The Travel Log…

One month ago yesterday Mary and I visited the Avenue Of the Giants in the Humboldt Redwood Forest in Weott, California. In case you missed that Blog entry…here’s the link…
http://wp.me/pDCku-2wS

During our drive that day we visited the Humboldt Information and interpretive Center…where we saw a most unusual RV made from a single Redwood Tree…hollowed out and mounted on a Nash Quad Chassis. Here are some photos that I took…

In all my years of RVing…including my visit to the RV Museum last year in Elkhart, Indiana…I have never seen an RV quite like this one.

Here are some interesting facts about this RV from the brochure we got at the Visitor’s Center…

—————————————————————————————————————–

It is the largest single piece of hewn timber in the world.

It is the creation of one man, Charles Kellogg who hollowed it out with axe and adz.

It has kitchenette, folding lavatory, toilet, clothespress, 12 lockers, folding double bed, stove, dining table, bookcase, dresser, electric lights, running water, guest room with single bed, lockers, etc…

The walls, ceiling and floors are all one piece.

It weighs six tons.

This particular log is about 4,800 years old.

The Nash Quad Chassis pulls on all four wheels and has front and rear steering.

It is a most unusual and interesting RV

Here are some links which will provide you with more information about Charles Kellogg and his Travel Log…
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1521510
http://www.charleskellogg.com/
http://www.humboldt.net/~hrsp/kelloggbrochure.htm
http://www.rvtravel.com/publish/news/historic_log_rv.shtml

In other news…

Yesterday…here at Mary’s home…it was 29 degrees at 7:30 AM when I took this photo of her porch rail and distant tree on the left…covered with frost…

The day continued on to be sunny and 51 degrees. Mary and I spent some time in the motorhome going through and cleaning up/out some of the interior storage cabinets. 20 days until my departure to the sunny and warm south land.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2011
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

OLD AND NEW PHOTO RESCUE

Last year Jim transferred his slides and family photos to digital format by scanning them and saving them on his computer. When we visited his family this year, in August, he gave a slide show of family pictures. Now he is scanning my family photos to my computer so that I can do the same.

I have an original of this photo of my great grandfather and his siblings. The French way is to leave a space for a loved one deceased as you can see in the back row.

About 15 years ago, I took my 35 millimeter camera and zeroed in on individuals in the picture using 400 speed film with a 55 millimeter lens. My equipment was not expensive, professional stuff, but they turned out quite well and scanned well, too. I like the idea of getting a closer view of my ancestors faces.

In 2004, at a family reunion, my cousin allowed me to choose from among her mother’s pictures and had them made for me. They were beautiful black and whites. I hadn’t looked at them in several years and much to my dismay, discovered they were like proofs, beginning to fade and chemically turn purple. I have no idea where she had them done but the paper seems to be quality photo paper. My point is, check your vintage photos. Since digital arrived on the scene, computerized photo reproduction may not be as stable as in the old days.

Some of the snap shots are quite small. Even so, they show up quite well on a full computer screen, and better yet on your television.
When Jim did his family slide show, he hooked his computer to their family television set. Without too much difficulty, most newer television sets will accept a connection. Then the family enjoyed the show together.

Color pictures are also digitally rewarding. There was a time when I would have considered this method of rescuing pictures as inadequate because I envisioned losing them in cyber space. Now, I know different. I can actually edit them in a computer program and enhance the originals, yet your computer saves both the originals and the enhancement. I haven’t done that with any of these family photos, but I have recently learned to do that with my current photos and I like the improvements.
Plus, you can save then to a disc where the pictures do not tear or fade and hand them out to other family members economically. You can print them out from your disc and also give a slide show from the disc inside your computer. Be warned that anything saved on a disc needs to be re-saved in 10 or so years. Disc quality is not yet permanent, although I’ve been told there is an archival quality disc now available.

Saving your old and current photos on computer into separate “albums” allows you to be creative and separate a temporary “show” from a permanent one; to view a specific event like your grand kids soccer game, or a graduation or wedding. You can selectively mix pictures from one event with another event if you choose.  And, my last point is using the digital picture frame. I never thought I’d want to program a limited number of pictures into it and watch them cycle all day over and over again. I was so wrong. I love my digital picture frame and I don’t sit it on the mantel and let it cycle all day. I download my photos on these cheap little flash drives, ($5.), and plug it into the frame. One day I might enjoy the horses and puppies, etc. at Michele Boulets’ rescue ranch. Or another day watch the beautiful glass pieces from the Sandwich glass museum cycle by; or laugh at the Halloween costumes my kids wore when they were little.

I hadn’t dug out my albums in years. Now I’m enjoying my pictures so much more.