Last Home Game

Got home with a stop in Boise. Where we went up to Idaho City for lunch an antiques with John & Mary.

Old time wheel made from 1 x ?s bolted together. Note to Amy: this technique would work for the chicken coop.

A steam powered table saw.

Had a good visit while Teri and Mary played with Mary's new iPad. Then it was back home to do laundry and leave again for Portland for the last regular season home game and a birthday (I missed the cake but got donuts).

Took a different bus to the game so I could look at the new bridge going up for light rail. 

The The bridge is growing out from the two islands to meet at the center and east & west abutments at the same time.

Almost there.

Last grand kid fix.

All were transfixed by the show.

Even grandpa Larry.

A truck video, complete with labels and sound.

No project work just a design meeting for the play structure roofing then back to Redmond.

Weather has been perfect. Reminds me of the old westerns.  Lefty says, "Sure is quiet out tonight". Then Dusty says, "yeah, almost too quiet". Next thing you know one or both of them are wearing arrows.

Stay warm, but not too warm.

Leaving Denver

A brief respite and grand kid fix and we are off for Boise. 

Here's a decent photo of Molly in skate board gear. 

And here is how you hold your finger over the lens and screw up the shot. But it was the only one I got of Spencer. 

Remember when we made our own skate boards?

We started by taking our iron skates apart and nailing one half to each end of a 2' 2x4. Then we nailed a 12" square piece of 1/2" plywood to the back end. You could stand with your right foot crossways on the back and your left foot pointed straight ahead on the front. We had a great new road behind our house that was almost never used. We spent many an hour walking up and skating down that hill. We even came down one night in trail, each holding up a road flare like the skiers would do on TV. 

I remember our attempt to make a six man skate board. It was a 2x12 about 8' long. We put two full skates on the back and a 2x6 about 4' long across the front. It had one full skate on each end and pivoted in the middle on a 1/2" bolt through both boards. We tied a rope to the ends so we could "steer" by pulling on one side or the other. Looked like a cross with the top in front. 

Enthusiasm wained after the ill fated trial run. We only used three of us for that shake down, but three was enough to learn that after we sat on it, there was too much friction between the boards to steer. Of course we used the longest and steepest hill available so we found out just how much speed you can attain in a relatively straight line in a relatively short time. Brakes would have been a good idea. 

It all seemed too much like tobogganing on asphalt, so after the road rash healed, we made several good one man skate boards out of the material. 

Getting late so I'll check in down the road. 

Stay warm. 

Check Out Day

Time to leave the cabin and head back to  MO. We could hear a faint banjo diddy if you were real quiet on the back porch after dark. 

But first one last shot at the White River trout in the town of Cotter. Took a while but the fish finally decided to come out and play. We tried to be gentle and apologize for the harassment befor releasing them to fight another day. 

There is a spring that bubbles up out of the ground at the boat launch in town. 

This is the main auto bridge with the rail bridge in background. There are five equal sections in the whole bridge.

 

The next morning Rog fixed us a hardy breakfast. 

Here is Art and Rick enjoying a sausage on a stick wrapped in pancake. Dipped in syrup, yum. Two is about all you can handle. Then it was time to head out. Art had the distinction of being the only one selected for the full body pat down at the airport. 

Art, Rick and I made it to Denver but Tony is still being hassled by the airlines as I write. Will be until tomorrow morning. They wouldn't tag his bags all the way through to ANC so he gets to collect them and go through the whole process again in both SEA and ANC. Good luck Tony! I'll bet Kenai looks awfully good come Monday. 

Teri and I will start out for Boise/Redmond Tues. 

I assume the weather will be perfect. 

The Well Equipped Trout Hunter

Rog carries everything you could possibly need to find and capture the elusive trout. 

Note the wadeing staff, two pair of glasses, a bottle of magic fish attractant, spare flies on the drying patch, and more essential do dads and things used for no other purpose than to assure the fisherman that he lacks nothing for his pursuit.

Of course this also provides an endless supply of excuses ( a vital commodity ) for why the catching was "slow". 

Today saw conditions just like yesterday but slightly fewer fish caught. 

All else remained perfect. 

Perfect Fishing

Weather: perfect

I did so well at this hole that they are considering naming it after me. But the name they chose appears to be already in use elsewhere. 

Water level: pertinear perfect

Fishing: perfect

Catching: perfect 

Unfortunately, there wasn't time for photos with all the catching and releasing going on ( translation, most of the fish were small ) . 

Even so, it was a little  much for the weaker elements. 

 

Naps were necessary. 

All things considered, it was pretty perfect. Hoping for same tomorrow. 

White River

We are at the Rim Shoals Resort on the White river in Arkansas. 

Our "cabin" is a nice 3 bed, 2 bath house with all the amenities. 

Lunch break on first full day. That's the river in the background. 

The 1:50 coal train runs right down our driveway. Sounds like it runs between the bed room and bath in the middle of the night. They make them promise to not blow the whistle until they are past the bathroom. 

The fishing here is very dependent on the water level in the river. All the trout fisheries are between lakes that are part of the SWPA (Southwestern Power Association). The amount of water being released at each dam in the system affects the fishing a great deal. Too little and there is not enough flow to fish and the fish are spooky. Too much and you can't wade or get to the fish. They put all their proposed water releases on the web and then change it at the last minute to keep it interesting. 

They blow a foghorn at the dam when the flow is about to increase as there are some spots right below the dams that can get dangerous if you don't realize the water is coming up. We aren't near the dam (Bull Shoals Lake) here but we call a recorded message every once in a while to see when the water will rise.  

The whole system is more complicated than us tracking tides and fish counts in Alaska. Especially when you throw in the power companies. When the lakes are below certain levels, the Core of Engineers turns the amount of release over to the power companies who release whatever they want to generate power to sell to surrounding states. So much for the projected flows. 

Anyway, today the water is just right, the weather is perfect and the trout are hungry. 

Lunch is over and it's time to get back to it. 

Let the Fishing Begin

Tony and I arrived in Branson yesterday and settled in quickly at the DeJean B&B.  Today we fished Table Rock with Rog's neighbor Bill. 

Rog's boat house complete with air lift.

Lots of rock cliffs. 

So the fishing has begun. 

Tomorrow we'll work on the catching. 

Weather is almost perfect.