North Rim of the Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon National Park Trip

Our bi-annual trip houseboat trip to Lake Powell came to an end.  Wayne and Sophi headed back to Oregon, the Hamptons and the Masons headed back to Nebraska, Liz, Jimmy and Mike returned to Phoenix and Larry and I headed for the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  We had a cabin there for three nights and then a cabin at Bryce Canyon National Park for two nights - I'm very lucky!

Loved being greeted by the buffalo upon arrival at the North Rim.

 We had a great cabin right on the rim.

 

 

A beautiful sunrise.

 

We then headed for a two night stay at Bryce Canyon National Park.

 

 

 

We attempted one of the hikes into the canyon...very pretty.

 

This was our cabin at Bryce.

The sun setting on the canyon.

 

The next morning, Larry woke early and headed out on an 8 mile hike into the canyon.

 

 

 

The following day we drove Hwy 12 via Escalante to Boulder, UT.

 

 

 

And then it was time to head back to Carefree.  The below picture is of the Vermillion Cliffs...I love this view.

 

On the health front, I'm doing well.  I feel great which tells me the drug continues to work.  I have a scan this week which I'm sure will demonstrate that the drug continues to work!

 

Larry's job is going well, I'm glad he likes his work. 

 

Next trip will be to drive to Yellowstone and then head east to Chadron, NE, to participate in my 40th high school class reunion.



Cher and Lake Powell

The end of May, Larry headed to Peru on business and I flew to Omaha where niece Karyl collected me and we headed for Lincoln to meet up with sister-in-law Linda and the three other nieces Elizabeth, Crystal and Tabitha.  Linda made this all happen in late 2013 by requesting that we all attend the Cher concert with her and she then proceeded to purchase the tickets.  Now, a Cher concert isn't a concert I EVER envisioned myself attending but I did know I'd have a good time with Linda and the nieces -- and we did!

(l-r: Karyl, Tabitha, Linda, Elizabeth and Crystal)  What wonderful women!  I'm a lucky sister-in-law and aunt!

We both returned to Carefree and look what we found sleeping on our back porch!  We watched him/her for a bit and then tapped on the window.  He/she stood up, stretched and then headed on his/her way.

The weekend after, we met up in Page, AZ, with nieces Crystal and Karyl and their families as well as brother-in-law Wayne and his daughter Sophi from Portland and sister-in-law Liz and nephew Jimmy from Phoenix and friend Mike for our bi-annual houseboat trip on Lake Powell.  We were blessed with great weather and a very experienced houseboat crew.  Several in the group have now been doing the houseboat trip with us for eight years!

 

 

Me and the nieces.

An early moon rising.



There was fishing...

There was paddle boarding...

 

There was kayaking...

 

There was tubing...

There was jet skiing...

What can I say...

There was good food...

There were horse shoes...

There were board games...

There was some resting...

There was searching for cell service...

There was jumping off the top of the houseboat...

There was the digging of anchor holes...

There was the hanging out in the water after anchoring...

There was Navajo Mountain...

There was the sunrise trip to Rainbow Bridge...

 

There was a hike to Hole in the Rock...

 

 

There was champagne consumption and board games on the top deck...

There was the removal of Brady's stitches...

There was a mama duck and her babies...

There was the Michelob Ultra first-aid delivery for Crystal and Karyl from Mike...

 

Larry and me with Wayne and Liz...

Here was our last nights spot...

And then, the days passed and it was time to end our trip...until June of 2016!

Carefree Spring

Spring has been particularly nice - we are well into May and it still hasn't been necessary to use air conditioning yet -- yea!  Fresh air which comes with lots of dust.  Nonetheless, we're enjoying the cool morning and nice evenings.

Larry's job took us to Rapid City and a very quick trip to Harrison for a long weekend in April.  As well as the work activities that brought us there, we were able see friends and family as well.  We then headed for Harrison to see Dorothy for an overnighter and then it was time to return to warm Arizona.

We celebrated our 32nd wedding anniversary on April 17th by golfing in Prescott with a friend we met during our days in Cajamarca! 

Following Easter, we participated in a block party!  We've been living here now for 2 1/2 years making it especially nice to meet several of our neighbors while connecting just a little bit more with the ones we already know.  Everybody enjoyed the gathering -- maybe this will turn into an annual event!

Friends from Nebraska ventured to Arizona in early May to celebrate one of the friends 60th birthday.  (l-r: Barb, Cheryl, Jane and Buster)

We bought a new car.  I'll have to get a picture of it!  So, the purchase of a new car prompted the desire for a road trip.  It was easy to decide where to go:  The Grand Canyon.  I called reservations on Monday and we luckily were able to get a Bright Angel cabin for that Thursday and Friday.  The San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff were photogenic that day.

That was our cabin on the left in this picture. 

There are miles of easy, paved trails along the rim of the Grand Canyon.  We enjoyed walking and looking but then it was time to stop for a beverage on the patio of the El Tovar bar.

The following day, Larry headed out by 5:30 a.m. to hike down the Bright Angel Trail to Plateau Point.  I walked some more of the rim trails and spotted this Condor enjoying the sunshine that cool morning.  Quite the walk eh?!  Larry did it in 5 1/2 hours.

 

We had a great get-away road trip in the new car.  Oh my gosh, I almost forgot!  We bought a paddle board!  So, friends Mike and Sue joined one fine morning for a trip to nearby Bartlett Lake for some kayaking and some practice in using the paddle board.  How entertaining we must have been for people on the shore.  I found a YouTube video of how to use a paddle board which we all viewed - it was a help but golly, the girl in the video was a young 20-something and probably short.  You put people 58 and older on a paddle board who are all tall and it was a recipe for entertainment watching us figure out how to stand up on that damn board.  We all were able to get up on the board and actually move but feel we must take it out at least one more time before the houseboat trip so we don't provide too much entertainment for the nieces and nephews.

All is good on the health front - Life is Good!  The end of the month, Larry heads south to Peru and I'll be heading to eastern Nebraska to meet up with sister-in-law Linda and her four daughters for a Cher concert in Lincoln!  The weekend after that is our bi-annual Lake Powell houseboat trip.  Did I say...Life is good!