What would February be without all the Biaett girls’ birthdays?!?!  This was a special year as niece Demi turned ‘Sweet 16’, sister Barb was ‘double nickels’ and Mom Dorthy was on the backside of the 80’s;-)

Happy Birthday to you.

Happy Birthday to all y’all.

When you are 86 you get to celebrate all month long – over and over and over again –

A little more celebrating.

February Birthday celebration at Belmont Village.

And I thought the Minnie Mouse hats were a hoot. This takes the cake.

Between all the birthday celebrations we tried yet another new activity – The Arabian Horse Show at Westworld in Scottsdale.  Neighbors invited us to an event so we got a backstage look and talk on the history, breeding, raising, training and showing of the Arabian.  Beautiful animals – –

This little gal pranced quite nicely as a very informative presentation on the history of Arabian horses was given. 

Then we had a chance to watch some of the competition.

Then we were off to Tucson in Magic for a Tiffin Rally, where we attended informative sessions by various vendors whose products ‘run’ our coach.  Our home base for the week was the Pima County Fairgrounds with 300 other Tiffin coaches!!  We all looked alike;-)

 E is standing in front of Magic – fourth coach from the left.

The birds eye view from G’s drone;-)

Of course, there was more volleyball.  February always brings a HUGE 3-day tournament held at Cardinal Stadium, which brings in teams from all over the west.  Boy – is it noisy in that place!!!

HUGE tournament at the University of Phoenix Stadium.

Niece Demi (2) is digging it!

Two happy members of the cheering squad.

And so the second month of 2018 is suddenly gone.  What will March bring??

See you again soon – E & G from Scottsdale

2018 is here and we are off and running.  First stop LaQuinta for a fun filled three days of visiting, eating, golfing, eating, visiting, hiking – – and a ‘friendly’ tournament of Wizard with friends Debby, Richard, Rebecca & Jim (our Panama cruise buddies)!!  The weather was beautiful, the accommodations A-One and the company was – PRICELESS!

La Quinta Golf Club provided beautiful views, both landscape…

… and wildlife.

The National Preserve area provided a little exercise.

Interesting graffiti along the way.

And – what would January in Scottsdale be without the Waste Management Open ?!?!  E&G worked a shift in the concessions stand on Monday in order to have passes for the entire week;-)  G spent most of the day Wednesday following several players around with his camera (no cameras allowed Thursday – Sunday) getting just the right ‘shot of the day’.

Rickie Fowler.

Jordon Spieth trying to help his putt with body english.

Phil Mickelson tipping his hat after sinking a long one.

Rickie Fowler coming out of the sand. Ball is just above the cameraman’s hand.

And E&G spent most of Thursday on that infamous 16th hole – –

Early – – and still fairly calm.

Of course there was lots of volleyball – watching niece Demi almost every weekend;-)

Go Girl!!

Good get!

Nice serve.

And several concerts at MIM.  There have been so many really fun, entertaining acts already this year – including Al Jardine from the Beach Boys.  What a nice walk down memory lane;-)

January ended in a flash with that beautiful Full Blue Blood moon over Scottsdale – –

Another year is on its way.

E & G up and running;-)

Here we go – Round 3!  The Schusler family (or Shoe Crew) arrived on the 26th and we celebrated – AGAIN!!  There were more presents to open, feasts to be had, visiting to be done and LOTS of activities.

Olivia, Haley and Kira trying to be patient waiting to open gifts.

Christian’s Dad, John, and his wife, Joyce, joined us for a couple of days with the granddaughters.   We had another Christmas dinner – this time a southwest Christmas menu of tacos, tamales and tortilla casserole on the patio on a beautiful warm December day;-)

A good time was had by all on this awesome winter day.

Time for activities!  Trying to keep 9 & 11 year olds busy is a real challenge!!  First up – music making – –

This year’s Christmas poppers contained all the makings of a one octive xzylophone.

Great Grandma Dorthy – “What song are we playing this time??”

— then off to manicures – –

The girls had a spa day…

…with colorful results.

— make-up by Demi – –

Demi provides a makeup lesson.

–that torturous game of Twister;-( – –

Butts Up!!

–and tree climbing – –

up a tree without a ?????

In the Phoenix area – what would the holidays be without Zoo Lights?  We were really lucky the night of our visit as both Fiesta Bowl team bands were at the Zoo for a little friendly competition before the BIG game.

Thousands of lights – enjoyed by all.

Our three little monkeys;-)

Up close and personal with the Washington Huskies mascot.

Of course – G & E could not let the girls come to Phoenix without taking them to the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM).

Off to MIM – always a hit.

Guide Gramma was giving the girls the VIP tour.

Kira plays the Theremin.

Olivia enjoying the Gamelan.

There was also a fun afternoon at the Train Park – –

Giddy-up….

and train ride – go figure – at the Train Park?!?!

As they say – all good things must come to an end.  2017 was about to be over and 2018 was on its way.  To say good-bye to the old year, we all had an exciting evening at the Scottsdale Princess where we dined, rode the ferris wheel, ice sleds and the Christmas Express train around the Lagoon of Lights, had hot chocolate and made s’mores and met up with lots of princesses;-)

A warm fire and s’mores – what could be better to bring in 2018?!?!

A visit with a princess.

Another year ends and a new begins.  How fortunate we have been!

We wish all good things for you in the coming year;-)  Thank you for all your kind thoughts as you have journeyed with us through 2017.  Hope to see and hear from you in 2018.

With Lots of Love – Elizabeth & Gary – xoxoxoxo

For about 12 years now (except 1 year when the races were cancelled due to lack of snow), we have headed to Beaver Creek (BC) the first weekend in December for the only World Cup Ski Races in the US.  Admittedly – we are Ted Ligety ‘groupies’ and he has taken 1st place many years at these races.  It all began with the 2006 Olympics in Torino, Italy – when we were sharing an apartment with Ted’s parents as he won his first Olympic Gold Medal;-)  The whole experience was unbelievably exciting – never to be forgotten.  So – each year we trek to BC to remind us of that incredible February day and to watch Ted be interviewed, race and enjoy his new little one, Jax.

Steve Nyman and Ted Ligety being interviewed in advance of the races.

Ted, son Jax and Grandma Cyndi.

While the races were NOT cancelled this year as they were last year – there was VERY little snow except on the race runs (FIS & BC had done an incredible job of prepping the race course so the races could be held).  So for the first time ever, we got to walk the golf course we stay on because it was not snow covered.  That was a good news – bad news event – –

Oh crap! Who knew, ski races and no snow, we should’ve brought our clubs.

The next couple of weeks were filled with activities.  Friends from Park City came to visit and we had a nice evening and afternoon with Sarah and her sons, Cash and Tor.

Enjoying Scottsdale Christmas with Cash and Tor (Mom Sarah taking the photo).

There are always lots of volleyball games on Saturdays with niece, Demi – –

Niece Demi’s volleyball season is up and running.

— and our annual trip to the Desert Botanical Gardens for the luminarias.  The last several years there has been a special exhibit during the holiday season, so we get a 2-4-1 experience – the luminarias and the special exhibit.  This year it included the sculptures of Jun Kaneko (discussed a few posts back when there was a similar exhibit at the David Wright House).  An awesome evening;-)

Fun to see the Jun Kaneko ceramic sculptures rising out of the desert!

By this time – the full Christmas season was upon us.  The Biaett’s loaded into Barb’s car and ventured to the Illuminations display.  Thousands of lights ‘twinkling’ to various Christmas songs amaze you as one drives through in the car – with hot chocolate at the end;-)

Illuminations

The Biaett Christmas ornament.

Then it was Christmas morning and presents were a plenty!!

Opening packages at Barb, Andrew and Demi’s on Christmas morning.

After presents, breakfast and brief naps we were on to round 2!  Everyone appeared at our house for Christmas dinner, good cheer and thankfulness for a wonderful year.

Getting ready for Christmas dinner at our house.

From our house to yours – we hope you had a wonderful Christmas celebration!  We now had to get ready for round 3 – as the Shoe Crew was on their way for more celebration;-)

Elizabeth & Gary at home in Scottsdale

In the continuing effort to seek out new experiences, we turned off the highway in Monument Valley in route to Beaver Creek, CO (for the World Cup Ski races).  This is one of those places where one says every year  – “We should stop here sometime and do a tour”.  This was the year!

First stop was Goulding’s Lodge, which also housed John Wayne and crew back in the filming days where Monument Valley was a favorite location for John Ford and John Wayne.  Thank goodness there are newer additions to the Lodge and this was not our room – –

John Wayne’s Living Quarters during filming.

After a VERY short night of sleeping, we were on our way to meet up with our guide, Harry, at 6AM.  Gary was in heaven – as Harry is also a photographer and made sure that we were in all the right spots as the sun came up and created colorful reflections and sun bursts.  The pictures speak for themselves – –

Waiting for sunrise near the Totem Pole.

Bazinga.

Love the early morning light and the look of  ‘fire’.

Perfect shot of ‘The Three Sisters”.

Shadow resembles the silhouette of a Native American Chief.

More vistas to behold.

Castle Rock in the Distance.

Just that fast the morning was over and Beaver Creek was calling.  But – another new experience was notched on the belt;-)

Sharing beautiful scenery – E & G

Our travels in Magic are wonderful – BUT, so is our ‘stationary’ home.  We are grateful to be able to enjoy both.

The two months at home have flown by and now the Holidays are upon us!  One of the BEST afternoons this time of year is the one spent at sister Barb’s where we are thankful to have time with family and a fantastic feast – –

Beautiful Thanksgiving Table at Barb, Andrew and Demi’s.

Salute!  (Poor Old Gary – always the Man behind the Camera!)

In our continuing effort to ‘try new things’ we experienced a Gelato Fest, the Fountain Hills Art Festival, a new country western restaurant in Scottsdale – Handle Bar J’s, a VERY ‘new to us’ group at the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) – Song of Lahore, and an absolutely wonderful art exhibit of Jun Kaneko Sculptures at the David and Gladys Wright House in Phoenix followed by a lovely brunch at Royal Palms.

This fabulous Frank Lloyd Wright House was built by Frank for his son, David, to give to his wife, Gladys, in 1952 and was one of his last accomplishments.  We LOVE this house – and it was almost torn down to subdivide the land and build 4 or more houses.  Thank goodness someone stepped in and prevented this from happening.  The grounds were a perfect setting for this exhibit on this beautiful morning.

The Jun Kaneko Sculpture Exhibit at the David and Gladys Wright House.

The view of Camelback mountain from the master bedroom.

Of course there was a lot of the ‘normal’ stuff during the last couple of months also.  MANY concerts at MIM and the Scottsdale Performing Arts Center, shifts and tour guiding at MIM, getting caught up on all the annual doctor appointments, many dinners with friends, daily walks to Starbucks in the Kierland Commons where we often see this guy – –

– – -and lots of golf with friends.  What a surprise this was – –

Who knew. 👏⛳️👏👏

So – we have lots to be thankful for and we think that EVERY day;-)

Next up – Christmas!

Hope you, too, had a very Happy Thanksgiving – E & G

One more stop – a week-end with the Shoe Crew camping at Kern River;-)  They were ready to try out their new trailer and we couldn’t wait to see them and have a fun time enjoying the river, hiking, playing games AND eating s’mores – –

Heather, Christian and family (and their new trailer) near Lake Isabella, CA.

The smoke from fires was with us again – but we still had FUN!

Hey, here’s a shot that actually has gramps in the picture;-)

This beautiful blue heron watched the kayakers until they got too close..

…and then headed up river.

Back to communing with nature in the Sequoia National Forest.

Haley led the way. She seemed to always be 20 yards ahead.

Love hugging these Giants.

On a hike, climbing always seems to be in order…

….sometimes even climbing inside of a tree!

Gramps, Gramma, Kira, Haley and Olivia.

What a wonderful summer of family, friends, exploring our National Parks, golf, experiencing a Total Eclipse, enjoying plays of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and creating many NEW adventures.  What better way to end the summer than with family on a camping trip;-)

Magic is now ‘put to bed’ for the winter and E & G are gearing up for the holidays.

Much love to all…E&G

Where have we been?!?!  It seems like ages since we took the time to get a few pictures and stories here.  Perhaps – because we have been soooo busy;-)

Golf was the story in Sisters/Bend and the Shakespeare Festival was the story in Ashland. Our good friends – Priscilla and Steve – have become great supporters of the Festival and encouraged us to join them.  So, we found a parking place for Magic at Emigrant Lake just outside of Ashland – where beautiful mornings and evenings were enjoyed.

A beautiful sunrise at Emigrant Lake in Ashland, OR.

Then – off to plays.  The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) began in 1935 and has grown to producing eleven plays on three stages during a season that lasts from mid-February to early November.  While it does include Shakespeare’s plays, it has also included 341 non-Shakespeare plays since 1960.  Thank goodness for the two of us;-)  Although Gary did consent to ONE Shakespeare play along with the 4 new, experimental plays.

The set of the Merry Wives of Windsor at OSF.

Fortunately, we were prepared for the evening from our Deer Valley concerts – as this play was on the outside Elizabethan stage and it POURED – –

The rainstorm soaked the actors but we were dry.

Of course, there was a visit to the Saltmarsh Ranch to see what the Weaver’s have been up to out there as well as several lunches, dinners and morning ‘Coffee Talks’ put on by the OSF with them.  Many thanks to Priscilla and Steve for encouraging us to spend more time in Ashland – and for their hospitality.

Time always goes so quickly – as it did here.  Magic was packed up and after another travel morning we were at Bandon and ready for another annual golf outing with the Malone’s;-)  Yet another year when the “Weather Gods” blessed us with unbelievable clear skies and warm days.  Now if we could just get the “Golf Gods” to bless us with unbelievably GOOD golf – this trip would be perfect!!

The highest point on the Bandon Trails links with Jim and Rebecca Malone. 

The landmark dead tree on the Old MacDonald Links.

Beautiful scenery from just about every hole.  Notice – NO jackets!!

Four of these bandits were ransacking one of the trash bins when we returned from dinner one evening.

And then – another five days have passed and the stay in Bandon is over – –

A gorgeous farewell sunset during our last night in Bandon.

Another new experience – a trip down a portion of the Oregon and Northern CA coast that had not been traveled before.  Of course there were stops for coffee breaks, lunch or just looking at the scenery and playing in the surf along the way;-)

Working our way south en route to Santa Rosa, CA…

…we found lots of great scenes…

..took time to enjoy the sounds of the surf and wildlife…

..and almost got washed off of a rock.

And then – amazingly – the scenery turned from ocean to Redwoods in an instant.  Magic (and we) got to camp among these ‘Old Guys’ one night.

Ahhhh!!  Just the type of road we LOVE.

Next stop – Santa Rosa to meet up with more good friends – and a little golf along the way.  Our caddies in Bandon gave us a tip about a little 9-hole course just north of Santa Rosa on the Russia River and designed by Alister Mackenzie (Augusta National & SpyGlass) that we HAD to check out.  And – so we did.  Beautiful – and funny;-)!!!!

This sign greeted us on the 2nd hole of the Northwoods Golf course;-)

Beautiful course – but, Gary ricocheted off of a lot of redwoods here.

We enjoyed the company of several friends while in the Santa Rosa area.  Monday night was a lovely dinner with Pam & John in Sonoma and Tuesday was spent with Suzy and Rick in a whirlwind day of golf at Sebastopol, lunch at Bodega Bay, a wonderful walk through the Armstrong Woods and a lovely, relaxing dinner at their home.

More redwoods with friends Rick and Suzy.

This red tail hawk suspended itself in an air draft at the top of a cliff near Bodega Bay. 

A very unique hotel whose rooms are Airstream travel trailers.

Wednesday afternoon and evening were spent with our old neighbor from Park City – Larry – at his new home in Sebastopol.  A true tree house – –

Larry’s beautiful new home in the middle of a redwood forest.

We had to hug one the trees growing up through his deck.

And so went the last two weeks of our Summer adventures!  Oh yes – there is one last weekend – with the ‘Shoe Crew’.  More on that later;-)

E & G & Magic winding down the summer

From one of our favorite NP’s – Mount Rainier – to one of our favorite golfing spots and RV parks – Sisters, OR.  Time to move on again and perhaps get a little blue sky?!?!?

Quackers LOVED the blue sky and water en route to Sisters, Oregon.

Magic LOVED the very nicely maintained Sister’s Garden RV Resort.

Sisters is just outside Bend, OR with a population of a mere 2,000.  It takes its name from the nearby Three Sisters mountains – which can be seen framing many of the holes on one of our favorite golf courses here – Aspen Lakes (played 2 of our 3 golf days!). The town has a quaint little Main Street with all the prerequisites – Dairy Queen, Pizza place, farm stand AND an ACE Hardware Store;-)!!

There was a hiking day wedged in between the three days of golfing – and it was an excellent hike to see Tumalo Falls along Tumalo Creek – with a little blue sky to boot!

97 feet of power ..

…and more at the Double Falls.

Can she get across??

Thanks to one of our golf playing partners, we learned of a very cute, out-of-the-way restaurant that would have escaped our radar otherwise.  The last night in Sisters was spent at Kokanee Cafe in Camp Sherman (about 20 miles from Sisters).  Camp Sherman is nestled on the banks of the Metolius River in the Deschutes National Forest.  It is truly ‘adult camp’ and the Kokanee Cafe was good food in a very friendly environment – –

Nice out of the way dinner spot – the Kokanee Cafe.

These old time gas pumps were at the Camp Sherman General Store.

Never seems like there is enough time – but, after a full week in Bend it was time to move on.  Next stop is Ashland and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival with fiends Priscilla and Steve.  The Saturday morning drive was just what we LOVE – a narrow, windy, scenic road with NO traffic – –

A ‘green dot’ road with no one but us;-)

Off to more new experiences and parking spots in Ashland.  See ya soon – –

Elizabeth & Gary searching for more new adventures;-)

Next stop – Mount Rainier NP.  And we are hoping beyond hope that the smoke is not part of the visit to this fabulous NP – one of our favorites!!

First activity is to get settled into a ‘camping’ spot at Mount Haven RV Park – a great little family owned park just outside the west entrance to the park.  Magic is quite at home here in a nice, large, wooded spot (with FULL hookups!) – –

As our coachmakers tag line says…”Roughing It Smoothly”;-)

Early the next morning it is off to the Park.

Mount Rainier is the center of the nation’s fifth national  park (established March 2, 1989).  At 14,410′, the mountain is the tallest volcano in the Cascade Mountain Range and the most glaciated peak in the continental US.  At nearly 3 miles in height it can dominate the skyline for 100 miles before you reach the park named after it.  Except this week when it was shrouded in smoke – –

Leaving the Paradise Visitors Center for a hike of the Moraine Trail to view a smokey Mt. Rainier.

Due to the smoke laden air, we opted for a little less strenuous hike than our intended hike for the day – the Skyline Trail in Paradise.  The Park Rangers here are wonderful – full of suggestions to send you in directions to avoid the masses and yet see the true gems of the park.  The Moraine Trail was the suggestion of the day for the Paradise area (a breathtaking portion of the park) – and it did not disappoint.  An excellent 3-mile trail that took us to fantastic views of the Nisqually Glacier (about 4 miles long flowing downhill 6-12 inches every summer day), the origination of the Nisqually River at the base of the glacier, numerous waterfalls across the valley AND provided the opportunity to hear the creaks and groans of the glacier as it inches down the mountain.

Nisqually Glacier on Mount Rainier.

We kept hoping that the smoke would clear and there would be sights of Mount Rainier like two years ago – –

Pretty amazing when its crystal clear!!

Alas – it is still a fab park with or without the smoke and we just had to soldier on.  So the next day it was another Ranger Station for more hiking suggestions in the Longmire area of the park.  (James Longmire discovered mineral springs here in 1883 and built Mount Rainier’s first hotel.  His ads for miraculous water cures helped generate early tourism and a constituency for the creation of the park.)  Today it would be the Rampart Ridge Trail – approximately a 5 mile loop with a little more than 1300′ elevation gain.  This was to provide excellent views of the Tatoosh Range, Longmire and, of course, Mount Rainier.  See anything thru the trees??

Great hike – maybe the views will get better?!?!?

The view from the Longmire Overlook. The little village of Longmire is down there somewhere AND the Tatoosh Range is across the valley.

The views may have been eliminated by the smoke from the fires but the hike was still great exercise – and the best part is it was through a wonderful grove of trees more than a thousand years old.  A happy day;-)

OK – down to the last day.  It was now or never for the Skyline Trail – a 5.5 mile loop with a 1700′ elevation gain.  The good news is the smoke had been eliminated by a little rain – the bad news is the clouds that brought the rain were still there and it was cold and WINDY!!  Oh well – here we go – off thru Paradise Park (named by Martha Longmire in 1885 who exclaimed upon first seeing the meadow – “It looks just like Paradise!”) to Panorama Point – –

As we departed, Paradise Park Meadow looked like this – beautiful.

A few minutes later the clouds moved in – and this was the view.

There was a lot of glacial moraine, both wet and dry, on this ascent.

The higher we went the lower the visibility.

Finally!  After a very hairy climb across glaciers, moraine, creeks – AND almost blown off the mountain by the wind – we made it to Panorama Point.  Here is what the view was to be – –

On a clear day.

Today!  Not quite what was hoped for.

But wait!  Perhaps the clouds are clearing a bit – the sun might shine for a second – and we might get a few views?!?!?

Nisqually Glacier (our first hike) from a different view.

There were even views of Paradise Park Meadow and our original starting point across the valley – –

The switchbacks at the start of the trail can be seen on the right hand portion of this shot.

The clouds lifted as we approached Paradise Inn AND lunch.  THERE is that Tatoosh Range!

AND a glimpse of the lower slopes of Mt. Rainier.

For thousands of years, Mount Rainier has been an important place for Pacific Northwest Indian people.  Nearly two million people from around the world now visit Mount Rainier NP each year.  We are delighted to be 2 of those people and it remains one of our favorite NP’s.

While in the area, we took the opportunity to visit our old Kierland Heritage neighbors who now reside in Gig Harbor – Marie & Bill.  It was a wonderful lunch and visit to see their new home and to celebrate their 83rd birthdays!!

Happy Birthday!

Smoke can not put a damper on our activities.  It was a wonderful four days in Mount Rainier NP and we enjoyed every minute of it;-)

Thankful for our NP’s – E & G