26 September

We’re back…back at Tall Chief in Fall City.  We’re here so that Louise can have her surgery.  She went in at 8 yesterday morning and at 5 we were heading home.  Louise had a small brown spot on the side of her nose when she walked in to see her dermatologist…”what’s that on your nose?”.  A little blade comes out, a sample is taken, and a diagnosis was made…carcinoma.  Appointment is made for a Mohs with one doctor and a closure with another and at a different hospital.  Fortunately with the Mohs, each little slice is analyzed to see if there is any cancer left after.  If there is, a second or third or even more samples are taken until the cancer no-longer shows.  Well for Lou, it took two sessions and she was clean of those cancer cells.  It still took quite a bit from her nose but the doctors did a great job…now with a black eye and nose, a little swelling around both and enough stitches to sew up a dress shirt, she’s looking good !!!   On Tuesday we go back and have the stitches removed and before you know it, she’s back to normal…looking that is… 

Well with the Mini-Winnie here at the campground, I’ve got a few chores in place to get it ready for our journey to Mexico and a few things I’ve got to do to get the Endeavor ready for storage.  We want to be on the road by the 15th of October so that we can attend a family wedding in Puerto Vallarta on the 6th of November.   Fortunately we found a reasonably priced covered storage area.  It is long enough for us to have the car and coach covered (50’ ) and it has electricity so that we can plug in. 

22 September ‘09

After having a great time on the Skykomish, we decided to head across the mountains and camp beside the Yakima River.  We have driven through this great canyon many times but have never taken the time to stop and enjoy it.  There are 3 or 4 BLM properties throughout the 30 miles of the Yakima Canyon that you can camp at and, as of the 15th of September, it’s free camping for up to 2 weeks.  Well we didn’t have the time to stay the 2 weeks, but we sure enjoyed the week we were there.  Bonnie and Doug drove their camper down from Mount Vernon for a couple of days.  We enjoyed kayaking the river and just hanging out and thanking God for the great weather.  One morning the four of us drove out highway 410 to hike into Boulder Cave. 

Boulder Cave was made by water running across and finally through, basalt rock and making this cave that runs about 100 yards.  Its home to the “Big Eared” Bats which unfortunately we couldn’t see because of the blackness of the cave, but we were told they were around.  Leslee, Lena, and Vinnie drove in from Yakima a few times and Lena and I got a chance to do a little paddling one afternoon.  We were able to float the river about 8 miles through some beautiful areas filled with a lot of wildlife.  On one float, Bonnie and Doug saw a doe with an albino fawn, a herd of mountain sheep, and a lot of waterfowl over the 8 miles.  After everyone went their way, Louise and I took a hike through one of the many canyons.  From the first day we arrived in the canyon, we were told to watch for the “rattlers”, and on this hike we were hiking through some tall desert grasses that they can and do hide-out in.

I guess we were a little late in the rattler season as we didn’t come across any.  We did see a couple of young ram with their curled horns,

a large herd of mountain sheep,

and a beaver dam with a large tree toppled beside it.

Finally taking the time to stop in the canyon paid us lots of great moments and we will stop again.  We’ve been searching high and low for a good class “C” motor home that we could use on for our trip through Mexico this winter, and while at Leslee’s I checked Craigslist one more time and found one that “just might work”.  First thing the next morning, we pulled out of the canyon and headed to Ellensburg.  The motor home we called on was located on a farm just outside of Ellensburg, and seeing as how “the good ones” don’t last, we wanted to be there early.  Well sure as heck, it was nice, but a little longer than we were looking for but nice.  A little bit later and we were the proud owners of another motor home.

and onto Salmon Le Sac.  After riding around the reservoir and getting back to Roslyn, the town that was built by coal,

just after noon, we opted to have lunch at “The Brick” Saloon.  The Brick is the oldest continuously operating saloon in the state of Washington.  The bar was shipped around Cape Horn from England to Portland over 100 years ago. 

The building was built in 1889 of bricks that were made in Roslyn and the chairs and tables were purchased from Sears and Roebuck just after the turn of the century. 

18 September ‘09

We’ve been busy over the last 2 weeks.  After leaving Anacortes we drove up to Monroe and stayed at the Thunderbird Resort.  Fortunately we were able to stay a week with only partial hook-ups, as they had a great place for us on the banks of the Skykomish River and open up a chance to do a little kayaking right from the coach. 

Another advantage of staying at the resort and on the banks of the river was to watch the 3rd largest run of “Pink’s” finding their way deep into the rivers for their last time.  One morning after going in Monroe for the farmers market, we stopped by a roadside stand selling “fresh wild salmon”, we bought one for dinner…it was so good we went back 2 days later and bought another one.  Ric brought Drew over one morning so that the 4 of us could kayak the Skykomish from Sultan down to Monroe.  The water was running fast, and we were able to find our way pretty easily around the shallows and into some pretty good rapids.  This run was the “wettest” run we’ve ever had but it was also one of the most exciting as far a surf and speed.  We did the 12 miles in just over 2 hours…pretty fast for us….  The next day we did it again, but this time Lil Louise joined us.

Again, the salmon were jumping everywhere and the banks of the river were lined with fishermen/women and all were limiting out in a short time.  Just about half way down the run a salmon came to the top of the water and headed straight for Drew’s kayak.  It rammed into the side of it twice before diving under it and heading straight for my kayak.  Ric was in the front of the kayak, and as the salmon got closer he put his paddle down at the same time as I put my hand into the water just in front of the charging fish. I don’t know what this salmon was thinking but with a short scoop of water from my hand and Ric’s paddle we had a 5 pound salmon in the kayak and on my lap. I don’t know where the camera was, so you’re just going to have to take my word for it…oh ya, it fought so hard and was so damn slippery that it did slide out of my hands and made it out the other side.  On Saturday I joined Doug in Darrington for a bike ride. 

We had signed up for a 29 mile “Fun Ride” that would take us through Darrington and up into the foothills of the Cascades.  We had a great ride and I can prove it…my butt is suffering.  While Doug and I were out biking, Louise, Bonnie, Mike, Whit, and Mattie took in the sights and found some interesting things in the forests around Darrington.

On the way back to the coach a very unfortunate thing happened, a bolt holding my bike rack to the car broke and let the rack and the bike fall to a quick death (of my month old bike).  Hell it was a tangled mess so I just threw it off the road for the night thanking the good Lord that nobody following got hurt.  Well I did go back and here is what I've got...

4 September ‘09

We’ve moved up to Northern Lights RV Resort, which is just east of Anacortes, and at the back of the Northern Lights Casino…yes, I said “Casino”.  For those that know Louise, this shouldn’t be much of a surprise, and the word is out that she’s enjoying all the gaming she can get.  Well the truth is, we have only been inside the casino 3 or 4 times in the last week and the “one arm BANDITS” are letting us stay about even.  Doug came up the first afternoon to join us for dinner.   Bonnie had a chance to join a friend in Paris for a week so Doug was looking for an excuse to get out.  Doug and I made a date for next Thursday to do a little bike riding on our “new” wheels. 

On Wednesday Louise and I were told about this great view area on top of Mt. Erie so we had to check it out.  Once we reached the base of Mt. Erie we found the first trail head and stopped to see just how much it would take to hike to the top.  Studying the chart as best as we could, we opted to continue our journey to the top by driving…  On the road to the top, we quickly realized our decision was the right decision.  It wasn’t that it was a long hike but it was the fact that it was STRAIGHT UP. It turned out to be a great suggestion and a wonderful place to visit and see the outstanding water and territorial views of the surrounding area.

From one of the viewpoints we were able to overlook the two large refineries for the area.  Another was to see some close by lakes and the beginning of the San Juan Islands.  With our need for a little snack, we headed back down the mountain and stopped by this quaint little “mini-store”.

Inside we met “Don and Gerry” the owner's/cashier/stockman/etc…  Don and Gerry have had this store for over 40 years and seem to have enjoyed every year of the 40.  We found Don to be quite a character and if pressed, has plenty of interesting stories to tell.  After taking our sandwiches, chips, and drinks down to the shore of Lake Erie and enjoying a great beach side picnic, we headed over to Rosario Beach, which is just around the corner from Deception Pass.  As you approach the final tree line prior to the beach, you come across the carving of "The Maiden Of Deception Pass" (the photo at top of the page).       There is a wonderful story about this carving and I wish you would go to  http://www.stonebard.com/maiden_of_deception_pass.htm   and enjoy the story.  Now it's time to turn north and head into Anacortes.

Doug did bring his bike by and we did take a ride.  This is the longest ride that I've taken for a looooonnnnnnggggg time.  We only covered 12 miles but that was a good 10 miles further than I've done in "too many years".  We'll do that again and I WILL get more mileage in the future, I promise.

1 September ‘09

After leaving Coeur d’Alene we headed over to Yakima.  Unfortunately for us, but fortunately for our grandkids Lena and Vinnie, they were away on a camping adventure with their dad.  We did have a great visit and dinner with Leslee and the chance to drop off my old bike for Vinnie.  Not being able to park the coach in Leslee’s neighborhood, we pulled into a large parking area next to a major grocery store.  As we were pulling into the parking lot, we had to go under a large group of balloons that were swaying in the wind.  Wellll, we snagged one end and took them with us.  Either fortunately or un-fortunately, we had set a large group free and we had a smaller group of 8 still tied tight to one of our radio antennas.

Leaving Yakima, we decided to drive Highway 410 to the Seattle area.  This route takes us around the eastern side of Mount Rainier, and at this time of year it’s just an amazing drive. 

Clear blue skies, rivers running slowly beside the roadway calling for us for a stop for a picnic, hiking trails heading out like a spider web around the base of the foothills, and a couple of small lakes that reflect the magnificent glaciers of Rainier.

3 hours later and we were settling in for our 2 week stay at the Tall Chief Resort.  Louise had her visit with her doctor and it was decided that she will be going in for a Mohs procedure on the 24th of September.  The Mohs is a procedure that “shaves” a small sample of skin that will be analyzed to see if they have all the bad cells before having to take more.  Let’s hope and pray that it is a short and sweet sample…

I had a chance to kayak the Snoqualmie River with Ric and Drew again.  This time we paddled down river from Fall City for a couple of hours and ended up just south of Carnation.  Now all we have to do is get back out there and complete the rest of that river… 

Last week I did go shopping again and found myself coming back with a new bicycle.  Now I have no excuses…anyone want to go for a “Peddle”?  Hell between “Paddling and Peddling”, you would think I would be pretty busy.

Louise and I drove into Seattle the other day to see if we could easily get into Lake Union for a day of kayaking and to make it over to Gas Works Park to see a Paper-Mache sculpture called “From Egg to …”. 

Well when we finished enjoying the sculpture and the park we found the winds had come up too much for us to enjoy a leisure paddle, so we opted to head over to the Fremont district for lunch.  In late 1944, my dad purchased a Richfield “service station” in Fremont (a neighborhood that is just 2 miles north of the downtown Seattle).  I remember spending a lot of my early childhood days down there learning how to get my hands greasy…  In 1962 dad and mom built a new station and set everything in motion for me to join them for a few years.  Today things at the “station” have changed dramatically…  First off, someone, somehow, purchased “the” bronze statue of Stalin and repositioned it on the corner of the stations property. 

Second, the office and the lube bays have become fast-food restaurants…anyone want a taco???  Well we also had another reason for celebration…on the 20th of August we celebrated our 49th Wedding anniversary with a wonderful dinner at Salty’s.  Salty’s is located across the bay from Seattle and affords a wonderful view of one of the best skylines we’ve encountered in our travels (this may be a little bit of an exaggeration, but true…).