Cardinals vs. Seahawks

We went to Mesa to see Todd's brother Lance and his wife Gina.  It was just good fortune that the Cardinals happened to be playing. 

This was our first Pro Football game and was lots of fun.  Go Cards!

Quartzsite ATV Day

Our friends Mike & Bernie from Fairbanks were at their condo in Fountain Hills near Phoenix.  We were able to visit and spend an amazingly sunny day lounging around their pool.  Later they came to Quartzsite for some 4-wheelin'.

We spent the day exploring old mines and some rock houses that were used in the 50's by miners and have since been abandoned.  Dad has ridden in this area for a long time and was a knowledgeable tour guide.  He showed us indian petroglyphs and grinding stones.

Tombstone, Arizona

Tombstone Arizona is considered to be one of the best preserved specimens of a frontier town.  The buildings are original and not reproductions.  Although Tombstone was a silver mining town, it's best known for it's reputation as a seedy outlaw town. 

We ate lunch at Big Nose Kate's Saloon.  She was the girlfriend of Doc Holliday.

The Birdcage Theater attracted some of the most famous headliners of the time.  It was a wild place and still has bullets lodged in the bar and walls inside.  It is reported to be the most haunted place in America.....we didn't see any ghosts.

The OK Corral was the sight of one of the most famous gunfights.  In the end, 3 outlaws were killed by the Earps and Doc Holliday.

Lots of people were killed in Tombstone and Boot Hill was the place to bury them.  Typically people would start their day by checking the street to see who was killed the night before.

Roswell, New Mexico

Since Roswell was only 70 miles from where we were staying, we decided to take a motorcycle trip to see what all the fuss was about.  We spent a while going through the UFO museum and reading all the affadavits of people who swear they witnessed the crash or were involved in the cover up of an alien crash sight.  Today, the town is an alien themed attraction.

Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico

One of the first stops after leaving Texas was Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico.  I had been there before when I was a little girl but the only memory I had of it was the store in the cavern. 

We spent most of the day oo-ing and awe-ing at the unbelieveable formations.  One of the most remarkable things is that tours have been offered at the caverns for 100 years.  The difference is that, in those days, people had to be lowered down in barrels.  Today, you hike in and take the elevator to the top when you're done.

Weatherford, Texas

I had a wonderful three weeks in Weatherford visiting my family.  Holly was kind enough to wait until we were there to have baby Autumn.  It rained and was cool most of the time even though everyone swears it doesn't rain much in Weatherford.  I'm now convinced that the nicest people live in Texas.

Fort Worth Stock Yards

Todd's flight was from DFW, so we left a little early to spend a couple of hours at the Fort Worth Stockyard.  We saw Billy Bob's and ate some Texas BBQ.  Twice a day they move the cattle from one side of the stockyards to the other.  We happened to be there just in time for the show. The cattle don't seem to get the point of their move, but the tourist seem to like it. 

Our First Road Trip

We started our adventure with our first trip traveling from Utah to Weatherford, Texas.  It only took one night of sleeping in a noisy parking lot in Cortez, Colorado for us to realize that we needed to find better accomodations if we were going to get any sleep.  We decided to try a State Park along our route. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                   We pulled into Santa Rosa Lake State Park in New Mexico and were pleasantly

surprised at the campsite and even had electric and water hookups.  We liked it so much we stayed two nights.  The first night we took the dogs and kayaked across the lake to let them run amuck.  Later, we took a motorcycle ride into town for lunch on historic route 66. 

Next it was Possum Kingdom State Park in Texas.  Our site was next to the water and there were hiking trails nearby.  There seems to be two things that are very attractive about camping in state parks.  They're cheap and scenic.

Park City Utah

On Wednesday we took a motorcycle ride to Park City.  Park City is the home of the Sundance Film Festival and the 2002 Winter Olympics.

We ate lunch at the Wasatch Brew Pub......Yum!  This is a picture of Todd at the brewery.  I noticed that he is standing in a brewery with his tequila shirt on....was it theme day?

There are still remnants of the Olympics all over town.

Fruit Way Day

One of the bad things about life in Alaska is the impossibility of getting good fresh fruit. Today Mom and I decided to drive to Brigham City and have lunch at Maddox. We hit the fruit stands on Willard's Fruit Way on the way home. I'm still not sure about the gourds.

Fun at the Fair?

Mom and I are taking full advantage of being moose hunt widows. On Tuesday, we went to the Utah State Fair in Salt Lake. Little did we know that it would be the only day for a down pour. We bought these cheesy rain ponchos and had a big laugh at the modifications we had to make to keep them from blowing off. It may not have been the best day to go to the fair, but we sure had a good time.

Off to University

I feel like I'm living McKenzie's preschool days all over again. When I would drop her off, I would have to hunt her down to say goodbye. While I was signing her in, she would be off to find her friends and get her day started. While I stood sobbing in the airport, she was off to find her friends and get her adult life started. Although I miss her terribly, I feel very proud of the person she's become. I know that she is capable of doing anything she sets her mind to. WATCH OUT WORLD!!!!

The Dog Days of Summer

For now, our home is in North Salt Lake at the Pony Express RV Resort (not the "trailer park"). We've been enjoying all the amenities including the pool.

Dana was "working" poolside.

Kenzie was enjoying her last days of summer before heading back to the University of Alaska Fairbanks-UAF.

Family BBQ

On Saturday we went to Robb (Todd's brother) & Karen's for a BBQ and movie. It is so wonderful to spend time with our family again. One of the hardest things about living in Alaska (other than the brutal winters) is being so far from our relatives. Our neices and nephews grow so much between visits.

That's What You Get For Wakin' Up In Vegas

Since you can't take guns through Canada, we had to bring ours down on the plane when we came down last Christmas. Todd and Dad's moose rifles ended up in Arizona. Since they are going hunting in September, we had to make a run down to pick them up. The middle of August probably isn't the best time for people from Alaska to go to Arizona. We spent two nights at the Luxor in Vegas which was really fun. We haven't been there in years. We went to the Bodies exhibit, rode the coaster at New York New York, got new tattoos, and ate some delicious food. In Arizona, the temperature reached 112 degrees...yikes!

Easy Riders

Finally made it to Utah. Todd picked up his motorcycle and had it washed and ready to go in no time. We rode with Juan and Dana (my sister) up Weber Canyon and over Trapper's Loop. Although there's been so much growth in the last eight years, it still felt as though we never left.

Watson Lake

This is the Sign Post Forrest in Watson Lake, Yukon. You could spend two days reading these, but Todd only gave us 10 minutes.

Fairbanks in our rearview

The sun was setting on Fairbanks in our rearview mirror as we began our new adventure.

Adios Fairbanks. Hello warm, sunny winters.