Category Archives: Travel

We Crossed the Line…

Since Dear is retired now and soon he’ll be all wrapped up in building his shop we decided to take advantage of “free time” before the shop materials arrive to enjoy a day across the line. (that was a long sentence w/o punctuation) We crossed the border into Canada at a new to us crossing, Paterson, just north of the town of Northport in Washington state. We crossed the line at about 7am and we were the only ones crossing at this time in the morning.

British Columbia welcomed us with a few rules and cautions. Now we would have to think in kilometers.

Rossland is a city in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia, Canada. Tucked high in the Monashee Mountains, Rossland is at an elevation of 3356′. Its population is 3729, though it fluctuates from season to season. The population is at its peak during the winter.

You have entered the center of an ancient volcano rich in minerals…

Rossland was our first stop in Canada with intentions of having breakfast at a restaurant called Fuel. It was housed in a refurbished gas station. I didn’t take a photo of the building but I did take a photo of our Eggs Benedict.

It was very good. We arrived in town at 7:30am and the restaurant didn’t open until 8am so we drove around the picturesque/quaint town.

The main road through town.

Born a Norwegian, Olaus Jeldness left his home country as a teenager for greener pastures in first the U.S., then Canada, then again in the U.S. Along with him, he brought his love for and adeptness at downhill skiing.

Play not for gain, but for sport.
Leap not for gold, but glee.
Oh! Youth, play well thy part
Whatever life’s gain may be.

You can read more about Olaus Jeldness here.

Nelson artist Cedar Mueller constructed Rusty, a nearly life-size sculpture of a horse, in classic pose from scavenged steel…

The Rossland Council for Arts and Culture also commissioned the installation of “The Storytellers”, a sculpture of ravens in trees, created by Andrew Raney from Salmo, outside Rossland’s public library.

This one is called the Sphere of Influence. By Carl Schlichting (Slocan Valley, BC, 2013) The Sphere was leased for 2015. A perfect Sphere, constructed out of almost 200 old steel bicycle rims…

There were several other sculptures that we missed on this trip.

I enjoyed this little town and it’s close enough that we might take another trip in the future.

On our way back to the USA after visiting Nelson which I’ll share photos of in a future post we stopped in Rossland again and did some deli shopping at their local grocer, Ferraro Foods. They make their own delicious salamis. I took another photo of the main drag in the afternoon light.

Sorry to those of you who because of WordPress  are having issues commenting.  I don’t know what to do to change that. 😦

Hope you all have a good weekend.

Eleven Years and Counting…

On Wednesday, June 5th, eight of the Mennonite Girls Can Cook gathered at Lovella’s for a luncheon to celebrate our 11th year together.

Lovella provided all the oh so delicious food except for that beautiful cake that Anneliese made and brought to share.

Prayer For Friendship

You have blessed us, O God,
with the gift of friendship,
the bonding of persons
in a circle of love.

We thank you for such a blessing:
for friends who love us,
who share our sorrows,

who laugh with us in celebration,
who bear our pain,
who need us as we need them,
who weep as we weep,

who hold us when words fail,
and who give us the freedom
to be ourselves.

Bless our friends with health,
wholeness, life, and love.
Amen.

This poem by Vienna Cobb Anderson was shared with us by our dear Betty who lives in the same Province as Charlotte so neither of them could be with us for this celebration at Lovella’s home. The weather did not hamper our wonderful time under the tent. Our time and our ongoing friendship is all this poem expresses.

To Northport

On Sunday afternoon we turned left out our driveway and headed north to the town of Northport.

We followed our road to highway 25 and turned right headed for Northport. Northport is just shy of 10 miles to Canada.

Northport was given its name since it was once the northernmost town on the Spokane Falls and Northern Railway. It was officially incorporated on June 1, 1898 but has a history stretching back to the 1880s when it was a port and shipbuilding center for steamboat services running northwards into British Columbia during construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, related to its location at a stretch of the Columbia known as the Little Dalles, a rapids and narrows that was a barrier to navigation and which also was an alternate name for Northport itself. In 2010 the census of Northport registered 295 people.

We had a meal at the River Town Grill.

We crossed the bridge over the Columbia River.

Sometime in the near future we’ll follow the highway all the way to Canada and check out some of the towns close by like Rossland, Trail and Nelson. Nelson is where the movie Roxanne was filmed. (Steve Martin)

On the way back home we stopped to take some photos of the Columbia River.

At this spot we recognized the property across the river and the structures at the top of the slope. Our Eastern Washington kids got married on that property in 2015. I zoomed in to make sure it was the spot.

Flash back to June 30, 2015.

Home again, home again, jiggety jig.

We hope to have many more day trips in the future to learn more about our new part of the state.

Mother’s day plans here are going to be last minute and flexible as our kids are still pretty much homebound. The guys are prepped and ready to barbecue something for a meal on Sunday for all the usual suspects.

Flat Stanley in Washington

We’ve been busy on the coast with some fun trips around the area showing Flat Stanley the sights so he can report back to our grandniece, Skylar, who lives in New York.

We were surprised with this bit of history in Bothell and happy that part of the Red Brick Road has been preserved.

Flat Stanley is on a flat tractor just off the red brick road. After we read this history we walked to one of the bridges over the Sammamish Slough in Bothell. The Sammamish River (Slough) connects Lake Washington in Kenmore to Lake Sammammish in Redmond. We wanted to show Flat Stanley the part of this river that Skylar kayaked on a couple years ago.

We walked to where the Sammamish Trail and the Burke Gilman Trail meet.

We continued on to the University of Washington after this stop to see the Cherry Blossoms and beyond for other iconic sights of Seattle. I’ll share my photos from the other stops after we get home to Colville.

I’m way behind in visiting but will catch up when I’m in our Country Bungalow.

January Recap in Mosaics

January was packed with important celebrations and family time. I’m adding some photos and mosaics here for the sake of my memories that might be redundant to you. I’ll be linking up with Angie for Mosaic Monday. Thanks for hosting, Angie. Be forewarned that this post is overloaded with photos.

We celebrated three family birthdays in January. Dan and Jamie both had birthdays a day apart and we enjoyed dinner at our country bungalow in celebration of their birthdays.

Our oldest had a milestone birthday and his office celebrated him well along with other family and friends on the west side of the Cascades. We gave him his gifts early at Christmas and added a gift when we all gathered in Arizona 5 days after his birthday.

We handed down grandfather Rex’s Bible to Josh while we were in Arizona.

Thursday January 24th was travel day to Arizona for most of us. Josh and Laura were at the house already working nonstop to furnish it for our arrival. Friday started with some work on putting furniture together and then was Zoo/Old Town Scottsdale day. Saturday was shopping/work day, cousin/nephew-niece dinner. We broke in the new barbecue. Sunday was staging/photo and lunch/park and puzzle day. Josh and Laura flew home on Sunday. Monday morning Katie and Andrew flew home and then Addy’s Great Granny and Jim drove up to have lunch with us. (Photo Fail) They are snow birding in Arizona until March. Tuesday was our travel day flying back to our snow covered world.

8 adults to 1 child at the park. I don’t know how one person can manage a child in a busy park!

We were all happy to get a good dose of Vitamin D.

And the contrast of what we returned home to…

Our kids on the westside returned home to this…

Helping one another get Andrew and Katie’s home ready to move into.

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2 (ESV)

Click on  Airbnb to see the listing for this beautiful property in Surprise, Arizona. We highly recommend it.

Today we still have snow on the ground and are getting a weather warning for very cold temperatures overnight. The sun is breaking through the clouds. The Puget Sound area of Washington got a good snowfall overnight. Our kids on the west side of the mountains measured 7 inches this morning which means everything will come to a stand still in the Seattle area. Katie and Andrew moved into their new home over the weekend just in time to be snowed in. Hope all is well in your corner of the world.

 

All Creatures…

…great and small. Our Lord God made them all. Last Friday, while we were in Arizona, we took a trip to the Phoenix Zoo. The weather was in the 70’s and very pleasant. This post will take the place of my Quotes of the Week.

We waited a long time to see one of the three elephants the zoo has in residence.

And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.”  So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:20-21

And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:24-25

Psalm 104:10-12, You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills; they give drink to every beast of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell; they sing among the branches.

 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? Matthew 6:25-27

While we were looking at the giraffes in the distance behind a low fence this hummingbird came right up to the plant next to us and I was able to take a lot of photos while our heavenly father provided food for it.

Laura captured the photo of the sun beaming down on Jamie right on our developing grandson who is due in April.

For you formed my inward parts;
    you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. Psalm 139:13 (ESV)

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

So God created man in his own image,
    in the image of God he created him;
    male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:26-27

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.

Psalm 139:14

With thankful hearts we left the zoo and headed to Old Scottsdale to have another walk about and find a spot for dinner.

Strikingly Different

We left Arizona yesterday flying into Spokane and were met with the striking difference in temperatures. This morning we started out at 12 degrees here in Colville. We’ve warmed up to 14 while I’m typing this. Today will be a catchup day for me. I’m behind with emails, blog visits and laundry. The photo of the sweet hummingbird was taken during our time at the Phoenix Zoo enjoying the 70 degree weather. We soaked it in and I’ll be posting more from Arizona after I catch my breath.

To those of you who are experiencing the deep freeze stay safe and warm!

Desert Doings…

Our family has been enjoying a work vacation in Arizona with play breaks.

 

We enjoyed a couple hours at the zoo and Addy got a nap in.

After the zoo we went to Old Town Scottsdale and enjoyed dinner there.

 

 

Our kids’ cousins were in Arizona for the weekend and drove over for dinner on Saturday night.

On Sunday we had a meal together and time at the park before Josh and Laura headed home to Seattle.

We all got a good dose of Vitamin D today! We’ll be back to the land of slippery snow soon enough.

Time for a little rest now.

 

First Road Trip of 2019!

We decided Thursday evening to hit the road Friday morning (January 11th) to visit our western kids. It’s a 5-1/2 to 6 hour drive from Colville to Bothell. The weather window looked real good for crossing the Cascade mountain range so we packed up for a quick trip. We had to be back home on Sunday.

This was the only photo I took on our trip west. This is the Vantage Bridge over the Columbia River Gorge. Our drive was smooth and easy all the way to our destination. We did not stop except to get a few gallons of gas in Cle Elum before going over Snoqualmie Pass into Western Washington.

Our first stop was at La Corona and these two joined us for an early dinner.

They just got their keys to their very first home. We were excited to make the trip to see their new home in person.

Before Dear and I left for this quick road trip I had made a big pot of Borsch. I froze several containers of the borsch and we took them to Western Washington for our kids to enjoy. We dropped off a container for our Colville kids, too, on Thursday afternoon.

Perfect for a warm up after playing in the snow.

While we were in Western Washington we didn’t take any photos except for the selfie at La Corona. After La Corona we all gathered at our oldest son’s home for some family time. On Saturday we drove to Katie and Andrew’s new home and had a little tour. From there the guys went to the big box store to get some things the kids will need to fix up their home. The girls gathered along with my sister Lana to do some fun shopping at our favorites, HomeGoods, TJMaxx, Target, Hobby Lobby and Costco. After Costco we all gathered at Josh and Laura’s again for a meal together that we brought home from Costco. I bought some new wall art for our country bungalow.

Early on Sunday morning we left for our trip back to Colville.

This is a new wild animal crossing bridge over Interstate 90 just east of Snoqualmie Pass.

We saw a lot of birds of prey from Cle Elum on through Ellensburg. Hard to get good photos speeding along the interstate at 70 miles plus. This was one eagle I was able to capture. After Ellensburg as we headed up and over Ryegrass we encountered some heavy fog that put a huge strain on our eyes.

Once the fog cleared we continued listening to our book on cd that helped our trip West and back East fly by. We were listening to the new Inspector Gamache crime mystery by Louise Penny, Kingdom of the Blind.

Dear got a migraine and I had to drive so no more photos till after we left Spokane and Dear was ready to drive again. In Spokane we stopped at Home Depot and Costco before heading north on highway 395.

The rest of these photos are from after we stopped for dinner in Chewelah at El Ranchito. The road from Chewelah to Colville is one we are very familiar with and the scenery changes seasonally but some things stay the same.

The big C and the cross are the landmarks we see as we approach city center in Colville.

We dropped off some goods for our kids in Colville that we purchased for them at Costco and had some sweet time with Addy before we headed the 8 miles home again, home again, jiggety jig.

It was good to get home and heat up the house before we hit the sack.

We still have a cd to listen to for the Inspector Gamache story’s end. Our trip afforded us 9 cd’s out of 10. Do you listen to books on cd? We love to travel that way.

We had/have 3 family birthdays this week. More about those events to come…