It's Almost Time...

 

The trees are changing colors and that's telling us it's time to head south. Fall is not "acting" the way it normally does though. Instead of having a forest of yellow aspens all ready to show off for the fall, we have a forest of trees with dying leaves. I think it might be an indicator that we did not have enough water during the year to sustain the leaves to turn to yellow. Now, don't get me wrong, there are some yellow trees out there, but the majority just look tired.

As we drive up the Snake River canyon the mountain maples are starting to fade. The red and orange of last week is quickly changing to welcome the next season, which will be winter. There's a saying up here that Fall lasts about 6 weeks and then winter starts. All of us are hoping that winter will be white and wonderful this year.

In the meantime, we're closing down the summer house, which is a bittersweet moment. Brigadoon, as we sometimes call this place, will go to sleep for 5 or 6 months. To get it ready for that "hibernation" we'll have to turn off the water and winterize the pipes with antifreeze. All outdoor stuff has to come inside. All inside stuff has to get covered and dust-proofed. All stuff we're going to move from one place to the other is getting lugged into the laundry room where it's an "easy" task of moving it to the truck. We've done this move 32 times and we know what to do.

In the meantime, wish us luck on the long drive to our desert home. We have help with the drive this year and that will make it easier. Anything that will make things easier is a good thing. Remember, we're all in this together.  

Some Old Movies and TV Series

A long time ago I read that looking at fun movies was a good way to recover. Since I'm still in "recovery mode" I've been recording some Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and streaming old TV series. Some are quite good and stand the test of time, others not so much.

Last night we tried to watch "Cheyenne Autumn." The 1964 movie was supposed to a more sympathetic look at the American Indian. We viewed 18 minutes of the movie when we looked at each other and said "we're done." Turns out a cast of "famous" actors can't make a bad story good, even if it is directed by John Ford. The pacing was horrible and while the storyline had not completely emerged in 18 minutes we felt it was not going to end well for anyone. We deleted the movie. We've been deleting a lot of TCM movies recently. Just because a movie is old does not make it good. 

On the other hand, I've also been enjoying some "classic TV series." Gunsmoke showed up on my streaming video Home Screen and I thought why not give it a try as it was a family favorite when I was a kid. The black and white episodes all star Marshall Dillon who is some sort of marvel. As a kid I did not realize just how wonderful Mr. Dillon was. He seems to be able to do just about anything in Dodge, Kansas. He keeps law and order, he's an expert shot, and he has charm to tackle problems, no matter their size. Then there's Miss Kitty.  No one seems to mention the fact that Miss Kitty is the madam of a brothel. As a kid I had no idea what Miss Kitty did other than wear fancy dresses and too much makeup. The stories are pretty good and hold up the test of time. They are "period" pieces and they depict the period fairly well. Gunsmoke is a good diversion if you want to have a blast from the past.

I've also been looking at the original "Little House on the Prairie" series, circa 1975. I never saw it when it was originally shown, yet I was a fan of the Laura Ingalls Wilder "Little House" books (which I read to my classes). Again, the head of the household, Pa Ingalls, is the star of the show. He can do everything and be everything, etc. etc. etc. This led me to learn more about the actual people who were in the program; in particular I wondered what happened to the little girl who played Laura. In the intervening 50 years, several memoirs have been written about what it was like to be on LHP. Turns out, lots of drug and alcohol abuse were needed to survive the "happy" life the Ingalls family lived. They all look so happy on the set which (in hindsight) must have been in an emotional turmoil most of the time. They really did "act" to get thru the day. The new LHP is woke and is a mere shadow of the books. The old LHP is not woke and follows the LHP storyline well. The underlying story of the folks who made LHP "work" paid a high emotional price to be in the series. I've not seen past season 1...as back in 1975 a TV series had at least 30 episodes per season. Nowadays a "season" is a mere 8 episodes. 

I've been recovering. I do something, then I rest. I look at TV or read or crochet or paint rocks...then I do something else. The cycle repeats. If I feel good, I don't sit down a lot. If I "overdid" the day before, then I sit and rest. The beat goes on. My back pain is just about gone most of the time. I'm a happy camper. I'm thankful I have lots of diversions to aid in my recovery. Remember, we're all in this together.

Recovery and Other Musings

It's been 8 days since I had the second BVNA procedure on my back and I think both of the procedures are working. I do not have back pain. You have no idea what a joy it is to write that sentence. In fact, I don't have a lot of pain anywhere...this is good. 

SO, I'm walking and trying to act like a real human being. Some days are better than others, but I'm keeping up my routine. I'm walking circuits around the house, practicing standing and trying to get my stamina back. It's a slow process but it's starting to come together. I see the doc on Thursday and I'll let you know what he says.

As I look outside, I see a gray sky, damp ground (no puddles) and leaves trying to change color. The aspens in the back are not quite lemon yellow but they are trying. The mountain maple by the Snake River are brilliant reds, oranges, golds, rusts and yellowy-browns. They are putting on the first display of the season. Soon the cottonwoods and the aspens will catch up. Right now there are splashes of yellow and gold among the conifers in the mountains. It's a short lived display and always beautiful. 

In the meantime it's pretty good in the Rocky Mountains. Remember, we're all in this together. 

End of Summer Lazy Daze

It's 9-11...a day none of us will ever forget...and I hope one we will never have to live through again. Please bow your head for the folks who have fallen to save our wonderful country. I did not come here today to talk about 9-11..it sort of happened. It's important NOT to forget that we live in a fragile world.

I meant to talk about the end of summer and that's when I remembered that today is 9-11. Not a happy day. Aside from it being 9-11, it's almost the end of summer. In fact, the rest of the country thinks about summer ending about the 3rd week in September..but in the high country, it ends right after Labor Day. There must be a "magic" clock somewhere under the mountains that rings a tiny alarm (that us mere mortals cannot hear) and all of a sudden it's fall. The colors are not exactly changing yet, but they are right on the verge of changing from green to gold. Right now, there are a few aspens dressed for fall with bright yellow leaves, but most are covered in dusty, dry, greenish garb. The mountain maples dot the hillsides with bright reddish orange splashes of color. The air has a different feel to it. It's not the crisp air of summer but the muted air of fall. 

The aspens on my little patch of terrain are tired looking. Their leaves are still green, but the green is "spent"..there's no life left in the green. They are getting ready to change color for fall. The breeze is slight and the quaking aspens are singing their song of the great outdoors. Somehow that song is different too. Because there are not as many leaves on the trees, and the leaves are brittle, the sound is a note or two higher. It's still calming, but I imagine it saying "good-bye summertime..our quaking song is coming to an end, and we need to get ready for the cold winter." 

The sound is also talking to the DrCs, as it's about time for us to go away too. We are fair weather friends. We come when the mountains start to warm up and the aspens begin to leaf out and we leave when the air becomes cooler and the aspens change their colors. We travel to the desert to the edge of the hottest, driest, desert in North America. Many folks for our little valley of the stars migrate to the dry desert where the  mountains are painted red and coral and yellow and  brown. We won't see larges expanses of green for a few months and we truly miss the green. Yet when the green disappears and the weather turns cold in the mountains, we'll enjoy the heat and sunshine of the desert and it will be good.

We'll spend these last few days of this "tween season" not quite summer not quite fall, getting ready for our migration. It takes quite a bit of work to make the move and lucky for us we know what to do and when to do it. We have a helper this year, as our niece will help us close down this house and drive south and open up our other home. We are thankful that she can help. The lazy days of summer are coming to an end and a new adventure is on the horizon. Remember, we're all in this together.

Recovery Day 20

 A lot has happened since I last wrote. My back doctor said if I had the procedure by the 10th of August, I would be ready to go to a wedding on the 22nd. Well, we went to that wedding (so I guess I was ready) in Southern California and we both did well. The hardest part was climbing stairs, but we went up and down the stairs very slowly and all went well. Of course we tried not to go up or down the stairs any more than necessary.

The wedding was wonderful. The bride was gorgeous. The parties were grand. We had a great time. We flew handicapped and Delta took good care of us. Once we landed in Ontario, we rented a car (a Genesis which was very plush) and drove to Fallbrook. All the planning worked out, but then I'm a planner.

I've had the follow-up visit with my doctor and he says I'm ready for part 2 of the procedure which is doing the same BVNA procedure on L4 and maybe L5. Apparently you can only do the procedure on 2 vertebrae at a time. That might happen on September 11 (also called 9-11--kind of an ominous date).

In the meantime, I'm walking and standing better, but I still can't walk a mile--2 blocks seems to be what I can handle. I can stand a little bit, but if I cook at the stove, I sit on a barstool. The pain level is low. I'm doing PT in both the pool and the gym, so I'm trying to do everything I can to recover and keep the back pain from returning.

I'm watching the fawns grow up. The twins, which were full of P and V when they were newborns, are now proper little fawns. All four of the fawns are starting to lose their spots--that means they are growing up and will soon have a scent of their own. Fawns with spots do not have a scent, nature's way of protecting the little ones. Yesterday the twins were resting in the back yard and their mama was not too far away. They mind her now--she finally taught them how to be little deer, but she had her "hands" full with their antics. The other 2 fawns were much quieter than the twins. 

Life in the Rockies is good. We are getting a bit more rain this year than usual, and no one is complaining. The rain is needed as the rivers and lakes are low on water. It rains at any time of the day but there's always a breeze before the rain. The rain is spotty too. The RV park, a mile from my home, will get rain and we'll be dry or the other way around. Rain cells are not predictable. '

I'm still crocheting. The menagerie on the kitchen desk has duckies, turtles, piggies and kitties. Most have a new home waiting for them but I get to enjoy them before I give them away. The latest turtle I've named Tortellini and I'm working on Donatello, who should be finished tonight. 

Healing takes time. I have the time and things to do to help me use the time well. I listen to books, crochet, paint rocks and watch the fawns grow up. All is good. Remember, we're all in this together.

Recovery

I read a long time ago, that one good way to recover from something is to place yourself in a happy environment. Look at fun movies; read fun books, do relaxing things that make you happy...so I'm trying to do that.

In case you're wondering, yesterday I had a procedure nicknamed BVNA (short for Basivertebral Nerve Ablation)...long story short, I was put to sleep and the naughty nerve was ablated to oblivion (or at least I hope it was). For the next week I'm in recovery mode...that means taking it easy so the thing can start to work. Yesterday I was not too sure it was working but today the back feels quite a bit better.

As part of the R&R treatment I'm playing iPad games, listening to books, looking at some TCM movies and "fun" TV series, crocheting roses and critters, and painting rocks. How edifying is that? 

We saw "Never so Few" that had a blockbuster cast of Frank Sinatra, Gina Lollobrigida, Steve McQueen and a lots of other big names only to find out it was group of people trying to develop a story that just did not work. Later, I read what IMDB and Wikipedia had to say about the movie, and we agreed with each other. In addition the 1959 movie lost over a million dollars. It was fun to see how a movie can be made without a story line--we were discussing the movie as it was being played and the discussion was a lot more fun that the terrible movie.I don't recommend it.

Then we saw "The Great Escape" with much of the same cast (no Gina this time--in fact NO women in the cast) and it was a good movie. Some stories work better than others...and while both were based on "real events" the addition of the love story in the former movie was just plain stupid. I recommend this movie.

I'm listening to the 32nd book in a monster series written by Christopher Cartwright. The books are about the adventures of a "wonder man" named Sam Reilly. The books have been great fun to listen to for their completely over the top adventures. Sam can do just about anything, and since he's rich and handsome he does. They are works of fiction with a bit of history and science and geography (and lots of descriptions of weapons, fast cars and motorcycles which I gloss over). I've been to many of the places mentioned in the books, and the geography and history are pretty accurate--however the last 2 books have taken place in Jackson Hole and Cartwright does not have a clue about Jackson Hole. Cartwright  greatly disappointed me...so much so that I'm thinking I might quit the series...even tho I'm really close to finishing them. Sometimes the stories have huge gaps in them, and after 32 books I know where to look for the gaps and gloss over them. It's sad because I've enjoyed the adventures and I like the characters in the books. Gees, I listened to the books for 2 summers now...they must have been fun. It's strange how I could ignore all the "story gaps" only to be brought back to reality when the author got the geography of a place I know very well, all wrong. It makes me wonder what else is wrong??? If you get hooked on the series, only go to book 30. The books have been fun and now I'm disappointed..that makes me sad...but I'm still on the road to recovery. 

(P.S.--all is not lost, I can crochet or paint rocks when I listen to books...and that's always fun.)

I'm learning how to crochet complex roses. I developed a pattern for "dashboard duckies" that are just too cute...and I'm giving critters to people to make them smile...that puts me on the road to recovery too. 

All of this explains why I've not written in my blog for so long. The last few weeks before this procedure have been painful...walking and standing have been hard. Pain zaps energy and I've been zapped. Now I'm hoping the pain will be gone soon. BVNA takes a while to work...but I'm hoping this will work. I'm writing this blog with fun and hope and positive thoughts and the prayers from my friends and loved ones. All of that is very important.  Remember, we're all in this together.

Another Old Movie Review: The Long, Long Trailer

I'm going to start this review with "I liked the movie." The Long, Long Trailer is a 1953 Lucy and Desi comedy about a couple spending their honeymoon in a 40 foot state of the art trailer. Since we've RVed for a long time, we kind of know RV life.  L/D did not know anything about it and that's where the comedy comes in. L/D had good intentions, but they did not know RV rules--so they broke all of them. For an RVer, the movie is fun, frustrating, sad, hilarious, and good all at the same time. I'll see it again in a couple of years and laugh and cry all over again.

I've seen the movie many times before, but it's the first time I realized it is a flashback. L/D are going to sell the trailer because of all the disasters they faced. Then, the flashback starts and for the next hour or so  we learn all the things you are NOT supposed to do in an RV. Things like : Don't cook in a moving trailer; Don't collect huge rocks in the trailer; Pay attention to warning signs on the road; Don't overload your trailer; Don't go up roads that you can't get out of. The list of don'ts goes on and on. 

We've made some of these mistakes. Once in Grand Tetons we saw a cute little road that said "not advisable for trailers" so we thought we're a motorhome so that does not apply to us--well we got about 1/8th of a mile on that road and needed to turn back. That's when we discovered motorhomes and trailers are the same thing when it comes to narrow, winding, mountain roads especially when you cannot see a good exit strategy. Over the years we learned to avoid those roads...or if we did take such a road, one of us walked it before we attempted to drive it.

We never tried to cook in a moving RV because it is against the law in most states. Sometimes we got food from the fridge while driving but we learned quickly it was not a good idea as balancing in a vehicle going 55-60 mph is HARD. Planning ahead is necessary. Planning ahead was not on the minds of L/D.

Lucy and Desi had trouble leveling their trailer one rainy night. We quickly learned to get into a campground while it was daylight and before the rain started as leveling (back in the 70s when we started) was never as easy as the salesman said it was. Lucy, ever the comic, crashed out of bed in her uneven trailer--we never did that. Their state of the art 1953 trailer had more primitive leveling devices than we had in our new RV 20 years later, and they were not all that great.

There's a shower scene we could relate to. Our motorhome had a bathroom the size of a small phone booth...and that phone booth-sized bathroom included a toilet, basin and shower all in one. And, guess what, there was a neat toilet paper holder in the bathroom too. I don't know how many rolls of TP we soaked before we learned to remove the TP before showering. Desi just exaggerated how much "fun" it was to take a shower in a teeny-tiny space. Like him, we were young and thought it was just part of the game.

The movie brought back some fun memories of our early camping experiences. We enjoyed those early years a lot as we continued to RV for 51 years. When we sold the last RV we were  sad. Nowadays, we look at RVs rolling down the road and wish them happy travels. The movie ends back where the flashback started, with L/D not selling the trailer, getting ready for the next adventure. That's the key--be ready for the next adventure. If you are an RVer and haven't seen The Long, Long Trailer, it's kind of a must see. If you are not an RVer, it's a good L/D comedy and a good laugh is a good thing. Remember, we're all in this together.

Logan's Run...a Real Growler

Tonight we saw a 1976 science fiction classic called "Logan's Run" on TCM. The story is of a dystopian future where survivors live in a "habitat" after most of civilization was destroyed in a war. Not much is mentioned about the habitat, the war, or the how the survivors created their world. It's all a "given"--you just know.

The people are dressed in color-coded filmy clothes, but no reason is given for the color scheme. We learn early on that the  lifespan for people in the habitat is 30 years. When they've lived their 30 years they go on the "carousel" and get renewed (aka killed?). Again, we don't know why 30 is the "magic age"--but the movie was made in 1976 and that was the time when we were told not to trust anyone older than 30.  There is a small underground movement in the habitat to escape and find sanctuary. Our heroes do escape and find Washington, DC in ruins (and they don't know what it is) and ... I'll stop there. No reason to spoil the rather thin story, if you decide you need to see this bad movie.

What was interesting was the rather lame depiction of 2275. Think computerized voices, flashing lights, tube transport, and escalators? The habitat was climate controlled. It was possible to "beam" people into rooms of the habitat. We don't see people doing any type of work per se but there are "law enforcers" who search for "runners" who want to find the sanctuary.  I guess, if you want to see how the habitat worked, you might want to see the movie, but frankly, it's as lame as the movie. 

The cast includes Farrah Fawcett with her lion's mane of blonde hair; Jenny Agutter of "Call the Midwife" fame and Michael York who plays Logan. They are not memorable. The pacing is slow. The script is shallow. The music was painful to my ears. In sum...it's just a bad movie.  I know I did not see it when it came out in 1976 and 50 years later I'm wondering why I thought it might be a fun movie to watch. 

Turtles and Duckies

For the last couple of weeks I've been making turtles and duckies...both are really cute and they are fun to make.

I've been wondering why so many Jeeps have rubber duckies on their dashboards and that's when I found out it's a "thing" to decorate your Jeep (especially a Jeep Wrangler) with rubber duckies. Since I have 2 Jeeps, I've decided they need a Duckie or two too.

I've also made several turtles. I have no idea if they are land or sea turtles -- but since they are crocheted, I don't think it matters.

I'm still making kitties and piggies. If you would like a critter, let me know and I'll make one for you. I love giving the critters away as they bring a smile...and anything that makes a person smile is a good thing.

Viva Las Vegas--A Walk Down Memory Lane

Circle back to a more innocent time 62 years ago to 1964. I was graduating high school and getting ready for college. What were you doing? The world was pretty much at peace...and some fun movies were being made. I saw one of those fun movies today and I thoroughly enjoyed it. And, as an added bonus there was NO swearing and no bedroom scenes. Like I said, it was a simpler time. The movie was Viva Las Vegas.

When the movie was made Vegas was a gambling town in the desert, but it was not the destination it is today. There was no Sphere, no major sports teams, no high rise casinos and Howdy Partner still greeted you when you came into town. That's the setting -- and it's fun to compare 1964 Vegas with 2026 Vegas--they are 2 different towns. Part of the year, I live near Vegas, and it does not look at all like the Vegas in the movie. It's hard to imagine how much Vegas has changed. In the 60s it was a relatively small town...and that's not Vegas today. 

It's a typical love story of boy meets girl--boy does something stupid and loses girl--boy realizes he did something stupid and tries to make up with the girl--and after a few more curves and wrinkles--they get married in the end. A love story is fun...and the stars are Elvis Presley and Ann-Margeret at their best. Elvis sings and Ann-Margaret dances. The music is good ol' rock and roll. If you are like me, you will remember the music. It's a fun walk down memory lane where the sky is blue and ending is happy.

Yes, I know this is not reality. I even knew it when I first saw the movie as a 16 year old kid. It was fun then, and it was still fun. Unlike 2001: A Space Odyssey, the movie still worked as it's a basic love story and I don't think they ever go out of style. SO...if you want to take a walk down memory lane, see a skinny Elvis and a gorgeous Ann-Margaret, record it the next time it comes on Turner Classic Movies. Remember, we're all in this together.

It's Independence Day

Happy 250th Birthday America.

Thank you!

From a Proud American!

2001: (Not a Good) Space Odyssey

Early this morning I DVRd "2001: A Space Odyssey" on Turner Classic Movies. We saw it tonight. The movie was made in 1968. Back then, I saw it with my boyfriend, now husband. I think we liked the movie...but after seeing it tonight, I don't know why. I thought it would be fun to see this "classic" movie again. I was wrong.

The movie has a very slow pace. There's no action at all. There's hardly any dialogue to explain what is happening. The story is up to interpretation and no one seems to agree on the true meaning of the "monoliths" or the "space baby" at the end...even the author was not clear about their meanings. The movie won an Academy Award for Special Effects, which were pretty good for 1968 but do not make it in 2026. It's a man's world up in space, with women doing ancillary roles such as serving meals, greeting visitors and looking decorative in short pink outfits with cute Kennedy-esque pill box hats. 

Some of the scenes do not pass the test of time. There's the hint of technology to come with a "face time" phone call; a tablet-like device; a computer chess game. The characters walk around the space craft with Velcro shoes that keep them attached to the floor. Space walks are un-tethered to a space craft and the space suits look like they have vacuum cleaner hoses for sleeves. The frosting on the cake is the long psychedelic light and sound show that was supposed to be "cool" back in the day, but seems completely useless now. A good part is the musical score which includes the Blue Danube Waltz among other pieces of classical music.

Anyway, with slow pacing, a poor story line, and strange special effects, the movie does not "work" anymore. It was interesting to see, but I won't make that mistake again. If you want to see how "futuristic" 2001 looked back in 1968, go for it, but I'm warning you... Remember, we're all in this together.

A "Paint Your Wagon" Day

It's a cold dreary day (and if the weather guessers are right, a few more cold/wet days are coming). This morning, I went to the campground to visit my brother ... and the campground was quiet. There were only 2 folks at the pickleball courts which are always crowded and soon they walked away. The parking lot by the laundry was empty. The campground store was deserted. The golf course was uninhabited. Dogs are not being walked! In fact no one was taking a morning walk. Needless to say, the pool was empty too. It's a cold dreary day. Everyone was in their RV staying out of the cold and dank.

The day reminded me of a scene in the 1969 movie "Paint Your Wagon" where the wagons are circled up to protect everyone from the wind, rain and snow. As the scene progresses, the song "They Call the Wind Mariah" fills the air. Today the campground reflected that song. 

We are not getting any wind, but we are getting cold and wet weather. The "wagons" are circled up and any minute now, I'm waiting for someone to burst into song (as they do in musicals). Click here if you want to hear the song that kind of describes today in the Rocky Mountains. 

Baby It's Cold Outside

Summer officially arrived on June 22 and today is June 27 and I'm going to report that winter has arrived. It's cold outside. The weather is doing "funny things" right now as there's a heat dome over the Midwest...so they are having unusually hot weather -- The Rocky Mountains are in the "shadow" of that heat dome and we are getting unusually cold weather. Today it reached 51 degrees.

The storm we had was bad. The trees were swaying; the thunder was clapping; and the lightening was flashing...and then it started hail--thankfully, the hail became rain which pounded down with great fury. No snow at 6300 feet...but the mountain tops might be snowy. I've not been outside to take a look at them...it's too cold.

Relaxing on the porch does not happen in the cold. Listening to a book on the porch does not happen in the cold...nor does rock painting. Lunch and dinner on the porch don't happen either. In fact, when it cold, no one really wants to go outside. I did not see the fawns playing around either...it was too cold for them too. I'm guessing their mama was happy as she could keep a closer look on her two lively bambis. I did see one deer laying on the ground which I thought was strange as the ground was wet, but it might have been better than the forest floor. I don't know.

I don't know how much longer the "heat dome" is going to stay over the Midwest, but the weather guessers are thinking a few days. That means we have a few more days of cold, wet weather too. As I've been told many times, you never know what the weather will be like in the Rockies...and that's the truth. Remember, we're in this together.

Twin Fawns

Summer officially arrived on the 22nd of June about 2 AM. The next day, 2 very lively fawns showed up in my backyard. They are tiny and cute and spirited as all get out. As typical for blogger, right now, it will not let post pictures...so you are going to have to imagine what they are like. Lucky for me, you've all seen fawns before and these 2 are typical but with more energy than most. Right now I have the pleasure of watching them grow up this summer. I'm sure other fawns will show up. I know they are hiding in the forest and it's just a matter of time.

Yesterday, I was sitting on my screened porch enjoying the scene. Picture, if you will, a mama doe with 2 youngsters. Mama's job this summer is to teach these 2 little guys to be deer. Mama is doing everything in her power to teach them and they are NOT paying any attention to her. Instead they are racing around in circles. One going in one direction the other going in the other. She stamps her foot, which is a pretty "loud" command for mama to do, and they pay her no heed. She stands between them trying to stop their antics and they continue to jump and bounce and run. I can see the exasperation on her face as she has her mouth open. I've been watching deer in the backyard for a long time, and I've never seen a mama deer open her mouth as if to say "stop it!" The little ones just bounce and jump. This pair of fawns love to race in circles and they race around her. 

They put on a show for 2 hours yesterday and I'm wondering where they are getting all the energy. I'm getting tired looking at them running around. They did stop a couple of times to feed and mama let them, so they are still nursing, but then right back to their antics of running at top speed around my imaginary race course. They are just too much fun to watch.

One of my joys every summer is to watch the deer. We have a small herd (maybe 10 or so) and each deer is different from the others. I know most of them on site though none of them have names. I don't feed them either as I don't want them to become dependent on me as I'm not a full time resident. They have "nests" where they sleep at night, favorite places to hang out during the day, as well as favorite times to appear and disappear from the forest. You can see the path they have made from the forest to the backyard but I never go on their path...I want that to remain their path. 

For now, summer has really started. I get to see "my" deer and enjoy the antics of the fawns. It does not get any better than that. Remember, we're all in this together.

An Ode to 399--Queen of the Rockies

Thirty-one years ago a grizzly bear was born in Grand Teton National Park. No one knew then that 399, as she was called, would be celebrity. At a grand old age of 26 she became famous by doing something natural yet extraordinary. She gave birth to quadruplets. Since quads are kind of rare in the grizzly bear population, she was studied by everyone.  Her 4 tiny cubs were a phenom. None of this phased her--she had a job to do: raise those cubs to be wise grizzly bears. She was undaunted by that monumental task. 399 was a natural mama bear, as she had raised several sets of twins before. She knew what to do. She taught her cubs until they were old enough and wise enough to be on their own. The quads thrived in the Park. And then another miracle happened, when she awoke from her winter den in her 28th year, she was followed by yet another cub. She was a very old grizzly mama bear by this time.

Folks from all over the world flocked to the Tetons to see 399 and her cubs. The roads in the Park were cordoned off so everyone had a chance to see the 5  bears from a safe distance (they were grizzly bears afterall). I would make special trips into the Park, just to see 399 and her cubs. Once in awhile she would put on a show by crossing the road with her little ones trailing behind her...or all 5 would swim across a stream...or she would play with her cubs...and everyone would take pictures and ooh and aah over 399 and her cubs. She was nicknamed the Queen of the Rockies.

Then something horrible happened. Late one night, when her last cub was 1 year old, 399 was killed in an automobile accident. All of us felt our hearts skip a beat. We would never see 399 playing with her cubs anymore. We miss our Queen. She was our very special bear. And, while we know she is not with us any more, her spirit lives on in the Tetons. 

To that end, my friend Sunni wrote a poem about 399--the Queen of the Rockies. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

In the deep, dark places 

Of the forest night,

Where the moonbeams 

cannot illuminate,

Her footsteps tread softly still. 

A leaf rustles, a branch 

Moves as she passes.

The pika watches intently

From its crevasse in the rock. 

Her breathing awakens 

the slumbering ravens,

And their cries into the stillness

Echoes across the valley. 

“She is still here!” they cry. “She is still here.”

The broad river flows 

swiftly over the rocks

that tumble where she walks. 

The wolf pauses and then retreats silently 

back into the darkness.

This is her territory, then, now and forever. 

These mountains where she drew her first breath.

These mountains where she grew and thrived. 

These mountains where she became the land, the rivers, and the sky.

These mountains are her home, then, now, and forever. 

The bison lie quietly as she passes

The elk stay hidden in the sage. 

Once enemies, now respect.

She pays them no mind.

Daylight is coming 

And it is time for her to rest

Until nightfall

when the Queen’s footsteps

Will once again tread softly.

In the darkness of the Tetons. 

Desert Lows and Mountain Highs

As you know, we live in the desert and the mountains. During the winter we are desert dwellers and in the summer we live in the mountains. It's been fun or interesting (I'm not sure which) to look at the temperatures of the two places.

For the past week or so, the high temperature in the mountains has been just about the same as the low temperature in the desert. SO we are getting all the way up to 75 here and the desert is getting down to 77. The highs in the desert are screaming hot--about 112--while our lows are about 45. 

In other words, the only time you can enjoy being outside in the desert is early morning or twilight. In the mountains it's just the opposite. During the day is just about perfect but once that sun goes down it gets a little cool.

BTW this is exactly the reason we live in two places. It's our small attempt to stay in spring/summer weather conditions throughout the year. In the winter, the desert is cooler but not anywhere as cold as it gets in the mountains. Remember, we're all in this together.

Learning to Play Samba

I spent yesterday afternoon at my first Samba lesson. Samba is not a dance--it is a card game that is played with 8 decks of cards and about a million rules...at least it seemed that way as I was playing the game.

Lucky for me, I have a pretty good card-sense as I've been playing cards since I was a youngster. My mother taught me to play 21 way back when and I'm still really good at adding to 21. As a family we played double or quadruple Solitaire, Rummy, Hearts, Whist and so many other card games I can't remember all of them. My mother and I played a Rummy game that lasted for several years. I would come home from school and we'd play Rummy until it was time to cook dinner. We had a canasta set but I don't remember playing with it very much. That was too bad, as Samba is a version of Canasta.

Yesterday I went in with a tiny bit of knowledge about the game having seen a Youtube video that explained the game. However, playing the game and watching the video were not exactly the same. There are "house rules" that might vary from the "rules" which the video explained. 

I learned how to meld and  book. I learned about a dirty book (it has wild cards in it). I learned that jokers and twos are wild. I learned about a "Samba" and a "Super-Samba" (which we did not play). I learned some of the basics but there's much more to learn.  Given that, my team won two of the three games and I'm not exactly sure how that happened. I know why we lost the third game--we had NO good cards. 

That's the thing about cards. It's hard to win if you don't get the right cards and that's probably the fun behind most card games. You can plan all you want, but if you don't get the card you need, there's not much you can do except wait for that special card. Of course, changing your need for that card will also  work...but again, you might have wasted too much time to make the change work.

Anyway, I had a good afternoon. I learned some basic rules and I understand the "fun" of the game. There are a lot of things involved and as the summer rolls along, I hope to learn more about them. In the meantime, it's good to know I can still learn. That's a good thing. Remember, we're all in this together.

A Tow Truck Adventure

We are in summer quarters in the Rocky Mountains. It's beautiful up here. The house made it through another winter and we're ready to rock and roll. But wait...the car we leave here was not. It had a very very flat battery. 

We tried everything we could do to get it started when we finally decided to call AAA to give us a jump start. That's where a new adventure began. AAA was prompt. I called them saying I need a jump start. About a minute later, a local tow truck company calls and says "I'l be there in 12 minutes." A text arrived with a real time map telling me exactly where the tow truck was and he arrives on time. I was impressed.

He has the biggest jump start kit I've ever seen, attaches it to the Jeep and voila the Jeep starts. Then the horn started blaring. He figured out to do, and the horn stops. We thank him and plan to drive around for a while to keep the charge. BUT the Jeep had other plans. About 1.5 miles from the house every light on the dashboard starts lighting up and flashing. I saw warning lights I've never seen before. The windshield wipers are wiping away and the horn starts blaring again--then the engine dies! What to do. I'm on a narrow two lane road that up till 2 years ago was a dirt road so it's hard to find. I call the AAA guy and he says he'll be there in a few minutes.

Sure enough, he arrives. In the meantime 3 neighbors stop to see if they can help and I tell them that help is on the way. I thank them for their help...and then the tow truck arrives. Nat, the AAA tow truck guy, starts the Jeep again and puts it on the tow truck. At this time I find out that the dealer who has been servicing the Jeep has moved his business to Jackson...and we decide to go to a local service shop. That's when Part 2 of the adventure begins.

We are all in the cab of the tow truck with our Jeep tucked away in back, when the tow truck has problems. He has just blown a turbo or a transmission as he cannot go faster than 12 miles an hour. He inches back to our house and makes arrangements for a new tow truck. We pick up our truck, follow him at 12 miles an hour to the location of the other tow truck--and that's where we leave scene. 

He's going to put the Jeep on the new truck and we go to the service shop and tell them the Jeep is coming. We do that and he does what he says. We think we need a new alternator along with a battery.

I've not been in a tow truck since 1984--that time we were on a cross country trip with our first truck and fifth wheel trailer. We stopped for diesel in Kennebunkport, Maine when our truck died at the gasoline station. It had lost a transmission. We were towed to Portland, Maine...but that's another story. Tow trucks are huge complicated pieces of machinery that do a fantastic job and somehow we "know" they are not supposed to break down but I guess they do. Nat, our tow truck guy was embarrassed and apologized for the problem...and we just went with the flow. Things happen we told him. All was going to be well. 

Someday soon we'll get the Jeep back. We had an adventure we did not expect. Met some neighbors who were really helpful and had a good laugh. Things happen that you can't predict. We just had a lemon thrown at us and me made some sweet lemonade. Remember, we're all in this together.

In the Aspens

We are back in our tiny portion of the  aspen forest. Last year when we arrived in late April, the aspens did not have any leaves on them; this year, a month later, the trees are covered in green leaves that rustle and quake when there is a breeze. The trees and the forest are beautiful. Hiding in the forest are deer. 

So far I've seen 3 sets of male deer--4 yearlings with 2 tiny prongs, hanging out in the backyard; 2 four-prongers that seem to like the front yard and 2 six-prongers that have nests by the porch and the shed. They are setting up their summer territories. I have some pictures but blogger has blocked that feature right now.  I've only seen one doe...a yearling--but no mama does. I'm guessing they are hiding in the forest protecting their fawns.

In the meantime, the DrCs are trying to get the house working the way it should. The problem is not the house, but the owners. I have a bad back and we are both aware of the lack of oxygen at 6300 feet. There's oxygen here, but not the same amount we are used to at a lower elevation. It will take us a few days to acclimate, until then it's "work-a-little-rest-little-work-a-little-rest-a-little." I'm not expecting any company for a while, so we can take our time. 

It's late spring in the Rocky Mountains...that means there are sunny days and rainy days and even some snowy days. Yesterday we had a rain; today we have mixed clouds/sun/rain. Summer officially begins about the 22 of June, so we're expecting this type of weather for a couple of more weeks.

All in all, aching back and no oxygen, it's good to be here. The mountains are gorgeous. The deer are great fun to watch, we are in our little home in the forest--and we've even made a short trip to the Tetons (another picture I cannot show you). 

In the Mountains--and it's GREEN

We migrated back to the mountains. The most interesting part of being in the mountains is all the green. Green is not a desert color and here we have lots of green. The mountains have snowy tops and green hillsides. The fields are green. The aspens are green. The green is lovely and my eyes are happy.

We are slowly moving back in our little house in the forest and finding once again, it's hard work that has to be done. Since we've done this for decades we know what to and that means taking it slowly. One day at a time, one thing at a time. Don't rush--do it once and do it right. So far so good. 

Yesterday we all stopped working about 3 as it was a lovely day with perfect mountain weather. I sat on my easy chair  on the porch and watched 2 young stags wander the property. They were born here and they stay here all year. These fellows each had 4 prongs on their 5 inch antlers. They looked healthy and happy. I did not see any does or bambis but give them time and they will emerge from the forest.

There is a lot of stuff to do, but the porch squared away so the rest will happen in good time. I love my porch. I found my rock painting tools so you know that I'll soon be painting rocks and listening to books on the porch and enjoying time in the Rocky Mountains. It's good to be here. 

Memorial Day

Let's honor all of our Veterans.

Migration

It's that time of year when we think about our annual migration from the desert to the mountains. We'll be leaving soon. But it reminds me of all the years we've made this migration. It started in 1973.

Back then, the migration happened in a 20 foot mini-motorhome and we were going to take our first big trip around the United States. We planned to be gone for 67 days. It was exciting. We had a new motorhome, all the gear that we needed, and off we went. The other DrC developed an ambitious itinerary that was filled with adventure. We truly thought we could drive in the morning, camp at our destination, play at the destination, and the next morning, pull up camp and do it all over again. Little did we know  we were wrong. There was no way we could do all that and relax and enjoy our "vacation." It was turning out to be hard work and NO fun. We did it for 2 weeks. We were exhausted. We had to change the plan.

That night, we were camped in the Grand Canyon and we had a big decision to make--Keep the RV and change our plans or sell it and try something else. We truly did not want to sell our beautiful motorhome.  We got out our maps and looked at the over-planned journey and pared it down to about a 1/3 of the original. We made some huge decisions: we would not drive more than 200-250 miles a day; we needed time to decompress from the drive before we started to play; and we needed to stay at our destination for more than one night. I mean, there we were in Grand Canyon and we had only planned to be there for 3 or 4 hours. We also decided that this trip would be the first of many and each time we were out for 60-70 days we could see what we missed the time before. 

We followed those guidelines for over 50 years of RV-ing. We are not long distance drivers...we still travel about 200 miles a day. We like to sit back and watch the scenery. We like to enjoy the towns and parks along the way. The US has over 60 National Parks and we've been to most of them. There are also hundreds of places to enjoy and learn about our beautiful country. It truly is the best place on earth (and we know, as we've also visited over 140 countries on our "migrations").

Over the years we had many RVs. We camped all over the US and Canada, eventually visiting all 50 states and every province in Canada. We also visited the Yukon Territory but never made to the Northwest Territory (or Nunavut, which was not around when we started camping over 50 years ago. BTW we did not camp in Hawaii--but one time we bought a grill and ate our dinner watching the waves roll in--it was wonderful. 

The first summer out we discovered Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and fell in love with them. Since then, we've visited those 2 parks as often as we could. Every year we are in the US we visit those two parks. We are really good tour guides too.

This year, we're getting ready to make our summer migration. Alas, the last RV was sold 3 years ago. We drive our hybrid pickup truck and stay in hotels. It's still good. We'll end up in the mountains soon. We will not miss the heat of the desert. We will miss our desert friends in the 'hood. Remember, we're all in this together.

Who Turned the Heat On?

We've been enjoying a pretty mellow spring...not too hot, not too cold, lots of daylight and all is good. BUT "someone" turned on the heat a couple of days ago. Today the outdoor temperature is 107 degrees! That's HOT! Of course we are in the Mojave Desert--one of the hottest deserts in North America...but gees--it's not even mid-May and it's cracking 100 degrees. 

If your vehicle has a black steering, it's too hot to touch after sitting in the sun for a few minutes. Black upholstery is a nightmare at this temperature. I feel sorry for folks with black cars--there's no hope for them. Some cars have trendy black-matte door handles which are impossible to touch in this heat.

It's definitely time to think about snow-birding to the cooler north. Today it is a balmy 73 degrees at our home in the woods. That's why we snowbird.

Critters

I'm back making critters. Three little soft fluffy kitties ...

...Elizabeth the Elephant

...and there are more in the works!

 

May Day--A Trip Down Memory Lane

Many years ago--when I was in elementary school, my class danced the MayPole at the big park in our home town. I  remember the dance as I did not know how to skip. I learned how to skip so I'm guessing it was the first or second grade. 

Our class started practicing how to dance around a MayPole early in the spring. We had to have a partner and it had to be a boy. We had to skip. And on a special day we would dance the MayPole at our school and "if we were good enough" we might be invited to dance the MayPole at the big park in downtown on May 1. 

I learned how to skip, which apparently it was quite difficult for me. I remember my dad trying to teach me as we skipped up and down the street for weeks. I finally got the idea and for months I would not stop skipping. He created a little skipping monster. It was so much fun.

We practiced dancing around the MayPole at school. Our teacher gave us huge ribbons that were long and wide and we needed to practice making a neat design on the pole. The day came for the school competition and we were chosen to dance at the park. It was a great honor. 

Then came the real work. All the girls had to have matching dresses and the boys had to have matching vests (with dark pants)..and our mothers were supposed to make the costumes. My mother made the dress, which I remember was green, as were given the fabric at school. I have no idea what would have happened if my mother did not know how to sew. On the appointed day we dressed up our costumes and went to the park. It was exciting!

There were lots and lots of MayPoles standing in the park. There was a huge school band ready to play the music. We found our special MayPole with the green and white ribbons and got ready for the dance. We were all so proud to be dancing in the Park. The band started playing and I remember thinking it sounded different from what we danced to at school because at school we listened to the music on a record player and this was live. The music was the same but it was different. They played the first round of music and we all waited for our cue and then we started twisting our ribbons around the pole. Our class made our finest design on our pole and so did the other classes. Each class had a different set of colors so the poles were decorated in green and white and pink and red and yellow and on and on. It seemed like the whole town was there watching us dance around the MayPoles. It was a special day.

So, as this is May 1, I'm wondering if there are any classes "out there" that are dancing around a MayPole in their special matching dresses and vests? It's a fun little memory. School has changed. I remember teaching 4th grade many years later, and we never danced around a MayPole. I would tell my classes about my memory of the MayPole Dance and one time we made a make-shift MayPole from the tetherball pole. My "kids" thought it was fun. And it was!

Birthday Bash

I had a Birthday Bash...and it was great fun. I received cards and calls and texts from lots of friends--I talked way too much (I lost my voice) and I laughed and took trips down memory lane. It was a good day. Thank you everyone for making it such a good birthday.

We went to a restaurant in one of the casinos for dinner. I wanted two things with dinner--a Margarita and a real baked potato (not a microwaved one) and I had that! I loved the Margarita--I had not had a Margarita for a long time and it was yummy. I think I'm over my drink quota for the year though as the Margarita was drink number 3 and I usually have 5 drinks a year. I better be careful?  As for the potato, there's nothing that can take the place of a real baked potato with all  the fixins. The rest of the dinner was great too. To top it off, they prepared a special creme brûlée for me with Happy Birthday written on the plate.

It was a good day. I felt like a real human. The pains were gone and I was smiling and laughing...does it get better than that! Tonight there's gonna be a little birthday party at Karen's home. The beat goes on. I'm a very happy camper. Thanks everyone!

Life in Geezerville: Social LIfe

There is social life in Geezerville but it's not the social life we had when we were a bit younger. Now life revolves around seeing the doctor. We seem to have a lot of doctors. As I approach my 4th score of years (I'm not quite there yet) I seem to have a doctor for just about every body part. Coincidently or sadly (I'm not sure which), my friends have the same issues if not the same conditions.

I visit my fellow geezers and they are doing the same thing. We have to arrange our fun times when no one is seeing a doctor. Birthday celebrations get postponed for cardiologists, neurologists, and other  "-ologists" out there. We've decided celebrating a birthday can happen anytime within 2 or 3 months of the actual event. As the clock spins, we see more and more specialists for conditions big and small. All is good, and we always have something to talk about.

Taking a nightly walk is a coordination effort...we have settled on a time when the sun is setting and it's not too warm, but each night before the appointed hour, we text our little group. If it's not windy (we don't like to walk in the wind) we ask the same set questions: Who is going to make it? How's your back, your foot; do you have the energy; are the allergies better? Then we decide to where to meet. The chair yoga group is easier to coordinate--my house, 9:30, come if you can, bring your coffee. It all works out and it's surprising how many come just to talk to each other and offer support. That's good too.

On our recent river cruise I discovered my geezer friends are not alone...so many of the cruisers had trouble carving out ten-doctor-free days, to have a bit of fun. It was kinda funny to talk about and yet somehow encouraging to know that we were all in the same "boat" as it were. Apparently we all did it as there we were on the boat, with our walkers and canes and braces, having a grand time.

Back to reality--the pain doc and the foot doc are next to each other, the pharmacy is a few doors away. Next to him is one of many skin docs (we do live in a desert, and skin was never made to see this much sun). Across the street is the one of many PT places. Nearby is the hospital. Across from the supermarket is a set of you guessed it, doctor's offices. The heart doc is in the same building as one of the beauty shops (walk-in men's haircuts for 20 bucks so fellows can take care of two things at the same time). Sometimes we can coordinate our maladies, use one car and, commute together. We're good at that. We see so many doctors we make friends with other patients and the staff. The staff knows us all on sight so check in is easy. I guess this is one of the things that makes for a "tight" community.

Long gone are the cute sedans or sporty cars we used to drive...we all have Wusswagons (you know, minivans or big SUVs or Pickup trucks) of various brands that are big enough to fit walkers and even wheelchairs. If someone needs a temporary walker, there is always a spare we lend to each other. My walker wanders around the 'hood to anyone who needs it for a week a two. It's a good thing. One of our geezer friends even has an extra electric wheelchair that is available...another good thing.

Once in a while the appointments are fun. You know like getting a mani/pedi or having our hair done. The biggest decision is deciding what color to paint on the geezer. Blue haired geezers now have a cadre of friends with glitzy silver or gold or green or red hair. We were quiet and business-like for decades and now we are thinking out of a different box. It's our time to be a bit eccentric and creative. A sparkling polish to enhance our fingers and toes is a good thing. Spending time in the hot tub or getting a facial is good too. Getting a little bit of pampering between seeing the docs is important--and going with a friend is twice as much fun.

The golden years are indeed different from the other years we have experienced. We know what we are getting into, and at least in our 'hood, we are doing it together. I hope you and your geezer family are the same. Remember, we're all in this together. 

Happy Easter

A bit late, yet the wish is still good. I hope y'all had a Happy and Blessed Easter!

The Double-Nickel and Beyond

We are home. The cruise was great. I learned a lot about the area; the Lewis and Clark expedition; and what we can and cannot do. First and foremost we can take river cruises. We're a bit slower than we were, but we can still move and enjoy the journey. We have not spent much time in the Pacific Northwest as the DrC went to school in Eugene, OR and had his fill of gloomy gray, damp, days. Guess what--many years later the days are still gloomy gray and damp! But when you don't have to call the place your "home" it's easier to deal with, and that's what he did. As for Lewis and Clark...the lecturer knew L&C like the back of his hand and I thoroughly enjoyed his stories of the Voyage of Discovery, as it was called. 

Along the way we celebrated our 55th wedding anniversary...that's the double nickel. The folks on the ship surprised us with chocolate strawberries and champagne on the day--and lots of folks wished us a Happy Anniversary. 

The last day on the ship we were in Clarkston, WA on the Snake River...and across the river is Lewiston, ID. We took a tour of the 2 tiny towns. There was a small aircraft museum with several old airplanes all in flying condition. They were restoring a DC3 to near new condition...but the vehicle I liked the best of a 1920-ish bright yellow Ford pickup truck. A far cry from my "new" hybrid Ford F-150 pickup. The only thing that is the same is the bright blue logo with "Ford" written in it. I'm guessing it's Henry's signature (but I don't know that for certain).

The trip home was long. We flew out of a 1-gate regional airport in Lewiston, ID. The American Cruise Lines bus picked us up at 8:30 for our 12:10 fight. There was a waiting room at the tiny airport and we waited for the hours to tick by. About 11 ACL brought us our lunch (they did not want us to starve) which we all enjoyed...then we left the lounge for TSA check in. At tiny airports TSA is not a hassle right now. Soon our 'zone' was called and boarded the plant. The flight to SLC was about 70 minutes. We landed on time and had to wait all over again. About 4:45 boarding started and we left SLC about 5:30. The flight to home was 48 minutes long and we arrived early. The folks were waiting for us and we deplaned without incident--but we had been up since 6:30 AM and we were tired. We found our car and drove home. Once home we stopped working. I sat down and didn't move much until I went to bed. 

This morning reality hit. There was no Sky Lounge for me to get breakfast. Ava did not have my coffee ready for me. In fact we had no breakfast food in the house. We quickly dressed and went to the store and bought breakfast stuff (as well as few other supplies) and came home. 

The luggage is still in the back of the Jeep. There is "stuff" to do, but we are still tired. A few folks have called wishing us Happy Easter. The stuff will get done...just give us some time to rest up from yesterday.  We had a good little vacation!

River Day

 Yesterday we had a "river day" which means we cruised upriver without stopping. On an ocean ship it's called a "sea day" and we like sea days. The river day was equally enjoyable. It was a lazy day as we sailed up the placid river.

I got up early to have breakfast in the lounge. I like breakfast there as it's informal and the food is good. (But the food is good everywhere on the ship...and it's plentiful too.) I sat in one of the comfy chairs in the lounge and looked at the river. It was a gray day (we're in Oregon after all) but the views are stunning. Mountains line the river--every so often there's a field that's plowed waiting for the next crop or there's a vineyard. There's great long strings of trains on one side of the river as well as cars and trucks wending their way from point A to B. There's lots of vulcanism along the river too. Mt. St. Helens is not the only volcano in the area, and over the millennia, many basaltic flows have left evidence behind of the fiery past.

At 10 I went to a Lewis and Clark lecture--another excellent talk given by Clive our resident historian. Then I stayed for the cookies--gotta have fresh cookies. There was a scavenger hunt to work on and of course more talking and sharing with the pax. Lunch came and for some reason I was not very hungry so I had a 1/2 portion. This ship regularly offers half portions of food and it's a good thing. After lunch there was a cooking demonstration. I now know how to make an "Apple Galette." We were told the apples are so good in this neck of  the woods because of the soil. All that vulcanism has made the soil rich and perfect for apple trees.

Then we got into trouble. We bought another cruise. This one on the Tennessee River from Nashville to Charlotte--it will give us an opportunity to visit friends in TN too. I asked for the special chair and was told it would be NO PROBLEM. You gotta love American Cruise Lines. 

Next stop was another L&C lecture, then cocktail hour, then guess what? Dinner. We had prime rib last night and my favorite dessert--ice cream. 

The day ended with us in the Lounge looking at the river. There was night time entertainment but we were tired so we went to our cozy room and I instantly fell asleep. A lazy river day will do that to me. Today we stop somewhere, I think Pendleton, and we'll get off the ship. In the meantime, we're enjoying our Columbia river cruise.

In The Dalles, OR

I've been to The Dalles one time a long long long time ago. Needless to say I don't remember it as I was probably under 10. I remember the name as not too many towns start with "the." My mother used to talk about The Dalles because she thought it was pretty.

That was then, and this is now. I find the scenery along the river to be pretty. It's teeming with wildlife and traffic and it's fun to watch it go past the boat. However, The Dalles is not all that scenic. It's an old town that has seen better days--then, to add to that--it survived a fire a couple of years ago and I don't think it has recovered completely. Having "survived" the Camp Fire in Paradise, CA I understand that it takes time for the scars of a fire to heal. 

We took the loop tour of the town, which took about 35 minutes. It's not very big. We could have stopped at a couple of museums on the loop tour but then we'd have to walk and neither of us are great a long distance walking right now so we passed the museums. Nevertheless it was a good little loop that gave us a flavor the town.

We spent the morning listening to the resident lecturer talk about the Lewis and Clark Voyage of Discovery. I'm a huge Lewis and Clark fan, so I found the lecture most interesting. In the afternoon, the lecturer brought some "artifacts" from the era of the expedition. He had a replica of a 2-inch Thomas Jefferson medal that was given by L and C to the Indian Chiefs as they sailed up the Missouri river. About 230 Thomas Jefferson medals were forged in 1804 and only 6 have been recovered--no one knows what happened to the rest so I was excited to see a copy. L&C wrote in their journals when they gave out a medal, but they never stated who received the medal. One of many mysteries of the expedition. 

Another good day on the American Harmony. We listened to a future cruises presentation and think there are few more river cruises we'd like to take--and we were told that I could get my recliner chair too. That is good news.

We're skipping entrainment tonight--we tired from doing nothing so we'll go to bed and get up early. The ship starts to wake up at 630 and if you want a nice breakfast in the Sky Lounge you gotta be there early. We are on the boat all day tomorrow so we'll see some pretty scenery as we cruise up river toward Pendleton, OR.

In Kalama

We stopped in Kalama today. A tiny town with a pretty port. It was supposed to rain...but it did not. We were going to go on the shorex to Mt. St. Helens but we skipped it as my back was hurting too much. On a positive note I told housekeeping that the bed was really bothering my back and guess what? They delivered a reclining chair to our room. I'm a very happy camper. This is one more example why I really like American Cruise Lines. They listen to their customers and try to make things right. It's hard to argue with RIGHT.

So instead of seeing Mt. St. Helens, which we had seen not too long after she blew her top, we stayed on board and I went to a bookmark class. There's usually lots of stuff to do but today they were expecting four bus loads of folks going to MSH and not much was planned. There were not many people on board, so we had the yacht to ourselves. I always like that feeling. The cookies arrived on time, and we enjoyed the sunny but cool day. We are still upriver from where we embarked the boat which seems kind of strange. We took 1 step forward and 3 steps back. The Dalles is our stop tomorrow and we will finally sail past Stevenson where we got on the river. 

The food is great. I had some sea bass with a yummy risotto for dinner. A long time ago I learned to stick to easy desserts, so I had the best dessert possible...a dish of ice cream. 

From dinner we went to the lounge and saw a fun one-man show who did a reprise of many Broadway songs. He was a quick change artist too, so each song had him in a new costume. I thoroughly enjoyed the show. 

The day is winding down now, I have the alarm set of 6:30 so I can catch breakfast in the Sky Lounge (my favorite place) then there's a 9:30 event; and at one-ish we'll take a drive thru the Dalles. It's a very nice cruise.

Astoria

Astoria, a town on the Oregon coast, named after John Jacob Astor, is a painted village of Victoria homes sprinkled across the hillsides. Our guide said the town was older than San Francisco, but when I looked that up in the august source called "wikipedia" I read that San Francisco was founded in 1776 and Astoria in 1811. You can figure out the "right" answer.

The town was founded by Scandinavians--folks who liked cold weather, rain, wind, gray skies, lots of trees, the ocean and fish--lots of fish. In the old days, we were told, there were 55 canneries in town processing tons of salmon. Back in the 1850s the salmon grew to be 7 feet long and weighed accordingly. The canneries made lots of money and built the town. The salmon are no longer 7 feet long and not as plentiful, due to overfishing (much like the "Grand Banks" on the east coast which is overfished too). 

For me, the highlight was seeing the location where Lewis and Clark exclaimed "OH JOY!" When finally seeing the ocean after their long trek across the North American continent. They were not near the ocean exactly, about 11 miles from it, but it was the first place they saw breakers hitting the shore. I can only imagine their excitement at seeing those waves. They camped in Astoria during a cold muddy wet winter before heading back east. Their original plan was to catch a boat that would take them around the tip of South American and sail to DC...but the boat never came along. 

After our shorex we came inside and warmed up. I don't think it got above 45 degrees today. For a "desert rat" that's pretty cold. We warmed up, ate lunch; found fresh cookies, napped a bit, looked at the scenery and did not do much of anything. It was a good day. We went to dinner and then to the port talk for tomorrow and saw the entertainment. I thought of Eddie during entertainment as our fellow played the piano and trumpet at the same time...at one point he even covered the keyboard and played an elaborate song. I've never scene that trick before. Eddie can you give that a try?

American Cruise Lines continues to provide a great cruising experience. The food is good and plentiful--and happens at the drop of a hat. If you are sitting in a lounge, someone will come by and offer you something to eat. That person will even save cookies for you if you are away on a shorex. Tonight she said that there will be cookies on the shorex as she did not want folks to not get their fresh cookies. 

We explored the ship a bit. We found the free laundry (with detergent no less) on deck 2. We also found the fitness room at the back of the ship with machines to wear away all  the food that we are eating. On a side note--you can order a 1/2 portion of food--and that's a good thing. 

Tomorrow we head to Kalama, named after a Hawaiian person, and IF the weather is good, we'll take the shorex to Mt. St. Helens. There's a 95% chance of rain, and that means there's a 95% chance that the DrsC will not go outside. Don't worry though, there are ton of things to do inside the ship too.

On the American Harmony

We are onboard the American Harmony, our floating home, for then next week. Our first stop today was Multnomah Falls, which was beautiful. The long cascade of water dropping dramatically down the gorge is mesmerizing. There's something about waterfalls that makes you want to watch them over and over again, and Multnomah was no exception. Because it's early spring, the waterfall was flowing full stream ahead.

From there we were supposed to bus to Stevenson, WA and board our boat...but our bus died. The other 3 buses made it without a hitch, but not ours. A call for help brought out a replacement bus within an hour and we were on our way. The pax in the bus took the delay well--can you believe no one complained? I was proud of us for taking the disappointment so well. We arrived at our ship about 45 minutes late but we still had time to eat a full lunch; learn how to use our life jackets (tho it will not save our lives). We also met the crew and the wonderful folks who make all the food.

At 4 there was a lecture on the Bonneville Dam on the 90 foot lock which we missed...we went to the lounge in the back of the ship and looked at the gorgeous scenery instead. We stayed there till dinner time and went to the formal dining room and had another delicious meal. I'm ordering 1/2 portions as there's just too much food. Now don't get me wrong...I'm still ordering full portions of dessert. Tonight I had a cute little creation of chocolate and raspberry that was to die for. One person at our table ordered the same dessert with ice cream and frankly I don't know how he ate it all as it was r-i-c-h. The servers give you want you want. There was an open bar after dinner--then entertainment....sadly we missed the entertainment as we were just too tired. Everyday at 10 and 3 there are fresh cookies. Throughout the day there are goodies to eat. If one goes hungry on this cruise, it's not the fault of the boat.

Tonight we are cruising downriver to the Astoria, OR which is on the ocean. We will spend most of the tomorrow exploring Astoria before sailing back up river. 

It's been fun so far. Lots of neat people to meet. Lots of well travelled folks with stories to tell, All is good on the Columbia river. 

In Portland

 We made it to our destination, Portland, early. The flight from our little 3-gate regional airport (I was told it was a 1 gate airport but there are 3--and TSA was working and there were NO delays) was perfect. Our tiny airport was efficient and nice. We were told to arrive 2 hours before our flight time, but we did not need to. There were NO waiting in lines and the TSA Pre-check worked without a problem. We boarded on time and flew to SLC. Again, no problems there. Last flight was to Portland and again, no problems. Upon landing, we were greeted by personnel from American Cruise Lines, our favorite domestic river cruise company, and taken directly to the shuttle to Embassy Suites. All worked like clockwork. I might never fly out of Las Vegas again where the hassle is great; the distance is far and the parking is ridiculously expensive. The regional airport has $7.00/day parking and I got a space right in front of the doors. It hardly gets any better!

The flights were uneventful...the way we like them. I saw Zootopia 2 on the flight to Portland which was a fun diversion and it ended right before we landed--so it had perfect timing. As we were getting ready to land I looked out the window and saw 3 volcanoes. Two were perfect "Fuji" type cones but the third was not--the third was Mt. St. Helens which of course blew her top in 1980. The other two were Mt. Hood and Mt, Rainier (in Washington) I think. I've asked several locals what the names of the 3 volcanoes were outside of Portland and NO ONE knew all three. There was agreement on Hood and St. Helens...but a big question mark as to the third. The Internet has not been much help either. SO if you know the names of the 3 volcanoes outside of Portland, please tell me.

So far the trip is going well. It's fun to be on "vacation." I don't have to worry about anything as it will all be done for us. The next few days are going to be very relaxing cruising up the river to Clarkston, WA.

Tomorrow starts early with our luggage collected at 7 AM. We go to breakfast at the hotel and at 9 we have an excursion to Multnomah Falls before we board the boat in Stevenson, WA. We are ready! Nighty-night.