September 3 and 4, 2017 - Portland Oregon

Hi everyone.  We are at the western end of our journey, staying in Portland Oregon.  We have been with one of Tom's high school classmates, Mike, and wife Cathie.  The last 2 days we have spent on a houseboat, or a river home if you choose.  They are not on land, but the house structures are on logs, intermingled with styrofoam blocks.

The houses make up a community of houseboats, connected by walkways, and held in place using the tall poles you see in this pic.  

There is a long wharf running parallel to the shore, and then walkways running out into the Columbia River.

 Because the houses are subject to the tides, the house must be able to move up and down twice a day.  The rollers allow that to happen.

Many of the houses are multi-colored, and adorned with flowers.

They have all the usual connections to services a land based house would have.

Some even have some of the owners favorite signs displayed.

Because the banks are high and allowances need to be made for tides, walkway construction allows for the movement.

Many of the owners are fishermen who have the need for catching 20, 30 or even 40 pound salmon.  Tom got a day license and got no bites.

Some flower lovers tend to go over the top.

On the underside, the logs run length ways with styrofoam in between logs.

Some of the houses are quite large.

...and some have places for boat storage when away.

With the house sitting on the water, Grampy didn't have to rock Grammie to sleep.

This picture is looking down the river giving you a better look at the houses.

Over the last couple of days, there has been a growing fire up river to the  East.  When we left this morning, I-84 was closed in both ways on the route that we were going to travel.
For more info, click the link.  Multnomah Falls fire.

Leaving, we headed for Caldwell, Idaho for an overnight stay.  It was a long ride for over seven and a half hours.  We did stop to look a shoe tree. They are not as uncommon as one would think.

Shoe Trees in America

As always, thanks for keeping an eye out for Grammie.  She is now headed back East,  and a special thanks to Cathie and Mike for their hospitality.

September 1,2 2017

Hi everyone,
Yes, we finally made it to Mt Rainier and stayed for 2 nights.  We were without internet services and phone services...and that was a good thing.  An opportunity to see and explore the mountains was wonderful.  Yes, we know that recently, we have posted many pictures of the mountains so if you have followed, this reading will be no different.

Going through the main gate took a little while, but the line was slowed down a little by people who live from away and don't have a national park pass.

 We stayed at the National Park Inn and as expected the place was going to be full.  Glad we got our reservations last December.  This building was an old gas station that was more popular in the early 1900's.

 Mount Rainier view which is basically the same view from outside our bedroom window (except for the screens).

 Because we were so early, we decided to drive around to the east side of the mountain to see Sunrise Point.  Glad we did because driving 2 hours to get there before sunrise would have meant waking up in the dark.

 The top is 14,410 feet

 Although the top of the mountain looks like skiers have been down several times, what has really happened is that chunks of snow have broken off and tumbled down over the mountain.

 Glacier melt continues to feed the river as temperatures have continued to be above normal.

The next morning we watched the sun appear on the mountain from the front porch of the inn.

Grampy enjoying his morning coffee from the front porch.

We took off early and headed to Paradise where the parking lot wasn't full yet, but was completely full by the time we got back from our hike (walk).  This is a popular spot and it fills up early especially on a holiday weekend.

Sitting on the steps that began our 900 foot ascent towards the peak...not up to the peak.

Flowers were still in bloom, however many had already gone by.

The first 200 feet of elevation change was supposed to be wheelchair friendly...but not without a crew.  The first part was paved.

A Marmot

A view looking away from the Rainier peak.

Waterfalls to start the Nisqually River.

We made it up to 6300 feet and were good with that.

A couple of girls that had just finished taking pictures of each other and were comparing photos.   Actually the backpack was the reason the picture was taken.  Super Mario backpack.

 As we began our descent from the Nisqually Glacier viewpoint, we met a couple with 2 small children.  She said the this was a rare vantage point where one could see 3 mountains.  She urged her daughter to name them for us.  The mountains are quite faint but Emma got them right.

We took the Dead Horse Creek Trail on the way back down to the visitors center.

On the way back to the Inn we stopped at the Narada Falls point lookout.

Grammie thinks that the trip into Mt. Rainier was one of the most beautiful spots yet on this trip.

Our last mornings view of Mt Rainier

 A view of the Inn from the front.

For those who are not faint of heart, the Wonderland Trail circles the mountain and is a little over 90 miles.  Just after this picture, we said hello and goodby to 3 girls who were taking their first steps.

Thanks for keeping an eye out for Grammie.

August 31, 2017 - Tacoma

Hi everyone.
Since the last post we have not moved very far spending 2 days here, 2 days there, relaxing from opening the suitcase...closing it up again.  We have been at Joint Base McChord, near Tacoma WA since Wednesday afternoon.
Today we went to Tacoma to visit the Museum of Glass.  The museum features works of glass art with some pieces going back centuries.  There is a Hot Spot that creates pieces of art at the museum.

Outside the museum, there is a glass display by Martin Blank  titled Fluent Steps.  The artist used 71,000 pounds of molten glass to create the display.  This particular part represents wisps of air rising from a cup of tea.

A view of part of the city from a viewing area.  Tacoma lies along Commencement Bay.

This display is on the Chihuly Bridge of Glass.  Chihuly was born in Tacoma and currently had a display next to the Space Needle in Seattle.  Chihuly display in Seattle. 

This display is also on the Bridge of glass.

Inside the museum, there is a Hot Spot where one can sit and watch the process of creating glass art.

The furnace is kept at 2300 degrees.

A little extra heat to keep the glass molten.

The ovens run off natural gas, however, quick heat is supplied by acetylene.

This is part of a display of glass art by James Mongrain.   It is owned by collector George Stroemple. It is amazing to see the intricate detail in the glass. 

There pieces were done in the last 5 years by Mongrain, however he used pieces from Italy as the source of inspiration as shown in the next picture.

Pieces of glass done over 200 years ago.

 More ancient pieces.

The tools of the artist.

This chandelier hangs in the Washington State University Library. It is over 19 feet long and contains over 900 pieces of hand blown glass.

Pieces of Chihuly's work on the Bridge of Glass.

From the Museum of Glass, we headed over to the Lemay American Car Museum. see Lemay American Car Museum  The museum features over 300 cars, in very fine condition.

 A much sought after Indian motorcycle...especially Mike Wolfe from American Pickers.

 We musn't forget the places that kept old vehicles on the road.

2005 Ford GT

Ferrari race car.

A 1942 Chevrolet "blackout"  in unrestored original condition.  A blackout is a vehicle made in January 1942 that could not use any brightwork metal other that chrome for bumpers.  This was to conserve metal during the war.

Back to the future.

A 1967 Ford Shelby GT 500

Many of the cars in the museum were either donated, or on loan from private collectors.

At the end of the museum viewing, we were such good visitors, they let us test drive a 1923 Buick Touring Car. Photo courtesy of Lemay ACM

There were 2 more cars at the museum.  Grammie's is on the left.

Thanks for keeping an eye on Grammie's whereabouts.