Thursday, November 11, 2010
I am in Ellensburg, Washington, off-line for the present. After nearly a 12 hour drive from my cousin Marty’s farm, I arrived here around 10PM last night, and was greeted by Sunshine, a wonderful black lab, and his servants, Rick and Colleen, my cousins. This morning it was 30 degrees when I got up. But let me back up to when I last wrote.
I arrived in Upper Lake, CA after saying goodbye to Salinas, with a vow that I would be back. I loved the John Steinbeck Museum and want to be able to spend a full day there. Cousin Marty’s friend, Roy, was there waiting for me, as well as Beethoven, a loving dog which Marty got from an animal rescue place, and Anchovy, the cat, who is a young female teenage cat, coming close to the time that she will be spayed. I was glad that I had gotten there so easily, especially as it was getting dark. Marty came in from the store just after I arrived. The drive to her farm was beautiful, with several glistening lakes along the Ca. Route 20 drive, as well high mountains and hills. This is horse country as well as farming country. The Pomo Indian reservation/Rancheria is just about right across from her, along with a casino. There is a little housing development, which is all Pomo. I thought it was very good looking compared to some of the places I have seen, not just Indian-owned!
Marty has a wonderful friend who lives with her, Roy Fernandez, who helps her with the horses, of which she has four, and with the walnut trees, of which there are 110. He was harvesting the walnuts, which then are taken to a drying business and then are sold to a small walnut factory. Roy also brought me some he had left over from last year. I brought them up here to share with Rick and Colleen. They are ready to be eaten.
We went over the Hawley memorabilia, which Marty has from her mom, Betty, my mother’s sister. The long heard of “Hawley trunk” was opened, and I was able to go through it. My aim was to find anything I could about William H Hawley (our Civil War Uncle), as well as any genealogical information, of which there was more than I expected. I spent a day and a half just scanning papers and pictures into my computer, with the knowledge that while I am here at Rick’s, I can go through everything I scanned.
I stayed in a little cabin on Marty’s property, which was great. Bed, bath, Pullman kitchen, and a table. What more could I need? Marty has two more little homes, which she rents out. She has 17 acres, with plenty of room for her horses, a big barn, and some hens and a rooster. Fresh eggs! Haven’t had those in a long time. We had a good time going over Hawley history, talking about Hawley recipes, and family Yesterday morning, before I left, I was treated to “Corn breads for breakfast.” A Hawley treat, which my siblings and my kids grew up with, as did Marty and her sister, and Rick and his sister. I have to admit that I made a pig of myself. I just love them!
Leaving Marty, Roy, Beethoven, Anchovy, the horse, and chickens, I headed east on Cal. 20 to the I 5. It was a beautiful drive, with a beautiful lake on my right for quite a while, and hills and mountains beyond it, as well as on my left side. I went through little towns, which looked like summer resort towns for the most part. Then climbing, I went through an area of soft hills, which looked like faded pale green velvet. I reached the I 5, and headed north. Stands of white birch and aspen were in abundance.
The area I first drove through was flat farmland, most of which was picked and readied for the next planting. I saw farm workers harvesting olives in the numerous olive groves on both sides of the highway. A hawk was sitting on a highway sign on my right, looking for movement in the fields. Ahead of me were the mountains. I stopped for gas in Weed, California, a town with a personality. Need to stop there sometime and walk the main drag. There I picked up Highway 97, which would take me straight to Ellensburg, WA. Leaving Weed, the mountains stood before me, with snow on the peaks. Passing into Oregon, I started to climb. The roadbeds were wet, but not slick. Snow could be seen at the upper reaches. Then snow was on the grasses and bushes as I passed, probably two or three inches thick. The drizzle I came into had a little sleet, and then stopped. I got to 5000 feet and into winding roads, with a number of trucks passing me, or me passing them. Then in the distance, with a crown of clouds, was Mount Shasta, a beautiful sight. I stopped in Shasta Lake, and answered the call of nature, gassed up again to make sure that I had a full tank, got a coffee, and off I went again.
I drove through Oregon, which was uneventful. However, I had brought with me talking books, thanks to Mar, and I was so engaged in the second book of a series of three, that I could listen to the story, drive 60 mph. in Oregon as 55 mph. is the speed limit (yes, 55 mph!) It was dark and around 7:30 PM when I reached the Washington border, and could put Matilda at 70 MPH. Yakima was about 80 miles away, and when I got there, I called Colleen and Rick, and headed for Ellensburg, only 35 miles away. And around 9:30 -10PM, I arrived at the Hawley’s, glad to be off the highways.
Rick and Colleen live outside of Ellensburg, on 50 plus acres, in a home, which has been remodeled since I have been here last. And it is a beautiful remodeling job. With a great outside deck wrapping around two sides, two ramps into the house, a remodeled master bedroom with a wheel-in shower, and a soaking tub for two, two sinks side by side by side by side. And two high toilets, one at either end of the bathroom. One entrance is from their bedroom, the other from their office. As Rick has Parkinson’s, sometimes he gets a little shaky, and this is just perfect for him, as well as for anyone. I believe in these types of bathrooms, and feel they should be in every new house being built, bar none.
I have the guesthouse, attached to the garage. It is wonderful. Much like Marty’s as far as having a bath, bed, and Pullman kitchen. I was happy to get into the bed, read my book for about a ½ hour and then go to sleep.
This morning, as I was having breakfast, there were tons of birds at the feeders. Sparrows, finches, and my first sighting of an Oregon Junco were jockeying for food at a feeder on the deck. At another feeder in the yard, a flock of quails were eating both on the ground and on the feeder. I have never seen a quail before alive. They are so cute, with little topknots on their heads. Rick said there were several flocks here, and Colleen said they have about two hatchings a summer. How neat is that?
Colleen loves bears, and there are hand-hewn bears, made from trees, all over outside and inside. When I woke up this morning, I thought an animal was up on the hill. Wrong, it was a bear – wooden of course.
Today we went in to Ellensburg, where Rick marched in the Veteran’s Day parade. Then we went to the Firehouse for lunch. Very nice, and I got to meet some of their friends, and also talked with several veterans from WWII, one of which had an Iowan relative that fought in the Civil War. We had a great discussion!!
I will be able to get on line when I connect up with Colleen or Rick’s computer. I will be here through Thanksgiving. Rick and Colleen are going down to see James, Rick’s son, and their family, leaving this Sunday and coming back the following Saturday. Sunshine and I will be together. I will then have time to go over all the scans I have and print some of them out.
That’s all for today. I am going to get the bird book and look up a couple birds which I don’t recognize.
Adieu, Adios, and Mahalo,
I love you all,
Sally
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