Raven's Roads
Living an interesting life: the travels and musings
of motorcycling author Linda R. Moore

I’m tired. I can’t believe how much snarfage I now have to enter, assuming markeroni.com ever comes up again.

Sunday 12th

Well, it’s my last evening here. Sort of sad, I’ve been very comfortable. On the one hand, it’s nice to be heading for my own cats, computer, husband, and life: on the other, as always, a shame to be leaving behind people you never know when you’ll see again.

We watched a couple of episodes of MASH last night. Great show, I’d forgotten how good it was, and the older I get the more I appreciate it. It was nice to just hang out together and watch the TV.

I spent some time touring LV’s garden this morning. It’s really impressive. Different vines twine in and out of supporting plants. There are veges and fruits everywhere. Strawbs and zucchini and eggplant and tomato and cabbage and corn and, and, and. A testimony to the idea that you can grow a lot of food in a very small space. I’ve been enjoying some of it very much. :-)

I started stringing together the various pieces of my second novel last night. I might get to write it when I get home, but it seems more likely I’ll work on it when I’m not at home. I also did some surfing online and answered a few emails. LV’s computer is faster than mine and it speeds stuff up.

In due course, LV’s friend and cat/house-sitter called and thus we were able to head out. LV and S met their friend and I, per my request, got dumped off in downtown Olympia. I revisited some of the snarfs I had only skimmed before and had a chance to read the plaques and take better pictures.

Garuda is visiting with me right now. Stand by for kitty petting break.

Ah, this is comfy. Leaning back into a chair with the laptop on my lap. Good. My back has been aching a bit these last couple of days; I need to go back to the gym to strengthen things up again. I lose my flexibility quickly, too. I am not sure if I can cross my legs right now, though that would be even better.

I walked right the way down Capitol, walked over a street, then walked up the next street. I did that up-and-down thing a few times. Sometimes it was glorious, jackets-off sunshine, and sometimes it was more chilly. Even had a spot or two of rain. Of course, I got slower and slower as I went on, but I enjoyed the really leisurely look around. I went on until my camera batteries died and my camera refused to play with the regular batteries, so I was out of luck. I did manage to get many GPS coordinates for Markeroni; I am going to add a field where one can add GPS coordinates, then see about getting a map server going. But first I have to work on Ravensmeet.

Yeah, I’m in goinghome mode. Thinking about work again. ;-)

At one point I passed a Jewish temple where the street had been cordoned off. It may have been a protest, but I didn’t see what was on the signs, and I was more interested in their choir, which was singing and sounding beautiful on the steps. I love harmonies, and they were doing it superbly.

Eventually my feet hurt and I found myself down to 4th street and an independent bookshop called Orca. Arranged a pickup with LV and S and explored the shop. It didn’t really have a local history section like I was wanting, so I didn’t get anything. I sat outside on the bench and chuckled while a seriously loopy lady had a full-volume argument with the universe up and down the street.

We then headed off to a local park where salmon are farmed, and leaping. We didn’t see any in the wild. It was a nice place and there were petroglyphs on a giant rock which had been displaced and moved here. I had never seen petroglyphs before.

With the exception of a trip to Walgreen’s to get a suitably sized notebook, that was the end of our travellings. I am most satisfied with my snarf count, which I estimate to be in the 125 to 150 range. ;-) LV started working on my snarf kit – I am in awe of her sewing skills, of which I have none. We are now passing a quiet evening, and later on I will print out my boarding pass, and that is all.

13th Sep

Boarding pass is printed
It’s raining
Need to make sure everything is packed…
And will be leaving in an hour. *snif*

September 11

It rained like mad last night, and the power was out this morning. I also woke up at seven, and thus the morning seemed very long. Apparently some critter ran into the lines and expired both itself and the electrickery. :: sigh ::

I can’t remember if I mentioned that I had the huge honour of having Ariel sit by me at the computer yesterday and lick my hand. Well, I did.

When we were all ready, we headed down to the Farmer’s Market again and I treated everyone to lunch. We had Japanese stuff and I tried a couple of stir fry recipes. I won’t touch sushi, but that isn’t all of Japanese cuisine.

It was good. :-)

Then we headed north to Point Defiance park someplace north of Tacoma. The traffic was rather gnarly due to an accident, and it took us a bit of time. I got to hear about the bridge which had a resonant frequency and ended up being blown into the water a few months after it was built – Galloping Gertie. And after it was described I remember seeing film of it on various shows about disasters and engineering and bad weather.

The park was beautiful. Some of it is manicured and some of it is virgin forest, which is glorious – rows of green trees and fern. We went to the zoo to have a break from snarfing. It was a small zoo, and thus we were able to see all the critters without exhaustion. The raven’s cage was way too small and I was startled to see how big they really are. The other cages seemed okay and the animals happy enough. I was particularly impressed by the walrus, the giant Puget Sound fish tank and the gradated moon jellies – from tiny polyps to their full, small size. The puffins were also fun because you could see them underwater, and so were the sea otters. They are singularly cute. And of course the penguins, but you couldn’t see them underwater.

After the zoo, we went to check out Fort Nisqually. This is a reconstruction of an early settlement with some original parts – which were moved from elsewhere. It looked nifty, but it was quite late in the day, and it would take a bit more time to view it properly. I did buy some cool kid stuff in the shop though.

Last trip of the day was to the nearby railway museum – not a museum of railways, but a logging camp station with huts and trains and all sorts of fun junk lying around. It kind of looked like someone had just left a bunch of stuff to rust where it had landed, and I liked that.

So that was Saturday. At home, the power was back on so I did my stuff and now I’m slowly winding down towards bed. LV has been measuring mascots and gadgetry up for my very own snarf bag, like hers. Penguin will soon have his own little pouch, and looks indescribably cute. I guess I will have to take pictures. ;-)

10th September

After such a lot of snarfing and travelling, we had a leisurely and long morning. I got a bunch of stuff done online by borrowing LV’s computer (mine only gives 10 hours of free dialup a month) and chatted and just generally had a quiet time, which was pretty much needed.

Later we went to Shelton for more snarfing. Our first stop was to see an absolutely gynormous wheel which was a rather fun setting for Penguin. At this stage I realised I was bursting for the loo, so when we got downtown the first quest was the great WC snarf.

I caused amusement at the historical museum by saying that I would definitely like to see the museum, but did they have a bathroom first? ;-) Much relieved, I enjoyed poking around the museum. Shelton is a logging town and there were many displays, not too much to read which suits me fine in a museum. LV gave them some bookmarks and they put them right there beside the books. I got a booklet about Mason County, and a postcard, and heard of one of the historical society members who had photographed all the California landmarks, plus the Oregon and Washington ones. Whee!

The museum was stop number one on the walking tour – there are actually two routes. We skipped some of the buildings, and did a kind of pick n mix which worked very well. It has a nice olde worlde feel and the landmarks are properly markered for the most part (not all buildings on the tour were part of Shelton’s heritage list). They had a nifty old engine and “caboose” - I need to find out what that means – in the high street. As we explored the old buildings, it began to rain a bit and we also found a few wildcards.

Towards the end I was feeling very weary, not surprising really. So, we headed back to the car and with one exception, went right home. The exception was a nice little bridge which is on the National Register – and has a geological point thingie on it. So this is my first one of those for Geocaching – fun! :-)

Benchmark! That’s the word.

At home, there was a bit of time to relax and unwind/take a shower. Ariel, the shy kitty, hopped up beside me and started to lick my hand – I have approval! :: beam ::

Then we were off to meet Tygaeyez (Tiger-Eyes, see?) from Ravensmeet. She’s a cool lady! We met at Denny’s and had a good long chat. Basically until everyone started yawning because we were all so knackered. ;-)

We took a detour through downtown “Olly” (Olympia) to see the capitol lit up, only it wasn’t. I guess they really are rewiring it. ;-) At home we finally tried out my pie, and verily was it nice. As it was a custom pie for two people with a less sweet tooth, it was a bit sour for me, but I still liked it. It was definitely approved of. LV and S had never had blackberry apple pie before.

I’m somewhat tired now, but at least I am finally up to date, and I think we are going to the zoo tomorrow.

9th September
Wolf Haven

In time we made our way to Wolf Haven, a sanctuary for wolves. Primarily these are wolves which were either in zoos which lost their funding, or were kept as pets by people who should know better. There are 42 wolves there now, and they’re almost full.

S stayed in the car while LV and I explored the gift shop and so on. Then we took a tour, with a couple from Cheshire as it turned out. The tour guide was good; not just enthusiastic, but knowlegeable. We were introduced to each set of wolves in turn, told anecdotes, and were lucky enough to see just about every animal get up and approach in some way. There were white wolves, grey wolves and red wolves; each had intense yellow eyes and some were downright playful. Some of the tour was about dispelling the myths about what wolves do and don’t do; some of it was about the animals and how they are designed with big snowshoe paws and chests so they can cope with the snow.

I don’t need any convincing that wolves are beautiful, but I suspect there is a lot of ignorance about what they are capable of and what they actually do. For example, they don’t go after cattle, which of course causes them to get shot in the wild. They’re a part of the food chain and in some places keep down overgrown populations of critters like nutrias (giant guinea pigs).

It was very well done, and we also heard about some Mexican wolves who are being prepared for release into the wild. They get fed nothing but roadkill, and apparently have a somewhat haphazard attitude to burying their food which means that the odd leg sticks up into the air in their cages.

After the tour, eveyone was tired, so we went home via one or two more snarfs.

In the evening I made my pie, and it went relatively well. Wasn’t the prettiest pie in the world, but the proof was in the eating – More Later. I had fun making it. Had a good teacher.

9th September

Had a good night’s sleep, with kittage wandering in and out at various times. Got up, did email etc. and we eventually headed up to Olympia farmer’s market.

We had lunch first; they have a row of little food places and I got a curry which was tasty. Then I wandered around with LV and got the apples I wanted for the pie I would be making later, and we took in a couple of the nearby snarfs. There’s a marina which I saw yesterday from the capitol, and a few markers here and there, some of them quite colourful. Penguin did his thing, and my snarf balance went up. Again. If snarfs were dollars…

It drizzled in bits and bobs but only outright rained for a very short period of time. After we had taken in the extra Olympia snarfs, including a really cool fountain that spat little showers up into the air and which one could watch for ages, we headed in a somewhat southerly direction.

Now, I’m not too sure where we went. I just had it all told to me, but I really didn’t retain the info because it’s late and I’m tired.I know that we headed south in a loop, and that the roads we took were pretty and for the most part lined with trees.

Among the places I remember are these: Tenino, Tumwater, Rochester. There was an obscure marker at the far end of a parking lot owned by a local gun club; there was an old railroad depot that we left bookmarks in the door of (it was a museum). We found two Oregon trail markers, one planned and one spotted from the road as we passed; there was a kiosk in honour of the Bush family (but a totally different bunch from the current ones in power) – each of the four sides had a panel with information – and a roadside marker to the site of an old fort, a very lonely location.

Laugh of the trip: a sign at a dog kennel saying “If you train with us, sit happens: :-)

Favourite snarf: definitely Mima Mounds. Technically speaking they are not historical but natural historical; however, there is info there about their history and the research done, but basically it is a prairie covered in weird bumps like burial mounds, only they’re not. They’re natural. There are various theories and some of them are sillier than others, but the place is really cool and I would have liked to spend more time there, but it wasn’t possible. I will return.

The place just made me feel happy because it was pretty and in the middle of a forest…and my first prairie, so far as I can tell. Natural places lift my spirits.

8th September, continued

On the way home from the dispute place, we stopped at an artesian well. It goes very deep and taps into free, delicious fresh water direct from the source. People come and fill up their bottles; the water pushes itself up and doesn’t need to be pumped.

That was pretty nifty.

At home, we had food when we wanted it, then spent several hours just chatting about Markeroni and Ravensmeet, this idea and that. Nothing that would be of interest to others, but it was nice.

LV and S have a nice garden, and it’s got quite the little vegetable patch. I have been weeding the garden path because I find it kind of soothing in small doses. Their garden backs onto a 40 acre forest/park and that is cool as well. They even have their own blackberry bush – inasmuch as it grows just outside their fence. ;-)

There is a blackberry apple pie in our near future. ;-)

There are three cats:

Shakti is gorgeous and affectionate. She is 50% cat and 50% fluff. Orange with white trim. ;-) And a very bushy tail. We are good friends now. She approves of my lap and purrs easily.

Garuda is a large brown tabby male. He has affection on his own terms, and does a lot of glaring. He is not shy, but nor is he as forthcoming as Shakti. He gives warnings before telling you that he’s had enough, which is just fine.

Ariel is a tiny six pound brown tabby. This evening, Thursday, she let me pet her for the first time. That’s pretty huge, apparently. She is exceedingly timid.

8th September

There. I might actually have found the most comfortable bed position for typing my posts.

Last night was good food and good conversation. Beyond that, not much else really needs to be reported.

This morning I headed off with LV to Olympia. We got in several snarfs along the way, then she had to do her session at the dispute resolution centre and dropped me at the historical commission for Washington. This is where I had arranged to meet Michael, the guy who sends me info about snarfs and who is my liaison for the state of Washington.

Went in, introduced myself to reception, then met Michael, who was a youngish guy, older than me but probably not by much, informal and friendly. Probably why he was so receptive to Markeroni in the first instance. He gave me a delightful behind the scenes tour of the stuff they do there; not only do they do National Register nominations, they have 1800 properties on a state register, help with local systems, and maintain a huge inventory of everything that could possibly be historic. He’s slowly working his way through every register entry to do a summary which can be used online, and they are going to do maps of every location and GPS coordinates if they can.

We headed out for lunch, went to a cafe a few doors down that does really good sandwiches and gives you extras that you didn’t ask for. It was good food and I was rather full, partly because we were both having a conversation and I ate very slowly for once. I was interested in what he did and he was interested in what I did, so it went well. He then offered to show me a few of his favourite places, so I jumped at the chance, and we went down the hill. He was amused by my penguin and the whole concept of snarfing, which I had to explain. There was an auto court which is a precursor to motels, and a big ostentatious building with columns that I forget the name of, only that it was impressive, and a hotel or two.

He was an architecture major at university, and seemed to have kind of fallen into this kind of work, but was also clearly enthusiastic about it. One thing we both have in common: too much to do all at once. ;-) The sheer quantity of historic sites and the sheer potential of what one could do with our projects given sufficient time is overwhelming.

I’m happy that they are improving their database of sites. I’ve been reluctant to enter full data for most lists of snarfs because it feels like stealing. Historic lists are created from much research, and it’s seemed wrong to just provide the addresses willy-nilly. I prefer to point people at the original sites, where the data is likely correct, and make them aware that these sites exists; perhaps from time to time there will be a useful match of skills or at least some help. I provide only the title, county and town of a place. If a member goes there and enters an address, that is just fine. I would rather support other people’s efforts than just take advantage of it.

It tickled me that I ended up showing him a couple of new places, based on info that LV had given me this morning. There was a park at the bottom of the hill with multiple snarfs: the end of the Oregon Trail, a monument, a gazebo…but he’s never seen the cute little drinking fountain that had a trough down the bottom for pets to drink.

Then we went up the hill again, and I got to see a really attractive Baptist church, and the women’s society, and a couple of Victorians…one had been repainted, and the paint was bubbling; one badly needed some work, but seemed to be slumlord type apartments these days, which is a pity. The Baptist church made me smile, and it had a big round stained glass window with a little tiny round Olympia plaque underneath it.

My impromtu tour guide – and I can’t stress how chuffed I was to get this tour – had to leave off round about the state capitol area, so then we parted company. I decided to go up into the capitol and explore, and it was fun because there were a great many memorials and monuments, including another moon tree and a very impressive story pole. (Not the same as a totem pole; the story pole shows characters from legends and each has a story attached. The totem pole is symbolic of the carving tribe’s religion.)

It was looking like rain, so when I noticed an info centre for the capitol I went in search of postcards. I ended up chatting to an elderly docent who had travelled quite extensively in the British Isles, and she told me there was a tour of at least part of the complex (the capitol is being brought into the 21st century). So I took the tour along with a father and son from Anaheim, California. We went into the supreme courthouse and got a pretty good explanation of how things work and even looked in the supreme courtroom, which literally drips authority. It must be pretty scary to be there.

Things I liked:

– The really lovely marble from Alaska, all over the place.
– The progression of photographs of judges: beard in one set, clean-shaven in the next, and women starting to appear in the one after that.
– The law library with copies of every supreme court case ever made.

By the time I got out it was time to head back to LV. I got mildly damp on the way. Washington is far too green for it not to rain regularly ;-). I was then able to add another treat to the day: watching LV and others at work in the dispute resolution office. Not actual mediations – these are rightfully confidential – but seeing the start of the process and the info-finding and how everyone works together. It would take much more patience than I have to make this work.

And that was my snarfari. I have over seventy snarfs from just these two days. It’s sort of crazy.

I’m going to go to sleep now. There is certainly more, but I need sleep molecules first. ;-)

7th Sep, evening

I’m in bed. A fluffy orange and white kitty is playing merrily with a cat toy, mostly because she hasn’t found my hair scrunchie yet. Have made acquaintance with all three cats, the littlest one from a distance, the others from close up. Ganesh, Ariel and Shakti. They’re lovely.

[edit: one of the cat toys turned out to be my toothbrush]

When we crossed the big river and I saw the huge elegant suspension bridge, almost at the mouth, I knew I was in Washington, and we began the descent. Flew over a series of islands and then touched down. I was struck by the number of trees and how the houses seemed to actually have space around them, for the most part.

LV met me at the airport, complete with a pterodactyl on a stick. :: grin :: Easy to spot in a small crowd, and fun to meet mascots.

S was waiting outside, so we set off, and went snarfing. I dug out my penguin and we were off. First we went to a place called Puyallup, which makes me smile because I thought it was pronounced pull y’all up (ah, cat found my scrunchie) but is actually pew-allup. There we snarfed a lovely old house which also had an Oregon Trail (old pioneer trail) marker so was two snarfs; not to mention two churches and a house. The resident was around so I didn’t take pictures, but it was a big Victorian with a sign out front. So far, Washington is not shy about sharing its historyness with us all.

Then we went to Fort um..um…no, I will have to ask. No, wait, I can look at my camera.

Another cat is visiting. The third one is lurking behind him. This is rather funny.

Fort Lewis. There we go.

You can get to see the entry gate, and there were three or four wildcards, now that we’ve started covering memorials. Two big guns and some background info. Big impressive gate. You don’t have to go on base for this one. We could’ve, because S. is ex military, but we didn’t need to.

(Flew over NASA Ames today, and that bridge in Washington…snarfing from several thousand feet up?) ;-)

Then we took some rather pretty roads to Lacey, snarfing along the way, including the first one LV ever snarfed, She-Na-Nam, an Indian treaty site. So far I haven’t seen anything up here I didn’t like. There is a huge volcano, covered in snow, Mt. Rainier – that dominates everything and was quite startling and unexpected when I got off the plane. There are many pine trees and it seems very quiet. Nice motorcycle roads. Many motorcyles: I got a kick out of seeing a lady biker on the freeway.

I’m going to have to leave this for tonight, I’m tired. I wonder if that cat can be persuaded to snuggle with me.