Bryce Creek Campground

We had five days at home after our camping trip for Hubby to work and for me to do laundry, clean the trailer and pack before we were on the road again.  It was a difficult pack job as it was was for three very different trips. We had a brief night at home after Bryce Creek before the next two trips.

First stop of the three trips was our church camp at Bryce Creek. Since it was a camping trip we took Annie.  I had been trying to go to church camp for three years. So glad we finally made it.

How about some accordion music while you split firewood?

 There was a lot of hiking, visiting and campfires on this trip.

 If you want to see for miles you have to hike up and up higher to get this view.

It's worth it.

 I got in some baby time. And I played corn hole for the first time.  I know, where have I been?

 There was a pancake breakfast and Bingo on Saturday morning.

 The beds in RVs and tents some times warrant a back rub in the morning.

 Bryce Creek is a beautiful spot and we had a really good time.

We had to leave Saturday evening because our next trip started early on Sunday.

The details are coming up next.

The Blog

It is with some trepidation and some scary moments that I share some news on the blog.

I have been writing on the blog since 2007.  That is almost 9 years.   I've written 1,417 posts, received 3,801 comments, readers include a world wide audience and there have been close to a million views for The Lady in the Stone House.

I don't get paid, I don't have sponsors, it is my blog and I post whatever I wish without any one else influencing me.  And I shall continue writing whatever I want to write.

That said, there is a change.

My posts about the Curtis Wright Flagship have been picked up for a regular column in the 

Vintage Airstream Club Newsletter.

I'm published.

I'm a real writer now.

I'm kinda a big deal.

Nah, it's just going to be the same old drivel.  Carry on.

Summer Reading

It's Summer time and the reading is happening.  I felt as though I wasn't reading much as 2016 began but since I am not working and have been vacationing I am reading again.  It feels good.  I much prefer reading over TV watching.

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline is a fictional story about Molly and Vivian.  Molly is a teenage foster child in the current system.  Vivian was orphaned and put on an orphan train.  From 1854 to 1929 orphans from the east coast were brought to the Midwest for adoption.  It often ended with these children becoming indentured servants.  This is a story of two women that want families and to belong to someone. I'd like to read more about the orphan trains in the non-fiction genre.

 The Bartender's Tale by Ivan Doig is the story of a young boy, Rusty.  His father came to his aunt's house and took him home because he's ready to start first grade.  Rusty's Mom was never part of the picture and his Dad runs a bar in Montana so Rusty had lived with his aunt and her family up until that time.  Rusty is an endearing character and his father is an interesting character.  Rusty's best friend Zoe, Proxy and her daughter Francine, and Delano are some of Ivan Doig's best characters.  Along with the bar's regular customers and their problems and the main characters I laughed out loud. Sometimes I got a little teary eyed.  A good book!

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld is a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice. My only regret was that I should have read Pride and Prejudice and then read Eligible.  Even though I know the story it would have been good to read the original story and then the modern retelling.  This is a laugh out loud book.  I think I'll read Pride and Prejudice next.  Or wait a year and then read them both in the proper order. I had written about reading American Wife also written by Curtis Sittenfled several years ago.  I enjoyed it also and hadn't read any more of Curtis Sittenfled's books.  I may have to check out some of her other books.

Today I am planning to visit the library.  I need a good book or three for my poolside time next week.

Read on, my friends.

Ooh, That's Pretty

Last summer when we were working on Huaka'i Annie, our '57 Aloha, I told Hubby that once she was ready to go I had one goal... to see pretty.  Everything was ugly last summer with polishing metal, missing deadlines and frustrations.  In January, I made some campground reservations to see some pretty.

Our first stop was to visit Max.  Max and Kassie were out celebrating the 4th of July when we arrived but we had a big welcome from Bo. My no dogs in Annie rule went right out the window.

 The next morning Kassie and I took Bo on a walk around the farm.  It was pretty.

 Huaka'i Annie was parked back where she began.  Family friends, the Fischer family, lived in their Aloha while they built their house in George, WA. Hubby's parents offered the Fischers the use of the little house on 78 because is was hot that summer and the Aloha was even hotter.  Since then we have restored their Aloha and Max has bought the house.  Everything has kind of come full circle with Annie parked there.

When I opened the trailer door in the morning, Max yelled from the house, "checkout's at nine, get that piece of sh*t off my yard."  Oh Max, you make me laugh.

I had paid for our site with a fresh raspberry pie. 

Thank you very much!  

We had a pretty drive to Steamboat Rock State Park.

 The park is really clean, pretty, the ranger was friendly and the sites are large.

 We parked on our waterfront property and set up for our three nights of camping.

The awning works!

 I had read about the hike to the top of Steamboat Rock and we thought we'd try it.

 Have you ever heard of scree? I hadn't either but now I know all about it.  Scree is a collection of broken rock fragments at the base of crags, mountain cliffs, volcanoes or valley shoulders that has accumulated through periodic rockfall from adjacent cliff faces.

 Hubby thought it possibly meant the sound of your fingernails sliding down a mountain on the way to your death.  That works for me. ScReee... splat.

The first day we turned back, I am afraid of heights, the scree was sliding from under me and I wanted off that rock.

 We went again the next day because we found out that we had been really close to the end of the worst part.

 We made it!  It is 61 flights of stairs on the fitbit.

Hubby held my hand when it was rough and I couldn't have made it without him.

The next day we stayed off the rock and enjoyed another beautiful hike.

 Each morning we enjoyed a fat boy breakfast after the hikes.  We loved the sandy beach at Banks Lake, the hikes, the size of the campsites and we will definitely return to Steamboat Rock Sate Park.

Then we drove to Lake Chelan State Park with a few stops on the way.  You know I brake for old schoolhouses, granges and churches.

 Annie is easy to tow and goes off the beaten track easily.  That's one of the things I love about her.  Hubby is willing to make stops and go off the beaten track and that is one of the things I love about him.

 We got to the state park and started to set up camp when we had a visitor.  The park ranger came knocking, he told us that when we checked in they called him to let him know there was an Aloha in the park.

 Ranger Rod and his wife own Pearl Girl, a '60 Aloha.

We had a great visit with him and exchanged trailer tours.  I'm hoping they join the Vintage Aloha facebook group.

The next morning we got on Highway 20 where we enjoyed a lot of pretty.

 We made a short stop in Winthrop where we found the best iced molasses cookies ever at the bakery.  Hubby is a bit of an iced molasses cookie connoisseur. A molasses cookie snob, if you will.

 We used the pull outs to let others pass us on the pass and to enjoy the scenery at Ross Lake and Diablo Lake.

We met a young man visiting from Ohio.  He was so excited about the beauty of Washington.  He could not impress upon us enough just how special it is in Washington.

Oh, we know, it is beautiful here.

I wanted to see pretty and I did.  Over and over I saw pretty this week.

Next week, more pretty, more camping and a hotel pool.

That's right I'll be poolside.  Pretty and poolside coming right up, but first, unpacking, repacking and then a quick unpacking and repacking on Sunday.

Oh the places you'll go. -Dr. Suess

CW's Paint Removal

 The Curtis Wright Flagship was painted a teal blue and white originally.  There was still some of the original paint on the CW's exterior.  Age, weathering and weeds blowing against the metal had taken some paint off the body.

I pressure washed a lot of the remaining paint off this week.

 It took one day, all day. I enjoy pressure washing.  The pressure washer was a Mother's Day gift several years ago and I love it.

 The metal is in such great shape, I am giddy!  There is primer that didn't come off with pressure washing so I am researching my next step.

Hubby is removing nails and screws.  Yes, it appears to be pretty rotten inside, just as we suspected.

 Hubby has labelled containers for every screw, nail, bit and bob he pulls out of the trailer.  We won't reuse them but it's nice to grab a sample when it's time to get new parts.

 And so it begins, another vintage trailer restoration. In between the work we are going to do some camping and playing including Steamboat Rock, Lake Chelan, church camp at Bryce Creek and a vintage show in July.

Happy 4th of July! Have a fun and safe holiday celebrating our great country!