Ron & Darlene

Mt. Rainier Video

2009-06-12T22:23:00.000-07:00

Mt. Rainier - Washington State - continued!

2009-06-06T15:30:00.000-07:00

All day Friday was spent again on and around Mt. Rainier. We stayed just outside the Mt. Rainier National Park at the Alta Cyrstal Resort. Our first stop was a short hike to the grove of the Patriarchs. On a little island of a river, these 1000+ year old trees live. These trees have survived hundreds of years of forest fires because of the moat protection of the river surrounding the island. To get across to the island, we had to cross a cable bridge. Then we hiked what was reported as the "longer yet easier" trail to the Silver waterfalls. It was a good thing we took the "easy" hike, because we found the path to be steep and tough. The photo below is us before the Silver waterfall.

Our next stop was to go to Paradise (Paradise point to be exact, the best view of Mt. Rainier in the park). However, the road to paradise was blocked by a landslide from our side of the park. It is depressing to be told you can not go to paradise! However, in a non-spiritual context, we found we could get to Paradise by driving a long way around out side of the National Park. So we did! Just to find out that Paradise was literally in the clouds. About two miles from the visitor's center, we drove into the cloudy fog with below minimum visibility (we could not see anything!). Visibility was about 15 feet! However, Darlene and Ron made good use of the gift shops. With the approach of evening, we finally left Mt. Rainier National Park and drove to Seattle so that Ron could attend the meeting of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine on Saturday and Sunday.

Mt. Rainier - Washington State

2009-06-04T22:23:00.000-07:00

Well, Ron and Darlene are now off to the Pacific Northwest. We have two days of playing tourist prior to Ron's dental meeting (American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine) in Seattle. Our first day, Thursday June 4, consisted of driving around Mt. Rainier. Mt. Rainier is a 14000 foot plus semi-dormant volcano. We enjoyed the sights (forest and other assorted greenery with majestic mountain majesty), sounds(rushing water of rivers), and smell (like the little pine tree shaped car freshers). More tomorrow!

Visit to Pioche and Ely Nevada

2009-05-31T07:45:00.000-07:00

Darlene and Ron got away for an early Memorial Day weekend to Eastern Nevada. Thursday morning, we flew Trinidad 25125 from the home airport in Glendale, AZ north to Nevada. Our first stop was in Mesquite Nevada for re-fueling. Then a quick hop up to the Lincoln County airport in Panaca, Nevada. We were met by Darlene's parents, Lee and Peggy Hone. Then we launched into our first adventure.

We enjoyed lunch together at a pizza/sandwich shop in Caliente, Nevada. We explored Kershaw-Ryan State Park followed by a drive into Rainbow canyon. Darlene got a lot of use of her digital camera. Ron mostly shot video (in HD!). In the evening, we arrived in Pioche, Nevada and we stayed in the home built by Darlene's grandfather. Lee was kind to provide us with the use of his 4x4 diesel truck.

For the next adventure on Friday morning, Ron and Darlene drove north to Ely, Nevada, where Darlene grew up. Our first stop was Cave Lake. Then we drove up the mountain behind the lake. We turned around at the turn off of the Success scout camp when it started to snow. We did spot some elk moving through the area. The photo below is of the stream that flowed by the road we were driving.

Surviving the storm, we drove into Ely. Darlene showed Ron the highlights of the town: where her home was (another structure there now), the church meetinghouse (still there), her grade school, her high school (now the middle school), the old post office (now a house), Pete' fast food drive-in (now closed), the train station, the airport, the fairgrounds, the whore houses (this is Nevada!), and the historic downtown area. We attempted to see the large open pit mine, but the road was closed due to construction activity. We spent an hour in the local museum. At the museum was a copy of the pre-historic bear skeleton found in a local cave. One of the team members that found and explored that cave was Darlene's brother, Dennis Hone. We drove back to Pioche.

The adventure for Saturday started by heading south down to Panaca, Nevada. We attempted to visit some of Darlene's relatives, but they were not home. Therefore, we explored Cathedral Gorge state park. Darlene played here as a child. She remembered it being a lot bigger then! She tried to ditch Ron in the caves, but he was wise to her. Darlene did buy a yellow cap in the park's gift shop. The photo below is from just outside the caves.

The rest of Saturday was the family picnic. All four of Peggy's daughters with their families were in town for the first time in a while. Originally planned for a picnic up in a canyon, the threat of thunderstorms moved the event to the local park. The children played on the grass, vast quantities of food consumed, Penny kept trying to take Darlene's camera (identical equipment), and plenty of conversation shared.

On Sunday, we were lazy until time for church. We attended the Pioche Ward along with Peggy and Lee (just sacrament meeting). It appeared that the majority of ward members took the opportunity of the holiday weekend to go away. For the adventure of the afternoon, the four of us with Lee driving, drove up a very curvy and steep mountain road to the top of Highland Peak where a lot of communication towers and similar equipment was located. Lee had worked on the site years before. A beautiful view at about 9500 feet. The same altitude we would be flying home the next day.

Monday, Memorial Day, was anti-climatic. We got up, drove to the airport, took off, and returned to Arizona. A fun trip.

Weekend Visit to the Petrified Forest National Park

2009-05-17T07:12:00.000-07:00

On a spur of the moment decision, we quickly packed our car and headed out to explore more of Arizona. Our goal is to find a road or location that we have not visited together. We took US 60 east thru Apache Junction, Superior, and into Globe. Then we headed north into and out of the Salt River Canyon into Show Low. We found a Hampton Inn for the evening stay and then had German food at the Munich Haus restaurant in Pinetop. The next morning, after discussing our options, we decided to explore the Petrified Forest. The Petrified Forest National Park is one of the world's largest and most colorful concentrations of petrified wood, multi-hued badlands of the Painted Desert, historic structures, archeological sites, and displays of over 200-million-year-old fossils. After a three hour drive back towards Phoenix, we stopped for chinese food at Sam and Son in Scottsdale. Let's add that up: mexican food Thursday with Jody and Jennifer, german food Friday, and chinese food Saturday -- the weigh-in on Monday is not going to look good.

Jimmy Buffett Concert in Phoenix

2009-05-17T07:03:00.000-07:00

Jimmy Buffett returned to Phoenix for a concert for the first time in several years. Jody and Jennifer Johnson drove over here from California to attend the concert with Darlene and Ron. After a fine mexican meal at Crazy Carlos, we headed to Cricket Pavilion for the event. The seats were not the best, but we did have seats and did not have to sit in the lawn. We did enjoy the music and the usual craziness found at a gathering of Parrotheads.

MOTHERS DAY

2009-05-10T20:32:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, May 2nd, Theora and Darlene drove Theora to Phoenix for an appointment. After the appointment, Katie, Barbara, and Kaitlin joined us for a yummy lunch at Applebees. Then fast forward to Saturday, May 9th, Carol called -- Ron and Darlene had a fun chat with her. She was out shopping for a Tux for Anthony. David, Theora Mae, and Nola came to visit later that afternoon and we all traveled over to Grandma Shelley's house. Ron fixed Grandma's computer and we all headed to McDonalds (much to the joy of the two little girls). After eating their dinner, the two little girls enjoyed playing in the hamster trails. While we were there, Steven called and we each had a turn talking to him.

Thank you Steven, David, Carol, Katie, Barbara, Brett, Maury, Scott, Kaitlin, and Bart for wishing Darlene a happy Mother's Day. Darlene received beautiful cards from Theora, Brett & Erin, Barbara, Carol, Maury, Scott, Kaitlin, and of course, Ron. She was also spoiled with beautiful flowers from Ron, Katie, and Brett & Erin. Katie came over Sunday evening and joined us for a grilled chicken dinner (cooked by Ron -- and everyone lived to tell the tale). What a wonderful Mothers Day!

Adventures in Milwaukee

2009-05-10T19:51:00.001-07:00

While Darlene stayed in Phoenix to finish up on the tax season, Ron spent 4 days in Milwaukee for a Dental Conference. The conference is sponsored by BioResearch Associates which is headquartered in Milwaukee. Usually these companies pick more vacation friendly locations for their meetings, but they obviously like it there. The meeting is a high level dental meeting centered around the equipment this company makes: biometric instruments. Any further description gets complicated and very boring to most normal human beings, so I will not continue discuss the content of the meeting.

I stayed inside the hotel almost the whole time. However, the exception was Saturday night. It just so happened that the Arizona Diamondbacks (the "home" team that we have season tickets for) was playing in Milwaukee against the Brewers. They played four games there that weekend. The BioResearch Associates company organized a "field trip" to the game Saturday night. Over seventy attendees at the conference loaded into a yellow school bus and headed to the game.

It should come at no surprise that in a city named Milwaukee ("the town that made beer famous"), a ball park named for a beer company ("Miller Park"), and a baseball team named the Brewers that there would be some drinking of alcohol present. What amazed me was the amount of beer drinking going on! I have never seen so much drinking in one place at one time. It seemed that every adult had a beer in their hand, inside the stadium and outside. There were falling down drunks everywhere. I swear the only thing sold in the stands was beer. And there I sat wearing my Diamondbacks hat. Fortunately, they seemed to be happy drunks and very friendly.

Although the Diamondbacks have had a terrible season and a losing record, they managed to win that game. So it was nice to have the bragging rights on the ride back to the hotel on the bus.

Flying for Make-A-Wish

2009-04-27T20:17:00.000-07:00

Ron had a great excuse to go flying! One of the local oral surgeons (also a member of the church) has a son involved in a Boy Scout eagle project. The boy's eagle project involved organizing some pilots with their airplanes to give rides to children in the Arizona Make-A-Wish program. We lined up on Saturday morning at the Glendale Airport terminal and loaded up the children with a parent for an hour flight.

My passengers were a young man and his mother who drove over an hour from Queen Creek for the flight. They seem to really enjoy the trip. I was very pleased to nail the landing, especially since the other pilots were there watching.

I even got a T-shirt!

Little Theora's 4th Birthday Party

2009-04-27T19:53:00.000-07:00

After picking up Grandma Shelley in Scottsdale, Ron and Darlene drove to a park in Tucson for our granddaughter's 4th birthday party. Her actual birthday was a few weeks early, but this Saturday was the best day for a party. Unfortunately, the day proved to be very windy -- not the best for an outdoor party. But the children seemed to have a good time. Family members present, beside Darlene, Grandma Shelley, and Ron, were David and Melissa (parents), Nola (sister), Maury (Aunt), and Connor and Cash (cousins).

Can you tell that we are related?

A little wind blown!

Tax Season Is Over

2009-04-16T22:44:00.000-07:00

April 15th has past and Darlene crossed the finish line! Her Liberty Tax office did extremely well, increasing her business volume by 70%. Darlene will still be very busy for at least the next few weeks. It amazes us how many returns she does after the tax deadline. But she will not have to put the very long days and late hours for a while. Ron is looking forward to getting her back!

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T09:22:00.000-07:00

Today we celebrate the Atonement and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The Atonement is the single most important event in the history of the universe. Christ took upon himself the sins of the world. Only through his Atonement can we become pure and clean to re-enter the presence of God. Without His love and grace, we would be lost. He led the way on the path to eternal life. Our task in the life is to join Him on this path. We need to learn to love much and do the best that we can. Christ's grace will make up the rest. We pray that we will always remember Christ -- HAPPY EASTER!

Spring Visits By All Nine

2009-04-12T08:53:00.000-07:00

Between tax season and school spring breaks, all nine children visited us in our home within a few weeks period. Unfortunately, we could not get everyone together at the exact same time. Bart came by first for help on his computer and to get the tax return completed. With Darlene's tax service, the majority of the children received free tax return preparation. On Cayson's birthday, we went to dinner at Red Robins where we enjoyed the company of Thad's and Maury's families. Then Brett flew in to get two teeth crowned. Both of his teeth were completed within three hours on a Saturday by use of Ron's CEREC technology (for further information, see www.arrowheadlakesdentistry.com). Later that night, Barbara along with Scott & Kaitlin came over. Kaitlin went swimming (If we had known her intention, we would have heated the pool!) Hours after Brett flew home on Sunday, Carol arrived with George and all of the boys. This time, the pool was heated for Anthony, Aaron, Christopher, and Ben to swim. Melissa and her girls, Theora and Nola, were up at the beginning of the week followed by David visiting at the end of the week. Katie came over and joined the fun. Steven flew down from Utah for two days while Carol was here using one of our about to expire Southwest Airline Rapid Rewards tickets. The next Sunday, we got to see Maury, Brian, Connor, Cash, Posey, along with Thad, Lacy, Cayson, and Carly at Carly's blessing. We loved getting to see everyone.

Day at Sea Followed By Visit to Freeport, Bahamas

2008-12-05T18:11:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, we sailed from Honduras between Florida and Cuba towards Freeport, Bahamas. We spent most of the day listening to lectures from Dr. John Lund. Very informative and interesting information. The morning lecture concerned relationships. The afternoon session was about the Book of Mormon on the topic of forgiveness. At dinner Thursday night, Theora and Darlene got up and joined the conga line and danced around the dinning room. They are such wild women! On Friday, we disembarked in Freeport. The shopping district was a 20 minute taxi ride away. The "girls" shopped for about 3 hours while Ron found a park bench and read a book. The group had a farewell meeting right before our last dinner on the ship. Tomorrow will be a long day since we have to get off the ship, get shuttled to the Orlando airport and fly home to Phoenix. We hope you enjoyed reading about our cruise.

Roatan, Honduras: Scuba or Shopping!

2008-12-04T05:40:00.000-08:00

For the first time, we split up for the shore excursion at Roatan Island, Honduras. While the “girls” went shopping, Ron went Scuba diving.

Ron joined a group of divers from the ship that were driven across the island. There I was outfitted for the trip with all necessary equipment. The dive boat sailed around the island to a spot where I could see the cruise ship. I descended to a bottom depth of 85 feet and had a bottom time of 26 minutes for my first open water dive. It was a truly awesome experience. I took a lot of photos. When returning to the boat, I discovered I had lost my sea-sickness prevention patch. Therefore, while waiting the required time between dives, I became quite sea-sick. The rocking and rolling of the ship was bad. So I skipped the second dive. As soon as the dive boat docked and my feet hit solid ground, I started feeling better.

Theora, Patty, and Darlene went on a shopping adventure. We hit most of the immediate stores located close to our ship then Darlene wanted to see the Cameo store where they actually make the Cameo’s. Patty decided not to go with us and stayed shopping at the local stores. Theora and I had an adventure with the taxi driver. We went through narrow streets flying by other cars, dogs, and people. As we approached a check-point our driver nervously put on his seatbelt. The check-point consisted of at least a half-dozen uniformed men carrying rifles, pistols, and AK-47’s. Wondering if we were actually going the right way (because we passed by the ship and headed away from it) Theora and I asked our non-English speaking driver if we were going to the Cameo store. He would laugh and say he didn’t speak English. We arrived at the Cameo store and checked out the beautiful Cameo’s. They were expensive so we went back towards the ship. Patty found us and we successfully found a couple more items to purchase then went back on board the ship.

More Mayan Ruins, this time in Belize

2008-12-02T17:20:00.000-08:00

Getting to the ruins location was not as crazy as yesterday, but an adventure still the same! After just barely making the tour due to a time zone problem, we moved from the ship to shore at Belize City by a tender. Belize City does not have a dock big enough for the cruise ship. We instantly boarded a bus and rode 50 miles north. At our stop, we had a very early lunch and got into a jet boat. The boat took us upstream at 25 miles/hour plus winding in and out on the New River. After about 30 minutes on the river we arrived at the ruins. Our principal speaker, Dr. John Lund, said that this ruin site of Lamanai was to be the primary candidate to be the Book of Mormon city of Gid. We saw several Mayan pyramids and climbed the highest one, the High Temple, about 140 steps at a very steep angle. (Darlene pointed out that the building was NOT built to code!) Once again, a truly awesome experience. To get back to the ship, we did the reverse process of speed boat followed by bus. Darlene, Theora, and Patty even had a few minutes for shopping. Another good day.

Mayan Ruins at Tulum

2008-12-01T17:29:00.000-08:00

On first port of call, Cozumel, we reached today. During the shore excursion, we visited the Mayan ruins at Tulum. It was a major task just to get there. First, we left the ship and walked for a half a mile. We were loaded into a taxi for a ride of about 8 miles to the ferry port. We caught the ferry for a 30 minute trip from the island of Cozumel to the mainland of the Yucatan. On the mainland, we met our guide named Helaman. His parents joined the church before he was born and most of his siblings have Book of Mormon names. We was very informative and interesting to listen to his stories. We walked again for about a half a mile just to loaded into a bus. The bus ride lasted for about 45 minutes. Then disembark the bus for another quarter mile walk. Finally got on a tractor pulled tram for a mile trip to the ruin site. The Mexican officials were very weird. They allowed all still cameras, but video cameras required a three dollar fee. Fine, I will pay the three dollars. But then, they decided that my Canon HD Video camera was too "professional" and I was prohibited from using it even though I paid the fee. There is no logic to this. However, the ruins were awesome. A lot of the symbolism ties very well to the Book of Mormon and Christ's visit to the Americas. We took a lot of still digital pictures. After two hours at the ruins, we reversed the whole travel experience. Tomorrow, we visit more ruins in Belise.

Day at Sea

2008-11-30T17:21:00.000-08:00

Ahoy mates! We are at sea sailing between Florida and Cuba heading to Cozumel, Mexico. Since we are in a group with other LDS Church members, we attended a sacrament meeting held within a bar in the ship. Our speaker for the day for both the sacrament meeting and our on-board lecture is Dr. John Lund. The sacrament meeting talk is about how we need not be "perfect" in this life to gain exaultation; that perfection will come later if we would at least live worthy of a temple recommend and endure to the end. The lecture in the afternoon is about evidence from the Book of Mormon and recent Scientific findings that clearly shows that the history of the Book of Mormon occurred in Meso-America ( some of the ruins we will see the next two days will be from this time period.) At dinner, the Cruise Lady, Diane Larsen, and her husband sat our table. [Note to Tawnya Huntsman: The Cruise Lady wants you, Varsel, and us to join them on the tour of Israel next year].

EPCOT and Embarking on the Cruise

2008-11-30T08:36:00.000-08:00

Friday, November 28 was spent at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT park with Theora Shelley (the elder), Darlene, and Ron. We stayed twelve hours and were on our feet the entire time. This was Darlene’s first visit here. We successfully visited many countries, watched every movie, and took every slow ride available. Unfortunately, the illuminations show, the big laser, light, fireworks, music, etc. was scheduled later than usual because of the Thanksgiving holiday; therefore, we had to miss it and leave early to pick up Ron’s sister, Patty Bushman, at the airport.

On Saturday, November 29 we celebrated Darlene’s 23rd anniversary of her 21st birthday. She scored big on the birthday gifts with a new Canon camera and a cruise to the western Caribbean. Then she opened the door of cabin to find the room decorated in "Happy Birthday" signs and garland along with a dozen long-stem red roses in a vase with a big red bow! Darlene was wonderfully surprised. Basically, the day used the whole day just to get to the port and on the ship, the Carnival Glory. It is a big ship, but the floorplans are a bit strange in that we have to go up and down stairs to get to rooms on the same deck with sometimes walking thru restaurants to find our way. My mother and sister are two cabins away.

Meeting Aaron and Trans-Siberean Orchestra

2008-11-27T19:04:00.000-08:00

I know ... I am a poor blogger ... so it has been 3 months since I have posted --- I will do better.

On Katie's birthday, we got to meet Katie's "friend" Aaron. We highly approve of this young man. We met at Westgate center in Glendale and ate at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville. Accompany us were Bart, Scott, and Kaitlin. For Katie's birthday, she received a special balloon crown. After dinner, attended the Trans-Siberean Orchestra performance at Jobbing.com Arena. This is an absolutely fabulous show, with rock and roll Christmas music along with some rock and roll style classical music. The light, laser, fire, snow, and other special effects were amazing.

Liberty Tax Training in Las Vegas

2008-08-28T20:58:00.000-07:00

Darlene received four days of training for her Liberty Tax business in Las Vegas. Ron flew the airplane to and from the courses. What was very unusual was that every other time we have been in Las Vegas for classes, it was Ron who attended the classes and Darlene had to find something to do with her time during the day. This time, Ron spent the day alone. He walked a few miles each day, arranged for the show tickets, and worked on the family and dental office webpages. Visit the family pages on this site and www.arrowheadlakesdentistry.com to see the changes. At night we watched Menopause the Musical (which Darlene was up on stage dancing!), Stomp, and The Jersey Boys. The Jersey Boys is about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. It was excellent.

Five Plays in 3 Days

2008-08-15T06:54:00.000-07:00

The second week in August found us in Cedar City again. We had five plays scheduled for that extended weekend. We flew into the Cedar City Airport on Thursday, rented a car, and headed out for some site seeing. We drove into Kolob Canyon, the north part of Zion National Park. The canyons are spectacular!

We then met with the builder of the townhouses in Brian Head ... which will not be built for at least another year. (We are considering buying a 1/8th ownership of a 2 bedroom townhouse up in the ski resort). After enjoying dinner at the Main Street Grill with Darlene's family, Lee and Peggy Hone, we attend our first play. This play is part of the Neil Simon Festival ... Fools. This is a story about a Russian town cursed with stupidity in which a young school master has just 24 hours to educate the young maid he is in love with before he becomes stupid himself. Before the play, the director joins the audience in a discussion of the play. Quite fun.

On Friday, Darlene, in the spirit of the Bataan Death March, forced me to walk for two miles and breath in all of that healthy air. I told Darlene that it made my lungs burn ... just not used to the fresh air. Then, Darlene enjoyed the Iron County museum of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers (which of course, all of my daughters are eligible to join ... get your application now!) while I did some work on the computer. Then we met Lee and Peggy again for lunch. All four of us went to the afternoon's next play, Fiddler on the Roof. Excellent production. After a few hour's break, then off to the evening performance of Othello. This play of the Utah Shakespearean Festival is given outside in a replicate of Shakespeare's London Theatre. Extremely well done performance.

Saturday morning arrived. After another 2 mile forced march, we gathered Lee and Peggy with us and drove up to Brain Head. We showed the the lot with all the dirt pushed around where the townhouses are supposed to be built. Then we drove to the top of Brian Head mountain with an elevation of over 11,000 feet. We could see 3 states at distances of over an 100 miles. We drove back to Cedar City for lunch and the matinee performance of Cyrano de Bergerac ... the lead actor was magnificent. The final play in the evening was Two Gentlemen of Verona.

We loved all the plays. We flew home on Sunday.

Barbara Graduates from Nursing School

2008-07-26T14:40:00.001-07:00

Barbara completed Nursing school this week. She opted out of the formal pinning ceremonies; therefore, we took her out for dinner at the Keg restaurant in Tempe. Accompanying her at the dinner was Grandma Shelley, Scott, Kaitlin, Darlene, and Ron. She is pleased to have finished, but the battle is not entirely over. She still has to pass the Arizona licensure exam and find a job. But as well has she has done, finishing in the top of her class, she will deal with those issues easily!

Roadtrip 2008 - Day Eleven

2008-07-20T20:59:00.001-07:00

Our last day, we drove from Cedar City, Utah home to Phoenix. Our only interesting stop along the way was the St. George Temple. This is the first Temple built in the West and has been in use since then. The temple is simply beautiful. We hit significant rain outside of Kingman, otherwise the trip was uneventful. After a total of 3684 miles, we arrived home. We loved the whole trip.

Roadtrip 2008 - Day Ten

2008-07-19T16:21:00.000-07:00

We had a firm appointment today. We have tickets to see two shows of the Utah Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City, Utah. So, after enjoying a hot Krispy Kreme donut, we traveled 210 miles south from Provo in the morning. Our first tickets were for Shakespear's The Taming of the Shrew. My favorite line was: Petruchio: "I understand you have a daughter Kate, lovely and virtuous." Baptista: "Well, I have a daughter Kate!" The evening's entertainment was Moliere's The School for Wives. Both plays made us laugh. We are spending the night in Cedar City.

Roadtrip 2008 - Day Nine

2008-07-18T21:46:00.000-07:00

To head south, we entered Yellowstone National Park again and spotted along the way: a golden eagle, a young bald eagle, coyote, red fox, elk, and bison. Darlene did have to buy one more item from the gift shop in Yellowstone. We passed through Grand Teton National Park. We stopped for photos of the mountains and an another stamp into our National Parks Passport book. Our only other major stop was in Jackson, Wyoming at the National Museum of Wildlife Art. It had a mix of animal paintings and sculptures. Most of the day was travel to get to Provo, Utah to see Steven (at the Sonic Drive-in where he works).

Roadtrip 2008 - Day Eight

2008-07-18T06:09:00.000-07:00

We return into Yellowstone National Park and drove the entire loop, heading south first down to Old Faithful. The only detour was half-way up into the northeast entrance to view the Lamar Valley (on our quest to find bear). Old Faithful geyser was faithful, erupting as predicted. We finally found a black bear; but it was during a thunderstorm, so our photos could be better. We stayed again in West Yellowstone, Montana.

Roadtrip 2008 - Day Seven

2008-07-17T08:01:00.000-07:00

We left Cody and made our entrance into Yellowstone National Park. The park is beautiful. Although you can still see underlying evidence of the 1988 fires, the park has recovered well. The bison appeared about everywhere we went. The elk could not be found until late in the evening. We entered on the east, drove up the loop by the upper and lower falls of the Yellowstone River, over to Mammoth Hot Springs, and then out the west entrance to stay the night in West Yellowstone. The photo of the falls is the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River.

Roadtrip 2008 - Day Six

2008-07-16T07:45:00.001-07:00

We navigated through the Big Horn Mountains on US-14 to find Cody, Wyoming. If you did not know about Buffalo Bill Cody before arriving here, it is impossible to claim ignorance after. Everything is Buffalo Bill this, Cody that, etc. We spent the entire afternoon in the Buffalo Bill Historical Center which consists of five museums: the Buffalo Bill Museum, the Whitney Gallery of Western Art, Plains Indian Museum, Cody Firearms Museum, and the Draper Museum of Natural History. Buffalo Bill mastered, maybe invented, the art of self-promotion. I was pleased to see the "Winter Quarters" statue in the Western Art Museum. Darlene scored in the gift shop.

Roadtrip 2008 - Day Five

2008-07-14T20:41:00.000-07:00

North into Montana, we headed to Little Big Horn Battlefield. There we learned that attacking thousands of Indians with only about 400 men is a stupid thing to do. Once again we learn the importance of correct intelligence before going to war. I liked how they have placed markers where the combatants fell, giving you a feel of the dynamics of the battle. The third photo is the site of Custer's Last Stand. The fourth photo is the a sculpture which is a part of the Indian memorial made of a thick metal wire. I really looks cool against the scenery. Leaving Montana, we drove into Wyoming up into the Big Horn Mountains to about 10,000 feet altitude. There we walked three miles to see Medicine Wheel (last photo) which is an ancient site of Indian worship. We finished the day back in Sheridan, Wyoming.

Roadtrip 2008 - Day Four

2008-07-13T20:45:00.000-07:00

Being a Sunday, Darlene decided we should attend church. Usually, I am a heathen on vacation, but I agreed. We found the local meetinghouse in Rapid City, South Dakota via mormon.org. The youth speaker spoke on the Book of Mormon, the wife speaker spoke about testimonies, and the husband spoke about the messages of latter-day, living prophets (I add this information because Darlene accuses me of not listening to the speakers). We suffered through the organist playing the Battle Hymn of the Republic as a dirge, not a march. On a whole, this experience was uplifting and edifying. Then we hit the road, re-entered Wyoming, and found Devil's Tower, the first National Monument in the country, so declared such by Teddy Roosevelt himself. This another awesome site. We finished the day at Sheridan, Wyoming. At the hotel, we discovered we have stalkers ... a LDS family from St. Louis on the way to BYU Idaho to pick up their son. They had stayed at the same hotel as us last night, attended the same Sacrament meeting as us this morning, and showed up at tonight's hotel. It was nice to meet them.

Roadtrip 2008 - Day Three

2008-07-12T20:36:00.001-07:00

Darlene and Ron made their first entrance ever into the State of South Dakota. Now life is complete. However, the two stops we made were truly awesome. The first is the Crazy Horse Monument where the construction will continue until our grandchildren will bring their grandchildren to see it. Impressive! Next we visited Mount Rushmore. A beautiful magnificent sight. We stayed in Rapid City, South Dakota for the night. Stay tuned for further developments.

Roadtrip 2008 - Day Two

2008-07-12T06:23:00.000-07:00

We drove 350 miles from Colorado Springs, CO to our first point of interest, the Mormon Handcart Visitor Center. Located here is Devil's Gate, the opening thru the mountain where the Sweetwater River flows and served as major landmark for all of the major trails in the early West: the Mormon trail, the Oregon trail, the California tail, and the Pony Express route. Darlene and I walked several miles into Martin's Cove, a historic stopping place for the Martin Handcart Company when trapped by the early season snow storm. Both Darlene and I were spiritually and emotionally touched by the stories of sacrifice, suffering, and struggles that took place here. There were a lot of antelope and deer which grazed freely near the paths. One of Darlene second cousins is serving a mission at the visitor's center (see photo below). The last photo is of Independence Rock, a stopping point for many of theses early pioneers, many of which carved their names into the rock. Our stopping point for day two is Casper, Wyoming.

Roadtrip 2008 - Day One

2008-07-11T06:17:00.000-07:00

Darlene and I headed out on the great American highway system. My Acura's odometer now has an additional 800 + miles. We drove up the Beeline Highway to Payson, to Heber, and then to Holbrook. The course turned easterly on I-40 into New Mexico. We took a left turn in Albuquerque onto I-25. The stop for the night is Colorado Springs, Colorado. Hopefully, the next posts will be a little more interesting, but day one was planned as the longest day of driving.

Shelley Family Reunion 2008 -- Provo, Utah

2008-07-11T06:14:00.000-07:00

Since I was in charge of organizing this reunion, I might not be considered objective. However, I believe the reunion was a success. The first event was the luncheon in the Hinckley Alumni and Visitor's Center on the BYU campus. The food was good, especially the "peach" desert. BYU produced a video about my Grandfather, John F Shelley, and my father, R Gene Shelley. Along with a talk by my sister Patty, my mother was very happy with the dinner and the number of extended family to join us. We assembled that night at Dennis and Kaye's new home in Highland, Utah. After the many guided tours of the house, and the excellent food, I handed out all of the tickets for the rest of the reunion events along with reunion lapel pins and lanyard. We also took a few minutes to visit the Xanthos home in Alpine (George's parents).

The next day on the Fourth of July, the grand parade occupied the morning. My favorite entry was the Lamas. The Seven Peaks Water Park took the afternoon. In the evening, we attended the Stadium of Fire. The event started with skydivers, a huge American flag, very large number of dancers, then a concert by the Blue Man Group and Mylie Cyrus. Finally, the largest fireworks display I have ever seen.

Saturday started with a family breakfast at the Marriott hotel. Grandma had most correct answers on the quiz about Dennis, Ken, Ron, and Patty. Imagine that! Then Darlene and I took Brett, Erin, Barbara, Kaitlin, and Scott around the BYU campus, the BYU Bookstore, and the Provo Temple grounds. The evening event was the train ride on the Heber Valley railroad with the mystery comedy performance. Melissa won!

The last event was to visit Temple Square in Salt Lake City and viewing the broadcast of the Mormon Tabernacle Chior. Impressive. Now looking forward to the next reunion in New York in two years

Shaw Reunion - Parowan Gap

2008-06-28T21:41:00.000-07:00

We traveled from Cedar City to Venice, Utah (a suburb of Richfield, Utah). Darlene's father, Lee Hone, hosted the Shaw Reunion, the family of his mother. Other than a five year old, Darlene and I were the youngest present. The oldest and only living member of her generation is Darlene's Great Aunt Luzon Shaw Nebeker, age 89 (see photo), the sister of Darlene's grandmother.

A short history story: Darlene's great, great grandfather, Abraham Shaw, walked five-miles to hear the missionaries speak in England. After hearing the gospel teachings from Heber C. Kimball, Abraham knew in his heart this was the true church. Abraham was baptised and promptly disowned by his family for joining the Church. He and his first wife Margaret immigrated from England in 1841 on the first ship of LDS people from a foreign land. They purchased a farm eight miles east of the Nauvoo temple. In 1848 they were ready to start west but Brigham Young asked him to remain behind at Winter Quarters and help other immigrants to prepare for the journey. In 1848 he was ordained a Seventy by Brigham Young. Finally three-years later in 1851 they were able to head west with the Isaac Bullock Company. Abraham played a big bass fiddle and furished music for most of the socials. When the first choir was organized in Provo, Utah they played for it.
Darlene's great, great grandmother, Jane Lawrenson Shaw, was Abraham's second wife and also was from England. In 1856 she pulled a handcart with the Daniel D. McArthur Company to get to Utah. Jane walked all the way pulling the handcart and her little sister, who was to young to walk.
Darlene had met her great grandfather Thomas Shaw. He was the youngest of 11 children, born in 1878 and passed on at Christmas in 1960. Also her great grandmother Carrie Gottfredson Shaw who was born in 1883 and passed on at Thanksgiving in 1961. They were sealed in the Manti Temple.

Back to the reunion: The reunion was held in the Venice LDS Pavilion, a cute name for a covered picnic area attached to the meetinghouse. We enjoyed lunch and everyone shared stories for about four hours.

Returning to Cedar City, we discovered that my sister (... favorite sister), Patty Bushman along with her family was attending the Utah Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City. We arranged a meeting, watch an outdoor performance, and bid them well as they went into one of the plays.

At Darlene's suggestion, we drove out to Parowan Gap, a rock formation where ancient Indians left petroglyphs. This one drawing that is "V" shaped is believed to be a solar calendar. We flew home Sunday.

Our Day in Southern Utah

2008-06-27T18:27:00.000-07:00

Darlene and I flew our airplane to Cedar City, Utah this morning. We shall attend the Shaw Reunion in Richfield, Utah tomorrow (Darlene's Father"s Mother's family). Darlene slept almost the entire uneventful flight. Avis provided wheels and we headed up Cedar Canyon. Our first stop was Cedar Breaks National Monument (see photo above). Scenery is spectacular! Next stop was Brian Head. We have a deposit down for an 1/8 fractional ownership of a townhouse there, but the project has been put on hold. Stay tuned for further developments. We then drove on Highway 143 past Panquitch Lake to the exciting town of Panquitch. We just missed the hot air balloon festival. Quickly dealing with the utter disappointment, we proceeded south on US 89, then west on Highway 14 through Duck Creek and back down Cedar Canyon to Cedar City. Currently, the town hosts two festivals: Groovefest (a music festival in the park) and the Utah Shakespearean Festival. We attended neither. Instead, we ate dinner at Applebees and Darlene went shopping for shoes.

Dinner at Katie's Casa

2008-06-24T09:51:00.000-07:00

Katie invited us along with David, Melissa, Theora, Nola, Thad, Lacy, Cayson, Carly, Maury, Brian, Connor, and Cash for dinner in her home on Sunday, June 22. This was the first time that Darlene had the opportunity to hold Carly. The meal was excellent (Katie can come and cook for us anytime she wishes). After dinner, we without wee-ones (Katie, Darlene, and Ron) escorted Connor, Cayson, Cash, Theora, and Nola to the little neighborhood park and playground equipment near Katie's house. Nola loved the slide, but could not figure out how to get started. So Darlene (such the good Grandma) would climb up into the jungle gym and give Nola a little push to get her moving down the slide.

Thoughts on Mother's Day from Darlene

2008-06-21T09:04:00.000-07:00

Thank you for a wonderful "Mother Day"

A heart filled with love and thankfulness

A head filled with ever growing memories

A special thank you to my Mother-in -law for making me feel so

welcome into the family and to all our children for making

me feel like a special "Mom"

Thank you Ron for bringing us together. Thank you for the wonderful family you have brought me in to. And thank you for our little family. I love you!

Thank you Theora for the wonderful "you're special to our family"card. You make me feel so welcome.

Thank you Barbara, Kaitlin, and Scott for sending the beautiful pink card thanking me for support, encouragement, patience and wisdom.

Thank you Carol, George, and boys for sending the wonderful "Happy Mother's Day" pictures designed by all the artists.

Thank you David, Melissa, Theora, and Nola for the huge "Happy Mother's Day" call.

Thank you Brett and Erin for sending the wonderful blue flowered "Thank you for your love" card and the gorgeous orchids.

Thank you Katie for taking me out to a wonderful "Happy Mother's Day" lunch.

Thank you Bart for calling during work break to say "Happy Mother's Day."

Thank you Steven for going with us to our "Happy Mother's Day" lunch.

Thank God for Mothers

If life were without water,

Where would we be?

If life were without mothers,

There would be no you or me.

We all need to take hold, of how precious life really is,

and not take for granted the gift of love and the ability to give.

Thank you to God for creating us all

For giving us mothers

So we can stand proud and tall.

Humans are no accident, no mistake or error

We sometimes live our lives in fear of this,

Even to the point of terror.

But when the truth is told, and recognized by all,

God does not create rubbish.

He knew what He was doing when He created us all.

However, the best gift of all is in giving us loving and caring

Mothers who love us unconditionally through and through.

None of us are perfect, that includes ourselves and family.

Hold onto how precious we are and thank God for all mothers.