Our Stay With Family In Issaquah: The long version

Our Trip Out West 2011

I got it in my head to spend time in Washington with Adriel and Joel and with Naarah and Jason and their families and figured the best way to do that was to rent a place for a month. The month turned into 10 + days because of cost and resistance from Mr. Home Body.

 But, we made the most of each day.

We also decided to drive so we'd have transportation. I found a great cabin online on the Raging River outside of Issaquah that had 3 bedrooms, a Viking stove, hot tub and lots of other fun amenities...like a rope bridge across the Raging River to a small play house. So I booked it.

On our way West we drove through South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. We stayed in South Dakota the first night in the capital city of Pierre. The hotel still had sand bags from the Minnesota River floods this spring. Water was still high over the banks. We drove on through Sturgis and motorcyclists were everywhere...like buzzing flies. They looked to be having fun, but that kind of mob riding isn't appealing to me. Lots of people like us on bikes... That was fun to see. We drove up to Mount Rushmore and somehow I envisioned a solitary walk up to the mountain. No. We did a U turn in the road and took a few photos on the turn. Well, not quite, but almost. But hey, I've always wanted to see it, and now I have. I was not dissappointed. I think every American needs to see it if possible. It's worth it and a pilgrimage of sorts.

We headed west to Wyoming and decided to stay in Sheridan, then on to Cody. I remembered my cousin on my mom's side lived in Sheridan, so I emailed my mom for her last name. I would have given her a call and had coffee. We went to dinner that night in Sheridan at Buffalo Bills old stomping grounds. That was fun. It was an old hotel and restaurant and we ate great steaks. Sheridan is a small town, 16,000 or so. Smaller than I thought, but we enjoyed our stay there. We stopped in Cody on our way out of Wyoming.

My mom got to me the next day as we were on our way out of Cody Wyoming. She told me my cousin Bonnie's last name is Sheridan and she lives in Cody. Whoops! Well, next time I will be more prepared. We loved the drive through Wyoming, especially Cody. We stopped in town and shopped a while and enjoyed the small city. We took 295, a road on the map that took us out of town into Montana to our next junction...as we were driving on anything but Interstate. At one point on 295 there were signs warning us to beware of noxious fumes and turn around if the lights were flashing. Odd. Well, we were in mining and oil country and we came upon a large industrial complex. The road ended. (Not on the map, mind you...just in reality) It just ended. The road turned into dirt and there were industrial buildings on a dirt driveway. A steep dirt road went into the huge crevass and we almost took it, until we decided better of it. Crazy Wyoming. We turned back and took a different backroad and that one actually took us to Montana. It was a sort of Twilight Zone moment.

Upon arriving at the Montana border, we drove by a coal mine that had a fire. All the miners died and they decided to just leave them there as their tomb. Mr. D thought it would be cool to in and scope it out. I did not think so.

We stayed in Bozeman and were able to visit with my good friend Trisha Bailey and her longtime love Ben. I love visiting with them. I called Trisha, but she didn't answer her phone. So, we went out to eat at a lovely spot. I enjoyed the streets of Bozeman. It's a college town. We had a great meal at a nice little Italian restaurant. The next morning I called Trisha and it appears she was canning the night before so she had her phone off. We were able to have breakfast and a great visit. I love her. We had a great time driving from Missoula to Lewsiton Idaho. We took the mountain road which cut off time, but was quite slow. It was the most beautiful drive I have ever taken. We arrived early evening in Clarkston Washington as we wanted to visit our dear friend Dick Molohon who recently moved in with his son John and his wife. We were treated to a great visit and Pizza for dinner before we took off on the road again.

We finally arrived in Washington and spent our first night at Adriel and Joels. The next day we'd be able to check in to our cabin.

The home was delightfully decorated, the kids even had a play room in a loft they had to climb too. This caused a bit of concern as 24 month olds climbing 10 foot ladders without railings or padding below was a bid nervewracking. But not one child fell headlong out of the opening onto the wooden floor. Sigh.

There were at times 4 grandkids in our care overnight, which was so great. It's very fulfilling for me to be with my kids, their husbands and children. The world seems aright when they are all underfoot. We did well, we had very few emotional mishaps and mostly all went well. Naarah stayed the weekend with her girls and Adriel and Joel stayed many nights. We used GG and Emirie's rods and casted for trout. We crossed the bridge and climbed down rocks to sit on the sand bar. We slipped on rocks and fell in said river. We all had a great time.

We even had time to drive to Bremington, a bit north where we took Addie and Violet for the day. It was a great little city on the sound and we'll probably check on a cabin there next year.

All in all it was a dream vacation. All of our families were together almost every night and we enjoyed dinner and each other's company over great food. As a mother, I am especially delighted at how well my oldest and youngest daughter get along. They love each other and treat each other so well. 

I am so proud to have daughters who are loving. We all have our moments, but the foundation of love is firm and strong and His grace is alive in each one. I thank God for his goodness, his kindness reflected in my daughters.

Mr D and I spent our last night alone in the quiet of the hills of Issaquah. We soaked in the hot tub and watched the stars. It was a delightful finale.

We plan to drive home north through Idaho, Montana and North Dakota.