Exploring Near Kaycee Wyoming

Once we got to Wyoming, it was all about great food, exploring beautiful places, and helping out on the farm when we could. 

Antelope Kabobs, with garden fresh vegetables.  Oh my gosh, so amazing! 

Exploring near our kids home the next day was so much fun.  Our daughter always says that it's a good thing they put all of the highways through the ugly parts of the state so that no one realizes how beautiful Wyoming is.  We have to agree!  

Today's trip took us to the small town of Kaycee Wyoming where we enjoyed lunch at the Country Cafe, and then on to the red rock cliffs and canyon that the kids really enjoy.

On our way back through Kaycee, we stopped at the local gas station to get a f'real shake.  We had never seen them before, but they are a lot of fun.  You pick your prepackaged shake out of the freezer and then put it on the mixing machine and you come out with a wonderful shake of your choice.

Steve and I always try to work when our kids work, and to play when they have time off.  This weekend was so much fun!

Wyoming Here We Come!

We are heading to Wyoming to see our youngest daughter, and we are so excited!  Since we live between Phoenix and Tucson, we have a choice of airports.  In the past, we have always flown out of Phoenix, but this time we were able to save some money and get better flight times by flying out of Tucson.  

We knew there probably wouldn’t be any security wait times, so we planned on getting there about an hour before our flight, and that was perfect. We parked in the economy lot, which cost us a whopping $4.50 a day, and they provided a shuttle to the terminal, which took just a few minutes.  Once inside the terminal, we went to the security line.  There wasn’t a separate line for TSA precheck, but they gave us a card that allowed us to go through without removing our shoes, taking out our liquids, etc.  It went very quickly, and the airport was small and easy to navigate.  We knew we would be on a small plane since we were flying out of Tucson, and they didn’t disappoint us.

This plane was just as fast a flight on a large plane!  Our first flight was from Tucson to Denver, then we flew into Casper from there.  We never realized that DIA (the Denver airport) had a downstairs for the smaller flights where you just walk out onto the tarmac.

Harvesting Basil in Arizona

I planted some basil seeds around my avocado tree this summer to help keep the roots cool, and it worked great for that, and also gave me a great basil harvest.  The plants are almost as tall as my 4 foot tall avocado tree.  I bet they are at least three feet tall, and haven't even started to go to seed yet.  I think basil likes summer in Arizona.

Summer gardening in Arizona is fun and rewarding, but it’s hot work, so a swimsuit is required for a quick dip in the pool here and there.

Not a bad harvest for plants that I didn't expect to survive here.

Now it's time to make some pesto.

Mt. Lemmon Science Tour

It’s going to be a hot day in the city today, so we headed to Tucson to spend the day at Mount Lemmon where it is guaranteed to be nice and cool.  It’s predicted to be 106 degrees in the valley, but it should be about 40 degrees cooler at the top.

As we approached the mountain, we noticed a sign that we hadn’t noticed before, advertising a free app for the Mt. Lemmon Science Tour.  So we pulled over and downloaded it.  If you drive the speed limit going up the mountain, the apps timing is very accurate.  The most interesting fact that Steve and I picked up from the app is that in the 25 mile drive from the bottom of the mountain to the top of the mountain, you will drive through 4 climate zones, the same zones you would drive through if you drove from the Mexican border to the Canadian border.

Our first stop on the drive today was Windy Point Vista with its beautiful flat rocks.

When we reached the ski resort, we realized that the road to the top of the mountain was open today, so we were able to continue our trek up.

The views over the Aspen burn area didn’t disappoint.

When we got to the top, we took a little walk out on one of the trails and ended up at the top of the ski lift.

We are now at 9043 feet and 64 degrees.  Crazy!

You don’t see many of these in Arizona.

As we started heading down the mountain, we were met by some rain.

We made a quick trip through the town of Summer Haven, near the ski resort.  It’s very evident that they have had a wet year.  It looks more like Washington state than Arizona.

What an incredible way to spend a hot Arizona summer day, just relaxing on cool, comfortable Mt. Lemmon!

Butterfly Day at the Arboretum

Every time we go to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum it is a different experience, and that is why we love it so much!  This time it seemed like it was all about the butterflies.  We have had a lot of them this year, even in the city, but it was fun to see so many at a time.  Most of them were too fast for me, but I manages to get a few pictures.

A gypsum weed bud.  So unique and pretty. 

A pretty red dragonfly. 

It is rare to see the desert so green, even in the spring! So glad we were able to get out and enjoy it!

Our Niece’s Wedding

Our niece had planned on a small intimate wedding at her community club house, but because of COVID, they had to make a last minute change from indoor to backyard.  August in Arizona is hot, so everyone dressed accordingly.  The groom’s brother officiated, and made it a fun, quick ceremony.  You won’t find Steve or I in any of the pictures because we were lucky enough to be the official photographers.  We were so happy to do it, and hope we captured the day perfectly for them.

It was so much fun for the new families to get to know each other in this wonderful, comfortable setting. 

We are so happy for our niece, finding and marrying the man of her dreams!

They got married with family rings that have so much meaning!  She is wearing her grooms great grandmother’s ring, and he is wearing his late father’s ring.  Their wedding was so special, and the perfect setting for the two of them! 

We wish them many happy years to come!