Day 59, A little more polishing

Starting to polish

I had about an hour to work on the trailer today and my focus was going to be to polish the right side of the trailer.  There were still a lot of water spots and I want them gone.  Mother's polish says it protects and from what I have seen on the left side of the trailer it really does.  I have polished the left side weeks ago and even after the rainstorm we had a few weeks ago there are still no water spots or streaks.

More polishing

The first area that I polished was the compartment door on the bottom right side of the trailer.  With just a little polishing the mirror like quality started to show.  When I looked at the entire side of the trailer the thought of hand polishing seems quite daunting, but if I break it down into small sections it seems much more palatable.  It's like that old question of "how do you eat an elephant, one bite at a time".  My goal for the almost hour I had was, to just polish up the section from the back of the trailer to the small compartment door, or about a 3' x 3' section.  I'm not sure if it was a reasonable goal, or if it was just the maximum of my attention span for the monotonous task.

I was able to complete the area that I wanted to polish before it got dark and I was starting to get hungry.  My folks and I were going to go out to dinner and I had enough time to get cleaned up and ready to go.

Looking at the trailer I figured it would take about 4 hours for me to shine up the rest of the right side of the trailer.  I also need to spend time a lot of time polishing the front, roof, rear and the window moldings etc, so the work is endless.

A small dent/scratch and lots of water spots

As for the Chickens, they only laid two eggs and they got to spend the evening running around in the yard.  I haven't had a white egg in 3 days, so I'm starting to wonder about the Cornish hen.  I kept an eye on her and she didn't lay an egg in the bushes, so I'm not sure what is up with her.  If I don't find a white egg shortly we'll have to have a talk and I'll have to explain how this room and board situation works.  An egg a day or heads will stray.

The same area polished

I had a great dinner with my folks, I read my 12 pages and went to bed.  I was tired.

Day 58, Scrubbing on the Trailer

I was able to work on the trailer for about an hour and a half last night.  The right side of the trailer hasn't totally been scrubbed after striping the paint off.  There are still areas that have a few streaks of what could be primer or paint. I was able to work on a lot of the areas that needed scrubbing and I was able to work on some of the scuffed up areas that needed to be sanded out and buffed.

What I hadn't realized, was that were I have parked the trailer, it was getting hit by the sprinkler everyday and there were some pretty significant water spots starting to build up.  Luckily with some SOS and my buffer I was able to scrub most of them off.  The right side definitely needs some more attention.

Chickens starting to head back to the coop for bed.

The chickens had been running around the yard since I got home at 5:30pm.  It was now about 7:15pm and they started headed to back to the coop.  I started cleaning up about then and the trailer look somewhat better.  I did readjust the sprinkler, so that it can no longer hit the trailer and perhaps tomorrow I can work on shining up the right side a little more.

I was inside by 7:45pm and it was dark.  It is really sad to see our day light slipping away earlier and earlier, but I needed to get my 12 pages read from the bible and the earlier I get it done the better.  Reading the Bible in 90 Days has turned out to be an interesting challenge and I quickly learned that I can not read the bible in bed, wow does that put me to sleep.

I went to bed with the windows open and I know I will soon be shutting them for the winter and turning on the furnace.

Day 57, A little time for polishing.

Monday was absolutely beautiful with a high in the mid 80's and I was so eager to get home and to work on the trailer.  I was sure the chickens were wanting out too.

Starting the polishing of the back end of the trailer

Monday is a workout day, so after working out, I headed home and pulled in the drive at around 5:30pm.  I was already in shorts and the trailer was calling my name.  I let the chickens out and gathered up 4 eggs and then went to work on the trailer.  I got out the polish and started working on the back end up around the back window and down around the tail lights. It really started to look nice just to have a shine, even if it wasn't perfect it still looked better than it was.  It was actually hot out and working on the trailer was making me sweat.  I took my shirt off to stay as cool as possible and to soak up the last rays few rays of sunshine.

I really need to do some work on removing the last bit of paint film that is on the right side of the trailer and use my 3M pads and SOS, so that will be my Tuesday project.  The forecast for the rest of the week is for temps in the 80's, so I want to take advantage of as much of the nice weather as I possible.

Polishing the back end

With the sun setting earlier everyday I called it quits on the trailer around 7:15pm.  The chickens were still in the yard, but starting to head back to the coop.  I notice one popped out from behind the boxwood's next to the shop, so I went to investigate on where she had been.  Sure enough there was a collection of eggs between the boxwood's and the shop.  I could tell they had been there a while, so I tossed them in with the 6 other eggs I had found the found the day before by the house.  I am going to have to keep them in the pen until after the eggs are laid for the day, or just check everyday in these two hiding spots.  I looked around the yard in other places I thought they might lay eggs, but I didn't find any more.


It was the end of another beautiful day and I went in to read and then called it a night.

Day 56, The New Canned Ham's

Sunday was not as warm and sunny as Saturday, but it was still a beautiful morning.  I was a day and half behind in my "Reading the Bible in 90 Days", so I spent the morning getting caught up before going to Church at 11am.

The New Canned Hams!?

I let the chickens out before church and I noticed that I was out of cracked corn, so I planned on going to the feed store after service, which I did.  Immediately across from the feed store is a trailer sales lot and they had the new curved "canned ham" style trailers and I wanted to take a look at them.  I pulled onto the lot and they had 2 of them and one had a slide-out.  They were were awesome, one was priced at $17,000 on sale for $14,800 and the one with the slide-out was was $20,000 on sale for $17,800.  The graphics were funky and of course they had all of the modern conveniences that one would expect, including a showers.  They were constructed out of the same materials as most of today's new trailers are and they are anything but rustic. I kind of enjoy the charm and charter of my old Traveleze, but still the new trailers were fun to look at.

The rest of the day was spent shuffling cars around in the shop and getting them ready for winter, putting fuel stabilizer in the tanks, putting the chargers on and covering them up.  I brought the big Cadillac forward, so when I finally get the fourth and final wheel I can go get the new tires put on. I was also able to wash and clean out the pickup which had taken a beating with the event picking up potted trees and tons of auctions items. I spent a couples hours just working on getting all cleaned up.

Sunset on Sunday

As the sun started to set (and it was spectacular) I was able to polish a little on the trailer using the light from the shop. I spent about an hour just polishing a small section on the back end to see how the Mothers Aluminum and Mag Polish would work.  Like the rest of the trailer that I have used the polish on it really shined up.  The aluminum seems a little more blemish free, so it really shined up to that mirror like reflection.  I am hope Monday night I can spend a little more time just working on the back end to make it shine.

That was it for the night and the end of week 8.

Day 55, Saturday mornings, a vitage trailer show and a dozen donuts

I don’t know what it is about Saturday mornings, but there is little that can match the feeling of peace, serenity and utter contentment, that I get on a Saturday mornings as I lay in bed and I watch the earth wake up. The cats were curled up on the bed next to my feet (after a hard night of mouse-ing). The windows were open letting a nice morning breeze blow through the house. The quail were starting to rustle in the tree outside my window and the deer were having breakfast of windfall apples, daylilies and willow tree.

Through the orchard and past the pumpkin patch, I could see the chickens were starting to ster. I had promised them, or myself actually, that I’d let them out all day and that was the first thing on my list of things to do this morning - let the chickens out. I put on a pair of old shorts, a “Detroit” t-shirt, my “Arvest Bank” cap from Oklahoma, slipped on some shoes from the garage and grabbed a big bucket of chicken feed and headed to the coop.

The chickens were all up and awake and very excited to see me and the three slices of Wonder bread that I grabbed from the freezer. The Wonder bread is the bread that I won at the car show in Terrebonne, back in August. I have kept it in the freezer and decided the chickens would enjoy it more than I do. With the coop door open, out they flew in a flurry of multi colored feathers. They didn’t even give me a second glance as they charged by and I didn’t even get to feed them the bread.

I gathered 5 eggs which I assumed were from Friday and grabbed the water bucket to re-fill. I put the eggs in the refrigerator, washed out the water bucket and now the girls wanted to know what the three slices of white stuff was in my hand. They devoured the bread and with a full bucket of water I went back to the coop, with all the chickens in tow. They seemed to be fascinated with me as I work around the coop, but most of all I think they are just looking for another handout.

After a morning of my usual chores of cleaning, laundry and chicken duty I was ready to go checkout the trailer show in Camp Sherman. I had called my Dad earlier to see if would want to go and he did, so I was going to go pick him up and we'd make the 35 minute drive to Camp Sherman. There is something very special about this area and it seems like time has stood still here since the 1940's. It has an overwhelming feel of nostalgia, in look, feel and the amenities.  You immediately feel you have stepped into a different time and perhaps you'll see Norman Rockwell getting reading to do a sketch for his next issue of the Post.

1946 Curtis Wright


I drove right to the event location, which was surprising, since I didn’t exactly know where the rally was being held. I figured it shouldn’t be too hard to find and I could always ask for directions at the general store. I parked the car and we started to walk the loop of the camp, to see all the great trailers that had gathered. The first trailer we came to, was a 1946 Curtis Wright. They had cards posted at each trailer indicating the year, make and owner. I recognized the name on this trailer as the family who runs a vintage trailer restoration shop in Bend and I was eager to meet them. I said hello and immediately started asking questions about their trailer, my trailer and all the great trailers that were there. It was just really nice to put a face with a name.



1950's Cardinal

 Their trailer was spectacular and my Dad and I were able to peak in and look around. What I liked most about it was it still had some character marks and yet it was still a beautiful trailer.

The camp was a big oval, so my Dad and I just started around the loop to see what was there. There was a fantastic 50’s Cardinal that was really well done, both inside and out.  We were able to poke our head in and look at the interior. It was very nicely done, I’d even say flawless.  This little trailer had been painstakingly redone by the owner and is now a piece of rolling history.



1954? Boles-Aero

 Next to them was another 50’s canned ham, and I want to say it was 54, but it could be older, Boles Aero. I should have written all the names and years down, because I now can’t keep them all straight. The guy who owned the Boles, was sitting outside and again he had done the restoration himself along with a bunch of other trailers. What I would learn later on our walking tour, is that he is the local “Master” of Spartanette tandem trailers, which is one of my favorite vintage trailers. I got his first name and he said he lives in Powell Butte, so I hope I can track him down again and maybe I can pick his brain about Spartan’s. Who knows maybe someday I’ll have one.  Anyway, his Boles-Aero was absolutely beautiful.



1937 Pierce Arrow and 1931 Model A pickup

 After the Boles-Aero, was the 37 Pierce-Arrow and 31 Model pickup that had been at the Redmond Swap meet. This time I looked to see where they had rescued the trailer from and it was Toledo, Oregon, which is over by the coast just east of Newport.  It was fun to show my Dad this trailer and we were invited to step in and take a look. It was about as cool as they come, not 100% vintage, but extremely well done.  This trailer had obviously fallen into good hands and the restoration was amazing.



1947 Westwood

 There were a lot of trailers to look at and one that was very well done and overly accessorized, was an awesome 1947 Westwood, from Washington.  This trailer was beautifully restored. It had big whitewall tires, fender skirts, an awesome art-deco porch light and other cool things. The inside had a rich, amber in color, birch paneled interior and vintage furnishings.  We spent a while here just looking at the detail and quality of the work. It was fun to hear the story about the trailer and this was its first outing.

We were almost back to where we had started when we came across a 1962, and I forget the name, park model style trailer, that had the most awesome front curved glass and just oozed of 60’s martini style, with pink and black accents. It had a fantastic story to go with it and again, the guy who owns her, restored her himself. He even had to track down the original owner to get title, which he did. The woman is still alive and had special ordered the trailer in 1962. Again, we were able to step inside and look around, it was awesome!

A really funny thing however, is that after having talked to the owner and telling him that I was working on a 1950 Traveleze, was that had read my blog. How funny was that, so he knew exactly what I was working with.


1946 Curtis Wright

 We made our way all the way around and were back at the Curtis Wright. I chatted a little more about my 50 Traveleze and what I need to do with it next. He had great suggestions and said he would even come take a look at it. My Dad strongly suggest that I get someone who knows what they are doing and can finish it off right. All these trailers were done so well and some of these guys really know what they are doing. I have all winter and hopefully by next spring my Traveleze will be able to join the ranks of these rolling jewels.

The people were all so nice and extremely knowledgeable about vintage trailers and the restoration process. I really enjoyed getting to talk with them and I hope to chat more so in the future,

My Dad and I had a great time and after looking at everything several times, we were ready to head home. Camp Sherman is about 14 miles north and west of Sisters, and Sisters is a great small, western themed town, but my favorite store in Sisters is the Sisters Bakery. It was now 4pm and I slowed way down as approached the bakery and they were still open, so I pulled over. One of the many things I inherited from my Dad is his sweet tooth. Our eyes both began to glaze over in a sugary delight as we stared at the tremendous selection of circular confections that lay before us. We were in heaven! We stepped outside to eat our first choice and then with our wonderful assortment of the world’s best donuts in hand, we were on our way home.

I arrived home to a small heard of 10 deer grazing around the pond in the front yard. The chickens were scattered about the yard and the cats were sprawled out on the deck, life looked good. I still needed to mow my lawn and to do some light yard work, so this was the perfect time to jump on the mower. 



Bird on the ceiling fan

 It was at about this moment that my cat Harris started meowing up a storm in the living room, something he does not do.  To my surprise up on the ceiling fan was a bird.  Now I'm not sure, but I'm pretty sure Harris had caught this little guy and brought him in to show me his achievement. Now my challenge was to figure out how to get the little guy out.  The poor little bird had exhausted himself trying to get out the skylight in the kitchen, so he didn't have much of a fight left.  I was able to use a duster on a long stick and get him away from the skylight and he flew to a window and got caught in the blinds.  I was able to grab him and let him go outside and the frase "happy as a lark came to mind" Just how happy are Larks anyway?  He was one lucky bird, Harris tends to eat what he catches.  Harris was not happy that I did nt hand him over.

The day really was about as perfect as one gets. The temperature was in the high 80’s, with clean air and blue skies. I had a wonderful leisurely morning puttering around the house; I spent time with my Dad looking at awesome trailers, in an area that can only be described as a little slice of Americana and I have donuts sitting in my kitchen. The lawn was freshly mowed and all was right with my little piece of the world.

It was a wonderful night and I have some reading to do before church tomorrow.

What a great day!

Day 54, Friday Yeaaa!

It's Friday but its going to be a long day and after weeks of planning our Dinner Dance and Auction is tonight.  With our theme of "Happy Day" and everyone and everything being decked out 50's fashion it should be a fun event.  From start to finish it was a 16 hour day. I left the house as 7:30am and got home at the stroke of midnight. I drove 63 miles picking up auction items and I delivered 3 trees at 11:30pm, just to get the messed cleaned up and so that I wouldn’t have to do it Saturday.

The event was fantastic and everyone had a great time, so all the hard work was worth it.

I had totally ignored the chickens all day and all I had done was fill their feeder with extra feed in the morning. I went out to check on them at 12:15am and I topped off their now empty feeder. In the morning I would discover they had laid 5 eggs.

With no time to eat at the auction I was starving, so ate a bite to eat and called it a night, I was beat.

There of course was no time for the trialer, but tomorrow is the vintage trailer meet in Camp Sherman, so I went to bed thinking of canned hams.  I'm not sure if it was because I was still hungery or if it was because I was excited to see some more trailers.

Day 53, No work on the trailer

Happy chickens, lots of food sunny weather and an open door.

It was one of those hectic days when you can't wait to find a moment to slow down and catch your breath.  With tomorrows big event pressing down I didn't find time to slow down, until I got home and went out to check on the chickens.  They had laid 4 eggs and the coop was a mess.  I cleaned out their boxes and then sat down in the pen to just soak in the moment and to watch the sunset.  The young chickens will hope up in my lap if I sit down and the adult chickens wonder why they are getting all the attention so they all come running to see whats going on.

There wasn't any time for the trailer and I had reading and bid sheets to fill out.  I got everything done that I needed and I crawled into bed at 11:30pm.  Tomorrow would be another insane day with the event I estimate getting home around Midnight.

Saturday is all mine and some where in Sister's or Metolious there is a vintage trailer event. I hope to go to that and see some pretty cool trailers.

Day 52, No time for the trailer today

Wednesday was very busy at work as we prepare for our big Dinner Dance and Auction on Friday.  I had a lunch meeting that kept me from running home and checking on the chickens.

Wednesday is workout day with the trainer and my mom and I had both skipped Monday, so we needed to go. My sinus cold would be interesting to workout with, but I was comfortable that I could do it without blowing my nose every minute.  The hour was a little less cardio to avoid getting my respiratory system worked up and we did a lot of stretching moves that opened up the shoulders, hips and back.

I got back to work around 6 and checked in with Karen and Heather, who were still working.  I ran to Fred Meyer and bought OSU and UofO items to finish off an auction item and Halloween containers and candy to go with the Pumpkin Company's donation.  I returned back to the office around 6:45pm and the sun the sun was setting.  Heather was working on some decoration for event and they were turning out awesome.

Deer eating apples off the apple trees.

I really needed to go home and check on the chickens.  When I got home the deer were in the yard and had been eating the apples off of the trees.  They stand on the rock wall and reach as high as they can.  They were in my path to the chickens so they walk off as I walked toward them.

I had completely neglected the chickens today other than tossing them the last of the bagels this morning. I let them out, even thou it was starting to get dark.  I changed their water, refilled their feeder, cleaned out their boxed and collected their eggs.  They laid 4 eggs and despite the pen door being wide open, they were ready for bed.  I promised them tomorrow, they would get quality yard time, so I better make it home at lunch.

No time for the trailer at all today, I figure the rest of the week will pretty much be the same and perhaps on the weekend I get back at it.  I have several more days of just polishing to get looking good.  I also need to do some research to see if I can find someone to do the work for me.  I'm not sure if that would be considered cheating or just smart...?

After some reading it was bed time for me, it had been a long day.

Day 51, Back to work on the Traveleze

You can see the scuffed up area, it just looks hazy.

After work, I actually got to spend some time working on the trailer. I wanted to see if I could really get the scuff marks out from where they had ruffed up the siding when they painted it last. I used my three levels of 3M pads (heavy, medium and fine), fine steel wool, my SOS soap pads, Mother’s Aluminum Polish and Truck Box Polish. I hand scrubbed, I buffed, I ran the buffer with SOS soap pads, used just fine steel wool, and then to top it off I hand polished with Mothers again (it protects the aluminum from water spotting).




This is after, I removed most of the scuff marks and repolished.

 The days really are getting very short, so I only had about an hour to experiment on really getting the deeper scuffs out. I was definitely able to brighten up the metal and bring the shine out, but it was not perfect and I think it can be.  I’m going to have to do some research on new methods for buffing out scratch marks. I also stared to wonder if there is someone who does this for a living and could they do it with greater ease and less effort than it is taking me. Sometime the best thing you can do, is hand a project over to a professional. I removed the paint and tar from the trailer and I have all most all of the metal shining pretty well.  Maybe I can find someone who can take it from here and really make it shine like a mirror. If I can’t find someone, it really looks prety good enough and this could be as good as it gets.


Ann's new chickens


On the chicken front, my friend Ann in Oklahoma got her chickens today. She drove an hour each way to pick up an assortment of 6 chickens. That’s a lot of driving, but nothing compared to the 6 to 7 hours of driving that Amy drove to get the chickens that I have. Ann introduced the chickens into the pen and coop that I help ready when I was back there. I was anxious to her how they liked it and I guess they adjusted very well.  By the first afternoon, Ann had her first two eggs, so she is now on her way to having her own egg empire.

My chickens ate another dozen bagels at lunch and spent the evening out in the yard, so that doesn’t seem like too bad a life.

That was about it for the day.  It was nice to work on the trailer again.

Day 50, Week 8 of the Traveleze

Not much new to report today.  I woke up feeling a little better, but I still sound like my head is in a fish bowl. Work was very busy and I wasn’t able to take a lunch break until 2:50pm. I went home for lunch and brought a bunch of old muffins and bagels from the office to feed to the chickens.

The chickens were very excited to see me and when I started tossing in the muffins and bagels they forgot all about wanting to be out in the yard (I will let them out later, when I get home after work).

FedEx had made another attempt to drop off my Cadillac wheels, so I called again and said I would come get the package after work.


A very nice looking wheel, but it's out of round.

After work, I was on my way to FedEx and picked up the box. I called the person I was buying the wheels from and said I was picking them up and that I would take them straight to the tire shop to have them check to make sure they were round. He assured me they were and that I should save my money. That made me a tad nervous, so I opened the box in front of the FedEx guy and thought I could detect that one wheel had a flat spot. I took the wheels immediately to America’s Tire and they put each wheel on the balancer. Sure enough each wheel was completely out of round. I immediately called the seller and told them they were out of round. He was shocked and I had him speak to the America’s Tire guy. I was extremely disappointed. He says he will make it right, so we shall see. Mean while my car is still without tires and wheels.

I went home with my out of round wheels and then went to my folks for dinner. My dad had bought a coconut cream pie at Marie Calendars in Eugene and he was willing to share.  Pie makes everything better and I couldn't think of a better way to forget about my wheels than pie.

No time with the trailer today and the wheel issue has me extremely bummed out. Oh well tomorrow is another day and perhaps I can spend some time polishing on the trailer.  The wheel guy said he would work on getting me new wheels on Wednesday.

Day 49, The end of the 7th week with Traveleze

I woke up Sunday morning after a fairly good night sleep, but my cold was still hanging on. The weather was still raining and it had rained all night.

Soggy muddy Chicken pen.

The chickens were flapping around in their pen, so I went out to see how they were doing. There was standing water in the garden, so it had really been raining a lot. It’s hard to make water stand in the high desert, so the rainfall level had to be way up there. When I got to the chicken pen, they were all standing out in the rain and they were soaking wet. There was standing water in the pen and the floor of the pen had turned into a muddy mess. I felt really bad for them, so I let them out, so at least their feet would be out of the water.

The chickens needed a roof over their pen, so I got out a couple sheets of plywood and screwed them down to the top of the pen. This will at least give them an area that is dry. I had been thinking for winter I would need to enclose the pen to keep them dry and out of the wind.  The plywood was just a start and I would need to figure out what to do soon.

Placing the two sheets of plywood on the pen was just about all my energy level could handle, so I went back inside to rest a bit. I kicked back on the couch and did some reading.

Big storm blowing in

By 10:30 the sky had started to clear and the rain actually stopped. By 1pm it was still sunny and the lawn had dried out, so I needed to get out there and mow. It had been 9 days since I mowed last and the lawn needed it bad. I figured I could handle sitting down and mowing the lawn. It took me an hour and the skies had started cloud up with a pretty ominous looking storm blowing in. I had worked my cough into a frenzy, so it was time to go back in rest and get some more reading done.

On my way in I check the chicken coop and there were 5 eggs, so the hens had been busy.  I had sprinkled some of the lawn clipping on the floor of the pen, so at least now the muddy mess was covered up.

I pretty much spent the day resting and reading. It wasn’t a very exciting day, but I was hoping to feel good enough to go to work tomorrow and rest was the only thing that was going to help.

Day 48, Home sick with a head ready to explode.

I don't know if I ever actually went to sleep, I was up blowing my nose more times then I can count.  I took every form of sinus medicine I had and still nothing seemed to relieve the presure in my head. 


Deer and Chicken



The weather outside was sprinkling and it looked like there was no end in sight.  I was now seriously behind in my "Reading the Bible in 90 Days" challenge, set by my church, so this would be the perfect day to get caught up.  I was acually only 70 pages behind, which is nothing, but I have found reading the bible to be extremely slow going as I try to pronouce name correctly and understanding all the family trees.  To top it off, it's not easy reading when you have your head full of cold medicine and I dozed off several times and had to start over.  I would adventually finish my 70 pages around 2pm.

One of 5 deer that came to eat the flowers.

I had let the chickens out by 9am and they had aready laid 4 eggs.  It was still raining but it didn't seem to slow them down at all.  They were happy to be free and running around the yard.  I took what little energy I had and I managed to cleaned out the coop and put in fresh straw.  At around 10:30am the deer arrived to chow down on the yard too.  One small fawn seemed to be very interested in the chickens.  The chicken on the other hand wanted nothing to do with her, other than to offer a casual glance to determine if the deer were friend or foe.

I spent the entire day on the couch blowing my nose and caughing which are two of my least favorite things to do.  I wasn't even up for shopping for trailer parts on the computer.  I must be sick if don't feel like shopping for car or trailer parts.  I did manage to go out to the trailer and close the roof vent all the way, to prevent any rain from getting in.  I had kind of worried about water leaking in, but from what I could tell it was still dry inside.

The chickens seemed happy running around in the rain and I checked on them around 3pm and there was one more egg.  The rain hadn't bothered them a bit and egg production was up over yestedays poor laying, of only one egg.  I had kind of worried about the chickens getting soaking wet, but it was a warm rain, so I decided I shouldn't be too worried.

My appetite was still good, so my cold was just a sinus thing and not the flu.  I ate the last of the pork chops and by 9:30pm I was ready for bed.

I could tell it was going to be a long night.

Day 47, I feel a cold coming on.

I do love Friday’s and today was so busy I didn’t have time for lunch. There was going to be a large event in downtown, and I stayed had help put up a tent for the band. I wasn’t going to get home until around 6pm and my time with the trailer seems to be getting shorter and shorter with the days.

When I got home I immediately let the chickens out and collected only one egg. They obviously were not happy being stuck in the pen all day. Once the chickens were running around I went inside to take of me…I was starving. There was also a note stuck to my front door that my Cadillac wheels had arrived via FedEx, but it required a signature and they are not open on the weekends. I was really unhappy about that; now I’m going to have to try to figure out to pick up the wheels in Bend before they close on Monday.

So back to me starving, the only thing I had eaten all day was several cups of granola, but I had a leftover pork chop in the refregerator and it hit the spot. Next I need some sinus medication. I had started to feel a sinus cold coming on early in the day and I wanted to take something for it and a nap sounded good too. After a few minutes of lying down I knew this cold was going to get worse, I was not happy.

Around 7:30pm the clouds to the west started to get black and the thunder and lightning started to blow in. The event downtown was supposed to go until 8:30pm, so I figured I better go help take the tent down. The weather hadn’t started raining yet, but the threat of it did dampen the turnout a little. The band was excellent and they finished up on time and the rain drops just started to spit here and there. The tent came down in about half an hour and I help remove the street blockades.

I was on my way home by 9pm and the winds and lightening really started to blow. We lucked out on the timing it was a pretty substantial storm.

I was pooped and seriously not feeling well. I was in bed 9:50pm and my sinuses were killing me.

It was going to be a long night.

Day 46, Back to work

With Robin, Brad, Dr Nick and Ann loading the GMC Yukon XLT at 6:20am it was an early morning.  I had gotten up and plugged in my old perk-pot coffee maker at 5:40am and went back to bed to rest my head until they were all done getting dressed and packed and then I joined them as they drank their coffee.  What a great three days, with very special friends.

Dreaming of the lake

Work was full speed ahead with little time for day dreaming about yesterdays kayaking. I wasn't too far behind from missing a day of work and quickly worked on several project.  The day seemed to fly by with the busy schedule.  I took a lake lunch form 1:30pm to 2:30pm and the first thing I did naturally was check on the chickens.  There was only one egg.  I tossed them the last two corncobs from our dinner the night before and they picked at it with tremendous fervor.  The corn seemed to distract them from the fact that they wanted out of the pen.

The pumpkins are staring to turn orange.

Lunch was a blink of eye and so was the rest of the day and soon I was back home to let the chickens out for the rest of the evening.  The afternoon had busy for the chickens too and I collected four more eggs. It was a beautiful day and the nights had been staying warmer, but despite my wish that summer never end, the fact of the matter was that the pumpkins were starting to turn orange.

My folks called and asked me I would like to join them and our good friends from Creswell for dinner and I said sure, so I changed my clothes and went over.  The dinner and company was great and with my early morning, I was ready to head home, put the chickens to bed, finish the laundry, make the guest bed and go to bed myself.

My poor trailer has fallen to the way side and little  has been done to improve or restore it.  Even my read the Bible in 90 days project has fallen off too.  I am now three days behind or 36 pages. I think this weekend will be an excellent opportunity to get caught up on all fronts, but for now I was tired.

It was off to bed early.

Day 45, Trailer takes a back seat

Taking Wednesday off to spend with friends had gotten off to a great start. What could have been better than starting the day off with a breakfast consisting of farm fresh eggs ham and toast?

Truck loaded with 5 kayaks

Today I was taking my Oklahoma friends kayaking at Sparks Lake and this would be a first for many of them to kayak. Rounding up 5 kayaks was going to be a bit a fun challenge, but I have one, I barrowed two from Amy, one from Tracy and then rented the fifth. I had never put 5 kayaks in my truck and after I removed the hard cover they all surprisingly fit very well. I also had to make sure we had “Invasive Species” permits, one of Oregon’s newest and most ridiculous taxes. Any boat of over 10’ has to have a permit, so they can pay to have people check your boat for snails. Only they NEVER have anyone out there, and what does the length of a boat have to do with snails sticking to it. This is just a new revenue generator to fund the government and of course you also have to pay to park your vehicle in the wilderness which they have done for years.

Sparks Lake looking at the South Sister.

With the boats all loaded and snacks packed we were on our way to the lake. We paddled around a good  portion of the lake and we got out a couple of times to see interesting rock formations and to have a snack for lunch.

The day on the lake was awesome and I think everyone had a great time.

We returned home around 6pm and Ann let the chickens out and collected thier 5 eggs.  After a sometime to clean up we went to dinner at 7pm.

It had been a whirlwind day and we were all pretty tired. Robin, Brad, Dr. Nick and Ann would be leaving in the morning around 6:30am and heading off to Pendleton, where they are attending the 100th anniversary of the Pendleton Round Up.

A 6:30am departure would come soon, so we all turned in around 9:45pm. It has been so much fun having them all here, I’m going to miss them greatly.

Day 44, Rafting and a Board meeting.

The second Tuesday of each month is Board meeting day at work, so despite having company I was going to be in the office all day. Robin and gang were scheduled to do a rafting trip on the Deschutes river, so most of their day would be consumed with that.


The work day flew by and having worked over the lunch hour I headed home a little after 4pm. I arrived home and checked on the chickens and let them out. They had laid 4 eggs so after taking the s day off they were back in production. Amy had said the CLUA had been on strike (Chicken Layers Union of America). I guess I settled that strike with the promise of a chicken barbecue!

A beautiful day

It was another beautiful day and the temperature had reach 83, so it was a perfect day for rafting. The chickens were happy running around the yard. The trailer sat in the driveway and I was pretty content. Robin and Ann were texting that they were on their way home. My folks were going to come over and we were going to barbecue on my deck.

Dr. Nick and I went into to town taking the Packard and bought pork chops for the grill and some ingredients for Ann to make cookies. With everyone at my house, Ann baked, Nick barbequed, my father poured drinks and everyone was happy. The temperature on the deck perfect and we sat on the deck for hours enjoying the good food and great company. The evening was perfect!

Day 43, Monday Robin, Brad, Dr. Nick and Ann arrive

The Monday work day started out as many of them do, with a fast and frenzied pace. This week was going to be a busy one and with my guest arriving today, I had to make every minute count and get all my work done promptly. I had planned on taking off work around 2pm which should give me enough time to run to the store and buy the last few needed items before company arrived, including buying Robin's Birthday cake. Robin shares the same birthday as my niece Jamie and I also needed to get Jamie’s card in the mail. It is going to be a late card, I'm a bad uncle, but at least I sent her a Birthday text wishing her a Happy Birthday. I love my niece beyond words and feel bad being late with her card, but I always feel Birthdays should last at least a week anyways, so I am just prolonging the celebration.


Before I knew it, it was 2pm and I was starving. I ran my errands at the store, but forgot to get the cake. I was home and a few things I needed to get done around house and the chickens needed to be let out of the pen. There were no eggs, so I think they were letting me know they were not happy being cooped up.

My mother arrived before too long and we were off to Bend to workout with our trainer. The workout was pretty intense and we worked on a lot of stretching. I have extremely bad flexible especially in my shoulders, hips and hamstrings and our trainer loves to zero in weaknesses. Our sessions always fly by and soon we were heading back home with stop to pick up the cake (German Chocolate). I was receiving a steady stream of texts from Robin and I figured I would arrive home minutes before they got to my house. I had just enough time to clean up and change before they arrived and the place looked pretty good.

Standing next to the trailer looking down the long driveway.

The Chickens were running around the yard and I was looking at the view from trailer, down the long drive, when I saw their car driving down the lane towards my driveway.

Even thought I had just seen them all in Oklahoma, it was so good to see them all here at my home in Oregon.  We did a quick tour around the house outside, as well as inside and then headed over to my folks place for a dinner.

The day had started to turn stormy with a late afternoon thunderstorm passing the edge of town.  It wasn't as impressive as the 100mph straight-line winds as they had for me on my visit to Oklahoma, but it was a little taste of the kind of weather we can get here in Oregon.  The lightening was actually pretty amazing and lit up the sky for quite some time.

The day was coming to end, and once again the trailer was neglected, but not forgotten.  I do plan on working on it and really want to order the hub caps, so perhaps that is something I can do tomorrow.

It was bed time and I still had to read 12 pages of the bible for day two. 

Day 42, The start of the 7th week with the trailer

Well, work on the trailer has definitely slowed. There is just much going on and a ton of yard work to do.

The morning was spent doing laundry and cleaning up around the house. Robin, Brad, Dr. Nick and Ann from Oklahoma will be arriving tomorrow. Church was at 11:00am and the congregation started a program called reading the bible in 90 days. I signed up for it and bought the bible (larger print, so it’s easier to read) and the companion books. This will be interesting challenge, so tonight it will begin, Genesis.

A wheelbarrow full of aspen roots, somer 12' long.

After Church I spent the rest of the day working in the yard and so did the chickens. We have already had a number of hard frosts and the flowerbeds and garden needed some work. The hardest part of my day was the digging up some of the roots of the now removed Aspens. I have treated the stumps so hopefully the root system will die, but I still needed to dig up some of the roots that were in flowerbeds. At least twice a year I had get out the shovel and wheelbarrow and dig up roots, so I was excited to think this could be the last time I have to do this. I dug up a wheelbarrow full and decided that was enough work on that for the day.

I pruned on the Junipers, hosed off the porch, washed windows and mowed the lawn. It was looking pretty good and then I looked at the trailer. By this point my hands were getting pretty sore and the thought of polishing sounded anything but appealing. I guess the trailer will have to wait until another day, but I did look at it. It has come a long way in 6 weeks and I do want to see it completed, but today was just too much for my sore hands.

It was a beautiful day and with the chickens back in their coop the sun set and new bible to read, it was time for me to go inside.

Day 41, Cars Trailers and Trees

My new trees arrived from the tree farm exactly as scheduled, at 8:30am (I’m always impressed when a business is prompt). He placed the trees where I wanted them and was gone. Now I had to wait to see when the tree guys could come back and plant them.

With the High Desert Swap Meet beginning, I wanted to head on over and check it out. There is always a nice selection of cars at the car show and a ton of unique items and trinkets to look at. I was also hoping I might find a hub cap to go on the trailer, or at least find an 11” center cap so I could make sure that’s what I actually needed before I spent a ton of money.

1931 Model A pickup and a 1937 Pierce Arrow trailer.

I figured I would take a look at the car show first and see if there was anything that I thought would look good pulling the Traveleze. I was surprised to see that there were a lot of new cars there this year and the first thing that caught my eye was a 1931 Model A pickup pulling a 1937 Pierce Arrow trailer. The Model A was flawless and so was the Pierce Arrow. They were letting everyone step inside to view the trailer, so I had to take a look too - it was beautiful. The interior was rich wood that was painstakingly detailed and immaculate. Outside the trailer they had a board with photos showing the restoration of the trailer, including the rescue from its resting place in Toledo (or Milwaukee, I forget) Oregon. It had been in worse shape then mine, but not by much and it was 13 years older.

1954 Kaiser Manhattan, could look good pulling the Traveleze.

There were a lot of cars at the show and for some reason I was oddly impressed with a 1954 Keiser Manhattan 4 door sedan. It had a Chevy 350 and a Camaro front clip, but it looked completely stock. Now this car could pull the Traveleze with ease. It had a very rounded top which would look good with the curve of the canned ham, but it might be a bit too “Manhattan” for camping. There was also a fully restored 1954 Chevrolet 4 door Bel Air in light blue with a white top.  I have seen this car on Craigslist before and thought about calling several times. I have always wanted a 53 Chevy Bel Air 2 door Sport Coupe and figured I’d be settling if I bought a 4 door. Somehow though, the 4 door would fit the Traveleze.  I could just see a family going camping in their modest sedan pulling their tiny trailer, but would its 6 cylinder be strong enough to pull it? I wrote the number down just in case I decide I need to call him later.

There were several cars that would look good pulling the trailer, but it was now time to look at the swap meet and look for things I can’t live without. My father’s birthday is next month and I can usually find something unusual for him here. There were also a lot of hub caps and after a short look I found an 11” cap for a dollar. It wasn’t something I wanted, but I figured I would be able to tell if this was truly the size I needed.   I would later find out that it’s not, it was too big so at least now I know that  I need a 10 ½” which I can buy on line at Hub Cap Mikes.

Many of the vendors come back every year and sure enough I found a vendor, who I have bought stuff from every year. He has mostly antiques out of the Midwest, Nebraska and Iowa, and looking at his stuff is like looking in my grandparent’s home in Iowa. He had his usual farm signs, assorted vintage toys, old trunks, tools, lightening rods, etc and then I saw a long wood surveyors stick with the numbers on it. It was from 1929, was dark wood and had brass fittings; it would be perfect for my father. He has an old transit, but I don’t think he has the stick. I talked the guy down $15 from his price and  I was pleased with my purchase.  I ended up leaving the swap meet with the surveyors stick, a hub cap, and a old wooden folding chair that I got for $5 (it will perfect with the trailer), so all in all, it was good event.

Digging holes for trees.

I was back home by noon and it was time to let the chickens out. They were so happy to see me and bolted the coop like kids heading out to recess.

The weather was absolutely perfect, high 70’s and sunny. This would be an excellent day to plant to plant the trees and I started to wonder, how hard could it be plant 5 trees? I had assumed there would be massive roots to dig through, but I knew the soil was good, so I decided I would try to dig the hole.  If it got to difficult I would let the professionals do it.  They had called while I was at the swap meet and they planed to come on Tuesday to plant the trees.

I figure out where I wanted the first tree and started to dig.  Naturally the first thing I ran into was the sprinkler line, which I knew was close, but I hadn’t realized that close. No damage was done, so I moved a little closer to the house and I cut threw lots of roots fairly easily with the shovel, until I hit a root that was the size of my leg, I got out the axe and within 10 minutes I had it out. I kept digging and in about 20 minutes I had the first hole dug. It was just then, that my folks arrived to see the trees.  My Father was amazed at the huge hole dug  and the size of the root I chopped out. He was sure the roots would be backbreaking to dig around, so he was surprised when I said it wasn’t that bad.

My father helped me free a tree from its wire and plastic tub. We then had to break up the root ball using screw drivers and a pick.  After about 5 miuntes of loosening the roots, the tree was ready to be placed in the hole. I had filled the hole with water and let it soak in, we then rolled the tree in and with some visual guidence from my mom it was perfect. We then back filled the dirt and with lots more water the first tree was in place.

The deer coming to see what I'm doing.

My parents were going to run some errands in Bend and would be back in hour. My father said, if  I had the holes dug, he would help me place the trees.  This sounded like a good deal to me and I was excited to get any help that I could.

It took me exactly one hour to dig the next 4 holes and luckily I didn’t run into any more large roots that required the axe. It seemed like everyone wanted to see what was going on, the deer came into the yard, the ducks landed in the pond and of course the chickens were all over the fresh loose soil and the worms. Just as I finished digging the last hole my parents returned, it was perfect timing. 

Trees planted, and my Dad raking up.

We were able to plant the remaining 4 trees in about an hour. It was actually quite an effort, but we got them all in. I was very glad to have had my Dad there to help me and my mom kept bringing out cold glasses of water for us, which was greatly appreciated too. I love projects like this and I will never forget the time spent with my parents every time I look these trees.  This is what we would call a fun family project.  I also saved myself a boatload of cash by doing this and not paying to have them planted.

The trees look fantastic and within a few years they will provide lots of shade for the hot west side of the house just like the Aspen did.

I spent the rest of the day puttering in the yard with the chickens and I had dinner at my folk’s house. It had been a day of old cars, a vintage trailer, finding my father a unique gift and planting trees with my parents, it was in other words, the perfect day and one that I will not forget.

Day 40, Time for the Trailer again!

Fridays are wonderful, especially when you’ve only worked 3 days!

Chickens in the yard

I was able to run home for an extremely late lunch at 2:45pm and let the chickens out. The weather was beautiful and it was a shame to have them cooped up all day (another great chicken expression). I gathered 3 eggs and let them out.

I was also able to get some phone calls made that needed to get done while at home. I placed a call to the tree farm down the road and scheduled to have the 5 Autumn Blaze Maples delivered on Saturday and I am excited to see how the new trees will look in place of the missing Aspens. Strangely enough the name of tree farm is “Aspen Ridge Tee Farm” and I told him what I thought of Aspens. He chuckled and said they had made him a lot of money, so loved them. I can understand that, guess I would too if they were putting money in my pocket and sending up shoots all over my yard.

All original, 9,900 mile Cadillac Brougham D'elegance

Next on my list of things to get done was to order the last two wire wheels for my 90 Cadillac Brougham that is in the garage. Back in June I was able to find a set of 4 true wire wheels for the car on Craigslist in Sisters, but as it turned out, 2 of 4 were damaged and out of round. I was able to find two more in California and they were going to be shipped either today or on Monday. This car is one of the last true big boxy Cadillac’s and it only has 9,900 miles. Everyone’s grandparents had one and they are what the rest of the world think of when they think of Cadillac, BIG. The car is now 20 years old and so are the tires. The tires are gold striped Uniroyal Royal Seal tires and they don’t make them anymore. I want to keep them on the original wheels (with wire hubcaps) and buy a new set of wheels and tires. The true wire wheels were a very expensive option for the 90 Cadillac and I wanted a set for the car, if I could find them reasonably priced.

You can see the line of where I had polished to.

Five o’clock came quickly after my late lunch and I was soon home, free to work on the Traveleze. I have been wanting to polish the trailer with the Mothers Aluminum polish since I bought a jar nearly 2 weeks ago. I changed into my grubby clothes and went to work. I tried using the buffer, but I wasn’t happy with the overall appearance, so I tried a section by hand and that really worked the best. It didn’t take a ton of effort, but there is a lot of trailer to polish, so it is going to take some time.

The trailer had already started to tarnish and water spot since I had worked on it last and water spots were everywhere. The jar of polish says “polishes and protects” so it will be interesting to see if it keeps if from tarnishing and water spotting. I was able to make pretty good time and almost finished polishing the left side of the trailer before it got dark. I had missed spending time working on the trailer and seeing progress.

Polished to the center of the wheel, back corner still needing polished.

Tomorrow is the High Desert Swap Meet & Car Show and I thought I would go and see if I can find 11” center caps, you never know what you find there. I usually show a car there too, but I don’t want to take away all that time from working on the trailer.

Now that the days are getting shorter and daylight fades away long before my energy level for working on the trailer does, I have to plan carefully. That expression of “so much to do, so little time” comes to mind.  I guess I am going to have back it into the shop where I can control the light and temperature.

It's going to be a great weekend.