Fall is distinctly upon us and the frost is covering the
ground in the mornings now on a regular basis. We picked all of our apples two
weeks ago and got moving making 9 gluten free apple crisps for the freezer to
keep us ready at a moment’s notice if we get company or friends over. The
pumpkins did not do so well this year and I can actually pick the biggest one up
by myself so I think it only got 125lbs or so. The sunflowers were huge and the
biggest head must be something like 20” across.
Here is James talking on the phone. I guess the guys at the part department got his order wrong because I swear I heard him say " NO, I ordered a right side solenoid starter coil, not the bottoms stator bearing...that would be ridiculous".
James also likes to make Matthew laugh. Sometimes he can be a little rough with Matthew, but so can I... so I guess he gets that from me.
Last weekend we headed to Sunnyside to see the in-laws. We
were already planning on going down there and then I got a couple days of work
down there scheduled at the last minute, so it was pretty cool to get paid to
drive down and back. Jim’s newest model T speedster is just about done and it
fired right up on the first crank which was fun, but we ended up pulling the
axle apart due to some “noises”. Jim did most of the work, but I had a good
time all the same.
New (old) toys at Grandma's house.
Th first drivers of the Speedster T.
Back at home messing around
No pants....no problem. This is a good rule to live by.
This past weekend it was my time to go out and ride the GS.
I have wanted to do the Selkirk loop into Canada for some time now and things
just had not worked out, but I was determined to make Saturday work. It was a
brisk day, but that is about all you could hope for this time of year. Before I
left, Brenda and I talked and thought about doing the train ride in Ione this
year, but like every other year it is sold out online and you could go up hoping
to get a ticket, but chances are slim. Since it is 2 hours away that is not a
good idea to risk it. During my ride, I passed through Ione and then turned
around and thought I would stop and see if they had any tickets for Sunday. To
my surprise they had some and sold me enough for us to ride the train. With
tickets in hand I continued the loop.
On the Ferry
Just outside of Nelson BC I noticed a sign saying the time the next ferry left was at 1:10…Yikes. I was 30km away and it was 12:50, so I took off and rode like the wind. I arrived at the ferry right as the gate closed in front of me. Luckily the captain saw me and then re-opened the gate and let me on. That saved me a 2hr wait so I was pumped. The ride was awesome and made me once again realize I could ride my bike all day every day and not get tired of it. 380 miles and 8hrs 30 minutes of riding and I arrived at home with a big smile and happy attitude.
Kootenay Lake is awesome and Canada is going to be some place I go and see a lot more of in the future.
Sunday Brenda and the boys stayed home from Church since Matthew had a slight
fever. After church I booked home and we left at about 10:50. I was once again
against the clock since the train left at 1pm and we had a 2hr drive to get to
it. Well, we arrived about 8 minutes before the train left and were happy to
have made it. James was so excited as we told him on the drive that he was
going to ride a train, he kept pointing out every train we passed. When we got
there he was speechless stuttering and pointing while his eyes were as big a
dinner plates…that scene alone was worth the drive. We got to ride in the
Caboose and had a great time. It is pretty old school as they let you walk out
on the back of the caboose and stand there with just a small safety chain across
the opening as you ride on a trestle 200ft over a huge hydroelectric dam (and me
holding James). I was probably having as much if not more fun as James. The
ride is only about 90 minutes roundtrip, but on the way back the engine goes on
a siding and moved to join with the caboose and pull us back to town. We had a
great time and the weather was perfect. Such a nice time of year to get out and
see the fall aspens, maples, and tamaracks.
What is that sound? A TRAIN!
Brenda and Matthew on the back of the caboose.
James pointing out the Engine and where it is going.
The Boys and Mama
And then there is me trying to blend in with the local flora with my red 'stache...hot...so hot. I have to beat the women off with a noodle.
Back at home it is time to make some music.
