Sunday, September 18, 2016

Epic Road Trip of 2016 has been successfully completed.  In all, 17 states were visited during the 6,644 mile journey.  Portions of the Deep South, South, Southwest, American West, and Mid-west were explored. 

The three main objectives of the trip were:
1.  Transfer my gun collection to Flagstaff, Arizona.
2.  Hike the Grand Canyon rim to rim solo (24 miles).
3.  Hike to the top of Mt. Humphreys at 12,666 feet with my daughter and grandson.

Enjoy the pictures below.

Gene




Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Yellowstone

Ever wonder what those 10,000 baby boomers who retire each and every day are doing?  Most of them seem to be in Yellowstone.  The place was packed.  We are loving our parks to death.

There are five entrances into Yellowstone.  Each entrance is great in its own right.  From the south, you come up through Grand Teton National Park.  From the north you drive down through the Paradise Valley of Montana.  From the Northeast, you take the great and scenic drive from Red Lodge, Montana.  From the east, you climb a mountain pass from Cody, Wyoming.  From the west, the direction I came in from, you travel through a fly fisherman's paradise. 

I arrived to snow and sleet with a temperature of 41 degrees.  This made things look eerie.




The Madison River is a must for the serious fly fisherman.





The elk were in abundance.


As were the bison.


I moved across the south side of the park to Grant Village and set up camp.  It was cold, and there was snow to deal with.  Not good.





The sun came out so I drove up the shore of Lake Yellowstone to Hayden Valley and took pictures in each area.  The bison were out in large numbers.
















Returning to the camp ground, I was delighted to see the moon coming up over Yellowstone Lake.



I experimented with fog and mist pics.





Saving the best for last, here is a large grizzly bear.












Monday, September 12, 2016

Hiking the Sacred Mountain

It was a special day, a Bucket List day, and it was Grandparents Day.

The San Francisco Peaks tower over Flagstaff to 12,666 feet.  Mt. Humphreys is the high peak and it is one of the four sacred mountains of the Navajo.  My grandson Osten Bluelake, age 9, is a member of the Navajo Nation.  Thus, to hike Mt. Humphreys to the top and back would be quite a significant event for the family.

Here are pictures of the Peaks from REI and the grandkids school. 



Here are a couple of stock photos of the San Francisco Peaks.





Three generations completed the 10 mile round trip, up and back, 
daughter Lisa, grandson Osten, and grandpa Gene.  Brian, Dianne, and granddaughter Shandiin hiked a portion of the mountain.



The Bluelake family


Lots of lava rock to contend with.


Looking back.


The para-cord wrist bracelet worn by Gene days earlier on his Grand Canyon rim to rim hike, then up to the top of Mt. Humphreys was presented to Osten.


Osten gets out of the wind.  It was really windy at the "saddle".


Coming down.




Dianne & Shandiin

Gene's wish is that Osten remembers this day when he hiked the sacred mountain with his mom and his Cheii.






Friday, September 9, 2016

Golfing with Kids in Flagstaff

Dianne and I took the grandkids out golfing.  We were the caddies.




Osten has a nice swing.  He is a graduate of the First Tee golf program.






Shandiin is a great putter.  She also chipped one in the cup from 15 feet off the green.