New Tehachapi Depot

Just after sunrise one crisp morning in October, found me at the Tehachapi Depot Museum.



Back on June 13, 2008, The historic 1904 Southern Pacific Depot burned to the ground.



The community of Tehachapi was in the process of converting the old depot into a museum when the fire occurred. They responded in a big way and broke ground to build a new depot using the original plans. Only changes were to bring the plans up to modern codes. In less than a year the New Tehachapi Depot had a Grand Opening.



















On the outside of the museum they have some of their over 50 working railroad signals on display.





On the inside of the museum you will find many artifacts of railroading in the 20th century.

If you ever have the chance to stop off in the neat town of Tehachapi, be sure to take in this very interesting museum. I know I will be back in the near future.

Shasta Dam

On my way south from Oregon, I stopped to take the tour of Shasta Dam. This dam was started in 1937 and was completed in 1945 at a cost of $121 million. It is the key storage facility in one of the world's most elaborate and extensive water development projects - the Central Valley Project. The dam is 602 feet height and 3,460 feet wide. It is 883 feet thick at the base with over 6 million cubic yards of concrete.

Let's take a look:











We took the elevator down the the 13th level and walked through the dam to the face of the spillway.













And then there is the Power House with its five 15-foot diameter pin stocks:

Each of the five generators can produce 142 megawatts of power.

A very impressive facility to say the least.

New HD LED TV

I stopped at Davis Cabinets in Junction City with the coach to have the overhead cabinet that holds the front TV rebuilt to hold a 32" LED HD TV. Innovative Coach Works installed the TV along with a tuner that has a DVR. Also installed was a Blue Ray player with surround sound.

First thing was to remove the old TV cabinet.

Then it was in with the new cabinet.

Then I was on my way south to Riverside.

Walkin' The Dogs

Most every Saturday afternoon, Marlene, Brent's wife, and Andrew go to the Wellamette Humane Society shelter and spend a couple of hours Walking The Dogs. They take them out for about 10 to 15 minutes each.

One day, I went with them to take a series of pictures to put in one of my slide shows.

This is a dangerous activity, because they might fall in LOVE with one of the dogs and bring it home with them.

The dogs seem to know when somebody is going to take them out and become very excited.

How can you turn down a face like this?

Well, the "Big Eyes" trick worked, because Andrew unlocked the dog's jail cell and out they went for a walk.

This guy really perked up when he saw that he was going for a walk.

And then there was Mr. Sad Eyes.

Golden Spike Rally

As a member of the Golden Spike Chapter of FMCA (Family Motor Coach Association), I attended a fun rally where about 15 coaches gathered at an RV park in Fairview, OR where the Union Pacific tracks went right by our campsites. We had a great time visiting and eating as we watched trains go by on our first day.

Our second day, we took the Brunch Train on the Mount Hood Railroad. This was a 4-hour round trip to the town of Parkdale on a vintage train where they served a meal while we were watched the fabulous scenery going by our train car windows.

We paused for a group picture at the station in Hood River before boarding the train.

When we arrived at the station in Parkdale, we were able to get off the train and streatch our legs for a while and get a good look at Mt. Hood.

All too soon, we were on our way back through the forest to the station in Hood River.