January was stay-at-home month. We welcomed back the square
dancers who flock to Mesa 
from January to March, and we immersed ourselves in
our favorite activity. With three other couples we began a two-table weekly
bridge group and enjoyed retrieving and eventually honing our bridge skills. So,
with about 18-20 hours of square dancing, and one evening per week dedicated to
bridge, our days and nights were pretty filled up. On any free evenings, we
entertained with dinner parties for family and friends. We still set aside time
for the Wine and Dine group and the Computer Club. I taught
classes in computer genealogy and in web page building while Ray attended board
meetings and set up speakers for the monthly meetings.
The really big event was the birth of our grandson, Keegan Joseph, in Michigan. He entered thecold atmosphere of Michigan on January 20, and in mid-February we visited Keegan and his parents, Paul and Robyn, to get acquainted. I know he is just another miracle of creation, but he certainly is special to us.
As the end of the square dancing season approached we entertained friends
frequently. Mid-March we met California friends at Casa Grande, between Phoenix
and Tucson, where we visited the Biosphere. The Biosphere is an 85 acre
enclosure of life under glass. The self-contained structure has a 1 million
gallon ocean, a desert and a marshland. Eight scientists entered the structure
and were supposed to be self-sufficient for two years. growing their own crops
and raising their own animals. Unfortunately, nothing worked right, but the
structure is still functioning, and the tour was interesting. It is located in Oracle, Arizona
CASA GRANDE, AZ
At this
time we also paid our first visit to the Casa Grande Ruins, a National Monument
just a short distance from Gilbert. The "Big House" here was built by the
Hohokam about 1300 by these people who had been lived in this area since 5500 BC
and farming here since about 1000 BC. By 300 AD these people had developed an
irrigation system which sustained their crops. The Monument isn't’t much, but the
"Big House" is well-preserved, and the history is fascinating. These two
places are so close, and yet we hadn’t visited them.
More friends from California visited near the end of the month. For Easter Bev, Rick and family flew in from California, Paul and Robyn from Michigan, and Mark drove from San Diego. We entertained them and Ray’s Arizona family for Easter, about 24 folks for dinner. We did some sightseeing and hiking at Lost Dutchman Park in Apache Junction with the family after Easter.
the
china and crystal had to be packed out of harms way, along with all decor. The
furniture was moved by their people into the garage and frames were built around
our china cabinet and secretary to protect them from damage.
MEXICAN RIVIERA CRUISE
So, mid-April we left our now deserted looking abode and drove to
California where we left with twenty-some friends on a cruise down the coast to
Mexico for ten days. We had a great time, enjoying the sights, the weather and
the company of good friends, as always.
FIRST COMMUNION When we returned from our cruise, it was time for Selina’s First Communion which took place on May 7. Our little girl is so grown up. She gave the welcome speech at the onset of Mass and did it with such aplomb. A family gathering followed, and we spent Mother’s Day with the family in California. We eventually returned to Arizona to face the prospect of putting the house back together and getting ready to leave for the summer.
By the time we returned, the heat had set in. We had a week of temperatures in the 100's, and we knew we lingered in the desert too long. We returned things to their proper places in the house, then prepared the house for the heat of summer and packed the motor home for our summer meanderings.
We pointed Camelot back to California to be there in time for Monica’s High School graduation festivities. The baccalaureate was on June 4, and she was Master of Ceremonies, so the whole family was present for that. Mark was in from San Diego for the weekend, and Paul, Robyn and Keegan came for the week to visit and vacation. The graduation party took place following the baccalaureate on June 10, full of Pomp and Circumstance.
FATHER'S DAY AND SQUARE DANCING
Father’s Day was celebrated with three of our children. Gail and Tom
graciously allowed us to park Camelot in their driveway, and we boarded a jet
for Louisville on June 15th where we attended an advanced and
challenge square dance convention. We danced till we dropped, the daily dance
schedule included eight hours of dancing. Needless to say, we didn't do that
much, six to seven was more realistic.
MOUNT SHASTA
We flew back to California on the 19th, and the following day
drove north to Lake Siskiyou near Mount Shasta to spend a day with Bev, Rick and
kids who were vacationing there. Shasta was beautiful this time of year. It was
almost covered in snow.
NATIONAL SQUARE DANCE CONVENTION
Continuing north we arrived in Portland, Oregon on the 22nd,
and the National Square Dance Convention began the 23rd. At this
convention we spent lots more time visiting with friends and enjoyed the company
of California, Nevada, Colorado and Midwestern friends. The dancing was good,
and by the end of the convention on Saturday night we bid farewell to our
buddies and headed home to recuperate. We stayed on the outskirts of Portland
for another few days to rest up and do some necessities like laundry and
shopping–none of which there is time for while attending a convention.
COASTAL WASHINGTON
At Elma, Washington I spent an afternoon in a cemetery next to the campground taking photos of old graves. I’ll get them posted to a genealogy website soon which will hopefully help folks doing research on ancestors there. In Ocean City, Washington we drove on the beach. No, we didn’t
have an ATV or a four-wheel drive. The beach there is huge, and the sand is packed and hard. The beach is actually a state road subject to all the rules of the road. Vehicles can drive for about fifteen miles. Folks just pull up on the beach and park and play. Flying kites is one of the most popular activities there, and huge elaborate kites were everywhere. Horseback riding is popular, as it is on so many beaches, and great herds of riders left hoof indentations in the hard sand.
SEQUIM, WASHINGTON
Next stop was Sequim, a town we have read about as being an ideal place to retire. The sun shines more than anyplace else in western Washington due to the “rain shadow” of the Olympic Mountains which protects the valley from the rain. A moderate coastal climate with plenty of sunshine–great, right? Yes, you guessed it, it rained a couple of days while we were there.
Sequim is also the Lavender Capital of North America, and everywhere we went we saw fields of lavender–really pretty, but I never got a scent from them. The town has an old railroad bridge it has preserved and is quite proud of plus lots of retirees to enjoy it. Sequim is pronounced squim and comes from the native language of the S’Kallam tribe. In their language s’kwim means quiet waters.
OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK
Sequim is a backdoor to Olympic National Park, so we took the trail up to Hurricane Ridge to see Mount Olympus up close. Well, as you can see from our photo, that didn't happen. We are continually driving up roads to see the tops of mountains which are never visible once we get there. You’d think we’d learn. We never did see Denali when we were in Alaska, saw Mt. Rainier on the third try, I think.
Olympic National Park on the Olympic Peninsula has miles of rugged coastline and a pristine rainforest. The peninsula was home to several native tribes who lived in longhouses and practiced the potlatch, a social custom that involved feasting and gift exchanging for significant events--so what else is new?
BLAINE AND BIRCH BAY, WASHINGTON
From Sequim we drove to Port Townsend and took the ferry to Whidbey Island en route to Blaine and Birch Bay on the Canadian border. We had visited here previously and enjoyed the climate and surroundings so thought we’d return. The coast here has huge tide flats for beachcombers and
sports an increasing number of pricey homes overlooking scenic Birch Bay. These adjacent towns surprisingly aren’t touristy (no quaint little shops) but there is a huge waterpark.
We visited Peace Arch Park while in Blaine. The Peace Arch is a 67 foot concrete structure which sits on the border between the United States and Canada and is jointly maintained by both countries. The Arch commemorates the signing of the Treaty of Ghent which ended the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain. An international sculpture exhibition was there during our visit. Also, I got a nice haircut in Blaine.
MOUNT BAKER
Looming above everything in this part of Washington is another ancient volcano, Mount Baker, the toast of Whatcom County. Taller than Mount Olympus, Mount Baker is almost 11,000 feet and is part of the North Cascades Mountain Range. One of its former names is quck-sman-ik, meaning white mountain. The “white” comes from 20 miles of active glaciers coating the mountain. In 1792 the English explorer, George Vancouver, renamed it for Lt. Joseph Baker, the officer who spotted the mountain while they were sailing near Dungeness Bay/
We took the 58 mile scenic drive up the mountain, but, alas... Need I go on? Right, we couldn’t see it. Just some nice clouds floating by with a quick glimpse of it now and then. The scenery was superb and worth the drive. We did get this incredible photo, though. It's not Mount Baker, but another of the Cascade Range.
LaConner is a tiny (under 8000 people) town nestled on the Swinomish Channel that exudes charm and hospitality. A huge marina houses hundreds of yachts and the harbor is home to working fishing boats. The town was originally a trading post founded after the Civil War in 1867 and renamed by John S. Conner who took over the Post Office in 1869. The LA are his deceased 
wife’s initials (Louisa Ann). We enjoyed walking through the town and visiting its art galleries. In fact, if I had $3000 on me during one of my walks, I would have picked up a great glass sculpture. But, alas, I never carry any money with me–just a compass and a bottle of water.
The Lady Washington docked in LaConner during our visit there. The ship is a replica that was built in Aberdeen, Washington and launched in 1989 as a Washington State Centennial project. The original Lady Washington was a merchant ship. These ships transported goods in their day as our trucks and trains do now. She was retrofitted and served in the Revolutionary War before returning to hauling goods. She was the first vessel to reach the Northwest and went on to sail to China and Japan. Now she sails the West Coast educating schoolchildren and adults like us about the times of the great merchant ships.
We stopped for two days Snonqualmie, Washington where we revisited Snoqualmie Falls Park where a visitors can look down on the 268 foot waterfall as it plummets into the river below. Delightful little town, and on the Sunday afternoon we visited the falls, the park was teeming with people - locals and tourists.
MOUNT RAINIER
Black Diamond, Washington was our home for the first week in August on delightful Lake Sawyer. We spent a couple of nights here in 2000 when our granddaughter was with us, and the lake is delightful. The location is a nice drive to the Sunrise entrance to Mount Rainier National Park.
Sunrise is the highest point in the park you can reach by vehicle. At 6,400 feet above sea level, the location gives breathtaking views of the mountain. And, contrary to all my previous complaining about clouds and obstructions, the day was perfectly clear, with hardly a cloud in sight. Wildflowers were abundant, and views of Emmons glacier were stunning. There are 26 glaciers that cap Mount Rainier, but Emmons is the largest and easily viewed from Sunrise. The visitor center at Paradise is certainly more luxurious than the one at Sunrise, but the mountain is more stunning at the higher elevation of Sunrise.
Mount Rainier is an active volcano and part of the Ring of Fire that circles the Pacific Ocean. At 14,410 feet it is the highest volcanic peak in the Cascades. In 1899 it became the nation’s fifth National Park. In the list of the park’s “human history” is a notation that in 1981, nine out of 11 members of a group of climbers with disabilities reached the summit. I was here at that time with Bev and Paul and a friend. We saw tiny specs on the mountain that were the climbers. This is possibly our fourth visit here, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.
ILWACO AND LONG BEACH, WA
Ilwaco, Washington is just north of the Oregon border on the coast. We pulled in the day before our anniversary and heard about an "English Pub" which had just opened, so we went there for dinner. I think the meal was better than the one in New Brunswick last year, but that doesn't mean a whole lot. Traveling this way really makes us appreciate the great restaurants at which we have been privileged to eat. Ilwaco is really tiny. We've walked the entire town on daily walks.
Thursday was a big event--maybe even THE big event--in Ilwaco. The marina had an art 
show/walk/car thing. The four or five little galleries were all open and serving complimentary wine and snacks. Some musicians were scattered along the way, and on the lawn between the sidewalk and the water, classic cars were displayed with their bodies gleaming and motors glistening with polished chrome and brass. They were from a car club in Long Beach. Not the one in California, but the slightly larger town two miles from here.
The Saturday morning “market” drew even more people than the art show. I don’t know where all the cars came from, but the parking along the waterfront was filled. There was a farmer’s market and several booths selling the usual fares–jewelry, art work, etc.
The town of Long Beach had a Kite Festival while we were there, and we enjoyed their colorful antics along the beach. Hotels and RV parks were full of participants for this festival.
We continued on down the coast in Oregon, and during our week in South Beach we enjoyed long walks on the beach every morning. It is another huge beach that goes on for miles. The weather was cool and sometimes sunny. The beach in the morning required a warm coat.
CHARLESTON/COOS BAY, OR
The end of August and early September found us once again at Coos Bay, Oregon enjoying the company of friends and the fruits of their labors at sea. The fisher people went crabbing and fishing, and we enjoyed playing pinochle, eating delicious food prepared by some of the world’s great cooks (our friends) and just plain old visiting. It is always a welcome week of shared friendship.
MC CLOUD AND DUNSMUIR, CA
We left Coos Bay on Sunday of Labor Day weekend and stopped at McCloud, California for four days of C1 dancing with Darryl Lipscomb. Several friends were in attendance, so we had an enjoyable, if not challenging, time in familiar surroundings. We stayed a couple of days after dancing to visit with friends and take a little hike to see Mossbrae Falls--really spectacular falls along the Dunsmuir River that cascade over a wall of greenery. This photo combines five separate shots that I took. Love the abilities digital photos give you. No more fisheye lens with the curved sides.
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA
When the fun was over it was time to get back to the Bay Area where Ray had some doctor appointments. Everything went well, and he is fine. Good for another 100,000 miles as they said about our old Camry. We enjoyed the time here to visit with grandkids, offspring and friends. We even managed to attend a square dance to say hi to dancers from this area.
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CA
When it was time to pull up our roots (or stabilizers in our case) we drove to Yosemite and stopped along the way to visit Mom and Dad in the cemetery in Escalon.
Yosemite is always breathtaking, but we missed the beauty of the waterfalls in spring during this fall visit. Bridal Veil Falls were great, but Yosemite Falls were a mere trickle. Soaring walls of granite are imposing whenever you visit, and the Sierra Nevadas never disappoint. Even at the end of September, visitors to the park were numerous. The shuttles were full most of the time, but we never had to wait for a second one.
We dined in the elegant Ahwahnee and enjoyed some delicious trout. This wonderful lodge celebrated its Diamond Anniversary in 2002. Something I didn’t know, not being a native Californian, is during World War II the Ahwahnee served as an R&R facility for the Navy. The Great Lounge was a dormitory for 350 men with rows and rows of beds. The Sweet Shop was the commissary, and, of course, the dining room was the mess hall. Wonder if they kept the chef? Ninety thousand service men and women relaxed at Yosemite and 6,752 patients were treated at the Ahwahnee.
When we left Yosemite we drove east through Tuolumne Meadow and Tioga Pass and its stunning scenery.