GETTING READY FOR CHRISTMAS....STOCKINGS ARE READY!!

KRISTEN, MATT, GRAYSON
KYLE, ANDREA, KALEB AND KADEN
KATELIN AND CHARLIE

GET READY FOR AN AWESOME CHRISTMAS

 IT MAY BE AWHILE BEFORE WE ARE ALL TOGETHER AGAIN

FULL METAL CARNAGE

If you recall, Matt and I made the run over Red Cone Pass and were heading up Radical Hill when we broke an axle....by the time we limped down the mountain, the damage had been done....not only had we broke the axle but we shredded the gears! Not good!

Matt's response...."glad I wasn't driving!"

Anyway....New Axles...Dana 44's with ARB Air Lockers and 4.88 gears!

If it breaks again...it won't be because of the axles!!!

Telluride...I tell you there is no other place like it!

Every year for the past 5 we have spent out leaf peeping out in Western Colorado outside of  Telluride at  Trout Lake.

and every year we have missed the peak colors by 1 to 2 weeks....either too early or too late.

This year... we were on the money! Perfect!

The autumn colors of Colorado....God sure can paint!! Trout Lake canvas!

This is not the house we stayed in but the colors framed the house for a great shot!

Gigi is a goof off!

Good friends from our neighborhood. Rich, Bruce, Marti and Gigi!

Telluride!

Brilliant colors!

Part of the Palmer Lake Hiking Club!

The Gigi Sherpa...leading the pack!

Camera standoff with Rich....cameras at 30 paces!

See how I blend into nature....

Trout Lake through the trees....

Click on the picture....check out my droplets....

The house in the trees is where we stay!

Red Cone Pass and Broken Axles!

Labor Day in the Mountains! Kristen and Linda and Grayson are heading to Breckenridge....via I-70.
Matt and I are taking the Jeep over Red Cone Pass...that is it in the distance...

Once out of the trees we headed above treeline....

Looking back from whence we came....not even at the top yet.

We missed the initial turn to go over the pass and had to back track at least 30 minutes...but this is what Matt came for...

Heading to the top of Red Cone...there in the distance...so we had to drive back and come up the ridge...starting at the far right of the picture.

The road to to the top...

Riding the ridge...very steep....

12,800 feet at the summit

Spectacular....only a Jeep could get up here....maybe a mule!

So after Red Cone we attacked Radical Hill...big mistake....

Broke an axle on some severe rocks and incline....and limped back to the highway (stranded on the side of the road) where we completely shredded the gears....new axle, new gears...yikes!! Thank God for AAA and free 100 mile towing...could have been an additional $500 bill...but probably will get away with $100.

New upgraded axle, gears, drive shaft....these vacations are getting expensive!!

Au revoir France!!

According to the standby load status on the web....I think we will have a seat today!!

Thank you again to Franck, Nadia, Sascha, Median, and Luka...for the use of your car, your house, the time at Cap Ferret!!! You guys are awesome...

To Ella and Gerald....you know how to make our time special in Marseilles and we love you!

To Max and Sylvie...you are special people that make our time in Troo interesting to say the least...thank you for your hospitality!

To Raymond and Cecile...thank you going out of your way to see us...hopefully we can spend more time together next time around.

To Francois, Christian, Odeil, Karin and Tomas....thank you for hosting a wonderful dinner!

Eric and Family...Marousia, Katherine...we hope to see you next time we are here.

Kristin, Matt, Kyle, Andrea, Katelin.....Kaleb, Kaden, and Grayson....Papi and Gigi are coming home!

St. Malo....and Mt. St. Michel....and Honfleur!

 As we wrap up our trip and head back to Paris...to hopefully catch a flight out on Monday... we headed to the northern coast of France and to the very cool destination of St. Malo....

St. Malo is a city that was heavily bombed in WWII and rebuilt. You can see the original walls of the city....but inside it is a place to eat and shop! the tide was out so, yes those are boats with no where to go!

Linda is somewhere in there....

I found her...tasting what she calls a "regional specialty"....always having to try something from the region...in a heavy French accent....she says, "it her duty"!

Ummm...you have a little specialty left in the region of your mouth!

A great shot of a post card....showing a great shot of St. Malo and the area....St. Malo in the distant.

One boat owner having fun...................................  

  
The other sitting in a bar waiting for the tide.....but having fun!

This little guy is making me miss my grand boys... Gigi wants to buy scarves for all 3....Matt and Kyle will love that!

Gigi is going to teach the our Grandsons .... French!

The waters of the English Channel were as turquoise and blue as the Caribbean .... 

When the tide is in, you can see how high it gets....or how low it goes....maritime way of looking at the "glass half empty"...

If you are into flowers....this place is like no other....

if you want to catch your dinner....you can do that too!

Gigi wants to live in France for 3-6 months .... I think St. Malo is at the top of her list. I wonder if there is a "craiglist" for St. Malo? 

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After St. Malo we headed east along the coast....destination... Mt. St. Michel Abbey! The long history of Mount-Saint Michel dates back to 708...and was added to between the 10th and 14th century. In the Middle Ages people regarded the historic monument as a representation of the heavenly Jerusalem on earth, an image of paradise.

Didn't know there will be cows in heaven...

But Linda will be!!

So here is what is crazy about where they built the Abbey....right in the middle of the sea...see the cars at the bottom of the picture...

As the sign says below.... "Today the sea covers the carpark"...and they give you the time to be back to clear out...or it will be underwater when the tide comes in. All of these cars except on the causeway are exposed!

Taken from the web...

This replica of the statue that sits atop the belfry...has all the attributes of the archangel Michael found in the Book of Revelations....head of the heavenly militia....

Part of the cathedral dating back over 1000 years ago...

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Part of the pleasure is driving into little villages and towns in France. This is where you get to experience  the back roads and lifestyles apart from the big cities...

Our last stop before heading to Paris...the little port town of Honfleur...

Another great place to walk around....and eat! and drink!

One of the differences between last years trip and this years is that instead of red wine...we drank allot of beer! Belgian, German...one place had over 300 beers.

Linda's favorite...Picon Beer!

This is kind of the same face she gave me when I told her it was time to go back to Paris and go home....