World Weavers Newsletter

July 2004

Well……. it's me again, yeah I know, you all thought you were rid of me, but due to the fact that Carys’ pc is giving her loads of grief I get to have the honor of reporting the WeaverCon fun and some awards stuff.

Thankfully, Washington weather was nicely accommodating with loads of sun, blue skies, and high temps. (Believe it or not it didn’t rain once!) Despite bad traffic and Eddie getting horribly sunburned on his ‘hang out the window’ arm, the Murrays and KK arrived Thursday afternoon on schedule. John and Arle were both plagued by flight delays but finally made it in and the fun began. On Friday we did the Seattle Scene and had lunch at the Space Needle. The food and view were wonderful and we had a great time chatting and sampling the various drink concoctions we’d ordered. Then it was off to the new Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame that opened in June of this year. It was totally awesome and I highly recommend it for anyone visiting the area.

Saturday we jumped in the van and headed for Mt. Rainier. Our first major stop was the outdoors ‘Spirits of Iron’ Museum. It is a wonderful place and shows that just about anything can become art when one has a vision. Carys, Eddie and KK got the chance to see a little doe wander through while they waited for the rest of us, which was neat as no trip to the mountain is complete without seeing some of the four-legged wildlife. Inside the park, we stopped for a picnic lunch at Longmire, (considered the halfway point) then headed towards Paradise Visitor’s Center the highest point that can be driven to on this side of the mountain. After a cooling water fight at Christine Falls we stopped at Narada Falls. A graceful 168’ waterfall that has an enticing pool on top that literally begs to be jumped in to. The bravest and most energetic of the group made the lung crushing trek to the bottom of the falls rewarding them with a spectacular rainbow view. The rest of us stayed up top waving happily at them and debated the benefits of elevators. Reaching Paradise we enjoyed a brief respite at the old lodge before stopping at the more modern Visitors Center. On the way down there were more vistas to see and we had a close encounter with a young doe. The deer in the park have little fear of humans while in their vehicles, and will come quite close, which was a treat for all. We finally arrived back here for a fun evening of barbecuing, the awards announcements, then kicking back and chatting.

Sunday we started with a little crafty fun, then were off to see the world famous Wolf Haven, a nearby sanctuary for rescued wolves. Our tour guide was very informative, patiently answering everyone’s questions. It was very interesting, yet a bit heartwrenching to hear how badly our lupine neighbors have been and still are treated. After a refreshing ice cream stop we arrived back here for the ending of a great weekend as everyone readied to depart.