Last Leg

Ian and I were driving east on Hwy 84 along the Columbia River when I started thinking about rest stops. We realized three aren't any along the route we were taking and the towns were few and far between. Enter the sign for Bonneville Dam with "tourist facilities." I said, Ian get off here! He was taken aback but he did exit. This the fish hatchery part of the facility. I told the guard I was more interested in a rest stop than the power plant so she suggested the hatchery.
The first fish we saw was this display of rainbow trout. I thought they were thick at Fanny Bridge in Tahoe City!
I'm so glad I needed to stop, because I never would have elected to come here and it's worth seeing. That is just one of the many tanks that serve as salmon nurseries. I forget what they called them, but it's where the fish grow up. We also went to the fish ladder - that's really interesting and complicated.
When the guard suggested we try the hatchery, she mentioned that they had a 400 pound sturgeon. We were walking to the car when we suddenly remembered her suggestion and followed the signs to their pond. Whoa! But wait, there's more.

That was Mama Fish. Supersize it. This is Papa Fish. He's as big as a dolphin and he lumbers through the water, if that's possible. I've never seen a slower moving fish.
We went outside to see the fish in their pool and he obliged by floating by. He's ginormous - the biggest and ugliest fish I have ever seen. He's lucky he's protected. Sturgeon is delicious!
We were excited for our Friday night plans in Bend. It was Missy's first paycheck and she wanted to celebrate at the the Pine Tavern Restaurant, note the pine trunk behind Logan. She's wanted to eat there but it's a two-paycheck family kind of place. Logan really liked it. Plus we'd gotten to see one football game and would be able to see his next one. He and I sat on the deck one afternoon and just chatted - he's of that age. He told me he liked it better since they moved because when we come to visit, we come for days. That's a gold star, oh yeah.
Josh texted me while we were in Washington to say that we were going to be back in time for the Fall Festival downtown. There are booths with vendors from all over and the attendance isn't deterred by fall temps, though some have it easier than others.
For Evan, the attraction was the kids street and the pumpkin painting area. Notice all the drying pumpkins against the wall. He got his pumpkin, his brush and his paint and he just froze. He is so my grandson - I remember that feeling. He did an abstract and all was well.

This booth caught my attention. That is the very same loom that I donated to Reno High School. He's weaving dishtowels. He said that he usually has a student weaving while he works the booth so was doing double duty.
I was struck by the sectional beam. He had impro-
vised and couldn't remember where he got it. It's not original to the Artisat, nor are the Texsolv heddles. I was stunned when I saw them. I told him that I had put them on but it was murder to thread so went back to wire heddles. He agreed, but said that he never threads - it's a dummy warp and when he gets to the end, he just ties on a new one - a man after my heart!
I had asked Josh to think about turning this towel rack into a craft fair display for placemats. Melissa was going to leave the rack in her rental so I snagged it. I always have things for him to do - he calls it his "sonny do" list.
It's going to be great and free up a lot of table space. We had a long confab at the hardware store. When I told him I was thinking about an easel display, he was thinking floor easel. Communication and assumption - dangerous mix. It was fun watching him put it together on the fly. Yeah, I'm a proud mom.
We got home late Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning I enjoyed the front porch with my spinning wheel and coffee. It was cool, I had to wear my down vest, but the birds were in full song.

It poured Tuesday night night and we awoke to this Wednes-
day morning. I think October has arrived. Hooray - it's my favorite month. Ian is at a library conference so I'm getting to tend the first fires of the fall season.
I spend the afternoon getting a warp on this borrowed loom. I'm leaving at 7:00 in the morning for a three-day weaving workshop on warping makeovers with Robyn Spady. I'm so excited. I chose the huck pattern option. Jeanne forgot to give me the crank so I stole the one from Maudie Mae, but they're both Gilmores so it fits. My crank is really heavy and might be a problem.

I cleared the first hurdle - getting it into the car by myself. It was late and I was tired so I'll check for threading and sleying errors when I get there. First order of the day; caffeine for me, hay for the fluffy ones and kibble for the rest.