Concerned

We are camping about 30 miles east of one wildfire that is on the edge of Zion National Park.  Yesterday they evacuated the north and east portion of Zion, and when we drove into Kanab yesterday to do some shopping, we could see the smoke.  Also, when we do leave here to go north, we will drive right through where another fire just happened.  Just awful and sad for those loosing everything to these fires.  The owner of the campground who grew up in Glendale said this is the driest he's ever seen it.  Haven't had rain in 72 days now.  And it's in the mid to high 90's which is normal but too dry.  The evenings are wonderful - drops to the high 50's.  Fun thing happened two evenings ago - the owners put on a chuck wagon for us campers.  Was done by Dutch Ovens - had the most juicy chicken, potatoes, cowboy beans, salad, roll, and wonderful apple cobbler.  Doug (owner) said that they used to put on 2 dinners a week for guests and also for the seniors in the area but it got too hard.  Was a delicious meal! He said he was concerned about his campfire - and watched it closely all day.

While in Kanab yesterday we stopped by the Hollywood movie set that was used in the filming the series of Gunsmoke and also used for movies.  Will have to rent some DVDs so Dave will recognize the sets he saw.  This same place has also a chuck wagon lunch and dinner available for bus tours and they put on a show after the meal.  We got in and out right before the first bus arrived.  Besides all the actors and support for the series of Gunsmoke, the Rat Pack of the 60's - Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, Joey Bishop and Frank Sinatra  spent lots of time in Kanab filming various movies.  Clint Eastwood was another familiar face.  Throughout the town there are bronze pictures of actors and descriptions of what and who they played.  Seems no rhyme or reason to where the plaques are, I suppose if I stopped by the Chamber of Commerce there would be a pamphlet.  We went into the Heritage Center which is jam packed full of history, starting back when John Wesley Powell, the first man to traverse the Colorado through the Grand Canyon, came into Kanab and then through the years of the Mormon church and it's folks, to present day.  From there we went over to the Chamberlain house, a beautiful Victorian home that was built in 1887 to house the 3rd president of the Mormon church. This is Arizona's 100th year anniversary and lots of celebrations are going on all over the state - but.  With the wildfires, no fireworks, no campfires, total fire restriction.

Tomorrow we booked a safari - the company is taking us in a 4 X 4 wheeler back into the slot canyons above Kanab to hike to and take pictures (that's the shooting).  Still lots more to do.