Robert Ducharme
04-27-2004, 8:17 PM
Once upon a time in a land far away (western United States), there was a fellow creeker. This creeker (let us call him a beleagered prince) was in dire need of a new shop so he asked his fairy godmother - can I have a new shop? She said yes but he must first slay the evil dragon that was sitting in the back yard disguised as a tree :eek:
Now this was a pretty big dragon :( , so the beleagered prince (who we will now call Ken - to save key typing) sought out his local fearless knight - Paul who promised to slay this fearsome beast. They planned, they schemed, and finally snuck up on the beast early on a monday morning - just after it had finished eating its usual breakfast of birds/cats/kids/...
Now another creeker was looking for some dragon bones to see if it could be used to heal his poor shop. He heard about this planned dragon slaying and decided to mount an expedition to the ends of the earth (Idaho) to find this elusive cure. Well sure enough, he got there just in time (well ... maybe a day early :p ) to get the bones of the beast.
So this is the tale of the launching of the minnow and its crew in search el dorado :D We started out on Saturday and stayed overnight at my mother's castle in Billings. Then proceeded on Sunday to the uncharted wilderness.
Now you cannot just go after dragon bones with any old steed, you need one with a fiery heart, able to pull something heavy, and brakes (just in case you actually succeed). The "before" picture shows the expedition getting ready with a "cart" attached to carry back the spoils. Unfortunately, the brakes on the cart turned out to be not connected. :eek: How fast can you say DOWNSHIFT!!!!!
Once the intrepid explorers got there (myself and the crew - Doc Oz), we met up with Ken and his wife Sharon. I strongly suggest not visiting them. :eek: Sharon cooks so well and the area is so nice you may not want to leave :D :D Ken and Sharon were great hosts putting us up that night and showing us around Lewiston!!!
The next morning, Paul and his crew slew the fearsome beast. The next picture shows (from left to right) - myself (intrepid explorer), Sharon (fairy godmother and fair damsel), Ken (beleagered prince), Doc Oz (crew of the minnow), and Paul (fearless knight).
The third picture shows the fearless knight amount his mighty steed loading the bones in the cart.
BUT HARK!!!!! What is this we hear? The mighty knight has more dragon bones and toothpicks buried out behind his castle. :) We immediately mounted up and took a look at the toothpicks. Doc Oz is next to one I decided I must have - This is actually black walnut with a graft of English walnut on top. In the last picture you can see the change of color on the trunk.
After loading that bone in the back of the minnow, we notice that the shoes (tires) on the back were pretty much worn down. This weakness in the shoes was already known. Due to the large load and distance, we dropped into the local blacksmith and had new shoes put on the back.
The final picture is us back safe and sound with a fine load of dragon bones (black walnut and english walnut). Once I find a place that can cut the trunk in the pickup (I bet you didn't know that pickups had trunks), I will post the picture of the grain. I am hoping for something quite interesting.
All in all, it was a GREAT trip and a very enjoyable experience at Ken's castle. I am extremely glad I went (and the wood is great also as well as breakfast pizza, ...). Now to make a kiln, cut the wood, ...
Now this was a pretty big dragon :( , so the beleagered prince (who we will now call Ken - to save key typing) sought out his local fearless knight - Paul who promised to slay this fearsome beast. They planned, they schemed, and finally snuck up on the beast early on a monday morning - just after it had finished eating its usual breakfast of birds/cats/kids/...
Now another creeker was looking for some dragon bones to see if it could be used to heal his poor shop. He heard about this planned dragon slaying and decided to mount an expedition to the ends of the earth (Idaho) to find this elusive cure. Well sure enough, he got there just in time (well ... maybe a day early :p ) to get the bones of the beast.
So this is the tale of the launching of the minnow and its crew in search el dorado :D We started out on Saturday and stayed overnight at my mother's castle in Billings. Then proceeded on Sunday to the uncharted wilderness.
Now you cannot just go after dragon bones with any old steed, you need one with a fiery heart, able to pull something heavy, and brakes (just in case you actually succeed). The "before" picture shows the expedition getting ready with a "cart" attached to carry back the spoils. Unfortunately, the brakes on the cart turned out to be not connected. :eek: How fast can you say DOWNSHIFT!!!!!
Once the intrepid explorers got there (myself and the crew - Doc Oz), we met up with Ken and his wife Sharon. I strongly suggest not visiting them. :eek: Sharon cooks so well and the area is so nice you may not want to leave :D :D Ken and Sharon were great hosts putting us up that night and showing us around Lewiston!!!
The next morning, Paul and his crew slew the fearsome beast. The next picture shows (from left to right) - myself (intrepid explorer), Sharon (fairy godmother and fair damsel), Ken (beleagered prince), Doc Oz (crew of the minnow), and Paul (fearless knight).
The third picture shows the fearless knight amount his mighty steed loading the bones in the cart.
BUT HARK!!!!! What is this we hear? The mighty knight has more dragon bones and toothpicks buried out behind his castle. :) We immediately mounted up and took a look at the toothpicks. Doc Oz is next to one I decided I must have - This is actually black walnut with a graft of English walnut on top. In the last picture you can see the change of color on the trunk.
After loading that bone in the back of the minnow, we notice that the shoes (tires) on the back were pretty much worn down. This weakness in the shoes was already known. Due to the large load and distance, we dropped into the local blacksmith and had new shoes put on the back.
The final picture is us back safe and sound with a fine load of dragon bones (black walnut and english walnut). Once I find a place that can cut the trunk in the pickup (I bet you didn't know that pickups had trunks), I will post the picture of the grain. I am hoping for something quite interesting.
All in all, it was a GREAT trip and a very enjoyable experience at Ken's castle. I am extremely glad I went (and the wood is great also as well as breakfast pizza, ...). Now to make a kiln, cut the wood, ...