Taylor Park

After arriving home from the melodrama, it was time to pack up the camper as we were leaving the next morning for Taylor Park, over in the Gunnison area!

We were excited to take Cottonwood Pass which has been closed for 2 years while they re-did the road!!  By going over the pass, you can save about 2 1/2 hours vs going all the way around by Gunnison!  Glenn had checked to make sure it opened (it had) but he didn't research it enough!

As we drove into Buena Vista and got ready to turn on the road to the pass, there was a huge sign that said the pass was closed - WHAT????  We drove a little further and there's another sign that says closed so I whipped out my phone and found a phone number to call - that's when we discovered that the pass is ONLY open to single vehicles, not anything that is towed.  Well Darn!!!!!

So we had to find a place to turn around (always interesting when you're tripled up) and take the LONG WAY AROUND - to the tune of 5 hours!!  WOW!!  But it's always a nice drive and when we arrived at Taylor Park, we pulled off and unloaded the Razor to drive so we could find a private campsite.  We found a great place with awesome views and that's where we set up!  This was our view!

There was no cell phone service at all but we took a drive up the mountain that evening and not only got enough service to check our phones, but some awesome views!!

The next morning we headed out on a trail - an extremely difficult one with lots of trees to squeeze through and sharp turns - after we were done, I told Glenn we would NEVER to do that trail again - too stressful!!

Then we headed to another one that IF you can get up it, the views are amazing as it's up by Aspen - usually there is water coming down part of the trail which we knew in advance but we had NO idea the trail was as bad as it was - I guess over the years the dirt has just washed away and nothing is left but rocks !!  It was SO bumpy and miserable!  We finally got through that and it was onto the water trail but after a while we just gave up - too bumpy and rough for us oldsters!!  So another trail to cross off our list - guess we're getting too old!!

I loved seeing this mountain as the side of it looks like silhouettes of trees!!

Relaxing in the evenings - nice campfires!!

It was pretty darn cold in the morning - but we didn't have to leave early on the razor!  We headed out to a nice, level trail (my kind!!) and look what we found!!!  I was SO excited to see that moose!!

On the way back, the moose was still hanging around and was even closer!!

There's lots of gorgeous country over there!

This is Lily Pond - completely covered in lily pads!!  Pretty cool looking!

The last morning we woke up to THIS - yes, that's frost - it covered the ground and the razor - are we really that close to fall?  Apparently in the Gunnison area we are!!

Visitors From Hungary

Glenn and I were both excited to hear that foreign exchange student Eszter and Jaime's best friend, was coming with her family to the US for a 3 week vacation!!  They would be staying at Jaime's for a few nights but the only chance I had to see them was the morning after they arrived at Jaime's since I was heading to Denver to babysit!!

So we made plans to have them come over for cinnamon rolls and coffee!  It was SO GOOD to see them and their kids (whom don't speak English but do a great job of understanding!!)

Little Miss Gwyn helped with the cinnamon rolls!

Eszter and Jaime out by the garden - Eszter hasn't changed at all!!

We set up a couple of games for all the kids to play - even though there was a language barrier, Kylan communicated with them well!!

We enjoyed our coffee and cinnamon rolls and they took a tour of our property and house - it was just wonderful to spend some time with them!

After saying our good-byes, Gwyn and I packed up the car and headed for Denver!!  It was fun to see Kenzie and Evan again who were in school when we arrived - they sure missed their sister!!

Jessi and Gary headed out shortly afterwards for the first evening of the seminar - on Friday night they just stayed in a hotel where the seminar was being held as it was quite a ways north in Denver.

After the kids got off to school on Friday, I took Gwyn to McDonald's to get her a smoothie (that was on her list of things to do at our house and it never worked out!) and me a frappe!  She ended up playing on the NEW inside playset and found a friend to hang out with so we spent a long time there!

We hung out for the next couple of days - playing games and cards, helping on their rooms to get super organized for the school year and having fun!!  And before I knew it, Sunday came and it was time to race back home to get ready for the melodrama at Cripple Creek with a friend!  A busy life - I KNOW!!!

The North Pole

Gwyn hadn't been to the North Pole yet and I knew she would love it so that was our special adventure on Tuesday!  Even Glenn said he could go so we headed out to be there at opening time!

Gwyn was amazed at all of the rides and we had no idea if she would like them or not - she DID!!  It wasn't crowded at all which made it nice to basically walk on each ride!

Santa was waiting along the bridge so we stopped to get that Kodak moment!

The train ride - not super exciting but Gwyn loved it and that's all that mattered!

The famous "ice" pole - always a great picture spot!

Doesn't she look cute sitting on the polar bears' paw?

And you can't go to the North Pole without getting a picture of Santa's sleigh!

I listened closely to what Gwyn asked for Christmas!!

She also got to feed the "real" deer and thought it was pretty gross when they ate out of her hand!  Good thing there is lots of hand sanitizer there!!

We ate lunch at the North Pole - saw the magic show where she got to pet the white rabbit - and by 2:00 we were all exhausted!!  What a great day!!

Papa had to take Gwyn for a ride on the ATV and in the Razor!!  She loved both!

What a fantastic time we had with Gwyn - she's so good without her siblings around - not that they aren't good but when you put the 3 of them together, the dynamics sure change!  She just loves being by herself with Nana and Papa!

It's All About Gwyn!

After arriving at Jessi's house about midnight after our Nicaragua trip, Jaime and Rayna and I spent the night because Gwyn was headed to our house the next morning - life just doesn't slow down and there was NO way we were going to miss our special time with Gwyn!

She was super excited about coming and Jaime dropped Gwyn and I off late Sunday morning - it felt SO GOOD to be back home - as I always say, there's NO place like HOME!!

Gwyn thought she was pretty special as the other kids only got to stay 2 or 3 nights and she was staying 4 nights!!  (but only because I was bringing her back home Thursday due to the fact I was going to babysit the Keppys for 3 nights!!)

And our time with Gwyn began...........

Glenn spent some time with Gwyn (so I could get unpacked and get my laundry going from being gone 9 days!!), showing her the garden and teaching her to feed the fish!  She LOVED feeding the fish which has to be done twice a day!

Yum - macaroni and cheese for dinner!

Gwyn and I played numerous games of Chutes and Ladders and Candyland!

It's fun to have a smiling Gwyn to wake up to each day!  She slept on the floor in our bedroom and never woke up once during the nights!

10:00 is coffee time for Nana - so it's hot chocolate time for Gwyn - with marshmallows and whipped cream and of course a straw!

Our neighbors had 2 of their grand kids at their house for a couple of days so they came over and the girls had a great time painting!

That evening we had a campfire with s'mores and lots of swinging off the rock - the girls really enjoyed it and we 4 adults sat around the campfire and visited - a great time!

Coming up - Gwyn's special adventure!

The Long Journey Home

After our extremely busy day, it was time to count the remaining drugs and pack it all back up - quite the chore but we all pitched in!!

Outside, some of our crew and the local kids played soccer - neat to see them playing with language not being a barrier!

We packed up our tents and suitcases the next morning and waited for all the buses to be loaded with all of the supplies - we were 3 school buses and 2 semi trucks!

Unfortunately I woke up not feeling good at all - cramps and severe diarrhea  hit me hard and I knew the 9 hour bus ride back to Managua would be a challenge!!!

Remember how I said it rained every day?  Well the dirt road wasn't in good shape at all and this first hill was the worst!!  Our driver tried several times but just couldn't get up it!

And unfortunately, this is what happened!

A second bus got stuck also so we all unloaded and it took about 1 1/2 hours to get the semi around and hooked up to pull both buses out!!

It was a relief to get back to the mission house after the long bus ride - there was a wonderful meal waiting for us but I hardly ate anything as just didn't feel good!!

Friday was "fun day" in Managua and this year the people chose to go on a boat ride on Lake Managua, have a wonderful meal at a nice restaurant and then go shopping!  I and 4 others chose to stay back at the Mission House - with 3 of us not feeling well!!

So I had a relaxing day and read a lot in this beautiful room!

That evening was our special dinner and program where a lot of the people talk about what the journey to Kuskawas meant to them.  We also got our final figures from our 3 days at the clinic:  3596 people were seen, 15,597 prescriptions were filled (no wonder my feet were sore!!), 284 people were seen in the dental clinic with 522 teeth pulled, 742 eyeglasses handed out and over 600 immunizations were given from the vet team!  Such outstanding numbers - and the final one is the evangelism team brought 449 people to accept Jesus Christ!

One final picture of our crew before we head to the airport!

We flew back into Miami and it felt great to once again be on American soil!!

A bunch of us ate one last meal together as a lot of them were splitting off to head to their own airports!

And a final goodbye to Pastor Vance, his lovely wife Charlene whom I was so glad to see this year, and their grand daughter - such a wonderful family!!

And soon we were in the air to Denver!!  A long journey day and we were all glad to be home!  What an adventure!

Serving The People

Although we were extremely busy the first 2 days in Kuskawas, we had no idea our 3rd day would be our busiest!  The rain fell - the heat and humidity were almost unbearable - sleep was hard to come by as it was so hot - but we all persevered and knew we were making a difference!

After our morning scripture by Pastor Vance and breakfast, we walked down the hill and this is what we saw!

The line of people that had walked through the night to see us was unbelievable!! We couldn't see the end of the line and knew it was going to be a very busy, long day!!

In the meantime, Rayna was asked to go out on the vet team so she was excited to do that!

The little kids that came through the clinic were adorable!

When I took a break to eat lunch, this bus was just coming through!  The streets were still very busy with people!  And the outside air felt a whole lot better than the hot air inside the clinic!

We were usually done between 5 and 6 each day - this last day we worked till after 8:00!!  Because we were seeing people from the outlying villages, we made sure to see every last one as many had stood in line all day!  What an exhausting but fulfilling day!

The greenery nearby was amazing - I loved this tree that was across from the tented church that our group set up!

Some of the local homes in the village.

Because of all the rain each day, there were always low lying clouds around the mountains!

We all enjoyed seeing the "locals" go about their daily life - we saw this scene daily and assume the boy got water in these cans to take home.  If you own a horse, you are considered rich!

The only sign I could find of Kuskawas!!

When the day was done, we weren't surprised to hear that we had served 1678 people!  WOW - no wonder we were tired!!