June 20.

1949 Chevy. Dad drove a car just like this one.

Funky trees. These trees were neat

We left fairly early this morning for the Seattle area. The trip over Steven's Pass through the Cascades was beautiful with low clouds hanging over the mountains. We came into Everett and then to Marysville where we are camping in a WalMart parking lot. There is an annual Strawberry Festival going on all week. We visited an antique car show and a Spring Fair-like setup in a school ball field. Later tonight there is a parade and fireworks we'll try to see. Gene and Lynn have gone to Seattle to visit her mother who we have learned is quite ill. We are waiting word on their status.

June 19.

We drove the scenic loop from the Tumwater campground North to Lake Wenatchee and then to Plain and back South a little East along the railroad track which returns to Leavenworth. Along the way we visited state parks and campgrounds.
From Leavenworth we drove to the city of Wenatchee and had lunch at the Confluence State Park where the Wentachee River flows into the Columbia River. The river was huge and the park was very nice. We then drove to Chelan along the Columbia
and then up the South side of Lake Chelan to 25-Mile Creek campground. We then returned to camp after about 200 miles of sightseeing. We saw Whitetail deer and a coyote and had a rabbit eating in our camp early this morning. I loved the houses
along the shore of Lake Chelan and we haven't killed each other yet. We stayed a second night at Tumwater Campground.

Lake Chelan at 25 Mile Creek Campground

Camp Rabbit

Leavenworth

June 18.

The day started out with a bang. Gene's CB was on scan and we couldn't tell him that he had a back tire on his Honda that slid in the gravel when we left. After much headlight flashing and horn honking we got his attention.
His back brakes were smoking due to the emergency brake being partially set. Later two dueling birds swept down in front of Gene and were killed. Along the way a cherry-picking ladder had dropped off a truck in the right lane
of the freeway and both of us barely missed it. In Ellensberg we stopped for Lynn to mail a letter and a school bus side swiped and broke Gene's driver side mirror. With some clear tape it was repaired enough to make it useable until it can be repaired. We completed our trip to Leavenworth, a quaint Bavarian-themed town in a beautiful mountain setting. The scenery along the road from Yakima to Leavenworth was very nice. We walked the streets taking in the German shops and listened to an accordion ensemble play tunes and then took a walk around the island in the Wenatchee
River in the town park. We then went back to camp at the Tumwater campground, following the Wenatchee River which is almost constant white water rapids. We slept to the sound of the nearby creek.

Traveling along the river. We were amazed at all the white water.

Leo still alive.

Well stated. Sign at our campground.

June 17.

Drove to Kennewick but Bill and Luana were not home. They were vacationing at Leavenworth, Washington where we were headed due to their recommendation. We visited with Gene's Aunt Sona and Uncle Dean in Kennewick. They have a large and beautiful home decorated with much European furniture and evidence of world travels. They have a very nice swimming pool. Late that afternoon we headed for Leavenworth through Yakama. The wind was terrible and we did a lot of swaying. We stayed on the Canyon Road headed for Ellensberg overnight. It, like Emigrant Springs was quite noisy with traffic but not so bad after dark due to little traffic.

Wildlife

Leo's Retirement Party at ON Semiconductor.

We are done. Yesterday was the last day on the job. Thursday the company had a nice party with cake and ice cream. They gave Leo some parting words and a nice gift of a telescope. We will never get to bed unless it is over cast. The rain has saved my sleep this week. We are ready to get going. Hope to be out of here on the first of next week.

Retirement and baby blessing.

Today is our last night here. We start our journey to Alaska. The trip will be a great vaccation. I will post when we get to a place where we have internet. I hope you enjoy the pictures of our last task here, Lance & Aubri's baby blessing. We had a lot of family and lots of good food.

Blessing Day

Taylor Emma Lewis

What a great dress, Grandma Fisher made it.