the (anniversary) wknd in thumbnail sketch

saturday we left seattle after a good night of drinking and a great breakfast (thanks blake and michelle). headed toward snoqualamie. had cherry pie at diner from twin peaks. drove to the falls. long drive to winthrop from there. we drove past and then returned to first Stafford poem ("time for serenity anyone") just outside Pateros on state road 20. decided to alternate reading them aloud. i went first. back in car, twelve minutes later we found the next one ("from the wild people"). marg read as a nearby helicopter dropped water on what looked like a controlled burn.

we drove along the methow river, which looked like this:



found our way to our cabin and went to dinner in nearby town of winthrop. fields aswarm w/ feeding deer.

the next am, the birds were like television. we found poem 3 ("ask me") right there in downtown winthrop. you'd never know it was there but it was, quietly sitting, waiting, a perfect little provocation.

a couple hours later we were on top of horses, riding up a steep ridge. it felt steep to me anyway. my heart thundered and was later quieted by IPA. ended up back in winthrop for dinner where we discussed the merits of provocation, the necessity of idealism, and the disbelief that we somehow engulfed a whole pizza.

next morning on way out we could not find next poem. had momentary urging to drive on but we stuck it out and turned around. parked at a trailhead and walked down a mountain path. found it ("where we are") beside a suspension bridge.



the last one was way up, at washington pass. when we got there the road was closed.
we parked the car and walked around the obstacle and headed toward where the poem must be. it was most difficult to find and most rewarding. "a valley like this".

we got in car and made the long drive home...

some pix are here