Our Utah Adventure: Day Four, Part 1: Bryce Canyon "Peekaboo Loop" Trail

 This is a continuation of a travel series to Utah.  To start at the beginning, go  HERE.  The rest of the posts in chronological order are HERE,  HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE!

In last week's travel post, we finished our first day in Bryce Canyon with an incredible hike up "Wall Street".  After a good night's sleep we woke up at the crack of dawn and drove back to Bryce Canyon for one last hike.  There are so many trails in Bryce Canyon we didn't know which one to do next, so we asked our shuttle guide for her opinion.  I asked her "If you could only hike one trail in Bryce Canyon, which one would it be?"  She suggested "Peekaboo Loop" so that was the trail we took for our last hike in Bryce Canyon.

Peekaboo Loop is a long trail:  5.5 miles and has an elevation gain of 1571 feet.  It is not for the faint of heart, as it takes around 3 to 4 hours to complete.  If that is too long of a hike for you, it's available as a horseback ride too!  You will see the horses in some of the pictures below.

If I were ever to do this trail again, I would definitely do it by horseback as it was very long.  It is a beautiful trail, full of every type of landscape and terrain you could imagine!

There are breath-taking, panoramic views everywhere you look on this trail.

And there a lots of interesting architectural details like this tunnel, arches, and the "Wall of Windows".

The path can be steep at time, so once again the park rangers recommend hiking clockwise so that you are climbing up at the steepest parts.  We took our car inside the park this time since we would be headed out of town as soon as we were done with this hike.  We parked at Bryce Point and had to hike 1.5 miles down into the canyon before we even reached the loop.  There was plenty of parking very early in the morning when we arrived, but when it was time to leave there wasn't a single parking spot available and tons of cars desperately waiting for a parking space.  My advice is to get there bright and early if you want a parking spot, or take the shuttle!

Like other trails in the park, the "Hoodoo" formations were spectacular!  I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again, being at Bryce Canyon feels like visiting another planet!

There's not much more I can say about this amazing trail and beautiful park, so I will just let the pictures do the talking!

This picture shows the famous "Wall of Windows".

I loved this arch on the trail and how it frames the beautiful scenery.

When we finished this trail, we were hot, hungry, and exhausted!  We got back in our car and headed on our way to our next and final destination:  Arches National Park, hoping to grab some lunch on the way!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

January Bible Journaling Pages

Now that the Christmas Decor is down, and I'm finished with my FaceBook Thanksgiving and Christmas Bible Study Groups, I can return to a more normal routine.  One thing I was excited about doing was resuming back to my own personal study of reading through the Bible beginning to end and doing Bible Journaling Pages again.

Last month I shared that I couldn't wait to get out of the book of 2 Kings and onto 1 Chronicles.  But after a few chapters in, I wanted to go back to 2 Kings 🤣. For those who may not be familiar with the book of 1 Chronicles, it starts off with a lot of chapters on lists of names.  There's not a whole lot of Bible Journaling one can do with a list of names, so I basically just colored in the pre-printed images that are already in the "Inspire Bible".

Here is the chapter title page.  I used colored pencils for all the large spaces and then I used gel pens for more intricate work.

Speaking of gel pens, my son gave my granddaughter gel pens for Christmas.  They are AMAZING! I tried them out and loved them so much I ordered my own set.  They are by Aen Art and are so inexpensive!  You get 30 colors for less than $10.00.  You can find them on AMAZON.

I did do one page all by myself this month.  I really loved this story about this arrogant king who thought he was so powerful and indestructible.  God just laughs at him and says "Have you not heard?  I decided this long ago.  Long ago I planned it, and now I am making it happen".  Every politician in power is only there because God put him/her there!

To make my page, I first colored the page in with gelatos, highlighting the verse that spoke to me.  Then I stamped a man with a bull horn on card stock, colored the image in, and cut it out and glued it to the Bible page.  I also stamped two more bull horns, colored them in, and glued those to the page.  I used a variety of stickers and my own hand writing to convey my message.

The rest are all pre-printed images.  This one the salmon color background is created with colored pencils and Gamosol.  Everything else was more intricate so I used gel pens.  I highlighted the letters with a white gel pen.

A simple page done solely with gel pens.

The bird and flowers were colored with pencils, for everything else I used gel pens.

I did the banners in colored pencils and gel pens for all the words and intricate details.

This page was a real challenge but I liked how it turned out.  The letters were colored with pencils and Gamosol, but then I used a glitter gel pen in black to emphasize them.  Everything else was colored with my new gel pens from Amazon.  I'm so thrilled to have more colors to play with!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

How To Wear Pale Blue In Winter

In last week's "Grandma & Me" Fashion Post I shared a new pale blue sweater that I purchased from TJMaxx.  In that post, I paired my pale blue sweater with white jeans, which looks great.  However, that pairing was just for our "Winter Blues" photo shoot, and was never worn outside.  Even though it is totally appropriate now to wear white jeans in winter, it is not suitable for my harsh winter climate. Where I live, our cars are covered in dirty salt and grime from the roads and it's almost impossible not to brush up against them when getting in and out of the car.  The sidewalks, parking lots, and driveways aren't much better.  They are ice covered when it's freezing and if it does warm up it all turns into an ugly grey mush which splashes up on your pants.  So, we cannot wear white in winter here in Wisconsin.  I've never seen a single soul in white pants in winter in my neck of the woods.  I think white pants in winter is for warm weather inhabitants only.

So, with all that being said, how else can I style my pale blue sweater other than with white pants?  Well, a dark blue jean would be one great alternative, but so would these dark grey skinny jeans I'm wearing in today's post.  Because the blue of the sweater is actually a periwinkle blue and thus has lavender undertones, it looks great with the dark grey jeans!

Other than the sweater, everything I'm wearing is old, so as usual I will link up with something similar at the bottom of the post.

I chose dark grey boots, similar to the color of the pants, to elongate the legs.

I colored my nails a fun light blue and wore a blue and silver ring.

For earrings, I chose this fun silver statement earring from Stitch Fix.

The sweater is so soft and cozy and has a nice length.  It is very loose and baggy.  I could have sized down for a tighter fit.

I think this sweater will be a great transitional piece in the spring because of the pastel color.  It will keep me warm on those chilly spring days we have in Wisconsin, and maybe by then the snow will have melted and I can wear it with my white pants.

 Because I purchased the sweater at TJMaxx, I can't find an on-line link for you, but check your local TJMaxx stores, you might get lucky and spot it!

Sweater - TJMaxx, similar HERE, Grey Skinny Jeans - Stitch Fix, similar straight leg HERE, Grey Booties - Famous Footwear,  similar HERE,  Silver Statement Earrings - Stitch Fix, similar HERE!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!