Category Archives: Uncategorized

What Took 4 Weeks Now Takes 3 Days

Posted on by kathousekelli70

The start of the long journey back to Oklahoma City, we leave Washington back through Leavenworth for coffee break and on out of Wenatchee – in a roundabout way – ending up on Highway 2 around the back of the mountains.

High desert they call it. It's still filled with smoke haze, fields that go on forever, freshly tilled or cut, dust devils and then a tiny town appears out of nowhere.

Back into Idaho and we pass Lake Coeur d'Alene. What a spectacular view! Water sports and fishing are the go here. They won't show up in the photos but some docks have that typical boathouse structure at the bottom of their properties just like in the movies! 🙂

 

Made a coffee stop in a quaint little ex-silver mining town of Wallace. The Red Light Garage with its eclectic interior serving just about anything in Huckleberry so I'm guessing they are plentiful here.

 

We took a quick drive down the street to get back to the freeway and wish we had have had time to stop at Oasis Bordello Museum. Lots of nice looking old hotels as well and then the 50's styled neon lights of the Stardust Motel.

 

We're almost out of Idaho now and over into Montana heading towards Butte but made it as far as Missoula for the night.

Today, Thursday, we hauled ass and really have only seen the inside of the car, the back of our eyelids and plenty of smoky haze as we left Montana and into Wyoming.

Tonight we are staying wih Wild Horse John and Saginaw Sue and then hit more of the Pony Express Route tomorrow.

Night peeps!

Kat xo

Aug 20th

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace,_Idaho

 

 

Lake Cassidy, Washington

Posted on by kathousekelli70

Once the shoot finished we headed towards Everett, Washington where we would spend the next couple of days with hosts, Mudflat Mike and Nellie Belle.

Now we are seeing the 'Evergreen State'! Everett and the surrounding area is forests, ferns, green as green, lakes and is not far from Puget Sound and the Pacific Ocean.

Their gorgeous little house sits within the vicinity of Lake Cassidy which made for a pleasant view for the morning workouts.

 

Monday was casual, get washing done, sit and chat over projects, and just enjoy the beautiful fuchsias, hummingbirds, squirrels and blue jays.

Tuesday we headed for the Boeing factory and went on their tour. Unfortunately no photos inside the massive plant, suffice to say it certainly is mind blowing at the capacity and size it is.

It's hard to fathom the sheer size of these from the viewing balconies. 214ft of wingspan fitting in a building is incredible. The automation lines has sped up production with overhead gantry cranes like I've never seen before, moving sections of plane body around and into place for attachment.

Yes we did get to view many planes in various stages of production including completed paint jobs and planes waiting for delivery. Air New Zealand, Jetstar and Aero Mexico to name a few.

With a plant here in Everett and one in South Carolina they have been able to keep momentum on production with the many orders they have. They turn a standard cargo or passenger 747 out every 3 days a 25 day total turn around from start to finish. The carbon fibre new 767's taking a little longer. (From what I can remember as couldn't take iPad with me)

Boeing employs approx 42,000 people with the oldest being a lady who is 92 years of age and has worked with the company for 72 of those. Some have 'kept it in the family' and generations are or have worked with Boeing.

We did visit the Future of Flight Center (which is where the tour begins) and were able to get up close to engines and nose gear which certainly puts things into perspective. You can test your flight control abilities, check out the strength of various composites that go into an aircrafts making, view business plane interiors and be used for a survey on future plane seating and headspace.

 

Then we took the tourist drive down to Mukilteo to the docks and the ferry port where residents of Whidby Island come and go across Puget Sound to and from work.

Ahhhh, breathe in the salt air! With a view of the Sound, fishing boats and the ferries coming and going we enjoyed dinner at Ivars. What's for dinner? Fish and chips of course! (And yes they actually called it chips here not fries) tasted the local brew from 'Diamond Knot' and 'Mac and Jack' for Jack.

 

The scenic route back round through Smokey Point to their home club meeting. It was funny watching the preparation for the upcoming entertainment at their 2015 annual 'Standoff'. If you are getting to this shoot, you are in for a treat, the bay's are shaded and I've seen the evidence of previous opening ceremonies and entertainment spectaculars! Lol!

We departed from our gracious hosts this morning to start the trek back to Oklahoma. Thank you Mike and Teri we thoroughly enjoyed your company and getting to know you better.

Kat xo

http://www.smokeypointdesperados.org

http://www.ivars.com

http://www.futureofflight.org

 

Thunder and Brimstone

Posted on by kathousekelli70

Let's start by saying thanks to The Apple Valley Marshals for putting on a great match for the SASS 2015 Northwest Regional in East Wenatchee, Washington.

This years match was based on the John Wayne film, Big Jake.

Well pilgrim Thursday was a hot, hot, hazy day, “still, that's the only problem” We headed out at midday to watch the last of the warm up posse's get through and then at 2pm we commenced with 4 stages of Wild Bunch.

“This will take a harsh and unpleasant person” for the task. It was hotter than hell but we had 3 posse's of keen, sweltering shooters that buckled up and had a great time under the direction of Sunrise Bill.

 

“I go with the sheep” on Friday and with an early start (hopefully avoiding the majority of the heat) we get into our first 6 main match stages. It was pleasant and cool in the morning “dog” but there are fires in the areas north of us and the smoke is blowing in, making the view of Wenatchee close to zero visibility.

 

The heat wasn't going to stop us, “not one bit”. Back to the hotel for a swim! That night was a potluck dinner and the soiled dove contest which quite “proficiently father” raised money for the SASS scholarship.

“The hell there aint “ a better posse we could have been landed with. Cowichie Kid, Fire Opal, Helena Bucket, Jack Straw, Jackaroo, Jocko, Joe Cannuck, Kathouse Kelli, Pedernales Jake, Primrose n Proper, Reo Diamond, Robert I Plantem, Ronghand Wright, Rusty Wood and Texas Cherokee. We all worked, all shot well, laughed much and had a great time meeting new cowboy's and cowgirl's.

 

“Not hardly” finished and we are ready for another fabulous lunch by Grill Master and plenty of visiting with folks before we headed back to the hotel to cool off and get ready for the banquet.

In our finest, the banquet got underway with costume contestants appearing before the judges, drinks with friends, friendly banter and practical jokes. We tucked into a beautiful banquet consisting of salmon, ribs and trimmings.

Side matches were then awarded along wih costume, both working costume and best dressed. Jackaroo won Best Wild Bunch Costume for his Rough Riders outfit, Best Dressed Lady for my blue and grey walking dress and one for Wild Bunch overall ladies – I think I'm going to enter the men's traditional at smaller shoots as I don't have many fellow Lady Traditional competitors. Congratulations to JT Wild, Men's Overall Wild Bunch.

Clockwise from top left: El Gordo Hombre as Big Jake; Jackaroo; Kathouse Kelli & J.T. Wild; Saginaw Sue & Wild Horse John; Sly Puppy & Jackrabbit Joe; Twelve Mile Reb & Agnes.

We both made it into the Shootout for Sunday morning, however that was short lived. Too funny.

Congratulations to Fast Enough and Belinda Belle for taking out the Top Gun Shootout honours.

Lunch, prize draws and awards followed. I placed 1st in Lady Wrangler with congratulations to my fellow competitors in 2nd place, Tillie Dyes and 3rd place, Sandy Charm.

First cowboy overall and NW Regional Champion went to Lunger. First cowgirl overall was myself, Kathouse Kelli, with the delightful little Ivy Hills the ladies NW Regional Champion for 2015.

Again a huge congratulations to all involved.

Kat xo

The lines I couldn't work into my post?

“Dead? The next person who says that I'm gonna shoot, so help me.”

“Newspaper clippings. I killed a man for newspaper clippings.”

“I'm gonna blow your head off.”

And 'dog' was the line for two stages.

Sun, Aug 16

http://applevalleymarshals.com

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wenatchee,_Washington

Now We Are In The Evergreen State

Posted on by kathousekelli70

A casual breakfast this morning and on the road again heading for Wenatchee. The views are changing again and over the hill we finally come into the reason this is called the ‘Evergreen State’.

 

We visit the town of Leavenworth, a Bavarian Village just north west of Wenatchee. The inner child has come out! It’s like a little Christmas village in itself! Would love to see it at Christmas time.

The artwork on all the buildings is just gorgeous and all signs, even Macdonalds, Subway, gas station etc are all old style Bavarian scrollwork etc.

 

Of course where would we be without a visit to the Kris Kringle Christmas shop! We spent nearly an hour in there and had to get out. Too many choices, can’t make a decision. They are the biggest Christmas decoration store in Washington state and possibly the biggest in the Pacific West.

 

Then where would you be on a hot day than in the beer garden at Icicle Brewing Company, getting samplers of their different ales.

 

Crosscut Pilsner – Golden and suave

Bootjack IPA – hoppy and composed

Dirtyface Amber – malty and unadulterated

Dark Persuasion – German chocolate cake ale

Yum! What else would you do on a hot day in a Bavarian village right?! OMG! Of course the Dark Persuasion we had last was divine, dessert in a beer. Awesome!

 

Oh and by the way there is an Australian Store here! Check it out $7.99 for Tim Tams and $11.99 for the jar of Vegemite plus tax! Anyway we had a good chat with him. And no, did NOT buy Tim Tams, they stayed there at that price.

 

Onto München Haus for German sausage and another pint of Dark Persuasion. Chicken with basil and garlic for me and Curt’s Currywurst for Jack. Sensational!

Then it was a quick trip to the Nutcracker Museum. As you do! There is anything from current day to antique, original to civil war series, scouts, Cowboys etc. from centuries old artists, many dating back to as early as the 14th century. Just incredible.

 

Of course it couldn’t be left without finishing off with ice cream and they had licorice! Oh yeah, black tongue, lips – had to be done!

 

A little bit of Bavaria!

Kat xo

 

P.S. it didn’t take long to wear off, was gone before we got out to the range!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leavenworth,_Washington

http://www.nutcrackermuseum.com

http://iciclebrewing.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Along the Oregon Trail

Posted on by kathousekelli70

A quick jaunt down the Main Street of Baker City this morning checking out some of the old buildings.

 

We stopped in at the Geiser Grand Hotel, once known as the 'Queen City of the Inland Empire'. As the historic district sign says 'Built in 1889, the hotel soon earned a reputation for offering the finest accommodations between Seattle and Salt Lake City'. It went under furnish net back in the 1990's.

 

Just 5 miles outside Baker City is the Oregon Trail Interpretive Centre and we sure were glad we decided to hit the trail, so to speak, and check it out. There displays and detail in them were spectacular.

 

The Oregon Trail was a wagon route from East to West, beginning in Independence, Missouri taking many eager frontier, men, women and children across a 2,000 mile stretch of often treacherous land to the Willamette Valley in Oregon.

 

Along the way they would cross through Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming and Idaho. A 6 month trek with most travelling on foot as the wagons would be loaded with personal effects, food and other supplies.

 

The trail originally founded by fur traders as early as 1811 and the first migrant wagons ready to head out of Missouri around 1836.

Later trails also used the eastern part of the route before branching off to California, the Mormon Trail into Utah, and later the first transcontinental railway in 1869 would make it quicker, cheaper and somewhat safer to travel out to Oregon. The Pony Express Route also followed part of this trail as well.

Of course all of this was preceded by the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1806.

 

Back on the road and we later crossed the Blue Mountains summit 4,200ft, a bit different to our Blue Mountains in western Sydney, Australia however they still sit at around 3,900ft at its highest (unnamed peak). I'm guessing the oils (as we've always been told in Australia) are what give it it's bluish appearance. Eucalyptus trees for Australia and Ponderosa Pines for Oregon, maybe oils from the pines?

 

We crossed the Columbia River and the power producing McNary Dam into Washington – The Evergreen State. Bit of an oxymoron at the moment?! 🙂

 

But soon these rolling brown hills turned into valleys of green and more green! As we entered into Grandview and other towns – for miles and miles there are vineyards and orchards! This wine and fruit country.

Then it's back into rolling hills of nothing but impressive road structures – still bewildered as to how they ever made it in wagons, I'm telling you – and pop out into valleys of rich farmland.

 

Tonight it's a quick overnight stop in Ellensburg, Washington before getting to Wenatchee tomorrow.

Cheers!

Kat xo

Tues 11th Aug

http://www.geisergrand.com

http://www.blm.gov/or/oregontrail/

 

Twin Falls, Idaho

Posted on by kathousekelli70

It was good to unload the whole car now, re-sort everything and get settled for the next 5 days. A lazy evening in with a little sewing done!

This morning it was up, do a workout and then head to the visitor centre for some truly spectacular views of the Perrine Bridge and golf courses in the canyon.

 

We hung out for base jumpers to jump off the only place in USA that doesn't require a permit. We saw one jump off the bridge and there's about another 5 packing and sorting their chutes ready for a thrill.

 

Then we headed to Shoshone Falls, created by the Bonneville Flood that ripped and formed the canyon some 15,000 years ago. Shoshone Falls is known as the 'Niagara of the West', at a height of 212ft it is actually 50ft higher than Niagara Falls.

 

The falls were passed by undiscovered, overlooked or discovered in part by various non-native parties since 1811. In 1875, a young 19year old Charles Walgamott came to the area, enchanted with the falls he thought it could well be a tourist attraction. He bought up surrounding land on both sides of the canyon and by 1886 had built a hotel on the south side.

In 1932 it was donated to the city of Twin Falls by Frederick and Martha Adams.

After a few financial struggles the hydroelectric power station came under Idaho Power's control and a series of improvements began in 1921. It is now undergoing some further improvements to the hydroelectric facility.

Reminded me of Cotter upgrades.

After a massive downpour it was time for lunch and a trip out to the range.

Looks like a great set up. Great looking bays, targets and stages.

Tomorrow is Warm Up.

See ya.

Kat xo

Wed 6th Aug

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin_Falls,_Idaho

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoshone_Falls

 

 

A Hop, Skip and a Jump

Posted on by kathousekelli70

We left Jackson this morning and made a brief detour through Teton Village. The we headed across the border into Idaho and hit Idaho Falls by lunch time. They are quite beautiful and a neat little roadside park. These falls are right in the centre of town basically. A gorgeous spot for a workers lunchtime stroll or sit and eat.

 

In our usual unconventional style we headed for an optional route across to Arco wanting to visit the Craters of the Moon. We happened across EBR-1 Atomic Museum.

Curiosity killed the cat and we headed in to check it out. It's a bit like a Roswell landscape. Sparse, nothing for miles in between yet there are a number of facilities that form part of the Idaho National Laboratory (INL).

Now, again, I will remind you that the following is from a hurried notation during a guided tour by the lovely Jen at the centre.

 

Sitting on a portion of the 89,000 sq miles of land is EBR-1 (Experimental Breeder Reactor-1), The Worlds First Nuclear Power Plant. A huge parcel of land back in the day, more for precaution if anything should go wrong.

There are 3 reactors of non commercial variation that carry out experimental works and where scientist can work on their patents etc. They also made the battery for the module that just went past And took photos of Pluto.

They also have a Naval Nuclear facility and Land Management division. All under the banner of US Dept of Energy. There are around 3000 employees working across the site that are bussed in each day.

In Dec, 1951 the plant became the first in the world to produce electricity using atomic energy. A whopping 400kw actually, enough to run 4 large light bulbs (I know, I jest). Until its decommissioning in 1964 it generated enough electricity to supply all the power for its own building whenever the reactor operated.

Now for a little bit of science. Something about atoms, neutrons, splitting, fission and breeding. How's that! You thought I was going to dazzle you with technical brilliance, lol! Nope not today.

Suffice to say the picture tells it all. The breeder uses uranium and plutonium to cause the energy.

 

A reactor can not explode like a nuclear bomb but can have a steam explosion or meltdown but double boilers prevent this from happening. He nuclear fuel was created by a fission chain reaction.

Heat is carried from the reactor core by liquid metal which then heats a secondary system. The liquid metal is called NaK a combination of sodium (Na) and potassium (K).

 

They use Idaho power now which is mostly hydro and wind, so this original sign is now lit for historical purposes only.

 

The bricks from the breeding blanket were pure uranium 238 and weigh 100pds each.

You are protected by concrete, lead and shields to view. This is the primary cooler.

Dosimeters are present in the building to ensure no one is exposed to any traces.

Mineral oil between each of 35 layers of glass to protect them from harm whilst using the manipulator arms in the 'hot cell'. When you run a light through it you can see all the dots as it goes through the glass like a light sabre.

 

There are roughly 104 plants that use nuclear energy today.

Outside, these large engines were to be nuclear powered engines for planes.

There is a lot more I could go on about but won't. Thanks Jen for a good tour.

Onward we go, making our way via Craters of the Moon. In short, looks like a sudden field of oversized ploughed up dirt or like massive numbers of dump trucks have dropped loads in uneven piles. In actual fact, it is volcanic rock of various forms.

 

That's it. Will see what's happening in and around Twin Falls. Oh and we will be here for the next 5 days for the Idaho State Championships. Yee haa!

Kat xo

Tues 4th Aug

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experimental_Breeder_Reactor_I

http://www4vip.inl.gov/ebr/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/EBR-1-Experimental-Breeder-Reactor-I/1598254117097677

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho_Falls,_Idaho

http://www.nps.gov/crmo/index.htm

 

 

Yellowstone Day 2

Posted on by kathousekelli70

Driving into the park this morning we round the bend on Sylvan Lake and it is literally like glass.

The park is beautiful and covered in wildflowers of various shade of white, yellow, red, pink, purple to blues.

Yesterday I found there is an app tour guide that you can get, so remembering to download it this morning we now have our own in car tour guide by GyPSy Guide.

So we hit the Grand Loop and our guide starts telling us where to go, nicely. Lol!

 

This is a fantastic app. Gives you information for points to stop, scientific, physics and geological information as well.

Our first stop After crossing the Continental Divide again is Kepler Falls.

 

Our guide suggests a stop at Lake Village and a visit to the historical Lake Hotel that was built in 1890. Are we sure glad we did the detour! It's huge and grand in its decor. And there are cabins and a whole other separate wing you can't see in the photos. Small balconettes were added to windows at the lake side and for many years it was referred to as the Lake Colonial Hotel. In 1929 the dining room and sunroom were added.

 

Onto West Thumb Geyser Basin we go to view bubbling holes of spectacular colour that sit right beside the lake. Back in the day the guide said that fisherman were known to catch a fish from the lake, swing around and drop it in the boiling water beside it.

 

From here we headed along the route learning about thermal springs etc and made it to Old Faithful Geyser. Just in time actually to grab lunch and watch it blow! They said 1.30pm give or take 10mins. Well some small eruptions from 1.20 and sure enough spot on 1.30pm it goes off for almost 2 mins. Amazing! Steam and boiling water shooting up to 100ft in the air.

 

Now the guide had also said we should go stick our head in the Old Faithful Inn and at the last minute we turned into the car park to run in and see it. Another glad we did moment! This is like the ultimate of log cabins!

 

We headed North stopping at Biscuit Basin, Firehole Falls and back along past the swimming hole along Firehole Canyon Drive.

 

We reached Madison and turned around to start our trek back south and down through Grand Teton National Park to Jackson. Heading back past Kepler Cascades and still in search of wildlife, I did get to see a wolf! But no turnouts to get a pic 😦 We didn't see any other wildlife today other than little birds but it has been an incredibly colourful day that's for sure!

Kat xo

http://www.nps.gov/yell/index.htm

http://gypsyguide.com

 

Yellowstone National Park

Posted on by kathousekelli70

Into Yellowstone National Park we head, winding through some spectacular scenery and hoping for a day of wildlife spotting!

 

We passed Sylvan Lake where a deer was down at the waters edge.

 

The smell of sulphur is starting to permeate the nostrils as we get nearer to Yellowstone Lake. We stop at Steamboat Point for a view of the steam rising from vents in the rock. You can hear it escaping. The water is absolutely crystal clear.

We stopped at the Dragons Mouth and Boiling Cauldron and it's a pity I can't turn photos into scratch and sniff, the sulphur is rank, I'm sure it has some healing properties right?!

 

Then!! What we've been waiting for, a buffalo out on his own taking in the fresh air lol!

 

As we rounded the bend after, we got the whole herd! Excited much!

 

A truly magnificent sight!

The next lake scenery changed again. Still waters with four white swans gracing it that slowly changes and flows into rapids.

 

Continuing to Canyon Falls, spectacular, spectacular! The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone!

 

Saw a few more deer and more herds of buffalo before making our way out the North eastern entrance of the park. We hit Silver Gate and Cooke City in Montana before back into Wyoming's Shoshone National Park heading back to Cody.

Didn't get to see any bears or moose but there is always tomorrow!

A long scenic day!

Kat xo

http://www.nps.gov/yell/index.htm

 

 

Cody, Wyoming

Posted on by kathousekelli70

In the late 1890's when William F. 'Buffalo Bill' Cody arrived in this area he fell in love with it, the river and the hot springs. He supported the progress for the town and its infrastructure.

Buffalo Bill was everything from a rancher, Pony Express rider, an Army soldier and scout, a scout for the railroads and Wild West Show Performer.

Best known for his Wild West Shows he performed in 48 of the lower States, in fact the only one he didn't perform in was Nevada.

He took his 500 strong group of Cowboys, cowgirls, Indians, work crew and theatre sets across the country side and even took them all on a ship to Europe performing for the Queen and other dignitaries.

 

Buffalo Bill built 3 hotels along the route from Cody to Yellowstone (it was already the nations first state park) offering rest stops for travellers. Would have been one hell of a trek out here in those days!

The Irma Hotel in Cody, so named after Buffalo Bill's youngest daughter was to be furnished with only the best of everything. It opened in November of 1902. Apparently the Irma Hotel rooms still provide steam heating and are decked out in antique furnishings, some still original to the hotel.

 

The Museum still has the silver ware and dishes from the hotel.

 

The Buffalo Bill Centre of the West Museum is a fantastic place to visit and yes preferably you will need a good full day if not two and your pass will get you two days anyway.


His life took many twists and turns and some of his ventures were not always profitable.

Married to Louisa Frederici, Bill and Louisa's first venture was running a hotel in Leavenworth, Kansas but he longed for the plains. He left Louisa for 9months. This was the start of many trips away from his wife and children. They had 4 children, Arta, Kit Carson, Orra Maude and Irma Louise. He was not present at any of their births!

Kit died at the age of 5 from scarlet fever and Orra would also die 8 years later at age 11. Along with financial strains this put further strains on his and Louisa's relationship. Arta, the eldest, married but later passed away in her early 40's. William and Louisa divorced in 1904.

This left Irma who spent several weeks with Buffalo Bill and his Wild West Show in 1894. She would later travel with him at other times for the show. Annie Oakley had taken Irma under her wing, the cast referred to her (endearingly) as “Buffalo Bill's pet”.

Buffalo Bill was also an advocate for women's rights and he was convinced that they were equal to men. He had many women trick riders and sharpshooters including both Annie Oakley and Lillian Smith perform with his troop.

 

This is only a very very brief insight to Buffalo Bill, his relations with the Indians, various ventures – newspaper publishing, mining etc.

 

He died January 10, 1917 and is buried on Lookout Mountain West of Denver.

After this we had lunch at The Eatery within the museum, excellent choices, buffet, build your own sandwiches, wraps etc.

Then we went into the seemingly endless Firearms Museum. Holy moly! There is just about anything and everything, beautifully displayed, cut away's to see internal workings, gun tools, lathes, original engineering drawings etc!! There are some very interesting international firearm samples on display also.

 

So!

Pre dinner drinks at the Silver Dollar Saloon after a stroll down the street in our period costumes. We visited the Irma for the gun fight in the street, drinks and dinner. The original cherrywood bar is stunning!

We met some amazing people. First time Sturgis participants from the U.S. and New Zealand! Chatted with the shootout performers and enjoyed ourselves…….perhaps a little too much! 🙂

Good times!

Kat xo

http://centerofthewest.org

http://www.irmahotel.com

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cody,_Wyoming