Meanwhile —
in Muskogee:
Muskogee_1939 by Edmund, on Flickr
Things are peaceful down at the depot.
Happy Father's Day to all!
Cheers, Ed
Good Afternoon,
Ken, Dirk sure is a good looking fellow!
TF, where are you! Anyone have his phone number?
As far as camping goes my wife said our sailboat was as close to camping as she would get and it had an enclosed head, refrigeration, a stove, comfortable seating and a lot of teak trim. Travelling she will only stay in hotels with room service.
I am glad I didn't win the bid for the Flying Scotsman. On closer inspection these models don't have a lot of detail so I have set my sights on a Merchant Navy class.
A cool day here, only about 65F. Wish it would rain. Our water bill will be staggering.
Ran the Pacific on a mixed train yesterday. I think it is now my favourite engine. The detail is amazing, sound is good and it is a very smooth runner that just creeps on speed step 1.
No plans for today. Will have to get at the front yard tomorrow. There is a lot of spruce needles to rake up, several inches deep in places. Then I have to work on the lawn where the graders removed the grass in winter.
CN Charlie
Post Hog!
Just heard from very good friends of ours. Their 19-year-old daughter who has been camping with us many times has just been admitted to hospital with covid-19. She is fit and very athletic. She started back to her job at the steak house when it reopened about a week ago and tracing shows she likely contracted it from a customer the first day they opened.
Needless to say, her Dad is not having a good Father's Day.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
SeeYou190 I cannot begin to explain what goodness this did for my soul. I was in a state of complete contentedness.
Yep, That is why I use to like hiking into the backcountry for a few days, nothing to hear but your own heartbeat, I get the same relaxation with an early morning paddle when visiting my cousin.
Though not quite the same because you can hear the cows mooing in the distance rural living is great, I don't know how you guys stand living armpit to armpit.
Good morning, it is supposed to be hot today and tomorrow, low to mid-30s. At least it is never humid here.
I am enjoying Kevins' trip as it is bringing back so many great memories of our family trip through those parts. May just have to hop in the New Highlander when the borders open up again and head South.
Sleeping in a tent in the backcountry was the best. Sleeping in a tent at a campground with kids was a horrible experience and it only happened once. Now having a nice RV at a campground with kids, dogs and lots of friends along is the best fun. I never thought I would be an RV guy but I was convinced after our first trip. We rented trailers twice and then bought a 30' Jayco. We got our money and more out of that thing.
I took some canoe trips that I really enjoyed, the best thing about canoe trips is the 70lb backpack is in the bottom of the canoe and not on your back. Except for portages and then you have the backpack and canoe to carry but those were relatively short and you could make two trips if need be.
Water Level RouteBrent, those are some neat stories about your son. I imagine it must be weird to watch some of that stuff and know it's him.
Mike, it is weird when you flick on the TV and there happens to be a show he was in on the screen. I remember when he started we were excited to see him and his sister on the big screen. Then as time goes by the novelty starts to wear off and it is just another job. There are a few things that he has worked on that neither he nor we have even watched yet. He worked on the movie Predator for a week and none of us has watched it to see how much screen time he got. I heard it was a stinker of a movie so it is not high on the list.
The money he made let him live like a king all through University. He went to University in Ottawa and would fly home for fall reading week, Christmas, and Spring reading week. He would be booked to work and would make $1000,00 to $2000.00 a day. He would be home but we hardly saw him, though if it was a short shoot I would drive him just to spend some time with him and hang around and watch and was welcome to all the great food on set.
I spent a good part of the day at my desk on conference chats with investment people yesterday. Commodities (lumber) should come off later this year somewhat and then head back up early in 2022 and then stabilize towards the end of 2022. The U.S. faces some unique challenges and it will likely take longer for lumber prices to stabilize there. Every time I have to sit at a desk all day I feel like shooting myself, I don't know how you guys that did/do it for a living manage. I need to be outside and moving.
Well, it is guitar time outside on the patio and then bike time and then go for a long walk with the dogs through the forest.
Happy Fathers Day.
Good morning all and Happy Father's Day.
The soccer tournament went off well enough yesterday. Ton's of people there, raffles, bake sale, lunch type food cost whatever you wanted to donate. Fun atmosphere. My daughter's team made the championship for their bracket and played a team they had beaten once already. The other team played back into it in the "losers" bracket. During their first championship game, they were ahead 2-1 late when the other team got two really flukey goals. That was the first dagger. Then, since it was double elimination and following the 3-2 game, both teams had one loss, they had to play a rematch. That's when the other team started playing really dirty. Things a full ref crew would have caught, but with just one ref that wasn't happening. First they took out our best offensive player (my nephew), then our second best offensive player, then our fourth. The kids kind of gave up at that point. It got so bad, one of the kids on the other team actually called out his team at one point saying "come on guys, this is for charity." Sad. Our third best offensive player (my daughter ) managed to avoid the carnage. She was really frustrated by all of it and I don't blame her. Still, proud of her! She is just heading into 9th grade and was on a team of all high school and college aged boys and held her own just fine.
Between work and some things going on at church, I won't have my oldest around until this evening. Family time then. Looking forward to it.
Hope everyone has a safe and happy Father's Day.
Mike
I grew up camping. My Boy Scout troop tried to get out for an outdoor trip every month. We were not wimps. Sometimes it was tent camping with open wood fires, in the mid-winter snow.
The ex-wife liked camping, but I got tired of it because I did all the work, all the cooking, all the cleanup.
The GF now says CAMP is a four-letter word. At my age, by this time I have to agree.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
hon30critterYour pictures are superb.
Thank you for that.
My camera lenses and filters are all packed away, so I am just using a basic 15/55 lense. I am surprised how good a lot of the pictures have been, and I am sure saving time not switching lenses and accessories.
On the down-side, I have no pictures of birds, and there have been so many landscapes that would have benifited from a wide-angle lense. Also, without any basic filters, waterfalls have been hard to photograph.
York1Raising a family of girls is different. My daughters and wife jumped out of the car and went to inspect if the campground bathroom was up to their standards. We actually had to stop at several campgrounds before we found ones that were OK with them.
I am with you there! I never even suggested taking my girls camping. I used to camp a lot when I was 17-19 years old. I camped for the first time when I was in college in Nashville. I had fun, but I was married at 20, so it has been over 30 years since I was in a tent. It was not like I remembered at all.
York1My wife is not the same. She always said that she would camp as long as it was in a Hilton.
NorthBritDawn and I are like that now.
I believe this will be my wife's policy from now on as well.
At least we tried it.
We did stay at a few locally owned motels in Michigan and Wyoming. These were wonderful and I loved them.
Heartland Division CB&Q"Hey look at that! .... Not only are there dinosaurs, but there is a caveman too !!!"
That was good for a laugh this morning!
up831Wow! I didn't know cavemen had plaid animal skins back in dinosaur times.
The plaid skinned land whale was hunted to extinction when cavemen developed a sense of fashion.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Hi Everyone,
Brunhilde, coffee with cream, please.
Happy Father's Day everyone!
Wow! I didn't know cavemen had plaid animal skins back in dinosaur times.
Kevin, I'm wih you on the camping thing. When I was an explorer scout, our post went on a canoe trip to Quetico Provincial Park. It was a good time, but I would go tosleep under the stars thinking of my comfy bed at home. After that trip, I'd had enough. Incidentally, on Moose Lake on the US side, there's an island that was pictured in old Hamm's Beer commercials. That island actually exists and we stopped there. I looked around and pulled a Hamm's beer bottle out of the trash and brought it home with me. My Mom cleaned it up without damaging the label and I still have it today. Yellowstone: It is a beautiful place. My wife and I went there on our honeymoon. I took over 300 slides in Yellowstone alone let alone the other places we stopped.
Ah, all the memories.
Have a good one everyone.
Jim (with a nod to Mies Van Der Rohe)
Good morning and happy Fathers Day.
dino by Bear, on Flickr
"Hey look at that! .... Not only are there dinosaurs, but there is a caveman too !!!"
....
Kevin .... Thanks for sharing you photos. .... I like the "WElcome to Colorful Colorado" sign. I can see many shades of brown !
David .... Very nice sunset photo.
We are busy with visiitng family members from Michigan and Ohio..
Everybody: ..... Have a nice day.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
York1 She always said that she would camp as long as it was in a Hilton.
She always said that she would camp as long as it was in a Hilton.
Dawn and I are like that now.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
Good Sunday morning, everyone. Donut Day!
More great pictures on our circuit tour, Kevin. Too bad about camping. Like Dave, I used to camp a lot and loved it. My wife is not the same. She always said that she would camp as long as it was in a Hilton.
When the girls were growing up, I took the family on a week of camping in the west, each night at a different place. Growing up camping, my brothers and I jumped out of the car and ran around throwing rocks, climbing hills, etc. Raising a family of girls is different. My daughters and wife jumped out of the car and went to inspect if the campground bathroom was up to their standards. We actually had to stop at several campgrounds before we found ones that were OK with them.
We'll be having some family from Arizona traveling through and stopping this week, so we will be spending time cleaning the house. We don't seem to mind how the house looks until company comes. Happy in our hovel?
Have a great Sunday, diners!
York1 John
Good morning Diners. A large coffee please, Janie.
Garry. I must have just missed you. I have to be near/with Dawn 24/7.
Ken. Glad you are back.
Charlie. Better luck next time on a Flying Scotsman. As you say there are a few around.
Beartoons. Great.
Everyone else. Take care. Pop into the Diner when possible. Love to hear from you.
Kevin. I am never up early enough to see sunrise. Here is a Sunset in the Red Sea.
Family visiting this afternoon.
Running trains later.
Thoughts & Peace to All who Require.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
SeeYou190Last night when we left Yellowstone park, we went to Grand Teton National Park. For some reason, we thought we should spend one night in a National Park camping in a tent. It was awful.
Hi Kevin,
You are doing an absolutely sensational job of hosting the Diner!!! Your pictures are superb. You are making me jealous for not being on the trip with you. Mind you, by now you would likely have grown pretty tired of my company!
I'm so sorry that you didn't enjoy the camping experience. Dianne and I were avid campers. We spent our honeymoon in a tent on the shores of Lake Superior at Agawa Bay. It was nirvana as far as we were concerned, even though the tent got blown down one night in a storm while we were in it. I had to re-pitch the tent in the nude! Hey, we were on our honeymoon! What did you expect?!? Each to his own.
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Good evening fellow diners.
Thank you for all the kind comments on my efforts hosting the diner this month. I have never done this before, and I was worried about how I would handle the job.
Ed gave me some good pointers, and I have had a good time bringing everyone along on the journey this month.
Last night when we left Yellowstone park, we went to Grand Teton National Park. For some reason, we thought we should spend one night in a National Park camping in a tent.
It was awful. I was hoping to get some awsome sunrise pictures over the Grand Tetons, but I slept too long (because I could not fall asleep), and I missed the sunrise.
I will never camp again.
Today we visited Dinosaur National Monument in Utah and Colorado.
The skies were a continuous challenge today. Sometimes they were great:
Sometimes they were just terrible:
Utah has some wonderful scenery that we enjoyed on the drive to the Dinosaur National Monument park.
The park is divided into two halves. One is entered from Utah and features a quarry where dinosaur bones have been unearthed for more than 100 years.
This park is geared somewhat towards kids, and had lots of fun features. I love the dinosaur that greeted us at the entrance.
The main attraction is the quarry dig site display. They have uncovered the side of one of the formations and revealed the dinosaur bones within the rocks.
There is one dinosaur bone the visitors are allowed to touch. It has been polished smooth and shiny after years of being rubbed by the visitors to the park. I helped out a bit myself.
I hope Bear can forgive me for making my own toon. The internal nerd in me took over, and I had to do it.
The other scenery around Dinosaur National Monument on the quarry side was wonderful. We had a great time there.
We left the quarry side, and headed for the Colorado entrance to the park.
For the first time in my life, I am in the State of Colorado!
It was about a fifty mile drive from one park entrance to the other.
The Colorado side of Dinosaur National Monument is centered around the canyon. This is a spectacular site.
There was a pathway that led through the woods to this park bench.
This is the view from the bench. Not the Grand Canyon, but still spectacular. The best thing about it was that there was absolutely no one else around. That will not happen at the Grand Canyon. My wife and I were completely alone on this peaceful bench looking at the magnificent view in complete peace and silence.
I cannot begin to explain what goodness this did for my soul. I was in a state of complete contentedness.
There was this dirt road that led to a park in the lower canyon, but my wife would not allow me to attempt to make the drive in the Kia Optima.
There was not much to be seen for trains today. This string of covered hopper cars was all that I saw.
Check out this horrifying armor plated grasshopper thing with a stinger on the back! There were hundreds of these things walking on the roads in Colorado.
That is all for today. Thank you for riding along.
We are sleeping in a one-bedroom suite in a Hilton Hotel tonight. The tent and air matress will never be used again... ever!
The World Is A Beautiful Place.
Evening all.
Flo - A nice RBF please. Thanks.
Ken - Afraid I can't help on the android, I'm an apple guy... But on the camera with the computer - Are you trying to import by plugging in the camera, or inserting the SD card into the computer?
And I feel you on the lumber prices... They are flat out rediculous right now.
Kevin - Really cool pics! I've never been to the Grand Canyon, so I will say, "Thank You!" for sharing the photos.
Wildlife pics - Had some visitors during dinner time tonight, and I had to sneak some pictures.
Deer 1 by Richard W, on Flickr
She was wondering off towards the road, so I said, out loud, "Don't go that way Bambi." She stopped, allowing me to capture the photo.
She then decided to go rejoin her friends, and I got the following picture.
3 Deer at once by Richard W, on Flickr
Those with keen eyes will spot that the middle deer is a very young buck. They watched me take their picture, then high-tailed it towards the back woods.
They made absolute excellent dinner guests - They were quiet, didn't hog all the food, were respectful of personal space, and they didn't over-stay their welcome!
Hope all are well, and all enjoy the evening!
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
Hello Railfans!
Top of the evening to yas! Just popping in to catch up on the goings on and to say howdy.... HOWDY!
High Ball!
Douglas
cudakenStill have not figured out Windows 10 and it will not take photos from my 20 year camera? I all so cannot get my Android phone to share files.
Hi, Ken
I hope you don't mind but I grabbed the photo you sent a few weeks ago of Dirk and posted it here:
Dirk-crop by Edmund, on Flickr
It took me a while to figure out how to send the photo from my phone, to Google Photos, to my PC hard drive, to Photoshop, to Flickr, to here
A few taps, and a swipe here and there.
You owe me a
Ed
Good afternoon .....
David .... Are you still here? .... Apparently everybody else is gone.
Ed ..... Interesting video about the container crane operator. That job must be uplifting.
Kevin .... Your Yellowstone pictures are fantastic. Thanks for sharing. Definately, the world is a beautiful place, specially at Yellowstone.
We have family visiting this weekend from Ohio and Michigan. Busy here.
Cheers.
EDIT ..... .. KEN, I did not see your latest post as I was writing mine..... I'm glad you are back again today. .... Yes, lumber prices are very high now. Prices, in general are rising too fast. ... Thanks for the !
Eveing Diners.
Flo, give the gang and I a please and Dirk a dog treat.
Thank's for the warm welcome back folks!
Well it is thundering outside so Sue won't Dirk and I sit out. o I am running the trains instead.
The Cadillac DTS picture I posted is not mine. Same color and year but mine has the stock window tint. I cannot stand that dark of a tint! Other than that the are the same. Still have not figured out Windows 10 and it will not take photos from my 20 year camera? I all so cannot get my Android phone to share files.
Roof. With the current lumber prices I cannot afford to replace it now. Latest bid was $20,000.00? With 4' X 8' section of plywood being $60.00 I guess I sort of understand.
Later, Ken and Dirk says I miss Robbie, woof woof.
I hate Rust
Good evening Diners. A large coffee please, Janie. Leave the jug.
Went to get some medication. I had Dawn with me, so went for a long drive afterwards. Boy am I thirsty now.
Arrived back home and a parcel with some clockwork locomotives were left for me. Tomorrow I shall see how they run etc.
A simple dinner tonite. Chicken 'n' Chips (Fries). Clotted Cream Rice Pudding to follow. I'll leave some in the Diner. Maybe TF will 'check in'.
Stay Safe Everyone
Good morning, everyone. I'll have some sausage, hashbrowns, and coffee, Chloe. And don't forget a bottle of hotsauce.
Kevin, more great pictures. My entire family is meeting at Yellowstone in about three weeks. Your pictures are sure making me look forward to the trip.
Rick, your report of working on a bridge without a safety harness gives makes me sweat. I hate heights unless there's a very strong railing.
Henry, I've eaten in some places like you describe. The hamburger should be so good, and instead it's turned into a hockey puck.
Ed, Welcome Back, Kotter! I haven't thought about that program for a lot of years.
Mike, your report of the cancer victim hits home. A while back I spent some time driving a friend to his cancer treatments. As I sat in the waiting room, I witnessed how many kids were there facing life-threatening times. I could only wonder why I've been blessed with good health.
Ray and Terry, it was good to hear from both of you again.
Charlie, hope your kidneys are OK.
Ricky, I'm 69, and until several months ago, I still had all four wisdom teeth. None of them were visible, but X-rays showed one had started to deteriorate. The dentist took it out and I barely felt anything.
Dave, I'm with you. I've told my wife that I'm never moving again except to the cemetery.
Brent, glad to hear your hockey team won.
All other diners I haven't mentioned, I hope everything is going well.
I have another day of nothing to do. I may try to talk my wife into going for a drive just to get out of the house.
Have a great Saturday.
Ken:
Glad to see you back in the diner. Your new car is sweet. I briefly owned a red 1975 Coupe DeVille back in 1988. It was a good car.
BACK!
Ken, welcome back! Nice ride too! Glad to have you back in the diner.
howmusshe had a magnificent emboshure but that she held me funny
Ricky, glad to hear you are recovering well from the tooth pull. I also have all my wisdom teeth. The dentist was pushing me some years back to have them pulled even though they aren't causing problems or even popped out of my gums. Then he suddenly stopped. Must have made that big purchase he was trying to get me to pay for some of.
Brent, those are some neat stories about your son. I imagine it must be weird to watch some of that stuff and know it's him.
Kevin, beautiful pictures! That is such an incredible part of the continent. Truly breathtaking.
gmpullmanThis young lady makes it look so easy
Makes it look easy, or makes it easy to look at? I'm not sure how many jobs seem like a logical lead in to operating something like that, but beautician is not one that comes to mind!
Any others I missed, it's not intentional. You guys have been busy. Looks like I missed a party!
Off to watch the charity soccer tournament. Should be a fun day.
Later guys!
Edit: Top of the page! Saturday coffee on me.
Good morning Diners. Tea and toast please, Brunhilda.
Ken. Welcome back.
Kevin. Loving the scenery on your trip.
Ed. I never saw any young ladies like that at any ports we visited.
Children. Sometimes we wonder 'did we bring up our children right and all that?' Then realise they are on the straight and narrow path of life and doing okay. When the grandchildren visit, they want to stay longer. 'That will do'.
A few things to do before I can run trains, so better get them done.
Thank you for that beautiful update, Kevin!
This young lady makes it look so easy —
Good evening diners.
Today our travels brought us back into Yellowstone Park for the second time. I wish I had time for a third day there.
The pictures from today:
We had a perfect sky for taking pictures today.
gmpullmanThat sure is good to hear. Will it interfere with his motion picture career? You must be proud, Brent Cheers, Ed
I think I feel satisfied/relieved that I got the job done, it is a scary venture going into parenthood.
His second choice after sports teams is the movie industry behind the camera in management. He got some good exposure to that while he worked and thoroughly enjoyed what he witnessed. Terrific people he said and he keeps contact with them on a regular basis and still meets them for lunch. In the first project, he ever did the casting director came up to me and said "he just gets it, he only has to be told once and doesn't screw up". She then told me to get him out of the extra pool and go to a particular agent to represent him individually and then they could easily ask for him personally and not have to just take whoever they sent from the pool. That got him making big bucks as he was considered a "special extra" at that point.
He is not perfect as he screwed up big time in Deadpool, he had been on set for 14 hours and was a lead into a scene where they followed him running and stopped on Ryan Reynolds. He had run down the scene over and over again where he ran through the icebox (prison) up and over a table with the camera following him. When he went to do it on the live shoot he flipped ass over tea kettle going over the table. The whole place erupted in laughter and even though it was a forty-minute reset for the scene (there was a lot of pyrotechnics) and the kid felt bad for messing up, the brass just laughed it off. He came home very late that night and I was waiting up for him as usual, I think he was more ticked off at himself than upset. The scene never made the cut but they all got their own blooper reels about six months after the movie was released and it is on that.
There were some days where he was the only extra brought in and in his post-production package that had the blooper reel there is video and still shots of him goofing around with Ryan Reynolds and Josh Brolin, I still find it weird looking at that.
He has done enough things that we have turned on the TV to have him staring back at us, I also find that weird.
Dave, I was with the Federal Government at 19 making whatever the going Government wage was in 1976. $5.91 an hour I think. By the mid-eighties, I switched jobs in the Government to a different dept and was making pretty good money as they had a hard time filling the position(s) as it was considered a high-stress, very demanding job. It never had me stressed in the least as I don't sweat things I have no control over.
My earliest North American roots date back to the Swan River Valley in the 1790s Manitoba. We know what each generation has done since and every one of them has done a little better than the previous one. My Dad worked for the Post Office and my Mom was a musician teaching piano, voice, and doing some professional work for the CBC and various operas that rolled through Vancouver.
I had all I needed growing up but no silver spoon and have carried on the tradition and done better again and now my kids are both really off to the races. I have a High School education, however, my perfect wife is a veterinary surgeon with degrees in agriculture, animal nutrition, and genetics. Both my kids are educated and that is the first time in over two hundred years all offspring have attained that. We're getting there.
I get a hug from my son every time he shows up and a hug when he leaves and we always say love ya to each other. All those hours at the rink lacing up his skates and duct-taping cuts closed to stop the bleeding and throwing him back out on the ice because we needed a goal made us pretty close.
I am delighted they are doing so well and wonder what the next generation holds in store for the family tree.