Back at the Ranch: Week Two

It was a busy first week with Dani and Charli, and we were very sore from spelunking in the Ape Caves on Saturday, May 6th, so we all spent Sunday resting in the house. After a relaxing day off, it was back to weeding, tilling, and pulling blackberry vines on Monday and Tuesday, while the sun was out and shining. On Tuesday, we got a call from Terry, a friend of Dani and Charli’s who owns a small nursery that we had visited the week before. She wanted to know if we wanted some paid work. How could we turn that down? We made arrangements to borrow Dani’s truck, and on Wednesday, we went over to Terry’s.

Terry and her husband, John, own several acres a few miles away from Charli and Dani’s ranch. They operate a small flower nursery out of their property, and raise chickens for eggs and bees for honey. Terry is a fantastic flower grower who gets commissions for large baskets from several surrounding towns, and her business is flourishing through word-of-mouth from her loyal customers. Her husband, John, is a recently retired veterinarian who enjoys keeping bees and keeps himself busy around their property with lots of projects. They hired us for the day to help them with some upkeep around their property, and we were happy to help, as they have a lot of work to do all on their own. We spent a few hours mowing the grass around the property, trimming back the weeds, and pressure washing the winter’s moss and dirt off their back patio area. They were thankful for the help, and we were thankful for the extra spending cash! It was a fun day of work on their property, and we even learned some new things, like how to use a pressure washer and drive a medium-sized tractor!

Back at the ranch on Thursday, it was a very rainy day, so we stayed indoors and did some cleaning, and Andrea baked beer bread and carrot cake. Friday’s weather was also pretty miserable, but Mitch learned to drive their Kubota tractor to move hay bales, and he and Dani gave the horses new hay while Andrea helped Charli install new home phones in the house. We needed more eggs, so rather than go to the store, Dani called up a neighbor who raises chickens to see if they had eggs for sale. They had several dozen, so we drove over to pick some up and chat for a bit. They took us for a tour around their beautiful flower gardens, and showed us where they will be planting their vegetables once the rainy weather subsides. It was nice to see another garden and learn a little bit more about how others grow their vegetables and plant flowers.

When the weather cleared up a little bit, Dani showed us how to do some maintenance on the tractor, and we cleaned up the grill and got the house ready for some dinner guests: Dane, who is the son of Mitch’s second cousin, Sam (the guy we went with into the Ape Caves); Tyler, Dane’s friend who lived with Dani and Charli for two years while he was in college; and Tyler’s fiancee, Brionna. They brought steaks and vegetables, cooked for us, and we all shared the delicious meal inside while it poured outside. After dinner was all cleaned up, we played cards and talked until the middle of the night. It was a wonderful time, and Mitch was happy to be spending some time with a third cousin that he hadn’t seen for many years.

The three guests left the next morning, which happened to be Charli’s birthday! To celebrate, we made a big brunch for her, including a steak and veggie egg scramble, bacon, and hashbrowns. Since the weather was fairly clear, Dani and Charli invited us to the nearby Olympic National Forest for a drive and some short hikes, as they do every year for Charli’s birthday and Mother’s Day. The forest was beautiful, with moss growing in abundance and flowing streams and waterfalls everywhere from the winter’s rains and snowfalls. Dani showed us some of the logging history around the area, including the site of the country’s last residential logging camp and some old railroad trestles that stand to this day. We also visited Spoon Falls, Satsop Lakes, and drove up a mountain until we reached the snow line and couldn’t go any farther. We played in the snow with the dogs until it started to rain, then drove home to relax for the evening. It was a wonderful day in a breath-taking forest, and we were grateful for the time spent in nature.

The next day was Mother’s Day, so Andrea made a pancake breakfast for Charli and Dani to celebrate. That afternoon, we all piled back into the car for a drive to the Pacific Coast. Our first stop was Brady’s Oysters, where we tried some smoke oysters for the first time. They were tasty! Our next stop was a walk along the beach at Twin Harbors State Park. After enjoying the sand and a little bit of sun peeking through the clouds, we drove over to the Grays Harbor Lighthouse. None of us felt like climbing the 135 steps to the top of the lighthouse, but we enjoyed touring the inside and learning a bit about its history from the volunteer who was working there. It was starting to rain, so we rushed back into the car for a short drive around the cute beach town of Westport, making a quick stop at a viewing tower to better see North Bay and the town. The weather was still rainy, so Dani suggested that we pick up a six-pack of beverages and make a stop at John and Terry’s place, to share in their annual tradition of a Mother’s Day libation, as they called it. We all sat in her large greenhouse, surrounded by beautiful flowers, sharing drinks and stories as the rain fell outside. It was a great way to end the holiday weekend.

Monday brought new adventures, and more rain. We got up early in the morning, drove over to Dani’s neighbors’ house to pick up Deb, and made the nearly 2-hour drive out to Bremerton. Once there, we walked onto a ferry to cross the Puget Sound into Seattle. It was a beautiful ferry ride, with great views of the houses and forests that lined the Sound, and great views of Seattle as we approached the dock. Once we arrived, Deb’s son, Cass, picked us up and drove us over to Pioneer Square. He and Deb dropped us and Dani off at the square, so that we could check out the area while he showed his mom his new apartment. Dani had told us that there were tours of the city’s underground area, which was left behind when the city rebuilt itself from the ashes of the Great Seattle Fire of 1889. We found a small tour company called Beneath the Streets, and got our tickets for the next tour.

The tour was really informative, and we learned a lot about the history of Seattle. Our tour guide tried to cover as much of Seattle’s history as he could in the span of an hour. It turns out that the basement we started the tour in wasn’t really a basement because it wasn’t actually underground. Generations ago, Seattle was a flood plain, but the pioneers of the time settled the area anyway. This meant that the streets regularly turned to mud and shopkeepers had to deal with regular flooding. After the Great Fire, the city took the opportunity to raise its buildings by one story. Retaining walls were built on the sides of the streets which were then filled with soil that was washed out from the surrounding cliffs. After the streets were raised between 8-35 feet, the sidewalks still needed to be built to connect to the buildings that were built after the fire. For a while before the city undertook the sidewalk project, you would have to descend a ladder from the street to access the storefronts. Eventually, the sidewalks were built like bridges from the street across to the second stories of the surrounding buildings. Roman arches connected buildings to the streets, leaving empty walkways beneath. This sub-tropolis ended up being used for a variety of nefarious activities that the city wanted to keep “underground”. During prohibition many speakeasies and brothels occupied these spaces. The homeless often took up residence there as well. Now, the underground is less crime-ridden and is mostly used for tours. Some businesses who wish to use the space beneath their buildings can lease it from the city and rebuild it to fit their needs.

After the tour, we walked around the Pioneer Square area for a bit, then stopped and had a delicious lunch at Bakeman's Restaurant, a local dive for fresh sandwiches and soup. With our bellies full, we visited a toy and game store that was mentioned during the tour and walked down to their basement. On the wall, amid the action figures and children’s books we could see what remained of the archways that connected the storefronts of Seattle’s past. It was really fascinating to learn and see a part of Seattle’s history that is little known outside of the city, and experience its past in a new perspective.

As we emerged from the toy store, it was starting to rain, so we walked briskly up the street a half-mile to Pike Place Market. It was fun to walk around and check out the shops, especially since we were no longer walking in the rain. We met up again with Deb and Cass, along with Cass’ girlfriend, Martisse. Together, we walked around the market, and checked out the famous Gum Wall in an alley that’s under the market. We took a short stroll down to the waterfront, where we walked around the area known as Miner’s Landing.

We had seen a lot of shops, and were ready for a break, so Cass and Martisse invited us back to their new apartment for a drink. We walked two blocks up a steep hill (who knew Seattle was so hilly?!) and down a few more blocks, we arrived at the tall apartment building. Cass first took us up to the deck on the 28th floor, so we could get a nice view of Lake Washington and downtown.

With rain still coming down, we quickly went down to his apartment on the 12th floor and chatted for a while. Cass then drove us over to the ferry landing to catch a late-afternoon ferry, and we said our goodbyes and thanked him for showing us around Seattle. We took the ferry back to the car, drove home, ate a very late dinner, then relaxed for the rest of the night. We had a wonderful time in Seattle with new friends, and are grateful to Dani and Charli for another wonderful week at their ranch!