Lighthouse Christian Ministries

After visiting son, daughter and granddaughters, the best thing we did during our stay in Wenatchee was to volunteer at the Lighthouse. About 5 years ago we were excited to see and help with the very beginnings of this ministry to the homeless, and now we are amazed at the growth. The Lighthouse is the hub, serving meals, teaching Bible studies, having church, and from that has come forth a building for housing men and women, a house for women and children, another house for men in transition, and now a medical clinic that will be free or very low cost. It is awesome what God has done through our friend and all his helpers in the Lighthouse ministry. This friend is the same in whose orchard we have been parked for the last 2 months!

There is a fully equipped kitchen filled with all donated appliances and tools more than adequate for preparing and serving 3 meals a day to 60 or 70 men and women, and sometimes children, every single day. All the food is also donated and seems to be just the right amount and variety for each meal.

This wonderful lady is Jude! She puts together delicious meals from whatever has come in for that day. Keith and I helped with the preparation and serving, as well as the dishwashing and table clearing. James is a volunteer who comes almost daily and knows how to do just about anything that is needed! Our days there were filled with lots of fun and laughter, and the tremendous reward of seeing needy people well cared for.

I especially enjoyed and became friends with Jennifer, a beautiful lady who comes in and plays the piano and sings during most of the meals, bringing calm to the crowd. Her worship is truly inspired by God. I learned in the Bible that David played his harp and sang to Saul to soothe the King's restless spirit. I think Jennifer does the same thing for those who come into the building seeking food for the body, but also finding food for the spirit.

Here are a few of the well-fed folks finishing up their meal. God blesses them, every one, and especially those like us who get to see the blessings. Mr. Keith and I are so happy that we had this experience. Keith spent 30 years in the ministry to the homeless, with me helping him the last 10 years before his retirement. We hope to return to Wenatchee someday soon and become regular voluteers at this amazing place, the Lighthouse Christian Ministries!

Our Time in Wenatchee

 Our nearly two months in Wenatchee are drawing to a close much too quickly. We didn't get to visit everyone we had hoped to see and we didn't take any sight-seeing drives, but we managed to stay incredibly busy somehow. Our most rewarding times were when we got to see our family and friends, and our volunteer hours at the Lighthouse where we worked in the kitchen serving meals. I'll save that for another blog! We enjoyed a few walks. Wenatchee has a wonderful trail all around the two cities. Mr. Keith is sauntering along part of the trail in East Wenatchee.

 Here is a gorgeous view of Wenatchee across the Columbia River.

 The Wenatchee Valley is famous for fruit trees. We were so fortunate to be parked right next to an orchard. These blossoms are cherries, I believe.

 What a sight greets us every time we open our door! Beautiful, pink apple blossoms. We won't be here for the Valley's long standing and well attended Apple Blossom Festival, but we know from our years here how much fun that is. We have so many memories of this great event from years past.

 Each time we come back to Wenatchee between our job assignments we like to drive by the old 'homestead' on Gellatly Street. When I lived here the house was painted white. A couple of years ago we found it to be painted a grey color, and this time it is a pretty tan. I wonder if the current owners are experimenting? I thought about the mailbox out front. It originally graced our driveway near the town of Mossyrock in 1968. It moved with us to Vancouver where it stood along the street next to our house for 11 years, then it came with us to Wenatchee in 1983. It still seems to be in fairly good shape for a 46 year old mailbox!

 Much to our dismay, Mr. Keith was hospitalized by a cat bite which became infected. It wasn't Montie's fault! We had some company who came with a little dog. The dog sneaked some cat food and Montie attacked, causing much shrieking by the dog, thus causing Mr. Keith to grab Montie's tail to get him away from the pup. Montie, in his distress over the cat food thief and the pain in his tail, turned and bit Keith. This kind of infection is very serious for someone with a low immune system, so the hospital stay was in order till it's resolved. This is the beautiful view from Keith's room on the 5th floor.

The view from another window, of Saddle Rock. I looked at this Wenatchee Valley landmark for 22 years from the back deck of the house on Gellatly Street. I miss it, and I always watch for the first sighting of this magnificent rock formation as we're driving into town after being away for months. We'll leave it once again next week when we hitch up and head out down the highway for our next job in Missoula, Montana.

Blossoms!

 Three weeks ago, when we arrived in Wenatchee, this orchard was pruned, but bare of blossoms. I've watched every day, eagerly awaiting the signs of eminent bloom. I know from living in the Wenatchee Valley for 22 years that the apricot and peach trees are the very first to burst out in flowers, with the promise of lots of delicious, fresh fruit. And, at last, the beauty is beginning.

 I love this old, old tree with its massive trunk. It's still flourishing. I'm not sure if these trees are apricots or peaches, though I'm guessing peaches. Time will tell!

 A close-up. Seen from a distance, the apricot and peach orchards look a gorgeous lavender.

 Our home is framed in pretty blossoms!

We found this sign leaning against the Produce Market, out back. I just like it, no other reason, though it would be really fun to work here. I can't wait for more blooms. There are big, old cherry trees behind us which will be next, then last, the apple trees on the other side of our orchard. What a beautiful place God has given us to park, through our friends Bob and Karen. We're so grateful for their generosity.

Orchards and Pianos

 Our days here in East Wenatchee and Wenatchee are passing pleasantly. On a walk down to the river I snapped this photo and was thinking about how it will look in a few more weeks when the fruit trees burst into bloom. The buds are beginning to swell already. I think these are apple trees. The apricots are the first to bloom, so beautiful in their pink and lavender dress!

There are apple trees next to our rig. I always wondered who wrote the old song, "It's cherry pink and apple blossom white..."  He must not have known that cherry trees sport purely white blossoms, while the apple flowerets are pinkish white. I can't wait for these to bloom, but we may be gone by then.

A wonderful fact about the Wenatchee Valley is that there is a paved walking trail completely around the cities along the riverbanks, up one side, across the river, and down the other side, depending on where you begin. There are probably close to 12 miles of trail. Just up the road from where we are is the beginning of the trail on the East Wenatchee side. Or maybe it's the ending. Hmmm! We picked the wrong day to walk. The wind was fierce, raindrops began to pelt us, not to mention tumbleweeds zooming about. I caught this one with my cane as it tumbled by.

When we began full time RVing I knew I had to have a piano in our rig. I researched and found this Yamaha digital piano and I have been very happy with it. One slideout is my music room, complete with 3 file boxes of the music I also couldn't dispense with. Selling, giving away, donating almost all our possessions in order to move into our 5th wheel was not easy. The one thing I couldn't part with and also couldn't take with me was the Yamaha upright that I used to teach my students for many, many years in my home studio.

So... my solution was to ask the pastors of our home church if my piano could come live in the fellowship hall. They, both musicians themselves, gladly agreed, and I believe it does some service for recitals. Knowing we would be in the area for a couple of months, I obtained a key to the church so I can come practice whenever I have a chance. The other day, I let myself in, found the light switches, walked up to my beautiful instrument, lifted the lid, and got  teary and emotional as I sat down and tenderly began to press the keys. I've missed this lovely and very important part of my past life. I hope someday I might have my big Yamaha with me again. In the meantime, I will be happy with my little digital. It serves me faithfully and well and I am grateful to have it.

Going Home

 Once again we're on the move. Our job in Oregon ended and we were anxious to travel back to the town we consider to be our "home", even though "our home is where we park it". We had no trouble moving in the slides, unhooking the water, sewer and power hoses, and hooking up BigTruk. A couple of the residents of the park in Fairview, and one employee, came to say good-bye and to wish us well as they saw us preparing to leave. In the last few days 4 people have given us money to help us on our way! What a surprise, and what welcome gifts! People are good. We needed to stop by the Tire Factory in Gresham and get a minor valve repair as well as having the right amount of air pumped into each of the 12 tires on the 5th wheel and on BigTruk. We felt happy as we left rainy country and traveled into sunshine.

We had a scary time a few miles past The Dalles. Mr. Keith told me, over the walkie-talkie, that the orange fuel warning light had gone on. We were positive we had 70 gallons of diesel on the day before our departure. Our thoughts were that maybe someone had stolen our diesel during the night. We were near Biggs Junction so we carefully pulled into a Pilot Truck Stop and got in line. Mr. Keith turned off the motor till time to move up, and when he restarted, suddenly the gauges shot back up to say we had 61 gallons of diesel. Big sigh of relief! Back on the road we went, and happily crossed the bridge into Washington. The photo above shows us traveling down the highway into the Ellensburg valley.

We stopped for lunch and a potty break, for us and for the cats, somewhere over Satus Pass, then continued on. Before we got to Tonasket I saw the awning for the bedroom slide shoot up in the air and begin wildly flapping in the wind. Oh, no! That awning was just installed in October! We didn't stop because I could tell it wasn't detached, just unrolled somehow. We will get that fixed while we're in Wenatchee.

Here we are heading towards the Columbia River and the beautiful Vantage Bridge. We usually travel over Blewett Pass to Wenatchee, but we were unsure of the snow conditions, and we wanted to try the less mountainous route for a change. Later I figured out mileage and discovered the route through Vantage and Quincy is about the same, within a mile, as the route over Blewett Pass. Good to know!

We were so happy to pull into East Wenatchee about 5:00. The sun was still touching the foothills and the gorgeous, snow covered Cascades. The Columbia River was glowing with a reflection of the sky.

Setting up at the First Fruits Produce Market went smoothly. We love being right beside an orchard, though at this time of year the trees are bare and have just been pruned. We've stayed here a couple of times before, once for about 5 months in the winter of 2009 and again for 5 days last October. Our dear friend Bob has put in a 50 amp hookup for us. We are thankful to God for a safe trip and for this wonderful place to park for the next 2 months! We have family to visit to our heart's content, as well as the many friends we've missed since we've been workamping. Though we've made many new friends in our various places of employment, we always have to leave them when the job ends. Old friends warm our hearts and we are glad to be with them again.

Looking Back - Bear Country Critters

 We have so many wonderful sights and scenes and memories on which to look back in our years of workamping — so many from Bear Country USA especially. Here is a sampling of critters we were privileged to see nearly every day in the summer of 2006. There is a magnificent herd of elk in the drive-through portion of the park as well as reindeer and several varieties of mountain goats and sheep. This beautiful big guy is just getting his new sprouting of antlers, still in velvet.

 Pretty foxes, one of my favorite animals.

 The two grizzlies were a constant source of amusement and inspired not a little awe. This is Cherokee, the female, making a funny face for the tourists.

 And, just to prove that grizzlies can climb trees, too, here is Cherokee again, mastering this very scrawny pine. Tank, her mate, waits at the bottom for the daring climb to end. He looks a little bored!

 The tourist industry in Rapid City would yearly host a showing of the various attractions in the area. Each one would have a booth with information, handouts, and folks to man the booth, which we were doing here. Our Bear Country display happened to be right next to the Reptile Gardens booth, which came complete with live examples of what one might see there. This yellow fellow got quite a bit of attention! After a bit of trepidation we weren't too "yellow" to hold him.

 Of course, every tourist attraction needs a mascot. There is a brave teenager in that costume, greeting the tourists, handing out treats for the kids, and even doing a little dance to special "bear" tunes. Bet it was hot in there!

 The bear cubs, usually between 10-15 each summer, were the most popular attraction of all. The tourists would stay lined up along the fence watching the cubs' hilarious antics for long periods of time, moving along reluctantly only when the little guys collapsed into sleep. There would be a young employee standing inside the enclosure several times a day interacting with the cubs and giving a talk about bear life, always very interesting.

I had several "favorite" critters. One was the porcupine. You would think they were not so interesting, with their slow movements and their prickly "stay away from me" coats, but I was fascinated to watch them eat. They would hold their food in their little hands and nibble away much as we would do. They made a soft humming sound towards each other. I will never forget the exciting days we spent at Bear Country, still our favorite job. I wish we could be there still!

Fort Vancouver

 I haven't blogged for awhile because of illness and weather preventing us from getting out. We did have one short trip over the river to Fort Vancouver. When I lived in Vancouver from 1968 to 1983 we visited the Fort many times. It was always a favorite place, so I wanted to take Mr. Keith there to see for himself. Here he is, posing by this massive cannon. Hey, Mr. Keith, you're supposed to stand behind it, not in front of it!

 In 1818 the United States and Great Britain, locked in a struggle for control, agreed to share access to the fur rich Oregon Territories. In 1825 Britain sought to anchor their claim by moving their Hudson's Bay Company headquarters to the new Fort Vancouver, on the banks of the Columbia River. Dr. John McLoughlin was instrumental in settling the area, which eventually became Oregon, Idaho,Washington and British Columbia. The company moved out in 1860, the era of the beginnings of the Oregon Trail settlers. The Fort burned completely to the ground in 1866. In 1947 archaeologists began digging up the remains of the foundations, and in 1966 reconstruction of some of the buildings was begun. The large house in the picture above was Dr. McLoughlin's residence and the hub of the social life at the Fort.

 This Blacksmith Shop is well equipped and quite accurately duplicates the original shop. The volunteer blacksmiths here have mastered the iron works projects very well and do a good job explaining how it used to be, as closely as can be discovered.

  Mr. Keith always loves to pose in the old outhouses. I can't break him of that habit! This one was next to the Blacksmith Shop.

 The 1845 Bastion was built to protect the fort against threats and to fire salutes to arriving ships. It was three stories high; the top floor held eight three pounder cannons. In my reading, I don't find any evidence that there were Indian attacks or other enemies of any kind.

Officers Row is above the actual old Fort and is a tree lined street of great beauty.
As part of a national reorganization, the U.S. Army returned the headquarters of the Department of the Columbia from Portland Oregon to Fort Vancouver in 1878. Several new buildings were constructed on Officers Row, including this 1886 Queen Anne style home for the Department Commander.  The most famous Commander to live here was Brigadier General George C. Marshall, who lived here with his wife Katherine from 1936 to 1938 while he was in command of the Third Division's Fifth Brigade and directed the region's Civilian Conservation Corps camps. Mr. Keith and I hope to return for a more in depth visit to historic Fort Vancouver when the weather is warmer and we can spend more time exploring.