Picto Diary - 20 August 2015 - Fires

Above: Forest fire. La Grande, OR. 20 August 2015.

This is the third forest fire I have seen since Baker City, OR, about 70 miles back on I-84. 525 miles into a Duc ride today from Park City, UT to a friend's place in rural eastern Washington... total miles ridden on arrival, 630 miles.

I left Park City this AM in smokey atmosphere. The smoke didn't dissipate for the first 525 miles... until I reached this place, La Grande.

OK. Eastern OR and eastern WA is where the fires are. I can see the fires. There is no smoke in the atmosphere here where I am, northeastern OR. Yet, there was smoke from these fires over five hundred miles south east of here, in central Utah, where I started this AM. Go figure.

Above: John Galt observes forest fire smoke in Blue Mountains from his residence in rural eastern Washington. 20 August 2015.

Above: Earp family. Earp, Mattie Blaylock, Sax, and Trumpet. 20 August 2015.

Galt's residence over burgers and pinot. Hosted by John Galt and Dagny Taggart.

Earp, Galt and Mwah (sic) will embark day after tomorrow, from Tacoma, WA, on a motorcycle ride through BC and Alberta with the specific intent of spending a night in Calgary, a city I have never before visited. We hope to see some beautiful Canadian Rockies scenery along the way.

Earp installs irrigation systems throughout eastern Washington and northeastern Oregon. He owns a farm with "ancient" water rights, and owns a business which separates oils from seed... canola, safflower, etc.

Mattie Blaylock met Earp at work. 17 years later, they still work together in the irrigation systems sales and installations business.

Outstanding girls! Look you in the eye, smile, and talk to you. Totally comfortable around adults. Each girl raises a pig to show in the county fair. Per their names, they each play an instrument in the band.

I told Earp his girls seem headed down the wrong track. They should get some tattoos and some piercings. That way they would have a leg up on having careers as coffee baristas. Earp said that Trumpet, at 16, had showed no interest in having even her ear's pierced. Sax, he said, just likes to play in the dirt.

Great parenting much in evidence to judge by the two girls.