Ardis Journal Entry

A beautiful day.  Blue skies, puffy little white clouds, and a perfect temperature of 75 degrees.  I don't care for heat.  Heat means wearing a bonnet, or getting sunburned because of my fair Scottish skin.  Today?  I didn't care about a sun burn, and I refused to wear a bonnet.  I spent most of the day outside.  I love to hike about the area where Blake's ranch is located.  The mountains are almost in the backyard.

Now that I live in town with Will and Lucy, the mountains are a little further away.  Today, the three of us went for a picnic.  Will is always so busy.  Lucy and I talked him into taking a day off.  I wanted them to see Fern Falls, and the mysterious place that John Stone, Blake, and I found  above the falls.  I warned them that it was a long drive, but none of us cared.  We told tall tales, laughed, sang silly songs, and laughed some more.

Lucy and I had made fried chicken, and a potato salad.  We also ate some bottled peaches.  The dessert was Red's amazing chocolate cake.  I finally convinced him to give me the recipe.  I can't believe that I managed to make it myself....with some help from Lucy.  She's an amazing cook.  She has tried to help me to understand how to gauge the heat caused by wood stoves.  Honestly, I wish that someone would figure out how to make an oven cook at the temperature you want!  It's hard when you're adding wood, and stoking the fire to keep it just right.

Anyway, Will and Lucy were just as amazed at Fern Falls as I am.  After we ate our delicious lunch, the three of us trooped up to the circle room.  Lucy was fascinated by the art work.  Will not quite as much the art work as the sliding door to get into the space.

 I still wonder, "Who were these people?  I have never heard of any Indian tribes that lived in this area.  I know that when Astoria was first settled, there were several tribes of Indians that lived in this area, at the mouth of the Columbia river.  They were very wealthy because so many tribes would travel the Columbia to come here and trade.

It's awful to me how poorly many of the native tribes have been treated.  It seems like the fur trappers marry the women, and then who did the native men marry?

I feel asleep in the back of the wagon traveling home.  Lucy had to work hard to wake me up and get me to bed.  It was truly a wonderful day!