The End of Summer is Near

I returned to Lake Wenatchee State Park on Sunday afternoon.  It was the last day of summer heat and fun at the beach.  There are barely a handful of campers this evening so I practiced my flute outside.

My sister made this quilt for us 15 years ago.  It's is perfect for camping
in the woods in our 5th wheel.

After Labor Day, the Camp Store is only open on weekends.
This guy scored the last of the cotton candy ice cream.

The vine maples are becoming flaming red.

The Party Animals are still around.  For some reason, campers
found it necessary to tip the picnic table on it's side.

Sonny was talking to our "boss", Roger one morning last week, in our campsite
 when a little body fell to the ground.  Apparently,  a crow was having a
chipmunk breakfast but dropped his catch.

The Dog Bite.  Dog owners are always on our hit list.  More often than not, in spite of
the "keep your dog leashed" rule, they are not.  Sonny and I were cleaning a
campsite Sunday morning when a dog charged around behind me and got my calf good.
Rabies shots were double checked and the owner got 2 tickets!!! She was apologetic but
said she didn't know the rules.  Where ever she camped, she said she was allowed
to have the dog running free.  Yeah, sure!

Last warm day of summer at the beach.

So pretty and peaceful. 

I never did get to try the paddle board.  The lake was flat calm
today.  I should have made the move.

View from our window.  The colors are impressive.

Is this your seaplane?  It's a battery powered, remote controlled toy that
was found floating in the river near the boat launch. Come get it!

Only 4 campsites used last night.  Now, we have time to fix
the things that don't get done on a day to day basis.  We
cleaned fire pits on the beach and in the group camp area.
Sonny is tightening the chain on this table. Tree pruning
is the next activity.

Campers left this table centerpiece.

In the Fall, the Forest Service conducts control burns of the underbrush but in a
community that has had too many close calls with forest fires, many are nervous.  This
smoke is 5 miles away but it filled the valley in Plain since the wind wasn't blowing.

Some many pretty leaves to capture.

It's in the 60s today but no wind.  Great day for one last kayak paddle.

Carlton Complex Firescape

In early September on our day off, we drove along the Columbia River to Lake Chelan for breakfast at the Lakeview Hotel. It was a tasty meal in a hotel built in the early 1900s.  It had been renovated in 2006 just before the crash.  The owner has managed to keep it alive.  Last year, we toured the rooms.  Very posh, especially the honeymoon suite. We wandered around town and then continued along to Pateros where the Carlton Complex Fire had devastated many homes in July..  We looked for the "Welcome to Pateros" sign but it must have burned completely as we didn't find it.  The hillsides are all shades of brown, gray and black.  We could see where the fire burned right up to buildings and then around them.  Those homes out away from town, weren't so lucky to survive.  Interestingly, the orchards were all in tack.  I'm guessing they turned on the irrigation sprinklers to keep the fire away from the trees.

We visited the Alta Lake Golf Course and the State Park.  The golf course greens were very green but several homes were burned flat.  The fire jumped erratically.  In some cases, the fire burned right up to the deck but the house was saved.  I didn't get a picture but we saw a boat trailer with a burned out motor attached.  It appeared that the boat and most of the engine melted in the heat. A few families had moved into their RVs and a house or two were in the beginnings of construction. How they will ever get a home built before winter is a mystery so our prayers include a speedy recovery for those who lost all in the fire.

The hills are shades of gray with ash. In the distance, here. it appears that
the buildings burned leaving the metal.

There was a home here.

It's small to read.  The fire burned  thousands of acres
 just to the left of the brown section on
the map.  400 square miles were burned.

There was a home here, too.

In Twisp, we had coffee before traveling East on Highway 20. This is
on Loup Loup Pass, a favorite  motorcycle ride for us.  Now, the woods
are all black toothpicks.  The ground is gray with ash. In the back
of this picture, as home is actually being rebuilt.

Looks like snow.

After the fire was somewhat contained, we got so much rain that
it washed out parts of Highway 20.  

Looks like a moon scape.

The shorter  pole here, is a telephone pole.  A new one stands beside it.

Highway 20 washout.

Burned hillsides.

We were detoured around the town
of Carlton because the road was completely gone.

The orchards were green and baring fruit but all around was
blackened.

This hillside burned but those 3 cabins survived.

The vineyard's fruit is covered to protect from the birds.  I should have
done that, too.  Those birds got the 5 little bunches I was nurturing
on our arbor.

These fence posts are still standing.  More often, I saw just the wire with
parts of the posts burned up.

Alta Lake State Park

The park had all new picnic tables!  The sites along the shoreline were still
green and there were campers using them.

What's left of a Golf Course home.  You can see the course greens in the
distance.

Driveway to what was a home looking towards the golf course.  The club
house burned, too.

A Walk Along the Wenatchee River

On Saturday, September 13, the Calvary Hikers came over from Seattle to go for a trek. The Hikers have been walking around together for over 20 years! When we were all younger, we were tackling actual hikes with elevation. Now, we prefer less strenuous trails. It was a warm, clear blue sky day.  We followed one of the Nordic Ski Trails along the river for 5 miles before going into Leavenworth for a nice dinner.

Boots, Paul, Marian, Lynn, Jean with Dirty Face Peak in the background.

The Wenatchee River flows to the Columbia River from
Lake Wenatchee.  This time of year, it is very low.  The
lake has lowered at least 20 feet at the beach since
we arrived in August.

Sonny was a solo camp host for a week

I am Finnish by marriage since Sonny is a 2nd generation Finn.  His grandparents were born in Finland and immigrated to the US in the early part of the 1900s. We became involved in the United Finnish Kaleva Brothers and Sisters through Sonny's great aunt, Walma Wiitasalo, who lived in Seattle and was a 50+ year member of the Lodge.

The 53rd United Finnish Kaleva Brothers and Sisters Grand Lodge Convention was happening September 18-21.  The local Lodge, Seattle #11, where Sonny and I are members, were the hosts. Delegates came from California, Oregon and Washington. Sonny was on his own in the park for a week while I returned to Port Orchard to check on the house and then drove on to Seattle to work on last minute convention details before the activities began last Thursday evening.

This event was 2 years in planning making sure the  multitude of details were covered to make it a successful event for the 35 delegates, officers and friends. We held our meetings at the Finn Church in the Crown Hill neighborhood of Seattle and the social events at Hotel Nexus near Northgate.  Visitor greetings to the delegates were received from Washington State Governor Inslee, Seattle Mayor Murray, Andrew Nestigen from the Finnish Studies Program at the University of Washington,  and Eric Nelson from the Nordic Heritage Museum.  Dr Gary London, past President of the Finlandia Foundation Seattle Chapter, opened the Convention Friday morning with a short history of the Kaleva Lodge.  Friday evening, after cocktails and a light dinner, "The Backwoods Philosopher", a popular Finnish film was shown. On Saturday afternoon, many visitors went to tour the Nordic Heritage Museum, especially to see the Finn Room exhibit and the old wood sauna.  The Convention celebrated its work with a banquet and entertainment on Saturday evening. After professional photographs were taken to commemorate the Convention, Saturday's evening program was filled with music from the Kalevalla Trio, The Evergreen Kanteles and the Finnish Choral Society.  Honorary Vice Consul of Finland for WA State, Kristiina Hiukka, shared the MC duties with me.  One of Seattle's lodge members has written our 110 year history in poetic verse so Kristiina and I took turns reading in Finnish (Kristiina) and English (me).  Sunday morning, there was a "Mostly Finnish" church service followed by a traditional Finnish meal. In all, it was a fun weekend with out many glitches.  Seattle Lodge received many positive compliments and breathed a huge sigh of relief at the conclusion.  It was so nice to wake up yesterday morning, back in the solitude of Lake Wenatchee under the pines without having convention planning on my shoulders!

Our Lodge graciously provided me with a very comfortable suite for my
stay at Hotel Nexus

Giant, comfy bed with soft pillows.

Watering can shower head.

One of the Lodge members, Liisa Mannery, made 9 of these woven shoes.
They became centerpieces at the banquet filled with flowers.

Meeting Room set up before the delegates arrived.

A box of pretty blue and white party favors made by Rauni Sillanpaa.

Delegate registration.

Delegates at work discussion the Viesti, our organizational newsletter.

Small group meetings

The Grand Lodge Scholarship Committee evaluating the applications.

Finns like a well stocked bar for happy hour!

And,  we like to eat several times a day! This was Saturday lunch.

One of Liisa's shoes on the banquet table. 

Finnish coffee bread, limpa and pulla. So good with butter spread on
thick!

Relaxing at dinner.  Past President Alison Kastama at the front table.

"Backwoods Philosopher".  Never was able to get the English sub
titles so those of us who didn't understand the words, admired the
country scenery in the film.

Reading the Lodge History story

It was a huge cake!  Cheesecake was served, also, so only
half of this one was eaten.

Another lunch buffet line.

Lodge #11 history books

Kalevalla Trio performs

Eating once again!  This was the
Saturday evening buffet line.
Salmon melted in your mouth.
 Hmmmmmm!

Aino, in her new dress, receives a
25 year membership pin from
Kristiina Hiukka.

Kristiina and me tag teaming the poem.

The Evergreen Kanteles performing

Not a dry eye in the hall when the Choral Society sang "Finlandia".

Convention Program and the Banquet Program