This was a really cool event to attend. The Mayor of Moab, Dave Sakrison, was the Master of Ceremonies. The Lt. Governor of Utah, Spencer J. Cox, was there, along with Deputy Director of the US Mint, Richard Peterson, and Kate Cannon, the Arches National Park Superintendent (best job EVER!). All of these people love their town, and it shows. Moab is a super-casual, friendly town with lots of activities. They have 2 national parks within a few minutes of each other (Arches and Canyonlands). Everybody rides a bike and they have the nicest bike-paths I have EVER seen! I would imagine that nobody in Moab sits around watching TV or playing video games - they are all outside enjoying their beautiful surroundings. It was very hot there, and nobody seems to mind - the sky is blue and everybody is just enjoying life!
It was a beautiful day for this event in Arches National Park!
The new, Arches National Park Quarter
The Grand County High School Jazz Band (they were GOOD!)
Master of Ceremonies, Dave Sakrison (Mayor of Moab)
He was very charming. He loves his town and it shows!
He is a guy I would vote for!
Utah's Lt. Governor, Spencer J. Cox (also charming!)
Lt. Governor Cox speaking to the crowd.
(Click the play button to play video)
Kate Cannon, Arches National Park Superintendent (best job EVER!)
This was Richard Peterson, the United States Mint's Deputy Director. When the Lt. Governor got up and spoke, he made a joke that he once wore a suit when he came to Moab - and, he was nearly run out of town! Like I said, Moab is VERY casual! Mr Peterson, apparently, didn't get the memo on the no-suit issue!
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I am assuming this was a giant trunk of money!
This was the presentation of the new quarter.
I loved it that I was able attend this event. The Arches National Park quarter is the 3rd one for 2014. At the end of the presentation, the Mayor, Deputy Director, and Lt. Governor passed out brand new Arches National Park quarters to all the children in the audience. So, all the kids there got a quarter that had not yet been circulated (it wasn't circulated until Monday, 6/9). The kids loved it!
After closing remarks, they passed out the quarters to the kids.
I love this Mayor!
This was a National Park ranger who was showing kids how to make little petroglyph animals out of wire. Even though I am not 5 years old, I HAD to have one. I got in line to make my own! The ranger, of course, had to help me.
This was a MUST have!
The crowd. Best dressed guy there!
The line to buy a roll of not-yet-circulated Arches quarters
If you were willing to wait in this line (I was), you got one of these - a commemorative, brand new Arches National Park quarter! (Worth the wait!)
The United States Mint will issue 56 quarter-dollar coins featuring designs depicting national parks and other national sites as part of the United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters Program. Five new national site designs, depicted on the reverse (tails side), will be released each year in the order in which the honored site was first established as a national site. For 2014: Great Smoky Mountain NP, Shenandoah NP, Arches NP, Great Sand Dunes NP, and Everglades NP (yaaah!)
For more info: http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/atb/
