Trip to Seattle Cancer Care Alliance

 Here is a subject I haven't mentioned very much, but the timing is right. Mr. Keith was diagnosed with multiple myeloma about 10 months ago and has been having chemotherapy for that long, first in Cheyenne Wyoming and then in Olympia Washington. Myeloma is a cancer that begins in the blood plasma and then affects the blood and bones. It isn't curable but can be controlled. Keith has been able to continue working at the KOAs and now Lost Lake RV Resort for the entire time. We came to Washington from Cheyenne in order for him to have a stem cell transplant, which we thought was finally going to take place this spring. This view is out the window of the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, where we were waiting for our appointment. It's Lake Union, a fresh water lake that empties out into Puget Sound. SCCA and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center facilities are located here, just off the I-5 freeway.

The Space Needle!

We had 2 days of appointments during which it was decided that Keith would not be any better off with a transplant than he would with a maintenance treatment plan, mostly because of his age. He's in pretty good shape but is past the age they like to do the transplant. He was disappointed because of the long wait and anticipation he's had, but we had prayed for God's will and guidance and we feel this is the right course. It actually makes our plans much easier. We can continue on with our job here at Lost Lake and then will be ready to keep our job commitment at the Bozeman Montana KOA for the summer. We're excited about that! There is a cancer care center there also, which is affiliated with Fred Hutchinson.

 We were blessed with a free hotel room for one night, at the SeaTac Red Lion, provided by the Cancer Society. It was the nicest hotel or motel room we've ever had, with a king size bed and all the amenities we could want! We are grateful! This was our view of the foggy Seattle skyline as we journeyed into the city for our second day of appointments. I felt fortunate to get this as we sped by on the freeway amongst all the other commuters. 

I can easily see why the freeway is so congested. Almost every single car had only one person inside! We watched very carefully to make sure we were always in the correct lane for our exit to SCCA. I would not want to drive this very often! 

Home, Sweet Home! Glad to be back where we were greeted by fellow workampers, our manager, and some friends who were eager to hear our news. We're ready to start the next phase of this life's adventure. God is good, and He will be with us the whole way, rain or shine!

Lost Lake Trails

Some special folks at Lost Lake have been working hard to restore the trails in the park. Mr. Keith and I, needing to get outside in the sunshine, decided to check them out. We got our canes (old coots) and set out. Both trails are quite steep and we thought our old legs would do better going down than going up!

Over the past couple of winters there had been branches and some small trees that had fallen across the paths. Must have been a job getting those cleared out! In this scene we are looking down on the one-way road leading up from the lake.

Mossy trees and ferns in abundance, along with decaying leaves, grace the trails. Very beautiful! Careful there — the soft dirt is a little slick.

Across the road and down a ways begins the longer trail leading to the lake. In this part of the forest there are some really big trees, not quite old growth, but maybe trees that have grown since the original logging. The biggest are the Douglas Fir and the cedars.

Here is a different view of our over 100 year old cabin, now used as a library. Strangely, there are a couple of big redwood trees right behind the cabin. They must have been brought in by the original settlers here, as they are not native. At this point on the steep trail Mr. Keith is leaning on one of those huge, old Douglas Firs, where he is enjoying the lake and its reflections.

I'm stumped! Wish I'd posed Mr. Keith here to show the size of this one! It's difficult to imagine that a strong wind could topple a tree like this. The rest of the fir is lying covered with moss just to the left.

I asked the manager of the resort if he knew which tree was the largest in the park, and he said this Douglas Fir has more board feet than any other. It's at the end of the trail near where it comes out at the lake, and is the centerpiece for this little picnic area beside the cabin. I would love to show how tall it is but that would have taken a few photos spread out! In my opinion there are other trees as big around, but this one is the tallest of all, hence more board feet. I wonder how they measure that!

The Twin Barns

I recently came across some photos of two old historic barns located in the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, and I've been wanting to find them and take some pictures. The Refuge is just a mile or so from Lost Lake but we hadn't made it over there till yesterday, when Mr. Keith suggested we go for a walk somewhere. The Nisqually River runs into Puget Sound here and has made quite an extensive delta. The state of Washington has preserved and reclaimed the area so the birds and wildlife have a safe refuge from the busyness and population of the I-5 corridor. We felt like we were really out in the wilderness but we could always hear the roar of the freeway nearby.

We found this wonderful boardwalk leading to the famous twin barns, a one mile loop. We thought we could handle that, so off we went. It was cold and cloudy, and our fingers froze, but we did get to see many ducks and other birds, not to mention several walkers and bird-watchers with their binoculars. I had mine, too!

Surprise! This little fellow was so obliging about getting his picture taken. He's a fat one!

At last, the anticipated twin barns! The wetlands where the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge is located used to be a farm called the Brown Farm. It became farmland back in 1904 after Alson Lennon Brown purchased and drained 1500 acres of salt marsh between the Nisqually River and McAllister Creek and built four miles of dikes to keep the water out.

The barns were dairy barns that were built back in 1934, and they stand as reminders of the fascinating history of the land.  These magnificent buildings are the only remaining structures on the wetlands, besides the visitor center at the entrance. The rest of the land has been reclaimed for the flora and the fauna.

Here's a shot of the barns from the back, looking out on more waterways and a threatening sky. We were on one of the overlooks constructed with benches and plaques showing the various kinds of birds and wildlife we might see, as well as the history of the Brown Farm.

We loved the boardwalk, the many ponds and waterways, the huge maples and other kinds of trees standing starkly against the sky without their leaves. We could only imagine how gorgeous this place must be in the spring and summer. Maybe we'll be able to return here a few times before we set out to our next workamping adventure!

Mansions

During the time I lived in Wenatchee I worked at the homeless shelter there, where my husband was the Director. One day a man named Royce came to the Mission. He was a talented ventriloquist with a little friend named Si. What a delight to hear him tell Bible stories and present the gospel of Jesus to all who would listen. He had traveled by bicycle from Montana and all over the state of Washington, trusting God to provide for him. He told us about a man he met in a town near here who was concerned that he and his dummy had no place to spend the night. The comment was, "Well, you are homeless, aren't you?" Royce's reply was that he was not homeless at all. He lived in the Kingdom of heaven in the mansion prepared for him.
What a wonderful statement! I've thought a lot about it since. Here are some other verses, favorites of mine. "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” Col. 3:1-3 

Before his ascension Jesus told his followers he would prepare a place for them. Could it be that when we give our heart to Jesus we enter our mansion at that time and are forever with Him? As a believer, following in Jesus’ footsteps, I know I am already in heaven with him, hidden in God! I don’t have to wait to die for it to happen! So if I am already in my mansion, I can never be homeless, no matter if I own nothing more than the clothes on my back.

 What security I have. What a sense of protection — peace and safety — to know I am in my “place.” I am surrounded by the walls of a mansion created for me by God. I will dwell there forever!
 

Beefalo!

 Coming home from a visit to my childhood town and school we took the back roads, our habit to avoid the freeway. On my iPad map I found a road just north of Centralia called the Bucoda Hwy, so off we went. It was out in the country, pretty much, with trees lining the route. Imagine our surprise when we came across these strange critters, contentedly munching away in their pretty pasture.

 We've been around lots of buffalo in our workamping jobs in South Dakota and in Wyoming, but these guys looked really spooky with their white faces. It looked like they had masks on.

 Mr. Keith tried to get them to look up for their portraits, but they were too busy working away at their lunch.

 The bodies really do look like buffalo bodies, and the horns are almost the same.

The owners were out in the field so we asked what these attractive animals are, and, as we thought, they are beefalo, a cross between a domestic bull and a female buffalo. They are mainly raised for meat, but the kind folks who own this particular herd have them for pets. They are certainly eye-catchers. We're glad we took this back road. We never know what we might find!

Friendship!

As I thought about our past year I went into iPhoto and selected photos that would briefly, I thought, recap our year, but when I finished they numbered 35 choices! No one would read my blog with that many pictures, so how could I reduce it down to a manageable number?  As much as we love all the sights we get to see in our workamping travels, what sticks in our minds the most is the people we've met and the friends we've made in each place. I believe this posting may be mostly just for me and for Keith, a tribute to the friends God has given, though I hope my readers will enjoy it, too.The past year has had some new challenges for us, as Mr. Keith was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer in the blood and bone marrow. We've dealt with that and the corresponding treatments for over a year now. In the photo above he was just recovering from 2 procedures to mend compression fractures in his back. A fellow Strasburg KOA co-worker had invited us to join her family for Christmas, 2011. We'll never forget the kindness we were shown.

 Here are Jeff and Tracy, and one of their daughters, owners of the Denver East/Strasburg KOA where we were employed for the winter and spring. We will be forever grateful for their kindness and understanding as they worked around our crazy schedule of doctor and hospital visits. We didn't know Keith's trouble was cancer at that time, but later, as Jeff had been through a siege of cancer himself, they were great shoulders to cry on and had lots of really helpful advice. We will hold them and our time there in our hearts forever!

 This is a good photo of another Tracie and her husband Geoff — the ones who invited us for Christmas, and who, before we left Strasburg, took us to a fabulous Mexican restaurant, the Casa Bonita, in Denver. They are  wonderful folks, she a school bus driver and he an electrician. This photo was taken the day we pulled out of Strasburg, headed for Cheyenne.

 As soon as we arrived in Cheyenne Wyoming to work at the KOA there, Keith got his official diagnosis and began receiving chemotherapy. As we'd expected he started to lose his hair in big gobs so he got a buzz cut. Still looks pretty good! We were fortunate to find excellent doctors in this cowboy town, a place we enjoyed immensely for its beauty and its western flavor. In between treatments we were able to see much of the area. We could live there!

 I was disappointed to miss my 50 year high school reunion in Mossyrock Washington. Much to my delight, my childhood friend, classmate and neighbor, and her husband, came to Laramie to visit their son, and asked us to meet them there. That was truly a highlight of our summer. Thanks, Mari and George! Long-time friends are the best!

 When we worked in Rapid City South Dakota at Bear Country USA the summers of 2005, 2006 and 2008 we made many friends. This is Liz, who worked in the drive-through wildlife park snack bar and with whom we had a special relationship. When she heard about Keith's illness she drove down to Cheyenne from Rapid City, a 5 hour trip, and spent the day with us. Many hugs ensued! Some wonderful friends we may never see again because of distance, but they will always be there in our most happy memories.

 You never know, when you meet people, who you will "click" with. Here is Dale, a 5th wheel drivin', motorcycle ridin' railroad inspector who stayed the summer at the Cheyenne KOA. Dale would come into the office and chat with us often. We liked him so much! He was especially good to us, too, because he did some serious repairs on our 5th wheel, expertly, and at no charge. Here we are at the Coldstone Creamery pigging out!

We had the pleasure of meeting and working with John and Sue for a short time at the Denver East KOA, and to our surprise and joy they ended up coming to the Cheyenne KOA to work, a little after we got there. They are wonderful folks, extremely conscientious and good at their work, and great fun to be with. We had several dinners out with them at various local restaurants! It was with sadness we watched them pull away, heading for Florida. We hope we will cross paths (roads) with them again.

 And here are the owners of the Cheyenne KOA, Dave, Mary Jo, and Jim, only missing Rhonda who was recuperating from surgery. Once again, we were treated so well and with compassion by them as we worked around Keith's chemo sessions. And here is a curious thing — Jim and Rhonda regularly donate blood plasma as a way to help those in medical need, and that's exactly where multiple myeloma begins, in the plasma. We thought that was a strange coincidence. God has been so good to us in every way, and especially by putting us in just the right jobs and with just the right people.

One final note:

 Forty years ago I met my best forever friends in Vancouver Washington. Other than my husband and my children, they are God's richest blessings to me and to us. Their faithfulness and loyalty to us, and care for us, is beyond compare. Since we've come to Lost Lake RV Resort near Olympia to work we've gotten to see them frequently as they live only an hour away. Can't get enough! We were thrilled to be included in their family Thanksgiving celebration with their children and grandchildren, whom we know as well. After all, they and we are family forever!

Mushrooms! That's All.

After our resort manager told me a disgruntled visitor called her husband a mushroom to insult him, I got to thinking, "There are lots of mushrooms out in the forest because of all the rain — I'll take pictures of a few while I'm on my rounds!"

With that thought, I found this pretty, golden one right outside our 5th wheel as I stepped out with camera in hand. I googled mushrooms hoping I could identify them for my blog, but after seeing 2000 plus fungi, none of which looked like my photos, I gave up! Dear reader, you'll just have to be content with the pictures! For the best view, click to enlarge each photo.

A trinity. Did some prehistoric bird lay these?

Teeny tiny mushrooms down at the lake. They look like snowflakes.

I admired these crisp, white fungi marching out from the ferny, rocky wall at the parking lot.

I didn't see the same mushrooms any place I looked. They were all different. These are fuzzy little brown ones.

Trying to hide under the ivy leaves down by the lake, these 'shrooms are about 5 inches across.

I found these — whether mushrooms or lichens— taking advantage of the fresh cut in a downed tree along the road heading up from the lake.

Same tree, other end.

A grey lady. It really is this color, and quite wide, about 6 inches.

Some mushrooms like company! It's a happy family! Don't they look like banana chips?