Betty's Memorial Service , Braemar - Aug 1, 2022

 Betty, Mary's mother, died on July 7, 2021. She had died over a year earlier on St Simons Is, Georgia., but because of Covid, there had been no funeral service.  Her ashes were mailed over to Inverness by Janie and scattered on Morrone Hill after the service. The Rev Kenneth McKenzie ( the Queen's chaplain at Crathes, Balmoral ) took the service. Duncan sang beautifully. We had a celebration tea at Morrone afterwards largely catered by the brilliant Vicky who was our kids' nanny at Parkley Craigs in the late 1980's. Betty was given a good send off. We felt she would have approved.

Final Munro party

 60 or so family and friends gathered at the Duke of Gordon Hotel, Kingussie on July 29, after two previous postponements due to Covid. Meghan produced a lovely video of the 2 days, the link to which I'll try to attach here. It includes the 2 week family reunion we had with the family in Braemar thereafter.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mxmFoHy-0Y

Meall Chuach was the 282nd and final Munro for me and what an occasion. Piped to the top even, by  courtesy  and generosity of M, D and J.

A pre dinner reception, a  good dinner - smoked salmon, venison, and raspberry pie with plenteous supply of wine ( ordered by me through Wine Soc ) - , speeches (John Foster proposed my health and I replied) followed by a ceilidh till near midnight. Much reference to AWR and his climbing diaries whose portrait Ros brought up from Aberdeen. I presented Cormac with his membership card for a life membership of NTS promising the same to the other grandchildren in due course.

We all disbursed after breakfast on the Sunday morning. Generally I felt it to have been a huge success after months if not years of planning. 

Now on to the Corbetts !

Tim & Carlijn’s wedding

 Arrived at Edinburgh airport from Chicago on the morning of the wedding near Crieff on Wednesday, July 27. We booked into a most unsatisfactory Airbnb in Crieff  and got to the wedding just in time

for the start. A gorgeous day and a lovely ceremony outdoors with a good dinner and ceilidh thereafter. We retired early unsurprisingly given the busy schedule we had over the next few days with the final Munro party. We were so pleased though to have made it and could be part of such a special occasion.

 

 

Two day cycle tour to Marble and back - June 21 and 22, 2022

 Mary and I on our own left the house at 7 AM fully laden in preparation for our California / Oregon trip in September and reached the Village Smithy in Carbondale at 9. Delicious breakfast there before setting off up Highway 133 eventually getting to Marble at about 5.   50 miles in all and a substantial climb for the last 25 of them. Got a delightful site in the Marble town campsite and pigged out on a barbecue dinner at the renowned barbecue restaurant up the road. What a cute little town it is and nestled among the high peaks and with a fascinating history of the early gold and later marble mining days. The huge marble slab for the Tomb of The Unknown Soldier in Washington DC was quarried, cut and transported from here in 1921. Remarkable.

The excitement of the night was a fox stealing my two plastic tent shoes inside the fly sheet while I was sleeping. The cheeky monster also got hold of one of my cycling shoes, but obviously found it too heavy and deposited 10 feet or so from the tent .

A leisurely morning in the campsite and cycled down to Redstone Inn for breakfast before dropping in to see Peter and Linda in Carbondale. Then biked up to Basalt nearly running into a very large bear on the Rio Grande trail on the way. What excitement. The bear was totally unfussed.

Good and properly worn out on reaching Cece’s for a late lunch in Basalt and we got RFTA home . 

Our conquered peak of last year, Mt Sopris in the background.  This the bike trail running parallel to Hyw 133 out of Carbondale

                         Relaxing at Bonfire in Carbondale before the ascent to Marble

                                 The valley leading up to Marble after leaving Hwy 133

Mary's brand new, and very light, Little Agnes one person tent. Old faithful ( the Hubba Bubba ) for me. The open section of the fly sheet was closed and zipped when Foxy Loxy made off with my shoes while I slept !

These all in the wrong order.  This leaving Meadow Ranch at 7am with temp beneath freezing

He was in no hurry at all .  A big boy.

This was before the red jerseyed cyclist turned up and seemed anxious for a confrontation.  Wiser counsel prevailed thankfully.

Beaver Lake at Marble after leaving our barbecue dinner and heading for our tents

Gardening with Gracie again

 Poor Gracie had had a bad fall hiking and broke some ribs. To try to cheer her up we cycled down to her new house near Carbondale and helped her with a small gardening project.

Mountain biking and and Bruce’s visit

 Bruce Logan ( over 80 ) is an old professional colleague of mine from Edinburgh days. He was (solo and unsupported) cycling from the US Mexican border up to British Columbia. The trip did not go as planned and we rescued him from Buenavista back to us for recuperation. He spent nearly a week with us and we had a good two day cycle tour with him from Buenavista to Frisco via Fairplay. Ultimately we put him on Amtrak to Seattle. A good decision as he would’ve found the floods in Yellowstone where he was heading troublesome! We could not persuade him though to join us mountain biking, but we did get him and his Man Friday folding touring bike over Divide and down Snowmass Creek ending up in Carbondale for a late breakfast.

                                            On the way from Buenavista to Fairplay

 

Cosypoint trail leading to Airline trail

The restored train engine shed on the old railway line over the Boreas Pass to Breckenridge. Mary and I took it in turns to cycle to the summit

Coming down the other side of the Pass.  This, the old historic water tank for the steam engines

We had spent the night at The Hand Hotel in Fairplay and I dropped Bruce here at the Hoosier Pass summit, meeting him later in Frisco while M and I went over the very rough Boreas Pass

My old TOSV transportation supervisor and friend Johnny Boyd who happened to spot us as we cycled up Hwy 285 out of Buenavista

 

Bruce and I outside our dinner restaraunt in Fairplay

Sergio’s graduation

 Sergio’s graduation. What a big day in the Aspen High School seniors calendar ! Mary and I were invited to sit with Sergio’s family in the Music Tent and we found it a fascinating experience. How different to high school graduations in the UK. A bit OTT and speeches not great but impressive nevertheless.

To conclude we took Sergio out to dinner and as a farewell present ( he’s heading off to College in Miami ) we gave him a nice copy of Alfred Lansing’s Endurance. Some good life long lessons there!.

We hope to wrap up our Big Buddy experience by meeting with the CEO Lindsay Lefaro shortly to give our assessment of the program after 12 years or more and 3 Little Buddies! Interesting ! 

                                    Fernando Jnr, Fernando Snr, Sergio, Monica & Jessica

                                                    The graduate with his proud Big Buddies

                                         Fernando  and Sergio

 

The ceremony in the Benedict Music Tent