Fires, smoke and home.

Well, here we are in the first week of September and I have to say that August was the smokiest, (is that a word?) month I have ever seen.
If you have ever wondered what the beginning of a wildfire looked like, well wonder no longer. We were coming down off a hill in Idaho and I saw the fire off in the distance. Even from far away, you could sense the intense energy from the fire. I was glad to be far far away.

The intense cloud of smoke just amazed me. I now see that when the wind picks up and helps to move the fire, nothing in its path is safe. It consumes everything with no thought. Mother Nature can be cruel at times.

We were in the Sapphire Mountains and the smoke was thick there, also. I feel for the people who have to live in these conditions and not be able to leave. The fear that your home might go up in flames must be awful.

The air was full of ash and smoke. I am ready to go and find some clean fresh air. I wonder if the EPA will fine Mother Nature for polluting the air?

We were able to enjoy some smoke free air for a little while. We were in Southern Utah and traveling through the little town of Panguitch. This is a step back in time. This cafe I have eaten in years ago, and the food was good. Home cooking, like grandma use to make. The floors were all wood and you drank out of a Mason Jar. How many of us remember that?

One thing I have notice, where ever we go it seems as if there are more and more murals on the sides of buildings. They tell a small story of the area or building. It takes some talent to do this, and I am sure many hours of standing on ladders or scaffolds.

Then we were able to head home for a few days and enjoy our family. My son and daughter-in-law brought out the grandson's and we all trooped to Lake Mead to wade in the water. It was nice to relax after being in all the smoke for over three weeks.

So, on this note I will close and until next time I'll see you on the otherside.

Just a few thoughts

There have been fires everywhere. "They" say that the reason is Global Warming. That car and truck emissions are the cause and the coal that the power plants burn for electricity. That could be true, but has anyone thought of all the buildings they have put up? Huge skyscrapers full of concrete. Hummm??? What does concrete do? Hold heat. Humm..maybe that is why the downtown areas of a city is warmer than the areas further out from all the buildings. Then there are the freeways and roadways. Does anyone have any idea how much concrete they lay down before they put the asphalt down? Heat retention??? Contributor to Global Warming???

OK, I will get off my soap box now. At least for a bit. :o)

We had the opportunity to go and meet with our friends in California. What a wonderful visit we had. It was a little warm the last day, but well worth the time. I was able to eat homemade Chinese food, and what a treat. Even got to try my hand at making dumplings. Rather eat them than make them, but it was great fun.

Just a few of the dumplings that were made. With the filling of leeks, egg and not sure what else.

As you can see everyone was in on the making of the dumplings, even Tom tried his hand at making one or two.

As you can see, our friends were happy that we weren't the ones making the dumplings..

And now the pan that the dumplings are to be cooked in. This one steams them.

These are the dumplings that are ready to be cooked. Look how nice they appear.

Fuchuang and Linda are busy frying and steaming the dumplings. What a yummy treat.


The following day we went to a Chinese place to eat. You order from a menu and they bring the food from the kitchen hot and ready to eat in these little tin pans. It can take up to two and a half hours to eat a meal.
Here is Linda and her friend from Taiwan and her little girl, Kitty. She has such a wonderful laugh. When you hear her laughing you can't help but smile.

The two sisters. What beautiful young ladies.

Esau, a cousin was in attendance also. He has a sense of humor and a great guy to be around.

Needless to say, when we left the place we were all full and happy.


The following day we were able to go to the Arboretum, not far from the Santa Anita Race Track.
It was a warm day, and we were short on time, but we were able to enjoy a little bit of the place.

Linda always likes to point out the flowers of interest.

The two of them found a lot to investigate, throughout the park. We have decided the next time we are able to stop for a time, we will go there and have an early morning picnic.

Even the squirrels were out for a little bit in the heat of the day. I suppose he was wondering why the humans were out in the heat and not in where it was cool.

We did decide to take a break and go to the cafe and have a drink and some ice cream, where it was cool.

While we were inside we saw a peacock up in the tree calling out. He sat there for the longest time.

And, when we came out, we saw why he was up in the tree. He was watching over his mate and little chick. They were so cute wandering around the building.

As we traveled through the park there were different zones. The zones were from different areas of the world. This was a seat that had been carved out of a tree. I guess it was the root or the actual trunk. Not sure on this one.

The Fuchuang did find some water to cool off in. The sprinklers was going, and the boy in him came out and he couldn't resist running through the water. He was happy to be able to cool off from heat.

Now, be nice..that isn't a bug on Linda. You are just trying to tease her.

At the end of the day, Tom was ready to head back. He patiently waited for us to catch up and head for the car.

At the end of they day, we hated to leave our friends as they took us back to our truck.
But, we will have another day.  Until then we will see you on the Otherside.
Until the next time be safe and keep the distance

Dry land.

The mountainsides were colorful. The greens trees and golden color of the dry grasses. As we were coming down off the summit, and looking down into the canyon it almost seemed as if we had landed on a different planet, other than Earth. The country is so rugged that it is hard to imagine that anyone would want to settle in this area.

We stopped at a rest area for the night and I could smell smoke. The attendant was there and she informed me that there had been a fire there the day before. It had started along the road and the wind blew the embers to the back of the rest area buildings and then it spread from there down a canyon and on to some wheat fields and came within three miles of a town. Fire doesn't care who or what you are if you are in it's path..too bad.

There was a farm house down in the valley. This family had to be rugged. The summer would be just fine, but the winters could be brutal. Farmers and ranchers are a special breed. They have to like the outdoors, harsh weather, mud and all the rest that goes with ranching and farming.

As we continued on with our journey, we were driving along the Snake River. The area where the rafters, hunters, fishermen go to is called Hells Canyon. The little town of Riggins is mainly for the tourist.

There is so much to do in the area that if you couldn't find something to do, just sitting along the river would be relaxing.

But the signs outside of the various establishments was interesting. If you were in the mood for Elk, I assume this the place to be. But, as I look at the sign, are they hiring a server that is elk, buffalo, or a gyros? Interesting.

Needless to say the road here is a little challenging for the trucking industry. We had to go down this grade with 44,000 pounds in the trailer.

Many of the business were multi-purpose. They don't let an opportunity pass by that is for sure.

At one of the restaurants you could purchase the lunch special for $7.00. This would buy you a 1/3 pound burger, fries and a drink. They didn't say what the meat for the burger would be, so I guess you would be on your own there.

In the evenings you can go to the steak house and have a good dinner along the river. I noticed that some of the places had patios on the back so you could relax and enjoy the sights and sounds of the river.

Some establishments have an interesting way of getting customers to come in. One is the sign below for the Cattlemen's. It says that Bert & Kates-- The Girls are back in town. Is this a warning or a statement of fact?

The motel rates weren't that bad. $39.00 for a single. Why don't they just charge for the room? What difference does it make if there is one or two in a room. The extra towel? Makes no sense to me, but if there is a way to make a dollar, I am sure there will be a way to do it no matter what.

Soon we will be in Salt Lake City, Utah. It will be good to be out of the twisty, curvy roads and back on the interstate for a change.

And saying goodbye to the States of Oregon and Idaho. Maybe we will be able to head home for a few days and just be able to relax and put our feet up.

I hope you have enjoyed our journey so far. Until the next time I'll see you on the Otherside.

The Rugged Land

The mountains of Northern California are so beautiful.  The clouds were behind the mountains and they appeared to be snow capped mountains.  When ever I see the beauty that God has given us, it makes me thankful for the blessings we receive.

These trees were on the ridge line and they seemed to be out of place.  Almost as if they were marching along the way to their own drummer.

We were going along the Columbia River again.  The wind had come up and the water was a little choppy, but it didn't stop the wind surfers and boaters.  The colors along this stretch of the river change with the time of day and sunlight.  We stopped at a truck stop that is right along the river and I was able to feed the seagulls.  They were very brave to come close and eat crackers out of my hand.  I enjoy the birds and they are so funny.  If you don't feed them enough they will stand outside of the truck and squawk until you give them some more or we drive away.

The barge traffic was busy this day.  It is interesting as to how they push the barges down the river.  Can't you just picture the old steam boats pushing the freight up and down the river, in days gone by?

It seems as if no matter where we go there are always different rock formations.  This one caught my eye, because it was the only rock around on the top of the ridge.  What caused the rock to form this way and why aren't there others around, that are like it?  Something to ponder upon about nature.

As we traveled from Oregon to Lewiston, Idaho there was such rugged country. It was hard to imagine that our ancestors traveled these mountains to settle and begin to farm the land. I wonder if any of us could do what they did back then. Maybe a few, but not many.

They had to clear the land of trees and brush in order to plant their crops. Some brought seeds or saplings to plant for crops or orchards. I was amazed as to the amount of wheat fields that I saw as we traveled down the road

The hill sides appeared to be painted in gold. As we drew closer the color was of the wheat that was ready for harvest. I always thought that wheat came mostly from the mid-west, but after seeing all this wheat, I wonder if the wheat production has moved to the Northwest.

I enjoy taking pictures of barns. There are many barns that I have seen across the country that have quilt squares on them. I read an article in a newspaper about them, and found it interesting.

This is just a little bit about the barns.

A quilt barn is a barn or other farm building that displays a quilt square. Often these barns are very old and have historical or landmark significance in the area.

Usually the quilt squares are hand-painted to resemble traditional quilt blocks (or patterns) that have been used by generations of quilters.

Traditional quilt block patterns are very popular and are easily recognizable from a distance by their primarily geometric patterns.

Many of the quilt square patterns chosen for display on the barns reflect an affinity the owner has for an aspect of rural living.

Most of the quilt squares in the country are painted by hand on plywood, measuring 8-feet by 8-feet. A few were painted directly onto the wall boards and some are made from other materials such as steel, aluminum and polymers.

Most quilt barns in the U.S. are part of officially-recognized trails organized by individual communities. This barn looked as if it had two squares on it. Some are very colorful and others appear as if they came of "Grandma's" quilt.

Even the old farm homesteads are in need of repair.  This home looked as if the owners had left and someone may have been working on the inside of the home.  I could see buckets, that may have been for paint or possibly plaster for the walls.  I would like to see the inside of these old homes to see if they are still like the original, or have they taken the wood floors and remodeled the inside.

 Sometimes the barns are in better condition than the homes.  I guess because the farmer spends so much time in the outdoors, they take care of the equipment first and then maybe get around to the house when they have nothing else to do. 

 And just down the road we come to the town of Dixie.  They call the area in Southern Utah, "Dixie", so I wonder if the settlers here are from the south?   Anyway, here is an old time grocery store.  Maybe at one time long ago it was the local mercantile, where you could buy just about anything, and if they didn't have it, you could look at the mail order catalog and send away for it. 

Even the little church in the back ground seemed to welcome visitors.  Most of the churches such as this one, were built in the early 1900's and are still in use today.  If only the walls could talk.

In the rugged country the roads are steep.  This is the road we came down with 42,000 pounds in the trailer.  It is a good thing that my husband is a good and safe driver, or I would have been putting my foot to the floor looking for the break and closing my eyes.  I showed this picture to him and he was amazed that we did come down the road.  He focuses on the driving and not what is around him.

 As we drive on, look at what we see.  Bikers...not the "Hell's Angeles" kind, but the peddle ones.  There were several groups that passed by us, going in the other direction.  They are going to have to peddle up the hill that we just came down.  The good news is that they will go down hill once they reach the top.

There is always time to enjoy nature.  I was looking at some flowers along side the road, when we stopped for a stretch break and saw bumble bees hard at work.  They were just having a great time flying from one flower to the next. 

Speaking of next time, it is time to close .  So until next time, I'll see you on the otherside.