A head of cabbage could easily be the size of a Medicine Ball. The next day, we were determined to at least cross the Arctic Circle. The town of Circle City right on the Yukon River seemed to be a logical destination to put us near the Arctic Circle, so that was our day’s destination. It was about a 4 hour drive, but we had plenty of sunlight so we didn’t hurry and stopped to walk on the frozen tundra (we were north of the tree line instead of being above tree line which is common in the lower 48). We also stopped at the Chena Hot Springs on the way. Although we didn’t have the time to enjoy their benefits, we were impressed with the whole operation of such a facility. We finally reached Circle City, population 68 and the “End of the Road ” the most northen point on the American highway system. Within easy eyesight was the highly braided upper Yukon River that flows some 1979 miles before entering the Bering Sea through the Yukon Delta south of Nome. By the name Circle City, you would think we were somewhat near the arctic circle, but it was still some 60 miles north of the town, and the roads were iffy enough for to say “close enough for government work” and called it a day, but what a fabulous day it was (DVI-11). The trip to Alaska was our last official trip of my St. Regis tenure.
Don’t think for the moment that the temporary end of the major out of state travel reduced our activity at all. Remember, we just moved to Virginia and had hardly set up housekeeping when all this travel was scheduled. Moving in was pretty much done in the spring, and travel took up much of the summer. With the coming of fall, we remembered that the northern temperate zone’s climate was a tad cooler than the sub tropics. An open fire place with fire going is visually pleasant, but highly variable in heat production, especially to the extremes. We quickly installed a fireplace insert. This addition managed heat gerneration at the expense of seeing the roaring flames. Having the warmth means a lot psychologically when looking outside there is no green grass, only brown turf, or worse, white snow. Fortunately we found a good source of delivered cord wood. With the wide power right-of-way, they could drive right to the point we needed it off loaded. My only task then was to stack it.
Early in the fall we got rid of our old Pontiac wagon and purchased a brand new Volvo wagon. We were traveling up-town now. With heat and transportation in place we were ready for Christmas and the new year. In that regard, we really enjoyed our new bay windows which expanded the options for decorations. For example, the macrame Christmas tree KRO made for us, as nice as it was, would have gotten lost in a big room, regardless of the number of baubles we could manage to hang on it. However with a front bay window providing the boundaries, the tree fit proportionally perfect and was visible by all from the outside. Not only that, but our Christmas turkey smoked up perfectly cooked in our new outside cook shed. We even had a smaller live tree (to be out planted later) in a wash tub in the middle of our deck, lights and all (DVI-12).
With our move from Jacksonville and all the subsequent travel, 1986 was indeed a busy year. But “busy” is a relative word, and we hadn’t experienced 1987 yet. To start the year off with a bang, KB and family showed up just in time for us to celebrate Alyssa’s 4h birthday. The event was highlighted by local elephant rides for all (kids that is). The May family visit was a short one and it was just as well, for I was going to be out of town the following week. I don’t remember the purpose of my trip but do remember returning to Dulles International Airport just after a two day heavy snowfall that left some 24” of snow on the ground. Mom could not really navigate the roadways at the time, so neighbor and friend Dan Mahalco picked me up at the airport and drove me home. What a sight it was and we were looking at a couple of days of shoveling snow. Of course the snow preceded a cold front, and the temperature really dropped dramatically. Boy did I feel lucky we had our wood insert in the fireplace and almost a cord of wood to feed it. It was not at all difficult to curl up with a good book and wait until travel conditions improved (DVI-13).
Like most years, you could almost hear a loud sigh of relief as February flowed (not too smoothly) into March. The month started on a happy note with the arrival of George and KRO for a visit. George brought his guitar and with the help of neighbors, had a rousing evening of music. The next day we toured the area and ended up in Great Falls for lunch and a look at the roaring Potomac River. In Washington DC itself, the Potomac is pretty placid as it moves toward Chesapeake Bay. But as the name implies, “Great Falls” is nothing but a placid bucolic stream, but a roaring torrent bringing the winter’s snow melt down stream. But the river is only one of the attractions of this small community. The real draw is the restaurants located in this town…as they say “to die for ”. I was happy that George paid a visit at this time as I had to replace my cord of wood burned up during the past deep freeze. Not only could he play the guitar, he was pretty good at swinging an ax as well. I should mention here that while George and KRO were in-house, Gordon and Martha dropped in to visit on their annual southern migration further south. While I can’t remember the exact circumstance, my Mom (Mimi) showed up on the scene some time during George’s visit and so we seemed to be killing many birds with few stones
While they were here we also made a trip to Mt. Vernon, the Mansion and still working farm of George Washington down on the lower Potomac River. The visit was unique in a way. On one hand you had the historical significance of the site and the well preserved furnishings and implements of the time, and on the second hand, walking out and witnessing a well equipped modern agricultural operation, both growing and processing.
On another day, we went north to Baltimore and its Inner Harbor commercial development. Great eating opportunities there as well. One feature of the area were the covered and heated walkways between buildings and over the streets. Many of these walkways were wide enough to support small shops on either side. One could spend a day shopping and drop down for lunch without getting a drop of rain during a rain shower. Also it was a great feature in the cold of winter. Those trips, plus activities at home pretty much used up the week and it was time for them to head back to Panama City FL. Visits like this were great for us since we were not that familiar with the area. I gave us the excuse to see some sights we might never have visited if left to our own initiative (DVI-14).
Now the kids were all married(at least once) and grandkids began to show up, it became more apparent that we have transformed into a geographically diverse group. From our home in Herndon VA to Athens and Atlanta (Kennesaw) GA, to Panama City FL and finally to Tribune KS defines the limits of this diversified distribution Five locations for five families. Our yearly travel plan underwent serious restructuring. The restructuring was not only domestic, but businesswise as well. Since all the kids were up and gone, and we had no residual dogs or cats to worry about, Mom was able to join me on many of our more exciting escapades. It sure made doing business more enjoyable.Two of those escapades occurred in the winter of ’87, but at opposite ends of the year.
The first was a Tulare CA trip in Feb. to display SPOT Products at the famous (but probably not to the readers of this time) Tulare Farm Equipment Show. The area is just south of Fresno, and a little less than halfway to Bakersville, right in the middle of the lucrative San Joaquin Valley. In terms of farm equipment, Tulare was probably the largest and most heavily attended show in the United States if not the world. Some of the equipment on display went way beyond our knowledge of even their existence. A good example was a complex “Tomato Harvester ” and sorter. This wheeled piece of equipment was fully equipped to provide personnel with shades as protection from the hot valley sun. Although the harvester was huge, it was able to handle the tomatoes gently so as not to bruise them (DVI-15). Other than the equipment, the other most amazing thing was the length of the line of guys lined up at the Port-O’Lets off-loading the copious amounts of beer consumed. Since I was representing SPOT Image Corp. in a designated location where we had a full display of our product with literature enticing the farmers to include the imagery in the management of their lands, we didn’t have the time to really see many of the exhibits. However we did have some time off, so we decided to drive around this fabulous valley which must be rich indeed. Well, what a surprise we had. I have never seen so much squalor amongst so much richness. Most small towns were inhabited by rough looking Latinos loitering in doorways. In no way would I get out and walk around, and in fact most towns could well have entry signs announcing “No English spoken here”. Some roads were paved, most were not. Most of the population were seasonal farm workers on limited entry papers from Mexico, or other countries south of the border. The towns were almost an anomaly. Just beyond town boundaries were acres and acres of meticulously managed agricultural fields beyond imagination. The contrast was stark.
Of course not all of California was like the rich agricultural regions of the state. For example, to get to the farm show, we flew into San Francisco, rented a car and drove to Tulare via the coastal California Rt-1. Previously we traveled the coastal Rt.-1 north to Eureka and Arcata, and classed that up as one of the great auto trips of all time. Well, the coastal route south did not disappoint. We drove south to San Simeon and the Hearst properties and mansion. Nothing rough and shabby about that. In fact, the property was still a producing agricultural conglomerate (fruit trees and vegetables). When we turned east for Tulare, we passed through the colorful town of Coalinga. It was located on the north/south railroad which was the main source for transporting goods before the advent of the Interstate highway system. I-5 now serves that purpose. Coalinga was a main coaling station for the railroad (coal and engine), hence the name. My take-away from California was the apparent economic dichotomy of rich and poor. In many places there doesn’t seem to be any middle class. Back in Burlingame, where the airport is located, a short walk through a residential section showed small single story houses commonly called Cape Cod houses, were selling in the neighborhood with tags of $300,000 or more. That in itself explained a lot (DVI-15).
In early February, Mom and I found ourselves flying into Portland Oregon. Why? Well a BBQ, what else. Over the past few years I have attended many conferences where the technology we were exploring with satellite data was the main topic. We were exploring new ways to collect and present the data. Data of course are the basis for information, and information is essential in quality decision making. In many of these conferences, I would run into a guy that simply described himself as a simple farmer. His name was Frank Lamb, and “little farmer” he wasn’t. But he was a farmer and I was a forester and that gave us something in common. Not only that, but we really got along well together. What you might consider as a farm is a far cry from Frank’s operation. In short he owned and managed 100 120ac. center-pivot irrigation fields producing potatoes of various varieties. He was located in a small town of Irrigon, Oregon, on the Umatilla River as it emptied into the mighty Columbia River. I was interested to note that right across the Columbia River in Washington State was laid out the vineyards of the Chateau Ste Michelle winery. The winery produced a Washington State Cabernet Sauvignon that has remained one of my favorites over the years. In a central location on the “farm” there was an office building that served as the control room for monitoring crop production. Every one of his center pivot locations was electronically connected to the control room where water delivery and foliage vigor status was recorded. Up to this point, the crop surveillance had been conducted by aircraft using infrared imagery. This was time consuming and expensive. The SPOT satellite imagery, with its higher resolution multispectral and digital imagery offered an attractive and cost effective alternative. At this time of year, Frank hosted a BBQ lunch for coworkers, colleagues and friends, and it was a production. I was on his list of invitees so Mom and I packed up and flew to Portland. Upon arrival we rented a car, and drove up the Columbia River Gorge. That is another drive I recommend to all who are inclined. The River was a major waterway flowing through the gorge on the way to its mouth just west of Portland. There were several dams built along this part of the gorge to facilitate the multiple use of the river. There were parts reserved for game fishing, other parts for recreation (water skiing, sailing, etc), and then others reserved for the local Indians. The visual result was a series of long lakes that formed behind the several dams. Very interesting drive so far, but on to the BBQ.
First, however, we needed to take a short detour to visit Timberline Lodge at the base of Mt. Hood. Since boyhood, I have fantasized visiting this lodge built in the 1930’s by the WPA (Work Projects Administration) a Roosevelt era initiative to help relieve the pressures of the great depression. Many of the projects were “busy” work just to provide work to many who needed help. Timberline was an outstanding example of money well spent. We had a brief but wonderful visit which included lunch in their fabulous dining room. On the way back to our car we ran into the Timberline Lodge’s mascots resting in a snow bank along the side of the parking lot. They were Bruno and Heidi, two beautiful and friendly St. Bernards (DVI-15). We would have liked to hang around a little longer, but Pendleton OR (our destination for the day) was still a fair distance to travel. We made the drive before nightfall, and checked into a nice motel in Pendleton, just east of Franks potato fields
The next day was Frank’s gig, and by the time we got there, everything was well underway. The centerpiece of the whole operation was the fire pit, which was hosting a couple of rotisseries of pork and/or beef. The “pit” consisted of a section of irrigation pipe I would guess to be at least 9’ in diameter well anchored in the soil around it. For the guests, several hay bales were scattered around for their seating pleasure. The western edge of the property was defined by the Umatilla River that flowed into the Columbia River but a short distance from his property. The river was not a major waterway and the valley was shallow and narrow, but the water flow was substantial and the the salmon fully utilized it. A well worn path made its way to the river banks, where I could imagine a few fly’s being cast during the season. The event capped a great trip. Shortly (a few years) after this event, Frank sold the whole works to a well known (except I forgot the name – maybe Georgia Pacific
) wood products company that converted all the potato fields into a forest tree nursery (pine, spruce, etc.). Lost track of Frank after that, and don’t know what he ended up doing. Maybe helping his dad run the business. In any case he remains as one of those unforgettable characters that happily show up from time to time.
Closer to home, we were saddened by two losses. In May, my Uncle Hubert Morfey passed away. His impact on the Barker boys has been well documented earlier in this retrospective. Two months later in June, my Mom (Mimi) died.This occurred just when Alyssa (Karen and Barry’s 4 year old daughter) was visiting. While not entirely unexpected, it was unexpected as these things usually are. Meanwhile, George and KRO came to Herndon for a short visit. Like most visits, it was a whirlwind. Shortly after, George and KRO moved from their short stay in Quincy, to Panama City where George had accepted employment with St. Joe Paper Co. Was he ever in “cats heaven”. I guess I should say where he claimed to be employed. I mean, with a new house (with driveway and carport), the most beautiful beaches as offered by that part of the Gulf Coast, a new 19 foot boat, and both saltwater and freshwater fishing, water skiing…. To his immediate south was the azure waters of the Gulf, and to his immediate north Deer Point lake provided ample freshwater opportunities for fishing, and for swimming (water skiing). There was simply not enough time for mundane pursuits such as employment. Both Mom and I enjoyed visiting there, but especially Mom who loved the beach with its fine pure white sand. We would stay in a motel at the eastern end of the strip, where there were no structures between it and the jetty marking the entrance to St. Andrews Bay. The walk to the Jetty’s was perhaps a quarter of a mile or so, and it was a joy to walk it at least once a day. The color of the Gulf waters at this point were from the deep dark blue to the shallower light blue or turquoise. It is one of those places that defies verbal definition, and really awaits a visit in person to appreciate. Mom and I, arm and arm would just look out to sea, and remark: “if you had to be planted in some place, you couldn’t beat this as a first choice”.
From one beautiful water venue to another, we attended a conference being held in North Lake Tahoe. As opposed to South Lake Tahoe, where all the gambling action is, North Lake Tahoe is much lower key and favored by the skiing population during the winter season. Friend and colleague Phil Langley and his wife Barbara invited us to spend the weekend with them after the conference in their home in Northstar, just northwest of the lake. Phil, a research manager at the Southwest Forest Experiment Station, was a real outdoors guy, who knew the territory. Not only lake Tahoe, but the famous Donner Pass and the currently operated railroad that was tediously carved out of the mountain side by Chinese labor. The railroad right of way was replete with unique snow sheds to protect the trains from things rolling down the mountains including avalanches. The thing that brought Donner Pass to reality for us was to witness the actual scarifications the wagons made crossing the rocky surface of the “trail”. A line of telephone poles is the only evidence remaining of the actual trail. Amazing what people will do to attain a perceived dream that may or may not be realized. Many people didn’t make it, and some even provided nourishment to those who survived. In such historical situations, there is nothing like being on site to bring the whole experience they had into focus.
In Spite of the great trips we already experienced during the year, the main trip lay just in front of us. All the major SPOT managers, including receiving station operators, preliminary evaluation program (PEPS) investigators, as well as the French based senior leadership of the company were scheduled for general and specific discipline meetings in both Paris and Toulouse France in November. My presence was required, so Mom and I planned to attend. A good friend and colleague at the University of Georgia (Roy Welch) was also planning to attend with his wife. Roy was a professor of Geography at the University and was one of the preliminary investigators evaluating satellite derived data. Roy’s department also had developed some pretty sophisticated software to carry out the evaluation. My principal French contact was Marcelle Pouce. He spoke good English and was easy to understand. While visiting our facilities in Virginia, we had him over for dinner and took him to the mall where he could buy the shoes he really liked. Lot of other U.S. dry goods caught his eye as well. He convinced us to come over a little early (maybe a week). His dad volunteered to set up a nice tour of the Loire Valley and the magnificent chateau scattered throughout this beautiful valley. He put us up in a wonderful bed and breakfast that was also a working farm. We had a wonderful week on a trip few others would have had without his pre-visits to set things up for us. After the week, we had to pack up and head for Paris for out main meetings. So we hopped into our rental car and headed out.
While the Loire Valley was peaceful and “laid back”, not so Paris. If you don’t speak the language, driving a rental car without getting arrested was a real challenge. The place in which we were booked was just a block of the Champs Elysees (a major Paris thoroughfare passing through and around in a traffic circle the Arc de Triomphe), and a block or so from the Arc de Triomphe. Eating in “gay Paree”, was a bit of a challenge. First the hours of the various daily meals, and of course next was what the heck were you eating/drinking. To their credit, many restaurants had someone who could translate your wishes (but not always). A couple of examples make the point. At home in the good old USA, dinner time was generally from 6 to 7 PM. In Paris, if you went to a restaurant between those hours, they would think you are looking for a late lunch, or perhaps a delayed daily tea time. If you are looking for dinner, better show up between 8 and 9 PM. The reason for this, I suppose, is their lunch. We found out early on that any business better be transacted in the morning, for lunch was often a 2 hour wine enhanced full meal. If making reservations, be sure you are being understood. We tried once to book a reservation over the phone. The call went something like this, after I had requested a reservation for 2: “Forty-three for dinner at 2:30 monsieur?’ good grief, no, no! Two for dinner at 8:30.” So ended one of our longest and most memorable conversations in French while we were there. So much for, French the Way the French Speak It, our trusty pocket guide. Clearly I had a heck of a time with the person answering the phone at said restaurant. Apparently the translator was absent. I mean, shoot I was just looking for the two of us, and after about 5 to 10 minutes (seemed like 1 to 2 hours) the guy finally got across that he understood me perfectly and they would be ready. About the time we were to arrive, we walked past the place and looked in a large window and saw where they were pushing and rearranging tables down the whole middle of the main dining area. Obviously he was sticking with his 43 and we were not properly communicating, so in the interest of international relations we moved right on.
There were plenty of restaurants, that I can assure all, so we dropped into one that looked inviting, and sat down with a sigh of relief. Then there was the menu. At this particular point, wine was a necessity. What wine though? Didn’t want to spend an arm and leg. Back when we lived in Pensacola, the only affordable white wine we could find was labeled Chablis. I was delighted when moving to Jacksonville, and spending time east of Pensacola, we found the likes of Chardonnay, or Pinot Grigio. A little more in cost, but more to our tastes. Well in this French eatery, Chablis was the only name we could recognize, and since it was always the lowest in cost, I sprung for a bottle. When we got our check, that cheap bottle was priced at $63.00! Surprising how much better it tasted than what we remembered.
Of course, Paris offered much more than eating, drinking, Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysees and Arc de Triomphe, though that’s a pretty impressive list already. Well of course, there was the River Seine with associated boat traffic in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Both sides of the river seemed to be well populated with on-street vendors backed right up to the river’s edge. There was the Notre Dame Cathedral with what seemed to be a perpetual crowd present. Then there was the Louvre, the world famous Paris museum. Except for the major highways, the streets were very narrow in which it would be very difficult to navigate a large SUV built in the USA. On the other hand, on large thoroughfares like the Champs Elysees, and the Rue Grenelle, the sidewalks were almost as wide as some of the side streets. Such sidewalks were replete in enticing displays hard to ignore or in which to invest a few dollars (franc’s = 1.09 dollars). We did a lot of walking and looking and not buying too much wine!(DVI-17)
After two or three days, again hopped a local aircraft for Toulouse. You don’t even want to know the number of barriers we had to jump and how often I had to change direction 180 degrees just to orient out car into the right lane to even enter the parking garage at the Charles de Gaulle Airport. Once again we managed to avoid arrest and incarceration, and we loaded on a crowded commuter plane to Toulouse, where SPOT had its headquarters. What a difference between the two cities. Streets were no wider, but green space was much more prevalent. Our business here was to tour their facilities and capabilities and to attend a data receivers workshop on issues of data collection (from satellite) and its timely distribution to a world-wide user base. From Moose Jaw Canada, Alice Springs Australia and Fairbanks Alaska, to name just a few. I met an astounding group of like-minded folks interested in the success of this French satellite. From a domestic point of view we also had a great time. M. Pouce, my French counterpart and host invited me to dinner. Sounds like no big deal, but in France it is. Most often the French will meet someplace other than home for dinner. I suppose part of it is they don’t want to be judged for their selection of wine, or some such measure of acceptability. I say that because it is absolutely taboo to bring a bottle of wine as a dinner gift. Box of chocolates is just fine, but a bottle of wine is considered an insult to the owner’s ability to choose a proper wine for the occasion. What a dinner that was. Starting out at 8:30 and winding up at 1:30 AM. Multiple courses were presented with different beverage selection for each. It was a delicious and delightful dinner and they almost had to pour me into bed that night. The problem could have been Pouce’s dad. He knew very little English and I knew absolutely no French (sorta wished my mom was with us, her French was pretty good). Nevertheless, Pouce’s dad and I had a ball and had no trouble communincating through different motions and expressions. Several times we had each other in stitches over something. His wine presentations were nothing less than effus.
We arose slowly the next day, and spent most of the day walking around the town and its parks. One thing that surprised us when we first left our room, was the number of people leaving the grocery store with shopping baskets just brimming with wine bottles. Turned out it was Beaujolais nouveau. It is considered a primary (early) wine fermented just a few weeks before released for sale on the third Thursday of November. That was the date we were there of course, and what a treat to see the purchasing spike the availability of that wine caused. Made from Gamay grapes, guaranteed not to be over 17 days old. It was not at all a bad “pour”. Later in the afternoon we boarded a flight back to Paris, where our flight back to the states was scheduled for the next morning. Made that flight with no difficulty and arrived home after a rather spectacular 3 weeks or so. My major take away from the trip was “been there, seen that ”. France or the rest of Europe would not be in the future “to do lists”. Everything is so compressed, one gets almost a claustrophobic feeling. To my mind, the number of true wonders I haven’t seen in our own US of A is far more an allure than anything else (with few exceptions). In any case, a great travel finale to a great year (DVI-18).
Before we leap into 1988, let’s take a quick look at progress at our domestic domain. Our deck was finally finished to our custom design which included a covered cooking area making it at least, an all weather facility. Of course during a rain shower, getting from the cook area to the door to the house could be a dowsing experience, but I remember no time where it was a real problem. Notice also the nice deck furniture and umbrella, modeled beautifully by the mistress of the house. As to the property, we were one of many homes facing the community sidewalk separating private ownership from the state owned gas-line right of way. The gas line provided essentially a large linear field including expected flora and fauna. Many balls tossed, and games played on this handy playing field right in our backyard. With all these properties butting up against the sidewalk/gas line, it was difficult to see where the southwest and northwest property corners were. They were marked with short pieces of rebar, but weren’t obvious. Looking for property corners had been part of my professional life for many years, so I easily found them. Using a compass, we were able to establish the 90 degree SW and NW corners, and we planted materials in both corners so there would be no mistake. Two or three conifers (loblolly pine) and one long and limber weeping willow tree. You will have to look hard to see it, but it is being supported by a long white stake, shown in the picture in the lower left of Plate DVI-18). In the NW corner we opted for a rock garden, mainly because we had a lot of rocks to choose from. There some Japanese maples and a bird bath defined the corner, and at this particular point the vegetation was doing quite well. Finally, the foundation plantings were still a work in progress, but have progressed nicely so far.
As we progress in our dialogue, please note the dates recorded on the attending picture plates reflect the reporting and not necessarily the actual time of a given event. This is especially true on Plate DVI-19. This plate is a quick preview as we do a geographical sweep of the family locations. For example, three grand babies were born in May 1988 (Jonathan, Josh, and Greta) but are reported here in June 1988. One thing I wanted to note was the visit by Mom’s brother Gordy and his wife Martha. They regularly traveled from Fairfield CT to some place in S. Florida, Englewood for example. If they drove, they would usually stop for a night with us, which kept open a nice line of communication between us and the rest of the family. Several times we ventured south to visit with them.
But the real reason for the global review of this plate was the birth of the 3 grand kids. In the Athens area, Bruce had spruced up his frame shop significantly and was most proud of the fine street- side sign he had made for the business. Not only that, it provided the background to showcase Robin in the process. Robin was soon upstaged by sister Greta born in late May. Not too far away in Kennesaw GA, KB and Barry closed on a house just in time to greet their new occupant, Jonathan. Alaina and Alyssa loved the idea of a new baby boy in the house. Now for the proud grandparents to bounce between Athens and Kennesaw (except for the Atlanta traffic inbetween) was not a real issue. But sandwiched between those two additions, one Joshua Houston sprung forth in Tribune KS. That is not a trivial jaunt from Virginia, but we made it anyway. Boy, 1988 made a great start, and it wasn’t half over yet (except for Greta).
Our last major trip of ’88 was to Calgary/Banff Alberta Canada. Fortunately Mom was able to accompany me to this conference, for it provided time to travel to some of the unique sites in this general area. We spent little time in Calgary. But more in Banff, the Winter Olympics site some 80 miles west of Calgary. Seeing where the Olympics were held was exciting, but the most fun was standing on the bobsled track. Another Alberta attraction was Lake Louise where we spent a night. It is as beautiful as all the pictures indicate, and it was peaceful and relaxing just sitting on our deck with a beverage of choice and relaxing at the views around us. After being on the road so long, it was nice to just sit and “chill” as they say. From Banff, we took a day and traveled north toward Jasper, but stopped short at the Columbia IceField. The ice field is actually the edge of a glacier. Well we all should know that a glacier is actually ice, and it exhibits all the properties thereof. I ventured out on it a bit but had a difficult time not breaking my neck on the slick surface. That has to remain as a place of the “seen that, done that ” category. Interesting, but once is enough.
Finally, after urging from colleagues at the conference, we ventured some 100 miles east to Drumheller Dinosaur Provincial Park. Talk about a “surreal” experience. From Calgary, we drove almost 100 miles across the most luscious wheat and other grain fields you have ever seen. We then dropped into a valley as stark and desolate as you can imagine, It was sort of like the scene from an Elisabetian “good vs. evil” play. The area was a grand repository for dinosaur remains, but beyond that, major earth characteristics were bent inordinately out of shape. For example, rock formations looked like they had been molton in past centuries. While we spent some time in the canyon area (it was fascinating), it was also depressing. From a natural point of view, there was nothing uplifting to see unless you were a dinosaur researcher. While I would recommend a visit to anyone visiting the neighborhood, it again is a “been there done that” experience (DVI-20). Anyway it was time to get home and get ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas that will be on us before you know it.
The first half of 1989 passed quickly and quietly, saving the best for the last. In August, we had our one and only family reunion George had a friend that found a house on the beach we could rent for a week for a family get together. All the kids, spouses, and younguns made it. That is: Karen and Barry with Alaina, Alyssa, and Jonathan (1yr.), Bruce and Pam with Robin and Greta(1yr), Diane and Jeff with Jake, Josh (1yr), Levi (less than 1) and George and Karen with Whisky (the dog). Folks, that’s 16 plus the dog. Luckily George and Karen lived in Panama City, so we only had 14 and no dog. However we did have 4 babies one year of younger in the count. Believe me when I say that at any given point (if well positioned) one could shatter glass with the high pitched screeching occuring on a regular basis. Unfortunately, most of the vociferous rantings by the little ones occurred during the night. Mom and I had our room right across from Bruce and Pam, with Greta. Today (2021) she is a demure soft spoken beauty, but such an outcome could not have been predicted in August, 1989. Fortunately Mom and I had a door to the outside, and we could often be found in our lounge chairs kicking sand early in the morning.In Spite of all that we had one great time with plenty of good eating. Dave and Eilean Olson showed up for a couple of days and that just added to the festivities. Plate DVI-21 lays this event out in pictures.
In the fall, before we moved into Decade VII, we had settled pretty well into our new Virginia neighborhood. The yearly fall routine became one we looked forward to each year. In this particular year, Bruce, Pam, Greta and Robin came to visit and brought along Alyssa (from KB’s nest). This was just before Thanksgiving, and there was plenty of activity going on as usual. The zoo, for example, is interesting no matter when visited, but in the fall (with modifying temperatures) it just seemed special and the visiting kids got a kick out of it in spite of their young age. Other visits to the National Arboretum, a huge playground at a regional park, and topped off by a colossal pumpkin patch at a local vegetable market highlighted perfectly the fall season. We took Alyssa back to Kennesaw and spent Thanksgiving with KB with both Bruce and family and George and KRO. Two turkey’s (not Bruce and George) were prepared for the event, one grilled and the other smoked highlighted the dinner.
Fall in Virginia also brought on a rash of wine festivals and other outdoor activities involving horses, and polo matches. They were always fun to attend and some pretty good wines to taste. Remarkably, the weather was perfectly fall-like with no rain during these activities.
In the fall of each year was the annual Society of Foresters (SAF) convention. This year it was held in Spokane WA. I was to be a presenter, so Mom and I took off for the northwest for a few days in September. Beautiful part of the country and did more for our relaxation than the conference itself, which is not unusual. Glad we had the opportunity to visit the area.
Fall turns to winter quickly in Virginia, and before you know it, the Christmas season is upon us. (Of course, nowadays the Christmas season begins before Thanksgiving in the retail market-place). It was fun to put up some of our new additions to the season. Special were the two momma and papa santa bears I carved out of plywood and Mom painted them appropriately. A baby bear was to be added in the following year. Two unique displays included our tree which was a macrame effort made by George’s wife Karen. It was a beautiful tree that seemed to be tailor made for our front bay window. The other display was a Mexican nativity scene which included about a dozen pieces plus a little church. When all was in place, there was no doubt we were ready for Christmas. What better way to end the decade of the 80’s? Can’t wait to see what the ‘90’s have to offer. Stay tuned.