Andy and I are very blessed to have good friends all over the country. But sometimes, I do miss my hometown girlfriends. And on Saturday, 27th, Gail and Tina flew into Sea-Tac airport and spent the next couple days with us. It did my heart so good to see them. We talked and hugged and laughed and cried and then did it all over again – for a few days – it was just WONDERFUL!
So here is an update from that time:
On Saturday, I picked them up from the airport then stopped at the store on the way back. At home in Alder Lake, we were all welcomed by Andy, Bruce and Sue and we enjoyed supper over the campfire as well as enjoying the campfire well into the evening.
Since it was sunny on Sunday, 28th, all the girls headed to Mount Rainier.
Our first adventure was West Side Road – a dirt road that took us into the rain forest alongside the Tahoma River. At one of the pull-offs, a nice young man volunteered to take our picture.
Sue, Tina, Gail, me:
Moss all over:
Huge trees and huge leaves – almost like Jurassic Park – 
:
The Tahoma River – actually it is called a Creek. It is a glacially fed creek:
We came back to the main road – here is our first view of Mount Rainier:
We continued on the road to Paradise with a few stops along the way – the road is in the clearing in the picture below:
Our stop at the top near the Henry Jackson Memorial Visitor Center – BEAUTIFUL!
We took one of the little trails around the area:
Love those fall colors:
The Paradise Inn:
A hoary marmot posing for a picture:
Cute – :
We were having fun:
Back from the trail, we walked thru the Paradise Inn – just love the NP Inns and Lodges:
We also made a stop at the visitor center, then made our way back. The clouds are rolling in:
Our last stop was Narada Falls:
Rainbows and Butterflies:
What a wonderful day. Our greeters at the park:
The guys, Andy and Bruce, had a campfire going by the time we got back – . We enjoyed another great evening and supper by the fire.
On Monday, 28th, we took a small trip to some of the various shops in the area. We passed the “Recycled Spirits of Iron Sculpture Park” and just had to stop. The works are done by Daniel Klennert and were very interesting.
More info here:
http://www.danielklennert.com/
http://www.visitrainier.com/pg/sculpture_park/Ex-Nihilo-Sculpture-Park-Near-Mt-Rainier-National-Park
Really cool!!! Back home, Tina made us an incredible dinner – YUM! And the rain started so we enjoyed ourselves indoors.
Tuesday, 30th
It rained most of the day. We took a quick trip to the store and then just hung out. The rain cleared enough for us to have a wonderful campfire.
Wednesday, October 1st
Happy Birthday, Tina
We woke to a beautiful sunny day, packed up, and headed about 30 miles north to the Puyallup Elks Lodge. The girls enjoying the ride:
Lunch after setting up:
Early afternoon, we walked to Safeway, where we found a Forest Gump bench (Run, Forest, Run – )
Late afternoon, we celebrated Tina’s birthday at the Elks and then cake back at our place. It was WONDERFUL having them here!
Thursday morning found me taking Tina and Gail to the airport for their 530 AM flight. It was hard to say “see you soon” but I will be seeing them back home in the spring.
Back home, I was able to get a few more hours sleep, then did my cleaning and laundry.
On Friday, 3rd, Sue and I took off for Lacey, Washington to the Shipwrecked Bead Store. We walked in and our mouths dropped – it was a HUGE warehouse full of LOTS of good beading STUFF!! WOW! They even have a place for breakfast and lunch.
We got there about 1030 AM and didn’t leave until 3 PM. The picture above and below is only about half of that store – AMAZING!
So did we buy “Stuff”. Oooohhhhh some… …
We finished the evening by having dinner at the Elks.
Another great day and great week with good friends.
Tomorrow we are heading to Salem, Oregon. And this begins our trek south to Arizona for the winter.
Stay tuned and enjoy today.
Yes, we are blessed!
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