Two Days' Journey to Santa Fe 2017

We left Provo on 13 September and headed toward Grand Junction, thence to Ouray, Colorado where the Beck grandparents were missionaries many years ago. I'm not sure how good the missionary work was, but the setting makes up for it. We drove up over Red Mountain Pass and down into Durango where we spent the night. After breakfast on the morning of the 14th, we headed east over the Wolf Creek Pass to Alamosa in the beautiful San Luis Valley where Grandad Boynton spent some of his youth. Driving south a handful of miles, we stopped in Sanford and Manassa where Grandmother Boynton spent some of her growing-up years. The mountains of Colorado are awe inspiring. Sanford is a delightful little village, though little remains of the Grandmother's history there. Northern New Mexico was beautiful as always.

 Approaching the Colorado Rockies south of Montrose

 Ditto

 Ouray, Colorado

 Headed toward heaven in our CRV

 The mountains in every direction are spectacular

 It's pretty clear why it is called Red Mountain

 A small reservoir near the Red Mountain summit

 Waterfalls along the descent to Durango

 Fall has come to the higher elevations

 A bright patch of aspens

 Durango, Colorado

 Lots of lingering nineteenth-century flavor

 West Fork of the San Juan River seen from Wolf Creek Pass

 High mountain marsh

 Sanford feels like a sleepy Utah town in the 1950s

 Cottonwood trees so loved by Mormon settlers

 The beautiful San Luis Valley from Sanford

 A view of the valley from the road between Sanford and Manassa

 San Luis Valley

Welcome to New Mexico

These were two of the most enjoyable drives we have taken for years. We are in Santa Fe and will post more for sure. This is all for now.

OXO

D.

Labor Day 2017 and More

On Labor Day, we visited Provo River Falls and Mirror Lake again with Emily, Phillip, Katy, and some of their families. It has been fun to have Phillip staying with us while he sells his house. His family misses him, but their loss is our gain.

 On a morning walk, these pups were wishing they could share...

 ....Our Egg McMuffins

 Silly siblings at Sunday Family Dinner at the Ensigns

 The gang at  the upper Provo River Falls

Lower Provo River Falls

 

 Evelyn and her "Unca Pippy"

 Picnic in the High Unitas

 Making a complete loop around Mirror Lake

 Along the trail

 Mirror Lake with Hayden Peak in the distance

 Ensigns, Colvers, and Taylors

 Before sunup in Rock Canyon on a morning walk

 They are back in their restored cabin and they invited us for lunch

 Friday night dinner at La Casita

Wonderful having Phillip with us

We are headed to Santa Fe for a week or so, but this is all for now.

OXO

D.

August 2017

August started with a fun birthday party for Emily at Pizzeria 712 on 2 August, and Scout was baptized on the 5th. Anna and family returned from California on the 7th, the same day they started installing the boiler system for our heated driveway. We had some fun activities with the Hastings, including a wonderful day in the Uintas, a surprising first for me at this very late age. We celebrated Evelyn Alta's second birthday on 19 August. On the 21st we joined the rest of the country watching the eclipse. On the 23rd, we joined the Hansen cousins for breakfast in Salt Lake City as we always do. Since we will be gone in September, we changed our theater tickets for the end of August. It was an enjoyable and productive month, and it was so fun to have Anna and the kids for a few extra days.

 Emily's birthday party

 Scoutie's party

 Morning walk in Rock Canyon: the creek is dry

 These girlies are off on an imaginary adventure

 Evy and I had some good company on our walks

 This guy is lots more fun than Pop Pop

 Evy was ready to jump in

 It's not a still, it's the boiler system for the driveway

 Provo Falls in the Unita Mountains

 It is beautiful and I didn't even know it existed until very recently

 Cousin adventures

 It was a beautiful, intermittently rainy day

 Hastings and Ensigns

 Mirror Lake in the rain

 Anna and family

 Dickie and Maxwell

 Sharing the brolly with Luigi

 Burgers and shakes at Hi-Mountain in Kamas

 The raspberry fudge shake is incredible

 Boom! Ready for snow

 Evelyn loves the cousins a lot

 Evy also loves a good water fountain (kind of a bright morning)

 This made her very happy

 Another early morning, just back from a walk

Evelyn Alta, two years old, stripped naked for clean-up purposes,
standing guard over her strawberry birthday cupcakes

 The flames were a bit scary

 A fabulous new kitchen for her birthday

 She is pleased and has spent many happy hours cooking 

since her birthday

 The eclipse was impressive

 We do love our cousins' breakfasts and trax and train rides home

 The park is all torn up for the new catch basin and drainage system

 Pillow Talk at Hale Center Theater

Evelyn was transfixed by Moana

The months fly by and August is a memory. Thanks to Anna for several photos. This is all for now.

OXO

D.