Taylor Shellfish Farms – Shelton, Washington

Mary is no longer available for RV traveling, but we remain good friends.
Because we have 4,000+ postings, I’ve invited her to continue posting entries on this blog.

I’m currently in my 21st year of full-time RVing and my lifestyle is changing, For more info click Here

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The motorhome is parked at VFW #239 in Bremerton, Washington. I’ll depart here later this morning.

 

 

(Note: I’m currently a little discombobulated right now. My normal mode is to blog what I experienced yesterday. Right now, I’m several blogs behind my experiences. I expect to be back in my normal mode within a couple of weeks.)

 

One week ago today, I visited Taylor Shellfish Company in Shelton, Washington which began in 1891. The largest shellfish company in the United States processes 3.5 million dozen (42,000,000) oysters in addition to many mussels and clams a year.

 

Here’s their website link…

https://www.taylorshellfishfarms.com/

 

If you find yourself in the area, I highly recommend you call ahead for a tour appointment at 360-426-6178.

 

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

 

 

 

 

They are located at 130 SE Lynch Rd…

 

 

 

 

The sales building…

 

 

 

 

I arrived without an appointment, yet Erin Ewald, Environmental Compliance Manager, broke away from her duties to give me a tour of their facilities. I was truly impressed with the size and cleanliness of their operations…

 

 

 

 

Everyone in the production facilities must wear a hairnet, including facial hair…

 

 

 

 

The cleanliness is most impressive…

 

 

 

 

There is lots of automation…

 

 

 

 

Erin holds a Geoduck Clam…

 

 

 

 

The products get frozen in this area…

 

 

 

 

Every piece of product is traceable to its farm location…

 

 

 

 

A huge freezer hold the products until shipping. Erin told me most products ship within 24 hours of arrival from a farm…

 

 

 

 

To see the other 38 photos that I took, click the below link…

 

https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipPTLp4-iHmNUZ6f0cdzj4Excmcu1DPPJ-jXWqe2

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the photos!

Yesterday was cloudy/sunny and 73 degrees. Forecast for today is mostly sunny and 68 degrees.

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of Washington. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

My current travel rig is a 2006 Fleetwood 26′ Class A Motorhome and a towed 1986 Ford Bronco II, Eddie Bauer Model. This photo was taken in the desert at Slab City near Niland, California…

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 700 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://picasaweb.google.com/jimjrver

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original works copyrighted – Jim Jaillet 2016

EXPLORING LAKE CUSHMAN

Melissa and David took us for a drive around lake Cushman, a very scenic lake.

It is 10:00 a.m. and misty, rain in the forecast.

The shoreline changed dramatically as we drove.

We stopped for lunch at the Geoduck Tavern. Pronounced gooey-duck, this giant clam is one of the longest lived organisms with an average life of 100 years. I thought it was a fake trophy, but they really grow to such huge sizes. They are edible, but kind of like chewing on an inner tube, so we ordered the usual fare, clam chowder and oyster sandwich for me.

My favorite ham wanted his picture taken with the black bear.

The restaurant had mighty hunter trophys all over the walls and silly signs. This one gave me a chuckle.

We came to a couple places on the lake where we could get out and scout the beach a bit. This was a very pretty spot.

Oyster country here, many spots with bleached shells via the gulls, I’m guessing.

Shallow water and oysters growing very close to shore.

We stopped and picked wild apples, but they weren’t quite ready yet.

If I painted my house and outbuildings like this, people would think me crazy. I like it though. This house sits on Hamma Hamma Rd. just across the Hamma Hamma Bridge that crosses the Hamma Hamma River. We met the father of the girl who rents the place since the road was so narrow he couldn’t get by us. We are such encroachers. But he was fine with our admiration of the artwork.

At one stop I watched for about ten minutes while these guys launched their boat.

That water is glacier cold. Brrrrrr!  I guess it is worth it to them. They fish and ski with it.

 

Then we drove to Cushman Dam, the area was steep above the water and very picturesque. Melissa and David had never visited the Dam. We made several stops for pictures. We are running close to our recycle time, so I must not publish too many pictures at this time. Another cousin, Bob Moore, will be visiting us today.

I’ll be sure to warn him that this is rain forest area and if he allows his vehicle to sit too long, it will gain a roof garden.

 

 

 

 

HANGTOWN FRY.

Blogging about Jackson history yesterday put me in mind of Placerville, which was known as Hangtown in the old days. And, I had a visual reminder as well, this coin.

Many stories exist on how this name was acquired, the most famous story involved a colorful event that occurred in January of 1849. A gambler named Lopez gained a lot of attention for his big winnings at a local saloon. After he retired for the evening, several men tried to overpower him. Lopez fought back, and with the help of others, the robbers were captured. During their “flogging”, three of the robbers were also accused of being wanted for a murder and robbery.

With no more evidence than that, a short 30 minute trial took place and a unanimous “guilty” verdict was given. The crowd demanded that the men be sentenced to “death by hanging” and the rest was history. The famous hanging tree once stood in Elstner’s Hay Yard, next to the Jackass Inn. Today, the original stump from the old tree remains in the cellar of “The Hangman’s Tree” tavern on Historic Main Street.  (Information from Placerville Historical So.)

By other accounts, there were plenty of hangings in Hangtown over gold disputes and disreputable characters, gamblers, con men taking advantage of local miners claims.

  By 1850, the temperance league and a few local churches had begun to request that a more friendly name be bestowed upon the town. The name was changed in 1854 when the City of Placerville was incorporated. At its incorporation Placerville was the third largest town in California. In 1857 the county seat was then moved from Coloma to Placerville, where it remains today.

There you have it, but my own memories of moving to the Mother Lode was eating my first Hangtown Fry. It was a delightfully, greasy sandwich filled with fried onions, green peppers and oysters to which you could add steak sauce or Worcestershire and lettuce on a hard french roll. Yum. I’ve made them at home. The key is not to overcook the oysters.

But, I’ve learned since there is a legend behind the Hangtown Fry.

Legend has it that a 49’er hit a glory hole, an incredibly rich pocket of gold nuggets. He walked into the El Dorado Hotel restaurant in Hangtown, now Placerville California, and asked the waiter what was the most expensive item on the menu. The waiter answered that would be one of three things, oysters, which were tinned and shipped all the way from Boston, Bacon, which was scarce, and Eggs, which were also scarce and hard to get to the Motherlode without breaking in a bumpy stage-coach ride.  The prospector answered, fix them all on one plate and bring it to me.

Another story claims it was a prisoners last dinner and he chose items hard to get to delay his hanging because it took several weeks to get oysters. Though available in San Francisco bay, they would spoil and had to come around the horn in cans.  So was born the ‘Hangtown Fry’.

It was a San Francisco Restaurant that named it and kept it on their menu for 160 years. I don’t even know if you can buy one in Placerville. But, there are many variations on that dish, as omelet and a sandwich. Keeping the oysters tender. Coat them in flour, saute in butter, then pour the eggs over last. All manner of herbs can be added. And, restaurants continually refine and add to the Hangtown Fry.

There you have it folks. Enjoy.

 

Rockport, Texas – Day 2

The motorhome is parked at American Legion Post #363. We will depart later this morning.

Yesterday we drove the Bronco the about two miles to see Rockport Harbor. Rockport Beach is a certified Blue Beach…one of only four in Texas. You can read about it by clicking this link…
http://www.rockportbeach-texas.com/

You can read about Rockport by clicking this Wikipedia link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockport,_Texas

Mary went to the Arts Center while I visited the Texas Maritime Museum. We returned to the American Legion where Mary enjoyed two dozen oysters…I don’t do oysters.

Here are some of the photos I took yesterday…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

To see the other 95 photos that I took, click this Picasa Web Album kink…
https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273/RockportTexas

Enjoying scenic seaports is another joy of the full-time RVing lifestyle!!!

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of Texas. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…(look closely on the Texas coast…)

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

OF EAGLES, CLIFFS AND OYSTERS

Potentially good weather, after yesterday’s cold rain.  got us out early to take the three capes loop drive along the coast to Tillamook then back by a slightly different route. The weather cooperated with a beautiful, sunny day. First stop was this overlook called Gammon’s Launch. Dick Gammon was a pioneer hang glider who made the sport popular in the area launching from this spot.

I couldn’t believe people were actually in the cold waters at this time of year. It was a nice day but…

At Whiskey Creek Fish Hatchery, we spoke with a volunteer who got us to feed the Chinook Salmon smolts that are about five inches long. They send 100,000 of them into area rivers each year. The most interesting aspect to this operation is that they anesthetize each little smolt and clip its dorsal fin. When they return as adults to the river, the clipped fin tells the fisherman it is not wild and can be taken. Wild salmon are presently off limits to anglers.  One per cent of the “plants”  make it back. Most are picked up in the ocean by professional trawlers.  We also fed  huge rainbow trout in a pond. I couldn’t believe trout grow to 17-18 pounds.

We poked around Netarts and Oceanside. I’m sure this set of rocks has a name but I don’t know what it is.

The seaside communities are small and colorful and artsy. We bought oysters at Netarts because they provide the cleanest oysters and clams available. Rivers that flow into the ocean near Netarts do not carry effluent and fertilizers from the huge dairy farms farther up the coast. (Other shellfish have to be moved to clean water for several days for flushing  before it can be sold.)

This is Oceanside.

At Cape Meares State Park, an Eagle perched on a rock and ate a bird it killed with a very patient vulture hovering nearby, waiting for it to finish.

In the above photo, the eagle is perched between the two small tide pools behind the first big tide pool. You can click on this photo to enlarge it.  The rangers had a telescope on the eagle. The following photo with its high magnification does reveal the eagle’s bloody prey as it looks directly toward the scope.

We watched and waited. When the eagle finished eating, it flew directly at the vulture and scared it away. A number of crows and gulls gathered on the nearby rocks and two vultures circled above but none dared to touch the eagle’s leftovers-at least not while we watched.

Cape Meares  Lighthouse is the shortest lighthouse on the coast at only 38 feet tall. However, it sits on a 217 foot bluff.  In an earlier blog, I proclaimed the Yaquina Bay lighthouse was the smallest. That was wrong. It is the smallest in that county. This delightful lighthouse was vandalized by two young men who used high powered rifles and shot 16 windows out and badly damaged the lens. The lense is still unstable and no one can go up inside the light area until it is completely repaired. A slow and expensive process. The young men have to pay $400 a month restitution for the damage, plus the original fine of $60,000 toward the effort.

The restoration person at work. We walked the hiking trails to another interesting place in the park. An amazing sitka spruce called the octopus tree.

The tree is estimated to be between 250-300 years old. No one knows why it grew in this fashion, sending out branches and growing up instead of a main trunk. It is 46 feet around at the base, and it stands 105 feet tall.

The cliff overlooks here are astounding.

We drove on to Tillamook. More on that tomorrow.

For other pictures I took, you can check out my album: https://picasaweb.google.com/106530979158681190260/20115163CapesFisheryTillamook#