Valdosta Visit

Shane's Chargers Quilt - Courtesy of Grandma

Just returned from a two week stay with Mike, Jennah and the grandbabies in Valdosta. It was a nice family time for us, and it was great to see how much the kids had grown since we last saw them.

Birthday boy after the cake

Had a chance to spend a lot of quality family time with the kids - even babysat with them a few times so Mike and Jennah could get away on their own. Great fun for both couples I think. We were able to help celebrate Shane's 2nd birthday while we were there. There were even a few gifts for Makenna (early Christmas & birthday for her) so she wouldn't feel left out.

Hard at work on the cake

Weather was still pretty warm & muggy - guess autumn comes late in North Georgia. Not exactly football weather at any rate.
We returned Tuesday evening (21st) to one of the prettiest times of the year here in the Pacific Northwest. Cool, crisp & sunny days with the autumn leaves just reaching their peak. Makes for pretty walks along the Columbia.
Both of the kids had colds, and Rita has been battling a bug with some anti-biotics, hoping to be fit and healthy for the trip to Hawaii & points west starting November 17.
Here are a couple more photos from the trip.



Bath Time

One Year Ago

Rita Barcelona


Watching the rain falling on a chilly autumn day in Vancouver got us thinking about where were last year at this time, which was in Barcelona and on the island of Mallorca, where there's definitely more sun this time of year than there is here in the Pacific Northwest.

We stayed in the Old Town section of Barcelona - which turned out to REALLY be in the old town part of the city. Had all of the scuzzy ambience of Southeast Los Angeles, but at least it put us close to the center of things, and was easy getting around on their Metro to see the sights. The city really is unique - you're not going to mistake it for anyplace else you've ever been, mainly due to the influence of a man named Gaudi on the local architecture. It's as if Dr. Seuss had a few and then been given free reign to design & construct some of the buildings.



One of Gaudi's Buildings

The city traces its origins back to Roman times - in fact there are still sections of the old Roman walls visible in places. Of historical note was the fact that the "Barca" from which the Roman Colony originally took its name was a family name of its principal citizen at the time...who was the father of Hannibal - the Carthagenian General who attacked Rome by taking his army thru the Alps on elephants.

We did a couple of day trips via the local rail system to some of the outlying areas near the city, one of which was to the old Monastery at Montserrat - the place was built as a fortified position several hundred years ago during the Middle Ages, and the primary way to get there is via cable car. The ride takes about 20 minutes and elevates you from the valley floor to the site of the monastery itself about 1500 hundred feet above.


Montserrat

Stayed in the little town of Fornalux on Mallorca, another ancient hillside town that must be the prettiest village in Spain. From there it was a pleasant hike down the valley to the town of Soller. From there you could hop on the local train down to the Port of Soller - really picturesque and with lots of great local hikes out into the countryside. During our travels we take special note of those places we like enough to consider a return visit someday, and Mallorca has to rank near the top of the list. Admittedly, the quality of the local Cava may have helped sway our opinion a bit.


The Port of Soller


Local Transportation to the Beach

Triple Falls Hike

The weather is forecast to turn cold & rainy for the next week or so, so we took advantage of the last day of sunshine to go on a hike on the Oregon side of the Columbia Gorge. The route wound its way from Horsetail Falls to Triple Falls and on up the Oneonta Trail for about 4 miles. Pretty steep in places but our feet, legs and knees seemed to hold up pretty well - a good sign considering all of the walking we plan to do on the NZ trip in November.

Looking forward to our trip to Valdosta next Tuesday to visit the Grand Babies (and their parents) for a couple of weeks.

Here are a couple of photos from the hike. The trees have just started to turn, although it was interesting to note that the most colorful plant in the forest was the Poison Oak - usually difficult to pick out from the surrounding plants but now quite obvious thanks to having turned various shades of gold & red.

Get-Together at Mom's Sunday Afternoon

Bobbi & John



Larry & Rosie arrived on Saturday afternoon. On Sunday we had an informal get-together at Mom's to celebrate their arrival and to fete Bobbi - who has a birthday coming up next week. Here are a few photos:





Rita & Bob


The boys The Girls

Hiking in the Gorge

Went on an intermediate hike the other day to the Columbia Gorge - on the Washington side. It's part of the Pacific Crest Trail that starts in southern California and goes all the way to the Canadian border. We did approx. 10-11 miles round trip.
This route was fairly level, ie not the straight up & straight back down stuff that characterizes the hikes on the Oregon side of the gorge as soon as you step out of the parking lot. Not as dramatic as the other side, but a good test for us. Rita was checking out her foot from the surgery she'd had back in April and I was testing a knee I had injured on one of the steep hikes on the Oregon side last month. Both seemed to be OK.
Weather now cooling off a bit - better for tramps in the mountains, and we noticed that the first leaves were just starting to turn. Should be spectacular for the next several weeks.
Once the soreness wears off we'll be heading out again - trying to get back into decent hiking shape for the New Zealand trip in November.

Here are some pics from a previous hike in the same area.
















The view down the Columbia River

Homeward Bound

Sept. 11 & 12

Departed Jackson Hole on the 11th for the trip back home to Vancouver. Stopped along the way at Shoshone Falls in Idaho, which apparently is quite a gusher in the Spring, but as you can see there isn't much to it in the Fall. The Snake River valley thru which it flows is quite dramatic, however, and it made for a nice break from all the driving.

Shoshone Falls

On the 12th we stopped off at the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center near Baker (eastern Oregon). Really well-done. Guess there are about 14 miles of the original trail that run thru the area, and the ruts from all of the wagons that passed this way 165 years ago are still visible in places. Made for an interesting hike down into the valley and back up to the visitor center.




Pioneer Woman on the Oregon Trail

Finally made it home late the evening of the 12th after spending about 90 minutes stuck in traffic on I-84 east of Portland - they had closed the highway because of a forest fire near the road. Managed to extricate ourselves at the town of Hood River, crossing the bridge over the Columbia and continuing via Rte. 14 into Vancouver.

All in all a great trip - even the weather cooperated for the most part. Looking forward to our next sojourn to Valdosta, Georgia in about three weeks to visit Jennah, Mike, and the grand kids. After that it will be off to New Zealand for 3 months starting in mid-November.

Meanwhile we're back home, doing laundry and refolding the maps in preparation for next time.

Teton Village, WY

Bob and I both have contributed to this little travelog through Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Until now, I had never been to Glacier, Yellowstone or Grand Teton National Parks, and they are really something to see. It is so good that these wilderness areas are set aside for millions to enjoy. The rangers really do a good job in the delicate balance of protecting the animals, yet allowing the visitors to see them. 50 years ago when Bob visited Yellowstone, for instance, the black bears were all over the cars. Now the "moocher" has been bred out of them and they are rarely seen, which is far better for the bears. As of this year hikers in the backcountry of Grand Teton now have to carry an food-aroma proof container to discourage them.

And then there's the acres of trees. 80% of pines in Yellowstone are lodgepole pines, which have 2 kinds of pinecones. One type is shed during non-forest fire years. The other needs a fire--heat of at least 130 degrees-- to open. 20 years ago the park had a terrible fire, but nature has reseeded itself with thick carpets of baby trees, far more "planted" by nature than would ever be planted by man.

Crossing the prairies, forests, deserts and mountains that we travelled comfortably by car, I was in awe of the forbidding country that faced those going west. The West represented hope and a new life to so many Americans, but to the natives who lived there for a thousand years, it also meant the death of their way of life.

The side trips were well worthwhile. To see William Clark's name etched on a pillar of rock, or the markers of where Custer, his men and the Indians fell on the Bighorn Battlefield site is something I won't forget. When I see a certain shape of hill covered in yellow prairie grass, I'll think of Fetterman and his men riding into an ambush. Or is I see a magnificent lone Buffalo sitting on a plain, I'll remember the one we saw as we hiked the same trail Chief Joseph did as his led his little band of Nez Perce Indians towards Canada in an attempt to hold onto their way of life a little longer.

Now as we gaze at the incredible peaks of the Grand Tetons and were gifted with the sighting of a couple of moose on our last day before returning to Washington State, its the culmination of the profound beauty this part of the country has. Brings me back to my childhood, living most of it within view of 14,126 foot Mount Shasta in northern California and all the summers spent in the Marble Mountain wilderness area with my Mom and Dad and brothers and sisters. Bob and I would be walking along on a pretty hike and there would be a certain smell in the pine forest which brought it all back. This was Bob's birthday gift, this trip. I turned 60 this year and consider it the best birthday gift I could ever have had as well.