The Oregon State Fair on a Sunday Afternoon

Buddeshepherd is the guest blogger for the Ed Winkle Chronicles!
Ed Winkle asked me to write his blog while he is on his cruise. Ed's blog is always full of interesting information and insight. Plus, I think he always makes it to Church on Sunday. Those of you who read "The Lazy Farmer" know that I tend to ramble on and on and never proofread. And-I skipped church and took my family to the Oregon State fair today.
Actually my wife took us. Her car is so much nicer than my pickup that I am a little afraid to drive it. So I just rode along. It also took me quite awhile to wake up this morning as she brought me home a book about the Battle of Britain and I stayed up late last night reading it, so she did most of the talking on the way to the fair as well.
I always feel pretty guilty about skipping church, especially to enjoy such foolishness as the State fair. But we still had a good time.
We drove around in back in search of the promised free parking and so had quite a walk. We entered at the gate near the midway where all the rides are. Sadie, our 8 year old daughter, was in awe.
I was in awe of the prices for rides. Think I may have been on the farm too long. I bought a $20 ticket which equaled 40 fifty cent tickets. Most rides were 6-8 tickets so $4 a pop. Wife was looking for the sky diver but one of the ride attendants (I think they used to be called "carnies") said that ride was outdated. Instead they went for the Spider. It had little pods that you sat in and then as it rotated articulated arms brought those pods up in the air. It made a few turns and then the senior attendant decided it had a loose chain and shut it down and gave us our money back. The junior attendant attempted to tell me there was a problem but it is really hard to express yourself when you can only speak in monosyllables.
Next they tried the ferris wheel. It is huge. They could see the whole fair from the top. Sadie was a little scared at first but was fine once it started. We were going to ride the fair-lift which is a chair lift that takes you over the whole fair from one side to the other. Somehow we didn't. Think it was too much money. We got occupied going from one booth to the next and pretty much forgot about it.
We then went looking for the animals. The Oregon State fair is somewhere around 140 years old. Most of the old buildings are gone. I think the arena and the poultry building are the oldest.
We saw the chickens, cattle judging, miniature horses, giant draft horses, sheep, pigs, rabbits, an guinea fowl. They have to be the most ugly, and horrible sounding birds on the planet.
We had ice cream at the Dairy Farmers of Oregon booth, found some cotton candy for Sadie, looked at spa's, and decided not to spend $15 on a BBQ chicken dinner. We looked at the cake judging, found a really cool Lego display, and looked at student art displays. We took on last trip down the midway where I tried the water squirter gun and didn't win. Sadie tried the softball toss and won a stuffed animal. She also took a ride on the kiddie roller coaster but got pretty freaked out. She was tough and didn't cry or make them stop the ride so I told her I was proud of her. Then we went home.
I was planning on taking a nap as my feet and back were suffering but my wife put on a DVD. The Astronaut Farmer is a pretty silly movie. Guy builds a rocket in his back yard and orbits the earth. It is all about following your deams and family support and all that good feeling stuff. Of course Hollywood gets it all wrong. I'd bet that building a rocket in your backyard because your dad killed himself and you didn't get to follow your dream of becoming an astronaut is pretty selfish. Especially when you nearly loose the farm in the process and pretty much endanger your family's life with a highly explosive rocket in the back yard. But, what do I know about inspiring films. My family found it amusing. The daughter did not appreciate the lecture I gave her about following dreams that helped your family, and that if you risk the whole farm on some stupid scheme like building a rocket, or turning a corn field into a baseball park, there probably won't be some out-of-the-blue unforeseen windfall, like grandpa's inheritance, or space aliens, or no freakin' fairy godmother to get you to the ball.
She said, "dad it is just a movie, life is not like that, and you are so weird."
Whatever...

Star to Alaska

Today we board the Norwegian Star to Alaska on our quest to visit our 49th state.

We are pretty excited, everyone clamors about the trip who has taken it or has it on their bucket list.

There is one shipmate for every two passengers. We are ready to be pampered.

"We just returned from a 25th anniversary cruise from Seattle to Alaska aboard the Norwegian Star. The ship is beautiful and there are so very many things to do on board - Casino, Java Bar, The Red Lion, shows, restaurants - I could go on and on. However, the personnel are personable, interesting, interested in you, always remember your name and are just the best I have encountered.

A special THANK YOU TO RAYMOND - RED LION, who is the world's best mixologist and made me a white rose from paper on our anniversary night (along with great Irish Coffees). What a great personality - remembering our name for the whole week! . THANKS TO CHENA IN THE BLUE LAGOON, who always took the time to assist us in anything we needed and also, just to have a short visit. GRACIAS TO RONALDO in the Java Lounge who also makes a great Irish Coffee and would remember us by name- always smiling.If someone in management sees this, Kudos to you in selecting these wonderful employees. PRAISE TO YOU AND THEM. WHAT FUN WE HAD!!!!!"

We can't wait to see Alaska for ourselves. Maybe we will pick up another National Park visit or two but we are going for site seeing and relaxation.

We really needed this.

This has truly been the trip of a lifetime and ten great years together.

After a summer of rain and cold, deaths and births, we are off the emotional roller coaster.

I am ready to go home and tackle harvest and LuAnn is ready for the next challenges of Turning Point.

This is good.

Ed and LuAnn

Made it to the port

The traffic wasn't nearly so bad as going out of town, whew!

We survived the EconoLodge last night. Actually we slept very well.

We headed to Mt. Rainier this morning. Wow, what a sight!

That thing is a monster!

"Mount Rainier is an active stratovolcano (also known as a composite volcano) in Pierce County, Washington, located 54 miles (87 km) southeast of Seattle. It towers over the Cascade Range as the most prominent mountain in the contiguous United States and Cascade Volcanic Arc at 14,411 feet (4,392 m).

The mountain and the surrounding area are protected within Mount Rainier National Park. With 26 major glaciers and 35 square miles (91 km2) of permanent snowfields and glaciers, Mount Rainier is the most heavily glaciated peak in the lower 48 states. The summit is topped by two volcanic craters, each over 1,000 feet (300 m) in diameter with the larger east crater overlapping the west crater. Geothermal heat from the volcano keeps areas of both crater rims free of snow and ice, and has formed the world's largest volcanic glacier cave network within the ice-filled craters. A small crater lake about 130 by 30 feet (40 m × 9.1 m) in size and 16 feet (5 m) deep, the highest in North America with a surface elevation of 14,203 feet (4,329 m), occupies the lowest portion of the west crater below more than 100 feet (30 m) of ice and is accessible only via the caves.[9] [10]

Mount Rainier has a topographic prominence of 13,210 feet (4,030 m), greater than that of K2 (13,189 feet (4,020 m)).[4] On clear days it dominates the southeastern horizon in most of the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metropolitan area to such an extent that residents sometimes refer to it simply as "the Mountain."[11] On days of exceptional clarity, it can also be seen from as far away as Portland, Oregon, and Victoria, British Columbia.

The Carbon, Puyallup, Mowich, Nisqually, and Cowlitz Rivers begin at eponymous glaciers of Mount Rainier. The sources of the White River are Winthrop, Emmons, and Fryingpan Glaciers. The White, Carbon, and Mowich join the Puyallup River, which discharges into Commencement Bay at Tacoma; the Nisqually empties into Puget Sound east of Lacey; and the Cowlitz joins the Columbia River between Kelso and Longview."

Thanks again, Wiki.

If you visit, I would recommend route 410 to 123 and back on 706. That was a beautiful way to see the whole park. Well worth the drive and $15 NPS charges.

That is one beautiful mountain top and forest!

Ed and LuAnn

Word to the Wise

Don't invite guest bloggers!

My dear blogger and I have been traveling together for ten years. One wonderful summer we were in Maine in July and were in Vancouver in August. We have kind of learned to accommodate each other’s different traveling styles over the years but every once in a while those characteristics that are so charming when everything magically falls into place can be like a burr under the saddle when they don’t.

Ed is a dreamer, big picture, “fly by the seat of his pants” sort of guy when traveling. His idea of being prepared is an extra can of chew and a case of bottled water. He loves to drive wherever the road takes him always eager to see what is beyond the next bend. Like a little kid he delights in a small town museum or a local diner or a breathtaking view that is the perfect photographic subject. I must admit that some of my most special memories came from his fly by the seat of his pants style of traveling.

Like most women, I tend to lean toward being the planner, map reader, calculator of when and where we will land and what- will- be- waiting- for- us- when- we- arrive kind of traveler. Along the way, armed with my maps and AAA travel guides, I navigate for my dear blogger and we usually experience great adventures with great food and accommodations awaiting us at the end of the day. We have a deal, Ed is in charge of food and gas (is this a Freudian slip or what?) and I am in charge of lodging.

However, at least once on every vacation, we end up with a crummy meal and a night in a Super 8 or Motel 6 or, God forbid, an EconoLodge. It has become a joke between us that when we fly by the seat of my dear blogger’s pants the end result can be less than spectacular. Today was one of those days.

It began innocently enough. We left our lovely Hampton Inn Jacuzzi Suite after a warm and wonderful breakfast (did I mention that we dined at a fabulous Japanese steak house within walking distance last night) and headed northeast to the North Cascade National Park. Along the way we followed the Skagit River with its tributaries, ebbs and flows always within site. The river was fast but not high and we stopped several times to catch great photos of the sheer rock walls reflecting off the shallow crystal clear river. Amazing!

Lavender farms, organic fruit farms and art galleries sporadically appeared and, knowing that we would return by this same route out of the park, we made plans to stop at several of these roadside wonders on the way back. The park proved to be spectacular from a distance but unless one planned to drive 45 miles across its northern border and exit a good 4 hour drive back toward Mount Ranier, our next destination, it was best to make a short visit to the park and retrace our route back.

After a couple of hours in the region immediately adjacent to the visitors center including taking in a good, but not great, video introduction to the park (Compared to Olympic NP which had a fantastic award-winning film that left us speechless after watching 20 minutes of the most incredible videography imaginable), we began our return journey.

I was thinking romantic cabin and a river rafting adventure and we were within sight of the organic blueberry farm with its fresh organic homemade ice cream (blueberry, strawberry, raspberry and blackberry) when we regained cell service….not good. The message light lit up and Ed’s phone contained a message from Jason our house-sitter and dog-sitter to Sable.

Jason was beside himself that Sable had spied a cat coming out of one of the grain bins and took chase. I was expecting to hear the worst, that she had gone into the road and been hit, but it was slightly less awful to learn that in the chase she had stepped on a board with a nail sticking up and punctured her paw. It was serious enough to require the vet to put her under and stitch her up. For the next two hours we crawled south along I-5 in the Seattle traffic waiting to hear that she was back home and doing okay.

You might wonder, “What about the lovely Skagit River Valley and the cabin and a slow river rafting adventure amid the blueberries and art galleries?” Well, my dear blogger had different ideas of how to spend our afternoon. All of today’s crystal clear sunny 75 degree afternoon was spent in pursuit of a trip to Mount Ranier. When we weren’t stuck in traffic on I-5 we were talking with an OnStar “Advisor” trying to find a route and lodging.

About three, hungry and frustrated, we stopped at what looked to be a great Mexican restaurant called Puerto Vallarta. Let’s say it was not one of my shining culinary choices. The best part of that experience was that it was there that we got word that Sable and Jason were back home safely and we could put that worry to rest.

Back on the road after a quick visit to an optometrist to get our glasses adjusted (that was positive….they were really, really nice), we started toward that massive but elusive peak Mount Ranier…we could see it but getting there was another story.

Anyway, speaking of rest, we still had not found lodging and we were now over an hour from Tacoma, the last place that the AAA book showed good facilities. Hunger and frustration was replaced by tired and frustrated as our OnStar “Advisor” attempted to ease my dear blogger’s conscience over not listening to the planner, organizer member of our HyMark team of adventurers when she wanted to find a cabin and float down the river earlier in the day. Flying by the seat of our pants had ended in an emergency landing in the middle of nowhere.

So tonight we find ourselves in that “it-happens-once-every-vacation” hotel that we will inevitably laugh about later when we recount the highlights of this once in a lifetime trip. It ain’t fancy and it ain’t a Hilton but it is clean and it is the only place within miles. I am certain it will take at least two Tylenol PM’s to get me to fall asleep in this place but tomorrow is a new day. And, lulling me to sleep is that knowledge that tomorrow night we are staying at the Hilton in downtown Seattle with a view of the harbor right near the Space Needle. With the sights and sounds of this fabulous port city right outside our lobby door I am sure we will forget today’s fiasco food choice and our hellacious hotel.

You dear husbands surely must recognize yourselves in this tale. You guys will basically sleep anywhere but will only eat at the meat, potatoes and pie places. We ladies are very particular about our lodgings but we love the lure of Thai, Indian, and French cuisine. Surely you guys recognize that quest for the mountain that beckons; the blinders you guys put on when you are hell-bent on getting to some destination; and the “it’s only one night” attitude you assume when you discover that there isn’t a decent hotel within miles. There is something to be said about the grit and determination you guys have to avoid using those maps and planning tools at all costs. In the words of the last dry-humored OnStar Advisor who tried to help us today, “As part of my job, Mr. Winkle, I pray every night for husbands.”

Did I mention that right outside the door of the hellacious hotel is the most spectacular view of Mount Ranier. Tomorrow is a new day with a new adventure waiting. I sure love my dear blogger for all he does to bring new adventures to my life every day.


Ed

Mount Olympus

Today we headed up to Chief Seattle's territory, Mount Olympus. It was another beautiful day and another beautiful drive.

"Mount Olympus (Greek: Όλυμπος ; also transliterated as Ólympos, and on Greek maps, Óros Ólimbos) is the highest mountain in Greece at 2,919 metres high (9,577 feet).[1] Since its base is located at sea level, it is one of the highest mountains in Europe in terms of topographic prominence, the relative altitude from base to top. It is located in Macedonia, about 100 km away from Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city.

Mount Olympus is noted for its very rich flora with several endemic species. The highest peak on Mount Olympus is Mitikas at 2,919 metres high (9,577 feet), which in Greek means "nose" (an alternative transliterated spelling of this name is "Mytikas"). Mitikas is the highest peak in Greece, the second highest being Skolio (2912 m).

In Greek mythology the mountain was regarded as the "home of the gods", specifically of the Twelve Olympians, the twelve principal gods of the ancient Hellenistic world.[2] Any climb to Mount Olympus starts from the town of Litochoro, which took the name City of Gods because of its location on the roots of the mountain."

But we saw the one in Washington State.

"Olympic National Park is located in the U.S. state of Washington, in the Olympic Peninsula. The park can be divided into three basic regions: the Pacific coastline, the Olympic Mountains, and the temperate rainforest. U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt originally created Olympic National Monument in 1909 and after Congress voted to authorize a redesignation to National Park status, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the legislation in 1938. In 1976, Olympic National Park became an International Biosphere Reserve, and in 1981 it was designated a World Heritage Site. In 1988, almost all of the Olympic Peninsula was designated as the Olympic Wilderness, further enhancing the protection of the region."

Thank you again, Wiki.

We crossed the Pugent Sound on the ferry for $13 and saved a lot of gas and time.

We are in Burlington, Washington tonight and are heading for the Cascades in the morning then Mt. Rainier in the evening.

Then we will rest up in Seattle for the trip to Alaska Saturday.

Yippee!

Ed and LuAnn

More Friends and Lewis and Clark

Yesterday I got to ride with Garth and see some radish seed and all kinds of other crops. Susan fixed a great lunch and we just sat around and talked. They have done a lot to that farm.

I was impressed with the new pivot which will raise up and hit more than one field, very impressive. Garth is a innovative notiller so we looked at lots of things and talked about more.

His radish seed was huge!

His homebrew planter and sprayer and his dad's D6 with a backhoe were impressive.

Then we made it to David's family farm and the whole family was there. His dad is sharp as a tack at 90 and his uncle always has a big smile on his face.

His brother Rollan and I had a good chat before David came in with a load of alfalfa on the stacker.

The 2-135 brought back good memories.

Today we drove up 101 and caught the Lewis and Clark National Historic Park and Fort Clatsop. Hard to believe what they did in the early 1800's but they changed this country forever and for the good.

Ed

Crater Lake and Oregon folks

We just sat in awe yesterday at Crater Lake. Can you imagine a beautiful blue lake on top of a mountain 6 miles across and 1500 feet deep?

On the way to Orin's we saw the most beautifully green, well shaped Christmas trees you can imagine. Can you picture harvesting Christmas trees with helocopters? That is they way they do it here in the Christmas tree capital of the great Northwest because it gets so wet here in fall. They get their 40 inches of rainfall over the winter so it gets real muddy!

We had another beautiful drive yesterday. Then we went to have dinner with Orin's family. What fine people they are. We enjoyed homegrown steakburgers with wonderful tomatoes, Mandy's killer potato salad, Matt's sweet corn picked just before the harvest crew came through to harvest his crop. She topped it off with strawberry shortcake, so much better than eating out! We met Frank and Van and all just sat around and talked, what a way to top off a great day.

Matt gave me a good report on T-22, his supplier had it sitting there on the shelf so he bought some and put it on the crops. Sounds like he got the same results I get in Ohio.

Van is so cute in his Allis Chalmer bibbies, reminded me of Matt and Mark when they were little guys. Even the family dog was friendly and a part of the get together.

Then we got the tour of the seed house and operation, grass seed stacked high and ready to ship out our way.

Farmers, don't worry about killing the annual ryegrass cover crops, I have had no problems and I didn't see anything to be concerned about on that farm.

Van is the seventh generation to live on that farm. Mandy's picture windows from the kitchen and living room is amazing, just like Grandpa and Grandma wanted in 1955.

The cattle operation was pleasant, right beside the house and our picnic area.

The folks are so pleasant out here, not the city folk you hear about that move into regions like that. Down home, hard working people that have kept our country great.

We can't let them ruin our country.

What a day and what a trip!

Now if I can find Garth and David today and head towards Washington State.

Ed and LuAnn