Craig and Dianna have been living on the Hopi reservation in Arizona for a year or so and keep asking when people are going to come down to see them. We stopped to see Craig when he lived in Gallup, New Mexico but haven't been to the Hopi reservation. Craig was being sustained as the branch president on Sunday, so we thought it would be a good time to go down to see them. We left Friday, October 17 in the afternoon at 3:00 pm. Made a stop in Scipio for a break, stopped in Kanab where we ended up spending the night. It was late, we were up late the night before watching the Utah game (they won 2OT) and we still had at least 3 hours ahead of us. We stayed at the Parry Lodge, which was so fun. The lodge is world famous and a lot of stars stayed there while filming in southern Utah. We ate at a local place for dinner we got there 20 minutes before it closed, stopped to see Bryce and Dianne at Rockin' V for a couple of minutes, Ryan and Nolan went swimming in the heated pool for a bit and then we went to bed.
Saturday, October 18
Drove past the Sun and Sand motel to take a picture and send to my family, stopped at McDonald's for breakfast on the way out of town.
We met up with Craig and Dianna in "Gap" which is not too far from Tuba City. We stopped to look at some dinosaur tracks - Dianna had taken Alec to these during the summer. The signs are handmade, the parking was "free", and a tour guide comes to greet you as soon as you step out of the car. Craig had thought that since Dianna had been there before, she would know the things to see, but turns out you need a guide to show you. We saw a lot of dinosaur footprints and they were really neat. Nolan had his dinosaurs out and was putting them in or near the footprints. He loved it!
We drove along to Tuba City where we ate at Denny's and went to the Hopi Tuuvi gathering which was right by the Legacy Inn Hotel. Denny's was packed, and it took them a while to get our food to us. I don't think they anticipated the huge crowds from the gathering. We walked around the gathering and they had a lot of food and jewelry booths there. They had dancing going on which was really neat to watch.
From the gathering we drove to Dianna's school, and had a snack at the Kykotsmovi market. It was interesting and eye opening to see all of the different homes, all the reservation dogs, and just be on the reservation. It makes you appreciate everything you take don't think about - running water, electricity, sidewalks, grass. We drove along 2nd and 3rd mesa's and drove through old villages. There were signs around that asked that people don't take pictures - so we tried to respect that.
We stopped at the Spider Hut for dinner and the food was really good. From the looks of it, I was skeptical but I would go there again.
We made it back to Craig and Dianna's house to eat and take it easy. Craig and Ryan we to see Craig's office and pick up some ice cream from the market. Every one was in bed by 10:00 pm.
Sunday, October 19
Everyone slept well, I don't think Nolan moved from his bed. Dianna made blue cornmeal pancakes for breakfast, we watched cartoons and Ryan took Nolan over to the playground to get some energy out. We left for church at 9:30 am and picked up Neeva on the way to the building. Dianna had been at the church practicing the piano for sacrament meeting. We sat on the front row and there were about 40 people in attendance. The chorister didn't show up on time, so I hopped up and helped to lead the music for the opening and sacrament hymns. Craig was sustained, and gave a short talk as all incoming bishops/branch presidents do. We left after sacrament meeting to begin the long drive back to SLC. We didn't stop until Moab for dinner, gas and a break from the car. I drove from Moab to SLC which is my least favorite drive and it was dark. We made it home just before 10:00 pm. It was a long drive, but nice to see where Craig and Dianna live and work.
