"Go West, Young (Wo)Man!"

My mom sent me these pictures this week, and I loved them so much that I have to post them and share why she sent them. You see, for more than a year now, my family has been planning a trip out west. While I currently reside in SE Alabama, I am originally from the Midwest. I lived in Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming among other places when I was a child. We visited several places on family vacations including Carlsbad Caverns, Hoover Dam, the GrandCanyon and more. I even worked two summers during my college years at Glorieta Conference Center in Glorieta, New Mexico. Those were awesome summers with lots of great memories which I will have to write about another time. But that was MANY years ago. And while I love living in the South and don't want to move away from it, I do miss the grand vistas and unique landscapes of the West.
So, one night, my Dad and I were reminiscing about some of the above mentionned trips and he said he wished we could take a trip to the town in Wyoming where my brother was born. We've never been back there since we left some 30+ years ago. And that was the beginning of this big trip out west. We have schemed and planned and shopped and scrimped and saved and so much more in preparation for this trip. My family, along with my parents will be driving westward in about a month. We will visit Rocky Mountain National Park, the little town in Wyoming where my brother was born, Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse. And the kicker: We will be camping! Yes, my friends think I'm absolutely crazy, but I've camped before. I like it. Granted, we won't be roughing it; we'll stay in established campsites where there are bath houses and electricity. And we are ALL too excited! We are going West and we will see the beauty and grandeur of this part of the world that God created!
And that's why my mom has been emailing me pictures. They are pictures she found of "the good ol' days" when we have visitied places in the West. The photo above is of me in the 1970s and was taken at Grand Teton National Park. The one below is my Mother and me at the top of Pike's Peak. (It looks like my parents didn't know it would be cold at the top of the mountain. She's wearing a summer dress and my Dad's sports coat. And I am wrapped in a blanket they had with them.)
Yes, we're going west next month and the "good ol' days" are going to meet the "good new days"!
P.S. I have just one little worry: BEARS! I have nothing against them. In fact, I wouldn't mind seeing one from a distance with my binoculars. BUT, I don't want one in our campsite or tent. A recent story in the news has me a little concerned. Ugh!