August 24 - 4 miles past Whistlin' Jacks

I don't know why exactly but when I steer my truck away from a town and towards the woods, I get a Mona Lisa like grin on my face that puzzles me. I think it must have to do with leaving the stimulation that is inherent to cities, or even small towns. It's not that I don't like some of the things available in those places, cuz I do (you know, cool people, junk stores, beer outlets) but still, in a short time it starts to grate on my psyche - it IS hard being a delicate flower.

I spent the afternoon at the cabin, first with T and my current heart throb Vinnie, but when they left I pulled out some art stuff I got in Eugene and started trying to make a block print of their cabin. There is this soft stuff called Speedy Cut that makes the experience less frightful for me and while I think I got the outline of the cabin, I didn't capture the feeling of the place. I guess that's the difference between skilled folks and the rest of us, the skill that allows people to transmit feeling into a physical representation of that thing/feeling.

Oh well as they say, practice makes perfect. Maybe.

I took myself out to dinner at Whistlin' Jacks and had a chicken fried steak with salad, veggies, smashed potatoes and meat. I do believe I hadn't had such a meal for um, 30 years? The chicken fried part anyway. My wait person was kind, even through she had worked all day and just as she was to get off, two people called in sick. Dang! Still, we bonded over her misfortune and I gave her a big tip. And I got to have a beer called Irish Death. Don't really know about the name but it was 8% alcohol and pretty close to a stout. Woohoo! Just one though.

August 23rd Adventures!

Country garage sales turned into back road travel turned into a flat tire, far from home. Fortunately J has a newish Jeep with all the tire changing accoutrements needed and we were off to Ellensburg for a tire repair and a Mother Burger at The Tav. I love Mother Burgers... yum.

Got back in the vehicle and headed off towards home on the road through Yakima Canyon... sight seeing as it were. Half way through guess what? Another flat tire, same one again. The second changing happened in record time and we are back at the same brand of tire store in Yakima, getting four new tries.

Fun with automobiles...

August 22nd Here and there

Today was a day in two parts. First off I drove to Chinook Pass to see if I could fill some hikers bellies with junk food. Just as I arrived, and after putting a sign on the trail pointing my direction, down came a couple of guys section hiking the state of Washington. How cool is that? So I met Sweeper (cause he's always clearing the trail of brush) and his buddy who's name escapes me. Their picture is below.

Second part of the day was dinner at Leo Adams house over on the Yakama reservation. He's a close friend of T and J and an extraordinary artist. He has built an amazing house, without the red tape and regulations of building codes. Pretty amazing place and man. Plus he's a heck of a cook.

August 21st Still here

Kind of an inactive day. I hung with the gals till they went off to their various activities then finished a book I got for 25 cents at a thrift store. By the time I was done my eyes were so wonky that I had to stop with all that and focus on something outside of a two foot range.
So I tried to help J with a sewing project she has but failed in two attempts to get the bobbin filled with the correct thread, so that project was off the table for today. Then, what?

So I just decided to go to Fred Myers and buy some snacks I can feed thru hikers, should I come across them in the next couple of weeks. Raw calories are appreciated by calorie deficient folks so even so called called "empty calories" can help if you are running low.

I've been trying to figure out what to do with my time out here and no matter which way I slice it, I can't imagine hanging out for another 10 days till my friends are available over there in Salt Lake City. I'm just starting to get the antsy feeling like I should start back towards California, even if it takes me a while to get there. So I called Salt Lake to make my apologies and am now reconsidering just how to make my move south. Inquiring minds will want to know but I have nothing concrete to share. More will be reveled in due time. In the meantime I will share a photo of Vinnie, the dog that lives here. Sometimes I wonder if I'm doing a tour of PNW dogs.

August 20th Mighty Tieton!

I don't know why I was too tired to write last night but I was. I'll try to make up for it today.

What, you may ask, is Might Tieton? It's a small burg near here that is in transition from a depressed dot on the map to a blossoming artist destination. A couple of men (friends of T and J) from Seattle chanced upon this spot some time ago and saw the potential in the old buildings and small town square. In the last five years they have spearheaded a condo project, developed an old warehouse into a gallery and art workshop with residencies and have brought their book business to town, hiring locals to make the books for the business. In addition they've helped the kids out by initiating the development of a soccer field for the local munchkins. If you are interested in checking it out they can be found at www.mightytieton.com.

Does anyone out there know about Sisters on the Fly? Well J is a Sister and has transformed an 1966 trailer into her home away from home for fly fishing trips. In fact we went junking today to find a vintage suitcase to use on her trips. There's an image of her painting her suitcase here.

BTW, Yakima has great thrift and antique stores, should anyone find themselves in the area!

Today's images are a mishmash of this mornings sunrise, shots from the gallery yesterday and J's trailer, Clara.

August 19th T and J's House

I didn't go far today but I'm a world apart from yesterday. I arrived up here at noon and the gals arrived a bit later from their weekend over the hill. The whole day was filled with fun and visually exciting adventures, more of which I'll tell about later. Too late tonight. I will show some images of their stuff in the nice evening light.