Mother's Day Mini-Vacation, No.7 - one more sight in Madras, seen from our Zipcar

Click here for a trip to City Daily Photo, transporting you around the world every day.



Trailer parks and their signs appeal to me. I grew up in house trailers, going from town to town, trailer park to trailer park. My Daddy's job for the Marley Cooling Tower Company meant we moved on average every three months or less, for a period of seven and a half years. By the time we settled in my hometown of Jackson, Mississippi, we'd lived in places from Belle Glade, Florida; to Wilmington, Delaware; to Luverne, Minnesota; to Fort Stockton, Texas, and all sorts of places in between. I have memories, but I'm not sure where we were living or how old I was in them, but I do know that when I was going on 11 years old, we finally lived in a house.

Mother's Day Mini-Vacation, No. 6 - riding Highway 26 with folks on their way to ski and/or race. TTTT, there is no engine in that race car.

Click here for a trip to City Daily Photo, transporting you around the world every day.



While going through Madras, Oregon, we noticed these young men on bicycles on the highway. I wondered what they were doing riding bicycles, loaded with what looked like camping equipment, and said, "Gosh, that looks crazy." Meaning dangerous. Then Leland said, "I wouldn't want to be riding a bike to go skiing." Skiing? Then I noticed that strapped on with the camping gear were skis and ski poles; there's a red helmet on the back of one bike, too. Oh, this just entered my mind. I wonder if inside those bags are ski boots and ski suits, not tents and cookware and such? Maybe they've got a reservation at a resort? Do they call proper ski clothing ski suits? By the way, I took this photo at 4:31 p.m. And I just checked how far it is from Madras to Mt. Bachelor, the nearest place I'm aware of for skiing -- right at 65 miles away. We drove right by Mt. Bachelor on Saturday, snow every where.
 

Here's a wider view of the same photo. I didn't want to ignore the chance to show you two of the Zipcar perks on Engine, our deep red Ford Escape, stuck to the windshield, those orange things in the lower right corner. One, an Annual Northwest Forest Pass, which sells for $30, so we didn't have to buy a Day Pass for $5. And two, an Oregon State Parks Yearly Day Pass, which also sells for $30, so we didn't have to buy a Day Pass for $5. Yea, Zipcar!
 

And here's the race car we passed in Engine. No engine in it, no engine at all. That log building is the Black Bear Diner which a friend of both sons says has good food. Maybe another trip we'll stop for a meal--didn't work out that way this time. Oh, is TTTT a proper abbreviation in use today by those who text? For me it means To Tell The Truth. Is that a real one? Anyone? Anyone?