Photography and Text by Terry “Travels with Terry” Zinn t4z@aol.com

Colorado offers many tourist areas. Two are the college town of Ft Collins and the mountain town and gate way to Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes park. Both offer a staggering amount of dining options and shopping experiences, sure to test your endurance.
For lunch in Ft Collins, the Mainline, 125 South College Avenue, is in an upscale modern renovated industrial building offering a diverse selection of food choices with courteous wait staff. Located in old town on its main street, is popular and validates its reputation.
The Perennial Gardener and Sense of Place, at 154 N College street, offers seasonal décor and specialty items. While the store is packed to the rafters with tempting objects, don’t miss the outdoors back yard with a choice of garden sculptures. Nature inspired gifts include scented candles, wall art, jewelry and even unique pajamas. In their own season, holiday items and ornaments abound. While strolling the town don’t miss the old town square and the candy store, Rocket Fizz.
When shopping on College, on Ft. Collin’s main street, be sure and drop into the Rocky Mountain Olive Oil Company (www.RockyMountainOliveOil.com) where you can sample many different Olive Oil infusions, and a few hole olives. I was looking for gourmet blue cheese stuffed olives for Martinis.
I found my olive search at Flat Top Mountain Trading Company, (145 East Elkhorn, 970-480-1445) in Estes Park, Colorado. The Olives are very large and the cheese as pungent as you cold want. Of course you’ll need to visit Estes Park and its main street filled with a variety of gift and food shops.
While in Estes Park be sure and visit the tasting room at Dancing Pines Distillery (www.DancingPines Distillery.com). Their Colorado Crafted Vodka is distilled from grapes 6 times in a column still with snow melt water from the Rockies. The Vodka has a faint hint of grape and is a truly unique vodka, just the kind of specialty you seek as a delectable souvenir. For a tasting of 6 of their liquor concoctions you can get a cocktail made to your specifications. You can choose from the Campfire Mule, of Ginger Beer with a choice of spirits, Chai Manhattan, of Bourbon and Black Walnut with Cherry Orange, among others. The tasting room offers comfortable seating and an elevated view of the shops below a mountain backdrop.
Visitors are encourage to take the Elkhorn Express Trolley located a the Visitor Center, 691 N, St. Vrain Ave, conveniently located next to the new parking structure. The trolley can make stops at Bond Park, The Ore Cart Rock Shop, West Park Center, the Trading Post, Barlow Plaza and the Grubsteak Restaurant. For availability and times check out; www.estes.org/shuttles.
Twin Owls Steakhouse, near downtown Estes Park on MacGregor Avenue is a natural choice for a mountain log cabin environment. Of course the food selections are numerous and the quality top notch, from prime rib, seafood to trout. Musical entertainment might be engaged on your evening experience. Our wait staffer, Sergei, was Russian charming and efficient. Reservations recommended. (970-586-8113) For overnight lodgings you may want to investigate the nearby Black Canyon Inn.
A trip to this area would not be complete without a stay or short visit to the iconic and historic Stanley Hotel. This hillside white visage is credited with inspiring Steven Kings’, “The Shining,” and tours of the property are available even if you can’t book an overnight stay. As with many famous and upscale hotels, a visit to their restaurant or bar can satiate your need of your atmospheric hunger. The Whiskey Bar offers quality beverages as well as you can order food, as the restaurant proper has limited hours. In coming years a maze, just recently planted in front of the hotel, will grow and offer an old world experience.
This is just a small sampling of two cities which you can explore when visiting Colorado.
For more on Estes Park visit, www.EstesPark100.com
For more on Fort Collins visit, www.visitftcollins.com

Mr. Terry Zinn – Travel Editor
Past President: International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association
http://realtraveladventures.com/author/zin

Paced by the lowest smoking rate ever recorded, Oklahoma moved up three spots to 43rd in America’s Health Rankings, issued by the United Health Foundation. The improvement was the second highest among all states, trailing only Florida and Utah, which improved their ranking by four spots. America’s Health Rankings are based on four components or aspects of health – behaviors, community & environment, policy and clinical care. Health outcomes are also used to rank states.
“Despite the many challenges facing us, I am encouraged that our employees and our partners across the state continue to work toward improving the health of all Oklahomans and that their efforts are producing results,” said Interim OSDH Commissioner Preston Doerflinger. “We know where our focus must be in providing the core services that will make a difference in the lives of all our citizens going forward.”
In smoking rates, Oklahoma improved to 36th nationally – an improvement of nine spots. Oklahoma’s smoking rate has declined 25 percent in the past five years. That is the largest improvement for any state since 2012 but is still 2.5 percent higher than the national average of 17.1 percent.
An area in which Oklahoma is better than the national average, low birthweight, saw the state improve to 7.9 percent. Oklahoma has improved 11 spots to 22nd in the past five years, one of the best advances in the nation.
The best ratings for the state were in the low occurrence of excessive drinking (2nd), pertussis rates (2nd) and the number of mental health providers (5th). Oklahoma also had improvements in obesity rates, the number of people who are physically active, and drug deaths, but still ranks well below the national average.
Areas of concern include lack of health insurance, diabetes rates, and children’s immunization rates.
While Oklahoma’s uninsured rate has decreased the past three years to 13.9 percent, the national ranking dropped another two spots to 48th and the rate lags far behind the national rate of nine percent.
Following a national trend that saw an all-time high in diabetes rates of 10.5 percent nationally, Oklahoma is ranked 41st with a rate of 12 percent. The rate of immunization among children 19 to 35 months dropped significantly (75.4 percent to 67 percent) moving the state ranking to 42nd while overall adolescent immunization rates improved by six places (40th to 34th).
The complete rankings and summaries for Oklahoma and all states can be seen at https://www.americashealthrankings.org

What do you hope the new year has in store for you? Cleveland County Habitat for Humanity

Health, health and more good health. Eileen Checorski

For Habitat I want us to build three houses and complete five mortgages. Tambra Gowin

That I don’t lose my sanity along the way. Susan Pearson

To deepen my relationship with Habitat through raising money to build more homes. Andrea Marler

The Stacie Daniel Success Story

Hunting is Stacie Daniel’s passion. She loves being outdoors surrounded by nature, the thrill of the hunt and truly living off the land. But Stacie was born with cystic fibrosis, a disease that not only threatened to end to her hunting days – but also her life.
“I remember my mom being in tears when I was diagnosed at six years old,” says Daniel. “They told her to love me while she could and pretty much wrap me in a bubble because the life expectancy at that time for someone with CF was 10 to 12 years.”
As a child, Stacie’s issues were mainly digestive. She didn’t start experiencing lung problems until she was a teenager. That’s when her disease started to progress. By the time she was 25, her lungs were only functioning at 30 percent capacity.
“I would get up every morning and start coughing,” remembers Daniel. “I’d have coughing fits that would last 45 minutes to an hour. If I got excited or laughed, or anything really, I would start coughing. It was miserable.”
Despite her deteriorating condition, Stacie did her best to live life to the fullest. She would try to go hunting as often as she could. “I wanted to enjoy life. I wanted to go out and have fun. I wanted to hunt and fish and be active and travel and see things. So I did.”
“Today, people with my disease are living well into their 30s,” adds Daniel. “Growing up with cystic fibrosis you know it’s coming – eventually. You just hope it’s later than sooner.”
At 29, Daniel was listed on the transplant list. She would wait nine months before getting ‘the call.’ “When you get the call, its earth shattering. It’s an answered prayer, it really is. But at the same time you know another family is now grieving. That part is hard to take.”
In August 2017, Daniel received a double lung transplant at the Nazih Zuhdi Transplant Institute at INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center. Doctors say her new set of lungs is as close to a perfect match as possible. “Stacie is an ideal patient. Complaint and full of drive and dreams,” says Mark Rolfe, M.D. “She is the kind of patient that every transplant pulmonologist loves because she is so easy to take care of and takes advantage of the transplant to live life to its fullest.”
“I’m able to walk as long as my little legs will carry me, I don’t cough anymore and I can actually breathe. My energy is back and I feel great,” she declares. “But the best part is, I can hunt as much as I want to. In fact, I was out there opening morning of hunting season this year, which is amazing to me considering that it was only five weeks after my surgery.” Daniel shot a 9-point deer on the three month anniversary of her transplant.
In November, Stacie celebrated her 31st birthday … and thanks to the miracle of transplantation she no longer fears the inevitable. “I am not cured, I will always have CF and the sinus and digestive issues that go along with it. But the disease cannot get into my new lungs and it’s the respiratory issues that are the most fatal. So my prognosis is great and because of my donor and the generosity of his or her family, I truly have been given a second chance at life.”
Daniel hasn’t been in contact with them yet, but would like to someday. In the meantime, she will continue to share her story in hopes of saving even more lives. “In the last moments of your life, the best thing you can give is life. Check the little green box on your driver’s license and become an organ donor.”

Dear Savvy Senior,

What are some financial factors to consider when retiring abroad? My husband and I will be retiring in a few years and are interested in living in a foreign country that’s cheaper than the U.S.

Frugal Couple

Dear Frugal,

Retiring abroad has become a growing trend for millions of U.S. retirees who are looking to stretch their retirement savings. Here are some tips and resources to consider that can help you prepare.
Researching Tools
For starters, you can find lots of information and articles on the countries and cities you’re interested in retiring to at websites like InternationalLiving.com and EscapeArtist.com.
Another good tip is to talk or network with some expatriates who have already made the move you’re thinking about making. They can give you tips and suggestions on many issues, as well as the advantages and disadvantages and day-to-day reality of living in a particular country. Some popular sites for finding expat resources are ExpatExchange.com and ExpatForum.com.
But before committing to location, most experts recommend that you visit multiple times during different seasons to see whether you can envision yourself living there and not just exploring the place as a tourist. Also, consider these financial factors:
Cost of living: Retiring abroad used to be seen as a surefire way to live beyond your means, and for some countries it still is. But the U.S. dollar isn’t what it used to be, so your money may not stretch as far as you think. See Numbeo.com for a country-by-country cost of living comparison.
Taxes: No matter what foreign country you decide to retire in, as long as you’re a U.S. citizen you must file an annual tax return reporting all income above certain minimums, not matter where it’s earned. For details see the IRS publication 54, “Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad” at IRS.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p54.pdf.
Health care: Most U.S. health insurance companies do not provide coverage outside the U.S., nor does Medicare. Check with the embassy (see USembassy.state.gov) of your destination country to see how you can be covered as a foreign resident. Many countries provide government-sponsored health care that’s inexpensive, accessible and just as good as what you get in the states, or you may want to buy a policy through Medibroker (Medibroker.com) or Bupa Global (BupaGlobal.com).
Also know that most people who retire abroad eventually return to the U.S., so you should consider paying your Medicare Part B premiums. If you drop and resume Part B, or delay initial enrollment, you’ll pay a 10 percent premium penalty for every 12-month period in which you could have been enrolled.
Banking: Opening or maintaining a bank account abroad has become more difficult because of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, a U.S. law designed to prevent Americans from hiding assets abroad. So, you may have to establish a savings and checking account with an institution that has international reach like Citibank. And/or consider maintaining your U.S. bank account that you can access online, and get U.S. credit and debit cards that don’t charge foreign transaction fees.
Rent versus buy: Buying a home in a foreign country can be complicated, so it’s usually cheaper and simpler to rent, unless you know you’re going to live there for a long time.
Social Security: You can receive your monthly Social Security benefits almost anywhere you live around the world (see SSA.gov/international/payments.html). Your benefits can be deposited into your bank account either in the U.S. or in your new home country, but there are some exceptions.
The U.S. State Department offers a handy checklist that can help you think through all the issues on retiring abroad. To access it visit Travel.state.gov and search for “retirement abroad.”
Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.

by Mary Waller

In many cultures the tree is a symbol of life, of a fresh start, of good health or a bright future. For these reasons, the tree has become a central figure for Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) and its 22nd annual Celebrate Life event which honors cancer survivors for their personal triumphs over cancer, five years after first receiving treatment at the Tulsa hospital. To honor these survivors, the hospital plants a tree through the Arbor Day Foundation in their name.
This year, almost 50 cancer celebrants made the trip to Tulsa for event at CTCA in northeastern Oklahoma. The honorees journeyed from all over the country – from Colorado to Florida. Many brought friends with their relatives, surrounding themselves with the caregivers, prayer warriors, best friends, spouses, parents, children and grandchildren who had been with them each step of their treatment and recovery. During the uplifting event, CTCA nurses, doctors, administrators, staff, and of course family, cheered as each name was called and as white doves were released.
Reaching the five-year survival mark is a huge milestone for most patients who have experienced the cancer journey. And not just for the patients and family, but also for the hospital’s team members, especially the nurses. The special celebration is a time for many nurses to see patients once more for who they have cared, counseled, served and often come to know incredibly well.
“We are all always thrilled to share this special and uplifting day in our patients’ lives,” said Tammi Holden, chief nursing officer and vice president of oncology patient services at CTCA in Tulsa on behalf of the staff. “When a patient comes to our hospital, our entire team – from medical oncologists and registered nurses to physical therapists and licensed dietitians – works together with the individual and their caregivers toward the goal of not just surviving, but thriving.
“This event is an important tradition that commemorates their incredible story and every single new day they enjoy,” added Holden. And for every survivor, CTCA commits to planting a tree in their honor.
In addition to returning to Tulsa for the event, the Celebrate Life honorees are given the opportunity to add their names on brass leaves to the “Tree of Life” in the hospital’s entrance. In addition, an Interactive Survivor Tree, which includes a kiosk and large electronic wall screen near the lobby fireplace, allows visitors to select a specific person’s leaf and hear more about their cancer story. After participating in activities such as a group photo opportunity, “Camp Thrive Survivorship Fair,” and a luncheon, many survivors often seek out a beloved nurse, favorite doctor or special staff member for a hug or to introduce them to a family member.
This year CTCA celebrated 27 years in Tulsa serving, caring for, treating and helping patients. Over the years, the hospital has recognized more than 1,500 Celebrate Life five-year survivors and this year added a second “Tree of Life” in the hospital’s gallery to hold all of the honoree’s names.
Holden added, “The forest continues to grow, and that’s a good thing!”

by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

Linda Ardray worked in health care for more than 30 years.
Approaching retirement after working as an MRI tech, Ardray wondered what she would do with the rest of her life.
She knew she had a lot of free time ahead of her. And she didn’t have any big plans to travel the globe.
Sitting at home all day didn’t seem too appealing either.
“My dad was an accountant and he always said you have to start your own business, that’s the only way you’re going to make it,” she said with a laugh.
So she took a deep long look at where her passions lied.
Turns out they were lying at her feet under the kitchen table.
“My dog is my kid and I wanted to get her really good food,” Ardray said of the beginning of her business plan. “I went online to see what I really needed to look for.”
She went to one of the big box stores for pets. Up and down the aisles she went, eventually leaving without what she was looking for.
“That’s why I thought we needed this in Moore,” she said. “I like that I’m right here and that I’m a little neighborhood store.
That’s how The Dusty Paw was born.
Just east of the Cleveland County Health Department’s Moore location, The Dusty Paw serves pet owners looking to make informed decisions about what they feed their animals.
“Unfortunately, the pet food industry is not very transparent,” she said. “There’s groups out there trying to change legislation on the wording of pet food. Instead of pet food a lot of it is pet feed.
“Once I started this store and really delved into it I thought ‘Oh, my God.’”
She noticed immediate changes from both her dog and her cat when she switched their food to one with purer ingredients.
A reduction in shedding was one of the first benefits.
Ardray has a miniature Australian Shepherd. Now 13, her dog still acts like a pup.
“She just runs circles in the backyard,” Ardray said. “When I changed her over I saw the biggest difference.”
Getting up every morning to go to work and then coming home at night, Ardray discovered that after 30 years she didn’t truly know the community she lived in.
Now, every day is an opportunity to bond with someone new.
“The customers are happy when they come in. The dogs are happy when they come in,” she said. “I’ve made a lot of friends here.”
She opened The Dusty Paw in February 2016, shifting from health care to entrepreneur.
“I had more time when I had a job,” she said, only half joking. “But it’s been fun. It’s been very rewarding.
And some things still remain the same. She’s still taking care of people on a daily basis.
Owning a business has allowed her to express her creative side. Often people come to The Dusty Paw in search of quality pet food but they fall in love with Ardray’s hand-made vests and leashes.
Pets are welcome to browse with their owners and most often leave with either a new treat, toy or article of clothing.
“I want them to know that they can come in here and if I can’t answer their questions about nutrition I’ll find out,” she said. “I have a nutritionist I can call for answers. I just want it to feel welcome here, not just a store.”
Ardray remains active in the community, raising funds for various causes, most of them animal related. In December she’s offering an opportunity for owners to bring their pets for photos with Santa. All proceeds benefit the Moore Animal Shelter.
She has a drop box for Pet Food Pantry, which currently serves over 8,000 lbs of dry food & over 2,500 cans of wet food each month to cats and dogs belonging to the homeless, elderly and veterans in Oklahoma.
The pantry also gets her expired food.
With Blake Shelton playing on the radio in the background, Ardray describes herself as a “wanna-be country girl.”
Her down-to-earth demeanor makes it easy for people to ask for advice. She’s researched the ins and outs of all things pet food related.
She warns customers to make sure they know where their food is sourced from.
“You can put Made in the USA on something and it can still be sourced from overseas,” she said.
You can be sure Ardray knows where everything in her store is coming from.
It’s now her passion in life.

The Robert Glenn Rapp Foundation has awarded the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation a four-year, $400,000 grant.
The grant will help two new scientists establish laboratories at OMRF. In their labs, they will study the cellular processes that lead to cancer, as well as diseases of neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.
“Our family is pleased to play a small role in the important work underway in OMRF’s cancer research laboratories,” said Jilene Boghetich, managing trustee of the Rapp Foundation. “Cancer seems to strike almost every family in some way, and our goal is to help OMRF’s scientists discover new methods to detect and treat the disease.”
Founded in 1951, the Rapp Foundation distributes funds to a wide variety of charitable projects throughout the U.S. This new grant to OMRF represents the latest in a long line of gifts that have helped the Oklahoma City-based nonprofit strengthen its scientific infrastructure.
The new funds will help support the recruitment of a pair of new scientists, Wan Hee Yoon, Ph.D., and Jiang Li, Ph.D.
Yoon joins OMRF from the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and his research uses fruit flies to understand the processes of cellular decline that lead to diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s. Li also studies the basic cellular mechanisms underlying cancer and neurodegeneration, and he comes to OMRF from Northwestern University in Chicago.
The grant will provide funding for the purchase of sophisticated laboratory equipment and supplies for the new researchers. It will also help support salaries of personnel working in their labs.
“It’s hard to imagine OMRF as it is today without the enduring generosity of the Rapp Foundation through the years,” said OMRF Vice President of Development Penny Voss. “They’ve been true friends to OMRF and to medical research in Oklahoma, and they’ve invested in visionary projects that will benefit us all.”