Our updates for all of you

This past couple of weeks had been hot, cool, windy, calm but one thing over all of it -  smokey! I started this post last week and want to get it finished! As I had mentioned in the previous post, it has been high fire danger for several weeks now. Where we are we have 3 large fires in the general area, I'd say about 50 miles in range.  Nearest to our town is the Parker Ridge fire, still burning after about a month, but expanded to over 6,000 acres due to some high winds last week. Last Wednesday, 8/19/2015, the area farmers in the vicinity of the fire first used their tractors to make fire breaks and ultimately just burned their "stubble fields" as with the drought this summer has made very few crops viable anyway, but over 2,000 acres of fields.  Then there's the Tower Fire, near the community of Priest River but across the border into Washington. At over 10,000 acres, and with the way prevailing winds usually flow in the area, a lot of our smoke is ac

My almost daily emailed alerts, still hot and dry! Alert: Red Flag Warning in effect from noon Today to 9 PM PDT this evening Dear Joseph Brown, ...A SURFACE THERMAL TROUGH WILL BRING DRY AND UNSTABLE CONDITIONS TO PORTIONS OF EASTERN WASHINGTON AND NORTH IDAHO TODAY... .A STRONG THERMAL TROUGH POSITIONED ACROSS IDAHO THROUGH EASTERN WASHINGTON WILL BRING NEAR RECORD HEAT TODAY. THIS FEATURE WILL PRODUCE UNSTABLE CONDITIONS IN THE LOWER LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE. THIS WILL RESULT IN THE POTENTIAL FOR ACTIVE FIRE BEHAVIOR AND PLUME DOMINATED FIRES ON ANY ACTIVE FIRES OR NEW STARTS. ...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON  TODAY TO 9 PM PDT THIS EVENING FOR UNSTABLE THERMAL TROUGH FOR NORTH IDAHO...AND NORTH AND CENTRAL WASHINGTON MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SPOKANE HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG WARNING FOR UNSTABLE THERMAL TROUGH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM  NOON  TODAY TO  9 PM PDT  THIS EVENING. * AFFECTED AREA: FIRE WEATHER ZONE 101 NORTHERN AND CENTRAL I

One of my personal favorites from the trip, below, the poor sourdough turtle. Before dissection! The "face" on the turtle looks so sad, like it knew what was going to happen.  Below. Getting ready to leave the Best Western in Ritzville, Washington. Our route was the "fastest" according to the car's GPS, so the 90W to the 395S then the 84W, 97S, I-5S, 505, 80W, 680S and on and on! I'm getting some tea before we leave. Along the way we finally stopped  to finally check out the Rolling Hills Casino near Corning, California, on the West side of I-5. We've driven by it many times over the years but never stopped until this trip. It turned out to be a very nice place! So nice I had decided we'd stop on the way back if at all possible. And we did, I gave it 5 stars in Trip Advisor after we stayed. And would easily stay there again! Above, as Natalie's one year birthday was going to happen while they were all in Europe. Sand

I now need to preface this post because it has taken so long to get it done! I had started this right after we'd gotten home but between business at work and summer chores I could just add here and there until here I am now, over a month later! So in reading this, think of last month, July and not that it's August now. I'll post the photos in a second post since this one is long. That's the week of July 2nd to the 11th as Stacy and I had left Thursday the 2nd of July after work and drove down to the "greater San Francisco area" to visit with Sandy, husband Erik and the granddaughters. This trip had been in the works for several weeks as we wanted to have a visit with Sandy and grandkids before they leave on a 3 week trip to Europe. Stacy and I had to shoehorn this trip in between one person taking a new job and leaving along with people at work taking time off as well as Stacy's brother and wife to be able to have Stacy's father stay with them while