Ape Caves with Doranda and Tianna and family

One more thing we did during Doranda's visit was a trip to Ape Caves at Mount Saint Helens National Park.

 Here we are about ready to start our hike through Ape Caves.  Ashton, Tianna, James, Jim, Penelope, Bob, Scarlett, Doranda, Leon, Tucker, and Grandpa Swift (me).

 Descending into the mouth of the cave first is Bob, Leon, and Tucker.

 Followed closely by Scarlett, Penelope, and Doranda.

 Tianna, James, and Jim coming next.

 Inside the cave it was too dark to get good pictures.  The lava tube is 1.4 miles long, all in the dark.

 There were a few places where you had to do some climbing, this formation is called the waterfall.  Mostly we were climbing and picking our way over jumbles of rock.  It was a challenge.

 At the exit at last.  It's a long strenuous hike in the dark.

Group picture at the end.  It was great.

Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge

Malachi and Layne invited us to go with them on a trip to the north side of the Olympic Peninsula for Malachi's birthday.  Happy Fourth of July.  We got to spend the day with them and our grandchildren - Andrew, Mallory, and Spencer.

 The main part of the trip was the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge where we planned a long hike along the coast out to a lighthouse.

 First stop was the Oak Table Cafe where we had breakfast.  They have all kinds of delicious Belgian waffles and German pancakes and stuff like that.  It was incredible good.

 Here's a birds eye view of the hike we took.  It was out this peninsula right along the coast to a lighthouse, five and a quarter miles each way.  That's a long way to go walking on sand, but it was so much fun hiking along the beach and listening to the sound of ocean waves.

 A highlight of the hike was the eagles. We saw several flying around.  We told Malachi they came to help us celebrate his birthday.

 Great view from the top of a tall post.

 We got pretty close to this one before it flew off.

 Close up of an American Bald Eagle.

 We also saw some of these.  They were about the same size.  The Golden Eagle.

 Finally we made it to the light house.  It's not currently in use but there is a conservation club that maintains and operates it and members rent it out and run tours and keep the lights going.

 It was very interesting and we learned of an Indian massacre that occurred on the peninsula.  An expedition from a Canadian trible was passing through on canoes and stopped to camp for the night.  A group of renegade Indians from a local tribe attacked and killed them and stole their belongings.  There was only one survivor and she was rescued by the lighthouse operators.

On the hike back we got worried Mom's purse was lost.  It wasn't in my pack and we didn't know if it had been left in the car or dropped somewhere on the hike.  Andrew and I went back to the lighthouse to look for it.  We didn't find it, but we had fun playing along the beach on the way back.  We never did catch back up to the others.  Finally at the car we were relieved to find the purse.  Jacquelyn had put in on my seat for me to carry for here but I never did see her do that.

 Next stop was the Olympic Game Farm where you get to drive through the park and feed the animals.

 As you can see they're right on the road.

 You could only feed them whole wheat bread.

 They put their head right up to the window and take the food right out of your hand.  It was crazy.

 Some tried to reach right in the car.

Fortunately the grizzly bears were kept at a safer distance.  You could toss them bread.  We had a fun day.  Happy Birthday Malachi.

Visit to Isaac and Family in Minnesota

We had the opportunity to go and visit Isaac and Kim and our two grandchildren Joslyn and Dorian in Minneapolis.

 Here's a picture of the family in the courtyard at their apartment buildings.  They have a nice place at the Como Student Community Cooperative at the University of Minnesota.

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 One day we went out to Fort Snelling for a hike and to see the sights.

 We went on lots of trails and did a lot of hiking around the grounds.

 We saw some interesting historical landmarks, including the old fort.

 Jacquelyn found a  tombstone that may be of her Grandfather Green at the Fort Snelling National Cemetery.   Walter L. Green, 29th Battalion, World War I, born December 24th, 1890, died February 18, 1971.

Dorian on a sprint track.  One day we went to a ninja warrior playground, Schaper Park, where they have a ninja obstacle course and also a race track with automatic timers.

 Joslyn tackling the ninja course.  She was determined not to touch the ground on this obstacle on the ninja course.

 One day we went to Minnesota's largest candy store, named Minnesota's Largest Candy Store.  It was awesome.  You would not believe the types of candy and amount of candy of all types and varieties.  I've never seen anything like it.

 Joslyn and Dorian by the Iron Man.

 Joslyn showing the incredible Hulk a better way to do his signature growl.

 An interesting vegetable band.

 Dr. Who's time machine.

 One day we visited a giant Lutheran church, the Cathedral of St. Paul.  Interesting enough, the city of St. Paul, Minnesota was named after this cathedral.

 It was impressive, inside and out.  Hugh and ornate.

 One day we had a cookout in the courtyard.

 Joslyn and Dorian among the cow statues at the University of Minnesota where Isaac is going to school to get his doctorate in economics.

 Of course Dorian couldn't resist climbing on one of the cows.

 Isaac with Joslyn on a different cow statue.

 And one day we went to the museum at the American Swedish Institute.  Here is Joslyn on a Swedish coin operated riding horse.

 This was not your normal museum.  They were featuring the sculptures of Finnish artist Kim Simonsson.  They were called the Lost Moss Children.  It was quite bizarre.

 Dorian wasn't impressed.  I really liked them though. They also had the world's largest collection of porcelain stoves outside of Scandinavia.

 Joslyn pondering the intrinsic beauty of a lost moss child.

That's it for our trip to Minnesota.  We had tons of fun and the best part was getting to spend time with these two little sweat-hearts.

Pathway Mission

We completed our Service Mission as missionaries with BYU Pathway Connect on July 31, 2018.  It lasted for approximately 15 months.  We were assigned as the missionaries over the 18-31 age group in the Puyallup Washington Site.  It was a great assignment.  We felt privileged and honored to be able to serve in this manner as Education Missionaries.  (We don't have our missionary nametags on in this photo taken at graduation because we actually got released by President Barker two days earlier on the 31st.)  It was a great calling and a great opportunity to be of service to several young men and women working on a path to college.

Elder and Sister Swift with five of our graduates.  Tevor Morris, Christian Johnson, Jared Armstrong, James Dodson, and Kelly Milligan.  Other graduating students included Brock Allen, Kyle Ames, Sammantha Gacke, Krystal Jensen, Samantha Jensen, Izzy Elizabeth Kelly, and Jared Vogel.

The students were great.  We got to know a lot of them and wish them well in their academic endeavors.  Most are going on to BYU-I as online students.

Andrew Baseball

Went and saw Andrew pitch a game.  He's a good pitcher and we saw him strike out several batters.  It was fun to watch.