Sandy and Bonnie both performed at the Reno Jazz Festival in May of 2008.  They flew, while Kim and I shuttled middle school equipment by driving down.  So for us, it was a sort of getaway as we took two days both ways and stopped to see a few sights along the way.  The first of these was beautiful Multnomah falls in Oregon, just south of the Columbia River a few miles east of Portland.

We took a few photos at the bottom, and then hiked all the way to the top, a trek of over a mile and a climb of 620 feet.  The view from above was spectacular, but to get there, we had to endure a rain shower and breezy conditions.  And it was worth it:

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After spending the night in Bend, Oregon, and awakening to a dusting of snow, we completed the scenic drive to Reno and took up residence in the 23rd floor of Circus Circus:

View from the 23rd floor of Circus Circus

Bonnie performed her big Blue Cellophane solo for the judges, and overall, Eckstein Middle School was edged out and finished in a close second place out of 22 middle school bands mostly from the western US and Canada.  Bonnie, however, won the festival’s middle school trombone soloist award.

Bonnie playing Blue Cellophane

 Sandy enjoyed her moment playing with the Roosevelt Jazz #2 band (the only Roosevelt band to come to Reno).

Sandy (front right) playing with Roosevelt Jazz 2 

Kim and I had a chance to see a few other performances, including the Eckstein Vocal Jazz Ensemble, plus Scott’s old friend Todd playing with University of California at Northridge, who plays the bass trombone for a spectacular jazz band which finished second in the college division.  A few of the more memorable scenes, including this one of Luis who was making sure Eckstein’s upright bass made it from the Eckstein combo to the Roosevelt Vocal Jazz:

And a few other photos:

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And finally… on the return drive, Kim and I had a gorgeous view of Mt. Shasta, and after reaching I-5 and heading north, we made a stop at one of the last two water-powered grist mills in the United States.  [12] Butte Creek Mill has some of the best flours and mixes that can be found anywhere, and we made arrived just before closing time and packed three grocery bags with scone, pancake, muffin, and corn flour plus other goodies.

Butte Creek Mill, makers of my favorite pancake mix in the world!