Other summer events

The summer seemed to just fly by and one thing we loved was packing a picnic and heading off to a free concert in the park. Both Portland and Vancouver scheduled weekly events which we tried to attend when possible. The one pictured here is from the park under the bridge in the St. Johns area of Portland. The bridge over the Willamette River is called the “cathedral bridge” and was designed by the same architect as the Golden Gate Bridge of San Francisco. This picture does not show the towers and cables of the longest section but it is also a suspension bridge. We made a trip to California to visit with Jan, Al and Tara and attend a memorial service for long-time family friend, Gerry Green, who passed away at 92. We of course miss him but cherish all of the memories he left us. We are not sure how we managed to only get a picture of Mount Shasta on that trip. Of course we enjoyed times on our deck but learned not to be there after dusk as this was a particularly bad year for mosquitoes. We had been struggling along with an aging gas stove since we moved in. We finally were able to find and purchase a new one we liked. Brett helped us with the installation. I enjoyed taking the old one to the recycler who was glad to receive the heavy beast.

Backyard Adventure

Brett and Kasey had located a backyard playground for Cecilia and the plan was to have it assembled for her birthday. Norm and Sheryl (Kasey’s parents) came over for the birthday weekend and the girls went off on a trip so Brett and Norm could assemble the playground. Roy and I stopped by to see if we could help, just in time to raise the roof, so to speak. There were lots of parts but eventually all parts were in place and the project was completed in time. It was nice to sit back and see the finished structure and imagine how Cecilia was going to enjoy playing on it. The real payoff was seeing Cecilia very excited about her playground structure and she kept announcing: “I have my own playground in my yard”.

4th of July in Ridgefield

We had heard the 4th of July celebration in Ridgefield was like an old time celebration, so we made plans to be around for the festivities. When we drove into town the evening before the parade we realized it might be a bigger celebration than we were expecting as the entire parade route was already lined with chairs saving prime viewing space. Bertha, Nancy and I went down early to see if we could find a place for our chairs. The next morning we found our small town was being invaded by folks for the festivities. When Brett and Cecilia arrived he informed us he was glad he could park at our place as people were parking up to a mile away! The children’s parade was short and we visited while waiting for the main parade. Little did we know it would go on for about an hour and a half with lots of prizes being distributed to the kids. The kids had bags full of everything from Candy to toothbrushes and even bird seed packets promoting the fall bird fest. The parade included quite a variety of groups, including antique cars and tractors, motorcycles, marching bands, horseback riders, emergency vehicles, etc. During the rest of the day there were activities all around the town but we spent most of the time hanging out on our deck. That evening we were treated to lots of fireworks. The city put on a great display and many locals also had high powered fireworks to display.

Oregon Coast Trip

With another beautiful day forecast, we decided to connect with Roy and Suzanne for a trip to the coast. Before departing we had to snap a picture of the two new baby buffalo and their mothers just down the road from Roy and Suzanne’s place. They sure are cute and their mothers seemed proud that we were there to see them. We enjoyed visiting as we traveled on the Washington side of the Columbia to Astoria. We had a nice picnic viewing the bay and Astoria bridge but somehow forgot to snap a picture. Then it was on to the Lewis and Clark National Monument to explore some local history. While there we noticed a dugout canoe that we are quite sure we saw being made when we visited the monument with Kari and Brett so many years ago. Then it was on to Cannon Beach for a walk which we all enjoyed. While walking around the town we enjoyed many flowers displaying their splendor. No coast trip would be complete without a stop at Camp 18 for dinner and a chance to explore the restaurant which is built like a National Park lodge. .

Mount St. Helens

On a day the weatherman surprised us by predicting a warm summer day Nancy and I decided to make a day trip to see the mountain. We quickly packed a picnic lunch and hit the road. It is only a short drive up the freeway to the turn off and then maybe 50 miles of scenic roads to the visitors center. Along the way we enjoyed seeing the lupine in bloom. Part of Mount St. Helens hid in the clouds but we were treated to warm weather and eventually the mountain revealed her beauty.

Family Gatherings in Ridgefield

As luck would have it, the Texans arrived before Kari, Charles, Travis and Wren had to hit the road again to Tennessee. Greg and Geri, as well as David, Tanya, Juliana and Ally stayed with us, but with so many family members here Kari, Charles, Travis and Wren stayed with Brett, Kasey and Cecilia and Bertha stayed with Roy and Suzanne. We were glad that Bertha and the families of the four boys could gather for some reunion time using our place as the gathering point. The Northwest weather was not totally cooperative but luckily we were not hit by heavy rains. Kari, Charles, Travis and Wren had to depart before the weekend so they just missed the extended family gathering held on Saturday. All of the Millhollen and Farman vehicles pretty well filled the driveway!

Relaxing in Ridgefield

Relaxing at our familiar house in Ridgefield was comforting after completing our family Alaska / Canadian adventure. It was special to have the family staying with us in Ridgefield. The long road trip where we spent most nights camping did wear all of us down some. Cecilia was very excited to have time with her cousins whom she had really been looking forward to seeing. Of course Nancy and I enjoyed having Kari, Charles, Travis and Wren and Brett, Kasey and Cecilia around the house. You can see Kari trying to relax in the recliner as she is surrounded by the kids. We spent a lot of time in the kitchen which we are pleased is large enough to accommodate large family gatherings. We couldn’t let Bill and Deanna fly back to Tennessee without having the families gather at a favorite restaurant, The Spaghetti Factory, for a feast. As you can see, we did have a rather large gathering and of course enjoyed a fun evening before dropping Bill and Deanna off for a red-eye flight to Nashville.

Jasper and Banff Canadian National Parks

After completing the ALCAN highway, we traveled east into Alberta, Canada so we could see Jasper and Banff Canadian National Parks. For a while we traveled through rolling hills and rural lands but all of a sudden we dropped into a canyon and started into Jasper National Park. The mountains were stunning and we were amazed at how sometimes the canyon was wide and then would narrow into a very narrow gorge with the waters rushing through. We were overwhelmed by the beauty of the mountains. Their steep and rugged features had us snapping pictures like mad. We also loved the rich aqua green color of the streams and lakes in the area. We spent two nights at national park campgrounds that had very nice facilities. While in Jasper we visited the Columbia Ice Fields which is a huge glacier which just happens to be the headwaters of the Columbia River. We knew the Columbia River started in Canada but had not made that connection of exactly where. We enjoyed Lake Louise in Banff National Park and enjoyed spending time in the town of Banff which very much reminded us of Swiss or Austrian towns. We had been disappointed not to see many elk along the way but were treated to a bull elk who seemed to be posing for us near the road. After a wonderful time in the national parks we crossed the border into Idaho. As it was getting late and we were road-weary we found a motel in Boone’s Ferry to spend the night. Checking Google Maps we realized it was only a long day’s drive to Ridgefield, so we made the decision to get on the road early and see if we could make it. As we traveled through the Idaho and Oregon desert areas we were glad to have air conditioning and were reminded how tough the families traveling by covered wagons must have had it. We were anxious to bring an end to our road trip and all relaxed in Ridgefield that night. By the way, our travel records indicate we had covered almost exactly 6000 miles in 3 weeks, camping every night except the last one. We certainly enjoyed traveling the ALCAN with the family.

Travel in British Columbia

Again we found the northern part of British Columbia a prime area for seeing wildlife. It was not unusual to see bears, buffalo, sheep and caribou each day. In Dawson Creek we enjoyed seeing the “sign forest”. No wonder so many communities are missing signs as we saw many are posted here. It was fun finding signs of towns from all over the world, including ones that were special to us. Some people had planned ahead and created unique signs to leave, while others were very hastily prepared on the spot. At Milepost Zero we documented our journey with pictures. Travis and Wren enjoyed pretending they were entering a car that was painted on the side of a building. It was the end of the ALCAN adventure but not of our journey as we were still a long way away from Ridgefield, Washington.