Dam fine time in the desert

Inspired by a cheap deal at the Marriott in Palm Desert, we planned a desert trip. After several postponements, we finally did it in October. We got started with a visit to the Hoover Dam, where we really enjoyed the dam tour, particularly walking through the innards of the dam through the inspection tunnels! The Western drought was easily observed by the ring around the tub of Lake Meade.

From there we headed out for some desert camping in the Mohave. A very helpful ranger at the restored Kelso Depot suggested a great site for roadside camping near Kelso Dunes. We scrambled up the dunes and I shot some sunset photos while Barb prepared dinner.
The stars were fantastic so far from civilization.

The desert seems deserted during the day so I was very surprised in the morning when I went out to shoot sunrise photos that the sand was covered with tracks of coyote, kangaroo rats, jack rabbits, snakes, and more. The sidewinder tracks were the most interesting.


Next was Joshua Tree National Park. We were shocked to see signs indicating that all campgrounds were full when we arrived. Apparently being a few hours drive from the tens of millions of people of greater LA makes it a very popular place on a beautiful weekend. Barbara overheard a woman asking for information mention that she had just left Jumbo Rocks campground and that several others had left also. We hurried there, found an acceptable site and Barb stood in it to hold it while I went back to handle the registration and payment. It turned out that we had gotten the nicest site in the whole campground, complete with our very own Joshua Tree to camp under.












We hiked to 49 Palms Oasis one day and climbed Ryan Mountain, the tallest peak in the park, another. While driving through the park, I spotted a coyote. Barb & I parked and went chasing after her. I got this photo of her listening for the rustle of a rodent but although we were very lucky to see her leap into the air and successfully pounce on it, I was too slow to capture it!

We returned to our campsite for lunch before leaving. In the middle of lunch we were surprised to suddenly have an entire busload of German tourists come over the rocks from the adjacent site and begin taking photographs of each other in front of "our" tree. They seemed oblivious to the fact that they were in the middle of our campsite!

We enjoyed our time back in civilization at Palm Springs. I played golf twice (at the Marriott Player course and at Twin Wells, the course where the Skins game is held) while Barb made use of the spas. We also were shown around the Palm Springs Art Museum by Steve Nash, its director, who is also a neighbor on Loghill.

The final stop was the Grand Canyon. When we arrived at the El Tovar Hotel there were several elk standing on the front lawn, including two huge bulls. This was both of our first (but not last) visit to the Grand Canyon. The photos simply can't portray the enormity and majesty of this Natural Wonder of the World.

Barb and I did the first six miles of the Kaibab trail the next day. It was a great hike although we had to dodge the mule trains that carry people down into the canyon. Barb's photo of the mule train helps capture the steepness of this trail with a mule train and hikers on their way up the switchbacks.

The following day, Barb hiked along the rim trail while I did the 12.5 miles out and back to Plateau Point on the most famous trail in the park: Bright Angel Trail.

It is an easier trail than Kaibab, it is better maintained (although that may just be the fact that a trail crew was working on it while I was there) and a little less steep than Kaibab. The rangers recommend going down Kaibab and back up Bright Angel for those camping in the canyon. I hope to do that on my next visit! Bright Angel trail is easily visible on the Tonto Plateau in the image from the rim. I saw some bighorn sheep on the way back up so Barb and I hiked a little way back down to find them not only did I get some nice close-ups but Barb took a movie of two males doing a little jousting!

All in all it was a fabulous trip and both of us are looking forward to going back to the Grand Canyon again.

5 weeks, 2 days, 6 hours, 45 min

Yes, that is how long we were on the road visiting friends in Dallas; Brian, Megan and Gwen in Austin; Aaron and Peyee in England (more on that in a bit); my sister Beth and our 159th friends in Raleigh; back to friends in Dallas; once again with Brian, Megan, and Gwen in Austin; the roadtrip home with stops at the Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Carlsbad Caverns National Park and the final stretch along the Million Dollar Highway with the beautiful fall colors. The long trip all came about because of Michael's Western Water photography exhibit in Mesquite, TX in September. That was enough of an excuse for me to plan an extended trip during September, because who wants to drive to TX to drop off the pictures, come home and then turn around 4 weeks later and do the drive back and forth a second time? Not me! Since we would be in the vicinity of DFW, why not head off to England to see Aaron after getting to spend a few days with Brian, Megan and Gwen?

England has experienced the worst summer in 60 years (rainy and cold) but the weather changed when we arrived and we only had rain two afternoons (of course while walking on the moors near Aaron's and once in Northern Wales while touring a 13th century castle built by King Edward I...how fitting). Aaron's place in Slaithwaite is charming and we definitely managed to see quite a bit while there in England and Wales (including sheep, sheep, and more sheep).

Our time started with a tour of the University of Huddersfield and the new building housing the Music department. It is a very impressive facility. We also managed to tour York; the moors near Marsden; the guys made it to a Premier League football game - Manchester City versus Chelsea; Liverpool for the final day of the Tour of Britain bike race; Wales (Snowdonia National Park, summitting Mt. Snowdon - the tallest peak in Wales, waterfalls, castles and cathedrals, Pembrokeshire National Park, Brecon Beacon National Park); the Devon coast including Exmoor National Park, a cotton mill in the Cotswold's and finally the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. We had originally planned to spend more time in the Cotwolds with a visit to Bath and Stonehenge but Wales was so beautiful we spent the majority of the time there.

Michael drove over 1600 miles on the wrong side of the road with a large percentage of the roads, aptly named single track lanes, barely large enough for a minivan. We tended to either eat or walk while in England so luckily the latter offset the effects of the former but whoever says there is no good food in England needs to either spend time with Aaron at his dinner table or at some of the wonderful Country Houses we stayed in. Aaron's fiancee, Peyee, arrived while we were there so we also got to spend time with her too which was a treat since we had only had one other opportunity to be with them last January.

As far as our time in TX is concerned, Michael's show was a success. Gwen is growing quickly and is so adorable and a joy to be with. Karen threw a great birthday bash for Kaivon and it worked out that we were in town for the big party. All in all, it was such a treat to spend so much time with friends and family the past month and we look forward to our next trip to TX (maybe at Christmas) as well as getting together with the entire family in Chicago in June for Aaron and Peyee's wedding.

Michael and I have one more road trip before the end of the fall so stay tuned for more on that soon!

Time with Gwen (and Brian & Megan)

As we were leaving Brian and Megan's today, we noted that she is a Renaissance child after attending a poetry reading on Wednesday and a gallery opening on Friday (she knows the artist....her Pops, Mike). We will add more photos later but here are two from our visit with the three of them this week. It was such a treat to spend three days playing with Gwen and seeing how much she has grown since we saw her last.

Summer is Winding Down

In keeping with my intention to post a quick update after having visitors, we were lucky that Glo was able to make it out to visit us this August. She was our first visitor the summer of 2005 and she was the last summer guest in 2008. We took it easy with a visit to Telluride, walks in the neighborhood, and nice long dinners on the deck. Hopefully we will have additional family and friends out before the snow falls this winter and my cousin and his family are coming after Christmas but all in all, we had a spectacular summer with our company and are thankful that we could share the San Juans with all.

Western Water

While Barb has been busy hosting all the visitors featured earlier on the blog, I have been printing, matting and framing photographs for my show. The show is at the Mesquite Arts Center for the month of September. The artist's reception will be on Friday September 5 from 6:30 - 8:30 pm. All are invited. The show is titled "Western Water" and attempts to show the beauty of water here in the arid west but I also hope it causes people to think about the issue of water resources. Here is the official invitation:

I hope you can attend!

Better Late Than Never

In 2005 a group of girlfriends came to visit but Valerie was "down under" and unable to join us so it was a treat to finally get her out here. We didn't stress ourselves but spent the time enjoying the beautiful late August weather with time in Ouray (Mouse's milkshakes are a given), Telluride, Ridgway and the Orvis Hot Springs (no celebrity sightings this time). We are hoping she will make a repeat visit next year. On a side note, we celebrated our 13th anniversary the day she flew back to Dallas from Grand Junction with a trip to Colorado National Park, the Grand Mesa, a peach buying expedition in Palisades and dinner at 626 on Rood, our new favorite Colorado dining experience!

Superb Outdoorsmen and Woodworkers Too!

Paige, Will and Reed arrived last week for the 2nd annual Elphingstone visit (with Scott joining us five days later). We started off with the annual golfball hunt before unpacking and unveiling the new Wii (which was a big hit). Mike took the boys fishing where they both caught a big rainbow trout on Friday and on Monday they both made bird houses for their backyard in Dallas (notice Reed's goggles; safety before fashion!). The boys disscected owl pellets and discovered lots of rodent and bird bones and skulls at Rigdway State Park. We did hikes in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison (2mi) and at Bear Creek Falls (4.5mi with 1000' gain in elevation) in Telluride. They ran into a number of families from the Park Cities...guess it turns out that Telluride is a big destination for those from Dallas looking to escape 100+ August days - can't say I blame them. Between the Olympics, Wii and our own outings, sports and nature were a big part of the last week. We were sad to see them drive off but we will be in Dallas in a few weeks which made it easier. They will be enjoying more Colorado Rockies in Crested Butte and we are getting ready for Valerie's visit on Friday!

Visitor From Across The Pond

We just spent a delightful week with Karen and Kaivon Mortazavi and Kaivon's nephew, Timothy, from the UK. They had planned on visiting northern CA but with the ongoing threat of wildfires, they decided to visit SW CO and show Timothy all the sights. They were with us for a day in Telluride before they headed to Moab/Arches National Park, Mesa Verde National Park and the train from Durango to Silverton. Back with us they rafted the San Miguel River (usually the rafting ends by early July but with the snowfall at 140% of normal snowpack, the river was still running!) We visited Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park on their last day (see a theme here???) and more stargazing at night (everyone was able to spot multiple shooting stars over the course of the week and Mike got the telescope out for a bit more detail). Unfortunately reality returned and they flew home to Dallas but Paige and the boys arrive tomorrow so more fun times ahead!

Hanging with the Thomas' (and a Hill too!)

Michael and I thought it might be fun to share photos of the different visitors who join us up here. Maribeth (my best friend from high school) and her husband Charlie, their daughter FrancesAnn and her husband Lucas all joined us for a week of fun in SW Colorado. The guys loved the fly fishing (Charlie caught 6 brown trout one afternoon...the big winner), they climbed Courthouse Mountain, ran a 10K in Ouray (Lucas' first 10K), and rafted on the Lower Arkansas (I think our guide was just a toddler when I last rafted the Lower Arkansas....not that I am getting old or anything!). Everyone had a fabulous time and I wouldn't be surprised to see them out here again (if FrancesAnn can find time once she starts med school this fall). Our next visitors are Kay and her son Brian who will be visiting colleges in the SW part of Colorado and will be staying a few nights with us.

Aaron and Peyee

The news is actually a few weeks old but it is never too late to share great news. Aaron called while we were out of town on vacation to tell of us his engagement to Peyee Chen. He and Peyee met at Northwestern where they both sang in the choir on campus. She will be relocating to the UK where she will attend grad school in York and they are planning a 2009 wedding in Evanston. We are thrilled to have Peyee joining the family and have taken the liberty of "borrowing" two photos from Aaron's flikr page to include here.

Gwen and Pops

We are finally back in Colorado for a brief spell but we did get a chance to get to Austin to see Brian, Megan and Gwen two weekends in a row. Although we didn't get to see Gwen play in person, Brian showed us a video of Gwen strumming the ukelele late one evening rather than sleeping...a future musician for sure! This photo was taken before we left to head back to Dallas and it took quite a while before Mike was willing to give Gwen back to Megan.

First Photos

Brian sent a few photos of Gwen with he and Megan so I am borrowing two of them to post here.....

The Real Super Tuesday

Over the last several months I have discovered the fun of checking out the blogs of close family and friends and thought that I might take advantage of blogspot to post our own musings. As I note in the title of the blog, the air is thin in Colorado at 8000ft so there is no guarantee that there is any true merit to what we post but it is here for your entertainment (or maybe really only we will find any entertainment value, but what can you expect when the closest movie theatre is 25 miles away (I guess with the price of gas, the more relevant number is that it is about $12 away [round trip] if we take Mike's car).

Anyway, on to the reason why today is the Real Super Tuesday....

The phone rang at 3:11am this morning (this was truly one of those middle-of-the-night calls that you look forward too) and Brian shared the fabulous news that Megan and Gwen were doing great. Gwen Barnard Cassidy was born at 1:18am this morning (May 20th) weighing in at 6 lbs, 10.5 oz and was 18.5 in tall. They all went home a few hours later and we can't wait to see them this weekend on our quick trip to Austin. Brian has shared a few photos and I will get some photos posted in the next few days but I thought that today was the ideal day to post my first blog entry.

Stay tuned for more musings in the not too distant future!

Barb