Day 3 - Ouray to Cortez

This is what we woke up to the next morning. Eighteen inches of snow fell during the night! Tommy was thrilled he didn't have to shovel it. Our quandry now was how to get to our next stop. The most direct way is through Red Mountain Pass just south of Ouray. But, that goes through the San Juan Mountains and is 20 miles of a two-lane winding road with no guardrails at 11,000 feet. This is what the road looks like in summer. (It's called the million dollar highway because that's how much it cost to build.) Now imagine it covered in snow. Colorado DOT reported the road was open, but chains were required for commercial vehicles. We do have 4-wheel drive on my car. So, we opted to wait a bit then try it. While we waited, we had eggs benedict, juice, and fruit. Yum!

We drove three miles into the pass before traffic stopped. The road was blocked by a snowplow while avalanche control was done. That was a first. We could hear the cannon fire up ahead. After 30 minutes, the plow moved and we were off once again. It was a beautiful drive! God outdid himself here.


Today's destination was Mesa Verde National Park to see the cliff dwellings. I'm a huge archelogogy/history buff and loved it when I visited the park on a family vacation many years ago. Tommy had never seen it. We planned to stop in 1980 enroute from Alamagordo, NM to Utah. However, snow was falling, so we wouldn't have been able to see anything. We just drove on. Three interesting notes on the drive in this time: 1) The entrance to the park is about a 30 minute drive from the freeway on Ruins Road. We couldn't decide if the road was named that because it led to the ruins or because the road was ruined. Quite rough. 2) When we stopped to pay the entrance fee and get a map, we were told that we were visiting the park during the "annual rock migration" and to be on the lookout for rocks falling onto the road. 3) There had been a recent fire in the park. Many trees were burned. The only green vegetation was yucca plants.

The park was just as amazing as I remembered it. We took a guided tour down a 90 foot drop to one of the sites. That will certainly let you know how out of shape you are! Our park ranger guide was excellent. I'll let the pictures tell rest of the story.

Day 2 - Moab to Ouray

One of the great things about staying in a bed & breakfast is the breakfast--especially since I don't have to cook it. We shared the meal with two other families. The Sunflower Hill staff prepared scrambled eggs, fresh fruit cups, juice, and homemade scones that were out of this world. I got the recipe. (Side note here. Tommy is not a big breakfast eater, and I love it. He indulges me on vacation but probably won't eat breakfast for a month after this trip.)

We stopped at a Native American art gallery in Moab on our way out. They had these beautiful wind "chimes" (not sure what they are actually called). We really wanted one for our yard, but the prices were WAY out of our reach. I did buy a cross to add to my wall collection. We opted not to go back to Arches today but definitely want to come back again another time.

Our first stop today was Montrose, Colorado. More details later. Here are my rather random notes from the drive there.
*Tommy and I had just commented on how brown everything was--snow gone and spring green not quite here--when we passed a sign that said "welcome to colorful Colorado."
*Today's animals included wild turkeys and elk.
*In the middle of nowhere, we passed a spruce tree on the roadside still decorated with silver Christmas ornaments next to a flag pole with an American flag waving in the breeze. Wonder who decorated it and why.
*Streets in Grand Junction are numbered even stranger than Utah's coordinate system. There was 2 3/4 road, 26 1/4 road, and B 1/2 street. How does anyone find their way around?

The reason for our stop in Montrose was to visit Ron and Carrie Dixon. Ron was our youth minister way back when. They moved to Colorado a couple of years ago to care for aging parents. We were so blessed by his mentoring and Christian faith at such a crucial time in our lives. It's been almost 35 years since we've visited with them. What a special time it was. We spent over two hours sharing a meal and catching up. Tommy and I both agreed that seeing them was the highlight of our trip. I hope it's not quite so long before we get together again.
The drive from Montrose to Ouray was about an hour. It started snowing just before we arrived, and most of the shops in town were closed; so we went straight to our next bed & breakfast, The China Clipper. All the rooms are named for sailing ships and are decorated with oriental decor. Beautiful place.We were the only guests for the evening and had the run of the place. A storm two days earlier had cut the cable connection, so we were given a room upgrade to compensate for the inconvenience. We turned on the gas fireplace, pulled the wing back chairs in front of it, and watched Casablanca on DVD while the snow quietly fell. What a wonderful evening.

Day 1 - Layton to Moab

One of the nice things about driving rather than flying is you can move at your own pace rather than be driven by what time a flight leaves. Of course, it helps if both people going on the trip have a similar idea of what that pace is. We wanted to get an early start but didn't want to get up at o'dark thirty. Let's just say that Tommy and I have differing ideas about what an early start means. I'm thinking 8:30 or so. We left the house at 9:00 but detoured by Einstein's to have bagels then stopped by a camera store so Tommy could buy a new camera lens he'd been thinking about. So it was 10:30 before we got on the road. "Relax, relax...it's OK not to have everything scheduled precisely while on vacation," is what I kept telling myself.

The one and only downside to our trip happened before we'd even gone 50 miles. A passing car threw a rock up, which chipped my windshield. Bummer! But, thank you God, that we didn't have to deal with any car issues for the entire week!

What a gorgeous drive through the canyon! Soldier Summit is almost 7500 feet above sea level, so there was still plenty of snow around (although not on the roads). There are 10-foot flags on both sides of the road to give snowplow drivers an indication of the edge of the paved road. Nothing like snow-capped mountains to reflect God's handiwork.

We saw llamas grazing in the mountains and an emu in someone's yard. Bird's nests built on power poles. Coal trains snaking through the mountains. Another train carrying heavy equipment to install new railroad ties that were piled beside the tracks for miles.

Then we got to Moab and our first destination--Arches National Park. Wow! Thank goodness Tommy talked himself into buying that new lens.







Psalms 121:1-2 in The Message says, "I look up to the mountains; does my strength come from mountains? No, my strength comes from God, who made heaven, and earth, and mountains." How appropriate for this day.

We love to stay in bed and breakfast inns when we travel. Our first night was at the Sunflower Hill in Moab. It was everything you'd hope for--quaint, comfortable, and quiet. The perfect end to an almost perfect day. And leaving at 10:30 rather than 8:30 was just fine.

How I Spent My Spring Vacation

Everything about your schedule is decided by your seniority level when you work for the airlines. Therefore, Tommy seldom gets vacation in the summer. Which is OK with us--you don't have to fight the crowds, there are usually more available seats on the flights, and the temperatures are better. We almost always fly to vacation destinations.

However, this week we decided to take a road trip that we have wanted to do since moving to Utah thirty years ago. We drove a modified version of what's called "The Grand Circle" in southeastern Utah and southwestern Colorado. Layton, Moab, Ouray, Cortez, Monument Valley, Moab, Layton. Five days and 1200 miles. It was everything we hoped for and more--beautiful scenery, relaxing time together, good weather, no car issues, and fun!

Although I don't journal regularly, I usually take detailed notes when we travel. This 56-year-old mind can't remember things like it used to. Over the next few days, I hope to share some of those notes and some of the beautiful pictures we took.

Birthday Blessings

My birthday is March 5. I love everything about birthdays and celebrating mine! It doesn't bother me to reveal my age (56). Even though getting older is definitely not for sissies, I seldom feel as old as I am.

Through the years, I've enjoyed wonderful celebrations. Friends gave me a surprise party for my 16th birthday, which was one of the first boy/girl parties I attended. A friend cooked dinner and baked me a cake for my 30th, because Tommy was TDY with the Air Force so we couldn't celebrate the milestone together. Other friends gave me a surprise party on my 50th in a local Chinese restaurant--complete with a giant AARP sign posted behind my chair. Strangers came up to ask if I was the honoree and wished me happy birthday.

Growing up, Mom always fixed our favorite meal and made our favorite cake on our birthdays. I think the meal changed through the years, but strawberry shortcake was always the cake. My family now goes out to eat on birthdays. Years ago we went to Skippers on my birthday, because we had promised Matt we'd go there the next time we went out. I hate seafood, so I have no idea what I ate! But that is a great family memory, and hopefully he learned the importance of keeping promises.

There have been special gifts. Mom and dad gave me a birthstone ring with diamond chips in fifth grade. I still have it--although it only fits my pinky now. Tommy gave me a strand of pearls on my 21st birthday. As I get older, the gifts are not nearly as important as the greetings from friends. Cards and calls mean a lot. This year I enjoyed Facebook greetings from people across the US. What a treat!

It's always nice when the celebration extends over several days. My first card arrived from Missouri on March 1 and the last one came from Layton on March 9. In between I had lunch with a friend, dinner with two others, cake at the office, got calls from both kids, and made a trip to Texas to spend the day with family. That was really fun. I can't remember the last time I celebrated with them. No, I didn't have strawberry shortcake (mom was in the hospital; she's better now), but we did have a wild evening trying on shoes and went to see Alice in Wonderland in 3D.


Perhaps the best blessing is found in Isaiah 46: 4, “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”

Simple pleasures

Recently I read a blog with this title. It was a list of simple things enjoyed by the blogger. Made me stop and think about what simple pleasures I enjoy. Here are a few.

Clean sheets
A baby’s laughter
Not having to set an alarm
Time to read without feeling guilty
Calls from my kids
My girlfriends
Snow
Breakfast food for dinner
Getting a mani/pedi
Watching the deer in the backyard
The crispy edges of brownies
Celebrating my birthday
Working the Sunday crossword puzzle
Football
My cat purring in my lap
Sharing bagels and the newspaper with Tommy
Daisies
A fire in the fireplace
Fall colors
Reconnecting with old friends

MFF

I took down my Christmas tree today. Now before you think I'm one of those "leave it up forever" people, let me explain. My decorations go up Thanksgiving weekend and normally come down about the 26th. However, our family celebrated Christmas January 24. This was the second annual Ward Family Christmas in January, and Utah was the destination of choice. Tommy and I wanted to have the tree up to make the celebration more realistic. Thus, the final "undecorating" happened today. (Most everything but the tree came down on the usual schedule.)

As I was taking ornaments off the tree, I indulged in a little trip down memory lane. Since the year we married, we've purchased an ornament each year that is embellished with the date. Some remind us of special events--the moose family ornament we bought on a family vacation to Yellowstone, and the 2002 Olympic-themed ornament from the year the winter Olympics were in Salt Lake City. Some remind us of special people--the snow globe with a small penguin because Tommy's mom loved penguins, the picture frame with a family portrait. Some remind us of special times--ceramic bells purchased in Del Rio, our first Air Force assignment location, a replica of the Rose Window in the National Cathedral in Washington DC that we bought on our first visit there.

But the memory that most moved me today, and brought me great joy, was the closeness of our family. Our children LIKE coming to visit mom and dad. They enjoy one another's company. Amber, our daughter-in-law, fits right in with the Ward quirkiness, which is awesome. We worked hard to achieve this as the kids were growing up. You see, we've never in almost 35 years of marriage had the typical 9-5 work day where everyone sat down to dinner together most nights. Between an Air Force career and an airline career, Tommy was often gone. I have always been a working mom (by choice). For a long time, I worried about how my children would turn out since we didn't have a "normal" lifestyle. Then one day a wise person told me, "but what you have is the 'normal' for your family." Huge burden lifted!

So, we created special family times. Mandatory Family Fun (MFF). Everybody had to participate and at least act like they were having a good time. Sometimes a movie together. Sometimes dinner out. Sometimes attending a sibling's school function. Sometimes trips. Sometimes working in the yard together. Sometimes organized and planned; sometimes spontaneous. But always with a goal of spending time together. Don't get me wrong. We got plenty of the "do I have to" whines and grumpy faces. But, we held firm on MFF activities and participation.

Now, the kids sometimes are the ones who initiate MFF. The Christmas in January was their idea. And I am so thankful God blessed us with this result. And with such great kids.