Desert View - Day 16 - Happy Thanksgiving!

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7:47 am - Friday -  November 24th - Grand Canyon - 35º F, humidity 45%, wind 1 mph out of the southeast.....clear blue skies today with a forecast high of 67º F.

First of all a big Happy Thanksgiving to all my blogosphere friends and family.  This was the first Thanksgiving in several years that we have not been in SoCal with our kids and grandkids for this special day of Thanksgiving.

Both TLE and I had abbreviated work shifts on Thanksgiving day......the DNC General Stores are open 365 days per year.  My shift began at 7:30 am, and ended at 11 am while TLE's shift ran from 10:30 am to 2:30 pm.  As I expected, business was quite slow until after I left at 11 am.  I had about $20 in cash sales for the 3.5 hours I worked......TLE reported that she was busier with over $200 in cash sales.....mostly food items.

I was home after a quick walk by 11:15, and set about getting ready for my typical Thanksgiving Day.......NFL football....I decided to put my season long boycott of the NFL on hold for one day.  For the first time in ages I had the outdoor TV out of the through storage compartment and sitting atop our Norcold 12 volt refer.  Next I deployed the patio awning for the first time since mid July in Gardiner, MT to help keep the glare off the TV.  I retrieved a cold one from the refer and then ensconced myself in front of the TV for the rest of the morning and afternoon.  I know from looking at the weather forecasts that winter like conditions will return to the Grand Canyon by Wednesday, so sitting outside with the sun on my back seemed like the thing to do.....

.......the first game of the day between the Vikings and Lions was a close game right down to the very end.  The second game between the Los Angeles Chargers and Dallas Cowboys was close for a while, but became a blowout towards the end with the Chargers winning handily.  The final game between the Giants and Redskins was a low scoring affair with the hapless Giants finally succumbing to the Redskins as time ran out.  I have to say that as much as I enjoyed watching the three NFL games, it is just not the same anymore.  The season long protests of our National Anthem have taken their toll, and I just don't find the enjoyment I once did in spending hours in front of the TV from late August through the first of February watching NFL football.  I think this one day suspension of my boycott has more firmly convinced me to just let it go.  It will never be the same again for me.....if for no other reason, watching those games brought final clarity to my thinking about the NFL.

TLE was home a little after 2:30 pm, and within minutes she had joined me on the patio with hors d'oeuvres and a couple glasses of white wine.......

around 3:15 we spent about 10 minutes 'Facetiming' with our kids who had gathered at the SoCal home of my son Tim and his new bride, Laila, and then around 3:30 pm TLE excused herself to go inside to do the final preparations for our Thanksgiving dinner......

Now we just need food.....😊

.....by 4:15 we were ready to sit down to a tiny home Thanksgiving celebration......

......TLE has always amazed me with what she is able to food wise in such a tiny kitchen, and this Thanksgiving was no exception.  Unfortunately my weak attempt at an 'usie' was undone by the severe back light, but you get the idea....we had creamed broccoli, sweet potatoes, cranberries, mashed potatoes, and a chicken/stuffing casserole.  It was all wonderful!  For dessert we had a pumpkin pie with whipped cream along with a shot of Tillamore Dew Irish Whiskey.  

Well, all I can say this morning (Friday) is that I am extremely thankful for the year just past full of so many wonderful memories, new friends, and great adventures with The Lovely Elaine.....she makes my life worth living.  I am thankful that all my children are happy, are raising wonderful families, are establishing themselves in wonderful, fulfilling careers.....their lives are the evidence of a life well lived by TLE and myself.....their happiness and success is our reward for all those years of hard work raising them, and providing a stable home life for them so they could flourish and grow into the amazing adults they are today.

Thanks for stopping by!

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Which route do we take?

We've been planning one of our "long" trips for the better part of a year ever since we found out my sister and her family were moving to Spokane, WA. She invited all of the family to meet at their new home in Spokane for Thanksgiving 2009. We jumped at the opportunity to take a long trip in the Newell, and to do a couple of weeks of exploring after Thanksgiving of some areas we have not yet seen, including the Olympic Penninsula. As the time for departure has come into view it has occurred to me, and Elaine that the weather may have an impact on our trip plans. After all, this is the Pacific Northwest, which is known for a lot of rain and snow in late November, early December. Our route to Spokane was originally to hop on Interstate 15 (less than a mile from our home) and head north through Las Vegas to Salt Lake City, continuing north through a corner of Idaho, into Montana where we would pick up Interstate 90 near Butte, MT and head west to Spokane. Well......it has been snowing/raining on and off for the past 10 days from Butte to Missoula, with low's into the 20's some nights, and highs in the high 30's to 40's during the day. While I do not "fear" the cold, I'm not going to deliberately head into freezing temperatures, and snow, so now we are contemplating taking Interstate 84 northeast out of Salt Lake City thru Boise, Idaho through southeast Washington to Spokane where the temperature and weather forecasts are much more moderate with lows in the mid to high 30's and daily temps in the high 50's....still cold, but more pleasant to contemplate.

One of the complicating factors is that there is a Newell owner (Jennifer Stackpole) living in Missoula, MT, along our original route, and we would like to stop and visit with her and see her Newell Classic...I think it's a 1988. It appears that Missoula is at a lower elevation (some where in the 3,000' range) and should have a little more moderate weather than say Butte, or other towns east of Missoula on Interstate 90. So, what route we ultimately follow will be determined closer to our departure date depending on current and projected weather conditions.

The route home will have to be made up as we go depending on current weather, and forecasts. I hope we can follow Highway 1 down through the Olympic Peninsula into Astoria, OR, but we will not know how that will work until it's time to leave Spokane.