Grand Canyon Dec. 1017

We were able to book at room at the El Tovar Lodge at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon for two days (December 12 & 13),  What a treat - very few tourists compared to when we usually visit in May.

Friends Mike and Sue and their group had hiked down to Phantom Ranch on the 10th (Sue's birthday) and we had arrived in time as their group came out. (l-r: Sue, Jackie and Sue's niece, Lauren.)

And then it was off to Bright Angel bar for French fries and a cocktail to celebrate!

(l-r: Ben, Jackie's son, Sue, Steve, Kathy, Jackie, Lauren, Ben's friend and Mike.  Larry is the photographer.)

The crew left and Larry and I enjoyed our second day.  Larry hiked down Bright Angel to Indian Garden and then onto Plateau Point,  Then it was time to return back to life in Carefree.

This is the view from the top of Bright Angel Trail on the South Rim.

This is the view of Indian Gardens while walking down Bright Angel Trail.

This was Larry's view from Plateau Point.

And I'll end with this picture of us in front of the tree in the lobby of the El Tovar.

Nephew Jimmy arrives home for the Holidays tomorrow.  We're all looking forward to seeing him, having him home for Christmas and catching up on how this past semester at West Point went.  We'll spend Christmas Eve at Jim and Liz's home and Christmas Day at our home.


Retirement and health update:  Larry continues to enjoy retirement and some monthly consulting work with Freeport.  Jayne hasn't been on chemo medication since Sept. taking a break to allow bone marrow to regenerate.  However, a scan and resulting liver biopsy indicates cancer of morphing.  It is possible I'll be eligible for a trial drug which we won't know until 2018.  If I don't qualify for the trial, my oncologist is considering trying the Keytruda immunotherapy infusion again.  So, we're on hold until we know more.

Verde Valley Train Trip Nov. 2017

Friend Jackie put into motion a train trip two hours up the Verde Valley in early November and then the return - leaves were changing color - great trip and met a new couple who fit in well with our group.  A good time was had by all.  Celebrated Larry's birthday too!

Thanksgiving was spent with Mike and Sue's family - good food and company,

No new news on the health front.  I've been off all chemo meds since August - took a drug break from Temodar which treats the neuroendocrine carcinoid cancer to allow bone marrow to regenerate.  We'll do another scan in late November.  However, we know something is going on because tumor marker keeps going up and scan should shed some light on that issue.

Nebraska Sept. 2017

Following our initial trip to Nebraska in August for Larry and siblings to start work on the process of moving their mother out and preparing their family home for sale after 54 years!, we all again gathered in Harrison in late September for them to finish the project.  She is moving to Ashland, NE, to an apartment which puts her just a few blocks from daughter, Linda and her husband Jeff.  Jeff is the new Methodist minister in Ashland.  So, after all those years, Dorothy has a new home, in a new community and a new church.  A lot of changes.  She is dealing with these changes well.

Our trip started with a stop in Denver to visit sister, Jackie and step-father Marvin and his wife Jennie.

We then headed to Harrison and woke to snow the following morning!

Dorothy has been playing for the school music programs and church for many, many years and the church and the school had special going away gatherings for her.  L-R: Linda, Wayne, Dorothy, and Larry.

Linda and Dorothy played for Dorothy's last day at the Harrison Methodist church.

And then moving day arrived.  Two of Dorothy's granddaughters husbands took time from work and came to Harrison to help Larry and Wayne with the loading of the U-Haul - thanks Monte and Doug!

Below pic we got just before leaving Harrison.

We drove to Kearney that day arriving in time for great-nephew, Kane's high school football game.

The following morning, we left bright and early for the destination of Ashland.  Larry had help on that end from niece, Tabitha and her significant other, Corey who came from Grand Island, Jeff and niece, Karyl and husband Travis from near Omaha.  Following emptying of the U-Haul, Larry and I started the process of returning to Arizona!

Nebraska Road Trip August 2017

August took us on a 5 week road trip.  We began by driving to Durango, CO, to visit friends, Tammy and Cory where they were staying to avoid a few days of the Arizona heat.  We then headed to Angostura Lake in South Dakota for a 3 night stay with friends Virginia and Dennis who treated us to daily excursions on the lake on their pontoon.  We then headed to Harrison to meet up with Larry's sister, Linda and brother, Wayne and then the work began for those three.  Their mother is selling her home of 50 plus years and moving to an apartment in eastern Nebraska to be nearer to family. We knew there was a bit of stuff accumulation as a result of those 50 plus years which resulted in a 4 day yard sale.  This August day started off cool.

The guys and Sophi took a day off  to hike Black Elk Peak (formerly known as Harney Peak) where they were treated to seeing Mountain Goats.

The group took an afternoon off to see Chicago at the Post Playhouse at Ft. Robinson during cleaning/packing activities.

After 2 weeks of the three siblings cleaning out closets, the basement and garage, it was time for Wayne and Linda to head back to their respective homes.  Larry, mother-in-law, Dorothy and I headed east towards Minnesota to visit Dorothy's sister, Dee.  We made stops in Rapid City to see Larry's Aunt Co and Uncle Richard and his wife, Marjorie (I did get a picture but it was terrible quality).  We then continued east to Presho and stopped in for a visit with my cousin, Angela who I haven't seen for 20 years.

We stopped to visit the Dignity statue near Chamberlain - very impressive.

We visited the Corn Palace in Mitchell.  Dorothy and I had been there in 2014 when she and I drove to Minnesota to visit her sister.  Larry had never been this far east in South Dakota so was enjoying his tourist experience.  The outside of this building is decorated in 12 different types or color of corn each year.  Truly a unique story as to how it came about and continues to exist today.  Stop by in your travels to South Dakota or Google it to learn more.

Dorothy and I visited the Dimock, SD, cemetery when we drove through in 2014 but we never visited the inside of the Catholic church associated with the cemetery, where my great-great grandparents and great grandparents are buried.  The inside of the church was very European with German influences from those early days.

Google Dimock Cheese when you are there and visit and make a purchase.

We ultimately arrived in eastern Minnesota and enjoyed our visit with Aunt Dee.

We then traveled west and south to the Omaha area to visit niece, Karyl and her family and Dorothy's brother, Ron and wife Lola and cousin Pam and her daughter, Paige - (again, found I just wasn't good about pictures) as well as Ashland to see Linda and Jeff's new home (they've relocated with the Methodist church to Ashland from their time with the church in Wichita). I failed to use my iPhone camera, again.  Larry and I did take a day while in the area to visit my aunt and uncle in Columbus, NE.  Aunt Jackie is the twin sister of my father.  It was a gift to be able to visit them.  Aunt Jackie is in the memory care unit while Uncle Clyde is in the assisted living area.

We then traveled to Kearney to overnight with niece, Crystal and her family.  We began with lunch at niece, Elizabeth and her family's home (where was my iPhone camera?)

And then it was time to return to Harrison - Larry had more work to do while we waited to view the eclipse on the 21st.  In the meantime, we met up with several of my high school friends at Chadron State Park.  What a fun afternoon and thanks to Steve and Virginia for making this gathering happen!
(Back Row l-r: Kenny, Steve, Bill, Benny, Jim and Luanne Front Row l-r: Cherri, Tracy, me, Virginia and Janet)

We also returned to Rapid City to visit friends from Larry's college days.  It is always a pleasure getting to spend time with this group of friends.

The wives: l-r Diane, Ann, me and Miss

The guys l-r: Dan, Brett, Brad and Larry

And then it was the 21st and time for the much talked about, hyped eclipse.  Dan, Brett and Miss, Brad, Virginia and Dennis, Larry's cousin, Sandie (all from or near Rapid City) traveled to Harrison to view the eclipse at 100% with us (Larry, Dorothy and me).  We went to a hay field (recently hayed) with our chairs, food and conversation waiting for the event with no other people and very, very limited traffic on the dirt road by this hay field outside of Harrison. What a unique event!

Larry, cousin Sandie, Dorothy and Wayne.

Virginia and me - loved all the time we were able to spend with Virginia and Dennis.

I like this picture.  Miss brought solar lights in case it got too dark during the eclipse.

Larry and me after the eclipse.

We've been back in Carefree now for nearly two weeks - even with the heat, feels great to be home!  Our next trip will be another road trip so Larry can help with the actual move of his mom to eastern Nebraska  We're not exactly sure when that will happen.  

Years ago, Larry's dad, with the help of his granddaughters husbands, had planted two large pieces of petrified wood on either side of the walkway leading to the home.  With Dorothy's impending move, Larry wanted them for our Arizona yard landscaping.  Friend, John, who has a lumber/hardware store in Harrison and with the help of his able grandson, Pacen, came with a small front-end loader and removed the petrified wood from where it was planted to a wooden pallet.  They tied down the petrified wood to the pallet and then used their fork lift to put it in the back of Larry's pickup. This week, Larry was able to removed the petrified wood pieces from his pickup using a padded moving blanket and his wheelbarrow!?

On the health front, I am doing better than I was a year ago - yay!  On the retirement front, Larry is doing limited consulting work for Freeport and enjoying that.

Oregon and Crater Lake Trip June

Larry's retirement is allowing for a lot of travel. We left late June to fly to Portland with a destination of Crater Lake which we visited way back in the 80s when we drove there when we lived in Battle Mountain. The return trip was great!  But first, we had a stop in Bend, OR, to visit niece Sophi.  She was visiting family there and would still be in Bend when we went to Portland.

Great fireplace in the Lodge.

Still lots of snow.  The Rim Road was closed due to snow removal.

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We then drove to and up the coast to Portland and spent the remainder of the trip with Wayne.  We were able to meet up with Major and Nancy King and son, Logan for a lunch cruise on a boat on the Willamette River.

(l-r) Larry, Major, Wayne, me, Nancy and Major and Nancy's son, Logan

Next trip: a five week road trip to northwest Nebraska (Harrison), Minnesota, eastern Nebraska with family visits in Omaha, Ashland, Kearney and then back to Harrison.

Banff National Park

Banff National Park is Canada's oldest national park, established in 1885 in the Rocky Mountains.  Over the past few million years, glaciers have at times covered most of the park but today are found only on the mountain slopes though they include the Columbia Icefield, the largest uninterrupted glacial mass in the Rockies.

Our first three nights were spent at the Chateau Lake Louise.  The hotel was originally built in the late 1800s by the Canadian Pacific Railway.  We arrived in the dark but woke to this view the next morning and hustled out to the lake for a picture and to enjoy this location before all the tourists and tour busses arrived.

We were able to take walks and drives in this scenic area and saw so many critters along the
road:  big horn sheep, mountain goat, black bears, grizzlies, a moose, elk, deer and a bald eagle along with, did I already mention the beautiful majestic views?!

The color of the water in these glacial lakes is breathtaking.

This was the pathway on the right side of the lake where we found many wooden benches where I could rest and just enjoy the view while walking to the end of the lake.

The picture below is of the Victoria Glacier.

There were all sorts of nice people walking the trail allowing for us to take pictures of them and asking them to do the same for us.

This was us at the end of our 1.2 mile walk to the end of Lake Louise and then the return walk to the hotel - great to be able to do.

This picture was taken at Moraine Lake and Valley of the Ten Peaks.

I was in the car for this picture with the window rolled down.  You'll see the grizzly in the middle of the picture.  It was munching away on new leaf growth.  There is another grizzly back and left of the one in the middle.  I was just getting ready to roll my window up and the bear turned around.

This is a picture of the Columbia Icefield.  They take snow cat tours out on the glacier which you can see in the middle and a little left in the picture.

Maligne Lake

We saw quite a bit of snow one morning.  

The below picture is of Bow Lake - lots of ice still on the lake.

Our final night, we found really nice cabins along this river and there was a vacancy!  Went for a stroll along the river path, had a great dinner but it was too cool to sit our here and enjoy an end of the day glass of wine - so pretty though!

We returned home to warm temperatures.  We sure enjoyed our Banff weather: sun, rain and snow!  I have some doctor appointment next week and then we'll decide what our next trip is going to be.  I have a feeling it involves northwest Nebraska?