Thanksgiving and Christmas 2011

The first Ugly Sweater Party by the Hanks family. Since there were

some who didn't get to sport off their ugly sweaters, we are doing it again.
Amber knew exactly what to do with her present.

Ambers first Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa's.

The Hansen crew after Thanksgiving dinner.

Amber opening up another Christmas present.

Four generations

Ghost Town #2

This is the old mining town of Berlin. In the late 1800's they mined

gold. This ghost town is one of many in Nevada
A stark reminder of a hard life.



Two or three miles down the road is Ichthyosaur state park. Millions of years ago when Nevada
was at the equator, these fish (50-70 ft long) swam in the ocean. Somehow they died and geologists have found at least 39 in this area. There is a small quarry here that shows some of the bones. Most of the other bones they found were excavated in an archaeological dig and then covered back up. It's pretty weird to see skeleton's of fish out in the desert!

We liked the old truck

Since the price of gold has gone up so high, a company is mining again right outside of the park.

Ghost town #1

This picture is overlooking the ghost town of Bannack.
I got a kick out of the different wall papers that are still on the walls. This must have been how the "respectable" women showed their personalities. They didn't go out of their houses unescorted. Out of the 200-300 men in the town, there were only about 20 "respectable" women.

This is the jail. It has a heavy thick door and rings in the floor to chain up the prisoner.

This is the original courthouse, later turned into a hotel

Ah, the winding staircase

The bankers house

I like visiting ghost towns and seeing what the miners and their families lived in and try to get a small taste what life was like for them many years ago. We found this one and I would go visit again. There are over 50 buildings that you can go into. My favorite house was the bankers. It had 11 rooms in it and a winding staircase. Fixed up, I could live in it today :-)

My favorite mountains

The first time I saw the Tetons it was in the spring and I thought I was in heaven. There was still snow on the peaks, the sky was blue as blue can be and the grasses and meadows were vivid green.
This moose has the biggest web I have ever seen. Two big boys right together!

Cabin in the Tetons. Bruce and John

This was also a big boy!

I love the jagged look of these peaks

On Oct 30, a hunter was mauled by a grizzly in this area. He had his pepper spray and did all of the right things and the bear left him. The man was pretty scraped up but didn't die.

We decided that this famous barn was famous because of the mountains behind it not necessarily because of the barn itself.They haven't had much snow yet, so the elk haven't moved down. The hunters aren't too happy and the ski resorts aren't either. They are making snow!

You can go into this little church. Bruce joked as he sat in the pew that it was the first time in quite awhile that he had sat in a church.

A few of my favorite things

...when the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I'm feeling sad, I

simply remember a few of my favorite things, and then I don't feel so bad! :-)

various activities

Nicholas giving Amber her first motorcycle ride.
My flower garden. I found lots of different plants to grow
this year and it has turned out really pretty.

Hanks Family reunion up Oak City Canyon.

JaDee and Grizzly walking Anita in the Snake Valley Water Festival Parade

Hansen Boys family reunion up in the mountains above Loa. A great time was had by all,

even with the downpour! We got sopping wet and we were very glad the

cabin had a wood stove we could warm up by.

Jerald & Margo 40th anniversary, Blaine, Sarah and new baby

Elizabeth & Russ just married.

the hummingbirds are starting to come in by the droves.

I love watching them, so I gladly share my sugar so they

will come around.

My cat Mittens is now 14 years old

My cat Mittens was born in July 1997. She was one of seven in the batch. Sharon insisted on naming all of the kittens, and the name Mittens stuck. We kept two of the kittens and gave the rest away. She lives in one of the old houses on the Baker Ranch and comes home when she wants to be fed. John calls her an ornery old lady. She definitely has her "opinions". She likes her eggs scrambled and fed to her warm, she likes milk and only eats Meow Mix cat food. I guess she has a right to be selective in her likes and dislikes.

What season is it anyway!?

We had a 4-H day today at EskDale. The children always seem to have a good time.

This is a picture of Amber's baby shower.





This picture is of fountains at the World War Two memorial... one of my favorites.
In the background is the Washington Memorial.

The Korean Memorial... another one of my favorites.

The highschool group at the US Capitol building

This past month has been pretty busy. The summer season has started and it seems there is one activity after another going on, but something does not seem right when you have to take a coat to an outdoor barbeque. John quit building fires in our outdoor woodburning stove in April and we've had the furnace on ever since. (except for a couple of days) I thought I saw "spring" on the menu somewhere. I even ordered it. Anyway, next Tuesday is the first day of Summer and then the days start getting shorter. I don't think I'll put my coat away :-)