Old Time Farming

Saturday there was a demonstration of old time farming methods in Shipshewana, so we went to see what they had.



Wait. Is it a steam train engine?



No, it's a thresher.



So is this.





The steam engine runs these belts, which in turn operate other machines. Like a saw mill.







In 2008 we volunteered at Oregon's White River Wildlife Refuge, where we had the opportunity to see the Dufur Threshing Days. You can read about threshing here.

Some of the old tractors in Shipshewana were very interesting.





Can you imagine how long it would take to build something if you first had to make the nails, one at a time?





How about pounding out a small coal shovel this way?



Here is an old washing machine powered by a gas engine. I'll bet there are people near Shipshewana who use a motor like this to run their clothes washer today.

Biking and Kentucky

Monday we rode our bikes 15 to 16 miles on the Legacy Trail in Lexington. We don't bike very often, but we are carrying the bikes with us and it is a good opportunity to explore outside the highways and city streets. The path passes through the University of Kentucky's Agriculture Experiment Station. We saw someone cutting hay.



And another tractor raking the cut hay.



I think these are the University's barns.



And this may be an old barn once used by a private farmer.



At one point, the trail took us through a tunnel, underneath the road we had driven on to get there.



We saw this garden on the University's land.



This agricultural activity is very different from what we saw during most of our time in Kentucky. Often, we passed miles of fields devoted to horses, I think. Most of the fences were white, like these. Once in a while, we saw black fences.



Earlier, we had made one stop on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Kentucky's water, which is filtered through the limestone throughout the state, tastes really good and is one of the reasons a lot of bourbon is made in the state. They are really proud of the water, just look at what it says on this water tank.



We have enjoyed our time in Tennessee and Kentucky.  They are beautiful states.  Almost everyone we met in Tennessee was very friendly and helpful.  We liked Kentucky, too, but the folks are not quite as outgoing and friendly.

Alaska -- Day 12

Today we drove into Canada, where we will be for about a month before going into Alaska. At the border crossing into Coutts, Alberta, everything went smoothly and we were soon continuing on to Park Lake Provincial Park near Lethbridge. Waiting at the border crossing, I checked our mileage and discovered we have driven 3,077 miles since leaving Alamo, Texas.



The landscape was much the same the whole trip, with lots of wheat and hay (we think) fields.
In both Alberta and Montana, the land is dotted with oil rigs.




At one point, we drove down a 7% grade to cross the Marias River, then back up again. What a pretty place.



And we saw a huge number of grain silos of all shapes and sizes.



We were very glad we were only driving a truck and trailer, not this farm machinery.



Lethbridge is the site of the longest and tallest train trestle bridge of its type in the world. It is over 100 years old.



This American flag seems like a fitting end to my Memorial Day blog. This is a day to thank those who have served our country in the military and to remember our friends and family who have died. May they rest in peace.

Alaska -- Day 6

Scenery, trains, wheat and weather were the highlights of our travel the 200 miles from Columbus to Helena. Montana is such a beautiful state with mountains, plains, and of course a Big Sky. Look at this view of the Crazy Mountains.



Later the roadside had changed and so had the mountains.



Views like this remind us of the Colorado Rockies. The difference is that in Colorado we would be up at 8,000 feet or higher. Today we were usually between 4,000 and 5,000 feet above sea level.



We paralleled the Burlington Northern track most of the trip and saw many, many trains. They were carrying coal, grain, tank cars and miscellaneous freight. Often we saw two at once, one moving and the other waiting to get back on the track.



Montana is Cris-crossed with numerous large rivers, including the Madison, the Yellowstone and the Missouri. And here they raise lots of wheat, irrigating with that river water. This is only one of many very large wheat fields we saw.



Some of the irrigation sprinklers must have been nearly 1/4 mile long, moving in large arcs around the wheat fields.



All of that means they need lots of grain storage bins.



We never had a lot of rain, but the skies sure were threatening. The clouds were quite impressive. And we did struggle against a lot of wind. During a wait for construction, John talked to the woman flagger. She wasn't very happy about being out in this weather.





And we even saw a modern Oscar Meyer Wiener car.

Friends--Virtual No Longer

For more than a year, we have been following Jim and Gayle's blog. Last spring, they were exploring southern New Mexico, just like we were. Eventually, we were in the same state park and we hoped to meet them. However, our 5th-wheel landing gear stopped working and we had to go on to Albuquerque to get it fixed. The day we planned to move into the same campground they were in, instead we stopped for gas on our way north and watched them drive down the road. An opportunity missed.

But then, as we headed to the Rio Grande Valley last month, we learned they, too, were in the area. Yesterday we met them at Carino's in Pharr for lunch. We didn't stop talking and sharing our adventures for two and a half hours. Now they are living, breathing friends, not just virtual friends.



Yesterday afternoon, the sun came out. That was a big deal. And it is still shining today. But many--it seems like most--of the days this month have been cloudy and rainy. Those of us who spend most of our time in Colorado and Phoenix aren't used to this. The rain has encouraged the trees to begin greening up. This Sugar Hackberry tree is next to our trailer. When we moved here last month, it was entirely bare. Look at it today.



With rain comes the mushrooms. Aren't these pretty?



This Huisache (pronounced wee-sache) tree is near our trailer. It is covered with blooms.



This Queen butterfly (I think) was attracted to the flowers.



The Rio Grande Valley is a rich agricultural area with farmers raising many different vegetables, as well as sugar cane. They have been harvesting cabbage since we arrived and we saw some sugar cane at the vegetable market yesterday, so they must be harvesting it somewhere. Today I watched this crop duster working a field just down the road. He (or she) flies sooo close to the ground!