I've needed a new curtain on our backdoor for quite some time now.  I had one on there that was short and golden brown and not beautiful at all.  After I replaced furniture a few years ago, the color scheme has changed and I wanted something new for the backdoor.  It faces West and so in the afternoon, the sun comes through it and I needed to keep it from blinding us as we sit in the family room but still not be too heavy and dark.  So, one day I was looking in the fabric department in Walmart and I found this fabric that I thought would look great with my sofa and pillows in my family room.  It was kind of a bold move for me.  What do you think? 

     It is a Waverly decorator fabric.  Waverly is known for their decorator fabrics and Walmart is a good place to find them at a good price. 
     Well, whether you agree with my choice or not, I thought that this would be a great time to show you some basic sewing skills and how to make a simple curtain for a French door. 

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   In this short series "From Phoenix to Casper", I saved our home state of Arizona as the last installment.  We have seen a lot of Arizona since we have lived here for so long, but this trip we tried to go to some spots we hadn't seen, or at least not for a long time. 
    As we left Phoenix, we decided to take US Highway-89 to US Highway-160 over to US Highway 191.  We spent a lot of time in the Navajo Nation and saw some amazing sites.  While much of the reservation is very barren desert, the 160 is a scenic drive that takes you through Kayenta and Monument Valley and up into Utah.  These are the gems of the Navajo Nation that are well worth a visit.   Whenever we drive pass unusual geological formations, we are always texting Alicia to find out how they were formed.  We are probably always driving her crazy, but being an earth science teacher, she is our go to resource.  We were sending her a lot of pictures and texts on this trip. 

     On our way home, we drove down US Highway 89A and decided to use the Senior Pass and take a trip to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon!  It was beautiful.  One of the first things we saw was the bison herd just a little passed the entrance.  Here is a little video I took to share with you. 

And here is a gallery of pictures from the North Rim:

    We saw a storm coming as we went back along the trail.  As we drove out, the skies were gorgeous and we did drive right into the storm. 

That rain storm didn't stop us from stopping at Jacob's Lake and buying some of their cookies for the rest of the drive home!  

     You may want to check out this post about traveling in Arizona: 

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    I have a fondness for fondue dinners.  It all started back when my husband was stationed in Germany and we went to a church party at a Major's home, who was a member or our congregation.  They had a really nice quarters, and they hosted this fondue party.  It was so much fun.  There were several kinds of fondue, a large assortment of things to dip, plus other appetizers.  We all walked around the table multiple times just talking and eating as we stood for a while, and then filling our plates and talking and enjoying ourselves even more.  That party was the perfect mix of food and people.  I have tried to replicate it, but haven't really come close.  But, my love of fondue, partly because of my memory of that party, has not waned.  
    Now that school is back in for many, a special fun dinner is just the ticket for a family to de-stress and just enjoy some time together. Maybe you can create a long lasting memory of your own.  Fondue is fun with a lot of people enjoying it, and also just for 2 or 3!  Maddy is vegan, so she won't be eating the cheese and chocolate fondues with my husband and I tonight, but she can join in with many of the dippers and use some vegan dressings as a dip.  There are always options. 
     For a family get together, a great idea is to have a larger variety of fondues and assign lots of things to dip.  I like to give everyone a little cup to hold their fondue in on their plate, instead of them doing multiple dippings back into the pot.  That protects everyone from double dippers! If you don't have enough fondue forks, you can use skewers or just regular forks.  

    I know that the word "fondue" might sound intimidating, but it means "melted" and virtually everything goes! You can use many different kinds of cheese, hot oil for cooking thin cuts of meat right in the pot, savory sauces, like a marinara.  For dessert, chocolate is always a favorite, but you can do caramel or marshmallow and for dippers you are only limited by your imagination. 

    I am sharing 2 recipes with you today.  One is a main course or even an appetizer. The other is a dessert.  
     First, a goat cheese fondue that you will love! 

Goat Cheese Fondue

    For dipping I simply used things I already had on hand, pan grilled chicken chunks, zucchini, carrots, french bread.  You could also use crackers, peppers and any veggies you would like. 

    For dessert, Chocolate Fondue! This recipe whips up in no time. 

​Simple And Delicious Chocolate Fondue

    If you don't already have a fondue pot, I am sharing some links to some here.  Do you have any fondue memories?  How about recipes or favorite things to dip?  Share with us in the comments! 

    My husband and I went to college in Utah.  That is where we met.  We lived there for the first few months of our marriage.  Two of our children also went to school in Utah. So, we have seen most of the well known places to visit down central  Utah.  On our past trip from Phoenix, AZ to Casper, WY, we decided to take some of the roads less traveled and see some places we had always talked about visiting but never had.  

    As we headed north from Phoenix, we took US Highway 191 and stayed the first night in Monticello, UT.  It is a very tiny town, with only a couple of restaurants.  One special thing Monticello does have is an LDS temple, which is very beautiful.  Unfortunately, it was Monday and the temple was closed, so we only got to see it from the outside. 

     The 191 took us up through the Uinta Mountains and Ashley National Forest. These mountains are the tallest and some of the most interesting and beautiful in Utah.  Most of the Uinta Mountain Range is contained within the Ashley National Forest, which was established in 1908 by President Theodore Roosevelt. It includes 460,000 acres and is the largest wilderness area in Utah. Activities include hiking, boating, camping and fishing.  The scenic drive along the 191 has markers that tell you about the geologic events and fossils to be found in the area.  It was gorgeous, amazing and an educational experience. 

    One of the towns we drove through on the 191 was Vernal.  It is such a cute little town.  The main street is lined with the flowers I have photographed above.  It is so pretty.  Not only are the flowers on the sidewalks, but hanging from the old fashioned style street lights.  I fell in love with that street. 
    Also in Vernal is Dinosaurland,  home to the largest quarry of Jurassic Dinosaur bones there is. 

     When we left Wyoming and came back down into Utah. We went through the Uintas and Vernal again and then got on the UT 10 down to the I-70.  We headed across the mountains over to the historical site of Cove Fort. 
   Cove Fort is a beautiful little oasis that was built under the direction of Brigham Young by Ira Hinckley in 1867.  It was meant to be a place of protection and rest for people who traveled through Utah Territory. The fort would also include a telegraph station, a way station for the stage coach  and a post office. Ira’s family would live at the fort and serve with him. It was built as a defense in case of problems with the Indians in the area, but the Hinckleys developed trade and good relationships with them instead.  There was never a battle fought at this fort.  
     Cove Fort was built remarkably with stones and mortar made of lime and volcanic ash.  The walls are 4 feet thick.  You can see the ancient, inactive volcano in the distance. The displays of what life was like in the fort are remarkable.  There is also a beautiful apple orchard like the fort had when it was active.  2 of the trees are old ones that have survived from that time!  There is also a huge garden like those early settlers kept.  Cove Fort is definitely worth the stop! Click to see a few of our favorite spots! 

    There are 2 ways to enter Cove Fort.  We entered off of the I-70, but exited over to the I-15.  Since Glen has his senior pass to the National Parks, we decided to use it a bit on this trip!  If you are 62 or over, you can purchase a lifetime senior pass that gets you into the parks for free.  We were able to get his for $10 before the price went up to $80 (thanks Obama, ha ha), but it is still a great value if you enjoy visiting the National Parks. It normally costs $35 or more per car to enter them, so this trip more than paid for Glen's pass. We used Glen's card to visit Kolob Canyons and Zion's National Park in Utah. 

     The red rocks and geological stories in these two areas are breath taking.  Here is one of my favorite photos from Kolob Canyons:

    From Kolob Canyons, we went further south and entered Zion's National Park.  The park was packed and many people park outside of the part and just ride the shuttle to the various sights within the park. We chose just to take the scenic drive through the park from the west entrance to the east entrance on Highway 89.  We saw a lot of camping sites and entrances to trails.  We were able to drive through the mile long Mt. Carmel Tunnel.  We made a little video of our trip! 

    Here are a few more photos of Zion's:

    We had so much fun seeing all of the beautiful sites through Utah! Come back next week for our final installment about our trip when I will tell you about places to see in Arizona, our home state!