Jimmy Day or The Plan 8)

The plan was that today would be a Jimmy Day because he was sad that he had chosen not to attend the Threshing Bee, and to hang out (he slept) in the box yesterday instead of walking around town with me. I wanted to cheer the little guy up so planned a Jimmy Day in Aberdeen at Wiley Park which is a kids theme park.

He was all excited to be able to have his picture taken with such greats as Snow White, The Tin Man, Dorothy, and ride the train. In fact he was so excited I could barely get him to sit down as you can see here.

See, stiff as a board. What you cant see is how he was shaking with excitement. He could hardly contain himself.

So we went to breakfast and the D&M Cafe (the only game in town)

I ordered Biscuits and gravy which are very good and he had the same but was so anxious to get going he couldn't eat. So a few cups of coffee later, a few bathroom breaks, and some unofficial advertising for the cafe.

Thats Shawna (Jimmys newest fan) doing a little gratutitous advertising for the millions of viewers that see Jimmys blog and travel through Leola South Dakota.

After a hardy breakfast we headed for Aberdeen and Wiley Park. Jimmy woudn't quit smiling I thought his face would freezelike that. In fact I told him if he didnt stop he'd turn into a plaster statue but he couldn't. I thought if I got his mind off Wiley Park for a bit he could calm down, I mean, I was worried. I hadn't seen him this excited since we were at the ocean in Oregon.

I pulled over and Jimmy looked at me with this curious look in his eyes (the smile was still there) and I said ok little dude hop over here and drive. Wow, I didn't think that smile could get any bigger. I actually had to look at the back of his head to see if the edges of his mouth met back there. As you know Jimmy is a tad short so I had to do the pedals.

We were cruising along about 60 mph and the ol Jeep was purring along like it should when a whine developed, then before you could say seethatrabbitjumpingovertheroadbeforeithittheholeandbumpedthatrok twice BANG, GRIND,BANG,Bang and the Jeep lurched to a stop and the engine died. I restarted it and tried to move it but it was jammed up in 5th gear. The transmission had blown.

Well, I had gotten Jimmy's smile to taper off a bit in fact it was a huge frown the edges of his mouth almost touching his little elf shoes and quivering as he tried to be a big elf and not cry.

I said Whoa buddy you dont have to cry in fact you dont even have to be sad. We'll get to Wiley Park or just make another Jimmy Day dont worry about it. He let me know the tears weren;t for Wiley Park or even Jimmy Day they were for the Jeep and me. (he's such a caring and loving friend.) He feels responsible for breaking my Jeep.

I told him, no way Dude, stuff happens and at least it happened on a road, we have Schaffer to come get us and tow us back to the box. No worries Little Elfdude we got it covered. Wanna climb under the Jeep and see what broke. Well, there's that smile again so we climbed under the Jeep to see oil everywhere and proceeded to remove the driveshaft for the tow back.

Jimmy was now excited because I said he could steer the Jeep while it was being towed back. (its on a tow bar so safe for him to steer) So, now Jimmy is sleeping because all the excitement just tuckered him out, the Jeep is behind the big box waiting to be reconnected and we'll find a new tranny or rebuild this one soon as we can. A nice quite ending to a very exciting day.

Now that Jimmy is sleeping I can tell a bit about yesterday. It was a day of walking around and meeting (putting faces to voices) of people I've talked to over the years by phone in one way or another relating to the house I owned here in Leola.

The car belongs to the new owner. I purchased the house in 200 for $7,000.

I went to breakfast at the D&M, had coffee. There was a group of 6 guys there for morning coffee as well as a group of 4 women. They included me in thier refill routine and each one made it a point to stop and say have a nice day on thier way out. See why I like small towns.

I asked the waitress/owner of the cafe if there was a laundrymat in town and she said no but if I brought it by before 2 when she got off shed take it home and do it and have it ready in the morning. (she'd not seen/met me before this morning).See why I like small towns

Then she added if I preferred to do it myself I could go over to Swine Robotics and ask for Donnie who manged the Old Bank Building Lodge and maybe they'd let me use the coin operated ones reserved for guests. I did and he said not a problem. See why I like small towns

He then showed me through the factory and how the robots worked and the why and hows or what they did. We were talking and I mentioned that I had come to visit but also was interested in buying the local hotel called the Kozy Inn in which they had just purchased. So he offerred to let me purchase it from them. See why I like small towns

There is one cop who works as the city maintenace guy and takes calls while working. He asked me if I was the guy about 8 or 9 years ago with the flying boat out on the lake. I said yep I had a hovercraft out there. He said I remember that, it was pretty cool. See why I like small towns.

I went into the store and was again asked if I was the guy with the air boat, I said Hovercraft and she said you have to come in the back and tell my husband you gave us a ride on that thing. See why I like small towns.

The courthouse was next. It has amazing architectural work inside with a stained glass dome.

I met the treasurer whos husband use to rent the house then I sold it to them when they got married. She took me in to meet the Judge who was happy to meet someone from Alaska. See why ,,,,, 8)

The whole day was this way, everyone waves as they drive by, says hello as the walk by, and asks how your doing if you hesitate a min. I drove about 5 miles out of town on a dirt road and stopped to take a picture. Two trucks stopped to ask if I was ok in that short time. See why ,,,,

I went to the station to ask about fixing the exhaust leak on the RV. before I finished the guy says oh, there he goes to fix it. I said what? He said he's already headed over to where your parked to fix it. (I hadnt even said where i was parked LOL) I drove over there and he was under the RV working on it. See why I like ,,,, LOL

Yes, I do like Leola but am looking forward to heading for Mt. Rushmore later, then illinois. Oh yeah, I was offered a 3 bedroom, 1 bath house on 3 lots with an attached 2 car garage for $12,000. Came really close to blurting out ok. LOL

The Threshing Bee

The WHAT ????? Jimmy said when I said we were going. He chose to stay home with Schaffer's wife so Jim and I went. That means Jimmy gets to see it via the blog just like everyone else.

I woke up at 6a.m. as usual (3a.m. in Alaska) took a shower made my first officially cooked meal in the RV rather than opening something or eating to go. 3 eggs, sausage, toast, milk, coffee, and grapes later I went for a walk around town. Now telling you all the changes I noticed wouldn't mean a lot since you cant compare what is with what was and see what isnt. Right? I mean, like, the old really cool brick bank building is now a hunting lodge and the bank left that cool building for a modern wooden frame box. The newspaper is in the old thrift store, stuff like that. Oh, and since we're on the subject Swine Robotics is still in the same building.

The WHAT ???? Swine Robotics is a company that builds machines to insiminate pigs. I'll let your imagination chew on that one for awhile. LOL

I had coffee again at the D&M cafe, met a waitress named Shawna who was impressed with me from being from Alaska. So everyone that came to pay she would say he's from Alaska and they would all give her that woop-de-doo look like SO????? She would roll her eyes and look at me like dont they get it your from Alaska. LOL

I saw the Schaffers truck at thier church and so went in and attended thier service. They are Luthren which (in thier case) was very structured (every word and response was read from a book) not good, not bad, just different.

Then Jim (Schaffer) and I went to the Threshing Bee. Here's a video of an old Threshing Machine operating so my explanation will be understood better.

basically Threshing is separating the wheat from the chaffe. In old days it was done by hand by tossing wheat or ?? into the air a bit and letting the wind blow the light chaffe away while the seeds fell to the ground.
In this video is an old (powered by a long belt from a tractor) Thresher and they are loading it with wheat.

The men put the harvested wheat on the conveyor, the seeds fall into the green wagon to be ground and used for feed or ?? later. The straw comes out the end and is used for bedding for the animals.

They had a really neat display of stationary engines which are engines that operate other things via usually a belt. They are called staionary because they are mounted in place as compared to say that tractor that could move around.The have a heavy flywheel thus only fire every 50 - 100 revolutions just to keep up the centrifical force.

And some old tractors

this one actually runs. I saw a lot of very well kept  (mechanically) old tractors that ran very well but looked like this.

This home-made steam operated one is no longer used but only because they dont trust the tank to hold the pressure

This horse drawn wagon had Grandpas Schoolbus painted on the side. It hauled people around the area including out into the neighborhoods.

What do you do if you have a team of horses but no wagon and need to move stuff.

Farming is all about ingenuity, using ones mind to overcome obstacles placed in your way.

It was a fun day, lots of exibits and fun stuff to watch. It was really intersting to watch them make a 3/4 inch braided rope from small mylon strands. Watching a dog herd sheep from whistled commands was really cool, watching teams of horses pull a plow like our ancestors had to do. And the slow tractor race, that was also fun, they had a really good German lunch that I cant remember, something like knepel and a desert called coogan. I had apricot.

Jimmy and I are having fun in Leola, and plan on staying a week or so. Then I guess i'll head down to Mt. Rushmore and see that as well as the needle and another rushmore, that is partially done, of an indian on a horse, maybe the corn palace where the entire building is made of corn, the murals on the upper outside walls are redone yearly with colored corn.

Of course if this was a current sign rather that an ancient one this traveling would be a lot more affordable. But I am having a ball and enjoying every mile. I'm getting into the slow down and smell the stuff version of traveling that Ashleigh pushes and seeing it is much more fun that rushing here and there then waiting for some more money. As my card says

I have no time of departure,

no time of arrival,

and no destination.

Leola, South Dakota

Jimmy at Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial

Well I made it to Leola which was my unofficial destination when I left Missoula a couple days ago. Jimmy and I stopped at Theodore Roosevelt National Monument on the way where I had some people take a photo of Jimmy and I.The girls keep saying I never post pictures of me, just Jimmy. Well they are correct as I am usually the one taking the picture and besides Jimmy is a ham and loves to be in front of the camera (notice he is always wearing a big goofy smile LOL) However I hesitate posting the pic since I am in it. Torn between should I, shouldn't I, should I ,,,,, you know the drill.

This will be all story so if you need pics then you may want to bail now.

As I said I am in Leola South Dakota. Leola is located 40 miles Northeast of Aberdeen South Dakota 12 miles South of the North Dakota border and halfway between the Missouri River and the Minnesota line

I was originally introduced to Leola in 2000 and for some unknown reason fell in love with it. I've only been here twice before and only know 3 people so ,,,,,

While working at the U.S. Border Station North of Haines Alaska a trucker we knew stopped in for processing and brought a Real Estate sheet from a local Realtor in his home town. (Leola) to show us the prices compared to Haines. I saw a 900 sq ft 1 bedroom house with a double garage attached that was larger than the house. It was on a double lot at the edge of this 650 person town 40 miles from a city with a Federal Building, a nearby lake, farming etc. And the price was only $10,000. I ended up buying the house for $7,000 and it came with a renter who was a single Dad with a small son.

Through this sale I met Jim Schaffer (the Realtor who I created and still maintain a webpage for his business) and Norma Dixon (The renters Mom and my point of contact) I didnt actually make it to Leola (and had never been here before, meaning house was bought sight unseen) until the summer of 2002 when I had purchased a hovercraft in Texas. I paid the expenses for Norma Dixon to go visit her son in Texas and tow the hovercraft back to Leola.

I arrived in Leola on a Tuesday evening and walked into the cafe on the highway. I asked where I could find an ATM and the lady said there wasn't one in town and that I would have to wait for the bank to open in the morning. I thanked her and turned to leave when she said "but we'll take your check Bruce". Quite surprised that she knew my name I turned around and said I dont live here. She said I know your Bruce Hale from Alaska you own the house on 3rd and 5th. Still surprised I asked how she knew that and she said I saw your truck and the Alaska plates. We heard you were coming. (oh how I love small towns) Thier all you can eat special that evening was lasagna, salad, rolls, chocolate cake, and drink for $4.25. She told me if I was here Friday they had an all you can eat Prime Rib special for $6.50 and apologized it was so expensive but "they raised the price of meat on me" Later that week I had a large cheeseburger, fries, and a soda for $2.50. I decided I could afford to live here on retirement and planned on moving into that house when the time comes.

When Norma was towing the Hovercraft back the axle on the trailer broke about 100 miles short so I called the place that towed it and had them fix it then dove down and got it. I returned to Leola where I began flying it on the small lake. In less than an hour there were well over 50 people showed up just to see what it was so I spent the rest of that day giving rides.

I cant explain why I like this little town so much. Maybe because it's a farming community and I grew up in and around farms, small town which I admit I do prefer, or the old country attitude where everyone waves at you when you pass by, everyone says hello, few doors get locked, there's only 1 cop who, when he isnt on a call is the towns maintenace guy and keeps a coverall uniform in the truck for when he's called out. I dont know, but I do like Leola, South Dakota.
If you want to check out the Real Estate prices or see some about Leola try the webpage http://www.schafferrealestate-leola.com/

Tomorrow I am attending the annual Threshing Bee. It will be fun. Parades, Threshing demos, stationary farm equipment displays, a german lunch, rope making demos, horse training demos, slow tractor race, and a watermelon feed. A day of fun, simular to what I enjoyed while a kid.

I had a nice 900 miles drive over here. A bit nostalgic. I found myself longing for the past and for the first time wishing someone (actually a particular someone) was sitting in the passenger seat so I could tell them what I was experiencing. Seeing row upon perfectly straight row of crops,  the smell of dirt when passing freshly cultivated fields, cow manure when passing dairys or pastures, the smell of freshly cut hay. All of that brought back memories such as my brother and I standing in the middle of a field watching that rain cloud follow the moutains around us and wishing it would come rain on us. Or the first time I was big enough to not just drive the tractor, (I had already been doing that awhile) but to pull the plows and plow the rows into the recently cultivated field. My dad told me how to line the first row up and then turn around and put the first plow into the last previously plowed row and follow it. "Just line the gas cap, the exhaust, and something on the side of the hill. Keep them lined up and you'll have perfect rows" so I did. He came to get me for lunch and was not pleased that even though each set of rows were perfectly aligned they curved to the left ,,,,, a lot. He, in a unhappy dad voice asked me what the heck i was doing and I said exactly what you said I lined up the gas cap, and the exhaust on a bush on the hill side. He (not nicely) asked which bush which I gladly pointed out. Through the binoculars he showed me it was a black cow slowly grazing right to left across the hillside. Being one that learns from his mistakes and having a dad that made you do it again, and again, and ,,,,, until he decided it was right meant that the rest of that day was re-cultivating the field removing my plowed rows and re-plowing it correctly. I didnt tell him how happy I was the next 2 days because what he saw as punishment and learning I saw as FUN, afterall I was driving the tractor and plowing not with my brother hoeing weeds in the cotton field.

Ok, you happy now? LOL

Yellowstone River plus ,,,,,

I grew up thinking that the Yellowstone River began North and flowed southerly through Yeloowstone NP.

(If you cant read this I apologize but it is right in front of me at MP 192 I-94 eastbound side if you want the full size version)

What it says (and to my surprise) is that the Yellowstone River begins south of Yellowstone NP and flows Northeast (following I-94) and at 650 miles is the longest undamed river in the lower 48 states. It meets up with the Big Horn and creates the headwaters of the Missouri River.

While this journey has ended for today in front of this sign. It began in the early hours a couple days ago.

I usually go in to see Smantha, Taylor, and Amanda off for the day and dont bother Jimmy but today, since we were leaving, he wanted to get up to say adios. So, I unwrapped him from his fleece blankey that he has adopted for himself (it was purchased last year for moi by Judy the kids Mother). It was a brisk 34 degrees inside which I was enjoying but he was not a happy camper about it.

An early beginning on this leg of the trip.

I wish I had the energy these two were exhibiting this brisk morning. Jimmy was diggin it to though. LOL

We took Ashleigh's continual advice to slow down and see the sights so that meant stopping in Deer Lodge Montana where here you see Jimmy in front of the Territorial Prison Museum.

The red building were cells for 200 imates plus other facilities. The wall and Tower 7 were constructed by inmate labor in the latter 1800's.

It was a special visit because my daughter Jessica was a Corrections Officer in Arizona as well as Alaska. The younger 3 girls Aunt (thier mothers twin) is a C. O. in Arizona and thier relative (Thier mothers side) was Thomas Frances Meagher who was the first territorial governor in 1865 and was instumental in allowing the first prison warden Frank Conley to institute a policy of using inmate labor to construct un-affordable improvements to the prison as well as many projects such as roads etc around the area.

Jimmy got his stripes

he made friends easily

Some things to note in this photo. The wall and towers were the first project accomplished by using inmate labor under Warden Frank Conley This wall is 24 feet tall x 3.5 feet thick at top and 4 feet thick at the base which is 4 feet underground. The red line indicates an area that un-accompanied prisoners could not cross. If they did the guard in tower 7 (the one you see) was authorized to shoot them ,,, dead.

On March 8,1908 4 convicts attempted the first ever excape from this prison. In this attempt Warden Conley was severly injures and Deputy Warden John Robinson was killed. The two leaders were hung in the courtyard just behind where Jimmy is standing. They were the first and only prisoners hung within the prison walls.

The phone and thus camera died thus pics were over for the rest of the tour and the 120 cars in the old car musuem which was really cool.

I added this one for personal reasons. It is a memiograph machine. This is how copies were made years ago. I use to help my Mom make copies on one when I was young and she was the church librarian. The funny part is that this one is in the Prison Chaplains office.

We left Deer Lodge and made it to mp 381 I-90 where we spent the night outside Greycliff Mt.

Getting up late (0800) we continued heading east and following the Yellowstone River.

At Billings we headed Norteast on I-94 towards North Dakota.

MP 38 on I-94 was a lunch break so we could enjoy Tuna and crackers. Then on to Miles City where we got gas (8.1 mpg) went to Walmart and actually bought groceries then a couple things at O'Rielly Auto parts and now MP -192 where we have the generator on the a/c on and looking forward to a good nights sleep.

Tomorrow North Dakota.

Sleep tight.

Missoula up to now ,,,,,,

Jimmy and I arrived in Missoula Montana just in time for dinner Wednesday night. The drive from Marysville was a very nice one. We actually took the advice of daughters and others to do less driving and more sightseeing so, with that in mind we spent an afternoon and night alongside Sprague Lake in Washington. It was a nice stop over and quite restful.

We stopped in the town of Wallace Idaho where they had an outdoor mining equipment musuem. It was really neat and pics etc are in the previous blog posting. In addition to the Mining Display there was a memorial to Wildland Firefighters, especially thse that fought the Pulaski Fire of 1910.

Of course the one I wanted to see but couldn't find, it as it was actually on a side street, off a side street, down a main street, then right, then left, you get the idea. Established in 1885 as a Bordello it is now a Musuem of said Bordello. That just sounded interesting and maybe a bit wierd.

The day after we arrived in Missoula Jimmy and I went to see the dealer where we had bought the Jeep on our last visit. We (hopefully) got the paperwork issue straightened out. (Seems that in Montana all the paperwork is sent to DMV vs. Alaska where it is sent to the bank. Thus it was sitting in a discard/return pile in Anchorage at DMV) We also got an extention on the tempoary plate so the Jeep can be driven.

We took the box to top off the gas and check everything out.

Taylor was with her parents shopping so Jimmy, Samantha, and I went. Here's Sammie and Jimmy pumping gas. Jimmy was so excited because I dont let him pump gas by himself.  We got an amazing 9mpg on the trip over which in itelf was nice.

Seems it tired the two gas pumpers out as they took a nap on the way back to Sammies house.

 Taylor got home and Sammie showed her and Jimmy how to fill the Jeep with gas. I always wondered why the word smile brought a big smile but closed eyes on little ones. LOL

They're all gassed up and ready to take that imaginary drive to imagination land where they can drive and Jimmy is a real little boy.

Today we are doing Sam's 9th birthday since tomorrow is a school day. We're going to a maze. it's an outdoor thing where there are games, etc. but also a really large maze built from hay bales. It should be fun. However at the moment both girls, Jimmy amd I have been banished to the RV while the parents do something ,,,,,, dum ,,,,, de ,,,,, dum ,,,,,,, I wonder what it could be ??????



Wallace Idaho and before ,,,,, (chasing Tim Herkimer)

Who the heck is Tim Herkimer you ask. Well, he's a long haul driver who drives for Davis Trucking. My daughter Amanda dispatches for Davis and introduced me (virtually) to Tim. He follows Jimmy's travels and if he ever stops or stays in one place long enough to catch up I'd let him buy me coffee. LOL

Today I stopped in Wallace Idaho for a break and decided to update this bloggy thing while sitting here waiting for the exhaust to cool down so I can tighten a leak.

They have a park which consists of an outdoor mining Museum as well as this memorial to the Firefighters and others that lost thier lives in the 1910 Pulaski Wildfire. This fire consisted of 1,700 fires that combined burned over 3,000,000 acres. One of the towns devastated by it was Wallace in which I sit as I type. Look it up, it's a pretty interesting story.

Here is the memorial dedicated to miners worldwide and thier families. Now, Jimmy wants to be a miner, of course he wants to be a firefighter/miner since we're here. LOL

The outdoor museum has displays showing and describing in great detail peices of mining equipmet from hand drill bits to an actual derrick and cage used to travel the vertical shafts deep into the depths of the mine thousands of feet hauling miners and equipment up and down. Because of the noise, dust, heat, etc. directions for this lift was given by buzzer rather than voice. A code was developed where say you wanted to be picked up at the 4,600 foot level you would ring 4 times pause then 6 times. Like the old Morse Code or like the old phones for those like me that had a phone ring of 2 shorts and a long.

As I said the outdoor displays were really awesome. You may not be aware or even thought about it but the hauling equipment has to be scaled down to go through a tunnel. Here you see an air driven train to haul miners along horizontal shafts. Jimmy is actually sitting in the third window but he's in the shade thus hard to see. The car is not over 4' tall and the cyclinder in the rear is the air pressure tank. It is propelled by forcing air pressure though a 3 way valve that controls speed (low, neutral, high) and another valve that controls direction (forward and reverse)

There is also another train that hauls equipment, product and waste. It is also short so the operator sits low and the braking wheel (looks like a steering wheel) sits below the operators seat.

They even built a simulated tunnel in which they described the blast, and drill patterns used by underground miners to extend the tunnel further in search of product.

On the way here we traveled I-90 East. I had heard how nice the Snoqualmie Pass was but it was 4a.m. when I hit it so to me it was dark and foggy. Kind of like Motel 6 rooms when your eyes are shut. (looks the same as a Ramada Inn until you pay the bill)

First stop at first light was MP 89 just east of Cle Elum Washington.

Jimmy was zzzzzzzzzzzzz since we had left Carrie's house at 3 a.m. and it was 5a.m. I was only awake because I was driving. Been thinking I should teach him to drive but he cant reach the pedals.

This stop was more of a 1 hour nap then onward. The peak between the two trees is Mt. Stuart at 9,415 feet.

I stpped outside Moses Lake Washington for a picture of this bridge which I think is kinda cool and a picture of Wild Horse Mesa State park

I made this picture a bit larger because I just like it. Imagine back in the day riding through the canyon alongside a huge lake when you look East and see this with indians on thier backs. These horses are amazing as is the picture. One could say what a lucky time to be there and get such a shot.

I spent the night alongside a lake. Ran the generator and ahd a long nice sleep.

Couer D'Alene Lake in Idaho.

A beautiful lake and scenic drive. I keep seeing Scenic Bipass Routes and need to find out if they actually return to the highway because if they do I am going to start enjoying them. There was one along the shore of the lake that I wanted to take so bad. But I have a large fear of getting to the end somewhere and unable to " turn this rig around" (A 1964 tune by The Willis Brothers in which they needed 40 acres to turn this rig around)

Well, we are back at Wallace and I'm about to climb under the box tighten 3 nuts and head East again.

Take care and God Bless.

P.S. Jimmy says Hi with a big wave and those Horses? Well, they were actually brass statues of Wild Horses that from a distance look so cool, and real. 8)



A week with The Freemans

I am posting this at MP 241 of I-90. Been driving since 0300 so stopped here for a bit of a rest and deciding which route to take further East. I realized I really needed to update this blog before I got to far behind so, here we go.

A week in Marysville Washington visiting Carri and her family.

There are a lot of pics for this week and it was a very nice time. So, I will put up pics and tell the story through them

It was H O T so I spent a lot of time near a fan.

Carri met Jimmy right off.

We had more than one BBQ. Nathan could grill a mean steak, burger, chicken, and Pork Chop.

I hung out with Ryan first 2 days.Then his Mom took off work. He's really into something called WOW (World of Witchcraft?)

And Kirsten at 11 fell in love with Jimmy.

While I ran around with Carri, Ryan played with witches and goblins, Nathan worked, Kirsten and Jimmy had a ball. They ,,,,,

played house,,,,

did laundry,,,,

played some pool,,,,

we were going to the river and noticed Jimmy had some cracks in his feet so we arapped them and he played dress up,,,,

he met Big Blue, the saxophonist for the group M&M,,,,,

We went looking at RV's again. The first time was the ice cream episode you'll have to read it on his facebook page. (Oh yeah he has his own facebook page now "Jimmy T'Elf" if you want to look him up and be his friend. There are updates there that dont make it here (ie; the ice cream and RV thing) and some here that dont make it there (ie; all of this),,,,

he liked the bedroom,,,,

big bathroom with a full size tub and shower. Forgot to get pic of washer and dryer,,,,

and of course the couch. But at $282,000 he didnt have the money and I only had $2.50 and they wouldn't take my credit card. 8)

he had to check his blog one more time before we took off at 3 a.m. this morning.

We had a great time and will be back.



Sept. 5, Jimmy meets The Marchants

My schedule got moved up a bit today.

Last evening Jerry and Tracey stopped by the rest area I was at so I could say Hi to thier youngest Megan who just got back from visiting in Alaska. That was a nice, but short, visit and welcome home for Megan.

I awoke to a text from Maddie saying her plans for Tuesday changed and as such she'd be unable to hang out so I was free to head North. Go North young man ,,,,

But first I had to head South. Went to a Truck stop about 4 miles south of rest area had breakfast, fueled up, did laundry. Then headed north. I arrived in Olympia and got off the freeway where I thought I was supposed to (exit 105) but ran right into a circle thing with no streets I was looking for so returned to freeway drove 6 miles then called Jack and Sasha and said help. While waiting I looked up directions on Iphone and guess what, exit 105 and the third turn on that traffic circle thing. I found thier house and they were on some really narrow streets and I was driving a big box towing a small box. LOL

Jimmy got to meet some good friends of mine that recently moved here from Juneau.

Meet The Marchants from the left, Oskar, Sasha, Jack and in front is Gibby who is holding Jimmy.

Since there was no place to park they piled into the box and we went to town. Found a market, had ice cream then went to a park where water squirted out of a concrete pad in various patterns.

Jimmy is behind or to the right of the dark haired kid in matching blue shorts and top.

The Washington State Capitol was across the street from the squirting park. It Dome at 248 feet is the 4th tallest and quite imposing from Jack & Sasha's house where you can see it.

In this pic taken from thier 2nd floor window the Dome actually looks more imposing and larger than the picture indicates. It actually made me think of a monster movie where the monster was towering over the trees just past the tree line and ,,,,,

I helped Sasha in the yard a bit as Jack had to go to work, took the nickle tour of thier new place and enjoyed dinner on the front porch. Nice friends with a family that I truly like and it was really nice to see them again. I also learned that her parents will be here briefly on Friday on thier way to Spokane for a wedding. Dang it, I missed seeing them when I went through New Mexico and now another near miss.

I am in another rest area, tomorrow I will head for Carri's to spend a few days visiting with them. It's been over 8 years since I've seen any of them  My brothers wife's niece lives up here with her Navy husband and I had hoped to see them. But Bemerton (Navy ship yard) was to far out of the way so I didnt get there. Imagine my surprise when I learned they actually lived in Everette which is on the highway a few miles away. So if i cant see them while here i will try for lunch or something on my way to Montana.

A short post but your up to date. 8)