G Is For Gear Heads

It's time again For ABC Wednesday. If you aren't participating in ABC Wednesday, you are missing out on a lot of fun. This week the letter is "G". G is for Gear Heads. This weekend Gear Heads from all over came to Mena, Arkansas for the annual Wilhelmina Rod Run.











This years Rod Run marked the 34th anniversary. It was first held on Rich Mountain at Queen Wilhelmina State Park for several years on Labor Day weekend. The rod run was later moved to the weekend before Labor Day due to the already high volume of use at the State Park and the fact that it overloaded the personnel at the state park. The Wilhelmina Rod Run is always well received by the local population and is looked forward to each year.













Although the Rod Run is held at Queen Wilhelmina State Park, many of the vehicles are displayed in Mena on Friday and Saturday night. These pictures were taken at the Friday night show held around the restored Mena Depot.













Each year Daddy drives one of his cars to the Friday night show. This year he took his Berlina. These cars were factory built, by the Phillips Motor Car Corp. They were built by hand, on a brand new 1980 Corvette, with the styling of the 1936 Mercedes 540k cars. These cars are super rare since less than 90 cars were ever built. The factory was in Pompano Beach, Florida.













Jumper Davenport was there with his 1957 Cadillac Convertible pulling a beautiful old wooden Cadillac boat. The combination was a real crowd pleaser.











One of the most unusual cars there was a fully restored Packard coupe that the owner bought from a museum and changed the entire drivetrain to make a modern driving street rod that looked completely stock. He told us that the wheels were what intrigued most people. He had them machined from a block of aluminum to look as close to the original wheels as possible.




















What a great show. I'm looking forward to the Wilhelmina Rod Run again next year.

Seattle Vacation

It was a great vacation, even if I didn't get to go. When Gina and I were visiting my sister Jeannie over the fourth of July, the two of them hatched a diabolical plot. They planned to meet in Seattle for a weeks vacation. Gina has a sister that lives in Seattle and one that lives in Portland. They all got together and had a great time. I was very jealous. I told Gina that since I couldn't go she needed to take lots of pictures. She came home with lots of great photos.



They really packed a lot of activity into the time they had. In Seattle they went to Pikes Place Market,





The Aquarium,









And to a Seattle Mariners baseball game.





One day they spent near Ocean Shores, which is a six mile long peninsula bordered by the Pacific Ocean and Grays Harbor.









On another day they spent about 8 hours driving around the base of Mount Rainer.











The Seattle, Washington area sure has lots of beautiful scenery, and so many things to do. While you are there you are required by state law to drink large amounts of coffee. Because of this law there are Starbucks everywhere. Gina even found one location where there is a Starbucks right across the street from another Starbucks. Gina didn't want to run afoul of the law so she made sure to get her iced coffee.



Gina had a great time, and I'm glad she had a good vacation. As she was leaving Seattle she got a great shot of Mount Rainier From the plane.



I'm sure glad to have her back home!

F is For Flautist

It's time again For ABC Wednesday. If you aren't participating in ABC Wednesday, you are missing out on a lot of fun. This week the letter is "F". F is for Flautist. Or is it F is for Flutist? The choice of "flautist" versus "flutist" is the source of vicious dispute among players of the instrument. "Flutist" is the earlier term in the English language, dating from at least 1603, while "flautist" is not recorded before 1860.



The first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary lists fluter as dating from circa 1400 and Fowler's Modern English Usage states that "there seems no good reason" why flautist should have prevailed over fluter or flutist. However, according to Webster's Dictionary of English Usage, flautist is the preferred term in British English, and while both terms are used in American English, flutist is "by far the more common choice."

James Galway summed up the way he feels about "flautist," saying, "I am a flute player not a flautist. I don't have a flaut and I've never flauted."



I've never seen James Galway though I have a number of his CD's. Even though I have never seen James Galway perform, I have had the privilege of hearing top quality flute music. A few weeks ago we had a concert at our church by Philip Kim and Katherine Lin. Philip and his family attended our church a number of years ago. I hadn't seen him for some time. When he was a little boy he idolized my daughter and would follow her around wherever she would go. Philip graduated from the University of Southern California this year, and is spending some time this summer here in his old home town.

I asked Philip and Katherine if they would let me film them playing, and they graciously agreed. If you enjoy quality classical music be sure to check out these videos.







I'm sure that you will agree that Philip is an accomplished flutist. Or is he an accomplished flautist?

Nostalgia

This is my entry in a neat meme called I Heart Faces.



This week the theme is nostalgia. I have been around cars all of my life. I love old cars. My Daddy has quite a collection of old cars. One day when he had his 1940 Buick out I shot this photo of my son Gavin behind the wheel. I have always liked this shot. You can really see that Gavin is enjoying the Buick.

Little Missouri Falls

Yesterday was a beautiful summer day. It was cool for the last of August. After church my Mom and Dad had invited me to go on a picnic. We decided to go to Little Missouri Falls. It is quite a long drive over rough gravel roads to get to the Falls. We decided to eat the picnic lunch at home and then drive out to the falls.



It was such a gorgeous day that there were quite a few people at the falls. If it isn't high water, you can go into the river and play on the rocks. There were some boys there that were having lots of fun playing in the water and seeing who could hold there head under the falls for the longest.





The Little Missouri River plunges through a cleavage creating a spectacular waterfall during periods of high water. Then it tumbles over a series of natural rock dams 2 to 4 feet high, intermixed with relatively quiet pools (natural swimming holes) it continues as a cascade for several hundred more yards.





When you arrive at the parking area, there is a foot bridge across the river that takes you to a half mile, out-and-back trail that is mostly 'easy' with a few steep grades. The trail used to cross a native stone dam across the river. When water was over the dam you couldn't cross the river to the trail. The trail ascends a series of steep steps to the edge of the cliffs overlooking the river. From here you have a great view of the area above the falls.







The view from the bridge is a beautiful preview of the views that are across the bridge.



It had been awhile since I had been to Little Missouri Falls. I shouldn't wait so long between visits.