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24/7 for a month with an 11 year old


And I thought the cancer was bad.

OK, she was delightful and I love her with all my heart, but omg do I need a rest. But, no rest for the weary. What an amazing month. After picking the kid (Lily) up at the airport in Seattle we visited with my sister in Spanaway, back behind Fort Lewis. Haven't seen her in a year or two so that was a nice visit and the first time for her and Lily to meet. Then we headed south and camped out on the side of Mount St. Helens. We took the motorcycle up to the Ape Caves which are giant lava tubes that go all the way underground into the volcano. It was incredibly dark inside and the way was rough so we didn't go in more than about a quarter mile. Without an artificial light you couldn't even see your own hand held in front of your face. The next day we took the nature hike through the woods and learned a lot about the volcano and the fossils there. Cool.

After that it was on to Oregon to my son's wedding. He always said he would never get married so seeing him do it at age 37 was really interesting. I really like his wife and her daughter, who is also 11 so it was nice to welcome them into our family. Lily and I headed up the Oregon coast and played on the beaches there, visiting the Sea Lion Caves, the Devil's Churn and other fun spots. I walked up and down far too many hills. We rode the motorcycle on the coastal highway, but not much, the wind was just too great during the day. We cruised inland and camped up on Mount Rainier in a secluded spot along a fast-running stream. Sure was peaceful and we got to go riding a lot on the mountain highway.

Back in Spokane we hit the local beaches and pools, and China Buffet, a lot, then cruised on up to my favorite spot at Coulee Dam for some more days of camping and lazing in the sun. Lily even got to spend several scattered days out at the farm playing with grandma and the animals there. We even got to see Magdalena and Faith perform in the NW Talent Show. They did great of course. The only hiccup in the whole month was when I missed a step and fell off the trailer with the motorcycle landing on top of me. Had to smile at the kid and say "no worries" but darn it hurt. They put some cortisone in my shoulder this week and it looks like I might have to have some surgical repair for a torn rotator cuff, but, oh well. The kid's back in Alaska now and while I am enjoying the quiet and calm, I sure do miss her.

The last 10 days of August will be spent trying to sell off everything at the studio and empty out the building so no rent will be due for September. Have a couple of law cases that need work in September but I'm hoping to get those either taken care of or farmed out so I can head out of town by mid-month. Only heard from a couple of the School kids. That was nice, but I miss them all.


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