A "Miles"tone and Yellowstone

Hi everyone!

My sister, Melissa, my one year old today nephew, Miles (Happy Birthday, little guy!!!), and my Mom and Dad, just came out for a visit to Wyoming.

The time together was wonderful. Memories were made that will last for as long as I live.

Chihiro and I hosted the "rendevous" at our pad here in Rock Springs.

Sightseeing began after a day and a half of rest from Wednesday evening (arrival). Friday, we drove to Kemmerer (pronounced "Kem-ur"), on Friday, the home of James Cash Penney and the very first J.C. Penney Store.

Interesting side note, and another weird PA/WY connection...

the town of Kemmerer, WY was named for Pennsylvania coal magnate Mahlon S. Kemmerer (1843-1925). Mr. Kemmerer financially backed a Patrick J. Quealy (1857-1930) who founded the town in 1897. Mr. Quealy returned the favor, honoring Mr. Kemmerer with the formation of the Kemmerer Coal Company and the name of the town.

Dad really wanted to see the legendary Penney and get a sweet pair of socks on sale. Just kidding, but he did don an interesting pair of cotton accessories at the airport yesterday. See below.

Yes, those are real hearts, and yes, they are spectacular!

Actually, Kemmerer, and the J.C. Penney "Mother Store and Museum" as they call it in this neck of the sagebrush, was a bit of a bust. Not totally, but a slight disappointment.

There was no museum per se, and the store itself only brandished a large painted portrait of Penney on a side wall, up a flight of stairs. Dad was still glad for the chance to see the store and regaled Penney as a giant for philanthropy, giving to various churches, and tithing a good portion of his earnings.

After Kemmerer on Friday afternoon, we celebrated Miles' 1 year birthday a few days early. Click HERE for the link to the pics. Our friends and neighbors, Sarah and Jeremy stopped by too, but we ran out of battery on the camera and had to recharge.

Melissa and Miles had to leave on Saturday to get back to Austin, TX to prepare for Erich's sister's wedding in Europe.

We missed Erich this time around as he just started a new job at Dell and couldn't get the time off. We avow though to get him and Melissa and Miles all together out here to Wyoming very soon. Best of luck, Erich, at the new job.

Later on that Friday evening, we met up with my friend and co-worker, Teresa, and her family at the Rock Springs Brew Pub, Bittercreek Brewing. Her Dad and step-mom had just arrived in town from Colorado. See blurry photo below...sorry about the quality, must have been the good suds ;)

On Saturday morning, Melissa and Miles took off for Salt Lake City, UT to catch their flight back to TX. As Dad was feeling up for some more traveling, Chihiro and I quickly booked a few nights near Yellowstone National Park at the only available cabins in Flagg Ranch.

We packed hastily and shot north to Jackson Hole, the Grand Tetons, and Yellowstone for a few days of Old West Exploration via the modern day stagecoach (aka Subaru Forrester).

Click HERE for the link to some photos from that trip.

As you can see from the photos it was a bit cloudy and rainy while we were there. No worries though. Both parks delivered in grandeur, beauty, and literally tons of wildlife! We saw bison herds on the fruited plains, heard a male elk bugle through an opening in the forest near the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, even got up close and personal with elk dining on grass before the snow hit on Sunday night in the park.

I think this trip was one that Mom and Dad really got a sense of how vast not only Yellowstone and Teton were, but the entire West. Truly a great experience for us all!

Will keep you posted on how things go with my Dad's second round of chemo starting in a week. Thanks for checking in!

Drew