Will you still need me, will you still feed me, I'm 64.....?
Scott got to spend his November birthday in Arizona! We stayed Dead Horse Ranch State Park and went to the small mountain town of Jerome for a few hours. We had a nice picnic lunch and were going to get Mexican food that evening but after a long hike, we were too tired. So we got it a few nights later in Kanab, Utah. Happy Birthday, Scott! Level 6.4 is going to be awesome.
My birthday was in Colorado, after we got home. We invited our friends Terri & Kent over to celebrate all of our birthdays, as we do together every year, since their birthdays are in November. With Covid numbers going up, it was an outdoor celebration.
Dinner was low country boil (shrimp, crab legs, sausage, potatoes, and corn in a delicious broth). Scott made it in a big pot on our outdoor grill. We ate at separate tables on our screened in patio with space heaters and blankets. Then we moved to the back deck with a wood fire, gas heater, and our blankets to continue our visit. It was cold out! But we wanted to get together and sadly, that was the responsible way to do it.
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| Coffee after my birthday run with my Dirty Girlz |
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| Outdoor dinner for our 4 birthdays with blankets and space heaters. |
Scott and I did not visit family for Christmas because of Covid. My niece and her family all had it just before Christmas so my sister's celebration didn't happen anyway. Scott's mom got together with family at his brother's but we decided not to be there. We had appetizers at home for Christmas Eve - including an outdoor fire and our new fave celebration food - bacon wrapped hot dogs.
For Christmas we video visited with our families and then went on a bike ride because the weather was decent. It was a fine day with a surf (lobster) and turf dinner and some driving to see outdoor light displays. This didn't feel like Christmas much but we don't want covid and we don't want to contribute to the problem of over-crowding at hospitals.
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| Loveland lights with Terri & Kent. We viewed Christmas lights several times for something to do. |
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| Santa brought Scott's grandkids and each of us a Christmas mug! We also sewed and made snow forts and played Yahtzee and watched Christmas movies. |
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| My newphew's kids and dog. We didn't see anyone in person but saw everyone on Zoom. |
The year: Our politics has been overwhelming and I often needed breaks from the news. The name-calling, antics, crazy tweet storms, and partisanship is poison. We watched George Floyd killed by a police officer as he tried to breathe, and Black Lives Matter became a slogan, rallies and looting became common. We were thrilled when Trump was defeated by Biden and celebrated in Arizona with my friend Madeline at her house in Sun City. We pray for a kinder, gentler nation with politicians who don't divide us but attempt to unite a very divided citizenship and make decisions for us, not for their own political power. We fear for the future of our democracy. Our country is torn apart.
Runoff for 2 Georgia senators is coming up in January and Trump refuses to accept election results. These things keep many of us awake at night.
We have hand sanitizer everywhere and use it incessantly. We have masks everywhere too and are somewhat used to wearing them. The news constantly tells us how bad the infection and death rates are and how difficult this is on health care workers, restaurants and small business. Compared to other countries, we have the highest infection rate and death rate. Healthcare works have to decide who gets treatment and who is left to die. The vaccine is available but not getting to places as promised. Death toll is over 350,000 at end of December. People die alone with no one allowed in hospital rooms. Outrageous!
Good riddance 2020 and the Trump administration. Hoping for health and sanity in 2021.
Our travel stats:
Countries visited: Australia and New Zealand, then Covid hit.
14 States visited: NE IA IL MO WI MN SD UT WY MT OK TX NM AZ
9 National Parks visited: Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Petrified Forest, Padre Island, Zion, Bryce, Rocky Mtn, Dinosaur, Grand Canyon
7 National Monuments: Grand Staircase/Escalante, Glen Canyon, Vermillion Cliffs, Capulin Volcano (so disappointing), Montezuma Castle (cliff dwellers), Tonto (cliff dwellers near Lake Roosevelt), and Tuzigoot (piled rock dwellings near Sedona).
Hiked 2 slot canyons in southern Utah/Northern AZ: Wire Pass and Antelope (via kayak)
My year-end stats from Strava
Time spent working out: 485 hours
Distance for all activities: 2,416 miles
Days active: 237
Elevation gain: 50,047'
Most common activity was biking (27%), running (16%), and hiking (17%). The rest was skiing, kayaking, etc.
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