IF I AM HERE I AM OPEN ,IF I AM NOT HERE I AM CLOSED

That was the sign I posted on my shop when I was about done with fitting stocks. I am posting that here because I may or may not be just about done here.

This posting everyday like I said I would do when I started the blog on 1-1-10 is just to much like work. I dont like the stress of having to Get something together every day. I dont like feeling obligated to scramble to post and it is just not fun anymore.

Kinda like the difference in being a tourist and a traveler I dont like being a tourist.... so If I post I am here and If I dont I am not.

Back in 1983 in a AA meeting, this guy I knew said " I promised myself I wasn't going to do anything for one more day than I enjoyed it,ever again" I adopted that from him and have pretty much practiced it for the past almost 27 years.

Thanks to my Readers, c ya down the road.

Rojo.

Strange pictures and Glenomaer and Mortoner.

 We didn't need an alarm this morning, the Jake brake on the logging trucks coming around the curve out of the tunnel took care of that. Awhhhh but it is a pretty sound, I love the sound of a Jake brake. Didn't even have to get out of bed to hit the generator start switch. Dang it, I did have to get up to get the Juan Valdez 100% Colombian going.

We took some pictures of Rimrock Lake right across the road from us and were  a bit surprised when we got them back. The trees reverse image in the water of the lake was greener than the trees on the side of the mountain in two of the pictures.

Today was going to be an easy day.We were about 60 miles from, Glenoma ,WA, our destination for today. You can pass right through Glenoma and not know you have been there.You could put about 3-4 Glenomas in a small mall parking lot. It is 7 miles East of Morton,Wa home of the Loggers Jubilee. We were here to visit Jeanie's youngest sister and her family as well as go to the Loggers Jamboree.

Glenoma is a beautiful little place, with mountains on both the North and South side. It is not listed on the map but it is about 35-40 miles East of Infernal- State 5 on U.S. 12. I would guess the population at maybe 300.It is about 1/2 way between MT. Rainier and MT. ST, Helens. Morton is 7 miles West of Glenoma with a population of around 1100

MT.Rainier from U.S. 12 Westbound

MT. St. Helens letting off a little pressure.

We visited with Jeanie's family and enjoyed some of her Brother in law's fine cooking, but it dont take to long to see the sights in Glenoma. Jeanie and I got to joking around one night about " You might be in Glenomaer if" and here is the results. The family still wont speak to me but the friends in Randle, 11 miles to the East wanted to publish it in the paper.

You might be in Glenomer if:

You haven't seen the sun in so long ,you have forgotten what a shadow is.

The big social event of the day is going to the post office.

The latest newspaper headlines reads, TRUMAN WINS.

Moss is growing on the side of your trailer house.

Rowdy Reb is a local legend.

Your alarm clock is the Jake brake of a log truck coming off the mountain. 

All direction start with " From the post office"

The OC(ole codgers) cafe and parts store is the "Downtown".

The newest part in stock at the parts store is for a 46 Plymouth.

You go to Mortoner on Saturday night in a log truck.

 You drive 50 miles to get a Wal-Mart fix.

It rains so much ,you think wearing clothes straight out of the washer is normal.

The name of your telephone company is Glenomaer-Mortoner  Smoke signal and firewood communication.

 You see 2 vehicles on U.S. 12 and it is considered a traffic jam.

The siren for the fire truck and ambulance is on a 1950's toy Texaco Fire Chief hat.

 Your Christmas packages arrive in the mail on July 4th.

Because of clouds the last time you saw the moon and stars was in 1953.

The person everyone wants fired is the postmaster.

Sunrise is 11 A.M.

Sunset is 2P.M.

Fast food is driving 90 miles an hour to Mortener for a subway sandwich.

On a still night you can hear the wild Blackberry vines creeping upon you.

It is 93 degrees on may 15 and you still have snow on the ground.

Tomorrow: The Loggers Jubilee.

I plan to have a great day, I hope you will join me.

and

Thanks for coming by to check on us.

Rojo

Crossed the snake twice and still going.

It was really cool last night, had to get out the snugly velux blanket.  We got a pretty decent start for us, in fact we had coffee on the go. Only took us about an hour or so to cross the Snake river for the first time that day. We were out of Lewiston,ID and In Clarkston,WA before we knew it

You talk about a change in scenery from mountains, with Forest to Desert,  just almost that quick. There is a lot to be said for the Desert but in Eastern Washington you have to look mighty hard to find it.

We stayed on U.S. 12 to Waitsburg ,where we Stopped and made us a good breakfast. Jeanie was still in to lots of Bacon grease then. The eggs were cook in bacon grease and we had biscuits and gravy to go with it.  Then we rolled on State road 124 to Burbank ,WA where  we crossed the Snake River again, at just about where it joins the Columbia River at U.S. 12./ Infernal State 82 Northbound. At Prosser we  took State Road 22 almost to Yakima. Just as we were leaving Yakima on U.S.12 we saw a fruit stand with Walla Walla onions , local apples and several other items.  It was all on the honor system, just leave your money in the box. They had rocks painted like Red and Green apples. You know how Jeanie is about rocks, she had to have a red and green rock. We bought a bag of onions and some apples. I got an envelope and a note pad  out of Jeanie's Bottle to put the money in with a note that said. " Got a bag of onions and apples. We also got a green rock and a red rock, would have gotten a yellow one too, but you didn't have any. We left a buck for each rock if we owe more just send us a bill.

We were Back in Pretty country again, running along side of the Tieton River.We eased along up the hill enjoying ever second of the drive

We have been up, down, over, around and now under and through. Just the other side of the tunnel was a wide turn out, we pulled over and called it a day.

Tomorrow: Strange pictures and Glenomaer and Mortoner.

I plan to have a great day, I hope you will join me

and

Thanks for coming by to check on us.

Rojo

Heading to the Loggers Jamboree.

This shoot was an interesting shoot , we got to meet a lot of nice folks and a good many that we had never met before. At the bigger shoots you pretty much see the same people over and over again all over the united states, but at the small clubs most of the shooters dont travel very far. They fed us good and invited us back so over all it was good shoot.

We enjoyed a really nice  couple hours drive drive up Montana 1 to Drummond . We like it when we can roll along 35-40 miles an hour with no traffic and plenty of beautiful scenery to look at. Once we got on the Infernal-State 90 West bound,  we had to pick up the pace for about 50 miles. At Missoula we took U.S.93 South bound  for 10-11 miles, to the junction of U.S. 12 West bound at Lolo MT.

U.S. 12 would lead us straight, did I say straight?. Let me rephrase that, following U.S. 12 would lead us up, over , around, through and meandering along some mighty beauty country to the Loggers Jubilee in Morton Washington. The first 175 miles or so was as crooked as a barrel of snakes and incredibly beautiful.

We pulled Lolo pass and crossed in to Idaho again without any problems. Right about here is where you have made a mistake if you dont like up and down, around, about and meeting yourself coming around a curve. You might just as well set back and relax because you are in for a breathtaking drive along the Lochsa River. There are a lot of turn out along the river so we were not going to plan on staying anywhere, we would know it when we saw it.

When we got the picture developed, we noticed that in almost every picture there was a curve ahead.
 or a double curve

Some of the trees were already showing color in August.

Don't crowd the shoulder, the rock over hang will get ya.

We called it a day at Kamiah,ID

Tomorrow:  Crossed the snake twice and still going.

I plan to have a great day, I hope you will join me.

And

Thanks for coming by to check on us.

Rojo

What to do, what to do?

After waiting over night for the geyser to go in to service :-).  We started on up the road to Lava Hot  Springs, just a hop skip and a jump into the hot soaking pools. It was a neat little resort type town with old time flavor. We enjoyed the sights but neither of us wanted to soak in the hot pools.

Downtown

Historic Hotels in Downtown

It was time to do what we least like to do, get on the Infernal-State 15 and head North. We sure didn't want to go South that would puts us right Back at the Sticks and Bricks House. I called the guys at the Shooting  club  at Rexberg to get directions to the club. I had already made up my mind if they didn't call back before I got to Terreton,ID that I would just blow the shoot off.  I was enjoying being a tourist more all the time. I did not know what a traveler was yet. We had a bite of lunch at Lava hot springs and hit the road. I was hoping that the guys from the club didn't call back

21/2 hour later we cross the Continental Divide for the 5th time at the Montana State line.

We drove about 15 miles to Lima, MT and called it a day. As soon as we pulled in we liked this little town. The first thing we heard was a bunch of kids having fun. They were on the school grounds playing basket ball and just hanging out. No adults around supervising. We talked about how different it was in California where they have a Guard on the grounds and no one is allowed in after hours except staff. The kids played until dark and then it was silent. 

 The Bank had gone out of business and was a residence/store combination

 We had a really peaceful night and and enjoyed our leisurely chat with Juan Valdez before we went out to explore the town.As you can see in the pictures below  that didnt take to long and the traffic was not bad at all.

Some folks came by to chat, they said they dont get a lot of visitors here other than to the gas station. They tried to get us to stay and set up shop in Lima and as much as Jeanie and I liked the little town we were not ready to settle down and for sure not in the winter in Montana.

The Bar on the graveled main street  was doing good, maybe the bank should have sold booze :-))).

 What to do ,what to do. We were only 2 hours away from the location of our next shoot which didn't start for 4 days. shall we set here in this nice  quite little town or go to gun club and hope it is a nice and quite until the shoot starts.

About that time the Guys from Rexburg, ID called and said their shoot had been canceled.I didn't have to tell them I wasn't going to be there after all.

Well heck, lets ramble on up the Infernal - State15 to Infernal-State 90 West to Montana State highway 1 to Anaconda and the Anaconda gun club.

 About 1 1/2 hours up the road guess what we found , yep number 6 crossing of the continental Divide since we started our trip in march.

We had a great view at the Anaconda gun club and it was quite as a mouse. When a vehicle turned on the gravel road you could hear them coming 1/2 mile away. These people fed us good, it was some really good home cooking.

Tomorrow: Heading to the Loggers Jamboree.

I plan to have a great day, I hope you will join me
and
Thanks for coming by to check on us.

Rojo

The first J,C. Penny store and on to Idaho

Just like that ornery little doll " Chuckie" We'er back...... To the Trip after a day looking at the flowers.

ALL ABOARD!!! We are now departing Manila, UT for Kemmerer, WY. and Soda Springs ID, via way of  Mc Kinnon,  Burnt Fork and Lone Tree on State road 414. We will be passing through Mountain View , Urie and Ft. Bridger where we will get on Infernal -State 80 west for about 18-20 miles to  U.S. 189 North to Kemmerer. Every time I say that name it reminds me of my long past drinking days when my tongue would get all out of control. :-).

That was a quick 100 miles. I only had time for a  couple of stories about shoots at Evanston. Here we are in the back parking lot of the First J.C. Penny store # 1. For My Readers who have never been in an old fashion J.C. Penny Store I have to tell you this, since my picture turned out to dark to see.

In the old stores, the sales clerk took your money for the purchase and put it in a little container on a trolley and launched it to the second story at the back of the store.  Up stairs the Cashiers checked the sales ticket put the correct change in the little container and launched it back to the sales clerk on the trolley. I bought a many a pair of levies with that same  routine in Borger, Texas. After you got your change back, the sales clerk wrapped your purchase in brown paper off of a big roll on the counter. The paper had J.C. penny printed all over it. The package was then tied with white string off of the big spool next to the paper. Everyone shopping on main street knew who had been to J.C. Penny

Jeanie just about to go shopping in J.C. Penny #1

 We bought a souvenir post card just to get a sales ticket from  J.C. Penny #1

We then went to visit his home near the store. We were disappointed that it did not have handicap access.

We had a bite of lunch back at Jeanie's Bottle and then moseyed on out of town headed to Soda springs ID.

 We got tangled up in some road construction so it was pretty late in the day when we got there. We found a big gravel parking lot and decided that was home for the night.

We had a nice quite cool night and after our morning chat with Juan Valdez we were ready to see the Geyser and Soda springs.

 The color was pretty but the odor was not. we enjoyed it any way.

 Next we went to see the Geyser, this is just to funny see a close up of the sign I am pointing to below.

THE GEYSER IS OUT OF SERVICE :-))))))

We decided we were where we were going to be here for the day. We had been sightseeing a way to hard.

 One last picture before we go checking out Soda Springs. Everyone has heard of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, right?

Well how about the leaning silo of Iowa,  near New Sharon, I think it was.

I plan to have a great day, I hope you will Join me

and

Thanks for coming by to check on us.

Rojo

REAL TIME

 Jeanie  and the wild flowers and blooms in our neighborhood.

The last one was taken last year. The Jacaranda's beautiful purple blooms have not arrived yet this year. 

I plan to have a great day, I hope you will Join me.

and

Thanks for coming by to check on us.

Rojo

 The Earthquake today rattle our cage a little. It started out mild and kept getting more severe until it got to what I would guess to be around a 4 then it started to decrease again. It lasted about a minute. Most of the shakers around here last from 5-20 seconds. No damage here 200 miles north of the epicenter.
 NOW FOR TODAY"S POST 7-28-04
aahhhh,  Chatting with Juan Valdez and eating Watermelon for breakfast.... Life is good :-) We jumped on the Infernal-state West for about 2 miles and then jumped back off on U.S. 6/191.  Up to Price and Helper and stayed on U.S. 191 at the split. Over the mountain and in to the middle of a Trail Drive about 1/2 way to Duchesne.

Time to shut er down when you have a herd of cattle scattered across the road. If you dont have any I -DEE how much damage a 600 pound steer can do to a front bumper, when you hit him in the butt at 60 miles an hour I can sure as heck tell you. I can also tell you It is not a lot of fun crawling around on a dark New Mexico back road in the steer poop, blood and guts trying to get the bumper off the truck on a cold November 10th night.

Just  turn off the engine and set and enjoy the view. This is beautiful country and we sure didn't mind spending a little longer here.

Nice looking Mother cows and calf crop.

 Where you have cows , you will find cowboys.

And where you find Cowboys you find Cowgirls.

 Jeanie had never seen a cattle drive before and she was very excited. I was happy that she had gotten to see something that she never expected to see. It brought back a lot of memories. When I was still at home on the farm/ranch, we usually only moved our cattle a mile or two and most of the time just did it on foot. Sometimes we would catch ole Red and saddle him up but for the most part he was just a pain in the butt. He had belonged to my uncle and had been a race horse, who couldn't cut the mustard , My uncle gave him to us. Old Red like to run and a cow didn't have a chance , unless she turned, ole red just wanted to keep going straight ahead.

We didn't have much trouble finding where the trail drive came on the highway from the holding pens in the Forrest. The road got a lot greener with cow poop and we had a good amount on our mud flaps when we stopped for the night.

we continued on U.S. 191 through Roosevelt and the beautiful little town of Vernal. We made a super wally world stop at Vernal and stocked up on groceries.

Now I really hate to tell this story but If I dont Jeanie will, so I might just as well go on and fess up.  We were really enjoying Vernal, they have one of the most beautiful downtown area I have ever seen. Flowers hanging everywhere and some hiding the road signs.

We were talking about the trail drive and why I am not a big fan of Horse back riding, how pretty the drive had been that day, and how pretty Vernal was.

We came up to a roadside rest and thought it might be a great time to facilitate.I always thought that's what you were  suppose to do when you pull in to the road side rest areas that says facilities.

Long about this time I see a sign that says WELCOME TO COLORADO.what the heck we aint suppose to be in Colorado, we are suppose to be in Utah. When I was rubber necking around in down town vernal, I missed my turn.O well we will just get to see the same 30 miles all over again. :-)

When we got back to vernal we made the right turn and headed for Flaming Gorge. Another beautiful drive and when we started down into the gorge, we just flip on ole Jake and set back and enjoyed the scenery

When we got to the junction on U.S. 191 and State 44 we took state 44 to Manila, right on the Wyoming state line. It had been another fun day but I really needed to clean the reminder of the trail drive off my mud flaps.

Tomorrow: the first J,C. Penny store and on to Idaho

I plan to have a great day, I hope you will join me.

and

Thanks for coming by to check on us.

Rojo