We headed to my mother’s family cabin on Wednesday amid smokey skies and lots of fires in the state.  Here’s the sunrise the morning we left the farm.

And here were the fires burning that day.

We had Ryeleigh in the truck and picked up the grandkids then headed south and east.  We stopped in Black Diamond.  Piper lead the way with the flag in the crosswalk.

We picked up sandwiches, bread and treats at the Bakery but then headed to the Smoke-shop nearby for their amazing jerky.  While waiting outside with the beagle, I noticed a vintage Lucerne milk box.

We walked back to the truck, and the William held the crosswalk flag.

Their Mountain bread looked good on the dash.

You could only barely see Mount Rainier.

And the valley looking south was pretty much obscured.

It was smokey when we got to the cabin and met up with Mom and Al.

I took Ryeleigh for a walk, and she got her toenails wet in the river.

Piper assembled her squishies into a “mansion”.

And Piper started to get her stuffies ready for puppet shows.

 

The kids asked me about these pictures on the bedroom doors.  I told them they were put up by my great grandmother Stone.   I then told them that she died pretty young and didn’t get much of a chance to contribute to the cabin.

I had noticed this in the annex and took a photo of it.  Then I started wondering what my other great gramma Stone had contributed.  She married my great grandfather after his first wife had died.  And she was my Gramma Bell.  So she was the one I knew and spent years going to the cabin.  So I asked my mother what had she brought to it, and she immediately told me about this little statue.  I thought that was funny since I was just paying attention to it.

Then she mentioned all of the below items too.

She had purchased this fabric for the curtains, but my mother had sewed them for her.

This little thing I found curious. I have seen it for years but never realized that it is a bottle opener, a cork and the light fixture is a wine bottle opener.

She contributed some depression glass items too.

And she had worked at an art gallery where this originated from.

This belonged to her father who was an avid fisherman.  It is used to tie flies.

We think this old fisherman’s basket belonged to her father as well.  As far as my mother remembers her grandfather didn’t fish but her father did.  So we are thinking that he learned from his step-grandfather.

She had the fireplace bricks painted as well.  Apparently she liked adding color to the cabin (like the curtains).

Her’s a photo of the what the bricks looked like before painting.

Back to the cabin events, after the supper show we played Black Jack.  The kids liked to call it Jack Black which I thought was hilarious.

The next morning the smoke had improved.

I took Ryeleigh on a morning walk and found a new trail that one of the neighbors must have put in.  It is really cool, wandering through the woods.  There’s even some old cans and bottles apparently discovered in its creation.

I managed to forget to pack some food items for my planned dinner that evening so Al kindly drove me to Naches.  They had everything I was looking for.

In the afternoon the kids and us went to the river to cool off as it was quite hot.  I paid tribute to the Days Between Jerry Garcia’s birth and death dates.  Tom played his music at the river.  It was really nice relaxing there.

When we got back, Piper got her stuffed animals ready for more puppet action.

I made Mini Muffulettas and Mama’s Chicken and Sausage Gumbo for dinner.  I made Cajun food because Al really likes it.  The Muffulettas were aimed at the grandkids.  I thought it was all really good, and others seemed to agree.  The Muffulettas continued to be a lunchtime hit with the grandkids for the rest of the trip.

Then there was a puppet show. It was fun.

On Friday morning the skies were even clearer.  Mom and Al left for home, and I continued to take the beagle on walks.

I made rainbow pancakes for the kids for breakfast.  The plan was rainbow waffles since I thought there was a waffle iron but apparently not.  So the backup plan was pancakes.  They were popular.

On one of my many walks to Whistling Jack’s, I noticed that they had changed the lettering on the old sign they now have in storage.  It had said Seasons Greeting for a long time.  Someone got creative with the letters.

We headed back to the river in the afternoon, and it was equally amazing.

 

The kids opened a restaurant and served us pepperoni pizza (on the ground) and a fish taco (in Tom’s hand).  They are so creative.

 

William found makeshift fishing pole and was using it to “fish”.

Ryeleigh found her hidey hole to cool off in.

I was planning roast chickens for dinner so consulted our old Joy of Cooking cookbook for cooking times.

Tom found some wild mint where we were hanging out by the river.  We kept smelling it but then finally found it.

Russ and Jay joined us with their dogs Pips and Belle.  There was another puppet show, ice cream with candy added, and more Black Jack.

We checked out the river, and the dogs slept under the poker table.

The next morning the cabin felt very summery with the drying towels and swimwear.

I admired the old elderberry bush in the driveway.  It still seems to be going strong.

I got reservations for us to be able to go to Boulder Cave.  Tom and I haven’t been in years, and I thought the family would enjoy it.

It was a warm hike, but we arrived at the waterfall which was cool.

 

Then we walked through the cave which was also cool.  Piper was scared, and she managed to fall and cut her knee too.  So she wasn’t a huge fan, but I think everyone else enjoyed it.

In the afternoon it was back to the river this time with more people and dogs.

Belle got a little cold from swimming, and Tom warmed her up.

Russ was asking me about the Green Mansions name of our cabin.  I described the book of the name and showed him the quote that Greg put in our sign in book.  Hopefully I described it justly.

I was also describing the fear associated with the Schneider Springs fire now 5 years ago.

The family was hanging out by the carport in the shade, and I brought some cocktails (mocktails for kids).

I started noticing some things missing from the cabin.  The name on the toilet seat is gone.

And the lantern that normal hangs here is gone too.  Not sure what happened to either.

After a ham dinner, we headed to Whistlin’ Jacks.

There was live music in the bar with Zach Michaud.  It was definitely country music with rodeo on the TV.  It was fun.

The next morning I hung out under the trees.  Everyone else had stayed up late watching the stars (including shooting ones) but I went to bed early.  So I was up earlier than everyone else too.

There was a spooky smoke coming up the valley.

Jay and Russ with their dogs left, and the rest of us headed to Naches to pick crabapples.  Unfortunately the tree we pick already dropped all of its fruits.  I assumed it was from the drought and heat.  But when we talked to the local fruit stand, he said it was due to the high winds they had been having.

We headed back, and it was smokey.  But gradually our smoke improved.  It just means it went to someone else though.

We went back to the river in the afternoon, of course.  The kids were singing as we drove there.

 

Piper played with the sand and rocks.

William squirted water on the old bridge support to make designs.  This is his name, but he ran out of room.

This is Walin, the nickname of their dog Pips.

Later in the afternoon I was admiring the sunlight on the river.

The ground squirrels are quite numerous this year and were aggravating the beagle.

 

I found a fish by the river.  It seemed like such a waste.

Back at the cabin the kids were vocal and annoying the beagle.

We packed up and headed home today.  Mount Rainier was out again in all of its glory.  It’s was nice to see.

We had a great trip but are both pretty tired.  It’s good to be home again.

P.S. I recently finished this book.  I was reading it during the 250th year of our country.  It was fascinating in that it explores the myths regarding Paul Revere and his ride.  It examines the truth including the tremendous number of people and animals that were involved in his activities.  It also look into the history of General Gage, the British leader involved and the missteps on both sides.