Rock n Roll!

On our vacation we decided to drive to Westport for the day.  On the way we drove past a winery, at this winery was this very impressive piece of driftwood art.  I don't know about you, but that looks like a Driftwood guitar to me.  I thought it clever and very well done, which is why I am sharing it with you!

A Day

Clown fish are cool.

Trains are cool.

Clown fish really are cool.

Cora left today to join her sisters.  Her sisters were going to be there as support for her when she cut her hair.  She is tired of it being so long and, well, can explain it better on her site.

That left me free for the afternoon.  Not one to do normal things, I set out to see if I could find a what to the top of the Rattlesnake Hills.  I could, as it turns out.  I had to do a little creative driving, but I managed it.  Below you can see the roads were pretty good.  There were a bunch of cows in the way.

They were curious about me as I passed.

After some tense driving I found a high point and stopped.  Here is the view.

I think my truck is cool.  I have always liked the look of it.  I don't car if it is 9 years old.  It's a pretty good looking truck.

There are a few valleys hidden from the rest of the world.  It looked as though man had forgotten their existence.

I walked around the hill top looking for evidence that the US Navy had used it for target practice.  I found none.  I did find a few spring flowers!

I turned the truck around and went looking for that valley, since the maps say it has a road down through it.  Turns out it was a cow trail.

Yes, perhaps vehicles had been this way years ago, but I thought it best to check the road ahead before my two wheel drive tried it.

I found that the road did not go much further, rather it ended in a small canyon.  As I was checking out the road ahead, I chanced upon two coyotes.  I did not even think to take a picture, though I could have.  I was enjoying the sight, then they saw me and took off.  ONLY then did I remember the camera.  Still, here's their den.

This is the bedrock, which seems to show the columnation that is so common with basalt.  Still, usually, you see it from the side, not from the top.

Here is why the truck could not continue.

There it is in the background.  It was a beautiful little valley.

There were some tracks of a wheeled vehicle going a different direction.  i followed them to see if there was an outlet.  I found none and assume the vehicle had turned around and returned the way it had come.  Like I decided to do.

I got out to inspect the bottom of the draw and like this picture of the truck looking back toward the Lower Valley...that's Toppenish in the background.

There were some young calves that were in my way on the way back.  I let them cross in front of me.  I gunned the engine a bit more than I needed and startled them.

I got a moove on...get it, MOO-ve?  Yeah, I know, I am a comic genius.  They did not go far and stopped to watch me drive by...then followed.

Apparently they believe every vehicle brings hay...they were wrong.

This is the time to see the flowers of our desert area.  Most are small.

I made it back to paved roads without any trouble.  Overall, it was a fun outing.

Day Trippers

I have been aching to leave the area. I have a hard time staying around the valley for more than a few weeks at a time. Cora kindly acquiesed to go with me on a drive this weekend. We packed a few sandwiches an the dogs and drove up White Pass. We stopped to take some pictures and then continued to Ohanapecash. Which is where we had lunch.

Above is Toby thinking he would rather have lunch than a hug. Below we see the kids watchg out for those horrible chipmunks! Dogs are keepers of the little known knowledge that Chipmunks hope to someday take over the world, and therefore they (dogs) must be on the watch for Chipmunk trickery. Our dogs are super vigilent when in the forest. We feel so safe from those evil chipmunks when the dogs are with us.

We stopped to look at a cool bridge and the stream underneath...the dogs stayed in the truck.

I love the road! I love driving. The scenery was great and the company was pretty awesome, too.

looking down a long valley...

Indian Paintbrush on the side of the road at the top of the pass.

We stopped to see Boulder Cave andtook the dogs. Cora and Gypsy take a break next to a handy downed tree, which made a perfect bench.

Here we are coming out of the cave. I am guided by the dogs...which Greek God was it that travel through Hades? He should have had a couple Hell Hounds like me.

That trail to the cave seems steeper and longer than it used to...I think the Park Service is in cahoots with the chipmunks if you ask me.

All in all it was a wonderful day! Thanks for coming Cora!

Innocuos Adventures Gone Awry!

We all know that I had a close call a few months ago (Read February, apparently I am bad with time, too) when my curiouosity got the better of me. Just before a dinner with a couple I knew in high school I decided to drive up on the hill and see if indeed they were shooting guns at the Firing Center(Duhhh, that's what they do there). I nearly got stuck. I did alot of slipping and sliding around before luck and perseverance got me out of my...problem.

Today was a day off for me. I had the bright idea that I would be able to find a local airplane wreck from WWII. Two wrecks, really. I took my Dad.

One of my sister-in-laws sent me a map of the area in question with a route highlighted for me. I took that route. We got to a point where a bicyclist could have gone, but not my truck. We tried a couple more routes, with identical results.

Finally we drove up to a local Windfarm that lies in the same area. We hoped to drive through their roads to the crash site. No luck. They are adding seven new generators and doing some blasting...which we saw...and so tourists were not being allowed back there.

that's my truck on the right.

So, we found a road toward one of the crash sites that was...shall we say INHOSPITABLE?

SHIT! Someone died here? This grave was four feet from the road! Maybe it was a memorial, but it did not give the driver (or the pasenger) the warm fuzzies.

Prickly situation? Yes, this was just off the most imposing hill I climbed with that truck...using, among other things, my chains!

Above you see the imposing hill I had to climb with my truck...it doesn't look like much, but a two wheel drive does not like 35 degree roads with LOOSE rocks! The roads we travelled today were better meant for Elk!

We saw this herd. Our passage eventually scared up 13 or 14 head of elk, plus a calf.

Here is my dad begging for passage through the windfarm after our extensive trek. Neither he, nor I, was feeling up to a ten mile drive back out the way we had come. Plus, there is no guarantee we would have made it out. Especially since I discovered my rear tires were shredded from an ascent we felt was a necessity. The steel belt was showing!

This is the view from our ingress...

Here is my truck on Windfarm land...

Here is my dad...with his GPS, may it rest in peace...he lost it...we don'tknow where.

The Great Hunt

Cora and I got up and began getting ready for our adventure. We had discussed this last weekend. We decided to get a wild Christmas tree. A Quarry not easily bagged. The Wild Christmas Tree roams the lower sides of the Cascades and often shows up in the most unexpected places.

We are a picky couple, so we always pass up quarry that is not quite right. For us, the perfect Wild Christmas Tree is like looking for an 8 point buck, and waiting, with your finger on the trigger, as SO many trees walk by (Did I say trees walk? Maybe I was up in the woods too long.) is difficult.

We took the dogs. First thing off, the dogs were in super-speed mode. Here you can see Toby on one of his many low-altitude flybys.


The Scenery was beautiful!

Cora took several of me...I like picturesof her better, though.

Isn't she pretty? Seems to glow!

The pool she is looking at was probably 8 or 10 feet deep...and crystal clear. It was beautiful, but neither of us wanted to test the water temp.

Cora's Dad wanted us to buy a mushroom identifcation book at the ranger station...wish they'd been open, because I'd like to know what these are. Cool picture, huh?

I am not sure how she did it, but she got the kids to stand still for a picture.

Here she is with a leash on...think it's her color?

Every time I turned around she had the camera on me today...weird to have the tables turned.

She got a little excited when I edged close to this rivine...

She would not let me get the truck closer for the picture...it was ONLY 4 feet deep.

I tried to lock her out for that, but she is showing me she has her own key here.

I like this picture of Gypsy, she looks other worldly...or maybe just like a coyote...I like the lighting.

Toby got locked in the truck for a moment as we investigated a spot we had forgotten to look at.

Here is a shot of both of us...


When we got closer to the end of the day, the dogs seemed more and more ready to sit quietly in the car...here is a picture that attempts show the utter exhastion they were exuding.

Oh, and you would probably like to see our quarry...here is the beast. We finally bagged one!

Oh, and it is NOT the one with the shoes.