A Michael Martin Murphy Christmas

We are still trying to catch up our blog from last year and we are almost up to Christmas, 2013. One of the highlights of Christmas last year was a trip to Bass Hall in Ft. Worth to see the Michael Martin Murphy Christmas concert.  We went with Bubba and Shirley and Kip and Vicki and the show was amazing. Of course, the surroundings within Bass Hall is something to see in itself.

We enjoyed some good food at Razzoos and a walk through Sundance Square before the concert.  If you ever get a chance to see MMM in concert, do it!

Halloween 2013

The grand kids got all dressed up for Halloween last year.  We had a good assortment of characters. Taylor was Maverick from the old movie Top Gun.  He loves those jets!  Presley decided to be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, which she has seen about a zillion times.  Jane and Jack went with the poultry theme.  Jane was a beautiful, colorful peacock and Jack was a soft cuddly chicken. Leighton was the cutest little Indian maiden!  All the parents decided to go as parents!

A Little Bit of Texas

Jeremy and Annie live in Denver, Colorado so we don't get to see them and Jane and Jack as much as the other kids.  Last fall, Jeremy and Annie took some time off for some quiet rest without the kiddos.  Annie's parents kept them for a few days while they spent some time near Austin.  They found a great little resort on the lake, or at least what's left of it, and just enjoyed some down time.

We were invited to spend an evening with them, had dinner, visited and caught up on everything.  Thanks for including us in your short vacation.

A Crooked Little Trail

Our little town is fortunate to have had some progressive leaders when it comes to parks and recreation. Over the years there have been a number of individuals and organizations that have recognized the need for these types of improvements.  Many people worked tirelessly obtaining grants, securing sponsorship and raising money for these projects.

As a result Hamilton now enjoys a linear park and trail system that reaches from one side of the town to the other.  Along this hiking/biking trail there is creek that leads to the new sports complex containing two baseball fields, a softball field and a soccer field.  It is the walking trail that we enjoy the most, if you call walking enjoyable!  Beverly uses it the most and it is sure nice to have a good place to walk.

Occasionally we will have a very energetic, young dog that likes to go with us.  We don't own him, have no idea who his owner might be, but he loves to go and run.  He shows up, runs ahead of us and then will stop and wait for us and later disappears and we never see him again.  Evidently he knows his way home.

The Guinea Whisperer, Now Retired

Beverly's brother, John has been working at the Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant for a lot of years, first as an electrician and then a foreman.  Last July he retired after getting up at 3:30 a.m. or so nearly everyday. It was a big decision but with no regrets, I'm sure.  A big fish fry and retirement party was held at his place in Stephenville last summer and then he settled in to a life of leisure.

He generally keeps a flock of guineas to keep down grasshoppers.  Last fall we went by to see his latest project, the restoration of an early model Toyota Land Cruiser.  He has owned several and wanted to find an early year model to restore.  While we were there he showed us his guinea flock.  He raised them from chicks and they must think he's their mother because they follow him around everywhere he goes.  It was very entertaining to watch them. We call him the guinea whisperer!

He has been working on getting the engine re-worked, seats repaired and putting a lift on it.  He told us recently that the engine is ready and he will paint it soon.  Should look great!

Unfortunately we did a terrible job taking pictures at the retirement party, so we had no pictures of John!

Bucket List: See Lion King. Check

After all the years that Lion King has been on Broadway and touring around the country, we finally got to see it.  Jennifer and Toby gave Beverly tickets for her birthday and last fall we went to see it at the Dallas Music Hall.  Several other couples and their children, including one of Presley's best friends, also attended. It was everything we had heard it would be and more!  Jennifer, Toby, Taylor, Presley, Beverly and I thoroughly loved it.  Of course, no pictures were allowed inside but I must say the costumes were amazing.

We made a day of it, watching the musical and afterwards Toby took us on a tour of downtown Dallas.  It had been years since we had been by Dealy Plaza where John F. Kennedy was killed. Since they were about to celebrate the 50th anniversary of that horrible event, it was nice to go by and think about the history we were seeing.

If you ever get a chance to see Lion King, do it.  You will not regret it.

Having a little fun at Saltgrass Steakhouse before the musical.

It was well worth the trip and we hope we'll be able to have this type of fun with all the grandkids!

Old Friends

Some things, you have to believe happen for a reason.  You know the kind of moment I'm talking about? It's like there's a voice somewhere in your head or maybe from above telling you "Go ahead. Do it. You won't be sorry!".  So it was with Beverly about two years ago when she was looking through some of her high school class reunion papers. She had gone to a few of her reunions and still is interested in knowing what's going on.

For years, every Halloween Beverly would tell me that it was Glyneth's birthday. She would wonder where she was and what she was doing.  But, it wasn't until she came across her email address that she decided to email who once was her best friend.  They had lost contact with each other after school and had, as often happens, gone their separate ways.  They really had not seen or talked to each other in almost 40 years.

The result of that email has been wonderful.  Beverly and Glyneth have now rekindled that friendship and lets just say I'm glad we have unlimited texting and phone plans!  They have been able to catch up on so much and have come to realize that they are indeed best friends forever! They can talk for hours, laughing and giggling like, well, high school girls!

Their friendship reminds me of some of the lyrics to one of my favorite Willie Nelson and Roger Miller songs, Old Friends.

"Lord when all my work is done, Bless my life and grant me one, old friend, yes old friend".  Oh, I wish that for all of us.

Mountains Speak, Wise Men Listen

Last September the mountains began their annual speech to us. You know the one, about how cool it is up there in the higher elevation and how hot and dry it must be in Texas! And about how the leaves are changing color, that annual journey from green to yellow and orange and how beautiful the mountain passes are and how soon the snow flakes are going to fly and close off the mountains from exploration. And the plea to hurry before it's too late! So, if you're a wise man you learn to listen to that far off call and make the trip to where the mountains meet the clear blue sky. It all began in late September, 2013 when we loaded up the Jeep and headed out to what has become our favorite past time, the discovery of both new and old haunts where the air is cool and the pine trees fill the air with that fragrant, familiar scent.

This time we took a little extra time so we could explore what has become a favorite stop, Red River , New Mexico. It's always been a great stopping off place but we wanted to learn more about the town plus just relax after a long drive. They were having a big Aspen Day celebration that weekend so the town was busy. The skilift was open so we rode to the top, looked around and enjoyed the scenery from a beautiful viewpoint. We ate good food, walked along the river and enjoyed the cool temps.

We had arranged to meet our California friends, Jerry and Terry in Ouray for a few days of offroading. Our favorite place to stay is the Rivers Edge Motel, right next to the Animas River. A couple of years ago a bear visited us one night during one of it's dumpster diving trips. Beverly always hopes to see another bear and her luck held this year! The managers told us that they had been seeing a bear nearby. That afternoon we found a mama bear and her two cubs sleeping through the day under a tree not 50 yards from us. Of course we had to go see it but were thankful that they were so full of apples that they had little interest in us!

We were also happy to learn that another local couple, Bubba and Shirley, were in Ouray.  We all met for dinner that night at Obrien's Pub.  Good food! The next day we all took Last Dollar road over to Telluride. The trees were beautiful. We rode the gondola up to Mountain Village. Talk about a beautiful place! It's fun to see how the other half lives!! The ride is the only free thing I know of in Telluride! The remainder of the time we explored Yankee Boy and Stoney Pass near Silverton. Of course, we had to eat at Handlebars in Silverton.  It's a tradition!

Leaving Ouray, we went over to Lake City on the way home, another favorite place. This year we came back through Creede. It was a great trip with good friends and we look forward, God willing, to another one, or two this year.

From Red River it was just a short day's drive over to Ouray.  Upon arriving, during the afternoon Beverly got a chance to see a bear and her two cubs! The bear didn't want to be bothered but as Martha Stewart would say, "It's a good thing!"

One of the first things you see on Last Dollar Road is an old homestead, the sight where the first part of the original True Grit movie with John Wayne was filmed. There have been a number of westerns filmed in the area so we took a photo opportunity before heading on to Telluride.

Dave and Chad, owners of Rivers Edge, highly recommended the hamburgers with home made fries at the Cimmaron Cafe in Ridgeway. Boy, they weren't kidding! They were soooo good. The perfect end to a great day!

Let me explain this picture.  That's not something growing out of the top of Jerry's head. He just happened to be standing in front of those poles they use to mark the roads during the spring when they plow out the snow. It does make for an interesting picture!!

Our last day in Ouray was spent up on Yankee Boy Basin, driving around Ouray and relaxing near the river. Oh, and loading the Jeep for the trip home.

On our way home we stopped in Lake City for ice cream, then on to Creede.