Lassen Volcanic National Park and frogs...

 I had never heard of Lassen Volcanic National Park before, but we went there.  We drove pretty high up into the mountains to view beautiful lakes and overlooks.

Our ride...

My grand daughter just loves all things nature.  She picked some mushrooms and caught little frogs.

She also enjoyed sharing...

Oh, do we love our littles...

We drove most of the way north through California and into Oregon headed for Idaho.

More travel: Gold Mine tour and listening to audio books

 We stopped at a gold mine in our travels.  The kiddos loved it!

I am not tall enough to require a hard hat - cool!  They were not concerned about me hitting my head.

I found a quilt block as well as some quilt hanging on the wall of the visitor's center!

The rail tracks in the mine and my feet...

Here is a photo of the books I have read thus far in 2024.  While traveling I finished Sunflower Sisters, Home Front, and Lemon Tart.  I listened on a higher speed, but still, we were on the road for almost two weeks.  Sunflower Sisters was amazing, but then I read Home Front.  It was hard to get into at first, but it was an even better read.

A short and beautiful hike...

After the Rubicon, most of the group headed home.  Some of us made a longer trip of it going home.  We started with a little hike.  We saw huge trees, a lovely lake, and geese.

I liked the green growth on the trees.  We don't see that where we live.

Loved the geese!

More of my trip in another post...

My sister's farewell...

We spent a wonderful time with family in Idaho.  We don't get there very often, but always feel the drive is worth it.

For those of you who know my sister, she and her husband are off on a new adventure.  Many of you already know, but they will spend a year in Sierra Leon Bo, Africa serving the people there and our Lord, Jesus Christ.

They gave all their grands a t-shirt.  Here is the front and back.

I didn't get a picture of papa in his t-shirt, but my sister's says where she will be serving on the front while the back says, "while our grand kids grow a foot or two".  Papa's matches hers.

We have a song in our church with those words in it, "I hope they call me on a mission, when I have grown a foot or two."

Lots and lots of people came to dinner after church to say good-bye.  They had plenty of room in their yard.  It is beautiful there.  This photo is actually in front of the garage.

The garage, home, and yard will be available as an airbnb while they are gone.  It can host very large groups.

The garage and house are separated by a fence and beautiful trees.  It is so pretty and spacious!

Some even gathered in the garage and outside it under canopies.

They are so loved and will be so missed!

They had lots of help from family cooking the meat and preparing food.  Four smokers...

Two barbeque trailers...

Goodbyes are hard, but a year will go by quickly.  I look forward to getting emails about their experiences.