COMMON cold has hit me hard, and I'm just glad it waited to arrive until my last day of the trip. Been a long time since I've felt this lousy.

Am going to be painting a kitchen in a few days(I'm up for anything workwise!) then also helping finish up the apartment of a friend where I'll be moving in a week or so. It will be nice to have my own space again, as well as internet all the time in my own place.

Nothing has turned up yet on my job search, but I feel confident something will pop in the next couple of weeks. Am headed to Helena in a couple of weeks to do an ethics class on behalf of my professional society (CPCU) so that will be fun to get "back in the saddle."

DOUGLAS PASS, CO.
You can tell we've headed north by this photo. This is a pass on the way from Moab to Green River, WY, where we spent our last two nights of our trip with Linda's son and his family. I was able to catch up on blogging, get in a very long walk on a nice sunny day and, of course, a few last card games!

ARCHES NATIONAL PARK. A must-see (and for me, a go-back-to-again place)near Moab, Utah. We took a look at the Grand Canyon, which Linda had never seen, and which I plan to hike once more! Then we went to this wonderful park that really needs an entire day of day hiking to explore all the terrific formations.

APACHE JUNCTION, AZ. Next was a few days with my sister in Apache, where we had a nice side trip to Boyce Thompson Arboretum near Superior which took us on the paths of hundreds of cacti and other plant life.

We had fun playing pinochle in the mobile home park with lots of the residents there. I did a presentation on my Peace Corps experience and was treated to a tasty lunch at Patsy's house with my niece and other friends joining us. Time in the pool was also fun; the weather on our trip was cool to mild, so we didn't get to wear our warm weather clothes as hoped. If I can be as alert and active as this sister when I am 83, I shall be grateful!

HEARD MUSEUM, PHOENIX is the next experience. It is a museum of Native American art, not only southwestern, but includes works from the Inuits of Alaska. One of the special exhibits was titled "Mothers and Daughters" that I enjoyed very much. It included a variety of mediums of work done by such beautiful women.

YUMA is our next stop to see our friends Gary and Joyce. We toured the historical Yuma territorial prison. The photo on the right is not of our accomodations at their house...we got a nice room with good beds plus some great food! It's always great to re-connect with old friends and spend some time with new ones.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY, PARDNER~
Here I am with my new boyfriend in Quartzite, AZ. We spent a few nights with Linda's sister, and the activities included a great Valentine's Day potluck at the center, and MANY games of cards~So enjoyed the hospitality of the Browns.

VIVA LAS VEGAS!!

Here my friend Linda and I are enjoying the sunshine in Las Vegas, as well as the beautiful flamingos at our hotel, and the one free thing that is always spectacular...the fountains in front of Bellagios.



We splurged on seeing one of
the Cirque de Soleil shows called "Mystere" which was great.

Even more memorable was the "Bodies:
The Exhibition" at the Luxor. It is an
outstanding display of the human anatomy,
featuring cadavers from China and showing
all the various systems in the body: the
nervous system, respiratory, cardiac...all
and more. What a great way to learn the
science of the body.

LOTS OF WIND, not much snow. That's Casper, WY. So here my friend is, showing me a great new Spanish learning site on my laptop. Far cry from snowshoeing! But we had a couple of good workouts in the motel pool and lots of time to catch up. She is great fun to be with, as she has such a positive attitude and joy of living.