Author: sue

When we moved to Connecticut in 1990, I worked on a team at The Travelers that was lead by Dwight. A firm believer in team-building, he and his wife Colleen hosted several team dinners at their home in Essex, CT, and we got to know Colleen as well. For the next few years, I thoroughly enjoyed the ground-breaking work we did in managed care. and I learned so much – about the healthcare/health insurance business, business politics, project management, people management, team-building – all skills that served me well when I later started my own business. Thank you, Dwight!

Continue reading “Pasadena, CA”

Sequoia National Park was established in 1890. This park includes Mt Whitney, the highest point in the lower 48 states at 14,505 feet above sea level, as well as 5 of the 10 largest giant sequoia trees. General Grant National Park was also established in 1890 to feature and protect giant sequoias, including the General Grant Tree. In 1940, in an effort to protect more of the unique resources of the area – the 14,000-foot peaks of the Sierra Nevada, Kings Canyon 10,000 feet below, as well as old-growth forests and other large groves of giant sequoia trees – the Kings Canyon National Park was created, incorporating General Grant National Park. Since 1943, the 2 national parks comprising nearly 1 million acres have been adminstered together as Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks.

Continue reading “Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks”

Our change in plans afforded us 4 more days in which to choose a new adventure en route to Albuquerque. We spent three of them in Palo Duro Canyon State Park and loved every minute.

Palo Duro Canyon is the 2nd largest canyon system in the US, after (what else?) the Grand Canyon. Really? In the Texas Panhandle? Yup! It’s 40 miles long, averages 6 miles wide and drops 600 feet from the rim to the canyon floor.* The Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River cut the canyon over millions of year leaving behind caves, hoodoos and colorful rock and sandstone formations. Unlike the Grand Canyon, most of the action at Palo Duro takes place on the canyon floor.

Continue reading “Palo Duro Canyon State Park, TX”

When we get close to St Louis, we feel a magnetic pull to our regular RV parking spot where we’ve visited a few times with my father’s brother Jerry and his wife Suzy. Much closer to my age than to my parents, these were my cool and fun aunt and uncle who lived away from the family homestead in New England (though they visited often). They hold the distinction of being the first of my extra large family that Doug ever met, back in 1984.

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One of the reasons for this fall trip is that another Blues Guitar Unleashed member jam will be in Albuquerque, NM, early in October. Now, the shortest, most direct route between our home and Albuquerque goes through Cincinnati, OH. Regular readers are aware of our reluctance to take the shortest, most direct route to anywhere. Well, sometimes we make exceptions to that rule and we did for Cincinnati, because that’s where my piano-playing buddy Honghong lives!

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In the years past, we’ve traveled during the warmer seasons and wintered back home in VT. This year, following 2 short-ish trips to Maine and Toronto, we spent the rest of the summer at home, and we’re heading out now on a fall trip to the Southwest. This is definitely a part of the country we can’t visit in the summer as we’re heat wimps. Also for the first time, the trip is open-ended. We’re not sure when we’re coming back – presumably, we’ll know when it’s time.

Of course, what’s not changing is seeking out adventure, friends, and music along the way. But first, we needed to get a few things in order…

Continue reading “Home! And on the road again…”