Karla's Kronicles #5

Greetings from Marblemount Washington, our last stop on the journey from Tucson (at least for the summer months). We arrived on April 1st as anticipated, even with some minor schedule changes along the way. We are having some rainy days and some sunny days. All in all, we are very glad to be here! The daffodils are in bloom, the iris' and lupine will be soon to follow.

When I started writing these Kronicles, St. Patrick's Day was right around the corner. We were at Seaside Oregon enjoying the atmosphere and beach. We always enjoy this Thousand Trails Preserve, especially since we get to visit our friends and fellow full-timers, Bill and Marjorie. Bill is one of the Rangers here and we met them during our stay last year. As Bill said "Welcome Home" when he saw us. Bill was suppose to be on Ranger Duty in Palm Springs over the winter months, but when we checked in to Palm Springs, Ranger CJ informed us "They kept Bill in Seaside!" Sorry Palm Springs, your loss, Seaside's gain! Meeting new friends is one of the perks of full-timing to membership parks (not to sound like an advertisement, but...) You meet back up with Members at different parks and develop some lasting friendships. In fact, Ranger CJ at Palm Springs had checked us into Thunderbird RV Resort in Monroe, WA in June 2005 when we attended the Technologic Solstice in Snohomish, so when we asked where Bill was, CJ had the news! So our visit was just delayed. We knew we would meet up again in SEASIDE!!

I've always liked Seaside. I think I could actually live in Seaside. It's so easy to walk places. I would leave the RV Resort, walked about a mile to the beach Promenade which is a wide concrete "sidewalk" bordering the beach then walked down to the Lewis and Clark "End of the Trail" statue and then cut up one of the side streets to explore some galleries and shops. I would take off and walk up to the Outlet Mall just 1/2 mile away and do some shopping (mostly at the Kitchen Outlet). And there is a well stocked used book store on the next block over from the Outlet Mall.

Ya know...People watching is fun. Young man (about 15 years old) was standing on the Promenade with wet jeans, complaining and explaining to his mother that the reason his pants were all wet was because the seal he was feeding in the Aquarium splashed him 3 times...yeah, and so after the first splash....duh...

And while we were in Seaside, my Sister Karen drove over from her home in Portland for an overnight visit! What a treat that was, even though it was rainy weather and we didn't get to walk on the beach, we managed a short drive, dinner out and then stayed up until 3 a.m. looking at photos on the computer. A great (but short) visit. I can't believe I did not get pictures of her visit.

The Karla Kronicles - April 2006
Greetings from Marblemount Washington, our last stop on the journey from Tucson (at least for the summer months). We arrived on April 1st as anticipated, even with some minor schedule changes along the way. We are having some rainy days and some sunny days. All in all, we are very glad to be here! The daffodils are in bloom, the iris' and lupine will be soon to follow. When I started writing these Kronicles, St. Patrick's Day was right around the corner. We were at Seaside Oregon enjoying the atmosphere and beach. We always enjoy this Thousand Trails Preserve, especially since we get to visit our friends and fellow full-timers, Bill and Marjorie. Bill is one of the Rangers here and we met them during our stay last year. As Bill said "Welcome Home" when he saw us. Bill was suppose to be on Ranger Duty in Palm Springs over the winter months, but when we checked in to Palm Springs, Ranger CJ informed us "They kept Bill in Seaside!" Sorry Palm Springs, your loss, Seaside's gain! Meeting new friends is one of the perks of full-timing to membership parks (not to sound like an advertisement, but...) You meet back up with Members at different parks and develop some lasting friendships. In fact, Ranger CJ at Palm Springs had checked us into Thunderbird RV Resort in Monroe, WA in June 2005 when we attended the Technologic Solstice in Snohomish, so when we asked where Bill was, CJ had the news! So our visit was just delayed. We knew we would meet up again in SEASIDE!! I've always liked Seaside. I think I could actually live in Seaside. It's so easy to walk places. I would leave the RV Resort, walked about a mile to the beach Promenade which is a wide concrete "sidewalk" bordering the beach then walked down to the Lewis and Clark "End of the Trail" statue and then cut up one of the side streets to explore some galleries and shops. I would take off and walk up to the Outlet Mall just 1/2 mile away and do some shopping (mostly at the Kitchen Outlet). And there is a well stocked used book store on the next block over from the Outlet Mall. Ya know...People watching is fun. Young man (about 15 years old) was standing on the Promenade with wet jeans, complaining and explaining to his mother that the reason his pants were all wet was because the seal he was feeding in the Aquarium splashed him 3 times...yeah, and so after the first splash....duh... And while we were in Seaside, my Sister Karen drove over from her home in Portland for an overnight visit! What a treat that was, even though it was rainy weather and we didn't get to walk on the beach, we managed a short drive, dinner out and then stayed up until 3 a.m. looking at photos on the computer. A great (but short) visit. I can't believe I did not get pictures of her visit.
	Time to head out of Oregon and on to Copalis Washington. This time we were looking forward to be camped very close to the beach. Just a short walk away. Unfortunately, there was this hip-high river to cross over to get to the beach. We didn't have the wader's that the Clammers were all wearing (it was Razor Clam Season!) so we watched the Ocean & the Clammers from the dunes. (that red spot on the photo is a person walking waist high across the river!)
We seemed more aware of the numerous Lakes along our Olympic Peninsula drive this time around. Could be because of the canoe on top of the truck. Quinnault Lake is just one example of the beautiful lakes and scenery along our route with the Olympic Mountain Range in the background.
	Our next stop was Diamond Point, near Sequim Washington. This was our last stop before Marblemount. We took a day trip to drive up to Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park, only to discover the road up to the top is only open Thursday-Sunday this time of year. So instead, we explored along the Strait of Juan De Fuca and Larry re-located "the 3 Crabs" restaurant, a place he had dined years ago with his parents when he lived in Bremerton, WA. We had a wonderful, relaxing lunch. We ordered a 3 Crab specialty sandwich "Chowder Wich"; deep fried Cod, on a grilled bun covered with 3-Crabs Famous Clam Chowder and topped with Cheddar Cheese. We did not eat dinner that night!
But speaking of dinner...our main reason for stopping at Diamond Point was to "early celebrate" our April Birthdays by having dinner at our all time favorite restaurant in Port Angeles, C'est Si Bon (translated: "That is Good). C'est Si Bon. is a very special place for Larry and I and it had been probably 12 years since we had been there. As it turned out, this is a very slow season for the restaurant and we were the only patrons on this Thursday night. We wanted to go during the week because it would give us time to visit with the owners Norbert and Michelle, who go out of their way to make you feel so at home. This was Larry's Lamb Medalians dinner; the photo does not due justice to the atmosphere and wonderful fragrance of the food served here.
	Norbert had not been feeling well that week, but came out to give us a brief tour of the newly added atrium for parties and to serve our wine. Michelle came out and sat with us and we visited with her for about 1/2 hour. Our Server Rachel snapped this photo. Michelle gets a hug from me because she shared her Coquilles St. Jacques recipe with me (with her heavy French Accent!). Michelle does 100% of the cooking and is a former chef to the stars in Hollywood, where she and Nobert met years ago. Nobert is a professional violinist and he and Michelle met in Hollywood where he was a studio violinist. Their web site tells more on how they started this restaurant in Port Angeles 16 years ago plus photos inside the restaurant for those interested. C'est Si Bon Restaurant
We honestly don't know what this is, but it was so intriguing we had to stop for a photo. We were driving around after lunch at the "3 Crabs" and found this very strange residential area in Blyn, WA. Many of the homes on this one road had a fairytale - looking style. Lavish colors (purples, golds), Dragons, Gnomes, wizard faces sculpted into fence posts. We thought we had stumbled upon a playland area, but all indications were that this was a unique residential area. There was a mystical, magical feeling driving through here.
First in line at the Ferry dock in Port Townsend; didn't know until after we arrived that low tides delayed the ferry crossing by 3 hours. Knowing we would soon be out of cell phone range, we took advantage and made a few phone calls. Feeling a bit like a sardine...we folded in our truck's mirrors and could barely get our door open to go on deck.

	Ahhh, Home Again at Camp Dayhuff, Marblemount, WA (aka: Sco-HeDa-KeBla). We were glad to see that some of the work we did last August had paid off and will be easier to maintain this year. We've had some beautiful sunny days here this week, although today it is raining which is why I have time to write Kronicles!
Why Marblemount is called "Entrance to the American Alps"; the following photos are views from our land.

	We arrived in Marblemunt in time for Morel Season!!!! These wild mushrooms grow in abundance on our property and only appear about 2 weeks a year in the Spring. Guess we can call ourselves "Shroomers" now since we have collected over 300 so far this year. Back in 1999 before the move to Rhode Island, we had counts of over 700. We can't tell if we are at the beginning, middle, or end of the growing season, as we found them the first day after arriving 10 days ago, and there is evidence that some of the locals have been trespassing and gathering. Each time we go out looking, we find more and more mushrooms, or evidence of local pickers. These are the Early Morels, and the Narrow Cap Morels should start appearing later this month in the back 40 acres. I've been on a few websites with recipes and ways to preserve your Morels for future cooking. Freezing seems the best, but I'm running out of Freezer space! We have made Morel Mushroom soup (really yummy), sauteed them, added them to wild rice, etc. We are getting picky, only eating the heads and discarding the stems. I was Googling one day and hit on a really good website for Morels: The Great Morel Web Site Larry's Folks use to pick them in Indiana and according to a web site, the State of Wisconsin holds an annual Morel Fest in May.
Hunting the Morels is a bit like hunting for Easter Eggs! But, as soon as Morel Season is over we need to get even busier on all our other projects here at Marblemount. Larry managed to get the Backhoe going one day, but the battery is pretty much shot, so we need to head "downriver" for a new battery and some building materials next week. We don't have cell phone coverage, but our email is up and running pretty much 24/7 so we'd love to hear from you too! Be Happy and Healthy and Stay in Touch. Our best to you all....Karla and Larry