Grand Coulee

We went to see the Grand Coulee (kool-ee) Dam in (surprise, surprise) Grand Coulee, Wa. You may not have even heard of this dam, but it is the largest concrete structure in the world, the largest dam in the world, and the third largest power generator in the world! We got to take a tour inside the dam power house and let me tell you, it was the most awesome man-made thing I have ever seen! The dam and power houses contain 12 MILLION cubic yards of concrete, The water flows through the pen-stock at 70 mph, and past each of the turbines at about 110,000 gallons per SECOND!!! The dam makes so much electricity that they sell it as far away as southern California.

When you are inside, the whole structure vibrates and you can hear the roar of water constantly.

When we went into the room that houses the generator shafts, the noise increased 100 times and so did the vibration! The shafts are 8 feet in diameter and spin at 72 RPM.

Later that night we saw a laser show displayed on the spillway which told the story of the dam and then showed shapes and stuff like that. Hard to describe, kinda like a fireworks show. I tried ti take pictures, but i could not capture the effects. If you are ever out this way I HIGHLY recommend seeing the dam and the laser show.

The dam is 1 mile long!

Into the labyrinth of tunnels under the dam

Looking at the dust covers on the generators. (Too dangerous to go in)

An attempt to capture the laser show

Looking along part of the top

Making power at a display at the visitor center

Leavenworth

When we stayed in Wenatchee, Washington three days ago (July 22) we visited a nearby town called Leavenworth. In the 1980s it began to become an abandoned ghost town. The people got together and decided that they would do something out of the ordinary to attract people to their town. They made it a tourist attraction by adding the German flair that makes it so darling! Everything there looks like it was cut out of a Bavarian hillside town and pasted in Leavenworth! Here's some pics. Us Kids at the Welcome to Leavenworth! sign. I'm guessing that's what it means...

The Post Office. Isn't it cool?

The Cold Stone Creamery in town. It's so neat!

How about this one? lol!!

We found our house! Just kidding! We found a small driftwood hut and decided that we would make an advertisement for it!

FOR SALE:

Small, driftwood beach cottage on beautiful Whidbey Island overlooking Puget Sound. Bordered-in yard and landscaped garden. Bay window and new roof! Near to neighborhood playground and has adjoining woods. Borders government land. Constructed in 2007.

Two of the owners by the sign

House and bordered garden and yard

Interior (Living Room) Bay window is to the left.

Thank you for looking!

Ha ha ha!!!!!!!!

Whidbey Island -----> Yakima

Exploring Whidbey Island was a great experience! We saw a few small farms including one that had Alpacas. (Micheal :-) ) They were adorable! We rode the ferry across Puget Sound and visited several lavender farms on the Olympic Peninsula (did you know that it's the lavender capital of North America?), we also saw nurseries and U-pick farms, where we got some great ideas.

We left the island this morning and drove through Seattle on our way to Yakima, where we are now. We though of you, Mr. Mark! I took a picture of the space needle from a very rough I-5 through downtown Seattle. I hope it turns out alright!

Mom and Dad hope to close on the house by Wednesday! So, hopefully, we can move in soon and get our berries planted.

That's all for now. We might not have a computer for a few more days, so see ya later!

The Greenbank Farm, once one of the largest Loganberry farms in the world, now a tourist attraction and an alpaca farm.

Eating lunch

....and more lunch

Hi,Michael!! (And every one else)

A beautiful Whidbey Island sunset.

The Space Needle. (A remarkable picture considering the condition of the road, lol!)

Update Again

Well, hello, everyone!
Hooray- it looks like we might be able to close within the week! Hopefully by next Wednesday, which would mean moving in within two weeks if all goes well. We can't move right in, the house needs some work, like carpet out of bedrooms, paint, etc. We're just ready to get some space!!! I'll get some more pictures as soon as possible of the inside.
As you know, we're here on the other side of the state for a vacation. We're finding out what the rest of "our" state looks like. We're solar-powered, for sure! We're starting to rust in the gloom here! Quote from a native: "Folks don't tan over here, we rust!" I agree. As does Floridian mom!
Oh, a side note. It's Mom and Dad's 21st anniversary today! Congratulations, (and thanks,) Mom and Dad!

Farther West

Well, here we are, finally on a real vacation!! No house hunting,etc. We crossed the great Cascade mountains yesterday, with disastrous results to one of our tires. I (Roberta) was listening to Elsie Dinsmore on audio book (very entertaining, I highly recommend it) when we all heard a terrific BANG!! and the right rear tire had blown. Fortunately, we were just hitting our maximum ascent speed (about 25-35 mph) and so were spared to horrors of a high-speed blowout. God was really looking out for us.
Roberta

Joe adds:

Evidently we hit a rock in the road and it caused the tire to go. The force of the explosion almost ripped the tire off the wheel rim. Dad and I got out to fix it and Hannah took the pictures.

The Cascades

Our blown tire
















Dad and Joe Putting the spare on.

Not about our move but.......

From Dougs Blog

U.S. Supreme Court Acknowledges Home Schooling

“If parents do not like the rules imposed by those schools, they can seek redress in school boards or legislatures; they can send their children to private schools or home school them; or they can simply move.”
There are two interesting issues in the following comment by Justice Clarence Thomas in the United States Supreme Court decision Morse v. Frederick. The case addressed the alleged free speech rights of a teenager to display a banner at school promoting illegal drug use. The first is the official mention of home education in a United States Supreme Court decision. This would have been nearly unthinkable three decades ago. For this mention of home education by Justice Thomas, we can thank God for the influence of men like Mike Farris, Chris Klicka, Mike Smith, and the hundreds of parents who were sacrificial lambs in the quarter century modern battle for home education.
The second point of interest is the simple fact that schools have the right to set rules. These rules may be favorable to Christians or unfavorable, but it is the nature of any educational institution that discipline, propriety and, perhaps especially, worldview, are implicit to the nature of the school. Rules and standards are inescapable. The only question is which worldview will govern the choice of rules.
Of course, it is true that even a broken clock is right twice a day. And this time the school was right. But next time it might not be. Christians who send their children to government schools should not be surprised when their children are given rules deeply offensive to Christians. In my view, such Christians would be well served to take the second part of Justice Thomas’ advice to them by exiting the schools in search of another alternative—home education, for example. I would simply add this—don’t wait for the rules to deteriorate further than they have, and don’t view the exclusion of illegal drug promoting t-shirts as a glorious victory upon which to accept the dominion of government schools over our children. The government school as an institution is at war with Christianity. It is a reflection of evolutionary and humanist faith. This faith is basic to the modern school. It influences its social culture, English courses, civics studies, sports programs and, of course, science classes.

Picture #3

The barn. Itsn't it quaint?
I'll get more later, time's up!
Love,
Hannah

Picture

The Silo.

Picture

Found a picture on the internet!

The house, from the road. There's actually a few more trees...this was probably taken from the bridge over the creek. In fact, it was!
Love ya'll
Hannah

Well Problems... No More!

Yes! I'm sure you're all very glad to hear that we don not have any problems with the wells (yes, it's plural, I didn't know there were two!)! Between the two of them we're going to be able to get 15 gallons per minute! Plus the creek out front and the seasonal creek along the Southern side of the property line. Thanks for all your prayers...we should be able to close within ten days!!! That means moving in within two weeks, hopefully by next weekend. (Not this weekend, the next) Hope to update y'all soon from our very own computer! (and you all know what that means...our very own house!)
Love Ya!
Hannah on behalf of all the P family.
(P.S. Pictures to follow)

Keep Praying...Well Problems!

Well, I know some of you know how tedious well working is! For a seven-acre blueberry farm with drip irrigation, you need your well to produce about 10-15 gallons per minute (gpm). On this certain house, the well has not been measured lately, and the problem is: if this well produces too little water, we have to find a different house. The well man is coming at 4:00 this afternoon. So, we're all praying God's will be done!

Continuing...

Hi, there!
Well, here we are, back at the library, where I can get you all up-to-date on what has happened since I saw a computer last. (Which was yesterday!) Nothing much. We're working on making the farm our own, but first we have to settle the question of water rights to the creek that runs through the front of the property.
Apparently, there are no written documents that say who and what goes where and when, but Mom and Dad talked to the farmer up the road, who has been using it for twenty years and hopes that Dad and Mom won't mind sharing with all of them. All those farmers up there have been there since their great-grandfathers discovered Addy, Washington. (Just Kidding) But keep praying! We're getting closer!
Love, Hannah

Hello!

Hi, Everyone!
Hope you had a fantabulistic Fourth! We sure did.
Well, we seem to find ourselves really liking a property in Addy, Washington. In fact, Mom and Dad have made an offer on it, and have been accepted! If all goes well, we'll be moving in no later than July 31. There are some hoops to jump through, so pray we can get it all figured out! (We all really like this one!) Believe us, we've seen some nasty places.

Goodbye for now,

Closing In

We have it narrowed down to a few properties now! Please pray for wisdom for Mom and Dad as they make important decisions.