We joined 400-some people for a hike. Among them were military, fellow veterans, firefighters, swat team, Raytheon employees, family members and friends, young & old. All were united on a sunny, early Saturday morning to hike to Bridal Wreath Falls in the Rincon Mountains in support of the Wounded Warrior Project. Before we all started the hike, a bagpipe player & the Color Guard did the opening ceremony with the National Anthem. We've done this hike before (&when water was actually spilling over the falls), but had never seen this many people on the trail and it was quite inspiring! The trail of people continued on for what seemed an eternity along the 5.2mile trek to and from the falls. Despite the heat and blazing sun, everyone seemed in good spirits yet eager to finish the ... read more

Roughly a 4 hour drive east of our house is the Gila National Forest, Gila Wilderness and within, the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. Once we were off the main highway and onto the Scenic Byway that leads to & through the park, we were engulfed by trees galore! The byway itself was pretty exciting. There were portions of it that seemed barely wide enough for two passing cars. Luckily for us, we seemed to be the only ones driving the road that day. There was still snow on the ground in places, but the sun was shining & the sky was clear & the brightest of blues. We were unable to park at the regular parking area closest to the dwellings due to the bridge being closed. The west fork of the Gila River had ... read more

*pronounced something like "suh-wah-ro" There has been TONS of precipitation in Tucson and the surrounding areas this winter. I mean A LOT! Granted, we've only been here for 3 winters so far, but we've never seen this much rain and snow this time of year. When a friend came to visit, it gave me the perfect excuse (like I needed one!) to go to Saguaro National Park--east side here in Tucson, again. The pictures say the rest...... read more

(2nd stop on the cruise) We tendered from the cruise ship to the private island owned by Carnival Cruiselines; Half Moon Cay. I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say we could have stayed on this island for a couple of days. There was nothing there but beach, a bar, beach, some hammocks for rent, and did I mention beach?! We walked along the long strip of pristine white sand, climbed over rugged rock and laid our towels down on our own private cove. It was such a relaxing, peaceful day! ... read more

(days 3 & 4) Mom has always dreamt of going to Telluride and finally, she got to go there! We spent 2 amazing days wandering around the town, soaking up the sun (we even got burnt! wasn't expecting that!), relaxing in the ginormous hot tub at our hotel. Seriously, this thing could've fit about 15 people easily, but we had it to ourselves:) Telluride is a tiny town nestled in the valley in the San Juan Mountains. We easily traversed the streets on foot seeing as though the town is only maybe 1 mile long. The town is filled with history from the mining boom and many of the buildings are old and newer ones are built to still hold that old charm. Telluride is definitely out of our price range as far as living there, ... read more