Why central South Carolina?  A National Park not yet seen – Congaree.  Of course there was the obligatory lunch stop on the way.  MiniMagic found a nice little park under a very interesting bridge over the Brunswick River – –

Nice lunch spot.

Then, on to the main attraction.  Congaree NP is a land of towering trees in a floodplain forest, which like so many of our forests, was almost lost.  Thanks to efforts of Harry Hampton this 27,000 acres became the Congaree NP a recent as 1976.

It is possible that the Congaree River will overflow its banks several times a year.  When it does, its waters flow into this floodplain with moisture and nutrients that provide the ingredients for a unique ecosystem of plants and animals.  Especially the recipe for ‘champion trees’ (one that is judged to be the largest of its species and native or naturalized to the US).  A fabulous 2.4 mile boardwalk is provided to explore the park.

Wandering into the “swamp” full of Champion Trees.

The Bald Cypress that make Congaree home, have a broad base and complex root system to help hold them steady during the floods.  They also have little ‘shoots’ off their root system called ‘knees’.  The exact function of the knees is not known, but it is thought  they might be part of the stabilization system.

A plethora of cypress knees.

The level of the water when the Congaree River floods can be quite high and it can rise rapidly.  We would not want to be here at that time, as the moss on the trees marks that level and it is higher than G is tall!!

Yikes!!   Water levels higher than G’s 6’2″ frame.

Didn’t see a lot of wildlife (other than mosquitos!!) – but these guys were interesting – –

A young turtle alongside the larger parent.

The land within Congaree NP has a long and varied past going back to almost 10,000BCE. More recent inhabitants included slaves seeking shelter as they escaped during the Civil War, loggers in the late 1890’s (which almost decimated the forests), and bootleggers in the 1900’s.  Some of their stills remain – –

The remains of a prohibition era moonshine still.

Our adventure here wasn’t over.  This particular day just happened to be the first night of the Firefly Festival!  Well – this had to be checked out as they were claimed to ‘flicker’ in synchronization.  Believe it or not – they DID!!

Heading out in search of fireflies.

As you can see, our attempt to photograph the fireflies caught them when they were all off.

In the continuing effort to check out college/university campuses – the ‘other’ USC was in sight.  A beautiful campus right in the middle of Columbia, SC, with the Capital just adjacent to the campus.  The really FUN part about all our visits this weekend is that it was graduation.  So all the campuses were alive with the happy activities of students and their proud families;-)

The USC football stadium.

The central part of campus known as the Horseshoe.

All set up in the Horseshoe for the Law School commencement.

The South Carolina General Assembly created Columbia as the state’s capital city in 1786.  In 1790, the General Assembly first met in the new State House, designed by James Hoban, who later designed the White House.

The South Carolina State Capital with the statue of Strom Thurmond in the foreground.

The Trinity Episcopal Church was built in 1846.

OK – North Carolina needed equal time.  So, we were off to the University of NC in Chapel Hill.  Also a lovely campus with its central quad area and old unique buildings.

The South Bldg on the quad at UNC.

The beautiful old library undergoing renovation.

The Old Well on the campus is recognized as a National Landmark for Outstanding Landscape Architecture.  For many years, the old well was the sole water supply for the university.  In 1897, the original well was replaced with the present structure.  Campus tradition dictates that a drink from the Old Well on the first day of classes will bring good luck (or straight A’s!).  Perhaps all the graduates lined up for pictures took a sip on their first day of classes and DID get straight A’s;-)!!

Graduates, families and friends waiting to take a picture in front of The Old Well.

A great surprise waited for us in the Chapel Hill – Raleigh Durham area.  We got a 2-fer as Duke University is also located here.  Not to miss a campus, we were headed in that direction.  Although the rain was now really playing havoc with these graduation ceremonies.  AND – our arrival at Duke coincided with the arrival of all the graduation traffic.  Therefore, unfortunately, there was no walking tour of Duke – just a poor shot thru the rain soaked windshield.

The only shot of Duke;-(

It is really unfortunate that the weather did not hold for this campus visit, as it looked like a fantastic place to wander.  But – onward.

Travels through the Carolina’s would not be complete without a stop in Pinehurst.  Although this trip did not allow for a round of golf, a good lunch and a ‘shop-off’ in the Pro shop were in order.

The statue of Payne Stewart at Pinehurst.

A fun couple of days watching graduates and their families celebrate their accomplishments AND checking out one more NP;-)

Now – back to some of those Biaett cousins.

E & G off to see more Family

The next four fabulous days were spent with cousins Julie & Mike at the environs of “The Happiest Place on Earth”.  The accommodations at Saratoga Springs were perfect and well situated within walking distance of Downtown Disney where Julie & Mike met up with their favorite princess;-)

A Prince and his Princesses.

Venturing outside that “Happy” place for a day, we checked out the Kennedy Space Center, which is abuzz with activity again;-)  Here one can view artifacts of NASA’s Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle Programs.  Today’s visitor center and tours are a far cry from the drive-thru tour in 1963 of what was known as Cape Kennedy.  By popular demand, tours expanded to the adjacent Kennedy Space Center in 1965 creating the need for an actual visitor center.  In 1966 a temporary facility provided basic exhibits, restrooms and a hub for public bus tours.  Today’s facility is a far cry from its humble beginnings.  The tours have also expanded allowing us today to take a look behind the scenes, including the Vehicle Assembly Building, Launch Complex 39 and the Launch Control Center.  And we were off – –

The Vehicle Assembly Building is more than 50 stories tall…

…and is still in use today.  A launch tower in place waiting for the addition of a rocket.

Launch Pad 39A was used for the launch of most of the Apollo space craft as well as more than 80 Space Shuttle flights. It is now being used by Elon Musk’s SpaceX operations.

A trip in this area would not be complete without spending time with cousins Brett, Cindy and their boys – Barrett & Harrison – at their lovely home in Tampa.  We even got to attend Barrett’s baseball game where he had 3 RBI!

Barrett was an RBI machine at his Little League playoff game.

As always, our stay went by way too fast – but it was lots of fun.  Time to load up MiniMagic one more time and headed north.

Thanks to Julie and Mike for a fun few days. 

A BIG THANK YOU to all the Clarke’s for their hospitality – especially Julie & Mike;-)  The above doesn’t capture ALL the activities we had during these four days!  There were also delicious dinners at the Old Hickory Steakhouse at the Gaylord Palms Resort and at Hemmingway’s at the Grand Hyatt – and a yummy rib dinner at Chez Brett after the baseball game!  There was also shopping and sightseeing.  And – the best part – we did not set foot in any one of the theme parks to mingle with the hoards of people;-)  Just enjoyed hours of visiting and catching up.

Speaking of catching up – on the way to Orlando there was a quick visit to Vero Beach to catch-up with good friends Betsey & Garrett.  Again, we were treated to two fabulous meals, a tour of their new home and several hours of just plain visiting;-)

This is the best part of this trip – the really special visits with family and friends.  And this portion of our trip has just begun.

E & G

From the RTJ Golf Trail to the World Golf Hall of Fame just outside St. Augustine – including The King & The Bear and The Slammer & The Squire.  Our golf left a lot to be desired, but the courses were great fun (we did play both)!

The King and the Bear (course) – not sure which G is???

A visit to The World Golf Hall of Fame is fun and informative.  One can experience golf from its very beginning in the 1500’s to the current day Major Champions.  Especially fun are the interactive exhibits that one can get involved with – –

G putting at St. Andrews…

…and E atop the Leader Board at The Masters!!!

No trip to The World Golf Hall of Fame would be complete without a lunch or dinner at the Murray Brothers ‘Caddy Shack’.  Unfortunately, we just missed (by three days) the Murray Bros. BIG annual fundraiser.  It seems that much of the staff was still feeling the effects of the weekend of partying!!

We celebrated the Masters win at the Caddy Shack;-)!!

The Golf Hall of Fame community is just a few miles from the historic city of St. Augustine – the oldest permanent European Settlement in North America.  Florida was in and out of Spanish control several times during its ‘life’.  They built the Castillo in the late 1690’s and fortified it over the years after various British attacks.  The entire Florida peninsula was returned to Spain as part of the negotiations ending the American Revolution in 1783, and they ruled for another 37 years.  Fast forward to 1845, when Florida became the 27th state of the Union.

Remnants of the Castillo.

A nice view from our dinner spot.

One could not be this close and not travel 30 minutes north on the 95 to see TPC Sawgrass.  The first stadium course – built in 1983 – it is pretty stunning in person.  AND, you can take a great tour of the ‘clubhouse’ and the 16th, 17th and 18th holes.  It is pretty scary to stand on the tee box at 17 and think about hitting over all the water to ‘that little tiny green over there’;-)  And then to be on the 18th tee box looking over ALL that water back at the Clubhouse.  Awesome!!

The beautiful TPC Sawgrass Clubhouse in Ponte Vedra Beach.

The 17th green from the Tee Box – Yikes!!

Didn’t have to fight a single fan to get this shot;-)

Cheering Tiger after his “Better Than Most” putt in the 2001 Player’s Tournament.

The daunting 18th hole…what water?

Excellent view of the 18th and a great lunch.

Would love to get back to TPC Sawgrass some year for the Players.  But, once again, it is time to move on.  Unfortunately, we had to leave the beautiful Ponte Vedra and Hall of Fame area as we headed to Orlando.  It seems that the ‘love bugs’ are mating and are out in droves – – –

Second stop within 50 miles to clean the “love bugs” off of MiniMagic. Yuck!!

Some beautiful, beautiful courses in the last several days.  And some ugly, ugly bugs;-(  Here’s to hoping their three – four day life span after mating is just about up.

M-I-C–K-E-Y MOUSE here we come – E & G

Next up – Alabama and the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.  First, though, a little bit more of history.  With just a little jaunt out of the way, MiniMagic was in Selma, AL – the sight of an event we both remember watching on TV with a lot of sadness in our hearts.

On March 7, 1965 John Lewis and Hosea Williams led a group of 600 African Americans from Brown Chapel AME Church six blocks and across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.  As the group reached the apex of the bridge they saw a sea of blue at the bottom of the bridge on the other side.  State Public Safety Director Al Lingo ordered armed troopers to attack the marchers – hospitalizing 50 – in an event that became known as “Bloody Sunday”.  Two weeks later, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. led a court-approved march with federal protection over this same bridge to Montgomery.  These marches resulted in the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  Truly hard to believe this Right for all Americans was legalized as recently as my lifetime.

Quite moving to walk across this bridge.

Browns AME Church – the starting point for the 54 mile voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery, AL in March 1965.

A current view across the Pettus Bridge back into downtown Selma.

With a little knot in our stomachs – the trek to Prattville/Montgomery was continued.  There the Capitol Hill RTJ golf courses were waiting for us.  Two of the three courses – the Legislator and the Judge – were on the agenda.  The courses were beautiful, in excellent shape AND BRUTAL!!

The Legislator course – not quite so much water – but still BRUTAL!

G contemplating taking up fishing as the golf isn’t going so well.

Beautiful view from the 1st tee on the Judge course – don’t be fooled – still BRUTAL!

Uh oh. Water, water everywhere.

Water on 14 of the 18 holes on the Judge. G’s golf game was found to be in contempt.

At least there was interesting wildlife.

These few days were beautiful!  Despite the poor golf, we enjoyed every bit of our stay.  The grounds, the accommodations and the courses made us feel very homey and comfortable.  Even MiniMagic enjoyed – –

Cocktail time in MiniMagic.

Good-bye to Prattville, AL and the RTJ Trail.  See you again another time.

G & E off again on the golfing part of our adventure. 😉

Well – the last few days have been spent dodging BAD weather.  The national news carried a picture of a funnel cloud that was originally shown on the local College Station news – within shouting distance of where we were!  Leaving there – the next stop was Baton Rouge, LA, where a state of emergency was declared due to tornadoes and flooding;-(  Somehow, good karma surrounded us and once the storm passed in College Station it was sunshine the rest of the way for us;-)

So – the campus tours continued and next up was LSU on the banks of the mighty Mississippi – which was particularly mighty as it was at flood stage!!  Louisiana State University had its origins in land grants made by the US government going back to 1806.  Very different from Texas A&M – more like University of Texas, Austin – in that the town was encroaching on all sides of the campus.  Still a beautiful sight, especially with all the welcome blue sky – –

Tiger Stadium from the bridge crossing the Mississippi River into Baton Rouge.

A shot across the parade ground toward the Law School building.

A round of golf on the LSU course was on the agenda.  Due to the condition of the course, it is good that this is NOT where the LSU golf team plays;-(  Giving the benefit of doubt – it is possible the course was under water just a few days before.

Tiger Stadium in the background – Geaux Tigers!

I think we were smiling because we were almost finished with our less than stellar rounds of golf.

Baton Rouge was really just a quick stopover to take in a day of LSU.  Happy we did it, but need to keep moving.

E & G with one more campus under our belt (and one more golf course;-)!!)

Welcome back to the University Campus & Presidential Library portion of the trip;-)

Bryan/College Station is quite a nice area – and home to the VERY LARGE and sprawling Texas A&M campus, which includes the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.  We were struck by how much property was dedicated to the campus – 5,500 acres or 8.5 sq miles – which allows the university to expand within its own grounds without merging into the populated city areas.  This is quite different than what we see in the AZ school ‘sprawl’;-(  All this space made the university grounds really beautiful and impressive.

Before exploring the grounds, we managed a round of golf on the Texas A&M course- –

A very windy day.

Are we done yet? Kyle Field-home of the 12th Man-in the background!

A new day – a new Presidential Library with friends Louise and Bill.  As is true of such a museum, the core exhibit space here tells the story of the life and times of Bush, 41.  Unlike the LBJ library, which highlighted the 60’s, this Bush library highlights international relations, such as the Gulf War and the fall of the Berlin Wall.  There are great replicas of President Bush’s Camp David Office, Gulf War briefings in the Situation Room (interactive) and the Oval Office.

Here we go.

There are also many historical artifacts included in the museum.  Especially this 1944 TBM Avenger, which is the same type of plane Bush was flying when he was shot down during WWII, and the Studebaker they drove from the East Coast to Midland, TX when they relocated – –

The same type plane piloted by Bush when he crashed off the island of Chi Chi Jima.

The Studebaker driven from the East to Midland, TX to start a new chapter in their lives.

The section of the Berlin Wall included in the Museum is quite interesting.  The side pictured below is covered with graffiti, while the opposing side is blank gray stone.   As one might guess – the blank gray stone was the side facing the Russian side where the laws and behavior monitoring were quite stringent and oppressive.

A section of the Berlin Wall.

The Pres ??

A very moving component to this Library/Museum is the burial area for President Bush, Barbara and their daughter, Robin, who died at the age of 3.  As we visited, the one year anniversary of the death of Barbara had just occurred – thus the flowers on her grave remaining from the observance.  And, one can notice that the burial of President Bush is so recent that the grass over his portion of the gravesite has not yet blended in.  All very poignant, since the lives of these individuals – and their deaths – are a very real part of our lives.

The final resting place of the President, Bar and their 3 year old daughter, Robin.

The entire grounds surrounding the Library, Museum and Gravesites are beautiful, tranquil and well thought out.  Between the Library and the graves is a wonderful walkway, pond (where one can catch and release fish as President Bush loved to do) and the Barbara Bush garden.  A very serene setting – –

We sat here for some time – so peaceful;-)

Time to power up and check out the grounds of the main campus.  As mentioned before, they are quite sprawling, so you would never know there were almost 70,000 students – –

The Academic Building – completed in 1914.

A HUGE tradition for Aggies for almost a century was the gathering around a woodpile once a year in November to watch a blaze that symbolized their burning desire to beat the University of Texas in football.  Through the years, a modest woodpile grew into a five-story complex wood stack.  On November 18, 1999, at 2:42 AM, the wood for the bonfire collapsed during construction, claiming 12 lives and injuring 27 others.

The Aggie Bonfire Memorial has been created to celebrate the lives of the 12 young Aggies lost during the 1999 tragedy.  An incredible amount of thought went into the creation of this memorial with much symbolism – 27 granite blocks, representing those injured, connect the 12 portals, representing those who perished, to form a Spirit Ring, which symbolizes the perimeter fence erected around the Bonfire.  Each of the 12 portals is oriented around the Ring in the direction of the hometown from which each hailed.  At the Ring’s center, a black granite marker engraved with the date and time of the collapse marks the exact location of the last Bonfire Centerpole, and is notched with the direction of each of the portals.  There is much more – but that will do for now.  Very moving – –

Bonfire Memorial.

The last of the noted landmarks observed was the Century Tree, one of the first oak trees planted on the campus.  It has grown so large that many of the limbs now have metal braces to hold them up and some have almost grown into the ground.  There are many ‘thoughts’ about this old tree – including any marriage proposal that takes place under the tree will ensure a marriage that will last forever!  We celebrated our 25 anniversary under this tree – what might that mean?!?!

The Beautiful Old Century Tree.

Celebrating our quarter century of marriage under the Century Tree.

Campus and Library explorations completed, eating was on the mind.  Several very good options for dinner in the area include Christopher’s and The Republic Steakhouse – both excellent in terms of food, service and atmosphere;-)  BUT, if you want the old world traditional, one must at least try the Dixie Chicken – –

Our lunch spot – the historical, well worn, Dixie Chicken.

The environment here is quite comfortable – but there is much more to see and do on this trip.  So – perhaps the storm clouds gathering are our cue that it is time to move on-

Bryan/College Station has been informative, moving, delicious and fun to reconnect with Louise and Bill;-)

E & G – thankful for such wonderful things to explore across our country!

Travel days are always interesting.   Questions are numerous: where does one stop for fuel?  where does one eat lunch?  where is a Starbucks? is there a Dairy Queen anywhere near?  It is a great bonus when all questions can be answered in one stop – or at least in one small block or two.  The journey from Roswell to Fredericksburg was a long day, but Big Springs, TX broke up the drive with three out of the four questions answered.

First – feed the stomach, then worry about feeding Mini Magic and getting the SB’s;-)  The Grill at the Hotel Settles did just that.  A historic 1930’s-era hotel, Hotel Settles was brought back from the ashes (and pigeon roosts) to the details of an earlier era.

The lobby of the Settles Hotel.

E&G were delighted to learn that it’s restaurant – The Grill – was also restored and that we could eat where the drummer for Buddy Holly (a local boy) frequented.  This will create a ‘full circle’ story, as one of our stops on the western portion of the trip is The Surf Ballroom in Clearlake, Iowa – the last concert venue before “The Day the Music Died” (Buddy Holly and 3 others went down in a plane accident)!

Gary the Drummer just ate where Buddy Holly & the Crickets drummer, Jerry Allison, ate;-)

Next stop – Fredericksburg, TX and the National Museum of the Pacific War.  What?!?!  You say.  Why in the world is this type of museum in Texas?!?  Well – Admiral Nimitz was from Fredericksburg.  So quite appropriate.

This museum allows one to explore the heroic, triumphant and tragic human story of the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign of WWII.  It tells the story from the early stages of the Japanese aggression in the Asian arena to Pearl Harbor and the aggression toward the US to the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay.  As one passes through the galleries and reads about the numbers of soldiers and civilians that were injured and killed – sees the newsreels of the destruction – and hears the audio stories of survivors – the question becomes “Why war?”.   The following panel ‘perhaps’ answers that question.  Or at least makes one think.

The Museum of the Pacific War is a very moving and informative experience.

The museum gallery is 33,000 sq ft of space housing one of the five Japanese midget subs used at Pearl Harbor, a B-25 Bomber, Wildcat fighter, Japanese Float Plane, Admiral’s Barge, Japanese Val Dive Bomber and Atomic Bomb casing.  We saw it all – –

One of the planes from the “Cactus Air Force” on Guadalcanal.

Japanese float plane attack aircraft.

The museum is a fabulous facility, incredibly informative and extremely thought provoking.  One should NOT miss it if in the area – or travel to Fredericksburg just to visit the museum.  It’s worth it;-)

After such a ‘heavy’ day, some light entertainment was in order.  Fredericksburg is alive with music, so it was quite easy to find music pleasing to our old ears in a nice outdoor setting on a warm, full moon night – –

Spent the evening listening to the Time Bandits – –

– – As the ‘bad moon’ was rising over the Nimitz Museum.

Another travel day was in the offing.  But, this one was short and would be broken up with a stop at the University of Texas-Austin and the LBJ Presidential Library, as we are now entering the University/Presidential Library section of our travels;-)

The University of Texas at Austin was founded in 1883 and is now home to more than 51,000 students and 3,000 teaching faculty.  It is ranked among the biggest and best research universities in the country.  Its grounds also include 4 museums – including the LBJ Presidential Library.

Football Stadium – University of Texas-Austin.

Tower of the Main Building at UT.

The Texas Capital from the Main Building with George Washington in the foreground.

The LBJ Presidential Library allows one to experience the life and times of Lyndon B. Johnson and the era of his Presidential administration – the turbulent ’60’s.  Having served in the House and the Senate, Johnson was a great negotiator and accomplished much in the way of legislation during his fairly short time as President.  But – his undoing was a war he inherited and could not beat or win.   The library contains the usual memorabilia, gifts, timelines, replica of the oval office during his term – and very interesting clips from the 643 hours of recorded telephone conversations!  What a way to spend the afternoon – –

We both had a chance to “chat” with LBJ while touring his Presidential Library.

LBJ always had a smile – even when trying to intimidate you!

From the very sobering Museum of the Pacific War to LBJ and a sobering time in the US to lighter times in Fredericksburg and the UT campus, another couple of days come to an end.  Next stop – College Station and more campuses and Presidential Libraries – and DQ’s;-)

See you again soon – E&G, better educated;-)

Tuesday, April 16 – Mini Magic is loaded and E & G were ready to hit the road.  Heading east out of Scottsdale, today’s destination is Bosque Del Apache in New Mexico.  As always – there were surprises along the way!

What the heck is that up ahead?!?!  Ever heard of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory Very Large Array?  Perhaps you have seen it and didn’t know it – like in the movie Contact.  It is one of the world’s premier astronomical radio observatories – consisting of 27 radio antennas in a Very Large Y-shaped configuration on the Plains of San Agustin in New Mexico.  The data from the antennas is combined electronically to give the resolution of an antenna 22 miles across with the sensitivity of a dish 422 feet in diameter.  Roswell is on the agenda for another day – but we felt like we were about to be carried away into another universe now.

Each of these antenna is 82 feet in diameter and weighs 230 tons!  And there is 27 of them!

Wow!  Bring us back to this world – please.  The Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge will do just that.  Part of the National Wildlife Refuge System – and established in 1939 – Bosque del Apache provides a 57,331 acre refuge for tens of thousands of cranes, geese and ducks who winter here each year.  During the spring and fall migrations, birds rest and refuel here as they follow the Rio Grande through the woodlands which hug the riverbanks, called bosque.  Unfortunately, we were a little late for the spring migration – the thousands of cranes were gone.  But, lots of egrets were settling down for the night and the sight was still stunning.

Dinner time for this egret at the Bosque Del Apache Refuge.

While this is not peak season for bird watching at the preserve, we did see quite a few egrets on the move.

This had been a fairly long travel day – with lots of fun, interesting, other worldly, beautiful sights.  Time to say good night to this day – –

Morning came fast and it was a cold, rainy day.  BUT – we had sights to see.  So, off to the Three Rivers Petroglyph Site just east of White Sands Missile Range in the Tularosa Basin.  This Basin has been inhabited by humans for 10,000 years or more.  The past residents left traces of their ways of life, including petroglyphs, pottery, stone tools and village ruins.  The Three Rivers Petroglyph Site includes some of the more than 20,000 petroglyphs identified in the area left by inhabitants of a nearby village.  Those people were of the Jornada Mogollon prehistoric Indian culture, of which there are no known modern descendants.  Their rock carvings were created over 600 years ago.  The meaning of these carvings are not known – but they are still quite interesting.

A cold, wet day for a hike, but we just had to see the petroglyphs.

The contours of the rock were used to help create this ‘face’.

Perhaps this depicted the rain coming across the basin – just as it was today?!?

Another squall was coming and our time was running out to get to the International UFO Museum in Roswell before it closed.  So – a quick run down the hill and a beautiful drive (where we almost got snowed on!!) to Roswell.  Then – we were back with the same feeling of yesterday at The Very Large Array – eerie!!

If you don’t remember “The Roswell Incident”, here is a brief reminder.  July 2, 1947, a rancher about 75 miles NW of Roswell heard a loud noise late in the evening.  The following day, while working on his ranch property,  he discovered a huge debris field (a football field wide and 3/4 mile long) of strange looking material, which he takes samples of to the sheriff.  The samples wind up at the Roswell Army Air Field.  A press release is issued a few days later about the recovery of a crashed Flying Saucer on the ranch.  A day later the AP reports that the recovery of a flying saucer was just the recovery of a weather balloon.  HOWEVER, there is much more that occurred and was cataloged – all documented at the International UFO Museum in Roswell.  So – many questions still remain.

Welcome to Roswell NM.

A very interesting couple of days;-)  From out of this world, to the beautiful nature of this world, to hundreds of years ago in this world, back to out of this world!

E & G hoping they are not abducted tonight – but live on this earth to see another day;-)

Only two weeks until Mini Magic heads east!  That means 14 days jammed full of activities;-)  Ten dinners/lunches with family and friends, two rounds of golf, a couple of hikes and all those last minute appointments with the dentist, doctors and most important manicurist and haircut.  Oh yes – AND a quick trip to Las Vegas for one of those 3-day volleyball tournaments with niece Demi – –

Go get it girl!  (And wake up Dad)

A much needed ‘parental cheering section’ bar break between matches.

We also got in one more trip to the Desert Botanical Garden Electric Show with a quick view of the late flowering cacti before dark.  This is really a fabulous light show orchestrated with music using the cacti as the canvas.  Stunning!!

The Continuous Crystal (this does not include any cacti).

The last hike with our new Vi friends took place at Apache Wash – with our destination a horned owls nest.  No disappointments here – –

Our last hike of the season (finally got G in a shot) took us to…

A pair of baby horned owls nested in a Saguaro.

Palm Sunday the family was together to say good-bye and to celebrate Easter and birthdays for G and Andrew.  A wonderful early dinner;-)

A birthday celebration for Gary and Andrew.

And so – we said good-bye to all in Scottsdale (until August).  Packed up Mini Magic and hit the road.  Next stop is New Mexico.  See you around the corner.

E & G ready to go

It seems that only yesterday we were wishing you all a healthy and happy 2019 – and here we are at the 1st of April!  How does this happen?!?

The first three months of the year in Scottsdale are always busy. Even if the Super Bowl or NCAA finals are not in town – the WM Open Golf Tournament draws from all over the world and begins ‘the busy season’.   And we are never left out – have to spend a little time on that infamous 16th hole – –

Early enough to get a seat;-)

Ricky Fowler during practice round – a fan (and E) favorite.

First time at the Open for our friends Cay and Norris.

Rolling into February, the family celebrates LOTS of birthdays – ALL month long, as they range from the 8th to the 27th.

First up – Barb & Demi.

Happy 17th from Grandma!

Dorthy’s turn on the 27th.  She, also, got to celebrate many times over.  First up the party at Belmont Village – –

Happy 87th to the golf watcher!

Then to Barb’s for another party – –

The birthday girls.

All during February, Mom and E got to enjoy a wonderful program at the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) for Dorthy’s birthday.  Banner Health has partnered with MIM to create an exceptional program for dementia individuals.  The program is one afternoon a week for 5 weeks for the dementia patient and a caregiver.  It provides time to enjoy music through museum exploration and music activities, utilizing that amazing proven link of music to memory.  It also provided fun Mother-Daughter time;-)

A mother-daughter Musical Instrument Museum outing.

Then the surprise of all surprises!!  All that weird weather this year provided a sight rarely seen in the Valley of the Sun – – SNOW on the McDowell Moutains.  With the entire valley encircled by snow capped mountains, we thought we were back in Salt Lake City;-)

Come On Man – it’s time for Spring training as The Boys are Back in Town;-)  Those first several games were on the chilly side – but it was good to see ‘Those Boys in Blue’!

Our first time at the Cub’s Sloan Park – to see the Dodgers, of course..

March and good weather also brought lots of friends in to visit – especially those from Park City.  Always on everyone’s list of things to see is MIM!  And, of course, G & E are always happy to show off their ‘home away from home’, especially as the museum begins looking forward to its 10th Anniversary next year.

Introducing our friends to The History of the Electric Guitar at MIM.

E & G DO spend a lot of time at MIM as volunteers.  G wanders the galleries answering questions and keeping visitors out of the exhibits and E does tours – primarily STEM tours with 3rd graders – although just qualified to do the Sr. Dementia tours also.

Elizabeth guiding a group of third graders around MIM

And this is a record…huh?  What’s that for?

This year we even broke down and went to the rodeo in Scottsdale.

Scottsdale Rodeo bumps and bruises.

The last week of the first quarter of the year was a fun couple of days with friends – but also a somber time.  We were off to Prescott for a round of golf, a dinner at the historic Hassayampa Inn and to hike the Granite Mountain Hot Shot Trail.  This is the trail dedicated to the 19 Hot Shot fire fighters that were killed in 2013 fighting the Yarnell Hill fire.  The trail is 2.5 miles (1400′ elevation change) leading to an overlook at the memorial of the sight where they perished.  Along the 2.5 miles of trail there are tributes to each of the 19 fallen every .2-.3 mile.  Very moving.  Before reaching the trailhead, we passed by Iron Springs, where we all spent many a summer growing up – –

Humpty Dumpty just outside Iron Springs in Prescott, AZ.

The Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial Trailhead near Yarnell, AZ.

This memorial marks the spot where the Hot Shots lost their lives (from the overlook).

Along the 2.5 mile trail. Be ready for a workout.  Almost 1400 foot climb to the overlook.

Almost every week, we were off on a trail around the Scottsdale area.  These are much less grueling than the Hot Shot trail – but provide great opportunities for wildlife and as spring finally arrived – beautiful flowers!!

A group of Harris hawks looking for breakfast along the Browns Ranch hiking trail.

The wildflowers were abundant along our hike to Balanced Rock in Scottsdale.

Balanced Rock – with friends Cay & Norris.

Ideal day for a hike.

Jumping for joy!

Besides hiking every week – a volleyball tournament for niece Demi was also usually on the schedule.

Volleyball tournaments galore – always seemed to be freezing in these places;-(

And so – the first three months of the year are gone.  And, we will be heading east for the beginning of our summer travels in just TWO weeks!!  Our heads are spinning.

Hope 2019 is treating you well – – More from the road in another couple of weeks – E & G