Down the Rabbit Hoel

Grand Tour of the West: Day 3

On February 19, 2021

February 19, 1946

February 1946. World War II is over and wartime production jobs were ending. During the war, Carl and Georgie worked a number of jobs in several places, finishing the war in Pocatello, Idaho. They elected to return to Iowa, where they both had family, but opted to make a grand tour of the west on the way. Georgie wrote a journal of the trip. The story starts here.

The next morning Carl got maps and got the trailer swivel greased. Left Ontario and drove to Burns where we stopped for lunch. The country was very barren all the way from Ontario to Bend, a distance of 237 miles, all high desert. There were cattle grazing and now and then a road leading to a ranch house. Stopped at an oil station along the way, Juntura, and at another oil station not listed on the map. Met very little traffic. The weather was cloudy and gray – rather dreary.

February 19, 1946

February 1946. World War II is over and wartime production jobs were ending. During the war, Carl and Georgie worked a number of jobs in several places, finishing the war in Pocatello, Idaho. They elected to return to Iowa, where they both had family, but opted to make a grand tour of the west on the way. Georgie wrote a journal of the trip. The story starts here.

The next morning Carl got maps and got the trailer swivel greased. Left Ontario and drove to Burns where we stopped for lunch. The country was very barren all the way from Ontario to Bend, a distance of 237 miles, all high desert. There were cattle grazing and now and then a road leading to a ranch house. Stopped at an oil station along the way, Juntura, and at another oil station not listed on the map. Met very little traffic. The weather was cloudy and gray – rather dreary.

Grand Tour of the West: Day 2

By Michelle

On February 18, 2021

In Family History

February 18, 1946

February 1946. World War II is over and wartime production jobs were ending. During the war, Carl and Georgie worked a number of jobs in several places, finishing the war in Pocatello, Idaho. They elected to return to Iowa, where they both had family, but opted to make a grand tour of the west on the way. Georgie wrote a journal of the trip. This is that story.

Left Mountain Home the next morning – the weather was cold and sunny – still a lot of snow. About 20 miles from Boise, we broke the spring bolt on the trailer. Carl fixed it with a rope and when we got to Boise, we hunted up a machine shop and had a new spring made. Ate lunch downtown in Boise and shopped – bought a tire for the trailer.

February 18, 1946

February 1946. World War II is over and wartime production jobs were ending. During the war, Carl and Georgie worked a number of jobs in several places, finishing the war in Pocatello, Idaho. They elected to return to Iowa, where they both had family, but opted to make a grand tour of the west on the way. Georgie wrote a journal of the trip. This is that story.

Left Mountain Home the next morning – the weather was cold and sunny – still a lot of snow. About 20 miles from Boise, we broke the spring bolt on the trailer. Carl fixed it with a rope and when we got to Boise, we hunted up a machine shop and had a new spring made. Ate lunch downtown in Boise and shopped – bought a tire for the trailer.

Grand Tour of the West: Day 1

By Walt

On February 17, 2021

In Family History

February 17, 1946

February 1946. World War II is over and wartime production jobs were ending. During the war, Carl and Georgie worked a number of jobs in several places, finishing the war in Pocatello, Idaho. They elected to return to Iowa, where they both had family, but opted to make a grand tour of the west on the way. Georgie wrote a journal of the trip. This is that story.

We left Pocatello Idaho on Sunday morning, February 17, 1946. Had breakfast at the home of our friends the Jacobsen’s. The Andersons, Fran, and John Streckenfinger were also there. Took pictures just before we left.

The Grand Tour of the West – 1946

By Walt

On February 16, 2021

In Family History

When the US joined WWII in December of 1941, Carl and Georgina (my parents) were living in southeast Iowa. Mom worked for A. Guthrie & Co., an engineering firm, as the executive secretary for the project superintendent, constructing an ordinance manufacturing plant in Middletown, IA. Dad worked for the local Ford garage as a mechanic. They were engaged to marry the following Valentine’s day.

There’s Something Happening Here. But it’s actually pretty clear…

By Walt

On February 15, 2021

In Family History, Uncategorized

Our usual schedule, to the extent that a blog this young can call anything “usual” as yet, has been to do two posts a week, on Tuesday and Friday. And that’s still the plan. Most of the time…

Cooking from the kitchen to the campground: Trail Zuppa

By Michelle

On February 12, 2021

In Cooking, Outdoors

In part one of this post, I covered how we came to doing more of our own dinners on the trail. I shared some my favorite ingredients and resources for making gourmet food on the trail. Now I will share some of what we enjoy.

We took a few favorite dishes from our dinner menu and tried to make them with freeze-dried and dried ingredients. I cook some pretty gourmet food, and have been thrilled with how the dinners have turned out.

So without further ado:

Reuniting the Band: It’s about time!

By Walt

On February 9, 2021

In Gaming, RPGs

My initial email blast to my old players and select friends generated quite a bit of response. One person declined (and one never replied), but everyone else seemed enthused. Most of them had been getting even less gaming than my wife and I, and they were pretty excited to have a chance to game and socialize with old friends in faraway places.

But the next question was invariably “When do you want to play?” And that’s where the trouble started.

Cooking from the kitchen to the campground

By Michelle

On February 5, 2021

In Cooking, Outdoors

We do a lot of camping, going out as often as we can work it into our schedule. While we enjoy the convenience of freeze-dried dinners, we have found that there are sometimes things we don’t like about them.

• They may not have enough food to satisfy after a long day of hiking. I suppose we could each eat a dinner, but that gets bulky and expensive.
• They may be too bland or too spicy for our taste. The former is easy to fix, but the latter offers challenges.
• They can be bulky. The size and weight for the calories is uneven, and a long trip means a full pack.
• They can be expensive. Compared to a restaurant, it’s not too bad, but on a long trip it can be prohibitive.

So we have experimented with a variety of do-it-yourself options.

So you want to reunite the band?

By Walt

On February 2, 2021

In Gaming, RPGs

Did you have a gaming group in your younger days? Would you like to get them back together? Read on, my friend, and I’ll tell you how to do it. I’ve been there, and done it, and you can do it too!

Song Parody: Spinning Cloud

By Walt

On January 28, 2021

In Sillyness

To the tune of “Spinning Wheel” by Blood, Sweat and Tears. Original song written by Don Juan /Vee Pea Smith.

Listen to the original here!

What gets built, gets blown down
Spinning cloud watch it go round
Blow down the silos and the mobile homes
See the flattened cornfield where the spinnin’ cloud roams