Category: Personal

Yes, I know this isn’t about art or Mineral King. I hope you enjoy it anyway!

 

 

Yesterday I walked the Lake Tahoe 1/2 Marathon. I’ll tell you about that after I finish going on and on and on about our very long road trip. Today is more about Sandpoint. These could all be considered sources of inspiration, because an artist needs to be continually on the lookout for subject matter and ideas.

I had to do a 10 mile walk while in Sandpoint in preparation for the Lake Tahoe walk. It was very difficult without my walking partner, but the scenery helped as did the level bike path. (The 11 mile bike ride on the previous day probably didn’t help.)

We had planned to do this road trip last spring so that Trail Guy could ski at Schweitzer Mountain. It didn’t work out for the spring, so we rescheduled. During this late summer trip, we visited Schweitzer.

The last morning in the Sandpoint area, we went touring on foot around our Very Very Nice Neighborhood in Dover Bay.

 

Another personal post not about art or Mineral King.

We took a bike ride into Sandpoint. Turned out to be about 11 miles round trip. Not bad for the first time on a bike in several years. Probably the last time on a bike for several weeks. Ow.

There were many berries. Our friend told us that his dad taught him that if berries are blue, they are usually safe, if red they are sometimes safe, and if white, NEVER safe to eat.

The long way was behind us once we reached Sandpoint. This was the view from the porch of the Very Very Nice House where we stayed, actually located in Dover, just three miles north of Sandpoint.

Since I am in training for the Lake Tahoe 1/2 Marathon (October 9!!), I took a fast walk around the neighborhood. I had to retrace my route the next morning with a camera in my pocket, because it was so very beautiful.

Any one of these would make a nice oil painting. Does that make this a business trip?

Another entirely personal post, not about art or Mineral King; however, several of the photos shown could possibly become oil paintings or pencil drawings.

The third day of the very long road trip took us from Salem to Seattle. Seattle has a traffic problem. There is also a signage problem south of Tacoma – the freeway splits into 2 parts without warning or explanation; if you stay left, you can see a sign off to the right that says I-5. This is worrisome if you wished to remain on 5 but find yourself in the lanes going left. This worrisome condition continues for several miles without any reassurance whatsoever. Eventually, you are gifted with the knowledge that you are still on I-5, in spite of the signage showing that I-5 went right. It helps to maintain a sense of direction, and hope that everyone speaks English should you need to ask for directions. A working steering wheel also provides a sense of control during these times of freeway construction and confusion. Maps would help if you had any idea which freeway you got dumped onto.

In northern Oregon or southern Washington, I am always struck by the trees with no branches on their lower trunks.

Here are a few photos of the place we landed, once we arrived at our destination for that day.

We left the next day for Sandpoint, Idaho, caravan style with our Seattle friends. Had to wait until 10 a.m. to avoid traffic. We may have deer, gophers, bugs, excessive heat and a lack of water, but we can leave on a trip whenever we want without considering traffic.

This post will be entirely personal, so feel free to skip it if you only come for art or Mineral King.

Did you know that Israel is 236 miles from north to south?

Recently, Trail Guy and I drove the equivalent of that distance 11 times over, and we only saw parts of 5 of our 50 states.

We live in a HUGE country, people. HUGE.

The first day of the road trip took us up Interstate Five. The further north we went, the easier the traveling became, due to diminishing traffic. (We avoid 99 because it seems as if everyone on that road is trying to kill us.)

The most interesting thing we saw that day was just south of the weird town of Weed: a lot full of rainbow colored water trucks. It is so remarkable that I looked it up online. They don’t have a website, but I found that their name is Truck Village. You can see a photo here.

Weed is quaint. It was named after Abner Weed, not after pot. Mount Shasta dominates the town, but I don’t have photos because the sun was directly over it when I took my morning walk. Here are a few photos showing the quaintness:

Our second day driving took us to our first real destination of Salem, Oregon. That leg of the trip was the shortest driving day and the prettiest. We saw wind machines in a few orchards, something we only associate with citrus in the Central Valley. So, we went exploring to see what needed frost protection, and this was the surprising answer:

Then we detoured to a landmark that I have been enjoying for years as we burn up the petrol along I-5.

It is called “Grave Creek” because of something sad a very long time ago, not because people are serious here.

Salem was all about Golden Delicious apples and making fruit leather. Had to do something while it rained; we had a very enjoyable time with family and apples.

The day after tomorrow I will continue to show and tell about the very long way there, and where “there” is.