I woke up on Saturday, just feeling so happy. There aren't a lot of moments lately where I'm allowed to feel that way (in the temple and with the Young Women being the major exceptions), so it was nice to drop the weight that rests continually on my shoulders. We were planning on getting up pretty early, but Hannah isn't always the fastest out the door ;-)
Before we left though, Hannah had to steal the shampoo from the hotel. I heard several weeks ago that Marriott has switched from single, sample size toiletries to large bottles to save waste (yay!). I could hardly believe it when I saw that they had Tea Tree shampoo and conditioner. I mean, that's what my hair salon uses, and it is amazing! I forced Hannah to shower the night before just so she could experience what I was talking about. Well, it just so happened that our shower was low on conditioner, so I asked them to bring some up. They did. An entire bottle. Which Hannah took. And she used an empty Propel bottle to take the shampoo (since they are stored in a high security contraption to keep people like us from taking the entire bottle...) #Weeeeeeeee'reSmarter
We had heard the night before from the hotel clerk that parking is the major problem in Zion National Park. For the thousands of visitors they get a day (and over 4 million a year), they have 150 free parking spots near the Visitor's Center. I know, can you believe it? So most people end up parking along the highway and paying by the hour. Well, we never enter any park without stopping at the Visitor's Center and getting a Junior Ranger pamphlet for Hannah, so we headed there first. Sure enough, many cars were circling around the small parking lot, hoping at 8:40 a.m. someone was already leaving the park...and their parking spot. I spotted three "15 minute only" parking spots directly in front of the Visitor's Center which would at least allow us to go in, get a map, and get the JR booklet. So we pulled in. I didn't grab anything but the keys, knowing that I would be back out in a few minutes.
While speaking to the ranger about what we could do throughout the day, one of the requirements for the JR program was to attend a ranger-led program (this is normal at any park). There just so happened to be a 2-hour, ranger-led, bus tour leaving in ..... TEN MINUTES! We asked what the chances are for getting on it, and the ranger told us we had slim--to-none chances since it was about to leave and so many people had already asked about it. However, he told us we could go to the flag pole and find the bus and ask. So, I headed to the restrooms (I'd been drinking gallons of water to prevent dehydration headaches) and Hannah headed to the flag pole. While I was walking out of the restrooms (and getting another drink of water from the drinking fountain), my phone started to buzz. As I went to answer it, I saw Hannah coming towards me on her phone. THE TOUR WAS AVAILABLE, BUT THEY WERE LEAVING RIGHT NOW! Hannah had run back to the car to exchange her Birkenstocks for her hiking boots and to grab her backpack (with one water bottle), but there wasn't time for me to grab anything....nor to park the car.
I just ran with her to the bus, hopped on, people cheered, and we took off. I sat across from her, wondering exactly what was going to happen. I had nothing with me, my purse was sitting in the front seat of the car, and this tour was certainly lasting more than fifteen minutes. What we won't do for the Junior Ranger badge, eh???
You know, the tour was fine. Actually, props to Ranger Kyle who took apples and made apple cider--Zion isn't terrible, but in our minds, it certainly isn't the best--because Ranger Kyle made the tour what it was. He was smart, and witty, and funny, but he didn't have a whole lot to work with. And of course we were on the bus with a bunch of old people who already knew basically everything, so he was fielding a lot of obscure, weird questions that I didn't really care about.
Everyone in Utah says "Oh, you HAVE to go to Zion. It's the best park in Utah." Having gone to most every other park, we had high expectations. However, it's probably on the bottom of the list for us. Bryce is worlds above Zion, and Arches too. Some of our main complaints? There are so many people at Zion. It feels much more like the Grand Canyon where the park caters to the average, day tourist instead of people who really want to explore and feel nature all around them. I mean, on any trail near the main campus of the park, you can only "hike" as fast as the person in front of you because there are so many people on the trails. And these aren't "let's hike for nature's sake" but instead there are women who are sporting fake eyelashes and New Jersey style leggings on the trails. During peak seasons, Arches can feel a bit like that as well, but not normally. And something else? In Bryce, you are looking down into the canyon, but in Zion, you are looking up which means you just can't see as much, especially with all the trees. And the colors aren't as bright. I mean, nothing can beat the colors of Dixie National Forest right outside Bryce Canyon, and it's hard not to set that as the standard.
So I'm embarrassed to say that we only spent 4.5 hours in the park itself (Hannah's itinerary had us there for almost 12). Plus, to our dismay, the temperatures in Southern Utah haven't felt the influence of "Fall" yet. By the time we left, it was 95 degrees, and even without humidity, that kind of heat saps everything out of you. So Hannah and I finished up her ranger packet within the Visitor's Center and ventured out to the car.
Hannah had wanted to see if we had a ticket when we first returned from the tour, but I asked her why. I mean, if we already have a ticket, nothing worse is going to happen to us. I actually worried more about a boot on a wheel, or our car being towed. However, I guess the "law enforcement rangers" (we learned about them in the JR packet) were more busy with the thousands of campers at the park at the moment, because as we walked up to the car, there was nary a ticket nor a boot to be found! That's right folks, weeeeeee're smarter :-). Yep, a whole day of free parking in the closest parking spot to the Visitor's Center!
The bright spot of it all was when Hannah went to turn in her JR packet and to take the oath. Ranger Kyle happened to be there, and since I had drawn a ranger hat on the "fill-in-with-your-own-drawing" patch in the packet, he came over to do the honors. We were then walking away when I realized that I needed a picture with him. After all, he was the best part of the day. He made us wait a second while he went in the back to get his hat. Then, in a lifetime's moment of expectation, HE ASKED HANNAH IF SHE WANTED TO WEAR IT! I seriously wish I had had my video camera going, because her face was priceless. Hannah has been talking about being a ranger for years, and when she does, she always comments on how good the ranger hat will look on her. So to get to WEAR one? She says this is one of the best pictures taken of her of all time:
The itinerary had us going straight to St. George from there, but we had several extra hours now that we had left early, and honestly, we wanted to shower before heading to the St. George temple. So, we drove to Cedar City, checked into our hotel, and then drove down to St. George.
Okay, I had offered to just go to the Cedar City temple with Elder Thomas, but CC wasn't opened when he left on his mission, so he feels like St. George is his temple, and he wanted me to personally experience it. It closes at the end of this year for several years so it kind of was my last chance. We knew it is a "pioneer temple" and he told us that we would think it was just beautiful. Maybe I had other thoughts:
99 degrees. Seriously, turn on the oven, set it to 100, and put your head in. We were literally baking.
I understand it's a pioneer temple and all, but there is no parking. Like, none. There's a parking lot across the street (which I'm still not sure if it's for the temple or not), but the majority of people just park on the street.
When I walked into the temple, I showed my recommend, and the big, fat, bald guy sitting at the desk told me that my recommend expires...in December. First off, as a temple worker, I know that he's been trained not to EVER comment on anyone's recommend. Yep, that's right, you aren't supposed to comment on expiration dates, or where they are from, or anything--just say, "Welcome to the temple, Sister Kennedy." But I said to him, "Don't worry. I'm aware of my expiration date because I'm a temple worker." I mean, it's not going to be four months before I go to the temple again. Well, he wasn't going to let me get away with that, so he said, "Well, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I didn't remind you." And he said it with all seriousness. Yeah, so that wasn't the best.
Then, I had a name for Elder Thomas to take through the temple that I had specifically brought from Michigan for him. I didn't know if he was already in the temple, so three steps behind the recommend desk, still in the lobby of the temple, I pulled out my phone to text him. Like a lightning strike, a female worker leaned over to me and told me to "remove myself" from the temple if I was going to be on my phone. Not that I was TALKING on the phone. I was just sending a text. I quickly shut it off, and she said, "Oh, well if you're turning it off...." Once again, I know she has seen countless videos about "the patron experience" and not judging patrons, and just making patrons feel welcome at all times. In fact, there is a great training video about a worker who judged a group of teenagers who came to the temple right before the baptistry closed who had piercings and colored hair and fingernails..... At this point, I was pretty mad, so I said out loud, "So much for the temple patron experience!" and walked away.
Because I was traveling, I needed to rent my temple clothes. I don't know whose stupid idea it was to get rid of the little slips they used to have where you could fill out all your sizes in privacy, but now everyone just announces their sizes to the person at the counter. I'm comfortably a size 16, but in the temple potato sack dresses, I wear a 14. So I told the woman, "14" when she asked my size. She then went back to get a dress and announced across the room, "That would be AN EXTRA LARGE."
Thank you. Thank you very much.
I'm so happy that the southern Utah region extending into Northern Arizona now knows that I'M AN EXTRA LARGE WOMAN....
And then, when we were ushered to our lockers, we were reminded to turn off all electronics. I mean seriously, is this a police state?? I think the protestors in Hong Kong at the moment have more rights than I had in that temple.
Elder Thomas had told us to try and make the 5:20 session (we had found our parking spot on the street at 5:00), so we were in a hurry. Thankfully, I remembered to hold up the seven extra yards of fabric of my EXTRA LARGE DRESS or I might have tripped up the stairs. Yes, I could have fit at least three more of me in that dress, but of course it didn't cover my ankles or even my lower calves. We hurried into the chapel and there was Elder Thomas. (Of course, he didn't get to take my name through, and I hope that stupid temple worker woman is happy that my ancestor didn't get his work done because of her....)
This is the bright spot. I love Elder Thomas. He is the best elder we've known in a long time, and just seeing him there made me so happy. But we didn't even sit down before they announced that we were going up.
Holy hades, judging by the increasing temperature as we walked to the endowment room, it definitely didn't feel like we were heading towards celestial glory. Thankfully though, the female follower HAD gotten the memo about the patron experience--she was smiley, and friendly, and warm.
The best surprise came at the end when we were told that we would proceed to "the veil room". Yes, there is one room entirely dedicated to the veil. I'd obviously never seen anything like it.
Worst moment was when Elder Thomas came into the celestial room, sat down by me, and asked me did I just love that temple? Um, one thing I can NOT do in the temple is lie. So I laid it all on him. Probably not my best moment as a human being, but I'm not very good at not speaking honestly. However, just being there with him after knowing what a great missionary he was in Michigan AGAIN made me so happy.
I wanted to take him and Hannah out to dinner. We tried Texas Roadhouse AND Outback, but the lines were crazy ridiculous, so we settled on Costa Vida, a taco place. It was all good until some sports team (volleyball maybe?) showed up, and man, those girls were breathing down my neck as the cheese on my taco was being melted....
Before we left though, Hannah had to steal the shampoo from the hotel. I heard several weeks ago that Marriott has switched from single, sample size toiletries to large bottles to save waste (yay!). I could hardly believe it when I saw that they had Tea Tree shampoo and conditioner. I mean, that's what my hair salon uses, and it is amazing! I forced Hannah to shower the night before just so she could experience what I was talking about. Well, it just so happened that our shower was low on conditioner, so I asked them to bring some up. They did. An entire bottle. Which Hannah took. And she used an empty Propel bottle to take the shampoo (since they are stored in a high security contraption to keep people like us from taking the entire bottle...) #Weeeeeeeee'reSmarter
We had heard the night before from the hotel clerk that parking is the major problem in Zion National Park. For the thousands of visitors they get a day (and over 4 million a year), they have 150 free parking spots near the Visitor's Center. I know, can you believe it? So most people end up parking along the highway and paying by the hour. Well, we never enter any park without stopping at the Visitor's Center and getting a Junior Ranger pamphlet for Hannah, so we headed there first. Sure enough, many cars were circling around the small parking lot, hoping at 8:40 a.m. someone was already leaving the park...and their parking spot. I spotted three "15 minute only" parking spots directly in front of the Visitor's Center which would at least allow us to go in, get a map, and get the JR booklet. So we pulled in. I didn't grab anything but the keys, knowing that I would be back out in a few minutes.
While speaking to the ranger about what we could do throughout the day, one of the requirements for the JR program was to attend a ranger-led program (this is normal at any park). There just so happened to be a 2-hour, ranger-led, bus tour leaving in ..... TEN MINUTES! We asked what the chances are for getting on it, and the ranger told us we had slim--to-none chances since it was about to leave and so many people had already asked about it. However, he told us we could go to the flag pole and find the bus and ask. So, I headed to the restrooms (I'd been drinking gallons of water to prevent dehydration headaches) and Hannah headed to the flag pole. While I was walking out of the restrooms (and getting another drink of water from the drinking fountain), my phone started to buzz. As I went to answer it, I saw Hannah coming towards me on her phone. THE TOUR WAS AVAILABLE, BUT THEY WERE LEAVING RIGHT NOW! Hannah had run back to the car to exchange her Birkenstocks for her hiking boots and to grab her backpack (with one water bottle), but there wasn't time for me to grab anything....nor to park the car.
I just ran with her to the bus, hopped on, people cheered, and we took off. I sat across from her, wondering exactly what was going to happen. I had nothing with me, my purse was sitting in the front seat of the car, and this tour was certainly lasting more than fifteen minutes. What we won't do for the Junior Ranger badge, eh???
 |
| Two minutes after we got on the bus. |
You know, the tour was fine. Actually, props to Ranger Kyle who took apples and made apple cider--Zion isn't terrible, but in our minds, it certainly isn't the best--because Ranger Kyle made the tour what it was. He was smart, and witty, and funny, but he didn't have a whole lot to work with. And of course we were on the bus with a bunch of old people who already knew basically everything, so he was fielding a lot of obscure, weird questions that I didn't really care about.
 |
| Part of the tour: talking about mountain goats... |
 |
| ...and condor eggs.... |
Everyone in Utah says "Oh, you HAVE to go to Zion. It's the best park in Utah." Having gone to most every other park, we had high expectations. However, it's probably on the bottom of the list for us. Bryce is worlds above Zion, and Arches too. Some of our main complaints? There are so many people at Zion. It feels much more like the Grand Canyon where the park caters to the average, day tourist instead of people who really want to explore and feel nature all around them. I mean, on any trail near the main campus of the park, you can only "hike" as fast as the person in front of you because there are so many people on the trails. And these aren't "let's hike for nature's sake" but instead there are women who are sporting fake eyelashes and New Jersey style leggings on the trails. During peak seasons, Arches can feel a bit like that as well, but not normally. And something else? In Bryce, you are looking down into the canyon, but in Zion, you are looking up which means you just can't see as much, especially with all the trees. And the colors aren't as bright. I mean, nothing can beat the colors of Dixie National Forest right outside Bryce Canyon, and it's hard not to set that as the standard.
 |
| See Hannah? #SoMuchBeauty |
 |
 |
| Hannah is holding up three fingers for three hours, but we really got four and a half! |
The bright spot of it all was when Hannah went to turn in her JR packet and to take the oath. Ranger Kyle happened to be there, and since I had drawn a ranger hat on the "fill-in-with-your-own-drawing" patch in the packet, he came over to do the honors. We were then walking away when I realized that I needed a picture with him. After all, he was the best part of the day. He made us wait a second while he went in the back to get his hat. Then, in a lifetime's moment of expectation, HE ASKED HANNAH IF SHE WANTED TO WEAR IT! I seriously wish I had had my video camera going, because her face was priceless. Hannah has been talking about being a ranger for years, and when she does, she always comments on how good the ranger hat will look on her. So to get to WEAR one? She says this is one of the best pictures taken of her of all time:
 |
| Yep, it's real. |
Okay, I had offered to just go to the Cedar City temple with Elder Thomas, but CC wasn't opened when he left on his mission, so he feels like St. George is his temple, and he wanted me to personally experience it. It closes at the end of this year for several years so it kind of was my last chance. We knew it is a "pioneer temple" and he told us that we would think it was just beautiful. Maybe I had other thoughts:
99 degrees. Seriously, turn on the oven, set it to 100, and put your head in. We were literally baking.
I understand it's a pioneer temple and all, but there is no parking. Like, none. There's a parking lot across the street (which I'm still not sure if it's for the temple or not), but the majority of people just park on the street.
When I walked into the temple, I showed my recommend, and the big, fat, bald guy sitting at the desk told me that my recommend expires...in December. First off, as a temple worker, I know that he's been trained not to EVER comment on anyone's recommend. Yep, that's right, you aren't supposed to comment on expiration dates, or where they are from, or anything--just say, "Welcome to the temple, Sister Kennedy." But I said to him, "Don't worry. I'm aware of my expiration date because I'm a temple worker." I mean, it's not going to be four months before I go to the temple again. Well, he wasn't going to let me get away with that, so he said, "Well, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I didn't remind you." And he said it with all seriousness. Yeah, so that wasn't the best.
Then, I had a name for Elder Thomas to take through the temple that I had specifically brought from Michigan for him. I didn't know if he was already in the temple, so three steps behind the recommend desk, still in the lobby of the temple, I pulled out my phone to text him. Like a lightning strike, a female worker leaned over to me and told me to "remove myself" from the temple if I was going to be on my phone. Not that I was TALKING on the phone. I was just sending a text. I quickly shut it off, and she said, "Oh, well if you're turning it off...." Once again, I know she has seen countless videos about "the patron experience" and not judging patrons, and just making patrons feel welcome at all times. In fact, there is a great training video about a worker who judged a group of teenagers who came to the temple right before the baptistry closed who had piercings and colored hair and fingernails..... At this point, I was pretty mad, so I said out loud, "So much for the temple patron experience!" and walked away.
Because I was traveling, I needed to rent my temple clothes. I don't know whose stupid idea it was to get rid of the little slips they used to have where you could fill out all your sizes in privacy, but now everyone just announces their sizes to the person at the counter. I'm comfortably a size 16, but in the temple potato sack dresses, I wear a 14. So I told the woman, "14" when she asked my size. She then went back to get a dress and announced across the room, "That would be AN EXTRA LARGE."
Thank you. Thank you very much.
I'm so happy that the southern Utah region extending into Northern Arizona now knows that I'M AN EXTRA LARGE WOMAN....
And then, when we were ushered to our lockers, we were reminded to turn off all electronics. I mean seriously, is this a police state?? I think the protestors in Hong Kong at the moment have more rights than I had in that temple.
Elder Thomas had told us to try and make the 5:20 session (we had found our parking spot on the street at 5:00), so we were in a hurry. Thankfully, I remembered to hold up the seven extra yards of fabric of my EXTRA LARGE DRESS or I might have tripped up the stairs. Yes, I could have fit at least three more of me in that dress, but of course it didn't cover my ankles or even my lower calves. We hurried into the chapel and there was Elder Thomas. (Of course, he didn't get to take my name through, and I hope that stupid temple worker woman is happy that my ancestor didn't get his work done because of her....)
This is the bright spot. I love Elder Thomas. He is the best elder we've known in a long time, and just seeing him there made me so happy. But we didn't even sit down before they announced that we were going up.
Holy hades, judging by the increasing temperature as we walked to the endowment room, it definitely didn't feel like we were heading towards celestial glory. Thankfully though, the female follower HAD gotten the memo about the patron experience--she was smiley, and friendly, and warm.
The best surprise came at the end when we were told that we would proceed to "the veil room". Yes, there is one room entirely dedicated to the veil. I'd obviously never seen anything like it.Worst moment was when Elder Thomas came into the celestial room, sat down by me, and asked me did I just love that temple? Um, one thing I can NOT do in the temple is lie. So I laid it all on him. Probably not my best moment as a human being, but I'm not very good at not speaking honestly. However, just being there with him after knowing what a great missionary he was in Michigan AGAIN made me so happy.
I wanted to take him and Hannah out to dinner. We tried Texas Roadhouse AND Outback, but the lines were crazy ridiculous, so we settled on Costa Vida, a taco place. It was all good until some sports team (volleyball maybe?) showed up, and man, those girls were breathing down my neck as the cheese on my taco was being melted....
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