Yesterday the pass was closed off and on, then chains were required. I fretted about what to do until John wisely suggested that we wait a couple hours (the weather was supposed to improve) and that he had no problem driving over. So, we took off in the Great White Whale(aka Ford F350 Powerstroke diesel)...
The snowy trees made it like look like fairy tale land, but the roads were CLEAR.
The skiers are in heaven this year because our mountains are getting dumped on.
At the Summit there were walls of snow, and lines of vehicles in the right lane trying to exit to the ski areas.
John's enormous big pick up cruised over the pass, and then we were on to Poochie's place to meet the rest of the family helpers. (who only annoyed me sometimes) My cousin is still bossy, and my sister-in-law opinionated. And John was a fussbudget about recycle versus garbage versus donate. However, after two gigantic loads to the dump, and one packed trip to the Goodwill in Ellensburg, we were all very thankful for the Great White Whale AND John.
We found wonderful photos of Grandpa and Poochie flying his Beechcraft Bonanza split tail. We called it "Papa Bravo" after its registration number. John, being the aviation geek that he is, used that number to track the plane down to Georgia, where it's still being flown. That was exciting news, especially when he found recent photos and logs of the trips it's taken. :)
In spite of our different flinging styles, what a fabulous guy John is! This was a mini-break he took to eat--in between strapping all sorts of furniture and other items into his pick up, driving the goods around the area, and dealing with my relatives. He did give Sister-in-Law the side eye a few times though.
I begged encouraged my brother to model a wig we found. I don't think even John argued about it being garbage and not a donation!
The landlady wanted the desk, and two rocking chairs, and a friend of Poochie's was delighted with the grandfather's clock, which would have been extremely challenging to transport. However, we did turn it on so we grandchildren could reminisce about the clock we grew up with in my grandfather's house. Every time it chimed, I got a twinge of nostalgia. Sniff.
My cousin's husband photoshopped himself in; he's not really that tall. ;) He's very nice; honestly, I like him better than my cousin. We mostly agreed on everything, and John and I finished up the job today since we had spent the night. I wanted to come back another time, but John was insistent about loading up his truck to bring all the sh*t stuff west. Inside I thought, "ARGGGHH!" but I just smiled, and thanked him.
Since I try to be honest on the blog, ARRGGGHH!
On the plus side, my guy made sure we had a delicious take out pizza from here to eat in our hotel room. (note: Cle Elum has lots of elk, but all we saw were piles of elk scat in Poochie's back yard) I would have loved to see a herd of elk!
He was also kind enough to drive me by my grandparents' old house, where we admired the windows, and I almost got weepy, thinking about the times I spent there as a child.
When I intimated that I would be interested in visiting the cemetery on our way out of town, he was eager to see the family mausoleum, as well as using his skills to find Poochie's grave, which was covered in snow. He wasn't even grouchy when his truck bogged down in the mud, and he had to use 4 wheel low to extricate us. I was nervous enough for both of us.
See that unusual headstone behind me? That's how we John located Poochie's grave, so that I could scrape off the snow and pay my respects.
I didn't realize how snowy this photo would be, but I like its eerie and floating vibe. I came back home to Dad still in the hospital, and no positive changes on that front. :( On the flip side, Poochie's estate appears to be worth much, much more than I anticipated. Money means very little though when I'm losing people I care about and want around forever, unrealistic as that might be. One crisis day at a time, right?
