Road Trip!

fintail · September 2014

Ridiculously windy drive north today - blowing dust slowed traffic on I5 south of Portland. In many spots all the way past Portland, even my solid car could feel the crosswinds. One could see the blowing ash from Mt. St. Helens from 50 miles away. It wasn't letting off steam, this was the wind playing with the ash. At the Loowit viewpoint, I suspect there were 60-70mph gusts, it was hard to open my car door, not to mention walk.

(phone camera sun flare)

berri · September 2014

Seems like there has been a lot of funky weather related stuff this year. Speaking of smoke, Phoenix may have been one of the most bizarre this year. How many dust storms, raging thunderstorms? The Midwest has had Pacific Northwest weather much of the summer while the PNW has had a lot of unusually hot (for them) stuff. Next thing you know, Chicago will swipe Seattle's mountains to go with the weather!

xwesx · September 2014

Sure makes for a dramatic photo, though! nice shot! I have never been that close to Helens, but I did see it from the air once on my way into Seattle back in the mid-90s. There wasn't a lick of green anywhere for miles on the east side of the mountain (same side, I think, from which you took that photo, yet trees were growing right up the flank on the west.

fintail · September 2014

It's been the endless summer here - I am on the coast now, and it is warmer than inland. But 80 isn't too hot, rather fairly perfect with totally clear skies. Now we just need a nice Chicago snowstorm this winter.
-

berri said:
Seems like there has been a lot of funky weather related stuff this year. Speaking of smoke, Phoenix may have been one of the most bizarre this year. How many dust storms, raging thunderstorms? The Midwest has had Pacific Northwest weather much of the summer while the PNW has had a lot of unusually hot (for them) stuff. Next thing you know, Chicago will swipe Seattle's mountains to go with the weather!

fintail · September 2014

That pic is from Johnston Ridge, on the north side of the mountain, which bore the brunt of the eruption. It's still pretty barren there. When I was a kid, I had a volcano/disaster fixation, and was very interested in St. Helens - too young to remember the eruption, but I remember plenty of ash still on the ground in eastern WA in the 80s. I think the south and west is pretty green, and even north has green now thanks to re-planting, but there are still many bare spots.

xwesx said:
Sure makes for a dramatic photo, though! nice shot! I have never been that close to Helens, but I did see it from the air once on my way into Seattle back in the mid-90s. There wasn't a lick of green anywhere for miles on the east side of the mountain (same side, I think, from which you took that photo, yet trees were growing right up the flank on the west.

Mr_Shiftright · September 2014

I would have guessed Route 50 in NV....looks just like it.

gagrice · September 2014

Took a road trip to downtown San Diego about 32 miles from the house. Been 2-3 years since we went down there. Aside from the traffic we noticed almost every cab was a Prius of one sort or another. Four colors, Black, Red, Yellow and White. No two had the same name. No Yellow cabs as we drove past the airport to our destination, Pt Loma Seafood. One of the better places in San Diego for fish and shrimp. My favorite taxi name was Cozy Cab, a Prius of course. All had the same "leased to driver" on the side. I know the city is debating lifting the cap on the number of Taxi Cabs. Seemed like way more than enough already. Lots of boarded up shops and renovation going on down Broadway. We left out the back way to avoid going through the city twice. Should keep us at least a couple more years. The harbor and boats are nice to see, not worth dealing with the traffic. Leave it for the tourists. We would rather go up the coast to Cardiff, Encinitas or Oceanside. The best fish tacos are in Oceanside at the Harbor Fish & Chips.

http://www.harborfishandchips.net/menu/specialplates.html

stever · September 2014

Those tacos alone look worth the trip. The Pacific fishery is doing weird stuff - they are catching skipjack at the mouth of the Copper R. (NOAA)

Wonder how many cabs will be around when the Ubers saturate the market.

kyfdx · September 2014

Point Loma Seafood was one of our favorite restaurants on our trip to San Diego in 2011. Anchor Steam on tap, too!

gagrice · September 2014

stever said:
Those tacos alone look worth the trip. The Pacific fishery is doing weird stuff - they are catching skipjack at the mouth of the Copper R. (NOAA)

Wonder how many cabs will be around when the Ubers saturate the market.

Bring on the Ahi, Mahi Mahi and Wahoo (Ono). I can take or leave Salmon. My son took his family out of Reedsport Oregon fishing. They caught a lot of black bass, and one of the fishermen gave them two Ling Cod. They put out crab pots going and had several Dungeness crab on the return trip. So they took a cooler full of seafood home. Sounds like they are liking Oregon a lot. I know my son was missing the fresh fish in Indiana.

I never use cabs so no big deal. Hotel shuttle or rental car.

Uber Technologies, the smartphone-summoned car service, must face a consumer lawsuit challenging its 20% gratuity surcharge on rides, handing the embattled company its latest setback as the nascent industry faces legal attack in the U.S. and Europe.

http://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/2014/09/19/uber-must-face-lawsuit-gratuity-surcharge/15848761/

stever · September 2014

Yeah, but I think they have momentum on their side - kind of like the states are slowly caving to Tesla for direct car sales. And watch out for those glow in the dark fish.

gagrice · September 2014

I think the way the currents flow, Alaska is more susceptible to Fukishima than Oregon or CA. Though I don't buy much pacific seafood anymore. Or I turn out all the lights and check it first.

stever · September 2014

Where's our traveler? My friend in Seward just felt a good shake - initial report is that it was a 6.43 magnitude.

xwesx · September 2014

A magnitude six quake in Alaska isn't news. Wake me when it hits 7+, thanks!

LOL

Folks reported feeling it in Fairbanks (which is probably 250 miles north of the epicenter), but I didn't notice. We had a 5.1 a few weeks ago that was pretty close, and I heard the house creak a bit (which caught my attention), but I didn't really feel that one either.

stever · September 2014

LOL, my friend figures that if the siren doesn't go off, he's golden. His big problem will be figuring out which of his 14 boats he'll jump in to ride out the wave. (6.1 or 6.2 now, depending on who you ask - knocked some groceries off the shelf in the MatSu, per KTUU).

Good photo of why you need to nail your bookcases to the wall in earthquake country at ADN.

stever · October 2014

"Road trip" to El Paso (about 40 or so miles down the road). Note that I'm in the far right lane - I accidentally drove into Juárez 40 years ago and I didn't want to make that mistake again.

berri · October 2014

Is that pronounced "Whorez"?

stever · October 2014

More like drug Warez.

imidazol97 · October 2014

stever said:
"Road trip" to El Paso (about 40 or so miles down the road). Note that I'm in the far right lane - I accidentally drove into Juárez 40 years ago and I didn't want to make that mistake again.

That means you're a fast learner!

BTW, is this the exit that the marine took who had 3 guns and he's still being held in Mexico?

stever · October 2014

Haven't heard that story before, but I noticed a couple of signs on the exits to Mexico there about "no guns".

Just searched it - In my case I did a U-Turn on the international bridge and pulled into US Customs. That's probably not possible these days.

And yeah, it took an hour for them to search through the van (back in the day, the "van" was a VW Bus so that didn't help any I'm sure. And as usual, it was packed to the gills).

fintail · October 2014

I am in the mountains of eastern BC today - fall is here, but winter is coming:

berri · October 2014

Good timing - the Seahawks didn't look too good today!

slorenzen · October 2014

berri said:
Good timing - the Seahawks didn't look too good today!

Dallas seems to have really had their number, didn't they?

Fin,

That looks HEAVENLY. Open road, no cars...

berri · October 2014

Fin has a nice road trip cruiser. It's good he takes advantage of it and the beautiful area he lives in for road trips (well, at least until those Weather Channel volcanos and earthquakes happen).

Maybe the Cowboy's dynasty is finally making a comeback. It has been awhile now since those Tom Landry days.

fintail · October 2014

The Trans-Canada wasn't too populated yesterday, especially east of Sicamous, where it really thinned out. Today eastbound traffic was heavy everywhere, holiday here.

And the car is a great road trip cruiser - sometimes I think it is a waste when I am stuck in the daily grind, but taking the car out on the road makes it all worth it. I can't imagine anything other than another modern diesel car that can combine comfort and efficiency so well.

I've never been into football, so I got to be spared the crying if I had been at work today,

berri · October 2014

Oh I'm sure all the Seahawks talk was "who is to blame", "we were ripped off", "it was beyond their control", etc. - just like real life office drama when crap happens

stever · October 2014

Here's one for you @fintail. His classic MB is blue too.

215 countries, 26 years and one engine (thelocal.de)

fintail · October 2014

I've seen that. Now that's old school MB. Nice color, too. Old G-wagens are cool things, before they got all mafia'd out in order to sell to dirty money.

stever said:
Here's one for you @fintail. His classic MB is blue too.

215 countries, 26 years and one engine (thelocal.de)

xwesx · October 2014

stever said:
Here's one for you @fintail. His classic MB is blue too.

215 countries, 26 years and one engine (thelocal.de)

WOW! Now THAT is a road trip! /envy & admiration

stever · October 2014

@gagrice‌, where are you? Sometimes it's good just to hang around the house.

slorenzen · October 2014

I still want that chair...

kyfdx · October 2014

Is the telephone at the top of that pole, Oliver?

stever · October 2014

lol, that particular pole is holding up the porch roof. You don't want to hear about my saga with CenturyLink and my five phone calls, six emails and one chat trying to get internet here. "It's not possible" even though the sellers had it and I have a copy of their recent net bill that I've waived in the phone company's digital face. It might be easier to make a connection by climbing a pole!

gagrice · October 2014

stever said:
LOL, my friend figures that if the siren doesn't go off, he's golden. His big problem will be figuring out which of his 14 boats he'll jump in to ride out the wave. (6.1 or 6.2 now, depending on who you ask - knocked some groceries off the shelf in the MatSu, per KTUU).

Good photo of why you need to nail your bookcases to the wall in earthquake country at ADN.

Just spent a week with my son and family. Grandma and great Grandma came down from Palmer AK. Said it was a good shake but nothing fell off their shelves. You should expect offices to be poorly prepared. Probably City of Anchorage. After leaving 30 degree weather and having perfect 75 degree in October, the whole clan may move to Cottage Grove. What a nice little town. With more covered bridges than you can shake a stick at. We prefer Roseburg or the coast.

Hang on its a big one.

gagrice · October 2014

We had a wonderful 2 weeks on the road. Spent a day with sister in Anderson, CA. Stayed at the Gaia Inn. The Swans had just returned for the winter.

Then on to Crater lake, which was closing for the winter. Still a beautiful site.

The Chipmunks are very entertaining at Crater Lake.

We found a great resort the Village Green in Cottage Grove. It was at one time THE place to stay. Somewhat aged but still very charming. I spent a week without internet in the room. Did a lot of reading and living Internet free. I can do it. The walks at sunrise in the Gardens were wonderful.

Our two grandsons loved the grounds. We had picnics several times. while they played hide and seek. I think they have about 50 acres of gardens to wander. It is one of the Moonstone properties. We already have reservations for April next year.

After spending a day in Roseburg looking at property to buy, we headed to the Coast. I think I could convince my wife to live in a house overlooking this coastline.

slorenzen · October 2014

Bandon is one of my wife's favorite places on the coast. Did you have a chance to walk around the touristy downtown?

Not a lot of industry there, but a nice place to retire...

stever · October 2014

A week without internet? How could you stand it?

Nice country over that way for sure. Look up the exploding whale at Florence OR sometime.

Now we need a report from our shoulder-season Alaska traveler, @euphonium.

fintail · October 2014

Just watch out for tsunamis, Gary! My dad had a place on the WA coast - ended up lasting about 5 years, as the winter weather and lack of local infrastructure did him in.

I am back home now too - rough drive back, hilariously bad border wait (20 mins = 60 mins, due to a border cop who was being both social and way too strict), bad other traffic, rain, etc. I kind of liked the interior of BC, but I like eastern WA, and they are first cousins at the very least.

gagrice · October 2014

slorenzen said:
Bandon is one of my wife's favorite places on the coast. Did you have a chance to walk around the touristy downtown?

Not a lot of industry there, but a nice place to retire...

We went right up the hill to the cliffs overlooking the ocean. Not much into touristy stuff. If we lived in Oregon, I think my wife would enjoy a week or two in Bandon. It would have to be a place with a great view of the ocean. Great place to beat the heat.

I lost track of the covered bridges we crossed. They do have a good number that are still in use.

http://www.vrbo.com/314945

xwesx · October 2014

Covered bridges have a certain undeniable charm about them! Plus, they're rather practical (from the built-to-last era). I mean, I seriously doubt any bridges built in the last 50-60 years have any chance of lasting as long as a covered bridge simply due to their exposure to the weather.

The demise of many a covered bridge was the result of traffic demands as opposed to deterioration.

While on our transcontinental trip, we crossed a bridge on the Yellowhead highway that sat adjacent to its predecessor, which looked like it dated from c1950. I suspect that this bridge was bypassed when the road was expanded to a four-lane divided highway, but, since there were several areas where this expansion included the old bridge on one set of lanes and a new one on the other, we were curious to stop and take a look. This particular bridge was quite beautiful, especially given that it was fully concrete (steel-reinforced). Closer inspection showed that its integrity was definitely compromised due to the deterioration of rebar within the concrete. Solid bridge, but no longer fit for use on a major highway.

Just looking at the changes in bridge-building over time makes one a bit nostalgic for the aesthetics of historical bridges.

Covered Bridge at McConnell's Mill (dates to 1874):

Retired bridge on the Yellowhead Highway, Saskatchewan:

Oh, hey! It is amazing what one can find if you ask the right questions....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borden_Bridge

stever · October 2014

I don't like them. You may as well be driving through a barn.

I would rather look at the river or creek below. Bridges with solid guard rails bother me too because you can't see the water (and canoeists) below.

xwesx · October 2014

stever said:
I don't like them. You may as well be driving through a barn. I would rather look at the river or creek below. Bridges with solid guard rails bother me too because you can't see the water (and canoeists) below.

Well, okay, there is that. However, for the record, *I* would prefer that you look the road ahead as you drive across! As a passenger, I give you leave (this time) to allow your eyes to stray.

Considering the amount of time one spends *on* the bridge vs. around it, it seems like a minor concession. On some covered bridges, the siding is structural. On others, such as the McConnell's Mill bridge, it is not, so that makes one wonder why fully enclosing it was even done. It would provide protection from wind-driven precipitation, so if that accounted for a majority of what fell, I can see it. Personally, I'd go with larger eaves.

stever · October 2014

The Big Mac bridge was fun - you could look down through the decking and see the boat traffic 200' below.

stever · November 2014

Short road trip today. Drove (mostly paralleled on I-25) the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro from home to Albuquerque. Going the other direction would take you to Mexico City. Californians would disagree, but this is the "real" El Camion Real. Then had a great lunch at Lindy's Diner in downtown ABQ, right along Route 66.

gagrice · November 2014

We are on a road trip in Palm Springs. Took the back roads avoiding Interstates. Very little traffic until we got on Hwy 111 that ties all the cities together. Highlight of the trip is the 1000 palms area of the Coachella Valley preserve. Also this evening the Palm Springs Art Museum was free in conjunction with their annual street fair. Good BBQ at Babes and good Thai at Peppers. Weather has been perfect mid 70s all week. You cannot tell their is a drought here. Everything is emerald green. Water running down the streets. That is a fining offense in San Diego.

http://www.coachellavalleypreserve.org/Home.php

kyfdx · November 2014

30 F for a high temperature here, yesterday..

Michaell · November 2014

Hah - got you beat. High was in the teens yesterday. 41 expected today.

My sister in San Diego was thrilled to bring out her fall wardrobe - boots, sweaters, etc. - the other day.

It was 65.

xwesx · November 2014

Well, I'm glad to have shared a little arctic weather with you folks, even if it was only briefly. That's like taking a road trip without even having to set foot in a car!

We were having temperatures above freezing for three days followed by current temperatures still within 15 degrees (below) that magical point of 32-degrees.

fintail · November 2014

26 according to my car on the way to work this morning - that's arctic for Seattle in November.

imidazol97 · November 2014

fintail said:
26 according to my car on the way to work this morning - that's arctic for Seattle in November.

Welcome to Winter. :grin

Road Trip!

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