Dark skies and distant views.....

Utah is our neighbor and the heat index is getting safer so we spent a few days wandering about.    We "camped" at Dead Horse St Park, about 40 min from Moab.    I enjoy watching the families in their small campers and tents and remember when we did the same.   Now, I need my shower and my comfy bed.  

  This is a designated very "Dark Sky" part of the country and our first night around the campfire was  rewarded with the ISS zipping across overhead.   Always an awe inspiring moment.   Some had their cameras and tripods out to capture the Milky Way and movement of the stars.   I have a great app on my phone and I'm slowly

learning more about the constellations and main attractions up there.

  

 Arches NP was a short drive and we did the 2 mi walk to Landscape Arch.    We did this one several years ago.     Part of the arch collapsed 15 years ago and they no longer allow closer views.  

Dead Horse SP has a trail that goes from the Visitors Center , out to the point and back.    It's about 4+ miles total.    We thought it would be well marked but found that cairns were our only guide.   It crossed slick rock (no footprints to follow) and scrubby desert.    We weren't far from the road on one side or the canyon on the other side so there was no real danger of wandering in the desert for days. It was a challenge sometimes to find the cairns and the right direction.    This is one lookout over the Colorado.     The park gets it's name from a time when wild horses were herded out to the point, the best were taken and the rest left to die without water.    It's a rugged, beautiful area with a sad history.   

 Various ancient people left their marks over the centuries before us.  

 Another day, we took a shortcut from Canyonlands NP to Moab.    About a 2+ hour Jeep ride along Shafer Trail.    We've done this in the past and the views of the Colorado are breathtaking.  Thelma and Louise sailed off a precipice like this.    The ride is rough but not particularly a nail biter.   In the pic above, you can pick out a large raft with several people and supplies near the large sandbar.    Biking, jeeping, long rafting trips and climbing are popular Moab attractions.  

We hope to head back to Utah in a couple weeks for more wandering....

Meanwhile, the Newtown HS Marching Band is gathering up awards once again.    Parents are the workforce behind this  talented organization.    Jon is the unofficial photographer and captures the on and off-field moments.     He submits some of the pics to The Bee, Newtown's weekly paper.   Last week, it was Mason's turn to shine.    Various Miller children have been in the pages of the paper going back to when Michael was in 4th grade and was featured as a budding inventor.....(over 40 years ago !!  )  

Quick trip.......

Way back in the early 70's, my dad complained to the local power company about the pile of telephone poles that they left near his front yard, along the road.    After a year or two, he gave up and moved them to his workshop area and started carving them up.   They mostly became totem poles, patterned after the native art of the various  tribes in Canada and Alaska.

He shipped one to me from California to Connecticut and it stayed in our house for about 30 years.    It moved to Jon's when we moved to Florida.   He kept it outside where it slowly deteriorated. 

  

And then it came to life again.  

 

 And now, it is totally restored by Dad's great grandsons and I'm sure he is  just beaming.    Well done !!

Labor Day found us once again in Newtown, CT for the annual Labor Day parade.   The biggest and probably one of the oldest continuous parades in the state,  we marched and were actively involved for many many years.    Last year was the first time we had returned for it since we moved and altho it was hot and humid, we loved every minute.   Especially since our favorite band members were marching.    This year, the weather was threatening but they managed to just squeak it all in before the rain drops fell.  

This is the oldest house on Main Street, built in 1750 and now maintained by the Historical society.  

 My favorite fife and drum band.

 My favorite parade watcher....

One of the local assisted living communities was in the parade.   A nice lady brought over a freshly baked pie, neatly  boxed and gave it to us.   I declined and said someone else might appreciate it and she said, " we have 300 to give out !"..... I noticed more seniors holding pies walking to our cars..... It's going to take more than a pie to entice me to move in but it was a grand gesture.  

The day before, we traveled over to West Point for the annual Labor Day concert at Trophy Point.   As I mentioned last year, we used to drive over for their Sunday night concerts and the LD extravaganza for many years.     Returning once again is just the best thing ever.    In a natural amphitheater, the setting is perfect.     It requires that an early arrival insures decent seating.    We took a picnic and a deck of cards for cut- throat games of Hearts.   Plus walks around the historic buildings, statues and cannons.   

The rousing 1812 Overture with cannons is the moving finale followed by the best fireworks right over our head.  We agree every year that it's the best show ever.     P captured the final part of the Overture and all of the fireworks if you are so inclined.   Here
    Since this is with an iPhone, the sound is just OK, not of the heart stirring magnificence of a live concert....but you get the idea.   The artillery cannons are located behind and below the band.

It was a great weekend.......!!