Manti

We drove down to Manti on Saturday, arriving late afternoon. It is a nice little town, the main feature of which is the Manti Temple. We find intriguing, throughout our travels, the lack of fences anywhere - in the countryside and in the towns.

We were warmly welcomed by the family of William's on-line friend Jessica. They gave us a delicious dinner, and various family members came to see us and hear our accents. (Accents, what accents?) We spent the evening chatting and looking at photos. On Sunday we went to church with them - one block away. One member had served his mission in New Zealand fifty years ago, and was thrilled to meet someone from there. It seems it was a highlight of his life. In some ways church was just like at home, but there were some differences in facilities. Mark and I coveted their kitchen and library, especially.

After church we had a lunch, including Stacey's homemade bread, which she gave us extra of to take with us. It was a source of comfort and nourishment to us for nearly a week. Jessica and Collin showed us the dugout cabin in the hill below the temple, and then we headed north again, driving west of Utah lake, for a different view. There are many new subdivisions going in, with enormous, fenceless houses of similar light earth tones. There are LDS chapels everywhere. It is not at all unusual to be able to see three white spires sticking up out of a new subdivision in one direction.

On Monday morning we had a bit of a rushed time getting to the airport and were very relieved to be on the plane with all our luggage.