Nebraska Summer Visits

Shortly after our return from the Colorado road trip, I flew Chadron in northwest Nebraska to join up with mother-in-law Dorothy to drive to Kearney for nephew Joel and soon to be niece-in-law Lauren's wedding.  Friend Virginia collected me from the airport allowing us a nice evening together before leaving the following morning for Kearney and associated wedding festivities and a stop in sister-in-law's home in Gothenburg before heading back to Chadron to catch my flight back to Phoenix.

(l-r) back row: Lauren, great-niece Kennedy, me, niece Crystal, sister-in-law Linda (mother of the groom), niece Liz, Liz's daughter Natalie, niece Tabitha.
(l-r) front row: niece Karyl, mother-in-law Dorothy, great-nieces Kealy and Dawson.

 

 

I didn't get a bride/groom pictures so will add these.

 

Lauren dancing with her new father-in-law Jeff!

 

 Love my nieces!

 

 

 

Love my sister-in-law Linda too!

 

 

 

Following the wedding festivities, Dorothy and I visited Linda and Jeff in Gothenburg and then returned to Chadron leaving me with friend Virginia for another evening of catching up.  Virginia and I traveled to Chadron State Park to visit with high school friends Steve and Ruth Baker.

 

 

 

I returned to Carefree for blood work which did allow me to start round 2 of the new drug treatment of Temodar.  I take the drug daily for five days and am off for 3 weeks.  Round 2 went smoother than the first round and again allowed for quick recovery which was good because we then left - Harrison bound for the Sioux County Fair.  Okay, also for Larry to help his brother Wayne with a project at their mom's home.  Linda and nieces Liz and husband Monty, and Crystal and great-niece Kennedy and Karyl and family came back as well. 

 

Weather was extra special - cooler than usual.  We woke to fog several morning.

 

 

 

 

 

Best of all though was that because the weather was nicer, Larry and I actually ventured out to the fairgrounds to finally watch niece Karyl compete in the Sioux County Hog Wrestling competition!  Truly an experience!  I loved the build-up to the event.  We arrived to watch a water truck empty its load into the hole creating a disgusting muddy setting for the hog wrestling to take place in. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The stands steadily filled and then the teams of three paraded in front of the crowd and an auction took place where people bid on each teams ability to win in the shortest amount of time:  three team members catch a pig that has been released into the pen and drop him/her butt first into a 55 gallon drum located in the middle of the pit.  Teams went for as high as $800!!!  There were 3 person teams of men and women.  One of the teams of women called themselves Classic Cougars and were all well into their 50s.  I can't remember what they went for in the auction but they definitely lost.

 

 

 

 

 

I have to share a picture of a men's team too as well as a picture of the kids looking at the pigs.  Pigs were picked for teams by a lottery.  That is niece Sophi and great-nieces Dawson and Kealy watching the event up close.

 

 

 

Here are Sophi, Dawson and Kealy checking out the pigs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below are photos of niece Karyl's team utilizing team-work to win the women's competition putting that pig in the barrel in less than 15 seconds.  Skill or luck - or a bit of both.  This is their 3rd year of competing.  It cracked me up.  It was cold too!  I'm still chuckling....

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

We drove up Rapid City way while back for a drive through The Hills and to see friends Brad/Ann, Brett/Miss and Danny.  I didn't get a picture of the friends but did get a picture of some of the many motorcycles we saw on the road that day -- Sturgis Bike Rally was in full swing.  I liked this picture of Harney Peak although somewhat surprising to see the number of dead trees. 

 

 

Before heading home, we enjoyed a drive into the canyons outside of Harrison at dusk - always a pleasant thing to do while in Harrison.

 

 

 

 

So, our trip (my second in a month!) to Nebraska came to a close and we returned to the warm (actually hot) Arizona summer temperatures although I can't complain too much since I missed out on a fair amount of it.

 

I returned for my monthly doctor appointment and blood work was once again good so I started round 3 of Temodar.  Interestingly enough, Temodar was FDA approved for brain cancer.  However, a genetic analysis done (late 2011) of the tumor removed during surgery (June 2011) indicated that this cancer would respond to this particular drug.  Why I was on two other drugs before this one? - I don't know and haven't asked.  I decided it doesn't matter at this point since the first drug did work, and I am on this one now and appears to be working.  But, interesting that Atypical Neuroendocrine Carcinoid cancer can respond to a drug for a totally different cancer.  Although, as I think about it, the Afinitor I was on originally (for nearly 1 1/2 years) was FDA approved for kidney cancer.  Another interesting fact is that the copay for this drug has been $100 (and sometimes $200 when I need two prescriptions to get the prescribed dose) but the drugs actually cost the insurance company $8000 to nearly $10,000 a month - yikes.  The drug I'm on now costs between $3000 to $5000 and where I'd normally pay $200 copay, I was told this time that they found a generic form of the drug and copay was -- $14!!  Amazing.  Should I have been asking all along if there was a generic drug available?  I really shouldn't go that direction but will know in the future to ask, even when it is a cancer drug which we tend to think of as too new to have a generic equivalent!!

 

Oh, and, I finish this round of drug therapy this Sunday and we leave Tuesday for a 16 day trip to England/Ireland/Scotland!! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 







Grand Canyon/Oregon/Colorado Vacations

We've been a travelin' since my last post in late May: Grand Canyon, Oregon and a road trip to the mountains of Colorado.

June took us to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon for our annual visit.  However, there was a change in the itinerary.  Instead of the guys hiking from the South Rim to the North Rim, they elected this year to travel with us by car! directly to the North Rim and then did a hike there.  Brother Jim, sister-in-law Liz and nephew Jimmy (along with Liz's sister and her husband and their granddaughter) joined us for the trip this year.

The guys decided they think arriving at the North Rim via vehicle is just dandy!

Wanted to include a picture of the Western cabins at the North Rim - I just love staying here!

Great trip as always to the Grand Canyon.  What a blessing to live so near.

We left the following weekend to visit Larry's brother Wayne and niece Sophi who live just a tad outside of Portland, Oregon.  Larry's mom Dorothy and sister Linda and great-niece Dawson were already there.  Once again, was great to escape the Phoenix summer heat while at the same time enjoying time with family!

Sophi and Dawson braved the ocean!

 Linda and I have been having our picture taken with Sophi whenever we are all three together to keep track of how much she is growing.  Dawson joined us for the picture this time. 

 

And then it was time to leave the coast.  We returned to Wayne's home for another enjoyable evening before we all headed out to our respective homes the next day. 

 

 



 

 

Business called Larry to Colorado in early July for a quarterly meeting and wives were invited along!  We added some vacation time to the front of the trip and drove the first night to Cortez, CO.  The following day, July 4th!, we were able to miss a parade in Cortez, Durango, Silverton and Ouray but sure enjoyed the scenery and the Colorado mountain temperatures!  Our second night was in Crested Butte (wow!).

 

 

 We then traveled to Aspen where we visited the Maroon Bells.  I'll borrow from Wikipedia for an explanation of this destination:

 

The Maroon Bells are two peaks in the Elk Mountains, Maroon Peak and North Maroon Peak, separated by about a third of a mile. The mountains are about 12 miles southwest of Aspen. Both peaks are fourteeners. Maroon Peak, at 14,156 feet, is the 27th highest peak in Colorado; North Maroon Peak, at 14,014 feet, is the 50th highest. The view of the Maroon Bells to the southwest from the Maroon Creek valley is one of the most famous scenes in Colorado, and is reputed to be the "most-photographed spot in Colorado" and one of Colorado's premier scenic overlooks.

You have to arrive before 9 a.m. for access to the location otherwise you'll have to take a bus.  We were there by 7:35 a.m. allowing for access without a lot of other people.

There is an easy hiking trail dotted with all sorts of wild flowers while taking you along the lake and along the river flowing into the lake.

 

 

We also met up with brother Jim and his family in Aspen.  They had all been vacationing in the area but were headed back Arizona way the following day.

 

 

 

 Avon, near Vail, was our next destination - the reason we were in Colorado at all - a Freeport meeting.  It was a pleasure catching up with people we've lived near before (Chile expat neighbors).  Below is Tracey (left) and Tammy - two of my expat neighbors in Calama.

 

 

 

 Stepfather Marvin and his wife Jennie drove over from Denver and spent a day with me - we visited so much I forgot to get a picture - bummer. 

 

One of the dinners was held at Beano's Cabin high in the mountains - can I carry on enough about the weather, fresh air and scenery?

 

 

 

It was time to start heading back to Arizona but not before visiting Telluride.

 

 

 

 Yes, the Colorado weather was wonderful seeings as Phoenix was experiencing triple digit temperatures during this time and the scenery was spectacular but I couldn't help appreciating Arizona scenery as well upon our return to Arizona.  This picture is near Kayenta.

 

 

 

 And I must include another Arizona sunset picture ... truly beautiful.  Life is good!

 

 

 

I've changed medications again.  We discovered in June that the Sutent I had been taking since early May wasn't working so I've moved onto a medication called Temodar.  It turns out that Temodar is one of the medications that the molecular analysis  (of the tumor removed during surgery in June 2011) indicates this cancer will respond to.  I take the medication for five days and am off for four weeks.  I return to see my doctor on the 16th for a follow-up visit with a plan to start my second round of the med on the 28th.  This schedule allows me to fly on the 17th to Nebraska to attend nephew Joel and future wife Lauren's wedding on the 20th.  Larry isn't able to join me for this trip - work commitments. 

Spring in Carefree

Greetings! 

We've enjoyed the Phoenix concert scene since our return from France.  We were able to see Eric Clapton, Dave Mason and Heart.  Gad, life in the city is fun!


My former boss at Arizona Western College, from back in our Yuma days, stopped by for a visit in April.  I worked with Karen for 11 years.  Always a pleasure to see friends from the former places we've lived.

 
























Friends from our days in Bolivia (Bill, Leesyl and Laurese) stopped by for a visit too. 

Nephew Jimmy turned 15.  We've been measuring Jimmy's growth through the years in comparison to me - he caught up with me!

Spring arrived in Arizona as well.  I really enjoy all the blooming, that takes place in stages, in the Phoenix metro area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then there is our resident Cardinal.

Larry has started a landscaping project in our front yard.  We've lived in this house now since August of 2011 - time flies.  Wish the collages would have turned out bigger.

 

Can't do a post without a sunrise or a sunset picture!  This one is a sunrise.

Larry got a Critter Cam for his birthday last November.  We hadn't checked it since January.  Turns out our yard outside the fence is quite busy!  Javelina...

Okay, the rabbit one might be a tad lame....

Love the Roadrunner - beep beep!

And last was our very favorite picture - Bobcats!

Larry had a business trip to Chile in May.  I continued to enjoy my volunteer job at Mayo as well as meeting with a group of Cave Creek/Carefree citizens at the local library for 1 1/2 hours of Spanish once a week but have been forced to give both of those activities up - for now.

Regarding the health front, darn it anyway but the scan I had on the 30th of April showed that the drug that had been controlling the cancer (neuroendocrine carcinoid cancer) is no longer doing its job.  So, my doctor started me on a new drug called Sutent.  Yikes, this stuff kicks my bum!  Makes me so appreciate how few side effects I experienced with the Afinitor.  The dosage has been lowered once without a big improvement on the side effect front - do believe I've have to ask for another reduction -- yikes!

Next planned trip - Grand Canyon for a long weekend in early June.