The 5 Pledges

At the end of his program last Friday, Glenn Beck showed the above "Pledges", and said,

"If your politician doesn't believe, support or reflect these beliefs in their actions then they aren't supporting you. More importantly, they aren't supporting, protecting or defending the Constitution."

What do you think????

Winthrop, Washington

Downtown Winthrop looks like the set from a Western movie, with false-front wooden buildings, hitching rails and boardwalks all helping to create the illusion of a 19th century frontier town. An ordinance says that your business has to look old and worn out, staying in the old West character.

Visitors enjoy rodeos, cattle drives, music festivals and loads of parties, from wine tastings to balloon rides. You can find diverse lodging from campgrounds, RV parks, cabins to luxurious resorts. Shopping includes gift shops, art galleries, a great variety of restaurants, and even an ACE Hardware.

I’ve included a few pictures, enjoy. The last picture is of Sheri’s Sweet Shoppe, which has such things as gourmet chocolates, hot dogs, and ICE CREAM! With some 50+ flavors, ½ of them are home-made, Ummmm, Good!

Harts Pass, Pacific Crest Trail

Three weeks ago, we ventured up to Harts Pass, the highest elevation you can drive in the State of Washington. The first pic shows some of the narrow, one lane road. Yes, it really drops off a long way on the left.

This picture shows Laura standing on the Pacific Crest Trail, at this point the distance to Canada is 31 miles. Melissa, weren't you on this part of the PCT?

There is our/my goal, as Laura decided she couldn't walk the 1/4 mile climb up to the Tower. This tower is Not manned, and actually not safe to climb.

But I made it, elevation 7488 feet, and what a view from the top of Slater Peak. In this picture in the right center is a large, lighter area in the sky. That is Snow-covered Mt. Baker, 53 miles away. I took a lot of pictures up here, but have opted to try showing a short video of the view. Not professional, but it does give an idea of the look out over the Cascade Mts of Northern Washington. Also, just below the road midway through the video, you can see the Pacific Crest Trail as it winds toward Canada.

Thirtymile Fire

Our RV Park is at 2000 feet elevation, but surrounded by mountains that reach up to nearly 9000 feet. I have commented on our high temperatures and lack of rain. Being from Michigan, we tend to forget the dangers of forest fires, those started by lightning, and those started by careless humans.

Several miles north of us, where the road ends about 12 miles from the Canadian Border in the Okanogan National Forest, is the site of a devastating fire in 2001.

This memorial was erected in honor of the 4 young lives that were lost that day. It seems that nearly everyone visiting the site wants to leave some momento of their visit. I have never before seen such a display.

This is the view of the valley across the road from the memorial, now 8 years after the fire! It still looks devastating, but the forest is renewing itself.

We were reminded of our visit to this site last night, as all day we commented on how hazy it seemed to be, and then toward dusk, it seemed to get heavier. The sunset was weird colors, the result of the smoke in the air from fires several miles away. There is one fire a few miles west that is being watched, but not fought, as it is no danger to anyone, and in an area that is difficult to reach.

We now have a "no campfire" status even in the campground where we water every day, and some days, we observe helicopters flying over with their water buckets, heading out to help with the fire fighting efforts. There is a Smoke Jumpers Base just 5 miles south of us, we drove by yesterday. Lots of activity, helicopters standing by, just waiting to be called into action. Let's hope they aren't.