Tetons of Inspiration

Who doesn't love the Tetons and who doesn't need a little inspiration from a 62 year old doing Yoga by Jenny Lake? Yes it was smoky and yes at times even hard to see the mountains and let alone breath but when you are with family...who cares. The flat landers back east traveled west to see the mountain folk and it was nice to catch up. My lovely wife was incredibly sick this time around and unable to make the trip. Well actually she made the trip and had to head home two days later. Partly because of her health and other unforeseen issues. The rest of us stayed behind and enjoyed some cool mountain evenings around the campfire, fly fishing without catching a fish, driving scenic byways without seeing scenery due to the smoke of Montana burning. But hey, it's all good and nothing keeps these kids from having fun.

A couple days of hiking with my boy.

Future junior rangers!

And how could I get through this post without mentioning one of the highlights. This guy waited 62 years to get his annual national park pass and a week before he became able they raised the price like ten fold. Don't worry because he didn't complain, and if you believe that I'll sell you ocean front property in Missouri.

As all good things come to an end so did the Miller family's time in the mountains. They headed back to the land of milk and honey (Missouri) with smiles on their faces.

I almost forgot to mention that on one of our hikes we saw a black bear and numerous small critters but the most interesting was this curious and completely unafraid fox. Apparently we were using his bridge, so we moved aside and let him pass.

Hopefully the video will play, if not it's above my tech ability so I'm sorry. In closing that was the last trip I had any pictures of. It was a good year, check that...it was a great year and now that we are catching up things get more interesting.

Sunny SoCal...and stuff.

It is time to catch up on a few things. I took a break back in May because of complications with health and the day to day things with life. Now it's October and things are even more interesting than when I took a breather. So I figured I would catch up a bit and then continue on. We had a wonderful summer mixed in with all the trials surrounding Ambers health. We were still able to complete a few more trips and make more wonderful memories. For a few years now we have made an annual trip to Coronado California to camp on the beach. Its an amazing spot right on the sand. sunny weather, sunsets and a fun campground after dark. We spent a week there in July and it was as fun as ever. These kids love the beach!

The queen of her castle.

A little boogie boarding with my crew.

A mama with her girls.

Something healing about the sun, sand and hugs.

As the week went on so did a fierce battle of corn toss. My partner and I were the undisputed champs and we spent a little time rubbing it in to these sore losers! Maybe next year boys.

Another year in the sand and another week of fun. The way things are looking we aren't quite sure we will be back next year. Other priorities and opportunities have been coming our way. Next trip was the last trip, Jackson this fall.

Taking a break for health.

It's probably time for an update on Amber. It's been a brutal and slightly hopeful couple of weeks. I don't want to sugar coat it so I'll just get straight to the point. Here is what we know. Due to numerous abdominal surgeries dealing with endometriosis and PCOD she had a weakened immune system. Then five years ago came the little tick who I am quite certain was birthed straight from the gates of hell. She tested positive over three years later, (after several weird symptoms that were never diagnosed), for Lyme disease and about every co-infection known to man. Babesia, Bartonella, Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, and numerous others. It's been a hard twenty months of treatment including, massive amounts of antibiotics (oral and IV), IV ozone treatments, IV silver, IV UVLRX (laser UV light), two trips to Mexico which included more aggressive treatments. Hyperthermia, high dose Vitamin C, hyperbaric oxygen treatment, etc... Then about a month ago a new idea came into play. Blood tests revealed she had HTG Factor Beta 1 numbers over 21k, normal is less than 2k. Her CD57 less than 1, basically a massive mold infection. Next came suspicion of antibiotic resistant Staph. So we did a MARCON's test which also came back positive. Then came a VCS test (vision test) and she failed that which indicates swelling in the brain due to the previous things mentioned. All of this adds up to what her current symptoms are. Yes we have a plan. Yes it is going to be painful and hard on her. It includes a binding agent to help eliminate the mold (Cholestryamine) and a nasal spray called BEG. It will dissolve the biofilm and allow the Staph to be killed. This is where we start and it will take some time. She started today and has been quite sick. Pray for her, pray for all of us and hope as I do that this works. I do believe with all the information we have gained and her symptoms that this could be the missing link and the day we finally turn the tide. We are cautiously optimistic, she is sad, tired and wore out. Who could blame her, it's been a long road. Life has no guarantees, it's not easy, but we do believe in God and our faith has kept us going. We will endure this and be looking back, one day, from the other side.

So I'll be skipping the wolf experience to give our son a chance to write about it himself. Hopefully he can get his post up before to much longer. After the wolves we headed southwest to Mesa Verde National Park. Out of the 59 national parks in our country it was the 7th one established but the 1st one established for man made preservation instead of natural beauty. Sorry, I had to geek out for a minute with some facts. The park is rather small but has a great amount of historical and unique sites to visit. We took a tour of the Balcony House which is one of the better preserved ruins in the park. It was quite the adventure that consisted of climbing a 35' wooden ladder, crawling through small tunnels and then ascending a cliff edge to work our way out. The kids had a blast! This first view is the overlook above the Cliff Palace, unfortunately it was closed until later in May

The not so easy way into the Balcony House.

What would have been an old school living room with all the amenities like wifi, big screen tv and recliner.

Hailyn leading the way through the tunnel.

Amber and Mason on there way out.

Damn proud of this girl who conquered her fear of heights! Strong work babe.

The weather in Mesa Verde wasn't quite as nice as it was during the start of our trip. Either way another family trip under our belt and a few more miles on the family RV adds up to a successful time. We head back to move into our new home which will be a small 1000 square foot apartment. Life continues to develop for us with many new things ahead. We will settle into a new home and then settle into more treatment and healing for my lovely wife. More information continues to surface with her test results and we are working on a new plan. Here we go!

Colorado Red Rock

So the first couple of days have been spent in the high plateau of Colorado National Monument just outside of Grand Junction. Never been here before and it is such a beautiful place. Always thought Utah had a great mix of high mountains and red rock but much to my surprise Colorado has it all as well. We spent a couple warm days in the sun enjoying the views from camp and some mild exploring. Every little adventure needs to start with a nutritious hot dog and some Doritos.

Just a short hike from camp was a very large drop off and an amazing view of the red rock at sunset. I always have a little daredevil willing to walk to the edge with me. She patiently waits to take my hand and follow me out.

Amber won't always venture so close to the edge but she loves to get out and walk when she feels like it. The weather and view were worth the walk. Her little dog Moxy even had to come along. Amber does so well and pushes through so much. This trip came on the heels of more health news that we are sorting through. We've canceled and rearranged some of our summer already but this trip was a must for several reasons. Their will be more on the health situation later. As for now, she can't resist being momma and giving the little one a piggy back ride.

Such a lovely young lady. Such a big heart for adventure.

Mason and I always try to take some time for the boys. We took our own trip and hiked down to a rock ledge that had a great valley view. Afterward we headed back for some man time chatting around the picnic table.

Hailyn was in true form on this trip. Excited, energetic, quick witted and such a joy. She makes us all laugh and her cuteness is unsurpassed. She dressed herself including the "boy socks, just like dad." To be clear, I don't have purple socks but I will wear some taller socks to the gym so I'm assuming that's where she gets it from. The best part was just moments after this picture was taken when she sprinted down the trail, lost her footing and did an amazing head first baseball slide into some native cactus. The next 45 minutes consisted of Amber and I with two tweezers and lots of tears and screaming as we attempted to remove all the "pokies" from her legs, arms and belly. The kids danced and tried to distract her while Amber and I prayed no one called the police and reported a child being tortured.

Ohh the joys of parenting. After two days in the warmth and desert sun we headed a little farther west in search of wolves. The climate made a huge adjustment and so did we as we climbed to over 11,000 feet.

That John Denver was not full of **** man!

Next up...Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center.

Disneyland and Capitalism

What a wonderful trip for the family. Disneyland is packed full of fun attractions, memories from our childhood, new memories for my children and just truly inspiring with what people can do alongside imagination and creativity. It's safe to say we had a great time. Another observation...damn those people know how to rake in the money. Tickets are expensive, the parks are packed with people, every ride drops you off into a related store full of gifts every child wants. Someone is always offering to take your picture and sell you copies, food is everywhere and way overpriced at $7.49 for a slice of pizza, $6.00 for an ice cream cone and $10.99 for a giant turkey leg (which I bought twice and would gladly do again and again..sooo good). This is not to be negative or to take away from the experience but I think of all the families that could have so much fun and build so many memories if it was only a bit more reasonable. With that said, it's their park, the way they do business and people will pay it for the experience they provide. Obviously the demand is high and business is flourishing so they are doing something right. This is our third trip, not bragging, just a point that we have now taken all of our children over the last 15 years. They all have now had a chance, and if I'm being honest there will probably be one more in our future after Star Wars Land opens in a couple years. But anyway, the point is I always think of my siblings and there families when I go. How much fun it would be to have us all there together, my sister has like twenty kids or something, my brother has like three or so, all of them at that age when Disney is truly magical. Maybe even throw my parents in there to be the cherry on top, as long as they can get their car unstuck from the Missouri mud. It would be a blast, and probably around 12-15k. SO this will probably just continue to be a pipe dream unless one of us wins the lotto or something. Who knows, there is always hope and they can't take that away.

This is one of my favorite Disney stories and rides. I mean who doesn't love Captain Jack Sparrow! I found out later we missed Johnny Depp by only a few hours. We rode the ride a couple times and later that night he made a surprise visit to the attraction acting as Jack Sparrow to promote the new movie. Bummer...so close

This is me teaching my son a lesson in shooting bad guys in outer space. Notice the scores. He said I cheated, nobody said I couldn't put him in a headlock halfway through the ride.

I hate water rides. However it looks like Amber loves them!

There goes about $200 in galactic cheeseburgers. A special thanks to Amber's sister and her family who came down to join us for a day at the park. Hopefully someday in the future more family can make it happen. It was very nice to have them with us and only added to the enjoyment of the trip.

I'm not sure how this picture got in here. I didn't even order a hot dog.

And no trip to SoCal is complete without some time at the beach. We took the RV to Huntington Beach for the day and unfortunately only spent about half the day before hurricane force winds kicked up and sand blasted us off the beach. Overall we had a great trip. Amber held up like a champ and pushed through a busy week. I'm so proud of her and what she was able to do. The next trip will be much slower and a littler more leisure in the mountains of Colorado.

Disappointed? Nah not really.

Well we have been searching for homes over the last several weeks and are unpleasantly surprised. House prices in Utah have suddenly spiked and the competition is fierce. People are routinely listing their homes and getting twenty showings in a day and multiple offers. Some offers are even coming in over asking price and there is no negotiating. This is a situation we have never been in before. Typically we had been blessed enough to buy low and sell high. We are now on the opposite side of the coin. We looked at several fixer uppers and couldn't even come to terms on a reasonable price and lost out to others who simply didn't care. In my opinion people are making bad choices. Over paying for over valued homes in a bubble that will sooner or later burst and bring us back to reality. I don't want to be brought back to reality in that fashion, I have enough reminders everyday. So, with that said we have decided to venture into uncharted waters for us and will be renting an apartment for the first time in our married lives. We bought our first home at 21 years old and have never looked back. Now we find ourselves looking at a 1000 square foot apartment with an 11 month lease. All of this is new to me. It's small but will prepare us for our overall goal. It is simple. It is affordable. So besides from being something totally different for us it should be exactly what we are looking for, right? I hope so. We will not overpay or make a bad financial decision in this market so it is currently our only option. Rent and wait to see what happens. Either way it will be yet another new adventure. We move in shortly and with that will come pictures. It has a playground and pool for the kids so I really can't complain. What better way to downsize yet again and continue to simplify and spread our wings. Even better, I am currently writing this post from an RV park across the street from Disneyland and the so called happiest place on earth. This is exactly how we want to live. We are so excited for our kiddos and the first trip for our youngest. Bring on the good times and many more memories! Who knows, maybe we will go from an apartment to permanent camper life once we have seen how little we can live with.

Turning the Page

So we arrived in Page Arizona for the last day of the trip. We set up shop in an area called Wahweap just off the shores of Lake Powell. We only had one day so we decided to do a couple hikes and stop by the Glen Canyon Dam. It's about the same size as the Hoover Dam and is almost as impressive. The highlight was our first little hike in a local slot canyon called Antelope Canyon. It's on Navajo Nation lands and by guided tour only. It's a bit pricey but worth the cost. There is a lower and upper section, we did the lower. It's longer and less crowded with similar beauty. This canyon has been photographed and published all over the world. There are many named areas in the canyon and if you look closely at the pictures you can see why. The title image is called "lady in the wind" and the picture below is called "the wolf head."

"Pirates Hat"

The "Mason, Izzy, and Hailyn pose for a picture."

"Sunrise over the Rockies"

The "Tall Dark and Handsome Guy"

The "Smiling Shark from Finding Nemo"

After this excursion we headed over to Horseshoe Bend for a hike to a river overlook. My lense isn't wide enough to get the best shot but it's a very dramatic bend in the river and a very long drop off the cliff edge.

We ended our last night in camp with a fire and some Smores for the kids. It was a nice way to end the trip and get ready for home. Our original plan was to stay in St George for a night but with Amber going home and weather coming in we called it a wrap.

After a beautiful week of new places and adventures we headed home. How does the road home decide to welcome us you might ask? In typical Utah fashion...7 hours of miserably windy, snowy, poor visibility slow going crap. Thank you.