NEWSLETTER

The Boise Girls have had a hectic and event
filled summer starting with a group marathon,
The Great Potato Marathon in May. Pat,
Mary Lou, and Cathie ran full tilt to the side
of the road to cheer on Jane and Katie who
actually ran the 13 mile marathon. Katie
beat Jane but paid the price in aches and
pains for the next three days. A great time
was had by spectators and speedsters alike.

In July all five met up at The Clearwater
Ranch for a week of fun in the sun; with
events including golf, swimming, rafting,
hiking, horseback riding and other games.
The Boise Girls were joined by other members
of the Hosteny-Group including: Dick and
Carol; Karla and Mike, Betty and Mark with
Jenny, Steve, and Nick; Jimmy and Cassie;
Katie, and Jim and Tom.

Pictured at Left: The Hosteny Group and
guests at the Clearwater Ranch in Idaho,
taking the bus to their jumping off point
for river rafting. A great time was had by
all attendees!

More pictures can be found on the
Conference Page of this site.

After cleaning up the environment in
Idaho at the Clearwater Ranch, Betty,
Dick, and Carol decided to really rough
it and headed north to Glacier National
Park where they spent five days
camping, hiking, and attending Park
Seminars on the environment. They
also took boat rides on various lakes in
the Park and hiked to Iceberg Lake.
They saw bears, big-horn sheep, and
ptarmigan-grouse with feathered feet.

This is Betty standing on the Continental
Divide in GNP at 10,000 feet above sea level
and wondering why Lewis and Clark didn't
take this route to the Pacific. I think the
thin air has gotten to her head but at least
she is in no danger of getting claustrophobic
and at an excellent location to recover from
pneumonia- if you don't freeze to death at
night and the critters don't get you!

After a hectic week of living in the wild and
eating out of a cooler; and hearing the Park
Rangers expound on politically incorrect
policies, Betty decided there was one thing
left to do. At the end of August she flew to
NYC and protested the Bush Administration
at the RNC. Right ON!

On Computing in Todays Environment

The WORD according to Bob; if you use a
PC to access the Internet you must
protect your system or you will get burned!
To protect your system you need to have
the latest version of your operating system
installed and kept up-to-date; you need an
Anti-Virus Program installed and kept up-
to-date; you need a spyware detection
program installed and kept up-to-date; and
you need a Firewall Program installed and
kept up-to-date. If you do NOT have ALL
of these things your computer can be
compromised in less than 20 minutes when
connected to the Internet. You can get all
of this software free of charge on the
Internet but it will take more than 20
minutes to download so basically.... you
are screwed ! Don't blame me, blame the
folks at Microsoft, and let them know what
you think of the quality and reliability of
their products.

Zen and The Art of Taking a Six Month Sabbatical

Dick and Carol just returned to Illinois after taking a
six month tour of the western half of the USA. The
conclusion; home is where the heart is and there is no
place like it ! Dicks favorite home away from home is
The Yellowstone Inn at YNP.

So over the past six months Dick and Carol have
travelled about 20,000 miles in the Passat, visited 30
National Parks and Recreational Areas, hiked the back
trails of many scenic areas, and camped under the
stars for many nights. And of course, they sponged
off a few friends and relatives along the way;
basically because they could, and because you can't
take a hot shower with you! I sure hope they kept a
journal so we all learn which parks are the best to
visit; and they publish it within the next six months
before they take off to explore the east coast.

They are currently setting up a domicile in Woodridge,
ILLinois so expect an e-mail from them as soon as
they get the PC up and running.