2016 in review

“From the mountains, To the prairies, To the oceans white with foam,….”

That pretty much sums up our 2016.  We traveled lots and lots of miles on our quest to spend time with our far-flung family before finishing out the year in the Hill Country of Texas.

That Vandenberg shoreline never grows old

After leaving our son on the central coast of California, we drove up the 101 all the way to the Tacoma-Seattle area.  What a beautiful trip!

Eerie arms reaching out to grab you.

Thor’s Well, a 360 degree waterfall

My hubby is nearly 6 ft. tall—just to put things in perspective.

Native American culture on the Olympic Peninsula

 

Our goal was to see this cutie-patootie!

After sufficiently spoiling her, it was time to head south to the desert.

Stoddard Valley, near Barstow, CA

And if you find yourself in Arizona in March, you have to go to spring training!

By April, we were in Virginia spoiling this little guy.

Then we sauntered down to North Carolina to spend time with these two.

And helped them do this,…

On our way north to Ohio, we had to stop in Mayberry.

Summer in Ohio was busy while we camp hosted at Beaver Creek and West Branch state parks, worked at farmer markets, taught private music lessons, and spent time with family and friends.

Little Beaver Creek in Beaver Creek State Park, Ohio

 

We sneaked up to the North Country of New York state twice to see our son and his family and share in their big events.

Alan,me, and the granddaughters embracing our “inner pioneers”

Summer flew by and then it was time to head west.  We strolled across Kansas and played for a week in Colorado.

A little Kansas humor

Aspens line US 50 on the way towards Monarch Pass

And from here you can hike pretty much forever

Another view of the reservoir and that neverending sky.

A burst of fall color along the trail

The Dillon Pinnacles in all their glory

The social event of the year took place in Fruita, Colorado, in October when our youngest son got married!

We finished out the year volunteering at Colorado Bend State Park in the Hill Country of Texas.

And that’s our year in a nutshell.  We truly traveled “from sea to shining sea!”