Moving Furniture for a Friend at Ocean Park and Long Beach

Our friend Z has changed her house at her Ocean Park property from a fifth-wheel to a manufactured home. She asked if we could come help her move in the heavy furniture; of course we said yes. My current life philosophy is to always say yes to everything that we can, especially for friends or family. Weekly hike with friends: YES. Fika with a friend: YES. Concert in New York with a friend and staying with family: YES. Visit to a State Park in the R-Pod to meet friends: YES. A week in Port Townsend camping in the R-Pod with my parents: YES. Beer with a visiting friend in Seattle (he's lives in Denmark): YES. Wedding reception/dance party for my cousin (I have 23 cousins): YES. An automatic yes instead of a reflexive no has made my life much more fulfilled and joyous. I've been doing the YES for a few years now, and it still requires me to stop and change my first tendency to answer with a no. I'm lazy at heart and I do like staying home, but I've never been sorry when I make the effort to spend time with my friends and family.

The Astoria Bridge over the Columbia River

Outdoor deck coziness.

The R-Pod as a Portal to Friends. Lake Crescent

Two months ago, we took the R-Pod to Lake Crescent, in Olympic National Park, to spend a week with our friends that live in their fifth-wheel full-time. I feel lucky to see them at least once per year, and this year, we got to visit with them twice, once in New Mexico and now again in Washington. We got to celebrate the summer solstice with them in a beautiful place.

Contemplating life and the summer solstice.

Fire and conversation with friends. Magical.

Aurora Borealis Over Wine Country

We managed to end this trip with a celestial extravaganza! Our last week was spent enjoying Washington wine country from the town of Prosser. We met my parents at Wine Country RV and spent our time there visiting all our favorite spots. We bought a LOT of wine, too! Russ and I were paying attention to the solar storms, however, and Russ suggested that we go up to Horse Heaven Vista above town to see if the northern lights would make an appearance. Boy did they ever! We saw them on Sunday also, but only for the first ten minutes after sunset - my sunset pictures are better. Saturday's show, however, was better than anything I saw in Alaska, and much more comfortable to watch. It was a lovey, cool night with a light wind.

Aurora Borealis on Saturday.

Aurora with the moon over Prosser, WA.

Straight overhead. The colors filled the sky.

Super bright and with some movement.

Another picture of the aurora with the city lights below.

Sunset on Sunday. Mount Adams to the left, Mount Rainier to the right.

A Quick Transit of Montana and a Short Stay in Spokane.

I noted in the previous post that we moved quickly through Wyoming and Montana, with one night stays in Billings and Butte. We enjoyed our time in both cities, especially when we found a great local pub in Butte. We had dinner at the bar, chatting with the owners and a couple of local customers. Connecting with strangers in their local places is a wonderful way to learn about a place and to understand life as others chose to live it. We did also reconnect with a friend in Missoula, eating dinner with her at MacKenzie River Pizza Company. We tried the latest Cool Earth oat milk (Chocolate!), and I bought more at the local natural food store to take with us. So many of our friends are doing amazing things and have such passion for the things they do.

Vinyl Barstools are the mark of a great pub.

A place worth looking for off the main drag.

Back to the mountains!

Green and white landscapes.

Why Die? Why Not Wyoming?

So Wyoming has these road signs that say "Why Die?" and "Think!". I think that they mark where crashes killed people, because at times there is a cluster of the signs in one spot. Montana marks such places with a small, white cross on a short pole, sometimes with clusters of the crosses mounted on one pole. In New Mexico, people build small flower covered crosses and shrines. Seeing them as we pass definitely reminds me of memento mori. Remember that you will die; we all will. It's the one promise of life. It reminds me to live every moment, because it could be the last time. The last road trip, the last coffee. Every time I do something, it could be the last time. We mostly don't notice the last time we do something. I don't remember the last time I hugged my Grandma, or the last time that I slept in my childhood bedroom. When I do know that I'm doing something for the last time, it seems more vivid. Like the last time I ate at a favorite restaurant when I knew it was closing forever; the food tastes better, the people laugh louder, the company makes a big impression. Everything feels more. I am trying to notice that feeling every time I do anything, like it could be the last time.

Why Die?

Think!

The Montana version.

South Dakota Before the Crowds of Summer.

We are here early, and many of the places we could camp with our trailer are still closed. Many spots don't open until May 1. It has made things more difficult, but I'm not sorry we came at this time of year. All the attractions are quiet and empty. We've enjoyed having National Parks to ourselves (at least it feels that way). I knew that because our timing was dictated by the total eclipse, we could have chancy weather, and we have, but it all worked out for the best, because South Dakota is amazing!

We moved through the state from East to West, and after leaving the family farm near Vermillion, we went directly towards Badlands National Park, with a stop at the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site first. Our weather for exploring the park was perfect, cool but sunny. We only did one short hike, but we stopped at every pullout all the way through the park to the city of Wall. I especially loved the big views, big prairie dog towns, and big bison. As we left the park, several of the bison blocked our road out and posed for photos at the park entrance sign. Perfect.

A quick and corny stop.

Our campsite in Chamberlain, SD.

Out our back window.

Minuteman Missile National Historic Site.

Looking good in Badlands.

Every view a masterpiece.

Traveling Into My Ancestral Lands

My father's family is concentrated in one geographic area, but my Mom's family is spread out over the US, especially in California and Oklahoma, but I also have maternal relatives in Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Oregon, and South Dakota, plus I was born in Kansas. As we left Texas and the total eclipse behind, we took a path through some of the places where I have family history and relatives. Our first stop was my Mom's early hometown, Chickasha, Oklahoma.

I missed the welcome to Oklahoma sign.