HAPPY WANDERERS

4/18/09---The following tales & pictures are from Maryann. She and Keith are the "Happy Wanderers".

When last we checked-in, we were in St. George, Utah. After leaving there, we drove up I-15 to SLC to visit Keith’s cousin Duane. We spent a delightful day with him, stayed the night in Bountiful, UT, and headed north through Idaho.

When we passed the Budweiser silos, we thought of our good friend Scott, who works for them in St. Louis. Seeing the MT sign was fun for Maryann, as she was raised there. We arrived in Laurel, MT, (Maryann’s hometown) and visited with her parents and brother for a couple of days.

On Wednesday, April 8, daughter Stephanie and her family arrived from WY. They invited us to go to Chico Hot Springs with them, and we jumped at the chance! Grandson Max rode with Grandma and Grandpa in their new Roadtrek and got to “camp” with them in it for 2 nights at Chico. The natural hot pools at Chico are amazing, and so is the delicious food at the lodge!

While we were at Chico, we drove into Yellowstone Park one day. Todd was our chauffeur, and we drove him crazy being typical camera-happy tourists! Here are just a FEW of the photos we took of the wildlife (buffalo, mountain goats & elk), snow etc. Mammoth Hot Springs is especially beautiful in the winter.

On Saturday Max and we returned to Laurel, and Stephanie and Todd headed back to WY. We spent Easter

in Laurel, and Max discovered that the Easter Bunny can find him anywhere! After church that morning, a wonderful dinner was enjoyed by several family members at Maryann’s parents’ home.

The next day we visited a family friend in Billings before heading to Gillette, WY, Keith’s hometown.

Keith had a good time surprising his mom with his “nautical” beard, which she had not seen. She almost didn’t recognize him in the hallway of her apartment!

The next few days were spent surprising other family members and playing cards. Maryann enjoyed attending Max’s Karate class, which reminded her of when son James took it. On Thursday Grandma, Grandpa, & Great-Grandma Beth attended Max’s swim class at the Gillette Aquatic Center. They have the only indoor, heated Olympic size pool in WY, and many swim meets are held there.

The Gillette school children are fortunate that swimming is part of their school curriculum. While in Gillette, Keith re-connected with his friend Nick at Thunder Basin Ford. Nick is a good guy who sold a car to Keith’s mom. That brings us to now - Saturday, April 18th. We plan to spend one more day in Gillette and then start heading south. We’re missing Dream Manor.