Geese

I was up early one morning while camping in Ashland. I walked to the crest over looking the lake and looked down on a flock of geese floating gently in the water. Suddenly something startled them.

The take off with the water following the strong beating of wings.

Rising into the V formation that would take them across the lake. 

Saddened and Angry

I am saddened and angry at the rise of racism and sexism in this country. It is like somewhere along the line we have been given permission to be racist and sexist again - or to let out the feelings that have been there all along. Black men are being shot and killed for being black. Whites are given preferential treatment by juries while Native Americans are beaten and jailed for making a legitimate protest against the invasion of their sacred lands by industry. Women are verbally abused and threatened and harassed.  Nothing has changed. 

The horrors I saw growing up just went underground for a while. Now they have burst through the thin veil of civilization and are growing with startling rapidity. I pray for our country on the eve of this election. America really is better than this and somehow we must find our way forward. 

Camping Ashland

To finish up our Ashland trip, here are a few random pictures.

Our camp site

The view from our camp site

The tree at our camp site

Michelle made my Aunt Lalah's sour cream pound cake - yum!! 

It was as delicious as it was beautiful. Wonderful shades of my childhood.

Dean filets the fish he caught. 

Awesome hat.

And this is what they do at birthday parties these days. 

Mama Susan and her pride and joys. 

An interesting cloud on the way home.

Thanks for taking this fall journey with me.

Next up: we head for warmer climes to see another set of grands in SoCal.

Rocket Scientist as Fisherman

One of Dean's joys of visiting Ashland, besides grandchildren, is fishing the Rogue River. You hire a guide who knows the river and all you do is fish. Dean's guide also fished in a style that Dean has been learning, so he was glad to have extra expert instruction. 

The guide controls the boat and the fisherman casts ~ 

~ and casts,

~ and casts.

And then Success!!

This is Teresa, Dean's guide and expert fisher and teacher, showing off Dean's catch. 

This is a steelhead trout, a rainbow trout that has swum upstream from the Pacific creating a very salmon tasting meat. This particular one is also one that Dean was allowed to keep rather than catch and release which is his normal way to fish.

Due to life circumstances, we ended up giving the fish to son-in-law Marc who loves fish and who, I am sure, delighted in a fresh catch. 

There is always a tall tale to go along with a day of fishing. Dean also caught another, larger trout which jumped and released itself. "It was a beautiful fish." And of course he had a witness so the tale is probably not so tall after all.

Ashland Fall

Ashland was beautiful this fall so here are just a few of the wonderful views we had as we ambled through Lithia Park and around town.

Rocket Scientist

I'm going to take credit for the idea. The rest was up to Dean. Dean worked on the Saturn V project for NASA which designed and built the rocket that took the first humans to the moon. I thought it might be nice if he spoke to the grands' science classes if their teachers would be interested. Well, the teachers were Very interested. And so for three classes at the high school and three at the middle school, Dean spoke on the history of technology, what is happening today, and what will be available in the future that will impact the students' lives. 

At the high school, the student newspaper came to interview him and take some pictures, allowing the question at the middle school, "Are you famous and do you have paparazzi?" to be answered, "No but yesterday the high school newspaper interviewed me." The young man who was the newspaper photographer, told Dean he was amazing and inspiring because that was exactly what he wanted to do with his life. Wow. 

Questions ranged from educational preparation to if the moon landing was real to Area 51. 

Having not worked with teens in a while, I was interested in the fact that the middle school kids were much more engaged and fascinated. 

When Dean discussed the future of technology, he was able to point to the chart above his head that stops with millimeters and move on across the wall to include a nanometer which is 1/10,000th of a human hair. The kids loved the fact that their cell phones had more capability than the super computer which sent the Saturn V into space.

In one class hands were up almost before he reached the front of the room. They were all interested and engaged though. Some of them asked questions that used technical language, proving they had watched a movie or a documentary or read a science magazine. In every class Dean would ask who might be interested in science or engineering. In every class at least a few hands went up. Given that response and the nature of most of the questions, the future of science and technology is in good hands.

Ashland Contrasts

Grandpa and I took Akira shopping. We actually went shopping and Akira went along ~ and found a pair of boots that he wanted on sale. Good sturdy, steel-toed work boots. Meanwhile, Trinity had gone to the mall with a friend and taken her own money. She found a pair of boots on sale that she really wanted. Interesting contrast in boot styles. 

Brother of the fly away curls and Sister of the straight, sleek pony tail. 

Daughter and Mama and

Me - the matriarch. All with the same delighted smile.