October 17, 2011

• Fall Travel Update

  I cannot believe how long it has been since I updated this blog.  No excuses for before we left Oregon, but I have a good one from then on.  I have not had good enough Internet service that allowed me to update any photos.  Whenever I tried, the upload would time-out.  But, we are down in the Phoenix area parked outside of Jeff and Becky’s home in Maricopa.  We got here Saturday afternoon and plan to spend just over a week here.

   
  Motorhome and Terrain out to the side of Jeff & Becky’s

  We began our Fall travels on September 9th, traveling to Idaho to attend my Dad’s 100th Birthday celebration.
  
  Mom Arnell did not know we were coming. We surprised her on Saturday by “appearing” at her home
  Left: Shauna, Judy Lynn, Teri Lynn (glasses only), Quinn, Roger Grandma & Chad (with back to us)
  Right:  Shauna, Judy Lynn, Cort, Teri Lynn, Quinn, Roger, Grandma & Chase (explaining who the “tall” fellow is)

  
  Grandma with Leslie’s Reese
  Grandma with all of our grandchildren
  Back: Chase (holding Todd’s Avie) Grandma (holding Reese) & Chad (holding Heather’s Oscar)
  Middle: Cort, Finn, Bentley, Gwen
  Front:  Sawyer, Quinn & Jaidyn

  
  Grandma and Teri Lynn

  
  Reese and Avie (caught them holding hands… sort of! 

  
  Bentley & Jaidyn

  
  Chad

  
  Gwen on the horse

  
  Oscar and his Aunt Shauna & Aaron

  
  HUMM.  I KNOW this button MUST do SOMETHING!
  Gwen on 4-wheeler

  
  Oscar and Jaidyn

  
  Sawyer, Gwen & Bentley — Gwen “thinking”?

  
  Jenn putting Jaidyn on the 4-wheeler with Sawyer and Gwen — Oscar

  
  Roger & Judy Lynn with Mom

  
  Jennifer with Todd’s Avie — Jennifer and Taurean

  
  Great Grandma with Avie and Quinn  — Quinn

  
  Roger with his Mom

  
  Teri Lynn, Randy & Family
  Chase, Cort & Chad

  
  Family “hanging” after dinner
  Left: Josh, Finn, Leslie, Jacki (holding Avie) & Jeff
  Right:Jeff & Becky, Taurean (standing) and Todd
  
  
  Brent & Jan

  
  Left: Jacki (holding Avie), Jeff, Becky, Taurean, & Todd
  Right: Todd with cousins-Brent’s Dallas, Maxine’s Brad & Dallas’ Daryl

  
  Finn Wondering why all of the excitement

  
  Happy 100th Birthday Dad

  
  Up at the cemetary singing “Happy Birthday” to Dad, Gary Lee and Shauna
  (all have the same birthday… but Shauna has the advantage of being with us in person!)

  
  Mom with four of her children — Dallas says a wrench hit him.  Is that right Theresa?
  
  
  Random Pictures:
  Gwen, Finn & Jaidyn  — Sawyer, Bentley & Quinn

  
  Chad and Reese — Shauna with Sawyer & Quinn

  
  Josh and sober Finn

  
  Jenn & Heather

  
  Chase & Reese

  
  Todd, Jacki & Family Avie and Quinn

  
  Mom Addressing the family

  
  Finn is HAPPY!

  
  Judy Lynn, Theresa, Maxine & Jan (at Brent and Jan’s)
  Roger & Jaidyn in the Motorhome
  
  Projects
  
  This is the December Calendar project Judy Lynn is making with each of her daughters

  
  Judy Lynn’s little rocking chair she gave to Jaidyn
  (after some major repair by me with the help of Loran Hirschi)

  
  Left:  Jan helping Brent get ready for his concert performance
  Right:  Mom and Dallas

  
  Lunch at CHUCK-A-RAMA
  Mom, Roger, Judy Lynn, Jenn, Jaidyn, Taurean, Bentley, Maxine’s Stephanie & ??, & Maxine

  
  Sunday in Richmond with Jenn, Taurean & Family

  Now we will leave Richmond and start our trip down south towards Arizona.  We left on October 8th.. last in the morning because it was so hard saying goodbye to Jenn and Grandkids.  First stop was Provo where we spent Sunday and Monday with Shauna.  I left for a while in the morning and traveled to Salt Lake to attend the funeral of my 2nd Cousin Lauraine Pugmire Arnell.  He is the father of Mariam and Corinne that we grew to know well when they would come and spend summers with us to pick raspberries as teenagers.  Dallas, Theresa, Maxine and Mom were there and I got to sit by them and visit some.  We parked the MH at the side of Maxine’s Melissa that lives there with her family, but did not take any pictures.

  On Tuesday we headed towards Arches

   
  All of these rocks have names, but I only remember the right one called the “balancing rock” or something like that.

  

  
  This is the famous arch, but we did not walk up to the arch.  It was quite a walk and Judy Lynn was wearing sandles.

  
  More rocks… think the right is the balancing rock again from another angle

  Now to Canyonlands
  
  

  
  Again, all of these have names that I do not remember

  The next day was spent up at Mesa Verde, fascinating day!
  
  These folks built their dwellings under the cliff

  

  

  

  
  It was fascinating to learn how these folks lived.  Cannot imagine how they stayed warm in the winter.  The dwellings are up at the
  8000 foot level.  I cannot even figure out how they got up there (or down there)  (Coming from one who is traveling in a motorhome)

  We began Friday by stopping at Four Corners where Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado all meet
  
  Judy Lynn and I standing and touching all four states.

  
  Intersection & a further-out picture of me touching all four states at one time.
  
  On to Bluff Utah, a small town out in nowhere land settled by Mormon Pioneers
   

  
  When the pioneers finally got to Bluff, the build their little cabins in a circle.  Family ancestors have restored many of these cabins.

  
  Judy Lynn to the side of a well — The cabins in a circle.

  
  Left:  Check out the chair that doubles as a table
  Right:  Blacksmith Shop

  
  Inside their church  — Relief Society Meeting House

  
  Outside of church

  On to Monument Valley
  
  
  There were tons of rocks and formations and we literally spent all afternoon driving on an almost impassible road to go out into the valley to see them.  WE could have had a tour on benches on the back of a pickup truck for $75 EACH.  We decided to drive our own car.

  
  Me standing by the side of “the Cube”

  And that about catches you up.  We are here in Maricopa with Jeff and Becky and will be here for a little over a week.  The weather is HOT (supposed to be in the mid to upper 90s every day this week).  It was supposed to cool down for our visit… after all, it is OCTOBER.  Not too many plans other than just to visit.  Colleen and Grant (Widmer) are living down here for a few months in their new home they purchased last year.  I don’t think they plan to be back up in Oregon until April of next year.  Also, Keith and Sharon (Kearsley) are down here for a couple of weeks for the baptism of Angela’s Austin last Saturday and the blessing of their new little baby yesterday.  We may try to get together with them.

  Well, so much for now.  I will not promise an update before I get back to Gresham since I won’t know about Internet service.  But there shouldn’t be much excitement to report anyway.

  • 6:36 pm
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