Watch Your Step!

This photo was taken in 1979, as we are ready to depart for Alaska. It is a photo of Carol, Roy and mother, Elia, in front of the 1972 Cabana motor home. The motor home has recorded over 200,000 miles while on our way to Yakima (see earlier blog). Trivia: Roy's mother is eight years younger in the photo than Roy is NOW!



After 34 years, the step for entering and exiting the motor home rusted "a little!" It was MORE than ready for replacement. Instead of using a similar step, which is still manufactured, I decided to construct a longer lasting step.


The metal step rusted because I covered it decades ago with a carpeted board to increase the step area for Carol. This combination of carpet and wood retained moisture through the decades to accelerate rusting.




I cut the new step out of heavier gauge metal. This step will last many times longer than the original step.







To slow the process of rusting, I applied two coats of high-temperature paint.






After applying contact cement to the new step, I glued a carpet to it's surface and placed six clamps to insure bonding. (Trivia: Due to laying down a new carpet in the school, this carpet was removed from the classroom in which I taught for ten years from 1969 - 1979. It had been trod upon by thousands of students and this teacher for many miles!)



Though the factory installed step was riveted on, I used bolts this time so the step could be easily removed and repaired as needed. Since the steel plate is heavier than the original metal, it should last 40 years!

Crilly Nature Trail

Crilly Nature Trail is on the north side of Eugene, Oregon in Armitage Park near the McKenzie River. It is a deciduous forest habitat that grows along the banks of the river. The trail has low spots that would fill with water in the winter before dams were built to control flood water. The steps provide easier ascents and descents in the gullys.





Carol is pointing to a large cavity in a big leaf maple that provides a habitat for small birds and animals.







A rotten "nurse" stump acts as a seedbed (or nursery) for young forest plants. As the stump decays, it provides nutrients and rich soil that is recycled back into the forest.





Growing out of the big leaf maple is licorice fern, that depends on the moisture in the heavy covering of moss on the tree. The rootstock was important to the early settlers as a sweetner, to flavor tobacco and to make medicinal tea.




The winds and storms of winter drop an occasional tree across the path. The trail maintenance crew will remove the tree later. In the meantime, Carol utilizes her scrambling skills!




We saw this leaf on the trail that lost all of its "body" except for the "veins" of its structure. I placed it over a brochure to reveal its transparency!

Trip to Yakima, Washington

We were planning to travel to Yakima but awakened to an unexpected surprise. This was the third snowfall in Eugene, Oregon on this date since 1937!




So, the motor home will remain idle until the next day. (All the snow melted before noon.)




Our reason for traveling to Yakima was to assist our two Canadian-born granddaughters (Sami and Kai) in becoming U.S. citizens. Their American father, our son, had lived in Canada too many years to simplify the process.


The Yakima Greenway is a large city park on the east side of town that features picnic areas, a soccer field, playground, jogging path, exercise stations, fishing ponds and a WW II relic.




Geese, among other avians, are residents of the park and enjoy the large ponds.




The jogging path parallels the Yakima River for a mile. There were many citizens who donated to the building of the Greenway, and every few yards is a plaque dedicated to a contributor.



Every 1/4th mile along the jogging path is a "mileage" marker. In Eugene, the marker is embedded in the bike path, but along the Greenway it is a concrete pylon.



There are 21 different exercise stations along the jogging path. This one is for strengthening the triceps. Place heels on the elevated table in the center, while supporting body weight between the tee-shaped bars. Lower the body between the bars, by bending the elbows, then straighten arms to elevate the torso.


An interesting artifact in the park is this boxcar from the "merci," French Gratitude train. This was presented to Washington State in 1949 from the citizens of France.




The gift was an expression of gratitude for food, fuel and clothing donated to the needy people in war ravaged France and Italy in WW II.





Bryn, Ada, Kai and Sami joined us for a Mexican dinner in the Cabana. The 23-foot motor home is rather cozy for a large family gathering.




Following bean burritos and tostados, Carol concentrates on her daily puzzles.





Bryn, Ada, Kai and Sami are waiting outside the Naturalization Center. Due to Homeland Security, we were not allowed to enter the building as a group, only one at a time, and I was not allowed to photograph the girls' swearing-in ceremony!



Driving home, we stopped near Memaloose Island in the Columbia River, a burial island for the Chinook Indians. Before Bonneville Dam, it encompassed four acres, now it's 1/2 acre. Graves were relocated before the water rose. One of Oregon's first senators stated he wanted to be buried there, in 1883, because "In Resurrection, I'll take my chances with the Indians!"