Jayne's Quilting Room: Sights We've Seen So Far

Our car trip through the western US has been amazing. And we still have more to come. Here are a few highlights of the past few days. It never fails but that I imagine the impressions these great spaces presented to the earliest settlers and pioneers making their way west.

This little shell of a covered wagon captured my fancy, as it is so very small compared to the image I had in my mind of these wagons. To think of a family loading all their worldly goods along with their entire family onto such a wagon is unimaginable. I have profound admiration for all the pioneer women who endeavored to make the westward journey.

Not only were the families leaving the familiarity of homes back east, they encountered some very foreign landscapes as they entered the high plains, the deserts, and the mountains. This surely would have demoralized me to think of eking out a living in conditions such as this. They simply had to forge ahead and trust that better, more fertile lands were yet to come.

And, then when they did see something different from the arid great plains, they faced a most imposing mountain range in the Rockies. This view of Mt. Rainier surely was as daunting as it was beautiful to them. In the comfort of our safe and secure automobile, I was awestruck by its domineering size. We were able to go up only so far; for those familiar with Rainier, we were stopped at the Paradise point. I'd really hoped to go on a bit because we'd read that there's a pretty waterfall nearby.

The reason we could go no further was because of snow cover. Crews were working to remove snow, and from the looks of what covered the ground at Paradise, there's still lots to remove.

Lower down Mt. Rainier, the forest is so thick that it puts me in mind of a primeval wilderness. Moss literally drips from branches and tree trunks. Enormous ferns grow everywhere. Fallen logs and branches lay haphazardly across all surfaces. It is otherworldly.

We have stopped along the way a few times to take pictures of wildlife (yes, we are those people). Since we are off the interstate highways most of the time, we aren't holding up traffic, and we are safe about stopping. The three elk (can you see three?) in this picture were in a group of about 10 just grazing as naturally as could be near a campground. They are darker brown/black than the deer we know in Ohio, and much larger.

It hadn't occurred to us that we would get to enjoy spring again, yet here in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana the spring flowers abound. Rhododendrons, dogwoods, lilacs, azaleas, and a myriad of wildflowers along the roadsides are just as lush and gorgeous as can be. These rhododendrons bordered the parking lot of a restaurant we stopped at for lunch - I believe we were in Oregon.

In northwestern Oregon, in the town of Astoria, we finally saw the Pacific Ocean. I dipped my toes in (c-c-cold) and the experience was a thrill for this little ol' farm gal from Ohio. You can see that we had the beach to ourselves; the day was quite breezy; much too cold for anyone to be swimming or sunbathing.

And look at that sky! Just as bright blue as can be! We really lucked out. For the most part, we have had good weather. We had a few showery days over the weekend in southern Oregon, but mostly we have had very agreeable weather.

So have I done any stitching? Remember, I brought only one project with me.

The answer is YES! Not a lot, but in the evenings when we are in our hotel for the night, I put an audio book in my ear, and applique berries onto my Lake Effect panels. I get one or two done in an evening. Sometimes the lighting is poor; sometimes I am just too tired to do more; sometimes I do none! But a few are finished, and that is progress.