Spring and Summer 2023

Well, the months rolled by after the girls trip to Texas. I decided to start documenting my memoirs and enrolled in a local community College class to stay on track. If my readers are anything like me,  they find themselves motivated when they are accountable to another person...kind of like having a walking partner. It's a small class of 12-15 people. Folks over 55 can take classes for free and most are over 55. That being said, many are retired and take trips here and there. At any rate, there's always someone to receive feedback from and the others have some pretty amazing stories.  I enjoy the humor that's  interjected. I am continuing the class this fall as well. This might help explain the long lapse between blog entries.

My Michigan friend, Elin   and her husband visited Arizona on their cross country tour in March.  I was pleased and honored to join them near Page, AZ. We had booked a tour of Antelope Canyon and were lucky it wasn't canceled.   

If rain is predicted,  the company will cancel due to flash flood risks. There are many slot canyons near Page, AZ and Kanab, UT. I knew I wanted a tour since photography and lighting is key to good memories. Our tour guide took our devices, changed settings and positioned us "just so". He knows the angles! Believe me, it's worth the money to get a tour guide.

Elin and her husband drove West and I drove to the tiny community of Fredonia, UT in a blinding rainstorm. I was thinking again how fortunate we had been to book our tour the day before! I was on my way to see another friend I'd met at Glacier in 2018. Nancy had extended the comfort of her motel room to me after being evacuated due to the Howe Ridge Fire. After five days of sleeping in my car, I jumped at the opportunity to share space with my previous neighbor.  Prior to that we had scarcely said "Hi" and "Bye" to each other. We've seen each other in AZ  and FL since then but it had been a few years and I was so close! 

We sat out the day together at her house enjoying a dinner and playing with Dorothy, her cat as the storm passed. The next day she took me to Best Friends Animal Shelter in Kanab, UT. This is a shelter like no other. There's even a spot for exotic animals! Do take a peak at their website to learn how extensive it is. (www.bestfriends.org)

 The drive home was magical as I climbed to Jacob's Lake, just North of the Grand Canyon. As the beauty changed from powdery white snow framed by brilliant blue sky to flowing red, orange and tan colors of The Vermilion Cliffs, my breath was taken away. What a versatile and beautiful state I live in.

Little by little blocks of 2023 were getting filled in and I realized I needed to see my California military family. I took a quick week the end of March and was oh, so pleased to be on hand as my daughter was presented with a Meritorious Service Award.

Once I arrived home I had just a few days of down time before I met up with my Peace Corps friend, Michelle in Sedona. She and several other gals had an AirBNB for a week and generously opened the door for me also. We hiked (I learned to ALWAYS top off my water pak!), worked on a puzzle, enjoyed wine and appetizers out and group yoga outside. It was a remarkable time and I will always treasure being added to the fold.

Again, home a few days before my NJ friend arrived on her solo cross country trip. Victoria is a firm believer in not overstaying a visit and on the third day she scooted off. I took her up on top of the expansive Mogollon Rim where I enjoy kayaking in the summer. We also took a look at nearby Water Wheel. 

There was SO much more to show her, but glad she saw those gems. I was a bad host. Why? I thought I had allergy sniffles and it turned out I had contracted Covid! I took a home test just after she left and had to deliver the sad news to her as she was driving to her campsite. 

Oh no...Covid! I quickly called my doctor, got on Paxlovid and quarantined the proper amount of time. Let's see...in a week I was scheduled to begin a drive to Yellowstone by way of Las Vegas to visit sisters and family. Lucky me... the numbers worked just barely!

On my way to Yellowstone I popped in for an overnight stay with another Peace Corps friend in Salt Lake  City.  I reported for my Yellowstone Helping Hands gig in Gardiner, Mt. This would be a five week contract especially designed for senior citizens that agreed to work 20 hours a week. Sounds like a piece of cake, right? I was given my uniforms, had my photo taken and told to report to Lake Hotel where I would work Food and Beverage or Housekeeping.

My first glimpse of a thermal area on the way to Lake Hotel.

Here is the front of Lake Hotel which faces Yellowstone Lake.   My home in the oldest National Park hotel for the next five weeks.  

Ice COMPLETLY covered the enormous Yellowstone Lake when I arrived.  It would take three weeks before the ice began to crack and break up. 

Snow piles were everywhere.  Many roads were closed until Memorial Day and no chance of hiking trails being clear!  

 These short term gigs are a bridge for the concessionaire, Xanterra to have staff prepare properties for high season. At the end of the five weeks the college kids arrive and the seniors working the Helping Hands Program are excused. 

Overlooking the Yellowstone River.

As I arrived at the dorm area I discovered my roommate was arriving at the same time. Holly is from Los Angeles and had never worked a national park gig before. She opted for Host in the restaurant which meant getting there for early breakfast or late shifts closing after 9:30PM. I, on the other hand decided to serve/work in the Employee Dining Room where I would have the opportunity to see every employee on the property.  My shifts either started at noon and ended at 4 or started at 3:30 until cleaned up after dinner...between 7:30 and 8:30. 

Top photo: Overlooking the salad bar.  The sandwich bar is behind them.  In the distance is the hot entre set up. Bottom photos show the eating area where coffee, soda, tea and cereal stations sit. 

This is me, Holly, Mary and Patti enjoying Shakedown (practice for kitchen and serving staff) the night before Lake Dining Room opens. 

We often had our dorm room to ourselves, which was nice. I ALWAYS needed an Epsom salt bath after sweeping and mopping to close. What a blessing to have a tub! Some dorms had showers only. The work was tough on this old body, but the body did acclimate. A work vacation is the best way to take in a large national park. Even though all  roads weren't open for weeks and many trails were not cleared to hike, Yellowstone is flush with boardwalks. I was pleased that my stay took me in to June when wild flowers were just beginning to show. ADDITIONALLY, ice on Yellowstone Lake had just broken up and floated off about Memorial  Day. I was lucky to get a Lake tour in on the first day of the season and just one day prior to my leaving.

Here is what I call The Misfits!  My Texas traveling friends, Kathy, Lynnette and Becky who took on Helping Hands jobs in Yellowstone along with me.  We are enjoying a day off together near Gardiner here.

The road was rebuilt on an old stagecoach road on higher ground after the 2022 flood.

This is me, Kathy and Lynnette with the iconic yellow bus.

Human Resources provide activities for employees, including a paint session I tried my hand at. 

  This is my rendition of The Grand Prismatic.

The Misfits at a thermal area.

On my final day I was granted a one hour early dismissal in order to get my room checked and gear, keys returned. I quickly dashed away and arrived at Jackson Lake Lodge in Tge Teton's just as my daughter and her two children arrived! We spent the next five days poking around and recalling days of summers past ( Rachel and I had spent time in the mid eighties in this park). We drove back to Old Faithful one of the days but stayed close to the Tetons or Jackson most of the time. As they flew home, Ralph (my trusty Jeep) and I made our way to Park City, UT where I had another lovely hostel experience.  I have yet to stay in one that did not make me feel like I was with family! I had an enjoyable dinner with my aging uncle and his wife then a nice breakfast with an elementary friend!  The drive south through Utah never disappoints but I saw a bit of highway I'd never seen as I drove from Heber, Utah through the canyon revealing Bridal Veil Falls. I arrived back in Las Vegas prepared to take several days with family, including my eldest grandson from Silver Spring, MD. Jacob has had just a handful of occasions where he interacted with cousins close to his age. His Aunt Mimi is a school nurse, has close relationships as they all live in Vegas. She generously sponsored Jacob and arranged for activities every day for the whole crowd. This crowd also included a cousin flown in from North Carolina. Hopefully, this week will remain in their memories for generations. It was a beautiful reunion and wonderful for we three sisters (me, Mimi and Kay - grandma to Haven from NC) watch the bonding. After seeing Jacob off at the airport I made my way back home. 

Here are some of the gang from Camp Mimi!

Much of the first quarter of 2023 I found myself assisting friends with rides to/from doctors.  Some were in Payson but most in what we in the mountains call "the valley", meaning Mesa, Scottsdale, Gilbert or Phoenix. One of those friends took chemo and radiation while I was in Yellowstone. She asked me to stay with her upon her return home after six weeks in the valley. So, my first two weeks home were at her home. I'm happy to report that this feisty, independent 86 year old is showing the world a thing or two!

If you've never attended a Cowboy Poetry Festival, do yourself a favor. I took my friend, Val at the beginning of August to a long standing ( although not the oldest) event in Prescott, AZ. We thoroughly enjoyed original music, poems (from even a 16 year old) and the stories! Oh my- how some lived to old age WITH A MATE is beyond me!

This is 8AM free session: Coffee with the Cowboys.  Good stories from these folks!

 

From Prescott I drove back to CA to see my daughter and family. She had asked for some child care and I knew my last quarter was getting booked, so off I went. JUST. AS. AN. UNPRECEDENTED. HURRICAN arrived! The hurricane veered East and we saw basically a standard rain storm with 25-30 intermittent winds. However, I would need to be cautious with my return along I8. 

As I write this chapter, I've taken a break from the plans I'm currently making ~ another train trip! Stay tuned...the last quarter is a doozie! Oh! By the way, the rock in the first photo was found in Gardiner and repositioned along the wall of the hotel I stayed in.  I wonder if it is still hiding among the others in the rock wall.

Big Bend National Park

 

Do you know where Big Bend National Park is located? So many of my friends did not know that this park resides in far West Texas, a few hours South of El Paso and along the Rio Grande River. While I was in Glacier National Park last summer, three other seasonal employees made arrangements to see this one and only Texas National Park in 2023.  I raised my hand and said, "Yes, please!"  Lynnette and I would be driving from Arizona, Kathryn would fly into El Paso from Montana and join Lynnette and me.  Becky would drive from Louisiana and meet us at Chisos Mountains Lodge in Big Bend National Park.   We would stay two nights in a lodge cabin. I feel we were lucky to be able to get a booking here.  The lodge/restaurant is scheduled to be torn down and replaced in 2024 due to instability of the terrain.  More about that can be found under Big Bend at nps.gov. We had done our homework, packed for the predicted nice weather, but luckily brought warm clothes for those chilly nights.  Well, Mother Nature fooled us!  As we left El Paso (and Becky leaving Fort Stockton) we found fog, sleet, even a bit of ice and snow on the road into the park!  We had managed to start the trip in the central Texas regions worst "icing event" in more than 15 years! We did little more than settle into our cabin and eat our dinner in The Mountain View Restaurant which looks out to the famous Window View, shown in top picture. 

Below you can detect the historic lodge.   It's the building at the top, just right of the photo center.

                                        

After a night's rest, we rose about 7AM and in spite of a drizzle, headed out to hike Ore Mine trail after a light breakfast in our cabin.  What started out as a drizzle became a harder rain and in fact turned to sleet at the end/top of the trail.   Below is one of a flock of Mexican Jays that begged for our snack. 

Kathryn and I had stopped along the trail to admire Mexican Blue Jays and reevaluate the conditions. 

Our boots had become laden with thick clay known locally as The Javelina Clays.  It is mostly bentonite and is ranges in colors from yellowish brown to pink and even slightly green.  Geologist J. A. Udden wrote, "When rain falls the surface of the bare clay swells up into an exceedingly sticky mud, which renders the land practically impassable to man and beast."  This is what was sticking to the soles of our boots.  We turned back to the car while Becky and Lynnette braved the elements and returning to the car with the sleet report.  Luckily, we all had packed rain gear.  From there we found the Fossil Bone Exhibit. 

Parts of the exhibit are partially covered yet that did not serve us well in subfreezing weather with driving wind!  We followed a short trail to see a nice panoramic view of the vast array of geologic points of interest.  Visit fossildiscovertexhibit.com for more details and photos of this remarkable exhibit. We returned to the lodge restaurant for another outstanding meal followed by an early bedtime.  

The next day would be February 1 and we all had hope for a warmer, sunnier day.  We awoke to a light rain once again but held hope for a break as we were going toward the Rio Grande where it was reported to be clearer. We parked in the parking area of Boquillas Canyon Trail and donned our rain gear once again.  This 1.5-mile trail just had an elevation change of 150 feet which seemed pretty doable.  This is the view of the Rio Grande River on stairs near the parking area. 

Yet again, we gathered the infamous clay on the soles of our shoes and found the mess pretty distracting from the amazing beauty of the canyon.  As we walked, we saw wild horses and small exhibits of sale items from the residents of the Mexican village of Boquillas - on the other side of the river. 

                                                                                                            

We lucked out after this short hike as the rain stopped just in time for us to cross by rowboat to the other side, reaching Mexico in the most unique manner I have experienced! Once on the Mexican side we could walk, ride in a truck or ride a donkey to the little town for a bite of lunch.  Had it not been raining, I MIGHT have opted for a donkey ride, but no....we all decided to take the 1/2 mile walk into town, passing the donkey corral and sales tables and booths set up in front of houses. We had a delicious lunch then did a small amount of shopping before the rowboat rebound to the US. The Rio Grande is very small here and rowboat ride took less than five minutes.  We piled into the car after clearing the border and drove to the Boquillas Hot Springs.  

                                             

This historic area was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.  The Langford Bathhouse goes back to 1909 when Joseph Oscar Langford bought property and build a 2-story building for he and his family. More about this fascinating area can be read at www.visitbigbend.com.

With just a small window of daylight left, we quickly made our way to Terlingua, TX for our 4 nights stay at an Airbnb.  We did manage to arrive in daylight but found quickly that the soil here was more of the same stuff we'd suffered on our boots.  Only now it would attempt to suck in cars!  Lynnette quickly realized what was happening and found a safe place to park.  We arrived to the news that power had been out several hours and no idea when it would be restored.  We got luggage into bedrooms and made our way to the Starlight Theatre in historic Ghost Town. 

                    

This is an old movie palace turned eatery.  The food and atmosphere are very good and well known. Its funky decor offers something for everyone.

The Airbnb sits on a commercial piece of property that houses a few mobile homes, RVs and workshop.  Once we returned to the house, we found power on (YAY), but the key would not open the door!  A worker in the shop was familiar with the situation and stated this had recently happened causing a replacement of the door!  After a bit of work, this man did in fact have to ruin the door to get us in.  We all got settled in and captured a good night's sleep in spite of it all.  The next day Feb 2 we took a stroll at Sam Nail Ranch Homestead and admired Northern Mockingbirds and Robbins.  

                                

This was followed by a short hike to Ward Spring Trail to Homer Wilson Ranch.  I actually opted to sit and watch the other 3 walk to the homestead, attempting to give my body a respite. From there we drove to the Lower Burro Mesa Pouroff Trail.  This was a flat and short hike down a gravel wash lined with Mexican persimmon, Mexican Buckeye and Desert Hackberry trees. Bounded by volcanic hills, the trail ends at the pouroff - a 100-foot-tall vertical channel carved into rock that funnels water from the mesa above. 

Feb 3 The day started with a hike to Chimneys Trail 

                                

                

followed by the beautiful Santa Elena Canyon. This is where we will need to use the bug nets we packed as the "no-see-ums" were out in force!

My three partners scrambled the cliffs to stay dry and take in views further downstream.  I was happy enough to capture a few good shots at the mouth and visit with other tourists. We had been briefed by the ranger at Castolon Ranger Station to watch for Texas Bluebonnets.  Sure enough, the first of the season were just starting to show! (Don't ask me which of the six types we saw!)

Feb 4 - Our fifth and final day at BBNP and we found ourselves on the Mule Ear Trail...we all agreed it was the most versatile trail of the week. 

                                    

 We took time to return to the Chisos Mountain Lodge to see the grounds in sunlight and fair weather!

                                    

  We left the park and made our way to Terlingua where we scouted the interesting and eclectic cemetery as well as a general store and an art gallery.

                                        

Somebody had lots of party friends!

It was finally time to head home and say farewell until next time!  We all look back on a funfilled week full of great memories.  Even though we were too early for the wild flower showing, we did see some.  We saw more birds than expected and marveled at the roadrunners, jays and even a Vermillion Fly Catcher.  Thanks for the lessons, Big Bend! 

Just out of Marfa, TX we spotted this memorial to the movie, "Giant".

Thanks for taking the time to read about this adventure.  Until we meet again!

End of year 2022

Here it is, Christmas has arrived! This is the update of my last quarter of 2022.  

Fall followed me all the way home from Montana to Arizona and I enjoyed a hike close to home.

Weather was also nice enough in November for me to camp two nights at Apache Lake.

It had been a long time since I had kayaked and it felt great to be on the water again!

After driving to California mid November, I flew with my daughter, Rachel to the East Coast where we met with other family members.  We were there to see my talented nephew, Max Baker in a one man show at Cape May, NJ.  It was a fun four days and I was pleased to be present to support Max in a play his father, Doug Baker wrote years ago. One Christmas Carol has over 30 characters that he portrayed so well! This is is Doug and my daughter, Rachel below. 

During our stay in NJ we found an alpaca farm! 

After our Cape May stay, I rode back to Maryland to have Thanksgiving with my grandson, Jake my son, Sean and his girlfriend and her daughter in Baltimore.  After the meal, we walked to the Inner Harbor which was very quiet except a skating rink where we observed only!

While in the DC area, I took a day to play visitor.  On this visit I went to the Library of Congress, Jefferson Building as seen below. 

After helping with Christmas decorating at my son's place in Maryland, I flew back to California.

You can see the Coronado Bridge below. 

Here is my granddaughter adding one of the decorations Uncle Sean sent for her family's tree. 

We spent one evening at Balboa Park to get into the holiday spirit. The tram wasn't so fun for Gabby but Grayson loved it. 

When I returned from California, I took part in a wonderful session at Shanti Omstead in Gisela, just south of Payson.  Winter Wellspring Gathering was good for the soul, complete with organic meals.  There were sessions to choose from, Sound Therapy and Drumming.  

Here I am creating my Talisman!

Finished product ~

After having a busy year full of travel, I am pleased to be enjoying the spirit of the season at home.  It's amazing to see the variety of activities this little town offers!  

Just this week my two Vegas sisters visited me.  

We enjoyed time at home putting together a small jigsaw puzzle, some games and a Meet and Greet with some of my friends.  I am grateful for where I am in life ~ blessed with good family relationships and support of friends.  I wish all of my family and friends a loving holiday and prosperity (in so many ways)! See you in the New Year!