Yakima Christmas Lights

Last evening Susan and I drove around Yakima to look at the Christmas light displays, one of my favorite things to do during the holidays. Here are some of our favorites.

Happy Holidays!

Yakima Arboretum Luminary Walk

Last might we went to the 21st Annual Luminaria at the Yakima Arboretum. The walk is free and provides a mile long candle-lit pathway through the arboretum. Over 1000 candles light up the path.

There are a few decorated areas along the path including this gazebo and part of the Japanese Garden.

Cookies, coffee and apple cider, along with live music by local musicians is provided in the Jewett Interpretive Center. We have gone to the event several times and always enjoyed ourselves. Donations from the community keep the event coming back year after year.

After completing the walk, we went to Burger Ranch for a candy cane milkshake - another Christmas time tradition. YUM!

Frosty Mugs

North Star Lodge is having their Christmas party today and I asked Susan to sign up to bring dessert so I could make these cupcakes. They were fun to make and I was surprised how much the baker's sugar looked like snow.

Annie

The current production at the Warehouse Theater Company in Yakima is Annie, which Susan and I went to see on Saturday evening. We both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Grace Marshall, a fifth grade student in Yakima, did an outstanding job in her first performance at the theater.

All local kids, the orphans stole the show, especially "Molly" played by Madison Taylor. A fun way to spend the evening.

Susan's Arizona Visit

Last month Susan spent some time sightseeing and visiting Mom and Dad in Arizona. One adventure was riding on the Verde Canyon Railroad. The heritage railroad is located near Clarkdale, Arizona. It opened in 1912 and was originally built to support the copper mines located in Jerome.

Different prices reflect the style in which you ride. This is a picture of the first-class cabin, while the following picture is coach class.

Mom and Dad enjoying the trip.

Numerous caves are visible in the rock hills.

Susan got an excellent picture of these beehives zooming in on one of the caves.

These next three pictures show some of the scenery visible from the train. All excellent photos considering the train is moving right along.

They also visited the Strawberry School House, the oldest standing school in Arizona. The school is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built by pioneers in 1885, the one-room school provided elementary instruction until 1916.

Montezuma Castle features well-preserved cliff-dwellings built by the Sinagua. The amazing ruin is located between Phoeniz and Flagstaff.

They also tried a variety of restaurants during Susan's visit, including Toby Keith's I Love This Bar, where among other interesting side dishes, they serve deep fried macaroni and cheese!

Owl Cupcakes

I saw this idea in the paper last week and thought they were so cute, I just could not resist making them. Click on the photo for a closer look. Happy Thanksgiving!

Riverbend Cafe North Bend

Susan and I went to North Bend yesterday to have lunch and visit with Brenda Truman. We met Brenda and her husband Steve in Australia in January and have stayed in touch since then. Steve is in Wyoming building their house so he could not join us. We had a great time catching up and discussing how we can match up schedules to go on another cruise together.

Priest Lake & Spokane

Susan and I spent the last four days visiting Spokane and Priest Lake, ID. Our family spent many years at Priest Lake and I worked at Elkins Resort in the mid 1970's. Grandpa and Grandma on my Mom's side had a cabin just north of Nordman, that was eventually passed down to Mom and Dad.

When our family owned the cabin it was very rustic; no inside water or plumbing and just a wood stove and fireplace for heat.

This is what the cabin and property look like now. The owners were not home so we could not go inside, but the pot-belly wood burning stove is gone as is the outhouse. They have propane heat, indoor plumbing and a new covered front porch.

There is a new awning above the door on the side of the cabin.

The outhouse use to stand where they built their shed.

Several trees have been removed, which makes the property look much larger than it did before.

Every summer, for as long as I can remember, we would plant flowers in this rock bed. I was surprised to see that the new owners did not remove it.

The woodshed we used is gone now, replaced with this one.

They built a very nice cover to protect their 5th wheel.

When we were kids, there was a large, wood road sign where this one stands now. We use to climb up and sit on top of it and wave to all the logging trucks that went by.

The store and bar at Nordman is just .9 mile from the cabin and as kids we use to walk back and forth all the time. The outside of Nordman has changed very little since the 70's. The inside of the little grocery store is exactly the same, in fact, some of the merchandise looked like it had been there since the 70's.

While the room has changed a little, the actual bar is exactly the same.

There was a shop on the other side of the laundry where we kept our motorcycles. We couldn't tell what the building is being used for now.

This restaurant entrance on the north side of the lodge was not there when we were kids.

The main thing that has changed at Nordman is that now you can rent rooms in this little hotel.

The library is now on the list of historical properties.

Elkins Resort has not changed very much either. The gas pumps have been moved, and there is a gift shop now, but the lodge and cabins remain the same, at least on the outside.

The lawn in front of the lodge looks exactly the same. It is a wonderful view if you are eating dinner in the restaurant.

We were surprised to find out that the old resort at Kaniksu has been torn down. The new name is Kaniksu Sands, which offers private homes and condos for sale.

From what we could see, things are not selling very well.

This picture is of the bay located across the lake from Kaniksu Sands, where my Grandma and Clete Boyer had a cabin. We did not have time to drive around the lake to see if the cabin is still there.

Susan stopped the car so we could get a picture of this creature just outside of Newport. Do you know what it is?

While in Spokane, we drove up to see if the house my Mom lived in as a child was still there. Notice how steep the steps are leading up to the house.

In addition to finding the house Mom lived in, we also found the apartment Susan and I shared in the early 70's.

The fall colors are just spectacular right now on the east side of the state.