08/10/2024
annnnd plans have a way of ccccchanging...
I had a great trip, let me start there. (This is Erick) i went from Grand Junction to the Tetons, then Yellowstone, followed by Spearfish Canyon ride and leaving Lynda and Connie in one of the most spiritual places I have visited thus far, Devils Tower, where native Americans leave prayers in the wind signified by pieces of cloth tied in knots in the trees. This place, for whatever reason you want to use, had a draw to release a little of Lynda and a little of Connie where they can have front-row seats to the tower, and they are in a large prayer circle where trees surround an empty area. surrounded by the prayers of those who might visit here.
There was the caveat that most of northern USA and Canada were on fire, and in that, the views of the Tetons were quite hazy, and after a 5-mile hike and noting my lungs weren't feeling all that great, I headed out early to Yellowstone where it was much much worse.
I had planned on hiking in those areas for a week each. surprise! decided to head on to Kentucky, where my nephew lives. He had decided to make a trip to Oklahoma to hang with his dad who is having some health stuff going on... so we got two days of spectacular rides in Kentucky. cannot say enough about the Daniel Boone park and the road that twists through it... quite beautiful. also, State Road 42 out of his area is very nice as well.
Heading to Paris in October for two weeks, the ticket to hike the Camino last year was only good for a year and if I didn't take the flight before the end of the year I would lose it entirely. so? make lemonade and dammit.. I HAVE to go to Paris in October and lining up things to do.. river tours with dinner, the Eiffel Tower, louver, bicycle tour, and maybe a trip to Belleau Woods to see where the Marines earned their nickname of Teufel Hunden... "Devil Dogs"
From Marine history:
German advance halted at Belleau Wood
German commanders ordered an advance on Marigny and Lucy through Belleau Wood as part of a major offensive, in which other German troops would cross the Marne River. The commander of the Marine Brigade, Army General James Harbord, countermanding a French order to dig trenches further to the rear, ordered the Marines to "hold where they stand". With bayonets, the Marines dug shallow fighting positions from which they could shoot from the prone position. In the afternoon of 3 June, German infantry attacked the Marine positions through the grain fields with bayonets fixed. The Marines waited until the Germans were within 100 yd (91 m) before opening deadly rifle fire which mowed down waves of German infantry and forced the survivors to retreat into the woods.[4]: 108
Having suffered heavy casualties, the Germans dug in along a defensive line from Hill 204, just east of Vaux, to Le Thiolet on the Paris-Metz Highway and northward through Belleau Wood to Torcy.[4]: 109 Marine Captain Lloyd W. Williams of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines uttered the now-famous retort "Retreat, hell! We just got here."[5][6] Williams' battalion commander, Major Frederic Wise, later claimed to have said the famous words.
This defined the Marine ethos... Semper Fidelis.
I also intend to hit Moulin Rouge and a jazz festival. will see how it all works out. still on leave, i think retirement is going to sit well with me... lol. thank you all for reading the notes and the comments. i do not check in very regularly, trying to avoid being drawn back into social media...
