Parting is such sweet sorrow

Although Jeff was ready to "get out of there", parting with his girlfriend of 9 months was difficult. I thought he handled it well, but I felt SO bad for him. Nichole lives in Salt Lake City, Utah and both are returning to home, 2000 miles from each other, to start working and saving money for school (Nichole) and a plane ticket to Utah (Jeff). At least he figures this is the priority. So graduation was bitter-sweet and both were sad to leave each other but glad to go home.

This was the first year that graduation was held at the BI and it was outside. We sat in adirondack chairs and were very comfortable. Graduation was the usual and it didn't take long to pack up and start for home. Of course there was a quick trip to Friendlys for lunch. Jeff is missing Nichole and trying to find work, which can be difficult at best. We'll have to wait to see what the future holds. Hard to wait, right Jeff?

Niagra Falls

We had 2 days before we had to be at Word of Life to go to Jeff's baccalaureate and graduation services so we thought we'd drive up to Buffalo, NY to get a look at Niagra Falls. We went over the border to the Canadian side because we heard the view was much better. The picture above shows both the Horseshoe falls and the American falls. There is alot of water that goes over those falls. The water comes down so fast that it makes a mist that is felt from a quarter of a mile away. It is definitely a touristy area but to look at the falls and think about the sheer power of falling water, it is worth the trip.

There were some crazy people who felt they needed a closer look so they went on the Maid of the Mist boat trip. They all wore blue rain gear. It was fun to watch them from up above. Mandy wanted us to go on it in the worst way. I told her I didn't need to do that to know what it feels like to be wet.... And I must say I'm not regreting my decision.

Shenandoah National Park

I guess I'm the only one who thinks that the passport book that is put out by the National Park Service is great... but I don't care. My goal is to see every national park in the country and get my book stamped.

We've been to Shenandoah National Park before. But it is such a pretty drive. We drove the 105 miles on Skyline Drive along the Blue Ridge Mountains. The only problem with the mountains is that they are always hazy. But the haze gives them their blue hue. There are about 75 over looks that you can see the Shenandoah Valley. The grass is really green up there and it looks "lush". It really amazes me that each park has its own feel to it. This one is no different.

The last time we were in the park, a deer walked right up to the car and licked Tim's hand. They do get tame in the park. We didn't have that kind of luck this time but we did see a fawn with its mother. It still had all its spots. We love watching the wildlife.

The beginning

Kristin is now enjoying college life and starting a new chapter in her life. It's hard to believe that she is there, at my old alma mater, experiencing some of the same things I did 2o some odd years ago. I'm excited for her. She just wanted us out of there ASAP but I understand.... not cool to have your mom there embarrassing you. She wouldn't let me take pictures either but promised that she would. So I'll have to put in my order of what I want. She thinks we were happy to get rid of her. Actually, we knew she was ready to get started and are excited for her. No sense prolonging the agony at home. So she is there, in dorm 29, with 5 other girls. And I hope she has the time of her life! .... and makes A's in her classes. :)

Rocky Mountain National Park

It was time to leave Glenwood Springs and use our last full day to travel to Denver to where we were staying near the airport. We decided to travel by way of Rocky Mountain National Park. The drive was beautiful and we drove through tunnels in mountains and along the Colorado River for much of the way.There was Columbine growing at the visitors center coming into the park. It really is a beautiful flower!

Each park we have visited has had a different look and feel. There is one road going through the park. Everyone starts at 7800 feet and ascends to 12000 feet via hairpin turns, winding roads, and cliffs (white knuckle driving). The views are gorgeous! There are mountains and meadows and streams. We saw moose and elk in this park. At one point, there was a whole herd of female elk and their offspring. They make a sound like Nyah, Nyah in a high pitch sort of way. They just had their babies in July and some were still spotted.

We enjoyed every bit of the wildlife we saw on this trip. We have decided we are definitely mountain people. We enjoyed most of what we saw in Colorado. I think I'd like to spend more time here at some point. We've been away from home for 2 weeks (2 and 1/2 for me) and are very anxious to get home! We fly out tommorrow.

Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park

Today, we slept in and then went to Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park i n Glenwood Springs, CO. We had to take a gondola up to the top of a mountain where the park was. There is a restuarant at the top and also the Fairy caves are up there. We took a tour of the caves which were famous back in the 1800's. They have stalagtites and stalagmites and are cool to look at.

Who knew that my girls would end up being such dare devils. They had this monster swing that swung people 14000 feet above the canyon floor over the Colorado River. This is taller than the Empire State Building. If you look carefully, Kristin is covering her eyes. Kristin and Amanda are on the right side going up.

They also had another ride that was called the Canyon Coaster that sent us down hill on a roller coaster type thing down the side of the mountain. There are brakes that you use to slow you down. Kristin went down first and then we had to show Amanda how to use the brakes. The last thing the man said was not to stop. So Amanda who started well after Kristin decided that the man told her not to stop, so she went full blast down the mountain and bumped into Kristin twice. I used the brakes most of the way down and I like roller coasters.

We had a nice day. Tim's arm is looking better but he is still under the weather.

Arches National Park

Well after the long ride yesterday and the afternoon and evening in the ER, we arrived in Moab at 11 p.m. and boy were we tired. We ate at a cute diner this a.m. and then headed to Arches National Park (about 6 miles away). We drove through the most amazing rock formations in the desert. I believe the temperature then was at least 95 degrees and it wasn't even noon. So you'll understand when I tell you I wasn't going to hike up 1 1/2 mile in the sweltering heat in the desert to see the delicate arch... I thought about it and then got my sanity back. I was able to see the arch from a distance, however.

Unfortunately, most of the arches required hiking in for a distance to see them... and quite frankly, I didn't see the point. But someday, if it is cooler, and I am in Utah, in the desolate place of Moab, and I see the point, I will go see the arches because looking at something other than the terrain I am used to or the mountains we just saw is beautiful in its own way. The colors on the stones were very interesting. And there was some green in the desert which really interested me.

We were going to see Canyonlands but because Tim's arm began to look worse despite the antibiotics he was on, we chose to drive to our next location so he could check back in to the ER for another assessment. We drove to Colorado and was quite fascinated to see that Western Colorado had many of the same deserty, colorful cliffs AND green fertile valleys. We checked into our condo that we are staying at in Glenwood Springs. Our condo is part of a ski resort that is very quiet right now. It is also 10 miles in the middle of no where but very nice and beautiful here. We then spent 5 hours in the ER. This doctor thinks that he has a MRSA infection. We've already weighed the options of going home early, and perhaps even driving home. But Tim was able to get 2 IV antibiotics and came home with 2 more (double strength) to take orally. He will see the doctor again tommorrow night if needed. He assures me that we don't have to cut our trip short. The hospital was much more pleasant and professional than we experienced yesterday. We did enjoy the park this morning so our day was not all bad. Here is one more picture of what we saw.