summit...

Though some might call it a retreat...others a conference...I am referring to it as a 'summit'.   And that is where I will be for the next few days...too pre-occupied to tend to things on 'My Front Porch'.

As this is published...a few of the delegates are winging their way to our local airport...and some of us will be there to meet and greet...of course! 

By plane...by car...they are coming from afar.  I'll be back to tell you about it...maybe at the end of the week.

Oh...and you might want to check out the Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog tomorrow.  I'm just saying!

Have a great day...

a salmon bonanza...

Anyone with a fishing rod who is able to make his/her way to the Fraser River ... seems to be hauling in a sockeye salmon these days.  After three years of low numbers of salmon returning to the mighty Fraser ... and amid fears that the big salmon runs of the past were gone forever ... an estimated 30 million sockeye are expected to swim upriver this year ... the largest number on record since 1913.  Since the Fraser River passes through the valley a few miles north of our home...and we have friends and family who like to try their hand at fishing...we have enjoyed fresh sockeye over the past few weeks.

Yesterday we decided to take a drive to the mouth of the Fraser ... where the commercial fisherman are bringing their bounty to the docks ... and locals are flocking to buy fresh sockeye right off the boat.

We just came to observe!  Good thing ... because I don't think I would have had the patience to stand in line to make my purchase.

We walked down the wharf...

...and heard the merchants advertising the 'last salmon of the day'. 

Customers forgot all about being polite...in their enthusiasm to bag a salmon or two!  Many of those waiting in line will have gone home disappointed.

Others trotted off with their purchases in hand ...

 ...or on the back.

Salmon...salmon everywhere!

A little Irish entertainment...a lot of fresh sea air...and some fish  & chips (salmon and halibut) on the wharf...

...Steveston was a good place to spend a Sunday afternoon. 

the birds...and the bees...

We had a few showers yesterday morning.

Just before the rain arrived...

...the starlings gathered on our front yard for a little meeting.  

Maybe they had a change of plans because of the weather.

  

I chose to go ahead with my schedule and work outside.  

I got wet!

As for the bees...they look quite lovely sitting on the flowers...or thistles.  

Wasps or hornets on our house...not so much!

I noticed yesterday that they rather like the chimney...

and have settled in right next to it...

a bee subdivision of sorts...

with nests all the way to the top.  

That would be 30 feet up there...

and I have not yet found anyone who seems overly enthusiastic about going up to 're-locate' the nests.

I'm still working on that one!

Have a wonderful weekend.

green beans ~ harvest to table

I noticed the green bean harvest was underway locally.

I think that taking pic's...

...is much easier than pickin' beans!

But taking pic's got me thinking about green bean soup.

So I brought home a bag of fresh green beans...

and we had green bean soup for supper last night.

Did I mention that it was a very hot day...

not actually a good day for soup!

We went on an ice-cream run after supper...

and cooled off with some good friends.

Have a great day!

fall is in the air...

Though we are enjoying a beautiful summer over here...

and have had next to no rain since the beginning of July...

there are signs that fall is around the corner.  

Once in awhile...

I'm up early enough to see the first light of dawn...

and a blanket of low-lying fog across the fields.

That was 'my front porch' view early the other morning.

As for the back patio view...

where we often have breakfast...

this is how it looks this morning.  

We moved the heater out there last night...

since the mornings and evenings are a little nippy these days.  

I like summer...and am always sad to see it go.  

But fall is good too...and it's coming!

gorges, dams and the rest of the journey....

Back to the road trip!  I'll wrap up our last week of travels in one final post...New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Oregon, Washington...and home. 

Taos, New Mexico is a comfortable, tourist town at the base of the Sangre de Christo Mountains...rather laid back and artsy. 

In winter...it's all about skiing.  In summer...Taos is a tourist destination.  We spent one night...and carried on our way. 

A few miles west of Taos, we came to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge...

...which sits some 650 feet above the Rio Grande river below...one of the highest bridges in the US.  We parked and walked onto the bridge...and wondered for a moment if we were in Mexico or New Mexico as we passed by all the vendors waiting for free-spending tourists.

We drove through desert...just as I would have expected in new Mexico. What I didn't expect...was the tall rock formation that suddenly loomed in the distance. 

My first thought was 'Haystack Rock at Canon Beach'...but as we got nearer I realized this was much bigger than the famous Oregon coast rock. It is in fact called Shiprock...and is the most prominent landmark in northern New Mexico.

We saw it coming in the distance...an evening storm that soon enveloped us.  And so ended our visit to New Mexico.  The morning dawned bright and clear...and we travelled through a wee stretch of Arizona.  Though we knew nothing about Glen Canyon Dam...it looked quite impressive and so we stopped.

The Glen Canyon Dam is located on the Colorado River...upstream from Grand Canyon.  The dam caused the flooding of Glen Canyon...and created a large reservoir which is called Lake Powell.  It is quite  lovely lake in the desert and a popular tourist attraction.

We checked out of Arizona and into Utah right after leaving Glen Canyon.  I've already taken you to a few of my favorite spots in Utah...so I'll leave you with one last image.

That would be Bryce Canyon...of course!

From Utah...we passed through northeast Oregon...

...though it looked rather like Saskatchewan to me.  From there...we were on the home stretch...and our summer road trip 2010 was about to end.

Thanks for joining me on the road!  Until next time...I'll be back to blogging close to home.

cooked to perfection...

Someone in our neighbourhood was celebrating a milestone over the weekend...

and her family decided to go 'whole hog' and throw a big party.

The tents and heaters arrived...

the tables and chairs...

and even the hog and the BBQ were delivered.

Then came the friends, family and neighbours...of all ages...in droves.

It seems that pigs are easier to move from the grill to the table...than from the pen to pen.

Though there may be many ways to carve a pig...he did it like a pro!.

We had a feast...and a good time...and Sue had a birthday she won't forget anytime soon!

If you happen to live in this part of the world...

and a hosting a pork bbq sounds like a fun idea to you...

contact our neighbourhood bbq guy at Whole Hog BBQ 

and he'll be happy to deliver. 

Happy Monday...

What is there to see in Colorado Springs?

Well, let me tell you!  We followed up on many of your suggestions...and found some most interesting places to visit while in the area.

Garden of the Gods seemed to be high on everyone's list...and for good cause!

Located just north of the city...the 'garden' is in reality a park made up of unusual rock formations. The property was donated to the city in 1909 with the stipulation that admission to the park would be free...and so it is...even 100 years later. 

There are many hiking trails...and rock climbing is allowed with a permit.  The rocks all come with interesting names...like Tower of Babel, Siamese Twins and Balanced Rock.

Not far from the Garden of Gods...is the United States Air Force Academy.  It would not have been high on my priority list of places to visit...but we were told we shouldn't miss it.  And so we toured...and it was most interesting!

The campus covers 18,000 acres on the east side of the Rockies just north of Colorado Springs. 

The 4,400 cadets had just finished their lunch when we visited...and left the dining hall in fine form!

No one was out of step. 

They are in sync at all times!

The showpiece of the campus is the Air Force Academy Chapel...an all-faith house of worship designed to meet the spiritual needs of cadets. It contains a separate chapel for Protestant, Catholic, Jewish and Buddhist religious faiths, plus two all-faiths worship rooms. We took a tour of the aluminum, glass and steel structure which features 17 spires...and was completed in 1959. 

The Academy is one of the largest tourist attractions in Colorado...and attracts more than a million visitors each year.

Another top attraction in the area is the cog railway to Pike's Peak...which is easily the highest railway in North America. 

Since 1891, Pikes Peak Cog Railway has taken millions of people on an unforgettable trip to 14,110 feet! Though the view was not the best on the day we chose to visit the peak...the ride was one we won't forget...and the donuts at the top were as a bonus!

Someone suggested we take in the chuckwagon supper at the Flying W Ranch...and so we did.  What fun!

The Flying W Ranch is a working mountain cattle ranch that has specialized in western food and entertainment since 1953. The Flying W Wranglers serve the authentic cowboy dinner...and top the evening off with a 'country and western' stage show...which is really very good.  I'm guessing there were close to a thousand people there...tourists from all parts of the globe...having a good time...cowboy style.

Thanks to all of you who told us what to see and do in Colorado Springs.  We also visited Focus on the Family headquarters, Glen Eyrie Castle, Manitou Springs...and our home base was the KOA...as usual.  We had a good time! 

Have a wonderful weekend...

everyday pleasures...

Happiness consists more in small conveniences or pleasures that occur every day than in great pieces of good fortune that happen but seldom to a man in the course of his life.

Benjamen Franklin.

Here's a few everyday things that make me smile...

The grands always have a way of making me smile.

Whether emptying the fountain...

..or flipping their way across the lawn...

one can't help but smile.

A hummingbird posing for just a second...

a pleasure one cannot buy.

Friends...

those who supplied the peaches...

and those who came for dinner last night...

and had peach pie with us.

Enjoy your day...

and take pleasure in the little things!