Monday, September 22 through Sunday, October 12, 2025: Fall Colors, Life in Williams, Visiting Friends, Flagstaff Appointments, Pickleball, and Beautiful Sunsets

Fall is in the air! Colors are percolating 😊😊😊

 

 

Logan, the pest control guru, came to service our home. His company is going to also watch our home this winter. This is a new service Atomic Pest Control now offers --- vacation home monitoring.

Wednesday evening, I went to a program at church. The topic was Dr. David Jeremiah's book "The World of the End." The program consisted of a video from Dr. Jeremiah --- about one chapter in the book --- and a subsequent discussion.

Dr. Patrick Ryan --- the veterinarian in Williams --- posted a nice photo of him and his staff on Facebook.

Thursday, Preston and I went for a walk around Kaibab Lake. I think Preston is now a full fledged country dog!

That evening, Tom and I went to Dance Lessons at the Sultana Theater. We were the only couple!

On Friday, I met my friend Chris Peterson at the trailhead parking lot for Bill Williams Mountain. With her dog, the two of us hiked 2 1/2 miles up the trail. It was a beautiful day.

Saturday, Tom and I went to the Vintage Japanese Car Show along Route 66. It was a small, but nice display of a number of Japanese Classic cars.

Sunday, six of us played pickleball. It was the first time that Kelly's husband, Sivert, joined us for some play.

My next door neighbor, Jim Ramsey, had his California girlfriend visiting. Kathy brought her dog Daisy. Preston and Daisy enjoyed running up and down the fence line.

That evening, Tom and I watched an almost full moon making a presence in the sky.

 

The next night, the first Super Moon of the year made its debut. It was the Harvest Supermoon.

 

 Tom's sister, Pat, and her husband Frank, shared a "good evening" photo of the two of them.

 

Tom and I sent our version back to them in Florida.

 

Tuesday, our handyman Jeremy Tadevich came to our house to attack a number of projects. He was able to adjust my walk-in closet dresser so that the drawers were once again sliding on their runners. Jeremy did some caulking in our shower, along some outdoor shale siding, and under the wine refrigerator. He also secured a post in our backyard with Amazon purchased "post-it" frames.

 

On Wednesday, my girlfriend Barbara Coad came to Williams for a short visit. Barbara lives in Los Angeles and she drove another one of our other girlfriends to Surprise, Arizona, to see her ailing sister-in-law. The first order of business was to introduce her to three geocaches in my neighborhood. These were special cache containers as I am the cache owner.

 

After lunch, we went to Bearizona. Barbara had not been to Bearizona in several years.

Each time I go to Bearizona, there is something fun to see. The grizzly bears are always special.

The mountain goats climb with grace.

 

And then, there are wolves and little foxes.

 

After our Bearizona visit, Barbara and I stopped in town at the Pooseum Shop. 

 

The proprietor, George, has been collecting fossilized Dinosaur poop for over twenty years. While he has had an internet site since 2014, this store is his first retail outlet.

That evening, the sunset sparkled over the land.

Thursday, Barbara and I went to Flagstaff to have lunch with Paula Miller. Before our lunch date, we found a geocache at a thrift store on Fourth Street.

We then went to Little America Hotel and we had lunch with Paula.

The weather report indicated heavy rain for Arizona. Barbara was concerned about her drive to Surprise to pick up Judy Wenker. So, Barbara cut her stay with us and headed south.

 

But, before leaving, we had several photo opportunities.

 

 

Friday, I took a photo of our colorful maple tree.

I also took advantage of the weather by taking pine needles out of the backyard gutters.

That night, Tom and I went to the World Famous Sultana Bar to listen to live music with Brandon Shepard.

Brandon describes himself as a country musician with attitude. Tom and I did dance one song together.

On Saturday, Preston and I walked around Cataract Lake. Over by the dam, I placed ashes of Kelsey and Jamie.

Around the block, there are some nice fall colors on Piping Rock Drive.

The Williams Wellness Veterinary Clinic gave me some flower seeds to plant in memory of Kelsey and Jamie. I put the seeds in a container in the backyard that yielded very few lily flowers. Voila!

On Sunday, I went to church at the First Baptist Church of Williams. There was a special guest speaker from the Ark Encounter in Kentucky.

Since my pastor is out of town for several weeks, it was fun hearing from Dr. Tim Chaffey. He talked about the age of the earth and Creation vs. Evolution. One day, I would like to visit the Ark Encounter! Later in the afternoon, Preston and I walked to town. We went through part of the national forest and met up with some mule deer.

We then walked along Cataract Lake Road.

When in town, we left some of Kelsey and Jamie's ashes under the sign of the Williams Wellness Veterinary Clinic.

 

We also left some ashes between the feet of Smokey the Bear.

The fall colors never disappoint. This time it was near Bill Williams Mountain.

Monday, September 1 through Sunday, September 21, 2025: Green Valley Visitors, Kirk Assasination, Kirk Vigil, and Pagosa Springs Getaway

On Monday, Labor Day, I took Preston to town. I had no idea that there was a 5K and 10K Fun Run going on. The Williams Lion Club sponsored this Mountain Man Run that started at 7:30 a.m.

Some friends of mine were participating in the 10K portion of the event.

Later in the afternoon, I took Preston to Santa Fe Dam. 

 

There, I left some ashes of Kelsey and Jamie.

 

As I now have the ashes of both Kelsey and Jamie, it will be nice to place their ashes in special places.

That evening, I stopped at the Pizza Factory and picked up a cauliflower crust Meat Lovers Pizza for dinner.

On Tuesday, I took Preston to the nearby west side of Cataract Lake. 

 

Kelsey's and Jamie's ashes are now there too.

Tom had a late morning follow-up appointment with Dr. David Felsted, his ophthalmologist at Barnet, Dulaney, and Perkins in Flagstaff. 

 

Later in the afternoon, Tom and I met with a sleep specialist, Nurse Practitioner George Rodway.

My sister Carrie posted some nice photos of a Bend visit from her son Blake and his wife Nicole. Floating on the Deschutes River never disappoints!

 

 

On Wednesday, I had an appointment with Audiologist, Kerry Beasley. My hearing devices were almost five years old. It was time to get an updated version. These Phonak hearing devices will be the same version that Tom is getting.

On Thursday, my sister Carrie, her husband Brent, Blake, and Nicole went to Crater Lake National Park. There, they took my brother John's ball cap and took a memorial photo.

That evening, we had a very nice backyard sunset.

Two of my cache containers were missing. That is 50% of my hidden caches! So, I place new containers at Santa Fe Dam Reservoir and at Kaibab Lake.

 

 

And yes, Preston joined me for both.

On Friday, my friends Sue and Scott Svejcar, came to our home for adult beverages and some hors d'oeurves. 

 

Sue and Scott are visiting Williams for four nights. Sue is highly allergic to pet dander, so they are staying at the La Quinta Inn & Suites.

Saturday morning, the town of Williams held their Patriots Day Parade. Sue, Scott, and I parked ourselves along the parade route and enjoyed the show.

 

 

Fall is in the air. The sunflowers are beautiful this time of year!

In the afternoon, Tom and I took Sue and Scott to Bearizona. I renewed my annual pass, so the price was right!

While in the Bearizona Gift Shop, Sue snapped a photo of Tom and me.

Since this Saturday was the first Saturday of the month, the steam engine took visitors to and from the Grand Canyon.

That night, we had a full moon. It is the Harvest Moon.

Preston was waiting for our return from viewing the full moon.

On Sunday, Sue and Scott went to Winslow, Arizona. There, they enjoyed the famous "corner."

Teresa Moshir, the dancing instructor, had a Salsa class at 2:00 p.m. at the Sultana Theater. 

 

That night, there was a beautiful sunset.

On Monday, I took Sue and Scott to the Grand Canyon. Sue had never been there. Scott had visited it when he was ten years old.

Our first stop was near Bright Angel Lodge. The canyon is always so magical!

We stopped at Yavapai Museum of Geology.

And then, we went out to Hermit's Rest. Scott has a bad hip, so we were able to get a handicap sticker to drive the eight miles out and back.

 

 

That night, the four of us went to Western View Steakhouse for dinner. Delightful!

On Tuesday, I drove my truck to Dry Holden Lake. Preston and I walked a nice loop.

In the afternoon, I took Preston to Williams Veterinary Wellness Clinic. One of his paws seemed tender. Dr. Ryan said that it is just a tender pad --- Preston is transitioning from being a "city dog" to a "country dog."

On September 10, conservative commentator, Charlie Kirk, was assassinated at a university in Utah. What a tragedy!

On Thursday, Martha and Chris Hoyt stopped by the house to borrow a pinch collar for their dog Penny. They have a second home here in Williams. Their primary residence is in Scottsdale.

That afternoon, Tom had an appointment with neurologist Dr. Jeremy Payne. Tom's MRI had been negative. He did not think that Tom needed additional follow-up.

 

On Saturday, I went to Jan Chumley's Circuit Training class. Later, Tom and I went to the grand opening of the Grand Canyon Hotel Ballroom. Dancing instructor, Teresa, lead a number of people in some dance moves. 

Later in the evening, our town had a tribute to slain Charlie Kirk. 

 

 

Tom and I attended the memorial. It was nicely done.

Monday, I dropped Preston off at Wags & Whiskers Pet Resort. He will be a guest there for seven nights.

While there, I left some of Kelsey's and Jamie's ashes.

Later in the afternoon, some deer approached our home. They grazed in the lot across the street.

That evening, Kim and Jordana Kelley joined Tom and me for dinner with Roland and Kristine Manahan at the Grand Canyon Brewing Company. Roland and Kristine were visiting Williams for a few nights.

Tuesday morning, Tom and I headed to Pagosa Springs, Colorado. It was a seven hour drive. We took Interstate 40 to Gallup, New Mexico, and headed north from there.

In Pagosa Springs, Tom and I were able to use the cabin owned by Colleen and Howdy Doan. Howdy is the brother of my sister-in-law, Terry Doan Shelton. The views from their hillside cabin are very nice!

 

The cabin is in a community called San Juan River Village.

 

We had a great dinner at Kip's Grill and Cantina.

 

Wednesday, we explored some of Pagosa Springs. We had a nice picnic lunch along the San Juan River. The location was Dr. Mary Fisher Park.

 

 

 

While in town, I found a small geocache. This was my first cache find in the state of Colorado. Yes!

 

That night, we had dinner at Meander Riverside Eatery. The patio dining was adjacent to the river.

 

 By sundown, I noticed a lit cross on the hill across the river.

 

The next day, we had tickets to ride the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic train. It was an hour drive to Chama, New Mexico. We had to be there an hour before the 10:00 a.m. departure.

 

I'm in love with steam engines. This train had one, for sure!

 

Tom and I had two seats in the Parlor Car --- the last car on the train.

As the train departed the Chama train station, we crossed a highway. Nine years ago, my sister Wendy and I were driving through Chama (on our way to Santa Fe) when the train crossed the highway.

 

The Parlor Car accommodations were delightful. Tom and I even enjoyed a Bloody Mary specially made by our attendant, Kathy.

 

This train is the longest and the highest narrow gauge railroad in the country. It is also one of the best preserved.

 

 

The benefit of being in the final train car is the opportunity for photos!

 

 

The scenery along the way was magnificent.

 

 

We stopped for a buffet lunch in the small town of Osier, Colorado at an elevation of 9,637 feet. 

 

When we arrived in Antonito, Colorado, we boarded a bus back to Chama. It was a one hour ride. The day in total was outstanding.

Wags & Whiskers Pet Resort posted several photos of Preston on their website.

On Friday, Tom and I went to town. I wanted to soak in one of the hot springs. We selected Overlook Mineral Springs Spa. This spa had outdoor pools up on the top deck. We started in one small pool.

A larger pool became available, and we moved there. The views from the rooftop were neat!

 

The main road in Pagosa Springs was being worked on. This is a photo of the store front of Overlook with the rooftop awnings.

That evening, Tom and I had reservations for dinner at Alley House Grille. The food was good, but there were delays in getting our "before dinner" cocktails.

Saturday morning, Tom and I drove up Highway 160 to Treasure Falls. We hiked about .75 miles to the falls look-out.

 

There was a virtual cache that I earned by giving a correct answer to a question.

 

We drove further up Wolf Creek Pass and turned around. It was starting to rain. When we got back to the cabin, I drove down the hill to the other side of San Juan River Village. There, I parked the Subaru and walked along the San Juan River.

The cloud formations were beautiful.

That evening, Tom and I had dinner at The Springs Resort & Spa. I had delicious scallops. Tom had a very nice steak.

Sunday morning, it was time to leave Pagosa Springs. We left the cabin at about 9:00 a.m. We stopped at a Kroger grocery store and bought coffees at Starbucks. Then, we were treated to a festival of hot air balloons. It was part of the Pagosa Springs ColorFest 2025 weekend.

 

 

 

We took Highway 160 all of the way west to Highway 89. This included traveling through much of the Navajo Nation. We arrived home around 4:00 p.m. It was perfect timing for unloading the car and relaxing for the evening.