The Next Experiment

I went to Lowe's this evening to buy some gray PVC pipe. Home Depot, which is almost next door, didn't have gray. White or black, but not gray. And why gray, you may ask? Because the instructions said so. And supposedly, because it bends better when heated. Yes, heated. Not boiled. Not melted. And certainly not ignited! Just heated.

And what is The Next Experiment? Ah, that is the rub. As those of you who know me may remember, I hate cold. I hate drinking cold drinks. I hate showering in cold water. I hate being cold. And most of all, I hate sitting on a cold toilet seat. So how in the world did I get talked into going on a snow camp out by a bunch of Boy Scouts? I don't know.

I suspect that it must have had something to do with the challenge of a new experiment to take my numb (with cold) mind off of the fact that I am going to have to sleep, eat and play in the cold for about 24 hours. We are going to make snow caves to sleep in, also. That, too, will be fun after the numbness leaves my hands from digging in the snow.

So, I quickly went to the internet and let Google find me everything about snow shoes. Too much information. So I let Google find everything about making snow shoes. Better. After reading one blog about how they had made the cool looking shoes (shoe?) above I wanted to know how. I sent off an email. But I am just not the type of person who can sit and wait for a response. This time I let Google find me Snow Shoes DIY. That lead me to a page that appears to be produced by the same guys (Redwood Scouter) who did the previous page about making these things.

He says that you have to heat and bend this PVC (gray PCV, to be exact) and then drill it and string it. I wonder if one strings it too tight if you could make music while you walk? Perhaps another experiment in the making. Hmmmm...

I have a torch. I bought some PVC. Not just any PVC. Not white or black PVC. I bought GRAY PVC! That's my story and I'm sticking to it. And I will let you all know how this saga plays out. Just the cold facts.

As Tears Go By

My Cannon G3 PowerShot bit the dust Monday. I have had this camera since about 2002, have taken it everywhere from sailing the Pacific to Canada to Mexico to Catalina Island to the Caribbean and from D.C. and New York to many points between there and Phoenix. It has been my rather large, clunky friend for these past seven or eight years now and I am missing it all ready.

The passing was quick and painless - at least for my friend. One minute it was working fine and the next, ZAP! and it was all over. And a rather loud ZAP it was, too. Sort of a pop with great intensity.

It all happened when I was plugging it into my computer to download the pictures off the memory card. When the cord touched the camera it was lights out for my buddy. I had warned him about giving me static. But his life was coming to a close. The third set of batteries was already in use. One lens had been dropped and the crystal lens chipped. And, compared to his more youthful rivals, he was beginning to show his age.

So now, when I think of my newly-passed friend, I'll be thinking of the Stones song, As Tears Go By, as I sit and watch as tears go by...

New Hair for my Bride

Gaye has been wanting to do something with her hair for awhile now. She tried pulling her bangs to the side but that wasn't working, at least not fast enough. She was looking a lot like a teenager as she continually swept her hair to the side of her face, so maybe it was giving her that youthful look she was searching for.

I guess not. She tried colors. It gets a little bit redder each time. She may look like an old-time police car with the "cherry" on top if she isn't careful. I had to ask if she had cataracts just to be sure that she wasn't seeing it a lot less red than it was. She doesn't take to teasing about that sort of stuff as well as guys do, you know.

So she went to see Nikki to get it cut again and they finally agreed on this one. I think that it looks good. I would call it a "fun" style with out too much work except that she still spends a fair amount of time in the mornings getting the doo to do what it does.

I think that I'll get mine done next. That one all the guys my age seem to be wearing looks better and better. You know the one that I mean - the one with the hole in the middle. And when I start the moustache again, I'll just tell her that I'm just trying out another "men's doo". I'll let you know if that works.

Investing in Relationships

I was reading a financial blog, Get Rich Slowly, which was guest hosted by Tyler Tervooren from Frugally Green where he suggested that as we apply the principles that make us wealthy, it is important to give back to others. Not only will it make us happier in our own lives but "it is lonely at the top. Why not take some friends with you?"

He went on to mention how none of us has gotten to where we are today without a lot of help from others - even those who are very self-reliant. There comes a time when we should start giving back to others things that will help them on their way through life. There is nothing that we can take with us when we leave this life but we can choose what we leave behind, the most important of them being our legacy. What have I done to leave a legacy behind today? I can serve others around me. I can do something each day to make someone else happier.

Learning to give back is kind of like learning to make the bed every morning. Giving to others is made up of small habits which, after a time, become a part of us that makes us happy rather than just being something we do. The only question required when making a decision of how to give back is whether this course of action will provide value to someone else. And amazingly enough, this works for every part of life. It works in business. It works in finance. It works in relationships. If you want to make your business grow, serve your clients with everything that you've got. If you want to be more successful in your job, do the things that will make your boss successful. If you want to be loved more, love others more. It is not money that sustains us but our relationships. The best way to get ahead in life, in every area of life, is to constantly provide value to others - as Christ said, to be come the master you must be the servant of all.

Give much and much will be returned to you. You know the old saying, "What goes around, comes around." The thought is that if you do bad things, bad things will eventually come back to get you. But it is not just bad things that come back to "get you". Good things have a way of coming back to you as well. The more that you pass on good, the more that good will come back to you in many ways.

Will some people take advantage of you with such an attitude? Yes. I still remember being approached by a young man who told me that he had an interview for a job scheduled but needed a place where he could shower and clean up. I gave him $20, thinking that if that was all he needed to get a job it was worth the twenty bucks. Then a few weeks later I saw him again, giving the same line to another person and realized that it was a scam. At first I was angry that he had taken advantage of me. But then I realized that he may have gotten $20 from me but I was not having to live that kind of life. I was much happier. And I have also come to realize that the happiness that I receive from giving does not have to be tied to how someone uses my gift. I still feel sad for these people and the path that they have chosen in life but I am still happier giving, even when the approach is not totally honest. I have still tried to help.

Also, like investing your dollars, diversify your giving. Give something to all within your sphere of influence. I tend to have my favorite places to donate some dollars or time. I need to branch out, to work at a soup kitchen, donate to a homeless shelter, help to build a humanitarian home, and many other things that I have not tried yet. Some acts of kindness will pay better dividends than others but as you begin giving, it always seems to come back to you in many ways that you may not have expected.

Remember that your giving doesn't always have to be money. We also have time, skills and social resources that we can share with others along our path through life. Take time to watch a friend's child so that they can have some alone time, help to build or repair something for someone, give a listening ear to someone who is struggling, or visit someone in the hospital - maybe someone you don't even know.


As I was reading the above blog, it reminded me of my nephew, Jase Tinsley. He passed away on his 19th birthday in 2004. He was a young man who was old beyond his years in building a great legacy and giving to others of his time and abilities. He would often take time to visit his grand parents. He would talk, listen and do small chores for them. He fixed things, reached things they could not and got up to places that only young people seem to be able to get to in order to trim, clean and retrieve. He was always pleasant and helpful.

He enjoyed a good time as much as anyone. There was the time when he, with two of my boys, found a can of gold spray paint and it wasn't long before we had three little "Oscars" running naked and gold-colored around the backyard. But he did not even make a peep when a rough brush and granular Tide were used to scrub the paint from his tender skin.

I remember him also as a cub scout. For a time he was the only boy in the Webelos den I was working with. He and I both had fun doing the science activities and trying to swing a bucket of water over our heads with the goal of not getting wet. I guess it didn't quite work the first time. Fortunately, boys dry fast.

And there were the Cub Scout "Pig Parties" where a rain gutter would be placed on the back patio and filled with ice cream and the boys favorite toppings added along with whipped cream and a cherry. And then they would all dig in - without spoons. Jase's face was covered with ice cream, whipped cream and some sort of topping, but two big round eyes and a big grin were still shining through all of that messy stuff dripping off of his chin.

What a pleasure it is to have known Jase and to remember him with fondness on this day of Thanksgiving.

Yesterday a Miracle Occurred

Yesterday a miracle occurred. We have lived in our home for about 12 years now. In that 12 years we have not been able to park a car in the garage most of the time. We have had our "stuff" in there and we have had "stuff" from different kids temporarily stored there.

About a year ago we were able to consolidate this "stuff" down to one side of the garage when our youngest child got married and we convinced her to start carting her "stuff" to her new home. At that point we were able to shoehorn our medium-sized sedan into one side of the garage. That seemed sufficient until I realized that my plan for building a model railroad set was never going to be realized without either abandoning the idea of parking a car in the garage or disposing of, and re-packaging, the "stuff" that was consuming so much of our garage space.

Yesterday I got this wild hair that I could complete the task of clearing the garage in about an hour. But since some of the stuff was my wife's and some of the stuff was my daughter's, and the wife wanted to be involved in the disposal of the daughter's stuff, I asked for her help.

As some of you who have worked "in committee" realize, nothing done by a committee gets done fast. You need to discuss this and do "a study" about that. Make assignments. Bring refreshments. Decorate. And on, and on, and on. But I was brave and asked her to help anyway.

The miracle occurred because we actually got through it all, loaded two trash and recycle barrels and donated stuff to Good Will in only about 3 hours. I hung one of Shelley's old balls from The ceiling for my new parking marker. (Shelley chewed all of the tennis balls up years ago). We put Quentin's "stuff" in the cabinets, which we could now open because there was no "stuff" blocking the doors. I arranged some of the "stuff" of mine from the front of the garage to the other side to make more room for bumper space. It will have to be relocated again to clear the intended Train Table spot, but that is OK.

Now the wife and I have to stop and admire the emptiness of the garage each time we come and go. It is a lot like having a king sized bed all to yourself. You can park left, or you can park right. You can park in the middle or all whopper-jawed. Now that is what I call freedom! If it lasts until the 4th of July we will really have something to celebrate this year.

The Blue Man

I am not one to dress up much for Halloween but for some reason, when I heard that we needed to come in costume to the party, even though I was working in the spook alley, I decided to go as one of the Blue Men from the Blue Man Group. I really didn't know much about them except that they were blue and they did shows. I had seen them a couple of years ago on those Intel TV commercials and they had intrigued me.

So, I went to the costume shop and they had everything I needed for feeling a little blue. Just $35 later (now I am really feeling blue) I was on my way out the door. Gaye did all of the hard work to make this happen, since she knew a lot more about make up than I did, and since she has a colleague at work who has done a lot of acting.

First came the cap. You glue the thing on! I guess that is why they send you home with the glue remover as well. Then there is the powder. No idea what that is for but they said I needed it. Then we started getting blue. It took about an hour to get me ready to walk out the door. But it was a great success. Lots of comments. Most of them were positive.

If I do this one again, though, I need to do some better prep. I went out to YouTube and watched a couple of clips from their concerts. They were really entertaining, like the DrumBone concert, or the I Feel Love concert. First thing is, they don't talk. The second thing is they drum on things like PVC pipes. And then, according to The Complex Tour there are standard rock concert movements that I need to be up on, such as Head Bobbing, the Fist Pump and Up Down Jumping Motion.

Now I have a plan. Shop for drumsticks (not the chicken kind). Shop for big pipes that will slide inside of each other. Practice drumming on everything until Gaye threatens me (and then just a few more to be sure she means it).

See you next Halloween!

Your Credit Score and How it Works

The October 2009 Reader's Digest had a good article about that number called your FICO Score which affects how low of an interest rate you get when buying a home or car and even whether you get a loan or not.

What is edit Score?
I'm glad you asked. Your Credit Score is a number which indicates in one simple 3-digit statement how reliably you will repay any loans extended to you on time. It is a calculation based on a formula owned by the Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) and they charge credit bureaus a royalty for each use of that calculated number. The number ranges from 300 to 850. The higher the score is, the more likely it is that you will be given the loan and the better interest rate that will be offered. Each of the credit reporting bureaus pulls their information for a slightly different group of lenders and so they will each have a slightly different score, sometimes as divergent as 50 points.

The Reader's Digest chart displays the scoring as something like this:

• SCORE RATE
• 760+ 4.981%
• 700-759 5.203%
• 680-699 5.380%
• 660-679 5.594%
• 640-659 6.024%
• 620-639 6.570%
• Below 620 It will be tough to get a loan at all.

So, if you are buying a home where you will borrowing $166,850 (after your down payment and including any additional costs), the difference between having a top score, where your monthly payment would be $893.75 for a total cost of $326,900 and the low score (620) where your monthly payment would be $1,062.30 for a total cost of $387,578 is a difference of $168.55 every month for the next 30 years, or more than $60,000 dollars.

You are entitled to one free credit report each year. You can get your scores, based on your TransUnion and Equifax credit reports through myfico.com for $15.95 each. The third agency, Experian, no longer sells its FICO scores to non-businesses.

How is Your FICO Score Calculated?

The score is designed to show how well you've managed your debt. Bad choices such as late payments stay on your record for seven years, some types of bankruptcy stay for 10 years.

Some credit-type factors don't affect your score such as employment status, income, debit card habits, savings, bounced checks, overdraft fees, utility bills and late rent . . . if they have not gone to court.

35%: Payment History
The bureaus use when you last paid an account late, how often you pay late and by how many days. To make this work for you set up automatic payments to guarantee that you are never late. One skipped or late credit card payment could drop your score 100 points which could cost you big time on the percentages above. To improve your score pay your bills on time, every time and you will improve your score within months.

30%: Total Debt
Higher debt loads work generally against the consumer (you). To make this work for you watch your "usage ratio" - the percentage of credit that you have used up on your cards. To keep this percentage low, don't max out your cards and don't cancel credit cards.

As an example, you have five cards with a total credit limit of $5000. Spread across these five cards, you owe $500. Your usage ratio or percentage is 10% (500/5000). Now, suppose that you consolidated all $500 onto one card and canceled the other four. This card has a limit of $1000. Your usage ratio is now 50% (500/1000), and that is enough to lower your FICO score.

To improve your score, according to the article, the people with the best scores tend to use no more than 9% of their available credit limit. They also never go above 50% of available credit because that affects the score in a big way.

15%: Duration
The longer that you have had an account, the better. A hit on a newer account will hurt your score more than the same late payment would on an older account. To make this work for you avoid opening new accounts that are not needed. Keep your oldest accounts active so that they don't get closed by the lender. To improve your score and keep the account open, set up an automatic payment each month from your oldest accounts and pay them in full every month.

10%: New Credit
Multiple credit requests imply that you are a greater credit risk. The FICO formula takes into account the number of new accounts opened and the number of requests/inquiries for your credit score or report. To make this work for you to squeeze your applications for loans (mortgage, car, school, etc.) into the same 45-day period so that FICO will consider them one request. Banks and insurance companies routinely check credit reports on their clients. if your credit score has dropped they may possibly raise your interest rate, lower your credit limit (or both) or cancel your card. Beginning 2/22/2010, companies will no longer be able to raise your rates on old balances if you have a fixed rate card.

Some requests do not count agains your credit score. These include making a request for your own credit report, and those "preapproved credit" offers.

To improve your score don't apply for new credit if not needed since the inquiry will hit your score. If you do need to apply for credit, do all of the requests within 45 days so that they are viewed as a single request.

10%: Types of Credit
The FICO formula looks at the number of each type of account as well as the "quality" of each type of account. For example, a major banking card carries more weight than a department store card. To make this work for you realize that revolving accounts (credit cards) carry more weight than installment loans (mortgage, car, student loans) because they tend to better predict debt management abilities and control. If your "mix" of debt seems off balance to the FICO formula it can cost you points on your score. You can have too many cards (4 or 5 is probably okay) and not enough other types of loans. Again, how long the accounts have been open plays a role here as well. To improve your score be aware of the types and numbers of accounts that you have open with thoughtfulness regarding what types of credit that you need to stay balanced.

Can You Improve Your Score?
If you've made mistakes, get back on track quickly. The faster you clean up your situation, the sooner your score begins to improve. In today's tightened credit economy, you will need better scores to get the credit benefits that you used to get more easily.

Don't get fooled by the "free" reports that aren't
Check all three of your credit reports annually. Do not check them all at once. Check one every four months so that you can see trends happening to your credit more readily.

Check your reports for free at annualcreditreport.com. Don't fall for those commercials and ads for other free sites. You get three for free (one from each reporting bureau) every year without charge.

Check your reports for errors
Check for accounts that you don't recognize that do not belong to you.
Check for addresses where you have never lived.
Check birth date and SSN.
Check inaccurate reporting of delinquencies.
Watch for stolen identities or cross reporting with someone of a similar name.

Report any errors found
One study found, according to Reader's Digest, that 79% of all credit reports had mistakes. One in four had mistakes that could cause a lower score to be calculated. Report errors to the appropriate credit bureau. It has 30 days to investigate and respond.

Don't get flipped
Sometimes figures get flipped in error such as reporting that you owe what your limit is and that your limit is what you owe, which would impact the credit score dramatically. If this happens, write to the credit reporting company and to the creditor that provided the information providing the details of the inaccuracies.

Time your report requests
Since you don't really have a permanent report, but rather a report which continues to change as lenders report information, if a business asks for your report the day before you have paid all of your bills, it will be different a few days later. You acn request a "rapid rescore" but it will cost you $30-$90 per reporting agency.

DIY
You don't need to hire (and pay) experts to fix your credit score. You don't need credit monitoring services. You don't need dispute mills to argue every black mark on your report.

Some items will disappear (for awhile) because a lender did not respond to a letter within 30 days. But if it really belongs on your report it will reappear on your report in a month when the lender again reports your status. The best strategy to get your score up: Change your financial habits sot hat your score will go up and stay up.

The Wealthy Family

I believe that I will begin a new line of thinking, or perhaps just a different twist on the financial line I have talked about previously. I have, up to this point thought along the lines of how someone like my self or my children might become wealthy as an individual or as a couple. But while I was employed by IBM a number of years ago, one of my co-workers, William Oyang, wanted to purchase a house. He spoke with his father and "the family" loaned him the money to make the purchase. He would then pay back into the family, still paying interest but not as much as the market was charging. It was a win for both sides. William paid a lower rate than what was out inthe market but the family fund was paid more interest than they would have made by keeping the money in the stock/bond market or in CDs, etc. Just as with a bank, "the Family" held the lean on the house and the terms were basically the same as with a normal mortgage if you did not pay. The nice thing was that there was a little councilling that came along with the lending (or not lending if it was a bad investment).

I don't know much more about the details but I was impressed that in his family there was a fund where loans could be obtained at reasonable rates for some of the great things in life. I thought about what it must be like to have funds available for missions, education as well as a home.

How would such a fund be obtained? How would it be administered? How would it be handled or distributed as the family, children, grand children and great-grand children, expanded the family into greater and greater numbers.

What other benefits could be obtained through banding together to get better rates? Fleet insurance on cars and trucks? Services such a yard care or home maintenance?

These are the topics that I will begin covering as I investigate what it would take to make a wealthy family rather than just a wealthy couple.

The Dogs in my Life

Our dog of fourteen years quietly left mortality a few weeks back. It was a time of sadness for all of us. But it made me reflect on the dogs that have been in my life over the years.

It seems that I can hardly remember a time when there was not a dog in the family. Even before my earliest memories, there was a dog in the family that my parents recalled with fondness, a black lab named Sally. She lived with us until I was about five, I guess. My one memory of her was that she protected the baby chickens from other dogs that were trying to get into the cage in our yard in Tucson. I understand that she tolerated my baby curiosity in gargantuan servings. We moved to a different home about the time I was five and I never knew what happened to that old pup.

We soon got another dog, a Cocker-Miniature Poodle mix that resulted in a white Cocker with curly fur. She was a pretty dog named Cracker. She became my brother's dog when I went off to school. He loved that dog and played with her daily. He was most devastated when she died due to being left in a container outside in Arizona. He and my mother tried to get home quickly when he remembered but even a short time in the Arizona heat was too much for her and she was gone.

It wasn't too long before another Cocker, this one like golden honey and with her tail in-tact, was welcomed into our family. Again she was my brother's dog, and that was okay. She was known as Dolly and my brother loved her and trained her and loved her some more. She was the only dog we ever had that would smile at you when she was in trouble. I think that my Dad taught her that. She lived to be a ripe old age for a dog.

Sometime before Dolly was gone there was a new contender for the doggy throne. A smaller-than-usual German Shepherd named Midnight became part of our family. She was a strong runner and my brother and I had the job of taking her for walks. Dad thought that it would "be good for us".Most of the time she was very good but when she would see another dog or something that attracted her, we were just not big enough to keep her under control. She would pull and eventually we would end up running as fast as our little legs would go to keep from being dragged onto our faces. Eventually she would win the race and we would let go of the leash and off she would go like a rocket. Then came the task of following her to where she went and attempting to catch her. I remember more than once having to walk home and tell my mother that the dog had gotten away again and that we couldn't find her. We would hop in the car and drive around the neighborhoods until we finally found her and she was ready to get int he car for a ride home. Our "walks" with Midnight came to an end when she finally got into a fight with some piece of lunch-meat for a dog and broke its leg. It might not have been so bad if the offending rat-in-a-dog-suit was not in his own yard. To keep the dog from being put down my dad gave her to some people who owned a ranch where she could run far and wide.

Somewhere in there came a Toy Poodle named Sugar. She was a pretty ugly dog but my brother loved her, too. Somehow I ended up with the job of keeping her clipped. It was good training for another job that I never wanted as a profession (along with yard maintenance.) This dog was always mothering something and when we got some new kittens she would nurse them along with her own pups. My brother had determined to breed her and, although she was not a papered dog, he found someone in the neighborhood who would let us use their male for breeding in exchange for a puppy. She would have four or five pups and my brother would sell them for about $80 each without papers. He made some good money for a short period of time.

When I got married in Tucson, I could not imagine a home without a dog. Before the vows had been taken, my bride already had a dog (a St. Nikolaus Tag gift). Kerl was a great German Shepherd dog and lived up to her name (which means "mischief") on more than one occasion. She would often get into the garbage and taste everything that had been tossed out. That is, until the time that we came home with sub sandwiches. The little jalapeno peppers we left in the papers which had wrapped the sandwiches. We left the house for about 10 minutes to check out a fire engine in the neighborhood and when we got back, the dog had been in the garbage again. But when we let her in to where her water was, she spent about 5 minutes trying to drink away the sting of those peppers on her tongue. She never got into the garbage again.

Soon a second German Shepherd joined the family. He was a small blond Shepherd pup. He was named Kitty so that I could enjoy the irony of calling, "Here Kitty, Kitty" and having this big dog come running. His ears were not very strong and so they leaned. He always looked like he was in a big wind storm.

Eventually we moved to an apartment where we could not have pets and so the two of them were given to a good home together. Another sad day.

Kids came along to our family while we lived in Phoenix, and so did more dogs. We had a honey Cocker who lived for a long time, was eventually blind and passed on. There was, during that time another dog that did not stay with us too long. She was a chewer and when she eventually chewed up my glasses, which I was mostly blind without, she was off to the Humane Society.

Eventually, after time in San Diego and then back in Tucson, we got another dog. She was a pretty good dog, partly Pit Bull (American Staffordshire Terrier) and mostly blond. But eventually, she too, butted heads with me over something and was back to the Humane Society.

Then came Shelley. She was a great dog. She was half coyote, half German Shepherd and looked like a blond Shepherd. She was also most likely the smartest one in the family but never devious. She learned to come, walk, lay down and stay, using either voice or hand commands, without any training. She just understood and was obedient. She did shed a lot, A LOT of fur. She had this really soft under coat but it was constantly coming out whether summer or winter. And when you were done brushing her, she would shed some more.

Over the last couple of years of her life her hips started getting bad until near the end she could hardly walk. She quit coming upstairs to sleep and eventually, could hardly get up on the couch to sleep. About that time she started growing a couple of tumors - one on her chest and another on her rear ankle. Neither seemed to bother her, and a friend who worked in a veterinarian's office looked at her tumors and indicated that they were probably benign but to watch them. The one on her chest seemed to go dormant but the one on her foot continued to grow slowly but larger until it was the size of a softball. But that was still fine until a cyst began to grow in the tumor. Evidently this cyst was not something that could be ignored by Shelley. She started licking it all the time. Eventually she started gnawing at it. We tried bandaging it and other things to keep her from worrying it but you know how that goes with dogs. Eventually it got infected and she would bleed whenever she got up to walk somewhere.

Between the tumor, the bleeding, the hips and her old age, we finally decided that as much as we wanted to keep her, it was best to put her to sleep. What a hard decision that was. Fortunately, the veterinarian was so kind and thoughtful about doing this for our friend. I carried her into the office and they lead us into a room where we could spend some time with Shelley. They explained how they would give her a shot to calm her and then, when we were ready they would administer a dose that would put her whole body to sleep. We could stay with her as long as we wished. Jennie wend with Gaye and me. It was hard to let her go and we cried for awhile but were so grateful that the people at the vet's had been so gentle with us.

We still miss her. The dust bunnies are fewer. There is no need to do "poop patrol."There is no one sitting in the front window barking at anyone who intrudes upon our space. There is no one to meet and greet us at the door. No one to take camping with me. No one to put her head in my lap and look at me with sad brown eyes. No one to get excited when I come down in my Levi's because it means I will be home all day. She is really missed . . .

A Day in Tucson with Grandkids

We spent a wonderful day with Ben and Jenn's kids in Tucson Saturday, 8/29,2009.

First we took the kids (without parents - mine or theirs) to the Tucson Zoo. It is the perfect size for young children . . . and old people like us! When I lost Noah at one point, this two-year-old said, "You stick with me, Opah," and he took my hand and lead me off to see some new critter! That made us laugh :)

We did that for a couple of hours and then they had to go to a birthday party for a friend. So, Ben took us out to see the location and model of the home that they are having built in Sahuarita, south of Tucson.




Next we were off to meet the kids for some kid time at the Children's Museum on Sixth Ave., north of 22nd St. That was loads of fun. Noah was my buddy again and we played in the train room and had to see the dinosaurs. He was scared spit-less by the T-rex but he had to watch it move and open it's mouth anyway. We rang the bells and ran the lights and sirens on the fire engine and police motorcycle. They shopped in the Mercado and climbed the kids rock wall. They drew, painted, ran the submarine and a dozen other hands-on activities.





It was hard for the kids to leave the museum but we finally convinced them with the promise of ice cream. So, off to Austin's we went. When Gaye and I were young married, we used to take the kids to Austin's for good report cards, when it was still on Broadway close to the U of A, still small and crowded, and still owned by the Austin family. The kids loved it - and then crashed big time. They were home and in bed by 6 PM. Ben and Jenn were happy to have an evening to themselves.

It was then off to El Coral for steaks for the two of us before we left town. And gas was $2.45/gallon - $.15 better than in the Phoenix area.

23 Days Across the West

This summer Gaye and I took a trip across the western USA. In 23 days we traveled 6000 miles across six states and one Canadian province. Our journey took us from blazing hot Mesa, Arizona through Utah and into Idaho then further North into Montana and Canada. We ventured East across Montana into the Badlands of South Dakota. We followed the Oregon Trail across Wyoming and the Mormon route into Salt Lake, arriving in time for the celebration of the emigration into that once-desolate valley. And we visited seven state and national parks in the US and Canada.

It was my goal to provide one picture for each day of our travels as a summary that would not be lengthy. I have discovered that this will not be possible. We often visited several significant places in a single day. However, I still have the daunting task of providing less than 50 pictures from the more than 2000 that Gaye and I took. The narrations will be brief so as to not bore you too often.

These pictures are stored in full resolution and can be viewed in full size by clicking on them. Use the "back" button on your browser to return to this blog after viewing a photo.

Day 1 - Friday, July 3, 2009 - Travel from Mesa, Arizona to Montpelier, Idaho
We drove a rental car, a 2009 Chevy Malibu, that we thoroughly enjoyed and hauled a couple of bicycles with us which we used regularly along with hiking and walking to be sure that we were getting our exercise each day.







Day 2 - Saturday, July 4, 2009 - Bear Lake Fourth of July Festival
We drove over to Paris and watched the parade, enjoyed a pretty good concert in the Paris Tabernacle, had raspberry shakes to celebrate raspberry days and drove out to the wildlife refuge to see the birds. We went through Dingle, which amused Gaye for several days.






Day 3 - Sunday, July 5, 2009 - Montpelier, Idaho
We spent the day in church and recovering from the last two days. We made the trip of a thousand miles to Montpelier in one day, in 16 hours. When we arrived it was pouring rain.








Day 4 - Monday, July 6, 2009 - Travel from Montpelier to Butte, MT then to WhiteFish, MT
After we arrived at Whitefish and got settled in our condo, we headed through Whitefish and on to Hungry Horse where we saw "My Ball and Chain". They used to use these 8-ton balls to clear forest land by hooking each end to a good-sized tractor and rolling over everything. The trees would come down with the roots pulled up so that no stumps were left needing to be pulled out later. They could clear land at the rate that a man could walk. Pretty impressive.


Day 5 - Tuesday, July 7, 2009 - Glacier National Park
The day that we spent in Glacier National park with Drew and Bethany was soooooo cool. I really did limit the number of pictures but there was so much that was really magnificent that I kind of over did this day.

The pictures for this day are not in order and are actually closer to backwards as the events really transpired.

Us at the bridge over the last falls.

Just another beautiful face - cliff face. (oh, my)











The second of the three falls . We hiked into see these falls. It was a great hike and had a deer encounter along the trail.














The bridge over the river at the first falls.











The first falls.


















































The view back from Logan's Pass.












Gaye holds up the glacier. (It wasn't carrying any cash so she came away empty-handed. -gasp!)




























































As we stopped near Logan's Pass we saw a mother mountain goat and her kid on the trail. As you can see, she still has not lost her winter coat in July!








Drew and Beth.
























Rich and Drew.
























Entering the park.













Day 6 - Wednesday, July 8, 2009 - Hike Big Mountain near WhiteFish
Somebody decided that we should hike big mountain. They figured it would be easier going down than up. So we took the ski lift to the top of Big Mountain for the seven mile hike to the bottom.

I have to tell you that hiking down is not the same as hiking up nor is it easier. And all those muscles were screaming at me for the next three days!

Gaye makes the decision to take a break and sit while the rest of us wandered around the peak to snap pictures of the view.

Drew and Bethany pause on the trail.











At the look out point we stop to have a snack and a peek at the view below us. I think that we were probably about half way down the mountain at this point.








The Whitefish valley below us.











We pause to admire the Buffalo flowers along the hillside.

You know, I could have bicycled down this mountain and saved my muscles a lot of grief . . . if I didn't biff big time somewhere.








Day 7 - Thursday, July 9, 2009 - Travel from WhiteFish to Banff, Alberta, Canada
As we traveled from Whitefish, Montana to Banff, Alberta I stopped to admire the scenery with the railroad running along the river beneath the sandy bluffs.













What a wonderful view as we drove through Banff National Forest in Alberta, Canada.









Fishing and site-seeing, anyone?













The mountains are so rugged and the clouds are so low that it seems like they reach right up to the heavens. No wonder the Native Americans and the Jews used the mountain tops as sacred places.













Maybe we could make a movie called "A Road Runs Through It". We might not even need Robert Redford to make it a hit. :)









Day 8 - Friday, July 10, 2009 - Lake Louise, Lake Moraine and the 10 Sisters
We left Banff about 7:00 AM to visit Lakes Louise and Moraine. It was chilly - at least to we thin-blooded Arizonans and apparently to the clouds and mountains along the way. The clouds were barely up and floating but they made the mountains look magnificent.




Another one I just had to add here.












Lake Louise is this perfect alpine setting. It reminded me very much of when I lived in Switzerland.










The Ten Sisters are ten mountains that surround Lake Moraine and, as can be seen, are covered in glaciers of various sizes. It makes for a gorgeous setting.








I just had to put one more picture here. This is Lake Moraine and a few of the Ten Sisters.











Day 9 - Saturday, July 11, 2009 - Travel from Banff back to Butte through Cardston
This is a shot from Tunnel Mountain on the east side of Banff looking west into Banff National Park.









We are leaving Banff and heading south to Butte. This is the road toward Cardston.










In Cardston, Alberta we caught a quick view of the Mormon temple there. This seems like a sleepy little cattle town and is better known for its rodeo and then, on a hill appears this majestic looking building. It is pretty awesome.






As we passed through Helena I had to stop and get some shots of this majestic cathedral.















I had often heard of the term but never actually seen one until I caught this actual photo of a . . . Helena Hand-Basket (gasp!)









Amy Stagnoli, our friend and Gaye's co-worker, made arrangements for us to stay at her uncle's cabin near Butte. It was a wonderful place on the river and he met us and we had diner and breakfast together at his favorite place. We will have to try Amy's favorite place just down the road the next time we are in town.





Day 10 -Sunday, July 12, 2009 - Butte Folk Festival
We had to rush back from Canada so that we wouldn't miss this National Folk Festival totally and we caught the last day of it and wished that we had been able to squeeze in another day or two of it. it was phenomenal! We began at the top of the festival since that was the best available parking (and we didn't really know where we were going anyway) and worked our way down to the other end.

It is only proper that, Butte having been a mining town, that such a festival would be located under the mining rigs.




The flowers were in lushious blooms all around us and it was very enjoyable just to view the scenery.

Much of the music was Celtic, Arcadian or western. There was food to eat (buy) as well as merchandise being sold.




My favorite artist was a man named Jeff Little. His group was called the Jeff Little Trio and he had someone playing the guitar and someone playing the bass fiddle. He also had a couple of guest players sit in for a tune or two, one who played the banjo and another who was also a noted guitar player.

His piano playing was just amazing. It made you want to not just tap your foot while listening but to jump up and start dancing - and several people did just that after they got past the shock of how good he plays.


This is Jeff Little doing a little (no pun intended) of his music. If you want to hear more oof his music or buy his CDs, go to Jeff Little's web site. Here are also a couple of YouTube shots of him playing a couple of pieces: Orange Blossom Special and at the American Folk Festival where he had to improvise while the guitarist replaces a broken string!




Day 11 - Monday, July 13, 2009 - Butte
We actually went out with Beth's family to go boating but by the time we got to the lake it was beginning to rain and blow. So we all piled into the truck and Bill showed us around the area and some of the projects that he is working on. As we were driving it actually began to snow on us.

When we got back into town the weather had cleared up (of course) so I took some shots of Our Lady of the Rockies, a humongous statue of the virgin Mary which is located at the east end of Butte.



Day 12 - Tuesday, July 14, 2009 - Virginia City and Nevada City
We took a day trip over to Virginia city which was, at one time in Montana's history, the state capitol. Nor it is a touristy ghost town that is not even on the freeway to somewhere. It was an interesting place to visit.

Just down the road is Nevada City which is much less touristy and much more interesting. It was once a mining town and has ninety buildings which have been moved nearer the town center and have been restored. There is also a train depot with a narrow gauge train that runs between Nevada City and Virginia City as well as a standard gauge rail with a steam engine that was being worked on while we were there. Gaye and I sit here at the depot in Nevada City.
Drew and his fiancee, Bethany Berg, are here in the train yard.



























Day 13 - Wednesday, July 15, 2009 - Travel from Butte to South Dakota
On our way from Butte, across the expanse of Montana, we made a stop at the Little Big Horn, the location of Custer's last stand.

It is a solemn place where the national forest service has tried to represent both the US Calvary and the native Americans appropriately.

In the top photograph one can see the grave marker of George Custer (in black) with the many other men who died during this battle and could be identified. Their markers are white. An attempt has been made to place the markers in the locations where the men fell during this battle.
Notice the sweeping panorama with the trees below, where 8000 warriors were camped. This was the force that fought against Custer's 2500 men. And to add insult to injury, the US Troops usually had inferior weapons to that of the native American warriors.

This second photo is at this same location and is in recognition of those native Americans who fought for what the US government had promised but could not guarantee once gold was discovered in the Black hills to the south.







Day 14 - Thursday, July 16, 2009 - Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse
The visit to Mount Rushmore was an outstanding adventure. You come around a corner in the road and there is in full size. The pictures will never do justice to the size of this monument.

While there we also visited the work shop of the sculptor and heard his story, saw his models and discovered the "extended version" of the vision that he had for this monument. But his death and a World War curtailed those dreams and forced the conclusion of this mighty project.

The Crazy Horse Memorial is a publicly-funded project, meaning that there is no government funding support because the sculptor and his family want the people to control this project. It is felt that far too often, and perhaps more so with the Native American story, the government has controlled how the story is told. The original sculptor has passed away. He had 10 children and all but one or two have taken up the project. It has been going on for some 48 years. To give you some indication of the enormity of this project, the Mt. Rushmore sculptures could fit in the space between the mountain face of Crazy Horse to the cleared rock to the left of the face.

In keystone, near Mt Rushmore, we stopped for some food (and ice cream). This statue was in front of one of the stores and I just had to take a less-than-reverent pose with the man, Mr. Lincoln.












Day 15 - Friday, July 17, 2009 - Travel to Casper, Wyoming
As we were attempting to leave South Dakota, I think we made a wrong yet fortuitous turn which took us through Custer State park a second time. As we were traveling through, Gaye was making comments regarding the lack of buffalo like, "I think they have entered the witness protection program" or "Perhaps they are dressed as Antelope today." Suddenly we spot a herd of the beasts in a meadow and, of course, there is nowhere to pull off of the road to observe and take pictures. A couple of hills and curves further down the road I am finally able to stop. Since the road had curved, the location of the buffalo was only a hundred yards or so ove a couple of rises. As I exited the car with my camera, Gaye is following while quickly entering panic mode. By the time we locate the "witness protection" suspects she is in full blown panic attack and certain that we will soon be Darwin Award recipients as they circle us and cut us off from our vehicle. But note: this picture is on 7X zoom. We are in no danger of anything worse that stepping in meadow muffins. :)

This is Devil's Gate, a distinct location along the Oregon Trail that marked how far down the trail they were. It is 375 miles from Salt Lake City and also the location of the famous Willy and Martin handcart company disasters. These two companies of pioneers pulling hand carts for their speed and low cost, started late in the spring and were caught at this location by early snows. When word got back to Brigham Young, he sent people and provisions out immediately to rescue these unfortunate land travelers.






Independence Rock was also along the Oregon Trail. It is actually located about twenty miles before Devil's Gate. It was named Independence Rock because it was the point that you should be to before the 4th of July if you were going to be sure that you would not get snowed in along the way. There are also some inscriptions that travelers over the years have carved into the rock.


Day 16 - Saturday, July 18, 2009 - Travel the Oregon Trail back to Montpelier, ID
Sorry, but once again I could not give just one picture of this beautiful country that we were passing through. and these were just ones that I had to pick to not force you to spend weeks looking at our pictures. These are the Grand Tetons in western Wyoming.



















































Day 17 - Sunday, July 19, 2009 - Montpelier again

Sunday we went to church and had a quiet day at the house. We read, played games and generally rested up from our vacation before it continued in earnest.








Day 18 - Monday, July 20, 2009 - Montpelier Pickleville Theater
In the morning we went to the Oregon Trail Museum in Montpelier, since the Oregon Trail continues right along the main highway through town. They have a wonderful tour back through time and great visual and audio displays about how it was to travel the Trail back in the 1870's from the guns and supplies to the wagons and critters.

Mom and Dad took us down to Garden City at the southern end of Bear Lake to see a melodrama in the Pickleville Theater. The featured play was "The Hanging of El Bandito" and was hilariously entertaining. They also served dinner before hand and we were amused by the "Palace of Necessity", as the restrooms were labeled.


Day 19 - Tuesday, July 21, 2009 - Fishing
We took a day to go fishing at the reservoir east of town some twenty miles. It was a lovely day spent mostly biking by me further on up the canyon to see what was on the other side of the mountain. It took me 30 minutes to ride up the canyon and 10 minutes to ride back.

At that point, Mom and Gaye, who were doing the fishing, were done since the fish were not biting. We moved on down to the lower reservoir and I spent my time baiting Gaye's hook and removing the fish that she caught. I guess that Dad was doing some of that for Mom, too.


Day 20 - Wednesday, July 22, 2009 - Soda Springs
We took a drive to Soda Springs in the afternoon. Some years back the community decided to tap these natural hot springs to heat a community pool. However, the effect of turning this water loose was that that it changed the timing of Old Faithful in Yellowstone. So, to restore the damage that was done, they capped the springs allowing only a minimal flow during most of the day and turning it loose to give its potential once an hour, thus restoring Old Faithful to its faithfulness . . . or something like that.






Day 21 - Thursday, July 23, 2009 - Travel Fort Bridger to Salt Lake along the Mormon Trail
As we traveled across southern Wyoming following the route of the Oregon Trail we made a stop at Fort Bridger. This was originally a mountain man and pioneer trading post established by Jim Bridger. Jim eventually sold the fort to the Mormons who maintained it as a support for Mormon and other pioneers crossing the expanse of this country. This first picture is what the fort looked like when purchased by Brigham Young. They made improvements and expanded the fort. However, when Johnson's Army was sent to take control of the territory of Utah, the Mormons, having had enough of government assistance in Missouri, burned the fort so that

it could not be used by the Army and abandoned it. This stone wall is all that remains of the fort that was burned. The Army eventually rebuilt the fort with officers quarters, a school, laundry, barracks, Quartermaster store and many other buildings.





One of our favorite surprises was finding this, at first, shocking book in the book store. "The Donner Party Cookbook" is a very humorous title to the idea of how to organize parties where wild game is served with fresh edible plants.






Day 22 - Friday, July 24, 2009 - Salt Lake City
You can't visit Salt Lake City without seeing the Salt Lake temple which took 40 years to build. It used to be the tallest building in Salt Lake and could be seen for miles around but the age of high-rise office buildings has taken it's toll and now it is difficult to get any picture without buildings in the background.




While in Salt Lake we were privileged to find an art show going on in the conference center. We had visited the Church History museum, which, among many other things, had the church art contest winners from last year. The docent informed us that the top 200 entries from this year were being displayed in the Conference center.

This particular piece, though not the most striking, caught my attention. It was not even the most interesting piece. It depicts a pioneer woman and her baby in the worn out clothing resulting from a trek across this nation. In the icy winter weather she is looking toward heaven for her strength to go on. Part of the painting's description reads, "...the price we paid to become acquainted with God." It made me wonder what price I would pay in dedication and suffering to become more closely acquainted with God.


Day 23 - Saturday, July 25, 2009 - Travel Home to Mesa, Arizona
We traveled the back roads of Utah on the return trip to see what we had been missing by taking I-15 for all these years. One of the great sites we had been missing materialized as we entered the valley of Manti, Utah and could see the Mormon temple sitting on the hill. This was one of the first temples completed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the west, along with the one in St. George, being completed even before the Salt Lake temple.
One person viewing my photos asked me what the "castle" was. It does look much like a castle.

This picture of Bryce Canyon in southern Utah is looking out across the valley with the "Hoodoos" in their various shades of amber and rust in the foreground. Bryce Canyon is not actually a canyon but the erosion of a chain of mountains.

As with many places we visited, we were told that these will not continue to last and be available to generations to come due to their continued erosion.

As we continued south from Page Arizona, the highway leads you out over the edge of the mountains before descending into the deserts of the Navajo reservation. On this day the clouds were churning and the rains were pouring themselves into the arroyos of the high desert.