Durango

Some may ask why we went so far out of the way on the way home. It's not our fault. Friends we hoped to see in Western Washington moved back to Colorado while we were northbound, so we HAD to come home via Durango. At least they listened when we asked them to make sure their new house had a place for moochdockers to park.

They even made sure the town put on a fireworks show for us. Much better than last year when they weren't there and it was wet and stormy. This year was beautiful and shirtsleeve warm.

We had a chance to wander around town a bit, watching the various rafting companies and their clients enjoying the Animas River through town.

One of these days I'm going to actually go to Durango with an appropriate boat on the rack. BJ said I could go to 4Corners Riversports and buy some thigh braces for the sit-on-top, but I took a pass.

Turk enjoyed some walks with us, especially when he got to flop in the grass.

As we pulled out of town after 3 days of fun and friendship, we got to the railroad crossing just in time to wave to the train.

How soon can we go back?

My Favorite Place

I debated about the title - is it "A" favorite or is it "The" favorite? Certainly there are lots of places in the running for "The" title, places we keep returning to like Utah's Green River, but the place and people that pull me in and makes me feel like home is Glory Farm. There's something in the hustle of a small farm, the smells in the kitchen, and the creaking floors that reminds me of my childhood, but it's the love that emanates from that place to everyone around that keeps drawing us back.

This is the third time that we've been back to the farm to 'help' with the continuing house restoration. We weren't there last year which was good timing on our part since it was the year of the house painting - an massive project if there ever was one!

This year, the puppies are the center of attention.

Not exactly what you'd expect to see in the kitchen of library staff, but then Ellen's a farmer, too.

The house is filled with history reused, and colorful crafts abound.

The garden is guarded by gates that served a different purpose in a prior life, and a scarecrow welded from farm 'stuff.' Seeds were planted while we were there, and another famous pumpkin crop is anticipated.

The chickens rule the roost in more ways than one. Turk, the City Dog, continues to avoid them!

The farm has its picturesque buildings, and a place for woodworking out in the shed.

The farm backs up to Washington State's longest State Park. Iron Horse State Park is only 1,612 acres, but spans 110 miles of the former Milwaukee Road. BJ, Turk, and I went out to locate a cache along the former railroad while we were at the farm, and the following week we were on a different section of the same park at the summit of Snoqualmie Pass.

This year my projects revolved around filling some holes in the new upstairs bathroom. The first project was a shallow bookcase to create a hinged, hidden door to the attic.

It was assembled with glue and brads, and then got a coat of primer before it went upstairs.

The other project was to glue up some tongue & groove cedar to make a door blank for the bathroom closet.

The bookcase is hinged but rests on a pair of swiveling casters that carry the weight. The door was made to match similar doors used in the upstairs bedrooms. One more hidden door was framed out to close the plumbing access.

I got to make sawdust and enjoy the farm. Can't ask for more! I am certainly blessed!

Newberg, Oregon

From the looks of the main street, Newberg is rightly proud of the local University. We hadn't paid any attention when we arranged to stay in a driveway near campus.

Turns out, the week we were there was finals week, culminating with graduation the afternoon before we left town. If anything, traffic was a bit more intense than usual, especially in the neighborhoods near the campus.

If you dig enough, you discover that Herbert Hoover spent a good chunk of his youth in Newberg. His grandfather was the President of the predecessor institution to George Fox University, and he was a student there.

Downtown is vibrant. One now empty lot is used as pocket park, complete with an interesting waterfall art installation. The other side of the wall houses the local bakery which does a booming business. We found the combination when out walking with the dog to be highly advantageous.

It's not every town that has a waterbirth center in one of the downtown store fronts.

I didn't know what to make of the name of the small grocery store nearby, or the parking note for the Newberg Wine Lockers. Newberg is now located in the center of a robust grape & wine area with lots of tasting rooms.

We seem to have timed our visit with the arrival of the flowers. Everything seemed to be in bloom. Some I recognized from my youth on the wet side of Washington, but very few had a name that came to mind except for the Iris and the rose.

Rhododendrons were in bloom everywhere we went. Red is the most common color, but we saw several other colors as well.

Lots of reasons to like the Newberg area. We'll be back!

I goofed and didn't get a picture of the Vintages RV Park where they have a row of restored vintage trailers that they use as nightly rentals.