So with all of my excitement over 2019, I was a bit taken back by changes in the Seattle medical field!
I was in college when I first had to use a hospital - stupid here, tangled with a roll of razor wire, aka concertina wire.
The powers that be shipped ASAP to the nearest Emergency Room, Highline Hospital!
Two of the core-men passed out, as did my Sargent!
The razor wire had caught me behind the right elbow, around rhe arm and down to the first knuckle of the thumb.
132 Stitches and it almost looked like an arm.
With only the two core-men on its side, Fort Lewis' medical team got a big FAIL from me.
Highline got a PASS.
And no matter where I was living in the world, or staying at the time, I held off treatment until I could get to Seattle and Highline!
The worse it ever was, was the day the Polish government failed and I was injured and trapped by politics. 28 hours to get them t
o release me and 10 more to make it back. In the meantime I was calling and getting apppointments so there would be no hang-ups! Being a medical emergency has its advantages, with most governments.
In 2015, I again needed medical help and Swedish was the choice, since the best surgeon in the Seattle area did not work in the Highline Hospital. Weird but what-ever.
And Swedish became my hospital of choice! Except that their nursing staff was straight out of a Nazi horror film! It really was not funny and I swore never again!
Come 2016 and I needed some heart tests that were done by UW Medicine and Swedish. This time around, both got a passing score.
Now we come to 2019 and my how medicine has changed!
In 2018, I bought my insurance and 90 days later my policy was rolled up into a HMSO. As explained it seemed to be no big deal, just more paperwork for everyone! But in 2019 that concept was failing badly! Virtually ever doctor I relied on - retired or now works for Loew's Hardware! The new batch simply will not play the HMSO game and referrals are impossible to get. Further, hospitals have collectivized and list of "I don't work with group"
creates a bit of a problem.
So some examples:
We knew in August I would need heart surgery.
I got my team lined up, even hassled through the facility issues!
The approval came 5 days after my aorta had ruptured and all work was done last day of October as an emergency!
2.5 months for heart failure work!
REALLY?
I will never deal with an HSMO again .....
Then it seems that Highline, my hospital of choice for most of my life, no longer actually does medical stuff. They will do bandages and kiss your boo-boo's. But injuries are shipped to Harbor View in Seattle!
The staff are happy at Harbor View.
The in room food is pretty good to.
The nursing staff understand you are a living breathing paycheck for them!
But best of all - they talk to you!
Yes, they ask questions, they listen to answers and they speak English! No big uncommon words last used by some veterinarian at the Battle of Sparta!
So, it is a pain to get to, but they are now my hospital of choice!
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
January 7, 2020
June 28, 2019
Down Old Mexico Way
It is sort of like Christmas any day that I can remember something!
Yesterday, I buzzed by the coin shop and they were displaying a set of Mexican currency.
There was a banknote created under the French government.
A set of notes created under the Juarez revolutionary goverment.
And a set of notes created by the Military commander after the fall of Juarez!
They were all issued in Chihuahua.
Now, when I graduated from my college studies, my reward to myself was a month in Mexico.
I traveled throughout Sonora, Durango and Chihuahua States.
And had a wonderful trip!
One of the reasons I had selected Mexico, and its northern states, was that my high school girlfriend's grand father had served under Pershing on the "chase Poncho Villa around" exercise.
Pretty much I followed his path through Mexico.
I even spent an afternoon with Poncho's "wife".
So, I have a fistful of revolutionary currency
I can dress like a cowboy
I have my Colt SSA in .45 Long
Now do I watch The Three Amigos
or Two Mules For Sister Sarah????????
Yesterday, I buzzed by the coin shop and they were displaying a set of Mexican currency.
There was a banknote created under the French government.
A set of notes created under the Juarez revolutionary goverment.
And a set of notes created by the Military commander after the fall of Juarez!
They were all issued in Chihuahua.
Now, when I graduated from my college studies, my reward to myself was a month in Mexico.
I traveled throughout Sonora, Durango and Chihuahua States.
And had a wonderful trip!
One of the reasons I had selected Mexico, and its northern states, was that my high school girlfriend's grand father had served under Pershing on the "chase Poncho Villa around" exercise.
Pretty much I followed his path through Mexico.
I even spent an afternoon with Poncho's "wife".
So, I have a fistful of revolutionary currency
I can dress like a cowboy
I have my Colt SSA in .45 Long
Now do I watch The Three Amigos
or Two Mules For Sister Sarah????????
May 28, 2019
Leavenworth, Washington
I took Memorial Weekend to escape!
Yes, I drove to Leavenworth,
About 200 miles away,
Without my PTSD kicking in!
Great start to the weekend!
Stopped in Cashmere for a little antiquing!
Found a few Mustard tins I did not have,
eg: Nash's and several Cresent tins.
Also two Walter Foster painting instruction books,
And a Hungarian cookbook,
To remember my grandmother,
The Swiss Marquist, aka:Lady in English.
Her family was Spanish and Hungarian.
Eh, something new to learn.
And unexpectyedfly,
The memoirs of Sydney Laurences' wife!
Talk about a rare book!
Laurence was the Godfather of Alaskan painters!
So, not a lot.
No Indian anythings,
No coins,
Just books.
As for Leavenworth,
It is always fun to roam the shops,
Save for the prices!
I did get a shirt for half price ...
I stayed at Der Ritterhof Inn on the west side of town.
Half the cost of the "in town" hotels,
But is clean, nice beds, and rooms.
Morning was a hot breakfast service!
It was delicious and so the room became even cheaper!
Nice staff -
Recommend on this hotel for you!
Dinner was at King Ludwigs,
A German food source of note in the past.
Today however:
Barely passable German food,
Mostly cold!
So, microwaved food,
Not cooked!
And no longer recommended!
A good destination if you are flush with cash ans in the area!
Yes, I drove to Leavenworth,
About 200 miles away,
Without my PTSD kicking in!
Great start to the weekend!
Stopped in Cashmere for a little antiquing!
Found a few Mustard tins I did not have,
eg: Nash's and several Cresent tins.
Also two Walter Foster painting instruction books,
And a Hungarian cookbook,
To remember my grandmother,
The Swiss Marquist, aka:Lady in English.
Her family was Spanish and Hungarian.
Eh, something new to learn.
And unexpectyedfly,
The memoirs of Sydney Laurences' wife!
Talk about a rare book!
Laurence was the Godfather of Alaskan painters!
So, not a lot.
No Indian anythings,
No coins,
Just books.
As for Leavenworth,
It is always fun to roam the shops,
Save for the prices!
I did get a shirt for half price ...
I stayed at Der Ritterhof Inn on the west side of town.
Half the cost of the "in town" hotels,
But is clean, nice beds, and rooms.
Morning was a hot breakfast service!
It was delicious and so the room became even cheaper!
Nice staff -
Recommend on this hotel for you!
Dinner was at King Ludwigs,
A German food source of note in the past.
Today however:
Barely passable German food,
Mostly cold!
So, microwaved food,
Not cooked!
And no longer recommended!
A good destination if you are flush with cash ans in the area!
April 24, 2019
Skagit Tulips
Spring is a fun time of year here in Washington State.
There is the Daffodil Festival.
Which I missed due to poor health!
The Tulip Festivals in April.
Which I almost missed!
However, here is a picture of ex-International Banker Woman.
I introduced here many years ago, 2007, maybe?
She was in my very first youth group, 45 years ago!
She is one of about ten from that group whom have stayed in touch!
So hard to believe!
And, having met her again, back then,
The timing was good for her as her life was about to turn upside down!
Her husband's funeral just about killed all of us!
No, I can't say she landed on her feet.
But, she continues the struggle.
As they say, "Never give up, never surrender!"
But, I do weep for her situation.
sigh
So, great times, great memories, and beautiful flowers!
There is the Daffodil Festival.
Which I missed due to poor health!
The Tulip Festivals in April.
Which I almost missed!
I introduced here many years ago, 2007, maybe?
She was in my very first youth group, 45 years ago!
She is one of about ten from that group whom have stayed in touch!
So hard to believe!
And, having met her again, back then,
The timing was good for her as her life was about to turn upside down!
Her husband's funeral just about killed all of us!
No, I can't say she landed on her feet.
But, she continues the struggle.
As they say, "Never give up, never surrender!"
But, I do weep for her situation.
sigh
So, great times, great memories, and beautiful flowers!
October 10, 2018
Barry Brierley
When I was in Florence, Colorado, this past summer, I was walking down the row of shops and rather bored.
My sister was going crazy buying stuff for her shops in Minnesota while I was just standing around.
Finally, I just went out onto the street to see if there was a bench I could sit on.
There was a man leaning on a store front looking bored.
So, I stopped and asked if he was shopped out as well.
He said no, that he was a writer just watching people.
So, we got to talking.
Turns out he wrote Westerns, 16 of them!
Won a bunch of awards and now sells them out of his daughter's shop in Florence.
Well, we had to check this out!
Then I find out he is also an artist.
So since I was interested, he showed me his paintings for each of the book covers!
We really burned up an afternoon!
In the end, I bought one of the hardcover editions of his first book, Wasichu.
He happily signed it.
Admittedly, I have only skimmed through it.
But, it looks interesting.
I am a Western snob.
As a rule I discount all Westerns after 1964.
Because Leone's Western movies completely corrupted the entire genre.
Of course Ray Hogan's books were already doing this at the time!
Like I said, I am a snob.
I much prefer real life situations to John Wayne wanna-bes!
Having said that, one of my most favorite books is, Haunted Mesa.
Don't ask me, Western plus time travel - gaaaack!
But it is entertaining and makes for interesting dreams.
I also am reading back through all of the Thurlo Western novels.
Though Tony Hillerman ranks as my all time favorite writer.
His daughter, Anne, has attempted to continue his work, with a few good books well.
Gonna be a great fall for reading!
Eight of Barry's are available through:
Spirit Riders Western Emporium
111 W Main St
Florence, Colorado
81226
Barry can be reached at:
brierleybarry@yahoo.com
719-784-2231
My sister was going crazy buying stuff for her shops in Minnesota while I was just standing around.
Finally, I just went out onto the street to see if there was a bench I could sit on.
There was a man leaning on a store front looking bored.
So, I stopped and asked if he was shopped out as well.
He said no, that he was a writer just watching people.
So, we got to talking.
Turns out he wrote Westerns, 16 of them!
Won a bunch of awards and now sells them out of his daughter's shop in Florence.
Well, we had to check this out!
Then I find out he is also an artist.
So since I was interested, he showed me his paintings for each of the book covers!
We really burned up an afternoon!
In the end, I bought one of the hardcover editions of his first book, Wasichu.
He happily signed it.
Admittedly, I have only skimmed through it.
But, it looks interesting.
I am a Western snob.
As a rule I discount all Westerns after 1964.
Because Leone's Western movies completely corrupted the entire genre.
Of course Ray Hogan's books were already doing this at the time!
Like I said, I am a snob.
I much prefer real life situations to John Wayne wanna-bes!
Having said that, one of my most favorite books is, Haunted Mesa.
Don't ask me, Western plus time travel - gaaaack!
But it is entertaining and makes for interesting dreams.
I also am reading back through all of the Thurlo Western novels.
Though Tony Hillerman ranks as my all time favorite writer.
His daughter, Anne, has attempted to continue his work, with a few good books well.
Gonna be a great fall for reading!
Eight of Barry's are available through:
Spirit Riders Western Emporium
111 W Main St
Florence, Colorado
81226
Barry can be reached at:
brierleybarry@yahoo.com
719-784-2231
August 14, 2018
Centralia
Saturday, I was feeling pretty good - so declared a road trip!
So, I drove over to Gaelic Girls work and kidnapped her.
Then proceeded down to Centralia.
It has been a long time since we did anything together!
My goal was to do the Centralia dinner train.
Luckily, I picked her up at noon as accidents barred the way south!
The 70 miles took 3:15!
eepah!
What I did not know was that there was a logging festival in fun swing in Morton, a little town south of Centralia and there was not room to be had anywhere!
I finally managed a room at Motel 6, for only $140!
grrrrr!
The train ride was just about perfect.
Two hour ride.
During which a yummy prime rib dinner was served, followed by a strawberry cake.
The scenery was beautiful.
The weather perfect.
Back in Centralia, I looked at the Pendelton shop at the various indian designs.
GG bought some earrings and an opal ring.
I got a postcard!
Sunday, what to do, what to do?
I drove out to the beaches.
We toured the small towns, I fell in love with Pe Ell.
A lighthouse beconed.
As did using my four wheel drive in the beach.
Tried to find a fish house - but only found Mexican places.
And a very long drive back home!
So, I drove more in two days than in the past 8 months combined!
Guess I am passed my PTSD!
So, I drove over to Gaelic Girls work and kidnapped her.
Then proceeded down to Centralia.
It has been a long time since we did anything together!
My goal was to do the Centralia dinner train.
Luckily, I picked her up at noon as accidents barred the way south!
The 70 miles took 3:15!
eepah!
What I did not know was that there was a logging festival in fun swing in Morton, a little town south of Centralia and there was not room to be had anywhere!
I finally managed a room at Motel 6, for only $140!
grrrrr!
The train ride was just about perfect.
Two hour ride.
During which a yummy prime rib dinner was served, followed by a strawberry cake.
The scenery was beautiful.
The weather perfect.
Back in Centralia, I looked at the Pendelton shop at the various indian designs.
GG bought some earrings and an opal ring.
I got a postcard!
Sunday, what to do, what to do?
I drove out to the beaches.
We toured the small towns, I fell in love with Pe Ell.
A lighthouse beconed.
As did using my four wheel drive in the beach.
Tried to find a fish house - but only found Mexican places.
And a very long drive back home!
So, I drove more in two days than in the past 8 months combined!
Guess I am passed my PTSD!
September 18, 2017
Failing Yourself
One last post on my trip from a week ago.
The first day of the cruise, you know everyone has to explore!
The ship was about two football fields long and 15 floors high!
While in line, waiting to board, I had observed a young teen girl whom seemed "odd".
And odd always draws my attention.
She was with her older sister, whom has the problem so many young people seem to have. I am sorry but with this amnesia, I have no idea what it is and it is common enough and blamed on vaccines, I think.
So, now I am placing younger girl at a solid 12 or 13, sister no more than 15.
And though my heart remains burdened for teens, I have nothing but prayer to offer.
I observed her often everyday I was out and about on the ship.
She seemed to never leave the ship.
Could always be found in high traffic areas.
Definitely was "displaying" herself!
But the last thing I am going to do is have a talk with her!
All week long this was her behavior.
I had to wonder where were her parents!
If she even had any, thinking of the young girl in Colorado last month!
And older sister was missing until Friday!
As I mentioned, her behavior was more problematic as the week continued.
She dressed more and more provocatively.
She dressed more and more like a hooker.
And from what I observed, she was pretty much shunned by everyone.
Oh, make no mistake, there were "professionals" on board.
They were hard to miss as they flaunted themselves about.
shudder!
So Thursday comes.
I am sicker than a dog and trying to eat watermelon.
.In walks her entire family.
The parents were residents of the casino and bars from my observations.
The girl was dressed "normal", but not for her, and with huge sunglasses!
Her parents left without a word, matched the meal well.
The girl lost it shortly after this.
Such heartbreaking sobs!
And her sister got up and walked around and just held her.
I was touch be such a display of love!
Yeah, it seems someone had taken her up on her offer.
And now, she is realizing part of the cost of what she has done ...
Innocence crushed by scum sucking swine and negligent parents.
I prayed for a witness to come into her life.
The first day of the cruise, you know everyone has to explore!
The ship was about two football fields long and 15 floors high!
While in line, waiting to board, I had observed a young teen girl whom seemed "odd".
And odd always draws my attention.
She was with her older sister, whom has the problem so many young people seem to have. I am sorry but with this amnesia, I have no idea what it is and it is common enough and blamed on vaccines, I think.
So, now I am placing younger girl at a solid 12 or 13, sister no more than 15.
And though my heart remains burdened for teens, I have nothing but prayer to offer.
I observed her often everyday I was out and about on the ship.
She seemed to never leave the ship.
Could always be found in high traffic areas.
Definitely was "displaying" herself!
But the last thing I am going to do is have a talk with her!
All week long this was her behavior.
I had to wonder where were her parents!
If she even had any, thinking of the young girl in Colorado last month!
And older sister was missing until Friday!
As I mentioned, her behavior was more problematic as the week continued.
She dressed more and more provocatively.
She dressed more and more like a hooker.
And from what I observed, she was pretty much shunned by everyone.
Oh, make no mistake, there were "professionals" on board.
They were hard to miss as they flaunted themselves about.
shudder!
So Thursday comes.
I am sicker than a dog and trying to eat watermelon.
.In walks her entire family.
The parents were residents of the casino and bars from my observations.
The girl was dressed "normal", but not for her, and with huge sunglasses!
Her parents left without a word, matched the meal well.
The girl lost it shortly after this.
Such heartbreaking sobs!
And her sister got up and walked around and just held her.
I was touch be such a display of love!
Yeah, it seems someone had taken her up on her offer.
And now, she is realizing part of the cost of what she has done ...
Innocence crushed by scum sucking swine and negligent parents.
I prayed for a witness to come into her life.
September 15, 2017
Returning Home
Well, the Norovirus seems to have abated ... leastwise I am hungry for the first time since Monday! And an end to the endless vomiting is a welcome relief. Nope, never dong a cruise ever again!
The cruise ship ran mostly at night between destination, I guess the idea being that while you sleep you will not know real boredom! LOL ...
The night of departure you have to be completely packed and luggage is taken away.
Restless night, so ill.
And cruise ships are not amputee friendly.
Room bathrooms are all but unusable!
A quick breakfast.
Last minute room check over.
Goodbye ship.
My barf bag tightly clutched to my chest!
I was so weak after days of not even being able to drink water!
I caught the airporter shuttle.
Swede whom I have not seen since Monday, headed off.
The invisible Dutchman, remained so.
I stored my bags at the airport, caught the light rail for a $1.00, exited and caught a bus at the first rail station and that got me half a mile from home.
Hard walk when one is so ill.
Drove the three miles to the airport and retrieved my bags.
Then straight to bed!
So drained.
In all the trip was a waste due to the stinking Norovirus.
I am glad I went though.
Skagway was my town, I could easily live there, if they had a hospital!
Next year, Swede wants to do the 1898 trail.
I will definitely fly up and join him!
but no more ships and I will be paranoid with my hand washing!
The cruise ship ran mostly at night between destination, I guess the idea being that while you sleep you will not know real boredom! LOL ...
The night of departure you have to be completely packed and luggage is taken away.
Restless night, so ill.
And cruise ships are not amputee friendly.
Room bathrooms are all but unusable!
A quick breakfast.
Last minute room check over.
Goodbye ship.
My barf bag tightly clutched to my chest!
I was so weak after days of not even being able to drink water!
I caught the airporter shuttle.
Swede whom I have not seen since Monday, headed off.
The invisible Dutchman, remained so.
I stored my bags at the airport, caught the light rail for a $1.00, exited and caught a bus at the first rail station and that got me half a mile from home.
Hard walk when one is so ill.
Drove the three miles to the airport and retrieved my bags.
Then straight to bed!
So drained.
In all the trip was a waste due to the stinking Norovirus.
I am glad I went though.
Skagway was my town, I could easily live there, if they had a hospital!
Next year, Swede wants to do the 1898 trail.
I will definitely fly up and join him!
but no more ships and I will be paranoid with my hand washing!
September 14, 2017
Victoria
Victoria is one of my favorite cities in the world! Tea and a German restaurant, what more could one ask for?
But, Kris is crawling around on his lips! Norovirus has kicked my butt ... And though I may have desired visiting Buchart Gardens, I can't stray that far from a toilet at the moment ... sigh ...
So, no German food, no food at all! Though I did manage to keep some watermelon down this morning. The only thing I did was visit the museum, always a treat .... For variety, I visited each of the stalls ...
Great bus service, lots of tourist shops, I know from past times here that there is a wide variety of foods my tummy loved.
Millos, a Greek restaurant behind the Empress hotel by one block, is always worthy. I tried to eat. but I smelled the garlic and it was all over!
But, Kris is crawling around on his lips! Norovirus has kicked my butt ... And though I may have desired visiting Buchart Gardens, I can't stray that far from a toilet at the moment ... sigh ...
So, no German food, no food at all! Though I did manage to keep some watermelon down this morning. The only thing I did was visit the museum, always a treat .... For variety, I visited each of the stalls ...
Great bus service, lots of tourist shops, I know from past times here that there is a wide variety of foods my tummy loved.
Millos, a Greek restaurant behind the Empress hotel by one block, is always worthy. I tried to eat. but I smelled the garlic and it was all over!
September 13, 2017
Skagway
sorry this is posting so late - guess whom got Norovirus! simply unbelievable! and i have gotten to spend the past 33 hours vomiting up everything I have ever eaten!
Skagway is an interesting town, only about 20 blocks in size and only 750 people live there! One saloon. one cafe, a museum and a tourist train! So imagine the fun when three cruiseliners are in port with 5,5000 passengers each!
Now there are several options for the train: short rides, long rides - both being diesel electric locomotives and a steam train. Of course, I took the stearmer!
Communications are poor in the area, so train problems get to be discovered by the next train. In our case, the four trains before us all got trapped by ice on the rails - and the lone steam locomotive had no problems at all! But, we had to sand the rails for the four others so they could get back to Skagway! There were some mighty unhappy passengers!
It was an awesome trip! With only one problem when the train lurched, I was impaled on a 120 year old seat frame, which then ripped my brand new jeans a new one! a 13 inch hole is just a little hard to hide!
The engineer told me that there was a shop with jeans in town! Well, their largest waist was 30 inches! By royally pissing off the clerks they finally found me one pair of 38 waist jeans! But, I was happy and they had a sale they would not have had otherwise.
Lots of tee shirts and tourist jewelry, same stores in all of the ports, same offerings. Being the end of the cruising season, everything was up to 75% off!
And a word to the wise:
brown diamonds, the hot item, are made in South Carolina and not natural!
yes, the natural ones do exist but a tourist clip joint in Alaska is not going to have hundreds of them!
tanzanite is extremely rare in over 2 carat sizes and color is almost always a light blue.
that gorgeous 15 carat of royal purple people were laying out $20,000 for .... well, not so natural ...
Skagway is an interesting town, only about 20 blocks in size and only 750 people live there! One saloon. one cafe, a museum and a tourist train! So imagine the fun when three cruiseliners are in port with 5,5000 passengers each!
Now there are several options for the train: short rides, long rides - both being diesel electric locomotives and a steam train. Of course, I took the stearmer!
Communications are poor in the area, so train problems get to be discovered by the next train. In our case, the four trains before us all got trapped by ice on the rails - and the lone steam locomotive had no problems at all! But, we had to sand the rails for the four others so they could get back to Skagway! There were some mighty unhappy passengers!
It was an awesome trip! With only one problem when the train lurched, I was impaled on a 120 year old seat frame, which then ripped my brand new jeans a new one! a 13 inch hole is just a little hard to hide!
The engineer told me that there was a shop with jeans in town! Well, their largest waist was 30 inches! By royally pissing off the clerks they finally found me one pair of 38 waist jeans! But, I was happy and they had a sale they would not have had otherwise.
Lots of tee shirts and tourist jewelry, same stores in all of the ports, same offerings. Being the end of the cruising season, everything was up to 75% off!
And a word to the wise:
brown diamonds, the hot item, are made in South Carolina and not natural!
yes, the natural ones do exist but a tourist clip joint in Alaska is not going to have hundreds of them!
tanzanite is extremely rare in over 2 carat sizes and color is almost always a light blue.
that gorgeous 15 carat of royal purple people were laying out $20,000 for .... well, not so natural ...
September 12, 2017
Juneau
The cruise line has several tour options in each of their ports of call. Now you can sign up for the same tours on land and save 50% of the cost, since they want their cut of your wallets content! But, if you are planning on leaving town for an adventure ... well if you book through the cruise line, they guarantee to wait for you if your tour is delayed for some reason!
Big deal you think? Well, the one guy whom had to hire a speed boat out of Juneau to catch the liner, they transfer at full speed to the ship's gangway ... will never do that again! Yeah, it was hair raising for him.! And I heard that four had to pay big bucks for a flight to Skagway for the same reason. Suddenly, a few hundred seems a small cost!
Juneau surprised me in that it is no larger than my small town, less than 35,000 people without cruise ships in port! And seems to be split into two parts: a tourist area by the port and a main section where the government is located.
Of course, the big attraction is a cable car which runs almost straight up the side of one of the mountains! I think everyone on the boat got in line for this - but this boy was born to keep his feet solidly on the ground! Yeah, you should see me squeal when I have to fly! Well, maybe you shouldn't, it is not pretty ...
I opted for two tours since we had a full day.
A morning hike to the Mendenhall Glacier. It was beautiful.
The salmon were running and filled the streams. The counters said that they were getting over 800 fish an hour! In those tiny waters! Yes the smell of rotting fish filled the air and I was more than a little nervous at the thought of hungry bears sniffing around! Certainly, there were plenty of sign!
In the afternoon, It was time to hunt whales! I managed photos of dorsal fins of humpback and killer whales, plus two kinds of dolphins and a sea lion! In all our boat pilot managed to find us 14 whales. Very impressive!
Back at the ship, after a long day of hiking and bouncing around with no food(!), I hit the buffet table like it was the last food on the planet!
I slept like a rock!
Big deal you think? Well, the one guy whom had to hire a speed boat out of Juneau to catch the liner, they transfer at full speed to the ship's gangway ... will never do that again! Yeah, it was hair raising for him.! And I heard that four had to pay big bucks for a flight to Skagway for the same reason. Suddenly, a few hundred seems a small cost!
Juneau surprised me in that it is no larger than my small town, less than 35,000 people without cruise ships in port! And seems to be split into two parts: a tourist area by the port and a main section where the government is located.
Of course, the big attraction is a cable car which runs almost straight up the side of one of the mountains! I think everyone on the boat got in line for this - but this boy was born to keep his feet solidly on the ground! Yeah, you should see me squeal when I have to fly! Well, maybe you shouldn't, it is not pretty ...
I opted for two tours since we had a full day.
A morning hike to the Mendenhall Glacier. It was beautiful.
The salmon were running and filled the streams. The counters said that they were getting over 800 fish an hour! In those tiny waters! Yes the smell of rotting fish filled the air and I was more than a little nervous at the thought of hungry bears sniffing around! Certainly, there were plenty of sign!
In the afternoon, It was time to hunt whales! I managed photos of dorsal fins of humpback and killer whales, plus two kinds of dolphins and a sea lion! In all our boat pilot managed to find us 14 whales. Very impressive!
Back at the ship, after a long day of hiking and bouncing around with no food(!), I hit the buffet table like it was the last food on the planet!
I slept like a rock!
September 11, 2017
Setting Sail
It was a major pain the backside getting ready for the trip to Alaska!
I was beginning to wonder what on Earth was going on!
Why so resistant on my part?
Swede drove down from Everett and offered to drive me to the cruise ship terminal, I had planned a cab, so saved me $60 ... I took him to lunch and listened to him regal me with more tales of food and more food on cruise ships! eepah! That boy and food!
By the time he dropped me off, he had decided that with or without even a toothbrush, he was going! LOL! We laughed mightily over that one - one of my favorite ways to travel. Although, one day, armed only with a credit card and no destination - I want to just show up and go somewhere ...
Finding the cruise terminal was designed in such a way as to raise blood pressure, signage almost non-existent! But, I managed to overcome, be nice to everyone and not revert to German. Like an airport you have lots of inspection areas and with an artificial leg, I had lots of inspections! As if it was not bad enough that my leg got caught on the X-ray machine and popped off! OMG! One moment you are walking into their machine, the next you are spread eagle on the ground, with you lower leg at a right angle! The guy behind me lost his breakfast right there on the spot! And I am trying to shove my leg back into its socket without taking my pants off! Once security figured out I was okay, they thought it was pretty funny! Though it is still quite painful .....
Rooms are quite small for the average traveler. I had taken an inside room as I had been told there were no opening windows - so why pay twice as much? Turns out that there are rooms with balconies which do open. Heap big expensive but yeah when (if) I do this again - I will have one of those rooms! It is quite claustrophobic in a pitching ship with no air!
I met people from Australia, England, Scotland, Germany, Italy and hundreds from Indonesia! On a ship with 5,500 passengers - I could not believe there was NOT anyone of African descent other than a few Jamaican entertainers. Even amongst the service staff - none were to be found! HUH? What does this mean? The ship's crew and passengers were so cosmopolitan that Swede and I reach the point of thinking that maybe the lack of vitamin D production in those of African descent - so avoidance or northern latitudes were the results. Yeah, our conversations are rarely normal.
Then we found out from youngest daughter, whom heard it from her older sister, Dutchman was on-board! LOL! Took a while to run him down, he was hiding in the rich section with celebrities and those with staterooms! No doubt one of his tax write off opportunities - he plays those games, everything has to have a financial advantage - whatever. He seems to have lost sight of why God put him here ... sigh ...
With the exception of only one day, all of the days were beautiful. The open waters managed well with a six hour storm which bounced us around well.
I did an incredible amount of sleeping! I still can not believe how much I am sleeping!
Swede, true to his desires, hit the buffet tables long and hard!
Dutchman and his wife - no idea what they were up to. Hiding in their rooms on the internet?
And so, I dreamily leave you, basking in a sunbeam, the gentle roll of the ship and hum of its jet propulsion .....
I was beginning to wonder what on Earth was going on!
Why so resistant on my part?
Swede drove down from Everett and offered to drive me to the cruise ship terminal, I had planned a cab, so saved me $60 ... I took him to lunch and listened to him regal me with more tales of food and more food on cruise ships! eepah! That boy and food!
By the time he dropped me off, he had decided that with or without even a toothbrush, he was going! LOL! We laughed mightily over that one - one of my favorite ways to travel. Although, one day, armed only with a credit card and no destination - I want to just show up and go somewhere ...
Finding the cruise terminal was designed in such a way as to raise blood pressure, signage almost non-existent! But, I managed to overcome, be nice to everyone and not revert to German. Like an airport you have lots of inspection areas and with an artificial leg, I had lots of inspections! As if it was not bad enough that my leg got caught on the X-ray machine and popped off! OMG! One moment you are walking into their machine, the next you are spread eagle on the ground, with you lower leg at a right angle! The guy behind me lost his breakfast right there on the spot! And I am trying to shove my leg back into its socket without taking my pants off! Once security figured out I was okay, they thought it was pretty funny! Though it is still quite painful .....
Rooms are quite small for the average traveler. I had taken an inside room as I had been told there were no opening windows - so why pay twice as much? Turns out that there are rooms with balconies which do open. Heap big expensive but yeah when (if) I do this again - I will have one of those rooms! It is quite claustrophobic in a pitching ship with no air!
I met people from Australia, England, Scotland, Germany, Italy and hundreds from Indonesia! On a ship with 5,500 passengers - I could not believe there was NOT anyone of African descent other than a few Jamaican entertainers. Even amongst the service staff - none were to be found! HUH? What does this mean? The ship's crew and passengers were so cosmopolitan that Swede and I reach the point of thinking that maybe the lack of vitamin D production in those of African descent - so avoidance or northern latitudes were the results. Yeah, our conversations are rarely normal.
Then we found out from youngest daughter, whom heard it from her older sister, Dutchman was on-board! LOL! Took a while to run him down, he was hiding in the rich section with celebrities and those with staterooms! No doubt one of his tax write off opportunities - he plays those games, everything has to have a financial advantage - whatever. He seems to have lost sight of why God put him here ... sigh ...
With the exception of only one day, all of the days were beautiful. The open waters managed well with a six hour storm which bounced us around well.
I did an incredible amount of sleeping! I still can not believe how much I am sleeping!
Swede, true to his desires, hit the buffet tables long and hard!
Dutchman and his wife - no idea what they were up to. Hiding in their rooms on the internet?
And so, I dreamily leave you, basking in a sunbeam, the gentle roll of the ship and hum of its jet propulsion .....
September 8, 2017
Delayed Plans
Between my 16th birthday and my 18th, I rather easily ran away from home well over 100 times! Yeah, my home-life was beyond miserable! One of my friends also had a miserable existence. I was one heck of a good mechanic and he had a dream of flying. I could easily see putting him through flight school to get his pilot's license and then we would be set.
Alaska was looking for gifted mechanics and there is always a shortage of pilots up there. The 1970's were a booming time - warm bodies were needed. My girl friend agreed to wait until I could get established and then come up. It worked in my mind.
Of course life went terribly sideways.
Our ride out of town turned into a disaster when the car slid off the road and I was thrown free of the VW. Yeah, a few weeks of recovery for that one! Just enough time to get close enough to finishing high school so that I could smell freedom ...
Hence, a few changes.
I would fly up to Seattle, and then get to Anchorage by either ferry or bus, both expensive! After 90 days I knew everything had gone wrong.
The Canadians were not allowing transit into British Columbia by anyone without sufficient money to reach Alaska.
It was far more expensive than I expected to just live poorly!
My friend Robbie never did join me.
I had written daily to my girlfriend, she only wrote once.
And I figured out that life, as envisioned by me, was over.
But, not forgotten....
So, today, after very much saving, I am on my way to Alaska. I had actually paid for this trip back in July, however Gwen's death threw a monkey-wrench in all my plans. Today was my first open date - andI am off!
Lots of plans to see glaciers, a steam train, photograph old Indian ruins and sleep - enough to recover from the Colorado trip! I packed some art supplies, just enough to play a little. Some magazines and an antique Western. :)
Oh, I almost forgot: eat lots of crab and seafood!
Alaska was looking for gifted mechanics and there is always a shortage of pilots up there. The 1970's were a booming time - warm bodies were needed. My girl friend agreed to wait until I could get established and then come up. It worked in my mind.
Of course life went terribly sideways.
Our ride out of town turned into a disaster when the car slid off the road and I was thrown free of the VW. Yeah, a few weeks of recovery for that one! Just enough time to get close enough to finishing high school so that I could smell freedom ...
Hence, a few changes.
I would fly up to Seattle, and then get to Anchorage by either ferry or bus, both expensive! After 90 days I knew everything had gone wrong.
The Canadians were not allowing transit into British Columbia by anyone without sufficient money to reach Alaska.
It was far more expensive than I expected to just live poorly!
My friend Robbie never did join me.
I had written daily to my girlfriend, she only wrote once.
And I figured out that life, as envisioned by me, was over.
But, not forgotten....
So, today, after very much saving, I am on my way to Alaska. I had actually paid for this trip back in July, however Gwen's death threw a monkey-wrench in all my plans. Today was my first open date - andI am off!
Lots of plans to see glaciers, a steam train, photograph old Indian ruins and sleep - enough to recover from the Colorado trip! I packed some art supplies, just enough to play a little. Some magazines and an antique Western. :)
Oh, I almost forgot: eat lots of crab and seafood!
September 4, 2017
The Ludlow Massacre
Did you ever hear of the Ludlow Massacre?
I was zooming down I-25 in Colorado and spied a sign advertising a memorial to this massacre. How could a piece of history like this have gone unnoticed by someone so in love with historical trivia? Well, because no one talks about it ... for a reason .....
In the days of robber barrons whom believed they owned your soul, you worked 12 hour days, 6 days a week, for pennies an hour, then were forced to live in corporate towns for inflated rents, shop at corporate food stores and if they calculated it righ ... you owed them money at the end of the month! No lie!
The miners were starving and exhausted working in the Southern Colorado coal mines - and they threatened to strike. Some were a little more violent. And the mine owner - John Rockefeller, had them thrown out of the corporate housing with no supplies, food, anything! Colorado Aprils are not noted for their warmth.
They managed to use some farm land near by to build a shanty town and Rockefeller exploded!
He had the Colorado Governor call up the National Guard, whom built an outpost on a low hill over looking the tent city. Rockefeller also hired a private detective company to build a rail based armored car to be driven along the rail tracks twice a day and blanket the camp with heavy machine gun fire. So, the camp was shot to pieces twice daily.
They did have peace on Easter Sunday, 1914 - followed by sports.
Even the Army watched.
But, Monday that was to change. Instead of shooting randomly, the order was given to aim at the people, not the tents. Needless to say ... it was a massacre.
Twenty-eight women and children killed outright. And the nation was angered!
In Colorado of 100 years ago it is one thing to kill striking Irish miners, they were universally hated for being Irish, foreigners, talking funny, drunkards and taking American jobs! But, women were a scarce commodity ... You harmed any woman, even an Indian one, and you will be hunted down!
It would be a few years until the miners would be able to form unions the right to strike peacefully. The rest of nation would follow in their heels. The workers were able to demand humane treatment and compensation.
So, today is a fine time to remember you enjoy life, because someone else died on your behalf in America's labor struggle. Unless you like the idea of Corporate slavery ....
I was zooming down I-25 in Colorado and spied a sign advertising a memorial to this massacre. How could a piece of history like this have gone unnoticed by someone so in love with historical trivia? Well, because no one talks about it ... for a reason .....
In the days of robber barrons whom believed they owned your soul, you worked 12 hour days, 6 days a week, for pennies an hour, then were forced to live in corporate towns for inflated rents, shop at corporate food stores and if they calculated it righ ... you owed them money at the end of the month! No lie!
The miners were starving and exhausted working in the Southern Colorado coal mines - and they threatened to strike. Some were a little more violent. And the mine owner - John Rockefeller, had them thrown out of the corporate housing with no supplies, food, anything! Colorado Aprils are not noted for their warmth.
They managed to use some farm land near by to build a shanty town and Rockefeller exploded!
He had the Colorado Governor call up the National Guard, whom built an outpost on a low hill over looking the tent city. Rockefeller also hired a private detective company to build a rail based armored car to be driven along the rail tracks twice a day and blanket the camp with heavy machine gun fire. So, the camp was shot to pieces twice daily.
They did have peace on Easter Sunday, 1914 - followed by sports.
Even the Army watched.
But, Monday that was to change. Instead of shooting randomly, the order was given to aim at the people, not the tents. Needless to say ... it was a massacre.
Twenty-eight women and children killed outright. And the nation was angered!
In Colorado of 100 years ago it is one thing to kill striking Irish miners, they were universally hated for being Irish, foreigners, talking funny, drunkards and taking American jobs! But, women were a scarce commodity ... You harmed any woman, even an Indian one, and you will be hunted down!
It would be a few years until the miners would be able to form unions the right to strike peacefully. The rest of nation would follow in their heels. The workers were able to demand humane treatment and compensation.
So, today is a fine time to remember you enjoy life, because someone else died on your behalf in America's labor struggle. Unless you like the idea of Corporate slavery ....
September 1, 2017
Eclipse
Yes, I did manage to see the eclipse while in Colorado.
I was staying at the hotel in Canon City, with nothing to do.
So, a quick trip to Subway and I was armed with a foot long BMT sandwich and a large bottle of water. I headed for Cripple Creek.
I drove up Phantom Canyon, an old narrow gauge rail-bed. Not a great pathway but one of the few between Canon City and Cripple Creek. It was a great drive up the sometimes four-wheel drive road, in the Nisson Sentra. At the appointed time, I found a nice pull off with scenic views, had my lunch and enjoyed the anti-climatic solar event.
And then all hell broke loose!
It began with a wind, growing in scale to well over 100 miles per hours (my best guess!). Aspen leaves filled the air. Pine needles were sucked off of the trees! And then everything just fell to the ground. Then came the hail .... covering a 17 by 20 mile area to four inches deep! And then came the rain. Huge chucks of the roadway was collapsing in the canyon, the hail swirling like styrofoam balls down the creek. Animals (mostly deer) stood confused and panting in terror!
Such is the surprise of finding yourself in an upper air tornado ...
And the sun continued to shine. The river gurgled away. The animals slowly limped away, bruised and beaten. All I could wonder was ... "what the heck?!?!?!?!?!?"
Cripple Creek was a silver-gold mining area which came on-line in the 1890's after the huge silver crash almost destroyed the USA's economy! In just a few short years this area produced the majority of the gold reserves in bank vaults around the world today ... And then war, union strikes, open warfare and the age of the mines was over. Although it took 50 years to shut down mining completely, it was over by the 1920's just the last gasps of a once productive area kept decreasing amounts of ore to the smelters.
Today, someone came up with the idea of piling all of the ore dumps into a MOUNTAIN of debris and then spraying them with cyanide ... yielding 1,100 ounces of gold per day! So, very ugly - very rewarding - an ecological disaster in the making!
Victor, once a thriving mining town, now dead.
Cripple Creek is now a gambling mecca.
One nice feature of the Cripple Creek town area is its steam train which runs most of the way to Victor. Beautiful scenery, great history related by the engineer/conductor/coal shovellor! But, this is Colorado, so by 2:30 it is time for thunderstorm and rains .... it only lasts less than 30 minutes, but you can almost set your watch by it!
Time to move back towards Canon City but with Phantom Canyon washed out, I was forced to drive many hours in a huge circle to get back to the hotel.
Wore me out and I will never forget that storm!
I was staying at the hotel in Canon City, with nothing to do.
So, a quick trip to Subway and I was armed with a foot long BMT sandwich and a large bottle of water. I headed for Cripple Creek.
I drove up Phantom Canyon, an old narrow gauge rail-bed. Not a great pathway but one of the few between Canon City and Cripple Creek. It was a great drive up the sometimes four-wheel drive road, in the Nisson Sentra. At the appointed time, I found a nice pull off with scenic views, had my lunch and enjoyed the anti-climatic solar event.
And then all hell broke loose!
It began with a wind, growing in scale to well over 100 miles per hours (my best guess!). Aspen leaves filled the air. Pine needles were sucked off of the trees! And then everything just fell to the ground. Then came the hail .... covering a 17 by 20 mile area to four inches deep! And then came the rain. Huge chucks of the roadway was collapsing in the canyon, the hail swirling like styrofoam balls down the creek. Animals (mostly deer) stood confused and panting in terror!
Such is the surprise of finding yourself in an upper air tornado ...
And the sun continued to shine. The river gurgled away. The animals slowly limped away, bruised and beaten. All I could wonder was ... "what the heck?!?!?!?!?!?"
Cripple Creek was a silver-gold mining area which came on-line in the 1890's after the huge silver crash almost destroyed the USA's economy! In just a few short years this area produced the majority of the gold reserves in bank vaults around the world today ... And then war, union strikes, open warfare and the age of the mines was over. Although it took 50 years to shut down mining completely, it was over by the 1920's just the last gasps of a once productive area kept decreasing amounts of ore to the smelters.
Today, someone came up with the idea of piling all of the ore dumps into a MOUNTAIN of debris and then spraying them with cyanide ... yielding 1,100 ounces of gold per day! So, very ugly - very rewarding - an ecological disaster in the making!
Victor, once a thriving mining town, now dead.
Cripple Creek is now a gambling mecca.
One nice feature of the Cripple Creek town area is its steam train which runs most of the way to Victor. Beautiful scenery, great history related by the engineer/conductor/coal shovellor! But, this is Colorado, so by 2:30 it is time for thunderstorm and rains .... it only lasts less than 30 minutes, but you can almost set your watch by it!
Time to move back towards Canon City but with Phantom Canyon washed out, I was forced to drive many hours in a huge circle to get back to the hotel.
Wore me out and I will never forget that storm!
August 31, 2017
Pluralism
I would not even go here, where it not so incredibly strange!
Pluralism, more than one or at once, in this case the convoluted affairs of being on the edges of Mormonism. Many little enclaves of the southwest still adhere to the doctrine of pluralistic marriage of the original Mormon faith ...
So, I am just kicked backed and watching.
People begin filtering into where I am.
A woman, maybe 50.
An obvious daughter with three kids.
A husband.
The husband appears to be the younger twin of the guy sitting in front of me!
They know each other.
Younger defers to older.
Obviously his father!
Older woman is the wife of the older man!
So, get this:
Older man's son, is married to the daughter of the older man and woman, via separate mothers!
AAACKKKKK!
Now. older man is also married to a younger woman and has three children with her!
And this woman is pushing her younger sister on to her bigamous husband!
Husband is reluctant of this.
But, sister is very interested!
AAACKKKKK!
One man, three wives, one more in the wings, seven observed children!
You could cut the tension in the room with dental floss!
Older woman is fit to kill.
Second present-younger wife was quite happy.
Bride in waiting was quite frustrated.
Younger husband was oblivious.
Older husband was trapped in constant quiet vocal warfasre between the women and him.
And they do this to themselves voluntarily!
I could only think of David or Solomon and what a mess they brought upon themselves ...
Pluralism, more than one or at once, in this case the convoluted affairs of being on the edges of Mormonism. Many little enclaves of the southwest still adhere to the doctrine of pluralistic marriage of the original Mormon faith ...
So, I am just kicked backed and watching.
People begin filtering into where I am.
A woman, maybe 50.
An obvious daughter with three kids.
A husband.
The husband appears to be the younger twin of the guy sitting in front of me!
They know each other.
Younger defers to older.
Obviously his father!
Older woman is the wife of the older man!
So, get this:
Older man's son, is married to the daughter of the older man and woman, via separate mothers!
AAACKKKKK!
Now. older man is also married to a younger woman and has three children with her!
And this woman is pushing her younger sister on to her bigamous husband!
Husband is reluctant of this.
But, sister is very interested!
AAACKKKKK!
One man, three wives, one more in the wings, seven observed children!
You could cut the tension in the room with dental floss!
Older woman is fit to kill.
Second present-younger wife was quite happy.
Bride in waiting was quite frustrated.
Younger husband was oblivious.
Older husband was trapped in constant quiet vocal warfasre between the women and him.
And they do this to themselves voluntarily!
I could only think of David or Solomon and what a mess they brought upon themselves ...
August 30, 2017
Cumbras and Toltec
Within easy walking distance from the Indiana Jones movie set house and bed and breakfast is the rail station for this antique steam-train.
There are three type of seating from sitting in an open cattle car being covered in hot cinders, which some people think makes the experience more real, to covered cars, to the posh: ever seat has its own window and pampered service. Yup, I needed pampered! LOL!
Each rail-car has its own tour guide to see to your needs and questions. My car's docent was I figured to be about 21, until she told me she had a 15 year old son! Well, no chance of her being any where near 30! Or even 28 for that matter! So, now I am in shuddering range! Yeah, she really does have a 15 year old son and someone in Antonito really needs beat within an inch of their life! I just have no tolerance for predators .... Prey on the young and I really want a piece of you, but we live in a God-less culture which tolerates this!
The scenery is spectacular.
Steam is the only way to travel!
It is an entire day event riding down into New Mexico.
You have three choices:
Ride to Chamas, NM and bus back.
Ride to Chamas and bus back the next day.
Ride to Oshir, Co and bus back.
Or, if you are me.......
You ride to Oshir, through the best part of the journey, then switch trains and ride the Chamas train back to Antonito!
Oh what an adventure!
The clickity clack of the rails lull you to sleep :)
The food was great and completely edible! :)
But it was like being a pinball trying to use the toilet! Man did I get beat up in that little room!
A true bucket list item for you to consider!
Each rail-car has its own tour guide to see to your needs and questions. My car's docent was I figured to be about 21, until she told me she had a 15 year old son! Well, no chance of her being any where near 30! Or even 28 for that matter! So, now I am in shuddering range! Yeah, she really does have a 15 year old son and someone in Antonito really needs beat within an inch of their life! I just have no tolerance for predators .... Prey on the young and I really want a piece of you, but we live in a God-less culture which tolerates this!
The scenery is spectacular.
Steam is the only way to travel!
It is an entire day event riding down into New Mexico.
You have three choices:
Ride to Chamas, NM and bus back.
Ride to Chamas and bus back the next day.
Ride to Oshir, Co and bus back.
Or, if you are me.......
You ride to Oshir, through the best part of the journey, then switch trains and ride the Chamas train back to Antonito!
Oh what an adventure!
The clickity clack of the rails lull you to sleep :)
The food was great and completely edible! :)
But it was like being a pinball trying to use the toilet! Man did I get beat up in that little room!
A true bucket list item for you to consider!
August 29, 2017
Antonito
At the southern end of the San Luis Valley is the remains of a small town named Antonito. Sitting on the New Mexico border and near nothing, it has not much going for it in a traditional sense. So, why is Kris there?
Well, Swede came down here last year to ride a steam train and that sounded good to me!
But, in the process, I found out that the house used as Indiana Jone's home in The Last Crusade, is located there!
Yup, I stayed there!
The home is actually a small farm house from 1884. Of course Hollywood made it look much different and with mobile room sets, make a small room much bigger!
I liked it as a bed and breakfast. Great food, comfortable bed. But ... not amputee friendly, but what is? And Antonito has nothing going for it! Population of about 750 and 4 pot shops. Yeah nestled in the armpit of Mormonism sits a tiny community of pot shops! Apparently no conflict there ......
And the Marijuana industry is expected to save the county and many of the small communities in rural Colorado! Hence why it is tolerated! And the companies behind them are already acting much like criminal organizations, the State Patrol I talked with is a bit flummoxed as what to do. You have a cooperative of drug producers, behaving in a borderline criminal manner and yet the money is expected to be so good in taxes - NO politician will back a move against them! Yeah, no one remembers history so the lessons of the earlier 1900's and again in the 1960's must be relearned yet again.
You would expect that with the availability of pot, that it would be the plague of Colorado ... Nope! It seems that meth is the winner there! Yeah, lots of skeletons stumbling around, teeth chattering - what teeth remain! How my mind wished to turn my eyes off! Like all addicts, they do not have a problem - until they need their next fix. Sigh. Apparently heroin has a strong foothold as well. So sad. But, hey, just so someone is paying the taxes, right?
And as with all addict situations, a working population is not possible! They will just long enough to get their fix and then they are stoned or in the hospital - or dead. Yeah, and the evacuation of the Hispanic population has not helped an agricultural area at all! Young Americans will not work. In a state where the minimum wage is $8 per hour, I saw plenty of jobs at $16 and $20 per hour for UNSKILLED labor ..... and no takers! NONE!!!!! If I could only breathe up there!
There are two places to eat in Antonito: Dos Hernandos and the Dutch Mill. If you like Tex-Mex, Dos Hernandos is for you - the food was in-editable! The Dutch Mill was slightly better but Tex-Mex is just death to me!
Better have some good books with you if you come down here, there is nothing to do within 30 miles of Antonito!
Well, Swede came down here last year to ride a steam train and that sounded good to me!
But, in the process, I found out that the house used as Indiana Jone's home in The Last Crusade, is located there!
Yup, I stayed there!
The home is actually a small farm house from 1884. Of course Hollywood made it look much different and with mobile room sets, make a small room much bigger!
I liked it as a bed and breakfast. Great food, comfortable bed. But ... not amputee friendly, but what is? And Antonito has nothing going for it! Population of about 750 and 4 pot shops. Yeah nestled in the armpit of Mormonism sits a tiny community of pot shops! Apparently no conflict there ......
And the Marijuana industry is expected to save the county and many of the small communities in rural Colorado! Hence why it is tolerated! And the companies behind them are already acting much like criminal organizations, the State Patrol I talked with is a bit flummoxed as what to do. You have a cooperative of drug producers, behaving in a borderline criminal manner and yet the money is expected to be so good in taxes - NO politician will back a move against them! Yeah, no one remembers history so the lessons of the earlier 1900's and again in the 1960's must be relearned yet again.
You would expect that with the availability of pot, that it would be the plague of Colorado ... Nope! It seems that meth is the winner there! Yeah, lots of skeletons stumbling around, teeth chattering - what teeth remain! How my mind wished to turn my eyes off! Like all addicts, they do not have a problem - until they need their next fix. Sigh. Apparently heroin has a strong foothold as well. So sad. But, hey, just so someone is paying the taxes, right?
And as with all addict situations, a working population is not possible! They will just long enough to get their fix and then they are stoned or in the hospital - or dead. Yeah, and the evacuation of the Hispanic population has not helped an agricultural area at all! Young Americans will not work. In a state where the minimum wage is $8 per hour, I saw plenty of jobs at $16 and $20 per hour for UNSKILLED labor ..... and no takers! NONE!!!!! If I could only breathe up there!
There are two places to eat in Antonito: Dos Hernandos and the Dutch Mill. If you like Tex-Mex, Dos Hernandos is for you - the food was in-editable! The Dutch Mill was slightly better but Tex-Mex is just death to me!
Better have some good books with you if you come down here, there is nothing to do within 30 miles of Antonito!
August 28, 2017
Across The Park
In grade 5, I spent most of my rainy day free time in the library. The NATO base at Laon, France had a decent Sci-Fi section and I devoured it. Out of Sci-Fi, I moved on to the Western section. Some writers were okay but most were unrealistic. Greatly disappointed. Well, now I had a problem, I was interested in Art but was banned from Art by my father ... what now to read?????
I turned to history and thus began a love affair ever after. But, not normal history, no - this library had copies of diaries, hundreds of them! Lewis and Clark were the first I read. The best was a guy whom traveled the American West in the 1930's. Christopher "Kit" Carson fired the imagination! And then I moved on to Zebulon Pike.
Pike, as in Pike's Peak.
Pike, as in the mapper of the Louisiana Purchase.
Pike, spy against the Spanish in the American Southwest.
Pike, one interesting guy!
Were it not for the War of 1812, he would have probably led an amazing life!
As it was, he did what few survived: he traversed The Great Park.
Today known as the San Luis Valley of Colorado, it is an immensely rich agricultural area.
And I followed Pikes 1809 footsteps across the park, down the park and ending at his fort.
Almost no one today even knows he had a fort.
But it was outside of Sanford, Colorado by a few miles north and east.
He was lost and wandering.
He had lost about half of his men, scattered across the park by snow storms.
Finally, he realized he had to sit out the winter and wait.
The fort was not much.
Enough to hold off the Utes whom were dogging his footsteps.
Unfortunately, the fort was too close to one of Spanish Treasure Roads, but he could not have known this - too much snow!
Needless to say, they were captured and marched to Sana Fe, and many of the men on to Chihuahua for several years.
But, for Pike, remember that half of his troop lost in the snow? The capture and burning of the fort was visible for miles! Pike was freed in New Mexico, recaptured, held, escaped, busted out - "what time is it?" "oh, best go look for Pike again!"
He went on to return to Washington DC, raised in rank in time for the British to invade, kick their collective butts in Yorktown and died from his wounds in 1814.
Today, the valley is largely deserted with large potato farms everywhere.
The valley boasts many forts from the Spanish occupation age through the past century.
Few medium sized cities, many very small towns, many very interesting museums.
However more about this area as the week continues ...
I turned to history and thus began a love affair ever after. But, not normal history, no - this library had copies of diaries, hundreds of them! Lewis and Clark were the first I read. The best was a guy whom traveled the American West in the 1930's. Christopher "Kit" Carson fired the imagination! And then I moved on to Zebulon Pike.
Pike, as in Pike's Peak.
Pike, as in the mapper of the Louisiana Purchase.
Pike, spy against the Spanish in the American Southwest.
Pike, one interesting guy!
Were it not for the War of 1812, he would have probably led an amazing life!
As it was, he did what few survived: he traversed The Great Park.
Today known as the San Luis Valley of Colorado, it is an immensely rich agricultural area.
And I followed Pikes 1809 footsteps across the park, down the park and ending at his fort.
Almost no one today even knows he had a fort.
But it was outside of Sanford, Colorado by a few miles north and east.
He was lost and wandering.
He had lost about half of his men, scattered across the park by snow storms.
Finally, he realized he had to sit out the winter and wait.
The fort was not much.
Enough to hold off the Utes whom were dogging his footsteps.
Unfortunately, the fort was too close to one of Spanish Treasure Roads, but he could not have known this - too much snow!
Needless to say, they were captured and marched to Sana Fe, and many of the men on to Chihuahua for several years.
But, for Pike, remember that half of his troop lost in the snow? The capture and burning of the fort was visible for miles! Pike was freed in New Mexico, recaptured, held, escaped, busted out - "what time is it?" "oh, best go look for Pike again!"
He went on to return to Washington DC, raised in rank in time for the British to invade, kick their collective butts in Yorktown and died from his wounds in 1814.
Today, the valley is largely deserted with large potato farms everywhere.
The valley boasts many forts from the Spanish occupation age through the past century.
Few medium sized cities, many very small towns, many very interesting museums.
However more about this area as the week continues ...
August 24, 2017
Canon City
When I think of all the hundreds of trips I have made to Westcliffe, Colorado - it never occurred to me to fly into anywhere other than Denver! On a wild hare, I checked out Colorado Springs as an alternative destination - $10 more expensive but about an hour closer to my destination. However, car rental was $250 cheaper! Of course there is only one flight a day from Seattle to there, but that is fine with me for that kind of savings.
Easy drive to Canon City, where I had rented a room for the night.
Then I was to find out that all food, everywhere in town, was Tex-Mex ..... ALL OF IT! And I hate chilies.
There is lots to do there if you can not dine in comfort.
I caught the train through the Royal Gorge. It was very peaceful and was made fun due to a contingent of British astronomers wasting time until the eclipse.
There were many museums but no time to check them out.
Can not recommend any places to eat as all of them had me vomiting due to the over use of chili!
You try brushing it off, but you can't get it all ...
Even Subway was not swallowable!
sigh
Nice town, friendly people, beautiful scenery.
K-Bobs, a steakhouse has a good salad bar. All steaks are marinated in chilies though!
Chilis, the chain, has the same food as everywhere - urp!
Lots of Tes-Mex places.
Parkview Inn was commendable. Decent fees, breakfast of bagels, right by the historic prison, easy walk to many eateries. Like the idea of Tex-Mex Chinese or Italien? This is for you!
Easy drive to Canon City, where I had rented a room for the night.
Then I was to find out that all food, everywhere in town, was Tex-Mex ..... ALL OF IT! And I hate chilies.
There is lots to do there if you can not dine in comfort.
I caught the train through the Royal Gorge. It was very peaceful and was made fun due to a contingent of British astronomers wasting time until the eclipse.
There were many museums but no time to check them out.
Can not recommend any places to eat as all of them had me vomiting due to the over use of chili!
You try brushing it off, but you can't get it all ...
Even Subway was not swallowable!
sigh
Nice town, friendly people, beautiful scenery.
K-Bobs, a steakhouse has a good salad bar. All steaks are marinated in chilies though!
Chilis, the chain, has the same food as everywhere - urp!
Lots of Tes-Mex places.
Parkview Inn was commendable. Decent fees, breakfast of bagels, right by the historic prison, easy walk to many eateries. Like the idea of Tex-Mex Chinese or Italien? This is for you!
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