Fall Migration to Georgia - Wyoming to Iowa

We left Salt Lake City early in the morning on September 26, still in sunshine.  We didn't see a drop of rain on the entire trip.  Our van is plastered with bugs, and we had to be sure every time we gassed up to wash the windshield.  I had gotten my first flu shot ever when we were in Salt Lake.  It seemed the prudent thing to do since Ron was coughing and wheezing and all stuffed up.  I think I got the shot in time, because I dodged the bullet of his cold.  We decided the first day to take a quick trip to Saratoga Hot Springs in Wyoming.  It is just off I-80, and is a free pool, nicknamed "The Hobo Pool".  It is attached to the municipal pool which we have never found open on our many stops.  The hobo pool has gotten progressively hotter over the years, and this time, neither of us was able to get in.  The river that runs beside the pool is icy cold - so cold your legs ache if you step in it.  Some hardy souls had dammed up a pool where the water overflows from the cement pool, and it was lovely.  Here are a few pictures.  The first one is of the main pool, with someone actually in it - he was the only person we saw put more than a single foot into the pool.

Even this pool in the middle of the frigid river was hot at first.

Wyoming - where we see beautiful purple weeds and herds of antelope.

Colorful grain silos along I-80 in Nebraska

This is pretty typical of Nebraska scenery - lots of corn and windmills.

More of the same in Iowa 

But Iowa is also about family - Ron playing penny ante poker with his brothers, Dale and Gary.

Gary's daughter, Michelle

Gary & Evie

Dale & Katreena

Doretta & Zea

Driving to Georgia = WA to UT

We were anxious to get started on our 3,000 mile trek across the country, so we got to Tri-Cities in time to see a beautiful sunrise over the grape orchards.

Oregon.

Idaho

 These "weeds" are in bloom everywhere, which makes the Nevada desert so colorful at this time of year.

Looks like snow - but it is salt.

Utah 

Fall is turning the hillsides a variety of reds and yellows.

Salt Lake - Antelope Island in the background.

This beautiful lake is east of Salt Lake

Of course, the best thing about Utah is family!  This is me with our grandson, Gavin.

First half of our trip is over - on to Iowa, Missouri, and eventually, Georgia.

Home Sweet Home

As we prepare to head for our winter home in Georgia, on a beautiful fall day, we always wonder why anyone could possibly want to live anywhere but here.

It is easy to forget the last week where we set records for rain and cool temperatures or that winter is a dark dreary affair around here.  Truly, the real sun worshipers live in Washington.  When the sun comes out, we must be outside to enjoy it and housework be damned.

Surprisingly, many of the "annuals" that I bring inside to an unheated but east and south facing daylight basement will survive the winter.  Fortunately, we have great neighbors that give them a drink every other week or so.

The trumpet vine will bloom all winter.

Glory of Hempstead

Duet

I have mulched the dahlias with bark and let them continue to bloom.  I find they do better when I leave them in the ground.These are the ones I dug last year and planted when I got home in May.  They are just now forming buds.  I mulched them and will leave them in the ground this year.

Otto's Pride

But the changing colors and falling leaves tell us it is time to join the other migrating animals and head south. 

Twitter and Me

Okay, no pictures today - today a discussion of Twitter, which frankly, I don't get!  I signed up for a Twitter account over a year ago (before I even began blogging) and couldn't figure out what exactly the purpose of it all was.  I immediately got some "followers" which (other than my daughter, Amy, who introduced me to Twitter) were strangers who appeared to have something to sell.  I can't imagine posting "I'm in the post office now," or anything so inane and taking up space on the world wide web like that.


However, now I watch my daughter using Twitter to expand her world and I have decided to give it an honest try.  So every day for a year, I am going to post something significant to me on Twitter.  This will hopefully inspire me to have a significant something to say in 144 characters or less every day.


If anyone else is interested in my grand Twitter experiment, please let me know your twitter address so I can follow you.  My address is http://twitter.com/rosiecrawford - please join me as I try to keep up-to-date with the most current way of communicating.  And please feel free to tell me if you consider my "significant" something to be lame, in which case, the experiment may end abruptly.

Amy & Dan's New House

My daughter Amy, and husband, Dan, bought a house in Seattle this month.  In spite of the doom and gloom things we hear about the real estate market, it still appears to be brisk in Seattle.  


My husband, Ron, is laid up with a strained back, and Dan was working, so I had a chance to visit my only daughter one on one for the first time in years.  It was a great day!  Amy is busy writing a book and preparing for a year of eating locally.  You can see her blog at Seasonally Seattle.

Near the University of Washington in the Ravenna District, the house is ideally located close to everything, but with a very nice private neighborhood.

Amy is thinking about raising a couple of laying hens in the fenced back yard.  Building codes allow for two chickens per household.  After searching for local eggs, she is convinced raising them herself is the best option.  Good Girl!

The house is classic with modernized things like bathrooms and kitchens and lots of light.  The original stained glass windows in the living room are beautiful.

Get Together with The Girls From Granite

We are blessed in our class to have someone who keeps us all together.  Even when we were in high school, we could depend on Jackie and Elsie to do the organizing for parties and events.  Now Elsie has moved out of state, but Jackie still rounds us up for a luncheon nearly every month.  This is my last meeting with the girls from Granite for the next six months as we head for our winter home in Georgia next week.


Mary Lou suggested the Madison Pub on Madison Avenue in Everett for this month's gathering.  As we drove up, it looked a lot like an ordinary tavern, so I was a bit skeptical - but the food was great and plentiful and we had a great gab session.  A bit depressing to hear about all the ailments our classmates are starting to feel, but nice to still be in touch with important people in my life from the way back machine.

Diane

Jackie

Mary Lou

Pam

Michael

And of course, there is the food - this is the Rueben sandwich with fries made from scratch on site.  Very yummy!

Sara's Steer

We got up early and headed to Okanogon to the Fair grounds where our granddaughter, Sara, has been showing her steer all week.  Today was "Market Day" where all the animals the kids have worked so hard on all year were sold at auction.  This is a place to get the most prime meat available in the state.  All of these animals have been fed and pampered and trained for a year.  It is Sara's first year of showing an animal, and we were very proud of her to place 3rd in the competition.  

Squirrel Tree Inn - on Stevens Pass - Great Place for Breakfast

The auction didn't start until 3, so we got up early and had a leisurely trip across the pass, stopping at the Squirrel Tree Inn just before Leavenworth for breakfast.

We were in time to watch Sara give Buford one last bath and blow dry his coat.

A successful fair year is complete!