Homeward Bound

We'll see you soon hometown! We are off to Moweaqua, David's hometown to see Larry Jordan, classmate of David's on Wednesday. We are hoping to see about 1/2 of David's graduating class that day. Should be a great time of stories, music and laughter. We'll get to see David's sister, Patty, my Mom, Dad, brother David, Michelle, Heather and Alisha and lots of friends from the area.

Encore!!!!!

Well, we started out today from Tulsa, OK and lo and behold, we just decided it was a little too far for Aliese to ride that far!!!!!!!!! Three days of driving for hours and hours were too much and we came to the conclusion we could stop in her hometown and spend the night with her folks for free. Bonus was visiting with the parentals and sloppy Joes and FRESH SWEET CORN. AMAZING delicious flavor. Thanks Mom and Dad. Sweet dessert was our niece Alisha came down after work for a visit as well. (Heather, we'll see you next week!!!)
Extra Bonus was the fact that my brother David and his wife Michelle were driving to see our brother Paul and his wife Paula in Arkansas and Paul mentioned to us that we'd be seeing each other on the road!!! SO, David's called us and we talked back and forth and met up in St. Robert, MO and had a great visit before we went our separate ways. What a great day.
Friday will be a great 6 1/2 hour trip home and makes for a much more relaxed day.
See you soon!

One more Day!

We are in Tulsa, OK tonight and it was a very long day. The high light was when we won Millionaire on my iTouch!!!! It's only the 3rd time since we got it a year ago. We did have a wonderful supper tonight at Outback Steakhouse. Thanks for joining us. Ohio, here we come.
Over and out and and thank the Lord for safety. We saw another wreck today and backed up traffic for miles. Bless their hearts and I pray for those involved and also those held up. So hard.
xoxox Aliese

From Las Vegas to Grants, NM

Hello friends and family!
We had a long day of driving yesterday but we broke it up in the afternoon with a drive through the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert. Our question is if you aren't allowed to take any wood out of the forest, how did the gift shop at the south entrance get access to all the little pieces they sell and the huge pieces for thousands of dollars??? Just wondering!
Old Route 66 in on our way and we stopped and took a picture of it too. Check facebook.
It was take train pictures day as we saw several but we were usually driving. Gibson will be thrilled. Maisie and Ella will like the dinosaur pictures too.
We hope all is well with you. Thanks for praying for us. We have many miles to go before we get home.

All you need is LOVE

After we spent almost a full day walking around, taking pictures, buying stuff for the grandkids, taking more pictures, being awed by the beauty of the restaurants, architecture and hotels and such here, we went to see LOVE, Sirque du Soleil, The Beatles at the suggestion of Peggy and Todd Lightner and absolutely were amazed, thrilled and awed at the talent not only in the music but the strength, creativity and talent of the performers. It was non stop movement choreographed to perfection and all we can say is thanks to them for suggesting. it. What a great way to top off an already very full and fun vacation.
We are hoping for a very calm, stress free and uneventful drive home from here. We don't have any planned stops as we feel we've been very fortunate to have had the opportunities we've have taken. Thanks for going on this journey with us. I'll post pics later on tomorrow so you probably won't have to look for them till Wednesday. We are 3 hours different from you all in Ohio! How weird. Keep praying till we meet again...

We didn't take the whole Dam tour...

There was a two hour wait so we went on the shorter tour and were amazed at the engineering genious and amount of concrete and the years it took to make the Hoover Dam. Amazing. Now, they are building a new bridge and people will no longer be able to drive over Hoover Dam as we did today. It should be ready for use in November of this year. It is incredible to see how they have put it together.
We are here in Las Vegas and plan to come home on Tuesday. We walked around most of the evening in our hotel and the MGM Grand. There is a 9 million dollar Lion exhibit at the Grand. Quite incredible. Live lions in pure air, pure water and they don't hear the noise of the hotel as it is sound proof. They are relaxed and there were two handlers in there with them petting and loving them. Unique to be sure.
Time to sign off for now. Thanks again for praying for David yesterday. Pray for healing now as his legs are very sore. If he walks a while, they loosen up but it takes getting through some pain before that happens. Thanks! Till next time...

I fought the Canyon and the Canyon won!

The day started out picture perfect, sunny and hot, just the way I like it. I was 3 hours into my hike of the Canyon, close to 3 1/2 to 4 miles down the trail. Much to my dismay, my knees, calves and ankles, mainly my right leg but left some too, began to fail me. I had two choices, spend $3,000 (so I was told) to be helicoptered out of the Canyon or sit down, rest and see it I could walk uphill as I knew I could not take another step downhill. (Suddenly, I'm not half the man I used to be...)♫
Fortunately for Aliese (she still has money for Vegas) I was able to muster the strength to climb up and out. Funny how all that work last winter on the treadmill with the the incline saved me but I failed to train my muscles for the downhill part of the trip. Bottom line: no regrets, awesome Canyon, just probably won't do it again. See facebook for my pics.

The big day is finally here

He sure hopes he hasn't underestimated the Canyon and overestimated himself. That is his statement before headed out. He has a perfect day if this morning was any indication. Not a cloud in the sky. After watching it rain yesterday and feeling how cold it can be, he's hoping for a dry day and maybe a little cloud for shade later on. David told me he hopes he isn't on the 5:00 news: Man helicoptered out of Canyon... I know he can do it. The chance of a lifetime. Too bad he didn't think of taking a pic of me with my Mastercard in hand. Nobody up here to tell me no!!!! Gift shops here I come. I've gotta quit this blog and putting pics on facebook as I'm burning daylight and the shops have been open since 8:00 a.m.!!!!!!!!!!!! I actually spent a little over an hour walking the rim and finding it exhilarating to be almost alone in a place so vast and magnificent. There were a few runners and photobugs about but it was very peaceful and I thought of Del's favorite song, Majesty, Worship His Majesty! I had myself a little songfest. I can't imagine how David is going to feel when he comes up and tells me all he's seen. Ohhh Aaah!

Monument Valley

Pictures are up on facebook finally. Thanks to all who enjoy them and have gone on this journey with us. I told David he was going to do the blog tonight but I took so long doing the pictures he went to bed! He does have to drive tomorrow. He likes to. We left Durango, Co this a.m. and it was pleasing-ly cool. Love the higher elevation. We went to Kayenta to pick up my phone at our hotel. Yes....I left it at home. That's another story. Our darling daughter ran it to the post office on Monday and now I'm reconnected. I don't know David's phone real well and it's just good to have mine. Besides, we needed it for David to call me once he gets out of the Grand Canyon for me to come pick him up. Oh he is so excited about his hike. DO PRAY he enjoys it and LIVES to tell :-) He's asleep so I can write what I want.
We went through Monument Valley after lunch this afternoon as far as my stomach could handle. The roads were atrocious and we were 1/2 afraid of what it might do to our vehicle. If we'd have gone on a jeep ride tour, I know I'd have tossed my cookies, seriously. I don't even think Dramamine would have helped. We took lots of pics and have the internet to see the ones we missed up close. The weather was 90 + and not humid but I dripped sweat just getting out to look at some Indian jewelry. I got a couple things from one of the Indians that were making them (surprise, not from China) and asked her what her name was. She said Pam. I was so disappointed. I was hoping for some cool Indian name like "One who strings bead" or Maiden of the desert. David was along to interpret so it would have been fun. Oh well.
We drove 20 miles back to Kayenta, took a dip in the pool. I about made myself sick treading water and swimming about for 20 minutes in the wind and sun. BUT, never fear mother, once I had my good supper, grilled chicken salad, I was revived and we are now ready for another day.
Until tomorrow. Happy Trails to YOU.

Actual Wednesday post

Last night we didn't have wifi as we were in the boonies so here is today's offering. See facebook for more pics. These just load too slow in the motel here.
Has your spouse ever said, Hey we're going to go to this really neat place and you are saying to yourself in my case, "Why would I want to go to the Great Sand Dunes in the summertime when I hate to even go outside when it's hot let alone my bumb knees walking on sand???" Well I didn't say anything and found myself there this morning. We got out at the Dunes and it was COLD! Once we started walking out there on the sand, there was the creek that David knew was there but I hadn't bothered to ask about. We walked the Dunes and had the best time!!!!!!! The sand was firm enough I could walk just fine and with the help of the treking pole, I wasn't afraid my knee would buckle. We went up pretty high but didn't have the summit as our goal. Then we walked in the creek for a long time. It was beautiful, cool in the stream when the temperature got hotter and we stayed 2 1/2 hours and sorta hated to leave. What adventurers we are.
On our way to Durango, we drove through Wolf Creek Pass and stopped at the Continental Divide, whatever that is! Some bikers from Kansas took our picture for us. I'd like to put it in right here but I don't know how to do it.
Once we got to Durango this evening, we ate at Applebees. Yum. Tried to find a local hot spot on line but we were just too tired to clean up and dress up and knew Applebees would take us as we were. Besides, they'll never see us again!

On a clear day...

You can see forever. I can see for miles and miles. Just a few songs that came to mind as we had a beautiful day to reach the summit of Pikes Peak. Even, America the beautiful! I'm in front of the words of Kathrine Lee Bates who was in inspired to write the poem on this mountain. What a thrill. The Cog Railway that we took was a smooth ride and we were blessed to have had the best seat on the train, the end. We got to see everything going up and coming back down since there is no turn around space at the top. I wasn't sure if it would bother me to go backards going up but we were both fine. We were told it would be cold so we were prepared with our sweatshirts for the 38 degree temperature but not the 24 degree wind chill factor. We were sure it felt colder than that. The wind was so strong it pushed us around. It was definitely the HIGH light of the day! There was a warm gift shop so when I was in there warming up, a couple of things jumped in my bag.
We drove back to Manitou (pronounced man-i-toe) and ate at a nice bistro in an historic house. The weather was so perfect we sat on the porch to eat! David humored me and we visited a few of the little tourist shops but I contained myself knowing we're going to Vegas!
We are off to Fort Garland hoping to go to the Great Sand Dunes tomorrow. Looking at the back of the atlas, I found out there are only 432 people living in Ft. G. We got nervous about the place we'd be staying in but it was nice and passable. We ate at a local pasta house for supper and went for a 1/2 hour walk to work it off. Love this mountain air.

Colorado is where?

The red rock is in Garden of the Gods.

To the left is the Fargo Pizza Palace. Snazzy huh!





We arrived in Colorado by 8:13 today but didn't see mountains for some time so we thought they had misplaced them. BUT, As Zac said, it takes forever to get to the mountains. Two hours and 15 minutes later we were in the Springs. We happened upon Fargo Pizza Palace decorated like a part of the Old West Saloon with a beautiful player piano, chandeliers and great food. Yeah David for pulling in there. Yee Haw. At 1:30 we arrived at The Garden of the Gods and watched the movie, took the bus tour and got irritated at the people and KIDS talking while the guide we'd paid to tell us stuff was talking. Then we drove it again ourselves, got out and hiked around for about 45 mins. and took way too many pictures of what is already professionally done in the brochures. Ran across a man playing a digeridoo (sp). He was quite a character. We old people needed a siesta after all that so once we were revived, we went to the OUTBACK for supper. Such a fun way to end the day. It is actually 11:17 back in Ohio as I write this. We are now on Mountain time and it is only 9:17. Weird. I'm going to try and add a couple of pictures in reverse order and see if they end up the way I want them tonight. Thanks for coming along on our journey. Tomorrow the Peak. Pray we don't get altitude sickness! If people hadn't have told us about it, I wouldn't have had a bit of doubt I could do this so I'm just praying it away. We are riding up on a COG railroad car. Should be fun.
It takes WAY TOO LONG to put pics on here. I'm going to post on Facebook, probably tomorrow. I'm too tired just waiting for them. Good night.

The LONG, Unwinding Road

These two pictures are supposed to be last but I'm incapable of moving them where I want them without stress so I'm going to go for a walk. This man said to tell you "What, we've been driving for two days and still no ROCKY MOUNTAINS! This vacation STINKS ".
This is a man OUTSTANDING in his field!








All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go. Just didn't have enough energy last night to add photos. Here's just a couple from yesterday and then today's offerings.



I took this one in honor of my brother Paul. He was "Jumpin' Jack Flash" when I was growing up and I just had to take this pic. It also says "is a gas"!!!!!!! Funny what you'll find in Missouri.








When we got to St. Louis, there was so much water, it was up on the side walk! I take pics of this every time we go by. I went up in the arch when I was in high school and saw a swimming pool on the top of a hotel for the first time. I didn't get out much as a child.

We drove on the road less traveled to find shots like this.

The Journey Has Begun!

We have found ourselves in Boonville, MO after a day filled with challenges. But, since Larry Burkholder's latest reminder of how our attitudes are to be better, not bitter, we chose to be thankful that we were not the cause OR involved in the accident that took us an extra hour and 1/2 to get around near Terra Haute, IN. Knowing brush needs to be cleared along the side of the road, we were happy to dink around for 15 mins. while we threaded the needle to one lane till we got past that hurdle. Then Mother Nature had to rear her huffy side with a major blast of wind, the scary kind that makes you want to be in a basement for about 20 mins. Glad that was all. See, I watch Pollyanna too. We found ourselves in Denny's for lunch in the town where we had our first meal together as husband and wife 37 years ago this month!!! Supper was in WJ's Steakhouse in a brick home-turned restaurant. The food was excellent, a great tip from the lady at our front desk to go there. My Fusion Friends & coaches will be glad to know I did 4 miles on the treadmill and 2 on a bike after supper. We'll see how long this keeps up.
Oh yes, our last challenge of the day is, will we be able to sleep with a whole girls ball team running up and down the hall, slamming doors and having their TVs up too loud? Advil PM here we come!!!
David said, "No Rockie Mountains yet? I hope John Denver wasn't blowing smoke."
Good night sleep tight and "Fay dough dough" to our Grandbabies.

One more sleep till we leave

The Thrones stopped by tonight to bid us farewell and I know Ella told me good-bye at least 20 times!!! We went over to see her new swing set and to deliver Lexie. Then we got more good-byes!!! We are going to miss the kids-on-the-couch but we're going to try and have a good time anyway. After painting in 90 degree weather most of today, I think David is having second thoughts about his trip into the Canyon!!! I'll have lots of cold compresses to put on his forehead when he arrives at the top. I'm going to have so much fun sight-seeing, picture taking and SHOPPING, I hope I remember to pick him up!

Two days and counting...

We aren't gone yet so I took off for Turkeyville today with Sandy Kurivial, her Mom, Jean and 23 other women to watch The Church Basement Ladies, part II. It was a funny and poignant musical show and we had a very relaxing, fun time. David had to work!!!! He also cleaned up our car and now we are ready to go. I'll do the last of the laundry tomorrow and Sat. we're off. Yippeeee. Don't forget to pray for us.

Three days and counting...

Dear family and friends,
I thought it might be fun to try a blog of our vacation and it will also serve as my diary! This way I can let all of you know at the same time, YOUR time, when you feel like hearing (or NOT hearing) about our escapades. The first couple of days will be mundane driving to Colorado Springs then it might get interesting. We are planning on going up Pike's Peak and seeing what else we might see. We got a magazine from the chamber of commerce and books from the library. Then on to Arizona so David can take a hike (for real) into the Grand Canyon. Our last stop will be Las Vegas and a visit to Hoover Dam. David is also worried I'll lose all our money at the slot machines. We'll see.
Until we get going...Thanks for your prayers for our safety.