Gage's Pacific Northwest Adventure - Pt 10

Day four was a pretty big deal, because Wendy was finally going to get to see the ocean. But for all that, everyone but me seemed to start out with all the energy and pep of wet noodles.


Since everyone else was moving kind of slow, I took my camera out to the backyard, and took some pictures of just what a backyard in Washington is like.

Which is very...

...very...
... different...

... from MY backyard in Colorado.


One big difference - I have never met a slug in my own back yard. This little guy was quite willing to have his picture taken, but not especially interested in chatting. (shrug)

Something about the call of "Hey! There's a slug! Come look you guys!" seemed to have the effect of driving the girls to want to leave, and off we went, on our way to show Wendy the ocean!

BEEEP! Another Interruption! Presenting - Ridge of Romance!

Okay, it wasn't romance for me, but certainly my Estes Park/Trail Ridge Road adventure today was chock FULL of romance for others. Kind of sweet and all that.

Wendy, Hitty Rosabelle, and I headed off to Estes Park with Wendy's Aunt Linda. I should've known the day was going to end up weird, because when we went to Molly B's for breakfast we met a girl TERRIFIED of rabbits. Seriously, terrified.

I didn't take her picture because, well given her story, she might have been in the witness protection program from rabbits or something. Um... so she told us that she was attacked by a pack of wild rabbits when she was ten. She said that they scared off her friend who went for help, and turned on her. They bit her and scratched her and even bit her on the face! So, she's scared of rabbits. Even rabbits like me. Really, should've known the day was weird already.

Off we went to the Stanley Hotel. Me and Hitty Rosabelle, taking in the sights.

Very pretty hotel, even if it's apparently got some Bunny Haters visiting it.

I remember this elevator from the TV version of The Shining!

Our romantic troubles really started when we went into the Gift Shop.

There they were - pig and bear, madly in love. Wendy said something like "What a darling bear!"

And her pig protector spun to defend her from us! "You cannot take her! I beg you! Please part us not!" he said in old Stuffglish (which I translated for Wendy). I told her it would be really sad, and that the likelihood of the two of them being bought by the same person were nil, and their love would be lost for all time.

Sniffling and making little "aww" noises, Wendy did the only thing a stuffie loving human could do...

She bought them both and took them out for their first breath of fresh air!

They said their names were Lance and Gwen, and they'd fallen madly in love in the box on the way here from the company where they were made. They quickly realized, there was a lot of world for them to see.

Though I mentioned that they might see more of it if they weren't snuggling all the time.

So off we went to see the part of the world that is Trail Ridge Road.

Pretty scenery, and a beautiful day to drive the road, though it was pointed out to me it isn't ALWAYS so nice up here.

I asked Linda about the sticks on the side of the road, thinking maybe they were just really, really skinny trees of some kind. Turns out, they're put there before the snows so when the plow come up they can tell where the road is. This left me contemplating the need for a 9ft stick and THAT left me thinking 1) No wonder this is one of the first roads to close every winter and 2) the fact that they've put them up now, at the end of August... well, Frank may be right about his early Winter this year theory.

It was about when we reached Treeline that Linda's little companion from the gift shop, Horatio, started freaking out. All he seemed able to get across was that he wanted to talk to Hitty.
Hitty is an awesome listener. While I couldn't understand most of what he said (more old Stuffglish, and really, really FAST), she seemed to follow him completely, nodding occasionally and saying "Oh Dear".

She asked him to speak slower, and then asked him to tell me what he'd told her.

Horatio was freaking out because we left his WIFE at the Gift Shop! D'oh!

We promised Horatio we would get turned around and go back for her, but we were stuck in traffic because they're doing road work on Trail Ridge Road. He sat, staring out the windshield, saying "Helen, we're coming! Hang on, my Love!"

While driving back down, I learned some interesting things that I thought I'd pass on to you.
*****
1) Want to meet an EMT? Here's a fine way to do it -

*****
2) Lance, lovely guy that he is, is not a photographer -


*****
3) Travel companions come in all sizes.

So I can't say it wasn't an educational trip.

Anyway, we got back to the Gift Shop and they were strangely not surprised to see us. Nice ladies, and maybe they speak Stuffie and heard Helen weeping in the back? They didn't say.

The couple were reunited. Hitty gave Helen her shawl as a "Wedding Present" (Wendy doesn't seem to mind. Oh, she twitched a little when Hitty first told her, and kept muttering something about "hours... it took me hours" but she snapped right out of it, and said it is the sweetest thing she's ever seen a doll do. And I believe it knowing the herd of ruffians she lets live here.)

Anyway, Horatio took his beloved Helen home to begin a new life with Linda. Gwen and Lance are still snuggling like mad, and so deliriously happy knowing that they will be together forever now. Hitty, Lance and Gwen are all downstairs chatting as I type this entry. I think I'll go join them.

Tomorrow, more about the Big Pacific Northwest Adventure!

Gage's Pacific Northwest Adventure - Pt 9

We woke to a rainy, Washington morning. Miranda said she was shocked at how much louder the rain in Washington was than the rain in Colorado. Yeah. So then we were off to the doll meetup.

I don't know why Wendy wanted to go. I don't know why Miranda wanted to go. _I_ have never gone to one of the Colorado BJD meetups, though Kumo has, and ... well, I'm not a huge doll fan, really. But the people seemed nice enough.

The dolls were mostly a quiet bunch, and we didn't talk to very many of them. Something about the whole situation seemed to bug Miranda. She kept pulling my fur. I think it may be just as a very wise rabbit once said...

"The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one's own country as a foreign land."

Some of the things we'd seen seemed pretty darn foreign, but I think they guaranteed that when we got home, the dolls we lived with would look different to us. Much more ordinary, which is a rather foreign idea once you meet some of them.

The meetup was fun, food was yummy. It was a laid back and easy day. Checking e-mail, hanging out. And then we went off to dinner at McMenamins.

Miranda and I were both in a strangely subdued mood, and still full of snacks from the meetup. Everything and nothing sounded good.

I sipped my diet Coke, while Miranda just stared out the window, watching the rain on the river, and the boats come and go.


Neither one of us was feeling particularly touristy, and so I asked her if there was anything she felt like doing, and the two of us, Wendy and LadyDragonfly all decided to go home and watch a movie.

There are no pictures of this next part. Well, not pictures I could post and survive to tell you about.

We watched "Pan's Labyrinth" which I won't tell you about and ruin, except to say that you should watch it for yourself and that it was a great movie. But apparently a great movie that reduces women to tears.

Wendy cried her eyes out. Miranda was right behind her, and they sat snuggling each other and crying. LadyDragonfly got all misty too. And me... well, I think I might have some mold allergies, and as you know, the Pacific Northwest is full of mold and stuff. So I'm pretty sure that's why my eyes got all watery.

Darn mold allergies.

Gage's Pacific Northwest Adventure - Pt 8

So while Miranda slept in the car, the rest of us saw waterfalls.

There's a whole tour of them and the state has conveniently arranged them all up the same road, so it's just one beautiful, scenic drive from one another (how handy!)

Um... unfortunately, I might have neglected to write down which falls were which, so you just get pretty, but unlabeled, waterfall pictures. If you're THAT interested in waterfalls, I highly recommend taking the Historic Columbia River Highway drive yourself.

Just don't forget to label any waterfalls you take pictures of.




Many beautiful waterfalls later, and with one still quietly snoring Miranda, we wandered up to Vista house.

Vista house is a strange looking building, with one heck of view. By the time we drove up to it, it was closed. Thankfully, though, the view was still open for photography.

Vista house was built in the early 1900s to be a rest station for those traveling the Columbia Highway, and as a memorial to the Oregon pioneers. Pretty place.

Even from very far away it's a magnificent building.

And I wasn't the only animal taking in the view from Chanticleer point. Ladydragonfly's doggie, Lobo was admiring Vista House too.

And I'm not saying that Colorado doesn't have its share of magnificent views and old buildings.

But the views in Colorado are very different from the views along the Columbia River Gorge. You know, like with a lot less River and Gorge.

Anyway, much wild plant and waterfall photographing later we finally went home.


I tucked Miranda into some of Wendy's luggage and let her sleep, and wandered off to bed myself. I wanted to be all rested up for the Ball Jointed Doll meetup we were going to the next day. Yeah... dolls. (shrug)