May 23 - Pick up Beth and Ken at the Airport

Drove to Sac Airport to pick up Beth and Ken Raney who are hopefully ready for an adventure. 

Their view as they came across the Rockies. 

After the pickup, we needed some energy so headed to Urban Roots for BBQ and beverages. Erin was able to join us for a bit. 


Old Sacramento was our next stop. 

Then it was on to show them the Cidery, Nitty. 

June 15 16, 17 - Boise Idaho

We left Hell’s Canyon in Oregon and as soon as we crossed the Snake River, we were in Idaho. Next stop is Boise Idaho. The road was still very curvy for about 30 miles but Bill drove slowly. Went through a couple small towns and ended up in Boise about 4 hours later at Linda and Rich Bailey’s house. Their son is a friend of Nathan’s who also wrestles for Lehigh University. 

They just happened to be having a BBQ for neighbors so we were invited to meet all them. We are parked behind their house and will be here until we pick up Drew tomorrow at the Boise airport which is only about 3 miles from the Bailey’s house. 

On Friday we took a hike up Table Rock Trail. The view of Boise was spectacular. 

I also got to visit a co-worker, Ronda, that I’ve only known via zoom. It was great to see her in person and visit at their home. 

Dinner downtown Boise was fun and definitely a hopping place. They have an alley they call Freak Alley with “gentrified” graffiti. 

Then a fire atop the Bailey’s roof deck. 

The view of Boise from the Bailey’s rooftop deck.

Saturday, June 17

Today is errands day and then pick up Drew at the Boise Airport and drive to the Y Not Winery in Glenn’s Ferry. 

A short stop at a Farmers Market and some delicious sheep milk ice cream. 

May 27 - Erin, Winnie and Dennis Visit Shan

Bill and I took Lenny and Banjo on a morning walk on the ditch trail behind Shan’s house. 

Lenny had to take a rest in the sun after the 3 mile walk. 

Then Erin and crew arrived. Fun to spend time with them. 

Erin’s time with Arlo. 

Winnie had to check this new smell out. 





Forgot to mention that we not only had Dennis and Winnie, Shan was watching Charlotte’s two dogs Ruby and Bruno. All the dogs go along quite well, even Banjo. He didn’t try to gum their ankles at all. We call that a very successful day. Lenny had to be top dog though. 


Falafels for dinner. What a treat. 

May 26 - Move Ida to Shan’s and Pedicures

We moved out of Scott’s Flat Lake Campground to Shan and Carls. This is called Moochdocking when you stay at relatives or friends. Took awhile to get Ida situated but we are in and setup. 

First thing on Shan’s errand list was to get a pedicure. Carl is watching Arlo so Shan’s out and about. Woohoo. How will all this work?  

We met Charlotte and Lark at Bless Nails. 

And Carl and Arlo did great - 3 hours. Look at the little Angel. 

Great day. 

International Storytelling Festival

October 5-10

We are almost at the end of a 2-month journey from Pennsylvania to California to Oregon to Washington and back across the US to visit good friends, Sandy and Terry Countermine, and listen to wonderful stories. 

This is the 50th year for the International Storytelling Festival. The town is all ready with decorations and tents. 

Sandy, Nancy and I took an origami storytelling workshop by Motoko. 

We laughed a lot as we made these origami objects. 

This is the Storytelling Center that brings lots of people together from all over the US and some even from other countries, some to listen and some to tell stories. It is such a happy place. Southern hospitality is alive and well here. 

A large attraction at the festival is The Jonesborough Novelty Band. They started us off with music at the Center at the beer and wine garden. 

And they continued with more music on Friday night with their famous or infamous sing along. People were singing and laughing. This is why we love coming to the Festival. 

At the sing along, the audience was treated with a special instrument called the gitfiddle, played by Bill Shuffstall. If you’ve never heard of the gitfiddle, have a listen:

https://youtu.be/yKBzTzU3EMw

The band travels in a golf cart to their different venues because Jonesborough is up and down hills. 

Lots of storytelling happened in these tents. There are 5 of them and some hold at least 1,000 people. 

Saturday night was the Yarn Spinner’s party with food, beverages and you guessed it, music. This year several different musicians joined the band for their special songs. Lots of dancing happened, too!

It’s always hard to say goodbye to our old friends and new friends but hopefully we’ll be back next year. Thanks Sandy, Terry and Jonesbourgh for a laughing good last 4 days. 

Nevada City here she comes

Our one day with Shan and Carl we decided to take her on a hike to Donner Pass through the old train tunnels. This is where the I’ll-fated Donner Party met their demise. It is so rugged that I can’t imagine even trying to make it, especially with snow on the ground. 

After the 2.5 mile hike we drove back to Shan and Carls. Decided to show Jillian the Yuba River. 

Ahh, so refreshing. 

Met Carl at Grass Valley Brewery to show Jillian one of our favorite brewery out here. 

And that’s all we have time for this trip. Tomorrow we head for the Redwood Forest near Eureka CA. 

Last Moochdocking for this Trip

We sure did pick a great weekend to spend with the Countermines. We rolled in late Thursday afternoon because we had an got delayed over an hour in construction traffic and then an issue with the car’s battery. Luckily, Bill has jumper cables and could use the RV to jump the car. 

As soon as we arrived, I felt at home and part of the family. Barbara Smith McBride joined us for dinner and we had so much fun catching up with everyone and everything happening in Jonesborough. AND there was a lot happening while we were here. 

Thursday night started off with a fundraiser for the Storytelling Center where we were entertained by storyteller, Bill Lepp. We’ve heard him at each of the Storytelling festivals but his stories never grow old. He even had a new one he tried out on us. 

On Friday we took a stroll around Jonesborough and then watched Nathan wrest at the USMC tournament in Las Vegas. 

Friday night was a fundraiser for the Art Center, held in the historic Black school. With our tickets, there was a silent auction and an opportunity to have a piece of artwork that we could trade among anyone there. It was so much more than a fundraiser. It brought us together with people we didn’t know and conversations were started. 

We even got two hikes in at Persimmon Ridge with the dogs and some knitting time for me so Sandy could help me finish my hat. 

Here’s where we park at Countermine’s. We just fit in their driveway. 

When Chip and Mary Ward join us for storytelling in October, Terry will open the gate and one of us will park inside. Perfect location to everything Jonesborough. 

Sunday we are starting home and hopefully will arrive Monday afternoon. It’s always fun to watch the dogs reaction when they realize we are going up their driveway.