Tuesday afternoon, Tom and I took a drive out to White Horse Lake. It is only 20 miles from home, but the roads are not paved. So, it took about 45 minutes to get there. We had not been to this lake in three years. How time flies!
We walked around the lake. It was a distance of about two miles.
In the summer, there is a food truck that operates daily. When we were at White Horse Lake three years ago, the concession was on a trial run --- to see if it made sense. I guess it worked!
Tom's son, Jon, returned to Williams. He was gone several months --- long distance hiking in Alabama. Jon was going to be hiking longer, but the heat, humidity, and ripe poison ivy was not pleasant. So, Tom and I are glad he is back. The three of us went to the Wild West Junction for lunch.
Tom had a hamburger, I had a Reuben sandwich, and Jon had a Dr. Pepper and a Patty Melt.
On Thursday, I had a scheduled facial appointment in Flagstaff. Unfortunately, there was an hour delay on Interstate 40 due to road construction. Even though I left early for Flagstaff, I knew that it would be irritating sitting on the freeway with little or slow movement. So I called Sue and rescheduled for next week.
On Friday, June 4, Tom and I went to the 10:00 am opening ceremony of The Moving Wall. The Moving Wall is a half-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC.
The ceremony lasted about one hour. There was the presentation of the colors.
Our town Mayor, John Moore, spoke about the challenge of getting this Moving Wall to Williams. It took ten years.
Our little town of Williams will host this exhibit for three days. There were a number of Gold Star families in the audience.
The ceremony was very touching. The event included a local bag pipe group providing uplifting music.
Later in the day, Tom sat out on the front porch reading a book on his Kindle.
Saturday, we played pickleball in the Rodeo Barn. The fellow in blue, Patrick, was just passing through Williams. He and his wife rented an Airbnb home in our Highland Meadows community for two nights.
In the afternoon, Tom and I went walking in the woods. We climbed to the top of a Kaibab National Forest hill.
On Sunday, I took a walk into town. There, I went into a new shop that sells Route 66 souvenirs and offers paid rides in old historic cars.
On my walk, I also saw a second exhibit being displayed this weekend. It was Remembering Our Fallen. This exhibit remembered our fallen Veterans from 9/11/2001 to present.
Pat Wheeler texted me a photo of her and her kayak on the small Michigan lake where she and Bill live. I will be visiting them next month. Then, I will be enjoying a kayak along with her.
Monday, I did a cardio workout at Results Fitness.
Arizona is on high fire alert this summer. Our first nearby fire was off Highway 180 near Flagstaff.
Monday night, I got a text from Sue Kelly, my facial lady. I knew that her Flagstaff home had been sold recently. As part of the move, Sue sold all of her facial product and equipment to the owner of Junto Skin & Laser. So, she had to cancel my "next day" appointment.
The next morning, I texted Amy Aranda, the owner of Junto Skin & Laser. I requested a facial appointment to replace the one Sue just cancelled. Amy was booked, but she made me an afternoon appointment with her associate, Kailey. Not knowing the traffic situation on Interstate 40 --- due to road construction --- I left for Flagstaff early. Kailey did a nice job.
Wednesday afternoon, I had a nail appointment at 66 Nails Spa. Jennifer was running errands with her two children, so Will took care of me. Thank you, Will!
On Thursday, I had a hair appointment in Flagstaff. I decided to play pickleball at Bushmaster Park before my 1:00 pm appointment. This was my first time playing there. A nice woman by the name of Janice helped introduce me to some of folks there. I played about five games.
I arrived at Wildflower Salon early. It was interesting seeing Shawna without a mask.
The salon owners are now allowing those who have been vaccinated to not wear a mask. They even require proof of vaccination. All those not vaccinated are required to wear masks.
June 10 is my niece Molly's birthday. I texted her birthday wishes and told her that I will be in Southern California next weekend for my niece Katelyn's Bridal Shower. I am staying at Molly's parents home. Molly will be there too, with her daughter Sophie. I can't wait to finally meet my grandniece Sophie!
On Friday, there was no pickleball play. So, I went to the gym. Five of my family members attended the first post "Covid-19 lock-down" event of Operation Amped. My brother John's tribute and memorial surfboard was being launched at Huntington Beach. Operation Amped holds surfing events for seriously ill, injured, or disabled U.S. military veterans. My brother loved to surf. So I worked with Operation Amped to make a memorial board in honor of John. My niece Kerry designed the board and Huntington Beach shaper, Rocky McKinnon, created it.
Off into the surf it went...
My family members were very impressed with the tribute and event.
On Saturday morning, I took the dogs to the Williams Historic Route 66 Car Show. It was going to be a hot day, so I showed up at 7:30 a.m. There were hundred of cars lining Route 66 and side streets.
The dogs always enjoy the attention they get when parading around Route 66.
On Sunday, I went hiking in the forest behind Highland Meadows. It was a hot day, but the wind made the walk pleasant.
Later in the day, Tom said that the outdoor facet that feeds the drip system was leaking. Tom tried to replace an inside piece, but was told by True Value Hardware that the whole unit needs to be replaced. I texted plumber Gabe for help. In the meantime, we ran a hose from the other outdoor facet to continue feeding the drip system.
June 14 is Flag Day and President Trump's birthday. We celebrated both.
In the afternoon, I took a walk in the forest between Highland Meadows and Cataract Lake. I found Elk scat and animal bones, but no shed.
That evening, FedEx delivered a package for Tom. Sons Josh and Jon sent him a delightful Father's Day package --- Omaha steaks! We placed the dry-ice box in the pantry and unloaded it the next morning.
June 15 is our 4-year anniversary. A year ago, I booked the Buckey O'Neill Suite at Bright Angel Lodge on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Today was our day to enjoy it for two nights. So, I dropped off the dogs at the Grand Canyon Railway Kennel.
We drove up to the canyon and arrived at about 2:30 p.m. The suite was ready for us!
The suite is a "one of a kind." It was built in 1895 by Buckey O'Neill --- who was a Sheriff, Mayor, Newspaperman, Rough Rider, and American Hero. The suite has two rooms --- a living room
and a bed room.
For adult beverages before our dinner reservation at the El Tovar Hotel, we put our camp chairs on the front area of our suite and watched folks walk by.
We had a nice view of the Grand Canyon.
And we had a nice view of the El Tovar Hotel.
We walked up to the El Tovar for our dinner reservations and caught a glimpse of a sunset.
Tom and I enjoyed a nice dinner in the historic old dining room.
Wednesday morning, I grabbed us two breakfast burritos at the Bright Angel Fountain. The concessionaire, Xanterra Parks & Resorts, is experiencing difficulty in hiring enough workers. So, some of the usual restaurants and food and beverage outlets are currently closed.
After breakfast, Tom and I took our bikes to Hermit's Rest Road. We were going to have the Hermit's Rest Shuttle carry our bikes the eight miles to the end --- and then ride back --- but Tom's recumbent bike does not fit the bike carrier. So, we headed up the road on our bikes. Recumbent bikes have difficulty with hills. So we walked some of the way to Hopi Point.
And, we rode a lot of the way.
For lunch, we had some cheese and crackers. We had early dinner reservations at the Tavern at Bright Angel Lodge. The Arizona Steak House is not open for the season, so the bar area was turned into a tavern serving food and drinks.
I suggested that we walk the Rim Trail to the Visitor Center. It was about 2 1/2 miles one-way.
There was an Express Shuttle that brought us back to the Hermit's Rest transfer point --- adjacent to our lodge.
Our early dinner reservations at the Bright Angel Tavern was at 5:15 p.m. We started with some drinks at a nice table.
For dinner, we had Grand Canyon hamburgers with salad and fries. The Tavern had televisions broadcasting the semi-finals of Stanley Cup Hockey.
The Buckey O'Neill Suite was renovated in 2019. A Williams resident is the owner of the construction company that did the work. Apparently, they won an award.
Thursday morning, I walked to Maswik Lodge and brought back some egg dishes for breakfast. Tom was impressed with the sausage gravy and biscuits. We checked out of the suite at about 10:30 a.m. Bye-bye!
I picked the dogs up at the kennel before noon and later I drove to Results Fitness for a workout.
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