Surprise!

HELLOOOO!  Anyone out there remember me?  I’ve been gone from the blogging world for a while (almost a year) and I almost can’t remember how to do this anymore.   I’m not even sure what inspired me to start this post.  (Maybe it is a strategy for avoiding folding laundry, which is my current task at hand).  Who knows?  Maybe you have all moved on from blogging and this is just going to that great-unknown-vast-empty-space where random, useless things go.  At any rate, I will give a brief update on what has been going on in my little world.

I am entering my second year of retirement and I can honestly say that I enjoy being  more in control of my time.  That doesn’t mean life isn’t busy, but it is busy with things I choose to do.  My husband and I spend a lot of time with our family and we are involved in serving in our church.  We even manage to escape once in a while and have some fun.  In June we drove to southern Utah to a little mountain valley town called Panquitch, to attend a hot air balloon festival.  We weren’t sure what to expect, but we got up early in the morning and followed the crowd to a big field on the outskirts of town.  We hiked through some dewy alfalfa fields and picked out a spot near the fence to watch the balloons take flight.  It soon became apparent that the spectators were moving about and mingling with the balloon crew as they got things set up.  We were so close we could touch the balloons!  It was fun watching the process as they started to rise up in the morning sky.

We attempted to take some selfies, but couldn’t see with the bright sun, so they are a little goofy.  We had a wonderful pancake breakfast in the town square and spent the rest of the day off exploring Bryce Canyon, Payson Lake, and Cedar Breaks National Monument. 

Maybe I will share pictures from the parks later.  That evening there was a huge street festival, with food and music.   Normally the street would be lined with the glowing balloons, but it was a little windy and they couldn’t put up the balloons.  They had the hot air shooting up, but I was a bit disappointed.  I guess we just need to come again. 

I’m pretty sure this will go down as one of my favorite days ever, and yes, people in small towns are indeed some of the most friendly and kind people you will ever meet! 

Have you had some close to home fun vacations?  We look forward to discovering more about our own state.

JoAnn

To blog or not to blog?

I was hoping that retirement might make my blogging “drought” a bit better, much like gulping a big, cool Dr. Pepper does after coming inside after a sweaty workout (I know, I should have said ice water!), but so far I haven’t noticed much difference. 

I’m not sure why.

It could have something to do with Instagram and the ease of almost instant posts.  I snap a picture on my phone and quickly share it.  I immediately get likes or comments back (and don’t forget those cool chat books) and I get to enjoy gorgeous photos from talented photographers who travel to scenic towns like Woodstock, Vermont (or anywhere else in beautiful New England) or the wonderful picturesque Salzburg, Austria.  I drool over old red barns in the most perfect locations with fall colors oozing all over the page.  I study and ponder classic architecture, or country kitchens with red geraniums lining the window sills.   And then there are the front porches covered with perfectly placed mums, pumpkins, plaid throws, and family dogs.  And…I can do it all in just a few minutes.

Blogging takes time.

I often write, rewrite, add, and sometimes even end up deleting the whole thing.

Once in a while I feel really good about how a post comes together.  I read it over and feel satisfaction, but most of the time I feel like I am just writing words and showing pictures (I’m just an everyday girl who uses my phone camera).  I do believe, however, that it takes a lot of writing to help one improve as a writer.  The more I write, the more I stretch and grow.  And the same thing goes for reading good writing.  I learn a lot when I read wonderful authors.   I’ve met some bloggers who have amazing writing talents. 

I have enjoyed blogging as a way to express my creativity and it is fun to capture what is going on in my world (I have printed copies of the first few years-and yes, I need to copy the rest).

I have made some great blogging friends over the years, but sadly many of them no longer blog.

I don’t even know if anyone is reading my posts.

So, the question is:  To blog or not to blog?

While I go back and forth on this issue, trying to decide what to do, I am going to compromise today and pretend this is Instagram. 

Be prepared for some quick updates from joannclegg aka The Gathering Place.

Sorry to those who follow me on Instagram and already read these.

Here goes:

Are we crazy or what?  Heading to Crater Lake, Oregon.

Does it fulfill your bucket list if you make it to Crater Lake, but can’t actually see it?  Ken is standing right in front of the overlook.  #peasoup

Miracles do happen.  After fire warnings, snowfall, park entrance closures, detours, and FOG, we got to see Crater Lake for a brief moment.  It was quite magical!

So there you have it.

We had a great vacation in September, and a lot has happened around here since.  I want to keep a record of the good things, so I will try to drop a line here once-in-a-while, but if you don’t hear from me, I’ll probably be over at Instagram. 

JoAnn

I’m on the top of the world…

I don’t know if country singer Karen Carpenter every stood on the rim of the Olympic Mountains, in Washington state, but her song, “I’m on The Top of The World”,  played through my head as my husband and I stood here on beautiful Hurricane Ridge.

On our recent vacation to the Northwest, we drove up the winding mountain road to see this spectacular sight.  Olympic National Park is about 17 miles South of Port Angeles and is accessed by a good, paved, two lane highway.  (I’m a nervous passenger, but it wasn’t too bad.)

The views were breathtaking!

We didn’t have time to take advantage of the many hiking trails, but this area is known for both hiking and winter activities.  I think they try to keep the roads open year round.

There were quite a few other people enjoying the views, too, but with all the different hikes it didn’t seem too crowded.  We had plenty of room to take in all the sights.

My  husband remembers seeing meadows of wild flowers when he was here before, and I imagine in the spring it is quite colorful and lovely.  We were here at the tail end of a very dry summer, and it was still quite magical.

Not a bad view for sitting at a little table and sharing some chicken and fries from the little cafe in the visitor’s center, right?

This world is truly magnificent and beautiful.

Have you ever been to Hurricane Ridge?

It’s truly on the top of the world!

JoAnn

P.S  Google Hurricane Ridge (images) and see all the beautiful pictures.  Yes, there are spring flowers!

A Little Road tripping to the Pacific Northwest

We just returned from a little vacation to the beautiful Northwest.

I guess it was an official road trip, since it included six days in the car (plus one day with no traveling) and 2,500 miles (and about that many photos)!

We spent the first two days traveling with our daughter Heidi and her two children as we accompanied them to Tacoma, Washington where she met up with her husband.

My husband and I then spent some time in Port Townsend and Seattle, Washington, and Crater Lake, Oregon. 

Since I’m sure no one wants a play-by-play account of our trip, I’m just going to post some of my million photos.  Everyone likes pictures, right?

Here goes:

This trip involved a lot of sitting and looking out windows.  Since it was such a lot of driving, many of my photos were shot from the windows of the car.  Stops were for bathroom breaks and gas only.

We enjoyed a tasty cookie treat break at this rest stop in Oregon.

Ken’s sister Carolyn baked us these yummy butterscotch oatmeal cookies to bring along.  Thanks, Carolyn!  They were a perfect treat.

The kids were troupers to travel with, but road construction and rush hour traffic  almost put us over the top as we inched our way the last few hours.  Our GPS routed us off the freeway near Tacoma, but after getting behind a school bus unloading kids (Ken likened it to one of those commercials where clowns keep getting out of a little Volkswagen-it didn’t seem to end).  It gave us some comic relief after a stressful drive, but I’m pretty sure we didn’t save any time.

We finally arrived at our first destination, the home of Heidi’s in-laws.  They recently moved here from Bucharest, Romania to be closer to their children.  We enjoyed a wonderful meal they had prepared for us.  They were gracious and kind.

Ken and I spent that night in Port Townsend, Washington.

We arrived late at night, but our view the next morning was quite lovely.  This was the view from our hotel room deck.

My husband surprised me with this hotel.  I thought we were headed to his sister’s house near Seattle.  (We’d had some debates about where we wanted to go, and I thought I’d lost this argument, so it was a really nice gift!)

We explored the quaint town; loved the historic old Victorian homes, charming bed and breakfasts, an old Fort, charming downtown, and views of the sea.  The historic town was the entry for all shipping and trade going in to Puget Sound.

It was a fun destination and I loved wandering around the colorful streets of this city.  We even got in a lot of walking-a welcome relief from sitting in the car the two days before.

The northwest has had a very dry summer (someone told us it had been 80 days without rain) and many of the lawns were suffering, but the homes were still lovely.

Every perfect autumn day vacation stop needs a farmer’s market, too.

The PTFF (film festival) was going on and lots of movie premiers were presented in buildings on the main street, and in an outdoor theater complete with straw bales as seating.

Gotta love a town with hanging flower baskets!

 Lest this experience become a prop-your-eyes-open-and-endure-it-slide-show, I’m going to break it into several parts. 

One last look at the lovely Port Townsend, Washington.

P.S. What fun little towns do you like exploring?

JoAnn

A weekend at the lake

Can it already be September (well, tomorrow)? It seems that summer is almost over, although it is still pretty warm here.  With school starting a week ago, and the petunia and Black-eyed Susan flowers starting to slow down, it seems as though fall is lurking right around the corner.

I do love the fall!

You might think we haven’t done much this summer, but we have taken a few little outings that were relaxing and fun.

In early August I spent a weekend with two of my sisters, Linda and Julie, Julie’s granddaughter Sadie, and Linda’s husband David at beautiful Bear Lake.   Bear Lake is located on the border of Utah and Idaho (about equal parts in each state) and is famous for its clear blue water, locally grown raspberries (fresh raspberry shakes), and family reunions.  Linda and her husband are building a lovely home there, but for now they are staying in a small trailer, so we were packed in tightly.

We spent most of our time outdoors, so it didn’t really matter that practically the whole floor space was covered by all our beds. 

We arrived just before dusk on the last day of the famous “Bear Lake Raspberry Days”.  There was a lighted boat parade and fireworks to welcome us.  My night photos didn’t really capture the charming effect, but it still shows a little bit of the idea.  This picture was taken at Linda and David’s lot.  Million dollar views, right?

One day we went north to the Idaho side and passed this unique Pioneer Tabernacle in Paris, Idaho, built in the 1880’s.  The workmanship was amazing, considering they had to use horses and oxen to haul the rock from Indian Creek Canyon, 18 miles away, with the summers short and the winters long.

Some of the early pioneer settlers were ship builders and you can see their influence on the inside ceiling.  It was so well done.

We enjoyed seeing some lovely, big homes and cabins, but all the beautiful hollyhocks surrounding these small cottages were my favorites.

Ok, this was no cottage, but I LOVED it and I could move right in!

(This picture was actually taken last summer, but I still love it.)

We drove up a canyon to Bloomington Lake.  The road getting there was a little scary, but the lake and the hike to it were very picturesque.  (Plan ahead next time-no flip flops!)  We saw so many pretty wild flowers.

There were some brave (crazy?) people using the rope swing (someone’s hand is pointing to it) to fly out over the  water and drop in to the freezing cold lake.

(Sadie, JoAnn, Linda, Julie)

It was a relaxing way to end a fun weekend.

Good-bye Bear Lake. 

I’ll be back!

JoAnn