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Hello Friends and Family-
Happy Holidays to you! I hope that 1999 was a good year for you (and if it
wasn't, I hope that the coming year will bring you better things). With the
holidays fast approaching, as well as the beginning of a new millennium (okay,
technically it's NOT the beginning of the millennium; the year 2001 will be
the beginning.....) I wanted to share with everyone the joys that the past
year brought to our lives.
1999 could best be described as "Heather and John's Big Adventure". The first
part of the year was spent planning our July wedding. As you know, in
October
of 1998, John proposed marriage, and, of course, I said yes! We spent the next
nine months carefully planning our wedding, which took place at the Elk's
Lodge in Flagstaff, Arizona, on July 17, 1999. The ceremony was held next to a
lush green meadow behind the Lodge, with an absolutely stunning view of
Humphrey's Peak, Arizona's tallest mountain. More than ninety people attended
our wedding, and a good time was had by all.
We spent our honeymoon in Glacier National Park, in Montana - which was the
most incredible eight days of my life! Upon our arrival, we spent the first
two nights in a cabin in Apgar Village, inside the park. Then, we embarked on
our three-day, two-night backpacking trip in the
Belly River area, near the
Canadian border; in three day's time, we hiked nearly 40 miles, through some
of the prettiest backcountry in the world. Then, after leaving the
backcountry, we returned to our cabin and spent the next three nights there.
During the rest of our stay, we went horseback riding, took a trip to Skydive
Lost Prairie in Marion and another into Waterton Park in Canada, and even did
some whitewater rafting! We also day-hiked several trails, such as the famous
Garden Wall Trail and the
Hidden Lake Overlook Trail (the Hidden Lake Trail
was still covered in snow!) During our trip, we saw a lot of wildlife,
including mountain goats, hoary marmots, ground squirrels, and yes, even
bears! What an amazing trip!
That wasn't our only vacation of the year. In June, with only one month to go
before our wedding, the whole Verley family - Bill & Erika, Janice & Danny,
and John & I - spent five days on a houseboat on
Lake Powell. We also rented a
ski boat, which was used for water skiing and other fun water activities. We
also used the ski boat to take us to day hikes on shore. One day-hike took us
into West Canyon, which is a really cool hike through a one meter-wide slot
canyon that is filled with deep swimming holes. Being the explorers that we
are, we were fascinated! After turning the boats back in - and after Janice
and Danny left us - the rest of us drove up to Zion National Park in Utah,
where we backpacked the entire 16 mile length of the Virgin River, through the
treacherous Narrows.
We've had many, shorter hiking trips throughout the year, including a couple
of three day (two night) treks into the beautiful, pristine
Aravaipa Canyon,
as well as another three day trip in the
Blue Range Primitive Area, in
Arizona's White Mountains. John and I have compiled a comprehensive list of
all of our hikes, as well as a creative journal of our adventures, on the
Internet: http://www.arizonahikingtrails.com.
But not all of our adventures take place in the backcountry. John and I are
about to embark on two more grand adventures, the first of which is
homeownership. We have bought a lovely home in the Paradise Valley area, near
37th Street and Thunderbird, at xxxxx N 37th Place, Phoenix, AZ 85032.
And the next adventure will be parenthood; I am pregnant with our first child,
who will make his (her?) appearance in the world in August of 2000.
We hope that you have a wonderful holiday season, and best wishes for the New
Year.
Love, John & Heather Verley |
