Taking a Step Back to Move Forward

This will be a fairly lengthy entry : )

As is usually the case, we have already set out on our fourth year journey without closing out our third. We could just skip the summer highlights, but there were several good moments we wanted to share heading home last spring.

We ventured even further south in Texas last winter to Port Aransas, which makes for a very, very, long (9 -10 back-to-back days) drive "home" for our summer in Deer Park, WA.

After three Texas trips we finally made it to the USS Lexington "retired" in Corpus Christie.

 Always love touring the old military ships. I find it fascinating to learn how crews lived on them for such long periods of time. If you know me, you also know how I feel about dentists : ( It's like a horror movie every time. This particular ship image would have fit me perfectly. (note the patients expression).

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We like to briefly mention any campgrounds we run across that surprise us. This was an excellent little spot hidden away in New Mexico. Complete with rocking chairs and a patio!

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 The highlight of our trip home was our "resting spot" in Colorado Springs.

The image above was taken our first night. A warm, sunny backyard BBQ.

This was the scene two days later. Some areas received 12 inches of "unexpected" snow which made it impossible for us to leave. It was beautiful however, and we enjoyed the time even more : )

We booked afternoon passage on the Royal Gorge Railroad in Canon City. We've always wanted to take a multi-day trip by train. This was only for an afternoon, but really enjoyable.

 We had "bar style" window seats in the "Club" section for the trip. Besides the awesome views of the canyons the trip featured lunch, drinks, and an outdoor open air car. They pretty much allowed us to venture anywhere on the train to enjoy the surroundings. The seats were about $100 total for both of us, and well worth the afternoon adventure.

The rest-of-the-way trip from Colorada was fast and furious. We were basically ready for a few months off after logging some 15,000 miles around North America.

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 When we hit Deer Park we immediately set about making it feel like "home". Last year we built the wall, landscaping and storage shed. This year added new outdoor furnishings.

Our spot on the golf course is truly a comfortable place for us to return to each spring.

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The summers' events included a visit from our Montana friends Darrin and Terri.

We captured an image of the very elusive horse-donkey-zebra on our drive up to Mount Spokane!

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 Shelby and I spent Fathers Day together (movie, mini golf, batting cages) I enjoyed it immensely, thank you Shelby!!!

The girls are both huge animal fans so Cat Tales was also on the summer's hit list.

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Late summer we returned the favor and traveled to Montana to stay with Darrin and Terri! We had a great time visiting, touring the Great Falls area. Many thanks to them both for sharing their home and spending time with us.

This is the shortest river in the U.S. and you're looking at all of it : )

We biked and barred. Clearly, we eventually forgot how to put on our head gear.



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And lastly, but certainly not leastly...my sister Eva got married. CONGRATULATIONS EVA and SCOTT. The wedding was a weekend event held at a remote ranch in Cle Elum. What a great idea that allowed us to spend extra time with the bride and groom, family and friends.

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WOW. That was a lot of info crammed into a single entry. But, it also gets me all caught up for new blogs as we venture forward this fall! First up...the Olympic Rain Forest!


I'll leave you – as is customary – with this softball sized dandelion.

Thanks for weeding : )