2008 Family Reunion

Here is our family reunion in pictures, check the slide show.

Check out the Ponderosa Campground on the web at:

www.coloradodirectory.com/ponderosacampcabins

Big Toys for Big Boys

Komatsu D275AX-5, 410 HP, 109,900 lb, crawler dozer, for more details check online at http://www.komatsuamerica.com/

This machine was too heavy to make it up the first steep hill on the Camp May road. So it was moved off the trailer and Mike Green drove it up the old road, over rocks and fallen trees to a flatter area. Then it was brought up to the ski area by the truck.
The ski area is renting it for a month to create a terrain park at the top of Easy Mother.
Milt has been working dismantling the old terrain park at the bottom of Lumber Yard. Today he was able to do in three hours what would have taken him over a day with the ski area's small D-4 bulldozer. Needless to say he was having fun, big time.
And we skiers will enjoy having that great lower Lumberyard to make tracks on next winter, the snowboarders can jump and flip at the top of Big Mother, big improvement!
Mike Green and friend.

Comments from Family and Friends

Family Reunion comment:
Thanks for posting these! I really enjoyed seeing you all and the place. It looks like a great time was had by all.
xhollis

Hi Mom,
I signed up as a Google Reader via the instructions from the website. I actually was able to place a comment on the Gillespie Bunch website so check it out. This reader thing is interesting. I learned something new today. Who knows, it could become very useful.
Love Janet

Dear Kathy,
You have done such a wonderful job on the blog! It is really fun to see and read about everyone. I am sure sorry I won't be able to join in the fun, but hopefully afterward everyone will send you their photos so that I can see them on the Gillespie Family blog!
xhollis

Hi mom,
Yes, the picture of the fox was hard to see until I enlarged it, what a beautiful little creature. Knowing me I would be encouraging it to come around so I could watch it. I am disappointed that Hollis is not coming and of course feel the same about Andrea and David. None the less I am looking forward to spending time with everyone else.
Love, Jeanne

Kathy,
I am impressed. Thank you for sharing the wonderful picture of Pedernal. Pedernal is one of my favorite places. It was also nice seeing pictures of your family and the Thursday quilt ladies. Fran, your quilt is great.
Jan

Hi there,
I just wanted to applaud you on your website, it is a great idea and a nice way to keep informed on family activities. Maybe we could use this for news of our upcoming family reunion. Do you have any thoughts on that?
Love Janet
(My thoughts: this may be too new to really work as a communication device, probably emails and phone calls will work best, we'll see, THE MOM)

An exciting moment at the water dish!

This is the first fox we've seen in our immediate backyard. With the dry weather there have been lots of different birds, chipmunks, and probably wandering dogs who come by to take a drink from our robins water dish.
I was so excited when I saw the fox I almost didn't get my camera out. But as you can see I did. I just didn't engage the telephoto lens. Oh well, you can click on the picture and enlarge it.

It was a beautiful animal, dainty, with a huge tail, ringed and tipped in black. He/she left after a minute or two and didn't see me at the window. Great view for me!

Nambe Lake, almost

June 4, the goal of the hike was Nambe Lake, at around 11,000 elevation. Annette and I forged on ahead of the group of hikers to see if it was possible to make it that high. Early in the hike we were postholing through drifts of snow, walking on wet mud and soggy bogs, but we soldiered on. Till finally it was wall to wall deep snow. The only way to go forward was on a steep talus slope. We decided that with just two of us, we would not try anything risky. But there were a couple of lovely meadows, with flowers, rushing streams of water everywhere. Summer will arrive, maybe next month we'll try for Nambe lake again.

Alert from Jeanne!

Jeanne had a scare today. She awoke with one eye dilated, it had started on Sunday but was worse this morning. She was able to get an appointment with her ophthalmologist in the afternoon. By then it was beginning to get smaller, but she was still worried, didn't know what was happening. Of course when you Google it you find out about all sorts terrible things that it could be. The doctor was smart and questioned her about her activities and whether she had a belladonna plant at her house. She rhapsodized and described the beautiful trumpet plant that hung over their hot tub and how she had cleaned out the pods and trimmed it on Sunday.
The cause and culprit was found. Belladonna is a vaso dilator. Above are the pictures she took on Sunday of the plant, Snowy and Andrea. Needless to say Milt and I were happy that this was the outcome, as was Jeanne.
Here are some more pictures of the Hawaii trip to Maui she sent late last night.