tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292322852011-09-12T20:12:16.884-06:00Thanks for dropping by! We wish we we were sharing a hike or a meal with you, chatting face to face and catching up on life. We hope you enjoy your virtual visit; feel free to leave a comment and let us know what's happening with you.Sandranoreply@blogger.comBlogger111100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29232285.post-52985402112348819692011-09-08T21:15:00.002-06:002011-09-08T21:18:13.918-06:00

Keith frequently says we shouldn't call our weekend adventures "camping" because that conjures up inaccurate ideas of our trips in other folks' minds. We avoid (except in rare instances) designated or maintained campgrounds, choosing instead to practice dispersed camping, where allowed, on land managed by either the National Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management. We don't pitch a tent; we

Sandranoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29232285.post-82279415011346633352011-01-01T16:30:00.005-07:002011-01-01T16:30:01.963-07:00

There isn't any excuse for such a long break between posts, so none will be offered. Let's just summarize the past (to our best recollection) few years, and try to move forward (there will also be no promises made). "Still" Life : (Note: We originally began this post in January, 2010, with this first paragraph, which we decided to leave in as a pretty fair sum-up.) We're still living in

Sandranoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29232285.post-91639454165915086872007-12-24T11:19:00.000-07:002007-12-24T13:28:58.656-07:00

Here we are at the end of another year which seems to have sped by very quickly. Keith and Sandra are still in Albuquerque, NM, and decided not to drive to the Chicago area this winter. This marks the first Christmas in our marriage without either children or immediate family around….Wow! We really are “empty nesters!” While we’ll very much miss interacting with everyone at ‘home,’ God has truly

Sandranoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29232285.post-29532789462344859252007-07-05T21:48:00.003-06:002011-01-01T17:23:49.925-07:00

We've been doing a bit of traveling again - sleeping in the SUV and exploring this amazing state. We've found a few accessories that make SUV camping more functional. Keith's almost ready to give up regular housing altogether! Over Memorial Day weekend we explored southwest NM - visiting the Very Large Array on our way to the Gila National Forest. While finding out exactly what a radio telescope

Sandranoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29232285.post-37844228165587635322007-06-12T16:15:00.001-06:002007-07-05T21:57:31.017-06:00

Shaina graduated from Truman State University!!!!!Given the date (see this blog’s title) and her major (Spanish….and English), she felt it highly appropriate to wear a sombrero. Since we live in the southwest we could happily provide!All of her roommates’ families attended, and we all had a great time celebrating the graduates. This was the first time since Christmas that we were together as a

Sandranoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29232285.post-40691338891558729692007-06-12T11:01:00.000-06:002007-06-13T20:35:20.902-06:00

The end of April found us heading to Phoenix again, this time with friends (Alf and April) to participate in a “Displacement Event.” This overnight experience, organized by Invisible Children, was meant to simulate and raise awareness of the plight of Northern Ugandan citizens forced by their government to live in IDP* camps as part of an unsuccessful effort to protect them from rebel

Sandranoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29232285.post-71254939766650260812007-05-31T09:41:00.000-06:002007-06-06T15:40:07.134-06:00

In February, for various reasons, we decided it was time to find a different place to live. So we gave notice we would be moving out the end of March. And since our wonderful friends told us they'd help us move, we put them on notice to save March 31 for that purpose.Within a a short period of time we found (we thought) our next rental home. We applied, put down a deposit, and waited to hear

Sandranoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29232285.post-12938726007866306062007-03-20T18:42:00.000-06:002007-03-20T18:58:25.267-06:00

The University of New Mexico, where Sandra works, had Spring Break last week, so she took three days off. An extra long weekend, hot sunny weather in Phoenix, the Cubs were playing on Sunday... It all added up to our first road-trip of 2007. Amazing! It was only the second full weekend in March and we kicked off our touring season!We really enjoyed ourselves: indulging in some great conversation

Sandranoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29232285.post-1154210026344416962006-07-29T15:53:00.000-06:002006-07-29T15:54:59.833-06:00

Over our anniversary weekend we headed up to north-central New Mexico, and southern Colorado. We drove up through the beautiful red Jemez mountains and headed north following what we thought looked like a straighter route than the Interstates. Although these roads were numbered state highways both of them had significant portions which were unpaved. The scenery was beautiful, although there were

Sandranoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29232285.post-1152385116308520972006-07-08T12:54:00.000-06:002006-07-08T13:07:51.856-06:00

Our second adventure was to southeastern New Mexico, the first destination being the famous Carlsbad Caverns.There is a whole lot of nothing between Albuquerque and Carlsbad. However, that ‘nothing’ is made up of incredibly varying land textures. We drove past dry rolling plains, red rugged mountains, and fields of black lava vividly accented with green vegetation. There were stretches which

Sandranoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29232285.post-1151381219615847082006-06-26T21:54:00.000-06:002006-07-02T14:32:37.983-06:00

Since Sandra's job is proving to be very demanding this summer, we're taking multiple long weekend exploration trips, rather than blocks of time off. (Although we are hoping to get to Chicago in early August for a decent amount of time.) We're basically doing a taste-and-see tour of New Mexico, Arizona and southern Colorado -- whatever we can drive to and around in 3 - 4 days -- to admire and

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