The Winter Trek Toward Home

In my last post I shared about a few days we spent with our son and his family at a wonderful vacation house in Central Oregon.  When we all said our goodbyes and exchanged hugs we headed different directions to get back to our homes.  My sweetheart and I took the northernmost route home over Mount Hood, my favorite mountain in the Cascade Mountain range of Oregon.  The roads were clear when we started our trip home. We traveled down a steep grade to the bottom of the gorge where we passed through a Native American reservation.

Not long after we passed through that little town we drove up another steep grade on the other side of the gorge and drove on a flat plateau for awhile. It always seems as if we're on top of the world here. The sky seems so big!

We began to notice more snow along the side of the road and we were pretty sure there would be quite a bit of snow on the mountain pass ahead.

It wasn't long and the terrain changed.  We were in forest land - and beginning to climb to higher elevations.  The world around us was beautiful. Snow-covered trees stood in the shade on side of the highway while trees on the opposite side stood tall and green in the sun.

The scene kept changing as we continued to climb the mountain pass. We were definitely in a winter wonderland!

It wasn't long before we came to a line of trucks and cars alongside the road. A highway sign let us know that tire chains or traction devices were required for the road ahead.

My sweetheart is a very good driver in snow and ice. He knows how to handle the vehicle - and he's not a fan of putting chains on the tires of our car. But, when it's required, he complies. I felt bad because he wasn't feeling well and there was nothing I could do to help.

While my sweetheart worked to get the chains on our car I walked my little dog. He's not a big fan of snow - especially when it comes up to his tummy! Across the highway from the chain-up area where we stopped was an area for cars and trucks that had come over the top of the pass to take off their chains. I noticed a family across from us. The father had already taken the chains of of their car and he patiently waited while the kids finished making a snowman beside the road!

Soon we were on our way again. Slowly we made our way up the mountain pass. The road was packed with snow that had frozen. My sweetheart taught me long ago that it's wise to drive slowly when chains are on the tires. And that's exactly what we did!

We got to the top of the mountain pass safely and began our descent down the other side. It wasn't long before the pavement was bare. Chains were no longer needed.  The sun was setting as we drove down the mountain and into the valley below.  Our time away with our family was wonderful and our winter trek toward home had been beautiful but we were very  glad to get home again. No matter where we go - there's just no place like home!

New Traditions In The Making

So many of you shared your lovely Christmas decorations on your blogs and I was inspired! Inspired, yes.  Motivated to do more than I did, no. This Christmas was different - far different - than planned. It came quietly and here we are facing the end of the year and looking forward to turning our calendars to another new year.

This Christmas was the first one without my dear, little mother and, even though I knew it wouldn't be easy, I had no idea how very hard it would be! I had plans - oh, how I had plans - but we didn't do any of them. Instead we did some other things. New traditions, perhaps.  Good things with family that helped all of us celebrate time together. 

 Mid-December found my sweetheart and I traveling to the South Coast of Oregon to visit my dear cousin and her hubby. We visited them early in December last year and had such a good time. During that visit she and I became aware of an annual event in their community that we wanted to do. We missed it last year so we started planning to do it this year. And we did! A gorgeous, old silent movie theater in her town has been restored. The original pipe organ that was played during the silent movies era is still there! It was in need of restoration and many long hours have gone into restoring the pipes and bellows, the miles and miles of connections and cables. One Saturday afternoon each December a free Christmas concert is presented to the community by two organists who know the old organ very well. And that's where we wanted to be on that Saturday this December!  We arrived early enough to choose good seats. I played some pipe organ in my college years and I knew I wanted to be where I could see the organists hands and feet and watch as keys were played that made the music resound through the pipes high overhead. There is nothing quite like the sound of a pipe organ - unless it is the opportunity to play one!  There is was. The Mighty Wurlitzer!

Photos taken inside the old theater with my cell phone don't do the organ or the theater justice. I  walked over to get a closer look and the anticipation of what we were about to experience began to seem real.

It wasn't long before the first organist - a very talented lady - stepped up and began to play. She has a special history with this old organ. She grew up in the area and spent many hours at the theater during her high school years so she could play the organ. She went away to college to study music and then returned to teach music in her hometown. She is part of this special concert every December and has been for many years.  The music she played filled the theater with such happy sounds.

The next organist was introduced. Not only is he an organist - he's the man who has done the restorations so he knows this old organ better than anyone else.  His style was very different than that of the first organist and such a complement to what we had already heard. He had an amazing sense of humor that rang out loud and clear through his music.

After a brief intermission we joined him for a Christmas sing-a-long. The sound of our voices and the mighty organ filled the theater.

As we shared the rest of the day with my cousin and her hubby, we four decided this just may have to be a new tradition for our holiday season for years to come.

Soon after our return home we began to prepare for more travels out of town.  Our son and daughter-in-law had invited her parents and the two of us to share a vacation rental home in the central part of our state. What fun we had for three days with our dear ones, including four of our grandkids plus our oldest grandson's best friend.  The home was wonderful and just perfect for us.  Five bedrooms. Four bathrooms. A living room. A game room. Huge kitchen. Something for everyone. Room to spread out and relax. We stayed in the room with the bay window on the left.

The house had been decorated for the holidays and Christmas music filled all the rooms when we arrived.

 

This vacation rental home is part of a large resort. This home sits along the golf course and nearby are other activities - swimming, racquetball, a full-sized gym, fitness rooms and more. The teen grands spent a lot of time in those activities and the younger grands enjoyed swimming and a short game of golf on a smaller course. 

When the older grands weren't out and about they were busy finding things to do back at the house. There were board games and card games and memory games and ideas thought up from below and above.

And in the family room - a pool table. Hours and hours of pool games. Games perfected. Some not so much. While the younger set was out and about the grandpas ruled the pool room.

And in the kitchen - food.  And more food. Christmas goodies galore. Snacks and nutritious meals. A walk-in pantry temporarily filled during our stay.  In the evenings it was interesting to see the grands and some of the adults retreat to the living room for quiet activity. Adult coloring books took center stage. Some handcrafts were on the docket and, of course, a silly game or two. There were treasured conversations sprinkled throughout our time together and the bonds of relationships secured tighter than before. The evening before we left a light dusting of snow began to fall. I will never forget the excitement in our youngest granddaughter's voice when she looked out the window and then turned and squealed, 'Grandma - it's SNOWING!!!'  Early the next morning the sun began to shine as preparations were made to head home.

And just after daybreak, a familiar sight outside our winter retreat home. Deer! Two, at first, and then many. All watching us and not afraid as long as we kept our distance.

Our belongings were packed away in our cars. Hugs were given and promises to return again. Perhaps this, too, will become a new tradition for our family. That seems to be a good plan. Time away - time together - time to share old memories and make new. Time to step away from the busy-ness of the season for quiet time together.

The Grand Trip - The Road To A Friend's House

Someone said, 'The road to a friend's house is never long'.  I'm sure that's true but it sure does seem like a long road when you're traveling and can't wait to see your friends along the way!

We left the Land of the Palms and headed east toward the California-Arizona Border.  It wasn't long before we crossed into Arizona where we began to see the tall, stately cactus called Saguaro (pronounced 'sa-whar-o).

The Saguaro fascinated me and it seemed as if I couldn't see enough of them.  I had always wanted to see the desert when it bloomed and it was obvious that the different cactus varieties were beginning to bloom.  I had heard about the beauty of the desert when it was in bloom and I really hoped I would be able to see it sometime.

We traveled for a few hours with a couple of stops along the way to refuel and have lunch. Finally we arrived at the home of our very dear long-time friends.  This was a visit we had long dreamed of and we were greeted with hugs and a warm welcome.

The husband of the couple has a real sense of humor.  This is his version of a 'No Soliciting' sign.

Within a few minutes we were settled into their driveway - the place we would call home for the next ten days.

Our dear friends have been at our home numerous times and they have always parked at our house.  They have been our mentors for long-distance travel with an RV and we drew from their experiences as we planned for this trip.  Their very close friendship with my sweetheart and I grew from their friendship with my mom and dad.  They loved my parents dearly.  We have dreamed of the day we could switch places and travel to - and park at - their home.  That time had finally come and it was wonderful!

Palm trees swayed in the breeze high overhead. . .

And Barrel Cactus nearby reminded us that we were definitely in the Southwest part of our country. 

Our dear friends made their home ours while we were there - we did laundry, relaxed in their home during the heat of the day, shared meals and sat late into the night on their beautiful patio to talk and share hearts and hopes and dreams.  I enjoyed their front courtyard that could be seen from the dining area windows of our home-away-from-home.

I sat here in the cool of the morning for my quiet time, my devotional reading and prayer.

After we were settled in and had visited a bit, my sweetheart took my little dog for a walk.  A few minutes later he came back and told me to get my camera and follow him - he found something he knew I would want to see.  He was right!  Just around the corner from our friends' home was an old Saguaro cactus.

It was beginning to bloom!

I was mesmerized! And I walked around the corner every day to see it again.  We had more adventures while we were with our friends and we spent a lot of time enjoying the love and friendship we four had shared through the years.  We talked and planned and hoped for more times together in the future.  No matter if those plans come true, one thing is sure -

The Grand Trip - The Land Of The Palms

It's time to return to the adventures of The Grand Trip.  There are so many more things to share with you - we've only just begun.  If you need to catch up with where we were when we were diverted for a bit you can read about our adventures here and here.

We left the RV park where we had spent the night and we traveled on toward the south.  We weren't very far from our destination so it wasn't a long drive to the next place where we planned to spend the next two nights.  We had been told that there was a very beautiful way to get to the freeway where we would turn east through southern California.  We followed the route but wondered if what we were told was right - this didn't seem beautiful at all!

The road continued and it didn't get much better.  One advantage of taking your home-away-from home with you is that you can stop along the way and fix lunch when you get hungry.  My sweetheart found a place to  pull off the highway so we could stop and eat lunch in the middle of nowhere.

It's a lovely place for lunch, don't you think?  This was our view from the big back window. What happened to the road through the beautiful part of the state?

There weren't many vehicles that came along the road beside us but every few minutes we heard the sounds of loud equipment somewhere nearby.  When we went outside we looked out and saw this high overhead.

They were building a new highway and we were sure it would replace the windy road we had taken.  A few minutes after we left our lunch spot the road took us up the hill to the construction zone. We could see how the new road was taking shape and we took our turn waiting to continue on down the road.

Soon we were on our way again and it wasn't long before the scenery began to change.  Things were green and there were trees in bloom beside the road. And then we came to the place we knew had to be what we had heard of.  And they were right - it was beautiful!

Then we saw a sign that told us that vehicles that are thirty feet or longer are not advised to take this road!  Our home-away-from-home was thirty feet long! Now what were we supposed to do? - there was no place to turn around.  So, we kept going.  The turns in the road were tight in many places.

Was I nervous? You bet I was! My sweetheart said we could make it - as long as there were no oncoming cars or trucks as we turned the sharp corners.  It took both lanes to maneuver the turns - and we didn't see another vehicle on any of the corners - and we made it!  When we got to the top of the mountain the view was amazing.  There, spread out below, was the San Bernardino Valley.

We drove down the mountain highway and soon we were on the freeway!  Just a short time ago we were on roads where we saw no one else. Now we were in a traffic jam!

We found the exit we needed to take us east toward our next destination.  Things changed almost immediately and we were in the land of wind turbines that produce electricity from the power of the wind - modern day windmills.

When we saw this sign we knew we weren't far from our destination.

A few miles farther down the road we found the RV park that we would call home for the next two days. We settled in and made ourselves at home and enjoyed the shadows of palm trees as night began to fall.

We enjoyed our days in the Palm Desert - Palm Springs area.  We enjoyed it so much we extended our stay an extra night!  Palm trees fascinate me and I loved the tree-lined streets all over that area.

If you've been following my blog for awhile you know I love mountains!  Palm Desert and Palm Springs are right up against beautiful mountains.  They are very different than the mountains of the Pacific Northwest, but they are gorgeous and they tower above the buildings. The cities are built right up next to some of the mountains.  Some homes have them in their backyards. . .

And some homes are built right into the rocks of the mountainsides.

I wanted to see the mid-century modern homes that are famous in Palm Springs.  They are part of the historical drive through the town. We drove along streets lined with beauties that had been well-cared for. I wish I could show you the wonderful homes we saw as we drove up one street and down the next but I couldn't take photos of most of them. There were people all around and in and out of the homes. I felt I couldn't intrude.  Many of the homes are behind hedges and gates but this one sat high above the street and I just couldn't help but take a photo of what we could see. I loved the landscaping.

But there was one home I wanted to see.  My sweetheart was pretty surprised that I wanted to find it but he was a good sport and followed my directions until we came to the home.  Now I've never been an Elvis fan, but I wanted to see the house where he and Priscilla spent their honeymoon and where they lived for the first couple of years of their marriage.  Isn't it cute? Very unique.

We really enjoyed our time in the Palm Desert - Palm Springs area.  Our time there went fast and we knew it was time to move on.  But first, there was one more sunset before we headed on down the road again.