My Favorite Places

Dean and I took a road trip to probably my favorite place in the world, New Harmony Utah, for the 4th of July weekend. New Harmony is my home town. It is a small little town that is nestled at the base of Pine Valley Mountain between St. George and Cedar City. In my opinion there is nothing like this little town.  My parents kept their house in New Harmony even when we moved to Henderson in 1954.  We would take a trip there as often as we could. Even though my parents lived in Henderson Nevada for over 30 years, my dad's heart was always in New Harmony.  So when he retired, they added on and remodeled the New Harmony house, sold their home in Henderson and moved back to good old New Harmony. They both passed away in 2001.  My sisters, brothers and I kept the home. It's hard to describe the peacefulness that we experience when we go there.

This is the road into New Harmony.  You can't see the town from the freeway.

As you drive in you pass a few homes.  This is one of the nicer homes.

And the deer enjoy New Harmony too.  This is across the street from our home. I didn't hold the camera very still so hopefully this won't give you a headache. I'm not sure how this video will post.  This one only lasts about 21 seconds and you may have to look hard to see the deer.

A view of Pine Valley Mountain from our front yard.

Spending the 4th of July in New Harmony has become a tradition for my sisters and I.  Our brother Kenny and his wife and girls usually are there too. 

These are my cute little nieces, McKenna, Camille and Ella.  Here is a better picture of Ella.

There is always a cute little parade that lasts all of 10 minutes at the longest.  It goes right in front of our house.  We always make sure we are seated outside waiting with the whole town so we can see the parade. 

I actually got a video of the parade but it is too long to post here, even if it was less than 8 minutes long.

I am so grateful for this little bit of heaven on earth.  And another of my favorite places is the country in which I live.  I am especially grateful that we can enjoy the freedoms we do. There isn't any other country like it. I don't think any other country has so many different kinds of people from all walks of life co-exist together. We may not agree on the politics of the country but I think we all agree that we enjoy our freedoms. I am so thankful for the men and women who serve, have served and will serve to protect our rights and freedoms.

To end I am posting the lyric to the song Lee Greenwood sings, "Proud to Be an American".  It says it all.

If tomorrow all the things were gone,
I’d worked for all my life.
And I had to start again,
with just my children and my wife.
I’d thank my lucky stars,
to be livin here today.
‘ Cause the flag still stands for freedom,
and they can’t take that away.

And I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘ Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

From the lakes of Minnesota,
to the hills of Tennessee.
Across the plains of Texas,
From sea to shining sea.
From Detroit down to Houston,
and New York to L.A.
Well there's pride in every American heart,
and its time we stand and say.

That I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘ Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.