Gretchen's Blog

You would think that going from the North Rim to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon would be no big deal, it’s only 10 miles apart as the crow flies …. wrong….. the trip is about 215 miles and 4 ½ hours. We broke up our trip stopping at the Vermillion cliffs, Wupatki National Monument and Sunset Crater. At the Indian Pueblo ruins we saw a brightly colored lizard which the rangers at the South Rim helped us identify later as a Collard Lizard; it was a male due to its bright green and turquoise coloring. Here’s one up close,
and one with A. in the foreground.

We spent the night in Flagstaff and the next day toured Walnut Canyon , Indian cliff dwellings.

After Flagstaff we headed to the Grand Canyon (lunch at an old trading post with a great gift shop, Margie and I liked that!) through the East Entrance and stopped at the Watch Tower, it looks really old but it was built around the turn of the century specifically to view the Grand Canyon.

A’s all time favorite thing to do was watch the Condors fly. We got to see about 8 in the sky at one time right from the rim trail.
So exciting.

More Pictures!



All of us at the El Tovar hotel lobby.


Our last stop was the Avi Casino in Laughlin, NV the same one we stayed at last year. It was as big a hit this year as last.

Happy Trails!

Labels: vacation

Grand Canyon North Rim

The North Rim definitely beats the South Rim for its natural beauty. Not because it’s more spectacular but because there’s a lot less people and the lodge and facilities overhang onto the Grand Canyon. It was spectacular to eat breakfast hanging over and looking out into the canyon. I’ll say it again, spectacular.

Here’s A. and I at Bright Angel Point. You can tell the wind is swift, check out my Lyle Lovett hairdo.

A. got to ride the mules with her Dad; it was a one hour trip. I would have loved to make the mule trip as well but there was only one thing standing in my way…. the scale… da da bum. Stole that one from the cookout entertainment, yes I’m desperate.

Labels: vacation

This is our second trip to the Grand Canyon but this time we headed for the North Rim along with the South Rim to complete our trip. The North Rim is waaaaaay out of the way but it was worth the extra effort. So who came with us on our trip? No way! Yes! A.’s dad and his wife Margie came with us. Although a little weird at times it worked out well and A. loved it.

A. Day One

We spent our first night in Las Vegas at the Orleans hotel because they have a kid’s area that A. absolutely loved and so did I because I could play some blackjack and craps (wink wink.) The Orleans is a little off the strip but not a small hotel. We took their shuttle to the strip and walked over to the Bellagio for their water show which ran every 15 minutes or so. It was amazing, beautiful and artistic which I have a hard time saying considering its well… Vegas.

The next morning after the complimentary Vegas style breakfast buffet, we headed for the North Rim via Utah and Zion national park. Zion was very cool. It’s now on our list of National Parks to explore. It took us a while but we made it to the North Rim and our Pioneer log cabins and Pioneer they were. At least there was a bathroom.

Labels: vacation

Yes, yes I know. I haven’t blogged in a while but I am turning over a new leaf and attempting to catch up.

A and I had a wonderful Christmas vacation, traveling to Disneyland and experiencing “Club 33.” We departed Christmas day after the Christmas present opening activity. We stayed at Howard Johnson’s which was OK, we could still walk to the entrance to Disneyland “barely.” The Howard Johnson’s was more reasonable than the Disney hotels but you had to walk quite a bit farther and it was right next to I-5 which, depending upon your room location, could be quite loud.

The first night we had reservations at Club 33

in the New Orleans Square section of Disneyland and took an old “lift”
to get into the restaurant. It was very exciting and the food was delicious. We got to watch fantasia from a balcony that is only accessible through the restaurant. We have the Club 33 pen to prove we were there, pictures available upon request ;).

Disneyland was exciting for A and we had to take a picture and get an autograph from every character.
Of course, we used the Disney Princess autograph book conveniently sold everywhere throughout the park. We managed to get quite a few autographs at the Disney character breakfast where I have learned it is a bargain to get both a meal and the pictures and autographs all in one spot. A even got the autograph of the waiter the first night at Club 33 which later she regretted because we almost ran out of space in the autograph book.

A’s favorite character was Stitch because he teased her by pretending not to give her pen back and she enjoyed the attention. Go figure.

Well, it happened. I never dreamed I would make it this long but I turned 50 today... sigh. One "friend" sent me two cards, he couldn't decide between a sympathy card or a psychologically damaging card. He included a couple of two dollar bills, probably to lessen the blow. My OLDER sister sent me a musical card that plays "I just want to celebrate" with a 70's look to it and a special glitter coating. I enjoyed the song and think I'll download it from iTunes.

I actually had fun, went out to eat with A and some friends and frankly overdid it. I stayed up past my usual 8PM bedtime, how nutty is that?

The next "big birthday" will still have my daughter in high school....I owe I owe it's off to work I go.

As most of you know, mom has been hospitalized with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. The family has been very concerned and family and friends have been supportive. To read more about it, visit the website link here or the one at the left side of the page under links.

Wasps have infested our eaves. I spent the past couple of weeks trying to knock them down but they keep building their homes back. I think I finally got rid of the last of them but only after I gave in and called the bug man. Here are a couple of pictures describing our problem along with a couple of our solutions. I guess wasps can’t read “Birds Only.”












We are now wasp free






Wasp on the Window


Wasp on the Windchime

I always get hooked into these things by Dede. She started with her 8 random things. Hers seem more exciting than mine but here goes.

1. I had to lookup what meme meant before I started my 8 random things.
2. I got a pair of go go boots when I was about 10 that I loved. I wore them beyond having a hole in the bottom (patched with cardboard) and the heel falling off (a little tape, too bad there wasn’t duct tape then)
3. I had glasses by the time I was in 2nd grade and promptly lost the first pair. I got in lots of trouble for losing them because my parents had to buy me another pair. Later the next winter I found them in a winter coat pocket but never told anyone.
4. I was such a bad softball player in the 3-4th grade that I always played right field substitution. I begged my Dad to get me a new glove but he resisted (Why? When I never caught anything anyway?) He relented and bought me a new glove. The first time I used it I caught a fly ball (first ever and probably the only) His comment: He made a good investment by buying the glove.
5. The first car I ever drove was a brown Plymouth Fury. Which I totaled soon after.
6. The first time I got drunk was with Boones Farm watermelon wine (bleh)
7. I went to Vacation Bible School (VBS) when I was about 9. One boy swore he was not allergic to poison ivy and took a couple of leaves and rubbed them all over his arms. Wanting to show him up, I promptly declared I wasn’t allergic either (I knew I was horribly allergic) and rubbed my arms, legs and face with the leaves too. The next day at VBS (my mom made me go) the boy was unaffected but my right eye was swollen shut and I had blisters between my toes.
8. I hit a car head on while riding my bike which destroyed the bike and dented the car. I flipped onto the hood and over to the concrete curb. My Dad showed up and wouldn’t let the ambulance take me to the hospital. He was in a screaming match with the attendant about what a crappy hospital the ambulance was going to take me to. He drove me himself to “his hospital.”
9. Once I found out what WTF stood for, I started using it and getting secret pleasure every time I used it. (oops that’s nine… well I never follow rules anyway.)


The only people I can think to tag are Riz and Kat and frankly I don't have many friends that blog or friends in general so I have to rely on sisters.

Kat and fam traveled to Bako and spent a couple of days before the fourth enjoying California. Thanks to the GorillaPod and Theo’s steady hand, we were able to get a picture of everyone in front of part of Moro Rock. The hunt for crabs and sea anemones (had to look up the spelling on that one) was in full force but we paused to take the picture.



The next day we were on a boat headed to a channel island. If we would have planned a little better we could have caught the earlier boat and spent more time, lesson for the next time.

Kat spent a couple more days hiking in Yosemite while Annaliese and I headed down to LA for Wicked, barely made the show because the 5 was closed due to a fire. We managed to bother the people sitting next to us, seems to happen every time we make a show.

Waiting on Kat for a couple more pics, my camera’s battery gave up the ghost at the end of the Moro Bay trip and I didn’t get it charged until the next day.

I venture out with a compadre who works in Moscow. We head to the night bazaar which is an open style market; there are shop stalls in a barn like building. It is lightning and thundering and pouring down rain. The rain is not a hindrance to the shopping but the streets around the bizarre are not draining and neither of us wants to walk through six inches of water to get to the shops. I think we both imagine all the bacteria floating around in the water. A guy with a bicycle and a back seat rides us one by one through the water. It was quite comical.

The prices are all flexible and I haggle and buy some items. This was my best shopping experience yet, because I’m not spending much money I’m less concerned if I overpay by a buck or two.

We spend two hours shopping, checking in with each other every hour to make sure we’re OK. We finish shopping and sit at a restaurant at the bazaar. I order some sausages and a german beer, go figure.

I take a taxi (the driver was pissed because the hotel car guy made him put it on meter, rather than extract a random fair. He alternatively speeds and stops quickly. I feel like I’m on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride) to go shopping at MBK, a shopping mall that is a cross between a US style mall and an open market. Some of the shops have firm prices and some you have to haggle. There are a lot of knock off electronics and cell phones.

I leave without buying anything, and decide to take the Skytrain back after the previous taxi ride experience. I had to change trains and managed to make it back to the hotel, stopping by a small café for dinner on the way back.

I made my presentation yesterday so I snuck out of my conference today to go to a curry store (it was closed Sunday.) I got more curry than I’ll probably use in 10 years. Looks tasty.

The evening planned by the Thailand office includes a wonderful river boat cruise with dinner included. The food is fabulous and Bangkok looks great at night.