Biking in New Mexico and Arizona: 9/15-9/29/07

Diane is just back from 2 weeks biking in New Mexico and Arizona. I've included a few pictures to give you an idea of the beautiful landscape we had each day. Most days we climbed two to four thousand feet--most of the downhills were quite thrilling. Click on the picture if you want to enlarge it. All 19 of agreed that it was one of our most picturesque trips. We had ideal weather. Mary, our organizer, found some delightful places for us to stay.
Double click on photo below to see pictures and captions.

NM-AZbiketrip07

August

Adam and Karla left for California

Getting into the car for the long drive to their new home in CA. They arrived there safely and have rented a home in Joshua Tree near the base. We bought tickets to go visit them over Thanksgiving.

We hope to hike and camp in the many parks in the desert nearby.

Catie and Darin's wedding, Aug. 11 2007

Mary Jo returned from Bogota just in time to attend Catie's wedding. I attended with her as her partner :) I thought you would enjoy seeing a few pictures of their happy celebration below.

Catie's wedding 807

Mary Jo's visit will go by very quickly. She is leaving with her friend Mercedes for southern CA on the 30th. She hopes to see Adam & Karla in Joshua Tree. Then she is returning to Colombia on Sept. 11th. I guess there is still a lot more to learn & experience there.

Biking in WI

Diane and I both took the week of 7/1-7/7 to go bicycling in WI with a group of friends. We stayed in two State Parks and a private campgrounds. The weather was great as were the roads. Our biking miles ranged from 30 to 60 a day. The Northern Highlands American Legion State Forest & Parks near Sayner were probably the best trails, roads & lakes but all were totally impressed with the great WI countryside.

Another highlight of the trip was a whitewater trip down the Peshtigo River. Due to low water levels we each were in our own inflatable kayak. The trip was fun and quite a workout due to getting hung up on the rocks.

Victory in the "G"

The last race in the "G" series was very successful for Liberty and Crew. We had to finish 1st or 2nd in order to win the series and our chances were only so-so with all the fast boat there ready to take it away from us. On the first upwind we caught a special breeze that put us 100 seconds in the lead and from there on we were able to defend that for victory in the race and the series by a very comfortable margin.

It's good to be lucky!

More Wedding Pictures

After Wedding Dinner

After the wedding we went to Ichibans and had a fabulous meal.

Adam and Karla get married

We celebrated Adam and Karla's wedding yesterday June 12th.

The ceremony was presided over by a a Hennepin County Judge in his courtroom.

I had no idea what the wedding was going to be like and was pleasantly surprised at how nice it was. The judge obviously enjoys this part of his day and his remarks emphasized the happy and serious nature of the proceedings.

He offered to renew Karla and Adam's marriage vows in 25 years at no charge if they would come pick him up (he will be 90 at that point).

He also predicted that at some point in the marriage (in 2 years) they might question the decision to marry. He told them to call someone who was present with them this day to talk through their misgivings and that if they did this their marriage would last. (I think that is what he said--correct me if I misheard).

He also made a point that marital love is not unconditional like the love a parent has for a child--so you have to work at it to keep it alive.