A Detour to the Grand Canyon

 Only 1200 miles to go. I am hoping we can make the drive home in a couple of days. The only issues will be the dogs and how wrestles Berk will be, given that our wonderful new puppy Dusty has just chewed through the power cord for the DVD player…for the second time. She is just lucky she’s cute…because if she weren’t, we might be coming home with one less dog.

We made very good time on day one, so much so that we thought we would make it home before noon on the second day. It always helps when the speed limit is 75 mph and most of the traffic is travelling at least 80. We were driving through a portion of Arizona when right before my little eyes was a huge sign that might as well have been SCREAMING “TURN HERE FOR THE GRAND CANYON”. I couldn’t resist. I had not been to the Grand Canyon in more than 20 years. I know it is the summer and its very HOT down in the Canyon, but I was hoping that the weather would be manageable for all of us if we remained at the top. Thankfully, that was the case. We took a quick 60 mile detour to the south entrance to the park. It was amazing! We also enjoyed a quick “drive-by” of the little Grand Canyon that is managed by the Navajo Indians. What a site to behold. It truly was breathtaking!

Note to self: I hope Berk remembers her first visit although I am not sure she will. She was much more concerned with looking in the gift shop and stopping at McDonalds for chicken nuggets. Oh well. I guess that’s a normal reaction for a six-year old.

Rain Rain Go Away

A Family Dinner

Our visit with my mom and dad is coming to an end. Little by little the time has just slipped away and now we are approaching our long drive home. But, before we all depart my mom has planned a big family dinner for everyone (my brothers’ family included). Without a doubt, this is the first extended family dinner we have had since my dad got sick almost ten years ago. We were told at that time that he may not make it, so we all travelled to Colorado Springs to visit him in the hospital. Thankfully, like a cat with nine lives, he pulled through and has gone on to surprise us all over the past decade. We had a feast! BBQ, roast beef, corn on the cob, several types of potatoes and desert, desert, desert! We also took some great pictures. Please allow me to share a few!

Ride-em Cowgirls!

It’s my brothers 41st birthday, it’s raining cats and dogs, I have sent my brother and his wife on a date…and I now have all three girls to entertain. Movies are out – they have seen everything, games are out – too “boring”, can’t go geo-cashing – we have already done that…so what is a mom to do. I know, how about horseback riding? Done deal, reservations have been made AND Grandma (don’t forget she is 82) is coming too! She does not want to be left behind in any way. (I hope that when I get older I am up for anything at any time, just as she is).

We booked a trail ride through Garden of the Gods – my newly discovered cool place and I have just been informed that Morgan and Sydney (10 and 13) have NEVER been riding before. No time like the present in my world, so off we go. As we check in, the clouds start to gather and in an instant we are in the middle of a steady rain. Thankfully the stable was prepared and they gave everyone a raincoat. Yeah, now we really look like cowgirls!! Morgan and Syd were the first to mount their amazing steeds, Grandma was next (she used the mounting platform), then Berk and finally me. We all made it in to the saddles without accident! We started the ride and all was going well, then out of the blue I hear a scream. Actually an ear-piercing, bone chilling screech that can only be belted out by a girl – its Morgy! Her horse has decided he has had enough (after only 10 minutes) and tried to dump her off by rubbing against a tree and bush. Poor thing, I am too far away to really help, but I try by giving her some instructions about horse “wrangling”. I did a pretty good job too, if only she were calm enough to listen. Thankfully the real wrangler quickly realized what was going on and he rode back to help her. All was good – except we now had a petrified, crying ten-year-old who was doing everything in her power to keep it together in front of her six-year-old cousin. Lord knows, you cannot show fear when every breath you take is being watch by your younger cousin who worships the ground you walk on.

I was so proud of Morgy! She did it! She made it through the ride no worse for wear. The horse tried several more time to toss her off of its back, but she was not going to let that happen! In the end, I think she was really proud of herself. As we walked through the obligatory gift shop after the ride, she and Berk were instantly drawn to these two almost identical Webkin stuffed horses. I could not resist. We bought them and they have been sleeping with them for the past three nights.

Mission Complete! The first ride is now under their belts!

The 5th Annual Allison / Jones Rafting Trip

Hi everyone, sorry for the long delay in posting. It’s been a busy couple weeks with limited access to the WWW. But, I will endeavor to catch you up on our activities...up first...the 5th Annual Allison / Jones Rafting trip! Yes, it had been five years running that we have been rafting with an outfit called Echo Canyon near Canon City, CO. Bottom line, we love this place...and the kids do too! All of the cousins are now old enough (Berk being the youngest) to participate and actually enjoy the ride. This year the attendees included all “kid” cousins, three 40+ Jones siblings (myself included) and one 82 year old Grandma. Yes, you heard me – Grandma! My mom is terrific. There is nothing that will keep her down, not even a fall with stitches.

(Side story –If you recall from a prior post, my mom fell a couple of weeks ago and had to go to the ER. She cut her elbow and ended up with stitches. While there, she continually asked the MD how long it would take to heal. I asked her WHY it was so important…and her response…”because I want to make sure I can go rafting with everyone”)

Given moms arm and little Berk in the raft I thought getting a guided raft (with them doing most of the work) would be a little bit safer. We still had plenty of chances to row, albeit at our discretion to some degree. It had been raining a great deal the prior few days so we became the lucky recipients of two class 4 rapids along the journey, which is normally NOT the case for the “family” joy ride. It’s usually quite tame, except for the day we decide to visit of course! Prior to starting the trip we had a long discussion about raft “seating strategies”. Believe it or not it really does matter… where you sit determines how likely it is you get dumped out of the raft, or how splashed you get, or if you will have an easy time getting back in after a quick swim, etc. My mom and my brother’s wife and I ended up in the back, while my brother was in front with all of the kids. I had a feeling he was in a better seat.

We had been rafting for an hour or so – got comfortable with the raft and enjoyed all of the surroundings. In fact, I think we also got a little cocky related to our new rafting skills. The guide told us the first class 4 (which was only a class 2 the day before) was coming up quickly. He told us all to row four times as quickly as we could to help get our speed up as we entered the rapids. As I started rowing, I looked around I noticed that only Brian and I (both on the right hand side of the boat) were rowing…NO ONE on the left was! Unequal rowing is a cardinal sin in rafting! All of the oarsman must be rowing together in order for the boat to move forward. If you only row on one side you end up putting the boat in to a circular spin – NOT what you want when entering a class 4 rapid!

The end result- the boat was kicking like a bucking bronco in the back (which is where I was watching over my sister in law and mom), the girls were all screaming with excitement in the front (with my brother trying to hold them in) when all of a sudden I saw this wall of rock coming right toward me. The guide made a quick move of the oar and we were able to swing around this gigantic bolder – but SMACKED right in to a smaller rock that made the back of the raft POP up like a cork in a Champaign bottle. Grandma, Jenny (my sister in law) and I bounced up and almost out of the boat. Thank goodness I had both of my feet lodged in to the foot straps. Mom and Jenny ended up grabbing a hold of me in hopes of staying in the boat! As the rapids slowed down I was finally landed in a hunched position over the guide, mom was literally hanging off the back of the boat – backwards, and Jenny was across moms legs trying to grab a hold of something. YAHOO! What fun! We made it through our first class 4 rapids and no one ended up swimming with rocks!

The Garden of the Gods

This is a magical place. My parents have lived in Colorado Springs for more than 15 years and this is the first time I remember visiting this place. It is famous for hiking, horseback riding and rock climbing, as well as Indian artistry made by several different tribes that have historically lived in this area. We spent the day exploring and photographing some of the well known sand-stone cliffs. We also spent some time in their visitor center where Berk was able to pan for gems and crystals. We are planning on going back to ride some horses when my bothers family arrives in a few days. I think the kids would really enjoy it, not to mention all of the parents.

Berk has her first job…as a gold miner

We did it! We finally found a gold mine! WOW I never knew how challenging it was to be a minor. Did you know that only 5% of the gold found is in nugget form? The rest is embedded in granite and it takes a very sophisticated smelting process to extract it. The process is / was so dangerous in the late 1800’s to the mid-1900’s that the average miner only lived to 38 years old. They died primarily from granite dust getting in to their lungs and causing numerous diseases. Terrible way to go!

We drove to a town called Cripple Creek, CO that is actually a gamblers paradise. Tour buses leave from ports all over the city every few hours and drive to Cripple Creek. Mainly full of retired people, they can spend the entire day gambling if they so desire. Go figure! My Dad has wanted to show me the town for years, but we just never seemed to get around to it until the other day. It was fun. We had lunch, toured an old fashioned jail (and got “booked”), and learned about wild donkeys that have free reign around the town. But, I think the most fun my Mom and Dad had was just sitting next to each other at the nickel slots. Every time they pulled the hammer down, they looked at each other and smiled. I guess they still kind-of like each other in some ways. Berk and I stayed outside as no children are allowed in, but it was fun for us knowing that they were having such a nice time.

The end result, they both lost about $1 in 45 minutes of adult play time.

In any case, we went to the Molly Kathleen Gold Mine. It has been in existence for more than 150 years and is the main gold mine shaft in the area. All of the other mines tie in to this one in order to facilitate cleaner air through cross ventilation. We travelled down the shaft more than 1000 feet in an open air double-decker elevator. It was really neat. The entire shaft is made of granite. There have been no cave-ins, nor have there been any floods. I guess granite really is meant to last. We explored several spurs and were able to see and touch many of the gold veins or ore. They no longer work this mine even though gold is readily seen. Berk was even able to operate some of the old air-driven drilling equipment and ride a mining “bike” that the miners used to travel to their work sites. At the end of the tour we were able to pick a piece of gold ore from a huge container filled with it. They believe this particular container holds about 10-15 ounces of gold, but have it under lock and key in the mine as part of the tour.


Needless to say, Berk was hired as a miner at the end of the tour, but she did not seem that thrilled. “It’s too dirty and loud”, she proclaimed. My wonderful girl!

What in the heck is this thing?

OK, for two weeks now, we have been mesmerized by this “humming bird” that has been feeding on the nectar of many of the plants at my parents’ house. We saw it the first time while at the Broadmoor and then every night since then. Generally at dusk, just before it really gets dark. They travel in small groups of 3-4. I spent some time in the front yard the other night in hopes of snapping a photo … and viola, here it is. Who anyone tell me what in the world this is? It’s NOT a bird as it has antenna.