Good Lookin’ Guy!
Check out this good lookin’ guy! This is Erik’s second grade picture. What a stud!
Yearly Archive: 2009
Moab in October
We had an awesome time in Moab a couple weeks ago with Jonny, Noemi & kids. We hit Dead Horse Point on our way down. It was Mo & the boys first time to the point. Instead of heading all the way back to Highway 191 we drove down Long Canyon and Pucker Pass to Potash Road. What a great drive! It offers views of Moab you don’t get to see all the time. The next morning we loaded up and tackled Hell’s Revenge. Epic! It is no accident that Hell’s Revenge is one of Moab’s flagship trails. There is a thrill around every corner. We ran into Johnny Lange on the trail, and watched him tackle Hell’s Gate. Wow! We took a short drive up Kane Creek Canyon on Sunday. Took a hike up a side canyon, and visited the birthing rock. It was interesting explaining to the kids what was hanging between the legs of all the people in the rock painting. And of course, we visited the rock shop. A trip to Moab is not complete until you visit the rock shop.
Magnificent!
Mo and I took a trip to Chicago last weekend to see Matt, Sue, and Eva. We had a great time! We always do with Matt & Sue. Saturday was a full day of getting our Irish pride on. We spent the afternoon at a Celtic festival at Grant Park getting our Irish on! Then walked to Soldier Field that night for the U2 concert to rock our Irish out! The concert was epic! What a rock band! We had GA tickets, but negotiated our way into the Red Zone which was between the stage and the cat walk! Crazy! I’ve included a picture with a big yellow arrow pointing to where we were near the stage. Even the Fields Museum dinosaurs were out for the show.
Can you hear me when I sing
You’re the reason I sing
You’re the reason why the opera is in me
–Sometime You Can’t Make It On Your Own
–U2
Back to School 2009
Its that time of year again! Erik started second grade, and Henry started his second year of preschool. They are great boys, we are so proud of them!
Current Creek
The boys and I hopped in the Jeep and trekked up to Current Creek a couple weekends ago. We went up and over Guardsmens Pass from Big Cottonwood Canyon, and then up course up and over Lake Creek Summit, then down into Current Creek. We camped by the old group site down near the reservoir. We saw lots of deer, and some spectacular blue birds. On our way up the mountain the next morning my phone found service, I had a message form Mike and Lonnie. They were camped at the top of Buck Basin. We easily found them and spent the day riding the four wheeler and roasting brats and making smores. What a beautiful place!
Leland Eric Janke
Grandpa Lee passed away last Saturday (August 29th). We all have different memories of Grandpa, mine are all very grand. Grandpa made Christmas growing up more exciting than Santa Claus ever could have. The first car I ever drove was Grandpa’s 1976 Jeep CJ-5. It was long before I was sixteen, and I was sitting on his lap because I couldn’t reach the pedals. I remember I was not quite navigating Salt Creek as well as he did. Most of my most cherished memories of Grandpa occur somewhere far away from civilization. I think I almost love the desert as much as he does, almost. I was very fortunate to get to spend a lot of time alone with Grandpa in far away places. I cherish those times. Now I cannot be in those places, my favorite places, without thinking of being with him.
I have included some pictures, and Grandpa’s obituary. When i was about 1 year old a photo was taken of the four generations of first born Janke boys. When my Erik was about 1 year old we were able to repeat the 4 generations of Janke boys, awesome treasures! I have also included a picture of me with Gramps in Canyonlands when I was around 3.
Leland Eric Janke 1923 ~ 2009 Leland Eric Janke, born May 9, 1923, to Eric Gustave Janke and Lillian Mary Durrant, in Salt Lake City, Utah, on the kitchen table with the doctor and the nurse in attendance. He passed away peacefully and unexpectedly on August 29, 2009, in St. George, Utah.
After living with his grandparents for the first 12 years of his life in Ogden, Utah, he attended Lincoln Jr. High School and graduated from South High School in 1942. Lee attended the University of Utah where he met and married Lois Nielsen (they later divorced) prior to enlisting in the Naval Aviation Program in December of 1942. He was awarded his pilot’s wings in Pensicola, Florida one year later and flew several types of multi-engine aircraft in the Atlantic and Pacific Theaters.
Upon his honorary discharge in 1946, Leland went to work for Salt Lake Mill and Lumber Company, where he later became President and CEO until his retirement 50 years later.
Lee married his sweetheart, Patsy Tucker and enjoyed a wonderful companionship filled with foreign travel and fun times together. A special thanks to Pat for her constant devotion and loving care to Lee. They relocated to St. George, Utah, in 2001, where they made many new friendships and enjoyed the sunshine and blue sky.
Lee was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed hunting and fishing, hiking and jeeping with family and friends.
Leland is survived by his wife, Pat; children, Lane E. (Janet), Mark L. (Annie), Jill Ostler (Gordon) and Grant all of Salt Lake City; step-children, Dean (Donna) Page and Lynae Page also of Salt Lake City; 12 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents.
There will be a visitation held on Tuesday, September 1, 2009, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Spilsbury Mortuary, 110 S. Bluff St., St. George. Friends may call on Wednesday, September 2, 2009, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. at Memorial Estates Mountain View Mortuary, 3115 E. 7800 S., Cottonwood Heights, UT. Military Honors will follow. At Lee’s request there will be no formal funeral service.
AAAAAHHHHH!
Wrestle Mania!
It’s a little belated, but here are some pictures of Henry wrestling. At each meet he would have 2 matches. The first match was for points, and the second was pin to win. Henry was undefeated!! Some of his point matches he won by more than 30 points (42 to 7)! What a champ!
5 Mile Pass
Uncle Dan and I took the Jeep and Skulls (the Cruiser) out to the Five Mile Pass recreation area after work the other day. The area is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The Pony Express passed through the area during 1860-1861. The area also was traveled by the stagecoach and pioneer families heading west for Nevada and California. Most of us are probably familiar with the area for either ATV/Motocross riding, and/or rabbit hunting. Dan took me to some of the old silver mines way up the canyons. All that remains are giant tailings piles, and big deep vertical mine shafts that have been closed with iron grates. When we were up on top of those mountains overlooking the desert valleys at sunset it was very breathtaking. If the view of the mountains and valleys didn’t take your breath away, a glance down the seemingly bottomless mine shafts would! The approximate gps coordinates of the area we were exploring are: 40° 16′ 40.01″ N 112° 11′ 37.45″ W. I have included some pictures of the tailings piles, and the mine shafts. Each shaft had an ID button on it, I have included a picture of that also. We had a blast!
Imperial Troop Transporter
While Erik and I were blousing…uh, hmm, er I mean browsing the internet last night for Star Wars toys, I came across a great article at the Geek Dad section of Wired.com. it is titled “The 5 Best Star Wars Toys Ever Made” (link is HERE). As a child I only had one on the list, but it is probably the one I enjoyed the most, and the one that now triggers the most memories. It was the Imperial Troop Transporter. Grandma Lois bought it for me. I think she probably enjoyed watching me play with it more than I was enjoying playing with it. I would try and describe it to you, but while I was reading this section of the article I felt like it was exactly what I remember, and exactly what I would say.
“This was ridiculously fun to play with despite never having appeared in the (original) movies. It was supposed to have been part of the destruction of the Sandcrawler, but I don’t remember caring about that. It had “brainwashing” hoods you could put over rebel action figure prisoners, which I used all the time—in retrospect, as a parent, I wonder if that might be a little close to torture for comfort, but I seem to have turned out reasonably OK. The best part of this toy was the sounds. There were six buttons on the top that each made a different sound when you pushed them–there were your basic engine and laser sounds, but also R2-D2 squealing, C-3PO saying “R2-D2, where are you?”, a Stormtrooper saying “There’s one, set for stun,” and a few more. I pushed those buttons so many times I can still hear the sounds in my head, and recall how funny they sounded when the battery was dying.
