A Restless Day

George, my grandson-in-law, wrote this about me. I suppose he wrote this for his children who may read this in the future. 

Hey, everyone!  Do you remember that we live with Mama's 99-year-old grandma?!  You do!  Well, can you believe that same 99-year-old grandma scaled a 3 foot wall and made it to a ledge that even yours truly has fallen from?  You don't!  Well then my friends, let me tell you; THAT HAPPENED!  I won't even tell you that she did with about 20 pounds of books in her backpack.  No I won't.  I also won't tell you she made it about a 1/2 mile before deciding it was time to get into some stranger's car (Tom was there) to get back.  All of this is very serious, but I do find it slightly amusing that she would rather drag her backpack on the brink of exhaustion than let that thief Tom help her.  

I remember that day, the day I “scaled a 3-foot wall.” I had to. There was no way out otherwise. 

That was in the afternoon. I was up and about since four o’clock in the morning. I couldn’t sleep. My brain went on overdrive for some reason. I tried to open doors but could not. I went to the other side of the house. I don’t always remember who are on that side. I opened a door. Apparently it was a bedroom. I decided to explore the upper floor. I went up the stairs, wondering what I would find.

My daughter appeared all of a sudden. I took some medicine she gave me. She told me to go back to my room. I went back and decided to unplug everything on my end table. I thought I needed to take these items away from here. I took the lamp, the clock, my hearing aids, the power strip, and all the hanging cords with me. That was a lot to carry in my hands. I asked my daughter to turn on the lights for me. She didn’t. I asked her to open the doors for me. She didn’t. She told me it was night and to go back to sleep. She wanted to take the items I was carrying from me. I didn’t let her.

I was too awake to go to sleep. I wasn’t sure what I was carrying in my hands. I needed to figure out what they were. I spread them out on the floor and sat down to examine them. They all looked foreign to me. So I spent a considerable amount of time looking at them, turning them upside down, and trying to figure out what parts go where. 

Finally there was some activity in the small kitchen, I went out. My son-in-law gave me breakfast. Then he took me on a walk. It was too cold for me, so we turned around and walked back home. I wanted to tell my daughter that we needed to go back to Vietnam, but she said she was still in bed. I was a little tired. I lay down on the black lounge chaise. My son-in-law sat there with me and put a blanket over me. That was peaceful and nice. The sun was soft and beautiful. I dozed off. 

My body needed rest, but my brain was on a move. I was on survival mode. I needed to leave. I figured the communists were coming. It wouldn’t be a picnic living under their rule. My granddaughter and her family already left. My daughter stubbornly wanted to stay. She doesn’t know the communists the way I do. She never had to live with them. I did. I was going to stay back with her, but at the end I could not support her decision. 

Perhaps the communists were not coming, but my parents were living in terror under them. I needed to be there for my parents. I begged my daughter to take me home to Ninh Tảo where my parents lived, but she refused. She is selfish. She wanted me to stay with her. I told her I’d be back to see her but she didn’t listen.

Perhaps there were no communists, but I missed my parents. I missed my brother. I wanted to go home to live with them again. I invited my daughter to come with me. She has never seen the place I was born and grew up in. It would be fun to have her there. Besides, if she came with me, my parents wouldn’t scold me for going away from home for so long.

Something was wrong. Although my daughter didn’t say it, I had the notion that she changed her mind about going to my birth place with me. My great-grandson used to come and horse around with me. It must be that he didn’t like me anymore because I hadn’t seen him. The only reason I could think of for their changes of hearts was that some people had told them bad things about me. I tried to tell my daughter that all of that was not true. It was all a misunderstanding.

I had packed. It is hard to know what to pack, more clothes or more books? This time I decided on books. That made the backpack heavy. But that didn’t deter me. I am very determined. When there is a will, there is a way. I tried to leave through ordinary doors but they were all locked, except the door to the balcony. I guess I would have to leave my daughter behind, but at that moment, I didn’t even remember I had a daughter. All I knew was that my parents and brother would be so happy to see me again. It had been too long.

It is a little tricky to get out via the balcony. It sits high up from the ground. But I found a corner near the front door that is not too high up from the door step. I saw a green bag in the balcony. I didn’t know what was in it, but you never know what you may need on a long journey home. I managed to climb out of the balcony, taking my backpack full of books and what turned out to be my great-grandson’s swim bag with me. 

I walked down the street. I was sure that I would know the way home. I hoped it was not too far because the backpack was pretty heavy. I didn’t even have my walking shoes with me. I told myself that I was strong and I could handle this.

Imagine my surprise when I saw my granddaughter while I was walking down the street. She wanted me to get in the car she was driving. She seemed panic stricken. She was on the phone with someone. I was glad to be picked up. I wanted her to take me to the airport so I could fly home. But she took me back to the house where we all lived together. My daughter came out. I begged her to take me to the airport. She told me to get out of the car. I refused. She tried to take the green bag away. I wouldn’t let her, but my great-grandson said it was his. So I let it go, but I hung on to my own backpack. And I definitely was not getting out of the car.

I think if I stayed in the car long enough, my daughter and granddaughter would have to relent and take me where I wanted. After a while, my son-in-law came out and talked to me. I am very fond of him. He’s gentle and he likes to take me places. I agreed to take a walk with him. I chose to carry my backpack with me. I didn’t want to lose it. That was all I had now. If I was to go back to my parents, I’d need my backpack.

I walked past the stop sign where I usually turn around on my daily walk. But I kept going that day because I didn’t want to go back to the house. After a while, I was tired. I sat down to rest. I’d love to get into any car that would take me to the airport. I found a car that appeared to stop for me, so I tried to get in. My son-in-law held me back. He explained that it was the postal service car and it stopped to deliver mail. That was too bad.

My youngest son called. I talked to him on the phone. He told me he’d pick me up to take me to the airport. He asked me to let my son-in-law help me carry the backpack. Some stranger offered to take me somewhere, I got in his car. My son-in-law did, too. To my disappointment, the stranger dropped me back at the house. I didn’t want to go in. I wanted to wait for my son to pick me up. While we were waiting, I took my son-in-law’s watch off of his wrist. I thought it would be useful to have a watch. I tried to tie it to my backpack.

I don’t remember what happened after that and how I ended up inside the house. I think I had dinner with my daughter later. I did not have lunch that day, I was too worked up to eat then, so I was pretty hungry. My daughter offered me ice cream after dinner. I accepted. That is always one of my favorites of the sweet things. I was so exhausted after a long hard day that I let my daughter brush my teeth instead of brushing them myself as I always did. Going home to Ninh Tảo would have to wait for another day. I was so ready to get into my comfortable bed. I pulled the blankets over me, closed my eyes, and drifted to sleep. I hoped to have many sweet dreams to make up for a restless day.

Stubborn, Me? - 100-word snippet

My mom was so determined to “go home” to her childhood place that she climbed out of the balcony which sits eight feet above the ground level, except at the corner near the front step where it is only three feet high. She “escaped” at this corner, lugging a very heavy backpack full of books and pulling another bag with her. When Lan found her grandmother and brought her back to the house, she refused to come in. I said to my husband, “Lan got the stubborness from my mom.” He replied, “And it didn’t skip a generation, you know.”

Jackson Hole Winter Adventures

I wanted to take a trip in February because that’s when my brother could come to take care of my mom. The Jackson Hole Winter Adventures that Road Scholar offers seemed to fit the bill. It is not too long. It offers activities we do not normally do or had never done before. It gives me a chance to wear the winter clothes that had been neglected for the past four years. I got nervous as the time drew near because I had no idea how cold it would be and if I would be properly equipped. But what to do but to go and be brave? Everything had been arranged except for the ride from the Jackson Hole Airport to the venue.

Day 1 - Travel Day 

Lan took Tom and me to the airport early in the morning before my mom woke up. The security went smoothly. We had two flight legs and both were on time. In fact, both flights arrived early. That gave us time to order a burrito for Tom and a cilantro lime salad for me at El Chingon in Terminal B of the Denver airport.

We learned later that Jackson Hole is the valley which includes the towns of Jackson, Teton Village, Wilson, Moose, and Moran. Jackson Hole is protected from development with 97% of its landscape being public land. It is bordered by the Teton Mountains to the west and Gros Ventre Mountains to the east. The average elevation here is about 6,800 feet with the lowest point being at 6,350 feet. When we arrived at the airport, we called Lyft to take us to Teton Science School (TSS), which is an outdoor learning school, at their Jackson Campus. While we were waiting for Lyft, the couple who sat next to us on the plane drove by and asked if we needed a ride. That was so nice. That would have saved us $68.

We arrived at Teton Science School in Jackson around 4pm. Lena, our program coordinator, checked us in. We settled into our room which is in a residence lodge with a plaque Chez Shea at the front door. I meant to ask a staff member who Shea was, but the opportunity didn’t arise.

While Tom was resting, I went to the dining lodge to get us some tea and ran into Melissa, a fellow Road Scholar. We chatted for a while. She had taught English as a Second Language and is now retired. She walked back to our lodge with me and helped open the door because I was holding cups of tea in both hands. 

The information package we received from Road Scholar states that we’d walk on snow covered and slippery paths between buildings, but the ground was free of snow today. It didn’t remain that way during our stay.

We went to the dining hall for dinner and orientation at 5:30pm. We met with Sophie, our group leader, and Trey, our instructor, in addition to Lena. We were a small group of eight participants. Tom was the only male.

We got back to our room before 8pm.

Day 2 – Snowshoe Day

We started each day with coffee around 7am and breakfast at 7:30am. We decided to borrow TSS backpacks for the week because they are roomy and can fit a big plastic lunch container. We also borrowed sitting pads and gaiters.

After breakfast, Sophie gave our group a lecture on Winter Seasonal Adaptations. We learned about different ways animals adapt and cope with harsh cold winters: resist, migrate, or hibernate. We packed our sandwich lunches in the dining lodge afterwards.

Then we went to the Outfitting building where we were fitted with snowshoes and poles. Greta, another TSS instructor, joined us today. There were two vans. For some reason, all eight people in our Road Scholar group piled into the van that Sophie drove. Trey and Greta were the only two people in the other van. We had that fixed on the way back.

We drove towards Wilson and took the Moose-Wilson Road and entered the Grand Teton National Park at Granite Canyon Entrance. Our Road Scholar group started at the Granite Canyon Trailhead. We stopped on the trail to listen to Trey give a talk on animal tracking. Then we split into two groups: a group with Trey and Greta and a group with Sophie. Marti, Linda, Tom, and I went with the former group. It was already past noon when we split up, so our group had lunch shortly afterwards. We found a spot with logs to sit on. After lunch, we continued on Granite Canyon Trail and then took the right turn onto Valley Trail going north towards Phelps Lake. The snow here was not as packed down. We decided to turn around and continued west on Granite Canyon Trail for a while, before turning around and went east towards the parking lot. Trey and Greta pointed out interesting tracks. During our snowshoe hike, it started to snow and rain off and on. The snow didn’t come down as soft flakes, but as tiny pieces of Styrofoam or beads, which didn’t melt right away when falling on our clothes.

At the trailhead

Greta and Trân

Tom and Trân

Linda, Marti, Trân, Tom

Marti and Trey

A magical moment occurred when we were almost back to the parking lot. The snow suddenly came down in larger round shapes, looking like white beads from a bean bag, about 3mm in diameter. The landscape changed with red-colored low bushes on the ground. The pure white snow against the red background was so beautiful. The sun was partially hiding behind the clouds. A soft light ray poked through the clouds. The moment was fleeting. The snow stopped after a minute or two. Beautiful. Serene. Magical. I wish I could have captured its beauty through pictures, but I never took the phone out of my rain pants’ pocket to attempt picture taking. I wanted to think it was a good sign that everything would be fine for my mom who was having a hard day at home today.

Marti, Linda, Tom, and I were in the smaller van on our way back to TSS with Greta and Trey. Greta stopped at Albertson’s for us to pick up some snacks. Tom got a pair of clip-on sunglasses because he couldn’t find his this morning. We got back to TSS before 4pm.

After dinner, Sydney, another TSS instructor, gave us a lecture on elk and wolves and their effects on the ecosystem. She was going to be our evening instructor for the week, but she got sick and we didn’t see her again until the last day of the program. When we were done at 8pm, the path back to our lodge was covered with snow. The last time it snowed here was in December. It was dark and cold.

Day 3 – Wildlife Art Museum & Wagon Ride

After eating breakfast and fulfilling our clean up duty, we went on a wildlife drive with our group, led by Sophie and Trey. Traffic on State Highway 22 was heavy, probably because people were going to ski after the first snow of the year. It took us a while to be able to turn left onto the highway from Coyote Canyon Road.

Our van passed a coyote on the National Elk Refuge Road as we entered the back of the National Elk Refuge, which is run by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. We were supposed to remain on the road or in designated pull-outs, and not wander about.

We found bighorn sheep on the road and on both sides of the road on the way.

We stopped at a pull-out and got out of the van. Trey handed out binoculars so we could see the bighorn sheep on the cliffs. Trey gave us a lecture on the difference between antlers and horns.

Sophie pointed out the Sleeping Indian peak, which looks like a Native American with a headdress lying on his back. It is in the Gros Ventre Range, the eastern border of Jackson Hole, and officially called Sheep Mountain.

We drove on a little more and found a dead carcass of an elk. We left the Refuge and went to the National Museum of Wildlife Art. I had gone past the museum a few times before and never knew what kind of a building it is. It looked more like a ruin because from the road it didn’t look like a big tall building.

National Museum of Wildlife Art

A volunteer docent led us through paintings and sculptures of nature and animals with stories of the artists who created them. It was quite enjoyable. I think I might not have appreciated the arts as much without listening to her. I took pictures of some of the artworks.

Eagle's Roost, 1927-46, Maynard Dixon

Antelope, 1954, Georgia O'Keeffe

Lying Bear, c. 1902, Wilhelm Kuhnert

Cheetahs Before a Hunt, Robert Kuhn

Owl, 2012, Peter Gerakaris

Tiger, 2018 - Legos, Ai Weiwei

To the Victor Belong the Spoils, 1901, Charles Russel

Mount Moran, Teton Range, 1903, Thomas Moran

Chief, 1997, Robert Bateman

We had lunch at the Palate Restaurant in the museum. We took turns talking about our passions and hobbies. Tom talked about reading. He and Linda had read some of the same books.

After lunch, we took a wagon ride drawn by horses into the National Elk Refuge. Despite the new snow, there was not enough snow to have a sleigh ride. Adele gave us information about the refuge and the elk. She said the place is empty in the summer when the elk go back up the mountains north of here.

Sophie and Trey dropped the group off at the Visitor’s Center in town around 2:30pm where we had free time for the rest of the day. Most of us chose to spend three hours in town, to be picked up by Sophie at 5:30pm. Tom and I shopped around and searched for a place to eat.

At Jackson Mercantile, we got a bourbon bar with the description “inside each delicate dark chocolate bar is the bold flavor of bourbon.” I was sold at the word “bold.” We bought a beautiful sweatshirt for Tom at Shirt Off My Back, with the idea of replacing his Seabrook sweatshirt that was badly stained (and he refused to part with it).

Many restaurants would not be open until 5pm. I wanted to try a beer at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar but they had closed for a private event when we entered. We found Koi Sushi and Poke and each of us had a bowl of seafood soup. Afterwards, we went to Moo’s Gourmet Ice Cream. I had a double scoop of huckleberry and rum raisin on a cone with chocolate and nuts. Delicious. I think Tom had rum raisin and key lime pie. I’m so glad we found a local place that serves home-made ice cream.

We walked back to the Visitor’s Center where we found Marilyn, Melissa, and Linda. Sophie picked us up at 5:30pm. When we got back to TSS, Tom went to the dining lodge and found they had food because they had to feed the high school students from Maui. TSS runs programs for all ages. Tom ate a taco and told me about it, but I was full and didn’t want to eat more. We both went to bed early tonight.

Day 4 – Cross-country Skiing

We both slept a lot. We went to bed around 7:30pm the night before and didn’t get up until my alarm went off at 6:15am. We found a thick layer of fresh snow on the ground this morning. It had snowed overnight and continued to snow throughout the day. That was exciting for the residents of Jackson Hole. Traffic was heavy on State Highway 22 again as people were eager to go skiing.

We had breakfast at 7:30 am, made our lunches, and met at the Outfitting Building at 8:30am to get our ski boots and skis and poles. Taylor, a TSS instructor, joined Sophie and Trey to lead us today. We left for the town of Moose to enter Grand Teton NP at the Moose Entrance. On the way, we saw two moose. Trey and Sophie stopped the vans so we could take pictures, but the snowy conditions and the positions of the moose didn’t allow me to take better pictures.

We parked at the Taggart Lake Trailhead. After we geared up, Trey gave our group a basic lesson on how to get up after falling. He allowed us time to practice falling and getting up, but none of the eight participants wanted to practice. Ha ha. I figured I’d fall later and might as well not suffer from falling more than necessary. Then he showed us how to glide. It was hard for me to master the gliding, but I tried to practice while some people decided to switch to do snowshoeing or to take time to put on toe warmers.

When everyone was ready to go, we divided into three groups. Tom, Marti, and I were with Sophie. The rest went with either Taylor or Trey. We skied on the groomed trail on Teton Park Road, which runs along the base of the Teton Range. In the winter, it is closed to vehicles and open to skiing, snowshoeing, and walking. It snowed heavily the entire time we were on the trail. The visibility was poor. We didn’t see the Teton Range, which was too bad because it must be spectacular. Sophie pointed out that we went past Climbers’ Ranch but we didn’t see it. She said it provides affordable and accessible lodging for climbers and hikers.

The newly fresh snow covered the groomed trail and made it harder to ski, but our mini group made it to the intended destination of Lucas Fabian cabins, which is about two miles from the trailhead. After we turned off the main road, we crossed two bridges across Cottonwood Creek before getting to the cabins. We rested when we reached the cabins. Tom had a blister on his foot and took care of it using his first aid kit. I had a hard time clicking my boots into the skis earlier, so I didn’t take off my skis. That meant I rested while standing in the snow. It was so peaceful and picturesque. Sophie took pictures of me and of Marti, Tom, and me before we headed back to the trailhead.

We didn’t have time to eat lunch on the trail, so we ate our lunches in the car while Sophie drove us to the Murie Ranch. The other two groups had gone on ahead of us. It was super nice that there was hot chocolate waiting for us when we arrived. Sophie pointed out the Robin’s Nest Cabin where John Denver would stay each time he visited Mardy Murie. John Denver wrote the song A Song For All Lovers as a tribute for Mardy Murie. Trey played this song on his phone for us before we left the Murie Ranch. A very touching song.

Robin's Nest Cabin

We gathered around a large table in a warm toasty room while it was snowing outside and listened to Trey talk about the life and accomplishments of Mardy Murie. She and her husband Olaus Murie were instrumental in the passage of the 1964 Wilderness Act. Mardy helped pass the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act in 1980. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998 by President Bill Clinton. The Murie Ranch was used as a hub for the conservation movement. Now it is part of the TSS campus.

Tom, Marti, Sophie

We got back to the Jackson TSS campus a little after 4pm. We had dinner at 5:30pm. Then we watched a film about Mardy Murie narrated by Harrison Ford. We got to hear A Song For All Lovers again. This time we also got to watch John Denver sing the song and the interaction between John Denver and Mardy Murie at the Murie Ranch. Sweet.

The road out of Murie Ranch

Tom and I tasted the bourbon bar we bought in town the day before. It was very good. If I had known it was so good, I would have bought more than one bar. I did a load of laundry before going to bed.

Day 5 – Dog Sledding & Granite Hot Springs Pool

We didn’t need to pack a lunch today. I thought I’d use my own backpack, but it wasn’t big enough for a towel, a pair of water shoes, and extra cold weather accessories. So I used the TSS backpack in the end.

Jackson Hole Iditarod Sled Dog Tours company picked us up at 8:10am. We were not with any TSS staff today. Lena came to the curb and waved goodbye to us. I felt like little children going off to school, waving bye to their mom. Smith, our driver, stopped to pick up more people in town. We traveled southeast of Jackson on S. U.S. Highway 191 and went along the Snake River for a while. Smith pointed out bighorn sheep on the way. He also pointed out a moose, and laughed when people started to click their cameras and it turned out to be a statue of a moose. We chuckled for being fooled.

We got to the Jackson Hole Iditarod Tours and met Frank Teasley, the owner, who fitted us with very warm snow boots. We were split into two teams with four participants each. Each team had 14 Alaskan racing sled dogs: 2 lead dogs, 2 point dogs, 3 pairs of team dogs, 2 sub-wheel dogs, and 2 wheel dogs. The Alaskan huskies are not pure bred. They are a product of selection for desirable sled dog traits from the original Eskimo work dogs and several Northern huskies. They vary in color and pattern.

The wheel dogs have the heaviest load and need to be alternated. The wheel dogs for our team today were Monica and Uno. Our sub-wheel dogs were Holly and Charm. Holly loved to run on the right side so she jumped over to the right often. Aspen and Radley were the lead dogs. They were 10 and 9 years old, the oldest in this team of dogs. Holly and Charm were the youngest at 2 years old. Our guide was Jess. She started in November and didn’t have prior experience in dog sledding but she is an athlete and seemed very confident and competent. She told us that Holly was just full of energy, loves to play and run, but she didn’t really pull the sleds. Holly is blonde and her sister Charm is black.

Aspen and Radley, lead dogs

Point dogs

Team dogs

Holly and Charm, sub-wheel dogs

Monica and Uno, wheel dogs

Carol and Pam were with us. They stayed in the front sled on the way to Granite Hot Springs.

Pam, Carol, Jess

One person got to lie down on the sled. The other person stood behind the sled to help with starting, braking, or slowing things down. Tom and I took turns. We traveled on Granite Creek Road through the Bridger-Teton National Forest. The road is closed to vehicles in the winter and is open to snowmobiles, dog sleds, snowshoes, or cross-country skiing. Jess helped the dogs out when we went uphill by pushing on one foot or by getting off the sled and running alongside it. Pam and I got off the sled at one point with Jess, but found it hard to keep up.

We passed a waterfall.

At the end of the Granite Creek Road is the Granite Hot Springs Pool, about ten miles from where we started. It is a man-made pool fed by natural hot spring water and run by the U.S. Forest Service. The pool was very nice. We were surrounded by a beautiful forested scenery. It reminded me of the Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort in the Olympic National Park.

Pam let me use her winter hat after I said I forgot to bring an extra winter hat for the hot springs. After one hour in the hot springs, we enjoyed cheese and crackers, hot chocolate, and a meal of chili and corn bread, cooked by Frank’s wife.

Lunch

The dogs howled while they were waiting to transport us back the same way we came.

We switched sleds on the way back. Tom and I were on the front sled with Jess. This is when we learned the names of the dogs and a little about Jess. The snow had melted some which made it harder for the dogs to pull the sleds.

Smith took us back to town and dropped us at TSS about 4:50pm. We met for our group’s last dinner with Trey and Sophie at 5:30pm. The last meal included beef brisket and ribs. We drank wine and beer. We reflected on our week and shared a rose (something good), a thorn (something that didn’t go well), and a bud (what we were looking forward to). My rose was the entire week with learning new things. My thorn was that my mom didn’t do well the first day of the week. My bud was to see my mom again and to post a write-up about the trip on my blog. Linda also has a blog. We shared our blogs with the group. Marti is an artist and shared her website. Trey read us the story The Table Where Rich People Sit and asked us to share our thoughts. I feel rich because I live in a four-generation household and have support from my husband, daughter, and son-in-law in taking care of my demented mother. Sophie asked us to write down a word of wisdom to share with her and Trey. I shared to not pass up opportunities to spend time with friends and family. Someone in our group requested a swing dance demonstration from Trey and Sophie and they obliged.

Day 6 – Gondola Ride and Travel Day

The gondola ride was originally scheduled to happen on Day 4 after the cross-country skiing event. Lena and Sophie decided to change it to today because the visibility was poor on Day 4. We’d ride the gondola before being dropped off at the airport today.

At breakfast, Marilyn called Tom Mr. Wonderful for his being patient and loving to his grandchildren (Tom talked about helping Drakeson and Milli practice their musical instruments at our sharing yesterday) and to his mother-in-law (I shared that Tom lay down on the floor next to the black lounge chaise where my mom was to calm her down). I acknowledged I am lucky to have him.

We checked out of TSS after breakfast. Trey drove us to Snow King Mountain.

We met with Sydney there who handed out the gondola tickets. She didn’t go up the gondola with us. Trey went with us. He brought Yaktrax for us to use because it was icy on the ground once we were at the top of Snow King Mountain. Trey gave us some information about the Jackson Hole Valley and served as our photographer. We had someone take pictures of our group.

Afterwards, Trey took all of us to the airport. This could be the last time ever I saw the sign of National Elk Refuge.

We were at the airport about three hours early. I bought bandanas for Drakeson and Milli, a bighorn sheep for Max, and two huckleberry chocolate bars for the adults, at the National Park store in the airport. We sat at the fireplace while waiting to board. Linda, Marilyn, and Marti joined us. We chatted and got to know each other a little more. Marilyn and Marti were on the same flight with us. It was on time. Our next flight to Austin was also on time and we arrived in Austin early.

It was a wonderful trip. My rose still smells good. My thorn is just a scratch of life. My bud is fulfilled. I am thankful for the opportunity to learn and grow with Tom.

I'd like to thank Linda and Pam for some of the photos I used.