Archives Page

(clicking on pictures will enlarge them)

Barb, Moreno St. Park, Yucca Valley

American Volkssport Assoc. 10K Walks

David's 100th (walks that is, not wine), about 620 miles

flowers ??

HERE

AND

an iceberg and a sunrise

THERE

Barb ancient Pueblo home in NM
Home Sweet Home
Gotta love it here



slumped dandelions from "Tales In Time"

also from "Tales In Time Vol. II",   Dandelion Park

WWII memorials: Nagasaki & Wash DC David & Julie

Stadium High School's 100th anniversary


        The 5 species of West coast salmon.


l            llooking for lunch

Encounters With Earth's Living Things

Phylum-Mollusca, Class-Gastropoda,
common name-Slug

also Phylum-Mollusca, Class-Gastropoda
common name-Garden Snail

Barb & Washoe in Ellensburg

#1

Stamen (male), Pistil (female)

The Pollination of a Lemon
#2

fertilized, developing ovule

#3
6-9 months later

#33
#4
Tahdah!

Cactus, new growth

Like blowing up a balloon, expands from the top going up & out

Bird-of-Paradise, new blossom

First the stem bends 90 degrees, then splits open & then a flower pops out, 4 flowers eventually pop out of the one slit.

Euphorbia Growth

A bud forms at the end of a branch & opens like a flower

but remains branchlike.

There are many varieties of Euphorbia. This is one.

Whistler Stuff





Car Stuff

David & John with The '89 Hondas At Donut Derelicts '05

Jeff''s 1950s Electric Shopper

Jeffrey's 1965 VW

My Dodge Trucks

50 years apart

Julie's 1958 model 444 Volvo

Getting judged at the 2011
Volvo Show, Malibu Beach

John on Rte. 66, near Kingman, AZ

The 1950 Plymouth

Purchased from 2nd owners in Wisconsin, on Halloween, 2002, Jeffrey & David drove the "new" Plymouth home to LA along many stretches of Rt. 66

h

David's 1925 Chrysler/Maxwell

Model 58

W. P. Chrysler first introduced his 6 cylinder Chrysler cars in 1924. At the time he was chairman of the board of Maxwell Motors which he had recently saved from bankruptcy during the depression which occurred after WWI.

He purchased the Maxwell factory to use its production facilities. He continued to produce the 4 cylinder Maxwell automobile as a less expensive line. After June 1, 1925, they were called Chrysler Fours.

This particular Chrysler Four was built in Canada, & spent its early life in Whitemouth, Manitoba (about 50 miles east of Winnipeg).   It was the least expensive car for Chrysler that year selling for $895. It does not have the 4 wheel brake option which cost extra money.   A Model "T" Ford open touring car cost $290.   This Chrysler weighs 2300 lbs. and has a wheel base of 109". The Ford model "T" weighed 1200 lbs and had a 100" wheelbase. The Chrysler motor was rated at 38.5 Horse power, the Ford at 20.

Chrysler continued to manufacture the Chrysler Four series until 1928 when it became the Plymouth line, which in 1950 it became what you see above.

Amanda

Josephine

Jacqueline

William

Julie

Jeffrey & David

Barb

David's Grain King Farm Wagon
eastern style from mid-west flatlands -no brakes
built about 1915

Horses were preferred.
Oxen were strong but very slow.
Donkeys were smarter, but occasionally developed their own agenda for the work day, which could differ substantially from that of the farmer.

David & Vernon Rucker

Factory markings on the side of the box indicate this wagon was sold by the Grain King Co. which incorporated in 1875.
Factory markings on the rear axle suggest this wagon was constructed by the Mandt Wagon Co. between 1906 & 1920.   Targe Gunneson Mandt came to the USA from Telemark,, Norway, with his parents in 1848, when he was   2 years old.   He started his wagon company in 1865 by paying $100 for property along the river in Stoughton, IL.     He had saved up his wages while he was in St. Louis working in a wagon factory for the Union army during the Civil War.
Targe died in 1902, at which time the Moline Plow Co. purchased the company which continued making wagons through WWII.
The Moline Plow Co. began operations in 1865 as Candee Swan & Co., incorporating as the Moline Plow Co. in 1870.

	Yucca Valley & Joshua Tree NP Stuff Photo Shootout 2003 - Jeffrey, John, Chuck & David

#2 Early

Early Day Wagon Trails

On a recent visit to Seattle, fellow Histecocuriositarian Jodi and I took advantage of a break in the Seattle weather

picture of a nice day in Seattle

to go afield to observe some of the remaining nearby early day wagon trails.

Until the middle 1800s slightly modified ancient animal trails were the routes that served the needs of travelers. As more people and larger vehicles began traveling, those trails needed improving. Then, about 1900, self powered vehicles put demands on those early day trails that exceeded their natural sustainable physical limits. In the teens, more people began to travel, and the speed of those early vehicles approached 15 miles per hour. Five times faster than horse drawn vehicles. Townfolk developed roads to attract the business brought by travelers. The early roads soon became linked networks. Road maps were printed. Some of those early trails eventually evolved into the system of linked, ocean to ocean, highways we travel today.

With some exploring, portions of those early trails can be still seen, some still driven.

Rt. 66 near Kingman, AZ - old Knik River bridge south of Palmer, AK

In California the Siskiyou Summit 1915 alignment remains, & Tunnel # 13, near exit #6, off Interstate 5, OR. Site of last USA train robbery, 1923

One of the earliest western wagon trails was developed by Lt. John Mullan in 1859. It was called the Mullan Road. It was the first wagon road to cross the Rocky Mts. It followed the approximate route of today's Interstates #15 and #90, linking Ft. Benton, Montana to Walla Walla, WA. Its purpose was to connect the Missouri and the Columbia River. Parts of that road still exist near Washtucna, WA. The American Society of Civil Engineers designated it a historic landmark in 1975.

The original "Black and Yellow Highway", another early linking, evolved into the "Yellowstone trail". It connected Boston to Seattle. It's route included Rochester, MN. Today, a portion of that old road, which had been "paved" with bricks made in Tacoma, WA remains drivable in Redmond, WA.

Early day travelers coming from the east, who crested the Cascade mountains through Snoqualmie Pass, followed that trail/highway to Fall City, WA. That portion of the trail/highway was called the Sunset Highway. Split trees were positioned across the road bed in some soggy areas to provide a solid base for the horse drawn wagons of the day. Those "improved" roads were called puncheon roads.

"Puncheon" roads greatly improved passage through soggy wet lands. They were bumpy and uncomfortable to travel, but at least the wagon wheels didn't sink in the mud. People traveled at a rate of about 3 mph. That early wagon road was used until 1915. At that time further improvements plus a realignment were put in place.

Once arriving in Fall City, travelers diverted either, north along a route that included the road mentioned earlier through Redmond to Kirkland, WA. where they took a ferry across Lake Washington to the Madison Park area of Seattle, or, the travelers diverted south at Fall City and continued along the Sunset Highway through Preston, WA to Renton, where they turned north to Seattle. When the first floating bridge across Lake Washington was built in 1940, these north/south routes from Fall City gave way to one direct route, over the new toll bridge, into Seattle.

The original Indian trail that crossed the Cascade mountains at Snoqualmie pass has evolved continually from early 1800. A Mr. Anderson reportedly used the route for an east west cattle drive in 1841. In 1867 the route became a toll road maintained by a company in Ellensburg. In 1909 the Chicago, Milwaukee, & St. Paul Railroad completed a rail line (now abandoned for a hiking trail) through the pass, while simultaneously an improved version of the wagon route was upgraded. The road was passable to most automobiles in the 1920s. The pass was kept open all year for the first time in the winter of 1931-32. An Alpine Ski Hut was built in 1933, and in 1934 the route was paved. A paved highway, one lane in each direction, served travelers for the next 20 years. Additional lanes were added in the late 1950s. A major flood in the fall of 1958 washed out highway sections near North Bend, WA and speeded new construction projects.

Snow sheds in the 1950s provided cover and protection over the highway in avalanche areas, and were in use well into the 1960s. Snow falls were much heavier in through the first half of the 19th century.

In the late 1960s, those early day wagon trails over Snoqualmie Pass morphed into the present system of 2 separated paved lanes in each direction. Even that continues to morph. As we speak, 3 lanes will soon be the norm in each direction. The official speed limit is now posted at 70 mph. It has been reported that some modern day travelers have been observed exceeding even that seemingly very liberal speed. What used to take an hour, now takes less than three minutes.

Portions of the old Sunset Trail/Highway remain today and can be seen near the Denny Creek Campground, and Olallie State Park. Both parks

are located along the Snoqualmie River a few miles east of North Bend, right off West Bound Highway 90. (notice the blue, half domed, waterproof fabric contraption mounted on a handle being held by this histecocuriositarean. These devices are frequently seen in Western Washington at all levels of society and are used to deflect the ever present wet rain. In spite of her youthful appearance, the relaxed stance demonstrated here provides solid testimony to many seasons of successful, accomplished umbrella field experience. The required strong grip and flexible wrist motion skills required to manipulate these wet weather defense instruments are not attained in one or two seasons.)

Sunset Blvd. remains today as busy main street in Renton. The pictures above show portions of the very old Sunset Highway in the Snoqualmie Pass area on the western side of the Cascade Mts.

When traveling from east to west, on the northern routes, the Rocky Mountains in Colorado were a formidable challenge. Only slightly less challenging in central Washington State were the Cascade Mountains as described. Just before reaching the Cascade Mountains was another challenge. The Columbia River. A Ferry at Vantage provided service until the mid 1920s. Stories remain of an occasional capsizing. In 1925 an alternate route to the north through Leavenworth and over the newly constructed Bluett Pass opened. Bluett pass was a harrowing stretch of windy horsehoe turns clinging to the edge of rocky ledges. Portions of that old road are accessible today. Then a bridge was finally built at Vantage replacing the old Vantage Ferry. These pictures from the late 1950s show the old bridge and a portion of the old highway coming down to the river from the east side.

A new four lane freeway has now replaced all that. But, the old two lane highway is driveable from just west of the Columbia River (starting at Ginko State Park) all the way to Ellensburg and then beyond to Cle Elum. The Columbia River was dammed just below Vantage in the 60s. That raised the water level substantially. The old village of Vantage is now underwater. A new modern bridge has been built replacing the old two lane one shown in the picture above. But, that old bridge is still in use. It was moved. It now is used by autos to cross the Snake River on Highway #261. South of Washtucna, just north of Starbuck, very near Palouse Falls.

At the same time other trails, in other parts of the United States were similarly evolving to meet the changing needs of more travelers, and the new motorcar. The Arrowhead Highway, The Mullan Road, The Black and Yellow Highway, The Pacific Highway, The Northwest Trail, The Park To Park Highway, the Old Trails Highway, and the Lincoln Highway were major examples.

Then, beginning in 1926 a national highway numbering system was implemented. The names of the original trails morphed into numbers. Travel atlases for motorists evolved from Trail Log journals published by the AAA and others to more modern map books like this one which was published in 1925. It was Clason's last year to reference the National Trails. The 1926 ed. referred highways by number.

The most famous is Route 66 which was established on Nov. 11, 1926. Some of its beginnings are traced to a Lt. Beale, who was asked in the mid 1800s to build a wagon road for the Federal Gov't along the 35th parallel, and also to test the use of Camels. Route 66 also coalesced from The Lone Star Route, The National Old Trails Road, and the Ozark Trails. Organized groups are now protecting many of the old roads and trails. Portions of it can still be driven.

This is Angel Delgadillo autographing a souvenir license plate for me. He has been instrumental in promoting the Arizona Route 66 Foundation. The route connected Chicago to Los Angeles. Hundreds of travelers, many from foreign countries, travel as much of the old route as remains every year. The towns of Seligman and Kingman, AZ sponsor a well attended Route 66 festival event every year on the first weekend of May. Approximately 700 cars enjoy driving the old route between Seligman and Topock and participating in the Saturday afternoon shine and show event. http://www.azrt66.com

Plaidhatter Julie recently met travelers at Donut Derelicts. They were from Sweden and were driving a hotrodded version of her Volvo 444. Father and son had shipped their car to New York and driven Route 66 to Los Angeles.

The addition of the 1950 Buick hood ornament (often used in cartoons as a driver's sighting scope) to the roadster was a fun representative period piece.

Another section of remaining old highway is the Ridge Route over the Grapevine in southern CA. It opened in about 1902. About 50 miles still remains but was severely damaged in heavy rains in 2005. It is paved & can be accessed coming from the north 5 miles east of I-5 off #138 the cutoff to Lancaster, branching off #N2, or, coming from the south use exit #183 (Templin Highway) off I-5. The route morphed into #99 in 1933, portions of which are locatable, and portions are now under I-5.

Common modes of travel used:

(a) until the mid-teens,

(b) in the 1920s,

(c) in the 1930s,

(d) in the 1950s.

Happy Trails!