Growing up in the Pacific Northwest I knew that a trip to the ocean in January would probably warrant all the cold and wet weather gear I had. What a pleasant surprise to find out that the 100% chance of rain every single day actually wasn’t true!

I had invited Mom to come out to Copalis Beach to the Iron Springs Resort for a couple days to celebrate my birthday. I think Joel is still a bit confused about the logic of that. Come to find out later that Mom had taken Natalie and Larina to this very same resort when they were younger. I thought I was the favorite but it appears that is not true – Mom never took me there! HAHA.

So, it wasn’t a new place to explore for Mom but it was new to me! The resort consists of 28 cabins up high on a cliff overlooking the ocean and Copalis Beach. Our cabin was set back a little bit but we could still catch a peek of the ocean from our front window. They looked to be recently remodeled and had a great floorplan including large kitchen/dining/living combo, huge deck, fireplace , two bedrooms and a bathroom.

We enjoyed a fire every evening in the fireplace while we watched movies (two thumbs down to Barbie, sorry Larina!), Law & Order episodes and the US National Figure Skating Championships where we learned that “snow” was not a good thing.

We walked down to the beach one sunny afternoon and I took about a mile hike down to the whale carcass that was still decomposing on the beach. The second day I ventured down the winds were just right for a nice blast of nastiness from the remains.

Although it was the “off” season most of the restaurants were open so we were able to enjoy Irish fare one day, Hawaiian fare for my birthday dinner and seafood the next day. Add in the pastries and all the great food that Mom brought and we were certainly well fed.

I was a great mini-vacation and fun to see and hear about the various areas on the coast that Mom and Dad used to camp, hike and enjoy.

Thanks Mom for joining me!

Saturday morning was the only time that the balloons flew so we ended up driving down to Monument Valley for a hike on Saturday afternoon. We took the Wildcat Trail which is about four miles around the West Mitten. It was fun to get out and get a bit of exercise and enjoy the beautiful weather and scenery. Then, back to Bluff to the Community Center for a Chili Feed. Yum!

When Joel and I were in Bluff, UT for the Ring of Fire Annular Eclipse in October, I noticed flyers for the Bluff Balloon Festival. Thinking it might be fun and something new, we headed down there last weekend. It was a great opportunity to see the balloons up close and personal.

We arrived Friday afternoon, checked into our motel in Blanding, UT – about 20 miles away and then drove into town to the Bluff Elementary School which was hosting a Navajo Taco and Mutton Stew Fundraiser. We both had the Navajo Tacos and they were great. During the dinner we were treated to singing and dancing by some of the very talented students from the school and a couple other local elementary schools. They take these events very seriously and most of them did their speeches and/or songs in both Navajo and English. Pretty impressive!

As far as the balloons it is sort of random where they went and how far – we were there on Saturday morning and they had questionable winds so only a few balloons went up from one side of the tiny town to the other – maybe 1/2 mile at the most. There were 25 balloons invited as it was their 25th Anniversary but I think the most we saw was 8. The video linked below at the end just popped up on the festival website and it is outstanding. We saw many of the balloons in the video. Enjoy the amazing colors!

This is a great video – it was either taken the first day (Friday) when they had less winds or it was perhaps from an earlier year.

We enjoy snowshoeing at North Fork Park – Ogden Nordic – great trails and great organization – depending on the weather and snowfall, we may opt to use the groomed trails or go off trail. Yesterday we had a great day – mostly because the snow was “off” for the fat bikes that use the same trails and we virtually had the entire park to ourselves. Not sure what happens next because we have a few potential rain days in the future. Usually they are about 10 degrees cooler at the park so might luck out and get some more snow.

Always gotta have one clown in the show. How is this even possible? Ask Joel.

During the winter, before he starts planning his next garden, Joel has become fond of puzzles. The only place he can use is our dining room table as he usually likes the 1000 plus piece puzzles which are quite large. When I plan decorating and dinner events I have to consult with the puzzle master first. Here is a recent completion of a 2000 piecer:

I rarely have the patience or interest to “participate” in this new hobby but I have been known to help out on occaision.

Once the puzzle is completed, what does one do? One attends a puzzle swap! We went to our first one last night.

As one of the few men at the event, Joel was an instant hit with the ladies!

The lady that set up next to us won the Utah State puzzling championship and was heading to CA for the nationals. Who knew that was a thing?

https://www.speedpuzzling.com/ut2023.html

Looks like 49 minutes for a 500 piece Ravensburger. It would take me that long to dump pieces out of the box and flip them all over.

I always laugh when people ask if we decorate for the Holidays … What do you think?

After a brief hiatus due to an unexpected breakdown, the Gene Cafe roaster is chugging along filling Christmas orders. I think Joel finds joy in asking, “Are you done yet?” Which is pretty similar to me asking when he is going to be done with the calendars. Well, he has a well-deserved break this year but hopefully he will be back up and running next year. Too much pressure!

A few photos of the process.

First, the green coffee beans I use are typically of South American origin and are of the Arabica type (as opposed to Robusta.) I purchase from suppliers in MA and LA in quantities from 1/2 lb samplers to 5# quantities. I try to stick to Organic with Rainforest Alliance and Smithsonian Bird-Friendly certifications.

The roasting process takes around 15 – 17 minutes with a 15 minute cool down and the unit has a capacity of 1/2 lb of raw beans.

Unroasted “green” beans.

Final product – dark roast.

On the way to you soon … Maybe.

I hope I didn’t jinx the rest of the winter as far as snowfall – I bought our Ogden Nordic season passes in early November, anticipating another great snow year. It is always a guessing game as to how many times we can actually snowshoe so sometimes a season pass isn’t worth it. Well, we had about 2 days of accumulating show which looked to be about 8″ at North Fork Park. They were able to get the groomers and trail folks out and had their season opening on Saturday. We had fun and did a 5 mile loop. Unfortunately looking 10 days out, there is no snow forecasted … WHAT HAPPENED? ARGHHH

At the risk of being redundant, I am embedding the link below to Larina and Bob’s site where you can catch up on all the Thanksgiving festivities. They did a great job capturing everything that happened over those action packed 4 days. We were thankful for being able to get together and enjoy good company and good food and very importantly, smooth sailing on the roads there and back. It is always with a bit of hesitation that we commit to any family activities in WA or MN after about November 1st, as travel can become treacherous in a minute.

11/22-25/2023 A Perfect* Thanksgiving Weekend!

The only thing that I can add to the story is a personal piece about the UW Husky mascot, Dubs II.

When I was still living in Washington State, I was fairly active showing my Alaskan Malamutes and was a member of the Snow King Alaskan Malamute Fanciers. Mike and Dorrit Evensen joined a couple years after I did and have been raising and showing Malamutes since 1992. When it was time to choose a new UW Husky Mascot (they use an Alaskan Malamute due to their size and temperament,) they applied and one of their puppies was chosen – more than 90 pups went through the rigorous selection process. The application alone was 11 pages long. As well as being the mascot, Dubs II is also a confirmation champion and finished in a short few shows in 2021 and 2022. Dorrit sent me this photo of him soon before he became a champion.

Congrats to all the Dawgs in this story – on to the the Rose Bowl? against Michigan?

While mountain biking and exploring the San Rafael Swell were my main motivations to head down last week, Joel had other intentions. Clear, dark skies brought promise of “stellar” astrophotography opportunities (pardon the pun) and did not disappoint. Armed with his camera, star tracker and warm jacket, Joel spent most of the evenings/early mornings patiently working with the time exposures to get the perfect shots.