Off to Judy's mountain for a couple of days

Thursday September 10th - Saturday September 13th (Days 452-454)
We were busy with company from Keith's wedding through Tuesday, so on Wednesday we cleaned up a bit and packed Howie for a quick getaway. The weather was going to be great, and we hadn't made it to Mt. Rainier this year yet, so that's where we headed.

A view of the mountain from Clear Lake. It looks like a great place to live! Harris only wants to know if people there have high speed internet.

Our camping spot at Cougar Rock campground, on the Paradise side. We spent a lot of time reading and relaxing.

There was a group of Delorean drivers who congregated at Paradise on Friday.

Instead of wildflowers, in September we get reds and oranges on the hillside from the bushes that change color.

And of course, marmots are always entertaining to watch along the trail.

We hiked up the east side of the Skyline trail. We started out too late in the day to do the whole trail, but still got a work out doing just a few miles. Harris is trying out his new gadgets....portable tripod and setting up the shot from his iphone. It worked!

Friday was a hot day to hike...nearly 80 degrees, and no wind to cool us down...very unusual! We certainly needed our "blessed shade" stops.

A view looking back over the trail.

We stopped on the way back to cool our feet in the mountain stream. Pretty cold!

Another shot of the stream.

First night's dinner....barbecued chicken, salad and baked potatoes!

Breakfast both mornings was scrambled eggs with ham, bacon and toast which always taste so much better when camping.

On Saturday we drove down to Longmire lodge and enjoyed the scenery from the front porch. This porch is a traditional stop whenever we head up to the mountain.

Then we took a short hike to Kautz Creek. This hike was blessedly shaded and pretty level all the way. Our sore legs appreciated that!

A goodbye shot from the other side as we drove home. It was relaxing trip with great weather. Seems we did the same weekend last year. Maybe the August trip will become a September trip instead!

Howie goes to a wedding in the woods

Thursday September 3rd - Tuesday September 8th (Days 446-451)

Our youngest, Keith, got married this week at Anderson Lodge outside of Ariel, WA. It is a retreat center with many buildings and beautiful scenery. We had company arriving all week, and on Thursday, we slept in Howie in our driveway to make room for them.
On Friday, 3 carloads of people and "stuff" set off for about a 4 hour drive to the lodge. Kyle and Serenity took trays of wine glasses in the van, Dwight and Sana took boxes of wine in the Avalon, and Harris and Judy took food for the masses in Howie.

Friday night we gathered with about 40 of the guests for the rehearsal dinner. Many hands make light work, and many people helped us cook and serve.

Joe delights in starting the fire for the burgers and brats which were accompanied with beans, slaw, chips, cookies, and 6 varieties of home made beer.

The rehearsal goes like most rehearsals go...totally discombobulated and off the tracks!

"And then we..."

Three of the many people who helped put it all together.
Dwight and Sana went above and beyond the call of friendship and cooked and cleaned all weekend with us. 

Howie finds a great place to witness the entire event.

Setting up the sound system in the great outdoors. Everything was beautifully set up in advance, and then the rain rolled in. The ceremony was delayed for a few minutes, and when the sun broke through, guests were given towels and asked to dry off their chairs. :) 

Two of the many campers that helped put on the show.

The proud parents ready for the big event.

 

Serenity and Kyle giving River some last minute flower girl instructions. 

The rain clouds parted for the actual exchange of the vows.

A big bonus for Harris and Judy was seeing their friends at such special events. Everything got done, The kids were married, the dinner served, and we danced the night away. Keith and Theresa wanted a "camping" wedding, where their guests could stay and visit for more than a few hours. Some guests stayed the entire 4 days, others came and went. On Sunday morning, Keith challenged his mom to join him in "beer pong"....a first for Judy. He kindly designated someone to drink the beer in the cups, since Judy hates beer. Judy and Keith only lost the game by one cup!

 

Judy scores in her first beer bong event ever with expert coaching from Keith.

Howie took us home on Sunday afternoon, very tired but happy for the newly weds. Keith, Theresa and some of their friends stayed another day before heading off to their homes around the country.

Washougal, WA family get-together

Friday August 7- Monday August 11  (Days 442-445)

 

Harris's youngest brother, Rick, arranged a Thomas family get together at his house in Washougal, WA, over the weekend. Everyone had a great time....once we got there. It took us over 6 hours to drive from Lake Stevens on Friday. There weren't any major traffic jams, or even major construction, just too much traffic.

But once we arrived at his house in the woods, the good times started. Teresa is an extraordinary hostess and cook, and made some fantastic meals for the 20 of us. We slept  in Howie in the driveway, which was a good thing since every bedroom and spare room was full!

On Saturday morning most of us went off for a short hike to a viewpoint overlooking the Columbia River Gorge. We told everyone to go ahead of us, since they were on a timeline to do more fun things in the afternoon, and we knew we wouldn't keep up with their young legs. Luckily, Christine hung back with us and made the up hill slog  go by so much faster by keeping us entertained with stories of her travels around the world. Thanks, Christine!

The group reached the top before we did, and we met them on their way back down. Harris snapped a quick picture of them before they trotted down and we continued to trudge up.

The view from the top of the trail. That is a fire there on the left side of the picture that started a few days ago.

We were hot and tired, but we made it.

Harris had to try out the panoramic mode on his camera!

A picture of breakfast quiche.  Just one of the delicious meals Teresa made.

While we were hiking, she stayed home to make this fabulous birthday cake for Judy and Al.

Ewan brought a fun game called spike ball, and challenged the gang to a few rounds.

Yolanda checking in on what's cooking (Arroz con pollo) for dinner.

The younger set spent some time playing pictionary on the back deck.

Arroz con pollo and barbequed salmon...wow.

We left on Sunday, and stopped by Judy's brother's for dinner and a spot to park Howie for the night. Ralph barbecued a great salmon on his grill, which has a table all the way around it.

 

On Monday, we did a quick stop by the Anderson Lodge Hilltop House, where Keith and Theresa are going to be married on September 5th...just a few weeks away! It is a gorgeous spot for a wedding, and we're hoping the weather will be sunny and warm. :)

 

 

Ocean City State Park

Tuesday July 28- Thursday July 30th  (Days 439-441)

 

 Seems like the summer is flying by, and we haven't been out in a while. So we jumped at the chance to join Marilyn and Gene again. This time we camped at Ocean City State Park, on the Washington coast. The weather in Seattle has been incredibly hot so far this summer, so we welcomed a chance to find some cooler days. The joke was on us! Definitely cooler at the ocean, what with the wind blowing! We didn't pack our warm blankets and sweatshirts....and decided that we had to always have them in Howie in the future, no matter what.

We took a lot of walks along the beach. The first 2 days were so foggy and misty that we had to follow our footprints in the sand to find our way back to the campground. Hardly saw the ocean waves until the very last day.

 

Our first camping spot. Since we didn't make reservations, we ended up moving for the next night, but that's not hard in Howie...especially when you're not plugged in. Just pick up the camp chairs and drive!

Marilyn and Gene had 2 of their granddaughters along, and wanted to do some fun things with them. So on Wednesday we went into the town of Ocean City and Harris joined the girls driving go-carts around and around and around.

Then they all had fun running into each other in the bumper cars.

Gene drove Marilyn and Judy to a quilt shop, and Harris took Natalie and Maddie geocaching. Natalie had done this a few years ago with us, but it was Maddie's first time. Natalie now has her own Geocaching handle and account!

Our last night and the weather was finally clearing up...no wind, no fog...beautiful sunset!

 Family pic before we said goodbye. We stopped in Shelton to visit a good friend for the afternoon, and missed most of the traffic coming home. 
A short trip, but fun!

Lake Pearrygin (part 2)

Tuesday April 28- Wednesday April 29 (Days 437-438)

 

The weather has been good, but Tuesday was the best. It started out a little cloudy, but soon cleared up and by the afternoon we were wearing our shorts.

We took a long walk in the morning with Marilyn, Gene, and Trix. It wound around a hill and took us by a herd of cows that were a bit upset when they saw Trix. So we cut up a hill and avoided the trail they were blocking. Harris took pictures with his new camera of the cloud formations.

 

Marilyn, Judy and Sharon went off to the quilt store in Twisp, and explored the touristy shops in Wintthrop. When we retuned to camp we all played a dice game called Farkle...and Judy won!

We pooled our resources and had a delicious dinner of steak, potatoes, bread, salads and wine. Not your usual camp fare!

Marilyn and Sharon tried fishing again, but the fish just aren't biting. No one in this campground has had any luck all week.

 

On Wednesday, we took a morning walk up the hill, searching for a geocache....which we did not find. Harris tried again later in the afternoon on his own, but had no luck. It was a laid back sort of day, sunny but a cold wind kept us from fishing. Since we didn't want to sit outside to eat, we decided to go into Winthrop for a Mexican dinner to finish off the camping trip. In spite of the lack of fish, it's been a good trip. The weather has been good and the company even better.

 

Trix looks noble here, doesn't she