Living the Dream 2018

"No man is an island, entire of itself;  every man is a piece of the continent." - John Donne  No, we haven't moved to Canada, although lately it's been very tempting. Rather, Vancouver, Canada was the next stop on our journey, where we met up with Doug's sister Deb and her husband Mike. We have such fun travelling together - taking in the sights and playing lots and lots of Pinochle. Visiting new restaurants is also on our list of favorite things to do together. Hapa Izakaya became our favorite spot for excellent Japanese cuisine, as recommended by Doug's son Ben and daughter-in-law Kelli.  For almost the whole month of May, we floated around the spectacular, uninhabited landscape of Utah. After that, we nestled in the rolling hills of Lewiston, Idaho and Clarkston, Washington, immersing ourselves in the historic sights and stories there. The day we left, it took only five hours to go from farm pastures to navigating the narrow streets of d...

One snowy evening last winter, we snuggled into our lounge chairs to watch a Ken Burns documentary on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Doug was particularly interested because William Clark is an ancestor on his father’s side of the family. The documentary followed their famous route from the outskirts of St Louis along the Missouri and Snake Rivers, seeking passage to the Pacific Ocean. It told of their trials and tribulations and, most notably, their encounters with the peaceful Nez Perce tribe who took them in when they were starving and essentially saved their lives. The Nez Perce educated them about the land and traded horses and supplies so they could continue their journey. We had heard the tale of Sacajawea, a Shoshone who traveled with the Expedition as interpreter, but knew little of the Nez Perce tribe and wanted to learn more. Little did we know that on that snowy evening a seed had been planted for an exploration of our own come spring.  As March approached, we...