Railroad Museum

On my way to Salem, OR last Sunday, I stopped in Sacramento at the California State Railroad Museum. They have an impressive collection of early steam engines that look like they just came off the assembly line.

(below)

The engineer of the above engine is looking good.

The following picture is of the only remaining Southern Pacific Cab Forward. As I stood next to it, I could almost feel the heat being radiated from the fire box. I could hear the rhythmic pules of the water pump and heard the bell ringing. I glanced up at the smoke box where the air pumps were mounted and saw steam leaking from the pump seals as the pressure rose. 

 Suddenly, I found myself sitting in the engineer's seat of 4294. The steam pressure gauge read 250 lbs. and I knew she was ready to roll. I slipped my sweaty hand onto the throttle. Through the front window I could see that the track was clear and the conductor was giving me the high-ball. I just had to do it... I pulled that throttle open just a little and I felt the mighty engine surge forward.

Thick black smoke filled the room as the engine made its way down the track to exit the building onto the awaiting turn table.

Sea Planes On Lake Havasu

Every Tuesday morning (weather permitting) a group of radio control plane enthusiasts gather on the shore of Lake Havasu to fly. I attended two such gatherings and was amazed at the variety of aircraft that they put in the air.





All the way from these two planes made from Styrofoam (with an electric motor attached) to a scaled model of a real airplane (below).









The plane below is what they called a Flying W.



When a plane has a malfunction, the pilot gets in a boat that is standing by and retrieves the plane.



Even a PBY flew in to pay us a visit.





They hauled it off the lake (below) to do some much needed repairs.

The BIG BANG

One of the events that I attended while in Lake Havasu City, AZ was the annual convention of the Western Pyrotechnic Association. There were three evenings where great fire works were presented by some of the largest Pyrotechnic companies in America. It was one of those situation where you had to be there to appreciate fully the event. Here are just a few of over 200 photos that I took.

Normally aerial fire works shells are 4 to 8 inches in diameter. They made on shell that had a 24- inch diameter. It weighed 104 lbs and was shot almost one half mile into the sky. The following photo is that shell. Like I said, "You had to of been there!"

It took a while for the fall out to reach the ground (below). It looked like a curtain about 3/4 of a mile wide.

Be in Lake Havasu City on Presidents Day weekend next February to enjoy this experience. The show is free.

The Cream Team

As a member of the Golden Spike Chapter of Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA), I was involved with distributing ice cream for the Ice Cream Social during the FMCA's Western Area Rally in Indio, CA in January. We handed out over 4,000 ice cream bars during the event. Tough duty, but someone has to do it.

U. S. Open Sandcastle Competition

One of the things on my Bucket List was to attend the sandcastle building at the Imperial Beach pier.



Each group has a 30ft. X 30ft. space in which to create their masterpiece.



Water is a very important ingredient in making just the right consistency of sand to use in the construction of a sandcastle.



Once the forms are in place, the teams can start loading sand into them.







I followed the team "I.B. Posse" which are all from the same family (the ones wearing the yellow shirts). They were last year's winners and practice building their "castle" before the competition. They all have a specific job on the team and there is no shouting or commands given. Each team has 5 hours to complete their project.











Now the crowd is getting thick. There are this many people on the other side of the pier as well as about this many up on the street at the vendors booths.





It is almost time for "Tools Down".










FINISHED

The American flag is backed up by the troops. The I.B.Posse team won first prize in the Grand Masters class again this year and you can see why. (Click on each picture so you can see the detail.)