I now have postcards in my mind of favorite places and some new places that I will probably never see again in my lifetime. I have now been in all of the lower 48 states. Gas prices were not a pleasant part of the trip, but finances and health might not make a trip like this possible in the future. So we decided to just go ahead and do it. Arizona to California(via the tip of Nevada), Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, British Columbia, The Dakotas, Minnesota, Upper & Lower Michigan, Niagara Falls, Toronto, New York, and Vermont. Three weeks on the road!
Southern California was great... architecture, vintage cars and a smell to the air that somehow evoked memories from my 20's.
Then up the Pacific Coast Highway 1, along the twisty road with the cliffs straight down to the ocean. The last time I drove that road was in the 1970's in a 1937 MG.
What's San Francisco without the fog rolling in over the coastal hills, driving a car and trailer down Lombard Street and eating San Francisco sourdough bread
The glorious redwoods are still one of my favorite places in the USA. Tall, quiet, and beautifully big.
The Columbia River Gorge in Oregon was a delightful surprise of a rain forest. Everything was moss covered and very green and lush. Wild flowers were everywhere along the windy road.
The Canadian Rockies in British Columbia were majestic. As far as I'm concerned, that's where the snow belongs - on top of the mountains.
While we were there we visited Fort Steel. I couldn't resist the photo of the field covered with dandelions. I
like them and never have tried to have a lawn without them.
What's a trip without a "what-is-it?" - In amongst the Ft Steel vintage farm equipment was this yellow, cast iron thing with a seat on one side and a chute on
the other side. "Oh sure", I said, tongue in cheek, it's a good old "C11"! Still don't know what it was used for... any ideas?
Glacier National Park was mostly closed due to snow in the higher reaches. We did get to drive about 20 miles into the park and enjoy the glacial lake and beautiful mountains.
I fell in love with Montana. What a tidy, clean state with wide open skies. The only drawback is the thought of how much it snows there in the winter. It's hard to see them, but this is a field of what they say are wild buffalo.
I had forgotten that Butte MT was a copper mining town. There are still two Bertoglio's in the phone book. We spent an extra day exploring and went to look at the old smelter stack - world's largest masonry structure - 30' taller than the Washington Monument.
A visit to White Pine and Rockland Mich. in the Upper Peninsula was a trip back to my childhood - 3rd and 4th grades to be exact. Surprise.... the small museum in Rockland had my 4th grade class photo in it.
The maple table and chairs in my AZ kitchen were build in the basement of this Rockland house in the 1950's. It's the only woodworking project that my Father ever did.
Niagara Falls from the Canadian side was interesting, but somewhat of a disappointment due to the commercialism of the whole thing. The drive along the river to Ft. Erie was more interesting.
We stopped to visit children and some old friends along the way and arrived back in NH just in time for the hot and muggy weather. All I can say is, "what a great trip and what a beautiful, ever changing country we live in!"
The green ones I tried fit 3/8" screws and work perfectly over a 6-around rope done with 8/0's. I had to make a hole in the end for the thread to exit the top. I can see these with an attached wrapped loop for a clasp. Nice, soft feeling, non-allergenic......
The yellow ones that fit 5/16" screws would work well on smaller ropes with smaller beads. My only complaint is that they were packed 3 to a bag, but at under $1 a bag, buying two bags for 3 pair isn't too shabby. 
