I seem to be rebuilding my truck. Today it was determined that my shocks needed replacing. Now, I just replaced those suckers about 18 months ago so that news didn't compute. But then I saw it was 35,000 miles ago, so I guess that's within reason. The factories lasted 100K. I'm learning now that I push my truck hard. When I look things up on the internet about my truck I find I'm taking advice from off-roaders and extreme vehicle owners, not...
I went through the truck today, and removed my passport and birth certificate from the console box and stashed it in my rig. I carried those along with vehicle registration and insurance card in the event I get stopped in Arizona, Alabama, or a few other states with ferocious undocumented immigrant laws. No problem here in Washington, or the several states I will be visiting in the next several months. I got the impression from Joe Arpaio in...
The sun came out today, after 7 days of clouds and rain. As is usual around here now, the wildflower display changes weekly. I didn't like sitting around indoors, but I was listening to the weather in Oklahoma, appreciating my situation here. The PNW rarely gets thunderstorms, rainfall, or killer winds like many places in the country. And I try to avoid places and seasons where such weather drama usually occurs. But this last year I saw a sample...
I'm devoting a couple of months for truck maintenance. I had a broken coolant hose connector and heater hose replaced in Idaho, now I'm doing the rest of them. Well, the hose. GM managed to blend three hoses into a single unit, which I call the Franken-hose. I got that replaced today, at surprising cost for a hose. I'll go in for brakes pretty soon. The factory brakes have lasted 145,000 miles, quite impressive. But I found out why: the factory...
I find it interesting to watch Washington State set up, from scratch, a legal cannabis market. It is reminiscent of the hassles setting up Indian gaming, which took decades. This one must be up done by the end of the year. The state is going for indoor grows only, the Seattle City Council is wrestling with zoning issues for these operations. They can't prohibit them, they're leaning on the side of a Safeway-sized limit for the factories. The...
I received a letter from the IRS pointing out I had made a dumb-ass mistake on my filing. Besides expecting a long delay on a refund, my error changed considerably the refund amount in my favor. I began the process of filing a revised 1040 to correct my mistake, and wondered how long it would take to get my money. I made the stupid mistake. Yesterday the IRS deposited deposited into my checking account a refund, presumably the correct amount....
The weather has been nice and I've been out looking around the towns and sights, stopping in at favorite eateries, and getting estimates on truck repairs. I did get over to Seattle to see the family, all are fine. Good to see the grandkids. The dam removal project is stopped for the time being while they figure out what to do with sediment outflow. Near the mouth, the water looks like glacial runoff you see high in the mountains, silvery-gray...
May is especially nice on the Olympic Peninsula. You get some sunny and warm days, the Olympic Mountains are still snow-capped, and down at sea level the plants are in bloom. People are happy that the gloom of winter is over and summer is within sight. I've been taking short trips to checks out places in the area. Not a lot of changes, but the trips are worth it. Locally, the Elwha Dam, "The First American Dam to be Dismantled" is complete. This...
Arrived this afternoon at the Escapee park in Chimacum, near Port Townsend. I paid for a month, and will no doubt stay here until the end of August. I'm tired of driving. I've seen a lot this year, and covered a lot of ground. 20,000 miles of ground since I left here last August. My route was south and east to Burning Man in Nevada, across the Rockies in Cheyenne, through Nebraska to Cincinnati, on to Washington DC where I met the storm called...
I'm in Toppenish, in the Yakima Valley, for a few days for visiting and touring around. The weather couldn't be better, and it looks good for several more days. Sunday I'll head to Port Townsend.
I got up early and left early, and felt like going all the way to Pendleton. So I'm here in Hermiston, close enough. It's been a while since I've been here so I want to check out the back room at the Pendleton Mill where they sell their rejects.
I wanted to see the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area, a rather large set-aside administered by the BLM. It's a nice open-range with the Snake River Gorge in it, but too early for birds (the swallows had arrived, though) of interest. I don't visit the Boise area very often because it's boring. I always feel like I'm on a set for an "Up With People" performance. It's a suburb of Salt Lake City. Tomorrow I'll go...