Hey! Welcome back... hope you enjoyed the time away. I know we did.
Jo and I spent the Christmas weekend in a small cabin on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. On Thursday we got up and had breakfast before heading out of town. We dropped off Bianca to stay with some friends and began our 5 hour journey to the Grand Canyon. The drive was pretty dreary; there was a lot of rain and fog, and snow once we hit about 6,000 feet in elevation. We arrived at the park around 5:30 and drove to Bright Angel Lodge to check in to our cabin. It was a snowy, windy mess of a night and we slogged our way from the car to the cabin, fighting the stinging sleet that was hitting us in the face. Once we settled in we went to the El Tovar Lodge (the most famous lodge on the rim) for dinner. We were a bit disappointed because the restaurant was only serving their Christmas Menu and it was none to appetizing. Although we wanted the "fancy" dinner we decided to opt out and head back to the Bright Angel Lodge restaurant and have a more Perkins-style dinner. After dinner we settled in for the night, hoping the weather would be better on Friday.
We woke up on Friday to find that the weather was indeed better. I was able to get a clear picture of our view from the cabin door. We ate a quick breakfast and got all bundled up and ready to go hike the South Rim. Hiking on the South Rim is extremely different from hiking on the North Rim. The South Rim has one major trail, the Rim Trail, that runs for roughly 18 miles from Pipe Creek Vista in the east to Hermet's Rest in the west. We decided to catch the shuttle from the lodge and head to Mather's Point (Jo's picture here) and the visitors' center to get some advice on where to hike and what the weather was supposed to do.
One of the rangers was fairly pessemistic about our chances of hiking any of the Rim Trail. They were expecting a storm to roll in around noon and dump another inch or so of snow and he figured we couldn't make the four miles or so back to the lodge before the storm hit. The other ranger at the center was more upbeat and told us he had hiked in from the market center and, though a bit slushy, the trail was in good shape. We decided to take the risk and hike the trail back to our cabin. It ended up being a beautiful hike. The weather stayed nice and we were able to enjoy the canyon. The Rim trail is set up for tourism, so every major vista had a parking lot or gift shop attached to it. Jo and I stopped and enjoyed those scenic overlooks, but we found other areas on the trail, off the beaten path, that were far more beautiful and far less crowded.
About half way to our cabin we took the off-shoot trail to the Village Market Center and stopped at the Yavapai Lodge cafeteria to have a warm drink, read the paper and eat a bit of trail mix. we then headed back to the Rim Trail and stopped off at all of the visiting areas on the way back to the cabin. We made a side trip to the Kolb studio to get on the list for the next day's tour of one of the canyon's more unique and historic sites. We took advantage of our westward view of the canyon and watched the sunset as it hit the north rim before heading out of the cold and in for dinner and relaxation.
On Saturday we decided to hike from our cabin westward to Hopi point and back before our 2 pm tour of the Kolb studio. It was much warmer out and we could tell by all the people on the trail as well as the wildlife. The Hermet's Rest portion of the Rim Trail provided some beautiful views of the interior of the canyon as well as an amazing view of the Bright Angel Trail; the most famous of the two trails leading into the canyon. Once we made it past the first major overlook we were pretty much alone. We chatted and stopped and looked into the canyon, but most of this hike was spent enjoying the sunshine and the peace that comes with being away from the crowd. We made it out to Hopi point in plenty of time and headed back via the Hermit's Rest road. We noticed that the plow trucks were running up and down the road and were suprised to return to the village to see the road open to traffic. What we thought was a crowd on Friday had truely turned in to a crowd. The one way road around the village was backed up with traffic and tourists were crawling all along the rim.
We went to the tour of the Kolb studio at 2 pm and really enjoy the story of Ellsworth and Emory Kolb. I suggest you google them and read up on these two unique and eccentric brothers. After Kolb studio we decided to catch the shuttle to Pipe Creek Vista and hike back to the visitors' center along the Rim Trail. By this time the park had become extremely crowded and the busses were running behind. What should have been a thirty minute trip took us about an hour. We were crammed on to the busses and had to deal with a ton of people who avoided the canyon on Friday because of the ominous weather report.
Once at Pipe Creek Vista we quickly set off along the trail to get away from the crowd. We were rewarded with our own personal view of the sunset. We arrived at Mather Point just before the sun went down and were greeted by a far different scene than we saw on Friday. The point is the first major stop for tourists in the canyon and they were now out in full force. We loaded the bus, stopped off at the market to get dessert, almost froze to death waiting for the bus again, and went back to the cabin for dinner.
On Sunday we set the alarm to get up and watch the sunrise. We hit the road around 9 am after breakfast at the Yavapai Lodge cafeteria and were home by 2:30 a bit tired but feeling rested and ready for the week ahead.
To see all 150+ pictures from this trip go here.
Peas!
Cory
Monday, December 29, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
'Sno Joke
We may be in the Southwest, but it wouldn't be winter without a bit of snow! We'd heard there was a chance of snow today, and we walked the dogs in minor snow flurries this morning, but the snow just got heavier and bigger as the day progressed, particularly on the west side of town, which is where I work. We got nearly two inches of snow outside of my office window, which wouldn't be big news anywhere else I've lived in the United States, but it was huge news today!
Dreaming of a white Christmas ~
JoAnna
Here are a couple of pictures from right outside my office:
In a city that sees minimal precipitation, let alone any snow, today was a big deal. Kids were pulled out of school to play in the snow, people stopped on the side of the road to take pictures and throw snowballs, and work was let out early. And without any sand or road salt to melt the ice on the sidewalks, our facilities guys at work took a box of table salt and sprinkled it lightly across the concrete. This is certainly not the Midwest!
The strangest part of this whole thing? The palm trees!
Dreaming of a white Christmas ~
JoAnna
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Frickin' Sweet!
Yuletide greetings gentle readers!
It has been a very productive weekend in the Haugen House. Much cleaning, grading of papers, and writing has been accomplished. More importantly, we christened the first Holiday season in the new house by making Holiday goodies!
Jo and I went to the grocery store yesterday and bought all the accouterments to make fudge(chocolate and peanut butter), peanut brittle, snowballs (think round sugar cookies with coconut and orange peel), and white chocolate pretzels with peppermint sprinkles.
Jo valiantly took on the task of hand dipping each individual pretzel over a hot homemade double boiler.
I worked on the fudge and the cookies as well as the peanut brittle. Note the rock hard abs and marshmallow fluff. Don't stare at the goods, thanks.
After much hard labor, Jo rested with the dogs and I took an artsy picture of all the tasty treats.
After a dinner of pizza and beer we loaded plates for the neighbors. Behold the glory that is Holiday treats!
6-8 pounds of fudge, 1 bag of pretzels, 1 jar of corn syrup, 1 16 oz jar of peanuts and 21 snowballs later and I will be taking plates to work as will Jo. Here is to hoping all our friends' teeth don't fall out!
Happy Holidays!
-Cory
It has been a very productive weekend in the Haugen House. Much cleaning, grading of papers, and writing has been accomplished. More importantly, we christened the first Holiday season in the new house by making Holiday goodies!
Jo and I went to the grocery store yesterday and bought all the accouterments to make fudge(chocolate and peanut butter), peanut brittle, snowballs (think round sugar cookies with coconut and orange peel), and white chocolate pretzels with peppermint sprinkles.
Jo valiantly took on the task of hand dipping each individual pretzel over a hot homemade double boiler.
I worked on the fudge and the cookies as well as the peanut brittle. Note the rock hard abs and marshmallow fluff. Don't stare at the goods, thanks.
After much hard labor, Jo rested with the dogs and I took an artsy picture of all the tasty treats.
After a dinner of pizza and beer we loaded plates for the neighbors. Behold the glory that is Holiday treats!
6-8 pounds of fudge, 1 bag of pretzels, 1 jar of corn syrup, 1 16 oz jar of peanuts and 21 snowballs later and I will be taking plates to work as will Jo. Here is to hoping all our friends' teeth don't fall out!
Happy Holidays!
-Cory
Sunday, December 7, 2008
The Big Finish
Hello gentle readers,
(From Cory:)
It is with some muscle stiffness and a touch of chafing that I bring unto you the story of our day. But first we must go back in time; back all the way to September and Labor day weekend when JoAnna suggested we do the Las Vegas half marathon. We started training that next week. We ran 3 days a week, alternating between 3 and four mile runs on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and doing larger runs each weekend. By the time all is said in done we ran 195 miles in preparation for today's 13.1 mile odyssey.
Because the first 5 miles of the race ran down the strip, the start time was 6:07 am. This, my friends, means we were up at 4 am and on the road at 4:30 am. parking was a mess, as usual, but we managed to get to the starting line with about 5 minutes before the buzzer. It was surreal to hear Robin Leach welcoming us to the race. As we took off the casinos let off fire works and we were surrounded by Elvi (plural for Elvis, note the shiny cape in the picture to the right.)
We split each mile in half; the first half we walked briskly the second half we jogged. As we walked by the starting line at Mandalay Bay we saw they were wishing us good luck.
(From JoAnna:)
At other races I've been in there have always been more spectators, but with us taking off in what could arguably be considered the middle of the night, we were happy to at least see many of the casinos wishing us the best of luck. They actually closed Las Vegas Boulevard for a few hours, which probably explains why we started so early in the morning. As we made it down The Strip, the few people out cheering for us appeared to have been up all night in their uncomfortable dress shoes, still sipping bottles of beer.
I love to see the get-ups people put together for these things. In addition to the plethora of Elvi, we saw some people wearing remnants of costume from the Santa Run (held yesterd
ay), a handful of folks in holiday-related gear (like reindeer antlers and hats with mistletoe), a woman in a sparkly red dancer costume, people in flamingo and Nemo hats, and a woman dressed in some goofy clothes wearing white strappy platform heels. There were a lot of people running for charities or in memory of people, and I always like to read the t-shirts the people have made for these races filled with funny and inspirational messages about why they're running. I read an article once about how marathons should be kept sacred for elite runners because "the common man" has tainted this sport that is about athleticism and endurance for something it isn't: fun, achieving unsurmountable odds, doing something good for other people. Cory saw a shirt today that said "If it was just about running, I wouldn't be doing it." It's a philosophy that keeps so many feet plodding on ... just one more step. It is truly inspiring to see so many people who clearly aren't "runner shape" complete a 13.1- or 26.2-mile foot race.
If it wasn't fun, why would we do it? In the city that is Las Vegas, what would a marathon be without a place to stop and get married? In addition to the folks in Elvi gear, there were women in veils and guys wearing tux shirts who stopped ever-so-briefly around mile five to get hitched. If we'd known, we would have renewed our vows for our fifth-year anniversary. Only in Vegas ...
The sun never came out in the city today, so it was a little chilly, but it was decent weather to run in. Once we turned a corner around mile seven in downtown, we started heading back along Industrial and Frank Sinatra, the roads that run parallel along the western side of The Strip. We conserved our energy throughout the race, so we brought in the last half-mile at a really strong pace. By our clock, we finished in about two hours and thirty-six minutes (this accounts for time running and not stopping to take pictures, so our official time was a little longer).
We had a blast doing this together, and though we could stop here, we're now considering the options of running others located in other locations near ours. Who knows where our next adventure will take us?
Stiff hips and happy smiles,
Cory and Jo
(From Cory:)
It is with some muscle stiffness and a touch of chafing that I bring unto you the story of our day. But first we must go back in time; back all the way to September and Labor day weekend when JoAnna suggested we do the Las Vegas half marathon. We started training that next week. We ran 3 days a week, alternating between 3 and four mile runs on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and doing larger runs each weekend. By the time all is said in done we ran 195 miles in preparation for today's 13.1 mile odyssey.
Because the first 5 miles of the race ran down the strip, the start time was 6:07 am. This, my friends, means we were up at 4 am and on the road at 4:30 am. parking was a mess, as usual, but we managed to get to the starting line with about 5 minutes before the buzzer. It was surreal to hear Robin Leach welcoming us to the race. As we took off the casinos let off fire works and we were surrounded by Elvi (plural for Elvis, note the shiny cape in the picture to the right.)
We split each mile in half; the first half we walked briskly the second half we jogged. As we walked by the starting line at Mandalay Bay we saw they were wishing us good luck.
(From JoAnna:)
At other races I've been in there have always been more spectators, but with us taking off in what could arguably be considered the middle of the night, we were happy to at least see many of the casinos wishing us the best of luck. They actually closed Las Vegas Boulevard for a few hours, which probably explains why we started so early in the morning. As we made it down The Strip, the few people out cheering for us appeared to have been up all night in their uncomfortable dress shoes, still sipping bottles of beer.
I love to see the get-ups people put together for these things. In addition to the plethora of Elvi, we saw some people wearing remnants of costume from the Santa Run (held yesterd
ay), a handful of folks in holiday-related gear (like reindeer antlers and hats with mistletoe), a woman in a sparkly red dancer costume, people in flamingo and Nemo hats, and a woman dressed in some goofy clothes wearing white strappy platform heels. There were a lot of people running for charities or in memory of people, and I always like to read the t-shirts the people have made for these races filled with funny and inspirational messages about why they're running. I read an article once about how marathons should be kept sacred for elite runners because "the common man" has tainted this sport that is about athleticism and endurance for something it isn't: fun, achieving unsurmountable odds, doing something good for other people. Cory saw a shirt today that said "If it was just about running, I wouldn't be doing it." It's a philosophy that keeps so many feet plodding on ... just one more step. It is truly inspiring to see so many people who clearly aren't "runner shape" complete a 13.1- or 26.2-mile foot race.
If it wasn't fun, why would we do it? In the city that is Las Vegas, what would a marathon be without a place to stop and get married? In addition to the folks in Elvi gear, there were women in veils and guys wearing tux shirts who stopped ever-so-briefly around mile five to get hitched. If we'd known, we would have renewed our vows for our fifth-year anniversary. Only in Vegas ...
The sun never came out in the city today, so it was a little chilly, but it was decent weather to run in. Once we turned a corner around mile seven in downtown, we started heading back along Industrial and Frank Sinatra, the roads that run parallel along the western side of The Strip. We conserved our energy throughout the race, so we brought in the last half-mile at a really strong pace. By our clock, we finished in about two hours and thirty-six minutes (this accounts for time running and not stopping to take pictures, so our official time was a little longer).
We had a blast doing this together, and though we could stop here, we're now considering the options of running others located in other locations near ours. Who knows where our next adventure will take us?
Stiff hips and happy smiles,
Cory and Jo
Saturday, December 6, 2008
He's one bad mother...shut your mouth!
It has been slightly over a week since we all stuffed our faces with Turkey Day Cheer. I was fortunate enough to not only avoid a turkey induced coma, but also have my motorcycle delivered by Leland on the eve of the bird carcass-filled festivities. We spent all day Thursday working on getting the engine guard or "crash bar" put on the bike. This entailed some drilling, basting of the bird, more drilling, cussing, more drilling, more basting, and finally a trip to Home Depot. By Friday I was ready to ride. Leland was kind enough to take pictures of my maiden voyage.
I now officially have 100 miles under my belt. All of which were gained driving to and from work as well as running a couple of errands. I filled up on gas again yesterday to get an estimate of my miles per gallon and am pushing 64 mpg. That should bring my gas bill to about 6 dollars a month.
As for the hair, Rebecca, what started out as laziness this summer (not feeling the need to cut it) has turned in to a goal. I am growing it out to donate to Locks of Love. So there!
Peas,
Cory
I now officially have 100 miles under my belt. All of which were gained driving to and from work as well as running a couple of errands. I filled up on gas again yesterday to get an estimate of my miles per gallon and am pushing 64 mpg. That should bring my gas bill to about 6 dollars a month.
As for the hair, Rebecca, what started out as laziness this summer (not feeling the need to cut it) has turned in to a goal. I am growing it out to donate to Locks of Love. So there!
Peas,
Cory
Monday, December 1, 2008
A Full Four Days
'Tis the season to get in the holiday spirit.
My parents came into town for Thanksgiving, and the 4-day weekend went by too fast. Cory made a fantastic dinner. It was by far the easiest and fastest Thankgiving dinner I've ever seen put together. For the first time in my life I watched the entire Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, and I followed that up with the Purina dog show.
Mom and I went shopping the day after Thanksgiving - what a zoo! We were really on the hunt for a new dishwasher ... happy holidays to us! Luckily there are even sales on appliances the day after Thanksgiving, and we can stop washing by hand in just a few short weeks. We also got to introduce Dad to REI.
I was really excited to put the Christmas tree up this year. Our new house has an exceptionally high ceiling so we decided to get a bigger tree than the 6-foot tree we've been putting up s
ince college. We decided to get a 7.5-foot tree with pine cones and berries on it, and we strung lights up and down every branch. Fast fact: Our tree has 600 lights on it. Another fast fact: Our cat, Toby, thinks he can eat the berries.
We did a little bit of the tourist thing and went down to the Strip to watch the Bellagio fountains one evening. The weather was beautiful and it was a great evening to walk through some of the shops and watch the dancing water.
We closed out the week with a hike up at Red Rock. We haven't been there since last spring, and we had a fantastic time. We took the Pine Creek Canyon trail and stopped to watch some rock climbers spider their way up the rock face. We love to go hiking with Dad. Our next big group hike? Rim to rim of the Grand Canyon next spring.
Busy and festive ~
JoAnna
Monday, November 10, 2008
Reasons to Love Las Vegas
It's 65 degrees out and sunny, and we're entering our second week in November. What a good reason to love Las Vegas.
We have almost everything we need within the city limits, and everything we could possibly want that we can't find here is within a couple hours by road to California, Utah or Arizona. What a good reason to love Las Vegas.
We rang in the weekend with the grand opening of the new REI store, which has opened down the road in Summerlin (which is also where I work). We did the hardcore fan thing and arrived early so that we were rewarded with free schwag - t-shirts, water bottles and gift cards. This REI is so much closer than the one in Henderson, and we're really stoked about being within such close proximity to the free classes now. And, of course, we're already looking forward to the first garage sale at this REI. We may have to become truly hardcore fans and camp out the night before like our friends Chris and Dee did in Portland a few weeks back. What a good reason to love Las Vegas.
Yesterday afternoon we went to a choreographer's showcase at TI. The Nevada Ballet teamed up with Cirque du Soleil to put on an intimate, eclectic and wildly entertaining show. Locals came out in their Sunday finest, and I was excited to be part of this hidden corner of the city that tourists don't even know about. What a good reason to love Las Vegas.
It's getting to be off-season in the city. Locals tickets are 2-for-1 at many of the big shows. What will we see this year? It doesn't matter, really. It's just one more good reason to love Las Vegas.
Thinking of casinos, scantily clad girls and all that glitters ~
JoAnna
We have almost everything we need within the city limits, and everything we could possibly want that we can't find here is within a couple hours by road to California, Utah or Arizona. What a good reason to love Las Vegas.
We rang in the weekend with the grand opening of the new REI store, which has opened down the road in Summerlin (which is also where I work). We did the hardcore fan thing and arrived early so that we were rewarded with free schwag - t-shirts, water bottles and gift cards. This REI is so much closer than the one in Henderson, and we're really stoked about being within such close proximity to the free classes now. And, of course, we're already looking forward to the first garage sale at this REI. We may have to become truly hardcore fans and camp out the night before like our friends Chris and Dee did in Portland a few weeks back. What a good reason to love Las Vegas.
Yesterday afternoon we went to a choreographer's showcase at TI. The Nevada Ballet teamed up with Cirque du Soleil to put on an intimate, eclectic and wildly entertaining show. Locals came out in their Sunday finest, and I was excited to be part of this hidden corner of the city that tourists don't even know about. What a good reason to love Las Vegas.
It's getting to be off-season in the city. Locals tickets are 2-for-1 at many of the big shows. What will we see this year? It doesn't matter, really. It's just one more good reason to love Las Vegas.
Thinking of casinos, scantily clad girls and all that glitters ~
JoAnna
Sunday, November 2, 2008
The Newest Member
Jo and I have been pondering the idea of a new dog to keep Butch Mbwa company for the past few weeks. We thought perhaps we would adopt from Best Friends, but they had very stringent requirements that even we did not meet. On Friday (Nevada Day = no school!) we went down to the local SPCA shelter with full intention of getting one of the many boxer or bull dog mixes they have at the shelter. As we walked through the tight corridor of kennels the cacophony of dog barks assaulted our ears. We looked around for dogs that met our criteria: 1) 7 or older 2) good with other animals and 3) not barking when every other dog was barking.
We saw a few puppy mill mommas that broke our hearts but could not live with other animals, so we had to pass on them. All the boxers or bull dogs seemed to be too big for Butch Mbwa and we worried about putting our timid Kenyan with a dog bigger than he. Then we stumbled across Bianca. Huddled in the front corner of a kennel with 3 other dogs was a small brindle chihuahua/terrier mix. She met all our criteria: She is 10, she was reportedly good with dogs and passed her cat test with flying colors, and she didn't seem to even want to bark when other dogs walked past.
We went and ran a few other errands on Friday with plans of taking Butch down yesterday to meet Bianca. On Saturday, when the two met sparks did not fly per se. This is mostly due to the fact that neither cared that the other was around. We payed our adoption fee and brought Bianca home on Saturday morning. Waiting for her at the house were her new bowl and new bed.
She is doing well, in fact she is asleep in her bed right now. She seems to be warming up to Jo and me and really seems to like going on walks.
Here are a few photos:
Bianca roaming around the living room. She likes to do laps before going to sleep.
Bianca in her bed. Notice the lovely pink blanket.
Bianca and I snuggling.
We saw a few puppy mill mommas that broke our hearts but could not live with other animals, so we had to pass on them. All the boxers or bull dogs seemed to be too big for Butch Mbwa and we worried about putting our timid Kenyan with a dog bigger than he. Then we stumbled across Bianca. Huddled in the front corner of a kennel with 3 other dogs was a small brindle chihuahua/terrier mix. She met all our criteria: She is 10, she was reportedly good with dogs and passed her cat test with flying colors, and she didn't seem to even want to bark when other dogs walked past.
We went and ran a few other errands on Friday with plans of taking Butch down yesterday to meet Bianca. On Saturday, when the two met sparks did not fly per se. This is mostly due to the fact that neither cared that the other was around. We payed our adoption fee and brought Bianca home on Saturday morning. Waiting for her at the house were her new bowl and new bed.
She is doing well, in fact she is asleep in her bed right now. She seems to be warming up to Jo and me and really seems to like going on walks.
Here are a few photos:
Bianca roaming around the living room. She likes to do laps before going to sleep.
Bianca in her bed. Notice the lovely pink blanket.
Bianca and I snuggling.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
They See Me Rollin'...
I spent the first weekend in October learning the ins and outs of a Honda Nighthawk 250, and, more importantly, learning how not to kill myself on a motorcycle. The class was taught by two men who very obviously had great skill on a bike. I had classroom time and on bike time each day and on Sunday I had to pass a written and riding skills exam to pass the class. Well...needless to say:
I passed. That is my kick a$$ helmet, my Motorcycle Safety Foundation card, and my new license with the official "M" endorsement.
After receiving my card Jo and I set out to find a bike. I looked at a few different bikes and decided to go for a Honda Shadow VT750. One of our local dealers had just the bike I was after, but after much waiting, chatting, waiting, walking around, waiting, and looking at papers, they were only able to get me a 13% apr for the bike. This would mean paying twice what it was worth. I was a bit disappointed and called Leland (my father-in-law) to see what other options I had. He pointed me to www.crashedtoys.com, a website that auctions bikes that have been totaled by insurance companies. He said if we found a bike he could fix it up no problem.
We found another Honda Shadow VT750 American Classic Edition and decided to bid on the bike. Leland took care of the bidding as I was at work. At 11 am I clicked on the auction and we had won!...at 11:04 I refreshed the page and we had lost?! Apparently there was a glitch in the system at Crashed Toys and two people won the bike. Leland and I assumed that the other bidder had won as he was the last to bid. We went on our way to check for other bikes.
Then......on Friday Leland got a phone call from Crashed Toys asking if he was going to come pick up the bike he won! WOO HOO! Leland got the bike back to his place and we got a steal. He needs to replace the front headlight, the windshield and fix the rear turn signals. He is also going to do a full fluid change but it runs well and will be ready to get inspected for a clean title shortly.
The bike in this picture is having its battery charged, hence no seat, but it is my bike. So, soon I will be rollin' on my Honda, getting 60 mpg, and enjoying the Nevada sun.
Coasting on two wheels,
Cory
I passed. That is my kick a$$ helmet, my Motorcycle Safety Foundation card, and my new license with the official "M" endorsement.After receiving my card Jo and I set out to find a bike. I looked at a few different bikes and decided to go for a Honda Shadow VT750. One of our local dealers had just the bike I was after, but after much waiting, chatting, waiting, walking around, waiting, and looking at papers, they were only able to get me a 13% apr for the bike. This would mean paying twice what it was worth. I was a bit disappointed and called Leland (my father-in-law) to see what other options I had. He pointed me to www.crashedtoys.com, a website that auctions bikes that have been totaled by insurance companies. He said if we found a bike he could fix it up no problem.
We found another Honda Shadow VT750 American Classic Edition and decided to bid on the bike. Leland took care of the bidding as I was at work. At 11 am I clicked on the auction and we had won!...at 11:04 I refreshed the page and we had lost?! Apparently there was a glitch in the system at Crashed Toys and two people won the bike. Leland and I assumed that the other bidder had won as he was the last to bid. We went on our way to check for other bikes.
Then......on Friday Leland got a phone call from Crashed Toys asking if he was going to come pick up the bike he won! WOO HOO! Leland got the bike back to his place and we got a steal. He needs to replace the front headlight, the windshield and fix the rear turn signals. He is also going to do a full fluid change but it runs well and will be ready to get inspected for a clean title shortly.
The bike in this picture is having its battery charged, hence no seat, but it is my bike. So, soon I will be rollin' on my Honda, getting 60 mpg, and enjoying the Nevada sun.
Coasting on two wheels,
Cory
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Knee Deep in the Creek
One week ago today Cory and I stepped into the cold running water of the Virgin River in Zion National Park. We were compelled to make it out to Zion one final time this year to hike the Narrows, the slot canyon at the northern end of the shuttle route in the park. The Narrows is no ordinary trail. This hike requires water slogging - A LOT of it - and it can be quite chilly in a space that can easily be a wind tunnel and gets little sun.
Our goal was to hike five miles upriver to the campsites that hikers stay at when they through-hike the river from the top. For the first two miles we were joined by hordes of day hikers in everything imaginable - bikinis, barefeet, and even a big guy wading in his skivvies. Like I said, this is no normal guy's hike and it was frightening to see the number of people on the river unprepared. While you can rent special boots and pants for the Narrows hike, we outfitted ourselves and did pretty well. I wore: a sweat-wicking sports bra, a sweat-wicking tank top, Under Armour long sleeve shirt and tights, UV tank top, fleece sweatshirt with hood, light-dry cargo pants, wool hiking socks and Keens. We also brought along hats, gloves, extra clothing to keep our cores warm and extra socks.
At two-and-a-half miles, we came to a point where a second canyon joined the Narrows. After that, the hikers became scarce and the scenery became even more exquisite. Unfortunately, it is so dark in the canyon that it's difficult to take pictures, but the walls were covered in thick moss and ferns and waterfalls that sounded like timpani drums ran out of cracks in the canyon walls. We even found one section of the wall covered in insect exo-skeletons.
Around three miles into the hike we came upon Wall Street, an amazing portion of the hike where the canyon narrows significantly and sheer canyon walls rise straight up on both sides. It's the part of the hike where I really felt at the mercy of nature. If anything had happened at this point - flash flood, rock slide, etc. - we would have had nowhere to go. There were no sandbanks on either side of the river, and we had to carefully navigate our way up the rushing water through slippery rocks. At one point, the water was nearly up to my waist.
Four miles in we hit a portion of the river filled with huge boulders we had to scramble over and navigate around. At this point, we were only sharing the river with a few interspersed hikers and a significant number of trout. Not knowing what time it was, but knowing we'd been on the river for quite some time, we stopped at four-and-a-half miles to eat our sandwiches before turning around and heading back. Only two other groups of people passed us as far as we could tell.
Now, I would have thought getting downriver would be easier than the trek up it, but it wasn't at all. In fact, I moved so slowly and had to concentrate so hard on getting my footing that, once we were back in a place with other people, hikers were passing us right and left. Going back down the river I fell twice, but luckily just my arms were wet from catching myself and not my actual core.
Triumphant, we made it back to camp in one piece, though a bit stiffer than when we'd left. Who knew we had all these unknown muscles? We can check the Narrows off of our list of things to do in this lifetime - though now we're talking about taking the through-hike from the top of the river. Another day...
See more of our pictures from the Narrows here.
Wet and dirty,
JoAnna
Our goal was to hike five miles upriver to the campsites that hikers stay at when they through-hike the river from the top. For the first two miles we were joined by hordes of day hikers in everything imaginable - bikinis, barefeet, and even a big guy wading in his skivvies. Like I said, this is no normal guy's hike and it was frightening to see the number of people on the river unprepared. While you can rent special boots and pants for the Narrows hike, we outfitted ourselves and did pretty well. I wore: a sweat-wicking sports bra, a sweat-wicking tank top, Under Armour long sleeve shirt and tights, UV tank top, fleece sweatshirt with hood, light-dry cargo pants, wool hiking socks and Keens. We also brought along hats, gloves, extra clothing to keep our cores warm and extra socks.
At two-and-a-half miles, we came to a point where a second canyon joined the Narrows. After that, the hikers became scarce and the scenery became even more exquisite. Unfortunately, it is so dark in the canyon that it's difficult to take pictures, but the walls were covered in thick moss and ferns and waterfalls that sounded like timpani drums ran out of cracks in the canyon walls. We even found one section of the wall covered in insect exo-skeletons.
Around three miles into the hike we came upon Wall Street, an amazing portion of the hike where the canyon narrows significantly and sheer canyon walls rise straight up on both sides. It's the part of the hike where I really felt at the mercy of nature. If anything had happened at this point - flash flood, rock slide, etc. - we would have had nowhere to go. There were no sandbanks on either side of the river, and we had to carefully navigate our way up the rushing water through slippery rocks. At one point, the water was nearly up to my waist.
Four miles in we hit a portion of the river filled with huge boulders we had to scramble over and navigate around. At this point, we were only sharing the river with a few interspersed hikers and a significant number of trout. Not knowing what time it was, but knowing we'd been on the river for quite some time, we stopped at four-and-a-half miles to eat our sandwiches before turning around and heading back. Only two other groups of people passed us as far as we could tell.
Now, I would have thought getting downriver would be easier than the trek up it, but it wasn't at all. In fact, I moved so slowly and had to concentrate so hard on getting my footing that, once we were back in a place with other people, hikers were passing us right and left. Going back down the river I fell twice, but luckily just my arms were wet from catching myself and not my actual core.
Triumphant, we made it back to camp in one piece, though a bit stiffer than when we'd left. Who knew we had all these unknown muscles? We can check the Narrows off of our list of things to do in this lifetime - though now we're talking about taking the through-hike from the top of the river. Another day...
See more of our pictures from the Narrows here.
Wet and dirty,
JoAnna
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Redefining Garage Sales
Cory and I made an incredible discovery this past weekend...the REI garage sale. We knew it had to be good with the long line wrapped along the side of the building waiting to get into the roped off area, but we didn't know how good until we got in. What a treasure trove! Bikes, tents, sleeping bags, GPS systems, sunglasses...you name it, it was there at a significantly discounted price. Since we were the third group in, shoes and clothes were fifty percent off the sales price because there were still so many left. This was a "bruised and battered" sale, so these were returned items, but they weren't necessarily damaged. The pair of Keens I bought for $2.50 (you read that right) just didn't fit the first owner comfortably - the same is true for the other four pairs of shoes we bought - so nothing was actually wrong with any of them. We walked away with those Keens, a pair of Tevas, three pairs of Merrells, a sweater, a sweat-wicking shirt, a cute beanie and a fanny pack/water bottle holder for my dad all for the low, low price of $75. We love REI...and we love REI garage sales! Yippee for great deals!
Monday, September 8, 2008
There and Back Again, or up the hill and back down
The day did not start out well at all. We were all soaked from the pouring rain and I was frustrated at my sopping wet french toast. We had spent the night around the campfire talking about the hike and were all excited about going up “the hill”. We took our moisture soaked hearts to the Ranger’s station to get an update on the weather.
“Gunna rain hard all day.”
“All day?”
“Yup. Look here at the radar.” The screen was green with a monstrous rain cloud covering most of the park. “But hey, this is Zion, anything could happen.”
We decided to go to the Zion Human History Museum to see if we could wait out the rain. We looked around at the exhibits and walked through the art gallery, all a bit dejected. Leland and I looked outside and noticed the rain was letting up.
“Lets go check the radar again” he said.
“Looks like it is going to clear up” young, blonde haired ranger told us.
We went in to the Zion introduction movie with a twinge of excitement. Twenty-two minutes later we stepped outside to sunshine and no rain.
“Well, let’s go up the hill” I said while pointing at the looming rock known as Angel’s Landing in the distance. We climbed on to the shuttle and headed off to the Grotto stop and the Angel’s Landing trailhead.
Angel’s Landing is a 2.5 mile path that winds its way 1488 ft. up to the top of a large sandstone monolith that lets you see the whole canyon. The book had warned of narrow pathways and “areas where chains bolted to the side of the cliff face may be needed for assistance.”
At the bottom of the path we stopped to look up at the overbearing piece of rock we were going to climb. The path started out as sand and was a fairly steady climb for a quarter of a mile until it became a paved path. We passed three young women, one poorly shod; an Indian couple using two hiking poles a piece, and a small family of Germans. We stopped often to catch our breath, take a picture or six, and just enjoy the view.
Before the path curved into a crevasse between Angel’s Landing and the rock wall next to it we stopped and looked down at the path we had traversed thus far.
“Wow.” I said.
“Look how far we have come already” this from Jo.
“Let’s get to Walter’s Wiggles” said Leland.
We made it to Walter’s Wiggles, the series of 21 switchbacks that takes you to Scout’s landing, in about 10 minutes. It took us about 15 more to clime the wiggles. It was once we reached the landing that we saw what was ahead…or thought we did. There was a fairly steep sandstone cliff face in front of us with people scrambling up, using the chains to haul themselves along the side of the face. Others were looking down from the top waiting for their chance to return from the Landing. We took our place in line and climbed/hauled ourselves to the next landing, The Chicken Out Point.
As we turned the corner and truly faced our last half mile we had very little to say.
“Oh shit.”
“Holy balls.”
“Holy balls!”
The guy sitting on the landing laughed at us. “I love hearing peoples’ expressions when they turn that corner.”
What was facing us was a ridge that ran from The Chicken Out Point to Angel’s Landing. It was about a half mile to the top.
I looked at the ant like people scrambling up and down the ridge. “I’m not giving up”
“Let’s go then” Jo and Leland said in unison.
We crawled, pulled, climbed and slid our way that half mile to the top. On our way we stopped for water, to catch our breath and take a picture of rare wildlife like the California Condor. It took us almost an hour to get to Angel’s Landing. Once there we had a stunning view of the entire Canyon from the Altar of Sacrifice all the way to the mouth of The Narrows. We sat down and had a lunch of chips, apples, and cookies. We took the appropriate pictures and looked at each other.
“So, lets go down the Hill.”
Toeshoes and Keens abide,
Cory
Pictures linked below in Jo's posting.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Zion: Where Angels Come to Play
Not all destinations are created equal.
I say this because not only did we visit an unbelievably beautiful and mesmerizing destination over Labor Day, but we chose to live in a place that offers us such wonderful access to some of our country’s most amazing national parks. I knew we made the right decision when we chose to move to Las Vegas last year.
But to get back to the unbelievably beautiful and mesmerizing destination of Zion National Park,located in southern Utah… Declared a national park nearly 100 years ago, much of this park is inaccessible to people, and in the main canyon area of the park, a shuttle bus service runs a circuit, dropping people off at trailheads and viewpoints. It’s quiet, clean and unobtrusive.
Zion is a family-friendly park that can be enjoyed from viewpoints and short hiking trails, but like any camping trip, our journey to Zion was filled with strenuous hiking, cliff-hugging adventures and promises to return. We were lucky enough to have my dad join us on the trip, which is always a treat. Together, the three of us explored just about every nook and cranny up and down the main shuttle route.
At Weeping Rock, I was reminded of the unique ecosystems that exist within this park. Although technically in the desert, the Virgin River runs through Zion and rainfall that seeps through the sandstone drips off of the limestone below it creating hanging gardens and moss that covers rocks resting next to cacti.
Many of the named monoliths in the park are named after religious objects and people. The Great White Throne, the Altar of Sacrifice, Angel’s Landing (more on this in a minute) and the Three Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) are overwhelming and stunning with their sheer drop offs and seemingly carved-out arches.
On Saturday we took a hike to Hidden Canyon, a secluded narrow ravine set high up in the hills. We were thrilled by the fact that parts of the trail required we hold onto a chain so as not to fall off the edge, and the stone staircases carved into the side of the hill felt ancient and secretive. Hidden Canyon itself was narrow and required some rock scrambling as we made our way back to a free-standing arch. It’s always so gratifying to me when the really rewarding features take some work to see. The big treat on this hike was the spotted owl that Cory saw resting in a tree. White, fluffy and completely unexpected, the owl perched quietly as we stared at it in amazement.
We received a little bit of rain Saturday night and Sunday morning, but once the sun started burning through the clouds, we headed for Angel’s Landing, a peak we’d been talking about since learning about it on Saturday. Angel’s Landing juts into the middle of the park and is accessible by a two-and-a-half mile trail that climbs 1,488 feet. It was muggy when we started up the trail, which quickly left the road and led back toward the “hill” (as Cory liked to call it) where the trail grew increasingly steeper. A lazy set of switchbacks turned back behind Angel’s Landing in a deceivingly flat, shady trail. Once we reached the end of the easy part, the trail turned 180-degrees as we headed up the 21 steep switchbacks known as Walter’s Wiggles. From there we ended up at Scout’s Point, where we were met with a sign warning us of hazardous conditions ahead. We had reached the first real challenge of the day. The trail led around a chunk of the mountain that again had a chain to help from falling, but this time the chain meant business. There were parts of the trail that required we rely heavily on the chain in order to avoid falling off the cliff face. I found it challenging; being short, I struggled occasionally to reach the next step up and I had to use the chain to drag myself up the rock. As we turned the final curve, I couldn’t believe what I saw in front of me. Angel’s Landing lay half a mile in front of me, straight up a narrow, rocky ridge not more than three feet wide in places.
“Holy balls,” I distinctly remember myself saying.
“Oh shit,” Cory said.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” the guy behind Cory said under his breath.
A man standing next to me laughed. “I love hearing people coming around the bend,” he said as we both looked at the treacherous path that lay before us. He told me that people coming back said the climb was worth it, but that lots of people got to the point we were at and made the decision not to continue. “It’s okay to stop here,” he said. “I am.”
But I wasn’t quitting. I don’t think I ever really thought about not finishing the climb to the top of Angel’s Landing. It just took me by surprise. What an intimidating endeavor, but one I will remember for a lifetime and feel proud of conquering.
We set off on the climb, pausing occasionally to rest, drink water and, yes, watch a California condor sunning itself on the side of the cliff face. We hauled ourselves up sand-slippery boulders and wedged ourselves into cracks as we let people pass us going in the other direction. We navigated around rocky corners and adjusted our footing to balance as we peered over the edge of the cliff and pointed out other hiking paths we’d climbed and bus stops we recognized. We became talented in a new sport I think should be in the gymnastics competition of the Olympics: uneven balance beam. Like a broken and dirty matchstick resting between the Empire State Building and the Eiffel Tower, the ridge we traversed became our momentary Everest.
Half a mile later we reached the peak of Angel’s Landing, a stunning viewpoint from which we seemed to be able to see the entire park (though this isn’t really true). Without any cars running down the spine of Zion, the view was really marvelous. Now that we were at the top of one of those monoliths, we could see the ribbon of the Virgin River, the winding sandstone road with the occasionally propane-powered bus meandering down it, the lonely lodge and the steep path we had climbed.
At the “lunchroom” on top of Angel’s Landing, people joked about how a waitress on roller skates would be by any minute to take our beer orders. As we munched on fruit and chips, Dad, Cory and I pondered the little things that surrounded us. When does a rock become a boulder, a boulder become a hill and a hill become a mountain? How did the chipmunks get to the top of Angel’s Landing? We marveled at the Korean hikers who flew by us going up and coming down, and we commented on the shoes and clothing people were able to climb in.
It was amazing being on the top of the world. Climbing Angel’s Landing is, I think, the closest thing I’ve ever done to climbing a mountain, and I’m really excited the three of us did it.
As we sat by the campfire on Sunday night, we made plans to come back and hike The Narrows—an upriver hike that requires some swimming. Perhaps we’ll add that on to the end of our rim-to-rim Grand Canyon adventure next summer. The campfire crackled, the smoke blew through the air, the stars shined, people laughed and talked quietly in sites around ours, and we basked in the glory of another fantastic camping trip in a place that is clearly superior to so many others.
Check out our other Zion pictures here.
Camelpacks and hiking boots,
JoAnna
I say this because not only did we visit an unbelievably beautiful and mesmerizing destination over Labor Day, but we chose to live in a place that offers us such wonderful access to some of our country’s most amazing national parks. I knew we made the right decision when we chose to move to Las Vegas last year.
But to get back to the unbelievably beautiful and mesmerizing destination of Zion National Park,located in southern Utah… Declared a national park nearly 100 years ago, much of this park is inaccessible to people, and in the main canyon area of the park, a shuttle bus service runs a circuit, dropping people off at trailheads and viewpoints. It’s quiet, clean and unobtrusive.
Zion is a family-friendly park that can be enjoyed from viewpoints and short hiking trails, but like any camping trip, our journey to Zion was filled with strenuous hiking, cliff-hugging adventures and promises to return. We were lucky enough to have my dad join us on the trip, which is always a treat. Together, the three of us explored just about every nook and cranny up and down the main shuttle route.
At Weeping Rock, I was reminded of the unique ecosystems that exist within this park. Although technically in the desert, the Virgin River runs through Zion and rainfall that seeps through the sandstone drips off of the limestone below it creating hanging gardens and moss that covers rocks resting next to cacti.
Many of the named monoliths in the park are named after religious objects and people. The Great White Throne, the Altar of Sacrifice, Angel’s Landing (more on this in a minute) and the Three Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) are overwhelming and stunning with their sheer drop offs and seemingly carved-out arches.
On Saturday we took a hike to Hidden Canyon, a secluded narrow ravine set high up in the hills. We were thrilled by the fact that parts of the trail required we hold onto a chain so as not to fall off the edge, and the stone staircases carved into the side of the hill felt ancient and secretive. Hidden Canyon itself was narrow and required some rock scrambling as we made our way back to a free-standing arch. It’s always so gratifying to me when the really rewarding features take some work to see. The big treat on this hike was the spotted owl that Cory saw resting in a tree. White, fluffy and completely unexpected, the owl perched quietly as we stared at it in amazement.
We received a little bit of rain Saturday night and Sunday morning, but once the sun started burning through the clouds, we headed for Angel’s Landing, a peak we’d been talking about since learning about it on Saturday. Angel’s Landing juts into the middle of the park and is accessible by a two-and-a-half mile trail that climbs 1,488 feet. It was muggy when we started up the trail, which quickly left the road and led back toward the “hill” (as Cory liked to call it) where the trail grew increasingly steeper. A lazy set of switchbacks turned back behind Angel’s Landing in a deceivingly flat, shady trail. Once we reached the end of the easy part, the trail turned 180-degrees as we headed up the 21 steep switchbacks known as Walter’s Wiggles. From there we ended up at Scout’s Point, where we were met with a sign warning us of hazardous conditions ahead. We had reached the first real challenge of the day. The trail led around a chunk of the mountain that again had a chain to help from falling, but this time the chain meant business. There were parts of the trail that required we rely heavily on the chain in order to avoid falling off the cliff face. I found it challenging; being short, I struggled occasionally to reach the next step up and I had to use the chain to drag myself up the rock. As we turned the final curve, I couldn’t believe what I saw in front of me. Angel’s Landing lay half a mile in front of me, straight up a narrow, rocky ridge not more than three feet wide in places.
“Holy balls,” I distinctly remember myself saying.
“Oh shit,” Cory said.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” the guy behind Cory said under his breath.
A man standing next to me laughed. “I love hearing people coming around the bend,” he said as we both looked at the treacherous path that lay before us. He told me that people coming back said the climb was worth it, but that lots of people got to the point we were at and made the decision not to continue. “It’s okay to stop here,” he said. “I am.”
But I wasn’t quitting. I don’t think I ever really thought about not finishing the climb to the top of Angel’s Landing. It just took me by surprise. What an intimidating endeavor, but one I will remember for a lifetime and feel proud of conquering.
We set off on the climb, pausing occasionally to rest, drink water and, yes, watch a California condor sunning itself on the side of the cliff face. We hauled ourselves up sand-slippery boulders and wedged ourselves into cracks as we let people pass us going in the other direction. We navigated around rocky corners and adjusted our footing to balance as we peered over the edge of the cliff and pointed out other hiking paths we’d climbed and bus stops we recognized. We became talented in a new sport I think should be in the gymnastics competition of the Olympics: uneven balance beam. Like a broken and dirty matchstick resting between the Empire State Building and the Eiffel Tower, the ridge we traversed became our momentary Everest.
Half a mile later we reached the peak of Angel’s Landing, a stunning viewpoint from which we seemed to be able to see the entire park (though this isn’t really true). Without any cars running down the spine of Zion, the view was really marvelous. Now that we were at the top of one of those monoliths, we could see the ribbon of the Virgin River, the winding sandstone road with the occasionally propane-powered bus meandering down it, the lonely lodge and the steep path we had climbed.
At the “lunchroom” on top of Angel’s Landing, people joked about how a waitress on roller skates would be by any minute to take our beer orders. As we munched on fruit and chips, Dad, Cory and I pondered the little things that surrounded us. When does a rock become a boulder, a boulder become a hill and a hill become a mountain? How did the chipmunks get to the top of Angel’s Landing? We marveled at the Korean hikers who flew by us going up and coming down, and we commented on the shoes and clothing people were able to climb in.
It was amazing being on the top of the world. Climbing Angel’s Landing is, I think, the closest thing I’ve ever done to climbing a mountain, and I’m really excited the three of us did it.
As we sat by the campfire on Sunday night, we made plans to come back and hike The Narrows—an upriver hike that requires some swimming. Perhaps we’ll add that on to the end of our rim-to-rim Grand Canyon adventure next summer. The campfire crackled, the smoke blew through the air, the stars shined, people laughed and talked quietly in sites around ours, and we basked in the glory of another fantastic camping trip in a place that is clearly superior to so many others.
Check out our other Zion pictures here.
Camelpacks and hiking boots,
JoAnna
Friday, August 22, 2008
All in the Family
I have a new brother. He’s smart, funny and gets along great with my family. I really couldn’t have asked my sister to marry a better guy.
Ren and Rebecca were married at my parents’ house in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, last weekend in a low-key, small country wedding. Families met on Thursday and fell in love with each other, friends joined the happy couple for an ice cream social on Friday, and on Saturday a Hix and a Stinson were joined as lifelong partners.
It’s hard to believe my little sister is grown up enough to be married. It seems like just a couple years ago when we were naming our Barbies, sunbathing on our trampoline, goofing around on family vacations, hiding each other’s clothes when the other was in the shower and taking dance pictures in the yard. I remember us grinning with braces and singing songs of the 80s and 90s with gusto. The days before full-time jobs and yard work...now those were the days.
It’s so easy to look back and dwell on the good times, but I know that the addition of Ren in our family will only open the doors for new memories yet to be created. Those memories began when Cory and Ren talked shoes in an art museum a little over a year ago and have traveled through time to butter cream cake topped with paper cranes, a dimly lit barn edged with antiques and relatives busting a move on the dance floor—yes, even the grandparents got down and boogied.
I’m so excited for my sister and brother-in-law. They are on journey of a lifetime…and I’m so happy I can be a part of it.
Ren and Rebecca were married at my parents’ house in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, last weekend in a low-key, small country wedding. Families met on Thursday and fell in love with each other, friends joined the happy couple for an ice cream social on Friday, and on Saturday a Hix and a Stinson were joined as lifelong partners.
It’s hard to believe my little sister is grown up enough to be married. It seems like just a couple years ago when we were naming our Barbies, sunbathing on our trampoline, goofing around on family vacations, hiding each other’s clothes when the other was in the shower and taking dance pictures in the yard. I remember us grinning with braces and singing songs of the 80s and 90s with gusto. The days before full-time jobs and yard work...now those were the days.
It’s so easy to look back and dwell on the good times, but I know that the addition of Ren in our family will only open the doors for new memories yet to be created. Those memories began when Cory and Ren talked shoes in an art museum a little over a year ago and have traveled through time to butter cream cake topped with paper cranes, a dimly lit barn edged with antiques and relatives busting a move on the dance floor—yes, even the grandparents got down and boogied.
I’m so excited for my sister and brother-in-law. They are on journey of a lifetime…and I’m so happy I can be a part of it.
A sister of two,
JoAnna
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