A VERY COOL UKELELE NUMBER TO ENTERTAIN YOU:
(Kathy and I standing inside the Badlands National Park near Wall, SD)
(Kathy and I standing inside the Badlands National Park near Wall, SD)
Welcome to our web log, where we depict visually the highlights of our month. July began with lots of company (just as the end of June did). We took a family vacation to Wyoming and South Dakota with the Hites and had a blast! At church, we were involved in a colossal project that culminated with our elders rolling out a 50 Year Vision Statement for the congregation. Then, the month ended with Kathy and Neal going to Mississippi to speak on a program. Gary and Neal are buying stuff and outfitting their bows for the Carbondale hunt over Labor Day. Dale will be playing basketball this fall and will register the first week of August. The boys are loving tennis, which they play several times a week. Carl is excited about the start of 5th grade! Here are some of the best of our pictures for the month of July:
(L-R: Nancy Carter, Mike and Shannon Inge, Neal and Kathy)
(the Inges and Pollards hiked Golden Gate Canyon State Park)
(It was a HOT day!)
July 4th! We went to Easton Open Space Park to watch about 15 different fireworks displays. The Inges and our family joined the Autreys and Hites. We played ball and frisbee, then hung out until after 10 PM. It was lots of fun.
July 5th meant a trip to the Denver Zoo. The "kids" had lots of fun.
From 7/9-7/12, the Hites (Mike, Lynn, Melissa & Matthew) joined us for a quick vacation. We had a great time. The company was wonderful and we took in all kinds of stuff! We logged over 1600 miles and entered seven National Park properties (Ft Laramie, Oregon Trail, Wind Cave, Jewel Cave, Mt Rushmore, Devil's Tower, and Badlands), two state parks (Custer and Needles Highway), and Register Cliff (Wyoming). Whew! We pulled off tight quarters and long rides just fine--I think!
(all of us standing in the ruts of the Oregon Trail in eastern Wyoming)
(The register cliff is several sandstone cliffs where Oregon Trail riders inscribed their names and the date they came through. It was very fascinating and was within a mile of a Pony Express site).
(This was a fascinating stop, with most of the original buildings still standing)
Of course, Rushmore was a huge highlight! It was very hot, but we spent several hours there that Thursday.
Wind Cave was cool, literally and figuratively!
We saw so much wildlife in Custer State Park. This herd of elk running up a cliff was as neat as anything we saw in there (we also saw several buffalo, white tail deer, and burros).
The burro were friendly!
The Badlands were more vast and impressive than we could have imagined. We passed through some neat little towns along a scenic route Mike found. It was a bigger highlight than Wall Drug store in Wall, SD.It was windy in the Badlands, too!
We even dashed back into northeast Wyoming that same Friday and saw Devil's Tower National Monument. It was massive and impressive from every angle.
Everyone humored Neal by coming home via Nebraska. It was miles and miles and miles of...
It was a full, enjoyable month. August holds a lot of activity, too. We feel like the summer has flown by. The month will hold many highlights, but we'd appreciate your prayers for Kathy. She has taken a flight to Ohio to be with her grandpa, who is not expected to live. She will get to see her dad, sister, and other family. It will be the first time everyone has been together in over six years. Please pray for Kathy's comfort and strength through all of this. She was very close to her grandparents (her grandma has Alzheimers and is in a nursing home in Dover).
