Happy New Year

We rang in the new year in Pioche, Nevada with Adam's Grandma Campbell. Yes, true to character we were quite the party animals and stayed up REALLY REALLY late. . .Ok, we didn't actually make it until midnight, but close. :-) We let the kids stay up to watch the ball drop in NYC (not so impressive when you consider that the ball drops in NYC at 9:00 p.m. in Pioche) The kids thought the 9 p.m. bedtime extension was great. We celebrated with root beer floats and watched snippets of High School Musical 2 with the kids. A good time was had by all. Adam's parents were in Pioche for 1 of the 2 days we were there. Here is a 4 generation picture with Grandma Campbell, Adam's Dad Dave Campbell (our kids refer to him as "Funny Grandpa"), Adam and the kids.

Pioche is a fun little town (population 600) with a lot of history. Adam's Grandma has lived there for almost 70 years! It started as a mining boom town in the 1870's and one of the most historically interesting spots in the town is Boot Hill Cemetery.

For a few years there Pioche was kind of a lawless place and this cemetery says it all.

A few of the wooden markers are still legible and some describe what brought these men to their demise. This one is hard to read from the picture but says that he was shot during a dispute over a dog.

This one is a little more clear and merely says that he was shot by officers 5 times.

Others tell of being caught cheating in poker, and other disputes over women. At one time Pioche was a booming town of over 6,000. Now it is a quiet place of just 600, but the Campbell's have had a presence there since Adam's Great Great Grandfather Dr. J.D. Campbell settled there in the 1870's becoming the country doctor. His son, Wilkes Campbell, did a little bit of everything during his lifetime in Pioche, and his son and Adam's Grandpa, Linwood Wilkes Campbell, was the Postmaster for a number of years only leaving his home in Pioche during WWII. So you see, the history runs deep. When Adam's grandparents were married in 1940 they bought a house on Main street for $600.00 and never left. Adam's Grandpa Campbell died about 6 years ago and his Grandma continues there to this day. Amazing.

One more thing. There is a baby picture of Adam's Dad that gets me every time I see it. I have never seen a baby picture of someone that looks SO much like their pictures as an adult. The very expression seen on his face at such a young age continues to be seen by friends and relatives today. Everyone gives him a hard time about it, but I just had to include it in this entry.

The kids had a great time and it was a lot of fun to visit with Grandma Campbell who just celebrated her 86th birthday.