Trip to Joshua Tree California

On Nov. 11th Mark and I flew out to see Karla and Adam in Joshua Tree, CA. We got to do some scenic and fun hikes in Joshua Tree National Park. My niece Kathy and her husband Manual drove up from San Jacinto on Veteran's Day to do a moderately strenuous 5 hr. hike with us! Then we drove up to Death Valley to climb Telescope Peak (11,300 ft.), had a clear, sunny, perfect day. We also hiked in the Kelso Dunes in the Mojave Desert Preserve. The other peak we summited was San Jacinto after taking the tram up from Palm Springs to 8,000 ft. The views were awesome. Mark's brother Roy joined us for Thanksgiving Day, as did Adam's friends Andrew and Jenny from the wine country. Later we had another great meal at my niece Kathy's Saturday after Thanksgiving . Her son Dominic, wife Kelly, my sister Shirley, Brittany, all came to feast and visit. It was a very special desert vacation.
Click on the photo below to see the slide show.

Desert California

Diane in Guatemala

Diane went to Antigua,Guatemala with a surgical team from Allina Oct 13th-24th. Half of the team of 28 was 'non technical' so many of the photos are eduational tours we did through Common Hope, our sponsoring organization. We also did volunteer work set up by Common Hope. I roomed and traveled with Cheryl who got me interested in volunteering with the surgical team. I hadn't been to Guatemala since '91 so was surprised at how much spanish I remembered. Returning to Guatemala was as thrilling as my previous adventures there had been. I was most impressed with all the surgeries performed by the 2 gen. surgeons, podiatrist & the skilled surg. team members. The organizational work of Common Hope, Partners in Surgery, and Pedro Hermanos Hospital to make this all work so well was awesome.
I also want to again thank my family and friends who helped with financial donations to make this week possible.
Double click on the photo to enlarge and read my captions.

Guatemala2007