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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">Sorta.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>Our previous update was from <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:State><st1:place>Wyoming</st1:place></st1:State> – and it took 4 weeks, and several thousand </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">miles of driving through 11 states to get back to <st1:State><st1:place>Maryland</st1:place></st1:State>.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>After wandering the west side of <st1:place><st1:PlaceName>Glacier</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType>National Park</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>, we headed south and checked out </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>the Henry’s <st1:place>Lake</st1:place> route of the CDT.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>We’ll hike that route next time we do the CDT – not </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">that we think it’s better, but just because we haven’t done it yet.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>Then we went back to the Grand Tetons hoping to get better photos than we got in 2007 </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>and then did a 3-day backpack into the <st1:place><st1:PlaceName>Bechler</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType>River</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> area of <st1:place>Yellowstone</st1:place>.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Beautiful area </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>with some great waterfalls, but the wildlife was a little sparse – probably because of the </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>sheer number of people in the area.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It wasn’t nearly as “deserted” as we’d been led to </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">believe.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>After the Bechler, we wandered through <st1:place>Yellowstone</st1:place> for several days – photographing </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">wildlife, re-visiting familiar places – and eating ribs at the Roosevelt/Tower restaurant.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">GOOD ribs.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Worth the trip.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>We visited a Medicine Wheel in northern <st1:State><st1:place>Wyoming</st1:place></st1:State> (one of hundreds, if not thousands </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>scattered throughout the West), then the petroglyph sites that we’d missed in the spring </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">because of rain and snow.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>And then went back to <st1:place><st1:PlaceName>Wind</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType>Cave</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>, <st1:place><st1:PlaceName>Custer</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType>State Park</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> and the Badlands NM in South </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">Dakota – more hiking, more wildlife, more beautiful photos.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>We drifted east, mostly on back roads rather than the Interstate system, through South </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>Dakota, <st1:State><st1:place>Nebraska</st1:place></st1:State>, <st1:State><st1:place>Kansas</st1:place></st1:State>, <st1:State><st1:place>Missouri</st1:place></st1:State>, Indiana, <st1:State><st1:place>Kentucky</st1:place></st1:State>, <st1:State><st1:place>Ohio</st1:place></st1:State> and north into <st1:State><st1:place>Pennsylvania</st1:place></st1:State>.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"></SPAN>We finally managed to visit some of the “Mound Builder” sites in some of </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">those states that we missed last year – particularly Cahokia Mounds in <st1:City><st1:place>St. Louis</st1:place></st1:City>.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>Since Ginny had never seen <st1:City><st1:place>Niagara Falls</st1:place></st1:City>, that was our next destination – we caught the </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>Falls on a beautiful Fall day (pun intended) and got more photos than we could use in </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>three lifetimes.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Then we stopped for a day at <st1:place><st1:PlaceName>Letchworth</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType>State Park</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> in <st1:State><st1:place>New York</st1:place></st1:State> to look </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">for more waterfalls. Thank you, Bluetrail – it was as good as you promised.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>Ginny had never been to Watkins Glen, either – again with the waterfalls - so that was a </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">mandatory stop on the way south.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>For those who don’t understand – we simply weren’t ready to “go home” yet.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>So we </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>were procrastinating.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>We even stopped at <st1:City><st1:place>Corning</st1:place></st1:City> and spent some time in the <st1:City><st1:place>Corning</st1:place></st1:City> </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman"><st1:place><st1:PlaceName>Glass</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType>Museum</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> – fascinating stuff – at least for some of us.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And then we stayed to visit </FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>the <st1:place><st1:PlaceName>Rockwell</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType>Museum</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> of Western Art. (Nice, but the one in Cody was better.)</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3></FONT></o:p> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>Next stop was <st1:place><st1:City>Blackwell</st1:City>, <st1:State>Pennsylvania</st1:State></st1:place>, where we spent a day clearing “our” section of </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>the Mid-State Trail.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>We hadn’t seen that section in over 2 years – it was good (and </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">tiring) to get back to it.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>Finally, we spent several days wandering through <st1:State><st1:place>Pennsylvania</st1:place></st1:State> looking for possible </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>places to live in the future.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>How far in the future?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Who knows – but there are several </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>possibilities. <st1:State><st1:place>Pennsylvania</st1:place></st1:State> is just one of them. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>We are quite sure though that our </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>permanent home, when it’s time, won’t be <st1:State><st1:place>Maryland</st1:place></st1:State>.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><st1:State><st1:place>Maryland</st1:place></st1:State> has too many people, too </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>much traffic, too much politics, too much pollution --- too much. </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>Yes, we are in <st1:State><st1:place>Maryland</st1:place></st1:State> – we finally ran out of excuses to not come back here. We’re in </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>a tiny one bedroom apartment that’ll be our “home” until Jim can hike again.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The knee </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>replacement will be done next Monday (Nov 17<SUP>th</SUP>).<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>We’re getting conflicting stories as to </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>how long it’ll be before he can actually hike any distance.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>But then Jim has his own </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">ideas about that.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>We’ll see.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>While Jim is recovering, we’ll be working on updating the website.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Keep an eye out in </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>the next month or two.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>There will be a new – much more detailed – 2008 journal with </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>photos, plus an expansion of the ruins and rock art photo pages that we started last year. </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>And Bun-bun has a few ideas – doesn’t he always? </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>This’ll be our last “update” for 2008.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> And w</SPAN>e likely won’t get to very many Christmas cards </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>this year – so we’ll wish everyone an early Merry Christmas.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And we hope your 2009 </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">will be as good as the last three years have been for us.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>Walk softly,</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>Jim & Ginny</FONT></P><BR><BR>http://www.spiriteaglehome.com/<BR><BR></body>
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