An Arizona Vacation

Duane and I have some dear friends who moved to Arizona about 1 1/2 years ago and we haven't seen them since--they invited us and we decided it was time to get together.  We left the remodeling in the capable hands of our sons and took off for about 5 days.  We had a blast!  We got to see their new business, a scrap yard which they have built from scratch.  It is Lake Havasu City, a very hot place--even in May!

Our first stop was at the Las Vegas Temple

One of the highlights of the trip for Duane was snorkeling and spear fishing in Lake Mead.  He caught a carp and a bass.
Then, they got on Jerry's son's boat and did some night fishing--they got home 4:30 a.m.

While we were in Arizona, Scott found out that he would be going to Midwestern University for Med School in the fall.  It is in Glendale, about 3 hours south of Kingman, where Jill and Jerry live.  They were willing to take us down there--it was so nice to get a tour of the place Scott and Marni will be living for the next 4 years.  It's a great town, everything looks clean and new.  And it's hot there!  We ate at a teriffic BBQ place.

Then we had the most amazing opportunity.  The Stake Jill and Jerry are in in Kingman is responsible for providing speakers for Sacrament meetings 3 times a month in the bottom of the Grand Canyon.  We were there on Mother's Day and no one had been scheduled, so Jill was able to arrange for Duane and I to be the speakers.  A generous soul has paid for the little church building down there and also pays for the helicopter for the speakers.  What a sweet deal! We were expecting the man and his wife who are members to be there, but didn't know if anyone else would be attending.  We were very surprised to walk in and see about 35 people there--all clad in shorts and tee shirts.  After church we had time to walk around a little--but had to catch the last helicpoter out at 2 pm.  Very fun!

Here we are in front of the little church building at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.  We were the ONLY ones in skirts and ties!

The scenery in the canyon is beyond beautiful!

This was a fun side trip to Oatman, Arizona--an old gold mining town.  One claim to fame are the wild donkeys that wander through town--descendants of the miners' burros from around the turn of the 20th Century.

And all too soon it was time to go home.  On our way to the Las Vegas airport we stopped very briefly at the Hoover Dam.  They have recently completed a new bridge.  We walked out on it to take a look back at the dam--very impressive.  We tried to get some pictures of the massive electrical wiring for our budding electrician in Minnesota, but it was hard to capture.  We need more time here!