less - that worked great for Mark and all future pool parties...our quest was complete!

The next adventure was dinner at a local diner called, Brad's Food Hut.

This is where we got some great shakes and possibly the faulty fish sandwich that caused pain to Lynn the following evening. This is also where Sarah got her tattoo. Mark was the go-to man - as seen here at the tattoo dispenser...

The tattoo was a lovely unicorn and after great care in application - including cleaning it off properly so it would be vibrant. Sarah got tons of compliments on the unicorn! Several individuals thought the tattoo was a permanent fixture on Sarah's arm...which made her smile even bigger - if that's possible...

Day 2 - Grafton, Ghost Town

So the next day, we headed out to see some cool places around Cedar City. Our first stop was Grafton, Utah a ghost town near Rockville, Utah.

Apparently they have had a lot of vandalism because to get to Grafton, you have to go past 3 cameras.

Here's a description of the town by Bob Bezzant:
Grafton was first settled in 1859 one mile below its present town site. In January of 1862 the town was completely washed away by a flood. The people rebuilt the town a mile further up stream at its present site. By 1864 about 28 families lived here. There were many log houses, a post office, church, school and community hall. The town was deserted in 1866 due to Indian attacks. The people moved back in 1868. By 1920 only 3 families still lived here. Grafton has had parts of several movies shot here. One movie that was partly shot here was Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

(Sarah and Lynn are seen checking out some dead people).

We then went down to the actual town. It was actually the day the SUPs or Sons of the Utah Pioneers were having a field trip down in Grafton. Someone had just written a history about the town, so there were several visitors. We got to talk to some of them a little later and they told us about what it was like to grow up in the remnants of the old town.

Here's a group shot of us in front of one of the old homes (Sarah, Alexis, Danielle, Mark & Lynn). And here is a self-portrait in front of the old school house.

Day 1 - Cemetery

Across from Brad's Food Hut was the Cedar City Cemetery. I have a couple of dead people there. We had some time to kill before the play that night, so I made the car go over and check out some of my relatives.

They had a nice map available at the cemetery with a corresponding book full of those that were buried there. Although it looks very simple from that map, locating burial plots isn't as easy as it looks. With the detective skills of Alexis and Lynn, I was able to locate my relatives.

I found Golden Lang's headstone. Golden died in a plane accident while training during World War II. He was a lieutenant in the Flying Forces.

We also found the headstone of Margery Stevens. She died while serving a mission in Denver, Colorado after just 6 months of service. I'm not sure what she died of - I still need to look into that. Her headstone was really hard to read, so Alexis kindly transcribed the headstone for me!

The last headstone was for my great grandmother, Minnie Deseret Stevens Lang. She died just after she gave birth to her 5th child, Dee. She was just 41 years old. Sad...but she left a great legacy of children, including my grandma, Olive Emily Lang Batson. And grandma was pretty darn cool!

After our tromping in the cemetery, Alexis, Mark, Lynn and I went to see Cyrano De Bergerac at the outdoor theatre. Just so you know - and many of you already do - Cyrano was NOT written by Shakespeare. But it ended about as badly as a tragedy. [UGH! Enough tragedy already!] But it was VERY well acted and was an enjoyable evening...

Day 1 - Historical Marker 1

[This is the continuing saga of the trip to Cedar City in August]
Just outside CAL stores (a store for cowboys and farmers), was the first historical marker we encountered. The corner of this street is where the very first brick factory was located. The marker included the original bricks they made at those factories. They even had a picture of some of the first brick makers...did you know that men could be ripped back in the 1880s? Here is proof: Check out those abs!!

The next big adventure was a land-locked lighthouse. Who builds a lighthouse in the middle of the desert? Yeah, I don't know that answer, but it's probably an advertisment for the shopping stores all around it. But it was cool to look at anyway! Lynn is taking a break at the base of the lighthouse and Sarah, Alexis, Me and Mark are posing at the door...

Trip to Cedar City - Day 1

Mark and Lynn, my two good friends suggested we go to the Shakespearean Festival down in Cedar City, Utah this summer. I've gone before plenty of times and always enjoyed the experience. It's a great place to escape for a weekend - from the city and from the heat. Plus, the plays are phenomenal and it helps me feel "cultured." So, Sarah, Alexis, Mark, Lynn and I were the 5 adventurers set out to find some good "stories" as Sarah Ward puts it. Here are our "stories."

On Friday, August 15th, we started out on I15 and immediately saw Biker Crack Boy. And no, crack doesn't mean he was smoking dope...the picture doesn't catch the crack, but I think it implies it well enough...catching this rare sighting was excitement for at least the first 20 minutes. Yeah, we are easily entertained...

We stopped at a Subway in a gas station half way to Cedar City. Here we are showing off our many scrabble game pieces that we collected. Lex got a free sandwich! And I think Lynn got a free Coke. We didn't have a whole lot of letters other than e's and a t, but it was fun to collect nonetheless! Alexis also noted that subways at gas stations are more expensive than subways NOT in gas stations. Duly noted!

Our conversation down to Cedar City was of course lively and informative concerning relationships, dating, and life in general. We did determine that Sarah does not "tell the boys" [her nickname for Mark and Lynn who really are MEN] what to do. She insists she just "suggests strongly." And we also decided that it was her true intent. It may just sound like she was telling them what to do. That all brought smiles to our faces - and amused Mark and Lynn the most...

Mark managed to turn his ankle into fruit the Monday before we left. He played the very dangerous game of ultimate frisbee and low and behold, grew a pineapple! By the time we left, he got it down to a large Granny Smith Apple...but we could tell it hurt quite a bit. I took a picture of it but Mark got really self-conscious about it. So out of respect for his fruit inspired appendage, we will include the picture when Mark "put a sock on it."

We stayed at the Knight's Inn which I felt was truly appropriate for the adventure to Shakespearean- land...We had two rooms that shared a bathroom. It worked great as we banished the guys to the back room when appropriate or when we felt like it. We even found some treasures in the room!! Some gentleman left a nice hat for Lynn to use while at the Knight's Inn. It really was the hotel room that kept on giving!

Earlier in the week, I broke my sunglasses. And Mark forgot his swimsuit. So once in Cedar City we set out at finding the required replacements (because the Knight's Inn has a pool and the sun is bright in Cedar City). I found the perfect pair for $6 - as you can see - at the local Family Dollar store. Unfortunately, Mark did NOT find a bathing suit at this location. Although, there were some nice shorts and pjs found but NOT purchased.

We stopped at the CAL ranch store where you can pick up feed for your cattle as well as some sunglasses and a cowboy shirt. I can't remember why we went inside...I'm sure we had a great reason...but I did get a great picture in some silly sunglasses that were not appropriate for the size of my head. Also, we got to see the animals memorialized for all time along the wall of the store. It left us all feeling a little strange inside....