McKinnon Family

Reunion Update

2009-03-19T07:30:00.000-07:00

McKinnon Family Reunion 2008 was a great success. There was so much I enjoyed about it, but the best part was definitely being together as a family.

So, what comes next? I definitely think we should do it again. From the feedback I got from everyone, so do you. I heard all sorts of great ideas. This is what seems to be the consensus:

- Have the McKinnon Family Reunion (MFR) every other year. So next one will be in 2010.
- Have the responsibility rotate between the families of the brothers, i.e., one year the family of Don will be in charge, one year the family of Kim will be in charge, one year the family of Steve.
- Whoever is in charge will choose the location.
- Cost: each family contributes a set amount of money to pay for the expense. This will be determined by location and food.

Let me know what you think!

Pictures!

2008-06-28T13:36:00.000-07:00

Thanks for such an awesome family reunion! It was great seeing everyone. We missed those who couldn't make it. Love you all!

Please visit the link for pictures (these are the ones Becky and Jon took). If you have some pictures you would like to add for everyone to see, just leave a comment and we'll get it figured out.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/colejonathanm/sets/72157605841579133/show/

One More Thing....

2008-06-18T15:21:00.001-07:00

Come hungry!

We are going to eat well on Friday and Saturday!

Any questions, my cell is 435-668-8812.

Can't wait to see you all!!!

What are we going to do???

2008-06-13T16:17:00.000-07:00

A tentative schedule of events:

Friday
2:00 Family Meeting
2:30 on ish Set up camp
4:00ish Kids Games (and some for adults too)
5:00ish Set up for dinner
6:00ish Dinner
Nighttime campfire

Saturday
Breakfast
Beads Craft (don't forget your beads, girls!)
Choose from various activities in the area: North Rim of the Grand Canyon, a hike, fishing at Lee's Ferry (you will need an AZ fishing license of course), Pipe Springs National Monument, or driving a dirt road /hiking a little to see a part of the Grand Canyon without paying the entrance fee, sitting among the ponderosa pine and talking, bringing a picnic lunch to any of these places...the choice is yours! Do know that there is a $25 entrance fee per car to get in to the Grand Canyon. The fee is good for 7 days.
Dinner
Nighttime campfire

Sunday
Morning devotional
Pack up camp and leave campsite by 11:00

What do I bring???

2008-06-06T12:38:00.000-07:00

The most important thing to bring:
Your sense of fun!

Other things:

Camping gear - tent, sleeping bags, camp chairs, flashlight, etc.

Food - although dinner will be provided Friday night and Saturday night and breakfast on Saturday, you are on your own for other meals. It might also be fun to bring some kind of treat to share, but it's not required of course.

Clothes - obviously bring clothes! It's a good idea to bring both warm weather clothing and cooler weather clothing. It snowed 8 inches at Jacob Lake on Wednesday, but then the temperature got up to 70 degrees on Thursday. The North Rim and the Kaibab Forest are at a higher elevation than some of the surrounding area, so it can be cooler while other areas are hot, and it probably cools down at night. The fishing hole I mentioned earlier (more info to come on that) is in a hotter spot.

Obviously this is not an all inclusive list. Feel free to bring anything else you think would be fun or beneficial.

How do we get there???

2008-06-05T16:33:00.000-07:00

My strong recommendation is: look at a map. There are several ways to get to Jacob's Lake and you will have to figure out what is best for you. You can easily find it on a map of Arizona though. Our campsite is on SR 67, right at the junction of US 89A. It is almost directly across from Jacob's Lake Inn (see:http://www.jacoblake.com/ for all sorts of info about the area and the inn) and the Kaibab Ranger Station. If you are coming from the Mesa area, you will most likely take I17 most of the way. From Phoenix, one estimate is that it will take approximately 5 hours to get there. It's roughly the same distance from Salt Lake - actually, a little longer if you are stopping at my house first. Looking at a map you will see that one way to get to Jacob's Lake is taking a bypass through the Vermillion Cliffs, which though I haven't seen yet, are supposed to be beautiful.

Something of note: You may see a sign or two that says that Jacob's Lake Campground is closed. Do not fear - that is not for us. Jacob's Lake Campground is closed, but we are staying at a group site, and it is NOT closed. You may see a sign that says you need reservations for it. You do have reservations! I made them months ago, under my name.

A word or two about the campsite. There are two really big sites in our area. We have one. My fingers are crossed that no one else has the other one, because then we have the whole place to ourselves. Even if we don't have the whole place to ourselves, it is plenty big. It is a pretty spacious area with lots of ponderosa pine trees. It has water and an outhouse and it has a large firepit with benches. It also has a large eating area with a roof and several grills.

More details to come tomorrow...

Q: What is this animal?

2008-06-03T08:18:00.000-07:00

A: The Kaibab Squirrel! You will only find them one place in the whole wide world, and guess where that is? Jacob's Lake! (and the north rim of the Grand Canyon and the Kaibab National Forest). Be on the lookout for them! I saw three when I was there last weekend. See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaibab_Squirrel

Tents and Things

2008-05-09T15:49:00.000-07:00

Tents: If anyone needs the use of a tent, email me at mckinnonhj@hotmail.com. My dad has some that he can lend.

Meals: Dinner will be provided Friday night and Saturday night, and breakfast will also be provided Saturday morning (you may have an assignment for one of these meals which you will hear about from me or Karen). You are on your own for all the other meals (lunch on Saturday, breakfast on Sunday).

Starting time and ending time: We don't have the campsite until Friday at 1:00, so this gives you time to drive up or down that morning. We will be having an introduction/meet-up type of meeting at 2:00. Sunday we have to be cleaned out of the campsite by 11:00. I will also find out about potential places for church that day so I won't be causing you to be "heathens" by not going to church, etc. that day...it will be totally up to you.

Talent show: Be prepared with some kind of talent for a talent show - any kind will do.

Map and directions: coming soon!

Just kidding: About the talent show. I personally don't have the gene for the desire to talent show. Do you? If you are dying to get up and tap dance or play the ukelele though, I won't stop you. But I will laugh. With you, of course, not at you.

Tribute

2008-04-28T12:09:00.001-07:00

When you think of Grandma (Ella Mae), what is something, an image or a phrase, that comes to mind? For example, is it cinnamon rolls? Is it Grandpa calling her "Babe?" Is it lemons and thinking her name is Lemon Mae? Email what comes to mind to Julie, at juliemooney1975@yahoo.com. She and Amber are concocting a tribute for the woman who started us all.

Beads

2008-04-21T16:46:00.000-07:00

If you are a girl (of any age), start looking for beads that fit your personality.

"Huh?" you ask.

Just find some inexpensive beads that fit your personality, and that there is enough of to share with all the other girls (20 -25 ish). I've seen little bags of beads at the craft store for $2, even $1 when they're on sale. Then bring them with you to our reunion/get-together.

How does a bead fit your personality? Well, maybe it is blue, and you love blue. Maybe it looks like it is from Italy, and you love Italian art. Maybe it's in the shape of a football, and you love football. Maybe it's teeny tiny and you are teeny tiny. See?

What are we going to do with the beads? You'll have to wait and see!

Hook-ups, etc.

2008-04-10T15:50:00.000-07:00

After 50 phone calls, am I am not exaggerating (OK, maybe it was only 15), I have found out that:
No, there are not hook-ups at our campsite. The site can accomodate RVs - it is plenty large - but it is considered "dry camping" according to one lady. There is a dump station about a mile away, though we do have our own bathroom facilities (don't ask me about the conditions...it's camping. At least you don't have to dig a hole). There is also water at the campsite, but they ask not to use it to fill up your RV, as the water is trucked in from another place. We can use the water for drinking, cooking, cleaning, etc. though.
I did a little research into what kind of places do have hook-ups in the area and they do not accomodate large groups. There is one at a KOA type of facility not far from where our campsite is, but it is about a mile away or so.

Something else of note that I discovered amid my phone-calling: Jacob's Lake is actually named after someone called Jacob Lake. So there isn't fishing extremely close at, say, a lake. There is however excellent fishing at a place called Lee's Ferry, which is about an hour's drive away - a drive which is supposed to be quite pretty. I heard from two sources that the fishing there is very good. Also, Jacob's Lake is located in the Kaibab National Forest, which is full of big ponderosa pine and it is nice and cool in the summer (which should feel good when we're up to over 100 degrees). It's about 40 miles away from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Additionally, I discovered that they are closing part of the campground this summer, so there will be fewer people there than usual. Always a plus in my book.

Any more questions?? It's getting closer...!

Sorry for the Confusion

2008-03-28T14:52:00.000-07:00

The dates are June 20 - 22 ! I must have blond hair or something.

Correction

2008-03-26T15:35:00.000-07:00

I just looked at a calendar more closely and therefore need to make a correction. The dates of the reunion/get-together are June 20 - 21 (Friday through Sunday). Also, for your information, check in time to the campsite is 1:00 on Friday. Check out time on Sunday is 11:00. We won't plan on having many activities on Sunday - we will basically break camp and say our good-byes, leaving the day for you to either travel home, go to church (there may be some options in the area - I will look into it), or sight-see in the area, as it is close to three national parks (Grand Canyon, Zion and Bryce Canyon).
Just thought you'd like to know for planning purposes!

Plans and Possibilities

2008-03-14T14:57:00.000-07:00

I don't really have anything new in the way of news to post about our upcoming event, but I want your comments and suggestions for:

meals
activities
other fun possibilities to add to our get-together extravaganza

I do have a general plan, but I want to hear from you!

Happy Holidays

2007-12-21T16:23:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

Love you.

UPDATE!

2007-10-29T16:16:00.000-07:00

This is who I have heard from and who are possibly coming so far:

Me (that's Heather, by the way)
Don and Nancy
Staci
Anne-Marie
Michelle and David
Jon and Becky and family (maybe)
Karen and Gary and family
Julie and Mac and family
Steve and Tina
Amber and David and family
Tim and Nichole McKinnon and family (sorry if I misspelled your name, Nichole - I seem to remember it being spelled differently than "Nicole" -- but I could be wrong)

I am going to reserve a spot for up to 75 people (being optimistic, as those above don't add up to 75) at Jacob's Lake this week.
Also, for your information, this site can accomodate RVs/trailers, etc.

It also has access to an ampitheater for the talent show. (Just kidding) (About the talent show) I want people to come, not avoid it for fear of talent showing.

I think that more of you are interested....especially since you don't want to miss out on all the fun we'll be having, so continue to check back for updates!

McKinnon Family Reunion

2007-10-06T09:58:00.000-07:00

At Michelle's wedding, I somehow opened my big mouth and volunteered to plan some kind of family get-together, also known as a family reunion, so that we can see each other for something other than weddings and funerals. (Some people have a negative view of the phrase "family reunion," i.e., my dad, who told me he just remembers as a little boy, together with Uncle Steve, being forced by all the women to play a ukulele duet. I told him that actually sounded pretty cute. He said, "See?" with a scowl. So maybe we should call it a family get-together...)

Here's what I'm thinking:

Date: June 18 - 22, Friday through Sunday (camping Friday and Saturday nights - if you want, there is a place for travelers/campers to go to church on Sunday in the park in the Grand Canyon)

Location: Jacob's Lake Campground, Arizona. This site can accomodate a large group. It's near the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, and not far from Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon. It's in the middle of the Kaibab National Forest and has cool temperatures, hiking trails, water, etc. Here's a link to get an idea:
http://www.hikercentral.com/campgrounds/114091.html

This place requires reservations and a fee for a group, so I need an idea from you of how interested/committed you are. You can do that by emailing me, posting a comment to the blog, or calling me. Please let me know as soon as possible so that if we do decide to go for it, I can make a reservation before all the good stuff goes.

I also need help-- like a committee! So, if you are interested in helping (as little or as much as you can), please let me know. You can email me or call me at (435)668-8812.

I want to keep this as simple as possible. Nothing elaborate - just getting together and going camping. There are some things to consider though, like food and communication and coordination and all that stuff. Also planning ukulele duets for the kids....

Watch this blog for updates!!!