Once again, "On the Road with Maya"

"When almost 90 you are, look as good you will not."

Quote attributed to Yoda, but modified somewhat.

What a long, long time it’s been since last summer!  My last blog entry was “Leaving Colorado,” posted last September and at that time I thought there would be a few more entries on our way back to Nacogdoches.  Although we planned a couple more stops before returning to Texas, my dad had another fall landing him back in the hospital and we hurried home.  Then it was time for school to start and it seemed like so many things happened last fall and spring that I never got back to the blog.  School kept us busy, my dad had more health issues so there were trips to Odessa. Then Maya started having some health problems too.

However, I am very happy to say that there will be at least one more summer, “On the Road with Maya.”  Maya is 13 ½ now and she is showing signs of her age.  It started last summer with a hurt foot on the trail and the beginnings of arthritis, but she bounced back quickly, still out hiking both David and me.  In the fall, Maya continued to slow down as arthritis started taking its toll.  At Christmas, she had some kidney issues but recovered nicely.  Her overall health is good now, she just doesn’t walk nearly as far or fast.  Depending on how you do the math she is somewhere between 75 and 91 in people years.  So of course, she isn’t as fast!  I only hope I will do as well as I age. 

We arrived in Santa Fe yesterday after spending two weeks with my mom and dad.  Fortunately, they were both in good enough health to make a trip to Ruidoso. My parents so loved being at their cabin.  It had been a long while since they had been well enough to go.  Dad joked that he and Maya were too old to climb the stairs anymore.  He got a kick out of Maya taking the same medication for pain and arthritis as he did.

As you might have guessed, we will be going west again this year and most likely not too far from Texas as we might have to make a fast trip to Odessa for my parents.  But towards the end of summer we will trek up to Wyoming or maybe Idaho to view the total eclipse of the sun on August 21 (weather permitting and assuming good health for all, Maya included).  This summer will be our 40^th wedding anniversary and a total eclipse seems like a good way to celebrate.  Although spending the summer in cool mountains is a fine enough celebration for us.

We will let Maya set her own pace this summer and all of us will slow down and smell the roses (although I must say, roses are not usually what Maya wants to smell).  For David and me, it will be a great opportunity to do more naturalist explorations.  David took a dendrology course (study of woody plants) at SFA last fall and we both took ornithology (study of birds) this spring.  We are planning on visiting places we have never been and taking shorter hikes -- our packs loaded with plant, tree and bird guides, binoculars and picnic lunches.  Maya will dictate how far we go.  I’ll even have more time to take pictures.  We won’t bother to keep hiking statistics as they will be pathetic compared to previous years, but who cares?  We will have one more summer, “On the Road with Maya…”

Here's wishing you all one more great summer!