Thursday, June 26, 2014

 I live in a very GREEN part of Washington State.  I always have, and I love it!

We camped (yes, again!), this time at Cape Disappointment State Park, home of the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse, the Coast Guard Station and former military batteries which were part of the 'Harbor Defense of the Columbia'.  Originally built in 1904 with 6" guns, they were decommissioned in May of 1945.

Our climate is very suited to rust, mold & decay, so much of the wood used is gone but the concrete
 remains and is very fun to explore and imagine the past activity there.











 Of course, WE did not add graffiti to our list of fun things to do, just took advantage for a pic!
 No American camp-out would be complete without the token S'mores.  This was our first time to try out the GIANT marshmallows.  I was not impressed, though we got slightly hysterical watching one of us try to consume the sticky mass.

Several good friends/relatives have been in our thoughts and prayers this month as one lovely lady passed away, another friend fell and broke several bones in her shoulder/clavicle and my mom's brother fell and broke his hip AND collar bone!  So hard to see those you love hurting and many prayers have been going up for these loved ones!
 Later this past month we hauled our camper over the pass into Eastern Washington to atttend the Washington State Convention Rabbit Show.  We stayed at a KOA on the Yakima River and showed 4 French Lops, one English Lop and one red New Zealand.  The bunnies did well - better than we did, actually.  I suffered a nasty attack of vertigo and was glad to exit the huge building teeming with rabbits, dust & people!
 A typical meal for us while camping - salisbury steaks, potato wedges & roasted brussels sprouts.  Yum.  We like our 'real' food, so we take it along!
 Eastern Washinton - many parts are barren, dry, and well, ugly!

Did I mention...hot?  In its defense, there were some very lovely farms, stunning old barns and lush alfalfa fields in the valleys.
 By the time we were headed home, the top of White Pass was looking much more like our familiar tree-scapes and we stopped at the top for coffee & goodies (red licorice, cheddar cheese & sour cream potato chips) and a stretch of the legs.
 Last stop for the day - La Wis Wis Campground.  A primitive campground in the heart of the Cascade foothills.  Stunning rivers, old growth trees, quiet......

The water was GLACIAL.  Can you tell?
Beautiful La Wis Wis is located in the Tatoosh Wilderness area of the Cowlitz Valley Ranger District. The campground sits where the Ohanapecosh River, Cowlitz River and Purcell Creek meet. 








A funny thing happened that evening. About 9:30ish, we were in the camper, settled in for the evening reading in our jammies when we hear a knock on the door.  "Is it too late to see the rabbits?  Have the rabbits gone to bed?" in an English accent, no less!  Of course we love to show off the show bunnies, so we came out and opened the tailgate of the truck, got out a couple of impressive 15 pound French Lops and visited with the interesting stranger for a half hour or so.  She was originally from Yorkshire, hence the accent.  She was suitably impressed and we enjoyed the visit.
 
Back home here it seems like everything grew a foot in the 4 days we were gone and the work to do has doubled!  We're breeding rabbits for the ARBA National Convention in Texas this coming Fall - only a 9-day window of time to get them bred in order for the young bunnies to be old enough to travel with their transporter come Fall.  Garden to weed, strawberry jam to can & lots of other stuff so I'd best get to doing something useful! 

Psalm 62:8

King James Version (KJV)
Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.