A LONG BRIDGE & 3 BANDITS

I took these 2 pictures of the Columbia River Bridge at Astoria, looking north toward WA State. Yesterday, I took Sami into Astoria for a much needed, do it yourself bath, while Patty went with Jeanette for a tour of the northern Long Beach Peninsula. As many times as I have traveled over this bridge, the spectacular view of the surrounding area never gets old. Only once, have we been in Astoria, when a large, ocean going vessel has passed under the bridge. Near the north end of the bridge, there's a long term construction and/or painting project underway, and traffic alternates through the one open lane. I was lucky, as I passed through the construction zone both times without waiting.

Patty and Jeanette met Bob & Sharon for lunch, and then Bob became a tour guide, as they checked out several historical areas in the Oysterville area. Patty said that I would have enjoyed Bob's extensive knowledge of the area, particularly, highlights of the old narrow gauge railroad, that used to run the length of the peninsula. While they were out and about, this family of raccoons was kind enough to pose for a few pictures. This was a pleasant change from the usual scene alongside the road, where an unfortunate raccoon has been hit by a vehicle. The weather continues to be overcast, with temps in the low 60's. I'm enjoying this cool weather, knowing that in just a few days, we'll be traveling to central Oregon, where, to Patty's delight, it will be much warmer.

A RARE OCCASION

This rare happening, where Gracie voluntarily becomes a lap cat, is documented above. It doesn't occur very often, and when it does, it's certainly on her terms. No amount of coaxing, or calling will make it happen, it just happens when she wants it to. Perhaps, this was my reward for rescuing her from the jungle, when she escaped the motor home last week at Oceana. Whatever the motivation, it's nice to occasionally have a lap cat, unless, as was the case yesterday, it happens at just about the time you're thinking of making a trip to the bathroom. The call to take care of one of life's basic functions becomes secondary, when this goofy cat has decided to grace you with her presence. So, in order to prolong this rarest of occasions, I made every effort to concentrate on the TV, instead of something else. Eventually, this necessary function had to take place, and off the lap she went, only to return sometime in the future, when she thinks it's important. This scene played out after we returned from the Astoria, OR area, where we had lunch with Bob & Jeanette Fulton, at their son Roberts Pizza Pub in Warrenton.
It was fun to share our recent experiences, and catch up on everything. They will be staying in the Astoria area for a couple of months, so we'll be seeing them again before we leave the coast, and when we return to Seaside, after the FMCA Convention in Redmond, OR.

A LONG BEACH

For over 20 miles, the beach on this peninsula, is long, straight, and uninterrupted by any of mother natures obstacles. There are several access points, and the picture above is near the Seaview area, where we drove the jeep out near the ocean. Even with 4 wheel drive, you have to be careful not to get in the unpacked, deep sand, or it's almost guaranteed, you will get stuck. Last year, we watched a 4 wheel drive pickup get stuck, as it was trying to pull out a car, and then another 4 wheel drive truck almost got stuck, trying to pull out the two that were buried.

Not much has changed at the Long Beach Thousand Trails, since we stayed here last year. The old lodge (double wide trailer) has been removed, with no replacement, but most everything else is the same, including the old style, 4 way hookups at the back of each rig. If you are parked in an even numbered space, it's not too bad, as the utilities are on the drivers side of the RV. If you are parked in an odd numbered space, the hookups are on the passenger side, which means that some, or all of you utility lines have to be extended under your RV, in order to reach the hookup. Even though the park is quite full, we were fortunate enough to find an even numbered (78) space.

As gross as this picture is, I couldn't resist the temptation, as it shows an old fashioned entrepreneurial trick, aimed at getting customers in your front door. In this case, "Jake, the alligator man", is represented as a freak of nature, much like many of the old carnival sideshow attractions. This thing, has become a Long Beach celebrity, and if all of the people in Marsh's souvenir shop came in to see Jake, he's certainly doing his job. They even commemorate Jake's birthday in Long Beach, with a big celebration. In addition to checking out Marsh's, we had some so-so clam chowder at the Crab Pot, then drove into Ilwaco, where we toured the Pacific Heritage Museum. Nothing spectacular, but they did have an area dedicated to the narrow gauge railroad that ran on the peninsula, from 1888 to 1930. After a couple of book stores, we were back at the motor home, and our day of exploration ended with a BBQ'd dinner, and the usual TV programs.

LONG BEACH, WA.

We left the Ocean Shores area, late morning, and drove south on Hwy's 109, 105, and 101, arriving at the Long Beach Thousand Trails, mid afternoon. Except for the overcast conditions, the drive was a pleasant one, mostly along the shoreline. Since we arrived on the WA Coast, a little over a week ago, our weather has been cool and mostly cloudy. We have had a few days with afternoon sun, but the temperatures for the most part, have remained in the 60's. I can remember saying last year, that the days would come, when we wished we were back on the cool, Pacific Coast. That's probably going to happen again this year, when in about a week, we will be returning to the Bend, OR area, for the FMCA Convention, starting on Aug 11th. For now, I think I'm enjoying this cool weather, a little more than Patty.

LEAVING OCEANA

This picture was taken last year in Ocean Shores, where you can drive out on the beach. We've enjoyed our week here at the Oceana Thousand Trails, (except for the brief period when Gracie escaped), but it's time as they say, to "hit the road". We're only traveling a short distance south, to the next Thousand Trails, near Long Beach, WA. This is a reverse route from last year, when we traveled north along the Pacific Coast, then east across the U.S. to the Atlantic Coast.
Some of our stops, such as the Oceana T.T., are the same as last year, and in some cases, we've noticed quite a change. For example, Oceana has approx. 25% of it's spaces closed, because the electrical pedestals are not serviceable. We also saw this same situation last year on the east coast, at the Virginia Landing T.T. We're told by staff, that it's out for bid, but no one seems to know when these spaces will once again be available. It's understandable that these are lean times, and businesses don't have piles of cash laying around for capitol improvements. However, we've seen thousands of dollars being spent at one T.T. park, upgrading it's utilities, for the purpose of dedicating that area of the park to exclusive use by K.O.A. I have just a little bit of a problem when I see our dues being spent, that do not benefit T.T. members. Oceana is a park that needs an infrastructure upgrade, and the answer, at least for now, is to simply close access to the parking sites. Hopefully, we won't see a big change at Long Beach, from our stop there last year.

BIKERS & BUSINESS

This is our last day at the Oceana Thousand Trails, as we prepare to head a little farther south to our next stop along the WA Coast. We didn't do much yesterday, except for a quick run into Ocean Shores, for a Sunday newspaper, and to pick up a few things at the grocery store. It was late morning when we were driving through town, and it was hard not to notice all of the motor-
cycles, most of which were parked at the many eating establishments. When we have been in the grocery store the past few days, we've noticed that the employees were all wearing Sun & Surf Run T-shirts. The impact that several thousand bikers have on many of the business is mostly all positive. The downside for the locals, is a substantial increase in the noise for a few days, and perhaps longer lines at the restaurants.

I can remember about 15 years ago (has it been that long?), when we were presenting the idea of a new Harley-Davidson Dealership to the very skeptical Jamestown, CA business community.
The comments ranged from "we don't want that kind of business in our town", to "I bet it'll be a hang out for the Hells Angels". The skepticism was palpable. When we left the business, 6 years later, most of the local business owners were our buddies, due to their increase in business from our customers. Particularly, when we had a big event at our store, (we had lots of them), the local motels would fill up, the restaurants had to hire extra help, and in the evening, the watering holes would do a booming business. To our surprise, even the antique shops gave us some positive feedback. We learned that a lot of the women would wander over to Main Street, and in many cases, make purchases that if they couldn't carry on the bike, they would arrange to pick up later, or have shipped. Watching all of the motorcycle activity in Ocean Shores, I couldn't help but draw a parallel to what we saw develop around our former motorcycle business in CA.
I think it's safe to say, certainly with some exceptions, that Ocean Shores is looking forward to next year, when the motorcyclists return in late July.

THE U.S. RAIN FOREST

Less than an hours drive inland, and to the north, we found ourselves in the middle of a rain forest environment. At the southwest corner of Olympic National Park, Lake Quinault is located in a valley that averages 12 feet of rainfall every year. The lush vegetation is evidence enough, that a whole bunch of water comes out of the sky in this region. Mostly in the winter, the Pacific storms slam into the Olympic Peninsula, and up against the Olympic Mountains. On the west side of the mountains, where we were, these storms dump huge amounts of rain. On the Seattle side of the mountains, rainfall is significantly less. We drove around Lake Quinault, stopping at several spots to admire the lush vegetation, and numerous waterfalls. Again, we had a beautiful, cloudless day, with inland temps approaching 80 degrees.

One of the stops was at this gigantic tree, billed as the worlds largest Sitka Spruce. I've admired many of the giant redwoods in CA, and this Spruce was right up there with those huge trees. Several other world's biggest trees exist in this valley, which is more evidence of the environment being classified as rain forest. When we returned to the coast, the fog had burned off, and temps were in the comfortable mid 60's. Before BBQ'ing some chicken for dinner, I sat outside the motor home, and watched all of the motorcycles passing by on the highway. Today is the end of the annual Ocean Shores Sun & Surf Run, and I suspect that by tonight, the roar of Harley's will be but a recent memory.

HARLEYS & A LOST CAT

Our day started like most other normal days, but the ending was anything but normal. We drove into Ocean Shores, and stopped at the south end of the peninsula, where we last year discovered our 2nd baby seal on the beach. No babies this year, but it was a nice sunny day, with temps in the mid, to upper 60's.

For over 20 years, this is what the locals call the "Harley Weekend", but officially, it's called the Sun & Surf Run to Ocean Shores. The convention center is the hub of activities, including quite a few vendors. One of the weekend retailers was a Boss Hoss motorcycle dealer, that had several of their V-8 motorcycles on display. When I saw this V-8 powered bar stool, I couldn't resist the temptation to take a picture. I would imagine that with the pedal to the metal, this could be quite a spectacular ride.

When a few of my friends and I started the Bridgeport, CA Motorcycle Jamboree in 1990, this event was a few years old, and we kind of used it as model for a gathering of motorcyclists in a small town. It's good to see this event still going, and kind of sad that the Bridgeport Rally only made it for about 10 years, ceasing to exist long after I had stepped aside.

One of the activities that I had not seen before, was a drive through bike blessing, sponsored by the Christian Motorcycle Ass'n. What the heck, we have drive thu's for just about everything else, why not a ride through blessing of the bikes.

When we got back to the motor home, this is where normal went out the door. Actually, it was Gracie who went out the door, due to my inattention. This gravest of errors almost cost us the loss of our cat, and certainly taught me a lesson I won't soon forget. When she got out, under the motor home she went, then almost immediately into the jungle behind where we are parked. I'm sure the neighbors barking dogs frightened her even more, and initially, I thought there's no way I'm going to find her. Rather than plow through the dense growth, which was almost impossible, I decided to go around to the adjacent property, and try and work my way back toward the motor home. With Patty calling her from the RV side, and me calling from the other side, we continued to hear a deafening silence. Without complete panic, I began to think that this was a literal needle in the haystack situation. Enough time had gone by, that she could have traveled hundreds of feet, and I had no way of knowing how far away she might be. As I inched my way through the dense growth, I heard a faint meow. My spirits picked up tremendously, as I slowly worked my way toward a continuing call for help from our cat, who was probably frightened beyond belief. When I was within about 5 feet, I finally saw her, crouched under a downed tree limb. Hoping she wouldn't run again, I finally was able to grab her, and in doing so, I let out a huge sigh of relief. Now, the challenge was to get out of the jungle, without falling and losing her once again. Fortunately, I was able to get back to the motor home, with Gracie in my arms, and to a very happy mother of this cat that we have both grown to love. The ordeal ended with my promise to never let that happen again. At that point, we were thankfully back to normal.

A WALK ON THE BEACH

I spent most of the morning trying to put together an AMTRAK trip, but in the end, it just didn't work out. One of the western trains that I have not ridden, runs from Seattle to Chicago, and is called the Empire Builder. When we spent the summer in northwest Montana a couple of years ago, this is the train that passes through the area, and has been on my train ride bucket list for a number of years. My plan was to ride this train east to a point in central Montana, and catch the westbound back to Seattle. The main problem is lack of room availability. A trip has to be booked well in advance of the departure date, and by the time there was a roomette available, we will be out of the area. So, it's not going to happen, and a walk on the beach seemed like a good way to clear my scrambled brain.



Anytime, we use the word "walk", Sami's ears perk up, and she's always ready to go. I would love to take the leash off, but I knew there would be a chase involved, and I didn't have the energy yesterday. On the trail over the dunes, people have collected stuff off the beach, and deposited it in one area, making what I call a beachcombers shoe tree. The top picture was taken on the way out to the beach, and the one below, was taken on the way back.



This picture shows a brand new addition to the beach sculpture, in the form of some pink shoes that someone left on the beach, and I gathered up. This is close to the same place I took the previous picture of the young white tail deer a couple of days ago. We were blessed with a small amount of late afternoon sunshine yesterday, which we're hoping will continue today.

SEABROOK

One of the absolute best things about traveling around the country like we do, is the unexpected things, that we often blindly stumble upon. About mid day yesterday, we drove into Ocean Shores to pick up our forwarded mail, and in the process, we stopped at the tourist information building. The gal inside was very helpful, pointing out several things that might be of interest to us. One such attraction, was the brand new town of Seabrook, about 20 minutes north of Ocean Shores on Hwy 109.

We drove back to the motor home, dropped the mail, and then continued north on Hwy 109 past the small community of Copalis Beach to Seabrook. This is a brand new community, based on higher density residential, surrounded by masses of open spaces and trail systems, woven with retail, parks, and art. The pictures that I took, only show a glimpse of this new, small town, and it's story book impression. We didn't stop to inquire about prices or availability, because this type of real estate doesn't fit into our lifestyle. But, it was easy to see, that this community would be very attractive to a lot of folks, as either a primary residence, or, as a beach vacation home. If you didn't know you were on the west coast, it would be easy to picture this community on the opposite side of the country, with it's Cape Cod, New England, architectural style homes.

When we returned to the motor home, it was mid afternoon, and time to go through the mail. We have it forwarded about every two weeks, and our friends Bill, Linda, and Nancy, at Havasu Mail & Package have done a super great job for us during these past 8 years. The weather has been overcast since we arrived here on the WA Coast, with temps in the low 60's. I'm loving the cool days, but a little bit of sunshine wouldn't hurt my feelings.

ON THE BEACH

Our first full day on the Washington Coast, and one of the first things on the agenda, was a short walk through the dunes to the beach. About half way across the small dunes, I spotted this young, white tailed buck, about 100 yards to our right. He watched us, as we watched him, and after a minute or so, he continued grazing on the grass. Sami's short legs prevented her from seeing the deer, or I'm sure the howls would have started, and she would have been pulling on the leash like a sled dog. We've also seen one cottontail in the park, so there's no hesitation when Sami's asked if she wants to go for a walk.
Last year, while staying here, our first walk on the beach brought us into contact with a baby harbor seal, that I posted pictures of, in a late June 2009 blog article. No such critter yesterday, but it is always refreshing to walk on the beach, listening to the waves crashing, and taking in the smell of the ocean. The vastness of the ocean tends to remind me of our insignificance, in terms of our individual influence on this planet of ours. The fact that Patty and I have reached a point in our lives, where we have the ability, and means to explore so much of our world, is something we are both very thankful for. Yesterday, brought that thought very much into reality.

AT THE OCEAN

We said adios to the East's, and we both pulled out of the Chehalis Thousand Trails, around 9am. Our route to the Oceana Thousand Trails, near Ocean Shores, WA, took us north on I-5 about 30 miles, where we stopped at a freeway adjacent Costco, and stocked up on a few items. Then it was north on Hwy 101, west on Hwy 8, and west on Hwy 109 to the park. We stayed here last year, and even though the park doesn't have many of the amenities that the other T.T. parks have, it is just a short walk to the beach. This is the place that we saw the first of two baby harbor seals last year. We'll be "chillin" here for the next week, before we head a few miles south to the next T.T. which is also right next to the ocean.

LEAVING CHEHALIS

This morning, we will say our goodbyes to Everett & Lori, as we head in different directions. They'll be heading south, on their way back to CA, and we'll be heading west, over to another Thousand Trails on the WA Coast. The last 5 days with our friends, have been filled with several new adventures, and lots of laughter.

Just up the road, the town of Centralia, WA was having an Antique Festival, so we drove there yesterday, and browsed through the street vendors, and the many antique shops in the downtown district. We had lunch at a Chinese Restaurant, made a couple of other stops, and by the time we got back to the motor homes, it was late afternoon. The girls did some laundry while Everett and I watched the Sonoma NHRA Drag Race on TV. It was another good day with our buddies, and there will be some sadness when we go our separate ways this morning. But, Patty is anxious to get her feet in the beach sand, and we're both looking forward to the next few weeks on the WA Coast. Our travel today will be relatively short, with a Costco stop along the way, to the Oceana Thousand Trails, north of Ocean Shores, WA.

A BIKE RIDE & A MARRIAGE PROPOSAL

The day started with Everett and I driving north about 50 miles, where we waited for Everett Jr., and his group of bicycle riders, who were part of the Seattle to Portland charity bike ride. This annual event, typically draws around 10,000 participants, and for most, it is a 2 day, approx. 200 mile ride. Everett decided to meet his son at mile marker 63, then ride with him for about 50 miles.

As we waited, it was amazing how many riders passed our location. Almost everyone was on state of the art, lightweight, road bikes, but if you look closely at Everett Jr's bike, it's a one speed, fat tired, heavy bicycle, and he's wearing flip flops! His group of young studs, were making a statement, and definitely were the exception, rather than the rule. But, they were having fun, and in the end, isn't that really what everything is all about?

When Everett returned to our campground (about half way between Seattle and Portland), we were sitting around after dinner when the phone rang. It was Everett and Lori's son Trever, who was calling from San Diego, where he and his girlfriend Kelsy were spending the weekend. The call, was to let his parents know, that he had just proposed marriage to Kelsy, and she had accepted. As you can see in the picture, Lori is pretty darned happy, and so was Everett. When we were in Jamestown in May of this year, we met Kelsy for the first time, and in my humble opinion, she is one of the cutest, and nicest young girls I have ever met. When Trever and Kelsy left, I can remember the four of us crossing our fingers, and all hoping that the day would come when this phone call would happen. We are so happy for Everett and Lori, and for Trever & Kelsy. This good news was the highlight of the last several days we have spent with our friends
here in Chehalis, WA.

A BLAST IN THE FUTURE

Two days, two very different mountains. Mount St. Helens, and Mount Rainier, are both active volcanos. St. Helens erupted 30 years ago, Rainier has the potential to erupt at any time. We drove into the park from the west, entering at the Nisqually entrance station, and continued to the Paradise area at the base of the mountain. The Henry M. Jackson Visitors center provided us with more knowledge about the park and the mountain, including a 15-20 minute video presentation. The one dramatic thing that I learned, was the potential devastation that would happen, should this volcano do it's thing in the future. When Mount St. Helens exploded, there was loss of life, but relatively speaking, it was minimal, due to the lack of population centers near the mountain. If Rainier explodes, the potential for a catastrophe is very real, primarily due to it's close proximity to large population centers. The good news is that there probably would be lots of pre-eruption warnings, and plenty of time to evacuate those areas in harms way.

The drive into the park was mixed with many scenic locations, like the above shot of Patty in front of Christine Falls. We stopped at several turnouts, and took advantage of another picture perfect day, with temps in the upper 60's, low 70's.

The above picture was a rainbow at the bottom of Narada Falls, and from the trail opposite the falls, the spray would get you quite wet, if you stayed very long. The hike back up was a little more difficult, than the hike down, but the view was definitely worth it.

Narada Falls is again in the background of the picture of Patty, Lori, and Everett. When we arrived at the Paradise Area, we were about as close to Rainier, as you can get by driving. We looked through some long range telescopes, and could see folks climbing toward the top of the mountain, which is loaded with glaciers, and that distinctive blue ice. The drive out the east side of the park was also spectacular in regard to scenery, but no critters! Lori always had her camera ready, but it must have been a bear holiday.

Back at the motor home, I BBQ'd some chicken patties for sandwiches, and after dinner, we broke out the jumbo marsh mellows, to singe over the campfire. Actually, Patty who usually burns hers to a crisp, never caught one on fire. It was another great day in the Pacific Northwest.

BLAST FROM THE PAST

Where were you on May 18th, 1980? That's the day that the largest landslide in recorded history occurred, on the north side of Mt. St. Helens, in southwest Washington. Moments after a good chunk of the mountain slid to the north, Mt. St. Helens erupted, with a blast so severe, that it leveled miles and miles of old growth forest. There were a succession of events on that day, a little over 30 years ago, and we learned all about it at the Johnson Ridge Observatory, and visitors center. That's where I took the picture above, approx 5 miles from the crater.

Our day yesterday, was a drive to this last, large volcanic eruption site, in the continental U.S. We've all seen photos, or video of the actual eruption, but to be within 5 miles of the actual explosion, was both awesome, and a little bit intimidating. Your couldn't help but think, that where we stood over 30 years ago, at the Johnson Ridge Observatory, all life was obliterated in a matter of a few seconds. You talk about mother nature at her worst, the devastation was quick, and without prejudice, for anything in the path of the blast.

It was another beautiful day, with temps in the upper 70's, and the drive to Mount St. Helens from our campground was quite scenic. The last several miles of Hwy 504, was all rebuilt after the eruption, with 14 new bridges, one of which was in the background of the picture of the four of us. We stopped for a late lunch on the way back, and thoroughly enjoyed the day with our friends, Everett and Lori.

GOOD FRIENDS

Everett & Lori East arrived here, at the Chehalis Thousand Trails (TT) yesterday, and after lots of visiting, I BBQ'd a tri-tip to go with lots of other goodies the girl's prepared. Everett & I topped the meal off with some Ben & Jerry's, and we all left the table filled to the brim. The location of this TT Park is close to halfway between Seattle and Portland. This weekend, Everett is participating in the Seattle to Portland bicycle ride for charity, along with approx. 10,000 other riders. They will be here through the weekend, then are heading to Portland, and we will be traveling over to the WA coast. We don't have anything in particular planned for the next couple of days, except a possible drive to Mt. St. Helens. The weather has been perfect, in the mid 70's, and this morning, the sun is out on what looks like another picture perfect day.

THE WILD CAT

Yesterday was a pretty routine day for us. We drove the 10 miles into Chehalis, stopped at a thrift store, (I have to put a few of these in the bank for the next train ride), a local Farmer's Market, hit the Wells Fargo ATM, then finished the trip at Safeway, before heading back to the Chehalis Thousand Trails. Today however, will be anything but routine. We have an early appointment at a local Veterinary Clinic, to have Gracie's claws clipped. We have always been able to perform this task with the other cats in our lives, but this wild child is the exception. If I start the process when she's asleep, I can usually get one claw clipped, yesterday I managed to get two claws trimmed, before she came fully alive. You would think that 2 adults would be able to secure a small cat, long enough to accomplish this task, but this cat is like none we've ever had, when it comes to resisting this feline procedure. It gets to the point that we simply give up, for fear of either hurting her, or possibly creating more bad behavior. The decision to let someone else be the villain, was actually pretty easy.
Our friends, Everett & Lori East will be arriving here in their motor home today, as Everett will be preparing for a huge bicycle ride from Seattle to Portland. We're looking forward to spending the next several days with our buddies.

GOOFY THINGS & GOVERNMENTS

You don't have to look very long, or very hard, to find strange and unusual things, if you travel around this great country of ours. The picture above was taken from our ride on the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad a couple of days ago. This goofy thing represents some sort of creature, made almost entirely from saw blades. This artist's yard was filled with other forms of what I will call "forest art", in the way of wood carvings, and chainsaw sculptures. Even though the train was not going very fast, most of these goofy things disappeared very quickly. Speaking of disappearing very quickly, if I had a magic wand, I would make a few (No, make that a lot), of politicians and bureaucrats disappear from the public payroll. The latest, and most absurd act by our federal government, is the lawsuit against Arizona, regarding the recent illegal alien law, signed by the AZ Governor. Due to a lot of misinformation, most of the media, and some of our Federal Politicians, including the President, have categorized this law as a potential "racial profiling law", when in fact, it specifically prohibits any form of racial profiling. When the illegal alien problem has gotten so out of control, and the Federal Government refuses to secure the borders, the state of Arizona has taken a proactive stance, and passed a law that essentially says the same thing as the Federal Law. What it boils down to is the fact that the Feds refuse to do their constitutionally mandated job, so, in order to try and control the problem, Arizona has stepped up, with it's own version of the federal law. What's so incredibly stupid about this lawsuit, is the fact that the Attorney General - Eric Holder, is suing Arizona for trying to do what the federal government will not do. The basic argument is that it's our responsibility, not yours. Well DUH, then do your job! By the way, there is no mention of racial profiling in the federal lawsuit. Right now, there are approx. 1,100 illegal aliens in the Maricopa County, AZ. jail, who are charged with violent crimes, ie. murder, robbery, rape, etc. If the so called smart people in Washington D.C. would just focus on this one violent aspect of the illegal immigration problem, you would think that it would get their attention, and they would be more willing to secure the borders. When I look at all of the wasteful spending of our taxpayer dollars, and particularly the millions that this lawsuit will cost us, I can't help but question whether these bureaucrats are working for us, as they should be, or, whether there are other agendas that have nothing to do with what's best for the U.S. Citizen. I think the frustration, and absurdity will continue, until the public rises up, and uses it's collective voice at the polling booths.

2 DAYS, 2 STEAM TRAINS

Once again, I drug the little women off to ride yet another train, not too far from Mt. Rainier, in the little town of Elbe, WA. For a confirmed, hopelessly afflicted train enthusiast, it doesn't get much better than the last 2 days. We drove about an hour, mostly east on Hwy 12, then north on Hwy 7, to the little community of Elbe, WA. The Mt. Rainer Scenic Railroad www.mrsr.com operates on a portion of standard gauge track, that was primarily built and used for logging. The round trip was about 2 hours, through the woods, along side some creeks, with a couple of river crossings on old wooden trestles. At Mineral Lake, the turn around is done via a circular track, so no matter which way the engine is pulling (frontwards or backwards), it goes up and back the same way. At the station in Elbe, the engine does a run-a-round from the back to the front of the train, so every other trip, the engine pulls backwards as it did for our trip.

The steam engine pictured above, was built in 1930 by the Heisler Locomotive Company, and is rated at just under 100 tons. Unlike a standard steam engine, the Heisler is a geared locomotive, with the pistons on each side of the boiler. The pistons are connected to a driveshaft, that is attached to all 8 wheels. These geared steam engines had tremendous pulling power, and could pull heavier, and longer trains, than a conventional rod locomotive. They also worked a lot better on quickly constructed, light rail, as was the case with most logging railroad operations.

The photo above, shows Patty at the station, as the train is returning from it's first trip of the day. The 2 shots below, show the engineer on the left, and the fireman on the right side of the engine, as we headed back down the hill from Mineral Lake. It was a beautiful, sunny day, with temps in the mid 70's, and there were a couple of nice views of Mt Rainier, when the train passed through openings in the trees.

We have this unspoken rule in the Chance house, that is faithfully adhered to by both parties. For fear of mayhem, extreme violence, and even worse, the exclusion of Animal Planet from the TV, we both live by this simple rule. If there is a train to ride, neither party is allowed to whine or snivel. If there is a thrift shop to browse, neither party is allowed to whine or snivel. As a result of this rule, harmony is achieved in the Chance house. The only problem is that there's a helluva lot more junk stores than there are tourist railroads, and I find myself looking at a disproportionate amount of used, smelly clothes and shoes, than I do steam engines and trains!