Salt Lake City, UT

I just spent a day at the  Family Search Library in Salt Lake. This is a non-profit run by the Mormon Church to aid people in genealogy research.   They provide free access to several websites to do searches.  I was able to get some helpful information as well as contacts for some branches of my  family tree. It's also staffed with fairly knowledgable pros and volunteers, although they had limited knowledge about my Latvian ancestry.

Fall skyline of Temple Square

Spa day in Idaho Springs

I decided with all the driving the last two weeks, I needed a spa day to get the kinks out, soak in hot mineral springs and get a good massage.  Idaho Springs, a four hour drive from Hotchkiss and an hour west of Denver was my destination. I needed to get over the passes before another snowstorm hit and I was happy when I finally arrived.  I was not disappointed and feel rejuvenated and ready to head into Denver, then Fort Collins to visit  family and friends. It's been five years since I've seen most of them, so there'll be a lot of catching up.

Idaho Springs is an old  mining town and has a cute downtown with lots of restaurants and shops with a young vibe. It's all decorated for Christmas, which I'll be celebrating this year with my brother and his wife outside of Charlotte, NC.  I visited them in March and really enjoyed getting familiar with that part of the country. 

Lots of local beers to taste

Cute down town--very western 

Old skis repurposed

Indian Hot Springs

The indoor pool in a tropical greenhouse 

Thanksgiving in Hotchkiss

I just spent a lovely week visiting my sister and her family in Hotchkiss for Thanksgiving.  I have so much to be grateful for: a loving family, friends, health and vitality. We had a wonderful turkey dinner with all the fixin's and plenty of leftovers to last the weekend. The weather was sunny and warm for winter. Dave, my b-I-l took us to see some ancient ruins, possibly dating back 15,000 years. One of the archeologists was on site digging and gave us a short talk to inform us about the significance of this site.

My nephew Andy and wife Cecily

Petroglyphs 

Camelback Park in Boise

It's been sunny, but chilly all week. I'm hearing from locals how dry it is here in Boise, even drier than Ashland.  Camelback park is on the edge of downtown, do there was a nice view of the skyline.  Legend has it that Boise got its name when a Frech-speaking explorer yelled "Les Bois! Les Bois" (the woods) when he saw the river and its trees after traversing the high desert.

Boise, Idaho

I've never been to Boise so I arranged a housesit for a week to check it out. Boise is bigger than I imagined it and quite spread out. The area where I'm staying is in the southwest corner, an area of new development. Over 300 new homes are going up to support the influx of people from  primarily California.  Need I say more. I met up with a friend of a friend to get a local perspective on living here.  I hope to do some hiking in the area tomorrow. 

Austin, a ten year old chocolate lab

Lucy, a one year old poodle 

Sugar, a five year old "bob"

The animals are very sweet and easy to take care of. 

On the Road Again....

After a seven month break in Ashland, I'm hitting the road again. My travels will take me to the southeast by way of Boise, then Colorado.  My first stop was at Summer Lake Hot Springs for a day of soaking in the artesian springs. Summer lake is a very remote location southeast of Bend. It seems to be a destination for Bend-ers, primarily. The place was booked when I called, but they had an Airstream with a queen bed. The temp's dropped into the teens that night and the one heater was not able to keep me warm.  A bulky comforter along with a hat and gloves was a help.

Summer Lake

The bath house

 Inside of the Airstream, cozy space.