Wolcott Wanderings

Tinme to Catch Up

2011-02-26T08:24:00.004-07:00

WOW, It has been almost a year since I posted anything so figured I had better start trying to catch up. This past summer I made a trip to visit Susan in California. Then she and I went on down to Arizona to visit family we hadn't seen in years. Stayed with Aunt Arva for several days and had a great time. Arva took us to the cemeteries to see a lot of our relatives sites. Hadn't been there since we buried Grandma Birdno in 1965. Saw Ron and his lovely wife, Lorene and also Tammy. Went to Church in Safford and saw the new Gila Temple. Beautiful.

We then went to Phoenix and stayed with our cousin, Karen, for a couple of days. I hadn't seen her since 1968 but after a few minutes, the years just fell away and we had a great time. Also got to spend some time with Ashley. All in all, a great trip.

Stayed with Susan a few more days before returning home and we had such a good time. One very important thing occured while I was there. She got me to really thinking about my life and my inactivity in the Church. Thought a lot about that on my 2 day drive back home and after I got home. I finally came to the decision that I needed to go back to Church.

We have a very small Branch here in Castle Valley. The first time I went, I realized I knew most everyone there! They were all the people (friends) we have met at our valley pot lucks. Iwas so comfortable. I have really enjoyed going again. I am now a Visiting Teacher and am working on going to the Temple.

Rick is still really into his jeeping. We not only own a jeep but a samari as well. He has a lot of fun with the people he has met doing this. They not only do jeeping, but maintain the trails, run aid stations at some of the marathons that are run around here and in general have a good time together.

Reid got his masters this past summer and is now working for the National Weather Service. His first posting is in Riverton, WY and we were able to go there for Christmas. First time since we moved that we were with one of our kids for the holidays. Really enjoyed it.

Ashley is still in Phoenix and is still working at the Hyatt Regency in Scottsdale as a massage therapist. She has gotten some really good reviews by customers and is really happy.

We are really proud of both of our kids, as you can tell.

I'm still quilting some and reading a lot. Susan and Arva turned me onto a few new authors and I am really enjoying them. We have a quilt show here in Moab this weekend and I have 4 quilts in it.

Susan will be here this next weekend for the blessing of a grandson so I'm going to Scott and Cara's to not only attend this, but to also have our cousin, Gina, do my hair and to visit family and friends. I'm having lunch next Saturday with Donnay and Nedra. Just wish Julie was able to come too. But she is still teaching and living in Idaho.

I'm going to try to do a little better about keeping this up. But since I found facebook, I do most everything there. Love to all our family and friends.

Antelope Slot Canyon

2010-05-24T09:35:00.003-06:00

On May 17th, we went to Page, Arizona with our good friends Neal and Annette. We did a tour of the Antelope Slot Canyon. It was incredible. Rick and I will certainly be going back and doing this again. The next time, we will take the photographer's tour as it is longer and they keep other groups out of your way so you can take your photos.

If you should decide to go, remember to take a hat as you have falling sand a lot from the winds above and also something to cover your camera up with so the sand won't get into that.

This is just so worth going and seeing. The pictures really don't do it justice.

New Post...At Last

2010-02-17T17:40:00.003-07:00

OK, so it's been 5 months since I last posted. I found facebook and figured people would keep up with me on that. However, several friends have informed me I need to do both so here is a new post for you all.

I just spent 4 days with Scott and Cara and we went through some of Mom and Dad's papers and pictures. Here are a few. This one is of Uncle Wayne, Uncle Miles and Dad.

Here are Dad, Susan, me and Mom in Grandpa and Grandma Birdno's front yard in Thatcher, Arizona.

This is my mother.

This is my Dad.

Beautiful Sunset

2009-09-17T12:02:00.002-06:00

Last night we had one of the beautiful sunsets that we love so much. Took a few pictures to share with you. You will find a few more in our flickr under clouds.

August - Where Has the Year Gone?

2009-08-03T10:25:00.002-06:00

Well, here it is August and I haven't even started my August Button-Up Quilt. That's what happens when you have a sore back and the last thing you want to do is bend over a cutting board! Hopefully will get it dones soon.

This year has just zoomed by. I guess the saying "Time flies when you're having fun" is true.

Rick still goes jeeping most every weekend and is still really enjoying it. The poor jeep has received a few battle scars but then, that's why we bought it so the FJ wouldn't! He has also been working a lot lately. But the bonus checks are surely nice.

Me, well besides all the household duties I am still quilting some. Also, since I got this laptop computer, (had for a whole week now), I find myself on the computer more. Not only checking emails and facebook, but it came with my two favorite games - Spider Solitaire and Mahjong. I enjoy sitting and playing these. I've also been doing a lot of reading this year. I go out onto the internet and find my authors and then print out a list of their books in the order they were written. I started with the Zane Grey collection I inherited from my Dad and when I finished them, I started on my Robert Ludlum collection. I'm about 3/4 done with it now. I plan on doing this until I have reread all my books. Should take a couple of years or more. But I'm enjoying rereading them. It has been so long since I read most of them they are like reading for the first time.

We have certainly enjoyed our porch this year. Have sat out on it many times watching thunderstorms. We have used it much more than we ever did the small one on the house in Maple Valley.

Clouds at Sunset

2009-07-26T20:49:00.002-06:00

While living in Maple Valley, rain was, well, just rain. Here in Castle Valley, it is an event!

Today we had rain, lightening, thunder and the temp. dropped from low 80's to 69! I spent most of the day sitting on the front porch.

This evening, we got clouds again and it made for a really nice sunset. I took a bunch of pictures and you can see them all on our flickr site. Hope you will enjoy the sunset with us.

It's JULY!!!!!

2009-07-01T08:05:00.003-06:00

Can't believe this year is half over already. Don't know where it went, but they say time flies when you are having fun so we must be having a blast!

Today is Canada Day. Yes, we remember as we lived there for two years. But more important is Independence Day. One of my favorites. I love this country and am proud to be an American.

Several family birthdays this month so to all of you hope you have a great day.

Friday (July 3rd) Rick is going jeepin' to Elephant Hill in Canyonlands. He is really looking forward to it. Sorry Scott and family can't go (that's what having a job will do for you.) Hopefully he'll have as good a time as he usually does. Then on the 4th (Sat.) the jeep group is going to Moab Rim. I'll probably spend the time in my sewing room as I have several projects to do.

I joined facebook this past month and have really enjoyed connecting with old friends. Have found several from high school and what fun to see what they are all doing now.

More Projects Done In June

2009-06-29T11:17:00.002-06:00

I took this table runner class last week. Finished the handwork on Friday. It is called Pride and Glory and I really like it.

And yes, I do keep it at this angle on the table. I think it looks better this way. This is all squares and half square triangles. I was able to make it totally out of my stash of fabric. Love when I can do that.

I made a second one of these and gave it to Reid. He wrote and told me he really liked the one I had made for our home, so thought he would enjoy having one. And besides...

I had made this table runner for Melissa. Hope they enjoyed their surprise package. As soon as I saw this material with the color green, I thought of Melissa so bought it and made this.

Christmas Quilt is Finally Done

2009-06-29T09:10:00.002-06:00

Five or six years ago, Annette and Monica came to stay a couple of days with me in Maple Valley. We went to the Sew Expo in Puyallup where I bought a kit to make a Christmas Quilt.

I finally felt competent enough to try and make it this year. It came out great! I had Tommye use her long arm quilter to guilt it as it was WAY to big for me to try on my machine. It measures about 52x72.

I love snowmen and at Christmas time, my house has lots of them up. This is going to add greatly.

I had fun doing it.

I just spread it over the bed in our Hawaii guest room to try and get pics of it as I didn't want it on the floor to collect dog hair. This may be where I display it at Christmas.

June!

2009-06-05T10:37:00.003-06:00

June has come and I just finished the June Button Up Quilt today The pattern for this was done in some pretty dark colors which I didn't care for so I brightened mine up. I did this from my stash of fabric except for the pink border. I really like how this came out.

Like the picture, we have flowers blooming all over the yard. The back grass area is a meadow mix and has lots of flowers in it. Also, the winds have come and some warmer days. I think we got to 90 once but mostly in the 80's so far. Yes, Seattle has been warmer than us for several days! Of course, with the wind comes the dust and the pollen. Thank goodness for air conditioning. Rocky doesn't like the wind. When we let him in the house, he goes and hides in the laundry room. It's the darkest room in the house and he seems to like sleeping in there.

We don't have any birthdays or holidays in June (except Flag Day) and of course the 9th would have been Mom and Dad's wedding anniversary. I surely miss them both.

Clouds

2009-06-05T08:45:00.003-06:00

Last week, we had clouds roll in almost every afternoon. These photos were taken on two different days. These first were middle of the afternoon and the later are evening at sunset. Rick and I really enjoyed going out on our porch and watching the changes.

You can see the verga (rain not hitting the ground) here. We did get a few showers but mostly the verga.

Sunset came and the Adobe Mese became a brilliant red. My pictures didn't come out really great so just posted the clouds.

May - And Have We Been Busy

2009-05-26T10:46:00.003-06:00

I had my May Button Up Quilt done before the end of March. Actually, I finished it just after the April one but didn't want to post it until May. Then, we've been so busy, I am just now getting down to getting the pictures and a post done.

Rick and I celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary on the 9th. We went to Grand Junction the scenic but longer way thru Gateway. We really enjoyed the drive. Had lunch at Dos Hombres and it was really good. We then went to the new Star Trek movie and enjoyed it very much. We did a little shopping and then ate dinner at Boston's Pizza, Pasta and Salads. We had never been and it was good.

I went up and spent a week at Scott and Cara's while they went to Calif. to bring Katie here. I really enjoyed my time with the girls. I got a lot of hand sewing done, some cross stitch and even some knitting and reading. I had a pleasant week and hope the girls did too. However, they spent most of their time at school.

Rick and I bought some new plants for the planters and got them planted but no pictures yet. It rained so hard this past weekend, they need to perk up a bit again.

This is a quilt I bought the material and pattern for while in Hawaii. I've had it done for a while but we haven't gotten it hung up yet. It is called Herd of Turtles and will hang in our Hawaii guest room. Rick and I both really love it. The green is all one piece applique (except for the insides of the turtle shells).

This is one I did and it only took a day. It is Saguaro Sunset. I got the pattern here at the quilt store but did my own colors. Like mine better than the sample there. This and the following are the things I finished while at Scott's.

This is Kokopeli. The pattern actually called for Moab Man, but I liked this a lot better. I had the kokopeli design from another quilt pattern I hope to make some day.

While Annette was here in April, we took a quilt class together. This is the tablecloth we made. It came out about 47" square. It fits the dining room table perfectly as a topper and the colors are so bright and springy I just love it. Annette did hers with Christmas fabric and I can hardly wait for her to send me a picture of it completed. We had a lot of fun doing this.

Here it is without the myrtlewood bowl on it. Wish the bright colors had come out a little better.

This past weekend (Memorial Day weekend) we went to Denver. We went to Rocky Mountain National Park on Sunday but since it was cloudy and rainy our pictures didn't do so well. But we had a good time. On Sat. after we got there and had lunch, we went to see the new Angels and Demons movie. We really enjoyed it, but, if you have read the book, you will see they changed a lot of stuff. But it was still great. We came home yesterday taking back roads. We were going to have dinner in Moab but the power was out all over town so we just came home. We had power! I think this is the first time Moab has lost theirs and we haven't. When I picked up Rocky this morning Karen told me they had the worst thunderstorms all weekend that she could every remember. Sorry we missed them. But they are predicting more so maybe we can enjoy them.

APRIL!!!

2009-04-02T09:28:00.003-06:00

Well, April is here already. Last month we saw both our kids. Reid flew out to spend spring break and we took a couple of days and went to Arizona to see Ashley. We had a great time. Reid spent most of the rest of his visit jeeping. I think he really enjoyed doing it. He also made us dinner one night (lasagna) and breakfast the next morning (french toast).

This month is going to be busy. Besides Easter, the month starts off with Jeep Safari here in Moab. It runs from the 4th to the 12th. Rick and I are both helping at registration. In case you don't know about Jeep Safari, it's a lot like Sturgis for the Harley Davidson group. We have people from all over the country and beyond come into town for the week of jeeping. On the last Sat. they do 30 trails! Of course, you have to pick the one you want to go on but you can see we have a lot of great jeeping trails around Moab. What you don't want to do is have to go to the grocery store during the week.

Also this month, Annette is coming out for 10 days. I can hardly wait. We are going to quilt and knit and just have a great time being together again. We are taking a class at the quilt store that should be lots of fun. We are going to make tableclothes. Plus, I get to go up so Scott and Cara's to pick her up and drop her off for her flights. When I pick her up, Cara is going to go with us on a quilt shop hop. What fun. And when I drop her off, I get to go back to Scott and Cara's and there is a good chance I'll get to see Don, Janna and Raelena!

What a great month this is going to be!

Wolcott Update from March

2009-04-02T09:01:00.002-06:00

I can now post the pictures of the V-Dub quilt I made for Ashley. I was going to send it to her for Christmas but decided I really wanted to see her face when she opened it. So...when we went to Arizona with Reid I took the quilt. You can see the pictures Reid took of her opening it on his blog. Yes, she loved it. This pic shows the front and the back. Ashley had helped me pick out the backing, the smiley faces and some of the "bug" material. I really had a lot of fun putting it together.

The original pattern just called for 9 "bugs" and the squares were to be butted up against each other. But I wanted a lap quilt rather than a wall hanging for Ashley so I added the sashings and 3 more "bugs". As you can see, four have scenic backgrounds and the rest sky material. We have the beach, where we lived and played while in Washington. Then there is the Arizona sunset, where Ashley now lives. We have the tree background like where we lived in Washington and of course, the rock and canyon background, somewhat like where we live now.

Here's Ashley rubbing Ricks foot. She is a great massage therapist! And I just love her hair! She looks really great. We really enjoyed going down to Scottsdale to see her.

We were so glad Reid came out for his spring break! But sorry Melissa couldn't come with him. He hates having his picture taken so don't expect great smiles from him. Both the pictures of the kids were taken in our hotel room in Scottsdale. Ashley was able to get us in at the Hyatt Place. We had a terrific room. A king size bed and a sitting room with a sofa/sleeper. It was so nice having time with both of our kids.

March is Here...

2009-03-02T08:19:00.004-07:00

...and with March comes Spring Break for college students. Reid is flying out for a visit and we are really looking forward to seeing him again. Sadly, Melissa isn't able to come this time. But while Reid is here, we are going to Arizona and spending a day or two with Ashley. It will be so nice to have our two children together again.

Also this month, Reid and Scott will be celebrating their birthdays.

This month's button up quilt was a challenge. The pattern had a big Easter Bunny with a basket of eggs. I didn't want to do that, but I did do it for April so you'll see it next month. The April one had six panels. Three with tulips and three with bunny heads. I liked March's much better for Easter. I thought March should have kites and shamrocks. So, I did that. Made up my own pattern and just did it. I really like how it came out.

I also just finished the first of the two quilts I bought the pattern and material for while in Hawaii. It's called a Herd of Turtles. I'll post it as soon as we get it hung in the Hawaii bedroom.

Also this month, in fact this coming weekend, I have several quilts in the local quilt show. They asked me to submit some so I am. They don't judge them, it is just a show and I'm looking forward to going and seeing what others are doing. Also, later in the month, Crystal (local quilt store owner) asked me to go to the quilt show in Price and help her with her vendor booth. I'm really excited about doing that.

Rick continues to go jeepin' most weekends and sometimes it is both Sat. and Sun. He's really enjoying it and it is such a great group of people. Sometimes he even remembers to take a camera! I leave those posts for him as I don't go (I get to stay home and quilt while he's gone).

Trip to Goblin Valley

2009-02-27T08:51:00.002-07:00

Last Sunday, Rick and I went back to Goblin Valley. We had been there last May when Neal and Annette came to visit. It is just amazing. This is a overlook area before we went down. We decended from the opposite side we had last year and saw things we didn't see then. This place is just other worldly. Around every corner and everywhere you look, you see something different and unique.

Some are stand alones and others come in groups.

Thought this looked like ET.

And this one, Donald Duck.

But you can see why they call it Goblin Valley. A lot of them seem to have faces.

It's February!

2009-02-09T08:41:00.002-07:00

Well, February has come and I have finally finished my February Button Up Quilt. I really like it. What you can't see, is that I used a heart stitch to applique the hearts onto the quilt. I tried to get a picture of it but I couldn't get it to focus right. (I need to learn how to manually focus the camera.)

This is the month to remember your sweetheart (Valentine's Day, Feb. 14) and Paul has a birthday.

Most exciting, though, this is the month we returned from Hawaii. We went to Maui this year and spent 9 days. We will try to get the blogs going for that soon. I just downloaded 3 compact flash cards (4 mg. each). One had 507 pictures, the second had 576 and the third only 168. Not too bad since I spent 2 days sick and in bed. But not to worry, it rained those two days so I really didn't miss much.

January Quilting

2009-01-19T11:23:00.003-07:00

We've been busy this month and are now getting ready for our trip to Hawaii but did want to get something posted. This is my design wall (thanks, Cara) with the blocks of the month. We started doing these in Sept. The white fabric in each is the same to tie them all together when we are done. I'm learning quite a bit by doing these and having fun at the same time.

Here is my January Button Up Quilt that I finally finished today. Wed. I take the Feb. class but doubt will get it done before we leave. So, it will be late getting up. This is how the pattern showed the snowman. Later I discovered that a couple of the ladies had made a hat for the snowman. I wish I had. Oh well, live and learn. However, everyone loved my background blue material and also my vest. Both were from my stash. In fact, the entire project was done from my stash.

Eileen's Been Busy Too!

2008-12-11T13:12:00.002-07:00

Well, blogger has decided which order again, so here goes. Made this table runner is a Make & Take Class. It was so easy and quick to do. Looks really nice on the dining room table with my candycane candles and the centerpiece that I had given to Mom and Dad a few years ago.

This is a cross stitch I did a long time ago (like probably 15 years). This now hangs outside my sewing room in the garage.

This is another cross stitch from many years ago. I was always going to do something with it and hang it in the downstairs bathroom in Maple Valley. Well, I finally have done something with it and it now hangs in the bathroom in the garage. Most appropriate as that is really a small bathroom.

This is the wall behind my sewing machine. The two small cross stitches on the left were my Mom and Dad's. The upper right is one I designed and did. And the lower left is something Rick bought me a few years ago. The wood is Myrtlewood. The center is a cross stitch I did last month. I took the original pattern and changed it (omitting a cat and a couple things that aren't me, and adding the two sayings, which are.

Close-up of the cross stitch. I really like how it has the cross stitch lady in upper right, balls of yarn for my knitting, and the machine, thread, and the two quilt blocks in the center for my quilting

This was suppose to be at the top. My December Button Up, which I finally finished a couple days ago. This is the month for remembering friends, old and new. Also, my birthday and Christmas. We wish everyone the very best.

Like I said on the title, I've been busy. This is the Christmas quilt I made for Reid and Melissa. Reid loves penguins so I created this for them.

I also did this wall hanging for them.

This is the wall hanging I did for Ashley. She loves cats and I found this pattern free on the internet once. I've had the cross stitch done for a couple of years. Sorry, Ashley, I didn't get it to you sooner.

And this is the Christmas quilt I did for Ashley. Notice the snowman with a cat head. How appropriate for her. When she opened this (we were on the phone with her at the time) she said she couldn't believe I was giving her some of my snowman fabric. Well, Ashley, I can't think of anyone better to give it to than my kids.

I have done a few more things, you can check them out on our flickr.

Rick's Been Busy

2008-11-23T20:46:00.003-07:00

We wanted our sidewalks in before the rainy and snow season so we wouldn't have the lovely red mud to deal with. Rick got them both done and they look terrific. You can see the front walk with the solar lights we put around it. The lights don't give off a lot of light so the neighbors shouldn't complain.

Well, blogger didn't put them in the order I had them so we now jump to the back sidewalk. You can see the pattern Rick put into this one. I really love this one. And now we can get to the garage without getting mud on us!

Back to the front one with a little longer view of it. The curve looks great. The lawns are going dormant for the year. And I have put some artificial plants in the pots. The white "stick" is actually a tree.

Here is what the back looks like as you come off the back steps.

And this. . . is what we did with the arches in the dinning room. We found these on-line and they were the perfect size for the arches. When we measured the arches, 42 x 64 inches, we were really surprised at how big they really were. But these are perfect and we both just fell in love with them. They really add to the room.

Another Table Runner

2008-11-23T20:38:00.002-07:00

Our class this month was this beautiful fall table runner. I had actually done this type of leaf before on the John Deere Quilt I did for Dad.

It is really beautiful and colorfull.

It really "pops" on the table as Rick says. It certainly puts color in the room. The candles are really an orange color and are not tilting. That's just the angle.

I had purchases the candles to go with this table runner from last month. So far, the four table runners I have made have really been fun to do.

It's November

2008-11-01T09:38:00.002-06:00

It's November and here is my button up quilt. This is the month of Melissa's birthday and Susan's birthday. The month we all go vote and and start getting ready for winter. But most of all, it's the month we give Thanks. We are so looking forward to Thanksgiving this year. We've been in our home for a little over a year now and still have not one regret even with the problems we have had with the house. Also, weather providing, Scott and family and maybe Raelena, are planning on coming down for the holiday. We are really excited about that.

I get to take several quilting classes this month and am really excited. In fact, I've got to run right now as between 10-11 this morning is the block of the month and I've doing it.

Fall Table Runner

2008-10-30T15:19:00.002-06:00

This is the newest table runner I made. I started with the border material. I had this in my stash and love it. So then I just found some others that I could use with it.

While making it in the class, everyone loved my material. I think my came out the best looking with the bright oranges and yellows. Want to find some orange candles to put on either side of it.

The Other Side

2008-10-30T15:08:00.003-06:00

After finding my lighthouses, I started looking for Rick's kite trophies. He has two boxes of them! But all he wanted out were his first place National trophies and of course, the World Trophy from the first time they won. But blogger has decided not to post them in the order I selected so here goes. This is the bottom shelf.

This is the top shelf.

Abd so, this is the middle shelf. The world trophy is very hard to photograph because it is glass and places it is clear. But it is very beautiful.

Here is the way the niche looks.

And this was suppose to be the first photo. Standing at the beginning of the hallway with both niches. It is really nice to have both of them filled.

They've been found!

2008-10-20T13:46:00.002-06:00

Rick and I were cleaning in the garage yesterday when I finally came upon the box that contained my crystal lighthouses. I have looked for months for these, ever since the glass shelves got put in the niches. I was so relieved to finally have them. They look much better in person.
So here are the shelves, one at a time. The two vases, small and large, we inherited from Rick's mom. Also got the small windmill (from Denmark) from her. Mine is on a lower shelf.
This is the bottom shelf. The large vase is something we bought in Hawaii last year. The two crystal pieces beside it are also from Hawaii.

This is the middle and my favorite shelf. The crystal pyramid is one of my favorite pieces. Also you can see my windmill from Denmark. The blocks of crystal have lighthouses etched into them. You can see better if you enlarge the photos. Just wanted to let all know, they have been found and are now in their new home.

Rick gave me most of the miniture lighthouses for my birthday over the years. They are all replicas of real lighthouses.

Castle Valley Gourd Festival Quilt

2008-10-06T08:58:00.003-06:00

A neighbor called me a couple of weeks ago and asked me to do a quilt for the Castle Valley Gourd Festival. It's the weekend of Oct. 18th. It didn't have to be really big, just a wall hanging. I told her that the only gourds I really new were pumpkins. She said she would draw some for me and bring to me. Well, she drew on an 8x11 paper a picture of Castle Rock with a large gourd in front and on the other side the words Castle Valley Gourd Festival. After talking to Crystal at the Moab quilt store, she helped me enlarge it to make templates for doing the quilt. I decided to put the Castle Valley Gourd Festival on a border and put two gourds in front of Castle Rock. I really like how it came out. Hope Alice will, This was a real challenge for me and I'm really proud of myself for doing it. And the really nice thing about this quilt is I made it entirely from materials in my stash. Didn't have to buy anything for it!

October Button Up Quilt

2008-10-01T10:01:00.002-06:00

Here is the October Button Up Quilt I made. I waited until today, October 1st, to put it on. I actually finished it a few days ago. Instead of making the face on the cat (which I didn't think was cute at all), I put bright green beads for the eyes. That's all you see at night anyway. Then I took black ribbon and cut it to use for the whiskers. The pattern called for white wool. I like mine a lot better and when I took it in to the quilt store, Crystal like it better too. The nice thing is the material all came from my stash! I love using that. Can't wait for next month's. I'm really enjoying my quilting classes.

Fall on the LaSal Loop Road

2008-10-01T09:48:00.002-06:00

On Friday we went into Moab for dinner but took the long way there, via the LaSal Loop Road. The fall colors on the aspen trees was really beautiful. The sun wasn't out bright, there were clouds, but you can still see the yellow of the aspens.
I just love aspens in the fall.
Here you can see the clouds over the LaSals with the sun shining on the one portion where the colors were better.

We also saw this verga. Some of the rain actually hit the ground. In fact, we had to put the roof up on the jeep when we stopped for supper. However, it stopped raining so we took it back down after eating.

New Quilted Table Runner

2008-09-27T09:15:00.002-06:00

On Thursday, I took another class at the quilt store in Moab. This is the table runner we made. I got it finished yesterday. The five squares are done by a process called paper piecing. This was my first attempt. (Actually my second, but I couldn't do it the first time for Dad's John Deer quilt so my dear friend Annette did them for me.) I'm really proud of my accomplishment this time. There are nine pieces to the square.
It's really hard to photograph the table runner on the table. As you see, I'm standing on a chair and you can see my toes. But I wanted the entire runner in the picture. At the class, I got the five squares done and the white triangles. (Spent from 10-4 there.) Then I came home and added the two borders, got it quilted and then the binding done yesterday. Rick really liked this one and the colors are perfect for the dining room.

Here is a close up of the squares. I used 8 different fabrics for them. Then I changed the sequence in each square. Since the squares had 9 pieces, I used the same fabric for numbers 1 and 9.

Wednesday evening I also had a class. We did the October Button Up quilt. I'm still working on it so will post as soon as I get done.

Also, on Oct 18th, the Castle Valley Gourd Festival is being held and a neighbor has asked me to do a quilt for it. She even brought me a drawing of an idea. So, I'm going to attempt it. Talked to Crystal at the quilt store and she gave me some great suggestions and is willing to help me all she can. When it's done, I'll post it. It is for their silent auction.

Ashley & Nathan Come For A Visit

2008-09-19T17:13:00.003-06:00

Ashley & Nathan came up to spend a few days with us. Be sure to check out Ashley's blog for more information.

Rick took Nathan "jeepin" and broke the rear U-joint. Thankfully other people were on Hell's Revenge at the time and helped pull them out. Rick only had front wheel drive until he and Nathan got it fixed. Then he took Ashley and Nathan up Onion Creek and Fins & Things.
On Tuesday, we all went rafting on the Colorado River. We took the all day trip and really had a great time. Trying to shoot pictures from a moving raft is not easy! We stopped for lunch at the Red Cliff Lodge. They do barbeque hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken. Salads, chips, fruit and cookies along with water, ice tea or lemonade. We enjoyed it. Then back on the river.
Took this shot of Ashley just after we started. She later shed her sweater.
And here is Nathan. Can you tell he is enjoying himself?

He even decided to take a dip in the river. Getting back into the raft was a tricky operation. But he juumped in a couple of times.

We all got wet several times, but the worst rapids are only a class 2 on the portions we were on. No one fell overboard and our guide was a real character. So all in all, we had a really pleasant and fun time. Can't wait to do this again!

What To Do When You Can't Sleep

2008-09-10T21:39:00.004-06:00

Yesterday morning I woke up very early and could not get back to sleep. So I peeked outside and it looked like there could be a nice sunrise. I took the Jeep and went on a Jeep trail over to an area between Castle Rock and Adobe Mesa. As it turned out the sunrise for the most part was a dud, but there were a few moments where it was nice.

This first picture is clouds over Adobe Mesa shortly before sunrise.
This one is of Castle Rock just as the sun was hitting the top of the rock.
I tried taking a couple of pictures using the flash to add light to the plant in the foreground. I was laying down to take this picture.
Another picture using the flash to add light to the juniper in the foreground.
The sun came out long enough for me to get this picture of Castle Rock and the Rectory.

And You Thought Jeeps Were Just for Having FUN...

2008-09-01T11:41:00.002-06:00

As you can see, they are much more. Rick was planting along the outer edge of the lawn when this sagebrush got in his way. So out comes the Jeep and the winch.
He wrapped the winch around the sagebrush and...
Started up the winch.
It really only took a few seconds for this brush to be history.

Here lies the dead sagebrush. This was the second and larger bush to go. That winch can sure come in handy. Now, back to planting.

Eileen's Striped Table Runner

2008-08-30T09:33:00.002-06:00

Thursday night I took a table runner class down at It's Sew Moab. We made this table runner. We had to have a stripped fabric so I chose this lovely red. Figured I could put it out at Christmas and Valentine's Day. I was very pleased how it came out. And I actually finished it in the class.
It really looks nice on our oak table in the dining room.

Can't wait for next month's class. We are going to do paper piecing squares. This will really be a challenge for me. I take this class each month so look for more in the future.

More Pictures of the Fire

2008-08-27T19:40:00.002-06:00

I went out about every 10-15 minutes to take more pictures of the fire. I stopped taking them about 5:00pm as supper was ready.

I was lucky on this one to get the plane dropping the fire retardant. There were actually two planes doing this but most of the time you couldn't see them drop as they were behind too much smoke.
Luckily the breeze was blowing the away from us. So we weren't bothered by the smoke.

There is still a lot of smoke out there and it is about 7:45pm. After dark, will see if we can see any more flames and if so, try to get pictures then.

Don't know if they have opened the roads yet. They closed the LaSal Loop Road from Castle Valley to the Sand Flats, in Moab and the Porcupine Rim trail is closed.

There are more pictures on our flickr under Fire in Castle Valley. Be sure to check them out.

Fire in Castle Valley

2008-08-27T14:51:00.002-06:00

I took these photos at 2:40 pm today from our front porch. As you can see, there is a fire down the valley.

Last night we had another thunder and lightning show. A lot of sheet lightning but some wonderful jagged streaks. Don't know if this is a result of that or something else. We didn't see any smoke this morning.

If anything develops from this, I'll take some more pictures and post them.

September Button Up Quilt

2008-08-22T19:49:00.003-06:00

This past Wed. I took a quilting class for the monthly Button Up Quilt. The day before the class, I picked up the pattern as you needed to make this background quilt first. With the experience I had learned from my great quilting teacher, Annette, I was able to make this background quilt all by myself. They had suggested you make it from dark or black rectangles but I chose to make it from golds as it was going to hang in my sewing room and then each month the quilt you button to it would look like it was in a gold frame. I love how it turned out and so did Crystal (owner of & teacher at the quilt shop). I also centered the two outside buttons in their rectangles rather than put them five inches from the center button. It looks so much better this way.

Here is my finished September Button Up Quilt. I only got as far as the stems put on the night of the class. But Thurs. I went back to the quilt store and finished putting on the sunflowers. I had never done anything like this so wanted the guidance from Crystal. She was delighted to have me for company that day. Told her I will probably have to do this each month depending on how hard the quilts are. I then came home about 3:30 and started quilting the quilt. I had to stitch around every piece of the flowers and then do some more in the big open spaces. I finished quilting it today. I then bound the quilt and put ribbons on the back to hang it up with. I really like how it looks on my background quilt. I can hardly wait for next month's. Crystal was working on the example while I was there yesterday and it is adorable.

Next week I take a table runner class and can hardly wait. I'm really enjoying not only my sewing room but quilting again.

Monitor & Merrimac Night Photos

2008-08-17T17:31:00.002-06:00

I went a night run with the Moab Friends for Wheelin' club (which I became a member last night) to the Monitor and Merrimac formations in the Moab area. There was a full moon out. It was a beautiful evening.
The Merrimac was bathed in moonlight. You can also see the Big Dipper to the right of the formation.
The Monitor was backlit by the Moon. As you see I captured it just sneaking around the side of the formation.

Cross Stitch & Quilting

2008-08-14T16:20:00.003-06:00

Well, I finished the project I was working on when the lightning took out our phones, Rick's computer and our TV's But all is well again.

I took a binding class last night and got the binding on this Halloween picture and finished the hand sewing this morning. After going into the hardware store this afternoon, I cut the dowel I purchased and sewed a sleeve for it on the back. Then I added the ribbon to hang it with. I really like how it came out.
Thought a close up of the cross stitch was in order. This one only took me about a week to do.
Since I was so pleased with the Halloween picture I took time Sat. to quilt this one. I had done the cross stitch years ago and had just never gotten around to getting it matted and framed. But I really like this much better.

While in town today, I picked up this orange ribbon to hang it with. Again, I sewed a sleeve on the back for the dowel. This keeps the pictures from folding in when hung. Guess I'll have to do some more, this was so fun.

I've signed up for a couple of monthly classes at the quilt store here in Moab. (It's Sew Moab). One is for table runners and the other is monthly quilts that you button to a background. Each month we will do a different one. I also signed up for the "Block of the Month". For $5, I get the first block (the first Sat. in Sept.). Then each month on the first Sat. I take in the completed block and receive the block for that month. It won't cost me any more money IF I have completed the block. There will be 12 blocks in all so I can get all 12 blocks for my $5. I'm really excited about this. Will keep you posted on what I'm doing, but I surely am enjoying that new sewing room in the garage!

The River Turns Red

2008-08-14T16:05:00.003-06:00

After the lightning, we drove into Moab so we could use the cell phones. On the way back home, about halfway there, we noticed the color of the Colorado River had changed. It was a very red color. Just like the the dirt here at home. In fact, they stopped us as we turned onto the River Road (Hwy 128) to ask how far we were going. When we told them Castle Valley, they let us through. They told us about milepost 19, the bridge had been flooded with mud and debris. We went ahead and drove out to it, it is just before Onion Creek, and they were still working on clearing it. The higher elevations had really gotten hammered with the rain and had sent a torrent down this gully. It had gone over the side of the bridge and flooded it. Then it had proceeded on to the Colorado River.

Even the next morning the river was still a little red just outside of Moab.

Lightning Strikes!

2008-08-09T18:13:00.005-06:00

Thursday we were have thunder & lightning storms pass through the valley. Our power flashed once (did wonders for Rick working on his computer) but we never lost power. HOWEVER, about 2:30 pm apparently lightning hit something really close because it traveled through our phone lines. The DSL/Phone splitter exploded sending pieces flying over the top of Rick's computer. Also, his modem blew apart. Needless to say, we lost phone service. It fried Rick's work computer and the base unit for our home number cordless phones. We also lost our DISH. The phone repair service came out Friday. And he couldn't believe that the only problem really was two jacks went out. All the wiring was fine. Rick's work UPS'd overnight another computer for him so he is back in business. We went to Grand Junction today and bought new cordless phones. (They are currently charging.) We discovered that the third home jack (Rick has one in the retreat for his work number and we have two for our personal number.) The jack in the family room was "toast" but the one in our bedroom continued to work and we had an old fashion, non-electric phone plugged in there.

We called DISH Thursday evening to see about our satellite service. The tv's come on but they say "no signal". We tried various things but nothing worked and they can't get a service tech here until Tues. So no TV! And with the olympics on, we are really upset about that.

Since no TV and Susan and Mike here visiting, we were lucky to have a lightning show last night. We didn't hear a lot of thunder and what we did was really far away. But the lightning really lit up the horizon. We sat out on our porch and really enjoyed the show.

Susan and Mike just stayed overnight but we surely had a great visit with them. They want to come back and stay a few days next time. Rick was only able to take Mike "jeepin" a little bit with the storms brewing.

I was out sewing in my wonderful sewing room and didn't even know anything had happened until Rick came in and showed me the blown up splitter and told me about it. Yes, I was actually working on a project. When it's completed, if it comes out well, I'll post a picture. It is a cross stitch with a quilted frame around it.

We are safe and sound. And even with this little lightning problem, we don't want to live anywhere else.

We've Been Busy

2008-07-28T20:31:00.003-06:00

No pictures, but did want to update everyone who visits our blog. We have been working in the garage more. But having some fun also. The last three weekends, Rick has gone 4-wheeling in the Jeep with a couple of different groups. He usually forgets to take the camera and when he has, I've left it for him to post. (Notice all the great posts from him?) I haven't gone. I have found that most of the trails are really rocky, bumpy and NO BATHROOMS so I would prefer to stay at home. I have gotten to really enjoy my time. I get to watch movies Rick doesn't want to see, knit, cross stitch read the Zane Grey books, and just relax. I have also gotten my sewing room pretty well put together.

This last weekend, Rick went off on Sat. so on Sunday we worked in the garage. We started putting in the bookcase at the end of my sewing room. We have it over half done. We got the three vertical boards in and then the shelves on half of it. We did a good job of it. When we get them all in, I plan on painting them. In fact, going to town tomorrow for more of my lovely yellow (Scrimshaw) paint. Then when it's dry, I can start putting books (mostly paperback) and CD's on the shelves. We don't want to put too much weight on the shelves.

Rick has also been working a lot of evenings on getting his insulation in the rest of the garage. He bought a 4 ft. fan to help circulate the air while he is out there working. It hasn't been cooling off at night much. Still usually in the 80's at 10 pm.

Got the front lawn planted a week ago last Fri. We now have some green lawn in front of the house. The sprinkling system is in for the sides and back and Ken now has a tractor here to start leveling the back a little better and putting rocks along the berm in the back. This is to hold the dirt for the well and propane tank. They are up about 3 ft. from the back yard.

Rick got the pavers to do the front and back walkways. But until the yard is in a little better, we just have a few for stepping stones at this time. Keeping Rocky off the new lawn has been lots of fun. HA HA. But with the heat, he really doesn't mind staying in the house all day.

Well, just wanted to let you know we are still around and keeping busy. Can't wait for everything to get finished. (Like that ever happens.)

Eileen's Sewing Room

2008-07-15T21:28:00.002-06:00

We have almost finished the sewing room in the garage now. As you can see, we have added a portable cooler/heater/fan/dehumidifier. (Like we need the dehumidifier here!) But it sure helps cool the room at this point. I have gotten my cutting table in and my sewing desk. Behind the "X" on the end wall, we are going to put bookshelves for a lot of our paperbacks and smaller books. The shelves can only be 6" wide so the bigger books will have to go in the house.
These cupboards take up almost the entire wall. The middle spot is perfect for all my sewing and craft books. These of course include, quilting, knitting, cross stitching, beading, and I have even got the Crocheting for Dummies in there. I still want to learn this one.
Here is a view of the sewing desk and my machine. I love this setup. The work surface is so big you can do quilts very nicely on it. As you can see, even though the room is a lovely yellow with white trim I had Rick paint the door as the others in the garage are. A lovely ginger color. I really like the accent.
Cara had asked me for a picture inside my fabric cupboard, so here it is. The left side is my seasonal and special fabrics (like lighthouses) and the right side is by color. In cabinet on the left, the next to the bottom shelf, has the most fabric and it is Christmas. The other shelves contain at least two seasons. It was so much fun to see these again. They had been in storage since Feb. 2007! I had forgotten a lot of them.
We went back to Home Depot and got these cabinets to put behind my sewing desk. They fit perfectly there. I just have a little touch up painting to do, the bookshelves to get in and the storage shelves in the alcove and then the room will be done. Can't wait to start using it! Thanks Rick for a great job on the tile floor, the painting and giving me my own special place.

Visit with Scott & Family

2008-07-15T21:16:00.002-06:00

At the end of June, Janna and Casey flew out for Casey to attend a week at BYU. Janna and Scott came down to visit but were only able to stay overnight. So...when they left, Eileen went back up to Scott's for an additional visit with Janna and to spend a week there with his family. By the way, she had a fantastic time. While there, Madison graduated from 6th grade and we all went to her graduation.
Then we went down to Provo to visit with Uncle Roy and Aunt Joan. Eileen hadn't seen them for 8-10 years. We visited with them at their work, at the employment agency at Deseret Industries. They really haven't changed in all the years Eileen has know them. (Only a little grayer, but then aren't we all?)
After much explaining in Spanish, by Scott, to a gentleman Uncle Roy knew, we all got our cameras out and he took pictures of the entire group.

I had him take two as Scott had not really gotten back into the photo well by the time he had taken the first one. We had such a good visit with them. We then went to John & Stacey's place, but Eileen forgot to take any pictures. And she feels really bad about that. They have a great house and are really cute together.

More Pictures From Our Porch

2008-07-04T20:22:00.002-06:00

I finally got time to download some pictures that have been in my camera for a while. I've been too busy working on the garage, so now on the 4th of July I took a break. Anyways here are some more sunset pictures I have taken from our front porch.

House & Garage Update or ( What We Have Been Doing In Our Spare Time)

2008-06-15T11:57:00.002-06:00

Eileen got the wood on the back porch stained on Fri with the second coat on Sat. We still have the steps to do. The yellow thing by the hose is a squeaky toy of Rocky's. It was so annoying, it got banned from inside the house. Rocky just loves things that make noise!
Got the paint for the doors Friday evening and Rick got the well room door painted. Still has 2 more doors to go. The door on the left is to the bathroom and it's next. This kind of makes a before and after picture.
Reid has been wanting pictures of the jeep showing the things Rick has been doing to it. Here is the new back bumper, spare tire and gate. The tire cover still has to be put on. We put the top back on and windows in yesterday as we wanted the A/C. He had to grind the hitch off the old bumper to get that bumper off. The people had welded it on! What a "fun" job that was. Eileen got to stand there with the fire extinguisher, just in case.
Flickr didn't put these in the order I had them. This should have been before the jeep. Oh well, this is Eileen's sewing room. We got the blind put up and Rick finished putting the baseboard in Thurs. night. Eileen painted it on Sat. morning. She really loves the yellow color (called Scrimshaw). With the white accents it really looks great. The left wall (without baseboard) is where her cabinets are going. They are white. After they are in, Rick will put baseboard where needed. Rick did a really great job of installing the tile floor. Eileen can hardly wait to start putting things in here to use it.

This is the new front bumper with the winch. Rick was really glad he had this when he went 4-wheeling on the "Top of the World" trail and had to use the winch to get out of a bad spot.

The insulation came Friday for the rest of the garage so after painting, that's Rick's next project. It gets really hot in there now. The sewing is insulated and what a difference.

Capitol Reef - Day Two (Mother's Day)

2008-06-15T11:10:00.002-06:00

One of the things Eileen has wanted to do since we moved here was to go to Capitol Reef and walk down the Grand Wash. Since it was Mother's Day we decided to to this. Neal and Annette had never done it so it was lots of fun. We didn't make it all the way to the end of the wash (maybe next time) but since going back to the parking area was uphill we turned around just as we were starting to get tired. It is a gentle slope up and we took our time.
There are so many sites to see with all the different formations it can be overwhelming. These photos are just a small sample. You can see more on our flickr under the group called Capitol Reef. Be sure to check it out.
As you can see, most of the way is very wide and easy going. There were only a couple of places it gets rocky and you have to watch your footing. But boy is the walk worth going on.

We are standing under an overhang and looking up. It was starting to get warm and the shade felt really good.

Eileen really enjoyed her Mother's Day walk.

Castle Valley Home Update

2008-06-02T18:22:00.002-06:00

This is what our place looked like last fall. You can see extra shingles on the roof for the porch that was to be added. Also, notice the cars are parked in front as no garage yet.
Finally, they got the porch finished last month. It is wonderful. We really enjoy sitting out there. Really changed the look of the place.
Also, the garage in pretty much done. We have blinds to hang at the windows and the floor in the sewing room to grout. Then the cabinets can go in and the baseboard. We are loving it.
We think the porch really changed the look and the garage adds so much. The driveway is almost completed. They will spread gravel after this road base is firmed up. Notice the parking areaa in front of the house. That's for all our guests. We can park 2 or 3 vehicles there and we can put one in the garage. Hope to see you all soon.

Rick's "Baby" Is Finally Home!

2008-06-01T09:16:00.001-06:00

Yesterday, we finally got the '56 Chevy home. What an adventure. The local U-Haul didn't have a car carrier. And Monticello never called us back. So we ended up driving to Grand Junction to pick up the carrier. Then back to Moab to put the car on it. That was fun pushing it. Then home to the garage. Had to get the neighbor to help get it off and pushed into the garage. Then back to Moab to return the car hauler. Finally got lunch while there (4:00pm). Then home again. Got the car onto these rollers Rick had gotten and pushed it to the side so we could get the FJ back into the garage as well. We were really tired when all this was done. Plus, it got up to 90 in Moab yesterday. We had left the house closed up and it was only 75 inside. Never had to turn the air conditioner on. When it cooled off, we went and sat on the porch for a while.

Capitol Reef - Day One

2008-05-28T08:53:00.002-06:00

After visiting Goblin Valley, we drove on to Capitol Reef. We spent the afternoon driving around and seeing the sights. We did walk over towards Eileen's camel. Along the way, we discovered a lot of petrified wood lying around. Rick would have loved to have some but didn't take any.
This is Eileen's camel. There are no signs pointing this out nor is it on the map. But the first time we visited here she saw this formation and named it. It is one of her favorites in the park.
We drove out to Cathedral Valley and spent some time there. This is Glass Mountain there. Very unique and interesting.
Twin Rocks are near the camel.

This is also from Glass Mountain. It was dark by the time we got back to our motel. Tomorrow we plan on walking the Grand Wash. Something Rick and Eileen haven't done since just after getting married. Neal & Annette had never been so should be fun.

More pictures on our fickr. Be sure to check them out.

Goblin Valley

2008-05-27T12:08:00.002-06:00

Many of you have commented that we haven't posted for a while. Yes, we have been busy getting the garage finished up so we could move stuff out of storage. However, our dear friends, Neal & Annette came to visit us so we took some time off and did a few fun things with them. The first weekend they were here (May 10-11) we went to Capitol Reef. On the way we stopped and spent a couple of hours at Goblin Valley. None of us had been there before and we had a great time walking around in it. We still didn't get to see it all.
What a great place for kids. They were running around and climbing on the rocks and in general having a great time. Wish we had known about this place when our kids were smaller. Great place for them to run off all that extra energy they get when riding around on vacation.

More pictures on our flickr. Later I'll post from the rest of the trip to Capitol Reef. We sure had a great time.

Dewey Bridge - After the Fire on 4-6-08

2008-04-14T09:01:00.004-06:00

Yesterday we took a drive in the jeep. We took the top down and had a great time and incredible views. We drove into Arches and took a back road out. Then after getting gas in Moab and chocolate malts at Milt's (they were fabulous) we drove out to Dewey Bridge. It burned last Sunday evening. This was on the National Historic Register. Apparently a 7-year old was playing with matches at the campground some ways from the bridge. But the fire traveled along the bank of the Colorado River and burned the old wooden bridge. Here are some pictures as it looks now.
At this time, there are no plans to retore it again. But I'm hoping they will. It was a beautiful white wooden bridge. You can read about the fire in the Moab Times Independent newspaper. They have color photos on line of the fire.
Flickr didn't upload the images as I had put them in so they are out of order. This, of course, is Delicate Arch. Took this from a 4-wheel drive road just past the viewing area. (We were here long before we drove out to Dewey Bridge.)
Now, back to Dewey Bridge.
This plant is called Loco Weed. But isn't it pretty? This was in Arches also, but it is all along the River Road. Looks nice, but sure don't want it in my yard!

As usual, more photos of the bridge and Arches in our Arches folder and Dewey Bridge folder.

Updated Last Day in Hawaii

2008-04-11T22:35:00.003-06:00

I finally got around to uploading some of our pictures from our last day in Hawaii. Click here to see the updated posting. To see our set of pictures from Hawaii click here.

Sunrise & Sunset in Castle Valley

2008-04-11T11:15:00.003-06:00

A couple of days ago, Rick got up early and thought it looked like a terrific sunrise. He drove over to Castle Rock and took a few photos. Here is what he saw.
It didn't develop as great as he thought it might, but still was something with all the clouds.
Yesterday morning, we woke up to some snow but by 10-11 am, it was gone. Had a nice day until evening and then it clouded up again. The light was very unusual. We never got any rain, only a few sprinkles but the clouds were amazing. This one, Rick used the sunset setting on his camera.
But these last two are natural. It was really nice to be on our porch and see this. This is Castle Rock, of course.

This is Porcupine Rim (behind our house). But this was taken from the porch. As you can see, we have great VIEWS in all directions. What an amazing place to live. We love it here!

There are more pictures on our flickr. Be sure to check them out also.

Out for a Sunday Drive - Jeep Style

2008-04-06T20:57:00.004-06:00

We had to wait for the floor in the garage to dry (72 hours) so we decided to take a Sunday drive in the jeep. First time Eileen got to be in the front seat. She didn't want too much of a challenge (she's a bit of a chicken) so we drove out to the River Road and decided to try some of the dirt roads off it to see what Castle Rock would look like from that angle. Here we are at the end of the road. We had to cross a dry stream bed about 8-10 times to get here, once even driving in the stream bed. But the views were great!

This is just one of the many of these plants out there.
Clouds were starting to come in and the sky wasn't the greatest, but we had fun anyway. We took the windows out of the front and got blown really good, but boy can you see out then.

One the way down, stopped to take this shot of the River Road and the Colorado River.

After supper we were sitting on the porch and decided to take another short drive. We took Castle Valley Drive out to where it turns into a gravel road. We drove on to Round Mountain and then followed one of the several roads back to the LaSal Loop Road and then home. We had a great day. Can't wait to do it again. Didn't take any photos as it was after sunset down in the valley.

Our New Toy

2008-03-27T22:32:00.004-06:00

We've been thinking of getting a used Jeep rather than go to the expense of adding a bunch of stuff to our FJ Crusier. So, even though today was Reid's 24th birthday, we got the present. We bought this 1999 Jeep Wrangler. We had looked at a 1990 on the day before but got this newer and nicer one for the same amount of money.

So then of course, we had to take it 4-wheeling. Rick's been wanting to go on the Porcupine Rim trail but we only went about 1.5 miles of the 11+ mile trip. Let's just say the ladies in the back were really getting thrown around and the road was so narrow in places, were afraid we'd go off the cliff (and it was a Long Ways Down!) No use wrecking it the first day. So we turned around and took the LaSal Loop Road home.

This give you just a little idea of the road for Pocupine Rim.

Reid has more pictures (better shots too) on his blog and in his flickr. Be sure to check them out. (See link to Reid's blog to the left.)

Reid & Melissa Come for a Visit

2008-03-27T10:58:00.003-06:00

Tues. Eileen drove to SLC and had a great visit with Scott and Cara. Then on Wed. morning she drove out to the airport to pick up Reid and Melissa who have flown out here for a few days during Reid's quarter break from school. Temps were in the 70's and still 66 after dark so we went to Arches for some sunset pictures. Here we have Reid and Melissa taking some of their photos (which your'll find on Reid's blog in his flickr.
As usual, our first stop in Arches was Park Ave. Loved the clouds there.
Then we stopped at Balanced Rock and took a lot of photos. Will upload more into flickr. Here you can see Turret Arch and the La Sal Mountains.
Bala nced Rock was really beautiful.
The sun came out from behind the bank of clouds and the sky was really beautiful for a while. We left after dark and the temp was still 66, however, there was a breeze that made it seem cooler.

Last Day in Hawaii

2008-03-21T12:34:00.002-06:00

We had a 10:30pm flight out of Kona so we had the day to go to the Hawaiian Tropical Botanical Garden. Rick and I each took over 200 pictures here! We had never seen so many different plants and flowers. We spent several hours here. (It's just outside of Hilo) There are a couple of waterfalls, a path to the ocean with some great views, a cage with macaws, a pond with large gold fish, and so many plants and flowers I'm not sure we saw them all. They had an orchid area that was really something. And a fern area (so many different kinds). We then drove back to Kailua Kona, had supper and drove out to the airport. They actually recheck carry on luggage at the gate. We got into Oakland where we then had a 6 hour layover for our flight back to SLC. And we couldn't believe it, our luggage was some of the first off the plane. Scott picked us up and after a very short visit with them, we drove back to Castle Valley. So glad to see the snow gone! As I said before in a post, we each took over 1000 pictures on this trip and can only put a few up, trying for the best ones, but please come and visit and we'll be happy to show you more.

Our 6th Day in Hawaii

2008-03-17T20:31:00.000-06:00

We decided to go to Pololu Beach today. On the way there we saw these windmills and stopped to take some pictures. They were turning but were very quiet. It was a really beautiful day as you can see.
On the road with the windmills, you could see across the ocean to Maui. What an incredible site!
Then Pololu Beach. This is looking from a little ways down the path. It was a steep and rocky climb down. We were really glad we had our walking sticks and it was all I could do to get back up! The guidebook had said a 15-20 minute walk down and if you made it back up in 20 you hadn't stopped. Well, it took us more like 30 to get down and we only stopped to take a few pictures once. The the climb back up was something else. It is really steep! We rested only a couple of times and made it up in 40-45 minutes. But I was exhausted and not sure about that last little bit. I was really proud of myself for making it. But it was worth it. A beautiful black sand beach. So quiet and not many people. Thankfully they had a couple of log swings to sit and rest on before the climb back up.
After lunch we drove to Mauna Kea. It goes up 13,000 ft. What a difference after being at sea level. They strongly suggest a 4-wheel drive but we didn't have any trouble with the AWD thing we were driving. It was cold and windy there. But the view was breathtaking. You can see the clouds below the telescopes. There was a couple there with a pickup shoveling snow into the back and packing it down to get as much in as they could to take is down to the lower level. We thought of Scott and his snow blower to get rid of the snow and here were people trying to get it.
At the Visitor Center (we stopped on the way up to acclimate and again on the way down just to use the restrooms), Rick took this shot of a silversword. They don't seem to grow very many places but are really a beautiful plant.

I have again posted more pictures on the flickr in our Hawaii set. Be sure to check them out.

Hawaii - Day 5

2008-03-12T16:41:00.000-06:00

Well, today we finally went snorkeling. Rick had a lot more fun doing it than I did. I just don't see all that great without my glasses and I tend to breathe in panic mode if I get in over my head. But still we had a fun time. We found this sea turtle and Rick got some underwater shots of him. Shooting underwater is a challenge. And the turtle didn't exactly stop and pose for us. We were at Pu'uhonua o Honaunau next to the Historical Park. There was another area there (the Bay) where other people were snorkeling and diving, but you had to go down on this ledge, wait for a wave to come in and go out with the wave. You got back in the same way. We are not good swimmers and decided NO WAY!!!
So we just stayed in the shallow swimming area and had a good time. We saw quite a few fish. We wore T-shirts over our swimsuits so we wouldn't get burned. Such a fun morning we had then back to hotel to shower and change.
We finally got our shave ice this afternoon. And really enjoyed them while sitting watching people and the ocean. It was so peaceful and beautiful. Then decided to go out to Hapuna Beach for the sunset. On the way out, about a mile before "A" Beach you come to this lava tube beside the road so finally decided to stop and take a picture of it.
Hapuna Beach is just what you think a Hawaiian beach should be. Sand, surf, and palm trees. There were quite a few people there when we got there. These guys were sure having a good time.

There were really too many clouds for a great sunset but we took a few shots anyway. The scenery was great if only the clouds had been better. Oh well, not every day can be perfect in paradise.

Be sure to check our flickr as more pictures of Hawaii are posted there.

Wednesday - Our Fourth Day

2008-03-11T11:38:00.000-06:00

We went to Hilo today to the Farmer's Market. It wasn't as big as the Saturday one but still purchased a couple of items. We took the southern route back to Kailua Kona as we hadn't been that way. This way, we circled the entire island. We stopped at Ahalanui Warm Springs. This is a naturally heated swimming pool. We put our hands in it and it is really warm. The ocean feeds into it but the lava runs under to heat it. It is really a beautiful setting.
We then drove on to Punalu'u Black Sand Beach. This place is gorgeous. We did spot a turtle or 2 popping their heads up but could get good pictures of them as they didn't stay up long enough.
The sand is black because the waves crush the black lava that has been deposited here from the volcano.

It was getting late so we just headed back to Kailua Kona. Too many clouds for a good sunset and we planned to go snorkeling in the morning.

I've added a few more pictures to a Hawaii flickr. Be sure to check them out.

Our Third Day - Part Two

2008-03-07T14:36:00.000-07:00

The World Botanical Gardens was a three part garden. You drove thru to the first two sections and then walked the third. We took so many pictures, I'm hoping to get some into our flicker so you can see more. The flowers were just glorious. Here are just a couple.

The is Umauma Falls. The only way you get to see this falls is to pay to go thru the gardens. But it is well worth the cost of admission.
This is in the second section of the park known as the rain forest. We were amazed at the size of many of the leaves on the plants. Just had to put this one in of Rick.

This little waterfall was also in the rain forest area. On our drive back to Kona, we call our friends Jerry and Marcia Cannon. Jerry had a heart attack just before we left for Hawaii. He was home today and answered the phone. He was doing great and we had a wonderful chat. This made for a perfect ending to our day in paradise. More than made up for the fact that there wasn't a good sunset to take pictures of.

Our Third Day - Part One

2008-03-06T10:30:00.000-07:00

We took so many pictures on Tuesday, I've broken it up into two parts. We started out to go to the Waipi'o Valley. The is a beautiful, secluded valley, but takes a 4-wheel drive to get down to as the road is about a 25% grade. We had requested a 4-wheel drive, but the rental car agency didn't have one for us and finally gave us an upgraded SUV with AWD. Unfortunately, they wouldn't let AWD down the road so we could only take pictures from the overlook. It was quite overcast at the time so all of the photos are misty looking but you can still see the beautiful black sand beach and the waves coming in. When we were here before, this was one of Ashley's favorite places. We were very disappointed not to be able to go back there, especially Rick.
We then drove on down to Laupahoehoe Point and Memorial. This is the site of the April Fool's Day 1946 tsunami disaster where so many school children and teachers lost their lives. It is now a park and memorial.
We couldn't believe how the waves were crashing in here today. We became enthralled with them and spent quite a bit of time here. We both took a lot of pictures and really enjoyed ourselves.

From here we went to the World Botanical Gardens. I'll do another post of this later.

Trip to Hawaii - Days 1 and 2

2008-03-05T17:53:00.000-07:00

We got to Hawaii on Sat. night and reached our hotel, Kona Seaside Hotel about 11:00 pm. On Sunday we did some shopping for snorkel gear and drove around a lot. At the end of the day, we couldn't believe we hadn't taken a single picture! But on Monday morning we were up bright and early as we had a 7:00 am Whale Watching tour schedule out at the marina. We saw several humpback whales, but all from a distance. Even this photo of Rick's is a bit blurry from the movement of the boat. And boy, did you have to be fast to get a shot at all. But we had a really great time.
After lunch we drove to Pu'uhonua O Honaunau. The is a great place to snorkel as well as a National Park. This sea turtle had come up on the beach to rest. As the waves came up higher, he moved up just enough to keep his head out of the waves. They really do move slow.
More pictures from the Park. Known as a Place of Refuge. It was really beautiful and peaceful here.

Then we drove out to 'Anaeho'omalu Beach to take sunset pictures. Even the locals call this "A" beach because it is such a long name. Anyone can take great sunset pictures here. This was the perfect way to end a day here in paradise. This was also the best sunset we had the whole time we were there.

Rock Climbers in Arches

2008-02-11T21:54:00.000-07:00

On Sunday as we were driving through Arches, on our way to hike back to Landscape Arch, we say some rock climbers scaling one of the towers (I believe it is called the Tower of Babel). These people were singing away and having generally a great time while they were climbing this vertical wall

Along the River Road (Hwy 128)

2008-02-01T14:44:00.000-07:00

The highway back to Castle Valley winds along the Colorado River and there is a lot to see besides the Colorado River. So, take your time when you come and see us or you might miss a few things. For example, this is Updraft Arch. For this you have to stop and get out of the car. Walk back along the road a ways and look up. From the road driving, only the passenger can see it and only for a split second. And, it is worth getting and and seeing. This is only about a mile up the road.
Just past Updraft Arch, is the alligator. There is a nice parking area for river regulations, etc. and no signs at all pointing out this feature. You just have to look for yourself to find him. But, since he is rather LARGE, you really can't miss him.

Yes, I'm standing in the middle of the road. All the traffic at times we have around here makes this possible and this really is the best view of this. I have loved this view ever since the first time I saw it. And driving up the canyon, you can't miss it. And a couple of surprises are just around the bend. Such as...
This great Mushroom Rock. You can pull into a parking area to see this one. This is the area where a lot of people come to practice rock climbing. It's great to watch them. A lot of them bring inflatable mattress in case of falling.

But, these guys didn't. They were fun to watch. It's not something I intend to take up. But they were sure having a fun time. Weekends there are usually quite a few people here at this area and the rock usually have all these white splotches on them from their chalk.

Ice on the Colordao River

2008-01-25T12:56:00.000-07:00

I got my pictures downloaded last night and was glad the pictures of ice on the Colorado River came out as well as they did. To me, this is just an incredible site! In some places the water still flows freely and in others, it has to go under the ice. You can see how thick the ice is in areas. How it has cracked and bunched up. As ususal, the pictures really don't do justice to seeing this in person. I had never thought about the mighty Colorado freezing. So this has been really something.

Scott's Family at Arches

2008-01-25T12:46:00.000-07:00

I got my pictures downloaded last night so thought I'd post a few of Scott and his family. One of our first stops in Arches was at Park Avenue and Scott took the girls picture there.
I then took a picture of their family. Park Avenue is behind them.
The girls loved climbing around the rocks when we stopped at Courthouse Towers parking area. They didn't want to climb inside this formation but were willing to stand beside it.

Here is what it looked like inside. They could have gone thru the tunnel but declined. But they had a great time anyway.

Trip to Arches with Scott & Family

2008-01-24T16:57:00.000-07:00

Scott and his family came down this past weekend and spent a few days with us. We certainly enjoyed having them. On Sunday, we went into Arches. Cara and Allison had never been there. Here are Allison and Madison in front a fallen rock. As you can tell, it was really bright and sunny, but cold!
We all hiked up the windows area and this is the view looking back from Turret Arch. This formation is known as The Spectacles.
We only saw Delicate Arch from this viewpoint. None of us were up to the hike up to it. Maybe this summer we'll make it. Rick has been up several times.
Skyline Arch is just off the road so you don't have to go far to see it. The girls were pretty worn out by the time we got there. They didn't even get out of the car to view it.

Going home, we drove on past the turn off to Castle Valley to show them this view of Fisher Tower. You can see the frozen Colorado River in the foreground. In some places the ice is a foot thick! and all bunched up. It is really something to see. I haven't downloaded my pictures yet but when I do, I'll post some of it that I took, if they turn out. We really had a great time with Scott, Cara, Allison and Madison. Thanks for the visit.

After The Storm

2008-01-09T18:14:00.000-07:00

It snowed last night and most of the day today. Just before sunset the clouds started to part and colors were just beautiful.

Again these pictures were taken from our front porch.

New Year's Day Trip

2008-01-04T13:12:00.000-07:00

New Year's Day was just beautiful (sunny but cold) so we got up early and decided a drive was in order. We decided to up the Potash Road just outside of Moab and go to Chicken Flats which is supposed to be a fairly easy to moderate four wheel drive. Since the roads are still snow packed and icy in the areas where the sun doesn't hit and we haven't made it above freezing but a day or two we thought this would be OK. Along the Potash Road we say a sign that said Jug Handle Arch and this is what we saw. We had never heard of this one before so were excited to see it. There was a sign for parking so we pulled in and took several shots. Then we noticed another sign further in and it read Longs Canyon so we looked it up in our book and it said it was an easy drive and most 2-wheel drives could make it. So we decided to go there instead.
Along the canyon we came to several icy and snow packed places and several places we would NOT take a car. The views were just awesome. We were really glad we decided to come here. The rock balanced in the center really caught our attention. Then...
as we drove further down the canyon we discovered the rock from another angle and were really surprised!
We came to this rock tunnel and I got out to take the picture and almost fell. The road leading up to the tunnel was nothing but ice. Even Rick admitted in some of the really narrow places the ruts were pretty bad and slick. With the canyon drop off on my side of the FJ, yes, I was a bit nervous at times when we slid a little.

Rick got out and took this shot of the tunnel after we had been thru. You can see all the snow and ruts in the road. And this was a nice wide place and not too bad of a drop off. When this road ended we were at Utah 313 which goes to Dead Horse Point State Park and so we went there. It had really changed since the last time we had been there. It is much improved. However, the sun was at the wrong angle for good photos (although we took some anyway). I'm just not posting them. All in all, we had a lovely morning and then went back to Moab for lunch. Those of you who know us know we love to eat at a place on the Oregon Coast called LeRoy's Blue Whale. I love their finger steaks there. Well, the Golden Stake Restaurant here in Moab also does finger steaks! Not quite as good as LeRoy's, but at least I can get them here and I really enjoyed them. You know we'll be eating there again.

Ready for the Holidays

2007-12-23T12:17:00.000-07:00

We finally got our tree up in the living room. Only found one box of decorations and it wasn't the "best" ornaments. Nor was the treetop in it or our stockings. So Rick got a new topper on his way home from Grand Junction and we did our best.

But it came out beautiful anyway. Can't wait for the garage to be finished so we can unload the storage units and find all the "missing" things.

This is a small ceramic tree that belonged to Eileen's parents. We never saw it at their place but were lucky enough to receive it after they were gone. It really adds to our holiday to have this small rememberance of them. We know Mom Tenney really treasured it as she took it with her after Dad died. The small pots were also Mom and Dad Tenney's. They had been a gift to them from Scott and Cara. They were then given to us from Scott and Cara has a house warming gift when they came to see us. We doubly treasure them.

This is a pot Rick bought Eileen for her birthday (Dec 22). It proudly sits on top of the linen closet in the hallway.

This is our newest and most prized possession. Reid and Melissa sent Eileen a gift certificate for her birthday/Christmas gift to her favorite store here in Moab. We have been admiring this piece of art ever since we moved here but felt we just couldn't afford it. But with the gift from Reid and Melissa and a gift card from Rick's work, we treated ourselves to this for our Christmas (plus it was 20% off). It now hangs in our family room where we spend most of our time. We can not thank Reid and Melissa enough for starting the process of our getting this!

More Snow in Castle Valley This Morning

2007-12-14T09:12:00.000-07:00

This morning (Friday) Rocky and I woke up to a couple more inches of snow here in lovely Castle Valley. Rick had to fly to New Orleans yesterday for work, but at least he got to fly out of Grand Junction, Co. this time. He'll be back Sunday evening. The valley looks like a winter wonderland right now. Not a lot of sun coming through, but a little and it is just beautiful.
Castle Rock has the most snow on it so far this year! It is so picturesque.
As you can see, the garage is still not finished, but Porcupine Rim behind us looks wonderful anyway.
At the end of the valley, the clouds are still hanging around. That's why not much sun. Don't know if we will see much of it today or not. We are suppose to get to about 34 degrees today. (Or at least Moab is.)
And yes Ashley, as you can see, Rocky does like to eat the snow!

I was sweeping the steps and porch and he stood there and tried to catch the snow I swept. So he just got covered with it. Of course, he also likes to chase the broom.

Pictures From Our Front Porch

2007-12-12T20:24:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures I took today from our front porch. It snowed yesterday and today there were some nice clouds hanging around.

This is a picture of the La Sal Mountains with Round Mountain in the foreground.
These are the cliffs just to the right of Castle Rock bathed in the late afternoon sun light.
From left to right the Priest and Nuns and the Rectory and Castle Rock. I liked the clouds hanging around to rocks.

Snow in Castle Valley

2007-12-12T16:57:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning we woke up to our second skiff of snow here in Castle Valley. But this time, we got in the FJ and drove up the LaSal Loop Road to an overlook and took some more pictures. As we drove, we saw more and more snow. Soon the the road was covered and we made fresh tracks in it. It was really beautiful.
Here is the FJ parked at the overlook we stopped at. This was as far as we went.
Looking down into Castle Valley from the overlook.

As you can see, there was a lot more snow there (2-3 inches) compared to our skiff at home.

However, it started snowing Tues. morning and we ended up with a couple of inches at our home. Wed. we had a neighbor show up with a little plow and he plowed our driveway and a path to the front door. He was driving out before we knew he was there so don't even know who it was. But what a pleasant surprise!

Canyonlands - Island In The Sky

2007-11-26T19:03:00.001-07:00

Sunday, we decided to take a drive to Canyonlands. This was just a scenic drive not 4-wheeling trip so took the car. The weather was pleasant. In the sun you could actually be in your shirt sleeves but in the shade you really needed your jacket. Before you get into the park, you come to these rock formations called the Monitor and the Merrimac named after the Civil War ships. We spent some time here as there are several great and different rock formations as you can see in the photo.
This was also taken at the site of the Monitor and the Merrimac. We were really facinated by the swirls in the rock.
Once in the Park, you can see we found more snow again. This is looking out from a viewpoint. Thankfully, the roads were clear and dry. But the views were really impressive.
This is known as Candlestick Tower. It reminds us a lot of our own Castle Rock.
On our way out, we came upon this local panhandler walking down the middle of the road begging. We stopped, took his picture, but didn't give him anything.

Gemini Bridges

2007-11-26T13:18:00.001-07:00

Since we don't do the Friday after Thanksgiving shopping thing we had decided to go 4-wheeling. But, we woke up to a skiff of snow on the ground with more falling so decided not to go. The snow was gone by noon but put our trip off until Sat. It was cold but beautiful. We drove to Gemini Bridges. The had more snow than we did (but then so did Moab, they had 2-3 inches). The drive wasn't too bad, one of the easier 4-wheel drives and the a short walk to the bridges.
We are above, looking down. You can go to the lower portion which at some time I'm sure we will do. It was fun trying to take pictures in shadows with bright sun and snow.
Here you can see Rick between the two bridges.

And this is what he was shooting. We really had a fun time. And to top it off, we found a tripod in the parking lot when we left!

Rick's Trip to Florida

2007-11-21T08:42:00.000-07:00

On Thurs. Nov. 8, Rick had to fly to Florida for a Users Group meeting for his work. It lasted thru Sunday. He decided to take Monday and go to the Kennedy Space Center. Rick, Reid and Eileen had been there in Oct. 2000. We had been in Florida for the AKA National Convention and had taken a day to go and had really enjoyed it. One of Rick's loves is the space program so he was thrilled with the opportunity to go again. He said later it would have been more fun if Eileen had been able to be with him but with work still being done on the house and garage, no one to take care of Rocky, and a furniture delivery, she just wasn't able to. But he had a great time anyway. He was one of the last to leave at closing that day.

Rick took the expanded tour thru the Center back to some of the closed off areas. The launch pad where the astronauts of Apollo 1 died is such a somber place. You can walk around the launch pad and it is really an awesome feeling.

Trip to Zion National Park

2007-11-06T14:24:00.001-07:00

This past weekend we drove down to Zion National Park. It was absolutely spectactular. And yes, we took Rocky with us. He is only allowed in parking lots and on the Pa'rus Trail, but even he seemed to have a good time. There were no reds or oranges but the yellows were outstanding. Especially against the red walls. But all of it was great. We took close to 800 photos. So it took most of yesterday just to download them onto the computer. And then to narrow it down to 5 for this blog was another job unto itself. We took the shuttle back on Sat. to the Temple of Sinawava and walked the one mile River Walk. We didn't go into the river and continue on as it was getting late, we weren't dressed for it and the water was really cold.

On Sunday we drove ourselves so we could stop at places the shuttle didn't. This lone red rock is one of Rick's favorites in the whole Park. It sits right next to the road. Again you can see the yellows were brilliant.

To the left is Checkerboard Mesa. You get to this by going on the Zion-Mt Carmel Hwy. This is the one with the tunnel. The tunnel is about 1.1 miles in length and is really something. There are so many different colors and types of rock in Zion it is really amazing.
Sunday afternoon we drove to Kolob Canyon. This is another part of Zion. The road is only about 5 miles long into it but well worth the side visit. Driving home we saw a spectacular sunset but by the time we could find a pull off from the freeway it had faded too much. We both commented on how great this weekend had been and how we had missed doing this. Can't wait for our next trip.

Our Place Then & Now

2007-11-02T11:10:00.000-06:00

This is what our property looked like when we bought it July 2006. We were really excited about it.
This is what it looks like today. Nov. 2, 2007. As you can see, the garage is framed now. They are hoping to have the shell completed by the middle of next week. Of course, we all know how that goes.
This is the view from the end of the driveway. As you see, we park out of the way of the construction. Can't wait to be able to pull the cars into the garage. The shingle packages still on the roof are for the front porch that still has to be done.
This is Rocky, our famous watch dog. He does bark when people come and then wants to play with them. He still LOVES attention. He is 9 months old today.

Onion Creek Road

2007-10-28T17:10:00.000-06:00

Sunday, Oct 28th, we took a short trip up Onion Creek Road. This is an easy drive near Fisher Towers. It is called Onion Creek (which you cross 20+ times) because of the chemicals in the water. Besides salt there are sulphur and arsenic so of course they recommend you wash your vehicle, especially the undercarriage, when you are through. The drive was pleasant with a lot of twists and turns. Narrow in most places and of course dirt. But the FJ Cruiser took it well. We really enjoyed the canyons and scenery.
These are known as The Chessmen. Also in this area are The Candlestick, Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf. We found the Candlestick but didn't notice the others. But with so much to look at we'll have to go back and find them.

Castle Valley Style Traffic Jam
This was an unexpected surprise. A cattle drive coming down the road. The cows were spred out for quite a ways and we slowly made our way through. At the end were the two drivers with their dogs. We also passed them again as we were coming back out. This road dead ends at bike trails and a ranch.

This is the Candlestick. We had a better shot on the way out as the sun was in a better position. We have also discovered at the beginning of this road are some great places to take shots of Fisher Towers for sunsets. We will certainly be going back for evening shots.

We then went and washed the FJ as they suggested. Not only to get the chemicals for the stream crossings off but to get the cow poop off as well. But it was certainly worth the trip.

Fisher Towers & Arches

2007-10-27T22:07:00.000-06:00

Thurs, Oct. 25th, the moon was almost full so Rick grabbed his camera and stepped outside and shot the moonrise over the cliffs from our front yard. The moon was so bright, you could hardly see the stars that are normally brilliant.

He then got in the car and drove to Fisher Towers and took more pictures of the sunset. This is only about a 20 minute drive from our home so will probably do this frequently when we think it might be worth the shot. There are a couple of really nice places along the road to pull off for taking pictures. Some day we will actually go up to the Towers and take pictures.
Friday, Oct. 26th, it looked like we might have another great sunset, so we both grabbed camers and drove into Arches National Park. Again, this is only about a 30 minute drive from our home. The is a shot of Turret Arch taken from a pullout near the Cove of Caves.
These are the Cove of Caves. This was the first time we had ever really stopped here and taken pictures. We usually go onto the Windows area, but were glad we shot here for a change. For one thing, we were the only ones here!
Sat. afternoon, Oct 27th, after we had spent the morning cleaning the house, we decided to do some 4-wheeling. We drove back into Arches and took the road to Tower Arch. The books said it was a moderate drive for a high clearance 4-wheel drive. Since this was our first time, it was a bit of a challange (in other words Eileen scared-RW), but we enjoyed it and Tower Arch (shown left here) was worth it. We had never seen it before. The road usually can go on to Balanced Rock, but since the floods in August, the road is closed so we had to turn around and come back the way we came. Luckily, we never met anyone going either way as there were few places you could have passed another vehicle.

Pictures from Our New Home

2007-10-24T20:14:00.000-06:00

This is our new bedroom furniture. We bought this for the new house. Our new king size air bed is really nice and we enjoy sleeping in it.
This is the TV armoir in our bedroom. We have a 32" HD LCD flat screen inside. We enjoy watching it. We also have a 52" HD LCD flat screen in the family room which we REALLY enjoy watching
View of the kitchen and eating area with the new furniture in it. We love it. Have decided to order a 3rd barstool for the counter.

Close up of the kitchen table and chairs. We have eaten at this many times now and really like it. The views are great out the windows or we can watch the 52" TV from here also.

Sunrise and Sunset Pictures From Our Property

2007-10-17T18:18:00.000-06:00

WE'RE FINALLY HERE!

2007-10-17T09:30:00.000-06:00

We arrived in Castle Valley Monday evening, Oct. 8th. We had planned on staying at the house that night but since the water was not hooked up we weren't able to. They tried to hook the water up but when they did, they hooked it up to the drain under the hot water heater and flooded the laundry room. After cleaning up the mess, Rick, Scott and I went to town and got a motel room for the night. We were lucky to get one as tourist season is still going on until the end of this month.

Tuesday we came out and started unloading the truck. I stayed at the house and started unpacking while Rick, Scott, and Dave (the guy who helped us in Feb.) went to the storage units and started getting things. Meanwhile the workers at the house started trying to fix things. You know, like that fact that all the sinks leaked. We had no hot water (which we didn't get until Thursday). It took Tues. and Wed. to get all the things from storage sorted through and brought to the house. We still have two units with stuff and will until the garage is done. Good news, they finally poured the garage pad on Friday!

Have discovered that in both showers the hot and cold are reversed. In fact all plumbing in the main bath is. And you get a shower every time you turn the tub on. Also, the toilet fills with hot water.

While checking out the drains on Friday, the guy was filling the large tub is the master bath and forgot about it and of course, the drain didn't work (found out it was taped off under of the house and not hooked up at all). So it flooded the all over the bathroom floor, into the laundry room and into the master bedroom under the carpet. What a disaster. And of course this was just before Cara and the girls were coming for the weekend. But we got it cleaned up and a fan blew on the carpet to dry it for days.

Scott, Cara, Allison and Madison were such a help in getting things done around here and unpacking. Don't know what we would have done without them. Hopefully their next visit will be that, a visit and we can go do some FUN things.

Rick was able to take a few photos of a sunrise and a sunset from the house which are posted above. Other than that, we haven't taken the time to go do anything. Just too busy getting the house livable and getting rid of the boxes.

FINALLY MOVING!!!

2007-09-30T18:30:00.000-06:00

Returned from Eileen's mother's funeral on Friday Sept 13th, she did laundry on Sat. and left early Sunday morning for Utah. Spent the next two weeks getting things moving faster at our new home. Returned home Sat. Sept. 29th. We are renting a truck Fri. Oct 5th (yes, Rick's birthday) and loading it. Hopefully we can get it all done on friday and leave for Utah on Sat. When Eileen left, the septic was not in but the guy was scheduled for Mon this coming week and they were digging the trench and hole for the well house. That and a few little things inside was all that were lacking. Carpet was being laid Fri and Sat. These are the pendent lights we bought and mailed to Utah for them to hang in our kitchen. They look terrific.

They were cleaning the whole house, including windows, on Friday. This is the kitchen. Eileen is just thrilled with all the drawers and cupboards, the new frig and her gas stovetop and built in oven with microwave over it. She now has 17 drawers whereas our home in Maple Valley had 4! All this room and cupboards plus a pantry!

The phone rang back in the retreat one afternoon and she was in the family room and she couldn't run back to it fast enough to answer it. Boy! can't wait to have all this room, our furniture out of storage, and our cordless phones in several rooms so we don't have to run from one end of the house to the other to answer it. Scott is driving Eileen's car down with us on Monday, Oct 8th and help us move in and the Cara and the girls are driving down on Friday, Oct 12th. Eileen left her car at Scott's and flew back to Washington.

The Passing of Eileen's Mother

2007-09-30T18:01:00.000-06:00

On Aug. 31st Eileen's mother passed away. Since Rick had to be in Arbuckle (just north of Sacramento) the first week of Sept. we cancelled his flight on Monday and drove instead. We rescheduled his rental car for Sunday at Sac. Airport and Eileen dropped Rick off there and continued on to Susan's in Madera for the week to help finish cleaning Mom's apartment and all the little things that needed to be taken care of. Paul flew in the following Sat. morning and Scott drove Sat. arriving about 3:30 pm. We had a viewing in Madera on Wed. Sept. 11th with a graveside service in Vacaville on the 12th. David drove up arriving at Susan's early Wed. morning. The Johnsons and the Rowans came up from Merced and we had a good visit with them.
Aunt Arva flew in with her two daughters, Tammy and Maryanne, Thursday morning for the service in Vacaville. It was really wonderful to see them again. The Relief Society provided and nice meal of the chapel for us after the service.
Ashley flew up from Phoenix Wed. morning and Susan's Melanie picked her up. Rick then drove up from Madera and picked her up to come down to be with us. Reid and Melissa drove all day Wed. to get to Vacaville and were there for the graveside service. This is a picture of Ashley and Melissa.

This is Reid and Joel (Melanie's husband). Reid is going over the finer points of his camera. Be sure to check out his blog spot as he is becoming quite the photographer. Also check out all the wonderful things happening with his postgraduate work. We are really proud of both our children and they accomplishments.

We want to thank all those whose thoughts and prayers have been with Rick and I recently with the loss of both of our mothers.

Kite Videos

2007-08-21T21:43:00.001-06:00

Team Cutting Edge - from left to right Rick Wolcott, Jim Barber, Jerry Cannon. Two time world sport kite champions (now retired).
R.A.W. Power - Reid and Rick Wolcott. Five time pairs national champions (now retired).

Many people I talk to are not familiar what I do with my kite flying. The easiest way to understand it is to see videos of it. Below you will find links to videos you can view on your computer. It may take a while to bring up the videos. Most of them are 20 MB or larger. If you don't have high speed internet access you may want to download the files. This will put the videos on your computer and look at them over and over without waiting a long each time you want to view them.

There is a video of Rick and Reid flying as the pair called "R.A.W. Power" (the R.A.W. comes from our initials). There are two videos of Team Cutting Edge (Rick, Jim Barber and Jerry Cannon).

Click here to see the video of R.A.W. Power winning the 2002 Pairs National Championship in Ocean City, Maryland.

Click here to see Team Cutting Edge winning the 2005 World Sport Kite Championship in Lincoln City, Oregon.

Click here to see Team Cutting Edge winning the 2006 World Sport Kite Championship in Berck sur Mer, France.

To download the videos you will need to click on the links below and then right click on the appropriate file name and choose the Save Target As option and then it will prompt you where you want to save it on your computer.

Download R.A.W. Power video - once the list of videos come up right click on the file that starts with 'raw-power_aka2002mpb' and do the Save Target As option.

Download Team Cutting Edge 2005 video - once the list of videos scroll down until you see the file that starts with 'wskc05-1stBallet2-cu..' right click on it and do the Save Target As option.

Download Team Cutting Edge 2006 video - once the list of videos scroll down until you see the file that starts with 'wskc06-1st_cuttinged..' right click on it and do the Save Target As option.

The Passing of Rick's Mother

2007-08-21T21:15:00.000-06:00

On Sat. Aug. 11th we got word that Rick's mother had passed away after a long slow decline. She was 92 years old. We flew to Wis. early Monday morning. Her funeral was Wed. Aug 15th. We flew Ashley up for the funeral, but Reid's work schedule would not allow him to attend.

These photos are taken at the reception after the funeral. Pictured here are Steve "Doc" Rumage, Rick's niece Becky and her husband Calvin Gatch III, and Jan Forman. We hadn't seen Becky in 17 years. It was wonderful to see her and catch up on all the news.

Here is the reception that Diane and Eileen put together. Pictured is Ashley, Tim and Diane Murphy (Diane is Rick's cousin) and you can almost see Jody, their daughter.
Diane and Jan took great care of Rick's mom for us these past few years and we owe them a great debt of gratitude.

This is Mary and Lenny Stalker. They live next door to the farm where Rick grew up. When Rick's mother moved out to live with us, Lenny purchased the farm. They have always been great friends and helped her over the years. And their friendship has continued with us.

We hope to see all our family and friends in the future in Wis. and have them come see us in Utah.

We want to thank everyone for their help and support in this trying time.

Latest News on New House

2007-08-09T10:13:00.001-06:00

Got word that they are painting the inside of the house the correct color now, along with the colors we are buying for the two extra bedrooms and the living room/dining room. The electrician is to start this week also. The appliances have arrived but aren't delivering them so they "won't walk away". We found the pendant lights we wanted for the kitchen island and sent the to SLC and they have them now for the electrician.

July 21st Trip to California

2007-08-04T12:14:00.000-06:00

Last week Eileen went to Calif. to visit her mother and sister Susan. She had a good visit. Janna, along with her two daughters, Raelena and Casey also flew out. Aaron picked them up at the Sacramento Airport and drove them down. He was only able to stay for a day but we all really enjoyed seeing him again.
This is Melanie's youngest, Megan. She is almost 3 months old here. Melanie also drove down with her two children to visit and to get a four generation picture with Mother.

Mark and Michelle came over Thursday to pick up the old green trailer to go camping. This is their family. Joey, Ryan and Hannah. Hannah turned one on Sat.

Really had a good visit with everyone.

Rick left this weekend to go see his mother. She had a fall this past week and is not doing so well. They will probably start hospice now. He'll be back late Monday.

Another Update on Castle Valley House

2007-07-07T22:30:00.000-06:00

Eileen flew to Utah on the 4th of July and then drove to Castle Valley with Scott and Madison on the 5th. The garage materials were being delivered and so Oakwood Homes also planned a walk thru to get started on any things that might be wrong. This is the house as it sits on the property.

This photo was taken out of the living room window. You can now see why we wanted to move here. What a view to wake up to every day!

The photo was taken out of the kitchen window. It's not bad either. This is Porcupine Rim. There is a trail up to this for 4 wheel drives and you can drive across it. Which Rick plans to do some day.

You can also see our well capped off in the foreground. They are to start the interior work next week and also get going on the utilities. However, with temps. in the 100's not sure how much will get done. That is what is slowing the exterior work.

Two Time World Champions Team Cutting Edge Reunion

2007-07-01T22:03:00.000-06:00

This weekend, Jerry and Marcia Cannon came out to Ocean Shores so that Team Cutting Edge could have a reunion before we move to Utah. The weather was great and a good time was had by all. It didn't take long for the guys to get back into form. They spent Sat. working on their precision and Sunday they did the ballet. It only took a couple of times through before they were back into form and could have competed and won.

The town has put this sign at the entrance so before we went to dinner Sat. night, the guys (Rick, Jim Barber, and Jerry) put on the shirts we "The Trophy Wives" (Eileen, Monica Barber and Marcia) had bought for them to wear when they won the first World Championship, and we took their pictures by it.

Here the kites are in a refuel position. The kites are actually inside each others lines and move as one. They even do a landing like this. To our knowledge, no other team has done this. It is really something to see and not easy to execute.

We will really miss these "our best friends" when we move so am glad they had told us they will come visit us and of course, we will be back to visit them.

Trip to Crescent Lake

2007-06-25T11:01:00.001-06:00

On Sunday, June 24th, we decided to drive north to Lake Crescent. The clouds didn't look as bad that direction. However, by the time we got there, it was raining. Since we didn't want to get the cameras wet, just took pictures from the rolled down windows. But, we did enjoy the drive.

By the time we had driven back down to Ruby's Beach, the sun was out so we were able to stop and hike down to the beach for a time. This is really a beautiful spot and one we will miss when we move to Utah.

We walked a ways down the beach since it was so nice at this time. We enjoyed our stay even though we couldn't stay as long as we would have liked since we had to leave Rocky in the car. But we enjoyed the sun while it lasted.

Eileen took this photo to show the awesome power of the ocean. The rocks embedded in the root system was really something to see. Also, the tree had been tosssed by the waves high up onto the beach.

By the time we got down to Lake Quinault it was raining again but we saw this rainbow going into the lake. It really was an incredible site.

Ashley Moves to Phoenix

2007-06-16T10:26:00.000-06:00

Eileen picked up Ashley and Nathan at the Airport friday morning and dropped them off in Olympia to get the Penske truck for Ashley's belongings to move it all to Phoenix. We thought they would call us when they got to Ocean Shores to come help pack up and get the stuff on the truck but some of their friends helped. After they had it done, they called us and we took them to dinner as we had planned.

After dinner, we came back to our place for a little bit before Ashley borrowed the Explorer so they could go say good-bye to some friends without having to drive the big truck around. She brought it back this morning as they were leaving town on the trip to Arizona.

The House Has Been Shipped!

2007-06-14T14:19:00.000-06:00

We got a call just after 11 this morning from Darren at Oakwood Homes in SLC letting us know our house had been shipped. In fact, it was about an hour south of Salt Lake City and would be in Castle Valley tomorrow!!! This is the best news for us. Things are really starting to happen now. We even had a showing on the beach house yesterday and another one today. Who knows, maybe we'll even get this one sold, too.

Castle Valley Home Update

2007-06-11T11:35:00.000-06:00

Great news! The well is in and the house should ship the end of this week or next week. Things are really progressing. Also, the garage materials are to be shipped the week of the 25th. Eileen has to be there for the garage arrival to have a forklift on site to unload it. Don't know the exact date yet.

In other news. Ashley has gotten an apartment and will be back to Ocean Shores this weekend to get her furniture and pets. The two weeks of training she was supposed to do, well, she accomplished in three days. We are really proud of her. They seem really impressed with her. They had promised 19 hrs. to begin with but already are starting her with 33 hrs. I think she has hit the jackpot!

Both of our children have really made us proud parents. And if the saying of "you can tell how good a parent you are by how your grandchildren turn out" is true, well Mom and Dad, you did a really great job as I knew you did.

Castle Valley Panorama

2007-06-06T16:28:00.000-06:00

Reid "stitched" together a 360 degree panorama from the corner of our property in Castle Valley. Click here to see the picture and his instructions on how view the image.

Note: on my PC I found that Reid's instructions didn't work. When I brought up the picture I didn't see the button on the right side on the picture. So what I did was just click on the picture and it expanded it to full size. Then I just used the scroll bar at the bottom of the screen to scroll the picture around.

Our New House (In Progress)

2007-05-25T15:45:00.000-06:00

Porch off family room and living room. Access will be from family room. The house was in thirds and Eileen had to climb a step ladder and crawl through cuts in the plastic siding to get inside. But it was well worth it.

Looking at the kitchen area. Will have granite counter tops. The island will have a gas stove top in it.
Notice we will have a wall oven with a microwave above it. There is an eating area beyond the island. Also, the island has a raised snack bar.

This is the living room. We had ceiling fans put in here, the family room, master bedroom, retreat, and the two guest bedrooms. Along with the central air conditioning, the house should stay pleasant in the summer. We also are having one put on the porch.

Trip to California

2007-05-24T17:37:00.000-06:00

Eileen got back about 12:30 this afternoon from her trip to California to visit her mother and Susan. She had a great time. Mom is doing well and came out to Susan's Sunday afternoon and evening for a visit and barbeque burgers.

Susan and Mike are really doing a great job on the remodel of their home.

Eileen stopped at Albany, Oregon on her way down and saw our new home. It is almost finished. Will post some pictures tomorrow.

Ashley's New Job

2007-05-16T10:39:00.000-06:00

Ashley just got a new job in Scottsdale, Arizona and starts May 29th. So, she is packing and leaving next Thurs. She is driving down and will find a place to live and then return sometime in June for her furniture. She got a job at the Hyatt Regency in Scottsdale. You should check this place out! Talk about fancy. We certainly are impressed.