We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Life here in Northeast Nevada continues to go well. With the holiday this week it was a short one both work and school wise. Everyone was excited for the holiday. Andy had a few hearings, but most of his week was spent planning out the Thanksgiving dinner. Gail did her cleaning and tried to close out some Pampered Chef shows. The boys were just excited.

Andy started cooking on Tuesday evening by making a few pies. He could not wait to get home from work on Wednesday so he could begin cooking again. He made the onion pie, corn pudding, string bean casserole and rustic wheat rolls before coming to bed. He was up at 5:30 am to get the turkey cooking. This was Andy's first attempt at doing a turkey and all reports it came out well. Once the turkey was in the oven it was time to try and take a nap before getting up to do the potatoes and the maple glazed carrots.

This year we stayed home for the holiday and Gail's sister Ginger, her husband Eric and their son Gareth joined us. They came in on Wednesday evening and stayed until Friday.We were so glad they did. Gail and Andy remembered how much they enjoyed entertaining and you can see from the pictures the fruits of their labors. Gail did a great job with the decorations. We had a wonderful time. After dinner the boys and Andy had the "Pilgrim Wars" using straws and q-tips and everyone was laughing and having a good time. This may become a new tradition in our family.

We had so much food left over that after dinner Saturday night, Gail commented she wasn't going to be able to do turkey for another meal.

Friday, Gail went to do some shopping and Andy and the boys went to the movies to see Madagascar 2. We are so glad we had 4 days this week to spend together. Saturday brought the biggest adventure of all. Gail had some things to do at home so she did not go, but the boys decided to go find some of the abandoned mining towns in Elko County. The search was limited to the Northwest part of the county. Andy has been reading a book about the mines and each one gave directions on how to find them. The first stop was in a place called Taylors, then to Tuscarora.

Tuscarora is still inhabited and on the outskirts of town is the old cemetery which you can see to the left. The town looks like something out of a western movie. As you take the dirt road into the center of town you can see what appears to be the smoke stacks from some old smelters. There are no paved roads and other than a few homes, the post office and a stable/blacksmith shop, it is sagebrush. The boys thought it was a neat town.

Once leaving Tuscarora the boys headed to Jack Creek and then on to a mining town called Good Hope. On the way they saw an empty reservoir and lots of cattle and sage brush.

While the boys never did find Good Hope, Jack Creek is now a little resort hotel. Other than the hotel, the remains of the mining town we no longer there.

The boys wanted to do some prospecting for gold, so with there hammers blazing, you can see each doing their best to strike it rich. Unfortunately, the only thing discovered near Good Hope was a flat tire on the car. This put an end to the hunt for riches, so the boys headed home.

They all had a great time. Surprisingly, despite the hammers flying no got hurt and Matthew discovered a few rocks he had never seen before. He is becoming quite the geologist.

That about sums up our week. We hope all is well with you.