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.

Fall Travels

 I've been way too busy during our time in Wenatchee with visiting family and friends, and getting repairs on the 5th wheel and the car, too busy to do a blog post. So here is my attempt to share some of the beauty we've been seeing. It's an unusually colorful autumn here in the Wenatchee Valley and points west. Some years an early frost turns all the leaves brown and they fall off. Other years, the frost delays and we get to see incredible yellows, golds, reds, and oranges everywhere. This photo shows the brilliance of some of the trees in the Wenatchee River County Park, where we stayed for close to 2 weeks. That's our rig, nestled amidst the beauty.

 A walk by the Wenatchee River on a warm fall day yields a treasure.

 I've always loved this valley, west of Cashmere and heading towards Peshastin. This year even the apple and pear orchards are seeped in color, as the fruit is harvested and the leaves have turned.

 Our time in Wenatchee is over. Today we headed up Blewett Pass and were thrilled with the gorgeous colors, every bit as lovely as the scenes we saw in the Colorado Rockies last October. I know I shouldn't be taking pictures while driving behind the 5th wheel, but I couldn't resist!

 Here is another view, near the Blewett Pass summit.

Coming down safely from Blewett Pass we then started up Snoqualmie Pass. There is snow on them thar hills! The highway was dry, though, and we passed through quite a bit of construction near the summit, and, as always, lots of traffic. It was a beautiful drive, though bumpy in many places. We arrived at our final destination, the Lost Lake RV Resort near Lacey WA, safe and sound. I'll have photos of the resort and its pretty lake very soon.