June 1, 2007
Today Robert and I joined Buck and Ruth Frye, Sarah and Dennis
Joseph, Suzanne VanScotter, Vince Wayland and Bob Chervin
for lunch at Tsing Tao in Table Mesa. This has been an
almost monthly affair that Bob organizes. The conversation
at my end of the table consisted of an interesting
description by Vince of the Safari he and Caroline are
taking. They leave on Monday and will be visiting Victoria
Falls in Zimbabwe and also spend time in Namibia and
Ghana, I think. Anyway, it sounds like it should be an
interesting trip. Their big challenge at the moment is how to
pack when allowed only 26 pounds a piece total for all their
luggage! Suzanne's daughter is returning from two years in
Thailand and Suzanne is relieved.
In the evening we went to a concert at the schoolhouse.
What a disaster that was. Two young women from Missouri
were the musicians. One sang and played the guitar. Her
voice was more of a whine than a voice and both she and the
guitar were amplified. The other played the fiddle and did
some singing, but her poor bastardized electric violin was
very harsh and too loud. She also is learning to play the
cello and gave us a sample of that, also amplified and
the amplified steel lap guitar. We left at the intermission.
I wish I had checked more carefully about who they were.
AndI wish Allison would be more careful whom she allows
to use the Salina venue. If she has any more like those two,
it'll kill the program. That would be sad, there have been
many good ones.
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Thursday, May 31, 2007
going political
Thursday, May 31, 2007
I have decided my primary activity and where I'll put
my energy in the next year is on the election in 2008.
I shall be supporting Bill Richardson, for President. I feel
he is less in the hands of the corporations than most of
the rest and his statements regarding Global warming
and the War in Iraq are positive, in that he feels we
should get out of the war and we must prepare for the
warming as well as try to do our best to prevent it. It
pretty obvious that global warming is already here and
that what we do now is too late to stop it altogether.
But, to get brief summaries of where he stands on
the issues, the following URL should help.
Bill Richardson for President | Issues | List
For the Senate, I shall be supporting Mark Udall who has
been our Representative for the 2nd Congressional District
of Colorado. I was disappointed in his recent vote
regarding the money to continue the war, but at the same
time Congress needs to assert their power and demand the
pull back of the troops and hopefully that may happen this
fall.
Mark's website doesn't appear to have been updated with
him running for the Senate, but he does address the issues
and to get some idea of where he stands, please follow the
URL below:
Mark Udall for Colorado
For our 2nd Congressional District I shall be supporting
Jared Polis. He has been active in trying to do something
to improve the education system in Colorado and I also know
he is active in the "I Have a Dream" Foundation which adopts
a class in elementary school and supplies the needed tutors,
money to get the kids through school and in most cases into
and through college.
Please take a look at Jared's website for how he stands on
the issues. By the way, he looks like his mom.
Jared Polis for Congress
In all the above cases I would like to study the specifics
of their platforms before I get too heavily committed.
I have decided my primary activity and where I'll put
my energy in the next year is on the election in 2008.
I shall be supporting Bill Richardson, for President. I feel
he is less in the hands of the corporations than most of
the rest and his statements regarding Global warming
and the War in Iraq are positive, in that he feels we
should get out of the war and we must prepare for the
warming as well as try to do our best to prevent it. It
pretty obvious that global warming is already here and
that what we do now is too late to stop it altogether.
But, to get brief summaries of where he stands on
the issues, the following URL should help.
Bill Richardson for President | Issues | List
For the Senate, I shall be supporting Mark Udall who has
been our Representative for the 2nd Congressional District
of Colorado. I was disappointed in his recent vote
regarding the money to continue the war, but at the same
time Congress needs to assert their power and demand the
pull back of the troops and hopefully that may happen this
fall.
Mark's website doesn't appear to have been updated with
him running for the Senate, but he does address the issues
and to get some idea of where he stands, please follow the
URL below:
Mark Udall for Colorado
For our 2nd Congressional District I shall be supporting
Jared Polis. He has been active in trying to do something
to improve the education system in Colorado and I also know
he is active in the "I Have a Dream" Foundation which adopts
a class in elementary school and supplies the needed tutors,
money to get the kids through school and in most cases into
and through college.
Please take a look at Jared's website for how he stands on
the issues. By the way, he looks like his mom.
Jared Polis for Congress
In all the above cases I would like to study the specifics
of their platforms before I get too heavily committed.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Playing catch-up
Tuesday, May 29, 2007 Salina, Colorado
The last couple of days continued to be catch-up days. I
have done some laundry, but mostly been trying to get this
blog written from my notes before they got too stale.
Today it has been a dark and gloomy day with some heavy rain
showers and some hail. We can always use the moisture, but
we never need hail.
E-mail from Moveon.org states the FCC is about to vote on
whether corporations are going to "own" the airways or
whether we may still have a chance to have things like
WIFI available free in every city. Check out this web site.
MoveOn.org Civic Action: Public Airwaves for the Public Good
Sunday night Vernon stopped in for a visit and to return a
book he borrowed, "Blood and Thunder" by Hampton Sides.
It's an excellent history of the 1840s and Polk's
presidency.
Vernon stayed for an hour or so and we caught up on what he
did while we were gone and vice versa.
The last couple of days continued to be catch-up days. I
have done some laundry, but mostly been trying to get this
blog written from my notes before they got too stale.
Today it has been a dark and gloomy day with some heavy rain
showers and some hail. We can always use the moisture, but
we never need hail.
E-mail from Moveon.org states the FCC is about to vote on
whether corporations are going to "own" the airways or
whether we may still have a chance to have things like
WIFI available free in every city. Check out this web site.
MoveOn.org Civic Action: Public Airwaves for the Public Good
Sunday night Vernon stopped in for a visit and to return a
book he borrowed, "Blood and Thunder" by Hampton Sides.
It's an excellent history of the 1840s and Polk's
presidency.
Vernon stayed for an hour or so and we caught up on what he
did while we were gone and vice versa.
Violin recital
May 26, 2007 Salina, Colorado
Today we continue to play catch-up for our missing month.
Actually, the month wasn't missing and we had a great month,
it's just that we were not here.
The fish seem to have survived the winter; a few of them are
in evidence. The branches need to be removed and then we'll
see how many we have left.
Marti has been working really hard to get acoustic material
in place so that the musical events that were being held in the
church can be held in the schoolhouse. The church is
undergoing restoration. She suggested that we attend a
recital there at 2 PM this afternoon and see how well she
has done. So we did that.
The children in Salina and Gold Hill have been taking Suzuki
lessons and two of them are graduating. I have included a
rough guess at their ages.
Julien Sloan(9) was graduating from Book 1 played:
a mystery piece ( he had to be prepared to
play any piece he has previously learned)
Minuet 2 by Bach
Happy Farmer by Schuman
Gavotte by Gossec
He did very well and was dressed in white shirt and black
slacks and carefully bowed after each piece.
Colton Stevens (10) was graduating from Book 3 and he played:
Bourree by Bach
Humoresque by Dvorak
Gavotte in D Major by Bach
He also did very well and although more casually dressed
pulled off the bow with aplomb.
To complete the program the following students played:
Caleb Stevens (7) Etude by Dr. Suzuki
Galen Graham-Bell (7) Andantino by Dr. Suzuki
Cella Davis (6) Allegro by Dr. Suzuki
Trace Hybertson (10) Allegro by Fiocco
Andre Sloan (7) Alegretto by Dr. Suzuki
Haiden Davis (9) Inisheer
Kailash Graham-Bell(11) Two Grenadiers by Schumann
Jens Hybertson (12) Czardas by Monti
They each did an acceptable job, but Jens did a superlative
job. His selection was very difficult and he played it
magnificently. I played violin and viola for many years,
but I don't think I was ever as good as he is.
Today we continue to play catch-up for our missing month.
Actually, the month wasn't missing and we had a great month,
it's just that we were not here.
The fish seem to have survived the winter; a few of them are
in evidence. The branches need to be removed and then we'll
see how many we have left.
Marti has been working really hard to get acoustic material
in place so that the musical events that were being held in the
church can be held in the schoolhouse. The church is
undergoing restoration. She suggested that we attend a
recital there at 2 PM this afternoon and see how well she
has done. So we did that.
The children in Salina and Gold Hill have been taking Suzuki
lessons and two of them are graduating. I have included a
rough guess at their ages.
Julien Sloan(9) was graduating from Book 1 played:
a mystery piece ( he had to be prepared to
play any piece he has previously learned)
Minuet 2 by Bach
Happy Farmer by Schuman
Gavotte by Gossec
He did very well and was dressed in white shirt and black
slacks and carefully bowed after each piece.
Colton Stevens (10) was graduating from Book 3 and he played:
Bourree by Bach
Humoresque by Dvorak
Gavotte in D Major by Bach
He also did very well and although more casually dressed
pulled off the bow with aplomb.
To complete the program the following students played:
Caleb Stevens (7) Etude by Dr. Suzuki
Galen Graham-Bell (7) Andantino by Dr. Suzuki
Cella Davis (6) Allegro by Dr. Suzuki
Trace Hybertson (10) Allegro by Fiocco
Andre Sloan (7) Alegretto by Dr. Suzuki
Haiden Davis (9) Inisheer
Kailash Graham-Bell(11) Two Grenadiers by Schumann
Jens Hybertson (12) Czardas by Monti
They each did an acceptable job, but Jens did a superlative
job. His selection was very difficult and he played it
magnificently. I played violin and viola for many years,
but I don't think I was ever as good as he is.
Future Salon
Friday, May 25, 2007 Salina, Colorado
The only thing of note today was that we attended the monthly
of the Future Salon. The group meets at the Boulder
Book Store has an interesting mix of people. We find them
more interesting than our Sunday morning group although we
haven't been to the Sunday Morning Conversation group in
months and Kent is certainly trying to upgrade the
discussions, at least from the e-mails he sends out it seems
he is. Anyway, the subject for this evenings meeting was
Artificial intelligence. There were about 12 of us in
attendance and it seems most of us know a little about it
and had come to learn more.
Much of the discussion was about the DOD robotic race held
each year for the last few years. Apparently, the robots
can now conquer the track in the desert so DOD is thinking
about having the contest more to an Urban environment. I
think they ran this year, but Robert and I only watched them
the first year.
The URL below is for the 2005 race.
Desert robot race, sponsored by DOD
The only thing of note today was that we attended the monthly
of the Future Salon. The group meets at the Boulder
Book Store has an interesting mix of people. We find them
more interesting than our Sunday morning group although we
haven't been to the Sunday Morning Conversation group in
months and Kent is certainly trying to upgrade the
discussions, at least from the e-mails he sends out it seems
he is. Anyway, the subject for this evenings meeting was
Artificial intelligence. There were about 12 of us in
attendance and it seems most of us know a little about it
and had come to learn more.
Much of the discussion was about the DOD robotic race held
each year for the last few years. Apparently, the robots
can now conquer the track in the desert so DOD is thinking
about having the contest more to an Urban environment. I
think they ran this year, but Robert and I only watched them
the first year.
The URL below is for the 2005 race.
Desert robot race, sponsored by DOD
Paul Hawkins
May 24, 2007 Salina, Colorado
This morning we watched "Democracy Now" while eating
breakfast. Amy Goodman was interviewing Paul Hawkins, the
author of "Blessed Uprising." He sounded like a really
interesting guy and in our e-mail there had been an
announcement that he was speaking in Boulder tonight.
I spent the day paying bills and getting caught up on the
minutia of daily living that gets skipped when you aren't
home.
In the evening we did go to listen to Paul Hawkins. He is
the most optimistic person I have listened to in a long time
and that alone made it a positive experience. He claims
that all over the world people singly, in groups, organized
and unorganized are rising up to demand accountability of
governments and more importantly corporations, many of
whom are larger and more powerful than most governments.
The uprisings are by environmentalists largely, but others,
too who feel the worlds peoples are being misused. Of
course I was particularly taken with him because at one
point he was describing an elderly lady that, when he had
bought a house boat, had come with the boat. She had wise
sayings and he liked her, although he also said, of course
she was 75 and too old to clean for us, but we kept her on
anyway. I, too, think 75 is too old to clean house, and
unfortunately, my house sometimes looks it.
This morning we watched "Democracy Now" while eating
breakfast. Amy Goodman was interviewing Paul Hawkins, the
author of "Blessed Uprising." He sounded like a really
interesting guy and in our e-mail there had been an
announcement that he was speaking in Boulder tonight.
I spent the day paying bills and getting caught up on the
minutia of daily living that gets skipped when you aren't
home.
In the evening we did go to listen to Paul Hawkins. He is
the most optimistic person I have listened to in a long time
and that alone made it a positive experience. He claims
that all over the world people singly, in groups, organized
and unorganized are rising up to demand accountability of
governments and more importantly corporations, many of
whom are larger and more powerful than most governments.
The uprisings are by environmentalists largely, but others,
too who feel the worlds peoples are being misused. Of
course I was particularly taken with him because at one
point he was describing an elderly lady that, when he had
bought a house boat, had come with the boat. She had wise
sayings and he liked her, although he also said, of course
she was 75 and too old to clean for us, but we kept her on
anyway. I, too, think 75 is too old to clean house, and
unfortunately, my house sometimes looks it.
Home at last
May 23, 2007 Home to stay
We left little America, after eating our own breakfast,
without coffee.
We drove straight through, stopping a couple of times to
walk and once to get gas. We only had about 350 miles to do
today; it was an easy day.
We arrived home about 2 PM and partially unloaded the car.
I checked the mail and caught up on some of the e-mail. But,
we didn't accomplish a whole lot. It was just nice to be
home.
We left little America, after eating our own breakfast,
without coffee.
We drove straight through, stopping a couple of times to
walk and once to get gas. We only had about 350 miles to do
today; it was an easy day.
We arrived home about 2 PM and partially unloaded the car.
I checked the mail and caught up on some of the e-mail. But,
we didn't accomplish a whole lot. It was just nice to be
home.
Heading for home
May 22, 2007 Little America, Wyoming
Today turned out to be less than leisurely. The weather report
stated that I-90 through Montana was expected to have up to a
foot of snow on it. We really didn't want to deal with even six
inches of snow so we decided to head for I-84 and then I-80
through Wyoming. MS Garmen, our GPS navigator told us
we should proceed SW to Pendleton, Oregon and pick up
I-84 there. I guess we should have done that, but the thought
of back-tracking that far was not a pleasant one. Instead we
zigged and zagged through Washington and Idaho and
eventually picked up I-84 near Ontario.
We continued on then through Utah and eventually Wyoming for
about 850 miles and quit at Little America. Which turned out to
be a mistake. We should have stopped at Evanston or continued
on to Green River. Little America is VERY expensive and offers
you nothing accept a bed and bath. No frig, microwave nor, worst
of all no coffee maker!!! This trip, for the first time I haven't
carried a coffee maker because even the cheapest of motels seem
to supply you coffee one way or another. Little America has a
restaurant that they are determined you'll support. We had
everything we needed for breakfast except coffee and I figure it
doesn't hurt to skip coffee once in a while, so we'll eat our
breakfast and be on our way.
Today turned out to be less than leisurely. The weather report
stated that I-90 through Montana was expected to have up to a
foot of snow on it. We really didn't want to deal with even six
inches of snow so we decided to head for I-84 and then I-80
through Wyoming. MS Garmen, our GPS navigator told us
we should proceed SW to Pendleton, Oregon and pick up
I-84 there. I guess we should have done that, but the thought
of back-tracking that far was not a pleasant one. Instead we
zigged and zagged through Washington and Idaho and
eventually picked up I-84 near Ontario.
We continued on then through Utah and eventually Wyoming for
about 850 miles and quit at Little America. Which turned out to
be a mistake. We should have stopped at Evanston or continued
on to Green River. Little America is VERY expensive and offers
you nothing accept a bed and bath. No frig, microwave nor, worst
of all no coffee maker!!! This trip, for the first time I haven't
carried a coffee maker because even the cheapest of motels seem
to supply you coffee one way or another. Little America has a
restaurant that they are determined you'll support. We had
everything we needed for breakfast except coffee and I figure it
doesn't hurt to skip coffee once in a while, so we'll eat our
breakfast and be on our way.
Visiting Carrie Rose in Spokane
May 21, 2007 Howard Johnson's Motel, Spokane, Washington
This morning Robert went with Scott to see the evidence of the big
floods of pre-history like the Missoula lake flood. While he was
doing that, I went to Safeway to stock items for the trip.
Robyn called after I got back from the store. She had given a
lecture at the local junior college and was back. She came over
and we walked to Starbucks for coffee.
She has a short-term GIS job paid for by a grant that her
economics professor has. She'll be gathering statistics on a
community in California. The question is whether a change in the
ethnicity of a community changes its polling. Should be an
interesting project.
Robert was back by the time Robyn and I got back. She stayed
for a little while.
We left Walla Walla about noon and were here, in Spokane and
settled by 4:30 PM
I called Carrie (my granddaughter by Amanda and her first
husband.) She arrived shortly after 5. She is completing her
Masters Degree in Mathematics. Her thesis is on Chaos theory.
I'm really proud of her because she has put her self though
school by working in Alaska summers and by a stint in the army
prior to that. She's a hard worker and I think will do well in
her chosen field. She loves teaching and is hoping to get a job
teaching at a junior college. Her preference is to teach at
Northern Idaho College in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. She has a
4.0 GPA and won the top award for Math majors.
Amanda, Rocky, Alyssum, Shane and Kathleen are all planning on
attending her graduation. I'd have liked to have done that, but
don't want to stick around for another two weeks and certainly
don't want to drive back to Spokane in two weeks. I was happy
to have a visit with her now although it would have been fun to
see the rest of her family, too.
The three of us went out to dinner at a near by Asian Restaurant
where we ordered much too much food. Carrie still had work to do
to finish her day so we said goodbye to her shortly after 7 PM
and she headed off loaded-down with take-out boxes.
This morning Robert went with Scott to see the evidence of the big
floods of pre-history like the Missoula lake flood. While he was
doing that, I went to Safeway to stock items for the trip.
Robyn called after I got back from the store. She had given a
lecture at the local junior college and was back. She came over
and we walked to Starbucks for coffee.
She has a short-term GIS job paid for by a grant that her
economics professor has. She'll be gathering statistics on a
community in California. The question is whether a change in the
ethnicity of a community changes its polling. Should be an
interesting project.
Robert was back by the time Robyn and I got back. She stayed
for a little while.
We left Walla Walla about noon and were here, in Spokane and
settled by 4:30 PM
I called Carrie (my granddaughter by Amanda and her first
husband.) She arrived shortly after 5. She is completing her
Masters Degree in Mathematics. Her thesis is on Chaos theory.
I'm really proud of her because she has put her self though
school by working in Alaska summers and by a stint in the army
prior to that. She's a hard worker and I think will do well in
her chosen field. She loves teaching and is hoping to get a job
teaching at a junior college. Her preference is to teach at
Northern Idaho College in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. She has a
4.0 GPA and won the top award for Math majors.
Amanda, Rocky, Alyssum, Shane and Kathleen are all planning on
attending her graduation. I'd have liked to have done that, but
don't want to stick around for another two weeks and certainly
don't want to drive back to Spokane in two weeks. I was happy
to have a visit with her now although it would have been fun to
see the rest of her family, too.
The three of us went out to dinner at a near by Asian Restaurant
where we ordered much too much food. Carrie still had work to do
to finish her day so we said goodbye to her shortly after 7 PM
and she headed off loaded-down with take-out boxes.
Graduation day
May 20, 2007 Travel Lodge Motel, Walla Walla, Washington
Last evening was a hoot! We had a lovely dinner and many of us
enjoyed a martini before dinner. The dinner was good and the
conversation was sparkling. However, before we had even finished
dinner a band showed up and played so loudly that conversation
quickly came to a halt. To overcome that deficit some folks took
to the dance floor. I love to dance and haven't done so in
years, but Robyn took me up on my suggestion that we dance. It
was sort of a debacle because we couldn't decide which one of us
was leading. It was still fun though, for me at least.
Today was graduation day and it turned out to be cold, wet and
when it wasn't actually raining it was misty.
I had made the rash promise last evening that we would go
early, bring our folding chairs and stake out ground for our
party. When we got there folding chairs had been set up so
our chairs were actually in the way, rather than being useful.
Despite arriving an hour and a half before commencement,
we still couldn't get seats close up, but we did have seats.
Robert took our chairs back to our motel, again it was nice
to have it so close. While he was there he picked up a raincoat
to wear. He hadn't wanted to wear a raincoat because he
doesn't have one and would have to wear my "camping-type"
raincoat and that is bright red.
Finally, the graduates marched in and were seated and the
program began. The Chair of the Board of Trustees gave
the welcoming address. Another welcome address was
given by a member of the class of '57 to honor those who
had come for their 50th anniversary. The college President
also gave a brief introduction to the exercises overall. In
addition there were several honorary degrees handed out
and awards given to alumni. Finally, the President
introduced the Commencement speaker, Jeffrey D. Sachs,
Director of the Earth Institute, Quetelet Professor
of Sustainable Development [Adolphe Quetelet (1796-1874)
a Flemish mathmetician, statistician, and sociologist
known for his application of statistics and probability
theory to social phenomena] and Professor of Health
Policy and Management, Columbia University and
Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa. The title
of his address was "Meeting our Millennium Promises."
He spoke well and blessedly briefly. He was followed by
two Senior Class Speakers "Dressing for Success in an
Infinite Void: The Value of a Liberal Arts Education.
They were fun and funny and played off one another in
quite a professional comedy way.
There were almost 400 graduates so the conferring of
degrees went on for sometime, but when Robyn's name
was called I jumped up and yelled, "Go Girl!"
The President made the closing remarks and then the
Whitman Hymn was sung, supposedly by all of us, the
words were available on the back of the program, but not the
music. The recessional was played by the Walla Walla Valley Band
and they did a good job of spoofing the whole thing by playing a
medley of many mixes of music.
Robyn, on her graduation from Whitman
Dr. Bridges, the college President hosted a buffet
lunch for all the graduates and guests and we
partook of that, although it was still pretty cold
and damp, we didn't tarry over our lunch.
The final event of the day was to be a champagne reception hosted by
Jan's parents Ken and Ila Barton at the community room of their
apartment complex. We all walked over there and enjoyed the
warmth and companionship of the afternoon and of course the
champagne and cake. Robyn and requested a chocolate chocolate
cake and it was every bit that.
At the reception Jan and Robyn suggested we all come over to
their place to help eat up the leftovers from Saturday's
barbecue. We were happy to help them out with that. I had
picked up a bottle of wine at one of our stops on Saturday so
added that to the occasion.
Last evening was a hoot! We had a lovely dinner and many of us
enjoyed a martini before dinner. The dinner was good and the
conversation was sparkling. However, before we had even finished
dinner a band showed up and played so loudly that conversation
quickly came to a halt. To overcome that deficit some folks took
to the dance floor. I love to dance and haven't done so in
years, but Robyn took me up on my suggestion that we dance. It
was sort of a debacle because we couldn't decide which one of us
was leading. It was still fun though, for me at least.
Today was graduation day and it turned out to be cold, wet and
when it wasn't actually raining it was misty.
I had made the rash promise last evening that we would go
early, bring our folding chairs and stake out ground for our
party. When we got there folding chairs had been set up so
our chairs were actually in the way, rather than being useful.
Despite arriving an hour and a half before commencement,
we still couldn't get seats close up, but we did have seats.
Robert took our chairs back to our motel, again it was nice
to have it so close. While he was there he picked up a raincoat
to wear. He hadn't wanted to wear a raincoat because he
doesn't have one and would have to wear my "camping-type"
raincoat and that is bright red.
Finally, the graduates marched in and were seated and the
program began. The Chair of the Board of Trustees gave
the welcoming address. Another welcome address was
given by a member of the class of '57 to honor those who
had come for their 50th anniversary. The college President
also gave a brief introduction to the exercises overall. In
addition there were several honorary degrees handed out
and awards given to alumni. Finally, the President
introduced the Commencement speaker, Jeffrey D. Sachs,
Director of the Earth Institute, Quetelet Professor
of Sustainable Development [Adolphe Quetelet (1796-1874)
a Flemish mathmetician, statistician, and sociologist
known for his application of statistics and probability
theory to social phenomena] and Professor of Health
Policy and Management, Columbia University and
Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa. The title
of his address was "Meeting our Millennium Promises."
He spoke well and blessedly briefly. He was followed by
two Senior Class Speakers "Dressing for Success in an
Infinite Void: The Value of a Liberal Arts Education.
They were fun and funny and played off one another in
quite a professional comedy way.
There were almost 400 graduates so the conferring of
degrees went on for sometime, but when Robyn's name
was called I jumped up and yelled, "Go Girl!"
The President made the closing remarks and then the
Whitman Hymn was sung, supposedly by all of us, the
words were available on the back of the program, but not the
music. The recessional was played by the Walla Walla Valley Band
and they did a good job of spoofing the whole thing by playing a
medley of many mixes of music.
Robyn, on her graduation from Whitman
Dr. Bridges, the college President hosted a buffet
lunch for all the graduates and guests and we
partook of that, although it was still pretty cold
and damp, we didn't tarry over our lunch.
The final event of the day was to be a champagne reception hosted by
Jan's parents Ken and Ila Barton at the community room of their
apartment complex. We all walked over there and enjoyed the
warmth and companionship of the afternoon and of course the
champagne and cake. Robyn and requested a chocolate chocolate
cake and it was every bit that.
At the reception Jan and Robyn suggested we all come over to
their place to help eat up the leftovers from Saturday's
barbecue. We were happy to help them out with that. I had
picked up a bottle of wine at one of our stops on Saturday so
added that to the occasion.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Wine tasting
May 19, 2007 Walla Walla, Washington
Travel Lodge Motel
Last evening Robyn and Janis put on a fantastic party.
Robyn did a London broil which was excellent along with
all the fixin's and quantities of wine. There were 19 guests.
Two contingents of Robyn's friends came down from Sand Point,
Idaho. Jan's sister, Linda, and husband, Scott, and their daughter
and her new baby as well as Jan's parents and Jan's daughter, Jill
who drove from Seattle were there, too.
We had a good time talking with many of these people, still have
some to get to know a little better.
Jan's mother has lost her eyesight. I can only imagine how
hard that must be.
L'Ecole #41
Today we did
the grand
tour of wineries.
We visited
three I believe.
My favorite
was L'Ecole
#41 and was in a restored schoolhouse. The restoration was lovely. A staircase going to the 2nd floor had beautifully carved balustrades of which I failed to get a good picture.
We stopped at the Whitman Mission in the middle of our wine-tasting expedition for a box-lunch picnic which Robyn had picked up earlier.
The Obelisk Memorial at the Whitman Mission
The view from the obelisk at the mission
Travel Lodge Motel
Last evening Robyn and Janis put on a fantastic party.
Robyn did a London broil which was excellent along with
all the fixin's and quantities of wine. There were 19 guests.
Two contingents of Robyn's friends came down from Sand Point,
Idaho. Jan's sister, Linda, and husband, Scott, and their daughter
and her new baby as well as Jan's parents and Jan's daughter, Jill
who drove from Seattle were there, too.
We had a good time talking with many of these people, still have
some to get to know a little better.
Jan's mother has lost her eyesight. I can only imagine how
hard that must be.
L'Ecole #41
Today we did
the grand
tour of wineries.
We visited
three I believe.
My favorite
was L'Ecole
#41 and was in a restored schoolhouse. The restoration was lovely. A staircase going to the 2nd floor had beautifully carved balustrades of which I failed to get a good picture.
We stopped at the Whitman Mission in the middle of our wine-tasting expedition for a box-lunch picnic which Robyn had picked up earlier.
The Obelisk Memorial at the Whitman Mission
The view from the obelisk at the mission
Walla Walla, Washington
May 18, 2007 Walla Walla, Washington
Travel Lodge Motel
We had breakfast at the motel in Boise; waffles, scrambled eggs,
sausage,juice and coffee. It was good, but the motel IS
expensive, consequently the breakfast certainly wasn't free.
We left there about 9:30 AM and drove straight through to Walla
Walla.
Elderhostel has a tour which we are planning to take in late
September or early October and we think it would be nice if
Patricia and Thomas could join us on the trip. If they did,
it would also save us a trip to North Carolina which we are not
excited about. They were not available, but we left a phone
message for them. It would be nice if they had e-mail, but they
don't want to do that. Later, I picked up a message from them
saying they are interested.
We stopped twice to walk, but skipped lunch because of our big
breakfast,just had an apple.
We arrived here about 1 PM local time. The motel is better than
I expected. It has a couch in addition to the king-size bed, a
desk and small table to eat at, windows that open as well as
air conditioning. An unexpected bonus is that it is only a block
from campus.
We were able to reach Patricia and Thomas. They are definitely up
for the train adventure this fall. I then called Elderhostel and
made reservations. The October program had only 3 positions left.
We're reserved on the September 24-29 program. We arrive and
depart from Hyannis. We travel on a cog, 2 steam railways and a
cruise on the Connecticut river. It all sounds like fun.
We'll go to Robyn's for a birthday Barbecue this evening. Today
is Jan's birthday.
Travel Lodge Motel
We had breakfast at the motel in Boise; waffles, scrambled eggs,
sausage,juice and coffee. It was good, but the motel IS
expensive, consequently the breakfast certainly wasn't free.
We left there about 9:30 AM and drove straight through to Walla
Walla.
Elderhostel has a tour which we are planning to take in late
September or early October and we think it would be nice if
Patricia and Thomas could join us on the trip. If they did,
it would also save us a trip to North Carolina which we are not
excited about. They were not available, but we left a phone
message for them. It would be nice if they had e-mail, but they
don't want to do that. Later, I picked up a message from them
saying they are interested.
We stopped twice to walk, but skipped lunch because of our big
breakfast,just had an apple.
We arrived here about 1 PM local time. The motel is better than
I expected. It has a couch in addition to the king-size bed, a
desk and small table to eat at, windows that open as well as
air conditioning. An unexpected bonus is that it is only a block
from campus.
We were able to reach Patricia and Thomas. They are definitely up
for the train adventure this fall. I then called Elderhostel and
made reservations. The October program had only 3 positions left.
We're reserved on the September 24-29 program. We arrive and
depart from Hyannis. We travel on a cog, 2 steam railways and a
cruise on the Connecticut river. It all sounds like fun.
We'll go to Robyn's for a birthday Barbecue this evening. Today
is Jan's birthday.
Fossil Butte National Monument
May 17, 2007 Comfort Suites in Boise, Idaho
After we left our motel we proceeded on to Fossil Butte National Monument. What an amazing place. We watched a 13 minute video that showed how, by removing a layered sheet of limestone, they found the fossils in the underside of the layer. In the Visitor Center they had many fossils, some replicas of fossils held at the Field Museum in Chicago and the American Museum in NYC.
Visitor Center at Fossil Butte National Monument
Fossil-bearing Wasatch Badland
Quarry site at Ancient Lake Bed
Boa found in Green River Formation
A fine preservation of Priscacara
The fish fossils with smaller fish fossils in their mouths I
found fascinating. It was too dark to photograph any of
them. The enclosed photos we purchased at the Visitor
Center. They had a crocodile fossil, but recently it has
been suggested that it is an alligator. A soft-shelled turtle
and stingray were both remarkable. The turtle because its
"shell," although a fossil looked like leather with such fine
detail of its cracks and ridges of the shell. The ray was
skeletal and all its very fine bones were fanned out so you
could really "see" it.
We had a wonderful time at the center. They had numerous
pictures of fossils in the exhibit and great panoramas of the
way they thought the lake was before the "slump" or "slide"
buried the animals, apparently, instantaneously.
After the visitor center we took the 1 1/2 mile look trail up the
butte so we could look back down over where the lake had been.
We spent the whole morning there.
After we left the monument we drove west on US30 and
around Bear Lake and on over the mountain. We had a
picnic lunch on our way up the mountain at an overlook.
The view from there was great. The lake looked lovely
from a distance when you couldn't see the resort stuff
and the fact that the water level in the lake was very low.
As we headed on up the mountain we were passed by 5 or 6
motorcyclists, all had luggage and dressed with helmets and
leathers. Coming down the canyon there is an area marked
with warning signs about 6% grade and 20 mph curves and
they were not kidding. It's a really dramatic drive and one of
the most beautiful canyons I've ever seen. But, the drive was
marred by the tragedy of seeing a motorbike lying on the
ground and a man also lying on the ground and a patrol car
was there and one biker on his feet. I think there were actually
at least two down because later 2 ambulances roared up the
road soon followed by 2 of the bikers and another patrol car.
What a sad way to end what had looked to be their vacation.
Now we are in Boise, ID at a Comfort Suites Inn where we've
stayed before. Robert is on the love seat checking e-mail and
drinking cranberry juice. I'm in a very comfortable easy chair
having a glass of wine. It's almost 8 PM and I suppose we should
go out to eat.
After we left our motel we proceeded on to Fossil Butte National Monument. What an amazing place. We watched a 13 minute video that showed how, by removing a layered sheet of limestone, they found the fossils in the underside of the layer. In the Visitor Center they had many fossils, some replicas of fossils held at the Field Museum in Chicago and the American Museum in NYC.
Visitor Center at Fossil Butte National Monument
Fossil-bearing Wasatch Badland
Quarry site at Ancient Lake Bed
Boa found in Green River Formation
A fine preservation of Priscacara
The fish fossils with smaller fish fossils in their mouths I
found fascinating. It was too dark to photograph any of
them. The enclosed photos we purchased at the Visitor
Center. They had a crocodile fossil, but recently it has
been suggested that it is an alligator. A soft-shelled turtle
and stingray were both remarkable. The turtle because its
"shell," although a fossil looked like leather with such fine
detail of its cracks and ridges of the shell. The ray was
skeletal and all its very fine bones were fanned out so you
could really "see" it.
We had a wonderful time at the center. They had numerous
pictures of fossils in the exhibit and great panoramas of the
way they thought the lake was before the "slump" or "slide"
buried the animals, apparently, instantaneously.
After the visitor center we took the 1 1/2 mile look trail up the
butte so we could look back down over where the lake had been.
We spent the whole morning there.
After we left the monument we drove west on US30 and
around Bear Lake and on over the mountain. We had a
picnic lunch on our way up the mountain at an overlook.
The view from there was great. The lake looked lovely
from a distance when you couldn't see the resort stuff
and the fact that the water level in the lake was very low.
As we headed on up the mountain we were passed by 5 or 6
motorcyclists, all had luggage and dressed with helmets and
leathers. Coming down the canyon there is an area marked
with warning signs about 6% grade and 20 mph curves and
they were not kidding. It's a really dramatic drive and one of
the most beautiful canyons I've ever seen. But, the drive was
marred by the tragedy of seeing a motorbike lying on the
ground and a man also lying on the ground and a patrol car
was there and one biker on his feet. I think there were actually
at least two down because later 2 ambulances roared up the
road soon followed by 2 of the bikers and another patrol car.
What a sad way to end what had looked to be their vacation.
Now we are in Boise, ID at a Comfort Suites Inn where we've
stayed before. Robert is on the love seat checking e-mail and
drinking cranberry juice. I'm in a very comfortable easy chair
having a glass of wine. It's almost 8 PM and I suppose we should
go out to eat.
Trip to Walla Walla
May 16, 2007 Energy Motel, Diamondville, WY
A month ago we left for Kentucky.
This morning we finished packing and such, leaving Salina at
11 AM. We really need only 2 days to drive to our destination
Walla Walla, Washington, but we decided to take 3 days and
arrive with energy enough to enjoy the trip.
We were amazed at the changes along the way from Longmont
to Loveland. The completed US287 bypasses Berthoud and
there is so much new development it was hard to recognize
where we were. The same happened at 28th and the Diagonal
in Boulder, I must say.
It has been a lovely day. We stopped in Laramie for a picnic
lunch. This was in a lovely park in the center of town. After
lunch we drove almost non-stop covering 400 plus miles.
As we were driving I was remembering our stay at Long Branch
Lake, Kentucky. I forgot to mention a couple of details. As we
were getting settled at our campsite Robert noted, with disgust,
that someone had thrown fish heads and tails onto the ground,just
a few yards from the picnic table. Later, as I was preparing our
dinner I noticed 3 vultures were happily taking care of the fish.
I have decided that is one advantage of having a few of them
around.
As we were eating we heard a racket of hammering. I could see
from our window who was making such a racket and was thrilled to
Pileated woodpecker
see a Pileated woodpecker. I had
never seen one before. I'd
heard one once, years ago
in New York State.
It is a large woodpecker,
larger than the Hairy woodpecker.
It is black and white except it has
a red crest. Walking around the
campground later we
found the evidence of his work.
They make huge holes in
dead or at least sick trees, holes about 3-4 inches in diameter
But, now we are in the "Energy Motel" in Diamondville, Wyoming. This motel is run by a husband and wife team and is their retirement. She is very talkative and I think Robert is right when he surmised she is lonely. They are sort of stuck there 24 hours a day. Many of the other tenants of this motel are workers from the oil fields and some have to drive a long way to get to work. There is no housing at the work site.
Robert had a lengthy chat with a fellow from Portland, Oregon who
is living in the motel and working in the gas fields. He is an
inspector now, having worked his way up from field work. He's
working to have enough to put his 5 kids through college. But,
what a life. His family is in Portland and he is here. He and
another fellow who showed up to chat said they couldn't
understand why the town of Diamondville didn't build some more
housing. There are many empty buildings in town that could be
fixed up as apartments and with all the oil and gas workers it
seems they could make money. But Robert pointed out that
Diamondville had probably seen many an up and down in
the fields and were not about to invest very much.
A month ago we left for Kentucky.
This morning we finished packing and such, leaving Salina at
11 AM. We really need only 2 days to drive to our destination
Walla Walla, Washington, but we decided to take 3 days and
arrive with energy enough to enjoy the trip.
We were amazed at the changes along the way from Longmont
to Loveland. The completed US287 bypasses Berthoud and
there is so much new development it was hard to recognize
where we were. The same happened at 28th and the Diagonal
in Boulder, I must say.
It has been a lovely day. We stopped in Laramie for a picnic
lunch. This was in a lovely park in the center of town. After
lunch we drove almost non-stop covering 400 plus miles.
As we were driving I was remembering our stay at Long Branch
Lake, Kentucky. I forgot to mention a couple of details. As we
were getting settled at our campsite Robert noted, with disgust,
that someone had thrown fish heads and tails onto the ground,just
a few yards from the picnic table. Later, as I was preparing our
dinner I noticed 3 vultures were happily taking care of the fish.
I have decided that is one advantage of having a few of them
around.
As we were eating we heard a racket of hammering. I could see
from our window who was making such a racket and was thrilled to
Pileated woodpecker
see a Pileated woodpecker. I hadnever seen one before. I'd
heard one once, years ago
in New York State.
It is a large woodpecker,
larger than the Hairy woodpecker.
It is black and white except it has
a red crest. Walking around the
campground later we
found the evidence of his work.
They make huge holes in
dead or at least sick trees, holes about 3-4 inches in diameter
But, now we are in the "Energy Motel" in Diamondville, Wyoming. This motel is run by a husband and wife team and is their retirement. She is very talkative and I think Robert is right when he surmised she is lonely. They are sort of stuck there 24 hours a day. Many of the other tenants of this motel are workers from the oil fields and some have to drive a long way to get to work. There is no housing at the work site.
Robert had a lengthy chat with a fellow from Portland, Oregon who
is living in the motel and working in the gas fields. He is an
inspector now, having worked his way up from field work. He's
working to have enough to put his 5 kids through college. But,
what a life. His family is in Portland and he is here. He and
another fellow who showed up to chat said they couldn't
understand why the town of Diamondville didn't build some more
housing. There are many empty buildings in town that could be
fixed up as apartments and with all the oil and gas workers it
seems they could make money. But Robert pointed out that
Diamondville had probably seen many an up and down in
the fields and were not about to invest very much.
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