Month: February 2026

Bryce Canyon and other Adventures

While checking out Southern Utah for a winter get-a-way, Hubby, Mikey, Nia, and I did some exploring. One day, we drove to Bryce Canyon.

On the way, we had some beautiful views of snowy bluffs, freezing waterfalls, and snow.

snowy cliffs
freezing waterfalls
snow alongside the road

After the snowy drive, we came to Red Canyon. It’s on Highway 12 in Utah’s Dixie National Forest. It was a pretty drive with varying colors of red on the rocks and various types of rocks. It has hiking trails but we didn’t get off the road as we were focused on getting to Bryce Canyon. Here are some of the pretty sights of Red Canyon.

tunnel entering Red Canyon
The rock colors went from white to pink to red
The different textures of the rocks fascinated me.

At Bryce Canyon, we came in the north entrance and drove to the 1st/last? overlook. We were disappointed to see that dogs were only allowed on the upper concrete/asphalt walkways. We took photos and walked the dogs out to the point and back.

Viewpoint at the end

We drove to another viewpoint where you could actually walk down through the spires, but dogs weren’t allowed. We left them in the vehicle and walked along the edge, eyeballing the trail down into the canyon. I was willing to give it a try, but hubby wasn’t excited about the climb back out.

View at the top of the trail.

I decided to go partway down to get better photos. It only lasted three of the hairpin turns. I went around the third one looking in the distance at the spires and not watching where I placed my feet and the next thing I know, my right foot is sliding down the path on pebbles, making me do the splits, while my left foot is planted, and finally gives into the weight pulling on it and I skinned my left shin and bent the nail of my big toe backward.

View around one corner of the trail.

I pulled my extremities back together and slowly rose, brushing the dust off. I looked up and hubby waved at me. A quick look around, showed no one else had seen my splits. Making my way back up the trail, my toe throbbed, and my legs were wobbly. At the top, I asked if Hubby had seen me go down. He said, “No, only me standing there, brushing dirt off.”

As far as I got before doing the splits.

After Bryce Canyon we headed back a different way and came across a large field with Bison.

We also found a place that had a trail we could take the dogs when we were closer to Hurricane.

It was a fun trip, and we’re looking forward to going back next winter.

A new book, a sale, an audiobook, and “friends” I’ll miss.

I know after the last post I promised more pics of my trip to Southern Utah. Those will come on my normal end of the month, travel post.

Today I want to let you know that my latest book, Full House, book 8 in the Spotted Pony Casino Mystery series, is now available in ebook and print.

When the past knocks on their door, the future they planned begins to unravel.

On the brink of their wedding, Dela Alvaro and Heath Seaver’s plans shatter when a ten-year-old boy appears, claiming to be Heath’s son. The truth is even darker: the boy’s mother—the woman Heath thought died years ago at Pine Ridge—was an FBI informant hidden under a new identity, left to raise his child alone before dying of addiction.

As Heath wrestles with awe for the son he never knew and fury at the FBI’s deception, the past turns deadly. When the agent who lied to him is found murdered in Pendleton, the FBI shows up on Dela’s doorstep, bringing danger straight to their home.

With their future on the line, Dela and Heath must confront a web of secrets before it destroys the family they’re just beginning to build.

Unversal link: https://books2read.com/u/3LzAxJ or Direct from my website: https://www.patyjager.net/product/full-house-ebook/

By purchasing directly from the author, they receive more per book than when you purchase from an ebook vendor. Cutting out the middleman entices authors to keep writing because they can pay their expenses.

I have 2 audiobook sales going on right now.

You can purchase the audio box set of the first three Gabriel Hawke Novels for $4.99 at specific audiobook vendors by using this link: https://indieaudiobookdeals.com/ You will see other Indie author audiobooks for sale there. Or you can download it directly from my website: https://www.patyjager.net/product/gabriel-hawke-novels-box-set-1-3/ This sale only lasts until the 18th.

Join Oregon State Trooper Gabriel Hawke as he performs his duties with the Fish and Wildlife Division while finding a body with a wolf collar, tracking a lost child, and hunting down a poacher in the wilderness of Wallowa County. He not only upholds the law but also protects the land of his ancestors.

Starting today, you can download the audiobook, Poker Face, book 1 in the Spotted Pony Casino Mysteries for $0.99! This is only at Chirp and my website.

A contemporary Native American amateur sleuth murder mystery series

As interim head of security at the Spotted Pony Casino, disabled veteran, Dela Alvaro, needs to find out who killed a casino accountant or lose her job.

Chirp: https://www.chirpbooks.com/audiobooks/poker-face-by-paty-jager

Direct: https://www.patyjager.net/product/poker-face-audiobook/

And the new audiobook!

Merry Merry Merry Murder is now in audiobook! You can find it for a reduced price on my website.

Where comfort and cheer meet scandalous secrets—A holiday mystery set in a small town.

In the close-knit town of Auburn, Oregon, Andi Clark’s therapy animals bring comfort to the community, especially during the holiday season. When a young girl seeks solace from Athena, Andi’s therapy dog, after witnessing an unsettling scene behind the sleigh, it marks the beginning of a much darker holiday.

As the town gathers for the Tree Lighting Ceremony, a scream shatters the festive atmosphere. Cocoa, Andi’s loyal Border Collie, pulls her toward a chilling sight: a woman standing over the lifeless body of the girl’s mother, strangled with Christmas lights.

Determined to help the grieving girl and her town recover from the shock, Andi, her therapy animals, and her niece, a county deputy, take it upon themselves to investigate. As they uncover secrets and untangle clues, they stay one step ahead of the new sheriff and worry that the killer lurking in their midst could be someone they know.

Direct buy link: https://www.patyjager.net/product/merry-merry-merry-murder-audiobook/

My Friends

As I’ve mentioned, we are moving from our farm in SE Oregon to a house in a small town in NE Oregon. While I’m excited for this new change in my life, I will miss this property more than any place I’ve lived. My hubby always laughs and tells people that when we were looking for property here, this was the only place I got out of the car, and then I took off hiking up the hill.

I have loved this land for the vastness of heights, geology, animals, and birds. But I named rock formations and talk to some of them every day on my walks.

The first is Seal Rock. It looks like a seal to me. And while I don’t talk to it, I have watched over the years as the gap between the “seal” and the cliff has become wider.

Then there is Spirit Rock. I talk to this rock every time I go by. We discuss the weather, the creatures that may be sitting on him, and life. I even put my hands on him and give him a pat now and then. I believe it was ripped out of the cliff when there was a lake in this area. Because, beside it, there is an indentation in the cliff that resembles Spirit Rock’s form.

Then there is the “Woman in the Cave.” It is a pile of rocks under a rock and when looking at it, there seems to be a woman leaning over a rock or table working. I talk to her every time I go by as well. There are days when it’s gloomy and overcast when you can barely see the “woman” and others when the sun shines so bright it looks like she is smiling.

And the other rock I speak to each time I go by is “Head Rock.” It is a rock that sits alone on top of the cliff and looks like a head looking north. I had a signing with a Paiute man several years after we’d moved here. He had written a book all about the “head rocks.” They were put in places to show directions for Indigenous people.

These “friends” and the animals we’ve watched are what make moving a little harder than usual.