Wednesday, August 23 – A Trip to Cane Creek is standard operating procedure when in Tennessee.
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Tuesday, August 22 –
Monday, August 21 –
One of the highlights of our Tennessee trip was getting to be in the path of the total eclipse. We attended a watch party at a home near Nashville. There were lots of people there and everyone was so excited to be in a position to witness something very few will ever see.
Have watermelons will travel.
The light is beginning to become noticeably strange.
As the sun went into eclipse, it became very suddenly dark. The cicadas and crickets began to chirp and the stars were able to be seen.
This NASA video will show you what is happening across the U.S. The little black dot at the point of the triangle shows the small area (22 mile wide strip) that will experience the total blackout.
This picture of the eclipse doesn’t really do it justice. There was only a very tiny ring of light around the sun. I guess the camera is designed to magnify all available light and so it seems brighter than it was. My new Nikon camera got some good pictures. I was so glad I had it. Cell phones and other cameras just wouldn’t hardly capture it.
As soon as the sun began to peep out again, it became bright right away. I think if a person didn’t know they were in a totality zone, they could be completely surprised by an eclipse. There really was an amazing difference between one instant before the total eclipse and during the eclipse itself. This one only lasted for two minutes or a little more approximately. Hardly enough time to really grasp what you were witnessing and experience it. Quickly, it was over and the light was all around once again. See for yourself by viewing this short video of the event. It’s a combination of Stockton’s cell phone footage and my Nikon footage.
Saturday, August 19 –
The kids and I made a fast trip up to see the Tennessee branch of the family. After many years of needing a new camera, the decision to buy one was finally made. I used some rewards points to help buy a Nikon D7500. I had it delivered to Tennessee and it was almost there waiting on me. I had a lot of fun testing it out and trying some of the fun features and effects while capturing the activities going on around the house during our stay.
Tuesday, August 1 –
Because we thought we hadn’t walked enough the day before, we drove about 45 miles south to the northern end of the Guadalupe Mountains and hiked up Mckittrick Canyon. It’s part of the large Guadalupe State Park. It took us most of the day to hike from the trail head to the McKittrick rim and back. We took our time and stopped to rest and take plenty of pictures.
This cabin built in the forties by the original owners of the ranch was tucked away in the valley
This interesting feature is called, “The Grotto”
 
Stairway cut through solid rock on the ascent to the rim.
Our first peak over the rim as we approached the top. The valley on the other side is very impressive.
It was a beautiful hike and we were so fortunate to have a cool overcast day. We drove back to Northfield that night. We were very tired.
Monday, July 31 –
Trying to get a quick trip in before the summer ended, we decided to visit Carlsbad Caverns over in New Mexico. We arrived in the town of Carlsbad before noon (since we gained an hour on the way). We walked around the “river walk” where the city has really made a nice area around the Pecos river that runs through the city.
There’s a long walking bridge that goes across the river over to a large “castle” park. We were so wishing we had all the grand kids with us.
We rented a room in White City at the Rodeway Inn and the kids really enjoyed playing in the water park that was on site and included in the room price. In fact, they pretty much had it to themselves. The sun had come out and it was a good time for a quick swim before exploring the cave.
yeah, that’s right, we’re country people…
Now that they were cooled off, we drove to the Carlsbad Caverns Visitors Center.
Here’s the entrance to the cave. It’s really impressive when you see it for the first time, or for the fifth time for that matter.
The view from inside looking up. It takes a while to walk down the bottom and then go through the entire great room, but it’s well worth it.
That night we drove into Carlsbad to eat supper. A bad thunderstorm hit while we were at a Mexican Food place. The lights went out during our meal and were apparently out all over town. We had to finish up in the dark. Sadly, the restaurant had no candles for the tables, and when it came time to pay our bill, the staff had no idea how to do anything by hand. They were all in a panic wondering how to get along without their computers and cash registers. Our little waitress finally brought us a hand written ticket and tried to convince us that our total was 126.57 for 4 dinners. When Nathan laughed and told her that that was impossible, she said “But I added it up twice!” Good grief. Is our society that helpless now? It was funny and scary all at the same time. (Here’s a picture I took of it. You can see the first total marked out.)
Sunday, July 9 –
We got up early and traveled to Midland in order to attend a baby shower for Courtney that the Fairmont Park church of Christ was giving her for her expected baby boy in September. After the shower we got to visit with both our Midland grand babies and then attend church with them on Sunday night before returning home.
The first thing we did was meet for lunch at Cracker Barrel.
Then it was on to the shower for the girls. The Fairmont ladies really outdid themselves with a darling outdoorsy hunting theme for the decor.
Courtney got so many cute and useful things at the shower.
Afterwards, we went back to Cim and Courtney’s and played with the grand babies again.
Cim gave us a demonstration of lifting using his homemade atlas stone.
The evening brought another fine sermon from Laredo at Fairmont Park church of Christ. It also gave us a little more time to spoil Callahan and Bella.
He started out small, but he’s getting tall.
He has always liked reptiles and he still has a room full of them.
He’s still a handsome cowboy.
For his special birthday meal, he had chicken fried steak and a German chocolate cake.
Happy Birthday!
And a special message from Tennessee:
Monday, July 3 –
Can my baby actually be 14? Who sped up the world while I wasn’t looking?
She reads her own books now and is quite fond of music.
She and big sister, Aspen, have gotten really close.
Her birthday meal was her favorite turkey hotdogs with pasta, cheese and veggie and a new kind of cake, Mocha Chocolate, with chocolate goat’s milk ice cream.
Happy Birthday, Carolina!
Here’s a video that Atlanta sent Carolina on her special day.
Sunday, June 25 –
The ladies of the Matador church of Christ showered Andrea with baby boy gifts this afternoon. The theme, Cat in the Hat, was so cute and the refreshments and book decorations really set off the Dr. Suess theme. As part of their gift, most people brought a children’s book to stock up Callahan’s library.
Saturday, June 24 –
We got to spend some time with Cim, Courtney and Bella this weekend. I shot this video as Bella was having fun shuffling through papers and playing with toys. Then when she saw her daddy, she proceeded to army crawl over to him. She was very determined and too cute.
Thursday, June 1 –
Nine months is a long time. That’s how long we waited on Bella to get here and nine months is how old she is today. She’s such an adorable little darling and has a smile that will melt your heart. She’s also a talented musician already.
Courtney captured her unique playing style one day…