Our 42^nd Anniversary Trip

Saturday May 19^th through Thursday June 7th

Well what a trip so far!  We began by leaving Wichita on Saturday and driving to Denver where we stayed at a reasonable motel and took in a Rockies ballgame. We got great seat from a scalper. We paid $60 for two 16^th row seats right behind the dugout. It was the best seats we have ever had. The seats were $42 each so we got a very good price but still $60. Another scalper offered to buy them from us for what we paid plus give us nosebleed seats for free. We kept the great seats and were treated to a nice night. We had good food at the game and it was a super night.  On the way to Denver we saw a horrible role-over just less than a minute in front of us.

Sunday we got up and went to the flea market where Linda wouldn’t buy me a $15 carousel. I bought her a nice $16 pair of sunglasses while she let me buy a pair of $2 sunglasses. There were many vendors and we found a set of tires for $460 but did not buy them.

 We left and drove to Dubose Wyoming where we got a really nice motel room and then went looking for animals and drove out a very bumpy road. It was a beautiful evening.  Then that night we had another really nice time except for what almost happened! Which will remain our secret.

The next morning we got up and went over a 10,000 foot pass where it was snowing and we do mean snowing.  We drove into the Tetons and out of the snow but it was quite cold around 39 degrees or so. The day got much warmer as we drove into Jackson for supplies. Our campsite was the one we most like at Jenny Lake number 50. The view of the mountains was most impressive and

Wonderful from there. That afternoon we looked for animals and saw a beautiful moose, an old scrawny moose that was decidedly on its last legs. We saw a grizzly sow and 3 cubs and then we saw the most extraordinary thing – we stumbled on a big black bear and 2 tiny spring cubs.

Linda was the first to spot all the animals but this black bear was to leave an indelible mark with us as we watcher her run, stand straight up and in general play with her cubs.  She crossed the river with one and he got swept downstream by itself and ended on the opposite side of the river from the other cub and the mother. We watched the mother swim back and forth trying to get the 2^nd cub to cross the river. Finally after about 15-20 trys the 2^nd cub finally quit crying and jumped in the water and swam to the other side safely although drifting downstream a ways.

 We also saw elk and buffalo and we got pictures of everything. We saw a 3^rd brown bear later that evening. We went to bed and were warm and comfortable until someone decided to go to the bathroom and took all the covers. I survived and the stars were out.

At around 5 this person needed to go to the bathroom again and once more I froze but while it was cold, the stars were out. At around 7 AM she woke up again and I did to and this time we were both cold and opened our tent flap to see what was making the noise, and, 2 to 3 inches of snow was on the ground and the snow was coming down heavy.

An instant later we were dressing and within 45 minutes had the entire car packed and were on our way to warmer climates. We drove out of Jackson over another 10000 foot pass where it was still snowing and through about 3 hours of treacherous roads. We drove on all day before ending in Sparks Nevada where Linda lost 88 cents gambling and I won $8.  We played the 2 penny slots. We had a nice day considering it was a quick unexpected departure and a very long driving day.

We drove out of Nevada through a fire that had closed one land of I-80 – it was so interesting we turned around and drove a 2^nd time through it.  We were going so slow to get pictures that a highway patrol, which was behind us (we didn’t know that) got on his loud speaker and ask the Kansas car to pick up the speed. 

We got a nice camp site at Sunset beach and stayed there two nights. Today we mostly just walked to a cliff overlooking the sea.

This morning I was “complimented” for driving down and over a very narrow pass and only having 9 cars held up behind me. Probably a Nazi Republican. Actually it was funny and neither Linda nor I lost our temper which in the past would have been easy to do.

On Thursday we drove up the coast to  Ano Neuvo state park where we walked a total of about 4 and half miles to see Elephant Sea Lions and we also saw a baby seal that had been orphaned.

 It was great although coming back and up the sand dunes was not an easy thing for either of us.

We also drove by and stopped and took pictures of people Kite surfing on the beach! It was really neat and interesting.

We visited natural bridge state park and it was ok.

 We went to dinner at the Brook Room at Brookdale Lodge where we had stayed last year and it was neat.

We had a Baskin Robins ice cream and went back to the camp where we slept well.

Friday we broke camp and rushed to Monterey to take a whale watching tour that lasted until 3 pm. The first whale we saw did an almost complete breach out of the water and made a lasting image within us.

The same whale did a ¾ breach almost immediately and was wonderful.

 We saw many more whales during the trip – some up very close and it was a very nice day. We drove slowly up through San Francisco and over the Golden Gate Bridge to Gigi’s where she took us out for a great Italian dinner.

She has a very nice apartment. In fact it is more of an executive suite much befitting the work she has put in to be where she is!

Saturday we got up late and ad a nice breakfast at IHOP. We then drove through the horrible traffic to San Francisco where it was cold, damp and very crowded. Gigi got us jackets and we walked around Fisherman’s wharf. We saw people which is fun and had a very nice day. We came home and had pizza and played cards. We called and pestered Zack who was trying to have an evening with a girlfriend. It was a gentle day and a very nice one.

Sunday Gig went into work and we went Flea Marketing where Linda bought me a neat Baseball shirt. I got her a new rosary and we bought Gig some oranges and cherries. I found a set of tires for about $350 but could not find anyone to install them. We went to a very expensive dinner on the bay. Everything was right; the food was beautifully presented and tasted even better. Linda and Gig had a Grand Mariner Soufflé and I had a Pecan pie to die for. My blood sugars were still at 149 this morning –the highest they have been in several months. We played O Hell and Linda won and Gigi came in last.

This morning I am the only one awake as I can hear both Gigi and Linda snoring. It is a very good sound. It has been quite nice spending these two days with Gigi. We visited her hospital and her staff was very nice to us. They kept thanking us for having raised her the way we did whatever that means.  We took it to mean she was doing a good job in a difficult situation. Later this morning we will pack and head to bed of roses near Yosemite.

We reached Bed of Roses and were warmly welcomed and found a room we remembered with very positive memories. We drove out to the Mariposa Big Trees and then headed back.  We used the two person Jacuzzi and it was wonderful.

 The next day we had breakfast with a young same sex couple. The two young women were nice and a good conversation was had. We drove into the Yosemite Valley where we had lunch; walked the Yosemite Falls trail and then we walked the Bridal Veil Falls walk. No mosquitoes this year as things were pretty dry. We put out queen size blow up bed next to the river and layed there for about an hour. It was great. We then went back to the lodge and had a small dinner and made out way to Glacier Point and watched the sunset and stayed to see the valley after dark under almost a full moon. Glorious – almost as bright as daylight. We walked the lonely dark path back to the car and drove very slowly and carefully down the 16 mile curry twisting road and then back to the Bed of Roses where we had another Jacuzzi bath before going to sleep. A long but glorious day.

Wednesday was a do nothing day and yet we did a whole lot. We had breakfast with a young Christian Couple on their 5^th anniversary trip. We drove around Bass Lake after driving down to Coarsegold. Pretty but not much there. We then went to see Pirates of the Caribbean and made our way back to the Mariposa Grove where we took a long arduous walk all uphill and took some pictures. I was concerned about Linda but she did fine and we then returned to the lodge where our host was kind enough to go to town to pick up a pizza for us. We then took a long and final Jacuzzi.

Thursday morning we had breakfast with an English couple whom we found delightful. We then made our way to Sequoia National Park. We got a campsite that was very lopsided – my fault- and attempted a walk but did not get as far as we had two years previously as Linda was having much difficulty breathing and her breathing issues continued through the night. We had the worse hamburgers if that was what they were, at the national park grill. They were horrible. We saw a cinnamon bear. We met a nice German family and gave them map hints. It was a long night as someone decided to camp right behind us and did not arrive until 4AM.

We left somewhat tired. We stopped by the Circle Meadow trail at the big trees and had a nice 1.25 mile walk. Linda saw a bear at the very beginning of the walk seemed to walk fine. The day became very long and I was very tired and somewhat angry most of the day and things got worse as we approached Las Vegas where we were in a traffic jam forever. There was a terrible accident that made national news and we were able to drive only about 1 mile in an hour and a half.  Our fuel light came on and we were concerned about running out of gas. We finally made it to St George where we got a room that was not only reasonable but very nice. The day as it ended got better even after waiting 30 minutes at a Denny’s for an n omelet.

We woke up and laid in bed determined to get our vacation back on track. It seems as though most of calls are not to find out if we are having a good time but to talk about possible problems. We decided we need to forget their issues and enjoy ourselves.   We got up and renewed our room for another night and went to a late breakfast and then drove to Colorado City where we talked with members of a polygamous family. We took pictures of the city but not of the people themselves as that seemed wrong. The ladies we talked with were obviously one family and apprehensive of us as we thought they would be. They still were very nice to us. We came away with mixed but positive feelings. We used one of our gift cards to eat at Red Lobster and had a nice meal but huge meal. First decent food since we were treated so well at Gigi’s. We had great meals with her and wonderful card playing and company.

We went to a flea market that had two vendors and then this evening drove to Springdale to a rock and roll show which was fine. We could not help but notice we were the youngest or among the youngest at the show –Twist Away the Night. It was a nice evening and day. I hope we are back on track!

This was a very long day that was also an incredible day. We had decided on a touring day – a day to drive and see and we did just that. We left around 9 and drove through Zion NP and then on up toward Bryce Canyon. We turned on to highway 12 which was far more than we had expected. This is a road of roads. We immediately drove into a hot red rock canyon area that was beautiful. We drove then into Bryce Canyon and while it was not the Grand Canyon, it was great especially the arches part of the canyon.

After Bryce we drove into a small town where we had a pizza and talked with a young South Carolina family that had been in a snowstorm in Yellowstone the day we left Jenny Lake.  As we drove out highway 12 we saw a biker in an accident on a bridge. He had fallen asleep or had a heart attack and ran into the bridge. It did not look good for him. 

We drove on to Capital Reef NP and the scenery was magnificent but did nothing to prepare us for what was next. We were in a cliff pass area –a cross between the Poudre River Valley and the St George Gorge roads only much narrower and much longer. We came out of the gorge area and on to a ridge with huge drop offs on both sides of the road and then down into a wooded area followed by a giant drop off and finally into an area that we described as rocky ugly – not even Zachery Land. We don’t think we have ever been on a road quite like this one.

 The diversity of scenery and the splendor of the ridge was just impressive. All that was missing from everything this day was the lack of animals. We saw perhaps one antelope, two deer and maybe one elk and we see animals everywhere but none or very few on this day. We got to Arches and the campsite was filled. Arches was not all that impressive after what we had seen. We ended up at a commercial campsite and slept reasonably ok considering our air mattress kept losing air and the people next to us almost never went to bed. The day was great but very long and we almost lost it at the end but did not.

We got up early and left prior to the camp store being open so had no one to pay for the night. We will try to remember to find a way to pay them the $20 for the campsite when we get home. We drove into Denver over the normal route I-70 which is a very beautiful drive. Our hotel, the Red Lion greeted us nicely and it is a nice room to stay for the next three nights. We rested, showered and then went to dinner at the Outback using a gift card we had been given. Driving through Denver traffic is daunting but we still made it downtown to their wonderful theatre center where we got great half price tickets in a super location to see “A funny thing happened on the way to the forum”. It was funny and tried hard to be provocative. We then went to an art film at the Mayan theater and ended up at the motel tired but ok around 12:30.  This was a very nice day even if long.

Our 42^nd Anniversary – June 5, 2007

Well another year. The amazing thing is we have very little money, not the greatest of health, are overweight and still we are reasonably in love – not bad for 42 years. I am 62 and Linda is 59 so we have spent our life becoming one. Still, we have our uniqueness. Today we slept late. We made love. We discovered a great restaurant – Strings. We were treated very well even given the most beautiful of desert platters as a gift and our food, well it tasted even better than it looked and it was beautifully presented. I bought Linda a small necklace that was made of glass in the shape of a heart and all the money went to the HOPE foundation for helping people in Ethiopia. We then went for a drive to a local mall where Linda bought Crocs. We drove back to the motel and rested then went to a light dinner at IHOP with one of our gift cards. Tonight we went to see “The Taffetas”. It was a musical depiction of the 50’s music performed by 4 women and it was “sweet”! Very very sweet. It was fun. Linda and I laughed a lot and felt a little ancient. We have been very pleasantly surprised by the extremely positive way in which people react when learning of our 42^nd wedding anniversary – even tonight at the musical the house provided us with 2 soft drinks and a big moose inside a chocolate cup for free. We have been made to feel we are special today even receiving a call from all our children and grandchildren and Linda’s mom and dad.  It has been a very nice day!

Well it is Wednesday, June 6 and our last full day of vacation before returning to Wichita tomorrow in what promises to be a long day.  We began by having our free hotel breakfast buffet. We went to the Mile High Flea market and found 4 cameras. A limited edition football, a wonderful signed framed tee shirt with many great football autographs from 1995 and a 1950’s plastic really collectible radio. I bought all for around $100 and Linda got a perfume bottle and a necklace – mustard seed type-Wow! We then went to lunch at a French Bistro –Le Central where we had a great lunch with Escargot for Linda and lots of mussels and some kind of meat for me. The desert was really good.  Then we left and went antique shopping where we got Tim about a dozen shot glasses and I bought a Mickey Mouse Watch also. Now we went to Gunther Today and had a milkshake while looking over our trophies. We drove a short ways and had a camera store really look at what we had bought and were delighted at what they said. If the day was not great enough, we then went to a Rockies game and had a great experience and enjoyed a fine game. Linda forced me to buy two good tickets and they were wonderful. We came back to the motel and on the way we saw another accident. We made it safely here and we said our prayers and will watch TV for a while before sleeping and then heading home in the morning. We have about $50 to make it home on and not go over our budget. We enjoyed the jackets Gigi got us at the Rockies game tonight as the wind howled awesomely.

We reached home around 4:30 and found about $1000 in bills awaiting us and about an extra $100 we had failed to record so this was not a good surprise but we did have a good trip home and our grandchildren came over and unloaded things for us!

Final Thoughts

Linda

This trip was full of new and wonderful surprises!  I really did enjoy the views of bears in the Tetons.  The new road that we discovered was highway 12 and some of the views were some of the most spectacular that I have ever seen.  It was nice to discover a road that we had not been on that held so many beautiful scenes.  I also enjoy the way we spent more than one night in some of the places and explored them from our hotel.   We had so many nice meals that it is hard to describe just which one other that Strings was the best.  I had a very nice anniversary day which was so important to me this year.  All and all this was a really good trip.

John

Like Linda I loved the trip. There were some bad moments in one day mostly caused by my not eating correctly but all in all it was a nice trip.  I worry we will never get another trip as neither of us are in very good health. The bear with the two cubs in the Tetons, Highway 12, Denver, Gigi, Whale watching, Strings, were easily my highlights –except you have to add the Denver Flea Market where I spent about $100 on foolishness and it was a blast. 42 years is a long time. I cannot imagine not being married to Linda and I love her with all my being. It was a really good trip.