Owl Creek Pass, Orvis Hot Springs & Downsizing to Hit the Road

Well, it's been awhile. . . 

I am not going to try and catch up on everything that has happened since I last posted, just a few highlights.  There have been a couple of significant changes in our life. First, I retired. Second, Greg turned 62 and was eligible to get his America the Beautiful Senior Lifetime Pass! 

The day before his birthday, we took the camper and trailer to Juniper Campground at Bandelier National Monument. We got up early the next day and hiked down the Frey Trail to the Visitor Center to purchase his card. I planned to video the whole thing, but due to Covid only one person at a time was allowed into the Visitor Center to make purchases. But, the ranger got into the spirit of the day, when I took a quick picture of Greg to commemorate this big event! 

I just posted a video to Youtube about our adventures in June including downsizing and moving our remaining possessions into a storage unit. Here is a link:  

Link to SockMonkeyTrekkers Video

Sorting through all our 40+ years accumulation of STUFF was a bigger task than we first expected. But, we did it!  I retired in late June and we have spent about 50% camping and visiting family & friends. The rest of the time, we have been staying with Greg's Mom in Los Alamos.  

It has not been difficult to adjust to not working. Working from home for over a year made the transition much easier. Since, retiring, we have been enjoying getting out every day on a hike or walk whether we are in Los Alamos or out on the road. Luckily, Los Alamos has miles and miles of hiking trails providing different terrains and views. I have been enjoying having time to read and finally learning the program to create videos for posting to Youtube. I have 12 more videos to complete and we will be caught up. 

A huge joy in retirement has been having time to hang out with Greg's Mom in Los Alamos and to visit family and friends in California. It has been way too long (Feb 2020) since we last visited California. We took a trip in September/October to visit with my Dad & Barbara (step-Mom), my Concord family and our good friends in Tahoe and Sacramento. We are both enjoying being out on the road and not having to rush to the next place because our ten days of vacation are almost up. We have been able to slow down and spend more time enjoying exploring and relaxing.   

I enjoy writing and want to remember this special time in our life, so I plan to write more blog posts in 2022.