Hello Slidewaters!

It was hot when we landed in Fields Point so we made the decision to go straight to Slidewaters!

View from the sun deck of the hot tub and Thunder Rapids

We had a SUPER fun time going down all the slides. Our favorite was the "Tube Blaster" http://slidewaterswaterpark.com/rides-and-attractions and most of us found the "Purple Haze" terrifying and awful! But it was all good. After a few hours of watersliding, we all had giant ice cream cones and sat on the sun deck.

Ice cream on the sun deck

 It started cooling off a bit after that so we called it a day and headed to Rocky & Christy's house for the most delicious pile of ribs we have ever had AND then we got to sleep in their RV which was parked outside their house.

the RV we got to sleep in

And just when things couldn't get any better, Herb & Christine and Keith & Adrienne all came over after dinner to hang out with us and watch the Olympics on telly.

This mural is painted on the side of a building in Chelan

It was a really great afternoon and evening, and set us up really well for our road trip which starts tomorrow!

Goodbye Stehekin

Leaving Stehekin is always difficult to do. It is so hard saying goodbye to beloved family and friends and stepping aboard the Lady (or Lady Express, in this case). Earlier in the day we took a leisurely walk up to the Stehekin School and then on up to Rainbow Falls. Then we had to say goodbye and get on the boat at 12 noon to head downlake.

Crossing Rainbow Creek

Tryfan, Billy, Eric, me and Rhiannon

View from the boat looking down at relations on the Landing

Parting shot of the Landing as we push off

Further downlake, approaching Fields Point

More Stehekin family photos

Yesterday and today have been full of just plain ol' hanging out with family and riding bikes or vehicles up and down the road. Monday morning we went over to the Miles' house where the Kalts were staying to have a big family breakfast. This was great. Eventually some badminton games started up (the toddlers in particular were excited about the badminton rackets) and soon enough people peeled off in different directions to get on with the day, but it was really fun.

Later in the day we drove down to the Landing to visit the craft shop and see what was going on.

Studying the 3D topo map of the area

Coloring and crafts at the dining table in the afternoon

Me and Aunt Hobbie

Dinner at the Ranch

It is always a treat to have dinner at the Ranch. And by Ranch, we mean of course the Stehekin Valley Ranch, located 8 miles up the road from the Landing.

Rebecca with Billy and Ingrid, Kristin in the background

Approaching the dining hall

Rhiannon with Evan

Nearly everyone

Today was actually a strange and emotional day. Rhodri spent the day fishing up Bridge Creek with Will, Eric and John so we didn't see any of them until we reunited here at the Ranch for dinner. But what really shaped today was the drama (and trauma) of poor Sioned back at home who was having to deal with Bentley collapsing in the forest on a walk. Apparently he just collapsed, and she had to talk some passersby into helping her carry him back to the car so she could take him to the vet. It sounded horrible. The only slightly positive thing was that Sioned and I were able to talk by phone in Stehekin, which is previously unheard of! We used FaceTime Audio to talk using the wireless network at GBuck's house and probably used up her monthly quota during this single day. But it was very good to be able to speak with her and also with the vet several times over the course of the day, and I was grateful for that. The fallout of this incident is that Bentley seems to be ok, but something is wrong with his larynx. We are so, so grateful that Sioned was the one to be there with him rather than some random kennel-worker. It really was terrible for her though, and I'm not sure how we can ever thank her enough.

Stehekin rules - Part 2

Stehekin rules also because of how we get to ride around in vehicles: no seat belts, no maximum passenger limits. Normally we ride around in the back of Bruce (our old 1988 Ford Ranger that we sold to GBuck for $1), but this time Bruce was busy taking the old ladies around so we mostly rode inside of Herb's van or the Pastry Cabin van.

Actually we 4 Lewises mostly got around by riding bicycles up and down the valley road, but then Rhiannon started hanging out more with the smaller cousins so we saw less and less of her during our stay. In fact, she slept over at the Pastry cabin with Mom/ Grandma, Eric, Kristin, Billy and Evan for 3 of the 4 nights we were in the valley.

Stehekin rules - Part 1

We've been staying with Bob and Tammy at Tupshin Base Camp, their awesome strawbale house that has been thoroughly and completely handcrafted with love. What a place!

It is a paradise for indoor swinging, climbing, hanging and sliding, and the owners are fantastic hosts! We felt very welcome to come and go as we pleased, and we left chalkboard notes for each other.

One of the nice things about staying here is that it is on the stretch between the Bakery and the Landing, making it a social location because passing cars can easily swing by. Another nice thing is that it is only a short walk up to Buehler's Bluff. Tammy and I took a few early morning walks up here to appreciate the gorgeous view and changing light on the mountains.

Family photos

90th Birthday celebration

Today was the big birthday party for Grandma Bucky, who turned 90 in January. Aunt Hobbie also got a shout out for being almost 95 (on Sept 15th). They do a lot of sitting around heckling and laughing with each other.

The event was actually a potluck with yard games including badminton and washer toss, but mainly it was a chance to sit around chatting with friends and relations. It was a gorgeous afternoon, quite hot, but with a definite breeze and plenty of shade. Perfect ingredients.

 Uncle Phil assumed the position of MC and told some stories about his Mom and the lessons he learned from her growing up. Then members of the audience were invited to come up and share memories of her or Aunt Hobby (or both) before we sang Happy Birthday and ate cake made by Robbie from the Bakery.

Stehekin at last

Finally we made it to Stehekin and have happily reunited with all our friends and relations. Accommodation arrangements have been a little tricky, but we all found places to settle in throughout the valley. After first having lunch at the Bakery, then spending the afternoon settling in, we went over for dinner at Grandma Bucky's house. It was a particularly hot day, so everyone gathered in and around Rainbow Creek. It made me feel so happy to reach the crest of the bank by the yurt and see this scene of family members chatting and splashing in the evening light.

 The mosquitoes were not bad at all, so it was fine to sit outside on the deck chatting as well.

John w Luke, Heidi w Jordan, Annie w Naomi, Rebecca, Phoebe, Will, Ingrid and Jody

Sussex to Stehekin

We finally left on our summer holiday on Wed Aug 3.

We were fine getting to Gatwick and having a nice lunch, then flying to Reykjavik. Our flight was about 1.5 hrs delayed in leaving, which meant we had not much time to change planes. But the same was true for the rest of the people on our flight, and so the airport was heaving. That was a low point. And then when we actually got on the flight, we didn't have seats together so there was a bit of a kerfuffle as we tried to get to sit closer together. The flight itself from Reyk to Seattle seemed Very Long.

Once we landed in Seattle, it was fine and we sailed right through immigration and customs, rented our car, and then got to Will and Rebecca's house in time to see Phoebe and Ingrid before they got into bed. We had some dinner and then went for a walk around the neighborhood before going to bed.

The next day we woke up really early (4am) and tried to keep quiet for a couple of hours while the rest of the house slept. Tryfs and Rio played with Mr and Mrs Potato Head and co.

We got out of the house just after 6:30am and went in search of coffee and breakfast pastries, then returned with those goods to the house. 

We then made it to REI just after 9am and shopped for a couple of hours before hitting the road to drive over the Cascades to Wenatchee.

There was some air show going on, so I-90 was shut and we had to go a different way (520) to get out of Seattle, which was slow and hot. But the country music on the radio was great and we were on the road altogether, everything fine, and we inched along until our detour finished and we could get up to highway speeds on I-90. We stopped in Cle Elum for a Mexican lunch and then did a big grocery shop for all our Stehekin supplies. By the time we got to Dave and Shelli's house it was just past 5pm and time for a beer and a swim in their pool!

We never did get to see Shelli but Dave treated us to sockeye salmon, pasta pesto and salad. Delicious and wonderful, and we went to sleep around 10:30, then woke up early and I went for a scamper along the loop trail of the river. We hit the road around 7:30am and made it to Fields Point in plenty of time to unload, repack, reunite with Will, Rebecca, Phoebe & Ingrid, and then Heidi, John, Jordan and Luke rolled up just as the boat pulled in so there was a bit of a panic to get them sorted and on the boat before it left for Stehekin.

We got to Stehekin finally at 11am and had a grand reunion at the Landing, then headed to the Bakery for lunch where we saw every member of our 34 person family!