A Volcano and Memories

Mount St. Helens in Washington State on Oct. 24, 2017 from viewpoint.

On the 24th of October (a lovely and warm, sunny, Wednesday), my traveling companion, Wayne, and I drove up to the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. Established in 1982, after the explosive eruption on May 18, 1980, the 110,300 acre site provides an opportunity for exploration, research, education and recreation.

Remaining trees from the blow-down after the eruption.

Little trees and other plants continue to
take hold and gradually change the
landscape of the starkness of 35 years.

I recalled that day as we were driving up toward the viewpoints. I was living in Boise, ID, with two daughters who were 9 and 11.  I wouldn't meet up with my son's father until July or August of that year. And my son would arrive the following year. (Here is a link to Wikipedia's information page: Mount_St._Helens) And shortly after the eruption, the ash from the volcano began to fall in Boise. It was only a couple of weeks later that we ended up adopting a grey cat we called "Cinder."

Wayne looks out for elk and deer in the foothills.

I don't recall all the details of that particular day, but we began seeing ash fall in the afternoon. The girls were intrigued, but I was worried. What did it mean? How much would fall? And I vaguely remember news reports being broadcast of the actual eruption which was fascinating. It was exciting and scary at the same time.

A Noble Fir grows along a path that is
at the Loowit Viewpoint allowing folks
to walk a trail along the fallen trees.

Wayne walks further out on the Loowit Viewpoint trail.

The Toutle River cuts through the mud and ash.

Color returns to the landscape.

Wayne walks the Loowit viewpoint trail.

Movie viewing room has a magnificent view of the volcano.

Johnston Ridge Observatory; named after David A. Johnston,
a volcanologist who died moments after the eruption started.
He was standing on nearby Coldwater ridge.

The center lava dome that built up after the eruption. Taken
using my telephoto lens on a Canon EOS Rebel.

Right side of the crater. 

Inside the lower left side of the northern ridge (blown out)
and the newest lava dome is to the right. No significant
volcanic activity has occurred since 2008.

Seeing this huge mountain from a closer view brought all those images back and up at the Johnston Ridge Observatory the pictures were there once again. It was as if history was doing a forward and back in my head all day.

Wayne, as a former Department of Natural Resources employee, was a great source of information about all the Noble Firs that were seeded the following couple of years into the ash fall and other aspects of re-foresting a huge area that was blasted by the explosive event.

It was amazing to see these 34-year old trees and other landscape changes giving new life to everything in the area. And it was impressive to be able to look up at the open side of the mountain and see the new growth inside it as well.

Later we took a walk around the new Coldwater Lake, formed after the eruption, and came upon two bucks who were as surprised to see us as we were to see them. New life and new directions are part of living in general and I took this day as an affirmation of that occurring for me now.

A Trip to a Wind Farm

Have you ever wondered anything about the enormous windmills that turn on the crests of mountains across the United States? These are all part of a trend to further develop wind power as a clean source of electricity. 

Sign at entrance off Vantage Highway in Kittitas, WA.

In Kittitas County there is a PUD wind farm called Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility on the western side of the Columbia River. On the other side of the river there is mesa which features metal statues of wild mustangs.

These metal sculptures on a mesa above the Columbia River
remind folks that once the land belonged to wild horses and
native peoples. The walk up to the sculptures is worth it.

The facility began construction in 2005 and opened to the public in 2008.

If you look carefully you can see the wind turbines on the ridge.

The area where the wind farm has been established is an archeological treasure for the several tribes who, over the centuries, roamed and lived on the foothills of the Cascades.  Carefully researched and evaluated by PUD, the facility has made a huge effort to preserve lands and protect wildlife that still inhabit the area.

Driving up the road to the visitor center, one
gets a closer view with each mile.

Eons ago there was an enormous lake which is called today
"Lake Missoula" by archeologists. This lake burst its dam,
causing enormous changes in Montana, Idaho and Wash-
ington creating much of the landscape of the Basin. When
Wayne was in school he wrote a paper on this event.

I took the one-hour tour of the facility which included a view up inside the tower and standing just outside and underneath the 351-ft. tower was impressive as you looked up at three blades, each 120 ft. in length, turning quietly to capture the 40-plus gusts of wind that day. 

It is truly a a global effort to manufacture and install these Vesta V80 wind turbines as parts are manufactured all over the world.

There are limiters on the system to keep the blades from running wild so they don’t overwork the mechanics and overwhelm the carefully managed delivery of electricity to the grid. 

These 149 wind ‘mills’ are generating electricity that is sent to the Bonneville distribution center and so I was watching power gathering that will be eventually delivered to folks in Clallam County and other parts of western Washington. The total potential at the farm is power for 70,000 homes.

One of the turbines driving the Vesta windmills.

Looking down the inside of one of the blades; made of fiber
glass this particular one was damaged beyond use.

This informational panel tells a lot about the facility and a little bit about
the construction process. The tour guides are very well informed and can
answer a lot of questions in a variety of areas relating to the facility.

There are also solar array fields which are being used for research and to power the visitor center.

Several years ago on one of my road trips, I remember seeing a couple of trucks hauling these blades. How interesting that I should finally come to where they were installed (or some very like them).

Parking lot at the visitor center of the wind farm. 

It is not too surprising that the facility is visited by folks from distant states and countries. On our tour there were some Japanese folks. I overheard the answer to the question, "How many visitors come here each year?" The answer was "Anywhere from 14 to 20 thousand a year." Wow!

I highly recommend finding time to take the trip and the tour, making it all part of a visit to the beautiful Columbia River basin.

Standing in proximity to the turbine.

I persuaded the tour guide to take my photo on the way to see
the interior of the turbine tower. The wind was blowing hard
and cold. I had two layers and that still was lacking... like
the hard hat? Required with safety glasses for the tour.

SnowBirding 101

A beautiful maple tree in Solmar, near
Wayne's home in Sequim, WA.

The first thing about being a SnowBird (my choice of caps) is that you have to have a very sensitive ear, eye and nose for the weather.

At the first hint of frost, or the real thing, you must be ready to hoist your pack, or pump up the bicycle tires, or fill up the fuel tank for your transport (small van, large RV or boat of any size) and begin deciding what will go with you and what will stay.

Of course the size of the transporting device will determine a lot of the choices... and yet, even with a 40-ft. RV, weight is a constant concern. My Christmas tree is small, white and very light. Wayne's Christmas things are heavier, but it's his RV so he can have more latitude about what he wants to sacrifice.

There could be a reality TV show (there are so many already) about the Freezer Wars. I don't want to give up all the raspberries I harvested from my bushes this year. He doesn't want to sacrifice the cold space to fruit. I think there is merit to having plenty of butter (KerryGold) as he prefers something else to put on his toast. I was harsh about cleaning out the house food storage, noting that anything dating back to '01 really could not be put on board. He was resistant to giving up packages of things he could recall buying on sale back then. But then he was more than ready to give up a couple of pork roasts so I could have a couple of packages of bison meat. It was an interesting process. Finally the inventories complete, the freezer stuffed and assorted materials required for my cooking loaded, we can close out that exercise.

Not likely that the Seahawks 'man cave' will
be discarded, unless they disappoint greatly.

He just came in and announced, "We are going to weigh that motor home on Monday." And I said, "And then bring it back here and empty things out?"

Square dance shirt
under construction

He has all his tools, I have my art supplies. He has all his books and research materials for his ancestry project, I have a sewing machine to make square dance outfits (and some fabric, but for me - very little).

He has a camera, so do I. He has a computer, so do I. And it all adds up... every single ounce. If we were loading a boat I could just look at the waterline. In fact, I remember doing just that several decades ago as I was preparing for the journey that would take us to the Bahamas.

Snowbirds, as a rule, tend to leave their northern abodes and go south, often for months at a time. But their lives, hobbies, interests continue. For some there are groups in each location to facilitate those objectives, other folks simply find the other locations allow more time to follow those projects. But often some things must be brought along to continue, like building a quilt or working on ancestry.

And all those guilty pleasures we are storing and taking along will have a cost in fuel. I know that. Wayne knows that. And in time we may decide to lighten up by leaving more things behind... but probably not this trip.

We laughed at each other last night as we sat and watched a movie, ate some popcorn, because it really is 'home' we are settling into, taking with us. And Snowbirds do have to make a nest, along the way and at the destination(s).

Becoming a SnowBirder

After three trips (shakedown cruises on the land yacht would be a better description) Wayne and I are ready to launch into the SnowBird migration.

Our home-away-from-home is an Itasca RV.

Our dating life really began with the first trip to the Cranberry Square Dance festival in Greyland, WA, and continued with a second trip to the north eastern part of the state and most recently we visited Chehalis/Centralia to go to the state's square dance officer's meeting and dance.

The Wild Horses monument on a mesa above the Columbia
River was a great place to hike together for the first time.

Each adventure has given us a chance to test our ability to get along, work together, plan together and laugh a lot. He's a born-again Seahawks fan and has a progressive outlook about life that agrees with my own. I like how we traverse life's path together and particularly that he always reaches to hold my hand, even when hiking. He's a solid, man-of-the-earth kind of guy... very special.

So, for those of you who are not yet (or may never be) travelers by season, (or at all) this blog will continue to be what I intended it to be from the beginning, a short travelogue of places seen, impressions gained, and experiences of life for a new perspective, if you want it. For family and friends, it may be a way to keep up with "The Traveling Grandpa" and "Granny A" /aka Sandy Banks.

Accidentally we all chose purple for the color that night...
Les Kilwein, me, Ann Eilwein and Wayne in Centralia.

Wikipedia defines Snowbirds as: "A snowbird is a North American term for a person who moves from the higher latitudes and colder climates of the northern United States and Canada and migrates southward in winter to warmer locales such as Florida, California, Arizona, Texas, or elsewhere along the Sun Belt of the southern United States, Mexico, and areas of the Caribbean." 

Snowbirds use a variety of travel devices and I did once live aboard a sailboat for 8 years, mostly in southern climates. So the transition to an RV (big one at 40 feet!) is easy. But the challenge of maintaining my home in Washington (he has one as well), arranging for mail delivery, and various other tasks associated with an extended trip has kept both of us really busy for the past couple of weeks and now it intensifies as we plan to leave about a week earlier than originally intended.

Wayne, Carol and Joe looking at my art show at the bank.
I have made arrangements for these pictures to be collected
while I am away.

But flexibility is the key to survival. And packing to be flexible is an element of that... clothes for cooler weather, clothes for dancing, clothes for warmer weather, hiking, etc. Plus having my camera equipment, my sewing machine (making dance clothes) and my art supplies has me a little stressed. Weight on the RV, just like the boat, affects performance. And while I'm not willing to saw my toothbrush in half like a racing competitor I once knew, I am a lot more conscientious about this issue than Wayne might realize. My nighttime dreams are filled with designing an RV that incorporates some of these devices so that I'm not adding weight by bringing them.

Trying to hide anything on an RV of any size can be challenging, and my sneakiness is only because I want to surprise Wayne down the road with some special snack since he is the driver of the RV. I have to leave off this blog report for now because he wants to inventory the food supply... kinda silly on one hand since we have lots of shopping opportunities along the way, but he likes being able to choose off-grid experiences and having supplies to meet that need. Stay tuned... this is going to be an interesting ride!!

The First Snow Flies

Hurricane Ridge had its first dusting of snow recently, Sept. 17-18. And it feels cooler every night now. Recently there was a notice on FaceBook of a projected winter weather summary that suggests we might have a repeat of last winter in the NW.

With the limited water delivered through the summer, a heavy snow winter will not cure the dry conditions, but create some intense contrast next spring, probably leading to more fires in the forests.

An eagle flies past in a hazy twilight as I try
to get a picture of Mt. St. Helens.

There have been two major hurricanes in the Southeast and two huge earthquakes in Mexico, both of which have caused death and destruction for many. There is no question there are earth changes in progress, and a greater need to stay highly focused on what is good so that one does not become overwhelmed with uncontrollable circumstances.

What is good and getting better in my life is my relationship with a sweet and remarkably interesting man who loves to travel. We have taken three trips with his 40-ft. RV and are now preparing for the Big One, traveling south and east for the winter.

Our last trip took us to Centralia and Chehalis and allowed for a side trip to Olympia where we met some of his friends and one of mine. The RV park where we stayed was so peaceful and delightful; we walked in the woods, enjoying the beginnings of fall with large maple leaves turning colors and being dropped at our feet.

The air was crisp and finally we got some rain... it sounded just as lovely as it used to when it drummed on the cabin top of the sailboat... I lay in bed and listened to it as I watched one solitary yellow leaf dancing with each drop.

View from my window in the RV out to the
wilderness we called home for the weekend.

This was the first time I think I felt truly at ease in the RV, not worrying if I would do something wrong or minorly annoying to my travel companion. I feel as if I am getting back to my 'sailing' mode of using less water, being conscious of balancing the electrical load and planning the use of other resources.

I'm not allowed to drive the RV, but I'm very good at giving directions for Wayne to do the backing into sites. And I'm getting better at assessing if the site is wide enough, flat enough and deep enough for the 40-plus feet required.

The primary purpose for the trip was to go to the State Officers Meeting (and dance) in Centralia at the Oakville Grange and for Wayne to connect with some folks. We arrived on Thursday afternoon and I was surprised at how quickly others had put themselves into the primo spots (those with 50 amp electric and septic access) for the weekend.

I was reminded by the Tour Guide that this is the reason for leaving a site early enough to get to the next one before too late in the day.

Gordon and Sheryl Coleman with Wayne Ratcliff.

Wayne's trees - planted by him 42 years ago.

Friday we toured a lot of the area where Wayne had once been both a logger and firefighter, meeting the Colemans,
and seeing a stand of trees that Wayne had planted 42 years ago!

Wayne Ratcliff with me and Cheryl and Don Pruitt at the
Centralia dance.

Les Kilwein, Ann Kilwein, Wayne Ratliff and me with the
Shillings at the Centralia dance on Friday. 

Janet and Tony Schall with Wayne and me outside the
restaurant in Olympia.

Square Dancing today is a little bit more challenging than what I did with Duke Miller and Ralph Page in the 60's. But I am determined to get as good at it as I am at contra and ballroom. At any rate, it is keeping my brain from stagnating as I try to remember what "tag a line" or "scoot-back" or "split circulate" means. And I'm meeting some wonderful folks who keep encouraging me.

On Sunday we met up with Tony and Janet Schall from Olympia. He is a long-time buddy of Wayne's but we had such a relaxed breakfast, I felt as if I'd known them forever as well. Then we stopped to see the Pypers (Marcie and I met through her brother Stan years ago) and Marcie and Wayne connected through discussions about gardening. What a frabjous day!!

Me with Marcie Galyean Piper at her house near Olympia.

Wayne found a channel with the Seahawks
game being broadcast... they won that one.

And as we returned from our trip, it was a delightful drive back over the Tacoma Narrows Bridge (free - no tolls - heading west) with clearer skies and fresher air. The past month has been difficult with so many forest fires causing hazy skies and dreadful breathing conditions for so many.

Tacoma Narrows Bridge heading west.

Recently an enormous black rabbit (No, I'm not Alice in Wonderland in Negative) has started coming into my yard to munch on things. It is eating ALL the dandelions... curiouser and curiouser!

This lovely black rabbit keeps appearing in my yard.

See how its eye sparkles? I don't know where it lives, but
I am enjoying seeing it nibbling in my garden daily.

No Labor Day

I fully appreciate that Labor Day was started to honor the workers, and in fact there is some slight connection to the workers party back in the days when Russia was a Communist society, but when one is retired, the whole point is to be able to celebrate the holiday without feeling any sense of angst that the following day will cause any pain because it is 'just another day.'

Wayne in the Woodpile 2017

However, there is no law that states a retiree must be working any day of the week and watching someone else work is perfectly allowable. So I did. I watched my companion, Wayne, stacking wood for his daughter and her husband while they were managing the Kittitas Fair, showing swine, eating fair food and riding rides.

Unfortunately, I am not very good at just watching, and for awhile, until I got over the impulse to do more, I actually helped stack wood. Finally, as I honored Labor Day as the time when people who used to work can now sit back and simply relax, I got this photo of Wayne, who is also retired but unwilling to relinquish his hold on activity, finishing up nearly two cords of wood. Great going, Wayne.

We did do a drive later that day up a route called the Canyon Road from Yakima, WA, to Ellensburg, WA. Apparently with all the warm weather the Yakima River is warm enough for folks with inner tubes (and other floating devices) to float down it for miles.

And as we saw a few folks doing this and have heard it's a lot of fun, I think this has to be on my bucket list for next year as a sporting thing to do.

Heading up Canyon Road toward Ellensburg, WA.

The hazy conditions are caused by intense smoke being blown
in the area from Oregon, Washington and Canada.

Are there any tubers to be seen?

Cruisin' down the river on a Monday afternoon...