Happy Christmas everyone!
JANUARY found us on the central California coast in Morro Bay for our annual Kent Birthday celebration, hikes and bike rides along with watching a few playoff football games. (Click on any photo to expand).
FEBRUARY, we spent a few days in the Palm Springs area with Cousin Tom & JonLee. Before heading back north to help out with our village Inner Renewal Week.
MARCH was the big one. We spent 4 days below the rim of the Grand Canyon, sleeping in small backpack tents and hauling our gear up and down the South Kaibab and Bright Angel trails. From 27 degrees to almost 70 degrees at the bottom. Link here to the blog posts.
Late March Kent flew to Fairbanks with some friends to see the Northern Lights. Didn’t see much but was fun to play Nanuk of the north for a few days. 🥶
APRIL is Springtime at Ananda where almost 20,000 visitors come to see the tulip gardens. Only this year, with the late winter rains/snows, the month long event lasted into late may. We were usually on weekend volunteer duty as parking lot attendants making sure the guests sanely parked and enjoyed their visit.
MAY found me back at Morro Bay with my cycling buddies for a few days
After Morro Bay, I decided to wander down the coast with no advanced plans to LA to see some friends then up thru Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks (had never been before) followed by a wonderful albeit way to short time in Yosemite. Amazing where i can go in that camper van. You may ask: “Where is Sraddha?” She went back to the Grand Canyon and did not take any photos.
JUNE found us camping up in the Sierra for a few days
I flew up to Portland and then another trip to Olympia with my model railroad buddies. We also drove the van to Seattle are to help Tom & JonLee move, mainly help them clear out the garage a bit as they moved into a condo nearby. Drove home thru eastern Oregon and the Wallowa Mountains. In between I went to see a SF Giants baseball game on 4th of July.
JULY we headed east to Park CIty, Utah for Sraddha’s annual family gathering then up to the Tetons for a planned week of exploring. However, a key issue with the van prompted a big change in plans.
One of our back outside storage door hinges is coming loose which necessitated a repair by a qualified service center. So off we go for an impromptu 10 day summer trek across Idaho and Oregon! It was a blast. We were able to find last minute campsites in several Oregon state parks, and spent a night at a hotel in 100 degree Boise. After 5 weeks of travel and, the repair made, we headed home.
AUGUST-NOVEMBER – I did get up to the Truckee area some cycling and higher altitude rest. We also celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary in October at the physical therapist office, and of course watching football.
DECEMBER – It turns out July was our last trip of the year together. Sraddha had a full knee replacement surgery in late September and has recovered nicely having just completed all the physical therapy visits allowed over the past 2 1/2 months. The upside has been enjoying the fall weather at home instead of elsewhere.
However, as Sraddha rehabbed her knee and doing quite well, my lower back is acting up with lumbar stenosis and bulging disks. Kind of a combination of aging body and karmic bomb. I am not able to cycle or hike and am home resting, rehabbing and awaiting appointments with specialists in January to explore what can be done in 2024. We do have travel plans for late winter into spring but will see how it goes.
We are nestled safely in our warm cozy home, enjoying a very quiet life, binging Christmas movies, learning to print photos, watching football (GO Huskies and Seahawks), enjoying our wood stove and a quiet Christmas.
Here’s wishing all of you a Happy Christmas 🎄 and a safe and sane New Year.🥳