Camas you are

Well, what would Memorial Day be without a road trip with our Empty Nesters group? For 2009 we decided to revisit Orofino, ID--a city rife with Northwest history, from the Canoe Camp for Lewis & Clark in 1805 to the mighty Idaho Gold Rush of 1877, with a whole lot of Nez Perce History thrown in the pot.

This picture at the left has in its background a somewhat curious mound of basalt, rising maybe 40 feet. Called "The Heart of the Monster" it represents the origin of the Nez Perce people. I couldn't resist seeing it so dragged the rest of our crew down to Kamiah, Idaho Monday morning, following a restful night beside the Clearwater River in our wonderful hotel.

Here we are Sunday night in the spacious lobby of our hotel, playing our usual card game, "Hand and Foot." Partners lay out cards on the table and attempt to use up the cards in their respective hands (and feet!) to go out, kinda like Gin Rummy. Carol and Dorothy Hibbs won this night--a rare but joyful event.

This is what camas in bloom looks like. It is still breathtaking to me as it was to the Lewis and Clark parties who described the appearance of a lake or stream, only to be the delicate blooms of thousands of camas plants. This is only the second time I have ever seen this sight outside the podunk town of Weippe, Idaho. But this time, my buddies could see. We even dug a couple of camas bulbs up and I ate one. Like most things in the wild, they are mostly functional and tasteless (think salmonberries).

Happy Times

I finally did it! Impulse shopping at its max! Yup, I bought two tickets to the Tacoma Dome performance of the American Idols 09 tour! I like Adam the best, followed by Allison, then Gokey, Kris and even Matt! The concept of seeing them together on a single stage boggles my mind. In the future you will have to spend 5 times that money to catch their individual acts--they are that good. When my little rock group asked me to sing lead for them, I was extremely flattered to go and try me stuff. They asked if I could sing "hotel california". Well, of course I could sing "hotel california"--give me a downbeat. Oh my gosh! It was a such a high register I couldn't hardly get a note out. Fortunately, the guys could all transpose, so we got it down to a manageable range for me to handle. As we worked out our playlist I was amazed at how high all the professionals sing--don't even ask me to try Boston, for heaven's sake! So, yes I am just short of obsessed with Adam Lambert. He will be a rock god, as predicted by Kara! My boss is the next biggest AI fan I know and he is encouraging me to blow off work one afternoon and one morning after, just to go see this on a Tuesday night! Okay, everyone, be ready to air play the background to these lyrics--Deep down inside........Woman!......you need (three big notes).....LLLLOOOOOOOOOOOVVVVVEEEEE! (Fade to black with head banging Zep notes)