Off to Canada and Germany...well kind of.

Really, it's not that I am trying to make the posts longer...it's just longer time frames between when we have internet access.  This one is really great and not just all about family and friend visits...there is some really cool stuff in here! 

So, the last time we left you we were heading through Washington state.  We stayed at Fairchild Air Force Base for a few days in Spokane and regrouped a bit.  We met another full time family and the kids all got along very well.  We ended up staying a few extra days which made the kids very happy.  The kids ran around the campground playing hide-and-seek, riding bikes, and goofing off.  Zachary had a chance to go to one of the "fun" places on base with a few of the kids.  Caleb found a buddy who loved Legos and talking about anything while Kamryn hung out with everyone.  One evening, Kamryn was running through the campground screaming at the top of her lungs and the boys were running behind her.  I came running out and saw her arms were wailing!  Instantly, I knew her arms, legs, head, neck, and back were functioning...what was wrong!  My mind instantly wondered what had fallen on her and smashed something that I couldn't see yet in her body!  Could it be a broken limb I hadn't notice yet?  Then, all of the sudden...she yells..."My earring got pulled out!"  Yes, her earring, that just got put in a few days prior, was yanked out by someone else.  While that was quite upsetting to her, and after I loved on her, we had a very good talk about reactions to situations.  :)

Got to Spokane and met another full-time family that stays on base. 

Caleb playing Legos with a new friend in our house. 

 We left Spokane and decided to take a last minute diversion.  We took a different highway and headed for Leavenworth, Washington.  Read about it here.  Otherwise known as Bavaria in the U.S., proved to be a great diversion for us.  It was a beautiful drive and once we got there, we learned a few things about trying to read signs that LOOK like they say that RVs can park there.  This is the first time that I thought I was going to have to wait for the entire parking lot to empty before I cold move any more.  I am thankful for some experience though over the last 17 months and we got out with nothing more that a bit of frustration.  We found a spot in the National Forest and dry camped.  We had a great time seeing the city and camping in the woods again.  I always talk about beautiful Germany was and how much I loved it.  For now, I was able to show the family a little bit of it. 

Beautiful drive

Again...how do you get 15 gallons of water into your house?  Just turn the faucet right?  We get to fill three five gallon buckets, carry them home, lift them into the truck and siphon them in.  Then, we go in and after flipping a button to the pump...we turn the faucet also. 

A quick trip to Germany (a.k.a Levenworth, Washington)

She loved this place

 After we left Leavenworth, we headed for another National Park.  We passed some pretty cool stuff.  We saw Cascades Farms, a farm of the food we buy in the stores.  We also saw a few towns that if you blinked, you missed it.  Additionally, we saw where a high majority of the nation's apples come from.  Anyway, it was a cool drive.  We stopped and camped and visited North Cascades National Park (the name is linked).  This place was as beautiful as the others.  We dry camped there, earned a badge as Jr Rangers, and moved on to Kelly's sister and brother in law's house; we had to leave our guns somewhere (and wanted to visit, of course!) before we crossed the border in to British Columbia. 

North Cascades visitor center. 

Meeting a Ranger and asking some questions.

Getting another badge...with the bear.

 While we camped at North Cascades, we did a really cool hike on the Trail of  the Cedars.  I couldn't find a real good link for it but it was a place that caught on fire in the early 1920's and the burnt and charred wood still stands.  It was amazing to hike this trail and see the notches that were cut into the tress for their planks.  Anyway, this a favorite for us so we wanted to share.  We also stopped for lunch, where we "ate out" and went about our way. 

Family selfie!

These trees were burnt in 1922.  They are still standing and are still charred. 

They have left an amazing landscape. 

Where they used to put their planks to stand higher as they were cutting them down. 

Nice steep trail...and Caleb running.

This thing was cool.  It was a huge knot on a tree and we thought it looked like a lion's face.

Eating out.

 We left the hike and headed to the house.  We pulled in, after a bit of logical reasoning and a logging truck about to drive up our rear end at high speed.  It was a little nerve racking and proved to be a difficult park because of the way that we entered the driveway.  Anyway, we got settled and they got home from work.  Necks were hugged, giggles were exchanged, and guns were carried into the house.  Then, we sat for some catching up and got ready to head to British Columbia the next day. 

They were reviewing the day's events and making a plan. 

Sisters

Where else did you think you might find Caleb?

 We had no worries about crossing the border into Canada and we were through in only a few minutes...after a quick chat about our guns.  No problems though, we went right through Peace Arch and headed near Vancouver to the ferry to get to Victoria.  This is where we found out that we are indeed 52 feet long from front to back.  We know this because the ferry personnel cautiously measured us for the ferry fee.  We knew what to expect though, and we also found out about a discount that we were able to receive that helped out.  Also, in the grand scheme of things, that really isn't that big when you are talking full-timers and their fifth wheels.  We are thankful all the way around...or should I say...from front to back.  As we were taking a walk, I looked over and couldn't believe my eyes.  We saw the kid's "Island grandparents" and went over to say hello.  We went and spent some time with them when we were in Tucson, AZ and they were just coming back from a one month trip...and we were on the same ferry!  We went back to the vehicles when the time came and agreed to our meeting spot up top.  We caught up some more and also did some school with the kids.  Kamryn and I also took a walk and got a few marvelous pictures (I find it amazing that little girls just "strike a pose" without being asked to!) and returned to our vehicles when the time came.  We drove off of the ferry without event and headed to Langford and the farm.  We have some friends that have a farm that let us stay there.  This is the same place that Zachary used to work when we lived on the island.  ***DETOUR***  A little history of us and Vancouver Island...when we retired in September 2013, we moved to Vancouver Island, BC to plant a church.  We stayed with that church for about 14 months and stayed on the island for about 20 months.    ***BACK ON TRACK***  So again, we pulled into where we were going to park, and found it to be challenging but we did it.  We got settled and were ready to start seeing folks and hugging necks!

Here we come, Canada.

...and out of the corner of my eye...

Al and Wendy, the kid's Island Grandparents, we standing there!

Heading onto the ferry.

We had one of these when we left the island so, why not?

School time!

I don't know where she gets the pose.  I do know she is one beautiful girl. 

Heading off.

Same park we used to go to. 

Loving on some animals on the farm where we were staying. 

Pickelball anyone?

Just like it was yesterday. 

We had this amazing plot to surprise Zachary's buddy.  His family knew we were coming but not him.  It was great. 

I told him I was coming over and making dinner...and it left some time for catching up.  It was like no time was lost at all. 

Why...because we can. 

Back together again. 

Caleb celebrated another birthday in British Columbia and he wanted to go back to Denny's.  We did just that.  We went and had a hardy breakfast and left as full as can be.  We also went back to our old neighborhood and popped in on a neighbor.  We sat and visited for a while and Caleb decided that he wanted to go ice skating.  Since back surgeries, metal in my spine and ice doesn't mix, I was glad to take pictures and see all of the smiles.  That night, we had some friends over for corn chowder and Caleb's cake.  It turned out to be a wonderful day.

Caleb's birthday breakfast.  Notice the Canadian leaf instead of the apostrophe?  We always thought that was funny. 

A table full of food. 

Stopping by, unannounced, and seeing Mrs. Joey.

Birthday skating time!

No, Kelly doesn't need it.  She's holding it for Kamryn.  Really, she is. 

Birthday dinner at our place.  Our 2 families in here at times and not cramped at all.  We loved it. 

 We were able to see most of the people that we wanted to see while we were there.  We ended up staying longer that we had initially expected, but it all worked out.  There were a few folks that we weren't able to get together with but we still love them and will see them next visit.  We had the chance to earn our keep a bit on the farm and do a little work.  It wasn't much but we know that it was appreciated.  We are thankful for all those people who were so welcoming to us and so excited to see our clan.  Thank you all and we can't wait to return!

This was a treat.  I showed up at my buddy's door one day and he had no clue I was coming.  He screamed and squeezed.  Couldn't have made me happier.  It was so good to see them a few times while we were there. 

Lunch and a hike...and a photo bomber.  This is who took over the All Pro Dad stuff that I used to do.  So thankful for him and his family.

All I can say is that Caleb has a special connection to plants and animals.  He picked this snake up like it was nothing.   I tell everyone he is our "Creation Kid"

Earning our keep and stacking some wood. 

Spent the afternoon with Emily and Jeremiah.  Had a blast and some great talk. 

Dinner with great friends with a really great story.  Their house is like a museum but as comfortable as a small cottage.  Read a bit of their story here.  Thankful for people who love us (really our kids) so much. 

Farmer Dave and Mrs. Ingelisa.  We are grateful for their kindness and hospitality.

Dave put Kelly in his smart car and let her drive it.  It was a bit smaller than the truck.   

Went to Fisherman's Wharf and fed the seals.  Also, had to fight off a mean sea gull!  I won a few times!

Eating at the best fish place in town, Barb's on Fisherman's Wharf. 

We thought this was funny. 

"Popping" in on Mrs. Joey at her popcorn place.

One of our favorite places on the Island.  If you want a yummy treat in Victoria...you have to try Kernels in Mayfair Mall.  Tell them we sent you and you might see them cry because they miss their neighbors!   (neighbours for the Canadians  :)  )

Shucking some corn that Farmer Dave brought us. 

Cleaning out some trails...otherwise known as earning our keep. 

Working!

Who's loving on who?

Yup...we wanted more work.  Scraping off the bridge. 

We got a hold of the kid's gymnastics coaches and asked to meet them.  We spent the afternoon at the park and let the kids love on them and had some great chatting. 

 This is where the fun really began!  We went on a hike with some friends and when we were at the top...the tip top...all the way.  We headed back down and got a phone call that Zachary had a hole in his leg by his ankle.  I "swiftly" headed down the hill with Mark in tow and we headed for the bottom..way down!  The boys headed in the school and someone was in there helping and I walked in to get to work.  Without detail we did some irrigation and cleaning the wound up, wishing that my bag wasn't empty of sutures, we headed back to house with the help of someone we had just met.  She was marvelous and helped in a great way.  We ended up in the ER and after the fact figured out that we should have left it open and bleeding so we could have been triaged quicker instead of cleaned and bandaged.  I joke...but about 51/2  hours later and an initial cost of $995 to step foot in the door, we were on our way.  Everything went well and it is always great when you can see God work in times like this.  I am also very thankful that we have the military/medic background that we do to use in times like this.  Zachary got some extra attention for a few days and we saw more love from his little sister that we knew she was capable of!  She took care of him, cried for him, prayed for him, catered to him, cuddled him, and all around love on him in a way that we hadn't seen.  Don't get me wrong, Caleb also showed him some extra loving and was a great help, but he really just wanted to see it. 

A tree to climb!

Literally, this is right after we started down the mountain and then we got the phone call for Zachary's injury.  Man, that was a long way down!

Friends

Tyson and the puppies came over for a bit. 

Blessed to be able to get their books and gear for AWANA while on the road. 

Wonderful friends like family.

Caleb got some help with the water. 

These guys are buds.

Would this be eating out or eating in?  We are on the ferry, in our RV eating lunch. 

God did amazing things while we were there and we have great family/friends that we were able to go back and see this time and in the future.  Many Good things happened this trip and many conversations that needed to be had,  were had.  We are very thankful that we had the chance to go back and love on some folks and be loved on even more. 


As you can see, we spent great time with great people.  We enjoyed every second and had an event-free trip back across the border...again, the conversation included our guns but we passed right through.  We headed back to Kelly's sister and brother in law's house to stay for a few days.  We got there and Karen had let Caleb know that she would be doing dinner for his birthday and asked what he wanted.  He wanted pizzas, so we all got to make our own pizzas and enjoyed them.  They still had to work so we hung out and did school during the days and hung out with them at night.   We took a day trip to Whidbey Island (read about it here) and learned some pretty cool history and had a neat hike.  We stopped at the Naval Air Station and hung out at the campground for a bit.  We hiked and hung out at the beach and met a few of the folks that were staying there.  We got some good intel on the military base campgrounds where we were headed next and just hung out. 

We're back!

Changing the dressing with my helper. 

A little outdoor art.  Plein air

It's a long way down.  I love seeing my kids together. 

Deception Pass

A cool marker explaining the history of Deception Pass "Deception Pass - Named By Captain George Vancouver 10 June 1792. Feeling That He Had Been "Deceived" As To The Nature Of The Inner Waterway, Port Gardner (Now Saratoga Passage) he Wrote On His Chart "Deception Pass."

Who needs toys?

Yup, me too!

We also had another day trip that Karen took us on and we saw some different things in the area but one of them really stuck out.  We saw the site of the deadliest mudslide in US history (see story below in picture).  We spent some sobering time there reading the signs and looking at the pictures at the memorial.  The kids were very interested also as this happened quite early one day and they got to read the signs and see the items that were left on each tree that was planted for each person of all ages lost.  This was one of those places that would be missed on any normal vacation or family trip.  This was in a very small town and we would have otherwise had no reason to go there.  We are very thankful that we were able to visit the memorial and learn about this specific story.  This stop reminded me that trip is about sharing Love with others and being a Light because we never know when any of us will leave this Earth. 

Checking the items that people left on the small wall. 

This was s precious moment.  They were reading about the kids that were lost. 

If you look real close, you will see a few dots up there in the middle.  Mommy and Aunt Karen took a hike. 

Hanging out with the injured brother.

 We had some good down time here.  Kamryn loved on Chiquita more than she wanted her to but they had a blast together.  We all took a few hikes and the kids got to smash apples to feed the deer.  We did our fair share of shooting and even got to take in cleaning of some game.  The kids loved their garden but Caleb would have crawled under it if we would have let him...he loved it!  Add all of that to family and you have a marvelous stop!

Kamryn just loved all over Chiquita...

...and loved her...

...and loved her more. 

Getting dinner. 

The loot of carrots, potatoes, and corn. 

Smashing the apples to feed the deer.

A little range time.

The kids were very excited when they heard they would help with the deer meat.

She read her first whole book!

They might be working out.  Ok, probably not, they're goofing off!

Yup...still loving on her. 

We bought these shirts for the humans and found out that the puppy already had one!

It's a beautiful day when you have to throw away vegetables and fruit to fill your entire freezer with deer and elk meat.  It was an amazing game of Tetris!

 We finally wanted to give them (Karen and Brad...not the kids!) a break so we took off.  We headed to Seattle and settled into where we going to stay.  Beautiful stop on the water and the kids instantly loved our new "yard".  We were only a few feet from the water and right next to the woods.  They were ecstatic!  As they were fishing, they met a guy who has been here for a bit and ended up chatting.  I went to save him from them and we met.  It has led to great conversation and some good time spent together.  We are thankful that we switched and stayed here in instead of the other, where we were going to, or we would not have met Dan.  He told us that we remind us of the Gornickes on the movie RV with Robin Williams.  He said we were just friendly, giving, genuine people.  Now, if you have been reading this blog for any amount of time, you may remember that this gets mentioned every once in a while about us.  We even sat in the bus from the movie when we were in Amarillo, TX!  So, as he thought he may have offended us, I assured him that we considered it a compliment. 

Hello, Seattle.

Our yard for a bit. 

Time for s'mores. 

 We got to see a few other people here also.  I got to see one of my buddies that I used to work with.  We did a TDY to Germany a while back.  While were in Leavenworth, I sent him a message and let him know I was thinking about him because it looked so much like Germany.  We found out that he lived very close to where we are and got to go to their house for an afternoon and have lunch. 

An afternoon of catching up. 

I went to see the kids and they didn't know I was taking a picture.  Again, these are the finer moments in life when you see them doing things together.

The handle fell off of Caleb's pole and we could see it.  The water was COLD though!

So, after a few minutes and the handle moving around underwater, Caleb said he'd go in.  Put on momma's sandals and down to the drawers he went. 

Lowering him in...

Coach Kamryn telling him how great he was doing while he tries to breathe while freezing. 

Didn't make it under yet but he's trying!

Finally, he made it all the down to the bottom and tried his hardest. 

We wake up each morning to these neighbors.  There are three bald eagles (yes, I know their are only two here) that fly around here and eat. 

Found a new puppy friend to play with. 

This is when the kids met Mr. Dan.  He had only good things to say about them. 

Mr. Dan blessed them with a new pole. 

First catch on the new rod!

 We also caught up with someone that Kelly used to work with and we used to hang out with from North Dakota.  We met her and her family in Seattle and they gave a top-notch tour.  We visited Piroshky (put meat or salmon in a pastry...yup...mmm...good!) which stands right next door the first Starbucks.  Cool history here though even though I am not really a Starbucks supporter; it was a neat place though.  We visited it and heard how this building actually used to be a place where they sold animal feed for auction that was near.  It has a neat history...even though this was not the first building they were in...but it is the first Starbucks.  Read some more here.  We also saw the gum wall (where David Lee and Abriel placed some a while back), and hung out at the famous Pike Place Market to include the famous Pike Place Fish Market; this place was fun!  Read more here.  Right before we left, they wanted to take us to a store that I absolutely did NOT want to leave.  It was called Ye Olde Curiosity Shop.  I walked into this place and saw a few things that I have seen on TV shows before.  We spent some fun time in here reading the signs, seeing the gaffs and non-gaffs, and chuckling at times while scratching our heads at other times.  It has been around since 1899 and is full of real and created items but you have to check this place out here.

Kamryn asked this guy if he would throw fish for her.   They yelled, threw a fish all over the market, and then took a picture with her. 

Everyone wanted in on the action!

Listening to the history of the first Starbucks.  We didn't feel like waiting in line for the drink, we just wanted to bypass all that nonsense and see the place.  Really cool story about the building and it's history. 

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm goooood. 

Two headed calf and a four legged chicken . 

Shrunken heads which include the smallest known head in existence, complete with directions. 

I've seen this skeleton dude on TV.  Cool story about Sylvester.  One of them is here.  Also, look above him at the narwhal with two horns!  Really, there is only the skull and horns remaining but how would like to see that leaping over your inflatable boat?!?!

Pike's Place Market

Made for a fun day!

Alright, well up to this point, that it is it.  I know this was a long one but I never know when we will have access to the internet again long enough to sit down and post.  This is not a short process.  We do it because we love to share our journey and we will continue as long as people are reading.  We would love to have any more questions and comments, so please feel free.


We will be heading out from our current location in a couple days and heading south through Oregon and California.  We can't wait!  We are going to go and see where the movie Goonies was filmed, maybe serve at another YWAM, see the end of the Lewis and Clarke trail, and so much more...

...so, until next time...