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This past weekend (11/6-11/7) Nissan brought their roadshow for the Leaf electric car to Hillsboro, giving the public a chance to test drive their new vehicle.  Appropriately enough, the event was held in the parking lot of Solarworld, the largest solar panel factory in the U.S.  The event was exceptionally well-organized and did an excellent job of acquainting those in attendance with the car’s technology, and in addressing attendees’ questions and concerns.  Plus, we got to go on a test drive!

Pictures I took in Geneva this week. Most of them were taken with my cellphone camera, so the quality may not be the greatest. Lots of smart car photos for linking on the smart car forum.  Click on thumbnail for a bigger pic.

Back in 1995 the now long-running Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) series Oregon Field Guide ran a segment on sheep dogs that was largely filmed on our ranch, and at the Banks Sheep Dog Trial we helped organize that year. Our friend Stuart Milne brought his dogs over to our place for the filming, and used our sheep. OPB has been updating their web-accessible video archive and this segment can now be viewed online. I’m sure you’ll recognize the big blue barn in the background.

Recently Beth, Ruairí, and Barry took an “end of summer” long weekend trip to visit Seattle and a few places on the Olympic Peninsula, including the Hoh Rain Forest.  Big old-growth Sikta Spruce, Western Hemlock, and Douglas Fir trees are are dime a dozen in that spectacular setting.  But even so, this 12½ foot diameter, 270 foot tall, 500-550 year old giant Spruce stands out as a “Monarch of the Forest” (as the sign nearby puts it):

On the way and back we drove through Forks, Washington.  Sorta the Washington version of Vernonia.  No, we didn’t spot any vampires (not even young, good-looking ones ;)).

On June 30, Beth, Ruairí, and Barry went out to the Painted Hills Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, about 75 miles east of Bend.   We had lunch and hiked several short trails, for a total of 4½ miles.  We saved the toughest, the 1½ mile (round trip) Carroll Rim Trail, for last (400′ elevation climb).   We even spotted a group of pronghorn antelope just off the roadway (see picture that Ruairí took of them below).  Click on a thumbnail for a full-size picture.  Enjoy!

Here’s a scan of a photo I recently found in a stack, from October 1995.  They certainly look different now, don’t they? 😉

Here’s Ruairí standing next to our new smart car!    Since I usually take Ruairí to school in the morning, one requirement was that it be able to hold the two of us and his tuba.  The seats are actually quite comfortable and roomy, and yes,  there is enough space in the back for his tuba. 😉

And of course, when going furniture shopping, a smart Fourtwo is better than a Hummer: 😉

This Stephen Colbert clip about Pringles is about the funniest TV I’ve seen in a long time.  The funny stuff starts about 40 seconds in.  Enjoy.

See if you can spot Erin!

(This may take a little while to load on a slow connection before playing).

Most of these were taken during our post-Christmas road trip to the Bay Area. Click on a picture for the full-size image.   Enjoy: