Meeting in Cheyenne

July 30,2915 we met Jim and Barb Mencin inCheyenne to begin our "Yellowstone trip".
We made an appointment to have a tour of the Capitol with our guide Lynette.

The original building  was completed in 1886 for less than $150,000. The east and weat wings were completed in 1890.

A couple of Capitol tidbits:

Outside the House Chamber there are a series of photos of the members as a group.  In 1915 on unhappy member grabbed the photo from the wall to hit it over the head of another legislator. The picture tore when the man put up his hand to shield himself. It has never been repaired.

One of the photos shows one legislator wearing a red tie while the entire picture is in back and white.

His friends thought it funny to color in this very shy representative after the picture was taken to ensure he would always be remembered.

The second spindle from the top of one of the staircases was installed upside down to reflect the carver's belief that only God makes things perfect.

The dome was originally copper, but later gilded with gold leaf it keep it from turning. It takes only one once of gold to gild the entire dome.

Barbara and I had our picture taken beside one of many boots found around town. This was is outside the Union Pacific Train Depot. Hope the guy doesn't cme back looking for his boot.

Union Pacific railroad had 25 Big Boy engines build to help transport goods over the mountains. The one in this photo, #4094, is found in a local park. They are now restoring Big Boy #4014 so it will be completely functional.

Orphan Train

Ty From 1854 to 1929 an estimated 250,000 orphaned, abandoned, and homeless children were placed throughout the United States and Canada during the Orphan Train Movement.

When the orphan train movement began, it was estimated that 30,000 abandoned children were living on the streets of New York City.

Charles Loring Brace founded the Children’s Aid Society in order to help these children.

The aid institutions developed a program that placed homeless children into homes throughout the country. The children were transported to their new homes on trains which were eventually labeled “orphan trains.”

This period of mass relocation of children in the United States is widely recognized as the beginning of documented foster care in America.

Miscellaneous things we did in AZ this year.

Look who we found at an RV show? Also with our friends Jim and Barb Mencin.

Jay Leno came to Valle del Oro for a performance. He was the fill in when they cancelled Bill Cosby. What a great choice. We laughed out loud from the moment he began his routine until he wound it up. Fabulous night! Bad picture, but I think you can see his distinctive profile.

Went to SkyVenture just south of Mesa for an indoor sky diving experience. The closest I'll ever get to the real thing.  Left to right: Barb Mencin, me, Pat Bailey, Jim Mencin, Wayne Baily.

I took classes in Clogging. What fun. I graduated, so next year I get to continue with more advanced dances. Clogging uses hinged taps on the toes of the shoes and single taps on the heel. This way you make 3 distinctive sound with the "brush" step. There are several groups around WI, but unfortunately none in the the immediate Sheboygan area.  Anybody want to learn and start a beginners groups?

Does anyone know this famous Arizonian? He was signing merchandise at the Fountain Hills Art Fair.

We also met this cute little guy in the mountains (Tortilla Flats) riding with his buddy.

I've never seen a saguaro in bloom before. This one was at our park, around the corner from us.

Here's a typical street view. This picture doesn't show any RV spots.

Reagan Library

This is the view from the Ronald Regan museum, what a beautiful, serene place.

The backside of the Library

His Air Force 1 

His grave

A piece of the Berlin Wall

Projects this winter

I tried my hand at stain glass this year and made two projects. They were a lot of fun, but I have other other projects to work on.  Stain glass will have to wait until next year as I contnue with my wood turning. So much to do, so little time. 

Waste Management Open, Scottsdale

Went to the Open on a day it did not rain! It was cloudy, but warm with a light jacket on. I have never been to a rowdy golf tourney, but this one definitely qualified. The 16 th hole is completely surrounded by bleacher seating and sponsor suites. The line to get in was so long, we gave up and sat at the 15 green for awhile. We listened to the roars as a hole in one was made on the 16th. I understand it was followed by empty beer cans thrown on the green. The people watching was worth the price of admission itself.  All the young girls in their one piece short and top outfits wearing high heels slogging through the mud was a common sight. We used to wear these in the 60-70's? Just proves styles always come back, if you have enough room in your closet to keep them and can keep the same figure for 40 years, you've got it made.

Anyway, we also met and had our picture taken with Meadowlark Lemon. He's now a minister. I admit it was a real thrill to meet him. He was my favorite Globetrotter.

Hiking at South Mountain

So far my first hike of the season, and it was challenging. Due to a road closure, we hiked  1,000 feet up a rocky twisting path to arrive at a beautiful view of Phoenix below. Then we hiked another mile to "Fat Man's Pass" which was our original destination. Two huge boulders very close together were very interesting to squeeze through sideways. At the other end were two rock slide to scoot down and then a wonderful place to rest and have lunch before winding our way down the mountain. I only todo a couple of pictures. The path was very rocky me my legs not confident enough to look up and walk at the same time.

This is not Fat Man's Pass but another pretty part of the hike.