WATERTON, Alberta Canada

We have been here for a few days. Now that we are in Canada, MA has no cell phone, Sondra has a little, and we are at the mercy of whatever park we are parked in for internet. This one is slow to non-existent, depending on what time of day it is. This is Sondra's favorite park. For those of you that are not familiar with it, Waterton is the Canadian side of Glacier National Park in Montana. We were here last year, and she couldn't wait to get back.  We have done some hiking and seen some wildlife. Sondra's thrill was watching a fox catch a ground squirrel and watching it die. I could not watch that. Sondra did make it up a hike that she only could climb halfway last year, so she is doing great on the hikes. I have been getting as much walking and hiking in as possible. It is still quite cool, I know those of you in Florida would like some of this weather, but quite frankly, I would like a little warmer weather now. Sondra took a lot of pictures but mostly of the scenery. Unfortunately, I have not been able to download most of them, and not any with either one of us in them. The first picture is one of the many beautiful waterfalls we made it to and the second is Red Rock Canyon. The pictures can not do the scenery justice. We continue to marvel at the beauty of this earth. When God said "it is good" at creation, he certainly must have been talking about some of the sights we have seen.

Montana

We have been right outside of Yellowstone Park for the week. We saw a lot of the park, but it would take a month to see everything. It is huge. We saw Old Faithful erupt, smelled the sulfur geysers, saw lots of animals, including bison, a coyote, elk, pronghorns (antelope), several black bears, one with three cubs. Saw a couple of bison fighting, visited Yellowstone Lake.  Today we went to the Grand Teton National Park. Personally, I liked that one better. If and when I come back, I will spend a lot more time at the Grand Teton Park and less at Yellowstone.  The picture of the man is someone that Sondra picked up. He insisted on cooking Sondra some trout that he caught. That is all true. However, he does have a wife, so Sondra didn't really pick him up.

South Dakota

So we were in South Dakota for a few days without phone service, internet or TV. That was all ok, but it was also cold and rainy.  We finished hiking in Rocky National Park and then went to South Dakota passing through Wyoming. We learned two interesting facts about Wyoming. First, it has the fewest people of any other state, and second, it produces about 40% of the coal in the United States.  Then we went to Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota. Has anyone ever heard of this National Park? We had not, but it was pretty awesome.  The cave is one of the biggest, if not the biggest in the world, with over 130 miles of caves paths. We had a great tour. It was the seventh National Park, and I bet most people never heard of it.  You must visit if you are anywhere near South Dakota or Wyoming. Then we went to Badlands National Park. It is also very cool. Both of places you would not see every day. I am so thankful that our forefathers thought to preserve some of these places for future generations to enjoy. Once again, we see God's handiwork all around us. We serve an awesome God who can make beauty out of anything. The first couple pictures are of a cute church we found in Colorado built upon a rock. That is what all of us have as a foundation. The rock of Jesus Christ.

Rocky Mountain National Park

Yesterday we visited Rocky Mountain National Park.  The snow was crazy! Sondra had to get in the snow because she hadn't seen snow since the 1970s. What a road, Trail Ridge, the highest continuous road in the United States. We rode from east to west, and then back again, about 50  miles each way. Sondra white knuckled it in several places, but since I am such a good driver, no worries. The first  picture is from our campsite. The last picture is of the continental divide. The weather finally turned a little warmer, so we are glad of that. We have been most blessed to find a great church each Sunday, and today was no different with a challenge to our hearts. God is awesome, and we are so blessed to be able to experience first hand His handiwork. Pictures can not really describe how beautiful our country is.  Retirement is suiting both of us, and we haven't killed each other yet.
Today I about killed her though, because we had a five mile plus hike around Lake Estes, but I did let her get lunch in the middle of the hike.

Dillon

Had a great visit with Josh and crew. In the picture is Josh and his sweetheart, Mandy, the old lady, and Molly. I love these kids, we had a lot of laughs and a good time. never enough time with them. We went yesterday to get a few minor things fixed in the motorhome. The people at Discount RV in Longmont were beyond nice and helpful. They had everything fixed in half an hour. We moved from one cold place in Colorado to another, but the sun is shining and we are going to visit Rocky Mountain National park today. The scenery is breathtaking.

Colorado

We are in Colorado for a few days visiting my son Josh. It is very cold here. We went on a very difficult hike today. We are hoping that we can walk tomorrow. We even drove through snow getting to our hike today!

Sondra Hiking

Well, I don't know if it was because we were in her home state, or why, but Sondra did a lot of hiking at the lake of the Ozarks. We went to Ha Ha Tonka state park, which was gorgeous. The name means laughing water. We did quite a bit of hiking, I am pointing out our map. Then we went to the booming town and bought some fudge. See all the weight we have gained. Last night we went to a 60s, 70s and 80s show which was excellently done. The tickets were $20 and was as good as any 80 show I have been to.  We move on tomorrow, passing through the long state of Kansas before we go to see my son Josh for a few days. Weather is cool, but we are adjusting.