It's awful, why would anyone want to see this?

Being facetious of course. 

Over the past couple of weekends, I've continued to walk, drive and climb around on some of the prettiest area of the country.  I've ranged from the Olympic Peninsula, out on Oak Harbor and Whidbey Islands, the Cascade Mountain parks and of course, Mount Rainier.  I probably won't get sick of it anytime soon.

One place I really wanted to get back to was the Wallace Falls State Park area.  It had been 5 years ago when I last visited so I had hoped for some really neat little waterfalls.  However, this is summer and those little streams I remember were nothing more than a drip now so that meant I would have to negotiate the rocky trails with my trusty hiking stick praying I wouldn't sprain an ankle on the imbedded rocks.

After a nice hike, I had the opportunity to rest at the edge of the water at small falls about 2 miles up.  Very nice even though I had a lot of visitors doing so.

Another spot was Deception Pass, north of Seattle and separates Whidbey and Fidalgo Islands.  Deception Pass has a dark history, including smuggling Chinese illegals.  Seriously, read about it here.

The tide going in and out through the pass is so strong, it has it's own waves and I could see some smaller boats struggling against the current.

Completed in July of 1935, the Deception Pass Bridge connecting the islands is another steel marvel.

I've long been a sucker for sunsets and small waterfalls.  Yes, the big 100'+ falls are grand but I just love sitting near small falls and hear the rush of the water.  On my way to another spot on Mount Rainier, I found myself stopping often, sometimes crawling up under a low bridge and scooting around on the rocks.

My favorite thing is slow shutter speeds that result in a "foamy" look to the rushing water as it spills over the rocks.

Bridges are everywhere and I can't resist the stop.

 
































Often, you would make a turn just to see another shot at Mount Rainier, sometimes with meadows; sometimes with trees but the presence was always around another switchback.

Over and over again, beautiful falls.  This one is Christine Falls.  There's a bridge above the apparent one that you may not be able to make out here.

If truth be told, the chief reason for going up today was an image I'd seen on the internet called Reflection Lakes.  The article had said to go in July so the flowers would be blooming.  Perhaps I'd not paid any attention to the accessibility that was mentioned.  Somehow, I had in my mind that I was going to have a 3 mile round trip hike for this.

Nope...drove right up to it.  As a matter of fact, If I had so minded, I could have taken this picture from the drivers' seat of the car if all the other tourists would not have gotten in my way.

After picking up a pair of geezers who had hiked up a distance and were worn out, I deposited them a couple of miles downhill at a parking lot.  I pretty much had put the camera away until I drove through the little town of Elbe, Washington.  Here  there was an entire business community of espresso shops, one gas station and a whole train that had been converted into a hotel and inn.  I'm not so sure how many people actually stayed in the thing but for a Sunday after Independence Day, it was wrapped up with motorcyclists, bicyclists and a host of Washington style rednecks with pickup trucks. Yep, I felt right at home. Maybe the Hobo Inn wasn't so bad.

I'm looking forward to Ms Darlene coming out soon to see this.  Thanks, Mr. Jones.

Still in Washington

After a whirlwind trip back home for a family reunion, I'm back in Washington and probably will be for another 5 weeks.

Although it's a long flight out here and you do get sorta cramped up with the ride, it's still nice to look out and see landmarks like Mount Rainier as you come in.

Some days when I drive in to Enumclaw, it's not visible at all but for the past few days, it really has been nice here so I'll post a lot of pictures of Rainier while the sun is still shining making the flowers (weeds) in the fields really glow.

The cattle seem to be OK with it too.

Further up the mountain, bicyclists, sports car enthusiasts and motorcyclists can't resist a sunny day either.

In 1889, Seattle was mostly a harbor town built from the abundance of wood available.  The streets had problems with flooding and when they dumped the sewerage into the Puget Sound, the tides would bring it back in.  On June 6 of that year, a cabinet maker was making a vat of glue which overturned and ignited which spread and destroyed the town.  At least that's what I got out of it but you can read about it here.

Immediately, they set on a plan to rebuild, this time with brick stone and mortar.  Realizing they would eventually have the same problems with flooding they commanded that all new buildings should be built with no less than two stories.  With that in mind, as finances came available, they built up the streets one story higher than the ground floors.   So now, there is an abandoned underground portion of the city that is open for tours.

The original underground sidewalks had a series of skylights that illuminated the subterranean sidewalks.  It should be noted, some others on the tour also had a "dim" view of my "earthquake" quip.

Eventually, the below ground store entrances were abandoned.  Today, there are a couple of tour companies that will take you down (for a modest fee) and deliver an entertaining experience which ironically ends (of all places) in their gift shop.  Imagine that.

Another great attraction is the downtown Public Market.

Here you can find fresh produce, fresh salmon and several restaurants.

Also, along Pike Place is the original Starbucks which always seem to have a folk band outside to entertain the very long line of people are willing to wait to get into the place.  It's not like you can't find a Starbucks on every other corner.

In a vain attempt to get away from the maddening crowds, there's also an option of going over to West Seattle to check out all the people who have the same idea as you.  It's never ending a parade of traffic attempting to find a place to park.

Great sundowns looking across at Bainbridge Island.   Before I leave I hope to get up there.

At this time of the year, you have to wait pretty late for it to be dark enough to see the city lights.

On yet another island I checked out just this weekend is Worden State Park on Wilson Point which has a decommissioned lighthouse.  You can see Mount Baker behind it probably 50 miles to the north.

This is definitely an interesting place with plenty to see and do, at least for some.  This is a place with a huge homeless population.  Old downtown common areas smell like urine, many neutral spaces have homeless encampments and you'll even see tents under the overpasses.

They say it's been there all along

I have been working in Enumclaw, Washington for a week now and this is my first glimpse of Mount Rainier. 

If I move my head just right, squint and look through the trees, I have my own view of this mountain from my office. 

Western Washington is well renowned for being wet for which I will attest.

Back to it again

After 3 weeks at home without an assignment, I am finally back at it again, slinging luggage around, hassling  over rental cars, flights and hotels as well as the general airport check in confusion.

At New Orleans airport I arrived to see over a hundred flyers being serviced by 3 or 4 gate agents rendering a lot of people angry over the fear they would miss a flight.

Most were tourists who rarely flew and a couple still drunk and probably had not slept.  Many were confused over the check in process and became somewhat vocal about it. A couple of the gate agents took the bait and got caught up in the exchange.

Once through the bag check, I sauntered through the pre-check lane garnering a couple of curious glances from those who perhaps wondering how I managed to get through the lines so quickly. 

Anyway, I enjoyed my time at home but it's time to get back to work.

Hello Enumclaw  (Seattle ).

Concealed carry?......pftt....wimp

I had just gassed up at a Racetrac near the airport and went in to enjoy the facilities when I noticed a late 20s / early 30s female wearing a pair of painted on Miss Me jeans and...a Glock.  Nothing concealed here.

Moving around the coffee bar to get another glimpse, I couldn't see a badge on the belt as I normally do when I see cops wearing pistols exposed.  Since I was in an "Open Carry" state I wasn't really alarmed but have to admit it was an unusual occurrence, especially on a young(ish) female.

As I went back to my car, two separate police cars drove up.  This gets my attention.  There was also a red bearded homeless guy sitting on the sidewalk next to the door being extremely cheerful to everyone that passed by and even threw up his hands  at the first cop who completely ignored him.

So now, armed with all kinds of information (homeless guy, girl with Glock, two policemen) that I need to process, I crank up the car, pull out my phone and get the camera ready.

Possibilities include the homeless guy getting arrested but more the idea that somehow the folks at the gas station had called in a complaint. and I would be ready for the excitement that might ensue.

After waiting for 4 or 5 minutes, I could see the armed woman paying for her items through the window.  Another minute or so, out comes one of the cops with a donut and coffee.  The redheaded homeless guy says something to the cop again and still, no reaction other than getting in his cruiser and driving off.

In another minute, the girl walks out, ignores the bum and gets into her Dodge Challenger.

So much for excitement at the Racetrac in Baton Rouge.

Memorial Day 2015

Early this morning, I shoved a very full garbage can out to the street and wondered if there would be a trash pickup today, since it was Memorial Day.

Reflecting on that, I made my mind up that I would observe it in the manner in which it was intended.  Looking up various locations for the observance on the internet, I chose Baton Rouge for partly selfish reasons.  Selfish reasons were mostly the chance to ride Boudreaux II up old River Road, a nice peaceful drive.

It was a sunny day yet cool in my short sleeves.  As I rode north up by the levee, disturbing the occasional egret and crane in the water filled ditches, I passed strings of bicyclists who motioned for me to pass. With hardly any motorized traffic and the cool wind in my face, I felt as if the world was mine alone.

With that in mind, I began to think of the blessing I had received over the years and how nothing is truly free.  I thanked Almighty God for what seemed to be the obvious things but also thought about how even though His Son had died for my salvation, there were others who had sacrificed their own lives so that I could ride down a road and enjoy life without recourse.

Other than one distant cousin that I barely knew, I had not known anyone who had given the ultimate sacrifice for his country.

The Bible tells us there will be wars and rumors of wars and the past couple of decades have proved this to be true.  Some wars seem justified and some don't but at the time, I suspect even those wars seemed to be justified.  Politics have a way of changing the relevancy of events to suit current passions.

Anyway, I arrived at the USS Kidd near the I-10 bridge in Baton Rouge where a small group of people were gathered to pay homage to those who had fallen.  A half dozen speakers including Gold Star family members and politicians gave short speeches amounting to 45 minutes of ceremony.

There was even a guy playing bagpipes ( I still don't understand the kilt thing) and what was a probably a Korean War veteran who played taps.  Thinking the taps rendition was the end of it, I began walking down the levee back toward my bike only to hear another speaker tap the microphone.

At least I did stop and bow my head when I heard someone offering a benediction.

Really, I thought taps always signaled the end to it all.

Of course, it's a big deal !

This past Saturday my brother, Ricky Albritton was graduated from La Tech University in Ruston, LA.  Some may shrug and say, "What's the big deal?...lots of people graduate every year."

In this day and time (I sound kinda ancient with that phrase) it's taken for granted that we'll be off to some university right out of high school where we gather up scholastic credentials and embark on our path to success in a chosen career.

I do not wish to diminish the achievements of those who graduated from college in a timely fashion; kudos to them, but sometimes the idyllic direction finds itself sidetracked by life's events and it just doesn't work out that way.

Even though Rick did not graduate in the traditional time frame, he had already proved his success time after time, being an Eagle Scout, a leader in his community, raised a family, established himself as businessman in his home town, a Master SCUBA Diver and a successful partner with Edward Jones Investments.  I think that his graduation after the fact simply emphasizes his determination and resolve.

It goes without saying that his wife Debbie has been instrumental in the many successes in his life and his whole family is successful.

The May23, 2015 graduation is simply a validation of all his accomplishments for the world to see and perhaps a moment for his friends and family to say, "Well done."

Congratulations Rick, I love you.

Leaving Arizona

After six weeks, I am out of here.  Well, maybe not so fast.

As we walked out on the tarmac to board the plane, there was a pretty stiff wind blowing, pelting us with a mix of sleet, snow, graupel and a splattering of rain. That with a temperature of 36 global warming degrees made me question if this really was the month of May.  I believe it is supposed to be in the mid 80s at home.

Just as we were taxiing out, the pilot announced we would be going back to the terminal to be de-iced.  

I am not complaining.

Along Route 66

As my tenure in northern Arizona is about to come to an end, I thought I'd mention a few other sites I've managed to see while here.  The place is scattered with National Parks and National Monuments.

What's the difference between a park and monument you may ask. Well, without getting into getting into a bureaucratic discussion, it's a distinction between a congressional vote and a presidential designation. National monuments are designated by a presidential order and protects things like historical places such as Muir Woods, Ford's Theater, Mount Rushmore and ancient ruins.  Congress designates things like Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon and so forth.

All across northern Arizona, the place is dotted with things worth protecting. For example, when the Petrified Forest was publicized, train loads of people flocked to the area, hauling off petrified wood by the tons and destroyed much of it before it became protected.

Today, you can drive into the "forest" and take all the photos you like but don't even think about picking up a chunk of it.

All this is within the Painted Desert, a wide area that spans across Navajo country.  As part of the auto tour, you can enter into the park either from the southern side by exiting off I-40/Route 66 at Holbrook or from the northern end on I-40 at exit 311.  there's also a trip through the Navajo and Hopi reservations if you're into a self guided trip up highway 77.

Either way, you're in for some unusual colors.

Further east, (no national parks or anything) lies Winslow, Arizona.  Remember the Eagles hit, Take It Easy that mentions "Standin' on a corner in Winslow, Arizona.....it's a girl, my Lord, in a flat bed Ford, slowin' down to take a look at me...." I loved the Eagles.

Yep, they have a corner there complete with a statue and the flatbed Ford with a bar across the street  blaring Eagles music, all right there on the old Route 66.

Back nearer to Flagstaff, there's Walnut Canyon National Monument.  It is the former home of cliff dwellers who lived in the layers of the canyon walls for quite a while.

If I have my facts correct, the layers above a limestone base is around 180 feet form the canyon rim  to the base and pueblo dwellings can be seen all along both sides of the canyon in 6 or so layers.

Unfortunately, the mini ice age appeared in the 12th century changing weather patterns for a few decades causing droughts, sending the Indians off for better water resources.

This too, was one of the places that 19th century tourism openly promoted the pillage of artifacts.  so with that, it became a national monument as well as the Sunset Crater volcano crater and the Wupatki Navajo pueblos.

I must mention Meteor Crater also on Route 66.  Unfortunately, I went to visit there and they were closing within a few minutes and their guided tour had already stopped.  It is a commercial venture but if I get a chance to get out there before I leave, I believe it's worth a couple of hours.



According to their information, an asteroid hit the earth 50,000 years ago, estimated at 26,000 mph, leaving a crater over 500 feet deep and a mile across.  I bet that kicked up a pile of dust for a few days.

Anyway, if you think all this place is nothing but snakes and lizards, you are sadly mistaken.

It is rife with artifacts and history beyond your imagination.