ALERT!!!!!

This is Lynette...I am just giving Mama's reader a heads up on the last 10 or so posts...as Mama said before she is just getting started so with that in mind...apparently her postings were going on three different blogs. I have combined the three to just this one and deleted the others so hopefully this will solve the problem...I added a date to the posts so that you can have a frame of reference when reading as well.

anaconda #2 08/19/08

We found a nice RV campground on the south side of Washoe Park where there were electrical and water hook-ups and nice bathroom facilities for just $20 a night. The weather was great for the three days and nights we were there; it rained one night with lots of thunder and lightening. After parking the trailer we were free to drive around. The town really hasnt done much in modernization. All the old buildings and neighborhoods are the same, just lots older. After a check on all the houses I lived in, I found them to be in good repair, but not changed. The city Common has been planted in grass, a live pine is permanently planted in the center. It is still flooded in the winter for ice skating, though. The Washoe Theatre has been re-vitalized, it is showing movies again. It has quite a history and is well-known for the gold-leaf from the 1920's. The library is one to die for. Compared to the dinky one we have in Smithfield, it is a wonderful 3-story building on 1/4 of a city block. The county courthouse around the corner form my home is still in use. My piano teacher's house is the same as it was way back when. Our old back yard is virtually gone. The big cottonwood tree was taken down years ago, and the garage was replaced by a really big building that takes up most of the yard. The old Victorian house on lower Hickory has been taken care of, and actually looks better than it has for a long time. The grade school across the street (where I stuck my tongue on the metal gate, and hit the wall when the swing broke) is all boarded up. It was old when I attended it. The high school looks old and faded, the hospital where Lori was born is now a business building for many different companies. On our way out of town we took a few detours. We tried to find the ski hill, but it has been replaced by a new ski area in the vicinity. I was happy to find Echo Lake. Driving past Silver Lake and Georgetown Lake, we headed for Phillipsburg. While stopped for a few minutes for construction, I jumped out and grabbed a good rock for my garden. It's shale. Downtown Phillipsburg has become a tourist place, with many little shops. One of them is a great big candy store with hundreds of types of candies, from fudge of all flavors to salt water taffy to "old fashioned candies you had when you were a kid." We had lunch at a 50's restaurant. (I had a pasty! pronounced pass-tee) We found the jail where I went with my dad and the Baptist minister. When I was just 11, we went fishing and the sheriff was waiting for us when we got back to our car. Apparently the place we went had been posted recently (then), and now it was illegal (trespassing). Well, the sheriff's living quarters were in one half of the building, the jail on the other side. I was taken to the living quarters where the jailer's wife gave me the funny papers and a cup of hot chocolate. It was the middle of July, I wasnt hungry, and I certainly wasnt going to cooperate while my daddy was in jail! After what seemed an eternity (probably 30 minutes) we were free to leave. It was never spoken of again. The sheriff brought out an old book that we searched, hoping to find a record of the arrest. On the third time through, Jay found an entry: 2 Anaconda fishermen. Fishing without permission. Fined $15 each. I didnt get fined. He made a copy of the page for me. I can use this for the Two Truths and a Lie!

Missoula and Glacier Park 08/19/08

From Phillipsburg we drove to Missoula, where I went to college. My friend, Joy MacDonald Lake and her husband George live there. We found them spent the night at their house; it was nice to sleep in a real bed for a change. Just as we were about to leave, our battery was dead, so were delayed again for a short time. Joy and George are LDS. She was my friend in Anaconda and her dad took us skiing every Sunday afternoon for about four years. She and I took the Presbyterian lessons and became members together. It was quite a happy surprise when, in Virginia, I received a letter from her saying that she and George had been sealed in the temple. I wept with happiness. Missoula is a very pretty town in a small valley. It is surrounded by high hills that are covered with evergreen trees. It feels comfortable. We decided that we]d go to Glacier Park, sleep overnight, finish the tour and drive to Leighann's. We drove along the east side of Flathead Lake for many miles. Randon, you'd love it for the fishing. Bennett, you'd love it for the boating. It is a very large lake, dark blue in color, surrounded by pines. We bought some of the famous cherries and ate all 6 lbs of them! (No we didnt get sick) All who read this should really plan a trip to Glacier Park. It is still a beautiful preserve. There really ARE a lot of glaciers, and if you take the same route we took, you can actually get out and walk on some of them. The Going-to-the-Sun highway was open, till just as narrow (2-lane) and scarey. Jay told me not to drive too close to the edge. The direction we took had him on the outside the whole way. I was glad we had already parked the trailer at the RV camp. I was excited when we approached the entrance to Many Glacier Hotel. This is where I worked as a maid, hiked and rode horses the summer I was a member of the church. It was a wonderful time then, and being there brought back all those memories.

Glacier to Seattle 08/19/08

The drive through upper Montana consisted of many, many long miles of nothing but ranch land. The roads were 2-lane, and very straight, the speed limit 75. The trailer kept up with us without any effort. Just as we would begin to worry about getting gas, we came upon a town. We were in St Regis, thinking about gas and lunch when Lisa called. She had just seen the doctor in Ogden for further tests on the baby. Little Emma has congestive heart failure. She is very sick. We are worried about her. The rest of the drive that day was rather silent as we tried to absorb the news. I was anxious to drive to Coeur d'Alene as I remembered it as a small lumber town. It isnt even recognizable as that anymore. More long roads without many towns took us to Seattle. We used the GPS to find our way to Leighann's house. It's not that hard to find, now that we know where it is. Thanks, Savanah for sharing your room with us. And thanks, Katelyn for sharing your room later with Lisa and Andrew. Thanks Garrett for sharing your room with Savanah, and thanks to Katelyn for willingly sleeping on the couch. I have learned from my recent trips to kids' homes that we need to do it more often. So, everybody, look out! here we come!!!! More to come regarding this long trip. Next installment will probably be shorter as I talk about the "reunion" in Tenino.

New Short Story titles 8/20/08

I've come up with the titles to two new short stories. The first, about the day I met my new friend Joan Ruckwardt will be entitled "Celery?". The second, relating our experience in Vancouver will bear the title "Crack-whores and Kinder eggs". Don’t you think these are compelling titles?

Fishing 8/23/08

Oh boy has it been fun this past two weeks. I found a new fishing spot, thanks to Ryan and Lorna. They invited me to go fishing with them at Second Dam. Richard and I had tried it many years ago, but we didn’t go to the right place. The fish were happy to try out our bait, and we were happy to be tricking them into biting a hook. Then Ryan and I went one morning and he caught SEVEN while I managed one. I thought that was awesome for only a couple hours. Today I went with Lisa for three hours. Lisa caught one, a man gave us two, and I caught five. We]re going to have a fish fry Sunday at Lynette's. YUM. All these fish are at least 10 inches long; none of the 7-9 inch ones at first dam. I love to go fishing. The combination of nature, the peace, the moving water, and the bonus of bringing home dinner continually calls me back. I hope we never get tired of fish....

Repentance or Rights?

As we were packing up the boxes of pictures to leave Tenino, Jay found a picture album off to the side in the room where the division of pictures was accomplished. We didnt know what to do with it, so I took it. There are pictures of Jim as a baby, my parents' wedding snapshots, and lots of pictures of me, or pictures that I took with my Brownie camera. There was a note on the album saying something about "checking the CD, and sending the originals to Jim to copy". I think there are others who can copy them just as well. I really dont want to trust the USPS with the album. Joyce had moved her boxes out of the room, and Jim had left with his the day before. All that were left in the room were my boxes, so I guessed this album must be for me. Now Joyce wants me to call her and tell her if I know what happened to it. I dont want to. What do you think?

Hyrum stinks

I probably have a new job. Lorna told me that South Cache was looking for a choir accompanist, so I applied. I havent been officially hired yet ( they have to wait in case there might be another applicant), but I volunteered to go in anyway since I wasnt doing anything at home. (The green beans were spoiling in the sink because I didnt want to process them) . I "worked" three hours with an hour break between two classes. The teacher is new this year, and it's obvious. He'll do okay, though. We sang Row, Row Your Boat a million times in each class so they could learn to hear harmony. Actually that IS a good way to do it. Any time I was outside, or near an open window or door I could smell cow poop. Glad I live in Smithfield!!!!! Sally

anaconda, #1

I didnt think we'd ever get going. We were five hours later than we planned. Our first night we slept in the car at a rest stop somewhere near the junction of I-15 and the road to Anaconda. Kind of ironic, that we had a camper and slept in the car.  Driving into Deer Lodge County was emotional for me. I started tearing up at the sight of the smoke stack, the C and A on the hills, the houses, etc. Everything I saw brought back memories of a carefree childhood, safety  of the 50's and all the things to do. First on the agenda was to find the Ruckwardts, my childhood neighbors, five sisters. We knocked on Mary Lynn's door, no one answered. We went around to the house behind mine, where they all grew up. Jay went to the door. I didnt know if anyone even lived there anymore. In a minute, Jay was talking to someone, but didnt seem to be making any headway. He motioned to me so I went to the door. There stood a little old lady with Downs Syndrome. It was my  Elizabeth! I was so happy to see her as I didnt know if she'd even be alive. She is unable to talk anymore so was of no help. We left a note on the door, knowing that someone was around somewhere helping her live there. We tried the first door again bu still no success.. Jus as we were a bout to leave, I saw a lady walking down the sidewalk and decided to wait to talk to her. It was Joan, my best friend of the five sisters. We ended up talking at her house (next door to my old house) Mary Lynn came up, for a couple of hours, then made arrangements to talk some more after the reunion. We made plans to play some more another day when we go back up there. more next blog