Siblings Gather

Ray, Nancy, Don and Dad

All of us were able to be together in Tucson. Ray arrived in one of his semis and Don and Lynn drove from St. Louis. Ron and I were already here since we are spending all of December and January in a rental here in Tucson. -Nancy

Lynn, Don, Dad and Ramona

Christmas Celebration

We had a yummy Christmas dinner that Ramona prepared. After dinner it was time for gifts and games. - Nancy

Tasha and Rendall

Dad and Ramona

Dad and Tasha play cribbage. Dad won.

Hike at Catalina State Park

On Tuesday we enjoyed a hike at Catalina State Park. It was sunny and very windy. There were plenty of Saguaro cacti to be seen. After the hike we had lunch at In-N-Out Burger and then saw the movie Wild about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. - Nancy

Guests from Hawaii

We stopped in Phoenix on the way back from LA and got Tasha and Rendall when they arrived from Hawaii. A trip and short hike in Sabino Canyon was taken and followed by a picnic lunch. The canyon was green due to much needed rain. - Nancy

Nephews in CA

David, Leid, Christian (4 mos.)

Mark and Sheila

It was fun to see all of Ray's family. Of course the star of the gathering was Christian. Mark and Sheila were wonderful hosts. Aaron and his friend Sam came from their jobs as nurses in Modesto. - Nancy

Sam and Aaron

OR Duck fans in Maryland

We have a family of OR Duck fans in Silver Spring, MD. Don't they look great?

Family Gathering in Los Angeles

                 

Christian - 4 mos.

I drove Dad and Ramona from Tucson to my nephew's house in the Woodland Hill area in West L.A. It was a long day's drive. I think I need to get a chauffeur's uniform and hat. I think of the movie Driving Miss Daisy these days. I've driven more in the last two months than I have for many years.
All of my brother Ray's family is here to have an early Christmas together. The hit of the gathering is Christian Mahlon Willits, 4 months old, and the son of David and Leidi. - Nancy

Four Generations

Mariposa Grove

John Muir's three-night camping trip with President Theodore Roosevelt in 1903 could be considered the most significant camping trip in conservation history. He was able to persuade Roosevelt to return Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove to federal protection as part of Yosemite National Park. The trip would have a lasting impact on the president. "There can be nothing in the world more beautiful than the Yosemite, the groves of the giant sequoias...our people should see to it that they are preserved for their children and their children's children forever, with their majestic beauty all unmarred," said Theodore Roosevelt. We had not stopped to see this grove on any of our other trips to Yosemite. It was a worthwhile quick stop. - Nancy

"More Big Stone"

When our son Doug was two we took him camping in Yosemite Valley. He loved throwing small stones into lakes, steams and puddles. His vocabulary was still limited and Ron and I were amazed when he looked at El Capitan in Yosemite Valley and pointed and said, "More Big Stone." That's not a bad description of Yosemite. Here's naturalist John Muir's description of Yosemite: "But no temple made with hands can compare with Yosemite. Every rock in its walls seems to glow with life... as if into this one mountain Nature had gathered her choicest treasures." - Nancy

El Capitan on the left - "More Big Stone"

One Last View When Leaving the Valley

"No temple made with hands can compare with Yosemite. Every rock in its walls seems to glow with life...Awful in stern, immovable majesty, how softly these rocks are adorned, and how fine and reassuring the company they keep: Their feet among beautiful groves and meadows, their brows in the sky, a thousand flowers leaning confidingly against their feet, bathed in floods of water, floods of light..." - See more at: http://www.seeyosemite.com/john-muir-quotes.html#sthash.SMVtW3FD.dpuf

"No temple made with hands can compare with Yosemite. Every rock in its walls seems to glow with life...Awful in stern, immovable majesty, how softly these rocks are adorned, and how fine and reassuring the company they keep: Their feet among beautiful groves and meadows, their brows in the sky, a thousand flowers leaning confidingly against their feet, bathed in floods of water, floods of light..." - See more at: http://www.seeyosemite.com/john-muir-quotes.html#sthash.ALwsEZrK.dpuf

"No temple made with hands can compare with Yosemite. Every rock in its walls seems to glow with life...Awful in stern, immovable majesty, how softly these rocks are adorned, and how fine and reassuring the company they keep: Their feet among beautiful groves and meadows, their brows in the sky, a thousand flowers leaning confidingly against their feet, bathed in floods of water, floods of light..." - See more at: http://www.seeyosemite.com/john-muir-quotes.html#sthash.ALwsEZrK.dpuf

"No temple made with hands can compare with Yosemite. Every rock in its walls seems to glow with life...Awful in stern, immovable majesty, how softly these rocks are adorned, and how fine and reassuring the company they keep: Their feet among beautiful groves and meadows, their brows in the sky, a thousand flowers leaning confidingly against their feet, bathed in floods of water, floods of light..." - See more at: http://www.seeyosemite.com/john-muir-quotes.html#sthash.ALwsEZrK.dpuf

Taking Pictures in Yosemite

On Monday our only full day in the park we took a photographer-led class given by the curator and resident photographer of the Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite. We had fun trying the take great pictures but none can match the majesty of being in Yosemite. Which picture of Half Dome do you like best? - Nancy

Yosemite - Ron's Favorite National Park

Yosemite Falls in Background

As we headed to Tucson for the months of December and January we stopped for two nights in Yosemite National Park. We were blessed with wonderful weather. On Sunday after we arrived we hiked to the Ahwahnee Hotel. The hotel opened in 1927. The dining room is 130 feet long and 51 feet wide, with a 34 foot ceiling supported with rock columns creating a cathedral like atmosphere. The food was delicious. -Nancy

Stop in Santa Fe

Ramona had always wanted to visit Santa Fe, NM so I had planned our trip for a stop there. We got there in time for a noon tour that was about 90 minutes long on an open-sided tram. We got to see lots of the old downtown and learn the history of Santa Fe. It was the weekend of an artist's festival so the city was very vibrant. - Nancy

Fall Foliage in front of the County Courthouse.

Dad and Ramona in the the Central Plaza.

Royal Gorge

The last tourist stop for me was the Royal Gorge in Cañon City, CO. Hanging high above Colorado’s wild Arkansas River, the Royal Gorge Bridge is America’s highest suspension bridge and a legendary feat of engineering renowned the world over.   Built in 1929 for $350,000, the cost today would easily exceed $20 million. We got a wheel chair for Dad but needed help to get him back up the hill from the bridge. The ramp was definitely not graded to be handicapped accessible. - Nancy

Pike's Peak

View of Pike's Peak from our motel in Colorado Springs

I had planned to drive to Pike's Peak and then learned we could take a Cog Railroad to the top. We didn't have tickets and the website said they were sold out. It was suggested we could get on a wait list if we arrived and there was an opening. So we drove to the train station and got tickets right away. It was a very good decision to go by the train. It was cool at the top and the air was thin but we made it OK. -Nancy

Garden of the Gods

After a short weekend in Iowa Dad, Ramona and I headed west to Colorado. We stopped in Harlan, IA for lunch with my cousin Julie and had a quick stop in Lincoln, NE to see Ron's sister Elaine and her husband Jim. We spent the first night in Kearney, NE. We arrived in Colorado Springs on Oct. 16 in time to see the Garden of the Gods before Sunset.  - Nancy

Family Gathering in Iowa

I flew to Iowa on Oct. 11 to drive Dad and Ramona to Tucson. Today Emily and Craig hosted the Willits family in Des Moines. It was good to see nieces Anne and Emily and their families. My brother Don and his wife Lynn came from St. Louis to spend the weekend in Iowa. My sister-in-law, Martha hosted me Saturday evening in her lovely condo. - Nancy

Anne, Bryan, Nick and Allie

Dad, Don, Ray and Nancy

Don and Lynn

Emliy, Craig, Owen and Charlie

Emily, Anne, Owen, Martha, Ramona

Buying Apples!

On Saturday, October 4th, we got out of bed to a beautiful fall day in Oregon and decided to drive to Hood River to buy apples for eating and drying. We called Marcile Crandall who was happy to accompany us on short notice. We arrived in Hood River at about Noon and stopped for lunch at a Chinese restaurant before driving up to Parkdale to the Kiyukawa Orchards where we bought apple cider, pears, a nice pumpkin, and lot of apples -- Gala, Red & Golden Delicious, Honeycrisp and one or two other varieties.

From the orchards we had a great view of the north side of Mt. Hood, and a view of Mt. Adams (below) to the north.