I've had that Paul Simon song that starts, "Gee but it's great to be back home. Home is where I want to beeee. I've been on the road so long my friend and if you came along I know you wouldn't disagree." going through my head. We drove home from Cascade, Idaho yesterday. I always feel like I need to qualify the "we" because Gen did all the driving and was as stoic about it as ever. He definitely had a rush of joy when we pulled up to the Obata residence in Tacoma.
Our last night was a performance in a theater, and in spite of the fact that the performance was part of a community event where children are performing, we were received as excellence in entertainment, and performance. The MC was the organizer of the entire thing. It was a takeoff of "A Prairie Home Companion". The community turned out in good force to support the event. There were two more performances planned after our departure, one on Saturday, and one on Sunday (today).
It actually is a thrill to play in a theater where there is professional lighting, and a sound man with a room full of people eager to hear what you have to sing about. I think that all of us enjoyed being there in spite of the fact that the last set was squeezed between a set for marionette puppets and the wall. I didn't realize it until I asked Gen the next day, but he said he was partially obscured by the set. I hate that. I should have been partially obscured.
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| Neighborhood Transportation |
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| Valley Home Companion |
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| Gilmour Ranch |
The night was full of narrative regarding the occupational spread of the "Long Valley", which is where Cascade is situated. We were in the show as music while people were arriving, music at the intermission, and two spots in the show. We played a song that I learned from my father, "The Frozen Logger", which many of you will recognize as it is fairly old and has been recorded by a number of artists, including Johnny Cash. I very rarely play that song so I had recovered it from my long term memory, and Gen put in a mandolin intro and outro. I would have had Kristi sing it but in the interest of efficiency I sang it as I already knew all the verses.
The other song, which serendipitously immediately preceded the logger skit was a railroad song. We performed my song "Great Grandfather" which is introduced by me playing an instrumental version of "Freight Train" by Elizabeth Cotton. Once again Gen accompanied Kristi and me with the mandolin. I had to embrace my folkiness in this circumstance. I'm not a very hardcore folky at all, and often feel like I'm undressing in public when I perform hardcore "folk" music. I really prefer to be considered "Americana", which is just a step away from folk music. This was appropriate for the venue, and the circumstance so . . . there ya go.
The MC sang "Cows with Guns" and there was a stop action video that went with it that was pretty good. Someone put a lot of work into that. The marionettes were pretty good too. They were very fun. We all enjoyed the evening and were grateful for the opportunity to play in a theater full of people who truly appreciated us.
The next morning we all got out of bed early enough to be on the road by 8 am. Kristi and I had our alarm set for 7 am. Gen was, not surprisingly, up by the time we trundled out of bed and down the stairs. I've been wearing black T-shirts for a month. This morning I put on my "Wildwood Guitars" T-shirt that I got from Jimmy Monteith-Towler.
We stopped to be tourists a few times on our way home. We have been blowing through this country like we are on a quest that requires us to keep on movin', and in fact, that has been the case. We have been on a tight schedule a lot of the time and we have only been stopping for gas and a restroom, maybe a little food now and again. We have been "hard traveling". Our friends from Cascade/Tacoma David and Susan told us we must see Palouse Falls, and so we did.
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| Kristi doing her best impression of a tourist in Idaho |
It was really worth it. We also stopped at the Nez Perce information center on their recommendation. That also was worth the stop. We even stopped in the hills after we went through Riggins, Idaho to take pictures of the hills as the light was right, and the hills looked really cool.
We got going the wrong way coming into Lewiston, ID. Our GPS, Kirsti, wanted to take us through Pullman, and Spokane. Kirsti sometimes doesn't really know what she is doing. On the other hand, we ended up on the overlook of Lewiston which is pretty spectacular as views go.
After that we turned around and went into Lewiston to a grocery store for something to eat. After the grocery store we headed out for Palouse Falls. We knew nothing about it except a brief description of how it got to be the way it is, and that it was worth a stop. Gen was determined, and I decided that maybe I would learn something if I listened to him.
When we left the grocery store we drove out of town over the Snake River and headed out into the wilderness of South Eastern Washington. I have often thought that it's kind of a magical place. The hills seem so evenly rounded there it reminds me of a scene from the Hobbit. Of course it isn't spring yet but it has been warm and wet where the elevation is low enough and you can see some signs of green returning to the landscape. It is mostly rural there and especially scenic along the river. There is one spot where you can see two railroad bridges crossing the snake before you come to the automobile bridge across the river.
It's an interesting landscape there with the rocks coming right down into the river. The bridge crosses the river and heads straight up the side of a hill.
Then we are headed for Palouse Falls Park. Our GPS, Kirsti, knows where it is. It's just off the road so it's no challenge to follow the road to our turnoff. It is well marked. It is a muddy road and we are following another car. I'm surprised as we see another car leaving. I have driven past this location a few times and never paid any attention to it until we got a cue from our friend's the Gilmours. We finally arrive at our destination. It is a state park. Once we get a look at what's there I realize it could easily be a national park/monument whatever. It is really a spectacular natural landscape and the waterfall is one of the most scenic I've seen.
It was, however, a long drive from Palouse Falls to Tacoma. I was totally done in by the time we dropped Gen off and got the car unloaded. On the other hand, all of us are looking forward to more touring. All of our audiences on this trip were enthusiastic about us. We have had a successful tour, and at least for the last 12 hours of our tour we were tourists. Truthfully though, Kristi gave Gen a tour of Spokane and it was turn around in his hometown of St. Louis. Gen, and his wife Rebecca took us all around St. Louis, or at least we saw a good bit of the city. Keep in touch and we'll give a taste of some more of the world at another time. It is great to be back home.
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