Like Putting Fireflys In A Jar!

I'm a lucky man,
To count on both hands,
The ones I love
Pearl Jam
What a wonderful 13 day trip. Weather, all but one day, was dandy. Had my bud Ernie for a few days before heading to laughlin, and then vegas where we got to meet up with Frank, Billybob, and Kwonnie girl. The thing I find with the people that I love, is that it just doesn't matter how long it has been since I last saw them; it feels like it was just yesterday. And then when they leave, I want to capture the feeling like a firefly in a jar.
Tony and Lexy were absolutely spectacular hosts for the 5 days we stayed in mesquite. Had not been to sandstone condos for almost seven years. Sadly, about half the people I knew from there have passed. The complex, as well as the town, are both struggling mightily. The part south of I15 is pretty depressed, and almost all developments north of the freeway have stalled, with the singular exception of the del web community of sun city. Seven years ago, I used to ride my mountain bike around there. They now have almost a thousand homes there, and they are the fastest growing sun city development in the country. They even have their own electrical relay station. I had forgotten how damn hilly the town was, and I ran a lot there, including running lots of sand hills for Ernie. Ended up being the longest week of running this year at 49 kilometers. Weather was high 70's and sunny every day, so I got to run shirtless mid day in the bright sun.
We came home the long way thru Zion. The leaves were just starting to turn, and since we went thru early in the morning, the beautiful shadows made Deb cry. We stayed over in holbrook arizona, and on the way out of town on wednesday, came across the largest petrified wood store in the world. They have a fenced in area bigger than a football field full of the wood, and a store inside that has all these beautiful pieces at prices that would require a mortgage. They will even come out to your house and build your kitchen counters out of the stuff. I bought joe some unpolished pieces for him to cut and polish, as well as a few geodes. He loves to cut and polish stones. Got him two nice bottles of liquor also for his great cat care. The picture is of me sitting on a petrified log. It was damn cold in the morning at eight thousand feet.
Sometimes life is just so damn good.....with Joe's help, may get a few more trips in before I get too infirmed!