March '10 Newsletter

What better way to bid the old year adieu than to watch a fabulous fireworks display from a hilltop in the company of good friends? And did I mention roasting gigantic Mexican pastel marshmallows around the fire pit?! New Years Eve was a chilly, windy one but we bundled up warm, loaded up our appetizers, drove to Ed and Brenda's home, boarded their golf cart, and were ferried to the top of Darcy and Bob's hill. The view of BCC was nothing less than spectacular and the fireworks display one of the best small town shows ever seen. As the last sparkle faded, we adjourned to Ed & Brenda's for an appetizer contest and fun game night. For the second New Year in a row, Susan made it through until midnight, an hour she rarely encounters except in her dreams. Brenda knows how to throw a party. keeping things exciting with new games and prizes. Appetizers ranged from crescent pastry rolled out and topped with apricot jam and gorgonzola cheese to home made venison salami and crab-stuffed mushroom caps. Let's just say no one went home hungry.

Some of you may have noticed our little berg being mentioned on the National news in mid January. We received 9.25 inches of rain in a little over three days. The Agua Fria River, which is generally dry, ran 50,000 cfs (cubic feet per second). Altering its course and destroying a low level crossing, Black Canyon Creek ran big enough to strand 12-14 families on the opposite side of the river. A trailer park across the Agua Fria from our place was inundated with water and mud, with many trailers filled 6-8 feet deep. At its peak, the water lapped into our back yard and came within 2-3 feet of flooding low lying neighbors on our cul-de-sac. Around 10:30 PM, the county and the fire district advised everyone to evacuate. With the river close to lapping at our trailer's wheels, we went out in the rain, moved it to higher ground, and secured it with river straps to the house foundation and a mesquite tree. Our house would be unlikely to ever flood but the garage and our neighbors sit 10-15 feet lower. When all was said and done, 75 dwellings were no longer habitable, the potable water line across the Black had been ripped out with the crossing, there was a major leak in the district's 6" water line that runs along the bottom of the bridge, and many residents were stranded for several days.

Our Water District Management team purchased bottled water, which was dropped to the stranded families by National Guard Black Hawk helicopter. The second day, some of them came across the reduced flow in kayaks to purchase necessities. Within a few days our leak was fixed, a temporary water line had been run, and the community had banded together to aid our displaced neighbors. The Red Cross was quickly on the scene. The Water District that Bob Chairs spent over $10,000 keeping water flowing and in the process opened a temporary crossing for the stranded residents. Eventually $50,000 or more will have to be spent to permanently replace the waterline 10-15' below the new riverbed. When the breadth of the problems and the District's efforts made the local news, FEMA and State officials showed up to assess the situation but neither has done much to help. Monetary donations, along with several motor homes and trailers, poured in from local residents and businesses. To date, we believe that all but about 3-4 people have been accommodated with family, friends, or in new homes.

This week High Desert Helpers is hosting a free clothing and linen give away at the Park. The first day was open only to the flood victims. The rest of the week is open to anyone who wants to show up. The rules according to our new president - there is a one bag minimum and no returns. Susan is helping out with flyers and other organization details for the annual High Desert Easter egg hunt. They generally hide about 3000 eggs and make up 10-20 baskets. Local non-members usually donate more baskets and candy too. The Easter Bunny makes an appearance and has her picture taken with the kids.

Bob's knees were feeling pretty good by early January. Longer and longer probe hikes in our backcountry were leaving him a bit tired but pain free. He'd been watching the OAT website for Egypt trip offerings in March. Then he found space on a discounted late January trip that was just three weeks away. We hopped right on it and scheduled connecting flights to NYC, where we would begin the OAT itinerary with an 11 hour Egypt Air flight to Cairo. Blue again offered us a place to stay the night prior and a ride to the airport. We met her for dinner and retired early. Thankfully, she delivered us to the airport with plenty of time to spare. Our Delta flight to NYC had been cancelled the night before. Delta rerouted us through Detroit and we made our Egypt flight without having to jog through busy JFK airport. Unfortunately, our Tuesday return flight arrived in NYC too late for us to clear customs and catch one to Phoenix. We had one scheduled for the crack of dawn Wednesday morning but alas all flights had been cancelled for both that day and the following. Friday's flights were crammed with people who had been rescheduled and we were horrified when the agents started talking about Monday or Tuesday of the next week. Susan called US Airways' 800 number and was able to book us on a Friday flight out of LaGuardia through Columbus that got to Phoenix late that evening. A few days in a proximate Super 8 Motel worked out fine. We took short walks into the neighborhood for meals but spent most of our time in the room reading, nursing colds, and adjusting to the nine hour time difference. See the trip description in this newsletter.

Kay Threlkeld breezed through on her way down to the Valley. She retired on her birthday 2/26, filled her car with stuff, headed for Waddell (just outside Phoenix) to finish packing with some close friends, and was then flying to Singapore to join her year-long, around-the-world cruise. While here, she talked about her difficulties getting visas for 60 countries. 60 countries! Most of us don't visit that many during a lifetime let alone one year. Her journey reminds us of the one that Charlotte and Char took about a decade ago. That trip predated readily available Internet and WiFi connections so we lost contact with them for 6-7 months. Kay will be maintaining a blog describing her adventure (http://kaystrip.wordpress.com). She recently added descriptions of her retirement from the National Parks Service and preparations to leave home and friends behind for a year.

Neither of us drew a Salt River permit this year. With a couple of hundred percent snowload, it seems the Upper Salt will have a good rafting season. We are still hoping to do a few short duration sea kayaking trips around Arizona and Nevada in March, if the weather cooperates. We find that our comfort zone is shrinking and we are reluctant to don dry suits and camp in frigid, rainy weather. In spite of the wet and cold winter we're having, we plan to brave the Colorado River below Hoover Dam, as it is warmer at that elevation and there are frequent hot springs along the river.

2010 Trip Reports:

Egypt Exploratory Trip (1/26/10-2/10/10)

An OAT representative met our fairly smooth flight in Cairo, collected us and our baggage, divided us into two groups and took us to the hotel. After a short rest, we met with our guide Abou and were introduced to the others in our group. The Iberotel, within a mile or so of the airport had an elegant entry and grounds but the rooms were worn and dated. However, the food was excellent at both dinner and breakfast, which were served buffet style with lots of fresh fruits, a good selection of hot food, excellent breads and far too many wonderful deserts. Sleeping was a bit difficult due to the 9 hour time shift and further complicated by a loud group in the room next door.

Up at 7:00 and down for breakfast, everyone was at the bus by 9:00 and we were off to the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities. As expected, the traffic was horrible. Abou led us on a tour of his favorite pieces, starting with the King Tutankhamun exhibit. Most of the tombs in the Valley of Kings were looted within decades or centuries but Tut's untouched, chaotically filled tomb provided an excellent window into his time and is known for his gold burial mask. Displays included everything he would need in the next world, beds, bows and arrows, chariots, tables, his underwear ... His final resting place was three sarcophagi nested within each other, two outer wooden ones of increasing size and an inner one of 110 kilograms of solid gold. The sarcophagi were found within three rectangular houses of decreasing size assembled in a carved rock chamber at the end of small entrance tunnels. The site lay hidden for three millennia because the entrance tunnel had been covered with tons of debris mined in the creation of the nearby tomb of Ramses VI. Abou eventually turned us loose for 45 minutes to wander on our own in the museum. We contented ourselves with checking out the large pieces and looking carefully at the hieroglyphs on the sides of the later period sarcophagi. All too soon it was time to go.

Cairo traffic is infamous and we were relieved someone else was driving. With a population of 20 million, it has a subway system that is supposedly heavily used, but too few freeways and infrequent interchanges to reach the bypass beltways they do have. Much of our first day in Egypt seemed to be wasted driving to and fro. We were relieved to arrive at the airport to escape to Luxor. We had researched Luxor's Steigenberger Hotel online and all reviewers agreed it was one of the best. Situated on the Nile, the rooms were large and quite modern, there was entertainment in the courtyard each evening, and the breakfasts proved to be the best on the trip.

We had an early start to the Valley of Kings, driving through hazy fields of sugar cane that Abou affirmed are periodically burned. He spent 15 minutes relating the area history as the guides are not allowed in the tombs with their groups. After a short video of the discovery of King Tut's tomb, he led us up and suggested we visit tombs KV14, KV11, and KV16 in that order in 1-1/2 hours. The tombs are labeled numerically in the order discovered. Tomb 14, open from antiquity, was originally constructed for Tawosret, the wife of Seti II, but Sethnakht took it over for his burial. It was elaborately painted from entrance to the burial chamber with figures and hieroglyphs.

Next was KV11, the tomb of Ramses III, with one of the longest entries in the Valley of the Kings. Murals of hieroglyphs and story scenes accompanied large panels of Ramses before the Gods. The lengthy entry tunnel doglegged to the west when the miners accidentally ran into another tomb. Ramses III's sarcophagus has been removed to a museum and in antiquity his mummy was transported to another site by priests trying to protect it from grave robbers. KV16 tomb was robbed shortly after Ramses I was interred. His relatively short reign of one year produced an unspectacular entry that ended in a burial chamber containing a pink granite sarcophagus and elaborate, colorful depictions of Ramses meeting the Gods.

This was already a full morning but we continued on to visit the temple of Queen Hatshepsut (aka by Susan as Hot-shit-soup). This extensively restored site was buried under limestone from unstable cliffs above and has been dug out for better presentation to the tourists. Much of the second and third tiers are reconstructed; columns have been righted and walls rebuilt. Elaborate paintings have been partially restored in the process. After lunch and a break at the hotel, we were off for an optional tour of the Luxor Museum, which contained many fine pieces found at the Luxor site. Afterwards we were taken by horse-drawn carriages through the city's back streets. The most spectacular portion of this adventure was passing through the lengthy souk. We observed few tourists and would have never ventured there on our own. Most locals looked friendly and exchanged greetings but we got a few hostile stares as our group passed. We finished the evening dining at an outdoor tea house in a smaller souk. Surrounded by hookah smokers, we enjoyed a light meal of pita with falafel or with kofta, a sausage-like meat, topped with delicious sesame tahini or hummus.

The first surprise of the next day was taking a water taxi directly from our hotel to the West Bank. After crossing we climbed on our regular bus and drove a mile or so to a small riverside farm, the family home of eleven. The family's eldest son explained their way of life and subsistence, including how they kept water cool, made cheese, baked bread, and watered their crops. He served us tea with a sample of their grainy bread and took us for a tour of the house and grounds. It was interesting and Bob was happy for some great photo opportunities. Afterwards, we had the option to take a brief camel ride, which thrilled Susan. Following our buffet-style lunch, we returned by water taxi to our hotel landing. Everyone agreed this visit had been an excellent adventure.

A restful afternoon prepared us for a sunset tour of Luxor Temple. While Abou expounded near the entrance on the history of the place, Bob snuck away and took pictures of the evening sun shining on the Avenue of Sphinxes. In antiquity this avenue extended a couple of miles from Karnak to Luxor Temple. Sphinx statues line it on both sides at 30' intervals. The government is reconstructing the avenue, excavating and repairing the old statues as necessary. Until recently the entire site was buried in sand. The Romans plastered one area of the temple complex making it part of their quarters when they converted the site to a fort. Paintings of Roman citizens could still be seen. A dinner of Egyptian food and sea bass with French fries at a second story restaurant was quite good.

Our morning Karnak tour began with a lengthy presentation from Abou, followed by a quick tour of the site, which is too huge to comprehend in a couple of hours. Of particular note were the massive entry gates, demonstrating the power of the Pharaoh to all who visited. On the way to our ship, we stopped at an outdoor produce market to shop for one of the dinners we would help prepare. Egyptians shop daily to keep things fresh. Bob photographed while the rest of our group haggled. Once aboard the boat, the manager welcomed us and our guide assigned rooms. We freshened up and gathered in the dining room for a lunch of both Western and Egyptian food. The afternoon was spent reading, napping and idly watching the Nile River banks slip by from the top deck. The small pool and Jacuzzi were unheated, so no one took advantage of the opportunity. Late in the day the Esna Lock appeared and the ship was lifted around one of the old cataracts mentioned in ancient writings. Dinner was an elegant affair, with aperitifs, properly attired waiters, pretentious conversations and haute cuisine. When asked about her former career, Susan barely resisted the temptation of presenting herself as a retired stripper.

By mid morning, the boat reached Edfu, a smaller but well preserved site, only convenient for ship visitation. Millennia of village building had nearly buried it. Restoration is minimal as all of the structures were found standing. This late history site was built during the Ptolemy period after the conquest of Alexander the Great. There was significant defacing of the ancient panels, possibly done within the past 500 years. Similar destruction occurred in the time of the Pharaohs. A new Pharaoh would be anointed after the death of the previous one and often immediately begin revising his predecessor's accomplishments. Ramses had many statues modified to have his name placed on them, removing the history of others in the process.

Dinner was an Egyptian buffet with most of the group dressed in costume for the Galabiyya Party that was to follow. The ship moved after dinner and moored a short walk from the Kom Ombo site we would visit the next morning. Awash with colorful flood lighting, the magnificent columns were visible from the deck. This interesting site complete with the roof in place is on high ground and was neither buried by sand nor flooded by the river. Centuries of villagers had taken blocks away and cut the tops off columns for cheap building materials. Of special interest was the "Nilometer", a 30' diameter deep well with a circular staircase to the bottom. The height of the water predicted the degree of flooding that would occur downstream, giving the Egyptians insight into the year's planting season.

A schedule change had everyone staggering around in the dark the next morning, headed to Abu Simbel at 5:00 AM. Bags had to be in the hall by 4:15, since it was our last day on the ship. We were told it was to get through town before traffic and possibly to join a military led convoy. Abu Simbel is only 35 kilometers from the Sudan border and some problems have occurred along the 100 miles of barren desert road leading there. This was true desert, with no vegetation and the occasional mirage. Abu Simbel was saved from newly created Lake Nasser in the sixties. It was cut by power and hand saws into 20-30 ton sandstone blocks and moved to higher ground. All of this was done to a specification that no cut could be wider than 6 mils. Cut into the natural cliff, this splendid site combined four massive seated Ramses figures outside and an intricately decorated temple inside. The interior walls were alive with carvings, depicting Egyptian life during the reign of Ramses II and his father. Some faded paint remains hinting of what it was like then. Unfortunately no photos are allowed inside. After a couple of hours rest and our best opportunity to access the internet at our swanky hilltop hotel, the Basma, we reunited to visit the brand new Nubian museum.

Like Abu Simbel, the Philae Temple complex we visited the next day was chopped into 4000+ pieces and moved to higher ground. Unfortunately immersion damage from flood waters impounded behind the old dam was evident and either the Christians or Moslems of antiquity had chiseled off many of the huge figures cut into the stone. Fortunately many fine panels inside of the temple were spared this destruction. Many temples were closed by either the Romans or the Byzantines, but this one was apparently active until 500+AD. We returned at night to view the sound and light show. The Nile in this region cuts through granite and large chunks protrude in the lake surrounding Philae Island. Apparently much of the hard granite used for obelisks was obtained at Aswan. Leaving Philae, we were off to see the Aswan High Dam that Nasser had the Russians build to improve crop product by harnessing the Nile. Lake Nasser impounded behind it is over 300 miles long and has a huge surface area. The last morning stop was a perfume manufacturing plant, where after a quick glass-blowing demonstration; one of their salesmen gave a hands-on presentation of both perfumes and aromatherapy oils. An afternoon on our own was followed by a visit to the colorful spice market.

Up early again, the bus took us to a boat and we crossed to the West Bank to visit the San Simon Monastery. We were met by Nubians from the village who took us to mount our camels. When a camel gets off his knees there is a lot of tilting going on. This was Bob's first ride and he soon recognized the precariousness of his position. Our entourage was led uphill to the monastery by Nubian camel drivers. Fortunately Bob's camel was well-behaved as his camel driver threw him the bridle rein with no instruction of what to do with it. At the top of the hill, everyone dismounted and joined our guide for a tour of this early Christian site that later offered shelter to Moslems pilgrimaging to Mecca. Finishing that, our group was slated to ride for 30 minutes to the Nubian village. Bob decided to forgo this wonderful opportunity but Susan of Arabia, with a huge smile on her face, was back atop Cola, her camel. The walk back to the boat was pleasant and allowed Bob to get the kinks out of his back. From there he and four others took the boat upstream with the wind howling across the river.

At the Nubian village, we were taken to a home for a taste of village life. While describing their lives and answering our questions, the 42 year old owner served us two kinds of tea. Next he brought out a baby crocodile for our group to handle. Bob took a couple of pictures of Susan holding him. On the way back we both made the mistake of giving money to women begging for their babies and some small kaleidoscope toys to the kids. Women and children turned up from everywhere in the village to get theirs. Back on our boat, we cruised to one of the many small islands in the granite cataract for a very scenic catered lunch. The temperature had dipped low and we nearly froze at our outdoor barbeque dinner that evening.

We returned to Cairo on a short, choppy flight - the engines speeding up and slowing down to compensate for desert thermals or inclement weather below us. We then had to travel across Cairo to get to our hotel proximate to the pyramids. On the way we stopped at the Sadat memorial and tomb, across the road from where he was assassinated. Our hotel, the Amarante Pyramid, was adequate but not great. Unfortunately, Susan had finally succumbed to the cold our group had been passing around. She elected to stay in the room that evening, skipping our home hosted dinner. Bob attended and while he enjoyed the experience, he hated the close to three hours traveling to and from. It didn't help that along the way the driver got lost in the suburbs. The traditional Egyptian food was good and most ate in the living room or wherever they could find a chair. This was terribly unnerving to him because of the owner's fine furniture and carpets.

We left the hotel at 7:30 AM to see what everyone comes to Egypt to see, the Pyramids of Giza. Dating back 4000 years, they were wonders of the ancient world and remain wonders of the modern one. It was relatively quiet, so our driver took us to the far west end of the site to look down on the three giant pyramids of the Pharaohs and the smaller ones of wives and nobles. Thick smog thwarted spectacular photos. Unlike the Valley of Kings, none of the great pyramid vaults have much decoration.

A couple of large galleries were discovered at the base of the magnificent Great Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu). One contained a wooden boat (over a 100 feet long) for use by Cheops in his afterlife. It may also have been used to convey his mummy across the Nile to the pyramid. On our own for an hour or so, Susan and I concentrated on getting some good photos of the great pyramid and the two others beside it. Next we were driven down to the Sphinx. After passing through the complex wall and some Inca-like stonework, we emerged on a platform above the Sphinx's base but below its head. This is very well set up and necessarily so since the crowds are ridiculously large. None of the proximate tourist hustle and bustle intruded into our photos.

After lunch most of us took the optional trip to Saqqara. The pyramids there are from the earliest dynasties when a lot of architectural experimentation was going on. The Step Pyramid is a series of mounds getting smaller and smaller at each level. It is pyramidal in shape but with steps somewhat like Mayans and Aztec temples. Apparently this design evolved into future pyramids that eliminated the steps and were smooth sided. The Bent Pyramid seen on the horizon to the south was found to be too steep and the angle had to be softened mid way, resulting in bent sides. The nobles' tombs in this complex featured scenes of everyday Egyptian life. Large carved murals showed slaughtering of cattle, fishing in the Nile, driving cattle across a river, etc. The unusual hall of columns was also unlike any we had seen at the many temples visited. Abou arranged with a guard to take us to one tomb that has just been opened and he had never visited. Exhausted after a very long day we returned to our hotel, skipped dinner, and took the night off so Susan could nurse her cold.

There were no scheduled activities the last day but we had signed up for an optional tour called Spiritual Cairo. Our first stop was the Citadel, which encircles one of the bigger mosques in Cairo. The mosque resembles Istanbul's Blue Mosque but is smaller and has only two towers. Carrying our shoes, we sat on the floor by a big support pillar while Abou expounded on the connections between Christians and Moslems, up to the time of Mohammed. We were allowed to photograph without flash. Our next stop, the early Christian Hanging Church of St. Mark, was constructed on top of a Roman fortress around 400 AD. Highlights of this small site were the pulpit, stained glass, and wood trusses supporting the roof. Through viewing ports in the floor we could see circular walls of the Roman fortress below. Mary, Joseph, and Jesus purportedly took refuge here during their wandering in Egypt. Next door we visited a synagogue, primarily a tourist site at this time.

After lunch we spent an hour or so in what was billed as the largest traditional shopping bazaar in the world. Our guide recommended going down one major alley and back to avoid becoming hopelessly lost. Put off by the pushy vendors, we were back in the main square within 30 minutes, where we people-watched until the rest of the group trickled in. Returning to our hotel amid hideous Cairo traffic soured us on driving all the way back to the center of Cairo for the riverside group farewell dinner. We ate burgers by ourselves at the hotel and called it a night. After an early breakfast, we were airport bound. All but Susan, who seemed to be frisked at every opportunity, quickly checked in and we were soon in the air and on our way to New York. But you've read the rest of that story.

Our second great OAT trip was everything we expected. OAT representatives met us at the airports and a couple of Quality Control folks accompanied our entire trip. Our guide, Abou, had a great laugh, made an effort to understand American humor/sarcasm, and delighted us with Egyptian humor/sarcasm. He sponged up our colloquial speech and seemed to be incorporating it in his speech. His four year degree in Egyptology was invaluable. OAT's Egyptian staff was cordial, fun, and helpful. If you haven't been to Egypt fearing terrorism, we highly recommend letting a tour group take care of the logistics. The tourist police provided our group with daily security. Each day a handsome man in a nice business suit with a large bulge (a small machine gun) in the back boarded our bus. Any attack would likely be mounted by non-Egyptians but would reflect badly on Egypt and harm the tourist industry that Egypt is so desperately trying to cultivate. It should also be mentioned that this is a heavily policed country. Our guide took great pains to tell us these were not troops or soldiers on the street with machine guns and pistols but certainly their numbers far exceed the number of policemen that one would normally find in a Western country.

Participants: Susan & Bob Marley

2010 River Trips:

We plan to spend most of June in Idaho this year and were prepared to brave the spring flood pre-permit season on the Main Salmon if necessary. Fortunately a friend of ours was successful in the Main Salmon lottery so we are able to shift trip plans later in the month. Additionally, it doesn't look like there will be extreme high water flows this year on Idaho rivers. The snow load is presently 60% of normal and the steelhead fishermen are already encountering 60-70º shirt sleeve days upstream of Riggins with no snow on the ground. Last fall climatologists predicted a warm and dry year for the northwestern US due to the El Nino effect and a cold and wet one in the Southwest. Apparently they got it right on both counts.

This was the first year we had more than one chance in the Grand Canyon lottery. We didn't do a trip there last year so we each had two chances in this February's 2011 lottery. Unfortunately, even with a grand total of four chances the odds of success are still heavily against us. We were unsuccessful but are eligible to put in for cancellation permits in both 2010 and 2011. Despite the baby boomers possibly aging out of lengthy river camping trips, whitewater rafting still remains popular and permits are difficult to acquire on the more popular rivers.

If any of you have questions or suggestions about 2010 river trips, give us a call, we enjoy talking about river rafting, one of our favorite passtimes.

2010 MG Trip Plans:

At the moment, we have only two group trips planned for this year.

Start Finish Trip Name Group Size Comments
6/25/10 7/2/10 Main Salmon Raft Trip 15

Space with Raft

 Because of the lower elevation, the weather is usually warmer than on the Middle Fork and while challenging, the whitewater is not normally life-threatening in late-June. The cherry orchards downstream usually yield fruit and the beach camps are excellent after the annual high water scrubbing.
8/14/10 8/21/10 Queen Charlotte Sea Kayaking 12

4 spaces left

 Our outfitter will take us to a remote location and leave us for 7 days of kayaking in the Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site. There will be frequent visits to cultural sites and interesting tide-influenced kayaking between campsites. Kayaks, both singles and doubles, will be supplied by the outfitter. This will be a backpacking style self-supported kayaking trip.

Notes:

General Trip Information:

Most of our frequent travelers have internet access and email, so our newsletters are made available at this web site. We don't include all of the trip information in the newsletters (expected costs, precise planning information, etc.). This information is exclusively for folks on our mailing list. If you haven't traveled with us, you may need to satisfy us that you have the necessary physical conditioning, outdoor skills, or travel experience to join a self-sufficient trip before we will add you to our mailing list. Having a mutual friend helps us make that determination.

To be considered for inclusion on one of our group trips, we must receive the required deposit and a completed Q/AR form. You are not officially on the trip until this happens. If you are joining one of our trips and haven’t done this, do so quickly. If a trip is popular enough to require a waitlist, we will use four criteria to determine who will go. Initial preference will be given to those who have paid the required trip deposit and promptly returned the necessary Q/AR form. If this isn't sufficient, we then compare trip deposit dates and lastly Q/AR postmark dates.

Best of luck in your 2010 adventures, whatever and wherever they may be. Both of us look forward to spending time with you this year.

Susan & Bob

Updated on Monday, March 8, 2010 @ 11:30 MST
© 1995-2010 by Robert R. Marley