Pictures: Kim and Dave at home in Star Valley, Wyoming; Cecret Lake in Albion Basis, UT; butterly on lavendar flower; Lake Catherine, Albion Basin; Sumner with slamander in his hat; Bristlecone Pine at Cedar Breaks; my tent at Cedar breaks; two pics of Canyon De Chelley.
June 30, 2008~~Retirement Day!!! Yippee~everyday is Saturday now.
July 3, 2008~~I'm trapped in my house! It's 106F outside here in Hurricane, UT. So I packed all my camping gear and took myself to Cedar Mountain for the holiday (4th of July) weekend. At 10,000+ feet elevation, it was pretty cool. I spent my time hiking and biking. I awakened at 6:30 am every morning, but fell back to sleep until about 10 am daily. I'm catching up on my sleep deprivation. The wild flowers were stunning!
July 16,, 2008 I packed up again and went to Chinle, AZ to spend time with my friend Ceil Carino on the Navajo Tribal Nation. We hiked down into Canyon de Chelly and bicycled on the smooth new roads of the reservation. Due to the high elevation (6,000+ feet) it was cool riding.
July 30, 2008. I packed up again and went "north" for a month. Spent time with my kids, grandkids and friends. One highlight was taking my grandson Somner (age 6) camping at Albion Basin in Little Cottonwood Canyon. We hiked daily, sang around our campfire, played with salamanders in Cecret Lake. Somner is such a good camping companion. He doesn't whine or complain at all. He just pitches in and does everything he's asked. We ate mostly tuna or PB&J sandwiches and chocolate milk.
August 20, 2008. I packed up again and went further north to Star Valley Wyoming to spend a few days with friends Kim Mason and Dave Hanson in their lovely ranch style home in the cool air. They are very gracious hosts. We bicycled and kayaked. I baptized myself once in the Salt River, this being my first river kayaking experience. Luckily the river was shallow because I forgot to inflate my life vest, worrying only about keeping hold of the paddle and the boat. I also rode the CASVAR century with friend Susan Hedden who came down from Jackson Hole. It was 103 miles with only 3,000 ft. elevation gain over quiet country roads.
August 29~~home in Hurricane and its 106F! Whew! But I need to settle down and get everything cleaned and repacked to go on my big "Retirement Trip" to Croatia and Montenegro. More later after I'm back.
