YAY, SPRING

Recently I had a pleasant surprise. My granddaughter and grandson came to visit me on their own for the first time. Sophie is a fairly new driver and had not driven through Portland and all the way to BZ Corner, about a two hour drive depending on the traffic, on her own before. We had a great time just hanging out. We went for a walk in the woods, played cards, and best of all went climbing on the rocks at Horse Thief Butte. We seem to never tire of that place. Portland climbing clubs often bring their novices here to learn climbing skills. Over the years there have been a number of deaths from falls, including both students and instructors.

Usually we scramble up the side of the butte but Moana was with us so we took the easy route.

The butte has three small canyons to explore, each a level higher than the other.

Sam was in charge of Moana so his climbing was limited.

Sophie, as usual, was off to reach the highest points.

The views from the top are gorgeous, such as this one of Mt Hood to the southwest.

Soon it was time to be on our way home, but first we stopped at The Dalles for hamburgers. Neither Teagan or Latah was able to join us. The Trout Lake girls basketball team made it to the playoffs so Teagan was involved in cheering as she was a cheerleader this year. Latah was away at Richland, WA attending the DI regionals. Her team took first place in the science division so they will be going to the state tournament this coming weekend, again held in the Tri-Cities. Good luck Awesome Opossums.

I find going down harder than going up as sometimes the rocks shift under your feet.

I have one grandson, Samuel James and he is a character. Sam will be 15 in May and up to the past year or so he has pretty much been a computer gamer and youTuber. He has always enjoyed cooking in the kitchen and tending the babies at St Mary’s during church events. Recently his interests have expanded. From being a member of 4-H he has now switched to FFA. Sam has a bit of money of his own earned from his 4-H pigs and a small lawn mowing business he started up serving the folks at Banks, OR. For the most part he is responsible to pay for his expanding interests on his own. He purchased a Go-Kart that needed fixing up. Then he moved into welding and about the same time acquired a 3-D printer. His most recent interest is blacksmithing. He purchased a portable forge and is gaining experience pounding metal.