Our last day...

Friday morning we woke to beautiful sunshine!

We went for a walk in the area where we were staying.  Here is a look at our view as we walked.

Along the way, we spotted a moose in someone's driveway.

We both wished for a few days more!  The weather forecast was perfect for the week-end.  However, it was time to go home for now & hope for another visit to Wyoming!

Even the view at the airport is amazing!

P.S. fun fact about the JH airport is that it is the only airport located inside a national park.  AND the pilots have to have special certification to fly in there because it's located in the mountains & the runway is extra short.  Who knew?!

Biking in the Tetons

We postponed the bike ride that we had planned on Tuesday until today (hoping for better weather).  It didn't work out that way.  It was very overcast & drizzly.

We headed to the Teton Mountain Bike Tours headquarters.  We met our guide, Pat, there.  He drove a van & we followed him up to an area in the Grand Teton National Park called Antelope Flats.  We got on our bikes & headed out.

Apparently, the wildlife was all bedded down bcz of the rain & cool temps.  We didn't see any animals along our ride.  Despite the cloud cover over the beautiful Teton mountain range, we enjoyed beautiful colors of the fall foliage.  The aspens & maples were so colorful.

It was a scenic (though cold!) excursion.  I am glad we did the ride today, but would love to do it again someday when the sun is shining.

A trip down the Snake River

Today we had a white water rafting trip down the Snake River planned.  When we woke up, it was raining...not exactly good river weather.  Oh, well....the guides assured us we were going to get wet even if it wasn't raining.  So...we decided to go on with our plans.

When we went to Ashley's house to pick her up that morning, there was the biggest mule deer I've ever seen in the front yard.

Ashley, Tommy & I arrived at the Mad River Boating headquarters an hour ahead of time.  They told us that because of the cool temps, they were requiring wetsuits for anyone going on the  river.  Even though none of us had ever aspired to wear a wetsuit, we all donned one.

By the time we got in the raft, we knew we'd done the right thing.  It was drizzling part of the time while we floated.

During the course of our river trip, we saw a family of otters, several osprey & even a bald eagle.  Because we didn't take our camera, you'll have to take our word for it.  There are no pictures of the wildlife.  When you see this picture of our ride, you'll understand why we didn't take any cameras.

After we finished our float trip adventure, we came back to the house to shower & warm up a bit.

Ashley drove us around a little to see some of Grand Teton National Park & then we went to the Roadhouse for a nice hot dinner.

The rain didn't spoil our day....not at all!

A rainy day in the Tetons...

Today we were scheduled to do a bike ride in the Tetons.  The weather had other plans.  It was raining when we woke up & continued to do so throughout the morning.  The bike company rescheduled our ride until Thursday.

We decided to go to Teton Village & ride the tram up to the top.  When we bought our tickets, they warned us it was cloudy at the top & visibility was limited.  We opted to go anyway.  The view was beautiful until about halfway up.  It then became impossible to see.  It was cloudy & windy.  By the time we got to the top, it was very windy and cold.  We went into the lodge at the top & got  a cup of hot chocolate.  When we got ready to leave there, it was sleeting!  We could see nothing for the clouds.

After we left there, we drove through an elk refuge are on the edge of Jackson.  We only saw 2 antelope.

Next, we came back to the house & had a nap.  After that, we went for a walk along the road by our house. Here are a couple of photos I took along the way.

Ashley Frizzell came over late this afternoon.  We went to town with her & ate dinner.  On our way home, traffic was stopped & when we finally got close enough to see what was going on, this was what we saw...

All in all, a good day!

Yellowstone

We headed to Yellowstone this morning & our first stop was Old Faithful.  It was beautiful!

We also saw a bear along the drive.  Didn't get a very good picture, but it was worth the stop anyway.

Our favorite part of the day was our stop at Gibbons Falls.  It was breathtaking!
It's called the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  Pictures don't do it justice!

It was a great walk down, but the walk back up was intense.  We stopped halfway up & got someone to take our picture while we caught our breath.  The aspens were changing colors & they were amazing!

The weather was perfect until we started driving out of the park & the rain started.  Good timing!

And now...on to vacation...

Tommy & I agreed that Jackson Hole & Yellowstone would be a good vacation destination this year.  We flew out yesterday evening.  We arrived at 9:30 last night.  We got our rental car & struck out into the EXTREMELY DARK night.  Despite the dark, we found our way to the condominium that we'd rented in the Aspens.  We were pleasantly surprised when the sun came up this morning at the beautiful surroundings.  It's out between Jackson Hole & the Grand Teton National Park.  We started the day with a walk in the cool morning air!

We then went to Jackson Hole & walked around town.

We then drove to Teton Village & hiked around a little.The last stop was the grocery store to buy some things we could pack for lunches as we go to Yellowstone & Grand Tetons National Parks.

We sat out on the porch & read until it got so cool we decided to come inside.  Nice evening....a book in my lap & this was my view...

A great first day!

Beginning of our vacation...a day to remember!

Several of my friends, my son-in-law & I all set our alarms early this morning.  We had committed a while back to participate in the Cross Timbers Sprint Triathlon on September 12, 2015.  We all spent time jogging (or walking, in my case!), biking & swimming to prepare.

When we went outside to leave the house, it felt like fall was in the air (for the first time this year!).  The weather was perfect.  There was a big group of us from Granbury that participated.

This is one of my favorite pictures of the day...we all lined up in age order (since they did write our age on our calf, there was no denying it....HA!)

They served us Grump's hamburgers afterward.  Then they did awards.  Will won 1st in his age division & I apparently won 3rd place in my age group in the MEN'S division.  HAHA!  Didn't ask any questions...just smiled & accepted my prize.  

It's a good memory & will be a story to tell...

Thankful for good friends & a son-in-law that will hang out with us!   

A journey...

Today is a special day for our family!

Almost 3 years ago, Cori came home for the week-end.  During the course of her visit, she told us that she knew she had a great degree (Business Marketing from ACU) & she had a great job, but she felt called to do something different.  She wanted to pursue a nursing degree.  Tommy encouraged her, saying that life is too short to do something that isn't a "fit" for her.

So began the journey of the last couple of years.  She checked into several different programs, began to take prerequisites & filled out applications to schools.  Upon completing the necessary courses to be qualified, she was accepted into TCU's Accelerated Nursing program.  The program started the beginning of May last year.  It's been an intense 15 months, but today is GRADUATION DAY!

She was privileged to do her summer internship in the NICU at Cook Children's Hospital in FW.  It seems like the perfect fit for her & she has accepted a job there.

I am very thankful for her husband, Will, who has been supportive throughout the whole process.  He's cooked lots of meals & done lots of chores for her while she was studying or at the hospital.  Hats off to him for his part in helping her make this dream come true!

I am so proud of her for setting her sights on her goal & working diligently to meet that goal.  Congratulations, Cori Moore, RN, BSN!

Thank you AGAIN...11.5 years later!!

Wow...thought of something I consider blog post-worthy today, looked & realized it's been 2 1/2 years since I last posted on my blog.  I am recommitting to posting more often.  So here goes...

Yesterday, in searching for something in my file cabinet, I started digging & found a folder of words spoken by dear friends at my Daddy's funeral.  I sat down & took time to read through them.  They brought a few tears...mostly tears of thankfulness at the depths of friendship with which my family has been blessed.  I spent some quiet time reflecting upon the final days of Daddy's life as I went about the rest of my day.  Something inside urged me to text the two friends that had penned the words on the aforementioned pages that afternoon & express my gratitude for their friendship.

Oddly enough, I got a text from one of my dear friends later in the evening.  Her dad had fallen & she was going to take him to the ER.  Since most of her family was out of town, I decided to meet them & sit with her.  The doctors decided to do a CT scan & determined they should move him to Harris Hospital in Fort Worth.  My friend & I followed the ambulance that carried her dad.  We waited as they did another CT scan there to compare it to the one they'd done in Granbury.  The doctors decided to admit him to the hospital for observation.  We followed the nurses as they wheeled her dad's hospital bed to the Neuro ICU unit.  Thankfully, it looks like he will be released today or tomorrow.

The thing that makes this all a little eery is that when we got to the Granbury hospital, we went to the exact same exam room where we went with my Daddy in May of 2003.  We also followed him to Harris Hospital in FW & indeed, were sent to the very same Neuro ICU unit....even the same room in the unit.

At the time this was all happening last night, my friend & I had both been awake for 24 hours.  Everything seemed a little foggy.  The thing that continued to come to mind were the DEAR family & friends that carried us through those 10 dark days in Fort Worth.

Coincidence?  I think not!  I believe that God was reminding me that we are to return the good deeds of which we have been the recipient.  So....to all those who were at the hospital in Fort Worth almost before we were (Doug & Brandy), visited, brought breakfast to the hospital almost every morning  (Homer) & sat in the waiting room with us while we ate, held our hands, hugged our necks, called us, neglected what they needed to be doing at home & stayed in Forth Worth with us (Jodie), travelled from far distances to be with us, did errands for us, helped us get Cori off to camp (Nancie), spent nights in the waiting room with us & those that were at the end of Daddy's life, I want to say THANK YOU AGAIN...11.5 years later.