Summer Fun 2010 - Birthdays!!!


This is our daughter-in-law, Jill McKenzie.  Our son Tim, had a birthday party for her at the golf club.

Our son, Tim, Mary T. McKenzie and Denis

Jill McKenzie and grandson, Dean

Scott Marlin and our grandson, Lukas

And we celebrated Denis's birthday with his mom and our families.

Home at Carefree Country Club Resort

We're home.  It's great to be back in Minnesota with our family and friends.  I will continue to post throughout the summer but probably sporadically. 

We're busy doing a couple projects at our lot.  More cement and a new shed for Denis.  I also have some new touches to the landscaping that I need to complete. 

I'll see you soon !!!!

Lunch with Jess and Dave Hansen

We traveled from Albuquerque, up the freeway I-25 thru Colorado.  We stayed in Colorado Springs, across from Old Colorado City and then traveled up to Denver on our way to Nebraska.  My niece, Jess Kramer and her husband Dave Hansen live in Fort Collins and they drove down to meet us for lunch in a little town outside Denver called New Brighton.  Denis took our photo and we took off to continue our journey home. 
We had a wonderful visit and talked about all of our future travel plans.  We promised that next time we would stay near Fort Collins and spend a little more time.

Beautiful Spring Flowers in New Mexico

Trip to Sante Fe, New Mexico

UncleWally, Denis and I took the Albuquerque Rail Runner to the beautiful town of Sante Fe, New Mexico.
Albuqerque has a wonderful rail system that travels to Sante Fe.  That is the capital of New Mexico and many workers commute on a daily basis using this train. 
We had another great day and Uncle Wally is very much fun to shop with and has very good taste.  He paints using water colors and oils and is very talented.

They have some of the most beautiful buildings I ever saw. 

Have you heard about the Loretto chapel that had a wooden staircase that was built with no supports?

It is freestanding and perceived to be a miracle.  It is no longer used however they have many photo's of it being used.

Old Town Albuquerque, NM

Uncle Wally, Denis and I spent an afternoon in Old Town Albuqerque.   It is a delightful area with lots of things to look at and purchase.  We also toured a beautiful old adobe church and many art galleries.  The Native American and CAtholic influence is represented in alot of their art.  We visited a beautiful old church, San Felipe - much of it reminded me of St John Cantius - the polich church in St. Cloud, MN.

We had a very nice day with my Uncle Walter.  He will be 75 this August and has a beautiful home in NM.

Moving on to New Mexico

We spent Easter, April 4 and 5 in Camp Verde due to the high winds and travel warnings.  So we went to church and out for lunch and back to the resort. 

On Tuesday, April 6th we traveled to Albuquerque, New Mexico.  The wind was high again but it was bearable.  We called my uncle Wally and he came out and had happy hour with us that evening.  It was quite cool so we were inside.  It was a city campground and quite characteristic of the environment.  Here's some great pictures.

There were casita's at each campsite with a picnic table.  Each casita was painted with Native American symbols.  And they contained a nice big picnic table.  Too bad it wasn't warm enough to eat outside.  Of course grass doesn't exist out here.   This road runner especially caught our eye.  We saw a large, live one in the shrubs next to our RV.  The view was fabulous.  The Sangria Mountains formed the backdrop.