Neil & Kathy's Adventures

Lake Nakuru National Park

2011-10-19T11:57:00.000-07:00

Lake Nakuru National Park was created in 1961. It is a salt water lake. Rhinos and flamingos are the star attractions at this park. We were not disappointed. Look at these photos. The last one was the biggest surprise.

Megan, Mia, Jackson, Grandma Kathy, and Papa Neil

Baboons

Impala

Zebra

Water Buffalo

Flamingos

Lizzard

Giraffe

Rhino

Pelicans (we saw hundreds of pelicans today)

This was the greatest surprise of the day! The photo is a bit dark, but we saw a lion up in a tree. We watched him slowly climb down the tree limb and go off into the brush. It was close to diner time. This was amazing!!

Kissing Giraffes

2011-10-17T10:20:00.000-07:00

In 1979 a Scottish earl, Jock Leslie-Melville, opened a giraffe breeding center. There are three varieties of giraffes: reticulated giraffes, Masai giraffes, and Rothschild giraffes. The Rothschild is an endangered species. In 1979 there were only 130 Rothschild giraffes left in Africa. The Giraffe Center opened and breeding of these beautiful animals started. There are now over 300 of the giraffes. After they are born here at the center, they are released into the wild, mostly near the Lake Nakuru area in Kenya.

We started our visit at the Giraffe Center with a morning kiss.

There are warthogs that live near the center as well. The guides call them the vacuum cleaners. They eat up the pellets that are dropped and not eaten by the giraffes.

Jackson actually liked feeding the warthogs more than the giraffes.

We also got to see four tortoises. Here's one of them.

We bought carved wooden birds for everyone.

And Jackson says, "When we're at the Giraffe Center, it's hot. When it's hot we should eat ice cream." So, ice cream it was!!

As we arrived back at Tyler and Amy's house, we found a Jackson chameleon crossing the sidewalk. What a treat!

Nairobi National Park

2011-10-15T09:36:00.000-07:00

Nairobi National Park is absolutely amazing! It is only about a 15 minute drive from the city center. You can see the city skyline in the background while you're in the park.

We saw some animals in this park that we didn't see in Amboseli.

Perhaps the most amazing things we saw was a couple of lionesses stalking a small herd of Cokes Hartebeest. In this photo you can see the lioness crawling along in the grass. We stopped the vehicle, Amy and I stood on top and we watched for about 20 minutes. I was sure that we were going to see something amazing, but fortunately for the Hartebeest, the lionesses didn't get them.

We talked to another driver in the park who said that one of the lionesses had three small cubs near the river. What a proud looking animal.

With a group of Masai Warriors

Warthogs butting heads

Crocodile

Grey Heron

Turtles

Zebra

Topi

Giraffe

Ostrich

Giraffe and Zebra

Amboseli National Park, Kenya

2011-10-15T06:36:00.001-07:00

According to Lonely Planet, Amboseli National Park is the third most popular park in Kenya (behind Masai Mara and Lake Lake Nakuru). But, it is in a fantastic setting. Mt Kilimanjaro provides the backdrop for the park. Unfortunately, the two days we were there, the mountain was completely covered with clouds. This is the best photo we got.

On the safari we saw 29 different kinds of animals and birds. Here's a look at what we saw.

Laie, Hawaii

2011-09-25T15:24:00.001-07:00

I spent some time in Laie, Hawaii beginning work on a new book project. Here are a few photos I took.

The Beyond Classroom Borders Team (left to right): Jean Pender, Mark Wolfersberger, Susannah MacKay, Rebecca Wolfersberger, Lisa Varandani, Anita Raducanu, me

My rental car was a Mustang convertible! Here I am near the beach with Alex Wolfersberger (back seat) and Emily Wolfersberger.

2011-07-23T14:33:00.001-07:00

Paris, France with Les Invalides in the background. Napoleon's tomb is here.

Les Invalides,Napoleon's Tomb in the background

Paris, France

Cheltenham Visit with Yvonne and Rory

2011-07-17T10:30:00.000-07:00

The Princess Diana Playground at Kensington Park

2011-07-17T09:54:00.000-07:00

Bristol and Bath

2011-07-17T09:40:00.001-07:00

Flowers, Fruits, and Vegetables

2011-07-17T09:27:00.001-07:00

Wales

2011-07-17T09:07:00.000-07:00

Stonehenge and Chawton

2011-07-17T08:38:00.001-07:00

Luck of the Irish!

2011-06-29T23:59:00.001-07:00

Ireland was FANTASTIC! There are at least 40 different shades of green in the trees and grasses in the country side. We experienced gale force winds and rains on the Dingle Peninsula one day and warm sunshine another. We got to go to a performance by Riverdance one evening. But, perhaps the highlight of Dublin was seeing Meg, Mia, Jack, and Evan. Seeing Amy and Tyler was a bonus as well.

We've taken over 1,000 pictures so far. Enjoy these few that we've posted here!

Poland!

2011-06-23T12:49:00.001-07:00

Pierogi's are called Polish ravioli. We ate them a couple of times. The last ones we had were filled with strawberries!

We visited the Nazi prison camps at Auschwitz and Birkenau. This was a sobering experiencing.

56th Birthday Celebration

2011-06-10T18:27:00.001-07:00

This has been a perfect day! Kathy and I went for a hike on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. Emyli and I watched the "floating lanterns gleam." Molly made a fabulous chocolate cake. What a great way to spend my 56th birthday!

Piano Recital

2011-06-05T16:07:00.001-07:00

Sunday evening, June 5, 2011, a piano and dance recital was held at the home of Todd Anderson. Grandma Kathy got to play a duet with Alice and Benjamin.

Ben's Baptism

2011-06-05T16:05:00.001-07:00

Saturday, June 4, 2011 was Benjamin Todd Anderson's baptism in the Prince William Ward, Woodbridge, Virginia.

Luray Caverns, Luray, Virginia

2011-06-03T19:00:00.001-07:00

We are visiting Todd and Kara and their children in Virginia. We went to Luray Caverns today. Check out their website at http://www.luraycaverns.com/. Here are a few of the beautiful shots we got.

The Anderson girls!

Todd, Kara, Marrin, and Blair

Stalagmites and stalactites everywhere throughout the entire cavern!

The Stalactite Organ. There are only 37 notes that the organ plays. We listened to a recording of "A Mighty Fortress."

The cork hit's the stalactite to produce the sound.

A collage. The middle picture looks like a shaggy dog.

The family (minus Kara who took the picture)

Bryant, Alice, Blair, Benjamin

2011-05-31T20:47:00.001-07:00

Machu Picchu

2011-05-24T20:12:00.001-07:00

This morning began when the alarm rang at 3:15. A 10 minute cab ride. A 70 minute van ride. A 90 minute train ride. A 30 minute bus ride. Then I got to Machu Picchu.

The elevation in Cusco is 11,023 feet above sea level. The drive to Machu Picchu actually drops in elevation to 7900 feet above sea level. To compare with home, Provo is at 4512 Feest above sea level. People usually suffer altitude sickness. I only had a minor head ache on Sunday evening. But at no other time did I feel sick, but I did take it easy while in Cusco.

Machu Picchu was brought to the world's attention in 1911 by American Hiram Bingham. They are celebrating the 100th anniversary this year. Check out the Wikipedia entry at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machu_Picchu for more information about this amazing place.

Enjoy the photos, although being there can't compare with the picures!

This is "classic" Machu Picchu.

Huaynapicchu in the background. I climbed to the top. Check out the Wikipedia entry at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huayna_Picchu. At the gate, the sign said it would take an hour to get to the top. It took me 35 minutes. I passed 14 people and no one passed me!

The view from he top was well worth the climb up!

There are a lot of stairs to climb at Machu Picchu. I got a good workout today!

Llamas roam wide at Machu Picchu.

An Inkan archway view of Huaynapicchu.

Cusco, Peru, Day 2

2011-05-23T11:07:00.000-07:00

The people. The smells. The colors. Cusco, Peru is beautiful!

The morning chat with the llama.

Flowers of Cusco

Market Day in Cusco.

Churches in Cusco

Colors of Cusco

Doors and Windows of Cusco

Cusco, Peru Day 1

2011-05-22T16:34:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Cusco, Peru today in time to see several local performers in traditional dress. This is a very lovely city.

Lima, Peru

2011-05-22T16:26:00.000-07:00

I atended church meetings today at the Barrio Cercado in Lima, Peru. The building is two stories with the chapel and cultural hall on the second floor and classrooms and offices on the first floor. It was the Ward Conference today.

Triple Crown award at the Toastmaster Spring Conference

2011-05-13T19:22:00.001-07:00

Toastmasters District 15, Division E Speech Contest winners: Stephani Williams, Norene Jenson, Division Governor Michael Kirsch, Joe Thomas, and Clay Neeves

2011-04-30T15:05:00.001-07:00

Snow on April 30th

2011-04-30T05:49:00.001-07:00

Easter 2011

2011-04-23T16:14:00.001-07:00

Emyli and her basket

BYU Graduation

2011-04-23T16:02:00.001-07:00

First long ride of the Spring

2011-04-17T18:13:00.001-07:00

I just finished a 15 mile ride

TESOL Presidents Brock Brady and Christine Coombe

2011-03-19T09:21:00.001-07:00

Just minutes before Christine became TESOL President

Dr. Kathi Bailey was just awarded the Heinle Cengage Lifetime Achievement Award for 2011

2011-03-17T17:17:00.001-07:00

BYU Students at TESOL 2011

2011-03-17T16:15:00.001-07:00

2011-03-15T15:29:00.001-07:00

2011-03-15T15:22:00.001-07:00

The New Orleans Holocaust Memorial

2011-03-15T14:55:00.001-07:00

This is the coolest monument I've seen. Look at this series of pictures taken from different positions.

TESOL 2011

2011-03-15T14:08:00.001-07:00

Jeff Zwick and I just presented a full day workshop on reading fluency.

DMC Toastmasters Club

2011-03-13T03:57:00.001-07:00

I presented tonight at the DMC Toastmasters Club Meeting

Dr. Christine Coombe

2011-03-08T08:30:00.001-08:00

Christine just published a new book, Leadership & Management in ELT

2011-02-15T17:56:00.001-08:00

The Dubai skyline from the highest observation deck in the world.

The Burj Khalifa, Dubai, UAE

2011-02-15T17:43:00.001-08:00

The tallest building in the world

On top of the world

Oman Heritage Village

2011-02-14T20:59:00.001-08:00

What a fabulous end to a great day.

Dubai skyline

2011-02-11T09:48:00.001-08:00

The world's building in the background . . . The Burj Kalifa.

The Burj Al Arab Hotel

2011-02-10T04:48:00.001-08:00

Presentation at Dubai Men's College

2011-02-10T04:14:00.001-08:00

Today I presented at Dubai Men's College. I met a group of wonderful young men enrolled in a writing course of my colleague Christine Coombe. I might be observing their class next week.

Presenting Toastmasters

2011-02-09T03:47:00.001-08:00

I presented the value of Toastmasters to the Iranian teachers at Dubai Men's College.

2011-02-08T22:17:00.001-08:00

Teacher training

Training Iranian English teachers in Dubai. This is a fabulous opportunity to be working with 45 great teachers from Iran.

Grandma Kathy with Baby Marrin

2011-01-01T11:06:00.001-08:00

Anderson Family Birthday Calendar

2010-12-24T14:57:00.001-08:00

Personalize your own printable calendar

Skiing at North Star, North Lake Tahoe

2010-12-15T19:11:00.000-08:00

Ryan and I have enjoyed spending time together which included skiing at Northstar.

El Mirador

2010-08-28T19:56:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year (February 2010) while we were still in Guatemala we had an absolutely fantastic experience of visiting the ruins at El Mirador. This is an archeological site in the northern most part of Guatemala. We began the trip in Flores, Guatemala in one of our favorite hotels. We flew in on a helicopter, walked the site, and flew out. We had a great time with President and Sister Torres (Mission President of the

Guatemala City North Mission) and Elder and Sister Cazier (Executive Secretary to the Area Presidency in the Central America Area).

Enjoy these rarely seen ruins from about 500 BC.

Bryce National Park

2010-08-28T19:41:00.001-07:00

Bryce National Park is as beautiful as you have heard it is. This was our first visit there. We were amazed at the depths of the canyons and the beauties of the whites and reds of the rock.

Come to Zion

2010-08-28T19:28:00.000-07:00

Zion National Park continues to be one of my favorite places to visit! The beauties of the rock formations and te sky always amaze me. Come with us on a photo journey of Zion!

Grander Than Grand!

2010-08-28T18:49:00.000-07:00

The camera cannot truly capture the grandness of the Grand Canyon. Our eyes remember the grandness as we view the photos. We hope you enjoy this photo blog of the Grand Canyon.

Doors of Guatemala

2010-07-12T19:33:00.001-07:00

The doors on most of the homes are absolutely beautiful. Take a look at this posting we entitled Doors of Guatemala.

Enjoy!

Faces of Guatemala

2010-07-12T19:05:00.000-07:00

Yes, we know it has been a long time since we updated the blog. We've been having too much fun playing to tend to the blog.

We returned to the U.S. from Guatemala on March 1, 2010. The people there had a great impact on our lives. We've entitled this blog posting, Faces of Guatemala. Look at some of the great people we met and interacted with.

Cam & Tina's visit

2009-12-12T16:52:00.001-08:00

Cameron and Tina came for a visit from October 25 - November 1. We had a wonderful adventure with them. We went to Antigua, Tikal, and visited places here in Guatemala City. Take a look at a few of the photos.

If you want fresh goats milk you just have to wait for the goat herder to come through the neighborhood. He will then milk a goat at your door and give you the fresh milk. Kathy made friends with this goat.

We climbed the Pacaya volcano. We got some great shots of a lava flow. The ground is very hot and you can feel the warmth of the lava where you stand on the volcano.

We had dinner on the mountain above Guatemala City at Portal del Angel.

Our visit to Antigua was another great adventure.

Cam and Tina enjoying the view from our hotel in Santa Elena, Peten on our way to Tikal.

We saw lots of great wildlife on this visit to Tikal. As we were driving into the National Park, we saw a big tarantula in the middle of the road. Tina thought this was the most exciting wildlife we saw.

We saw a great flock of Tucans on this visit.

This Coati was out looking for some lunch.

The wild turkeys were out as well.

Climbing the stairs up to the top of Temple 2 in the Grand Plaza.

From the top of Temple 2 we have Temple 1 in the background.

A great sunset on our way back to Santa Elena.

The local kids cooling off at the end of the day.

Day of Service: October 20, 2009

2009-12-12T15:50:00.000-08:00

October 20 is a national holiday in Guatemala. The Church organized a Service Day asking each stake to come up with a major service project since the members would be available that day.

The Guatemala City Stake organized the service project at the Casa de Anini, a home for disabled people. We mowed the grass, replanted the gardens, painted, cleaned rooms, and donated food for the residents. I helped with replanting the gardens. It was a great way to spend a holiday!

Here's the group of brethren from our Branch who went on the service project. (from left to right: Marvin Coc, Juan Francisco Coc, Daring Castillo, Francisco Castillo, Axel Arellano, Cornelio Xico, Elder Preston King; kneeling: Lester Campaneros.

The garden beds had been over grown with plants and weeds. We cleared the beds and then planted new plants.

Axel Arellano is the Exeiive Secretary in our Branch. He is a new convert to the Church. He was baptized in May 2009. His wife has been a member for most of her life.

Elder King, the First Counselor in our Branch Presidency; Lester Campaneros, the Elder's Quorum President and a sister.

The University of San Carlos

2009-12-12T15:25:00.000-08:00

My work in Guatemala is at the only public university in the country, The University of San Carlos. The university was founded in 1676. The Language Center where I work (Centro de Aprendizaje de Lenguas de la Universidad de San Carlos, CALUSAC) teaches 14 different languages. English is the language with the larget numbers of students enrolled. The campus is beautiful! Here are a few photos from around campus.

The Ceiba tree is the national tree in Guatemala. This is one of my favorite Ceiba trees that is on campus near the library.

The library and the Ceiba tree.

This is the back side of the main university administration building.

The front side of the administration building with a carved Mayan stone.

The CALUSAC building.

Inside the CALUSAC building.

This is one of my favorite photos. I found a pile of desks in one of the new buildings on campus. Isn't is great?

September 15: Independance Day

2009-09-20T18:56:00.001-07:00

September 15 is Independence Day in Guatemala (and Central American countries). I captured the spirit of the celebrations is a few photos.

This is one of my favorites. A little Mayan girl with her head band, "Guatemala."

Cotton candy, ice cream and flags played a big part of the celebrations.

Most everyone had a headband.

Not far from our apartment there was a large gathering of people. It was so much fun to see so many people.

There was a very strong feeling of patriotism. The Guatemalan flag was everywhere.

People in all forms of transportation were enjoying the spirit of the day.

From the back of trucks and the tops of busses. People arrived for the celebrations. The events of the day can wear out the little ones.

School groups and Church groups of youth joined in torch runs. From the Obelisco to different locations throughout the city people ran in groups with torches.

It was great fun to see so many faces!

Friends

2009-09-20T16:49:00.000-07:00

We have made some great new friends here in Guatemala. I thought that for this blog we would introduce you to some of them. We have come to love these friends very much!

President and Sister Torres of the Guatemala City North Mission.

Elder Wayne and Sister Suzanne Tompkinson are new to the area. They have served for a year in Honduras but have been transferred here to help in opening the new dental clinic at an orphanage here in Guatemala City.

Elder Jim and Sister Rexene Tilley are the Area Security missionaries.

Kathy with Sister Sarah Thibault. Sister T was the Area Mental Health missionary.

Elder Dick and Sister Myrna Graff are the country Perpetual Education Fund missionaries.

The love birds are Elder Bill and Adel Blackburn. They are the area trainers for the Church auditors.

Elder Charlie and Sister Judy Albert are construction missionaries supervising the construction of the dental clinic.

Elder Dean and Sister Marilyn Bawden are the area humanitarian missionaries.

Elder Kim and Sister Carolyn Taylor are the area medical missionaries.

Here is a small group of us at Tikal, Guatemala. From left to right: Kathy, Neil Sister Thibault, a Nephite warrior, Sister Barney, Elder Tilley, and Sister Tilley.

Market Day

2009-08-17T19:46:00.000-07:00

One Saturday Neil and I went with an couple who were living in Guatemala to see the main
market called, La Terminal. This is the place where all of the farmers bring their produce to be sold in large quantities for stores. The colors were wonderful! There would be almost a whole block of people selling just tomatoes---then almost a block of just bananas---and so on.

These roma tomatoes are the main type that are grown in Guatemala. There were boxes and
boxes of them in La Terminal.

We saw these beautiful, yellow sweet bell peppers along with some red and orange ones too.
We bought a few to take home. You had to buy some portions from the vendors on the street part of the market. The vendors on the inside part of the market only sold in very large quantities.

These huge baskets held several different varities of little hot peppers. I don't think I would like to find out just how hot they were! But they were really a beautiful green color! We also found
herbs and spices set out like this in these big baskets.

On the inside part of the market (in one of the blocks) there were vendors who sold all sorts of meat. Whatever kind of meat, or part of the meat you wanted, they would get it for you. We also found crabs, lobster, shrimp (tons of shrimp!) and many different kinds of fish.

This is one of the street stalls with different kinds of vegetables---lettuce, corn, onions, and these
little green squash (I don't know their name). They all looked good enough to eat! One thing,
though, about going to La Terminal---you need to go with a Guatemalan. It isn't a very safe
place to go. We were glad to have our Guatemalan friends with us. It was a great experience.

Jocotenango, Guatemala

2009-08-17T19:36:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday (15 August) we went with some friends to visit a town on the outskirts of
Antigua, named Jocotenango. Little did we know that it was a holiday---Day of the Ascension. So when we got there we saw all of these carnival rides and food vendors like you would see at a county fair back in the States. Notice the colorful front of the church that was built onto the old part of the church behind it.

On special religious holidays the people lay out designs on the streets made out of leaves, stems, and flowers. They call these "carpetas." We found these being laid out on many of the streets where we walked---as we looked for certain woodworking shops.

The artistic abilities of the Guatemalan people are amazing. This man has worked with wood most of his life---probably just as his father and grandfather did. He turned this chunk of wood into a beautifully smooth pear. You can see the wood chips flying in the air. Would you believe that he started the motor of his lathe by touching a curved bare wire wire to a nail?

Here is the finished product. It's too bad you can't really see the fine, smooth finish of the pear and the wood grain. Neil and I bought a couple of these that had been stained and polished.

This is the store at the back of the woodshop. The pear on the left is one of the pears that we bought. We learned that this woodworker used several different kinds of wood like cedar, coffee, and others. Notice the interesting piece of wood in the center of the photo above.
The photo below shows some of the fruit and vegetables that we bought at one of the wood shops. The unique bowl was made of highly smoothed and polished coffee wood.

Tikal

2009-08-17T19:01:00.000-07:00

On July 16 we drove to see the ruins of Tikal with the people in this photo (left to right): Bro. and Sis. Tilley, Sis. Barney, and Sis. Thibault. After 8 hours of driving (and our stop to see the ruins at Quirigua) we stopped in the town of Santa Elena on Lake Atitlan to stay at Hotel Casona
del Lago for two nights. It was a very lovely hotel looking out over Lake Atitlan and out toward the picturesque town of Flores.

This is a "close-up" view of the tourist town of Flores just across the lake from where we were staying. Flores is a very unique and colorful little town on an island connected by a causeway to Santa Elena. Many tourists like to stay in Flores and there are plenty of tour and adventure companies that use Flores as their base.

On the 17th we drove from Santa Elena toward Tikal National Park. Once we paid our entrance fee we started seeing these signs along the road. Can you figure out what kinds of animals these signs were warning us to watch for??

You probably can tell that this photo was taken from our van as we arrived at Tikal. (We were in a van where the doors opened on both sides, so we just drove along in the park with the doors open. It was great!)

Yes, there are still Mayans wandering around the ruins of Tikal---getting their pictures taken!
Well, maybe he wasn't quite as old as the ruins, but he looked pretty authentic to us!

We were very fortunate to have the luxury of a ride in a truck to the farthest part of the ruins---Temple IV. It is still under restoration, but there are wooden stairs on the other side where people can walk up to the top of the main steps. The view from there is incredible! Some of you may remember the shot in one of the older Star Wars movies where they were looking out over the jungle and the tops of the ruins of Tikal could be seen.

This is Temple I at the Great Plaza. The ruins at Tikal are extensive and are undergoing constant excavation and restoration. The original settling of Tikal took place between 900 - 700 b.c. The temples, palaces, and other buildings at Tikal today are dated at about 670 a.d. and were built on top of the earlier civilizations. By the end of the 10th century a.d. Tikal had been abandoned and the jungle began to reclaim it. It was not discovered again until 1848.
This photo gives you an idea of just how steep the steps are on the temple and how hard it would have been to climb them. We loved our time in Tikal and found it hard to go home again.

Quirigua

2009-08-17T18:50:00.000-07:00

On July 16 Neil and I went with some of the other senior missionaries on a trip to see the ruins
of Tikal. We didn't know that they were going to stop at some other ruins on the way. These
ruins were called, "Quirigua" and they were amazing.

Quirigua is one of only 3 Unesco World Heritage Sites in Guatemala. It is a small site nestled among miles and miles of banana plantations and was built up about the same time as Copan
(about 100 a.d.) just over the border in Honduras.

There are several stelas that were carved by artisans sent from Copan. The stelas are incredibly tall with wonderful carvings of faces and animals on them. It was amazing to see how well-
preserved they were.

I know that some of our "blog viewers" have mentioned that they never see Neil in any of the
photos----well, here he is. This gives you a idea of just how tall the carved stelas are.

This beautiful, huge tree was in the middle of the site at Quirigua. One of the caretakers was
working with a weed trimmer to cut the grass (he is just to the right of the base of the tree).

The carvings were so very well done. There were about 7 or 8 stelas at Quirigua to be studied
and admired by all of us. As we continued walking through the site we came to some large
ruins as can be seen in the photo below. There is continuous excavation and restoration going on---and only part of it has been uncovered.

Panajachel & Lake Atitlán

2009-07-26T15:40:00.000-07:00

On July 17th Neil and I left the big city and headed northwest along the Pan American Highway to find the city of Panajachel and beautiful Lake Atitlan--about a 3-hr drive. (Some say that this is the location of the Waters of Mormon.) We stayed in a hotel called The Posada of Don Rodrigo and this was the view that we had out of our side door. This is a view of Cerro de Oro (the small one), Volcan Toliman, and Volcan Atitlan behind it.

Each morning the local kids would be jumping in the water and swimming along the boat dock. Many larger boats take the tourists to visit the villages along the shores of Lake Atitlan where they find different types of handicrafts.

All of the volcanos surrounding Lake Atitlan are dormant and make a lovely frame for the lake. The one on the right is called Volcan San Pedro.

These kids looked like they were really enjoying themselves!

We haven't found out the name of this little bird yet, but he had such a wonderful song to sing to us. Maybe our son-in-law, Tyler, might be able to find out what kind it is....?

This was the back door of our hotel room where you could just walk right out into a garden area and look out on the lake and volcanos. Neil seems to be studying our Guatemala guide book so that he could tell me more about the area.

We passed this scenic waterfall on the steep and windy road that led to the town of Panajachel. There were other ones also along the way.

These Mayan clay masks are made and sold by the people living along the shores of Lake Atitlan.

We were very impressed with the many, many shops and stalls where you could buy colorful hammocks, dresses, fabrics, belts, huipiles, and bedspreads, like this one.

We can never take enough photos of the children. These boys knew that a wheelbarrow had many uses---to help with their parents work, and as a place to play.

Now here is a picture with a story. These are shoeshine boys. They were probably about 8 or 9 yrs. old. The one on the left came up to us (with an angry look on his face) and said, "You take our pictures and you pay us." I (Kathy) looked at him and said (of course, in Spanish), "Why would we want to take pictures of boys who don't know how to smile?" The boy on the left looked a little confused while the one on the right began to smile a little. I told them that we only took pictures of boys who had smiles on their faces and that I didn't know if they could smile. I started to see that they didn't really speak much Spanish---just the little bit needed to make money with doing shoeshines. I again told them that I needed to see some smiles if they wanted to be paid for their photos being taken. They finally both understood and gave us these beautiful smiles. It was good to see the angry look leave the face of the little boy on the left.

Neil asked this little boy if he could take his picture while he was eating a snack of "mango on a stick." We really had a wonderful time in this area.

Solola Locals

2009-07-26T15:22:00.000-07:00

Neil and I find the customs and dress of the different Guatemalans so very beautiful and interesting. Every time we go to a different part of the country we can find differences in their
native dress and in the type of fabric worn by the women. The variety of colors is wonderful! Many of the women carry their loads on their heads. Needless to say, they have very good posture.

We drove through the town of Solola (located northwest of Guatemala City) and nearly drove right into the middle of Market Day activities. The colors of their clothing caught my eye immediately. These women wore beautifully embroidered "huipiles" (blouses) and their skirts were a very different type of woven fabric.

The women carried so many different things on their heads. We wondered if they thought that the "gringo" women were strange because they (or we) carried so many things in their arms!

These ladies were off to the market with their loads on their heads---also wearing their very best fancy aprons. The further north we go the less we see of the aprons worn nearer to Guatemala City.

What wonderful colors! The fabric, the embroidery, and the vegetables!

Now here was a very different native dress for the men of the area of Solola. The shirt is like a cowboy shirt except with wonderful embroidery. The hat is much like the cowboy hats in the USA. His pants are made of a colorful woven fabric. Then there is the "skirt." We haven't quite figured this out yet. It is a heavier fabric in brown and white checks. Some of our friends wonder if maybe this took the place of the "missing" aprons of the women. I just thought that they were wonderful and so very different. I hope to learn the story behind them.

One of the mainstays of the Guatemalan diet is corn. It is ground to be used in making their tortillas. These women at Market Day were making and selling their blue corn tortillas.

This is one of our favorite pictures. The load on her head is quite big, but every hair on her head is beautifully in place. Many of the women weave lovely ribbons into their long, dark hair.

With different areas came different patterns of woven fabrics---and another way to carry things.

We have probably placed pictures of mothers carrying their little ones in different places on our blog, but we couldn't resist this picture. They always have their children with them.

Not only do the women carry things on their heads, but this man has also "used his head" in order to get his bananas to Market Day to be sold. (Gives me a headache just looking at it.)

"This little piggy went to market".....or rather, these BIG piggies went to market! I wonder if that is why this little Toyota truck is leaning?

Main Plaza and Central Market

2009-07-26T15:14:00.001-07:00

This is La Catedral Metropolitana---begun in 1782 and completed in 1815---situated on one side of the Plaza Central in the older part of Guatemala City. On the pillars of this cathedral are etched the names of many of those Guatemalans who have disappeared during times of political unrest.

There are many vendors trying to sell their goods in the Central Plaza. Among other things, this woman was selling crocheted hats that I found really interesting. Neil calls me an easy target. I just need to learn how to "admire" their goods without having to end up buying them!

This is a great view of the Central Plaza with its magnificient water fountain. It was a beautiful day and many people were just enjoying the sunshine and watching the pigeons. There were many kinds of vendors also enjoying the weather.

These men were selling pineapples in the Plaza.

On one side of the Central Plaza is a beautiful old building that used to be the Presidential Palace. It has not housed any president since the early 1990's, and is now an important museum. The Palacio Nacional de la Cultura tells the story of Guatemala's colonial history and of its leaders. Although the president doesn't live here, it is often used to host special visiting dignitaries.

A short walk behind the Cathedral brings you to the Mercado Central (located within an underground building constructed to replace the market that was destroyed during the earthquake of 1976). There are several levels to wander through where you will find handicrafts, fabric, clothing, and more. The basement is a produce market where you can find fresh fruits and vegetables, flowers and plants. We enjoy coming here, but the parking is very limited.

A few weeks ago I (Kathy) came to the Central Market with some friends looking for some baskets for our home. My friends (who had been living in the country for a year) said that they had never seen any baskets in the Central Market. Well, we went down a couple of levels and.....BINGO! I couldn't believe how many types of baskets and woven items I discovered! And there were stalls and stalls of them!

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-06T19:55:00.000-07:00

No matter where you are on the 4th of July---you have to have a BBQ! And being in Guatemala is no exception! We had a wonderful BBQ on the top of our apartment building with our other friends and there were pies, hot dogs, hamburgers, watermelon, potato salad, and you name it!
Everyone chipped in to pay for the little grill that Neil bought at Cemaco (like a Target store). Sister Barney (an LDS missionary, previously from Orem, Utah) and Sister Baldwin (the wife of the president of the Guatemala City Central Mission, from Arizona) did a nice job of arranging everything---even the American flag centerpiece!

We all enjoy the times when we can just sit down and talk with each other. This is Bro. and Sis. Bawden (the Central America Area Humanitarian Specialists, from South Jordan, Utah) and they travel alot, so this gave us time to catch up on what they had been doing. The lower right is Bro. Tilley (in charge of Church Security for Central America, from Montana)---our BBQ man for the day. Upper right is Sis. Barney again (a missionary working in the Guatemala City Central Mission Office).

We have a tremdous 360 deg. view from the top of our building and July 4th was a beautiful day for a celebration. Speaking of celebrating....Neil took this photo just as I pulled the string on my popper! Can you see the streamers flying away at the top of the photo?? Sis. Bawden and her husband were at the same table with us.

What happy ladies! From left to right---Sis. Oreamundo is a new missionary from Alajuela, Costa Rica and is working in the Guatemala City North Mission with her companion Sis. Bingham (on far right--from St. George, Utah). Sis. Tilley is in the middle.

Isn't this a great view? You can see mountains (on a clear and not raining day) all around us and also some of the volcanos that surround Guatemala City. We had a nice relaxing time together and now we are looking forward to Pioneer Day---July 24!

Antigua, Guatemala

2009-07-06T19:09:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, July 4th, Neil and I went for a drive to see the old city of Antigua. It was the original capital of the Spanish kingdom of Guatemala in the 1600's, but when it was destroyed by earthquakes the present capital of Guatemala City was built in the late 1700's. We found these women selling their beautifully woven crafts in front of one of the old ruins of a church.

Aren't these colors just gorgeous? This gives you an idea of the colors and beautiful work done by the Guatemalan women. Most of the weaving and embroidery is done completely by hand.

We saw piles of handmade dolls, table runners, bags, purses, placemats---you name it!

There were also many varieties of handmade jewelry---bracelets, necklaces, earrings. It was amazing to see so many wonderful colors, and to think of all of the hours of work that went into making these things.

I was impressed with the strength of the Guatemalan women. They carry their babies in a bundle hanging from their shoulder and also carry many things on their heads. (I think that some of these ladies just wanted to get out of the sun.) We hope you take note of the beautiful woven skirts that the women wear and their wonderful embroidered blouses, called "huipiles."

In the center of Antigua there is a beautiful plaza. On one side of the plaza is a large, very white Catholic cathedral. On another side was a large Spanish-style building that was being renovated.

This is Agua Volcano. Anywhere you go in Antigua there is a great view of this volcano.

It was a beautiful day to be wandering the streets of Antigua. We could see other volcanos in the distance and in the plaza were numbers of palm trees and other varieties that provided some wonderful shade on such a hot and sunny day.

This photo has a story. Neil and I were walking the perimeter of the plaza taking pictures and enjoying ourselves when this women walked up to us and began showing us her jewelry. Well, I thought I would buy a couple of necklaces....when all of the sudden she says, "'caminamos, caminamos." We was asking us to walk along with her because the city police were coming over to us. We found out that there is a law in Antigua that states that the venders cannot sell their wares anywhere near the plaza---so as not to bother the tourists. We still followed her and bought some of her necklaces.

These four pretty young ladies were also trying to sell things in the plaza. They worked in pairs and would show things to us, but would quickly hide them whenever they would see the police. When we asked them if we could take their picture, they said, "OK, if you will buy some things from us." They knew what they were doing!

We have found the Guatemalan people to be warm and friendly---and very strong. We often see or meet old men and women who can carry very large loads on their backs or their heads. The lady standing by me was quite the saleswoman.

Neil knelt down to try and take a picture of some kids playing at the edge of the fountain in the plaza. Before he knew it this little girl came up to him and asked if she could take a picture too. So he showed her where to look and how to push the button---TA DA!

Volcán Pacaya

2009-06-23T19:31:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, June 20, we went with another couple (The Alberts) to drive out and hike Pacaya Volcano---an active volcano of 8,371 ft. We left just after 6:30 am and after about an hour's drive (and a large detour) we arrived where the road split to go to the town of San Vicente Pacaya (to the left) or Pacaya Volcano National Park (to the right). We paid for our tickets to enter the park and picked up our guide, "Felix," and continued driving until we reached the village of San Francisco. This is where the trail begins. As we got out of our car several children came over to us asking us to buy a walking stick from them. Neil and I bought our walking sticks from the little girl on the right for 5 quetzales (or about 75 cents).

As Felix led us toward the trail we walked past a large group of horses and their guides. They smiled (the men, not the horses!) at us and "encouraged" us to get a horse and ride instead of walk. We just smiled back and declined their offers. This is the sign at the beginning of the trail.

This is our little hiking group with our 4 horsemen following us---just waiting for us to tire out and need to ride one of their horses. They were very persistant. They would smile and say, "Here is your taxi." The trail was getting very steep and rocky and those horses were starting to look pretty good.

Felix was a very good guide. He would stop and show us different plants and tell us about them. These are some of the orchids and bromiliads that we saw growing on the trees. He pointed out a tree that his parents used to use for soap when he was a little boy, because they didn't have any money to buy soap.

This is our guide, Felix, on the left. On the right is my horse, Canelo---yes, I decided to take it easy on my poor knees (after about 1/3 of the way up the trail). Emilio (my "piloto") led the horse so I didn't have to worry about guiding it at all. The horses knew the trail well and Emilio and I had a very nice chat (in Spanish) while we went up---and down---the trail. He told me all about his family and how he grew up in this area---and how they sometimes had to evacuate their homes because of the big volcanic eruptions of Pacaya.

I didn't realize Neil was taking so many photos of me on Canelo! It looks like I never hang on while I am riding! Sometimes it was pretty bumpy. Emilio told me that he usually walked his horse up and down this trail twice daily. It is about a 2 1/2 hour hike just to reach the base of the volcano. (By the way, the saddle horn and the back of the saddle were made of carved wood instead of leather. I thought that was interesting.)

This is the lava rock that we walked over once we reached the base of the cone of the volcano. The color of the lava shows if it is old or new. If it is a light color (as on the left) it is from an older eruption. If it is a very dark color, (as on the right) then it is only weeks or months old---from a more recent eruption.

Boy, these hiking sticks really came in handy in hiking over these trails on the lava rocks. There really wouldn't have been any place for me to put my hand down to steady myself! This area is still near the base of the volcanic cone. It is a very "hot" spot with heat vents coming up through the rocks.
This is looking down into a spot where you can see red lava. Some people drop their walking sticks down into it, and that is what is burning. This hole on the right was just a very interesting formation made by an earlier lava flow.

Pacaya Volcano is in the background, but not quite the top of the cone. It is still off to the left. It was quite a cloudy day and the clouds kept the cone hidden. We all decided not to hike to the top since we wouldn't have a view from there. It was a great hike and the views of the valleys and towns below us were wonderful---as long as the clouds let us see them. We had hoped to be able to see the other surrounding volcanos, but the clouds kept them out of sight.

The Guatemalan Way!

2009-06-23T18:41:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered how the ancient Egyptians moved all of those huge stone blocks to build the pyramids? We believe these Guatemalan workers have mastered the same technique.
Neil and I watched from our balcony as these men would put a metal pipe under the front of the piece of machinery (adding to the other pipes under it). Then they would all push the piece of machinery forward as hard as they could---while one worker pulled the pipe from the back and ran up to the front to put it under again. They did this for a few minutes and then they all had to take a rest. Not modern technology, but it certainly worked for them!

After seeing the previous operation, you won't have any problems believing this next one. Right across the street from us is a very tall apartment building. We looked out one afternoon and saw this man coming down the front of the building, sitting on a plank of wood---no safety line or harness. He would lower himself using only his left hand on the rope, while he painted with his right hand. When he stopped he would just hold the rope with his left hand. It made us feel really nervous for the guy! When he finished at ground level, he got off, and let a man on the top of the building pull it back up to the top. But the crazy wooden plank kept getting caught under the balconies of each floor and knocking plaster off! At one point the man on top even caught his hand in the rope he was pulling. In the end it all worked out---and that's entertainment!

Guatemala Week #2

2009-06-14T14:06:00.000-07:00

Here we are just finishing with our second week in the country. We feel like we are getting acquainted with the area we live in. Neil runs each morning and really knows his way around. We went with some of the senior missionary couples to the central market and bought fruit and vegetables that will probably last us for 2 weeks. But, my, they are delicious. See if you can name all of the ones in our photo.

While at the central market Neil bought some flowers for us to put in vases in our living room. There are several sidewalk flower vendors near our apartment building. We bought the hydrangea (in the center photo) at a vivienda (nursery) a few blocks away. There are many hydrangeas planted around the landscape of the Guatemala temple.

Guatemala is a very humid and green country so there are many different kinds of plants and flowers. Neil really likes to take photos of the flowers, so here are some that caught his eye.

This past Wednesday (June 10th) was Neil's birthday and we did some sightseeing. We did some walking to find the location of the church where we would be going today. We also went to the National Museum of Archeology and Anthropology. It is an amazing museum with many wonderful collections of stellas (stone carvings) pottery and other relics.

On Friday night we invited the missionary couples (and single sisters) to come over for some cake and ice cream. It was also Sis. Bingham's birthday (she recently arrived and is from St. George) so we all had a good time eating and visiting together. In the left photo (L to R) is Sis. Albert, Sis. Tilly, Sis Bawden, and Sis. Bingham. The couple at the right is Elder and Sis. Tilly--they are on a mission with church security. The bottom right photo is of Sis. Albert and Elder Albert---who is building a dental clinic (from donated funds) attached to an orphanage. The clinic will be used for helping with dental work of prospective missionaries and also with the orphanage.

Here is a groupd photo in our living room of all of the senior missionaries. The photo top right is of Elder Bawden. He and his wife work with the Area Presidency in Humanitarian Services.
In the lower right photo is Elder Taylor. He is the Area Doctor and he and his wife coordinate the medical services for all of the missionaries.

A long, long time ago we started a family tradition of making a "birthday banner" for each member of our family on their birthdays. We write a silly poem or limerick on it so everyone can have a good laugh. Yes, kids, I did a birthday banner for Dad for his birthday! We might be in Guatemala but the family tradition must go on! (Now let's see if you can read it!!?)

Last Friday we found a good car to buy (through a church member) and we are now the proud owners of a 1998 4-door silver Honda Civic. It will give us a little more independence and ability to get out of the City once-in-awhile. And we won't have to pay for taxis anymore.

This is the chapel of the Santa Fe Branch where we will be going to church. Please don't mind the razor wire on the fence. It really is safe on the inside!
Everything here seems to be encircled with razor wire! It was the same when we lived in the Philippines and also when we were in Costa Rica. So we feel right at home. But it is a nice branch and we are looking forward to being of service here.

We are enjoying the skype calls that we have been able to have with our children and friends. It is wonderful how technology can help keep us close together even when we are living so far away. We will not be receiving mail while we are here, but we would encourage email communication. Let's see what sort of adventures we can send your way next time!

The Guatemala Adventure Begins!

2009-06-02T20:41:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Guatemala on Monday (1 June) in the early morning and were very glad to get our 10 pieces of luggage and boxes safely through customs and off to our new location. This is our new home---"Victoria Suites" apartments in Guatemala City, Guatemala. It is a 5-story building with mostly LDS Senior Missionary couples living in it. Our apartment is on the 4th floor. You can see it above the tree, with the plants hanging over the balcony.

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This is the entrance to our apartment building. It seems to be a pretty safe place---with 2 guards out on the sidewalk, a male receptionist, and an inside metal gate by the receptionist! We have already found our way to a major supermarket (bought out by Wal-Mart) and bought some basic supplies for our new home. What is Guatemala like?---it is green, humid, with lots of flowers, overloaded buses, paint peeling (because of the humidity), and the sounds and culture of Spanish everywhere!

We feel very fortunate to have such a big and comfortable place to live in that is already furnished for us. The picture on the left is our living room---top right is our family room--and lower right is our dining area. The rooms are all very large and we have big picture windows with balconies that give us a great view of----other tall apartment buildings!

Our apartment has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, a laundry area, a spacious kitchen (with loads of storage space!) and we keep the windows and sliding glass doors open so that the cool breezes blow in. It is great!

These are our bedrooms---one is a workroom, one is for sleeping, and one is for visitors. [We really do have a lot of space, so please feel free to come and visit us while we are here. But be sure to bring some newborn kits with you. There is a great need for humanitarian service here and newborn kits will be well-used!] Tomorrow Neil goes to visit the University of San Carlos where he will be teaching and then we both have an appointment with the U.S. Embassy. So begins another adventure!

Duabi, UAE: May 19-24, 2009

2009-05-23T13:58:00.000-07:00

I was invited to speak at the first Teacher Leadership Academy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Academy was organized by a colleague, Christine Coombe and sponsored by Dubai Men's College and a grant through the Middle East Partnership Initiative. This was my third visit to the UAE. I always enjoy meeting teachers and students from this part of the world.

My colleagues, Liz England and John Schmidt, were also there. We observed an English class on our first evening in Dubai. The students are wonderful!

Through a connection with another colleague, Mashael Al-Hamly, we were able to visit the Burj Al Arab hotel. If you've read anything about UAE, you've probably seen photos of this luxurious hotel. A one room suite goes for $2,500 per night. The Royal suite goes for $16,500 per night. Knowing that I would never be able to affor staying here, just being able to visit was a great opportunity.

The view from the top of fantastic! The water is glorious just before sunset.

The two-day conference was really good. There were only about 200 people in attendance which provided an opportunity to talk to people and really engage in meaningful conversations. The participants were eager to learn how to be better teacher-leaders.

We were able to meet and spend time with Mashael Al-Hamley and her family. From left to right: Jamal, Sara, me, Ahmed, Mashael, and Yousuf.

Yousuf and Ahmed were great hosts. Look what Yousuf can do with his tongue!

It was about 100 degrees outside. Dubai has one of the world's largest indoor skiing facilities. It was great fun to watch people skiing indoors. There is one run with a tow-rope or a chair lift. The Emiraties looked like they loved getting dressed in their winter clothing and putting on their skiies to enjoy some skiing time in-doors. May on a future visit I'll give this a try.

Virginia & Washington, DC: May 14-17, 2009

2009-05-23T13:29:00.000-07:00

We spent four fabulous days with Amy and her family and Todd and his family on the East coast. It was particularly great to spend time with eight of our 10 grand children.

We stayed at Todd and Kara's home in Woodbridge, Virginia. The kids have a trampoline and it was great fun watching them jump.

We visited a farm in Northern Virginia with the family. It is so much fun to watch Todd and KAra's children play with Amy and Tyler's children. They enjoy being together.

Randy is our oldest grand child. She had her first singing concert with her first grade class while we were there. It was so much fun to watch her perform with the classmates and friends. It's hard to see her in this photo but Randy is on the top row, second person from the left.

Our son-in-law, Tyler, (my favorite son-in-law) graduated from George Washington University with a Master's degree in Asian Studies. We were able to attend his graduation.

We were also able to spend time visiting some of the monuments on the Washington, DC mall.

We had not been to the World War II Memorial before. The layout of the memorial is great because it includes all 50 of the US states in the design.

We also visited Mount Vernon. This was one of the highlights of the trip.

Day 16, Tuesday, 12 May 2009: Pennsylvania to Bath

2009-05-12T13:45:00.000-07:00

Today was our final day! We've walked a total of 105 miles since we started in Chipping Campden on April 29. We walked about 10.5 miles today.

We saw the place where a British civil war took place in the mid-1600s. The Royalist Troops (loyal to the King) attached the Parliamentarian Troops (those who wanted to form a Parliament). Two close friends, Waller and Horton, ended up fighting each other on opposite sides of war.

We caught our first glimpse of Bath when we were ab out 3 miles from the end.

The Cotswold Way ends in front of the Bath Abby.

We toured the Jane Austen Centre. Jane Austen finished two of here novels here in Bath: Northanger Abby and Persuasion.

We wish that we had more time to spent in Bath. There is so much to see and do. We'll just have to return for a future vacation and do more here.

We're spending our final night in the Belmont B&B. We leave early tomorrow morning for the airport to fly back to Washington, D.C. We'll spend four days with Amy & Tyler and their children and Todd & Kara and their children before the next adventure begins!

This has been perhaps the best vacation we've had! Walking for 105 miles was a great way to see this part of England. Anyone interested in making this trip should contact us for more details.

Day 15, Monday, 11 May 2009: Old Sodbury to Pennsylvania

2009-05-12T13:09:00.000-07:00

The Cotswold Way began just across the street from our B&B this morning. We wandered uphill through a field of sheep and caught a glimpse of Dodington Manor. It is a beautiful estate owned (and being restored) by the guy who invented the Dyson vacuum.

Today’s highlight was our visit to another National Trust site---Dyrham Manor and Deer Park. What a great experience it was! The grounds and gardens were so beautiful. The house was built in the early 1600’s and all of the furnishings are either original or are from that period. There are 200 fallow deer on the grounds and they have been there since the estate was created. It is one of those homes that you might see in BBC movies.

Along the trail we came upon a special wooden box with a notebook in it for "walkers" to write about their experiences on The Cotswold Way. It gave us a moment to remember all of the wonderful experiences we have had during the past 2 weeks and all of the beautiful things we have seen.

Our B&B for tonight is in the tiny village of Pennsylvania and is called The Old Swan Cottage. It is hard to believe that we have only one more day of walking. Tomorrow we arrive in Bath.

Day 14, Sunday, May 10, 2009: Horton to Old Sodbury

2009-05-12T12:48:00.000-07:00

This was a perfect Sabbath day. Liz Issac from the B&B drove us into Yate for Church meetings that started at 10:00 a.m. We met Bishop X as we entered the building and several of the members. The Yate Ward begins the meeting block with Priesthood and Relief Society meeting, followed by Sunday School and then Sacrament meeting. It is a small ward but very friendly. What impressed me about Priesthood meeting is that the seven High Priests in attendance (eight with me) had all read the Priesthood lesson prior to coming to the meeting. They were able to engage in the discussion of spiritual gifts in a much more meaningful way because everyone was prepared to be taught. I wish this happened more at home.

The Sunday School lesson and Sacrament meeting were two of the best meetings we have attended anywhere we have lived. We felt welcome and enjoyed everything about being at church meetings.

We met Mike Cheskin and his wife Evie who asked if we needed a ride anywhere and if we would like to come to their home for dinner. We were able to get a ride back to the B&B. We then changed our clothes and had a very lovely walk from Horton to Old Sodbury. It was only about a 4 mile walk and didn’t take very long. (Unfortunately we did not get any photos of Mike and Ivy.)

Along the way we saw the Little Sodbury Church. In 1521 William Tyndale lived in this village and began the translation of the New Testament into English here. We love a quote that Tyndale made a dinner at the manor house to a dignitary who protested Tyndale’s views. He responded by saying: “I defy the Pope and all his laws. If God will spare my life, ere many years I will cause the boy that follows the plough to know more of the Bible than thou doest.” What “boy that follows the plough” do we know who turned to the Bible to know God’s will?

We walked through the ancient Sodbury Hill Fort. There are 11 acres enclosed by ditches and was first constructed in the Iron Age. The Romans used it as one of their posts. Edward IV camped here with his army on the way to do battle with Margaret of Anjou at Tewkesbury.

We saw a fox running very quickly through a field as we crossed.

We called Mom to wish her a happy Mother’s Day. We reached her just before we left for Church.

The Cotswold Way path goes right through the churchyard of St. John the Baptist Church where we stopped as well. There were beautiful stained glass windows (as there are in most of the churches here). The church sits on a little hill overlooking Old Sodbury.

This B&B in Old Sodbury is very unique. We are staying in a little cabin behind the main house on the property. Greg recently retired as the gardener at the Chipping Sodbury Golf Club. He has a very well kept garden and yard. We wish we were staying here longer so that we could enjoy this little cabin.

Mike picked us up and drove us to his home. He owns two gas stations in the area. He and his wife Evie have a beautiful place. Their ward has a little pond and they attract wild life. They have a bird feeder that attracts mallard ducks, pheasants, and doves. Just over a little rise in their yard are the train tracks. We actually rode right past this place when we took the train from Bristol to Cheltenham. Mike is a train enthusiast so loves to run up the hill to watch the trains pass. They have a little sitting area where they can enjoy the view of the passing trains.

We enjoyed a wonderful meal and conversation. We asked them about their children and conversion stories. They asked us about ours. It was a wonderful way to spend the day.

Day 13, Saturday, May 9, 2009: Hillesley to Horton

2009-05-12T12:21:00.000-07:00

After a good night’s rest at Folly Farm (a large dairy farm) B&B we headed back toward Hillesley (and The Fleece Inn) to find the place where we needed to get back onto the Cotswold Way.
The clematis and wisteria on these old Cotswold houses is just so beautiful….we just keep taking more photos, and more photos, and more photos….

We came across this monument near Hawksbury Upton. It is called both the Somerset Monument (for General Lord Somerset) and the Hawksbury Monument (since it is near that town).

Horton Court is said to be the oldest inhabited manor in England---but is closed at the present time. The National Trust owns it but needs some rich person to buy it and put the money into it to get the restoration done. We were only able to see it from the trail through the trees.

As we made our way down the trail toward Horton (where our B&B was) we saw lots of Holstein dairy cows. Whenever we walk through pastures with sheep, they all run away from us. But when we walk through or by pastures with cows, they come running to have their picture taken! I think they were even smiling!

Neil and I thought that we had found a herd of woolly mammoths---or even bigfoot! These cows were definitely different! These are called Highland cows and they are very shaggy. They seemed to be very gentle animals.

On our way down to Horton we passed this interesting building called a “folly.” It was made as a refuge for barn owls and other birds who nest in buildings.

Our B&B in Horton was very comfortable and we had some great conversation that evening with family and friends of our hostess, Liz Isaac.

Day 12, Friday, May 8: Wotton-under-Edge to Hillesley

2009-05-12T11:44:00.000-07:00

What a windy day! We didn’t have any rain as we expected but we have been blown around all day! We walked about 6 miles today.

We had a later than usual breakfast and left the Swan Hotel about 10:30. We wondered around Wotton-under-Edge before rejoining the path. There is a very beautiful church that we stopped to see. St. Mary the Virgin is a beautiful church. We met a very friendly man coming out as we were going in. His son, daughter-in-law, and two grandsons live just outside of Kansas City. We have made new friends all along the way.

We saw the oldest building in Wotton-under-Edge. Stephen Hopkins, one of the original Pilgrims, lived in this house. There is a village story that a group of the Pilgrims met in this home before they set sail for America.

We saw more beautiful views today.

For the grandchildren: If a duck is a grown up duck, what do we call baby ducks? If a sheep is a grown up sheep, what do we call baby sheep?

What is a Primary song that you sing about birds singing in the tops of trees? We’ve heard so many beautiful birds singing. Do you know what Grandma Kathy’s favorite bird is? We hear them every day but we’ve only see two. It is a pheasant. Do you know what they look like? There used to be one living in the bushes behind our house in Orem. They hide very well in the fields. As we walked into the B&B this afternoon at Foley Farms I saw one but could get a picture fast enough before it walked into the field to hide.

We also saw little streams and waterfalls along the path today. The water in the streams was very clear and clean.

We ate dinner at the Fleece Inn in Hillesley.

Tonight we are staying at the Folly Farm B&B about 1 mile outside of Hillesley.

Day 11, Thursday, May 7, Coaley to Wotton-under-Edge

2009-05-08T01:28:00.000-07:00

Our hike today was a bit longer because we had to complete the other half of yesterday’s walk along with our 7 miles for today. So we walked about 10 miles---not counting the 3 times that we had to turn around and find the right trail markers! But it was a glorious day with lots of sun, and of course lots of wind on top of the hills.

We hiked through woods, around the edges of the Dursley Golf Course, and up and down several very big “hills.” Everywhere we went we found the ground covered with beautiful ferns, bluebells and the white blossoms of wild garlic (which Neil always has to grab and stick in his mouth—it has a delightful flavor!).

There was one pasture that the trail went through where there were all colors of cows with their calves. It was great.

OK, now don’t laugh, but the name of this big hill is Cam Long Down. It had the same remnants of early iron age settlements. The hill next to it was called Cam Peak.

The village of Dursley is really lovely. There is an old market building in the center of town. They still hold their farmer’s market there on Saturdays.

While we hiked we kept seeing the Tyndale Monument in the distance. Finally, after climbing up and up and up the hills, we came to the monument built to honor William Tyndale---the man who translated the New Testament into English.

Tonight we are staying at The Swan Hotel in Wotton-under-Edge. And tomorrow we have a very short walking day.

Day 10, Wednesday, May 6: King’s Stanley to Coaley

2009-05-08T01:14:00.000-07:00

Today was an extremely short walk. We only had to do 3 miles. We had left our B&B, walked, and arrived at the new destination by noon. This allowed us to mostly rest and read for the afternoon. The nap was a welcome break from our daily routine so far.

We did see the Nympsfield Long Barrow. These were built around 2800BC and were used for burials. The remains of 13 people along with flint arrowheads and some pottery were found when the site was first excavated in the 19th Century.

We got another vast view from the Coaley View Peak. We saw more of our new favorite cows just off the side of the view point.

After our naps we walked about a half-mile into the center of Coaley to the Fox and Hound Pub. We were the only guests there for an early dinner. We had a great meal of Scottish salmon and vegetables. The desert was a fantastic chocolate sponge cake covered in chocolate. A lovely couple from Romania runs the pub. We had a great conversation with them after dinner. The wife, who’s English was limited, said she really liked Kathy’s accent.

Day 9, Tuesday, May 5: Painswick to Middleyard

2009-05-05T10:28:00.000-07:00

This morning we started off from Painswick but needed to mail some postcards at this little post office in the village. You can see the red post box in front that is built into the side of the building. Painswick is a lovely Cotswold village with all of its buildings so close together and its narrow winding streets. While we were walking along we were able to look back over the hills and see this view of Painswick village on the top of the hill in the distance.

This is our halfway point! It is a stone marker that states that we have 55 more miles until we get to Bath! Yippee!! But this marker was at the beginning of today's walk....and we still had quite a few hills ahead of us to walk up and down.

We walked through several beautiful ancient forests. This was Standish Wood. It was an ancient forest with the remains of long barrows and round barrows (burial areas dating back to about 3,000 BC). We found a marker along the trail that explained all of these "bumps and lumps" along the way in the forest. The bluebell flowers were everywhere!

Oh, yes, and here are our favorite cows again! We took the wrong trail (there were 3 to choose from) and wound up at this field with the funny cows that look like the pigs we used to have when I was a little girl. But we also found a large picture poster there with an explanation about the cows. The are called Belted Galloways, and they seem to be quite hardy and do very well outside in the wintertime. And, yes, we did turn around and find our way back to the right trail!

For our wonderful grandchildren...do you know the answers to these 2 questions? 1)Do you know the name of the bird that sticks his head out of a clock to tell the time? (We heard him in the woods today.) 2)What is the name of the story about 3 animals who lived in a forest and scared away a little girl? (We walked through this forest today.)

We crossed a busy road in front of the Edgemoor Inn (pub) and came to a sign that advertised the butterflies and wild orchids that inhabited the fields we would be going through. The center photo is of the purple miniature orchids that we found. They were so tiny but very beautiful.

This little building protects an old well that hasn't been used in a long time. But there was an inscription inside on the wall. See if you can read what it says.... The message is a very good one. We found our B&B, Valley Views, at Middleyard near Kings Stanley and are looking forward to a restful sleep!