No place like...

We said goodbye to Amanda, Tom and our precious little girls this morning. It was amazing watching Maya change so much in just a week.  By today, she was already alert and awake for long periods of time and looking at things around her. She has a charming way of being expressive and undemanding at the same time.  She looks at you with a sweet contented smile. (No, it is not gas.)  And she makes that perfect baby eye contact that steals your heart. 

The Twisp River Suites is pretty fancy digs, but our humble home sure feels good tonight.  I took some pasta sauce out of the freezer and John is happy. The garden got a good watering, the bird feeder is empty and there are chores.  A week is a long time to leave this city house to itself, and we're always relived to see everything is fine.

Washington Pass- Elevation 5,476

We left the Methow Valley on a sunny morning, but within an hour it was deep winter in the North Cascades.  A foot of snow is expected tonight, so I'm glad we got home before Washington Pass is truly white knuckle driving.  Even in those conditions, drivers still speed, tail gate and pass rudely.  You'd think we could take better care of each other in the wilderness.