9/28/15 Hoover Dam and Lake Mead, Nevada

A nice relaxing drive in our new truck to Lake Mead RV Village next to the Hoover Dam and another state sticker on the map. Although it's 107 degrees, it cools quickly to the 80's at dusk as we watch a coyote spring through the park.  We have seen so many

Coyote in Campground

magnificent sunsets on this trip but this one rates among the very best.  Decades of drought have taken the lake down well over 100 feet making the once lake front campground a half mile walk away from the water.

Next morning we scoot over to Hoover Dam and marvel at the technology needed in 1931-1936 to build this colossal structure. They say there is enough

concrete in the dam to pave a two-lane highway from San Francisco to New York. Standing atop it, it warms my heart to know that core samples tested in 1995 show no signs of deterioration.  Took 5 years to build which included first having to build tunnels to divert the raging Colorado River, and 2 coffer dams on each side of the construction site and then the dam itself.  Hummmm, that's about how long it is taking our builder to build two 3 story, 8 unit buildings and a club house....Sorry, just couldn't resist.

White Area Normal Level of Colorado River 

 Turbine Room At Bottom of Dam

Our Condo, Building Two

9/27/15 San Diego with Jack

Jack and Mom at Sweetwater Campground

As we pull into San Diego's Sweetwater Summit Campground, perched on a rolling hillside with a lovely valley view, our Camp Host neighbor says "glad you are here, wasn't sure you were going to make it for dinner".  Along with several Park Rangers and fellow Camp Hosts, we are invited to a freshly caught fish cookout including sticky rice, yummy fresh tuna jerky and Fireball Whisky to close the evening. Happy to have Jack join us, the gang of mostly Navy/Marine vets enjoyed listening to his plans and thanked him for his service.  We are SO very proud of him.

Ford 350 Crew Cab Long Bed

Truck issues finally force us to buy a new one and the process took 4 LONG DAYS! Day 1 is paperwork.  Day 2 is driving 220 miles round-trip to Riverside to get a new hitch base, get it installed, then drive 350 miles round-trip to Yuma, Arizona to take delivery of said truck (the dealer's recommendation to avoid California sales tax since we are not residents).   Our old truck practically died pulling into the Lowe's parking lot where we met with a Yuma notary who verifies we took possession outside California. We swap trucks with the Ford Dealer's driver, put on our old Montana license plates, drive back to San Diego in our new unregistered truck (no dealer plates or have to pay $4,000 sales tax), and are luckily waived through the California Border Patrol check point.  Day 3 is spent correcting the new truck title that had the old truck's odometer reading on it.  Day 4 is getting it accessorized including running boards so Deb doesn't need a ladder to get in.  Love the bigger, stronger, longer truck but hard to park!

We learn the hard way why many RVs have circled their rigs with all sorts of chemicals to keep ants out.  We get ants and do what is recommended on the internet, put liquid borax traps (Walmart) around the room.  Do you believe everything you read on the internet???  Well a few hundred tiny ants turn into THOUSANDS and they are climbing the walls everywhere.  The borax worked in that they were all gone the next day but how about next time putting the traps outside near the RV and not draw them in???

Seems like we have been in stressful situations for months and so it continues. Chili just had a  8.3 earthquake generating a tsunami warning up the southern California coast and a thunderstorm in Utah led to flash floods in Zion National Park (our next stop) killing 17 hikers.  We are fried, and having already seen soooo many beautiful places in this country, we skip the planned trip to Utah's Zion, Bryce, and Monument National Parks and settle down here for 8 more days and then go direct to the Grand Canyon.  We have gotten to the point where we are not appreciating these magnificent sites so will save Utah for another trip.

USS Midway Museum

Jack takes us on a tour of the surface fleet and we go aboard the aircraft carrier Midway.  This was the first ship Grandpa French served on as a Seaman Recruit in 1950! We  have a fantastic walk around Cabrillo National Park and visit to Mission San Diego.  Mid-week we catch a Padres game with Jack, and spend time hanging around Hotel Del Coronado with

Hotel Del Coronado

Virginia friends John and Vicki who are here vacationing.  Next weekend, with Jack we hike around Torrey Pines and boogie board, watch ECU beat VA Tech at Jack's Coronado apartment, and experience the blood moon eclipse overlooking the ocean on the deck of the Hotel Del with John and Vicki.  So hard to leave after visiting with either one of our kids.

Jack's Coronado Apartment View

9/15/15 Point Mugu, California

Towed Off Point Mugu Beach

 Today was not for the faint of heart but one that tests our positivity skills and our commitment to continue this Freedom Folly. The truck acts like it has had enough of 14 months of towing us around the country so we plan to buy a new one when we get to San Diego. 

We arrive at Point Mugu State Park, near Malibu California, where the beach is the only thing on this sliver of land surrounded by a crescent of large steep hills.  We park parallel to the beach so our feet step into the sand at the bottom of the RV steps.  Life is good!

Then realize – the RV battery is so low the slides won’t open.

Then realize – the fridge has an ignition default signal which probably ran the RV battery down.

Then realize – can’t start generator to charge battery because need a little juice from the battery.

Then realize – although we see truck tires in the sand, John tries to pull our monster truck beside the RV to charge the battery and it sinks 6 inches into the sand.

AW JEEZE!  We go from the height of ecstasy to the pit of despair in 15 minutes.  Good thing Deb’s reading The 10^th Insight by James Redfield (of The Celestine Prophecy fame) as we look at each other, smile, and say “THINK LOVING THOUGHTS SO THIS NEGATIVITY WILL STOP!” 
Immediately, a fellow camper watching this fiasco unfold offers to tow us out of the sand – no problem.

The truck battery cables just reach the generator and the jump works - no problem.

The RV slides open and the fridge default signal miraculously goes off, food is still cold – no problem.

YAHOO - We grab the boogie boards, hit the waves, drink lots of wine, watch an amazing sunset in front of the RV with our feet in the sand and gleefully acknowledge, as Deb’s sister Sherrie jokingly puts it …..it sucks to be us ;)

Yet another of John's cousins, Jim, came by for a wonderful visit getting to know each other after 50 years.  We then tear ourselves off the beach and drive 1.5 hours to Hollywood to visit with John's best high school buddy, Lee and wife Melanie.  It is great catching up with them and hearing about their current play and screen writing projects.  We arrive at the campground well after curfew and the gate is locked with no Ranger in sight.  John "MacGyver's" (1980's TV show hero can fix anything with a pocketknive) a wood platform over the exit-only spike strip and Deb gingerly drives over; no shredded tires and no arrests!

Relaxing on Point Mugu

9/12/15 Northern and Central California

CCC Bridge Sims Flat Campground

Mt Shasta's Peak from Sims Flat

    9/8 Yet another state sticker is added to our RV map as we drive Route 5 South through beautiful Oregon. Definitely want to spend more time along this coast and in the mountains.  So sad to see how low Lake Shasta is after many years of severe drought. We camp in Shasta National Forest at Sims Flat on the site of an old CCC camp.  A 1933 suspension bridge, water tank from an old locomotive, and foundation of a saw mill still remain.  Being the only campers in this remote campground, we spend a peaceful evening in our birthday suits drinking wine and reading while enjoying the dry 100 degree thick forest along the rushing river.

9/9 When not climbing up and down forest covered mountains, hundreds of miles of valleys are filled with olive groves, avocado, strawberry and many other types of produce.  In a 104 degree Walmart parking lot, John changes a flat tire on the RV (#6 new tire on this Freedom Folly).  East of Sacramento we have a swim and dinner at our 49ers Village Campground with Hawaii friends Dean and Jaynine who are on their own RV escapade for a few months. During dinner we see and smell smoke coming from the direction of their campground, so they scoot through flames on the way.

9/10 Next morning we meet John's cousin, Court, at a local diner after last night's fire burned the power lines leaving his home smokey and dark.  

Cousins Court and John

 (A week later this 'Butte Fire', employs more than 3,000 firefighters, consumes over 70,000 acres, 800 homes and out buildings, and 2 lives ...so far.)  Our friends and loved ones remain safe through this tragedy.  Many miles away, traffic crawls through the coastal mountains to Monterey Bay due to another fire activity along the roadside.  We inch by in 104 degree temps and are greeted on the other side to 64 degrees along the Bay.  We stay at the lovely Monterey Pines Campground surrounded by the Naval Postgraduate School (NPG) golf course.    We have dinner with an Operations Research icon from Johns past, Wayne and wife Joan, after cocktails at their most fantastic California casual home.  The salty air and homey Asian theme has Deb ready to move right in.

Fishing Boats Monterey Bay

9/11 The Monterey peninsula's average temp is normally 60’s in the summer, making it very pleasant to say the least.  The next morning we tour historic Hotel Del Monte which is now part of the Navy Postgraduate School complex. Being 9/11 we take a moment in the chapel to pray for the souls destroyed by terrorists in 2001 and for a better humanity.  John reminisces about several visits attending conferences at NPG and Asilomar. Just think we could have lived in this fabulous place when we moved from Hawaii to Washington DC but Deb wanted to be closer to her aging family on the east coast and was afraid of earthquakes.  We walk along Monterey Bay through groves of eucalyptus and pines, find fantastic sea glass for Deb’s mirror project, see sea lions basking on the piers, and watch squid fisherman unload their catch while enjoying coffee, pastry and fresh peaches for breakfast.  These Monterey Bay piers are where Arthur Beaumont (the official artist of the United States Fleet in WWII)  painted several watercolors of fishing boats of which we have 4 in various stages of completion.  We also have two Naval paintings he did in Antarctica  and the Artic.  We have a book of Naval history describing these paintings which says while painting he lit candles under the paint to keep it from freezing.  The paintings were acquired from a close friend of John’s parents (Marie Brooks) who Arthur Beaumont taught to paint.  We also have one of Marie’s still life paintings of a vase of flowers.

Pacific Coastal Highway

Around noon we are heading south on the 90 mile drive along the Pacific Coast Highway (Route #1) heading for Point Mugu.  Glad we took this 3 hour spectacular ocean drive along sheer mountain cliffs where there may be 20 miles of straight road BUT WILL NEVER DO IT AGAIN IN AN RV!  White knuckle all the way.  Camped at Hearst San Simeon State Park.  So drought stricken here you have to bring your own water and many trees are dying among the tinder dry grass. 

Hearst Castle

9/12 William Hearst's father made his fortune in the California gold rush but in silver.  He bought over 250,000 acres in San Simeon area.  When William inherited the property, he was already a mega wealthy 

Small Section of Hearst Pool

man and built a Mediterranean style castle atop one of its many hill tops.  Objects from Europe and some from Egypt dating back 3000 years make up the walls, ceilings, fireplaces and statuary.  A magnificent museum but an abomination upon this otherwise pristine landscape.  Still it is worth a visit. The beautiful sea side, rolling hills landscape is filled with sage, clusters of trees, grazing cattle, horses and from the Hearst Zoo days, zebra who have obviously bred with horses as some are half brown and half striped.  

9/8/15 Salem, Oregon

Welcome Cocktails in the RV

We put another state sticker on the map when we camp in Salem, Oregon behind John's cousin's house over Labor Day Weekend.  Megan's husband's family is having a wedding and we are graciously invited to attend a family function. Our John sees many people for the first time since Megan and John O. were married 40 years ago.  My how time flies. Dessert is a peach cut in half, grilled on

both sides, drizzled with honey (or your favorite liquor) and served with vanilla ice cream.  It is fantastic and works with nectarines with nectarines too!   We also gorged ourselves on salmon and halibut caught from their recent Alaska fishing trip.We finally got to wash the RV, had a great walk through a local park, and especially fun times with their kids, grand kids, and 85 year old Aunt Shirley who is a hoot and a half!

Jack 8 and Zoe 10

Bday 20 Years Later

We spend 4 well needed days relaxing around Salem while the kids are in San Francisco celebrating their same day birthdays.  This first day of school photo was taken on the porch of 127 RI Avenue home in Newport the day after their birthday.  They loved to celebrate bdays together with large themed events often coinciding with real life events like space ships, olympics,  and safari.  

A thoughtful friend of Debra's shares a very important piece of information that anyone who wants good relationships must read and heed :) 

9/3/15 Olympic Peninsula, Washington

Ruby Beach, Olympic National Park

The drive across the entire state of Washington to the Pacific coast  takes us about eight hours with stops and was appreciably uneventful. The storm the day before brought well needed rain which helped slow down the fires and clear the air a bit.  Grayland Beach Campground is very nice and peaceful with large private sites against the dunes which block the ocean view but not the sound of the waves. A few minute walk over the dunes we see an angry looking ocean after yesterday’s 90 mile an hour winds which knocked out power to the campground.  Not much to see around here so for two days we relax around the foggy, damp beach and pray for a clear sunny day which we have rarely seen since hitting the smoke filled Rockies in Montana two weeks ago.  We meet fellow full-timer campers who for four years have worked as camp hosts all over the country.  Sometimes working in the camp store, overseeing camper check in, managing campers “issues”, cleaning restrooms and cabins, etc.  We realize this is not for us although we may want to volunteer for some fun jobs if we stay in a place for a while.  Blackberry bushes cover the dune behind our site and we enjoy them for many breakfasts to come.

Kalaloch Roadside Campsite

It's only a two hour scenic drive up the coast to Olympic National Park and Kalaloch Campground where tree damage from Saturday's storm is apparent.  We arrive to find it had been evacuated three days ago in the height of the storm due to road closures and downed trees. Deb just read The Celestine Prophecy which espouses ‘there are no coincidences’.  If Kalaloch had space when making reservations two weeks ago we would have arrived the day after the storm to closed roads and a closed campground.  Instead we had two relaxing days at Grayland Beach!  Few sites are large enough for our rig in this ocean front, thick rain forest and the only one available (they think, no power to check reservations) is literally just pulling to the side of one of the camp roads.  With our parlor slide extended into the road, another rig can barely get by.  We affix an orange noodle (pool float) along the edge of the slide to improve visibility and leave the outside light on at night as there are no lights in the campground (even when there is power – we like this).  Not very busy since the storm damage caused many people to cancel.  While exploring we see that some of the fabulous ocean view sites are big enough for us on the D loop - next visit!   Nights are in the mid 40's and days in the 70's, very nice.

Bones of the Rain Forest - Kalaloch Campground

We take long walks on the beach, picking up sand dollars and driftwood for the guest bathroom mirror frame Deb is going to decorate from beach treasures she has been collecting on this trip. Massive cypress logs, called ‘the bones of the rain forest’ line the beach making it a little difficult to initially get on to the sand.  Seven miles north is spectacular Ruby Beach where we spend hours among the massive rock formations.  We head East up to the Hoh Rain Forest for a "drippy" nature walk where 20 feet of rain annually is normal. 

Walking among 300 foot tall, 800+ year old Sitka Spruce and Hemlock is amazing.  Tired of all the driving we do, we choose not to explore the whole peninsula, saving the northern section for another visit, and enjoy long walks and reading on the beach IN THE SUN FINALLY. Thank you Zoe for telling us about this campground.!

8/31/15 Zoe in Pullman, Washington

Smokey View from Zoe's Front Door

With mixed feelings we pull into Pullman's Town Campground; very excited to see Zoe; very disappointed that we are socked in with smoke here too.  In addition to smoke, winds blowing across the plains produce a dust storm which feels apocalyptic. Smoke here is more acrid as not only forests are burning but so are houses, buildings, and livestock.  Very sad that three firefighters died last week fighting the huge fire in Twisp where Zoe worked in the field last summer when not otherwise evacuated herself due to fires. Unhealthy air quality warnings say to stay inside :(

Beautiful, Smokey View Of Palouse From Kamiak Butte

That said, we have 10 wonderful fun filled days with Zoe while John finishes the final draft of his SSG project, Deb catches up on our blog, and we make plans for where to lay our heads for the next few months. We have a couple of cookouts at the RV with Zoe's

Zoe's WSU Friends

friends including a couple evenings with boyfriend Gabe and his two darling little girls.   We attend Pullman's National Lentil Festival (yes, I said Lentil Festival) which started in 1989 when this area grew 98% of all lentils in the US. We voted in the Lentil Cookoff and had the best lentil chili ever. The lentil ice cream was also great!     
         

On another clear-ish day Zoe takes us on a fabulous hike up Kamiak Butte, an isolated, steep sided, heavily forested hill.  A rare site on the Palouse, among it's vast miles of yellow rolling hills of wheat. Peculiar silt dunes characterize this Palouse Prairie which was formed during the ice ages from silt blown out from glacial outwash. Zoe takes Deb to a "hot yoga" class which she survives only by surreptitiously (sort of) putting an ice pack in her yoga pants. An ice pack which she just happened to have in her bag to return to Zoe!!!!! 

We visited the now 9 month old grizzly cubs (seen at 3 months old with Zoe in 7/27/15 blog),

Zoe Communing With Mountain Goats

and had a private feeding session with the WSU big horned sheep project where Zoe's friend has care and feeding responsibility. And ....we enjoyed our favorite Cougar Gold cheddar cheese made fresh at the university from their own cows. Zoe uses her juicer to make us a green juice and a carrot- ginger juice and we are soooo hooked!

Deb pulls our very big truck into a car wash (w/o RV) with 2 inches over the roof to spare and had to fold the mirrors in. All was going well until the dryer went over.  First pass, the 25 pound piece of modular kayak in the bed lifted up.  Second pass, it lifted way up blowing the huge bike cover out of the back of the truck and when it came down it was on top of the hitch.  She skidaddled out of there before the third pass blew it entirely out of the truck.  Lesson learned.

Brown Pool Of Rain Water

Wake up to leave on Saturday morning to warnings for high profile vehicles to stay off the road due to 70+ mile an hour winds, rain, dust storms and of course fire and smoke in our path.  Aw jeez, we get another day with Zoe :)  From brown soot filled clouds, it rains brown rain today for the first time in a month which clears the air a bit and helps with the fires, YAHOO!

Jack Update - 

Jack has been in Division Officer school in San Diego for two weeks now and loves it.  He is working real hard but also having fun learning to surf  with Kyle, an old family friend from Hawaii and Virginia, hanging out with ECU friends in Los Angeles, and with other newly commissioned Ensigns in his class, some of whom will be serving on his ship in Pearl Harbor. 

Condo Update - 

Club House

First building is almost complete and the Club House is well under way.  Framing has begun on our building!!! Thank you Richard (developer) for the "extended opportunity" to explore this beautiful country and visit loved ones!

8/20/2015 Avalanche and McDonald Lakes in Glacier National Park

Avalanche Lake Under Smokey Cloudy Skies

Sunday we get up early to hike Avalanche Trail which begins from the Trail of the Cedars.  The smell of this thick cedar forest is intoxicating.  The raging creek has cut deep bowls into the rock bed providing waterfalls along the way.  The forest is so thick and surrounding mountains so high that the sun is not shining here yet and it feels eerily primeval.   A few sign posts and heavily trodden path are the only reminders of humanity.  After

Debra Hanging Over Deep Ravine

about 2.5 miles of winding ups and downs gaining about 800 feet in elevation, is Avalanche Lake surrounded by mountains and waterfalls.  The lake is crystal clear and the glacial silt run off makes it a deep teal color.   John tried to meditate but large chipmunks climb up the rock he sits on and literally poke him in the sides looking for handouts.  He gives up once they start chewing on our backpack.  We hike another mile to the opposite end of the lake where melting glacial waterfalls create streams into the lake.  A perfectly challenging trail in length, rigor and oh-oh my, magnificent beauty.  You need to come visit now as they predict the numerous glaciers in this park will be gone by 2030 due to higher average temps.  A recent news report says July was the hottest month ever recorded.

It is easy to understand why Native American’s fought so hard between tribes and with the white man for these most sacred lands.  We learn from a talk we attended by a local Indian women studying native cultural preservation, that the local tribes still “hate each other”.  They need to get over it she says but doesn’t hold out much hope.  Glacier is where tribes came in summer for spiritual renewal and in winter to hunt buffalo, being too rugged for year-round living.  She tells of mental and physical abuse at church sponsored boarding schools her grandparent’s generation were forced to attend, resulting in inter-generational mental problems resulting in high levels of alcoholism, suicide, family and drug abuse.  

Back to the camper, we pack lunch and head a couple of miles from the campground to Hungry Horse Dam which is the 11^th largest cement dam in the U.S. built in the early 1950’s to control flooding and provide hyro-electric power.  At the end of the day John’s phone app shows we have hiked/walked over 10 miles today! We ice our knees and sleep like babies.

Lake MacDonald

 Really Cool Boat Camper

We extend our stay and move into the Park’s Apgar Campground on Lake McDonald.  To give our legs a brake we spend much of the next three days fishing and fish-aking (aka fishing from the kayak).  We don’t catch anything on 470 foot deep sapphire blue Lake McDonald but we do see a most unique boat camper.  Hard to believe this huge deep lake was dug out by an ancient glacier.  Many fires are still burning in and around the Park where smoke is ever present; sometimes light enough to see some blue sky and sometimes being so dense it stings eyes and makes breathing hard. 

Fantastic Bakery with Nick 

Driving up the Park’s remote western border to Polebridge to fish the North Fork River, we pick up a young back-packer to save him a 17 mile uphill hike.  In the middle of know-where is the locally famous Mercantile Bakery where we have incredibly delicious huckleberry bear claw pastry and buy huckleberry beer bread that we later make into yummy French toast.  Our backpacker, Nick just graduated from Johns Hopkins University and is applying to medical schools in between backpacking around Montana, Washington and Oregon.  John catches a white fish fly fishing in the North Fork and is reminded of a time when he was 18 years old fishing in Glacier on a family vacation.  John, his dad and Uncle were spread out along the river while Mom and sister Joan looked on from a nearby bridge.  The sound of rushing river water drowned out the girl’s alarming yelling and frantic arm waving in an attempt to alert John that a big grizzly was coming his way.   It veered off into the woods before reaching John.  He said he saw grizzly prints in the river but didn’t think it was still near by...... 

Deb and John Fishing McDonald Creek

We had a great day our last day in Glacier, hiking and fishing along McDonald Creek.  No catching but loved the hike where we saw several horse/mule trains and a couple of people floating at the base of one of the waterfalls.  After a few anxious moments, we noticed they weren't dead and had snorkel gear.  What the heck were they looking at down there?  Arrived back at the Campground to a Level 2 fire notice where high winds are expected overnight causing more smoke and possibly bigger fires.  Sure enough, we wake to thick smoke as we pack up and head to Pullman to visit Zoe.

  

8/19/15 Glacier National Park Hiking Highline Trail

Steep Drop Going Around Corner Going-To-Sun Road

A cooler day ahead for touring. We leave before 7 a.m. to drive 1.5 hours along Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park to Logan Pass where the Highline Trail head begins.  Debra buys bear spray after seeing all the warning signs and listening to radio reports of the recent grizzly in Yellowstone who killed and ate a man.  We are deep in grizzle territory here and the bears are agitated from all the fire and smoke. NPR is also describing the fires burning in and around Glacier, while the smoke puts a veil over this magnificent scenery. There is a stiff wind this morning with possible thunderstorms which makes

Mountain Meadows at Logans Pass from Highline Trail

us even more anxious as lightening cause more fires.  All this is on our minds as we approach the Highline Trail, described by National Geographic as "cutting across a near vertical rock wall, so exposed that the park has strung a  hand cable for nervous hikers to clutch. Some people turn back at the sight of it.  Nonetheless, the Highline ranks among the finest high-altitude walks on the planet."  Without comment, we just go for it.  I ask John to stop for a photo which he does (bless his heart) then we steadfastly proceed before we chicken out.  After the sheer rock face the trail narrows from 3-4 feet to about 24 inches as it winds along the side of this mountain on the Continental Divide.

John On The Ledge of Highline Trail 

After about 1.5 hours, we have gone 2.5 miles along the 7.6 mile trail and decided to head back.  There are now many other hikers on the trail which makes for uncomfortable moments as we have to squeeze by on this narrow trail.  Next time we will be on the trail around 7 a.m. to avoid the masses.  Even through the smokey haze, the mountain flowers, waterfalls, marmots, valleys, glacier and mountain views are breathtaking.  Looking East from the Pass we realize the fires on this side of the Divide are producing serious smoke which obscures most of the view.  We decide not to continue to St. Mary's and instead decide to just explore the West side of the park this visit. 

The next day we have a well needed NO TRUCK DAY.  We are lucky to have one day a month where we are not driving the truck somewhere, and our goal for this second year is to have at least one 'no truck day' a week.   

We meet two nice Timber Wolf Campground neighbors from Wyoming. Claude and Connie winter in Calienta Casa Del Sol RV Park in Florence, AZ (between Tuscon and Phoenix) which is about where we want to be.  They invite us to play cards with them tonight, a form of Michigan Rummy we call RV Rummy.  Throw out 2's, mix 4 decks of cards on the table, each pick 3 cards, turn one card in the pile up, 3's are wild.  Pick up card from pile or from someone else's pile and discard face up in front of you.  Goal to get 3 of kind or run.  Pick up and discard when go out. Everyone else then has one more turn to improve hand.  Anything not 3 of kind/run counts 5 points 3-7; 10 points 8-K; 20 points Aces.  Mix all cards again, pick of 4, now 4's are wild; then 5's etc.  When get to 6's can do groups of 3, 4, 5, etc. of a kind/runs.  Lowest score when done with Aces wins.  FUN and EASY.  

Hoary Marmot at Logans Pass