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)

One final ALOHA

Here we are outside the entry center at Waikeloa with our orienter, Mailee, who has told us what to see and where to go. She has also gifted us with these bigger and better leis. Last time, it was miniscule sea shells. No gift certificates, as they think their gift was letting us stay in a "Tier 3" condo for the points usually used for a "Tier 2" condo. So, lah-ti-dah! Mailee is giving the "shaka" sign, which Hayden is thoroughly checking out. Can't tell if Devin's blouse is wet from a swimsuit beneath or Hayden above. Let's go have some fun!

The Kings of Hawaii

Yes, we just finished an invigorating week at Kona with Carl and his family. Amongst the beauty of our Waikoloa Hilton timeshare, we still found time to go visit Kameheahea's birth site on the north side. I love his violent history that has been modernized to hero worship.

The story behind this statue is incredible. Bronze, it was cast in France and sank near the Falkland Islands on its way to the Big Island near the town of Hawi. Of all the coincidences, a traveler to the Falkland Islands saw the salvaged statue outside a drugstore and made an offer. It was taken to Hawaii and painted annually. Cool. I had to see it, so drove up from Kona with Carol, Devin, Carl and Hayden. They indulged my historical fascination, then we ate at the Bamboo Restaurant (go ahead and google it--look for "best restaurant on Hawaii) My wanderlust thus satisfied we returned to our comfortable apartment and watched General Conference Sunday morning, starting at 6:00 a.m. What a hoot.

Now this one, on the left is the official gold plated King, standing outside the Hawai'i state capitol building in downtown Honolulu. The dude in front of him is basically the same except for a hat that is about 2 sizes too small and cost $10 more than the one above because I bought it at the Dole plantation instead of the simply situated Wal-Mart in Kona. We were in Honolulu exactly one year ago. We still have yet to see when they droop these statues with yards of floral leis, but if we keep going back, maybe we'll find it. By the way, there was a third statue cast and it is still visible to many tourists every day. Kudos to who can tell me where he is located.

There's a place where I can go....

There is one room in my house in which I am totally at ease. It is my office and I love it. Against the tearful pleadings of my wife, I painted one wall a red-orange and have hung various mission paraphenalia (mine and my boys'). I have a wonderful bookshelf with my favorite books (mostly church and state nonfictions like history and/or unusual facts) and a cheap stereo where I play my CDs. I file everything and work from an In basket to my four drawer or two drawer file. It is also a showcase for memories of raising five dynamic children. You can see in this shot some of the photo albums that chronicle those early years, and you can also see some of the homecoming court photos or student body officers photos from their high school years. My wonderfully indifferent cat, aka, Steve Compton Martial Arts Master of the Universe sin Huevos sits on the window sill, wistfully hoping he can bring down the birds outside and avoid that horrible bully the squirrel. I can while away hours balancing the 5 checkbooks we maintain, or playing Freecell. I love it--do you have a special place?

Clean Fun in a Worldly Setting

Well, if you've followed Heather's or Carl's blogs by now you'd know we spent a marvelous weekend in Vegas last Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We stayed in a three bedroom condo in our Hilton timeshare building. (at this point I pause because I can't for the life of me get a photo to post in under an hour--any hints?) I think we planned it well. Carol handled the housing--getting a 3 bedroom condo for us and the Phoenicians (Hev, Brandon, two kids, David) and then 2 one bedroom condos for the Ferndaliens and the Springvillains (not too evil those villains). Carol and I arrived late Thursday night. The next morning we awoke to chirping grandsons. I had a hankering to visit the "best breakfast in Vegas" (you can google it yourselves) at the Egg Works. We drove north on Flamingo Blvd so far we swore we could see Oregon, but enjoyed the goods. I had their famous Spinach Benny (as in eggs Benedict) and all was well with the world. Back home, Brandon and Hev cashed in their Christmas promises from us to get them their choice of spa treatments in the timeshare. Skipping lunch to get ready, we went to the famous Spice Buffet at the Planet Hollywood for our venture into the buffet line. Getting there around 5:00 p.m. maybe we got a price break, but it was still about $60 for two. The Phoenicians decided to walk the 4 mile trek from the condo to the buffet, so we started the King Crab legs, barbecued lamb and fried shrimp without them. They finally showed up all tuckered out, but willing to take a stab at the sushi, seafood enchiladas, pork ribs and all else that makes this place a piece of heaven. Carol and I took our departure and hustled over to the Palazzo theater to catch "Jersey Boys", a spectacular live musical about the formation, performances and breakups of the 4 Seasons. In true Vegas fashion, drum sets disappeared into the floor, microphones arose from nowhere and over 20 songs were presented in perfect four part harmony. I had a grin the whole night. Back to the condo, I then ran to the airport to collect the Ferndalians, and barely got them back in time to guide David in to the timeshare. Carl and Devin had arrived at the backdoor without my knowledge. What a fun reunion that was into the night. Saturday we served breakfast for all ala Ken and Mary McCain in our fairly roomy kitchen. I went with Aaron and Candace & babe to see Hoover Dam and the awesome bridge they are building just downstream over the top of the canyon. The others went to the strip to visit the Mandalay aquariums. The big event for the evening was a steak fry down at the grills by the pool. Aaron and Carol did the honors and brought them back upstairs where DB had chopped up the salad and the baked potatoes came out of the oven. Laugh, eat, watch the muted Oklahoma-Texas basketball game on a muted plasma television. Old people went to bed while others went out to see the sights and dabble in the dark arts of blackjack. Fortunately they were all broke within 20 minutes, so we face no Satanic challenge from the weekend. Sunday came too soon as we packed up, checked out and sat in the lobby, chilling. The Ferndalians and the Kennewickians drove around town for a while, waiting for our Allegiant flights home. We went to the temple and did some geocaching, then it was time to call it quits. What a whirlwind that was! But we had great housing, great food, great entertainment and great family in spite of it all. Carol wants to go every two years so we can catch these top Vegas shows. AND...we all want more King Crab.

Visit to Elk Country

President's day involved a trip with our "empty nesters" group into the foothills on the east side of the Cascades. We have lived here for 34 years and never once went to see the winter feeding of the wild elk and bighorn sheep. They come down out of the mountains and used to wreak havoc on Farmer John's crops and trees and anything they could munch. So, a consortium financed construction of an "elk fence" at the highway and figured to feed the elk with surplus hay once per day. Total herd we watched get fed was over 1,000 elk.

This last picture is of an adjoining area for feeding the wild bighorn sheep. Hard to see but there is one in the rocks at left center. They ate before we got there so we didn't get to see very many. Afterwards we all drove into Yakima and ate at Miner's, an institution for all my kids.