And the Lord Said, "Let There Be Apples!"

I always load these backwards, but hopefully you can tell the difference between the trees. The "little" one looks great. (On the hill, against the fence.) It's symmetrical and would now be called a medium sized tree. I think we did a great job on it.

The gravenstein looks good too, but we have more work to do next year.

Start pulling out your apple recipes! I have a whole book full that I can share.

Mom/Gram

WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD!

This past weekend we went camping at Rockport with four other couples from church. Friday we had a community dinner with lots of good food and conversation. On Saturday, we attended The Bluegrass Festival in Darrington, all day and all evening. We heard groups from all around the United States. From local to Nashville, the music was great! I have included some pictures of the venue.

On Sunday, four of us hiked seven plus roundtrip miles to Cascade Pass. The views were spectacular, and the company was great.

Fun Day!

With our friends, Gloria and Doug, we made a recon trip to the North Cascade area to check out camping sites. We also went by to see the tulips in the Mt. Vernon area. Unfortunately...tulips were done and gone, but we had a great day!

Just saying Hello!

And Computer Day

 

Pruning Day

 

 

 

 

Now that we are back, we wanted you to see perhaps the most spectacular place we visited. It is a small State Park in Nevada, just about an hour out of Las Vegas, called the Valley of Fire. It was once under a deep sea, and has wonderful historical significance. Enjoy!

Lake Mead Area

This is where we were yesterday. The view from our "front porch" was pretty good. Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of the large coyote that came to visit.

Sun, Wind, and Adventure

The winds are finally beginning to subside somewhat. About 4:30 the radio said gusts were at 47 mph. We're glad we decided to trade the desert for blacktop and grass! After a round of laundry and showers we enjoyed a quiet afternoon and dinner again in the casino. I took some pictures of the atrium where they have a water and light show several times a day.

More Sunshine and Food!

We had a nice day in the sun, though it was a little chilly. I promised some pictures from Death Valley. Because of the dust storms, I didn't take many, and we left earlier than we planned. I have included a couple of pictures of the sunrise and sunset on Monday from the campground. It is a starkly beautiful place at almost 300 feet below sea level.

On Tuesday I stepped into the Visitor's Center and asked a ranger how hard the wind was blowing. He grinned, said, "Just a minute. I'll step out back and spit." The gal next to him said she new it was bad because she'd had a couple of reallly cranky people at the counter. I told her I had just said to Dad that the wind was making us edgy! Then the ranger said...."I've got to make an announcement." He got on the microphone and told everyone he knew it was windy. He said he didn't mind because he lived there. He was sorry we had to pay to experience it. He said he would try really hard not to let it make him cranky.