Taos and a Quick Visit with Uncle Ralph

JoAnne’s uncle lives in Taos, so we wended our way south to see him for a few days. He is in his late seventies, living in, maintaining and improving his own home all by himself. Quite remarkable! We always have a good time with him. While we were in Taos we also went to the Indian pueblo and wandered around this ancient village. It was interesting to see how the Indians still live and work. Of course, many of them had all kinds of Indian jewelry, pottery, food, etc. for sale. After our visit with Uncle Ralph we headed home, stopping overnight at Deming, NM and finally arrived back in Tucson mid-afternoon the next day. It was good to be home and to see our friends again. A few days later we hosted a ‘show and tell’ with the Bay Conspiracy. Everyone got a chance to tell us about their summer travels. It was great fun.

So now we’re home for a while.

On to Grand Junction

The week of October 13, Jim and Carrie moved most of their combined belongings to Grand Junction. Jim asked if we would help them get settled in so we so we headed the bus over the hill for a couple of weeks to give them a hand. They have a really nice 3-bedroom duplex with a nice yard. We helped unpack boxes and gifts and whatever else Carrie needed. By the second day we were there, Carrie had most everything put away, and the house in order. We had a good time visiting and sharing several meals with them, and getting to know Carrie and Hailey even better.

Later on during our stay we took a day trip to the town of Gateway. John Hendricks, the man who started the Discovery Channel, has opened a resort and a car museum there. The museum alone is well worth the trip. It houses some beautiful and rare, and in many cases, incredibly expensive vintage automobiles. The drive to and from Gateway was through some beautiful scenery, including the Dolores and San Miguel River Canyons, and the weather was perfect.

During our stay, we fixed a barbeque for JoAnne’s brother, Marc, and our nephew, Alex. Jim, Carrie, and Hailey also joined us. Unfortunately, Alowetta, Marc’s wife, was under the weather. We enjoyed the visit with Marc and Alex though. Then, on Halloween weekend Jim and Carrie went back to Denver for a visit, so we headed to Taos.

Denver Visiting with Friends and the Wedding

We arrived in Denver the last week of August. Our time here was spent helping with the wedding plans, arranging for the rehearsal dinner, visiting with friends and getting some business taken care of. On Labor Day we once again joined our Model A friends for the annual picnic. Sara and the kids joined us for this event as well. We had a great time visiting with everyone and admiring all the beautiful varieties of Model A’s the club members have. Shannyn and Leo really like seeing the cars and some nice folks even let them sit in the cars. The following weekend, we attended our long time friends daughter’s wedding. It was quite a nice affair and of course, the bride was beautiful. It was an outdoor ceremony in Fort Collins. The next week we joined Jim’s sister and brother-in-law, Judy and Bob, and some of their friends for three days of camping at Chatfield State Park. We had never been camping there even though we only lived five miles from the park. We were very impressed with the facilities and enjoyed our time there. We even got a tour of the dam and an informative talk about its history by one of the Corps of Engineer guides.

We were able to entertain several of our friends in our new motor home, which has been really fun. Our dear friend, Jay Yoder has been hospitalized since mid-August, but is making great progress. Fortunately, we were able to visit him several times and are so glad to see his progress. We did go out to Brush to see Jim’s Mom and sisters several times also. The first Friday in October, we attended Sara’s concert with the Greeley Chamber Orchestra. We are so glad she is able to continue playing with them as she enjoys it so much. Of course, we got to spend time with the grandkids too, which is always special.

The following week we hosted the rehearsal dinner for Jim and Carrie and had a great time visiting with new and old friends. The BIG day – the wedding, arrived on October 11. It was a cool and rainy day but that didn’t dampen any spirits and everything went pretty much according to plan except for having five kids aged 5 and under as part of the ceremony (they don’t do things according to plan!). They were so cute, but as kids do, got bored with the proceedings and started playing. The reception was held at the Crystal Rose and was very nice. Everyone enjoyed themselves immensely, including some of Jimmy’s friends who, with the help of several libations, started break dancing at one point.