MOUNTAIN HOME, IDAHO
It was an easy drive from Park City, Utah to Mountain Home, Idaho. Alan reminded us that the freeway through Salt Lake City would be hot, crowded and uneventful; that beginning our route by heading East on I-80 towards Ogden would provide a more scenic drive. He was absolutely right. The mountains were very scenic with amazing vistas.
We especially enjoyed the formation called The Devil's Slide, a twin projection of what appeared to be granite rock protruding perhaps 20 feet into the air, resembling a double spine cascading down the mountainside.
We were excited to stop and see our Niece and her family in Mountain Home. They had just finished a birthday party when we arrived. This was the first time that Little Alice and Rosie had seen each other. They both hit it off and were inseparable the remainder of our visit.
It was great to be with this part of our family! Carrie and David welcomed us and made us feel at home. We spent the evening visiting and catching up on things. George and Nolan, their two boys were out of town attending The Hawks baseball game when we arrived. We slept in Nolan's Queen-sized bed and he bunked in with George on a spare bunk. The next morning we were sitting on the back deck in the cool of the morning sipping our second cup of coffee when Nolan came out. I thanked him for letting us sleep in his comfy bed. I said it was so nice that we've decided to stay a while. In a heartbeat he hung his head and said, "Awwww".
Today was Sunday. We spruced up, packed our Sienna and went to church with them. As the local preacher was out of state with family concerns, David had offered to preach this day. We enjoyed his talk and felt good that we could be here on this particular date to hear him.
Following services we invited the family out to lunch at Cracker Barrel in Boise. We had a great meal at one of our favorite stops. We had fun buying the kids a little toy in the gift shop and snapping some family photos.
It was a sad time for Alice and Melody trying to say goodbye. They had attached themselves so much in such a short time.
We left Boise in the early afternoon. The closer we got to Portland, the more we wanted to forget about an overnight Campout somewhere and head home. Well, that's exactly what we did after stopping for ice cream at the DQ.
It was great to drive into Portland and know we were finally home. We had a great trip that covered more than 6,200 miles. But it was great seeing our Portland families again and feeling like we were really "home".
Monday, July 7, 2014
Park City, UT July 4
It was about 4:30 when we arrived in Park City, checked in with security at the gated community entrance and parked in JoAnne's driveway. It was great seeing her again. JoAnne and I were in high school in Kansas together. We both had recently attended our 50th Reunion party at the old school, but it was good to see her in her own environment.
JoAnne and Alan had been invited to a neighborhood 4th of July party and had invited us as well. The hosts were very nice Texans up for the summer. The community association had spent all day setting up a fireworks display. As guests arrived, catered food of Ribs, Chicken and Brisket was set up along with salads and other goodies.
The fireworks were awesome! We had the best viewpoint one could have had! The kids had a fire below the edge of our deck, on the ground, where they made S'mores. Rosie enjoyed playing with a little girl her age. She loved the fire and the water fountain. But when the fireworks started, all eyes were on the sky.
We spent the night in the guest bedroom, that rivals one in a five star hotel. It was spacious and comfortable. The balcony offered amazing views of the unique, UINTA MOUNTAINS and sprawling valley floor that resembles a huge cauldron, home to this beautiful development. The early morning sunrise was a spectacular display of blood red sky pushing through spotted gray clouds with ever increasing intensity. It was as if God was displaying His own 5th of July fireworks!
Rosie enjoyed getting to know JoAnne's two long haired cats, Pepi and Bucky, as well as irritating them by paying with their toys. She thought the cats were very special to have such cool toys!
Following a relaxing morning over coffee and breakfast, we ventured into their secluded back yard with amazing views of the Wasatch Mountains. Wild flowers are still in bloom on the hillside and signs of Mule Deer and Elk still visible on the animal trail.
We leisurely loaded our bug splattered Sienna, (it's amazing how many suicidal bugs hang around on the Midwestern freeways), and set our GPS for Mountain Home, ID.
It was about 4:30 when we arrived in Park City, checked in with security at the gated community entrance and parked in JoAnne's driveway. It was great seeing her again. JoAnne and I were in high school in Kansas together. We both had recently attended our 50th Reunion party at the old school, but it was good to see her in her own environment.
JoAnne and Alan had been invited to a neighborhood 4th of July party and had invited us as well. The hosts were very nice Texans up for the summer. The community association had spent all day setting up a fireworks display. As guests arrived, catered food of Ribs, Chicken and Brisket was set up along with salads and other goodies.
The fireworks were awesome! We had the best viewpoint one could have had! The kids had a fire below the edge of our deck, on the ground, where they made S'mores. Rosie enjoyed playing with a little girl her age. She loved the fire and the water fountain. But when the fireworks started, all eyes were on the sky.
We spent the night in the guest bedroom, that rivals one in a five star hotel. It was spacious and comfortable. The balcony offered amazing views of the unique, UINTA MOUNTAINS and sprawling valley floor that resembles a huge cauldron, home to this beautiful development. The early morning sunrise was a spectacular display of blood red sky pushing through spotted gray clouds with ever increasing intensity. It was as if God was displaying His own 5th of July fireworks!
Rosie enjoyed getting to know JoAnne's two long haired cats, Pepi and Bucky, as well as irritating them by paying with their toys. She thought the cats were very special to have such cool toys!
Following a relaxing morning over coffee and breakfast, we ventured into their secluded back yard with amazing views of the Wasatch Mountains. Wild flowers are still in bloom on the hillside and signs of Mule Deer and Elk still visible on the animal trail.
We leisurely loaded our bug splattered Sienna, (it's amazing how many suicidal bugs hang around on the Midwestern freeways), and set our GPS for Mountain Home, ID.
Denver, CO to Glenwood Springs
Having made plans to spend July 2nd with my Nephew, Tim and Rebecca, but being delayed for 8 hours going back to pick up our Great Granddaughter, Rosie, it would prove to be too late to barge in on them for the night. We opted to stay in a Motel in Aurora.
The next morning we arose early, packed the car, had breakfast and drove the half hour to Tim and Rebecca's. We had a great visit, but short.
We left Tim's and headed for Casa Bonita, a souped up Mexican Restaurant with okay food but better than okay entertainment. This was where we had lunch the day we adopted our son, Eric, from the adoption agency.
The place was still the same as we remembered from 1975, even the food was the same, leftovers I suppose. Just kidding! Casa Bonita never serves left overs. We sat in a portion of the dining room where the Cliff Diver does his dive into the pool of water. The pool is surrounded by dining tables in a half circle fashion. It used to be Casa's policy to comp your lunch if the diver got you wet. There were two other shows on the cliff-side stage. One was a gunfight with the Sheriff and Black Bart, the bad guy.
Leaving Casa Bonita, we headed out of town, along with two-thirds of Denver on their way to the mountains. We chose poorly. It took us 2 hours to travel the first 10 miles!
Our choice of highway took us North and West into snow covered mountains, down through the Glenwood Canyon and to the City of Glenwood Springs. We stayed the night in the Best Western Motel and enjoyed their swimming pool, hot tub and playground. We sat on the porch during morning coffee watching the cable cars go up the mountain.
We left Glenwood Springs the morning of July 4 heading for Park City, Utah to spend the night with our friends, Alan and JoAnne.
Having made plans to spend July 2nd with my Nephew, Tim and Rebecca, but being delayed for 8 hours going back to pick up our Great Granddaughter, Rosie, it would prove to be too late to barge in on them for the night. We opted to stay in a Motel in Aurora.
The next morning we arose early, packed the car, had breakfast and drove the half hour to Tim and Rebecca's. We had a great visit, but short.
We left Tim's and headed for Casa Bonita, a souped up Mexican Restaurant with okay food but better than okay entertainment. This was where we had lunch the day we adopted our son, Eric, from the adoption agency.
The place was still the same as we remembered from 1975, even the food was the same, leftovers I suppose. Just kidding! Casa Bonita never serves left overs. We sat in a portion of the dining room where the Cliff Diver does his dive into the pool of water. The pool is surrounded by dining tables in a half circle fashion. It used to be Casa's policy to comp your lunch if the diver got you wet. There were two other shows on the cliff-side stage. One was a gunfight with the Sheriff and Black Bart, the bad guy.
Leaving Casa Bonita, we headed out of town, along with two-thirds of Denver on their way to the mountains. We chose poorly. It took us 2 hours to travel the first 10 miles!
Our choice of highway took us North and West into snow covered mountains, down through the Glenwood Canyon and to the City of Glenwood Springs. We stayed the night in the Best Western Motel and enjoyed their swimming pool, hot tub and playground. We sat on the porch during morning coffee watching the cable cars go up the mountain.
We left Glenwood Springs the morning of July 4 heading for Park City, Utah to spend the night with our friends, Alan and JoAnne.
Thursday, July 3, 2014
SNAFU KANSAS
Things were going along pretty normal. We made plans to stay overnight tonight in Littleton, CO with my Nephew, Tim. We spent last night in a nice motel in Russell, KS; very comfortable, clean and quiet. This morning, their free breakfast bar had all you could want including made-to-order omlets. It was very good! So, if you find yourself traveling across the Kansas prairie on I-70 and you need a cool place to lay your head, try the Fossil Creek Hotel and Suites in Russell, KS.
But I digress; back to SNAFU KANSAS. Little Rosie (remember Rosie?), was in need of a rescue; a hero who would ride in on a white steed and take her back to Portland. That would be her Great Papa and Grammy who were more than 5 hours West. After a few conversations with Little Rosie's keepers, we turned around, headed East, meeting her grandma halfway to pick up Rosie and her things, turn around and continue our trip.
We stopped in a couple of hours and had a picnic. Rosie is sad that she had to leave Oklahoma and couldn't stay with her Mom and Grandma until August 23rd. A very sad little girl we have. She fell asleep after our picnic and slept for most of 200 miles. A tired little girl.
Snafu 1.....calling my nephew to cancel our arrival in Littleton.
Snafu 2.....turn ing around and doing the hokey pokey for 8 hours.
Snafu 3.....canceling our Banff, Canada trip.
Snafu 4.....explaining adult drama to a 6-year old and helping her understand that nothing is her fault without actually calling her mom and grandma names.
Into each life a little Snafu must fall.
Things were going along pretty normal. We made plans to stay overnight tonight in Littleton, CO with my Nephew, Tim. We spent last night in a nice motel in Russell, KS; very comfortable, clean and quiet. This morning, their free breakfast bar had all you could want including made-to-order omlets. It was very good! So, if you find yourself traveling across the Kansas prairie on I-70 and you need a cool place to lay your head, try the Fossil Creek Hotel and Suites in Russell, KS.
But I digress; back to SNAFU KANSAS. Little Rosie (remember Rosie?), was in need of a rescue; a hero who would ride in on a white steed and take her back to Portland. That would be her Great Papa and Grammy who were more than 5 hours West. After a few conversations with Little Rosie's keepers, we turned around, headed East, meeting her grandma halfway to pick up Rosie and her things, turn around and continue our trip.
We stopped in a couple of hours and had a picnic. Rosie is sad that she had to leave Oklahoma and couldn't stay with her Mom and Grandma until August 23rd. A very sad little girl we have. She fell asleep after our picnic and slept for most of 200 miles. A tired little girl.
Snafu 1.....calling my nephew to cancel our arrival in Littleton.
Snafu 2.....turn ing around and doing the hokey pokey for 8 hours.
Snafu 3.....canceling our Banff, Canada trip.
Snafu 4.....explaining adult drama to a 6-year old and helping her understand that nothing is her fault without actually calling her mom and grandma names.
Into each life a little Snafu must fall.
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
SPRINGDALE, ARKANSAS
We had a great visit with our old and dear friends in Springdale, and...did I mention "old"? Ron and Nancy have been our overseas traveling buddies for a loooong time. They were certainly on our list of "must visit".
They took us on a sightseeing excursion around their neck of the woods, NW Arkansas. We tried counting the number of golf courses in Bella Vista while Nancy pointing out the houses that were "For Sale" and telling us how great it is to live in NW Arkansas.
We passed through the little town of Centerton. The town Park was filled with people celebrating the town's first Centennial. There were many activity booths set up displaying certain businesses and town history, crafts and wares for sale, vegetables to market, as well as Search and Rescue, Fire Department and Life Flight Medical Service displaying their equipment. I especially enjoyed seeing the Bomb Disposal Robot moving around. As we left, a man was reading a long winded letter from the Governor of Arkansas, who apologized for not being here in person.
We bought a few things and drove to Bentonville, where we found a huge Farmer's Market in the center of town. Across the street was an old time Five and Dime named Walton's 5-10. Turns out this was Sam Walton's first store in NW Arkansas before starting Walmart. Inside, the shelves were stocked with much of the same kinds and brands of stuff common during that era. It was great seeing the Red Flyer wagon and shelf candy of the 50's. My favorite, the Sugar Daddy, brought back old memories. I couldn't resist buying a 4-pack of my all time favorite pop, the awesome, Grapette!
We took a drive over to Crystal Bridges Museum of Modern Art, a state of the art destination with class exhibits. More than 100 artists have exhibits here. The metal tree art in the front courtyard is an awesome piece of work. We drove all around looking for a parking space, as were many other people. The parking lots were full today and we didn't (as a group) feel like walking a long distance. We opted to skip today and make this another visit at another time.
We had a great dinner at Abuelo's Mexican Restaurant. Our Niece, Tracey, works there, earning money to help pay her way through school. The food was great! The service was great! The waitress was great! 4 thumbs up!
Our Niece, Tina, made it back to Springdale before we left town. She was doing a clinical Rotation in a children's hospital in Little Rock. We are very proud of her for getting her a Nurses Certificate. We met Tina and Rodney at Braum's for ice cream. We had a great visit!
I got my Sienna serviced at Toyota before we left town; oil change, inspection and tire rotation. She's happy now. If your car is happy, everyone's happy!
We had a great visit with our old and dear friends in Springdale, and...did I mention "old"? Ron and Nancy have been our overseas traveling buddies for a loooong time. They were certainly on our list of "must visit".
They took us on a sightseeing excursion around their neck of the woods, NW Arkansas. We tried counting the number of golf courses in Bella Vista while Nancy pointing out the houses that were "For Sale" and telling us how great it is to live in NW Arkansas.
We passed through the little town of Centerton. The town Park was filled with people celebrating the town's first Centennial. There were many activity booths set up displaying certain businesses and town history, crafts and wares for sale, vegetables to market, as well as Search and Rescue, Fire Department and Life Flight Medical Service displaying their equipment. I especially enjoyed seeing the Bomb Disposal Robot moving around. As we left, a man was reading a long winded letter from the Governor of Arkansas, who apologized for not being here in person.
We bought a few things and drove to Bentonville, where we found a huge Farmer's Market in the center of town. Across the street was an old time Five and Dime named Walton's 5-10. Turns out this was Sam Walton's first store in NW Arkansas before starting Walmart. Inside, the shelves were stocked with much of the same kinds and brands of stuff common during that era. It was great seeing the Red Flyer wagon and shelf candy of the 50's. My favorite, the Sugar Daddy, brought back old memories. I couldn't resist buying a 4-pack of my all time favorite pop, the awesome, Grapette!
We took a drive over to Crystal Bridges Museum of Modern Art, a state of the art destination with class exhibits. More than 100 artists have exhibits here. The metal tree art in the front courtyard is an awesome piece of work. We drove all around looking for a parking space, as were many other people. The parking lots were full today and we didn't (as a group) feel like walking a long distance. We opted to skip today and make this another visit at another time.
We had a great dinner at Abuelo's Mexican Restaurant. Our Niece, Tracey, works there, earning money to help pay her way through school. The food was great! The service was great! The waitress was great! 4 thumbs up!
Our Niece, Tina, made it back to Springdale before we left town. She was doing a clinical Rotation in a children's hospital in Little Rock. We are very proud of her for getting her a Nurses Certificate. We met Tina and Rodney at Braum's for ice cream. We had a great visit!
I got my Sienna serviced at Toyota before we left town; oil change, inspection and tire rotation. She's happy now. If your car is happy, everyone's happy!
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