Summer Winding Down - 2009

      It's been a busy summer and a
> travelog is far overdue.  By neccesity it will be
> quick, but update you on what we've been doing.  Summer
> started cold and rainy from most of June, but has been
> glorious since then, with lots of sunshine and warm days
> (high 70"s) and cool nights (40"s mostly).
>      Hard as it is to believe, we only
> have 4 1/2 weeks left in the mountains.    We'll
> be leaving Evanston and heading for the Grand Canyon on
> 20Sep.  Please don't send any mail to our daughter's
> address (401 Twin Ridge Ave.  Evanston, WY 82930) after
> September 10th.  You can use our winter address (3241
> S. Montgomery Road Casa Grande, AZ 85293) from then
> on.  They'll hold our mail, as we don't expect to
> arrive until mid-October.  Of course our South Dakota
> address (3213 W. Main St. #115 Rapid City, SD 57702) will
> always get to us.  It just takes a little longer.
>      We had two weddings this summer as
> Gary's oldest daughter, Neila, and his son, Curtis both
> remarried wonderful people that are a pleasure to have in
> the family.  Curtis and his wife, April, welcomed their
> new son, Bowdie much earlier than expected, on June
> 25th.  He weighed in at ONE lb. ONE oz. and was 12
> inches long.  He was born and remains in the NICU at
> University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City.  We're
> able to get down to see him every couple of weeks and it's
> amazing how tiny he is, but perfectly formed and quite
> handsome, of course!  The latest update is that he
> finally hit the TWO pound mark and is now 2 lbs 1 1/2
> oz.  So far the problems he's had have all been
> overcome, but of course it's one day at a time.
> They're hopeful he'll be able to come home by October 8th,
> his original due date.
>      Gary continue to play billiards
> and won a Bronze medal in the Wy Sr. Olympics in
> doubles.  Busy campgrounds didn't allow for him to
> enter singles or golf.  He golfs every Mon. evening in
> his old league and plays billiards at the Sr. Center in
> Evanston at least once a week. 
>      I've loved using my new (1936)
> Featherweight sewing machine while in the forest.  I've
> completed 3 quilts and some small projects using it.  I
> look forward to using my Bernina again this winter, but this
> has been a great solution for sewing in the forest.  I
> entered 7 items in the Uinta Co. Fair in Evanston, WY and
> took 6 blue ribbons and one red ribbon.  I also won the
> Reserve Grand Champion for a Christmas Tree Skirt I'd made
> at Quilt Camp. 
>      We've been hiking 3-6 miles at
> least once a week on some challenging trails, as we prepare
> to hike the Grand Canyon again next month.  We wear
> close to full packs while we hike and are usually at 10,000
> + feet in elevation, so it's a workout.  Our husbands
> are joining Kay and I this year as we hike to the bottom of
> the Canyon.  Gary and I are hiking down the South
> Kaibab trail on Sep 28th.  We'll meet Dick and Kay at
> the bottom and stay two nights at Bright Angel
> Campground.  On the 30th we'll hike to Indian Gardens
> on the Bright Angel Trail and spend one night there, then
> hike out to the rim on Oct. 1st.  We're excited and
> looking forward to another Canyon adventure. 
>      That's it for now.  Take care
> everyone and I'll write again after we arrive in Casa
> Grande, AZ. 
>      Dancing and winding down the
> Summer,
>      Hugs, Katy, Gary, Rusty, and
> Spicy