Heading into 2026 - A Summary of Our Year 2025

 

Long-time friends enjoying the day in Sarasota

Scrolling through all the photos from 2025 helped jog my memory on the year’s happenings. It was a busy year, and highlights included time spent with family, gatherings with friends, and travel.

The magnificent Grand Canyon

Ancient dwellings at Wupatki National Monument

Winter travels included Arizona in January and February with Fred and Vicki where we hiked in desert parks, visited with cousins and friends, and enjoyed Old Town Scottsdale. We met up with friends Paul and Leslie for a road trip to Sedona, and then off to the Grand Canyon with a few national monuments along the way. The national sites are amazing! Montezuma Castle National Monument featured a five-story cliff dwelling that was occupied between 1100 and 1300 while Wupatki NM had the remains of multi-level pueblos that had residents in the 1100’s. Of course, the Grand Canyon was magnificent. We stayed in Kachina Lodge, along the rim, and enjoyed the park with fewer visitors than during the summer months. 

Sunset in Marana AZ with Minnesota friends

Our last few days were spent in Marana, south of Phoenix with Minnesota friends. Golf, the interesting Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, Sabino Canyon Recreational Area and Saguaro National Park wrapped up our Arizona trip.

We spent March in Clearwater, Florida with distillery stops in Kentucky on the way. The guys had to stock up on Buffalo Trace Bourbon! We also made a quick stop at Castle & Key Distillery which is in the historic Old Taylor Distillery surrounded by gardens along Glenns Creek.

Chalk art on the sidewalks of Safety Harbor FL

Fred & Steve at the American Victory Ship Museum in Tampa

In Clearwater we spent our time exploring the area and towns nearby, walking in the beautiful parks, sunning on the white sandy beaches, seeing friends, and golf for Steve and Fred. We enjoyed the strawberry shortcake at the Strawberry Festival in Plant, Florida, but the festival is basically a county fair. We also spent time in Tampa including Ybor City, the “Cigar Capital of the World” in the early 1900’s. The American Victory Ship is one of three fully operational Victory Class WWII ships remaining. It is now a museum, and you can wander through the entire ship. At the end of March, we visited college friends and enjoyed their great food, lovely pool, and catching up with each other.

Our nephew, Jon & Kait, at their wedding celebration

We were home for Easter and spent the day with our family, including my sister, Lisa and her husband, Jim. Mother’s Day was spent with the family at Theodore Wirth Park for a picnic and walk in the Wildflower Garden. It is an adventure to keep a 2-year-old on the boardwalk! In May we celebrated the upcoming marriage of our nephew, Jonathon, and his beautiful bride, Kait, with a party in Iowa at my brother’s. They got married a week later in Glacier National Park, then moved to Fairbanks, Alaska. What an adventure for them as they start their life together!!

Camping with Bruce & Barb at Pilot Knob State Park

June brought a camping weekend with brother, Bruce and his wife, Barb, at Pilot Knob State Park in northern Iowa. Steve and I tent camp and there was only light rain so the tent and we survived!!

Beautiful blue Crater Lake behind Alyssa, Steve and me

Mt. Rainier

Ruby Beach in Olympic National Park

Salmon in the fish ladder at Ballard Locks in Seattle

July was a busy month filled with golf and friends’ annual Cheaters Golf Tournament on July 4^th. We also toured Fort Snelling with the family. Our next trip was to Washington and Oregon with our daughter, Alyssa, exploring more national parks. Stops included Crater Lake National Park, Mt Hood where people were still skiing at the very high altitudes, Mt Rainier National Park and Olympic National Park, as well as other smaller natural and park areas. Each national park has its own personality with amazing features and views. We spent a couple of days in Seattle, visiting Pikes Place Market, the Ballard Locks, Lamb & Co Storefront (another HGTV show), and took a tour of the Boeing airplane plant.

Hanging at the beach at the rental house,

Enjoying the summer with Annika

Next, we were back to the Midwest, and off to our family weekend up north near Itasca State Park. We enjoyed the Airbnb house on Two Inlets Lake with its own dock and beach. Xander, our almost 3-year-old grandson, really enjoyed swimming in the lake, as well as the headwaters of the Mississippi at Itasca State Park.

In a golf cart at Northfield Golf Club - we golf a lot in the summer!

August found us heading to my hometown of Audubon, Iowa for my 50^th class reunion (gulp!). Besides seeing classmates, I have not seen in years, a couple of my favorite teachers also attended the night. My younger sister also had her class reunion, so we caught up with Laura and Lisa later in the evening. We celebrated Xander’s third birthday in August. And Vicki and I had a fun day at the Minnesota State Fair with her daughter, Kelli, and kids.

September was Annika’s first birthday with friends and family. We dodged raindrops a few times as we tried to celebrate in their backyard. Our next trip destination was California – two weeks with friends Fred and Vicki, and Paul and Leslie. It turned out to be three destinations in one trip.

Enjoying wine at Sterling Vineyards

The winery is built into the hill at Porter Family Vineyards

The beautiful vegetable and flower gardens at Regusci Winery

Enjoying wine and lunch on the Klinker Brick patio in Lodi

First was wine country in Napa and Lodi. We visited four wineries in Napa – Sterling Vineyards with a gondola to take you to the winery, Cakebread Cellars, Porter Family Vineyards with a cool cave built into a hill covered in vines, and Regusci Winery located on a farm with a fabulous garden. Each one included a tour and tastings of their wines. The next day we spent in Lodi, which has smaller wineries. We enjoyed lunch and a tasting on the patio at Klinker Brick Winery. Their red wines were great, so we joined the wine club and now get a shipment each quarter. We also made a quick stop at Harney Lane Winery to see their beautiful grounds.

El Capitan in Yosemite

Segment #2 of the California trip focused on national parks. At Yosemite we stayed at a house in Yosemite West, a residential area built on the steep hillside. Yosemite is simply majestic – with huge granite mountains, amazing waterfalls, clear blue lakes, and spectacular views. We visited Yosemite Valley and Glacier Point and drove Tioga Road to Tuolumne Meadows with hikes and magnificent scenery along the way.

The rugged beauty in Kings Canyon National Park

Surrounded by huge trees in Sequoia National Park

On top of Moro Rock

Near Kings Canyon National Park we stayed at a house where we met the host family, their huge dog and friendly sheep, and received a dozen fresh eggs for breakfast. The dozens of hummingbirds feeding at the feeders on the porch were so fun to watch! At Kings Canyon we saw the Grant giant sequoia tree, drove the scenic byway on the north side of the park, and enjoyed the majestic granite mountain scenery, waterfalls, and the Roaring River. Our rainy day was in Sequoia National Park which made for an eerie foggy atmosphere, driving the mountain roads with the huge trees. The General Sherman tree is the world’s largest tree by volume and estimated to be over 2,200 years old. It is amazing to see so many huge sequoias. Vicki and I were the only ones who made the climb up Moro Rock in the gloomy atmosphere. We walked up 350 steps, through narrow stone passages and along the edge of huge stone outcroppings to arrive at the top of the rock where we could see glimpses of the valley below through breaks in the clouds. On the drive west back to the coast we also made a stop at Pinnacles National Park but were limited on time and did not hike to Bear Gulch Caves, which was our plan.

The Devil's Bunker perched on a rock along the Pacific coast

The Lone Cypress on the 17-Mile Drive

Segment #3 of the trip included the coast of California and the city of San Francisco. Driving 17-mile Hwy on the Monterey Peninsula was a terrific way to see many sites along the Pacific Coast. We experienced overlooks of Monterey Bay, stopping along the ocean to see the rocky, rough Pacific Ocean, birds, and sea lions. The final stop was at Pebble Beach Visitor Center where we had to buy golf merchandise! On the way to San Francisco, we enjoyed parks along the coast. Especially interesting was a squat cement building called the Devil’s Bunker. It is covered in graffiti and sits on a rock peak looking like it could topple over at any moment.

China Town in San Francisco

In San Franscico we explored Presidio Park which was very foggy the two days we were there. We could see only the very tops of the Golden Gate Bridge, so no photo opportunities. A Big Bus tour gave us a good look at many of the areas in the city. We walked in China Town and North Beach, saw the cable cars, bought chocolates at Ghirardelli Square, and drove the Lombard Crookedest Street. A delicious seafood dinner at Fog Harbor Restaurant on Pier 39 capped off our time in California.

Our beautiful niece, Anna, and her husband, Weston

Home again, and we were off to Iowa for our niece, Anna’s wedding. It was a fun family wedding weekend!

The family at Brand Farms

Iowa State football!

October brought a visit to Brand Farms with the family for apple picking and fun fall kids’ activities. Then back to Iowa for an Iowa State football game. Unfortunately, ISU lost to BYU but the time with long-time friends is always fun!

The Northern Lights in Dundas MN

In November I spent a weekend with college friends in Galena. The highlight was seeing a friend we had not been in touch with for years! November also brought the Northern Lights to the Midwest, and I got some good photos with my iPhone. Thanksgiving was spent with our family, as well as an evening with friends, Fred and Vicki and their family.

Christmas with our family

In December we celebrated Jaime and my birthdays. Steve and I went to Jesus Christ Superstar at the Ordway in St Paul which was a fun evening in the city. Alyssa spent a few days with us over Christmas and helped so much with cookie baking and cooking. We spent Christmas Day with Jaime and family, which was magical with kids!

In the coming year we hope that each of you have a community to keep you sane in today’s crazy world. We wish for a happy and healthy New Year 2026!