Memorial Day Tour

Good Morning!

On Memorial Day Weekend, Barbara and I went to a few of the sites here in the northwest upper mesa in New Mexico. First we went to Sky City, which is an Acoma Indian village on top of a tabletop mountain, originally built in the 1100s, and rebuilt after being destroyed by the Conquistadors in the 1300s. It has a dominant Catholic mission building, which is more of a tourist site now than an operating church. The people in the graveyard in the front of the church are buried in layers, so over the years 4 layers of parishoners have been buried. No pictures were allowed of the graveyard or inside the church. Some people live there year-around with no electricity, plumbing, or fresh water. Others just have their "summer homes" there. The pictures are of views from the city, some strange construction, and an adjacent mesa, much like Sky City with no town atop it. The only way up there until 1993 was a pathway and stairs cut into the rocks.

Next we went to the Bandelara Volcano and Ice Caves. The Volcano erupted about 10,000 years ago, and spread much of the lava which is around the Grants area. There are 15 volcanos which erupted in the general area of Grants. My pictures of the Ice Caves came out badly because of the lighting, but I have one from the rim of the volcano.

Last, we went to El Morro. It is another dominant mesa, which has a box canyon in the middle of it (awesome), Anazasi ruins, which originally had over 700 structures on top of the mesa, and the famous Inscription Wall, where travelers back to the 1300s have carved their names and dates into the rock. There is serious concern that the weather and wind will eventually erode these inscriptions, and they will be lost. I took several pictures, but only posted one of the more clear representations. There were some that were indeed better, but less dramatic.

So we had a great time, and hope to visit more of the state before we go -- less than 2 years left!

John & Barbara

Vancouver and Elly's Birthday

So this is a little late to be posting this about our trip to Vancouver for Elly's Birthday party. We had a great time, as usual, got to see Lauren's pink cast, play the the kids and their kids, and I even saw a Trailblazer game with Brian. As we drove into the community, everyone was at the playground, so we stopped to see them. Ethan and Elly were all over the playground equipment and Lauren was making the best of maneuvering with her cast on. And I just realized you can't see the cast in this picture. Oh well... Someone is eventually have to show me how to attach pictures where I want them.
We followed that with a little soccer challenge between Grammy and Ethan. There was a little creative scoring, but who's counting. Then we found out that Sam had scratched his eye at puppy prison or while he got his teeth brushed, and he was fitted with a very attractive cone. When I posted that picture, it migrated to an unexpected location, so it is obvious I'm getting no better at this. Anyway, Conehead didn't let the obstruction get in his way at all.
We had dinner at McMinniman's, visited with our friends from Kelso, and caught up with the rest of the family at Elly's party. As usual, we slept on the plane going home, and can't wait to do it all over again. Happy Birthday, Elly. Grammy and Papa love you very much.

Hawaii Pictures

Christmas in Hawaii

Hello all,
We are home, and it sucks. We had a great time in Hawaii, not doing anything, or planning anything, or having to be anywhere at any given time. The only thing we had to be on time for was Christmas Mass, and the time was mis-labeled on the event schedule. So we were a little early, along with most of the people, and had to wait 45 minutes for it to start. But who cares? We had nowhere to go, people were singing carols, everyone was happy, the sides of the church were open to the air, and life was good.

We pretty much got up, took a walk through the neighborhoods to check things out, went to Buckys, then sat by the pool or on the beach. There was a huge hot tub where everyone had a story to share, and we would go back and forth from there to the pool. After lunch it was more of the same until 3pm, when the restaurant next to the pool opened and it was MaiTai time. We walked to shopping centers where we shopped and re-shopped. I would go to the counter to pay for something while Barbara re-shopped, then the whole process would start over again.

I got to golf at Navy-Marine Golf Club. It is rated as one of the top 10 military courses in the world, and it was outstanding. The cab ride cost $40 and the round cost $20 -- Is there something wrong with this picture? I was supposed to golf with Charlie McKeldin at the Marine Base the next day, but things didn't work out, and the cab across the island would have been $200. NOT. Back to the beach.

We did miss everyone terribly at Christmas, so I don't think we will be going back at that time of year unless we drag you all with us. The New Year's show and fireworks was unbelievable. I don't think I have seen "pireworks" as beautiful as they were -- ever. We watched them from our 10th floor room that overlooked Waikiki, and the festivities went on until 2am.

The worst part about the trip was the trip. Don't take the Southwest partner, ATA, to Hawaii. Trust me on that one. We returned on the red-eye, and sleep was impossible. It has taken 2 days to recover. So we hope to see you soon, and will let you know when we can do that. It's blowing like crazy and cold as can be in Crownpoint, so enjoy some pictures of some much better weather.

Love,
John & Barbara