March 14–20, 2016 Bead Retreat, Friends, and a Little History

The Bead Retreat here at North Ranch was from March 13 thru March 19 and it was WONDERFUL.  Thanks to all who made this happen.

Each year, there is a Bead Week, which consists of classes all day long.  This year it was a little different.  There was a lot of sharing, impromptu classes, one on one teaching, make and take classes.  Many of these ladies I have met over the years and it was great to spend some one on one time and get caught up with each them.  What a blessing!

So what did I learn?  Well..

Peggy D took the time to teach me how to wire wrap a cabochon.  I have tried wire-wrapping in the past and failed miserably.  But this time, I did have some success!  I was able to seat the Cab but still need much practice on what I call Curly Q’s.   Thank you Peggy!

Here is my finished piece:

Judee N. took the time to teach me bead crochet.  That was another one that I had not been able to master.  Well, I still need practice but I finally understand the concept and moves.  So I picked up some beads and that is on my list to do.

I also took a polymer clay “make and take”.  That was a lot of fun – I have wanted to try my hand at that and hopefully get to do more next season.  Thank you Boni and Della.

It was a wonderful week!

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Along with the one on one time with the ladies, Andy and I spent time with Geri and John (Dinner and Happy Hours), Carolyn and Pete (who came here for a few weeks), and Dinner with Lois, Bill, Lois, Dave.   Always good to see old friends and meet new ones.

There were a few spousal activities.  On Wednesday, I took off and went with Andy to the Museum (see below) and on Friday, Andy spent the day with John after the men’s breakfast.

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On Wednesday, Andy and I joined the spousal trip for lunch at Anita’s in Wickenburg and then to a private tour of the Desert Caballeros Western Museum.  We had been to this museum about 5 years ago and did the audio tour so it was really nice to have this private tour by two docents that live in North Ranch.

Our tour started out on the top floor that housed much of the western artwork.  We were told about the history of the art and the meaning of many of the pictures.

One of the pictures was called “Thanks for the Rain” by Joe Beeler who in 1965, along with many other cowboy artists started the Cowboy Artists of America.  His sculpture of that picture is in front of the museum:

We were not able to see all of the upper floor because they were preparing for the Cowgirl Up Exhibit this weekend.

Next we headed downstairs where there is a replica of an old western town complete with a blacksmith shop:

A saloon:

General Store with many supplies:

A chuck wagon:

There was a diorama of the history of the Wickenburg area from the ancient peoples to the present and our docent was wonderful in explaining all that history. 

More information can be found here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wickenburg,_Arizona

http://www.wickenburgchamber.com/about/wickenburg-history/

Here is an interesting Wickenburg Creation:

This statue represents the town jail from 1863 to 1890.  The prisoners were chained to this mesquite tree until they served their sentence.  This mesquite tree is over 200 years old.

Around the down town are 6 large bronze sculptures and 16 linking pieces.  By each of the large sculptures there is an audio narrative about that piece.  This is a “Vaquero” who would provide evening serenades to downtown visitors in the late 1800's and early 1900's.  Isn’t he cute – ?

It was a wonderful tour day and if you are in the area, I highly recommend the museum and a walking tour of the town.

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On Saturday, we did some cleanup and visiting and on Sunday after some final “see you laters”,  we headed west towards the Colorado River.

The desert is getting greener and greener:

Cool advertisement in the middle of nowhere:

I bet this barn could tell stories:

Rocks and more rocks:

Across the river into California:

We are staying at Emerald Cove, one of our membership parks.  I originally wanted to camp in the desert but since it is going to be in the 90’s and I am a wuss, we opted for a place with air conditioning.  Have no idea what is next so stay tuned.

Today’s stats:

Miles Traveled: 121 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Arizona:  SR-89; SR-71; US-60; SR-72; SR-95;

California:  SR-95; SR-62; Parker Dam Road

Enjoy today!

September 27 to October 3, 2014 Good Friends

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!