Christmas Season 2007

We had brunch with Lauri and Jeff on Christmas Day. This was the second year that we went to their house rather than having them over to our house. Lauri cook our traditional egg-sausage casserole and hash brown casserole. I fixed the Swedish Tearing that we have had for years. We also had a fruit salad with cooked dressing. After we ate we opened gifts.


On the way from Forrest City to Memphis Lynda and I counted 33 red-tailed hawks. That is the most that we had ever seen in one day. The hawks were spread out over about 40 miles and most were perched looking out over their territory.

We went back to Memphis two days later so we could see the Pissaro exhibit at the Brooks Museum. We enjoyed the exhibit very much. After the excursion to the museum we stopped by the Pier 1 on Walnut Grove. As we drove in and parked I noticed smoke coming from the Mini Cooper that was parked in front of us. I re-parked in another spot and went in to try to locate the owner of the Mini. I told the first clerk that I saw about the smoking car and she went to find the owner. I asked a second clerk about a fire extinguisher. He located one and we proceeded out to the vehicle. The owner came out and called for a fire truck. When we opened the hood of the car, there were flames at the back of the motor. The store clerk used the fire extinguisher to put the fire out. The firemen arrived and checked things out. I'm hoping that there was not a great deal of damage to the car.

Cold Weather Ahead

A cold front is coming through. The temperature has been in the mid-sixties today, but the low tonight is supposedly headed for 35 degrees F. I'm glad that we got most of the outside Christmas decorations up yesterday. There are still a few items to get set up, but I'm thinking that the temperature will not be too bad.

We had a full day today with Sunday School and church, then a program at the local community college, and a night concert in Helena. At church today we had the Hanging of the Green. The sanctuary is now decorated for the Christmas season. Today was the first Sunday in Advent and the four of our Youth lighted the first Advent candle--hope. The children carried in poinsettias to decorate the sanctuary. Several of the women of the church hung Chrismons on the tree that had been set up at the left front of the sanctuary. Rita and Danny read about the Chrismons as they were placed on the tree.

Because of the added events, the preacher's sermon was shorter than usual but to the point.

The program at the local community college was a choir concert and children's play. The events were well attended and both were well done.

The evening concert at Helena was performed by the Memphis Symphony and was one of the Warwick series. It was a pop concert featuring holiday music.

Holiday Season

Thanksgiving comes early this year, but it may be that the rush to Christmas will push it aside anyway. I believe that I saw Christmas things in stores before Halloween.

We are going to celebrate Thanksgiving with Jeff's family. They have included us in their celebrations for several years, and we enjoy visiting with them.

I drove out to Village Creek State Park the other day to see how the fall foliage was. I believe I was just a bit too late for many of the leaves had already fallen from the trees.

Fall Weather

Well fall is finally here and the temperatures are a bit cool but nice. I'm still trying to get everything organized. We went to a play produced by the local community college. Attending the production of "The Nerd" was a good way to relax. The students did a good job.

We may go to Mena to see Byron and Frances on Thursday. They have now moved from Irving to Mena and are about settled in their new (to them)home. I'm don't know what their plans are for the place at Rich Mountain.

Resting at Home

This was a week of resting. We enjoyed our trip out west, but it is good to be home for a while and just take it easy. Of course there are things to do around the house and especially around the yard/garden.

I have tulip bulbs that need a bed prepared for them. The rain last week should make the preparation a little easier. And the small tiller should help out if it keeps running. But most likely the biggest help will come from C.L.

I am still trying to edit the photos that I took on our trip. Have a bunch more to do before I start adding them to a web site.

Heading Back Toward Home

We had a great visit with David and Jeannie. We got to their place in South Fork slightly after 1:00 p.m. and left this morning a little after 9:00 a.m. On Saturday, Sunday and Monday they took us on some of the back roads of the area. David drove their four-wheel drive vehicle. We saw golden aspen like we have never seen before. D & J have developed a liking for rock hunting and they took us to some of the places where they look for specimens.


While riding through the back roads we didn't see much in the way of wild animals other than deer and birds. Lynda and I did see a black bear run across the highway (160) this morning as we were approaching Fort Garland. It was too fast for me to grab my camera. We also saw a herd of antelope between Raton and Capulin (New Mexico).

We had a picnic lunch at the rest stop/visitor center near Trinadad, CO.

We are spending the night in a Quality Inn in Amarillo, TX.

Over the Pass

Today we set out from Pegosa Springs and go over Wolf Creek pass to South Fork, CO. We will visit with D & J for three days before setting out for Texas. The next three days will be without internet access but I'm hoping to have a good connection when we get to Amarillo.

This is the view from the Wolf Creek Pass overlook. The wind was blowing and it was a bit cold.

On to Colorado

We stayed at the Four Corners Inn at Blanding, UT last night and got off to a fairly early start this morning after fixing a breakfast in our room. I did not get the wireless internet access to work with my laptop, so I was a bit put out.

We made a quick swing through Blanding before heading out north on HWY 191. Our only scheduled stop for the day was Newspaper Rock. It is a panel on the side of a sandstone butte that has petroglyphs that were left by native Americans throughout the ages.

We drove through some wonderful country as we proceeded from Utah into western Colorado.

We ate lunch in Ridgeway, Colorado at the True Grits Cafe. Lynda had read about the cafe in Country Discovery, a magazine that is no longer being published.

We are staying the night at the Econo Lodge in Pagosa Springs, CO. The wireless internet access is working great, so I am in a better mode.

The Bridges Natural Bridges

We are going to hike part of a trail (Grand Wash Trail) today as we leave the Capitol Reef area.
We are going to Blanding, UT today. We will go by some more canyons and natural bridges on the way.

A Day at Capitol Reef

We are up and getting ready to set off for our adventure here at Capitol reef National Park. We are staying in the Capitol Reef Inn at Torrey, Utah. I plan to add to this post later this evening after we get back from the park.

Sensory Overload

We got up a little after five this morning so we could get to the Bryce National Park to see the canyon in early light. The temperature was 32 degrees and it took a few minutes for me to get the windshield cleared of frost.

The views were spectacular as expected. We drove back to the motel and fixed some breakfast and loaded the van. We were back to the park by 8:30.

We revisited some of the viewpoints that we saw yesterday. The difference in the lighting affects the viewing.





After leaving the park we continued along Utah highway 12 heading for Capitol Reef National Park. UT 12 is a scenic drive and it is hard to come up with words to describe awesome views.

We stopped at the visitor's center for the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument

On to Another Canyon

We are getting ready to go to breakfast, then we will drive to Bryce National Park area. There will be some stops along the way then we will spend the night at Foster's Moteln in Bryce, UT.

We ate breakfast at Oscar's Cafe in Springdale then went back to the lodge and loaded the van. We retraced a part of the route we had taken to Zion and it took us back up the switch back road and through the mile long tunnel that was completed in 1930. Wehad to wait a few minutes for a bus to come through the tunnel on the way to Zion. We got a video of the trip up to the tunnel.

Our route to Bryce Canyon National Park took us through Red Canyon. It is a part of Dixie National Forrest and offers some spectacular viewing.





We stopped at Foster's on our way and found that we could check in early. We drove back to Bryce Canyon Pines Cafe and had lunch.

We spent the afternoon in the national park visiting the different viewpoints. We didn't walk a lot as we viewed the awesome statues created by erosion. Around five o'clock we were in a rain shower that also produced a bit of small hail. We waited in the van before getting our last glimpses of the canyon for the day.






We had planned to dine at Bryce Canyon Lodge, but since we didn't have a reservation we would have to wait two hours. We came back to Foster's Motel and fixed our supper in the room.

We plan to get up before sunrise so we can be in the national park to view Bryce Amphitheater as the sun comes up.

A Second Day at Zion

We at supper at the restaurant here at Majestic View Lodge. Lynda and I shared a broasted chicken dish with rice and steamed veggies. It was ok but nothing spectacular.

This morning we fixed breakfast in the room and got to the shuttle bus stop just after a bus left. After a ten minute or so wait we were off on our visit to the park. Our goals today were 1) retrieve the credit card that I had left or dropped at the gift shop at Zion Lodge, 2) take the lower emerald pool trail, 3) have lunch at Zion Lodge area, and 3) do the river walk trail at the temple of Sinawaba.

We have completed our goals and we are now back at our room resting a bit.

A Day at Zion

This morning we took the shuttle bus into Zion National Park. We left El Rio Lodge at 10 a.m. and drove down the street to Majestic View Lodge where we are staying tonight and tommorrow night. The shuttle bus route begins at Majestic View and we parked our van there. We rode through Springdale to the entrance to the national park.


Today was National Public Lands Day and there was a no fee day at national parks.

We took the Zion shuttle and rode to the first stop (Human History Museum). There we looked around and watchd a 22 minute video about Zion.
Our next stop was the Court of the Patriarchs. Then Zion Lodge where we ate lunch.


We got on another shuttle bus and went to the Weeping Wall stop. We walked the trail.
It was a bit cool for us.

A Restful Friday

Today we slept a little late, and then I got online and did some blogging and emailing.
We stayed last night in a small, but clean room at the Bob-Bon Inn in Kanab, UT. The wireless internet access is wonderful. It seems ironic that the two best places that I've had wireless access have been the two cheapest motels. The lack of access at Cameron Trading Post caused further mess-up in the postings.

We were the last ones to check out of the motel (14 units). The distance to Springdale, UT wasn't great and even with the slow driving (mountain roads) we got here slightly before two. We had a good nap after lunch at the Pioneer Restaurant. We took a short drive and shopped for some food items before coming back to the motel for supper. Tomorrow we plan to take the shuttle bus into Zion.

Thursday and The North Rim

We had breakfast at the Cameron Trading Post this morning then loaded the van and headed for the north rim of the Grand Canyon. From Cameron it is a two to three hour drive. We stopped in Jacob Lake, AZ at the welcome center, then drove to the park. The road to the lookout points is long (about 45 to the last one). We visited Cape Royal, Angel Windows, Roosevelt Point, Bright Angel Point, and Point Imperial.
It was after sundown when we got to Kanab for the night.

Then on Wednesday

Wednesday we went back into the park and did the Hermit Rest Route shuttle bus tour.

As we drove back to Cameron we saw some elks.

And On Tuesday

We spent last night in our room at the Cameron Trading Post Lodge. Today was our day to get our first views of the Grand Canyon. After entering the park we proceeded to Desert View and went up in the watch tower. The views were awesome!


We went to the bookstore and made a few purchases then continued driving to the next viewpoint In order to get more shadows we decided to drive on to Grand Canyon Village and stop at the viewpoints on the way back later in the afternoon.

A Good Monday

We drove from Holbrook to Winslow, AZ where we checked out he corner that is mentioned in the song by the Eagles (Take it Easy) The statue depicts a hickhiker on the street corner. The mural shows a young woman in a pickup truck having a look at him. Lynda chatted with a young man who had a gorgeous macaw.


We also saw a roofer putting a new copper roof on a church steeple.



After leaving Winslow we had a look at Walnut Canyon National Monument. We didn't attempt the 237 steps down into the canyon. The trip back up would have been a slow one for us.


Next on the list was a short walk into a lava flow at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument.

We reached Cameron Trading Post just about sundown.

A Preview

We didn't do so well getting off to an early start. The major thing for today was seeing Canyon de Chelly. Lynda's verdict is that all the things she has read about the canyon were not exaggerations. She has wanted to visit the canyon for at least fifty years--and was quite pleased.

We awoke to a rain, so were a bit fearful that the day would not be a good one for taking pictures. The first thing on our agenda was to drive downtown Gallup and get some photos that we had missed yesterday.

Then we drove to Window Rock and took some photos. We next visited the Hubbell Trading Post and gave the rain clouds a chance to move on. When we got to the canyon, the rain was gone for the most part, but we did have to contend with the wind for a while.

We chose to view the canyon from the rim. There are seven overlooks along the south rim and three along the north rim. Each of the routes is more than thirty miles
(and then you have to come back the same way). We spent about two hours on the south rim route and didn't have time for the north rim other than a quick drive to one of the overlooks. Most of the overlooks involved a walk out to really view the canyon. So, we did get some good exercise.

We are staying in a Motel 6 in Holbrook, AZ tonight. I was pleasantly surprised when I asked the check-in clerk the time. I was expecting him to say seven something, but he looked at a clock and said six forty. Some way we have gained an hour.

I was even more surprised when I asked about internet access (after seeing two labtops in the lobby area). They have wireless internet access.

A Short Stay in Albuquerque

Well, the wireless service didn't work as it should have last night. Our room was in a second building and must have been a bit far from the reciever. It's working now at brekfast.

We are going to Gallup today. This is the first day that we will really be seeing some sights. (Well, we've seen some the first two days, but just in passing mainly).

One of the thinks we stopped at yesterday was the large cross at Groom, Texas. It is reportly the largest cross. Around the base are statues depicting the 14 stations of the cross.

I tooks several photos that I had planned to post last night, but will do that later.

Tonight we stay in Gallup at a Howard Johnson motel.

The Howard Johnson motel was not my best choice. I was not able to get online and that really upset me. There were a few other annoyances also.

One of our unplanned stops on Saturday was a visit to Acoma the Sky City. We did not take the tour but chose to visit the restaurant and some vendors in addition to taking photos of the surroundings. We had a delightful Pueblo Taco and Blue Corn enchiladas in the restaurant.

A Trip to Grand Canyon and More

We are spending the night in Elk City, OK. This is the beginning of our three-week trip out to Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion National Parks and points in that area. The plans include spending a few days with David and Jeannie in South Fork, CO. Then we will wrap things up with a visit to Carolyn and Ray on our way back to Forrest City.

Today and tomorrow are mainly days for long driving to get us to the places to beginning the highlights of the trip. We drove olong I-40 today. I hope to post some photographs as we go along. Most of the motels that we will be staying in have high speed internet access, but I've discovered that doesn't insure that I will get connected.

I'm still working on an itinerary that I can mail (e- and snail-) out to folks.

A Beautiful Wedding

We have just returned to our hotel from Joel and Carrie's wedding. The weather behaved wonderfully for the wedding. It was a lovely event.

A September Day

We returned last night form Texas where we attended a wedding and had visits with friends and relatives.

This morning we finished getting some photos together for entry in the local county fair. We have entered photos for the past several years and didn't want to miss out this year. We didn't have as much time to get things together as in past years, so hope that we have chosen the right photos to enter.



Today has been a nice, cool day. I didn't really take advantage of it; just stayed inside for the most part.

Record Breaking Temperatures

The past two days have set new records for high temperatures in the area. We had hundred degree temperatures when we lived in west Texas, but the humidity there was so low that the heat didn't bother us as much. And of course we were a bit younger back in the early 1960s. We are thankful for air conditioning and the fact that we can afford it.

We had company for supper on Tuesday evening. I baked some teacakes using the recipe that my grandmother gave me not long before she died. For years I had tried recipes labeled "teacakes" but they always turned out to be what I call sugar cookies. Finally I remembered to ask Miss Windham (that's what we kids all called our grandmother. I remember some of the best ones being baked in the oven of a wood-burning stove.

Just Staying Cool

I haven't been doing much at all outside. I believe that the temperature was 100+ today. We did get out this afternoon to go to a house warming for a friend. And LK made it up to Wynne to get her hair done.

I need to get busy and do some planning for the trip to the grand canyon that we want to make the latter part of September. We are going to a wedding in Austin on Labor Day and then we have another one in Fayetteville on September 15. After that one, we will only have a few days to travel before needing to be back home for another wedding the latter part of October.

Hot Summer Day

Today was another hot one. I kept inside for most of the time. Went out just long enough to turn the water on to some of the flowers.

Staying Cool

The temperatures have gone back up. Also, the humidity is back to its normal high level now. And the combination in enough to keep us older retired folks inside in the air conditioned house.

I've been keeping busy working on Lynda's digital photos from the trip to Ireland. I have them almost ready for her to choose which ones she would like to send off to be printed. I've also been cooking some new dishes lately (along with some of the regular ones). I say two or three recipes on the Food Network that sounded (and looked) interesting. And Lynda saw one in the newspaper. We have liked the ones that I've tried.

Keeping in Touch

Today we had a good program at "Prime Time Seniors". And, the meal was great too. The nephew of one of our church members spoke to us. He spoke about making a radical change in his life.

After the meeting, Lynda and I went to Memphis to do a little shopping and to visit Lauri and Jeff. We had a good visit and a Heuy's hamburger.
The photo to the right is from a few years back.

When I checked my email when we returned home there was a note that I had a message via my Opera community from a former student. Roger was in one of the chemistry classes that I taught at Permian High School in 1966. And I believe he was also in one that I taught in 1967. No, Roger was not a poor student, in fact he was a very good student and the 1967 class was a second year chemistry. Anyway I hope to hear more from Roger and keep in touch with him.

Mid July

This morning I went out to Ridge Ripe Farms and picked some tomatoes. Paul and Corinne Eldridge have run the operation for the last several years. They begin the season with fresh strawberries, then in early June have fresh tomatoes. After a few weeks of offering picked tomatoes, they open the fields for folks to "pick-your-own".

There was an abundance of tomatoes. Once you begin picking, it is hard to resist the urge to taking just one more.

The Eldridges also had some fresh basil for the taking. I took some and when I got home I put on a pot of tomato basil soup. It turned out very well and along with some cheese toast and iced tea made a good lunch.

July, 2007

Today is my birthday. We are in Mena, Arkansas at a motel. We drove over this morning to visit with relatives who have a place at Rich Mountain. So far we have had a good visit with L.K.'s aunt and uncle, cousins and their friends.

Her cousin Eric has a birthday on Monday and the family celebrated his birthday this evening. We ate a delicious steak dinner.

Shannon

My fellow travelers are hounding me to move on. So I'll try later.

Well we got through the security without too much confusion. Lynda's necklace did set the alarm off. Strange that she had worn the same necklace on the way over and no problem.

I'm posting some more photos from our drive on Thursday, May 30th.

We are at Shannon Airport waiting for our flight. It has been delayed but we hope to still make our connections to DFW.

On May 29th, we spent the night in Spiddal at the Taur Beag B&B. Many of the signs in this area are in Gaelic rather than English so you have to study the map even more so before you start out anywhere.
We enjoyed a very nice breakfast that Siobhan, .the hostess, fixed. Then we headed our for a drive about the Connemara area. The route passed through several "landscapes". We had the bogs where peat or turf is harvested for fuel. There were also coastal areas with views of the different bays. Of course, we did see many sheep grazing or lazing in the stone-fence enclosed fields. We also drove through forest areas and for several kilometers we drove along the Sky Road along a mountain trail.
For lunch we had an in-the-car picnic at Kylemore Abbey. It was cold and raining so we opted not to tour the gardens at the Abbey. Since we had visited Powerscourt, Muckross, and Bantry gardens we didn't feel bad about skipping the gardens. Later we stopped at Clifden for tea and cake. I made a quick visit to the library there in order to check email. Had a message from Martha and from Bess.

Doolin

We got to Doolin on Saturday. I thought that we had reservations for three nights here, but it turned out we did not. I'll write more about that later. A young woman who worked at the petrol station called several places and found us a place at FernHill Farm. It is cold in the rooms, but the woman is very night.

We didn't listen to any music here because it begins so late and we tire ourselves out durning the day. We may here a bit tonight.

We have visited several of the places we visited before and some that were new to us.
Tomorrow we will drive on up to Galway and then over to Spiddal for two nights. We fly home on June 1.

Killarney

We are packing up to leave Killarney for Doolin. We ave have a very nice time here. Went to different places using this as our home base. The driving isn't too bad since Ray is doing it all.
I enjoy the small places more so than Dublin. But Dublin was interesting. I guess that it would be better if one learned the bus system and used it instead of walking. Although we did use taxis more than ever before. That says something about age!

The phot shows that we are eating ok. This is at the Torc waterfall

Counting the Days

We got pretty far along on our planning. There is still a bit to do as far as some of the details on what to plan to see.

Today (April 21) was San Jacinto day for Texas.

Further Plans

Ray and Carolyn are coming this weekend so we can finish making plans for the Ireland trip. After the three days in Dublin we will have a week at a vacation cottage (or apartment) near Killarny. We will use this as a base for day-trips while we are there. That's what we will be working on this when R & C get here. Plus we will have almost a week left to visit around in the southwestern part of Ireland.

Counting Down

We are back from the visit to Texas. Now we are finishing plans for our trip to Ireland. It's only one month before we board the plane at DFW and head for Shannon.

The plan that I'm working on now has us picking up a vehicle at Shannon and driving to Limerick. After looking around Limerick we would head on over to Cashel and stay the night in a B&B near there. Then we would go over to Waterford and visit the Waterford Crystal factory.

On the third day we would visit Powerscourt and Gendalough, then drive into Dublin for a three day stay.

A Visit to Texas

We are getting ready for a visit with friends and family in Texas. We will go to Paris, TX then on to Odessa and back to Arlington.

A New Computer

The new computer is not set up, yet. I have it unpacked and I've been reading and looking at the manual, but just taking my time getting it set up.

Today was another pretty day for the most part. It did rain a little earlier in the day, but overall it was good. We went to the PrimeTimers program at the church at noon and had potato soup, ham sandwich and a salad. There was also dessert.

Back Home Again

We got back to FC last night about 11 p.m. I had a message on the answering machine that my computer would be delivered today sometime between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. I pretty much stayed around the house because someone needed to be here to sign for the delivery. I did venture out to pick up the cats from the vet's. And, we went to the Lenten service at noon. The computer arrived via UPS a little after 1:30 p.m.

I didn't have as much luck with the little tiller. I checked on it and was told it was ready. The guy decided to check it one more time. It didn't start, so I left with them until later. I'm tempted to look for an electric tiller.

Death in the Family

I got a message this morning that a sister-in-law died during the night. Dean was the wife of my youngest brother. We will be going to Texas on Sunday in order to attend the funeral services which will be at 2:00 p.m. on Monday. The burial will be at Pilgrim cemetery. Pilgrim is said to be the oldest protestant church in Texas. It's about three miles from the farm where I grew up.

Ready for Spring

Well, it is the middle of the week and I haven't got any yardwork done yet. I did get my little tiller to the shop and hope to pick it up tomorrow or the next day. C.L. (the guy who helps out with the yard) came by today to see if anything need done. He'll come back tomorrow morning and trim the ortimental grass (one clump of Zebra grass and one of Pampus grass). I also have some preemergence herbicide that he can put down for me.

There are several flowers that are already blooming, but overall the garden still looks a bit begraggled. I have pruned most of the rose bushes about as much as I plan to. Had to replace one of the Honey Perfume bushes. I hope that whatever killed it doesn't attack the others.

A Bright, Sunny Day

Today has been a very nice day as far as the weather goes. I haven't accomplished much of anything today, but may get out and do a chore or two.

I'm thinking about purchasing a used (possibly a reconditioned one) computer to replace the one that was lost by the repair shop. If I get a new one, it wouldn't have the XP operating system that the other one had. I still have the monitor, keyboard and printer that worked with the other one.

Ready for Some Spring Weather

The plum tree in our neighbor's yard is about to burst forth in leaves. Some of the flowers have been blooming for about a week. But it is still a bit chilly to be out working in flower beds and such. I'm ready for the temperatures to get warmer, but don't relish the idea of the typical spring storms.

Happy Birthday, Texas

In 1836 Texas became a republic, so this is the 171st aniversary for Texas. I didn't raise a glass in a toast to Texas, but here's to Texas my home state.

Stormy Weather

It looks as if March is coming in like a lion. We didn't have any really bad weather this morning, but I did hear it thunder several times.

I need to get my tiller worked on so that I can get it started and do a little yard work. I'm in the process (planning stage) of redoing a portion of the back side yard to have a small sitting area. There will be a flower bed along the fence (north) and I'll install some stepping stone blocks to have a place for our two lawn chairs that we got last year.

Into the New Year

This month has passed fairly rapidly. Ray and Carolyn are coming for another visit and we are going to go on to Montgomery, Alabama. There is a Shakespeare festival there where we are going to see at least one play. It will be our first visit to Montgomery so we are allowing some time for sight seeing.

New Year's Eve

Ray and Carolyn came yesterday evening. We went to Sunday and Church this morning and then went to Wynne to eat Chinese food. We were joined by Mike and Betty and Mike's mom. After lunch we relaxed then went to the local moviehouse to see "The Pursuit of HappYness". We all enjoyed the movie.

We had planned to fix supper at home, but got lazy and visited the Pizza Hut. Just before midnight we were all set to welcome 2007.