Klamath Falls

Solo Post Office Sunday

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I got up early and went downstairs at the Shilo Inn for breakfast and boy what a disappointment. The only thing I got was small pre-packaged container of Honey Nut Cheerios and an 8oz container of 2% milk. I went back to the room and ate. I wanted to get this hanging Post Office in New Pine Creek (see above photo) so I drove the 112 miles one way to get it. I stopped in Lakeview on the way back to get something really eat.

When I arrived back to the hotel around noon, it was just in time to watch the Red Sox lose their game against the Texas Rangers. Boston won the first game of the series last Thursday, but promptly lost the next three to Texas, so their 2025 W/L record so far is 1-3.

Also, when I got back to the hotel, I wasn’t hungry for lunch because of the homemade biscuit with egg, sausage & cheese I had at The Bottom of the Barrel Bakery was twice the size of a normal Carl’s Jr biscuit. I figured I’d get back on track with a good dinner. Never happened.

When I checked the weather for the day in Klamath Falls it mentioned that there might be some snow in the early morning hours of Monday. Hmmm, there wasn’t any mention of snow earlier in the week. Around three this afternoon I looked again, now they were saying an inch or more of accumulation at lower altitudes, but there might be several inches above 5,000 feet. That would be a problem, any route I would take from Klamath Falls to home would include at least one pass that was higher than five thousand. I was willing to stay another day, but changed my mind when snow was forecast for the next 3 days.

I stuffed all my things back into their respective bags, checked out of the hotel, threw the bags in the trunk and headed north. It was 3:30 in the afternoon. At about 5:30 I would normally be thinking about getting din-din, but by then I was long past civilization. I kept thinking I’d see something I wanted in those small towns on this side of the Cascades, but didn’t. I got on I-5 just south of Eugene and really didn’t want to get right back off, so I was going to wait until I got north of town. Then with all the traffic I missed the only exit that had food listed on the sign. I had to stop and gas in Salem and by that time it quarter after seven and too late to eat a meal. I ate the second bag of a half apple I had brought along for afternoon snack.

I figure between the Lakeview round trip and the dash home I drove over 500 miles for the day. With Saturday’s 300-ish mile drive down to K-Falls it was certainly good practice for my upcoming Jumbo Road Trip.

Busy Tunnel

On my morning cannabis run last month, because I was unsupervised, I decided to stop and take a Miata picture for Instagramming. There is this cute little one lane tunnel under some railroad tracks a short detour off the way home that I thought might be nice. In all the times I have passed by on the road perpendicular to the tunnel I have never seen anyone use it.

HA! I pulled in and stopped and hopped out to take a photo. When I moved a little closer to take a photo from a different angle I could see someone trying to come through from the direction I entered, so I just hopped in the car and moved forward to let them by.

I did a K-turn and headed into the tunnel to take one from the other direction. Sure enough, the same thing happened again. I got one photo and had to move the car for a whole different vehicle coming in opposite direction.

When I previewed the photos it really wasn’t that scenic, so I just went home.

Busy Weekend

Today was both the big downtown show for the Kruise of Klamath and the Klamath Kinetic Challenge along the Link River Trail. I only took a few photos of the cars in downtown because it was hard to capture nice pictures of the cars as they were jammed in, in the intense sunlight or half in and half in deep shadow, plus lots of people.

Its summer so the Miata is getting a “workout. Last night we went over to Moore Park to see some of the cars from the Kruise for 11.1 miles and today we went 8.6 miles to downtown to see the car show and up to the lake to watch Kinetic fun.

Tomorrow we’ll probably take the Mini because the Kinetic folks do their water course just before lunch and by then it will be very warm out.

19.7 miles in the last two days.
Times Miata Driven since 01/01/22: 38

 

Spring Snow

When we arrived back home last Sunday it was snowing or freezing raining. That type of weather kept up for literally the next three days. But the ground was already too warm for it to accumulate. The only place it did stick was on the grass and even there it didn’t stay around long because the daytime temps were above freezing.

The winds and temps kept us inside and shaking our heads. Talk to the folks who’ve lived here all their lives, or at least for more than the time we’ve been here, this is a pretty typical weather behavior for early April…

To the left is what the CX-5 looked like when we got up Monday morning. This was the day we needed to return it back to Enterprise, so during a brief respite from the snow/rain I went outside to clean it off. Donna was to follow me there in the Mini, but 2 weeks of sitting still in the garage sapped the battery just enough that it wouldn’t start. I guess I left the battery tender on the wrong car. Fortunately Enterprise’s slogan of “We’ll Pick You Up” applies on the other end as well, so I returned the car and a rep drove me back to our house.

Cheeky Kid – Part Two

If you haven’t already, go read Part One, I’ll wait…

Donna is inclined to go ahead and write the cheeky kid the check. So am I, so we will, but I have some questions. Like, how come whoever did it last year didn’t ask for money? Is this just a let’s throw this out there and see how much money I can rake in? And how many people besides us are going to fall for it? If we don’t pay, and everyone else does, will he mow every where except for between our property lines and our half side of the median?

I also question why, in this day and age, are we even growing grass. It is time to xeriscape this thing. We are in a perpetual drought here in the west and last year year it was so bad that to keep the lake healthy enough to sustain the fish population they did not release any of the usual water that is used by farmers to irrigate their crops. It is time to plant some native plants, water them this year to get them set and move on. Or do what Lady Bird Johnson kind of did as First Lady in Texas, plant wildflowers.

Cheeky Kid – Part One

First some background. We live on a street that has 2 one way lanes separated by a 30 foot section of grass. In New Orleans where Donna grew up this grassy section between the pavement was called a Neutral Ground. In downtown Aiken, SC where we lived for 30 years, when this style road happened we just called it a median. Here in Klamath Falls we don’t know what they call it because it is the only street in town constructed in this manner.

In the other two places mentioned above the city took care of these grassy areas between the streets, here who knows. There is a sprinkler system in place up and down the street and the grass gets plenty of water, so in the summer it needs mowing once every couple weeks and somebody does do it. We have lived here for two years and the first year I don’t remember who did it, I think somebody from the next block up. This last summer the kid who lives across mowed it. Yesterday we got a letter in the mail from him:

December 30, 2021

Dear Mr. & Mrs. Bogardus,

My name is John Doe and I mow the center divide for all residents in the 1000 block of Pacific Terrace. The fee for 2021 is $49.50 per homeowner, which includes my fee of $400 and a Spray & Grow Fee for $95.00.

Please remit payment to me for the 2021 upkeep of the center divide in the amount of $49.50.

Thank you.

John Doe
1098 Pacific Terrace
Klamath Falls, OR 97601
541-555-9999

To be continued…

8 mile ice cream run.
Times Miata Driven since 01/01/22: 4

 

Another Moore Park Monday

Like last Monday, and most others, we went to Moore Park to go for a walk along the paved trails. Today was nice enough to take the Miata again. After walking, we drove down to the main drag through town to visit our favorite Greek restaurant to pick up gyros for dinner to eat while watching Monday Night Football1. And with the nice weather and in town speeds after Arby’s, we even dropped the top for the last couple miles home.

11 mile trip around town.
Times Miata Driven since 01/01/22: 3