50 Is the New 20 and Notes 🎶 Along the Way

Unzipping the tent and seeing this will be hard to top. I could do this short hike every year and not get tired of it. Throwback to Oct. 2021

RIP Phil. I was lucky to be able to catch a few Phil shows and feel those bombs he’d drop.

I lost access to the site and in all honesty, I (We) have been too busy anyways to update but glad I somehow had the site renewed. We’ve had Thanksgivings, Christmas’s, Lily’s wedding, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Birthdays, Anniversaries, family and friend visits, National Parks, and many more events and memories to reminisce. The problem is the recall is quite the challenge, uh oh!

So these are a few I could find relatively easy. Easy is more my style these days.

I’ve always believed my first LSU game was one of the games where scenes were filmed for the movie Everybody’s All-American in 1987. I may have made that up, but I am going to stick with that story, because well, it is very cool if true and how would I get that in my head if it wasn’t true? Don’t answer that…

One on one time doesn’t come often in our family, not as adults or with a kiddo. So when Ward put down a LSU game for his birthday, it didn’t take much for me to go overboard and all in. From missing a Friday of school, to stretching out in style on the plane, eating well, connecting with family, and a complete Tiger Stadium experience that included a beat down of Auburn, I’d day the wish came true.

A 13th birthday is a big one, and let’s just say Ward and I were in very different places on our 13th birthday or year for that matter. If you know you know hahaha. I am so grateful we are having a much different start to the teenage years.

We had a super tight connection in Houston, got some exercise running from one terminal to the next, not the last on, but close enough. We got to Baton Rouge and brother John’s house around 2pm. Not ready to sit for the day, Ward and I went ahead and took on campus like a champs. We were proactive in getting a glimpse of Mike the tiger since on gamedays, he often isn’t out. It was the right call as we got up close to him without the crowds, shopped at the giftshop, and hit up The Chimes for a pregame on Friday, even before the old people crowd eat, another good call. This was about celebrating and we sure did! A perfect weekend, really it was. People, weather, food, LSU, time with one another. I think the whole family will ask for LSU games next year 🙂

It takes a while to get settled at this stage of life, especially after this kind of move. 18 months later, not short on adventures, but the way it falls sometimes, we finally made it RMNP. Slightly over an hour to the gate outside Estes Park, CO., a few weeks ago I picked a random Sunday to look at the timed entry options. There are two different Timed Entry passes, one excludes the Bear Lake corridor, which seems to be the most popular, so limiting vehicles, people, and wear on the environment is why I assume they have that set up. If you don’t see availability for that area of the park, they also have a Hike Shuttle that departs throughout the day, leaving from the Estes Park Visitors Center. That is what we chose and only cost $2 if I remember correctly.

A great way to spend the day after work on the road for what seems like every night the past few weeks. It was just Elizabeth and I and we took advantage of the day, the weather, and the beauty. # 6 National Park since the move. Rocky Mountain National Park. Hiker Shuttle. Bear Lake Corridor. Dream Lake. Emerald Lake. Wildlife.

Perfect way to describe what happens when your Louisiana crew visits. For both of us. 4 full days of hitting the road, seeing a lot of what fueled the desire to hit the road and jump into our next crazy adventure. There are so many things to see and feel, having just 4 days is only a taste. Impressed with the get up and go itinerary they put together. Our crew had some normal “Real Life” things to take care of so we can continue living someone’s vacation but that’s part of it and still had a ton of time together. Work in Pueblo, Colorado for two days while Elizabeth worked with our never-ending schedule of back-to-school nights, travel soccer, football, school rides, and keeping the household running smoothly. After it was all said and done, Mark, Debbie, and Timothy were able to hike in Garden of the Gods, take a train up to Pikes Peak, visit Breckenridge for a nice day trip with great weather, a nice little hike around the Flatiron Mountains in Boulder, CO., get some grub in Golden, and certainly the encore of climbing the steps at Red Rocks Ampitheater for an always spectacular live show, especially since it was My Morning Jacket. Everyone should not only see a show there, but MMJ anywhere is worth the price of admission, and some. A few of the many pictures that captured some good times. Having family visit really ups the energy and positive vibrations for us. Can’t wait for the next trip, either a ski trip or a real Summer Mountain vacation.

Hey you guys!!!!!!! A few days busy at work, important customer visits in Bend and Portland, allowed us to celebrate our 21st anniversary along the Oregon Coast. It was the perfect getaway to spend time with each other and tackle the geography, one we both have never visited. Goonies never say die, and we can report they are still alive in Astoria, OR. where the Goonies house and opening jail scene were filmed. How could I pass on the chance to do the Truffle Shuffle? I couldn’t. There may or may not be video proof somewhere. We stayed a few nights in Cannon Beach, OR. overlooking the famous Haystack Rock and also where the opening 4×4 Jeep scene makes it way on the beach and last but not least, the Fratelli’s hideout. I loved that movie growing up, still do, so it was fun to see those sights.

First time to visit Oregon and I can say it was a success. Bend is perfect. Perfect scene, perfect downtown, perfect activities, a place I could easily convince myself to live in. I wouldn’t be alone; it seems a lot of others have the same idea. The Deschutes River runs right through the town, and it was busy with great trails to walk and awesome spot to float for locals and visitors. The Coast was so different than what we were used to seeing (The Gulf) and the little sleepy town of Cannon Beach was right up our alley. Here are a few pictures. As always, they don’t really do it justice and didn’t get to capture everything.

As you can see, there were some pretty awesome views. One by one, checking them off. Hard to believe this was really only two days with work taking up the majority of it but it important to always save time for yourself. I have a feeling we will be back with the rest of the family with us. Till next time!

Artist Point – Grand Canyon of Yellowstone South Rim

Pictures just don’t do it justice.

It’s obvious we are taking advantage of being closer to some of the best National Parks out there. Very fortunate and as the saying goes, “Get it while you can.” We made the most of what little time we had and can easily see how an entire week exploring the parks and area would be better. We crammed Yellowstone in, in about 2 days really. Luckily, I am a master of time management that the family just doesn’t see the value in quite yet, ha ha. Planning each stop is fun and it usually works out better that way.

We arrived in Jackson, WY just in time for an afternoon swim at the hotel and dinner at a local restaurant. After sixteen months living in Colorado, I have realized how good the food scene is in the South. I always knew that, just didn’t realize how big the gap was between the other regions, but I digress. Wyoming is interesting to me and out of the 4 or so times I’ve driven the state, this was the only time I didn’t cheat death from some type of weather event. It feels so open, vast, and wild. Quickly, I added expensive to that list. Jackson aint cheap!

While trying to double dip one day, the Grand Teton’s did not disappoint. We did very little there, but it was grand. Took the boat shuttle across Jenny Lake to save time, and who doesn’t like a boat ride. Nice little hike to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point was all we needed. It was the perfect way to begin our outdoor adventure.

On to Yellowstone National Park for Round 2 of our first day. Knowing time was going to be getting away from us, our plan was Old Faithful/Upper Geyser Basin and Midway Geyser Basin/Grand Prismatic. Over half the worlds geyser activity is in Yellowstone so everywhere you turn, you see geysers, pools, steam, and other out of this world scenery. Rule number 1 is stay on the walkways. I will say, this park can be really dangerous if you fail to follow that number one rule, but the kids did great. Read a little of Death in Yellowstone and you’ll see why. We finished the day driving to dinner at Lake Yellowstone Dining Hall before driving to Canyon Lodge to unpack and get some much needed sleep.

Day Two brought on some outdoor adventure and for Ward, Lila, and Quinn, their first whitewater experience. We drove up to Gardiner, MT. passing by Mammoth Hot Springs, a very scenic drive as you can imagine the whole park is. After high fives and a great first experience for them provided by Jerry (Of course) our guide, we piled back in arguing about a lunch spot before driving to Lamar Valley on the hunt to see the wildlife in their natural habitat. What a sight it is to see Bison, Mule Deer, Elk, Bald Eagles, Coyotes, Osprey and more. I didn’t get the Grizzly or Moose but more than enough other species to keep me and everyone happy. (We got a Moose in Colorado)

So many more pictures of the valley and hundreds and hundreds of Bison I don’t have the time to go through. It is safe to say, we are BEAT.

Time to make our way back to Jackson to shave 2 hours off our drive back to Colorado. On our way out, we did the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and West Thumb. Without time to do some of the hikes, the outlooks, short walks, and views were a perfect way to wrap it up. The kids are ready for another hotel swim and I am ready to crank the AC down and get to sleep. These pictures or words don’t do it justice. It is hard to wrap my brain around the science of this geothermal land that doesn’t make sense to me. The earth is literally boiling and smoking with some crazy cool colorful pools. Do we have 50,000 more years until another super volcano eruption?

Beach please, a few camps, a few shows, a lot of work in between. When not racking up the miles in the sky, we play hard. After getting back from the beach, it was turning around and getting the boys to the gates of Rocky Mountain National Park at Camp Cheley for four weeks. We thought it would seem like an eternity, but it went by super fast, picking them up in a few days and we really missed them. Special experience for sure. Lila to soccer camp at CU in Boulder. I can remember how much fun it was staying in the dorms when I was around her age. Good camp, a few teammates joined her and all seemed to have a blast. Anna’s turn, or requirement/punishment, whatever you want to call it. I’ll call it an opportunity. Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right. I am hoping that’s how it went down for Anna 🙂 Warmer weather brings on the tunes. Red Rocks comes to life and we experienced the Boulder Theater for the first time for Melvin Seals and JGB, something you just have to see if you can make it. Folsom Field brought Dead and Co. and there was nothing slow about it. Exceeding expectations since I’ve felt the solo spinoffs were better in recent years. Here are some pictures and treat yourself to the Melvin show, it’s on archive.org and search for JGB Live at Boulder Theatre on 2023-06-30

Annual beach trip to Florida. Fun times, great food, perfect water, family is everything!

1000 miles, 6 crammed in, what could go wrong. Nothing yet 🤞. It’s not a bad drive, just pretty boring, especially when there isn’t any of the normal disagreements that both piss me off and amuse me at the same time. With a Thule car topper, it makes for a great threat of where one might have to ride if they don’t cool it.