7/8-11/24 Bill, Dave, his girlfriend Daniella, and I went up to Camp Serendipity for four days: Monday through Thursday.

I went up on Monday to get things ready and the rest of them came up on Tuesday. I stopped at Costco to buy two trays of salmon to cook and eat while we visited. Then I stopped at Deception Falls and took a short walk, and from there I proceeded on to Camp Serendipity.

I arrived at 12:10. The weather was hot, and the mosquitoes were thick. I brought my gear up in two trips, the second one using the wheelbarrow. Then I hoisted the flag, had my lunch, and a nap.

I put clean sheets on the bed in the bedroom and made up a cot in the living room. Dave and Daniella would be sleeping in the bedroom, Bill would sleep on the cot, and I would sleep on the twin bed in the loft.

On Tuesday morning I practiced the piano and then walked to the grave. When I got back, I had an early lunch. Bill called from Goldbar around 11:50 to let me know where he was. I asked him to do me a favor and tune in to KVI 570 AM when he was between mileposts 40 and 46. There is a puzzling, persistent, radio interference phenomenon occurring there that I wanted him to hear.

Bill arrived at about 12:15. He made his way through the mosquitoes and up to the porch and after using the entryway as a mosquito lock, he came into the cabin where we had a delightful round of hugging and talking. He had heard the unusual radio interference sounds and we talked about that quite a bit.

Dave and Daniella showed up at about 3:20 and we had a delightful time getting to know Daniella and showing her the cabin. She likes to cook, and she and Dave had already discussed how they would take over and relieve me of any cooking duties, which I greatly appreciated.

They very soon set to work in the kitchen cooking the salmon, potatoes, salad, etc. We had an excellent meal and fun discussions on all sorts of topics. Daniela was eager to learn all sorts of details about the cabin and its construction. So, it was fun to answer her questions.

We pulled out the Mount Rainier model so she could see it. And we looked at a few old pictures from the albums.

We continued our conversations including speculation about that radio interference phenomenon. Since Dave and Daniella were three hours ahead in their time, we got to bed at a reasonable hour. The cabin was still a little warm, but I slept in the loft with no trouble and Bill was able to stay reasonably cool on his cot.

On Wednesday morning, we went outside and dodged the mosquitoes while we took a quick look up on the high rock behind the cabin. I explained some of the geology. We also took a look at my progress on the stone wall. Back in the cabin, we had some breakfast.

Next, we decided to go look at the trees. I provided a pair of gloves for each of them for mosquito protection, but Daniela was the only one who took me up on the offer. She also accepted the offer of a net bug hat which she wore. She had long pants and long shirt sleeves, so she was pretty well protected. Dave on the other hand was wearing shorts, a short-sleeved shirt, and "leaky" shoes with holes in the top. He figured he would be OK.

We went down to the concrete stairs to look at them and the new handrail I had installed for the trail above the stairs. I explained how the snow coming off the roof made that section of the trail dangerous and treacherous sometimes.

Then we proceeded on and looked at the volunteer western red cedar seedlings that had taken hold on the trail and we took a look at Paul, and I verified that the irrigation system there is working fine. Paul looks robust and healthy.

We didn't stand around too much because the mosquitoes were so thick. We turned around and took the other fork in the trail and had a look at Runty who is doing well, then we saw Dan who is pitifully slow and small. Then we pushed through fairly thick, overgrown brush to have a look at Dave, Bill, and a glimpse of Cam. By then everybody was ready to escape the mosquitoes and head back to the cabin.

Next, we decided to drive to the 59'er diner and have an early dinner. Dave drove all four of us and we had a fun time. We spent the rest of the day having fun talking and visiting.

On Thursday morning Dave and Daniella left at about 8:00 or 9 after planning an excursion that would take them to Mount Rainier and to Dave's boat, Anna Kappa. Bill left at about 11:00 and I started closing up the place. I filled 14 water jugs and loaded them into the truck and left for home at 1:30 after a delightful week.