Dave and Jan enjoyed a visit from Dr. Carl and Nancy Laney, friends from seminary days, in mid April. When the Laneys headed back to Oregon they drove west from Cedar City to Panaca, Nevada, then headed north where they passed Cathedral Gorge State Park. Because they sent back a picture of the gorge, reporting on the facilities available for campers at the park, Dave and Jan headed for an overnight visit to Cathedral Gorge with their curiosity aroused.

The park was well-worth a visit, with nice camping facilities and interesting geological formations around most of the perimeter of the gorge – created largely by the impact of water on the fine soil of the gorge over the passing years.

A four-mile hike takes the hiker around much of the perimeter of the State Park with many interesting views.

Some of the most unusual geological features of the park include the narrow “slot canyons” in many park locations.

Some of the slot canyons go back into the rock walls for one or two hundred feet and tower high above the hiker for many feet as well, creating the sense which many people have told of experiencing during their visits to some of the cathedrals in Europe – which may be the reason for the word “cathedral” in the name of the gorge and the park.

From the canyon floor there is also a trail which leads up to the Miller Point Overlook – an overlook which is also accessible from the highway north from Panaca, providing a very nice bird’s eye view of most of the gorge.

We are grateful to Carl and Nancy Laney for the heads-up regarding Cathedral Gorge State Park. It was a nice find! As Dave observed to a hiker we met along the way on one of the park’s trails (and he agreed) – “The Lord does nice work!”

Because Dave and Jan’s California grandkids have birthdays just a week and a half apart in April they drove to California to take part in the joint birthday party for Ryan and Erin at the home of Dr. Bruce and Connie Seymour (the other grandparents) in Long Beach. Those in attendance included the Seymours, Ryan and Erin’s parents, Stephen and Meagan, Meagan’s sister and family (Chip, Heidi, Zerlinda, Benjamin and Amos Clampitt). The Seymour’s back yard became the party scene.

Ryan had just turned seven, and he was happy to be reunited with Jan’s dog, Lola on the occasion of the party.

Erin, who turned four a few days after the party, was quite enthralled with a bubble machine on the day of the party.

With two birthdays to celebrate a little creativity can make the birthday cake serve for both of the celebrants.

And with two birthdays to celebrate there was an abundance of birthday gifts to be opened by both Ryan and Erin.

And what kids’ birthday party would be complete without a chance to hit the pinata, so cousin Benjamin took his turn as Stephen looked on and Benjamin’s father, Chip, made the process more challenging by keeping the target moving!

On Sunday evening, the day following the birthday party, Dave and Jan joined Stephen and family for a visit to the Glendale Galleria, a popular shopping center in Glendale, not far from Stephen’s family’s home in Burbank.

It’s fun to watch grandkids as they develop over the passing of the years. What directions will their lives take in the years ahead if the Lord’s return is delayed long enough to see them into adulthood? Only the Lord knows, but perhaps Ryan will turn out to be another famous artist in view of his re-creation of one of the works of Picasso!