One Day: Two Big Events

Saturday, June 27 and two very unusual events occurred at Holden Village. Those of you who have been to Holden before are now on alert by my use of the word unusual. In order for an event at Holden to be described as unusual is both far-reaching and far-fetched. Nearly every day holds any number of unusual happenings. They go almost without notice so ordinary are they...even though they are unusual.

But LLAMAS??!! And an OUTDOOR MOVIE??!! As they say in Minnesota, "You bet'cha!"

I overheard Hannah Twiton say that she had experience handling horses, s0 she felt quite at ease with the llamas. You will, nevertheless, note the camera she is holding. The event must have been unusual enough for her to want a photographic record of it.

The llamas arrived (no joke) on the back of the luggage truck. The luggage (thankfully) was relegated to another vehicle for the day. The llamas had been barged up to the landing down at Lake Chelan, loaded up on the back of the truck, and driven the 12 miles up the switchbacks and the gravel road into Holden. Here they were off-loaded onto the luggage dock in front of what is called "the hotel."

The arrival coincided with the noon meal, and it was not very long before they were discovered on the luggage dock just below the windows to the dining hall. It was time to abandon the beans and rice. grab a camera, and head out.

The llamas were on leashes, and their owners seemed to have no problem in handing over the leashes to young and old alike. The llamas seemed to have no problem with inexperienced handlers either.

The llamas were here for a reason. They had been brought up by the Forest Service to serve as pack animals for the trail clearing crews. During the latter part of the winter, there were several major avalanches covering portions of trails outside of Holden. The crews will need to be out and on the job for extended periods of time and need a considerable amount of equipment to take care of massive clean-ups. Apparently, llamas are a good choice to serve in that capacity.

An oh! In this final picture, if you look above the llamas and up to the porch in front of the bookstore, you will see a piece of apparatus that looks suspiciously like an espresso machine. That is because it IS an espresso machine. Stay tuned.

As the sun sank below the rim of our own mountains, it was time for the outdoor movie...the Holden Cineplex...featuring a singalong version of The Sound of Music. Come early and stay late! And yes, many Holdenites dressed in costume for the big event. Here Angela Gustafson looks to be a copy of Maria headed for the von Trapp home herself to take on those 7 children...and the Captain!

No stadium seats these. You grab a yard blanket and you sit on the hill. The evening began warm and ended up quite chilly. A yard blanket was no match for the cold, but the hardy did endure.

Carole Young and Bret Hushagen occupy the unorthodox (but functioning flawlessly) projection "booth".

There was no charge to see the movie, but tickets were issued in order to have an equitable way of delivering door prizes (candy bars). The tickets were replicas of the tickets once used at the Holden Theater when the mine was in operation.

Andrea Benson and daughters Sophie and Isabel bag up the popcorn and offer lemonade. Karolina Vass and Kristofer Vass, standing in front of the table, assist.

The event was, once again, sponsored by the Utilities group. They are (l to r): Scott McLaughlin, Mark Borges, Nancy Rerucha, and Leon Wells. Just behind them is the giant tarpaulin which will be hoisted high into the air.to serve as the projection screen.

Going up, up, up...let the movie begin!

And there you have it! Do-Re-Mi!