Madras, OR - Erickson Aircraft Collection

Madras, Oregon is a little town of about 6000 people, but they have an interesting vintage plane collection.  All but two of the planes actually fly on a regular basis.  If you're on your way by and like that sort of thing, it's worth a look.

Hood River - Schlosser Machine Inc

Okay, so I'm having fun with my ball camera, the Panono.  One of the problems I'm having with it is that I forgot to bring the tripod adapter with me.  This means that every picture I take has me, looking like a maniacal crazy, trying not to drop my ball.

Maniacal Crazy (and also a weird hand)

Also, when throwing the ball, it can't rotate very much in the air or it won't take the picture, so there are a few times where I miss pictures because the ball was spinning.

I had brought with me a baton type thing that I got from Panono, but when you take a picture with it, it makes your hand look weird...

Weird Hand (and also maniacal crazy) 

So, what I did was I bought some barrel nuts and epoxy from a hardware store, took apart the baton thing, and tried to mount the barrel nuts into the handle.  Unfortunately, they didn't fit, so I went to Schlosser Machine shop and talked to John.  Although he was busy, he found time to lathe down the hardware and in no time, I could mount the Panono to a cheap tripod I bought a Walmart.

Problem Solved!

John and I outside his shop

Hood River, OR - Hopsfest

Each year, Hood River Oregon has an annual event celebrating local craft beer. This mainly means IPA, but there are a couple of other beers on tap as well. My buddy Dave (the guy who helped me install my first solar panel) was going to be down in Hood River for this event with some of his friends, so I thought I'd drop in. Really interesting group of guys...many different personalities, all brought together by their common enjoyment of mountain biking...almost makes me want to ride.

Hood River is an interesting place, a Mecca for outdoor enthusiasts of all types, it is known for the winds that channel down the Columbia River Gorge, making it a great place for windsurfing and kiteboarding.  The people that I saw made it look easy...my guess is that it's not.

Hood River Waterfront Park

Steve, the guy who rented the condo, really did well...the festival was literally just outside the back door.

the view from the balcony of Dave's condo...well done Steve!

There was much beer drunk that afternoon.  Most of the stories will have large gaps in the narrative, but filling in those gaps is all part of the fun, right?

The eight muskateers (and me)

Frenchman Coulee, WA

There is a town called George...in Washington...George, Washington, population around 500.  I stayed for a couple of days near George, WA, at a place called Frenchman Coulee near the Columbia River.  It's close to the Gorge Amphitheater and the geology was pretty impressive!

There were a couple of young guys in vans that showed up the last night I was there.  One was from Los Angeles, the other from Seattle.  They were climbers, and were just traveling around, smoking pot, climbing, and being excited about life.  I remember being in my early 20s and wanting to do that, but I never did...I wonder who I'd be now if I had?  Would I be better, or would I miss out on some the events and people that have made me better?  There's no back in time button, thankfully.

Grand Coulee Dam, WA

The Grand Coulee Dam, while not as tall as the Hoover Dam, is actually 4 times larger.

The view of the Dam from the visitor's center

Every night, when the sun goes down, they have a laser light show.  Starts out pretty cheesy, but gets better

I drove south from Grand Coulee Dam, and since I waited to watch the laser show, it was dark while I was driving.  I ended up staying at a rest area at Blue Lake, and when I started driving again, I thought I may have skipped a few States in the dark...it didn't look like Washington anymore

Spokane, WA

So, I made it into the United States of America okay. The gruff border guard came on board Vandrew, but he didn't open any of the cupboards or really look around very much. I told him that I had a lot of half full bottles of booze, and that I thought I might be over the limit. He didn't really seem to care about that. I think they're only concerned if they think you're bringing alcohol in for resale...anyone want to buy a half bottle of bourbon?

On Saturday, I rolled up to the home of my high school chum Shawn Stetson. Spending time with him was just like the old days...except that he has four kids and I live in a van. Maybe not quite like the old days. It was good to see them though.

Shawn, Trisha, Brady, Logan, Blake, Porter, Andrew and Vandrew

I celebrated my 100th night in Vandrew on Sunday night.

A couple of pictures from Riverfront Park in Spokane

Summer Lake, BC

Summer Lake is in the mountains near Fort Steele, BC.  It was another 'User Maintained" campsite, aka free.  The road started out paved...then a nice gravel road...then a bumpy gravel road...then a track...then a steep track up the side of a mountain.

Overall, the trip was pretty good.  I would not, however, recommend it for anyone who wasn't driving a 4x4, or in bad weather.  There were a couple of mud pits a few kilometers from the lake where I almost got stuck.  The newly installed toilet drain was bashed off, and possessions went flying, but I made it through.  I haven't even paid for the toilet drain yet!! I did lose a bit of sleep thinking about the possibility of getting stuck on the way back down.

To the uninitiated, it looks find, doesn't it?

The lake itself was amazing.  Everything I'd hoped it would be.  There were a few hunters and a family up there fishing, but after initial introductions, we stayed out of each other's way.  I parked Vandrew by a stream that fed the lake, and had a wonderful couple of days reading and enjoying my surroundings.

On the way back down, I managed to get through the mud pits...but all my food spilled out of the cupboards.  After further inspection, the only casualty was the jar of cherries that I bought so I could make myself my favorite cocktail.  I sure am glad that I replaced the shag carpet with wipeable vinal flooring!

It doesn't ALWAYS look like t

Horseshoe Rapids, BC - Disconnected

Day one on the road...up in the mountains somewhere near Invermere, BC.

I turned off highway 93 a few kilometers before Radium onto a logging road.  20km down the logging road, I turned onto a track that took me down to a little campsite overlooking the Kootney river.  I am the only one here.  I won't be able to upload this until I get back to civilization tomorrow, but I thought I'd write about it now.

I don't remember the last time I was "cut off" from the internet for this long.  It will be almost 48 hours by the time I get back where my cellphone will work again.  No sports scores, emails or text messages.  No people.  No television.  Just me in the backwoods of British Columbia...alone with my thoughts.  I like it.

...but I do have a list of things to do when I get back online...before dissapearing again up into the hills by Fort Steele.

I think I need to make more of an effort to unplug in the future.  Not just for a couple of hours when I go for a hike in the mountains and don't have cell coverage, but for days at a time.  It's incredibly relaxing.

"User Maintained" = FREE

September....school's in!  (get it??  school?? fish.?? oh, you got it, you just didn't think it was funny....okay)

look at all that NATURE

P.S. I'm down in Cranbrook now, at a Tim Horton's updating my emails and text messages, and uploading my blog. This afternoon I'm planning to go up to Summer Lake, near Ft. Steele, for a couple of days...what do you think the chances are that I've got coverage up there? I kind of hope not...

Goodbye Calgary!  Time to hit the road...

Double the Power, Double the FUN

So, as a going away present, my parents bought my a second solar panel. 150 watts wasn't quite keeping up with the fridge, and they really wanted me to be able to keep my beer cold. On Saturday morning, Dad and I moved the old solar panel and installed a brand new one right beside it...300 watts of beer chilling power! Thanks Dad! (also, thanks for helping me fix my toilet drain...now THAT'S love!)

Panono

Two and a half years ago, I made my first foray into crowdfunding.  It was a German group that was developing a camera ball that was embedded with 36 cameras.  The 36 individual pictures were stitched together to create a photosphere, and it was a step towards virtual reality.  If you're interested, the Panono website is here.

Well, I think the ball camera would be a good way of showing off where Vandrew and I are going, but I need to figure out how to embed the 360x360 degree images into the website.

Okay...I was overthinking this.  Of course Panono has their own viewer...I'll just use that.