Side Trips

May 6, 2013

While we have been here in Idaho, we have taken the opportunity for a number of different side trips.

Peggy mentioned in her last entry that we spent one day with my Uncle Kent in Terreton.  He is a large animal veterinarian and I went with him on all of his appointments for that day.  It was wonderful  But not for the queasy.  We drove out past Howe to sample 27 bulls for Trich.  This is a venereal disease that could cause large number of deaths in the new born calves.  The Bulls were run into a chute one by one and Kent sampled their semen.  My job was to log the tag numbers and sample envelope IDs.   They were kicking, snorting, howling and making a real ruckus.  We had Bull shit and Bull snot flung all over.  It was great!  Next we went to Blackfoot to castrate two young colts.  They were quite feisty.  I'm not sure if they knew what was about to happen to them, but it was quite an experience.  I didn't get any pictures of my assistant vet experience, but here is a shot of the mountains just west of Kent and Brenda's home.  I love the mountains

The following Thursday I got to ride along with my bother Douglas who was making a drop off of some tables and chairs at a restaurant in Jackson Hole.  It was great to spend this time with him and catch up on old times.  We drove past Palisades Reservoir on the way up and over Jackson pass on the way back.  Nice trip

Last week Peggy and I drove up to Yellowstone to see the Baby Buffalos.  Peggy got her lifetime pass (one of the benefits of old age).  It had been 8 years or so since we had visited the park and I was very surprised at the trees that have grown since the big fire.  We saw lots of Buffalos, most of them bulls, we only saw baby buffs up at the north entrance around Mammoth hot springs.

Baby Buffs staying close to mom

 

 

Mammoth Hot Springs

 

 

Dropping down into Mammoth you must drive through a narrow canyon and one spot is called the golden gate.  Check out the road way.  Back in the 1800 they build this road out of timbers. Imagine driving across that!

 



 

 

We saw Old Faithful and lots of Elk.  This one jumped out in the road in front of us.  It is a good thing the speed limit is 45 mph.  I had to rush to grab the camera and get a picture before he wandered down to the river.

 

 

 

On our way to Old Faithful we came across 5 buffalo that were walking down the road.  They seemed to know where they were going and did not stop to eat.  The leader was come right down the middle of the road!

 

 

 

On the way back to west Yellowstone 3-4 hours later we came upon the same group of buffalo that were about 6 miles down the road.  They were still plodding along at the same pace. We figured they were on their way to the Friday night dance and were looking for some Buffalo Gals.





 

We spent the night in West Yellowstone.  This is the best time of year to go through the park.  No crowds and lots to see.  However, the food selection was very limited.  It seemed like the only option was hamburgers.

On our way home on Friday we stopped by the upper Mesa Falls.  This is spot that few people stop at because it off the main drag on the old highway.  Very neat place.  My dad used to take me here to fish.  Peggy and I went on our first camping trip together here.

 

We drove the long way home through Driggs and stopped the drug store to get a Huckleberry Milkshake.  Yum.  The Tetons are always marvelous to look at.  Did say I love the mountains?

Catch up news

Well we are behind already!  What else is new?  We have been in Idaho Falls for two weeks now and have seen rain, hail, snow, and beautiful sunny days.  The grass is up and green, Marv has been weeding the garden and we don't miss Minnesota cold.  We heard that Minnesota has gotten lots of snow since we left.  The snow here was minimal and gone in a few hours.  Tulips and daffodils are up and lovely.
We have run around like a couple of chickens with our heads cut off getting ready for Italy.  We spent several loooooong hours shopping for Marv's clothes.  Since Marv thinks clothing stores are places of fire and brimstone, it was very difficult.  Finally, after several trips and try-on's, we settled on one store and for over  two hours got everything ordered and measured, etc.  Marv was sweating bullets and practically ran me over getting to the outside by the end.  He immediately took a long bike ride to recuperate.  He thinks clothes should only cost ten dollars and shopping should take five minutes.  What a sacrifice!
We finally sent off our visa papers and hopefully our visas will be waiting in Provo in July.  We saw my old doctor and he was great.  He remembered me and we realized he and Marv went to high school together. He will make sure we get our prescriptions while we are gone.  Evidently getting meds shipped to Italy will be difficult.  We are trying to get friends and family to visit us in Italy and space out their visits so they can bring meds with them for us.
We have been catching up with friends and family.  We have been to graduation dinners, played games, shared stories and had a great time.  We spent a full day up at Kent and Brenda Warner's home in Terreton. Kent is Marv's uncle (only 5 years older).  Marv and Kent spent all day doing Kent's work - he is a large animal veterinarian and they vaccinated dogs, tested cows, and neutered some colts.  Marv had a blast (though he had to wash all his clothes - cow drool and other less desirable fluids were flying around pretty thick).  Brenda and I went shopping and made me a gorgeous quilt out of ultra soft fabric.  It is wonderful.  We were in school together years ago - Kent finishing his veterinary degree and Marv his bachelor's.  We were up in Moscow, Idaho and Pullman, WA. (just eight miles apart)  It was so fun  to be together again.  We met them in Hawaii years ago when all our kids were still at home.  What fun and memories we made.  I will get Marv to put up a picture from their house in Terreton - though it was a bit hazy - the mountains are magnificent and remind me why I missed the mountains so much.
Speaking of mountains, we are going to spend a few days up in Yellowstone Park later this week.  We will tour the park and see the new wildlife babies.  It should be great.  Next week we head to Ephraim, Utah.  My former mission president and his lovely wife retired there and are hosting a great open house for us and another couple going to Italy again on missions.  We are very excited to see old friends and companions.
Then the week after, we head down south again to spend some more time with the grandkids.  We sure miss them already.  Our niece Camille (16) will go down with us and her parents will come down and pick her up and drop off her dog for Leigh's family.  The dog is Camille's but since she just finished high school (at 16) and will be heading off to college, her dog will become a pal to Leigh's new puppy.
This retired life is pretty great.  We get up when we want and go when we want.  Marv rides every day and I have sewn to my hearts content.  We drive around and look at places to buy or build a home when we get back.  We have been to the temple here - very nostalgic as we were married in the Idaho Falls temple.  (Has it really been 36 years ago?)  It is really fun.  We keep busy and love being close to family and long-time friends.  However, we are anxious to get to Italy and only have nine weeks left before we go.  We get more excited every day and Marv is doing well in his Italian studies.  We are so grateful for this opportunity to serve a  mission among the Italian people.  I learned to love the people when I served in Italy forty years ago and can't wait to meet new friends and renew old friendships.  We are excited about serving our Father in Heaven and making a difference in the world.  We have been so blessed in our lives.  We love our family and all of you.  Keep in touch and love each moment in your lives. Ciao!

Catch up 2.0

Whoops  - not as caught up as I thought.
Evidently I haven't looked at the blog for a while.  We forgot to post about our stay in Utah before we got to Idaho.  After we saw Marv's old scoutmaster in Moab, we went on to Draper (a suburb of Salt Lake City) and stayed with my sister Erin and her husband Eric.  They live in a fun town home on the bench and have a panoramic view of the Salt Lake valley.  It was beautiful and inspiring. We played catch up with them and got into our old pictures, family stories, and genealogy.  It was so much fun.  Erin works from home for Aetna and we got to spend lots of time together.  We got to see her kids on the run - Connor is graduating from BYU in May and Riley is graduating from University of Southern Utah as well is May.  Riley is getting an award as the best English student at the university and Connor is the most published young poet in the country.  Both played college soccer.  Connor is heading to Iowa for grad school and Riley is going to Emory in Atlanta for grad school.  It was wonderful to be with them again. They are super smart and really great kids.  Erin has been a super mom.
I was able to see two of my old roommates (Irmaleda Anderson and Bonnie Wilde) from college and that was wonderful.  We spent a lovely lunch and visit with our great friends from New Mexico - the Andersons.  They retired to Salt Lake City and live right behind the LDS Conference Center in downtown SLC.  We also got to see my old mission companion from Italy, Bonna Blanchard.  What a treat for me and Marv to see them all.  When we were in New Mexico the sister missionaries were over for dinner.  During the dinner, I mentioned that we were going to visit an old friend named Irmaleda and one of the missionaries - said Anderson?  I was totally surprised - the sister missionary used to work for Irmaleda at BYU.  We are constantly amazed at the common friends or relatives we meet in the weirdest places.  Eric (my sister's husband) found out that his stepmother is related to some of Erin and I's McCutcheon relatives in California.  It is truly a small world after all.
It is exciting to be so near dear ones here.  SLC is only a short three hour drive away from Idaho Falls and we can play with our friends lots.  We have always been the ones living far away and now we can see everyone whenever we want.  How fun!  Not that we don't miss our friends and family in other places.  Just come and see us whenever you can.
Well, I think that really catches us up since March.  Here it is already May almost.  Time is flying and we are having fun.

Lee J Holladay - Scoutmaster

April 4, 2013

On Monday of this week we left New Mexico and began traveling north.  The plan is to visit friends and relatives along the way and end up in Idaho Falls by the end of the week.  On our trip we drove through Cortez  CO and Monticello UT.  We ate lunch in Monticello and were surprised how tiny a town this is.  There is no fast food anywhere. There were load of motels and hotels, but no fast food.  We finally found a Subway in a gas station. 

For several months I have been calling my old scoutmaster who lives in Moab UT, but have never been able to find him home.  I even called my buddy Steve Borg to make sure I had the correct phone number.  All weekend I called and called and no answer.  I had almost given up finding him.  I went on line and found an address for a Brent Holladay in Moab and hoped that this was a relative and they could help out.  We pulled into Moab, found the address and found out it was his brother.  And Lee J Holladay that I was trying to find lived next door.  I knocked on the door and there he was!

Mr. Holladay was very lucid and with it.  He was happy and full of stories just like I remember when I was a teenager.  We spent 2 hours of bliss talking and reminiscing about all of our experiences in the Boy Scouts. He showed me pictures of a recent national Jamboree he went to where he was rappelling down this tower at age 78!  Mr. Holladay was a real blessing in my life.  He was an anchor that the boys in the scout troop could always count on.  He took us on a campout every month for at least 3 1/2 years.  He was always there for us.

 

Mr Holladay is 86 now.  His wife Nettie died a couple of years ago. He has shrunk a little, but he is still a giant in my eyes.  He has served his whole adult life as a Scout Master. He has helped countless boys grow up to be men of honor.   He is a man I will always admire and never forget.

 

 

 

 



Back to Farmington

Well we are back in Farmington after a trip to Tucson to see Ted, KC, and Lu.  It was nice and warm there.  We saw Arizona at its finest on the trip down.  Thru the Salt River Canyon everything was green and in bloom and it had a certain charm.  But past Globe it was still the Aridzona we remember.  We helped work on KC's garden and played with Lu.  We got to see her gymnastics class and she is really good at it.  She can do handstands, round offs, and cartwheels.  She is a good reader and has great fine motor skills so her handwriting is great and she is an expert colorer.  It was fun to spend time with them.

It has been cooler here - only 14 degrees yesterday morning.  It is not at green as here yet as spring is still on its way.  We will stay here til next Monday to celebrate Jane's upcoming 4th birthday and Easter.  Then it is off to Utah and Idaho.  We will see family and friends on the way.  Marv's scoutmaster lives in Moab and we are hoping to visit with him.  My sister lives in the Salt Lake area as does Marv's sister.  I got in touch with my old mission president and his wife and we are hoping to see them.

We are getting nearer to having everything in place for our mission.  But it has not been easy. We spent an entire day getting a few things done.  After several attempts to get a NM driver license, I simply got a state ID.  The MVD is extremely picky and even after I got the original signed medical form from Minnesota, because two people wrote on the form, they wouldn't accept it.  Only the doctor can write on it evidently.  Then when we tried to get immunizations, at first they said that I would have to start all over again on the HEP A and B series.  Finally after two hours, they decided I could just get the two shots I needed to finish the series that day.  But Marv only got two shots and has to have another in Italy.  Then Marv needed a copy of a church document buried in storage somewhere but we were able to get a copy from Duluth.  But it can only be signed by the stake president who is out of town and since we are leaving in a week for Idaho, it will have to be mailed there.  Then I needed a seminary graduation certificate but I never finished seminary (a religious class we take in high school) as they didn't have it where I went to high school in upstate New York in 1968.  But we figured out a way around that too.  So we think we have all we need now for our visa process.  We just have to send off all the info to Salt Lake and they will take it from there.

We have our travel itinerary and training schedule.  We only stay in Provo for a week now and fly out on the 8th of July and arrive in Milano on the 9th.  We are so excited.  Now we have to shop for luggage, clothes, travel stuff, etc.  That is the fun part at least for me.  Marv is NOT a shopper especially for clothes so for him it will be an ordeal.  We (well, Marv) is in the process of buying a new computer and a new tablet for me.  I dropped my Kindle and it died so we have to replace it.  I am desperate for books!

We are loving being footloose and able to do whatever we want each day.  Marv misses work less and less. The ability to just get up and go each day is fun.  We like doing projects for the kids and I have made doll clothes for each of the girls.  We are busy storing up memories with the grandkids to warm our hearts while we are away.  We know that we are doing the right thing and that serving others is a great blessing not just for us but for our kids and grandkids.  Ciao for now!

Tucson with Ted, KC & Lu

March 23,2013

On Saturday, March 16 we packed up and drove down to Tucson to see Ted, KC & Lu.  It was a wonderful trip.  Ted has been very busy with his job, and this looked like the only time he would be a little free for a visit.  We had a wonderful time.  Ted had a list of projects for me to work on while I was there.  We installed/repaired a new sprinkler system that had 3 lines - 1) for KC to hand water her new raised bed garden, 2) a future line for the automatic watering of the garden, and 3) for the future front yard.  I also helped assemble a new chicken coop for KC and also hauled all of the dirt for the new garden.

 

New raised bed garden.  KC is ready to plant.  With the new Chicken coop in the background.

 

 

 

After we left the Easter bunny brought them 4 chicks.  I think their names are Amelia Bodelia, Amelia Earhart, Betsy Ross, and Rosa Parks

 

 

I got to ride my bike several times and we even got to go see Lu at her gymnastics practice.  WOW!  I was really impressed with her ability to run, tumble, do round offs, cartwheels, hand stands and lots of other tumbling feats.  Lu was clearly more advanced than the other little girls. 

 

Lu doing her stretching warm ups

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Farmington

Friday, March 15, 2013

Today is our last day in Farmington for a while.  Tomorrow we leave bright and early to drive down to Tucson to visit Ted, KC and Lu.

I found the cable for my little camera so hear are a couple of pictures.  Last Saturday we we drove to Chaco Canyon to see the Indian Ruins there.  WOW! it was way more than I expected. There were 7 or 8 major villages.  And each village was very large.  I was very impressed.  It snowed that day and there was a very stiff breeze (the only cold day we have had here).

This week we went to a private museum here in Farmington.  This guy struck it rich in the oil fields here in the San Juan valley and spent every spare moment he had traveling the world collecting specimens and having them mounted.  There were thousands of them!

He had animals from every continent.  There were birds, reptiles, fish, amphibians, mammals, even a few spiders and insects.  It was truly amazing.  The museum is open to the public by appointment only.  It was a great trip. (about 2 miles from Leigh's home).

The place I have been riding my bike is up on the mesa south of the valley.  It is owned by the Navajo and appears to be a well run major corporate farm spotted with oil and gas wells.  Most of the roads are paved (chipped) and there is very little traffic.  Perfect for biking. My 1st ride up there I got two flats from thorns so I ordered thorn resistant tubes and have had no troubles since.  In the picture below beyond the farm is Farmington with the La Plata mountains in Colorado in the distance.  Today was a little cloudy so the mountains do not stand out as much as on a clear blue sky like it is most days here.  Today it got up to 75 degrees with almost no wind.  It was a great ride!

 
Today I received what I believe is my last check stub from Northshore Mining.  It will be tough to see those paychecks stop.  It was a great 15 years up in Minnesota.  But it sure is nice down here in the warm southwest.

Marv