This missives here are related primarily to one of two things: amateur radio or summer camping.
Since I retired from the Army, we have spent a portion of the summer traveling around the country visiting national parks. Trips (a better term is adventures) have ranged from well over two months to about three weeks. We have been out to Maine’s Acadia National Park as well as Washington’s Olympic and quite a few in between. A few of the parks I have been to many times over the last ten years. Yellowstone has probably been the most traveled to, although not my favorite. That title belongs to Glacier National Park. Another favorite is Grand Teton National Park, just south of Yellowstone.
This summer is a greatest hits tour: Glacier, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton for a total of four weeks. Not as long as I prefer, but other commitments take priority.
Part of our families tradition during our national park rambles is to play a variety of games. Some of these are straight forward like Uno, Skip-Bo, and Yahtzee. Others are a bit more obscure: Sparkle Kitty, Farkel, and Guess That Park (national park trivia). This year, as the girls are now both teenagers, we are uping are game play to include two include two classics: Spades and Hearts.
While growing up, our family frequently played various versions of Gin Rummy. I have many a fond memory of playing cards at the houses of relatives or at the family camp we used to go to up in the Sierras. My first posting in the Army was to Fort Wainwright, Alaska with an aviation unit. I learned quickly that while we were in the field, when we were not flying or preparing for a mission, we would play cards. The game was not Gin Rummy, but instead either Spades or Hearts. Both were great fun and we had a great time. So, this summer we will give Spades and Hearts a try and see how it goes.