Ken's World

Camp Christmas

2011-12-24T06:47:00.000-08:00

We'd never visited Camp Alpine during the winter, so we decided to go check it out.

We had the place to our selves. The drained pond was sporting a layer of grass, with frost still remaining in the shade. The salamanders were snug in their beds.

It got cold quickly after the sun went down. Luckily there was plenty of firewood.

It has been an uncharacteristically dry winter, and we had another clear night. We spotted the space station pass by. The Soyuz capsule docked the day before and six humans will be spending Christmas orbiting earth this year. With all the solar panels, it becomes the brightest object in the sky for a few minutes. If you want to try spotting it, I published a how-to at Instructables.

After some hot chocolate and listening to Cinnamon Bear on the radio, we declared "mission complete" and returned home to our warm beds. The caretakers gave us a plate of Christmas treats to take home. I'm sure they were glad to have some company, even if only for a short while.

With stories like this, who need fiction?

2011-12-05T18:27:00.000-08:00

I just finished reading an amazing story about a WWII plane crash in a remote valley in New Guinea called Lost in Shangri-La. The rescue of the three survivors takes weeks and involves paratroopers, a film maker, and some creative thinking.

I won't spoil the ending, but if you watch the video, you'll know how it turned out.

This ranks up there with some of my other favorite great adventure tales such as Two Wheels North, The Long Walk, We Die Alone, and Assault in Norway.

T-day in Idaho

2011-11-25T07:48:00.000-08:00

Fall Fireworks

2011-11-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

These are the trees outside my window at work. I've watched them change colors for three years now since moving to my new position. This year I took some photos and stitched them in to a time lapse sequence for you to enjoy as well.

I especially like the shade of red the maple on the right turns. I'm amazed at the amount of change that occurred on a day-to-day basis. Now I can't wait for Spring.

What are your strengths?

2011-11-04T18:30:00.000-07:00

At work they've had us take a test so that we can focus on our strengths. Here is what they told me my strengths are:

Ideation, fascinated by ideas and able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.
Restorative, adept at dealing with problems, good at figuring out what is wrong and resolving it.
Deliberative, take serious care in making decisions or choices and anticipate the obstacles.
Input, craving to know more and like to collect and archive all kinds of information.
Belief, having certain core values that are unchanging and that defined purpose for their life.

Not surprisingly, my bottom strengths involve empathy, relating, winning people over, command, and competition. So, I'm not a people person or good at leading. Good thing I got out of the Navy and am not in marketing or HR.

You can try this test for yourself at http://richardstep.com/self-tests/.

Obligatory Halloween Fotos

2011-10-31T19:30:00.000-07:00

Church History Tour - Day Twelve

2011-10-01T21:01:00.000-07:00

Everyone seemed to be up early and in good spirits for our last day together. I grabbed photos of the few that I hadn't got good portraits of yet. This included my crew.

Our first stop was with Farmer Bob Brown at Mt. Pisgah. He owns 1600 acres and has identified numerous wagon trails, home sites, and cemeteries from the Saints stay there. He gave us a demonstration of using two bent rods to locate "disturbances" in the earth. He was pretty good at it, and had all of use walking around the hill side with rods pointing this way and that.

Farmer Brown showed us a hedge apple from a Osage orange tree, the Shag Bark Hickory tree, and what the poisonous nut called a Buckeye looked like. He then loaded us up on a trailer pulled by a tractor to give us a first-hand look at some of the trail ruts and home sites.

After the wagon ride, we had a brief testimony meeting there at the pioneer monument. Then it was on to Afton for a lunch put on by Methodist ladies' auxiliary.

I spent the morning frantically trying to get a playable DVD burned of the
first eleven days. I kept getting errors on the disk and when I played them on the bus entertainment system, they skipped badly. I tried a different program and got a playable copy for everyone to watch. I then began burning copies as fast as possible (7 minutes a piece) in hopes of getting a copy for everyone before we parted.

The last stop for the whole group was at Winter Quarters. Like Nauvoo, they have built a temple since I was here last. We watched a movie at the visitor center and then visited the pioneer grave yard. We then returned to the visitor center to look around, with me carrying the laptop around, popping a new disk in every seven minutes.

As with most places, we were short on time. The missionaries have always been very good at tailoring their message to what ever time we had available. From there it was a short trip to the airport. I managed to get everyone a disk with one left over. It was a "fishes and loaves" moment for me, and I was I was able to share the videos with everyone so they should share their experiences with their friends and family. About 15 of us, most headed to Portland, split off to catch our planes while the remainder continued on to visit the Kanesville Tabernacle and return for a later flight. After twelve days together, it was a bit wrenching to part with our new friends.

From Omaha, we ironically flew east to Chicago to catch a flight to Portland. By now we had the drill down pat. In Chicago we bumped in to the parents of a ward member who were flying out to meet them. It really is a small world.

The final flight was thirty minutes late at takeoff, but somehow they made up the time in the air and we were on the ground in Oregon by 10:30 pm.
In Portland, Brenda's and our van magically showed up thanks to Mike's parents. We loaded up and were home just after midnight.

Church History Tour - Day Eleven

2011-09-30T05:11:00.000-07:00

Our final day in Nauvoo began with a visit to nearby Carthage Jail. On the drive over, the tour director sang a heart-felt rendition of a Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief.

The mood at Carthage was somber. This was the first time in the trip I really wished we were in smaller groups, but we felt the spirit just the same. I asked about the blood spot on the floor I remember from before. I was told President Kimball asked that it be removed.

We returned to Nauvoo and did some shopping in the upper district. We returned to Nauvoo Park for our final meal there to find a cake for Eldon's birthday. He seemed pleased. For gifts he got a book on the Mountain Meadows Massacre and American Moses.

We were set free to finish our visit and spent time at the print shop and Browning's house and gunshop. We finished by walking the Trail of Tears down Parley Street to the monument near the river the commemorates the saints that died on the plains. Then, like the saints, we loaded our wagon and left Nauvoo, headed west.

On the bus, we sang "Come, Come ye Saints" near the spot where William Clayton wrote it. We stopped in Garden Grove, Iowa, for a dinner put on by the Iowas Trails Association. Although there are no members there, the town's identity is closely aligned with the saints as evidenced by the Mormon Trail High School name and fight song, "When the Saints Go Marching In".

We finished the day for a short drive to Osceola where we stayed in an Inn next to a, wait for it . . ., Wal Mart! We were back in the twenty-first century.

Church History Tour - Day Ten

2011-09-29T21:26:00.000-07:00

At the Nauvoo Inn, we had a nice buffet breakfast in a large meeting room. It was nice to not be bouncing off each other.

The first stop of the day was at the Joseph Smith home, which is owned by the Community of Christ. They gave us a tour before opening so as not to disrupt other visitors, and the guide was knowledgeable and enthusiastic. This is where the graves of Joseph and Hyrum were relocated to.

We returned to the LDS Visitor center to get tickets for the carriage and wagon tours and to get our game plan together. We got dropped of near the Post Office, and began our explorations with the School House, Brick Yard, and Blacksmith Shop while others spread out across Nauvoo to their points of interest.

Around lunch time, we caught the bus back to Nauvoo park. The same company catered all our meals here, and they were pretty good.

After lunch, we took a carriage ride, looked at the quilts in cultural hall, and visited the Family Living Center where they had several looms and were demonstrating a triangular loom for shawls.

We ventured the long walk to the Sarah Granger Kimball home. She organized making shirts for the temple workers which lead to the formation of the Relief Society.

We made a quick tour of Brigham Young's home before meeting the rest of the group for an after-hours tour of the Red Brick store, where we sang Praise to the Man in the second story meeting room.

The final trip of the night was out to the Old Nauvoo Cemetery where we visited the grave of Laura Clark Phelps who helped the prophet hide from the mob once and also helped her husband escape from jail on one occasion.

We got back to the motel by 7:30, the earliest time so far in the trip, with plenty of time to unwind and swim.

Church History Tour - Day Nine

2011-09-28T19:56:00.000-07:00

While waiting for two tour members who had slept in, we took the bus down to a marker by the Mississippi river commemorating the arrival of the displaced saints in friendly Quincy.

From the prospering town of Quincy we drove to the rather dismal Warsaw. I gave a reading of a first person account of mobs coming and going to Carthage in front of the inn where the mob met before and after killing the Prophet and Hyrum. The guide reports that no members currently live in Warsaw.

From Warsaw, we drove north along the Mississippi until the temple came in view on the bluff overlooking the river. It was an amazing site. We did a quick drive through Navuoo to see where the hotel was, and then doubled back to the LDS Visitor Center.

At the Visitor Center, we watched a short film, spent some time looking at the exhibits, and spending some time in the Woman's Garden. The flowers were beautiful, but they were scrubbing and waxing the statues, which was a bit odd to see. Apparently they have to do it twice a year, and we just happened to be there at the right time.

We boarded the bus for Nauvoo Park, where we had a catered lunch in the pavilion. This is not too far from where we camped when we visited before.

After lunch, it was time for a temple session. Most of us had been wearing church clothes all day, and the temple provide clothing for the session. There were four people doing baptisms, and Eldon and I helped out there with me doing the baptism and dad doing most of the confirmations. The font is beautiful, and located "with an few feet" of the original. There is a marvelous stain-glass picture of John baptising Christ across from the stairs to the font.

Since the baptism session was quicker than the other group, we went across the street to the Traveler Assistance Center. It is set up with several different lobbies for people to wait or shower after traveling. We watched a few videos before joining the other group. I was a bit jealous to find they had been allowed to climb up to the bell tower, but one sister had gotten permission to photograph both the view and the bell.

We returned to the park for another meal catered by the same company. Buffets seem to be a distance memory, and no one was complaining. Following dinner, we went down to the Cultural Center for a play put on by the missionaries. We made up about 3/4 of the audience, and the missionaries put on a good show for us.

Following the play, it was time to check in to the motel. We got to our room in time enough for the girls to swim with Noah. The internet connection was so poor I was unable to get my video uploaded till the following morning!

Church History Tour - Day Eight

2011-09-28T18:08:00.000-07:00

We started the day at the Far West Temple site. Sheryl and Eldon read parts and Brenda sang a beautiful rendition of Be Still My Soul in the cool morning air.
North of Far West, the Gallatin Courthouse is where a fight broke out between the mob and Mormons trying to vote. This violence was part of the build up that led the the Mormon War and the Saints expulsion from Missouri. On the way to Gallatin, they showed my video of the highlights of the first week.

We had a catered lunch in a motorcycled theme restaurant called Cycles in small town of Gallatin. It was a nice change after a long streak of boxed lunches.

Adam-ondi-Ahman is a site along the east bluffs above the Grand River in Daviess County, Missouri. It is the site where Adam and Eve lived after being expelled from the Garden of Eden. It will also be a gathering spot for a meeting of the priesthood leadership, including prophets of all ages and other righteous people, prior to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

We had a long transit east from Adam-ondi-Ahman to Hannibal along the Mississippi. To pass the time, some people shared stories about their pioneer ancestors. Janeil had written about Jacob Foutz and Henry White for Sheryl and I read.

We had a brief stop in Hannibal, which is the birthplace of Mark Twain. We were left to our own devices for a hour, and Rachel and I walked along Main Street and visited a county museum while Robin climbed a nearby hill to a lighthouse overlooking the river with Noah, the other youth on the trip.

For a change of pace, we checked in to our hotel in Quincy before dinner. It was raining, so we rode the bus several blocks to the Patio Restaurant where we had a nice family style dinner of fried chicken and roast beef.

After dinner we had a short lecture by Dr. David Costigan on the significant of the Douglas-Lincoln debate that occurred in Hannibal. This was the turning point in Lincoln's langusing campain.

From there it was short trip to the hotel, and we arrived in time for Robin to get some swimming in with Noah.

Church History Tour - Day Seven

2011-09-26T20:36:00.000-07:00

Sunday we packed up the bus and drove to Independence, Missouri where the Lord had revealed that Zion was to be built. We gathered on the grass field where a stone marks the corner where the temple is to be built and had a short program in which Rachel and Eldon read parts. From there it is only a couple of blocks to the LDS chapel where we joined a sacrament meeting with the Kansas City Blue Hills Ward.

After the service we had lunch on the lawn and then walked to the LDS Visitor Center. A lot of the material was review of sites we had already seen, but the Sister Missionaries did sing "I know that my Redeemer Lives" for us in front of the status of Christ which was very touching.

Just across the street is the Community of Christ Temple. It is a magnificent building that spirals into the air and has a Japanese garden in its center. The Community of Christ was formed after the death of the Prophet and has about a quarter-million members world-wide. The presidency followed the lineage of Joseph Smith up until the current leader, and they have ordained two women as apostles. The fact that we have a common source of belief, but have drifted so far apart in doctrine, illustrates why there are so many religions and diverse views in the world.

In Richmond, Missouri, we visited a monument to Colonel Alexander Doniphan,
a prominent citizen who was a commander of Missouri Mounted Volunteers in the War with Mexico. He saved the life of Joseph and Hyrum by defying a direct oder to execute them. He never joined the church, but was received as hero on a later visit to Salt Lake City.

Richmond is also the location of the graves of Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer, two of the three witnesses of the Book of Mormon. All three left the church, but none recounted their testimony of seeing an angel and handling the gold plates.

At Liberty, they have built a recreation of the jail in which Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, Hyrum Smith, and three other church leaders were held during the bitter winter of 1838 - 1839. The missionaries gave a great presentation, and the tour leader read from D&C Section 102, revelations received during these dark times.

We had the opportunity to stop and see the Kansas City Temple which is still under construction just as the sun was setting, providing a beautiful backdrop.

We had another late buffet dinner in Kansas City and made it to the motel in time for Robin to get some swimming in with Noah, the other youth on the trip, and for me to get a load of laundry done while working on getting the blog up to date.

Church History - Day Six

2011-09-25T20:34:00.000-07:00

We awoke from our second night in Concord Township near Kirtland and packed for our flight.

First stop of the day was a stone quarry, which is about two miles south of Kirtland, where sandstone was cut for the Kirtland Temple. The quarry area was actually in the riverbed which must have made hammering it out a bit interesting.

We also stopped briefly across from the Lorenzo Snow home which is currently a private residence. As we sang Oh, My Father (on the bus) a dog came out in the yard to either sing along or warn us off.

The Johnson Farm is about 25 miles south of Kirtland and is another place the Prophet made as his home for a short while. It has a beautiful farm house where they have restored the original colors which were identified during restoring.

We had a late lunch at a Chinese buffet in Parma. Buffets are perfect places for tours because they usually have reserved area and we can all get our food rather quickly. This one had a number of unusual items like octopus, pig ear, and roasted beef stomach.

We returned to the Cleveland Airport for our flight to Chicago. We had to bid a fond goodbye to our tour guide and his family, as well as the bus driver and his wife. They had both become like family during our brief time together. In all, 18 people separated from the main group, including Neil and Pam. We were to meet the mew tour guide and the remainder of our group, which included Mike, in Kansas City.

We had a short flight into Chicago, a two hour layover, and another short flight to Kansas City where we met the new tour director Mike, a bishop from Salt Lake City, and John, the bus driver from Kansas City. It was a short drive to the hotel. John, who spends 200 days a year on the road, got to sleep in his own bed for the night.

Church History - Day Five

2011-09-24T13:33:00.000-07:00

A little latter start time, and not having to load the luggage on the bus, made for a pleasant start to the day.

Our first stop was Fairport Harbor on Lake Erie. It was overcast and windy, whipping the waves up like a normal day at the Oregon Coast. We stopped for pictures at the nearby lighthouse, and I couldn't locate my camera. After a brief search on the bus, I convinced them to return to the shore where I retraced my steps. We gave up, assuming it must be on the bus shomewhere. At the next stop, it was located in an overhead bin a few rows up, misplaced there by me, and I was quite embarrassed.

In Kirtland, we started with a visit to the Isaac and Lucy Morley Farm where Joseph and Emma lived for a time and where Josphep received numberous revelations. We met the another Mormon Heritage tour group at the Kirtland visitor center where we had a presentation by author (and other tour guide) Karl Anderson on the importance of the area.

Next, we went to the Kirtland Visitor Center where the Newel K. Whitney house and store are located. This is where Joseph and Emma lived for a while and where the School of the Prophets occured. The Church spent signiciant money and effort to get the road rerouted around the area so that the exibits, which include a sawmill and ashery can be visited safely. They have also put in a sidewalk up to the temple site.

The Kirtland Temple is owned by the Church of Christ, who have also made some significant improvements which include a new visitor center. They showed us a video, following which the curtains on large windows were drawn to reveal the temple, nicely framed by beautiful greenery.

The Temple is a remarkable piece of architecture both in size and workmanship. It was one of the largest buildings in Ohio when built. They asked us not to photograph the inside, but did let us sing The Spirit of God in the assembly hall, and I noticed the guide singing along with us. Janiel played piano and Brenda led. It was a marvelous experience.

Our final night together (as the first tour section), we were spared another buffet and instead had pizza delivered to the Kirtland Stake Center. It was a nice way to relax after a hectic day.

Church History - Day Four

2011-09-24T02:31:00.000-07:00

First stop of the day was the Smith homesite near the Susquehanna River where a good deal of the Book of Mormon was translated. The bus driver exibited some extrodiany skill in backing the bus up a half-mile on a muddy road so that we could walk down near the river where Joseph and Oliver went often to pray. The driver Dan and his wife sang Sweet Hour of Prayer for us there along the bank of the river.

We then had a fun stop at a grocery store near Binghamton to stock up on goodies and eat lunch.

In Elmira, NY, we had stopped at Elmira College for a short talk on Mark Twain, whose wife was from there. Mark Twain travelled to Salt Lake City and had some humorous, if unflattering, things to say about the Mormons. On the campus they have the eight-sided study his sister-in-law built for him where Tom Sawyer, among others, was written. We continued the session at Mark Twain's grave.

We had a long transit from Elmira, New York, to Erie, Pennsylvania, which we passed quickly as we took turns introducing ourselves. It is quite a diverse group with members from New Zeland, Austraila, and Cananda. A good portion are from Utah, and most are retired, but there are several mother-daughter teams. The introductions were followed by a quiz. The question for me was "who is pretending to be a batchelor because his wife is afraid to fly?" I also burned a DVD and previewed the first three days of video for everyone on the bus's DVD system.

We had a buffet dinner in Erie, and then got back on the bus for another hour and a half ride to Kirtland, Ohio. We arrived after 10 p.m., but by now had the key/luggage/room drill down and were quickly settled in for the night.

Church History - Day Three

2011-09-23T04:15:00.000-07:00

Day three began early so we could enjoy the Sacred Grove to ourselves (all 50 of us). The bus driver Dan and his wife Jessica sang a beautiful traditional hymn for us, which is remarkable because they are non-members. We spent some time wandering the peaceful trails through the grove. Later, when the visitor center opened, we toured the Joseph Smith log home and the frame home they built later.

Just North of the Smith farm, we visited the Grandin Print Shop in Palmyra, NY, where the first printing of the Book of Mormon occured. It is a three story structure, and the Church has managed build a vistor center around it while maintaining the historic exterior appearance.

The Palmra Temple is visible from the Smith farm, and reportedly contains a clear glass window so the farm can be viewed from the temple. We traveled to the temple grounds and posed for a group photo in front before mingling about the grounds. It is fairly recent and has some beautiful stain glass windows.

The Hlll Cumorah, where the Gold Plates were revealed, is nearby and the bus dropped us off near the top. We had a brief program at the top where a large statue of Moroni is placed, and then walked down the trail to the visitor center.

Dinner was a Chinese buffet at Vestal, NY, and we headed to the hotel in nearby Johnson City, arriving late, ready for bed.

Church History - Day Two

2011-09-21T19:28:00.000-07:00

Our first full day together started at a luxurious 9:00 a.m. for those of us with jet lag (everyone!). The first agenda item was the Maid of the Mist boat tour which was quite exciting and wet. We also got some touristy shoping out of the way at the city of Niagra by the Lake.

We returned to the US and began the Church History Tour in ernest in the Mendon, NY, area where Brigham Young and Heber Kimball had homes. The Mendon cemetery contains the graves of Brigham's first wife, Mariam, as well as Heber C. Kimball's father Solomon.

We had a catered Italian dinner in a former church that Brigham Young attened. After dinner, we had a short program at Miriams grave under the stars and then headed for the hotel in Victor, NY.

Church History Tour - Day 1

2011-09-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

"All good adventures begin before dawn," is something I always tell the girls. This adventure started at 3:00 a.m. so we could pick up Grandpa, Grandma, Sheryl, and Jonathan, and make a 7:00 flight out of Portland. We met Brenda, Neil, and Pam at the airport while Mike and a friend shuttled our vehicles back.

We changed flights at Midway Field in Chicago, an airport I had never been through. Our second flight landed in Buffalo, NY, another new airport for me. We met the rest of the tour, already on the bus, and after a brief head count, departed for Niagara Falls.

The border crossing was interesting. There was a line of tour buses waiting, and when I was our turn, we had to unload and present our passports to the agents. Every one got asked one of several questions: What is your citizen ship, how long are you staying, and do you have any weapons?

Back on the bus, we travelled toward a Las Vega's like city-scape. We had a buffet dinner at a restaurant within a stones throw of the falls. It was already dark, and after dinner we drove along the falls which were lit with colored lights.

At the hotel, we unloaded luggage, got our room key (card) from the assigned "Key Sheriff", and headed up to our room.

Adventures of a Wandering Man

2011-09-18T15:57:00.000-07:00

I've been following adventures of Jay, who has been traveling, and living in, --wait for it--, a tan 1985 Westfalia. When I found out he was passing through our neck of the woods, I invited him to stop by and camp out in our driveway for a night.

He lost his job as a university professor, and his house to a fire, and has spent all summer exploring the country before looking to set any roots back down. His Westy is named "Walden", and the dashboard sports a copy of Henry David Thoreau's book of the same name. Thoreau said, "A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone", and Jay is quite rich at the moment.

He is blogging his adventure, and my favorite post to date details his attempt to infiltrate Canada. His blog even shows where he is at minute-to-minute, on a page appropriately titled "Stalk Me", which made it easy to figure out when he was going to show up.

The Ward had a baptism that Robin wanted to attend, and "when in Rome" was Jay's response to the invitation to come along. The missionaries showed a short video after the baptism on thankfulness, in which Dallin H. Oaks talked about adversity:

When we understand this principle, that God offers us opportunities for blessings and blesses us through our own adversities and the adversities of others, we can understand why He has commanded us again and again to “thank the Lord thy God in all things”.

Jay is a great example of handling adversity, and I am thankfull we had the chance to meet him and offer him some hospitality. He was a superb guest, and kept Ann Marie quite entertained. In the morning, we fed him pancakes, let him shower, and sent him on his way. I can tell from his website that he made it to the coast already.

A Westy owner will always have friends.

Another soda bottle rocket flight with telemetry and video

2011-09-16T20:58:00.000-07:00

Stephanie verses the Coquina

2011-09-15T08:11:00.000-07:00

I was helping June edit some video she is working on. It contained this little gem. Who does it remind you of?

Empty Nesting?

2011-08-29T19:51:00.000-07:00

Polly and I took a sneek peek at empty nesting. We dumped the kids on Grandma and Grandpa Smith and went to the beach for the weekend. We stayed at Fort Stevens near Astoria.

The wreck of the Peter Iredale is still visible after more than one hundred years.

We didn't have reservations at the campground, but lucked into a 60 foot pull through spot that had just had a cancellation. Our 14 foot Westy looked a bit out of place.

Fort Stevens was a coastal defense battery which was used from the 1860's up until after World War II. We spend most of a whole day visiting the museum and exploring the batteries.

We visited the Columbia Maritime Museum at Astoria. It included a tour of the Lightship Columbia, which was moored next to an active duty Coast Guard ship.

The Peter Iredale wasn't the only wreck we discovered. This one was fairly recent.

Getting away for a bit was nice, but it was good to get home. Our nest won't be truly empty for a long time.

Some baffling anniversary facts . . .

2011-08-20T09:51:00.000-07:00

I've been married three times, but divorced only once.
I married my current wife 25 years ago, but we have only been married 19 years.
The mother of my child from the first marriage is the the same as the mother of my other children.
Of three possible anniversary days to chose from, August 20th is the one my wife has to remind me of.
The odds of having four girl babies in a row is 1 in 16, or just over 6%.
Prior to the birth of Ann Marie, the odds of us having four girls in a row was 1 in 2, or 50%.
Three little ones now call us Grandpa and Grandma . . .

Ken vs. the Vanagon

2011-08-17T19:17:00.000-07:00

As a rule of thumb, when doing mechanical repairs, I figure it cost half that of taking it to a shop, but also takes twice as long. The van was suffering from a head gasket leak following a very cold trip to Bend last Winter.

Before.

Of course, I always find more to work on than just the original problem. I ended up replacing the clutch, piston rings, rod bearings, and fuel lines.

On the stand, paint job by Ann Marie.

Putting it back in.

Of course, it wouldn't come back from the shop looking like this.

Doctor who?

2011-08-16T20:07:00.000-07:00

Just goofing around. Took me about thirty minutes to make. Maybe something for the cousins to try . . .

Grandpa's Moth

2011-07-23T21:57:00.000-07:00

Nothing left to do until Spring. We ended up with eleven chrysalis.

My Reunion Highlight

2011-07-19T21:27:00.000-07:00

Church setup in 30 seconds

2011-06-25T21:23:00.000-07:00

More time lapse shenanigans:

90 Seconds to Work

2011-06-23T17:49:00.000-07:00

Found a time-lapse app for my Palm. Too bad the day didn't go by this quickly.

Filling the Pond at Camp Alpine

2011-06-13T22:42:00.000-07:00

I had always wanted to see what it was like when the pond was filling. I converted my rocket cam to take time lapse pictures every 5 minutes. They closed the head gate at noon on Saturday. We stayed till about 8 p.m., even getting the canoes out for bit.

When we came back Monday, we found two problems. First, the pond was drained again. There was a problem with the head gate and they had to empty it to fix it. Second, the camera apparently drained the battery and only operated during the day while the sun was hitting the charger. That is what I get for wiring it up the night before.

A bug by any other name

2011-06-10T18:20:00.000-07:00

The first computer "bug" was a moth found gumming up the works in Harvard's Mark II computer in 1946. Eldon found this moth the other day and turned it over to our resident entomologist, Ann.

We didn't have much luck identifying it, so we turned to the web crowd to help. With in an hour, we learned that is was a Smerinthus cerisyi, or One-eyed Sphinx. It doesn't eat as an adult, but the caterpillar eat Aspen or Willow leaves. She is laying eggs, so we may try to raise some.

The End of Camp Alpine as We Know It.

2011-05-21T18:29:00.000-07:00

With the impending end of the world, we decided to spend it at out favorite place on planet earth, Camp Alpine.

The was our first outing of the season, and we took my oldest granddaughter along.

We practiced crossing fire spewing chasms on rope bridges.

And in case of zombies, evasive maneuvers.

And worked on the art of camouflage.

And defensive driving.

And ate emergency ration of hotdogs and smores at our temporary shelter.

All tiring work. With no sign of the apocalypse, we picked up some ice cream at Hazelnut Hill and returned home to clean up and get ready for church on Sunday.

I'm sure there will be more end of times to come. We don't mind practicing.

160K

2011-05-15T20:54:00.000-07:00

The water pump went out on the van. I replaced it about 40k ago. It is a ways in there, and took me three Saturdays to fish out. That far in, there is a lot of other recommended maintenance.

The previous owners sure took good care of it. We hope to get a few more miles out it.

Now if I can just figure out where that left over bolt goes.

A Name and a Blessing

2011-05-15T20:32:00.000-07:00

Four Generations

2011-05-08T20:36:00.000-07:00

We got four generations together on Mother's Day. What a treat.

June and Janeil each have 24 grand and great grand children, seven of which they share!

What a wonderful legacy.

Annabell

2011-04-26T21:17:00.000-07:00

Easter Baby

2011-04-26T12:14:00.000-07:00

Annabell, 8lb. 7oz.

Eugene Train Show

2011-04-10T06:46:00.000-07:00

We took Dawson Station to the Eugene Train Show again. I did a much better job of getting kids involved this year, and my assistant was a big help. The layout got a lot of run time.

We met a lot of nice people, including someone who actually switched Hull-Oakes in the WPRR 1801 (he told me I had the engine facing the wrong way), and a McBee, as in McBee Memorial Park, as in helped Ralf Hull build the sawmill. I met a couple of people who recognized it as a "micro" layout, one who had seen it in Carl Ardent's website. He told me Carl passed away last month. Very sad. Hopefully they will keep his website alive as it is a trove of micro detail and he was a prophet. I also met someone who knew what an "Arduino" was, and shared his project with me which included an computer controlled RC car with live video. Very cool.

Snake Charming

2011-03-19T16:02:00.000-07:00

I had a nest of snakes hiding next to my chair. Not real snakes, mind you, but electrical cords. I wish I had a "before picture".

I finally tackled the problem head on, and here is the result.

Three computer power supplies, a light, and phone charger. Now I don't have to worry about getting bit!

3rd Tow

2011-03-01T16:11:00.000-08:00

Not too bad for 160,000 miles.

Bad fuel pump. Not something I would tackle in the fairground's parking lot, let alone in this kind of weather.

More Rocket Shenanigans

2011-02-24T21:14:00.000-08:00

Just by luck, we stumbled on to a Estes model rocket "starter kit" at Bi-Mart for $26. It had a large enough diameter to fit my electronics package, so it was purchased, built, and pressed in to service. I hadn't built or flown a traditional model rocket in fifteen years or so, and was pleasantly surprised how easy the kit was to put together. We went down to Alpine on President's Day and got off six flights (a $3 engine a pop) off. The first and last had the improved telemetry package (lighter battery and a high-range accelerometer), and the remainder with a cheapo spy camera.

In all, not too bad. I've got plans for a lighter, more powerful rocket so I can fly both the electronics and the video camera at the same time (we were over the recommended limit by a ways). Here are the two instrumented flights. Flight 6 was a bit lighter due to removing the helicopter recovery system, and thus went higher. It also descended slower on the parachute. Look at the "zero G" coasting after the engines shut off!

The original water rocket shenanigans are here . . .

Model Rocket Telemetry

2011-02-12T08:12:00.000-08:00

We completed another round of flights to test my JeeNode Arduino-compatible model rocket telemetry system. The first couple of minutes of the video show the highlights. The remainder explains the details, so feel free to leave the theater at any time.

I published instructions on how to build it on Instructables.com so anyone that wants to try something similar can see how I did it. Unlike my LED bug project, this one didn't need a custom PCB or special chip programming, so it would be far easier to duplicate.

Now I've got some flight data, but is it accurate? From the read outs in the field (final flight #4 shown above), I saw a quick (off-scale) acceleration followed by an arcing altitude graph. The results are a bit higher than I would have guessed, but within reason.

One approach to validating the numbers is theoretical. Dean Wheeler has put a water-rocket simulator on-line that accounts for everything down to air temperature. To put it to use, you need to know some key parameters. My total rocket (minus water) weighed 185 grams. I used 0.7 L of water pressurized to 60 p.s.i. (there I go mixing units again). Using Dean's suggested drag coefficient, which is the primary unknown in all this, the number fall short of measured (268 feet verses 176 feet). The calculated flight time and time to apogee are also shorter. So, what is a good scientist to do? Right, massage the data. Since the drag coeeficent is the primary unknown, and all the other data seem scaled low, I adjusted it until the maximum altitude matched. The time to apogee and the total flight time are pretty close! (see the dotted lines in the graph)

There was a lucky accident here. Did you catch it? The theoretical model assumes the rocket has no parachute on its return to earth. My parachute failed to open, allowing us to directly compare the total flight time.

Of the four flights we made, only flights 1 and 4 provided data. The crash from the first flight fractured the battery holder so the micro-controller would loose power during the acceleration, leaving an eerie end to data transmission. The final flight, the parachute, making up for past transgressions, opened to early, leaving a flight in my estimate of half as high as the first.

Some final observations on the data. The calculated maximum Gs are ~60! That would kill a human, and explains why I have a hard time keeping fins attached to the rocket body. It also looks like the initial acceleration causes havock with the pressure transducer. Mounting it in a different orrientation (parrallel to g-force) might help. Also of interest is that the bottle empties of water in under 0.2 seconds, while the rocket is still just 10 feet off the ground! Some things to think about.

But wait, there is more . . .

They have trains in France?

2011-02-11T19:51:00.001-08:00

Just kidding. They also have blogs, one of which recently featured Dawson Station.

http://francis.pichon.123.fr/?p=1583

As near as I can tell, they said they found it through Carl Ardent's website and to visit if you are not too put off by English.

Wait, a blog about a blog, about a blog? That kind of recursion could bring down the inner-webs!

Un-superbowling

2011-02-06T20:11:00.000-08:00

The WetWesties crew has an annual tradition of camping out on Superbowl weekend. This was our first time attending.

They descend on Nehalem State Park near Manzanita. We stopped for some squeaky cheese in Tillamook on the way.

It was wet and cold, but that is the Oregon beach in February. We had a heater in the van which made it cozy.

They had a potluck dinner. It was amazing what good food people living in vans can come up with. There were so many people we had to eat in shifts!

There were at least 50 vans there of all vintages. It was fun to see the different customizations. My favorite was a paint job using ferns and blackberry leaves. You can see more pictures here.

Chief cook Annie working on breakfast.

We are now home, warm and dry, and still don't know who won the point-ball thingie.

Real-time model rocket telemetry

2011-02-02T09:43:00.000-08:00

My latest project involves wireless transmission of data from an Arduino-compatible micro-controller called a JeeNode. My first application was transmitting acceleration and pressure data from a water-powered rocket so that I can determine altitude and speed.

The first launch, done at the minimal pressure of 40 psi went 150 feet and reached 140 mph! The second launch also transmitted flawlessly, right up until it hit the roof of the house, knocking the batteries out.

The batteries were bent, and the holder destroyed, but remarkably the electronics still work. In addition to transmitting data, I'm saving it on board using non-volatile memory so it isn't lost in such an even, but it still didn't capture the final deceleration!

Someone did all the math, which is quite a bit more involved than for a regular model rocket, and put a simulator on line. This is very similar to what I do at work, analyze simulation data! I'm amazed at the initial acceleration and speed. There is a lot of energy being transferred rather quickly (~0.3 seconds)! Now I can optimize the flight parameters (up the pressure), and see what altitudes we can reach. Well, maybe I should work on the landings first.

101101

2011-01-17T21:09:00.000-08:00

This is how old geeks safely handle the candle situation!

Need help?

Let your comic geniuses shine

2011-01-08T08:06:00.000-08:00

The cousins might like this. Marvel Comics has created a website where you can put together a comic strip or comic book. Here is something I threw together in just a few minutes to try it out.

You pick the layout, background, and characters, and then supply the dialog. My plot needs a little work, but you get the gist.

Give it a try here.

Barcoded

2011-01-04T19:36:00.000-08:00

We are always checking out books or picking up holds at the library for the kids, but even if you know their number, it is hard to type in to the touch screen. We tried scanning the cards in, with limited success, but I figured how to generate the code on the web and just print it out. It works!

A Flock of Eagles?

2011-01-02T20:17:00.000-08:00

We saw a Bald Eagle at the High Desert Museum in Bend this weekend. More spectacularly, we saw four of them on the way home just east of Corvallis!

One was perched on a downed lamb about thirty meters off the road. Another was another thirty meters off, and yet another pair were visible across the field.

I doubt they brought the lamb down, but who can pass up some fresh veal? Table for four?

Bending the New Year

2011-01-01T16:50:00.000-08:00

Annie and I headed over to Bend to visit the Dodge clan.

There was quite a bit more snow than we expected. We drove on chains all the way in to Sisters and then chained up again once in Bend.

We visited the High Desert Museum, which while 20 degrees outside, sported a humid room full of butter flies.

The chickens don't mind the weather as long as the water dish and coop are heated.

The Dodges outfitted us for winter weather and shared their favorite sledding spot with us. It even had a heated picnic area to defrost in. What a fun way to start the new year!

A Wedding

2010-12-12T18:32:00.000-08:00

Crèche 2010

2010-12-05T21:35:00.000-08:00

Still keeps getting better every year!

Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia

2010-12-01T21:45:00.000-08:00

Fear of long words?

Here are some others:

antidisestablishmentarianisms
dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes
electrocardiographically
electroencephalographically
ethylenediaminetetraacetates
floccinaucinihilipilifications
honorificabilitudinities
hydrochlorofluorocarbons
immunoelectrophoretically
intercomprehensibilities
microelectrophoretically
microspectrophotometries
overintellectualizations
phosphatidylethanolamines
pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
polytetrafluoroethylenes
psychoneuroimmunologists
transubstantiationalists

Afraid yet?

Captain Olsen of the H.M.S. Wonganella, a.k.a. Citizen Scientist

2010-11-27T15:35:00.000-08:00

The H.M.S. Wonganella was a tired merchant ship appropriated by the Royal Navy for the dangerous task of submarine decoying from 1915 - 1917. Imagine being hit by a torpedo, a portion of the "panic crew" manning the lifeboats while the rest remain on station, hidden behind camouflaged guns, waiting for the unsuspecting sub to surface before taking the fight to them!

OldWeather is a project to extract weather data from old ship logs. Computers have a hard enough time doing optical character recognition from typed text, let alone flowery 19th century handwriting. I was fascinated by the "human computer cluster" aspect of this project and was naturally drawn to a submarine related boat. It was also of interest that the information was going to be used to improve computer modeling of the weather.

I am currently Captain because I've done the most weather extractions for that ship. The ship just left Malta (January 1916) bound for Spiza, Italy. I'm also a Lieutenant on the sloop H.M.S. Bluebell. In addition to weather and location, we annotate people, ships, and events which will make the data useful for historians as well.

I had read a bit about "Q"-boats, as the submarine decoys were known, regarding their operation in WWII, but didn't realize that type of trickery began in WWI. Interested in learning more, I found a couple of books on line, one of which mentions the H.M.S. Wonganella and two unsuccessful tangles she had with German U-boats.

So, not only am I having a fun time learning about history, weather, and geography, I'm helping out a research project! Win-win-win. I just need to recruit a few Runescapers and Farmvillers to help. And don't tell the crew of the Wonganella I'm a submariner or they might turn on me!

What in the World is a Word Cloud?

2010-11-26T10:59:00.000-08:00

Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide (this blog in this case). The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text.

Merit Badging

2010-11-20T21:53:00.000-08:00

I got invited back to help with the Railroad Merit Badge clinic this year.

Roy Severn has a nice O-scale setup he lets the boys run. First they have to learn about car types, train types, and how locomotives work. They also have to plan a trip by Amtrak using real time tables.

Here is an example of scales I set up, with my N-scale loco on the left and Roy's O-scale on the left. The center is the more popular HO. There are also smaller scales (Z) and larger (G)!

After work comes play. Roy teaches wiring and operations while I show them how to switch out the mill.

New this year was my switching puzzle program. It took this crew eleven minutes to solve a Timesaver. Nobody was able to finish a 5-3-3 Inglenook, which is a bit tougher than Dawson Station. You can "gauge" the difficulty for your self at my switching puzzle page.

Famdamily

2010-11-11T19:50:00.000-08:00

Make your own font?

2010-11-10T21:58:00.000-08:00

I've never been able to find a good handwriting font. So, I made my own. Give it a try at http://www.myscriptfont.com/.

Dawson Station in the Walthers 2011 N & Z Scale Catalog!

2010-11-08T18:55:00.000-08:00

A strange package arrived today. It contained the 2011 Walthers N & Z Scale Catalog, which I didn't remember ordering. I completely forgot I had sent in some pictures for their annual photo contest.

I was the 2nd Place winner, on page 261. They didn't even pick my favorite shot. These were from my first attempt at extending the focal length by stacking images. In addition to the free catalog, which provides hours and hours of day-dream material, I was awarded $100. The check, signed by Mr. Walthers himself, was for $125. It took reading the small print about the check covering "any additional images" published before I figured it out.

A quick thumb-through found a second photograph on page 83 at the beginning the "Decals" section. That puts a pretty nice feather in my cap. I'm pretty much done promoting Dawson Station. For now it hides high in the garage.

Handwaves and the Libby Bong

2010-10-23T20:56:00.000-07:00

There are not too many vehicles where the drivers wave at each other in passing. Bikes are like that. Westfalias too, I'm learning. One of the things that drew me to them was an active online community. The beauty of the web is the shared experience. An example of this is the "Libby Bong".

Vanagons have a cooling system that is notoriously hard to bleed. This has to do with some design choices that put the expansion tank and reservoir in an easily accessible location (the rear engine compartment), but well below the high point in the system (radiator). The official method of bleeding the system requires running the engine at high enough rpm for the water pump to put out enough pressure while you vent the air out of the top of the radiator (in front) and adding coolant to the reservoir (in back). That seems to take more coordination and hands than the average shade tree mechanic has available. Any misstep and you can loose coolant either from the back or the front.

Someone posted an alternate method on line. It requires about $10 worth of hardware and allows a single person to do the job. A PCV pipe allows you to get the level above the radiator. A small tube on the side shows the level, and once filled and bled, siphons the level back down to the correct level without spilling any coolant. The perfect "hack". All you need is an extra set of hands to photograph it in action!

WetWesties at McBee

2010-10-09T19:12:00.000-07:00

We had a warm welcome from our first contact with the WetWestie crew. We joined a small group at a semi-annual gathering at an interesting little campground owned by Hull-Oakes near Alsea.

Fittingly, it was raining. Our makeshift awning made the weather a bit more livable. The campground, Hubert K. McBee Memorial Park, is located within hiking distance of both Alsea Falls and Green Peak Falls.

We hiked over to see Green Peak Falls, which I had never even heard of before. It is as nice as Alsea Falls. There is some amazing old growth along the trail to the falls.

Here is another suitable wet-weather vehicle we spied along the way.

Hard to believe, but another tan 1985 Westy piloted by Linda showed up! Long lost twins reunited?

We felt warmly welcomed, and enjoyed visiting with everyone. It is nice to know there are others surviving with similar afflictions.

On Patrol at Crater Lake, a.k.a. Westy Outing #4

2010-10-03T20:15:00.000-07:00

If our previous outings in the Westfalia were "shake down" cruises, we had our first fully crewed, multi-overnight "patrol" to Southern Oregon. It was a late-season trip that only homeschoolers and retirees can manage, and we had a lucky streak of glorious weather to make it all the more special.

We drove down to Crater Lake on the first day, with June and Smitty as escort. It had been a number of years since I had been there, and it was as beautiful as ever. The park was shutting down for the season, which seemed a bit strange in the unseasonable weather, but it was also very uncrowded, which we like.

After cutting our escort loose to do their own exploring, we headed south of the park to find a camp spot. We stumbled upon a gem of a Forest Service camp called Huckleberry Mountain. It was free, and we had it to ourselves, probably due to the fact that it was four miles off the paved road. We did take a wrong turn, and punctured a tire on the rough road, but it was well worth it.

We went back to Crater Lake for a second helping, getting Ann Marie "Junior Rangerized", and staying to watch the moon rise above the lake. We headed back for another night at Huckleberry Mountain, arriving near midnight.

After two nights of primitive camping, we tried the other end of the spectrum and spent $45 for a small patch of grass and warm showers at a KOA in Kalamath Falls. "For just one night?", I asked. "Yes," was the reply. "Hot show = happy campers", I thought. The following day we visited the Kalamath County Museum, and found an even crazier camp site at a hot springs in Ashland. That might need a blog post of its own.

The following morning we drove down to visit the Oregon Caves. The highlight of the tour was when the lights went out, and the tour guide had to hand out extra flashlights to everyone. The guide was quite apologetic, but everyone seemed to enjoy it

For our final night out, we stayed at the closest Forest Service camp to the Oregon Caves called Cave Creek. It was not free, nor did we have it completely to ourselves, but it was peaceful and a welcome reprieve after the last two "commercial" campgrounds.

The fridge gave us fits, despite all the work I've put in on it. The flat tire was irreparable, and cost $90 to replace. The severely under-powered van was also severely under-cooled and required a sense of humor, great patience, and a defroster on full blast to make the long climbs without a complete melt down. Other than that, it was a pretty successful cruise. We were all glad to be home. Running hot water and flushing toilets are quite a miracle!

Crashing the Company Picnic

2010-09-28T04:33:00.000-07:00

Well not so much crashing, but I did invite myself to this years Hull-Oakes company picnic at Belfoutain Park.

Fittingly, they eat at one of the six massive table tops they cut.

Dawson Station spent most of the summer up in my garage. There is no other group I would rather get it out for. I set it up in my newest hobby, a 1985 Westfalia. The layout, including the overhead lighting, draws only 44 watts. I was going to run it off a converter, but was able to plug in to AC and save my battery.

I got a lot of positive comments and it was kept busy running back and forth. I also got to hear some good stories. Not only were we well fed, but I was given a Hull-Oakes jacket and hat just like all the other employees!

Westy Outing #3

2010-09-27T10:11:00.000-07:00

For our third outing, we ventured a bit farther afield, having gained a bit of trust in our steed. After touring the Tillamook Cheese Factory, we set out to explore the northern Oregon Coast.

We had heard it might be possible to camp on the beach at Pacific City. We found a couple of other Westies there, as well as "No Camping" signs.

We decided to play it save and drove north to camp at Cape Lookout State Park. It is a nice camp, very close to the beach. We survived a rainy, windy evening, qualifying us as members of "WetWesties", a group billed as a "Pacific Northwest Camping Society".

We found another cool beach called Terria del Marr. We did get stuck, as reported here, but had a great time anyway.

Only a full-blooded Oregonian could enjoy cold surf like this!

Loafing into Tillamook

2010-09-26T03:33:00.000-07:00

Stuck in a Rut

2010-09-22T06:43:00.000-07:00

We had a great outing to the coast last week. One incident deserves a blog post of its own. We got stuck on the beach.

South of Cape Lookout, where we camped, there is a beach called Tierra de Mar. It is one of the few places you can actually drive on an Oregon beach, and we spent several hours there building sand castles and having lunch. When it was time to go, I decided to drive down the beach a bit just to see how far it went. Unfortunately, we hit some soft sand and the van got stuck.

It wasn't the first time my crew has endured a stranding. Nor will it be the last. Here are my pearls of wisdom regarding getting a vehicle stuck and unstuck, which may or may not be applicable to life in general:

Keep your momentum up. You are not actually stuck until you stop moving. Once you stop, it is significantly harder to get started again.
Don't panic! Once you are stuck, spinning your wheels will only dig you in deeper. Stop and assess the situation.
Relax a little. It is not the end of the world. Let some air out of your tires. It will help you gain traction.
Accept help. Even if you are not sure you need it. People like to help. You may need it more than you realize.
Be prepared. While a lot of people may be willing to help, they might not have the tools to do so. Four-wheel-drives seem to be plentiful. Tow ropes are not. I carry a tow rope.

A couple from Canada in a four-wheel-drive saved the day. Two other groups stopped to help (or watch the spectacle). The girls stayed calm. Another "Daddy Adventure" for the books. It was almost worth it just to get this picture here:

Painting the Hills

2010-09-13T21:35:00.000-07:00

I still need to finish blogging our family reunion trip from August! On reaching Oregon once again, instead of following the freeway or taking Highway 20 through west through Burns and Bend like we usually do, we took Highway 26 with the John Day Fossil Beds as a major pit stop for our budding geologist.

The area provides a remarkable visible record of about 40 million years of change and a fossil record of plants and animals never seen first hand by humans.

The National Monument is actually made up of three "units", all within about an hour of each other. Our first stop, and the eastern most unit, was Sheep Rock, where the visitor center is located. Ann Marie became a Junior Ranger after a bit of homework.

Robin also made friends with a hansom ranger. In addition to being a visitor center, Sheep Rock is also an active paleontological research center, and we were able to watch the live microscopic view on a screen as a scientist worked on extracting a fossil from rock.

The Painted Hills unit is a bit farther west. There were several easy hikes with breathtaking views of colorful formations. We left the third unit, Clarno, for another day.

Here is a panorama I stitched together from five separate pictures using an open source program called Hugin. The fossil beds were an amazing stop, well worth the time!

Westy Outing #2

2010-09-12T20:08:00.000-07:00

Ann Marie and I took the Westfalia back down to Camp Alpine again so I could help with the Blazer Day Camp. It is a bit more spacious with just two of us in it.

We spent Friday night at Alpine, and did water bottle rockets with the scouts on Saturday.

The second night we drove up to Marys Peak. We got to see the shadow of the mountain to the east. I always thought the Indians called it "Mouse Mountain", but apparently that was the mountain men's term for it. The Kalapuya tribe referred to it as T'cha Teemanwi, pronounced "Cha TEE mahn wee", which means "the place of spirits".

The Indian name is quite similar to "Chintimini", which comes from a story John Horner wrote in 1900 about an indian princess who saved her people. There was a movement in the 1930s to rename Marys Peak Chintimini until it was realized that Horner's story was just that, a story. We were treated to a marvelous sunset with a crescent moon and Jupiter adding to the spirits.

The resident herpetologist captured and brought home three specimens. We picked up some crickets on the way home and will see if we can get them to eat, a prerequisite to keeping them longer. We got back in time to clean up and go to Trevor's birthday party at Janeil's.

Top of the Google Heap

2010-09-10T07:00:00.000-07:00

How do you get to the top of Google search results? Invent a word like "heberness", as in becoming more like Heber Valley Camp.

Small victory, being there is only nine results total. I'll take what I can get. Thanks to Gail for being curious enough to look that up!

A Visit to Thompson's Mills

2010-09-09T04:38:00.000-07:00

My dad found this "diamond in the rough" tourist spot and took us to visit the other day. Thompson's Mills is an Oregon State Heritage Site run by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. It only opened for tours in 2007 and is located several miles east of Shedd, Oregon.

The mill, originally called Boston Mills, used water from the Calapooia river to grind various grains and later, generate power. The mill, which was built before Oregon was even a state, had territorial water rights, giving them preference over the farmers. At one point, the farmers paid to have the mill electrified and paid the power bill during the summer so they could use the water for irrigation.

There were quite a number of interpretive displays. The girl's favorite was a miniature grinding wheel. It demonstrated the different states the grains go through and what they are used for. They also had a hands-on example of how the grains were moved through the mill via rotary screws, elevator belts, and gravity.

It never occured to me how many different products could come out of a mill like this. It ranged from rabbit pellets to pastry flour. There were recipe cards for each product, and chutes and valves were lined up to deliver the right ingredients to the correct areas.

Like Hull-Oakes Sawmill, various parts of the building were built at various times. In evidence were ax-hewn timber and rough-cut saw mill wood.

Here is a video which give an idea of what it would have been like in the mill while it was operating.

In all, we spent more than two hours there. It was a fascinating look at local history. We had a snack at the country store in Shedd before heading home.

First Outing in the Westy

2010-09-05T09:25:00.000-07:00

We had our first shake down cruise in the Westfalia. The destination of course, was our beloved Camp Alpine. We had to share it with a Ward from Eugene, but stayed in Nauvoo and had that area to ourselves.

It was beautiful evening with lots of stars. And glowsticks. And smores. With five bodies, it was pretty cozy in the van. I'm sure it is similar to the quarters on the space shuttle, with the exception that they can't open a window for fresh air or step out and stretch their legs. Ann Marie ended up sleeping on a mat on the floor, something she says she doesn't want to do again. Polly reported it was more comfortable than the cabins at Heber Valley.

The pond was drained, and with mom on site, there was no mud bathing or newt roundups. A new sign shows a small step in the relentless march toward "Heberness".

There was still plenty of wildlife to observe and play with. Ann fearlessly captured a small snake. Dad found a few lizard friends who were willing to pose for photos. This one eventually gave Robin a love bite before being returned to the wild.

We explored the Christmas tree farm area with an eye toward camping there in the future. The caretaker reports that they are fully booked for next season and have a waiting list. They are considering "doubling up" and having two girl's camps at once in the future. A separate "family" camping area like Eldon is proposing would sure come in handy.

Griz, the camp mascot, came by to meet Polly after the other campers left and the caretaker let him loose for us. He seemed happy to see us, but I'm sure he does that for everyone he meets.

Another "having fun is hard work" picture. We drove to Alsea Falls in hopes of finding an open camp site on Labor Day weekend, but without luck. Instead, we continued on to Alsea, bought a half-gallon of hazelnut ice cream, and headed home to sleep in our own beds. A short, but successful cruise.

Family Togetherness on a Large Scale

2010-09-01T20:56:00.000-07:00

The last Neil Y. Fugal Family Reunion was held at Heber Valley Camp in Utah. The camp is far larger than our local Camp Alpine, and can house thousands of visitors. Don and Lois are serving their mission there.

Our section had four cabins and two pavilions. Everything looked new, although the camp was built in 2003.

We were greeted and briefed on the rules by a missionary couple.

The food was great as always. Each family was in charge of a portion of a meal and one round of KP duty.

The first evening we had a talent show. A number of the nieces are very musically talented.

There were a number of activities to do. Robin is doing a rope swing, which both Polly and I tried. It was pretty exhilarating. There was also a zip line and confidence course.

Grandpa provided a number of fun crafts.

On the second evening, we had a presentation about mountain men by Jo's father.

We saw a number of deer and moose. The were unafraid of us and drifted through camp a number of time. Luckily we didn't meet any of the resident black bears.

The camp has a large pond, which we were granted exclusive access to for an hour.

Boy, having fun is hard work.

A City of Rocks?

2010-08-29T07:12:00.000-07:00

City of Rocks Natural Reserve is a curious geologic feature located in central southern Idaho and was a key landmark on the California Trail where passing emigrants would leave their names written in axle grease.

We had been here before with Burt and Carol's crew, and had climbed some of the iconic features like Bathtub Rock, but this time we were looking for a series EarthCaches that lead us down trails we didn't know existed.

This is a world-class climbing area, and we saw a group ascending a rock face using ropes. We stayed a little closer to the ground.

I was reading Edward Abbey's "Desert Solitaire" at the time, which is about his time as a Park Rangers at Arches National Monument in Utah during the 1950s. I can see how you could grow to love the high desert.

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.

Traveling at a Different Pace - Baker City, Oregon

2010-08-24T20:48:00.000-07:00

Our recent road trip was an experiment in traveling at a different pace. Instead of bearing down and driving straight through, we decided to pace our selves and take in some sights along the way. In addition to the geocaching I reported on earlier, we chose Baker City, Oregon, as a mid-point stop and left early enough to arrive in town with time to take in some sights.

First we visited the Alder House, which was the home of local publishing tycoon Leo Adler for most of his life. It was built in 1889 and contained most of it original furniture. The upstairs even had the original wall paper.

We also had time to visit the Baker Heritage Museum, the building which was originally a natatorium in the 1920s. There were exhibits on local history and a large collection of rocks and minerals.

We had dinner at the Sumpter Junction Restaurant, which I reported on earlier, and stayed at the local Motel 8, which had an excellent swimming pool and continental breakfast. We also spent some time at the city park, which is traversed by the Powder River and next to the city's library.

Before leaving the area the next day, we stopped at the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center which is precariously perched on a hill overlooking the city and the Oregon Trail which passes near by.

This, incidentally is a can crusher. Or, at least that was what I used it for when I found one as a kid at Rockport when the water level was historically low. Apparently you could also use it to take a wagon wheel on or off. I wish I had kept it.

We got a personal tour of the local flora from a ranger/OSU biology student. We will never look at sage brush in the same way. Next up, Burley, Idaho, and the City of Rocks!

Geocaching, Now and Then

2010-08-23T20:12:00.000-07:00

We started geocaching in 2002, when the sport was just two years old. We hadn't done much in the last couple of years, but decided to hit a few on our recent trip to Utah to break up the monotony.

I was surprised to see it has changed a bit in the intervening span. Where there used to be only a couple within a mile or so of our house, now there are more than two dozen.

Instead of large ammo boxes loaded with interesting nick-knacks that the kids loved to sift through, now they are mostly "micros", just large enough to contain a log but no pencil. People are able to hit 100 caches in a day! It has gone from a treasure hunt to a ticket-punching commodity.

We hit a couple along the freeway, but even those large enough to contain the type of treasure the kids love were sparsely stocked. It was a way to stretch our legs, but it was on the whole pretty disappointing.

There was one bright spot, however. There is a new type of cache called an "EarthCache". Instead of a physical stash of goodies, you have to go to the coordinates, take a picture, and find clues about the natural features. We learned about geology in Idaho's City of Rock and Oregon's John Day Fossil Beds. I always enjoyed the fact that geocaching took us to areas we would have never visited otherwise. With EarthCaches, we not only get see nature at its best, we get to learn about it as well. I guess that is the true treasure.

Oh, and for those going for 100 in one day, it took us eight years to get our 100!

Sumpter Junction Resturant

2010-08-16T14:47:00.000-07:00

We stumbled across the neatest restaurant on a recent trip. It is called Sumpter Junction, and is located in Baker City, Oregon.

They have a G-scale train which loops through the entire restaurant every four minutes.

It even passes above the server area.

It makes several loops through the lobby and some nicely detailed structures.

Definitely a "must-see" for any train buff. Reasonable prices, good food, and trains!

Here is the report on the rest of our stay in Baker City, Oregon.

New Member of the Family

2010-08-07T16:30:00.000-07:00

A 1985 VW Westfalia camper van. We hope to use it to get out in nature a bit more. It has 194k miles, but is very clean and well maintained. It came with all its service records and manuals.

It has the very basic necessities compared with dad's van. Water, stove, fridge, and beds for four. We slept in it last night, and are still exploring all the nooks and crannies. We are debating names, with "Tan Van", "The Happy Camper", and "Ken's Folly" all in the running.

Let's hope this works out better than my last German vehicle, a.k.a. Rosie, the car we don't speak of.

Five Stars

2010-08-02T21:57:00.000-07:00

Netflix makes movie suggestions and ratings based on your past preferences. I came across one they though was "five stars" for me, the first I think I've seen with that top rating. Saint Ralph was an inspirational movie about faith and perseverance.

Other recommendable movies I've seen lately:

The Snow Walker, an interesting tale about a bush pilot who crashes in the Arctic and is saved by an Inuit girl.

The Visitor is a movie about an aging college professor who is thrown off course by an energetic drum playing immigrant.

And finally, The Time Traveler's Wife, a rather interesting if confusing tail that makes you realize you need to enjoy what ever life brings.

Let's hear some one-sentence reviews of good movies you've watched recently.

More Trekking

2010-07-27T07:12:00.000-07:00

A video and a few more favorite pictures:

Trekkies

2010-07-25T07:00:00.000-07:00

Rachel and Robin got to participate in our Stake's first handcart trek reenactment up in the Cascades on the Santiam Wagon Road. Eldon had an official role from the beginning, and recruited me as a sidekick. I think our official job title, had we had one, would have been "Vehicle Wrangler".

I expanded my role to being more of a general "gofer", not only helping Eldon moving and staging vehicles, but transporting cook trailers, porta-poties, medical staff, and stragglers. This allowed me to see almost every aspect of the event, and I tried to keep my camera with me at all times. I ended up taking over 300 photos, and had a hard time picking just a few to show you. Perhaps the girls can give a presentation and slide show at the Reunion!

There were more than 200 participants separated in to two companies. Each youth was assigned to a "family" with their own cart. One day the Angel of Death came through and "removed" some of the members of each family, leaving them to continue on short handed. The "dead" were returned to their families that night, but the next day, army soldiers showed up and recruited all the boys for the Mormon Battalion, leaving the girls to pull the carts up a long ascent on there own.

Behind the scenes there was a massive organization keeping the kids fed and healthy. Here is the caravan departing the first camp on day two. A porta-pottie and water truck met the kids at the lunch stop while the rest set up at the next camp and got dinner ready. I put a lot of back-road miles on Smitty's generously loaned workhorse.

Dad and I oversaw the transport of 25 vehicles from the drop-off point down to camp three. A number of them had trailers. We efficiently arranged them for departure. Dad had signs so the kids would know where to load their gear, and envelopes to keeps all the keys straight.

It was an amazing event, which I'm sure created a lifetime of memories. The kids, which I expected to sleep on the way home, happily chatted the whole way! When they do this again in four years, Ann Marie will be old enough to participate!

The local paper had a good writeup. I also have some video in my next post. Eldon, who beat me to the punch, has a great blog entry and photos.

Highway Willie

2010-07-18T19:11:00.000-07:00

Ed. note: This is an essay I wrote in 1997 for a creative writing class. It was the first article I had published in in the now defunct Oregon Cycling Magazine. It was also part of my "Oregon Trail Adventure" website on Geocities, also now defunct. Let's hope Blogger.com lives on!

The morning we met Willie it was hot. It shimmered off the asphalt pointing ahead, bracketed by dry brown Idaho grass and sage brush. We had been following old Highway 30, or at least the part that had escaped the freeway, all morning. It was only ten o'clock, but the heat was enough that we thought he might have been a mirage up ahead of us. For all we know, he might have been.

I had been on the road all summer and had not seen another cyclist since before I picked up my two companions several weeks before. It didn't take long in the featureless Idaho landscape to figure out why. The heat alone was enough to drive you north into the Montana Rockies where the trans-America bicycle path wandered. We were on a different path, however, our route set by my ancestors one hundred and fifty years ago. We were following the old Oregon trail as closely as we could and I was determined to see and feel as the pioneers did. Willie was on the same road, but with a different mission.

It didn't take long for us to overtake Willie, just long enough for our amazement to grow as we realized how much weight was on his bicycle. It must have been a good seventy pounds precariously lashed here and there. Such clothing and items must have constituted all he owned. It was piled up high enough that it wasn't until we came along side that we could take full stock of what we had discovered. He was wearing well worn cut-off jeans with no shirt to shield him from the fierce sun. The dark tan and deep lines on his face spoke of more than one summer in the outdoors. His only traditional bicycle gear was a pair of leather work gloves with the fingers cut off. I'm sure they were more for comfort than for looks. Nothing about him spoke of extravagance.

Willie didn't seem the least bit phased by our sudden appearance, and began a rapid conversation in clipped English as though we had been there all along. We talked for a while as we plowed through a sea of sagebrush, our pace matching Willie's. He seemed to defy physical laws as he kept his bicycle headed straight and steady with his slow pedaling. The freeway drew nearer as we chatted and pedaled.

"Highway Willie," as he insisted everyone call him, was from Mexico. He was on his way to a small Idaho town called Burley where a friend had a job and a trailer waiting for him to live in. "Her husband die and she have no one to help so she say, 'Hey, Willie, come work for me,' so I am coming," he told us. We had our sights on Burley too, although we were just going to spend the night there and move on the next day. It would take Willie two days to cover the same distance, but considering his load, that was understandable. He didn't seem to be in any hurry, even this close to his destination. "I have a friend in American Falls I promised to stop by and see," he explained. Willie, it seemed, made friends wherever he went.

Old highway 30 was eventually overtaken by the freeway once again and as we approached the overpass Willie informed us that he was going to take a break. We were falling behind our schedule, but we were too intrigued to leave just yet. We pulled off to the side with Willie next to a stop sign. There wasn't a shade tree within sixty miles. Cars whizzed by in air conditioned comfort without even noticing four travelers overlooking them. I pointed out the small teddy bear hanging from Willie's rear fender. "I find him in Arizona," he told us. "The kids like him." Everything on Willie's bike had a story. "I find these too," he said, pointing to an automobile side view mirror held to his handlebars by rusty vice-grips. "It helps to see the trucks coming."

Willie reached into the confusion that surrounded his handlebar and pulled out a beer. "Still a little cold," he said with a sheepish grin. He offered us a sip, but we passed. It was a generous offer from a man who has so little. We sipped casually on our scientifically formulated sport drinks. We discovered that he had traveled the same path we had since Salt Lake City. That seemed to cement our quick friendship and we laughed about the long climb out of the Valley and the treacherous road construction we had survived the day before. Willie informed us how a friendly highway patrol offered to drive him past the miles of fresh gravel and asphalt. "'I'll make it,' I told him. 'Always do. Just got to look out for the trucks.'"

I asked Willie how his bike was holding up. It was a Murray lady's ten speed. "Oh, it do all right. A friend give it to me. My last one wore out." Slight chuckles emerged. I calculated the worth of his bike as being equivalent to what I had spent on my last set of tires. The next statement caught us short. "I overhaul the bearing and stuff in Salt Lake," he continued with a grin. "I think we going to make it." A spare tire poking out of the bundle on the back seemed to verify that he was bit more savvy than we had suspected.

The sun was much higher by then, and we were not any closer to our destination. We tried to explain to Willie that we must be moving on. I doubt he understood. With a smile he told us that he was going to rest a bit more. He pulled out a Marlboro and lit up before waving as we mounted up and started off. We crossed the overpass and picked up where old Highway 30 emerged from the freeway again. Off into the distance the two paths diverged. We had to pedal hard to make up for lost time, but none of us regretted the time spent. Willie would forever be a part of our Idaho landscape memories.

Happy 4th of July

2010-07-03T12:13:00.000-07:00

Adair has a local parade. Robin and her friend rode on the trailer throwing candy.

Ann Marie rode her decorated bike behind the firetruck.

This is a photo of the flags they were handing out, which I submitted to the Fail Blog. Also fail worthy: our community of 900 had three police cruisers and one bicycle officer directing traffic. What next? A standing army?

Google Earth has gotten good!

2010-06-21T15:25:00.000-07:00

I was able to hook up my GPS and download my track from the Tour de Blast straight into the new version of Google Earth.

It shows not only the elevation, but the speed and angle. Here you can see we were doing 31 mph at mile 60 on a 7% down grade. Google Earth also allows me to play back the route as a tour! If only it could control the weather. Now I just need to geocode my photos!

Tour de Blast 2010 - Crazy Fun

2010-06-20T11:55:00.000-07:00

My third trip to Mt. St. Helens for the Tour de Blast was the most challenging yet. I first did this event solo in 1998, and returned with my brother Neil in 2004. Luckily, I was well prepared this year and brought a great support crew. Some how, suffering is easier when done in good company!

Neil's daughter Emily was along to support. She gamely spent the day with the car at the high school, reading, running, and sleeping.

The weather forecast was not promising, but we forged ahead anyway. Brief clearings made us appreciate the scenery all that more.

The first major rest stop is at the top of a six mile climb at about the 4000 foot level. We hit fog and patches of rain and the temperature dropped significantly on the way. A long descent made it tough to stay warm before the next climb.

Crazy enjoys company. The Rotary Club, with lots of practice, puts on a well supported event. They had a tent with a fire to get warm and there was plenty of food. There was a bus running to collect those smart enough to retire. There were plenty of EMS on hand and they were using their ambulances as warming centers for about eight riders at a time. There was no cell phone coverage on the course, but they local volunteer ham operators for communication.

The crowds thinned out as we reach the top. I don't know how many were brave (or prepared) enough to go the distance, but I doubt it was more than 25%. Neil made use of a trash bag to help maintain his low-fat ultra-marathoning core temperatures above freezing on the long cold descents. I was a little more well insulated than on my last trip here by about 20 pounds despite having lost 15 training for this event!

We made a couple of friends along the way. On the climb to the top we met a Navy doctor from Bremerton who shared some war stories with Neil. The final 25 miles flew by as we met up with Andy, a fire fighter from Seattle who was wearing wool and riding a classic bike complete with leather bags. I did my best to stick in the draft as he and Neil powered on while chatting.

It wasn't pretty, but we made it: 82 miles with 6200 vertical feet of climbing. A warm shower and cup of hot chocolate awaited us at Neil's friends in Castle Rock.

I keep wondering why we do things like this. As we rolled in to one of the rest stops, the Rotary guy directing traffic commented, "I'm not sure why you guys are smiling". I think we do it for two reasons. First, to test our selves, and secondly to witness the wonder of mother nature. She made the test a bit harder this year, and reminded us how unpredictable she can be. It is certainly a crazy way to have fun.

Tour de Blast preps

2010-06-18T13:35:00.000-07:00

Neil and I are on our way to do the Tour de Blast at Mt. St. Helens. We did this last in 2004. I rode once before in 1998.

Here is a cool video that captures the look and feel of the ride:
http://www.tourdeblast.com/TDBvideo.html

I hope the weather is as nice as last year, but I'm not getting my hopes up!

Sawmill revisited

2010-05-28T13:11:00.000-07:00

Dawson Station had an out-of-state visitor! Les, from Arizona, took time out of his Oregon Coast vacation to drop in an see my layout. He was accompanied by his brother-in-law from The Dalles. On the agenda was a visit to Hull-Oakes, which I had not been down to in a while. We were greeted by none other than Bill Oakes, who had been coaxed out of retirement to give a couple of tours.

Les, Bill Oakes, and Les' brother-in-law.

I took enough pictures for a couple of posts on various areas of interest (like signage, chip hoppers, and straddle carriers), but here I'll give you some of my overall favorite shots.

Pond Monkey doing his things.

A beautiful modeling scene near the loading shed.

A scrap BN caboose keeping the idle chiploader company. (sniff)

Another great modeling scene across from the main mill building.

We finished the day off with a visit to Hazelnut Hill for some ice cream, a stop at Georgia Pacific's #5 2-8-2 at Avery Park, and the local hobby shop for some scale lumber. Quite a day of rail fun!

Boys & Their Toys

2010-05-21T20:00:00.000-07:00

I got invited to a model railroad "operating session". These guys take train operations seriously! Every train has a route, and every car has a destination and load.

There were about twelve of us, two dispatchers, three yardmaster, and the rest operating trains. I was given control of the North West Special headed by SP6320.

I managed to traverse the multi-room layout without causing too much havoc, although I did end up in a bit of a traffic jam at one point. I stopped in Modoc to exchange some cars headed for Kalisbell. Luckily, the yardmasters took good care of me.

The dispatchers took it easy on me as well, giving me the main line most of the way. In all, the session took about three hours. After working on my tiny switching puzzle layout, this was quite an eye opener. A switching puzzle on a much larger scale!

Scanning the Library

2010-05-20T19:00:00.000-07:00

HP has encouraged us to do some community service. I signed up to help at the library scanning in books of local history that are past copyright. First, I enlist Lynn, who then enlists her home-school friend.

Then, since there is only one slow scanner, I research a method to do it with a camera, sheet of glass, and cardboard box. It is faster, far less stressful on the brittle bindings, and lets us work in parallel.

I use software to straighten it out (deskewing), and brighten it up. And it works great! Here is an example, a 1929 Graduate Thesis that was retyped in 1940 as part of a WPA project. See if you can make it through the first two paragraphs!

I'm sure, like some of my railroad stuff, it will be of interest to someone, somewhere, at some point in time. Now it can be sent via email! I'm just glad I didn't have to retype the whole thing! Without typos or spell check!

Next up: the diary of a local man, written in long-hand in the late 1800's. That may be more interesting, but far harder to read. I'm hoping it contains some local railroad history . . .

Just a Test

2010-04-27T06:37:00.000-07:00

I'm working on a virtual version of Dawson Station so every one can run the puzzle. Here is a very early attempt, just to see if I can get it on the web:

Don't get to frustrated. It still has a lot of glitches. My team of highly motivated programmers are working on it day and night.

Nightfall at Dawson Station

2010-04-25T10:45:00.000-07:00

A friend suggested I work on the lighting a bit. Here is what resulted.

[Here is a direct link if the embedded video doesn't show up.]

The Arduino can now control the overhead light with a relay (video here). There are lights in the house and on the end of the loading shed and mill. The star of the show is Ken Stapleton's "Fire" circuit which flickers both a blue LED in the house to simulate TV and yellow LED in a burn barrel.

I also added some nightime audio which plays when the overhead light goes off. The frogs are from a pond near my house, and the dog barking is Mitsty the Wonder Dog, who will bark on command if food is involved.

Do try this at home

2010-04-24T10:36:00.000-07:00

From the book "Fifty Dangerous Things (You Should Let Your Children Do)" by Gever Tulley.

First, wait till mom is out of the house. Second, don't go more than 3 or 4 seconds. Third, ventilate the house and dispose of the evidence. Or, just watch the video.

The slow motion looks like the Game of Life pattern. The end result is a work of art:

Kids and Seniors Alike

2010-04-23T21:16:00.000-07:00

I got invited to setup in the lobby of the CSME Clubhouse for a senior openhouse. Groups from around the area came in for a layout tour. I got to hear some interesting stories. One lady's brother trained in Adair during WWII. She also remembered, at age 17, being whistled at by German POWs in a passing truck.

The club has an extensive collection of magazines. It was interesting to see the detailed modeling going on in January 1966!

They also have a number of books. I found this likely modeling subject for the next Pacific Model Logger's Conference.

A Day at the Beach

2010-04-21T18:46:00.000-07:00

We checked out a new beach this weekend. Ona Beach is about 8 miles South of Newport. A pedestrian bridge over Beaver Creek gets you access.

In addition to a sandy area, there are some interesting rock formation.

Ms. Rivett worked hard on this piece of art.

There was the largest tangle of ropes I've ever seen washed up on the shore.

I took some video in case I need a mini-vacation later, or proof of a sunny day on the Oregon Coast.

YATS

2010-04-17T22:28:00.000-07:00

Yet Another Train Show. It was a Divisional Mini-meet for the Pacific Northwest Region of the National Model Railroading Association in Roseburg, Oregon. There were 35 – 40 people in attendance. When people “under 50” were asked to stand, there were only three of us. This is an old man’s hobby.

There was a modeling contest similar to the Pacific Model Logger’s Conference, albeit much smaller. Dawson Station won both its category, “miscellaneous”, as well as best in show, which came with enough cash to cover gas money. After the award, I gave about a ten minute presentation of the layout with a question and answer session. Talk about being put on the spot. At least I was given a heads up, and had a practice run with the cub scouts a while back.

More important than the competition, I had the layout judged for the NRMA’s Achievement Program for Prototypical Models. Think old man’s merit badge. Four of the Division’s senior members reviewed the layout with consideration as to how it captured the look and feel of Hull-Oakes. I had to document every aspect, and provide photos of Hull-Oakes and my layout taken at the same angles. To give you an idea of how thorough they were, they caught a major detail I had over looked, the chip hopper near the lunch shack. You can see my documentation here.

Also memorable was having lunch with probably the oldest member there. He has macular degeneration, and so couldn’t see much of what was going on. When we got back, I gave him the audio tour of Dawson Station which now includes not only the mill sounds, but frogs and a dog barking at night. Prototypical frogs, mind you.

Willamette Cascade Model Railroad Club Train Show

2010-04-10T21:34:00.001-07:00

We had a great time at the 22nd Annual Willamette Cascade Model Railroad Club Train Show & Swap Meet in Eugene, Oregon. It was far larger than I imagined and well run. We set up the night before, went for dinner and movie, and then spent the night in a camper in the parking lot.The kids had fun. Everyone seemed amazed I had it hooked to a Wii nunchuk. Younger kids would just run it back and forth. The older kids were given specific moves to make. A couple of kids came back for another turn.
One sharp young man started quizzing me about how the electronics worked. I ended up showing him the actual code. Not only could he read and under stand it, but he wanted to make some edits!

Here is a video showing where we were at. There were three full rooms of this! I'll post another entry about some of the other details.

Another Daddy Adventure

2010-04-09T22:03:00.000-07:00

Lane County Fairgrounds

Dinner at Red Robin's

Home Sweet Home

Disaster and Recovery

2010-04-06T21:46:00.000-07:00

The next big outing for Dawson Station is the 22nd Annual Willamette Cascade Model Railroad Club Train Show in Eugene, Oregon, next weekend. I volunteered to let the kids run the layout.

In getting ready, there have been some major setbacks. First, I accidentally applied 12V to the 5V bus and literally melted the microcontroller chips. Miraculously, that was the only damage to the Arduino's and I was able to easily switch the chips outs since they were in sockets. The motor shield, however, was not so lucky.

I ended up replacing both the L293 chips with some pin compatible SN754410s I had on hand, and the 74HC595N chip. I had to cut the chip legs with a dremel, desolder them, and then put in sockets so it wont be so hard if I do this again.
In doing some rewiring to avoid a re-occurrence of the chip cookout, I cause a meltdown of a different sort. I accidentally reversed the polarity of the 12V supply to turnout switching circuits. That supplied continuous current to the coils, resulting in failure in short order. I'm lucky I didn't start a fire. It wouldn't be the first sawmill to burn at Dawson Station (two mills burned down at the site before Ralph Hull built the current one).

The lessons learned were many, but primarily:

It is hard to idiot proof something when you are the idiot.

DC on the Move

2010-03-31T21:13:00.000-07:00

I'm trying out Vimeo to keep it separate from my train stuff on YouTube (I'm up to 28 subscribers).

DC on the Move from Ken Olsen on Vimeo.

1200 YouTube views in 24 hours

2010-03-27T16:27:00.001-07:00

It amazes me how many people have watched the videos I've put up on YouTube about my various projects. Just yesterday Sparkfun, an electronics supplier I frequent, published a blog post featuring a video I did showing how I did the electronics on the model railroad layout. Twenty-four hours later more than 1200 people have check the video out. It is not quite millions like Merton the Chat Roulette piano player, but still amazing! Here are my top videos with their "views" and how long the've been up:

7,700 - Buggy, a Crafty LED Project (1 year ago).

4,400 - Dawson Station (5 months ago).

4,100 - Arduino Rocks (2 years ago, only 11 seconds long).

3,100 - Game of Life - 10 Boards (1 year ago).

2,900 - Wii Nunchuk Controlled Model Train (2 months ago).

2,500 - Dawson Station Update (2 months ago).

1,500 - Arduino Control of a Model Train (2 weeks ago).

Kenernet Film Festival

2010-03-26T17:59:00.000-07:00

Every time I see a video I think my kids should see, I add it too a list. Here are some recent entries. I've embedded a short one to whet your appetite.

Amazing Animals:

2nd Largest Aquarium Screen Saver in the the World
http://vimeo.com/5606758

Amazing animals:
http://www.ted.com/talks/david_gallo_shows_underwater_astonishments.html

Praying Mantis Vs. Humming Bird
http://www.boingboing.net/2010/03/08/praying-mantis-vs-hu.html

Environmental:

Story of bottled Water:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se12y9hSOM0

How I fell in Love with a Fish
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/dan_barber_how_i_fell_in_love_with_a_fish.html

Saving the world with gaming
http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/50586

Music:

Weird Al Documentary
http://www.urlesque.com/2010/03/24/weird-al-yankovic-story-the-one/

Rube Goldberg music video from OK Go
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybUFnY7Y8w

Music from Electronics
http://www.boingboing.net/2010/02/26/mid-70s-giorgio-moro.html

Space / Technology:

Robot needs a little human help
http://www.poptech.org/popcasts/kacie_kinzer_robot_love

Girl Power: Ada Lovelace
http://www.boingboing.net/2010/03/20/ada-lovelace-short-f.html

Powers of Ten
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpD3KhxmRXo

Networking in Space
http://www.hp.com/united-states/do-amazing/index.html?jumpid=ex_r11400_go/letsdoamazing#/Space

Solar Eclipse
http://www.boingboing.net/2010/03/09/solar-eclipse.html

TED top 10
http://www.ted.com/index.php/themes/top_10_tedtalks.html

Odds & Ends:

Attack of the Giant Stuffed Bears
http://www.urlesque.com/2010/03/11/cyriaks-cycles-giant-teddy-bears/

Commuter Dreams: (Portland Tour de France)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CI7T2iuGjjc

Srikumar Rao on Happiness (video is in English).
http://arbejdsglaede.23video.com/video/549744/srikumar-s-rao-p-arbejdsglde

Streets don't have names. Trivia about perspective
http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/48055

Terminus - Stalked by your imagination
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe1_NdPw9ms