Travel Dates

I guess I am a little late on posting these dates..but I figure..better late than never :-)
We are coming back to NC and SC for a visit...here is the schedule:
1/28 - Leave Stehekin on the boat (yes, I know that is tomorrow and yes we are packing )
1/29 - Fly to RDU and arrive at 7:00 pm
1/29 - 1/30 - Stay in the big town on Conetoe
1/30 to 2/1 - Atlantic Beach house with my family
2/2 - Evening trip to Raleigh to have dinner with the Gorman Girls
2/3 - Drive to SC
2/3 - 2/9 or 2/10 - Visit in Orangeburg and Columbia
2/11 - Back to NC
2/12 - Wilmington to my sister's MD appointment...boy or girl? We will find out :-)
2/15 - Back to RDU for the flight
2/16 - Boat to Stehekin
We'll have cell phone coverage starting to tomorrow so feel free to call us to catch up and make plans!

A Walk in the Woods

Time passed by on Sunday afternoon as we walked around in the woods to enjoy the snow. We headed up the road around 1:00 and followed Boulder Creek towards Emerald Pool...then followed the hillside towards the new school. Steven wanted to be adventurous (no surprise there), so we crossed the road..that isn't the adventurous part...then walked through the woods following Rainbow Creek. He assured me there was a convenient and "easy" place to cross the creek...nope..my eyes didn't find any "easy" places to cross. Across we did go though, with only a little water on the pants and shoes. The walk continued by the Stehekin River..then back onto the road (yes "The Road...there is only one) towards home.

The funniest part of the day was our evening after the walk in the woods. Earlier that morning, I took out steaks to grill for dinner (thanks Gary..they were great!). After our walk, we were hungry and excited about our evening meal. While I prepared potatoes and vegetables, Steven started the small grill on the front porch. All was well until he went to check on it..from here are Steven's words on how the night went as he recapped during dinner...

"Started the grill....to cook the steaks,

went to check on the grill......the grill was on fire,

put out the fire.....had to clean the grill,

cleaned the grill...put on the steaks,

checked on the steaks...the fuel was running out,

went to the neighbors to get more fuel...fell on the ice,

attached fuel canister to the grill...pulled out lighter to restart the grill,

lighter was broken (in half)...from the fall on the ice,

found another lighter...lit the grill,

came inside to get warm...steaks cooking on the grill,

went to check on the steaks...flame was out,

re-lit the grill...again...finished cooking the steaks!"

Only after I told him how funny he looked when I saw him on the porch did he finally start laughing. I walked to the door to see Steven covered in snow, holding his right arm..throwing something into the yard...and then pulling out a broken lighter from his pocket. I immediately burst into laughter. Needless to stay..the steaks were amazing and our day was "memorable."

Paz Vega Beautiful Pictures

Paz Vega Beautiful Pictures

Saturday

This morning Steven woke up and went coyote hunting with Jake while I enjoyed a morning to sleep in :-) I did a little knitting and Steven enjoyed reading hunting magazines for a while after he returned from hunting (no coyotes in hand). A walk up to the power plant water intake was planned for the afternoon. The snow is frozen and crunchy everywhere making it easy to walk around without snowshoes.

Snow Slide

On Tuesday we ventured up the road to the ranch to look at a huge snow slide. Bethany, Nick, and Nancy joined us for the morning outing. It was amazing! The icy snow balls forming the snow slide were everywhere and reached as far as one could see. The fun part was hiking around on top of the snow and then up a snowy trail to the water intake for the ranch. A waterfall cascaded down a rocky surface and then disappeared below the snowy slide. Here a few pictures from the day!

Free Las Vegas Newletter Find Out What's Hot In Vegas From Long Time Local Insiders www.accessvegas.com/newsletter

Discount Las Vegas Rooms Las Vegas Is On Sale! Rock Bottom Rates For Rooms At ALL Hotels www.i4vegas.com Ads From Vegas

PT's and Sierra Gold rung in 2009 with a "party like a local" bash on New Year's Eve. The New Year's Eve celebration took place at Sierra Gold on 215 & Aliante Parkway, PT's Gold on Sunset & Ft. Apache, PT's Gold on St. Rose & Eastern and PT's Pub on Sahara & Nellis in the Winterwood Pavilion.

A live DJ got the party started at 10pm and continued throughout the evening. Guests who made reservations received bottle service discounts for liquor and champagne. Complimentary appetizers were also available with any bottle service purchase. To top things off, guests popped the bottles and enjoyed champagne on the house at the stroke of midnight.

Complete with casual dining, premium spirits and advanced gaming technology, PT's offers a variety of amenities for patrons. Filled with numerous high-definition flat plasma screen TVs, guests can catch all of their favorite sports action. PT's offers a wide assortment menu selections as well as cocktails made from premium spirits, an expansive wine list and martini menu along with numerous premium brew options, such as PT's exclusive Sierra Gold premium lager.

Sierra Gold is a casually upscale tavern that features refined décor in a comfortable atmosphere. Amenities include a VIP ultra-lounge with a fireplace, grand wood trussed ceiling and a plush billiard room. In addition to the VIP room, the Sierra Gold ultra-tavern on S. Jones includes the banquet room that holds more than 200 seats comfortably and is furnished with full meeting amenities including audio and visual set-ups, plasma screen televisions and a 12-seat private conference room. Sierra Gold is also known for its world-class bar with an expansive wine and cocktail menu in addition to a variety of premium brew options. Sierra Gold ultra-taverns are located at 1341 W. Warm Springs Rd., 6929 Aliante Pkwy and 6515 S. Jones Rd. For more information, please visit goldentaverngroup.com

Down Lake for the Weekend

As our holiday guests were departing, we all headed down lake for the weekend. Additional winter time activities were added as we went down hill skiing at Mission Ridge on Saturday, spent Sunday afternoon ice skating on a frozen lake in Malaga, and Sunday evening relaxing in the hot tub. It was great fun and a wonderful end to our week with the Thompsons. Thanks Rick and Vicky for opening up your doors to all of us again!

HOLIDAY FUN

Our friends, John Michael and Stacey, came for a visit from NC. They arrived on the boat the day after Christmas. We had tons of fun spending time with them and playing in the snow...hope you enjoy the photos as much as we enjoyed their company!

Our friends made it safely to Stehekin on December 26, Friday.

There luggage didn't arrive until Sunday :-/Several afternoons were spent at the schoolyard with sleds and cameras.

We all piled into the back of Bethany's rig for this ride up the road. Getting the sledding hill ready! The path needed to be

packed down so everyone hiked up the hill in the snow

and began to make way for the sleds.

Quin

Steven

Steven after the fall CalebBethany
Mistaya

Stacey made it down the hill! Not sure what happened to John Michael?Walking across the field at the ranch on the way to Mark and Monica's house.

The afternoon was spent there with plenty of time for knitting

and playing guitars. Thanks for the great meal Monica!

Icicles formed along the side of our house. John Michael and Steven decided to brake them off one evening and stick them in the snow along our front walkway. One icicle even remained on the top of our truck until the recent rain set in and we needed to get all the snow off the top before it turned into a solid block.

Skiing to Rainbow Falls and Buckner Orchard was favorite activity as well...

pictured below from left to right: John Michael,

Bethany, Stacey, Heidi, Steven,

Chelsea, JB (not pictured..had the camera) "ROW ROW ROW YOUR SKIS GENTLY DOWN THE TRAIL"

The Boys

Movie Night at our House

Oliver the snowman posing with Stacey

On New Year's Eve, people gathered at our house for food and warmth around the fire. Some Courtney cousins spending time together and the fire below.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE :-)