Father's Day and POTTSVILLE, Ore

Well, it has certainly been a while since I last wrote, but due to unforeseen circumstances where I was which is not where I am now and won't be for a while my computer decided to go on a MINI-STRIKE which means that I was limited in what I could write and how long it would take to send it and how long I could remain on line??? It seemed to work good when I first got there, but after a while it decided to not really work at all???? My best guess would be that it just did not like where it was?? I am now in a different place trying to write about things that happened a while back and just trying to use me memory gives me a severe headache!!!!

So on to the story about POTTSVILLE, a little known area between Merlin and Hugo,Oregon....... A long time ago.... I know this sounds like a fairy tale, but it seemed like the best way to start this one so that is why you are getting this little bit of a PREFACE. Not sure exactly what that word means but I have seen it in a lot of books at the front so I will put it in the beginning of this story???????

So as we PRESS AHEAD. A long time ago in southern Oregon there lived a feller named E. D. "Debbs" Potts who was famous in this area for just about anything and everything, but mostly for being a state senator. Well as time went on Debbs as most everyone who knew him or did not know him but knew the name started a museum/area for meetings, gatherings, picnics and other such falderall..... and eventually the OLD FASHIONED TRACTOR SHOW and ANTIQUE TRACTOR PULL was started, developed and turned into what it is today.

It is an annual event that happens on Fathers Day weekend with a huge antique tractor show, an antique tractor pull, all kinds of vendors and a GIGANZO FLEA MARKET with a lot of really neat antiques and some other stuff too.

Since I can only show 5 pictures at a time on the blog I will split this story in to 3 parts or whatever it takes to show the pictures and give the explanation.

Now remember as you are looking at these pictures that all these tractors are real and fully operational!!!!!!!!!

The first picture is fairly obvious as this is the entrance to the grounds area. The second picture is the sign describibg the third picture. The fourth and fifth pictures show a monster tractor that was described in the parade but had no printed information so I have no way of telling you how old it is other than it is REALLY OLD!!!!

Now it is on to part two for more pictures!!!!!!!!!!!
{;-)

Vancouver and more to come......

Well greetings to one and all,  children of all ages and whomever the unfortunates are enough to have stumbled on to this link and decided to try reading some of this!!!!!! 

It has been some time since last I wrote, but then what is time but a relative item in the grand scheme of things, well not really relative since I always thought that a relative was a brother, sister, cousin, aunt, uncle and I could go on and on but I am sure by now you are getting the idea?????

So since it has been a while there have been a few things I have done or not done or should have done that have been redone, undone, done for fun and so on and so on!!!!!!!

To begin with or not to begin with but at least I have to start someplace and I guess this is as good as any place so I will start here!!!!!! Whew am I glad we are here, well not really here as I am here and you are someplace else, but that is OK because if you were here then we would be talking and I would not be writing this and who knows maybe that would be a better thing?????

But I dally when I should be telling the story....... so the week before fathers day I went to Vancouver for a plumbing job.   Seems as though my nephew had a small plumbing problem, well not really a small plumbing problem, more like a major one!!!!!  He had no water pressure and the whole house was galvanized pipe.   Now galvanized pipe was great in its day, but that day has come and gone.   The house was built in 1928 and the plumbing was original which makes that plumbing OLDER THAN ME!!!!!!!!! Can you believe it?? Something older than I am???????
So we started installing new pipe which is all PVC and CPVC, for those of the old school, I do not use copper any more. For me and my temperament it is better if I use glue and cleaner, especially on a hot day as it definitely makes me more mellow!!

After a day and a little bit we were finally ready to turn off the water and connect to the meter.   Well it was about this time that MURPHY and his law showed up!! For those of you who don't know about Murphy, Murphy's law states that at any critical time "if it can go wrong it will go wrong" which is exactly what happened.   I went out to turn the water off at the city stop at the street and could not get it to move, so my nephew tried and we actually twisted the T-BAR!!!!!!!  Well that is not a good thing because that meant if we tried much harder we would break the stop!!!!! and then we got to buy a new meter!!!!! So I called the city of Vancouver water dept. and explained that I was trying to fix the plumbing and could not shut the water off at the meter and could not use my stop. The lady said that somebody would be out with in an hour which meant sometime around noon and I figured that the way most cities work that meant sometime around 5 in the evening..... WELLLLLL the guy was actually early and brought out his "CONAN" T-bar and gave the stop a twist and guess what, well even if you don't guess I am going to tell you. He broke the stop and gave me "THE LOOK" which means OOOOOPS and said well I guess we have to replace this one to which I replied "Yup, if we had broken it we would have bought it" and he just smiled and called and said the crew would be out by 2 and again I said to my self "yeah, right"!!!!

Well, I gotta say that if you ever have a water problem, have it in Vancouver as those guys were there in an hour. They put in a new meter and just for your information, the old meter had been there since 1930 and that is even older than me!!!!!! Well, they put in a new meter and also ran a piece of copper under the side walk just to make it easier for me to tie into the line. So I will say KUDOS to Vancouver water dept. as these guys are really good!!!!

So I started to tie in and finally around 7 I had the bathroom and the water heater done so we could all take showers and do whatever else was required.............

The next day I finished the kitchen, the laundry room and the outside hose bibbs. The funniest part was when one of the kids was taking a shower and the other flushed the toilet and they got all excited because the water in the shower stayed the same temperature and nobody got scalded!!!!!!!

So about 5 PM Friday I left with every one happier than when I had showed up and I headed for Washougal, WA. to see some friends, have something to eat and then head out. Unfortunately I had a little to much ADULT BEVERAGE and ended up spending the night which was actually great because I had breakfast, a great time and then left........

Now I am back where the next story takes place and all is well..... Unfortunately there are no pictures and I should have taken some but I must have had a senior moment so pictures will come with the next story.......
{;-)

So what if

somebody said let's have a parade and everybody came???? How am I doing so far??? Are we confused yet?? well I am and I just started writing, well not actually writing, more like typing because if I actually wrote this then I would have to have it rewritten since I cannot even read my own writing so I will type (I guess that is what you call it since it is actually not a typewriter, but then if you are reading this that means you are old enough to remember what typewriters were or at least most of you are and since I am not really sure if any body reads this or maybe a lot of people do??????? Since this is sort of like being on TV and you don't know if anybody is watching I will continue and who knows maybe some body will read it????

So back to the parade well not really back to it since I never really started telling about it but it made sense to say it that way.........

Well it is Memorial Day weekend and out here in the FROZEN NORTHWEST!!!!!! and I mean that quite literally..... It was time to have a parade and since I had some work done on Mr. Blue I met some people who belong to an organization called OLE VOLKS and FOLKS and since I qualified both as OLD!!!! and having a registered VOLKS I was asked if I would like to be in the parade since I have the only vehicle of its type in this part of the country???? to which I said yes, never realizing that I would be driving in INCLEMENT WEATHER and that is being very nice when I say that!!!!!!!!

So Saturday morning I wake up with great anticipation (How am I doing with the big words so far??) only to find that it doing what it has been doing almost NON-STOP since I got here and that is (DRUM ROLL) BE COLD AND RAIN!! So being ever the optimist that I am and having given up on ANGER MANAGEMENT (and at this point there is no need to respond in writing to me about that statement) I proceeded to get ready for the parade anyway thinking that surely they would not go through with this... Well finally at 8:25 AM I had to stay or go so I, with great trepidation (am I on a roll with these big words or what???) stepped outside and into 42 degree weather!!!!! to go drive in a parade????

Well Mr. Blue was having none of it. I was afraid that he was not going to start and once he did he was choking and puking and just not wanting to cooperate at all, but when I told him that he was going to get his picture taken he calmed down and started running smoother..... so I put on my tee shirt, flannel shirt, my regular sweat shirt and my hooded sweat shirt, I have no gloves and started off to town...

I got to town about 9am and there are literally hundreds of people getting ready to be in the parade and I get parked where I am supposed to be and now I just stand and/or sit around freezing waiting for take off time!!!! I had the top on and then I took it off and then it started to rain again so I put it back on!!!! % minutes before lift off it finally quit raining and it actually started to warm up to where the temperature finally got up to a blistering 55 DEGREES! and away we went.

I could not believe the people that were out for the parade??????? I was having trouble just steering because it was so cold and there are thousands of people on both sides of the street. We we both made it through the parade and then back to the heat. Sorry no pictures of the parade, just line up pictures as it was to cold and my hands were shaking!!!! Go ahead and ask me if I would do this again??? Not under these circumstances!!!!!!!! It ain't happening, nope, no way, not ever!!!!!unless it is at least 70 degrees with a faint hint of sunshine!!!!
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The Hummer, the COLD!!!, and SNOW CHAINS!!!

So here we are again, well we are not really here again, but I am here and again I am writing and sending out this nonsense that I so enjoy writing about and since I am not sure if anybody reads this I am safe in assuming that it is worth reading??? But by the same token, well not really a token since they are only good on subways and buses. I am sure that tokens are good in other places, BUTTTTTT????? and now back to the news.....

But wait the news does not come on until six and then at eleven and since I am not sure if anybody is reading this and what time they are reading this or is anybody really reading this at all or are we still stuck in another dimension where time and space do not matter at all???

But I will proceed as if there are some readers out there because it makes me feel better and my therapist said it helps with my road rage and anger management which are a FAH, FAH GREATAH problem than I thought!!!!! Although I do not feel that either of those issues is a problem for me, but maybe the people that are around me think that is a problem???? and now that I have had a glass of wine and have BARED my soul for all, but actually the last time I bared my soul I was thrown out of the bar for BARING to much!!!!!! so I am not sure if BARING my soul or BARING the load is the problem, but I suppose with time, therapy, books, and tapes I will get better????? or is it to late for me????? That is the unanswerable question for only time will tell and how much time do we really have???? so for now we will, well not really we, just me, will leave those questions for another time.......

And on to the hummer we go, well we don't go because you don't know about the hummer but I do and I will tell you...... When last or before, at least sometime back in Wyoming I told you that Mr. Blue had a violent reaction to the cold and decided to break his left rear wheel. Well, the good news is Mr. Blue is fixed!!! The bad news is I am not happy because of the cost!!!! The dollar figure I will not write down, but I will tell you all the pieces, pahts, and peripherals that were required to get his temperamental self going!!!!!!! First there was the TOW DOLLY from Evanston, Wyoming to Grants Pass, Ore. and then, and then, and then "ALONG CAME JONES"!!!!!! there was a song by that name and I thought it would be cool to throw it in here!!!!!! and then the pahts list is as follows---1 outer rear wheel bearing, 2 wheel seals, 1 trailing arm, 1 wheel cylinder, 1 C V Axle, 6 C V axle bolts, 1 brake drum, 2 sets brake shoes and so when Mr. Blue was put back together I promised him and Miss Mabel that we would not (UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES) go through Wyoming again unless it was the middle of the summer and DAYLIGHT!!!!!!! this seemed to make them very happy as they are both running the way they should now?????

Now on to the cold!!!!! I finally got out yesterday and today and was doing the MACARAINA because the sun came out and I was actually able to move around without wearing all my winter clothes and as I talked to people around here all I here is this is really kind of unusual for this time of year!!!!!! Well, unusual to me is being cold in march, it sure as H@#& ain't being cold the middle of MAY!!!!! Poor Mr. Blue.... I had to go get a carport for him just so he could be comfortable as the attached pictures show, Miss Mabel is a little more understanding and so she is more tolerant of the weather since we are not in WYOMING!!!!!!!

So to the last part of this episode..... I only write about what I see and at times it may border on the "WHAT IS HE TALKING ABOUT"?????, but the last picture is a sign at a parts house in Grants Pass, Ore. that I actually took just today!!! so when I say that the weather out here is not making me happy, BELIEVE IT!!!
{;-/

Am I really here

or was this all just a GOOD NEWS--BAD NEWS DREAM??

So the final chapter of this part which could be considered the party of the first part or maybe the party of the second part or maybe there are more parties involved or maybe nobody came to the party at all and it was just me all along??? But will anyone ever really know for sure??? and if they do know will they ever really talk about it???

Well the good news is that I am here and where is here??? does anyone really know for sure where here is or am I just in a certain time and space waiting for the planets to align so that I can begin the rest of this journey???

So for whatever reason and I am not sure what that reason may be I am presently residing in my CHATEAU TO GO out in Oregon. I arrived here none the worse for wear except that I came close to wearing out the steering wheel just trying to get into the state of Oregon!!!!!

So from the last chapter to this one I wrote that I would do this part instead of adding it into the previous parts which is why it is the party of the last part and not the party of the first part... or the party part, or the pieces parts, or the parts of the parts, but this part has to be or there will be no conclusion and I have come to the conclusion, delusion, infusion, transfusion, that I must finish this part (don't worry, no more party parts) or I cannot continue on from here!!!

So again we press ahead so to speak or not speak as each one of us must make our own decision regarding what will become of this epistle (another cool word) and how it shall go down in the pages of history??

But I need not tarry any longer for we were in Nevada at the last writing and heading for Oregon. When you travel along 140 and go into Oregon you actually have no idea that you are in Oregon until sometime later when you come upon the town of ADEL at which time you realize that you have actually been in the state for about 35 or so miles. BUTTTTT at the border when you do come into Oregon you are greeted with warning signs that had I known I would have taken pictures of that warn you that you are approaching a ten mile 8% downgrade and they actually post the signs along about a quarter mile of road so you can change your mind if you want to and turn around. The pictures I took prior to starting down this mountain do not do justice to the WHITE KNUCKLE ROAD!!!!! This is a two lane road that winds down the mountain and luckily for me I was on the inside because the outside has NO GUARD RAILS!!! and trust me when I say folks you do not want to be on the outside!!!!!! I stopped to take a couple of pictures and it was a good thing I did because two over sized flat beds came over the hill and went down in front of me and then just to make life even more exciting a guy in a pick up passed me on a curve!!!!!! Obviously he had driven this road before???

I would come this way anytime to come into Oregon, but I can tell you it ain't on my BUCKET LIST to go into Nevada this way..... It just ain't gonna happen!!!

So finally after getting off the mountain and down in the flat lands I was actually down around 4500 feet and still in SNOW!!!!! I had actually been in snow more than not since leaving Nebraska. Snow to me is like poison ivy to most people as I have a violent reaction to it!I don't like it, I don't want to be around it and the only time I want to be around it is when it is in water form after melting!!!! I finally got out of the snow about 15 miles from Medford, Oregon and then got to pay $4.03 for gas!!!

The final directions for the roads traveled are as follows. Or-140 to Or-395 to Lakeview to Or-140 to Klamath Falls to Or-140 to White City to I-5 to Grants Pass, Or.

I must be getting older because this trip even though it takes the same amount of time to get here just seems to get longer?? Not sure why that is?? I am not sure what I will write about next, but probably my CHATEAU TO GO?????
{;-)

Utah, Nevada and Beyond????

So when last we talked...... well we really didn't talk because I am here and you are there, but metaphorically speaking and since I do not speak METAPHOR and quite frankly I am not sure what it means but I heard somebody say it and thought it sounded really good so I thought I would use it????? I am just not really sure how, but I stray from whence (neat word, HUH???) I started and since I am not sure where I started I will begin again because I do not want to start as that seems top get me in trouble because that makes me start thinking and that gives me a headache and then I have to take medication and then I have to lay down and then I forget what I wanted to write and in the end nothing gets done!!!!!!! and if you understand what I just wrote then you are allowed to proceed with the "REST OF THE STORY" I think somebody famous used to say that so I will use it and admit to plagiarism!!!!!! But since I have no idea what that word means can I just say I copied it????

Well enough is enough and that is definitely enough!!! and so with Mr. Blue hooked up on the VERY EXPENSIVE TOW DOLLY and being towed backwards, which I can do because Mr. Blue has a locking steering wheel and all this was due to Mr. Blue breaking a back wheel which I am sure was payback for the very high and extremely cold rest areas, all three of us headed off toward Utah!!

Utah I consider a GOOD NEWS-BAD NEWS State, the good news is when you come in on I-80 it is not very far to the other side of Utah. The bad news is you must survive Salt Lake City to get to the other side of the state. Driving through Salt Lake City which I will refer to as SLC because it is much easier to type that way requires that you be part Daytona 500 driver and part kamikaze pilot and have ABSOLUTELY NO FEAR OF DEATH!!! because every SLC driver has but one mission and that is to TAKE YOU OUT!!!! The drivers in St. Louis try and take everybody out, but the drivers in SLC just seem to go after the out of state plates. So if you have a weak heart, weak stomach, bad eye sight, or slow reflexes.... driving in SLC is not recommended. But with my trusty GPS which also has lane control which is the greatest thing since sliced bread!!!, a faithful Miss Mabel, and a GIMPY Mr. Blue we HIDY HOED our way through the insanity and like a cork in a bath tub we popped out on the other side and tore off, well we really did not tore off, we just sort of took off, actually we just sort of wandered off into the Great Salt Lake area. When you leave SLC you head off into what looks like snow and is in reality SALT! There is just miles and miles of salt and the GREAT SALT LAKE and you can actually fall asleep on this stretch of I-80 because it is actually more boring than driving across Nebraska!!!!

So with the state of Utah in our rear view mirror we wandered into Nevada where I gassed up in Wells, Nevada. As you travel across Utah, Nevada and on up into Oregon do not try and stretch your gas as you can and most probably will be calling for TRIPLE AAA or whatever road service you have and that is assuming that your cell phone works which from the time you leave SLC until you get to Winnemucca is a better than even chance that it will not!!!!!!! and no matter what your travel plans ALWAYS GAS UP IN WINNEMUCCA!!!!

The roads that I was on are as follows. I-80 out of Wyoming into Salt Lake City and then onto the 201 bypass through Salt Lake City and then back onto I-80 west of Salt Lake City to the rest area near Dunphy, Nevada where I enjoyed a good nights sleep with no BURPING REFER COMPRESSORS and the temperature somewhere north of 60 degrees!!!! In Winnemucca take 95 north to 140 and head towards Denio, Nevada. Just south of Denio, Nevada turn west on 140 and head to Oregon!!!!

So after gassing up Miss Mabel and having a breakfast of a 1/2 day old SUBWAY tuna sub we made a right turn and headed toward Oregon!!! At this point I will say YOU GONNA GET ANOTHER ONE because when I got to Oregon things got a little dicey and it makes for a whole other story so to that end I say I am FAH, FAH away in a NEVAH, NEVAH land!!!!!!
{;-)

Where I said I was?????

was not exactly where I was, but then in the beginning I wrote that I may wander off and wonder what and why I am doing what I am doing and why I am doing it. But then the therapy, tapes, and books have not gotten me very far!!!! but that is alright for I have over the years developed the capability to mumble in several languages. Now if I could just figure out what I was saying then I would no longer have to search for the meaning of life and just be able to test the alcohol content in beverages!!!!!!

So to back track I am now back in Nebraska, well I am not really there, but then have I ever really been anywhere or am I just imagining all this and maybe it never really happened and ever since the 60's I have been in an alcohol induced state of TRANSINDENTAL MEDICATION????? and if that is so, then who are all these people that I have transindented with during this period of time??? and if I have transindented with them, was it as good for them as it was for me????? But hark, through yonder cloud the sun shines and I am at the starting point from which I shall again (no I am not going to say PUT PEN TO PAPER) as I have already said that!!!!!! See I do have a memory and at times I am even LUCID, (another neat word)and sometimes I even remember my own name?? Go figure????

So to start with, I said I was in Wyoming, but actually I was in BIG SPRINGS, NE. and how do I know I was there??? Well I will tell you.... I don't care if you don't want to know.... It is my blog and I am going to tell you anyway!!!

I left Ringgold on Monday evening and by Wednesday evening there was this strange smell PERMEATING (another big word!!) the cab of MISS MABEL. I thought for a little bit. I know using my name and the word thinking in the same sentence is one of those OXYMORON'S, (don't know what it means, but I have really been wanting to use it?) and suddenly realized that I had not bathed in any form since leaving Georgia which brings me to Big Springs where I stopped at a truck stop and warshed my temple and I warshed the rest of my body also!!!! because the cab of Miss Mabel was getting just a little loud and it had nothing to do with the radio!!!!!!!!!

So after bathing and dining on a gourmet meal of a foot long tuna sub with xtra mayo, tomatoes, banana and jalapeno peppers and extra salt and pepper I was back on the road and heading for Wyoming!!!!! WHOOP, WHOOP!!!

If you ever consider driving through Wyoming, DON"T!!!! as the only thing good about that state are the gas prices as they were the lowest during the entire trip at $3.55 a gallon. I-80 in Wyoming makes I-59 in Mississippi look brand new. To say they are rough roads is like saying General Custer had a real good time at the Little Big Horn!!!! The pot holes are like bomb craters and nothing is more thrilling than leaving Laramie after dark and finding I-80 single laned for approximately 30 miles for road construction and absolutely no equipment in site!!!!!!

And then you start to climb.... Luckily I could tell when I started to go up because I had a ELEVATIONOMETER on my GPS which told me how high I was and what my elevation was as I was going up and made it easier to downshift and save gas.
But before I go any further, let me advise everyone that you do not want to drive across Wyoming at night when it is cold as there are no rest areas below 7000 feet!!! The rest area make the inside of a freezer look like a HOLIDAY INN!! so I pulled into the first rest area I could find which happened to be at about 7400 feet, crawled into the back of Miss Mabel with all my clothes on and a hooded sweat shirt and tried to go to sleep. NOT HAPPENIN!!!!! I figured the temperature to be hovering around 100 below??? So I started up Miss Mabel and headed down the road and Miss Mabel already being just a little put out decides to over heat!!!!! so I have to turn the heat all the way up and open the window until Miss Mabel gets her engine together.... and then all is right or so I thought and we headed on down the road...

There comes a time when draining the bladder becomes paramount on your mind and no matter what the circumstances are or so I thought Mother Nature requires a stop! and so at 8640 feet above sea level I find another rest stop which is almost totally uninhabited except for two other truck divers. Now to set the stage, it is 10 PM, I am 8640 feet above sea level, the temperature is somewhere way south of freezing, it takes four breaths to equal one, the rest room is 100 yards from the truck, and ABE LINCOLN is staring down at me!!! That's right folks I ain't making this stuff up. So here I am, I have to PEE and I have to breathe and I am trying to decide how to breathe, hold and run to restroom all at the same time!!! At my age trying to pee is a trick in itself!!! Throw in all these other obstacles and it gets down right scary!!!!! So I bundled up, held my breath and something else and made a mad dash across a frozen and snow covered parking lot.... Anybody out there laughing at this point, I hope this happens to you!!!!!!! Short breaths in a well ventilated restroom with the temperature somewhere well below the freezing mark makes doing what had to be done sort of like climbing Mt. Everest is your underwear!!!!!!! So after several moments of suffering almost frost bite I ran downhill to Miss Mabel, jumped in, got her started and took off for which she repaid me by overheating again... Since finding a rest area was obviously out of the question I decided after a very short discussion with Mabel that we would keep on going... So after driving up and down, but mostly up for several hours, the sun finally showed up and I found another rest area and figured I would sleep for a while??

Not going to happen. I get out and do a check on Mr. Blue and he has decided to get even and breaks his left rear wheel!!!!! So I took the wheel apart and it was really bad. So bad I needed a tow dolly to get him the rest of the way. Now I am in the Lyman rest area approximately 43 miles east of Evanston, Wy. Quite literally in the middle of no where.. So I call Triple AAA and they say the tow truck will be there within the hour.... An hour later he calls and says where am I to which I reply where I am to which he says they gave him the wrong directions and he will be there shortly. When he arrives I tell him I need a tow dolly and he says (ARE YOU READY FOR THIS?) why didn't you just go to the U-HAUL on the other side of the interstate??????????? Well by now I am close to wanting to commit murder and mayhem in a most foul manor, but thanks to my anger management tapes, books, and counselor I have gotten this FAH!!!! So under the interstate I go, I rent a tow dolly, come back and put Mr. Blue on backwards (he has a locking steering wheel so I can do that) and again get "ON THE ROAD AGAIN" with no sleep I might add as Miss Mabel, Mr. Blue, and me making it unanimous want to get the H@#L out of Wyoming!!!!!

So here is where this chapter ends with all of us heading for Utah.. The pictures are self explanatory. As for road directions, we are still on I-80 with no road changes, but that will come in Utah and so to all of you I say "NO MAS, NO MAS"!!!!!