Post-Festival Relaxing in the Woods

Monday was “relax in the woods” day for several of the Arts Festival committee members, who invited us to join them. We drove about an hour out of Escalante up into the mountains to a small lake, high enough to move from the pine trees to the aspens, which are all shades from green to yellow and bright orange. I paddled a kayak around the lake to take some pictures. Enjoy the stunning colors!

A Hike to Calf Creek Falls

Sunday we did an afternoon hike to Calf Creek Falls, a six-mile hike that took us about four and a half hours. Part of that length was because there was lots to attract a photographer’s eye, so we had many stops along the trail. It was also quite hot (in the 80’s) so we took frequent rests. Phil elected to stay behind, so it was Kae, Guy, Joahnna, and Howard, joined by a friend who was also visiting Howard for the arts festival.

Fortunately there was a wonderfully cool falls at the end of the trail. I’m sharing a shot of the hikers on the trail, along with Guy and Joahnna at Calf Creek Falls. It was a good hike but we were five tired puppies at the end!

Slot Canyon Picture

For some reason the slot canyon picture didn't make it. Hopefully here it is.

A Photography Trip

This morning we took a “photography” trip east on Highway 12 to Boulder, to show the landscapes to Joahnna and to enjoy them ourselves. We made numerous stops along the way, including at a small slot canyon, where both Guy and Joahnna trotted out an impressive array of lenses to take pictures, and the rest of us had fun with our “point and shoot” cameras.

Here is a shot of the photographers at work, plus one of the slot canyon we visited. I am overawed each time I come here by the shapes, colors and grandeur of the landscapes.

Celebrating Howard Hutchison

We’ve had a great time participating in the Escalante Canyons Arts Festival the last two days, beginning with an artist’s reception Wednesday evening. Phil’s speech about Howard’s art went very well. Howard was relieved that he didn’t get royally “roasted” and several of his friends said they learned things about him they didn’t know. Certainly Phil and I know more than we did about both his professional career and his art work.

Part of the festival is an arts & crafts fair where locals (and some from further away) can set up booths. Howard usually has a booth where he sells prints and cards of his pen and ink drawings. This year we also put up a sampling of his art work, as “featured artist.” Here’s a picture of Howard in the booth, with his art work in the background.

Back to the Land of Stunning Landscapes

After two days of driving through the dramatically grand but often bleak landscapes of eastern Washington, southern Idaho and northern Utah, we have arrived in Escalante, home to Phil’s brother Howard. We’re here for our annual fall visit, which we time to take in the Escalante Canyons Arts Festival, which Howard helps coordinate. To top it all off, this year Howard is the featured artist in the festival. Phil was asked to give a lecture about Howard, so he and I have been working to assemble his presentation. I’m the Powerpoint person, so I have assembled the art work. Phil is assembling the words, which I’m sure he’ll deliver to good effect on Friday afternoon. Howard just wants to know if he will be able to face his friends afterward. I don’t think he need worry, though a few family secrets may tumble out.

One of the reasons we enjoy visiting Howard’s chosen retirement town is the stunning landscapes that surround it. I include a couple of pictures. It’s hard not to be wowed by this country. These pictures are both from the drive on Highway 20. The first one is a shot of some of the rock formations in Bryce Canyon. The second one is a huge citadel that stands against the sky as you drive through the small town of Henrieville.

We’ll start things off this evening with an artist’s reception (invited guests get to hang out too), and go from there. The festival includes a plein air competition, so artists have been here since Monday painting and tomorrow will bring in their work to be judged. We’ll see it all on Friday and we general onlookers will have a chance to vote on our favorite paintings, resulting in a prize that is given along with the other (money) prizes. It’s quite a fun event.

To add to the fun, Guy and Joahnna are driving over tomorrow to join us, so we’ll have a family rooting section for Howard on Friday. More to come as things unfold.

Oops!

When Tamarisk emerged from the water, Phil (who was still on the boat, while I was on the ground) asked me to check the keel to see whether we’d suffered visible damage from our trip on the reef. Indeed we did. Here’s a shot of some of the damage. There are three different sections of the keel that had the gel coat ground off and some of the underlying fiberglass torn away. It was not as gentle a grounding as it felt. Fortunately, we have a very sturdy keel, with thick fiberglass, so no water got into the boat. Another winter repair job! The end of one season and the beginning of the repairs for another!

Overall it was a good cruising summer. Pretty good weather and we got to all the places we wanted to go. The only disappointment was that we got almost no sailing – probably under two hours total for the whole trip. I think that’s the least we’ve ever done. Fortunately, that motor was well repaired and performed beautifully throughout the trip.

We’re home for a week and then off to Utah to visit Phil’s brother Howard and participate in the Escalante Canyons Art Festival. More posts when that trip is under way.

High and Dry

Tamarisk is back out of the water, secured in her winter storage spot so her owners can go play at other things in peace. The process of pulling her out of the water is interesting, and I’ve included a couple shots of it. The trailer that pulls her out has two inflatable pontoons that she rests between. Phil has to drive the boat into the trailer while it is partially submerged, center it following the directives of the guy driving the trailer. Once she’s positioned, he backs the trailer out of the water and drives it down the streets to the yard where we store it, which is roughly two blocks away. For close maneuvering into the storage space, the “driver” dismounts and guides the trailer with a remote control module. In the second picture, you can see the “driver” to the left of the boat, walking along behind it and guiding it.

Connecting with Friends

We have returned to Lopez Island, where our friends Nancy Taylor and Fritz Levy, who graciously lent us their cabin during our engine woes in July, are now enjoying their cabin themselves. We’re pictured with them having one of our favorite breakfasts – cinnamon rolls at Holly B’s Bakery on Lopez. Picture WARM cinnamon rolls drizzled with butter that you apply from a crock on the counter. It’s a treat we look forward to every summer.

After predictions of rain, we were pleasantly surprised with great weather yesterday – but still no sailing on our transit from Parker Island to Lopez. Today the promised rain has arrived. Yesterday we joined a marina full of boats at the docks of the Lopez Islander Resort – two different yacht clubs make this their Labor Day weekend jaunt, and they were partying. Fortunately, they were also old enough to go to bed at a decent hour, so the docks were quiet by 9 pm and we slept well. That was a relief after the two previous nights when we’d had wind during the night blowing hard enough to rock our boat a lot. It’s very unusual to have wind at night, so we didn’t sleep well even though we were tied to a dock. We’d have gotten even less sleep if we’d been at anchor!

Tonight we’re having dinner at the Bay Café on Lopez with Nancy and Fritz. Tomorrow we make our way back to Anacortes, where we’ll be in a moorage slip overnight and then hauled out on Wednesday. We’ll take a day to pack things up and winterize the boat and be back in Seattle on Thursday. We’re slowly slipping back into the world of news and ready communication. We’ll miss the quiet and being away from it all—one of the things we enjoy about our time on the boat.

Continuing South

The weather calmed down and we motored down to Schooner Cove, just north of Nanaimo, yesterday. We were hoping for a little wind so we could sail, but it seemed to all have been used up in the previous day's storm. Today it is sunny and beautiful, and we'll continue south into the Gulf Islands.

Today's picture is one of Phil's favorite positions. It LOOKS like he is reading, but it's a clever disguise. He's actually napping. Note that he still has the book in his grasp. What a talent!