The Babbling Brooks

Smoke In The Valley...

 

You've probably heard about all the wildfires burning in Montana. It is extremely dry due to the unusually hot weather we've had for the last month. We are use to having some smoky, hazy days now and then. When we came home from Bozeman on Sunday, we noticed a large fire over the ridge to the west of the Flathead Valley. The smoke was blowing northward and we drove through it on our way to Eureka. This morning on the way to the hospital in Kalispell (see post below), I noticed how clear the air was and was surprised to see that it had cleared out so much. I was inside till about 8:30 PM. When I turned west to take the back road around Whitefish I noticed a large plume of smoke to the southwest and realized that it was the Brush Creek fire near Marion. Wow, it had really grown and the smoke had spread to completely cover the area to the south and out over Flathead Lake. Then I looked a little north and saw that the one we'd seen on Sunday was not only a lot bigger, but a lot blacker. It was blowing north of town and then circling around to the east side of the valley. It was so thick that the Swan Range was completely obscured. Such is life in the west. This is a reminder to me of why we are spending extra $$$ to use fire-proof siding (cement fiber Hardiplank) and fire resistant roofing and why we have a couple of small hydrants from our well. Before we move in, I am making an evacuation list of what to pack in the vehicles if they ever tell us it's time to leave!

John's Doing Great!

John's heart procedure went well today. When the heart catheter was inserted this morning the doctor found two blockages in his arteries and gave John a choice of A) angioplasty for one and a stent for the other or B) a double bypass. John says that was a no-brainer :) He is resting comfortably in the hospital tonight hooked up to a myriad of tubes and monitors, but will be coming home tomorrow. A heart healthy diet is on the horizon at our house (my high blood pressure is being monitored and my doctor will put me on meds if it's not down in 3 weeks)! Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!

Bozeman Air Show

It was hot, hot, hot...but the show was great. They only do this show once every six years and they are saying this may be the last one at Bozeman as the air traffic at Gallatin Field is rapidly increasing and it may become too busy to close the field for the air show. We saw some aerobatic performers that were new to us and lots of military jets and a helicopter. The highlight of the show was, of course, the Blue Angels. The extreme para-jumping team set the infield on fire, so we were treated to a real fire-fighting demo by the airport fire department. We had to laugh at the guy in the photo who thought he was going to put it out with his fire extinguisher. It got bigger before the water truck could get there.

On the way to Bozeman, we spotted something on top of the mountain as we were approaching Butte. We were still about 10 miles away and couldn't make out what it was. As we got closer to town, we could see it was a statue....it's a BIG Jesus. I can't believe the ACLU has let this one stand :) We left Bozeman early Sunday morning and took some back highways through Helena and Seeley Lake and up through the Swan Valley east of Kalispell to get home. Wow, that was a gorgeous drive...we discovered pelicans on Nevada Lake and a great lunch spot...The Stray Bullet in Ovando. I swear, it's going to take at least 10 years to explore all the places in Montana we want to see!

   

Air Tour 2007

The Puget Sound Antique Airplane Club Air Tour 2007 was July 15th-20th and everyone had a great time. John left Eureka on Thursday, July 12th and flew to Crest Airpark in Washington. He went two days early to give himself extra time in case of weather problems and also so he could see the grandkids. I left on Sunday, July 15th and drove to Spokane. Along the way I stopped at my great-grandparents farm near Sandpoint, Idaho and took photos of the fields, barns, and the house. The family that bought the farm from them over 60 years ago still owns it. Afterwards I went out to Pack River cemetery where they are buried. That Sunday John flew with the group to Pearson Airpark in Vancouver, Washington. That's Lynn in her new red PA12 (aka Carmine) in the photo.  They were able to tour an air museum there and the next morning took off for Hood River where they toured another collection of airplanes. In the meantime, I left Spokane and headed for Farmington where my Grandma Lizzie grew up. After a visit to the cemetery, I went to Colfax and did some research in the county library. I found a new book that had been done about the history of Farmington and there was information in it that had been obtained from my Great-Aunt Katherine (who passed away in 2002).  In the afternoon I headed for Walla Walla to meet John and the rest of the group for the next overnight stop. Along the way there was a fatal accident that occurred just before I'd gotten there. I saw ambulances at the Dusty airport when I went by and then I saw helicopters, so I knew something was up. I soon came to the backup and learned that it would be at least 3 hours until the highway was opened. The shortest route to Walla Walla was to return to Colfax and then go to Lewiston, Idaho to cross the Snake River. It was an extra 120 miles, but I got to town just as everyone was going to dinner. It was hot and on the way back George and Curt decided they'd pull an old college stunt and frolic in the pool of a roadside motel. We left just as it looked like the clerk was calling the police.

The next morning the Walla Walla EAA chapter provided breakfast for everyone. I took off in my Beetle and headed to Baker City, Oregon for the next leg of the tour. I got there just ahead of John and Lynn so was able to snap a few photos of them coming in.

While we were in Baker, we also visited the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center which is a must see. John and I had been several years ago, but have wanted to return. You can still see the wheel ruts from the covered wagons out on the hills.

The next stop on the Air Tour was Joseph, Oregon for lunch and sight-seeing, then on to Enterprise for the night. I dropped Lynn and John off at the Baker Airport and headed to Joseph for a beautiful drive along the Wallowa River. Joseph is full of artists and antiques. There are four foundries in town and the main street is decorated with bronze statues. It's quite a charming little town nestled in the Wallowa Mountains (which some of the fliers had to go around, including John).

Lynn had landed at Enterprise, so she and I dropped John off at the Joseph Airport after lunch and antiquing and made the quick drive to downtown Enterprise so we could watch John do the fly-by down Main Street. Afterward, we headed to the airport where Lynn took the job of ramp control :) The town had made a big deal out of the Antique Airplanes coming to town. There were posters up all over and a good crowd of people at the airport to watch the landings and see the planes. That evening they shut down Main Street so we could eat and dance! The food was good, the music was fun, and one of our own (Dick) sang for us, too. We all agreed he was even better than the "band".

 

The next morning everyone headed for Prosser. I thought my longer drive there would make me late for the event that was planned at the winery, but the weather was in my favor. We woke up to local fog and the pilots were stuck for a bit. My trusty Beetle served me well and I got to Prosser just as everyone else was arriving :) A new winery was holding it's grand opening the following weekend. It is on the grounds of a former military base and the winery is named Airfield Estates. They invited us all to tour the winery and they treated us like royal guests with wine tasting, fancy food, and a tour of the facilities. They were ecstatic when George pulled into the parking lot in his Stearman. Yep, the Port of Prosser and the Prosser police provided an escort from the airport and George taxied over the roads to get to the winery (see group photo at the start of the post).

We spent the night at The Barn, an infamous former stop of the Air Tour, where we frolicked in the pool and had a fun banquet dinner to end the tour. Kurt and George provided us with lots of laughs. John and I won a bottle of wine from the winery in the raffle (we got a ticket each morning if we attended the pre-flight briefings). The next morning everyone headed for home....except us. Lynn and John flew to Wenatchee and I met them at Pangborn Field. We all met Arthur at the Red Lion, had lunch, walked along the river, and lounged by the pool. (Arthur had hoped to fly over in his Mooney to join us for a couple of stops along the tour, but all the rain in the Puget Sound area changed those plans.) Lynn's friend, Cindy, and her husband came later in the day and we all celebrated Cindy's 50th birthday with a great Italian dinner at Visconti's. It was a great week!

I Need To Catch-Up!

But it probably won't happen till at least Monday. We are leaving in the morning for Bozeman to see the Blue Angels on Saturday. Along the way we're going to stop a couple of places to look at lighting fixtures and to buy artist paints and supplies. (Did I mention we found an art teacher and are both starting lessons? I think this lady will be a great teacher and she'll teach me both oils and watercolors!) We are staying in a Kamping Kabin at the KOA in Bozeman so I am not expecting to have internet access. There's been quite a lot accomplished on the house, including a morphing of a bathroom while we were gone which then led to some other minor changes....and I love it! More on that and the Air Tour details later....I'll start painting our fascia boards on Monday (assuming they were delivered this afternoon as expected), so I'll be busy next week. See ya!

Back Home...

We are back in Eureka after a fun filled week on the Air Tour 2007. I took lots of photos and will share some along with the story and highlights of our week in a day or two. John will be back working on the house in the morning. Paul popped his back out of whack while we were gone and is doing light duty, but he says there is some framing John can do. I thought I would be painting fascia boards tomorrow, but Paul is not quite ready for me to do that yet. So....home for 4 days and then we'll be off to Bozeman for the air show next weekend which includes performances by the Blue Angels. I'm excited to see them. It's been awhile and they always put on a great demonstration. (We once saw/heard them break the sound barrier at the Reno Air Races :)

PS: I picked up my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (along with a second copy to send to Chris), did you!???

So...where are we?

We are on the 2007 Puget Sound Antique Aircraft Club (PSAAC) Summer Air Tour! No time to blog much now, but here's a teaser photo from Enterprise, Oregon. We are having a great time with a great group of people and the towns we've visited have gone all out to make us welcome. (They shut down Main Street tonight so we could eat dinner and dance in the street :) More later when time allows!

Catching Up...What We Did In Washington...

Another bit of catching up...We did a lot of things while in Washington with Legend the last part of June. John could only stay 4 days as he had to get back to work on the house, so he rode the motorcycle over and back. I stayed 10 days as Brad had more time off, so he and I and Legend played and had fun. We stayed in Enumclaw. Brad did have to work one shift and we weren't sure if he'd be scheduled for more, so we wanted to be close. That one shift was a good chance to take Legend into the restaurant so all Brad's coworkers could see how cute he still is :) While John was still with us we went to Seattle Center and the Pacific Science Center . The PSC had a dinosaur exhibit and Legend liked all the bones, but his favorite part was "digging" for dinosaur eggs in the sand boxes. We also saw the IMAX 3D dinosaur movie while we were there. I think Legend like the insect zoo the best. He was pretty intrigued with all the bugs and spiders, especially the black widow.

 

John and I had dinner with some former coworkers and got caught up on all the news. The next night we went to Arthur and Lynn's at Crest Air Park for the formal roll-out of "Carmine", their new airplane (ok, it's Lynn's airplane :) They've put months of work into the plane and it really shows!

Legend loves the beach, so our next stop was Pacific Beach. John missed out. We had a great time digging for treasure in the sand, roasting hot dogs, and eating S'mores. One of Legend's favorite things to do is roast marshmallows over the fire. He loved playing pirate on the beach and was thrilled to find a big X marking where to dig for treasure (thanks, Daddy :) (A side note....for those of you who are federal employees or retired feds...did you know that we are eligible to stay at some of the military recreation facilities? I didn't know if I could still get in being retired, but I called and asked. They let me in with my CSA card and drivers license. So, we stayed at the Navy recreation facility in Pacific Beach. We just had a little room in the hotel, but they also have houses to rent and a campground and RV park. )

 

Brad and I took Legend to Northwest Trek. He loves to go to the zoo, but he'd never been here (no exotic animals here, just local wildlife). He had a great time seeing all the animals and touching the skulls, bones, and skins.

We saw a couple of movies, played Nintendo and Legos, and ate at McDonald's enough times to get all but one of the Surf's Up Happy Meal toys. We also ate at my favorite, the The Cheesecake Factory where we had one of Legend's favorites, edamame. Brad and I dropped Legend off in Kirkland with his Uncle Jacob who was leaving in a UHaul truck for St. George and Phoenix the next morning. We miss him so much when he leaves. Hope it won't be long till the next visit.!

A House Tour...

It's been awhile since I shared the progress on the house and a lot has happened! Rather than make this a long, wordy post I've labeled photos so you can see what's happened and where we are. You may not be able to see the words without enlarging the photos, just double click on the photo...and meet Weston at the end! He's visiting his Uncle Paul for the month of July and working on our house. He's a great kid and a hard worker. Thanks, Weston!

 

Mission Accomplished

I received an e-mail from a friend yesterday regarding my Monday post about the colonscopy procedure. He admitted that he had been scheduled and "wimped out" knowing what his wife had gone through with the unpleasant prep procedure. My comments regarding the much improved prep prompted him to call for that appointment and his wife has already bought the "stuff" he needs to prep. That was the whole point of my post...I knew there were those of you out there dreading having the test. Way to go, Friend! And BTW....yes, my results were good and I am off the hook for another 5 years. I'll spare you the photos :)

Have You Been Tested?

Stepping on my soap box...

Today I had a colonoscopy. It was not my first and won't be my last. Many of you know that my Mom died of colon cancer in 1996. She was only 67 years old and died four weeks after the diagnosis. There are thousands of colon cancer deaths in this country every year that don't need to happen. It is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in this country (led only by lung cancer). In many cases it can be detected in the precancerous or early stages by a simple procedure and taken care of on the spot. Yes, it's gross and not a pleasant subject. But there is no pain involved during the procedure, NONE! And I can attest to the fact that the preparation involved has improved immensely in the last 5 years. In 2001 it was horrible. I had to drink a gallon of the nastiest stuff you can imagine and it made me so sick that about 2/3 of the way through I couldn't keep it down. I didn't know if it would even work well enough for me to have the exam being that I couldn't keep it inside to do the job. Needless to say, I have been dreading having to do it again. The 5-year mark was in December when I was in Hawaii, then we were coming to Montana, then we were moving, then I had to find a new doctor, then...there were a million excuses. But I knew it had to be done. My new doctor in Eureka set me up with a specialist in Kalispell and a nurse did my consultation over the phone saving me a trip to the Flathead. She assured me that the cleansing procedure was so much easier now and she was right. Three doses last night and three this morning in 8 ounces of 7UP each time. Yes, I got a little nauseous this morning, but some water and a banana Popsicle helped that. I know now that I won't have to dread the next time so much. Still not pleasant, but not so bad and SO IMPORTANT. It's important for you, too, even if you don't have a family history of colon cancer. If you are over 50 or have a family member who has had colon cancer and haven't had this done or are over due, PLEASE call your doctor and make that appointment. The life you save may be your own and if you are reading this, you are important to me!

(For more information from the Mayo Clinic, click HERE .) 

Catch Up Post! Legend's Visit to Montana

You probably remember that Legend came home with me to Montana and Brad came over on the train to Whitefish. Legend and I picked him up the next morning after we got here from Utah. We all had loads of fun with him here! We didn't get to do some of the things we'd planned...like swimming in the lake and hiking cause the weather didn't cooperate. It was cool (65) most of the time he was here and we had some rain. We did have enough sunshine, though, to get outside and play each day. I was sick the first couple of days, but recovered quickly with the help of antibiotics. Legend recovered from his ruptured ear drum and infection (see previous post) quickly, too. Brad, on the other hand, didn't feel well and got worse after we left for Washington. We ended up taking him to the doctor in Auburn and found that he had an abscessed gland in his throat. Ouch! He said it was the most painful thing ever, worse than the broken jaw. He felt much better after a giant shot of antibiotics in the b*tt and more doses everyday. Anyway...here's a few photos of our time together in Montana...Legend loved helping at the construction site, pressing his hands in the concrete, playing in the "dungeon" under the house, finding pine cones and mud puddles and other treasures, climbing rock and dirt piles, flying with Papa (who let him actually take the stick and fly the plane!), playing games and doing puzzles, crafting Father's Day gifts with Grandma, running at the track, writing his name on the wall at Cafe Jax, learning magic tricks from Daddy, and other things :)

Next up? Photos from Washington...stay tuned! 

God Bless America!

Hope everyone had a safe and fun 4th of July! Our day started bright and early with a drive to the Flathead. John needed to visit the airplane mechanic at the Ferndale airport near Bigfork to get his certificate signed that will allow him to remove the door from the Champ and fly with it off (more on that in a later blog). We'd planned on watching the parade and the dedication of the new Veteran's Memorial in Kalispell, but the airport stop took longer than expected. By the time we got to Kalispell I would have had to elbow my way into a viewing spot...not happening, I'll wait till next year. Instead we had a leisurely breakfast at IHOP, killed some time at Borders, and then saw a movie (Live Free or Die Hard). In the evening we went to Dickey Lake where a local family was hosting a community party to raise money for the Performing Arts Center at our new high school. For $10 each we ate a BBQ chicken meal (a little more cash added beer and wine), listened to live music, and watched an awesome fireworks display over the lake...the residents around the lake added to it with their own. It was a great time and we certainly got our money's worth! I had a great time playing with my Nikon D200 and trying to get some fireworks photos. I used the photo tips from Kim Komando for taking fireworks pictures. I didn't have my tripod, but did a lot of breath holding :) I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out.

BTW, it was 95 degrees here yesterday...just like it should be on the 4th of July. Today we saw 104 degrees out at our property. We're lucky that we have some big trees that keep our rental house shaded and we can keep the interior cooler than outside by keeping the blinds closed as the sun moves across the sky. We're thinking our new house will be the same way as it is oriented in the same direction, we have trees and an almost constant breeze, and Paul builds eaves wide enough to shade the windows. We're not putting in air conditioning this year, but the house will be ready to add it if we decide it's needed. I'm thoroughly enjoying having seasons other than "rainy" :)

The House Has Bones!

What a change in the last ten days! John says it looks like a giant dinosaur. All of the main floor framing is done. The attic trusses are set, except for the dormer trusses for the guest bedroom and bath. The electric panel is in and....We have water! And plenty of it...just as we expected from the well log done when we drilled the well in 1999 we have over 30 gallons per minute and plenty of pressure. The water has been running for two days to be sure the well shaft and pipes are clean before hooking them up for use. I love the way our posts and beams look on the first floor and kudos to Paul for adding another post that wasn't in the plans. It looks awesome and is perfect! I have loads of photos showing some of the details...posts and beams, vaulted ceilings, etc. I'll share those in another post, but I wanted to get this one posted to share the progress. Thanks to John for taking it! Paul says there's a couple more weeks of work to do to finish the framing...stairs, upstairs sub floor, etc. and then they'll be putting the roof on.

Tack and Jibe on the Flathead

Who would of thought that after living next to Puget Sound for the last 30 years I'd come to Montana and take a sailing lesson? It's something John has been wanting to do for quite a while. He found a marina in Dayton on Flathead Lake that gives lessons and rents boats....today was the first lesson and I decided I may as well give it a try, too. It was fun and I found myself remembering all those long, hot summer days on the water when I was growing up! Jim took four of us out in a 21' boat after a short land lesson and the real learning came with the hands on time on the water. We learned a whole lot of nautical sailing terms in a short bit of time. Some of them were explained, but mostly we just caught on as we went. We had a two hour lesson on the water which was designed to give us enough information to safely take a small boat out and, hopefully, come back in one piece :) After lunch the four of us took the boat out on our own. Jack and Ed, our sailing partners, were nice people and we all worked together maneuvering the boat....taking turns at the tiller, the mainsail, and the two jib lines (that's sailor talk :) So, will we do it again? Yes! We'll rent a boat a few times and see if we like it enough to pay the pricey rental fees or perhaps buy a small used sailboat. A little more practice and we can take you out on the lake when you come to visit!