One of our very first stops after arriving home on May 19, was a visit to our daughter Ann who was expecting her 4th child at any time.

I went upstairs and took this picture of the baby's room, so lovingly prepared by the expectant parents. They believe strongly that it will be a girl - can you tell?

Thursday, May 19, as we drove on from St. Johns toward Snowflake we were pleased to see storm clouds gathering and indications of rain for our thirsty ranch and forest lands.

It has been a long road to and from Virginia. It was good to be back in Arizona, the state we love so well. We have seen many wonderful sights and been blessed along the way with safety, friendship and protection. This land of America is such a choice and favored land. What a wonderful experience it has been to travel across it and experience its beauty and treasures, large and small.

In St. Johns we stopped long enough for me to take a picture of a building bearing Linda's maiden name: "Burnham." She says she is unaware of any connection of her family with this St. John's funeral home.

Thursday, May 19, we left the snow covered mountains and valleys near Ramah, New Mexico and continued west , through the Indian community of Zuni, crossing the Arizona border and taking US 191 to St. Johns, getting ever closer to our Snowflake home, our journey's end!

We stopped in the village of Ramah long enough for a picture of the old Bond home, now standing vacant. This was the residence of my mother's oldest sister, Esther Burk and her husband, Marius Bond. While Marius cared for the cattle and horses and the other responsibilities of ranch life, Esther looked to the needs of her children and taught school. She was fluent in Navajo and the native tongue of the Zuni Indian children that attended school in Ramah. She was a dear Aunt for whom I had a deep love and regard. Her son Laverl, my same age, still resides in this community with his wife Mary. In this modern age of so much change it is good to know that some people stay where they were born and raised, happy and fulfilled.

At Grant's, on a whim, we turned south from the Interstate and took the road toward El Moro National Monument and Mormon pioneer community of Ramah. To our surprise and pleasure we found ourselves in a winter wonderland in the middle of May! A late Spring snowstorm had passed over this mountain range the night before.

What a pleasure us as we drove through this historic landscape with all its history for us and our pioneer heritage, covered with a fresh blanket of snow!