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.