July - Happy Birthday Month

31 July: Great hiking weather. 6.5 miles on the Turkey Hill Trail and Catamount Trail; now we need a lot of sorbet. Thanks to Donna P. For sending the news item from the hometown news column of events from 25 years past.

The 25 years ago column of the Northwood Anchor published the above item.

30 July: Pagosa Springs CO: the birthday continues ...

Wolf Creek Pass: The temperature is cooler and rain clouds appeared while hiking the Continental Divide Trail for an hour.

29 July: Pagosa Springs until Wednesday with tired legs. Ron's work on Vol. 7 continues with WordPerfect Files being transformed into Word documents to include footnotes, now making good progress through the baptisms. Cynthia is elated with her research on Linda's family dating back to Merry Olde England and Ireland; and finally the FTDNA Lea research was sent to a geneticist for analysis. It is raining with blue skies above; Ron ran down stairs to watch the bike, but it has already dried. Racing in for a cup of water, he emerged to more rain. Life is sure Fun. We had a light dinner at Riff Raff before a two hour hike On Coyote Hill. Photos below we failed to post from Saturday night in Santa Fe - brilliant colors including a rainbow:

28 July: Pagosa Springs, CO. Our legs are tired, but we walked in 80 plus degrees to an awesome breakfast. Not deterred by the heat, we hiked on to City Market to mail letters and buy food for a hiker with a sign asking for money to purchase food. He was gone by the time we returned. Cynthia is enjoying the food. The heats's too hot, so we worked on DNA and SCS projects until the temperature cooled down for a two hour hike. Deer and a gorgeous sunset.

27 July: We had a delightful morning discussing happiness worthy of a book: "How Two Opposites Can Be So Happy." Many years ago we started a book titled, "The Sensual, Sexual Relationship." Maybe next century we will finish it. Breakfast at 2Chicks and a Hippie Bakery/Restaurant was delicious. Our hike accidentally turned into 7 miles round trip. Our legs are tired. A glance in the mirror told Ron he is very dark despite sunblock.

26 July: Departing for Pagosa Springs, CO, we were packed by 11:00 AM with a box to be shipped to Texas; Ron was misdirected to the post office which was 1/4 mile from the hotel, causing him to drive halfway to Santa Fe before turning around. Box in the mail - bike packed - when someone needed to eat lunch before departure, but we were en route by half past noon thirty. The views were remarkable, especially around Ghost Ranch. The dark thunderheads above appeared ominous at times; three times showers fell briefly, but we arrived at our hotel dry. A favorite restaurant in now Sushi; we don't do Asian. Dinner at Boss Hogg's was fine. The salad bar is good but most entrees are not part of our eating regimen. Nina phoned for a lengthy chat. We located a map of hiking trails for tomorrow and responded to some e-mails. Granddaughter Zoe has the lead role in the musical, "Legally Blonde" at a summer theatre in Houston. (Hi Lupe! It is fun thinking of you reading our news.)

25 July: Hiking at the ski basin: meeting John and Linda at 7:45 AM, Ohmygoodness, that is very early. Ron and John hiked the Windsor Trail while Cynthia and Linda hiked the (far less strenuous) service road. We had lunch atVinaigrette and encountered rain on the way home. Ron returned to Santa Fe to play GO with Stewart who brazenly beat Ron both games.

24 July: Hiking Aspen Vista; a hiker fatality drew ambulances and the fire department, all happening about thirty minutes before we arrived. We had brunch with Janie at Harry's Roadhouse. Something or someone pounded on our exterior wall last night about 11:30 PM. Weird.

23 July: Hiking Aspen Vista with John and Linda

22 July: Lunch at Vinaigrette with Clare and Michael G.; dinner with John and Linda at Geronimo.

21 July: Our friend Marjorie M. sent this photo from Latin America, but I missed seeing the sign/name on top of the building immediately. Linda B. made delicious chicken curry for lunch; we enjoyed a delightful afternoon with Lupe and Bob B. After buying mango sorbet we enjoyed a terrific dinner with Mark V. And two of his neighbors. Here is a Link to the Huffington Post article about Cynthia's son, Paul:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/08/26/artist-interview-_n_8033056.html

20 July: Ron won the points for the first "I love you" of the day by e-mail. Cynthia returns to Santa Fe at one PM. Goody. The shuttle brought Cynthia to join Ron and Janie at Roadside Harry's for lunch where Ron enjoyed three sorbets. Later, Janie gave Ron a terrific haircut even if he didn't need one at all. We drove to Mark's to show off the new bike and got invited to dinner tomorrow night. Albertson's had the protein drinks we like along with more sorbet. Ron is working on Volume 7 of the Gloria Dei Record Project tonight.

19 July: Cynthia has a flight to Denver to visit grandson Brett, returning Wednesday; Ron is spending the day with Tony and June. Cell Phone service at Buffalo Thunder is deplorable. Ron finished the Walraven family group sheets and e-mailed them to John.

18 July: Finally, we have stronger Wi-FI, albeit not speedy, allowing Ron to work on SCS projects and Cynthia on DNA. At one PM the computers were closed while the Smooch family rode to Santa Fe for lunch at Vinaigrette's with Nina and Janie; we talked the afternoon away while tiny apricots fell on our heads from the tree overhead, followed by raindrops. The latter was a call to boogie back to Buffalo Thunder with a quick stop at Chevron for fuel and then Trader Vic's for Mango Sorbet. The Homewood Suites has a happy hour daily from 5-7 with soup and salads. The sorbet is ALL gone.

17 July: Ron and Cynthia at Pecos National Monument with Stuart and Judy remembering their wedding twenty five years ago when Ron was a happy guest.

16 July: Happy Birthday Party at Radish and Rye (formerly Ristra's) with Santa Fe friends: Linda, Jim M., Mike and Maria, Mark V and Veta, Charlie B., Judy and Stuart K., Beautiful Nina, Janie E., Michael and Clare.

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15 July: Baptism of 7 year old Pueblo Indian boy Moses at the Lama Foundation. The ecumenical baptism was a spiritual blessing. So was holding a precious papoose.

14 July: Taos, New Mexico - the Lama Foundation at Sunset

13 July: Pagosa Springs, CO: arrival tonight after a stop to see friends (Maria and Mike) who are vacationing in South Fork, CO. After checking in to our lodging, we dined at our favorite restaurant, the Alley House, before soaking in the hot mineral springs.

12 July: Gunnison, CO from Durango through Silverton, Ouray and Ridgway, Montrose (lunch at the Stone House), the Black Canyon. The new bike handles like a dream.

11 July: Durango, CO after riding north from Ouray to Ridgeway, Telluride, Rico, Dolores, Mancos (for lunch) we returned for an overnight in Durango. Cynthia forgot to wear the GoPro. The views were awesome.

10 July: Ouray, CO at the China Clipper B&B. After a hearty breakfast we commenced hiking the Perimeter Trail on the north side of Ouray to the Ice Park which is not as steep and exposed as the south side.

Ice Park Canyon Photo and view from the ridge:

 

9July: The General Palmer Hotel in Durango was very nice, although they could not prepare our diet restriction food. Instead, we enjoyed egg white veggie omelets at Jean Pierre's Cafe before mailing a package to friends. On our ride to Ouray, CO we rejoiced in the views of magnificent San Juan mountains. Our Ouray B&B also has trouble with our dietary restrictions, but Pam, the hostess and cook tomorrow will prepare egg whites. With afocus on vegan, gluten and organic, the cooks miss the problem of fat and sugar. Our walk downtown was great fun meeting some ladies from Iowa and Texas. Dinner at the Bon Ton was mighty delicious. We walked for a bit and had porch time. Ron made a number of phone calls to invite Santa Fe friends to Cynthia's birthday party. Happy birthday to Granddaughter Rachel (pictured below with her dad).

8 July: Leaving the Blue Lake Ranch B&B for Durango to take the train to Silverton with a return to Durango late day. Because of prior bookings, we had moved from the Piñon cabin (pictured July 3) to the Cottage in the Woods (pictured below). Good-byes said to Jackie, a blessing! The roundtrip train ride was spectacular even though we took the train three years ago. Lots of Texans on board. The 18 year old brakeman was a delight. Tim, the car concierge was quite a joy, too. Lunch at the Grand Hotel in Silverton was a disappointment because the waiter couldn't get the order right in three tries. Dinner tonight was at Jean-Pierre's Cafe Chic where we will have breakfast tomorrow in order to buy some fresh fat free bread.

7 July: Southern Ute Tribal Park tour: Rick, our guide, made it a moving spiritual experience. The ladder in photo one was one of five ladders we used to climb down to explore five cave dwellings. Cynthia climbed four but not the 38' tall ladder. After traveling on gravel, dirt and plain unpaved roads we are thankful to return alive.

6July: Mesa Verde: Knife Edge Trail - 2 miles of awesome views along the trail that once was the road/entrance into Mesa Verde. Colorful wild flowers were dancing in the mountain breezes. Kennebec Restaurant is doing a terrific job of feeding us dinner.

5 July: Mesa Verde: Weatherill Mesa Step House Trail - five miles, not including the mileage to view archaeological Pueblo and cave dwellings. Cynthia will post photos when the wi-FI is working.

 

4 July: Happy Fourth of July: Feel FREE to be thankful!

3 July: Blue Lake Ranch B&B: A late check out in Durango, breakfast with piano entertainment at Jean Pierre's Cafe Chic, and a walk about historic Durango, a ride to Hesperus for lodging at one of our favorite places to stay, dinner at Kennebec's where we were startled by a $93.00 bill... (A mistake) followed by more walking and sitting amidst hummingbirds, a hummingbird moth and gazillions of flowers. Now it is time for sleep. Good night.

2 July: Thanks to the French restaurant "Jean Pierre Cafe Chic" for creating marvelous egg white vegetable omelets without oil. We are sitting in the vintage Palmer House Hotel waiting for the rain to cease after watching the Durango to Silverton train depart without us; with rain forecast we opted to postpone the choo choo ride. The rain ceased and we hiked up to Lewis College meeting three young deer feasting on rain drenched leaves. The Red Snapper lunch at the organic Cyprus Cafe was yummy. Cynthia's highly nutritious carrot cake was a culinary delight.

1 July: Durango, CO, after dinner at Cypres Cafe, sorbet from City Market sounded like a great idea - so did an I love you card for Cynthia. After viewing many interesting and nice cards, voila! The the perfect card, "Someone like you happens once in a lifetime. I'm so glad you happened in mine." Cynthia was very surprised and a very happy girlie.

This morning's Monument Valley jeep tour was amazing; so, too was the fascinating story of Harry and Mike Gouldings who were responsible for all of the western movies filmed there. Cynthia posted photos from the tour; notice the last photo of the sky as we rode to Durango. By the time we reached Cortez we were in warm rain gear when the rain came.

 

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