Tuesday morning we headed for Las Vegas to spend a couple of weeks in the house we share with Chris and Rob.  We drove the car, because we wanted to take some things down that aren't practical to take on the plane.

The trip via I-5 to Bakersfield and then cutting over Tehachapi pass to I-15 is just short of 1100 mile.  Even though this route is about 200 miles longer than the direct route, driving time is about 6 hours less driving time. At least that is what the mapping software tells me.

Our actual driving time was 17 hrs and 44 minutes, but that included the hour it took us to go 9 miles in the tie up going through Stockton, where a truck overturned and dumped a full load of almonds on the freeway.

The first three pictures are of the mountains near Mt Shasta, including one with the peak in the clouds. The other three of of the sun setting here in Las Vegas.

Day Four of Return to Oregon

Home Again! Home Again!

Beginning to End

Hart Michigan to Albany Oregon

Final slide show of the Trip - Back in Oregon

Day Three of Return to Oregon

600 more miles today, 475 more to go.

Traffic tie up in the Chicago area? NO!!

This is in the Boise, ID area.

Day Two of Return to Oregon

812 Miles closer than we were last night. Less than 1100 to go.

Parked at the Rawlins, Wyoming,Flying J amongst the truck.

Day One of Return to Oregon

500 Miles closer to Oregon

Parked at Super Wal-Mart in Kellogg, IOWA

Almost Done - Cleanup Started

Time to clean under the dryers

Steel brush the top so we can oil it for the winter

Ready Set

Go

I'll be glad when this is done

When I picked up my Friday noon load, I was informed that no more squash was coming in and what was in the pit and on the ground was it.  It should all be done by three or four o'clock. When I called at four PM to see where it was at, they said everything was in the pit and they should be calling us about eight or nine PM to come and get the last load.  No call by ten thirty PM, so when I awoke, I placed another call.  Still running, but have the truck there by midnight. Our last load of the year left the cannery at twelve eighteen AM Saturday morning.

We were not able to schedule a pickup on Saturday, so at nine AM Monday the truck should be here for our third and last load.  This means that it will probably be eleven AM before we are on the way back to Oregon.

While all this is taking place on Friday, every one is busy cleaning dryers, totes, seed separator, and vacuum system. This is so that Izak and Caleb can leave for Oregon Saturday morning, when they wake up.  I don't think they will sleep till two PM today.

HOME FOR BIRTHDAY PARTYS NEXT SATURDAY AND SUNDAY!

Life With Barb

On Tuesday morning the 3rd of November, we met the Hardins at the Hwy 31 park and ride, and headed to Ludington for the $2.50 breakfast including Senior coffee.

After breakfast,as we were returning to the car, Barb spotted one of the workers raking up leaves. She told him that she would really like to jump on the pile, and he said "Sure".

I don't know who was more surprised, the Hardins or the worker.

Breakdown at the Cannery

Fishing in Lake Huron

Catch and release lake at Resort.

Another view of the lake.

Typical view of a driveway in the trees this time of the year.

On Monday the 26th of October, the cannery had a major breakdown with the squash cooker, and had to order a part from Italy to repair it. It was November 4th before we were able to start hauling seeds again.  They kept telling us it would be back in operation before the weekend, but when it was clear that they wouldn't be, we decided to take off and go over to the east side of Michigan, to check out a park in Standish, that had an indoor pool and a hot tub. It was also only two miles from Lake Huron, so we have managed to put our fingers in Lakes Michigan, Erie and Huron on this trip.
On Saturday the 31st, we traveled South for the day to Midland and toured the Dow Historical Museum. You can follow this link if you want to see some of the pictures.
For general pictures of the past two weeks follow this link.

A Bad Day for the Watchman

Some days it doesn't pay to be the watchman when the truck arrives

You find your self laying where you don't really want to.

You know, that really hurt!

Who was driving any way?

 

The Lions witnessed it all from the front of the coach.

Leo rallies the rest of the lions to check on the damage, and places a cell call for help.

Review of Weeks Four and Five

By the end of week five, we have only picked up 228,000 pounds of seeds as compared to 320,000 pounds at the end of week five last year.  As a result we only have completed 48 bags for shipment to Oregon, as compared to 60 for last year. We will probably be finished by mid week and on our way back to Oregon by this time next week. We have been gone over three months already, so we are ready to be back and see the family.
Most of the last two weeks have been uneventful.  Due to a light load at the midnight run, we were finished by 9 AM and were able to make a Wal-Mart run to Muskegon as well as have breakfast out a couple of mornings. We had to be back by 11:15 so that we could make the noon pickup. We also made another trip to Luddington for the 2$ breakfast.
Monday afternoon the 19th, the truck came to pick up our second load of 19 bags of seeds. This time I did all the loading, while Izak and Caleb helped guide me onto the ears of the bags. We will probably not have a full load for our last one.
Saturday morning, Izak and I completed some updates to the vacuum system.

We Take a Saturday Morning Trip to Manistee

We only had a light load of seeds to dry Saturday morning, so we were finished a little after 8:30.  We decided to jump in the Suzuki and head north the 23 miles to Luddington, and try out a $2.00 breakfast that we had seen advertised.  Since senior coffee was only 50 cents, our breakfast including tax was $5.30.  One Egg, one bacon, hash browns and toast.  Not Bad!
At this point we were feeling pretty good, so we decided to head on, another 25 miles further north, to Manistee and check out the light houses. By the time we got to the city limits, we were both so tired, that we weren't sure we could make it back to Hart. Since we were so close, we decided that we at least needed to see the light houses. When we got to the river entrance, there was quite a crowd of people gathering. It seems a retired Coast Guard ship was returning to spend the next several years as a tourist attraction, and would be coming up the river in half an hour, so we decided to stay and see the excitement.
By this time, we had started to feel a little better, and headed back South to Hart, vowing not to head out again, just after finishing a week of 12 hour shifts.

Sunday Morning Temperature

Poor picture, but look at the outside temperature at 7:10 this morning.

Remember the Good Old Days?

Review of Third Week in Hart

This was another slow week, with the cannery shutting us down on Friday, so that they could concentrate on the overload of butternut squash that was accumulating.  We almost got 10 bags of seed ready to ship.

Since we didn’t have to work Saturday morning, Barb went for a walk to the store, but got sidetracked when she got to Hart Lake.  It was one of the first mornings that the sun was shining, and when she saw the lake, came back to get her camera, to get some pictures.  I, of course, didn’t want to miss the opportunity, so proceeded to scrape the ice off the windows of the Suzuki, and tag along.

On the right hand side of the Blog is a small slide show titled “Fall in Michigan”. If you click your mouse in the middle of the picture, it will expand to full size, so that you can enjoy it.  You can also do this on any of the slide shows, to view the pictures in a larger format.

Because we didn’t work on Friday, Caleb made a weekend trip to Goshen, Indiana to visit friends and relatives. Izak had been under the weather part of the week, so he just relaxed in his room. (Caleb had his car).

Sunday after church, the Hardins joined us for some Oregon fried razor clams and Oregon blackberry pie. I think the blackberry pie is Elda Ann’s favorite.

The Lions couldn’t remember what the Sun looked like, so they went and visited the Squash Man.

First Load on it's Way to Oregon

We finally have our first load on it's way to Oregon.  The pickup was scheduled for 10 AM on Tuesday, so we told Caleb and Izak that we would wake them up when the truck arrived. The driver always calls about 15 minutes before he gets here to get direction, so we were quite surprised when at 9 AM the driver came walking through the door.  He had been here two years ago for a load, so didn't need help.
Since neither Izak or Caleb had seen how we load the container, they needed to get involved.  As you can see from the pictures, that is just what they did.
The container will be put on the railroad in Chicago, and then be picked up in Portland, OR and delivered to Autumn Seed, in Corvallis, OR, probably later this week.

Review of second week in Hart

Things are still running behind what we had at this time last year.
19 bags ready to ship to Oregon on Tuesday plus one for next load.
We finished up about 2 PM on Saturday
Went to Luddington on Sunday after church for a Wal-Mart stop.

Review of First week in Hart

Our first week was a little slow compared to last year. By Friday we had everything ready to go for Monday morning, so Barb and I attended a local little league game. The son of one of the foremen at the cannery was playing, so thought that I would take a few pictures. His mother also works at the cannery and runs the scale house for the day shift.
Sunday the four of us attended church services at a local Baptist Church.
Monday was startup day, and we only picked up one load of seeds at the cannery.
Tuesday through Friday was just getting into the swing of things. The Friday midnight run didn't get back till after 3 AM, so it was 4 AM before we got the seeds on the dryer. Normally, we would have put the 3 totes of seeds all on one dryer, but since it was the last load of the week, we put 1.5 totes on each of 2 dryers to get them dry a little quicker. By a little after noon on Saturday, we were all finished for the week, and crashed for the next few hours. Then about 4:30, we drove over to Hesperia, MI for a prime rib dinner.

Slide Show of Izak at Work

Slide Show of Caleb at Work

Settling In

We are finally getting settled in and getting a few seeds processed. Izak and Caleb are really getting the hang of things, and yesterday we had them start on their own shift by them selves. They will be working the 3 PM to 3 AM shift and Barb and I will be working the 3 AM to 3 PM shift.
We only pick up seeds at the cannery three times a day, Noon, 6 PM and Midnight, so Jacob and Izak will make two runs a day, and I will make one.  Things are still running slow at the plant, so we have only made six trips in the first three days.  The cannery is doing a better job of giving us cleaner seeds than last year, so we have not had to use the cleaner yet.  Using the cleaner adds an hour delay to getting them on the dryer, but typically will shorten the time on the dryer by two to five hours, depending on how much pulp is in the seeds.

Of course, there is the typical waiting and watching time, so we all do our own thing.  You can see by the pictures that we are managing.

Hail! Hail! The Gang's all Here.

Caleb

Izak

Late Wednesday afternoon, Caleb and Izak showed up from Oregon. They left Oregon Monday and covered the 2500 miles in 3 days.


Today we worked at getting every thing set up and in order for starting next week. At this point the plan is to at least make one run to the cannery and see if every thing is working properly.


We were only able to get three of the 6 burners up and running, so we had to call in the expert, Harold, our resident retired electrician. By the end of the day, we had every thing set up and ready to roll next week.

Our resident dove

We Arrive in Hart Michigan

Our cumulative trip to date.

On Monday the 14th, our 52nd day of being on the road, we arrived in Hart, Michigan. This was our 14th setup since leaving Oregon, and the last till we head back in November. If you want to check out where we camped each night, check out our Google Calendar, which lists all the names of the places we have been. We've traveled just over 3000 miles getting here, and have had a fabulous time.


On Friday the 11th, we drove over to Hart from the resort in White Cloud, (48 miles) to pick up our mail and meet with the city, and get the water turned on at the plant.  Within a minute or so of the water being turned on , we had a major water leak under the hot water heater, and quickly got the water turned off at our master shutoff.  We spent most of the rest of the day putting in a new hot water heater.  It turns out that the buildup inside the tank had not allowed it to drain last fall, so when it froze, it split open the tank.


This has been a very cool summer, so harvesting is running about 10 days or so late this year, so it looks like it will be around the 20th, before we start drying the squash seeds. We will start getting things set up, so that when the cannery is ready to provide seed, we will be ready to go.

Labor Day

What should you do on Labor Day? Go and watch someone else labor? No, just go to the biggest flea market around. It is held Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, and the first Sunday in August and October.


I don't know how many people were there yesterday, but they said there were over 10,000 there on 4th of july. The secret is to get there at least a couple of hours earlier than we did. Gate is 3$, but if you want to come in the day vendors are setting up, you can do so for 20$. Vendor fee is 40$. Sounds like a good money making deal to me.


Here is the link to the pictures.

We Relax In The Park

Click on picture to enlarge.

Today we spent as a day of relaxation. Barb went for her usual morning walk, while I was on the computer.


The park has a Sunday morning church service which we attended, and enjoyed the nine person brass ensemble. There were two french horns, but one must have been quite old, and I will have to find out what it's official name is. The bell faced out behind and under his arm.


Barb spent most of the day finishing up a novel that she was reading, and I did quite a bit of scanning.

We Attend the Annual Pig Roast

Click on picture to enlarge.

The highlight of the day was attending the parks annual Hawaiian Luau pig roast. The pictures speak for themselves. 

We Check Out a Few Local Spots

Have you ever heard of a High Rollway? We hadn't so we decided to check it out.  We had a little trouble deciphering the map as to just where it was, so we pulled into a Michigan State beach access location, and the gatekeeper there was very informative as to where and what it was. It turned out that it was accessed from a roadside rest area that overlooks the Muskegon river.


In the winter time, when the river is frozen over, posts are driven into the ground near the rivers edge, and then logs are rolled down the hill against the posts.  Then in the spring when the river thaws, the posts are removed and allow all the logs to go into the river, and float to the mill down stream.


The site is pretty much grown over now, but the state has created a very sturdy walkway to the bottom, which is over a 100 steps.  Enjoy the pictures at this link.


We then stopped as Hess Lake to take a few pictures for Barb's dad.  We thought he might enjoy knowing that there was a lake named after him.
Lastly we stopped at the farmers market in Newaygo and picked up another dozen ears of corn.  During August, most of the roadside stands were charging $4.00 a doz, but now we are finding it for $2.50 a doz. and it has actually been the best tasting so far.

National Forest Service Wildflower Park

Today we took a trip to the Loda Lake Wildflower Sanctuary and enjoyed a leisurely walk for a couple of hours.  Here is the link to our adventures.

We Travel to Grand Haven

Last year when we were in Grand Haven, the nightly musical light shows were already over with. This year we decided to make a point of getting there before they were over.  The show starts at dusk and lasts for 20 minutes. Across then Muskegon River from the visitors center, an area about the length of a football field, holds about 1300 water nozzles, 140,000 energy efficient lights, and uses about 90,000 gallons of water for the show.


Since it was a little over an hours drive to Grand Haven, we arrived early and toured two different historic museums before going out for dinner.  We used our Grand Rapids entertainment book, which we purchased before leaving OR. By waiting till the season is about over, you can get for $10.00. So far we have already saved $14.00, so I guess we are ahead of the game.


We got back to the park a little after 11 PM.


Click here for pictures from the museums.


Click here for pictures from the light show.  

An Old Adage

"Leaves of three-Let them be"

This adage only works when you are thinking about it.  As you can see from the picture above, they even crawl out from under the steps to get you if you are not looking.  I'm finally mostly clear of the poison ivy that got me when I wasn't looking while we were in Monticello, IL. It takes any where from 1 to 3 days to start feeling the itching.  Then over the next several days, as they continue to itch, they also start showing up as little water blisters.  Finally the itching starts to go away as the sores heal. I had spots on both legs and hands, as well as my right arm.  Our best guess is that when I got out of the car to get a close look at the soy beans, I steped in it.  Once you start looking, you find that it is everywhere in this area.  In Oregon, it is the poison oak, but the results are the same for me. 

We left Hartland, MI about 9:30 AM Sunday and arrived in White Cloud, MI after 1 PM.  This is a Western Horizons Resort, of which we are a member, and is our second time here.  The setting is on a small lake.  Barb and I walked around the lake first thing Monday morning, and then spent the next 5 hours touring around some of the small towns and dams in the area.  Check out our pictures for the day.