Remembering Roadtripping To Taos New Mexico & More

Microsoft's One Drive Memories from this Day's email brought a fond memory back to mind, this next to last Saturday of the 2025 version of August.

But, I am fairly certain this memory took place in October, not August.

It was part of the second longest roadtrip I've ever tripped on. The last roadrip before moving to Texas.

This roadtrip sort of began with four days of houseboating on Lake Powell.

When we got off the boat it was to the treacherous Moki Dugway, we trekked, on the way to Mexican Hat and the San Juan Inn.

From Mexican Hat we took a daytrip south to Arizona, across the San Juan River, to the Navajo Nation and Monument Valley, before heading back north to Moab.

We spent several days in Moab, going to Arches National Park, where, among other trails, the infamous Fiery Furnace trail was hiked. And also, to nearby Canyonlands National Park and Islands in the Sky.

After Moab, half the group headed back to Washington, whilst two vehicles trekked on, memorably staying one night at the high, breath-taking elevation of Silverton, Colorado, staying, if I remember the name correctly, in the Grand Imperial Hotel.

After Silverton, the second vehicle broke off from roadtrip, to head back to Washington. It was just me and Big Ed, then, heading on to the highlight of this entire roadtrip, which was about the halfway point.

Taos, New Mexico.

I have been to many well-known tourist towns. Taos, New Mexico and Leavenworth, Washington are the best I have been to.

Riding mountain bikes, we explored all over Taos, including north of town to the Taos Pueblo, taking the tour.

I had the best Mexican food I remember ever having, in Taos, at a place called Fred's. In New Mexico, in a restaurant, virtually anything you order comes with green salsa. 

After Taos, it was on to Alamogordo, White Sands National Monument, Bisbee, Tombstone, Yuma, Las Vegas, then a beeline back to Washington.

It really has been way too long since I have roadtripped. The last semi-roadtrip was way back in October of 2018, driving to Arizona....

August Microsoft OneDrive David, Theo, Ruby Plus Memories

This morning, I talked to my great grand nephew, or grand great nephew, Cade's, grandma, also known as my little sister, Jackie, for the first time in quite a while.

My little sister, Jackie is also the grandma of my great grand niece or grand great niece, Cambri.

The subject of some of my other sibling's offsprings came up, those being my Tacoma nephews and niece, David, Theo and Ruby.

And now, right when I am feeling melancholy about it being so long since I have seen any of these relatives of mine, along with those two new entries, in Arizona, whom I have never seen, along with one in Washington, Hank Frank, whom I have never seen, what do I get in my email, via Microsoft's OneDrive Memories from this Day?

Photos from August of 2017, the most recent time I have been in Washington, with multiple photos of David, Theo and Ruby, along with one of my eldest nephew, Spencer Jack.

In the photo above, that is me in back of nephew, David, on the beach at Birch Bay. Daivd is 16 now, and quite a bit taller than he is in this photo documentation.

A few days after the above photo was taken, David, Theo & Ruby took me back to the airport to send me to Arizona to see their grandma.

On the way to the airport David, Theo & Ruby brought us to Pick-Quick Burgers because they knew this popular fast-food joint in Fife made real good blackberry milkshakes, and they knew how much I liked anything with blackberries.

If the year currently is 2025, and the above took place in August of 2017, is that not 8 years ago? Which means, if David is 16 now, he was 8 then. And the twins, Theo and Ruby, who are 14 now, were 6 then.

From sister Jackie today I learned that just a couple days ago Theo returned from two weeks in Tokyo, flying there with two of his best friends from school, one of them being the other kid in school named Theo. 

The trio flew with no adults accompanying them. One of the trio's dads is some sort of military contractor, currently stationed in Japan.

Can't imagine myself, as a 14-year-old kid, flying to Tokyo.

Then I remembered a time, way back late in the prior century, taking nephews Christopher and Jeremy to Sea-Tac, to put them on a plane to fly to Los Angeles, to meet up with their parental units, and their grandparental units, also known as my mom and dad, to go to Disneyland, among other things.

I remember it seeming so strange to put those little kids, solo, on a plane. I recollect talking to one of the stewardesses who told me she'd keep a close eye on them.

And now, what seems like only a few short years later, little nephew Christopher is now the proud papa of Cade and Cambri.

Sometimes the elderly favorite uncle of Jason, Joey, Christopher, Jeremy, Spencer Jack, Hank Frank, David, Theo, Ruby. Cade and Cambri does not much like how fast time seems to fly...

In & Out With Cade In Arizona Video Gaming

Yesterday, after blogging Lost Birthday Gift Arrives From Arizona With Grandma Jackie & Baby Cambri and texting my little sister, Grandma Jackie, to tell her I'd not seen, til yesterday, the text and photo she sent me the week prior, Grandma Jackie, texted me two photos of Cambri's big brother, Cade.

When I saw the first photo, that being the one above, I thought, well, they sure are starting Cade early in the family business, thinking I was seeing Cade at one of his Grandpa Jack's McDonalds. 

But, upon paying closer attention it looks to me like Cade is at one of McDonald's Arizona rivals, In-N-Out. 

My first In-N-Out burger experience was at a Phoenix location, back near the start of this century. At that point in time, I thought the In-N-Out Double Double Cheeseburger was the best burger I'd ever had.

Then an In-N-Out opened in Fort Worth. My superlative praise caused someone to agree to go with me to the Fort Worth In-N-Out. Like so much about Fort Worth, it was a HUGE disappointment. Not like what I'd had in Arizona.

A couple years after that I was back in Arizona where I once again had a good In-N-Out experience. A couple times.

The second photo sent to my phone was a bit problematic. 

On the phone I could see the second photo. But, when downloaded to my computer, the photo disappeared.  All that remained was a big black square.

The photos were high resolution. So, I was able to take the file manager preview pane view and screen cap the second photo and enlarge it. This explains why the photo looks a bit fuzzy.

In the photo it looks like Cade is already being a video game master. His dad was one of those when he was a kid, though not starting out as young at it as Cade.

I recollect back when Cade's dad, my nephew Christopher, was about 10 years old I got to take him to the Kingdome in Seattle for a giant video game competition. One of the most bizarre things I have ever eye witnessed. What looked like thousands of kids competing on thousands of video screens.

I was sure, whiz kid that he was, that Christopher would easily win in his age category. I don't remember the results, other than I do remember Christopher was not the Grand Champion. 

Cade looks to be a dead ringer, looking like his dad looked when he was a little kid.

So weird, that in my memory, that does not seem all that long ago.

 And yet, it is. A long time ago....

Lost Birthday Gift Arrives From Arizona With Grandma Jackie & Baby Cambri

I often forget to unmute the sound on my phone, thus not hearing incoming calls or text messages.

Such happened this morning.

My phone was sitting beside me, when it suddenly lit up. With no noise.

I saw it was a text message.

From Linda Lou, asking about my delicate, fragile state of ill health. Well, more precisely, asking if my cold had gotten any better. Or worsened into respiratory mayhem.

Linda Lou, before retiring, spent several decades being a nurse, hence her tendency to go into nurse mode when needed.

When I clicked on the phone and saw Linda Lou's message I saw another text message, from over a week ago, August 11, to be precise.

From my little sister, Jackie.

The text message said, "Ok, one more birthday gift for you. I am feeling super generous".

The birthday gift is the included photo of Grandma Jackie holding her eldest granddaughter, Cambri June.

We first met Cambri June way back on Saturday, July 28, 2025 in Seeing Baby Cambri June Weston In Arizona For The First Time.

Cambri June looks so tiny. I cannot remember when last I held a tiny, little baby...

Today's Microsoft OneDrive Memories Some Of Which I'd Prefer To Forget

Today's email delivered some Microsoft OneDrive Memories from this Day which I would prefer to forget, and others I remember fondly.

Two of those photos are what you are seeing documented here. The second photo I know for sure was taken in August. The first photo, I have no clue as to the date.

The first photo was taken in my first Texas abode. In this little hamlet called Haslet, at the north end of Fort Worth. You could see the puny skyline of Fort Worth on the horizon. The redhead was exhausting. I was so happy when I moved on to my second Texas abode.

Moving on to a more pleasant memory.

The August before I moved to Texas, my oldest nephews, Jason and Joey, flew me to Las Vegas for four days of fun in the sun.

In the photo, that is Joey next to me on the roller coaster at the New York New York Casino. I do not remember if Jason was also on the roller coaster. I know Jason did not take the photo. The photo showed up as you got off the roller coaster, with an offer to let you buy the photo. I do not remember buying the photo, but, clearly, I did. 

That was a fun four days in Vegas. We stayed in the Excalibur Casino Hotel. One day the temperature prediction was it might break the record. I remember reading that in the local newspaper, pool side, in the morning. I asked the nephews if they would like to drive out to Death Valley to experience possible record-breaking heat.

And so, we did. But the record did not get broken. It was only 127 degrees, if I remember correctly, as measured via the Fahrenheit method.

The funnest thing which happened whilst we were in Vegas was getting stranded on top of the Stratosphere Tower due to a power outage. This caused the tower to quickly get hot. The dozens trapped started getting cranky. I recollect suggesting maybe free cooling beverages might be a good thing. And so that happened.

It was about two hours we were stuck atop that tower. When the elevator was finally able to bring us back to ground level the casino/hotel manager greeted us as we got off the elevator. I told him we were hungry when we went up, and are starving now, can you comp us a buffet dinner?

And so, he did.

The nephews had too much fun playing Keno, through me, whilst at that buffet, so the next morning they insisted on going to the breakfast buffet so they could play Keno, some more, through me.

Another fun thing we did was drive out to Hoover Dam, late, and then going swimming in Lake Mead, after dark. I have zero recollection of how I managed to find a swimming venue on Lake Mead after leaving Hoover Dam.

I think I have only been to Las Vegas twice, maybe thrice, this century. In the previous century I seemed to frequently frequent Las Vegas. I wonder if I will ever frequent Las Vegas again?

Not Enjoying Summer Cold Misery Too Much

For the first time in many years, I have come down with what I am assuming is a cold.

It has been so long since I was sick, I'm not sure this is a cold.

What I do know is I woke up yesterday with a sore throat, which worsened as the hours of the day passed by.

By the time the sun was setting, yesterday, I was coughing, sneezing, congested and just overall feeling miserable.

Then time to go to bed came around. I was unable to sleep. I tossed and turned and coughed the entire night.

About 3 in the morning, it crossed my mind that I might have a cold medication in my bathroom's medicine cabinet. It had been so long since I had need of such, it had not come to the forefront of my memory earlier.

That is the cold medication you see photo documented above, with the blog post being written behind it.

Swallowing a capful of this vile liquid did help some. The sore throat and coughing impulse largely abated, for awhile. And then I would get up and take another dose. That happened three or four times.

By dawn's later light I made my way to Walmart to get a fresh supply of various cold remedies, including medicated cough drops, which are seeming quite salubrious.

I think I should be feeling tired and in dire need of a nap, but so far there has been no napping impulse directing me to get horizontal on my bed.

I do not tolerate being sick well. It totally annoys me...

Chilly Sunny Sunday Lucy Park Nature Communing Walk

With the outer world chilled down to the low 80s, it was to Lucy Park I ventured this fine Sunday August morning, to get myself some much-needed endorphins acquired from aerobic stimulation.

As you can see, the Wichita River, flowing below the Lucy Park suspension bridge, is starting to run low. 

As you can also see, well into August we are still seeing green foliage, creating a jungle-like effect.

Usually, by now, if my memory is serving me accurately, by now, most of the outer world sports little green, instead, mostly various shades of brown.

Someone has chalked messages on the Circle Trail as it trails through Lucy Park.

 The Good Morning Sunshine message was particularly cheering.

This morning, I found myself unexpectedly experiencing a bad case of a wanton display of self-centered prudish superciliousness.

My initial reaction was that the supercilious person was joking, thinking no one can actually be this brittle.

Well, I was wrong.

Such is why, as best I can, I tend to avoid what are known as Karen types....

Remembering Mountain Loop Ice Caves, Monte Christo & More With Nephews Joey, Christopher and Jeremy

On this third Saturday of the 2025 version of August my email brought me a Microsoft OneDrive Memory from this Day, that I do remember, both what I am seeing in the photo, that, and the fact that this photo could not possibly have been taken in August.

On the left, in the red pants, is my nephew Jeremy, following his big brother, Christopher, to the Washington geological oddity known as the Ice Caves.

The Ice Caves are accessed by a short hiking trail off the Mountain Loop Highway, which runs from Granite Falls to Darrington, through a mountain wonderland that always sort of reminded me of Yosemite.

That I used to live such a short distance from such scenery seems like ancient history now. There were multiple locations I used to go to on the Mountain Loop Highway. Mountain biking on old logging roads. Cross country skiing on those same old logging roads, but in winter.

Here is a short blurb description of the Mountain Loop Highway one gets when on Googles...

The Mountain Loop Highway is a scenic 54-mile loop road in Washington State, primarily located in Snohomish County within the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. It connects Granite Falls to Darrington, passing through the Stillaguamish and Sauk River valleys. The route offers views of mountains, rivers, and waterfalls. 

Biking and hiking to the old ghost town of Monte Christo.

I think the last time I mountain biked to Monte Christo was with nephew Joey. 

Here is a short blurb description of Monte Christo one gets when one Googles...

Monte Cristo is a ghost town located northwest of Monte Cristo Peak in eastern Snohomish County, Washington. It was once a thriving mining town, active from 1889 to 1907, and later became a resort town until 1983. Today, it's a popular hiking destination known for its historical significance and scenic beauty. 

The aforementioned Ice Caves form every spring when the snow of winter starts melting. By the time the heat of summer arrives the Ice Caves become dangerous. When Chris and Jeremy took me to the Ice Caves it seemed safe for us to explore inside. Now that I am older and less adventurous, I don't think I would be up to exploring the Ice Caves.

I think I remember reading that a total prohibition of Ice Cave exploration had been enacted.

The last time I saw the Ice Caves was when I was being the guide of a group of kids my sister Michele was somehow in some sort of mentoring situation with. It was early summer. You had to stay several hundred feet from the Ice Caves.

The attraction at that point in time, which drew a large crowd, was sitting and watching big chunks of ice crash down from the mountain cliffs, making loud booms and big plumes of ice dust.

A popular hike on the Mountain Loop Highway I remember hiking only once, it one which takes you to the route of the train which ran along the Stillaguamish River to Monte Christo. Some of the railroad tracks remain. There are tunnels and scary bridges.

The river you are hiking next to is a wild one, leading to Granite Falls, the actual waterfall, not the town. The trail does not go that far. Eventually one reaches a point where one can go no further.

At times I sort of miss living a short distance from a natural wonderland. Where I lived in Washington, no matter which direction you went, you were soon at a natural wonderland....

HOT Nature Communing On Rocky East Shore Of Sikes Lake

It was to Sikes Lake I ventured on this 14th day of the 2025 version of August, to commune with nature under the broiling sun.

In the photo documentation you are on the rocky east shore of Sikes Lake, looking west, well, probably more precisely, looking a bit southwest.

We are almost half way through the next to last month of summer. 

I am ready for summer to end.

I grow weary of having no cold tap water. There is no such thing as a refreshing cold shower. The cold water is warmer than lukewarm.

And the swimming pool is even warmer than the warmer than lukewarm tap water.

I am grateful I have  freezer which can churn out a lot of big ice cubes. Or crushed ice cubes, if I am wanting to quickly turn hotter than lukewarm tap water into something closer to being pleasantly refreshing.

In a couple days, as in Saturday, I was scheduled to attend a high school reunion. But, after careful consideration, due to an extreme outbreak of wanton Karen-itis, I have opted to forego the pleasure of attending, due to my ongoing aversion to dealing with, well, personality types I do not usually experience, personality types with whom I have zero desire to experience in person.

The above paragraph is what is known as an Easter egg. Planted to see if anyone sees it...

Riding Tacoma Waves With David, Theo & Ruby

The photo you see here showed up this morning in my email in the almost daily Microsoft OneDrive Memory from this Day.

Microsoft is off by a few days. This photo would have happened a couple days before August 11. 

In 2017.

Nephews David and Theo, and Niece Ruby took me to the Tacoma Wave Pool to have some water fun, with their uncle, under the blistering Tacoma sun.

It was fun.

One of the amusing moments in the pool happened when I had Theo on my back, dodging the incoming waves, and one of his girl friends from school came up to us and asked Theo if I was his grandpa.

No, this is my uncle, said Theo.

A few days later I was to find myself in another pool, but not one which generated waves, that one being the pool at the place we were staying at in Birch Bay.

The waves at Birch Bay are generated naturally. I had myself a mighty fine time there building sand castles with Theo and Ruby. David was wary of being on the tide flats, particularly when the tide began to roll in.

About a week later I was in Arizona, where I found the thumb drive which was storing many of the photos I took whilst in Washington, with some photos of Theo resulting in a blog post titled Theo's Birch Bay Sand Castle Building.

Looking at the list of blog posts I was surprised to see I wrote multiple follow-up blog posts with material from my Washington visit, including one titled Ruby Takes Me To Seattle's Amazon Spheres.

We'd done lunch at the Dick's Drive-In by Seattle Center. That is where the Space Needle is. After lunch we drove to the Amazon complex, which is at the north end of Seattle's downtown. Ruby then took me to see the Amazon spheres.

I blogged about lunch at Dick's in Seattle Dick's Deluxe With Good Pay & Benefits & Long Lines.

Regarding Dick's, if a Texas Whataburger employee were to read this blog post they might find themself annoyed to see how much a Dick's employee gets paid. And all the benefits. And the menu prices did not seem all that much higher than when I lived in Washington.

I hope one day to once again have myself a Dick's Deluxe. Or two...