Fourth of July, Liberty Lake

Karen's friends, Cam and Marcia (her college roommate) left in their Airstream trailer yesterday morning after a fun three-day visit. This was the first time I'd gotten to spend any significant time with them, and a long time since Karen had.

For much of the 4th, we spent time straightening up the house and clearing the DVR of episodes of The Colbert Report we weren't going to watch (Nikki Haley) and those we wanted to (Bonnie Raitt), watching new telecasts of Olympics trials and deleting "encore presentations," and cleaning up some pretty good leftovers.

Me, Cheryl, Pat, Theresa, Dave above Liberty Lake

Later in the afternoon, our neighbors Pat and Cheryl came by on their ATV and invited us to go with them and Dave and Theresa up to the state lands overlooking Liberty Lake to watch the city fireworks. We had a great time, riding up rutted logging roads, taking with food and libations, collapsible chairs and barbecue forks, paper plates and plastic forks. Dave also drove up some dry firewood, and before we got there he and Theresa built a small fire pit on a patch of level ground backed by rocks on a tall ridge.



After an hour-and-a-half of good conversation, fire-roasted hot dogs, mustard potato salad, quality beer, and S'mores (meh), the fireworks began, first at the Spokane Fairgrounds, then at Riverfront Park, and finally  over Liberty Lake.

Kerry and me

Karen, Cheryl, Pat, Theresa, Dave roasting hot dogs

 It was a grand vantage point, looking down on the lake and the exploding multicolored shells, as well as the lights of Liberty Lake, Spokane Valley, and Spokane itself. When the show was over, we doused the fire, cleaned up everything we'd packed in, and descended through the dark, retracing our tracks by the light of the full moon and the ATV headlights. Theresa, bless her heart, insisted I borrow an extra Carhartt jacket of Dave's that she'd brought along. Toasty. I've got to get one before I have to plow the half-mile driveway to our new house this winter.

Liberty Lake at night, with Spokane in background

Before we left for the hills, I put our Brittany, Pepper, in the back yard with a bowl of food and a bowl of water. When we got back, Pepper was loose, in front of the house, wet, dirty and smelly. It was too late to bathe him, so we dragged his dog bed into the living room and made him sleep there. He was so exhausted, he did. Shortly after we got home, Pat called to say his big old dog, Harley, was in his swimming pool when he got home. I think the two dogs were in serious cahoots last night.

Fireworks and city lights of Spokane Valley and Spokane

This morning, I let Pepper into the back yard, washed and dried his bed, and then gave him his first bath. Shower, actually, lathering him down with my shampoo (should get some dog shampoo, I guess), hosing him off and drying him off with a big thirsty towel. He loved it. I got wet. Now, smelling lightly of moist dog and shampoo, he's lying in his fresh dog bed as we watch President Obama speak at Maumee, Ohio. The sun is bright and the sky is clear. It's looking like a good day.

Pepper resting after his morning shower