Monthly Archives: May 2017

Hikes with Steve – Olympic Peninsula

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Written by Steve Pogge. Photos by Panorama resident, Karen Romanelli. May 2017

On May 7th, ten hearty adventurers took off from Panorama to go on a 3 day, 500 mile journey to the far reaches of the Olympic Peninsula. The trip was planned and run by Steve Pogge with Wren Wolf as his trusty assistant and botany expert. Our mission was simple: to experience firsthand the largest temperate rainforest in the world, walk the beaches of the most pristine coast line known to man, and see a few world record trees that are known to inhabit the peninsula. Not a small undertaking by any means, but one within our reach.

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We were decked out with our full waterproof rain gear: our Gore-Tex pants, water resistant boots, rain proof jackets and hats. With the area getting 12 to 15 feet (not inches) of rain a year, you are pretty likely to get wet. However, our trip fell within a bizarre weather pattern that gave us sunshine, blue skies and 50 degree days (near perfect hiking temperature) for the duration of our trip.

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We focused on three major rain forests: the Quinault, the Hoh, and the Sol Duc. We were not disappointed. The Forests being so close together you would expect them to be quite similar. They are not. They had their own unique special beauty and awe inspiring wonders that marveled our group of explorers.

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Interspersed between these forests, we stopped at 3 renowned beaches that were also jaw dropping in their power and majesty. They were Ruby Beach, Beach #1 (south of Kalaloch) and Rialto Beach.

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We based our adventure out of Forks, WA and stayed at a lovely Inn that offered each of us a bedroom, kitchen and living room. Our choice of restaurants was limited but we tried to pick the best down home eateries we could. On the education side, we incorporated into the trip not only birds and animal life but also history (both Native American and early settlers) geology and of course some facts on the ancient giants that inhabit this forest. Even for seniors, one feels young when you stand next to a 1,000 year old Sitka Spruce, an 800 year old Western Red Cedar or a 350 year old Douglas Fir. There is almost a magical feeling that takes over. Or as Al Walter puts it, “I thought I was in a Harry Potter movie.”

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It was a wonderful trip and I just want to thank the participants of the week for being such great sports to push themselves to get out and experience the peninsula in a way that very few people get to do.

Steve Pogge Bio

A Resident’s Perspective – Names

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Written by Panorama resident, Brian Hovis. May 2017

One of the aspects of living at Panorama I noticed after living here awhile is that residents generally treat each other with respect and a spirit of cooperation.  Even when there are fundamental differences in outlook and opinion (for instance, in political persuasion) a general sense of civility prevails.

I recently ran across a new study in the journal of Science Advances that struck me as applicable to Panorama. This has to do with the connection between knowing someone’s name and one’s willingness to cooperate with them.  In the study, Chinese students played the classic “Prisoner’s Dilemma” game.  In this game, two players are faced with a choice of acting for themselves or cooperating. It is widely thought that there is a human tendency to act for oneself and abandon cooperation even when a cooperative effort results in greater overall success. However, the study found that the students were more willing to cooperate if they knew each others’ names.  Essentially it is harder abandon someone when you know their name.

There may be many factors at play at Panorama that combine to instill a high level of civility: our upbringing, our physical closeness, and perhaps common backgrounds. But having the opportunity and encouragement to wear our nametags to social and other functions can’t hurt. After all, everyone loves the sound of their own name!

A Resident’s Perspective – Oh, It’s Not Gonna Rain

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Written by Panorama resident, Mary Jo Shaw. Photos courtesy of Neil Harris. May 2017

“Chris, why are you leaving five minutes before our predicted lighting, thunder, and rain storms?” On May 4, 2017, I peered out at clouds that scarred the bright, warm, morning’s sunshine under their dark blankets.

Chris tucked his grocery list, his reminder for the Dollar Store, and city bus senior pass into his wind breaker, and hesitated when he opened the door. Silent, questioning time. “OH it’s not gonna rain. It’s been sunny and warm all morning.” He left.

We’d had almost 6 years of hauling umbrellas, advertising we are still newbies to Washington’s prerogative to make random decisions. This time was a poor decision—by Chris!

Large pelts of rain pounded vertically to the blasting drum beats and zaps of lighting’s thunder. I studied whether it was large hail. It wasn’t. Cars were getting a good bath…and probably Chris, too!

My turn for silent, questioning time. Sun peeked from under its blanket of cloud, but it played hide and seek for about 1 ½ hours. I had been settled down to my laptop watching through the patio window from my recliner. Darkness hovered over more than just the sun. Duh! It shrouded over us, too.

BOOM.BOOM.BOOM. The bass drums blasted. Lights flickered. “Dear Father in heaven,” I begged, “please take care of Chris.”

BRRING.BRRING. BRRING. Yelling: “Mary Jo, I’m getting off the city bus. Can’t talk anymore.” CLICK, buzz, buzz.

A never-even-close-in-history of record-keeping event put Lacey, WA, on national news. A rare microburst (not a tornado) demonstrated its power. Fifteen minutes into the epicenter, not rain pelts or buckets, but–as-far-as-I-could-see–solid water! I felt I was under water. I jerked away and protected my ears from banging branches flying horizontally, pounding our windows. “Oh, God, please bring Chris home safely!”

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Lights out again. My trembling fingers located ON on our emergency flashlight.

I couldn’t see anything outside. I felt drowning under the sea. Water blinded window views despite the three-foot overhangs around our garden home. Water had never hit our windows or doors. What was happening? I prayed we’d be protected against the storms and floods we’d seen for months across the nation. We always speak of how safeguarded from disasters we are at Panorama.

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THUD.THUD. THUD. “What’s that noise?” It out-pounded my palpitating heart.

The best sound of the day: Chris, loaded with groceries, banged the front door with his knee cap!

I yanked the door open. Rains and winds rushed their way into the house, while they shoved my drenched hubby over the threshold. He hugged his soaked, torn paper bags to keep parcels from spilling out: canned foods, box of powdered milk, baked chicken, bananas, and 20 bubble-lined envelopes for mailing my books.

No umbrella needed. It would have been another item to protect from the focal point of the worst thunderstorm in Lacey’s recorded history. We had weathered it!

We now avoid phrases containing, “Oh, it’s not gonna rain!”

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Note: we praise God that all Panorama residents are safe and that we are fortunate only to watch the clean- up from grounds, to gutters and rooftops. We are blessed again. Thank you, Panorama!

Mary Jo Bio - Test

A Resident’s Perspective – The Freak Storm

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Written by Panorama resident, Sandy Bush. May 2017

The freak storm…..

In the long ago and far away, we grew up in the Midwest. We knew electrical storms and in many ways, that was a big decider for me to relocate to the west coast. My husband from Indiana loved watching them roll through back then.

I have never been in or under a “micro-burst” such as we just had in this spring month of May!!! People will talk about it for a long time. And we at Panorama fared so much better than the greater Lacey/Olympia area. We measured 1 ½ inches of rain in a very short time…perhaps about an hour. The skies were amazing. Below is a picture of mammary clouds, which are descriptive and often herald tornadoes.

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What these clouds heralded was straight line winds that funneled down our street from the SW. Many trees were affected in Panorama, but Thurston County as a whole fared far worse. The below is a large limb that blocked our Loop Street. We so love the big trees and Panorama keeps close watch on the health of these beauties. This storm was too violent for even healthy trees. This limb was a perfectly healthy off-shoot and came down with big sound.

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Many residents reported damage and these were logged by reception and Security. Security drove the neighborhoods to rate safety of access for limbs and trees down. It wasn’t more than an hour later that folks were out clearing the roads and trying to open the drains that appeared clogged keeping water at high levels on our streets. It turned out that the city water system couldn’t handle all the rain, and it wasn’t just local clogs. In two hours time, waters were receding and leaving all roads with a plethora of detritus.

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The downspouts on our home couldn’t handle the deluge and resulted in many pouring waterfalls off the eaves.

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This would seem to be “Lake Woodland.”  And while waters crept up the driveways, we never felt in real danger of flooding. Panorama concrete and driveways are designed to take run-off to funnel it away from structures. This is so important in our NW when big rains come.

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Sometimes things look so very bad but do subside. So much of Lacey and Olympia had to deal with long power outages. We had to re-set clocks for short bursts, but we were amazed at how the infrastructure worked here. We used to dread storms of this intensity coming in off the ocean at our previous home. This one we could ride out and take in from an interested perspective.

The cats were another story. One became scarce and I never did find out where she hid. The other one grabbed a lap, and with big eyes, waited it out with us.

I haven’t yet walked all the streets of our community, but I will to see what other neighborhoods dealt with. I am just so grateful to our Panorama administration and crews for the prompt clearing of a lot of “stuff.” We continue to be impressed at the care we all receive when the chips are down.

Sandy Bio

Convent to Catwalk…My Experience Writing My Story

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Written by Panorama resident, Mary Jo Shaw. May 2017

Why would I enter a religious convent, stay 13 years, leave, and become a high fashion model? (Catwalk: ramp for models to show fashions.)

Before we moved to Panorama in 2011, my family and friends knew most of the answers to those questions, coaxing me to write my stories. I always loved to write, and won the first prize award in two different poem contests…a whopping $15 for each. A lot of money in the 50s, especially to a child!

What opportunities to learn to write at Panorama?

Write Your Life…with Charlotte Wiseman as facilitator, met twice a month (still does) and was free! We’d each read about 10 minutes, but did not critique. We were eager to know the next episode in our class-buddies’ lives. My jaw dropped when I pictured my elderly friends in their missions as fighter pilots in WWII, Vietnam, or Korea. One had been a prisoner of war. Others were teachers, ministers’ wives, farm wives. I always had plenty to write. Encouragement again–to put words to print.

But I craved constructive edits and critiques.

Answer? PanWriter’s Class. World renown playwright, Bryan Willis, taught three writing classes on campus for a small fee. (Today he adds another: screenwriting.) We wrote from a prompt, read aloud from copies made for each student, and offered each other ideas for a better read—constructive critiques! Bryan passed out books to borrow or keep. We could read to learn still more. I claimed the books–with underlines and highlights!

After about a year, a published author Patricia moved into our neighborhood and joined Bryan Willis’ class. The story she read proved she had experience in writing. After walking home together from her first class, Patricia offered, “Mary Jo, would you lend me some of your stories to critique for you?”

“Oh, I’d be honored!” I dashed into my garden home, grabbed some pages from a 3-ring binder, and shoved them into Patricia’s opened chair-walker.

“I’ll call you over when I’ve finished. We’ll talk about the papers.” She putted home.

That began the first of weekly help with her challenges to read books on writing, to study, and to improve. Encouragement from Bryan Willis and substitutes when needed, I braved up to self-print Convent to Catwalk. Twenty years of my life with 60 pictures!

After 5 ½ years, hours of daily writing, I consigned my books in our Gifts, Etc. on April 1, 2017. Volunteers display and sell residents’ handmade items and books.

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I am blessed with the explosion and constant excitement of Convent to Catwalk’s success. It has spread to six states in one month, with reorders for gift giving, and encouragement and help from my hubby, Chris.

This is just one exciting opportunity offered by Panorama and its volunteers. Write right!