Caribbean Gift

For my 68th birthday my nurse daughter, Pam, gave me a gift of a cruise with her. Both of us needed time away after the last months. I have never been in the Caribbean or cruised before. Hubby does not cruise. We left the January cold and flew to Puerto Rico and then sailed to 5 ports in the eastern Caribbean and back to Puerto Rico. We snorkled with turtles and fish seeing shipwrecks, sailed on a schooner & sailboat, climbed British fort steps, and walked in a rainforest. We learned some history of the Caribbean. I had a great time with a precious daughter......Now on to packing for life on the road in our own beautiful country!

We met wonderful people.

We watched sunsets from our cabin and enjoyed the amenities.

We saw lots of brilliant green islands and the azure blue sea.

Dad's Celebration

On December 4, 2012 my father died at home with us.  I want him remembered as the 91 year old who could still win at Nickel Me (a card game) and get around by sheer will instead of being waited on.  He prided himself as independent.  He had been with John and I since the end of July.  Hospice was a blessing to all of us.  My children, especially my youngest who is a nurse, helped me keep him at home the last weeks.  She stayed here for days leaving hubby and teens at home to help me and her grandfather.  So that journey is ended and others are waiting.  The day after my dad's death we were offered a volunteer position at Petrified Forest National Park March - May.  What timing and if you believe, there were plans at work for us we do not control.  So our journey will continue and in February we leave again for another adventure.  Bryce Canyon National Park will take us back in July 2013 and I think we will mark a "bucket list" park by visiting Yosemite and surrounding parks in middle California between the two volunteer positions.  You never know what is around the next corner of life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hospice Celebration

After 5 weeks of doctors, nurses, PT's, etc. and in and out of hospitals, rehab and nursing facilities, my dad is finally here set up on hospice.  He is quite happy to be here and John and I and family are working out all the kinks that come with closing someone's apartment, moving, setting up a handicapped living space and getting rid of stuff.  We are done.  Yesterday we were officially admitted to the hospice program and he talked about when he dies he hopes the family will have a BIG celebration, celebrating his time with us.  What a happy thought in a somber topic.  So we are starting afresh.  Life goes on.  I can see the motor home across the pond and dream of adventures awaiting.  Kimberly, our granddaughter is getting married at our pond September 15th and the preparations are ongoing.  Life is sure a roller coaster with steep ups and downs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As of July 20th--

We traveled safely home going through northern Arizona to Tennesee on I-40.  What a terrible road!  I would not recommend the 40.  It was teeth jarring and had construction everywhere.  We left the southwest and crossed Oklahoma and Arkansas and Tennesee traveling I-81 to I-84 to Wallingford, CT.  We stopped in Tennessee overnight with friends (needed a break) and arrived in the parking lot of Wallingford Masonicare June 22nd.  We stayed in the parking lot for 6 days so thank goodness for the motor home.  My dad cannot stay independent any longer and we moved him to a nursing facility near Woodstock after we cleared his apartment.  I am preparing our CT home to accommocate a sad gentleman who must accept the last stage of his life.  What a month!! and I do miss beautiful Bryce and it's magic.  We applied for the fall session at Bryce 2013 .  This year will be a blur!!

We went past the Vermillion Cliffs in northern AZ,

traveled over the Colorado,

passed the wind farms of the west headed to Connecticut.

We stopped at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon where we walked to Angel Point

and visited with friends we met at Organ Pipe.
  They now are working at the North Rim and the Grand Canyon is their backyard.  WOW!

Rorik and Sherry are showing us the Colorado River through the window in the rock.

What's down there, John and Sherry???

The Grand Canyon of course!

Back at our site at Jacob Lake a few miles north of the North Rim we packed up and headed on our way after visiting Jacob Lake, a small pond now, and a historic ranger cabin built in the early 1900's.

We stopped a the Petrefied Forest National Park and yes, this is rock!!!!

and this is the Painted Desert.

and the adobe houses of the historic southwest.  Goodbye for now.  I am sad.

Sad Goodbye to Bryce

The last few weeks have been a blur.  My 91 year old father was very ill and I flew back to Connecticut for 10 days in May.  He was up and down but transferred to a rehab unit and seems stable.  After flying back to beautiful Bryce, we gave our notice and we are headed back east on Tuesday, June 12th.

Rodeo and Travels

 On one of our days off we traveled to Kanab, almost in Arizona about 1 1/2 hours south, to scout out where we could stay when we travel to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  We volunteered this winter with people now working at the North Rim.  The accomodations are booked in the Grand Canyon North Rim Campground and we have Emma who is not welcomed in the North Rim Lodge. Kanab is famous for having the first all woman town council in 1897, well before women could vote.  Also in the 50's Kanab was a place Hollywood filmed westerns.  John Wesley Powell stayed in Kanab in the 1870's charting the Grand Canyon after his first trip down the Colorado and Green Rivers.  Also we saw Buffalo Bill's writing table at a local museum for he was in Kanab seeking animals for his wild west show. Around Kanab the scenery is what John and I grew up thinking the southwest looks like because of on-location movies and TV westerns.  On Saturday we visited a kids rodeo in the nearby town of Panguitch and we went to Cedar City food shopping.  Tomorrow we go back to work! 


In every grocery here I have found large dried food stuffs.  Is it used for winter when roads are closed or for ranches that only shop every few months???  I do not know but it is very different and not in our NE stores.

  

The kids rodeo in Panguitch was interesting.  The kids seemed like they were born in the saddle and they could rope, ride a bronco and catch a steer.



 

Rope 'im cowboy or cowgirl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



These are terrible pictures but it was dark inside and they were moving around quickly.  Outside there were lots of horse trailers and combo living and horse trailers.  It reminded me of the Soucy dirt racing weekends of NETRA. 

Annular Eclipse and Hummingbirds

The last night of the Astrology Festival there was an annular eclipse or ring of fire with the moon blocking most of the sun and creating a ring.  We were given glasses to look through and found a ridge above the campground to watch it from.  There were crowds at our major rim sites (over 1,000 people) but we just had a few neighbors.  John was soooo thrilled to hike with chairs to a high spot and sit for over an hour!!!  After dark we attended a ranger program and went to bed at almost midnight.  Volunteering this morning at 5:30AM I was out in the cold (34 degrees) setting up for hummingbird trapping and banding at 6AM.  And the Black Chin hummers did not disappoint us for 34 hummers were caught, one 5 times and one 3. Those two males just did not give up.  They wanted to feed and it must have been just inconvenient to be caught  They were hungry and wanted breakfast! I will volunteer again for it was great fun! 

John looks soooo happy looking at the eclipse



I dig the sunglasses we were given to wear!  We did not hurt our eyes and they have the date, Ring of Fire Annular Eclipse and Bryce Canyon printed on them on them and they were  free - what a steal!

Everyone looks the same with the glasses.  Note the rim of the canyon is just to the back of our viewing point.

First we captured the hummingbirds and



brought to the biologist who banded them,

checked their health and recorded their statistics.

Then they were released after a drink of sugar water