Trouble in Paradise (CA)

Last November the "Camp Fire" roared thru the town of Paradise and destroyed it. Since we have not been to Paradise for awhile, we thought it was a good time to check on progress. The news is grim. One of the main streets is still devastated. The stores that were there are gone and no progress has been made on rebuilding. There are still wobbly-looking fireplaces standing that used to be surrounded by houses. Burned trees stand on empty lots. A few lots have signs that say "Will Build to Suit" but it looks like no one is taking up the offer. 

Blue Ripple

I finished one more blanket this evening. It's a ripple design made from lots of different shades of blue. It's very warm.

Tetons and Yellowstone

We finally made it to our 2 favorite parks before leaving the high country. Our first day up here was glorious

The mountains were brilliant in the late summer sky. The temps were perfect.

Then came the snow in Yellowstone. Tonight it's not snowing but it's raining. Who knows what the morning will bring.

There are still bison roaming Hayden Valley in Yellowstone

And the "smokes" are more vibrant in cool weather. It's been a good time in the mountains. We return home tomorrow. We'll open the shades and find out if we have to go thru snow!

9-11 Remember

There are many defining moments in history and most of them are bad. In my life the first "defining moment" was the assassination of President Kennedy. If you were alive when that happened, you know exactly where you were and what you were thinking. 9-11 was another of those "moments" -- it was the day the world changed. Hope disappeared for awhile on that awful day when Arab terrorists tried to destroy my country. They are still trying.

Awhile back, I visited New York City and paid my respects to the victims of the 9-11 terror attack. 

This is real...this happened in America...my home, my country...some cowards tried to destroy our beacon of liberty. Everyone remember that. We are a free democratic country.

New York is rebuilding...is moving forward...

But we can never forget that we are under siege by people who want to destroy us and our way of life.

Leftovers, part 2

On August 14 I posted a picture of a blanket I was starting. It's now September 8 and progress has been made

The bright red border connects the squares into 8 strips. The next task is to connect the strips together to form the blanket. There is a hitch...I counted wrong and I have to make 4 more squares and another red bordered strip before I can form the blanket.  The last step, is a border around the whole blanket. As you can see, more work is needed. Right now, the blanket is sitting in the middle of my living room--I will "take it down" this morning and move it to my office where it will be out of the way. By the way, I've found out this is called a Crofter's Blanket. 

Musings

This morning the valley had pockets of clouds clinging to the floor. At almost 6000 feet, it seems like the clouds do not have enough "will power" to climb above the 9000+ feet mountains.

Here's looking at you. The aspens develop eyes...walking in an aspen forest is not a lonely experience.

Two license plates in the RV park...the motorhome is "I Wana Go" and the tow car is "Wana Go 2."

If you need the perfect license plate, then a vanity plate is the way to go. 

It's Still Fun 56 Years Later

Long before Disney Studios "got woke" they made a series of wonderful movies. One of those movies was "Mary Poppins" and we saw it last night. In January we saw "Mary Poppins, Returns" and frankly we were not impressed.Turn the clock back 56 years and look at the original, which is still the best.

Looking thru that long lens of time, Mary is a dark character. She puts her charges in strange and interesting situations and they love her for it. Her job it to put together a family that has lost it's way, and she does it with a spoonful of sugar and dose of magic. The story is still delightful. The music is memorable. I like the "unwoke" Disney. I wish we could have more movies that are heartwarming, apolitical and just plain fun. If you have the urge to see one, rent Mary Poppins, with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke and start smiling.

New Blanket

I finished a lavender teddy bear baby blanket last night. It will be put in a "blanket drop" for Dorian survivors.

Virginian Fire in Jackson Hole

Update: The name of the fire has been changed to "Saddle Butte Fire"
Several areas of Jackson have been evacuated.
There's a fire in Jackson, WY, that started across the street from the Virginian Hotel (hence the name). We rolled into Jackson about 5 PM and the fire had already burned the scrubby dried grass on the mountain across the street from the hotel. It was spreading around the mountain and threatening downtown. The firefighters are working hard to keep it on the mountain and away from the town.

Helicopters are dropping water on the flames

Nearby homes have been evacuated, but there are not many homes in this particular area.

The ground cover is dry and it's a hot day (for us) so the conditions are right for a blaze. I hope they contain it soon.