Raining Pennies?

This morning Doc and I awoke in Zion National Park.  There is no way to adequately describe the beauty of this place and how the terrain and conditions are changing every minute.

Doc at Virgin River

After a delicious breakfast at the Zion Lodge, at 9 a.m. we met up with Ranger Erin for an interpretive tram tour along the scenic drive of the Canyon.  We returned to pack up our suitcases and check out. It was Noon and as I headed to the Check Out desk of the hotel, I was talking to the Angels.  "I can't believe with the thousands of people here from all nations, I haven't found one single coin within the park!  This place is pristine!"  As I stepped forward to turn in my keys, there was a penny by my foot!  Wow Angels, that was nice.  Then a second penny in the gift shop!  (Coins #1&2).

Flash Waterfall on Trail

Doc and I next went for a 2-mile walk along the Virgin River out to the Narrows.  Several trails were closed due to flash flood alerts. The previous three days had made for incredible flash waterfalls.  Even the simple trail we were on was affected.  We came around one corner to find an amazing cascade of water  and 60 mph gusts which other hikers told us had not been in existence just 15 minutes prior to our arrival.  We considered turning around, but chose instead to dive through it.  What an experience!

"Little Spider"

Doc hates spiders.  So he practically jumped out of his shoes when I said, "Be careful not to step on the tarantula in front of you!"

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Doc and I were looking forward to driving through the tunnel since so many people recommended  that scenic drive.  The Rangers were just shutting down the highway due to the rains and slides.  :-(  We were very disappointed and headed instead to St. George for our next lodging place.

The next penny (Coin #3) was found at a roadside fruit stand near the Park.  Can you believe the produce was on the "honor system" stand?  We bought 3 pears.

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As we approached the outskirts of Hurricane, UT the song playing on the radio was "Pennies from Heaven" - a version I had not heard before. Some of the words include "Every time it rains, it rains Penny from Heaven.  Every cloud contains ... Pennies from Heaven.  Be sure that your umbrella is upside down."  It was drizzling slightly at that point.

As Doc was driving down the street, I had a "nudging" and asked Doc to park the van.  I hopped out and found a penny on the sidewalk, then another, then another, then another... Doc joined me and we kept gobbling coins until we had collected 21 pennies and a dime!!!!  (Coins #4-26).  It truly felt like it had Rained Pennies from Heaven!

As Doc drove around the block to get back onto the highway, something caught his eye.  It was a nickel in the street!  (Coin #27).

Of course we were now saying we just needed a quarter for a "Hit for the Cycle.."

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Next we checked into the hotel in St. George, UT.  The sun was setting and it was a beautiful evening, so of course we enjoyed that time.  There was a deserted vacant lot next to the hotel.  It seemed that truckloads of debris had been dumped there.  So I slipped and slid in the mud to collect some pretty rocks.  The rocks and my shoes were totally covered in mud.  Doc just shook his head and tried to find some plastic bags in the car so that the red dirt could be semi-contained.

The next phase of our "romantic evening" was a trip to KMart.  Doc instantly found a penny. (Coin #28)  I was still hoping for that Quarter ...  After paying for our merchandise, as we were leaving I could not resist checking the coin returns on the game machines.  Slots 1-3 yielded nothing, but the 4th return provided the requested quarter.  (Coin #28) Wow!  Thanks Angels for One Awesome Day!

Coin Count:   28 Coins            25 (P), 1 (N),  1 (D), 1 (Q) = $0.65