About Us

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We were married April 11, 1992 and have been catching up on a lot of living since 1987. It is becoming difficult to find a place within 400 miles that we haven't been. The highlight of our lives together (besides getting married) is reaching the summit of Mt. Whitney, followed closely by spending the night on top of Half Dome in Yosemite two separate times.
AMAZING COINCIDENCES BETWEEN US:

  • Connie's ex-husband is from Gary, Indiana. So is Jim. She met both in California (she’s from Wyoming).
  • Our dads both worked in an oil refinery that start with "S" and have 8 letters: Connie’s at Sinclair, Jim’s at Standard.
  • Our dads both died on a December 31.
  • The oldest child in both families was born on Mar. 5, and both names begin with "J".
  • Jim’s "life’s work" has been to reconstruct the life of his great-great grandfather (1805-1865). G-g-gpa was born Nov. 20, the same birthday as Connie. He died on Mar. 5, which is Jim’s birthday.
  • Our street address is 646. Jim's boyhood home was 3646.
  • Jim's oldest grandson and Connie's grandson both married a girl named Laura.
  • Connie's brother Frank also has coincidences with Jim. Both have the same last four digits in their social security numbers. Both have daughters who were high school homecoming queens. Frank's son and Jim's daughter were voted Best Legs. Jim's first marriage and Frank's marriage date was Dec. 31. Both had a light blue Ford Falcon in the early 60's.
On Mt. Whitney's 14,496' summit a few years ago, the pinnacle of our backpacking experiences!   This is Jim's absolute most treasured "Jim & Connie" picture.

This was our first time up, and since we didn't know how bad it was, we made it to the 12,000 feet level in one day. The next two times we camped one night at 10,000 feet and the second night at 12,000 feet. On our second attempt we were equipped and planned to spend the night on top, but Jim got altitude sickness overnight at 12,000 feet and we had to abort. On the third attempt, we were again at 12,000 feet, but lightning kept us from going higher.

Another notable backpacking experience is our two separate overnighters on top of Half Dome in Yosemite. We hiked all day from the Curry Village parking lot in the valley and did 8 miles with a climb of 9/10 mile. Going up the backside of Half Dome are steel cables that are used as hand rails. It is too steep to go up without these cables. We had to go up with backpacks and enough water to last overnight and all the way back to Little Yosemite Valley the next day. Jim had a 60-pound backpack and had to rest about every 5 steps on the cables. A big risk is the threat of a lightning storm when you are up there. We can't describe what it is like to see a sunset from the top, see the Milky Way so crisp you can almost hear it crackle, and see a sunrise.
Connie in her kayak at Lassen Volcanic National Park. Lassen Peak (10,457') in the background was our training mountain for Mt. Whitney. Click here for another Connie-kayak photo.
The houseboat we rented along with friend Terry at Lake Powell in Utah. We spent two nights here in Weatherill Canyon.

Earlier in the day the water out in the lake was very choppy from the wind, and it was difficult getting here.

In the evening when we kayaked up into a narrow canyon, the water was so still that with the reflections of the rocks (like in the picture) it seemed like we were going to fall down a big hole.

Jim's favorite kind of car - a Pontiac Trans Am, and this is my 4th one. It has a 5.7L engine and is 305 HP. I've now had a 1984, 1988, 1994, and 2000 Trans Am.

I LOVE THIS CAR!!

Our cats, Cheo and Wheezie.

Connie's previous cat had died several years back. We couldn't have pets in the apartment, so I told Connie as soon as we could, we would get another Siamese cat. Now this is really wierd: the very day we put down a deposit and signed the bid on our townhouse, these cats were born! They are sisters and have never been apart. When we travel, we're glad they have each other for company; we're also lucky that their "babysitter" lives next door and they don't have to be boarded.

Photo by Connie.

Wheezie and Cheo when they were babies.
Connie with Dr. Clyde Tombaugh, discover of Pluto, and who Jim worked for in college.

At his home in Mesilla Park, New Mexico in 1993.