Dear Family and Friends,

What happened to 2007? If yours was like ours, it was very busy!! Between too much work, we tried to sneak in as much fun as possible. Here are the highlights of the continued adventures of Marian and Jack.

Jack started the year with a fishing trip on the Royal Star, in which few fish were caught, and it rained. Marian started the year working the first 3 weeks at a California site. Ok, the fun hadn't started yet.

Our first real trip of the year was to Benson, Arizona, in February, after the Six Sigma Conference. We visited Kurtcher Caverns, which was discovered in 1974 by two graduate students, and kept secret for 14 years. We took the Big Room tour, and saw incredible formations in the still living cave. For those who enjoy the marvels of what nature can create, this was inspiring. We then drove to Sequoia National Park to walk among the humongous Saguaro cactus. Next to them, we were like ants.

Our next big trip was to Big Bend National Park in April. The down side of this park is that it is 5 hours from the closest airport. The upside is the beauty and serenity of the Rio Grande. We took many hikes along the river and up to the river overlooks. We "met" the Singing Mexican, and were amazed at how easy it is to cross the river between Mexico and the US. Although we were pleasantly surprised at how much we enjoyed Big Bend, we would not recommend the Park after April, as it was over 90 degrees. Also, the long drive from accommodations makes it lower on the list of National Park must sees.

Our fun continued in May when we attended the Annual Quality Congress in Orlando. In addition to seeing all of our friends, which we truly enjoy, we spent two days "doing" Disney, which is always a pleasant experience. The weather was perfect, and crowds very manageable. We hopped to all four parks within 2 days, and made the rounds to see everything we wanted. We also spent two 1/2 days at Sea World, which is very impressive in terms of the beauty of the grounds, and care of the animals.

Once again our roots called in July, and we flew to North Carolina, and drove to the Brevard area, to experience the waterfalls. We had purchased a book on NC waterfalls, and hiked to 12 falls in 2 days. One of the most interesting was Eastatoe Falls, which is on private properly. The home owners were extremely gracious to let people trample through their backyard to the incredible falls, which we gave a beauty rating of 10. Another interesting falls was Turtleback Falls, were people were sliding down the "back of the turtle" into a pool of very cold water. We stopped to see Looking Glass Falls, and happened upon a woman in her wedding dress taking pictures in front of the Falls. What a beautiful backdrop!! The beauty continued with Rainbow, Whitewater, White Owl, Schoolhouse, Mill Shoals, and Pearson Falls. We truly recommend this journey for those that love the tranquility of the waterfalls.

Our annual September trip was to Mammoth Lakes California, and Yosemite National Park. Our Waterfalls calendar for the month of July featured Rainbow Falls at Mammoth Lakes. The picture was so beautiful, we felt we wanted to see it in person. We were not disappointed. The area, although a resort town, is incredibly inviting, and easy to maneuver. Interesting enough, there is no Mammoth Lake. There are many beautiful lakes in the area including Mono Lake, Lake George, Lake Mary, Emerald Lake, and Twin Lakes. All very much worth the time to visit. Rainbow Falls presented exactly that; an incredible rainbow at the noon hour. We were happy that the up close and personal rivaled our calendar picture.

Marian does caution you about one thing at Mammoth Lakes. If a little old man at the Ranger Station tells you about the Bottomless Pit hike, that is not marked in the map, smile nicely, and back away slowly. After we finally found and started the hike, thank goodness we had a GPS, or we may have never have been seen or heard from again. We do not believe we ever reached the final destination, and when we came out of the woods, we were no longer on the side of the mountain where we had parked. We happened upon a man, his son and dog, and pretty much begged a ride back to our car.

We took additional side trips in the area to the Devil's Postpile National Monument and the Hot Creek Geological Site. The Devil's Postpile is an incredible natural monument of 60 foot tall columns of curved rocks with hexagonal shaped patterns on the top of the columns. It was awe inspiring. The Hot Creek Geological Site is extremely active with bubbling hot springs, geysers and mudpots, a diminutive Yellowstone. We just love the boil, bubble and explosion of water.

Another highlight of the trip was our hike to Vernal and Nevada Falls in Yosemite National Park, which is at the base of Half Dome. After climbing to the top of Vernal Falls, up 662 uneven steps, then another 1.3 miles to the top of Nevada Falls, there was no way we were going to make it to Half Dome. We were fully satisfied with seeing the 3 in 1 rainbow at Vernal Falls. It was breathtaking!! We had forged this trail years before, and thank goodness did not remember the level of difficulty. It was worth the climb!! Incredibly, Yosemite Falls was completely, 100% dry. We were amazed.

We celebrated Jack's birthday with a quick trip in November to Vegas and Zion National Park. Amazingly enough, we could not figure out how to gamble. We brought $9.75 in quarters, to "throw away", but the slot machines no longer take quarters. So, the quarters traveled home with us. The foliage at Zion was at its peak. The colors, especially with the waterfalls in the background, were spectacular. The combination of reds, yellows, oranges and greens, against the bright blue sky and fall of the water will help us hold onto the beauty of our country until next year, when we hope to continue our adventures.

Jack took another fishing trip on the Royal Star in October and caught small yellow fin tuna, yellow tail and cod. He has been deer hunting (8 at the time of this letter) since mid September. Needless to say, he is fully enjoying his time when he is not teaching.

We took 3 quick trips to Freeport Bahamas to the All Inclusive we have enjoyed, in January, February and May. The weather could have been better each trip, and we have not decided if we will return.

Well that pretty much caps our fun in 2007. We are happy to share any details of our trips that might help you to follow in our footsteps.

Here's to everyone having many more adventures in 2008, with less work and more fun!!

Marian and Jack