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Saturday, September 25, 2010

California trip - 5 Generations - Whooee!!

We missed all the Meeteetse Labor Day celebrations because I went to Hardin to pay bills and when I got back to Meeteetse it was time to head to CA. Gma said she didn't care about Labor Day as she'd seen all that stuff before anyway. OK. Works for me!

We left at 6:00 a.m., had lunch at Little America, and made it to St George, Utah. It was a long day, but we got there about 6:45 p.m. which wasn't bad. Usually we make it to Cedar City around 6:00 p.m. and St George is only about an hour farther. I liked St. George. It was easy off and easy on the Interstate. We stayed at a Motel 6 which was only half a block from a Denny's. Very convenient. There were at least three other motels on that same street. Will definitely stay there again. The motel guy even called after we got into our room to see if everything was working and in good order. It was. Another reason for getting as far south as we could was so that we could get an earlier start across the desert.

Left St George shortly before 7:00 a.m. Had called Ed to let him know where we were and when we might be going through Vegas. He was already on his way to Mary's. That was good. We had cloud cover for most of the day, so wasn't too hot. It did get up to 95 at Baker, but then we went over a hill and it dropped down to the high 80s. Got to Mary's fairly early, too early to check in the motel, so just visited and got to meet Charlie. What a little cutie!! Bonnie had sent a couple of packages so Lexie had a mini shower. Got lots of goodies for her and for Charlie, too.

Wednesday was dinking around day. Went to a park to play, visited, played with Charlie, ate, and before we knew it it was time to go the Pachenga for pictures. All parties arrived at pretty much the same time. Had fun taking lots and lots of pics. Even though we had a professional photographer everyone was snapping their own pics anyway.

Paynes met us there and were waiting in the lobby for dinner. It was good. Charlie slept through the whole thing (pics, being wrassled around, dinner, the whole bit). Gracie and Libby were very good. They got lots of running time while we were doing pics so they behaved at dinner very well. I was impressed. Had a good visit with the Paynes. Sure glad they could be there. We don't see enough of them.

Thursday was visiting and relaxing. I went to Gracie's school to tell one of my stories. Did the "Little Dove" one. Then I got my picture taken with the class. They were cute. Gracie introduced me and then she introduced me again after I was finished. That worked!

We got another full day with Charlie and Lexie too. Ed fixed biscuits and gravy for breakfast for us and then he made French Dips for lunch. Very good. He made is own brand of salsa, two batches. One was supposedly mild and the other hot. You could actually taste the mild before it started to burn. I didn't even attempt the other. I'm not real keen on lots of hot stuff anyway.

Said our goodbyes Thursday night as we were leaving early Friday morning. Ed called and said he'd meet us and caravan with us to Vegas. We could have lunch there. I suggested we meet him in Jean instead of Vegas. When I started through there, I wasn't stopping. So that's what we did. Called each other at potty stops to see if we were still together. Had a good lunch at Jean and then followed Ed the rest of the way into Vegas until he turned at his exit.

We had a super good time and Gma loved every minute of it. We stayed in Nephi, Utah Friday night, then home Saturday. Gma wasn't too tired and worn out after this trip. Probably because it wasn't too hot. It never got up to 90 on our way back. Only 89 at Baker. And this trip was Gma's idea and she really wanted to to this. She was calling the shots on this one. She kept telling people what a great time she had and Charlie was sooo cute. She said for a big baby he was sure little. She got a lot of cuddle time. He was such a good baby. So cooperative. But then look at his ancestors. How can he not be beautiful and perfect??

Sunday, September 12, 2010

August Happenings

Gosh, we've been busy for awhile. August was full of doing "stuff".

8-7-10 We went to Sheridan to see all the statues around the streets there. Pat had told us about them and had pics. Looked like something we'd want to see. Gma sat in the car where I managed to find shady spots to park. Then I ran around snapping pics for several blocks at a time. They had lots of statues.

8-12-10 One day we took a ride to Louis Lake. Went through Sinks Canyon out of Lander and over the mountain to the lake and came out on South Pass. So went to South Pass City and Atlantic City just because we could. Have been there before, but its been years ago. We didn't stop and look around there, but did drive through them to be sure they were still there. We had a picnic lunch at Louis Lake. I'd never been there before and its a beautiful area. All dirt and gravel roads, of course.

8-14-10 Pat called us one day and said the Patriot Guard would be bringing a flag through Cody that morning on the way to Jackson. Did we want to meet them in Cody for coffee break? Sure. Why not? So off we went and it turned out to be quite impressive to see them parade the flag down the street to the Harley place. Took pics then went to coffee at the Irma before they left on their way through the Park to Jackson. Got back in time for the Senior picnic in the park.

8-20,21,22-10 Two Steeles came for a visit and we took them all over the country in three days. Went to Joe and Joy's one day and had a scrumptious fish fry. Good visit, beautiful country, and just plain fun. Joe met us at the store and I rode with him in his "ol' truck". That wasn't a ride, it was an experience. Managed to get some decent pics of the route in spite of bouncing around.

The next day we took them down Gooseberry. That should have been a couple of hours trip, tops. Took six hours. We all got our history lessons and stopped every little whip stitch to take pics. Lots of fun. Stopped at Woody's but they weren't home. The guys checked out the back lot with all the junked cars and had a ball. Went into Worland for lunch and stopped by the cemetary where the Steele grandparents are buried. After we got back to Meeteetse I took John up to Kirwin. He really wanted to see that. We left here at 4:00pm and got up there at 6:00pm. Of course we had to take pics along the way while the light was good. Then he went into several of the buildings and a mine before the sun got too low behind the hills. Actually it was only about 45 minutes of exploring time. Got back down the hill before it got dark for which I was grateful. I really didn't want to have to be driving down that road in the dark. It's bad enough in the daytime. We made it. Then the guys and I went to the Cowboy for supper. That also happened to be the night that Craig Johnson was giving a talk about his newest book. Had forgotten about that and I wanted the book too. The Johnsons and sponsors came to the Cowboy too, so it all worked out. We got to buy his book and they even bought his first one, which he signed for them. Then photo op time. They also bought some of Big Jim's books and listened to some of Jim's stories. Great time!

Sunday they met us at Church, then lunch. After lunch Gma and I went to Griffin's 50th Anniversary. I was scheduled to take pictures for them. The Steeles went to Thermop for swimming and to see the dinosaur museum. Met them for supper at the ElkHorn, then they left early the next morning to catch their flights from Cody.

8-24-10 Went to LaBarge to eat in the New York Diner one day. Met Dawn there which was fun. She's such a good jolly person. The Diner is "Moondance" and was trucked there from New York as it was scheduled to be demolished there. These people in LaBarge heard about it and bought it to save it. Then brought it back here on a flatbed. Took over a year to get it fixed up and ready to open for business. On our way back we stopped at Fontenelle Dam, just because its there. Never been in there before. Now we have. On our way back down South Pass we took the dirt road that goes through Red Canyon there. Sure is pretty down there. Gives a whole different perspective on the red cliffs from down below.

8-26,27,28-10 The Meeteetse Trail Regulators were here for a few days. They spent a lot of time at the rifle range. We went out there for their final shoot out and watched. Took some pics, but we didn't shoot. This year their big dinner was scheduled at Trail Town in Cody with a tour and talk by Clay Gibbons. Gma didn't want to go for all that, it would have been too long a sitting for her. We did go to the Oasis for breakfast with them Saturday morning and visited. Good to see all of them every year.

Then August was over and its time to start on the September adventures.