Flowers

Some flowers from me to you and if you even thought of smiling-this post has been worthwhile.

RIP Mr. Jennings Osborn

 Unfortunately, I only met Jennings Osborn once, but he's not easily forgotten. He was a very down to earth person that really enjoyed making others happy. For years, I took my kids by his house on Cantrell Road to look at the lights-even when traffic was bad and his neighbors were complaining-but it was such a sight to see. Later, he sponsored the "Every Man's BBQ" down on the river-and it was something to see too. Lots of great people having a good time all because one man like to see others happy. So tonight when I get home around 2 am I'm turning on my Christmas lights in his honor and I know if I look up he'll be smiling.

More animals

Animals on the trip

The first picture is a mountain goat taken at Mount Evans.

The second is a bull Elk at Estes Park.

The third is a mormet but the picture isn't zoomed-sorry.

The fourth is the bull elk again-I'm proud of this picture (and I can't figure out how to delete the second)

The next is an elk cow at the Grand Canyon and

the last are wild horses at the Grand Canyon.

Johnny Cash... "I've been every where man...I've been every where..."

There's an old Johnny Cash song in which he tells

the truck driver that he's been everywhere and

that song has been  playing in my head all morning. In the past

seven days... I've seen the Royal Gorge, Garden of the Gods,

Pike's Peak, Mount Evans, The Independence Pass,

the beginning of the Arkansas River, Mesa Verde, Dodge City,

the four corners, the Grand Canyon, the painted

desert, the national bridges monument, Estes Park,

the Grand Canyon, the largest meteor crater,

the Valley of the Gods, countless Indian nations, and

had a short visit with my oldest friend. The following

pictures are from the National Bridges Monument

then Mesa Verde

then the Colorado River at Independence Pass

then the Grand Canyon.

Moose

Leaving a small town between Ouray and Durango, we can upon a traffic jam. Dwight said it was probably a "bear jam" meaning that people have stopped to view some sort of wildlife. It doesn't necessarily mean there's a bear. In this case, he was right. People had stopped to view two very large moose. It was my first time to see one in the wild. They make elk look like toys and the antlers are unbelievable.These particular moose were as black as night and it was funny that so many people, besides us, had stopped to take pictures.I hope to post another one soon-a little closer up but we also have good pictures of mormets, chipmunks, elk, mule deer, lizards, mountain goats, and wild horses.

First Major Tourist Attraction

The first major tourist attraction{and we stopped lots of places before this-more about them later}was the Royal Gorge. The bridge is one of the highest suspension bridges in the United States-and it's beautiful. A flag from each state flies on the bridge. The bridge itself is made of steel but the bottom is made of wood-that makes funny noises when you drive across it. The bridge sways and you can feel the swaying when you stand on it. You look down into the Gorge that seems to drop forever-people at the bottom look like ants scurrying around.We took the Incline Railway to the bottom. The railway is incredibly steep. At the bottom you get up close and personal with the Arkansas River. It's powerful. White water everywhere and so cold it will blow your mind. It's also the cleanest river at that point-so is the air. It smells like nothing and it feels good just to breathe deep.

Pike's Peak

I really like this picture because it's at the top and you can't tell that I had been shaking uncontrollably for an hour. My shivers weren't just due to the cold-forty-four degrees. 44 in July? Yeah, I didn't dress warm enough. There are hair pin turns for at least 16 of the 19 miles up. And there are no shoulders-you can see thousands of feet down. No use using seatbelts-if you go off-the best you can hope for is that they recover your body eventually. Dwight is still making fun of me saying that I missed half of it because my eyes were shut-I think if I saw half I was doing really good considering my sheer terror at those heights. So imagine being scared half to death and your oxygen supply cut in half-this is no exageration. Oxygen is very thin up there. So I moved a little slowly, thought even slower, but made my way to the counter to reward myself with a fudge (not chocalate) covered donut. I'm very proud of myself and the Yaris (aka "The Egg"). We made it up and down both in tact.

94 years

 If you were born 94 years ago-you saw America go to war with Japan, Germany, Korea, Vietnam, and Iran. You saw American win, lose, and withdrawl. You lived throught the Great Depression. Saw the invention of colored tv's, video tapes, and discs... cell phones and microwaves... nuclear bombs and the cure for polio.
I can't imagine my world in another 40 years, but I do know that time will march on and with that time-pain eases and I hope that is true for the people grieving the loss of Dan. He lived a long life and he's in a better place now. My prayers are with you.

numbers for you

I work with 35 people on the night shift. We answered 21000 phone calls last night. That's roughly 700 per hour or 70 per person per hour. While doing this, I deleted and read a little over 800 emails-and did my job of dispatching the drivers. How many days til vacation?

count down

Five more days til we leave for vacation. Yes, that's five days until we leave. The dog knows something is up-but he's not sure what. My car is clean. The oil and filters have been changed. Bills are paid up.Maps and gps are ready to go and I've packed. Ok, I've packed underwear, bathing suits, and deordorant-isn't that all we really need?

Cotter

This is the railroad bridge at Cotter. Dwight caught trout that we had for dinner-along with tomatoes and fried okra from the garden.

Conviction or lack of

I'm not going to debate Casey Anthony's innocence with anyone-it's been tried in the courts already. HOWEVER-if you have a toddler in your care that disappears and you fail to report it for three weeks-you should be found guilty of neglect. Serious parental misconduct.
That baby is in heaven, but I don't think she'll see many of her relatives there.
Now I feel better almost.

Red, White, and Blue

Millions of years ago, I spent my summer nights cheering on an American motors racecar. I wonder if my siblings remember those nights. Mom would fix pop corn and put it in a huge paper bag so we'd have something to snack on all night long. I don't remember getting bleacher butt or bugs biting, but I remember lots of bugs flying around the lights that lined the racetrack. I loved looking for the large green moths called "Lunar Moths"-they're still one of my favorite flying bugs. I remember the roar of the engines each time they passed and trying to find my dad's car. His number was 81 and it was red, white, and blue. I loved to see him race-it never occurred to me that he might get hurt or worse. He went faster and faster.Kicked butt and took names. Sometimes there was a battle for first and we'd scream for him to pass-it never dawned on me that he could never hear us. If someone had slipped Mom a beer-we'd hear her yell  "Pass the SOB"-without the abbreviations and he would. So very early in my childhood I associated Red, White, and Blue with winning and not giving up and to this day I can't shake it. I think America is number one. I think we kick butt and take names. Sure we go in circles and sometimes we live a little fast, but if you're not making dust you're eating it. God Bless the USA and you too.

Virgin Voyage

We took the rv to Sam's Throne on her maiden voyage. It drives a little bit different from the Yaris.

Guess what's new in our driveway?

Be forewarned we have a gps and can find you and it doesn't matter if you have a bed for us because ours has wheels, stove, shower, and refrigerator.

In the words of Joe Cocker

In the words of Joe Cocker: "You are so beautiful to me...."

Lauren receiving her crown for the best rookie at the Elk Pageant in the bathing suit division. I think it took a lot of guts to get on stage in bathing suit and that she looked incredible. Stupid judges just deducted too much for a little tatoo.