The Squamidian Report – Sept. 27 / 08
Issue #331
Including:
The Ontarion
Hi All,
Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but this issue is coming out a day and a half or so late. Sue and I bugged out Friday morning and hooked up with our Harley riding neighbours. We took off for a place called Anacortes in Washington St to attend a bike rally known as the Oyster Run. Had a great time, I’ll fill you in a bit next week. Anyway, I haven’t even had a chance to check my Emails yet cause I’m getting this issue sent out NOW.
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Squamish has a little know and well hidden jewel known as the West Coast Railway Museum. The Squamish rail yards had for decades been an important equipment repair hub for the now extinct BC Railway. There is still a rail yard here, where CN now assembles and load trains with cargo that has come into the Squamish harbour from the Far East, which is ironically, west of here. Tucked away under the river dyke at the north end of the rail yards is the museum. Stored and restored here are quite a large number of old rail cars and engines, right from the first days of west coast rail lines up to the early days of diesel.
Once in a while they have a Steam Days celebration to bring attention to the museum and raise money for their on-going endeavors. I dropped in to take a look at the neat stuff they have. They were giving rides on several of those little steam powered model trains that can carry people on little cars. There is a track system that goes all the way around the museum grounds and those little engines puff and toot the whole time they travel. There were several large steam engines, the kind you would have found working the farms and ranches a century ago. There was a steam-powered car running around, it was pretty cool.
Several years ago the Royal Hudson had been pulled out of service to be rebuilt. It had been pulling the tourist train from North Van to Squamish and back along the rail line that follows the shore of Howe Sound. The West Coast Museum is its home base and it was here that the Hudson was stored and totally rebuilt. It took two or three years and countless hours of work but she was put back into top condition and then sent out on a tour of the country that included stops down into the States as well. She is home now and was the star exhibit at the show. She was pulling a train of old passenger cars and was doing short runs up and down the tracks outside the ground, then would pull up to the old Squamish Station that is at trackside on the grounds to let off passengers and take on new ones. It is pretty cool to stand on the station platform and watch her pull up, steam blowing from her valves.
I took some pic, they can be seen at:
http://www.thedougsite.net/Railway/Steamshow.htm
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Ever had something kind of funny catch your attention? We are still slowly working our way along Westway Drive in the Valley Cliff section of Squamish, installing new sanitary mains. At times I find myself having to wait for some necessary thing to happen before I can continue what I was doing. At those times I tend to look around, observe, see stuff. It’s in my nature I guess. Anyway, I happened to spot an ugly little dog laying on the top of a couch back, the top part of where you would lean. The couch was situated with its back to the big living room window. This little dog apparently spends the whole day there, sleeping most of the time. At one point the dog stood up and twisted its tubby body around far enough to let it lick its gonads. Just as it got within tongue reach, it fell right off the top of the couch. Down behind the couch below the window. Within seconds it was back up on top and getting settled down for another stretch of napping. The whole thing cracked me up, maybe you had to be there but I thought it was hilarious.
doug
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Hello
everyone!
Well, we
had a very interesting response to the political situation facing us all in
early October over the past week. I thank all participants for their
submissions and sincerely hope that our exchanges have urged you all to analyze
the different parties and their offerings and get out there and VOTE!
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Today is
a bit rainy but I’m sure we’ll all agree that over the past couple of weeks
we’ve had wonderful weather to enjoy. It’s about time for the leaves to make a
major change in colour and about time for all Ontarion’s to get out and enjoy
the fall scenery on a country road or two. We intend to take advantage of the
fall beauty by taking a long drive through the wilds of Southern Ontario in the
MGB. It’s become kind of a fall tradition for us since acquiring the MG way
back in 1989. There’s nothing like a drive in the fall sunshine with the top
down. Ontario has the most spectacular scenery when it comes to the fall
colours. Our usual area of driving and viewing is up through the Hockley valley
past Orangeville. Although, pretty much anywhere you look in Southern Ontario
you’ll see these beautiful blankets of orange, red and yellow. Heck, Mother
Nature spares no creative brush strokes right here in and around Kitchener. You
need only to take a walk to the top of the embankment that overlooks the Grand
River at Cressman’s Woods up behind the Pioneer Village. From there you can see
the large curve of the river below as it winds its way from the Hwy 8 bridge
that is below Doug and Sue’s old estate location towards the local land mark
known as the Poineer Tower. It’s one of the most beautiful portions of the
Grand River valley and sports spectacular colours that rival any Mother Nature
has to offer anywhere. I’ve taken pictures at this spot many times over the
course of our marriage when each Fall Carole and I do our annual colour tour.
This year I’d like to take the motorcycle out one day and drag the camera along
to see what beauty I can capture from a motorcyclist’s point of view. I know
it’s not different scenery but there’s something about viewing the open road
and countryside from the back of a bike that rivals all other views. The one
thing that strikes me most when I’m riding the motorcycle through the
countryside is the different smells that you notice and the changes in
temperature of the air that you feel when going from a sunny strip of road to a
shaded area or when you dip into a lower portion of a roadway like a valley.
These area things that you don’t experience when you’re cooped up in a car! Of
course there are exceptions to this such as the MG convertible with the top
down. You naturally get a whiff of the cattle manure and freshly cut alfalfa
etc not to mention the “liquid” fertilizer that some farmers spray on their
fields when riding in an open topped car. I suppose now when I think of it, the
little convertible provides a more relaxing way to enjoy the views around you
than a motorcycle would. When on a bike, you have to pay much more strict
attention to your driving than you do in a four wheeled vehicle.
Anyway, I
hope to do both this fall and I’ll report on my experiences after I’ve done so!
That’s
about all for this weeks folks!
Thanks
for tuning in and I look forward to talking to you all again next week in The
Ontarion Report!
Bye for now… Greg.
Something
To Think About>
What is
YOUR favourite time of year?
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Have a good one..
the doug
The Fine Print!
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