Pic-of-the-Week for July 29, 2017

Another week or so, has passed and Ben and Harriet have been busy!  Ok, so I have not kept up with Harriet’s tradition of getting out a Pic-of-the-Week every 2 weeks, but I really have been busy!

Remember that “Jeep” project.  I figured that not much would happen until I returned to Mexico in the fall, but about 3 weeks ago the painter, Kaliman, came to our house and towed the jeep to his shop for painting.  It seems that he has 3 high school age kids that wanted to earn some money this summer.  I THINK that the jeep is getting worked on and painted!  WOOHOO!

Remember the Model A Roadster project?  Well, it is making “regress”.

Actually, any movement I consider “progress”.  The removal of every nut, bolt and screw is a struggle!  As you can see there are not many nuts, bolts, or screws left to remove.  The engine is well on its way to being rebuilt.  Mike Stenkamp is a wonderful mechanic/machinist here in Bend who is rebuilding it.  We really appreciate all the help we are getting from the Model A Club here in Bend, so we decided to "join the club", and are now official members of the High Desert A's.  

While Mike is doing his part, I am taking things apart as quickly as I can, but my most successful endeavor is ordering parts and spending money.  So far I think I have spent about $5,000 on parts and getting things done.

Oh, speaking of  money, …………. Our truck broke down again (on Ben's birthday!) this summer.  It started missing and died in about the distance of 2 blocks.  We had it towed, hauled actually, to our favorite Bend mechanic and he tried, but could not fix it in a timely manner, so he had it hauled to the Ford dealer in Redmond, Oregon where a friend works that he trusts. Well, about a week later they got it in the shop and found the problem.  Seems that gasoline was put in the tank at some point with the diesel that should have been put in it.  No matter what “they” say, Gasoline and Diesel do not mix in a truck diesel tank! They had to replace 4 fuel injectors that were ruined due to the gas.  Fortunately for us, our truck is old and it doesn't do as much harm as it does to newer trucks...they pointed out a newer truck in the shop with the same problem, and it will cost them over $9000 in repairs!  Ouch!  

After waiting the first week for repairs we rented a car and visited friends in Eugene and Salem.  It was a rather quick trip, but nice to get away from Model A work for a while.  If we did not see you during that quick trip, we will try next time.  When we returned to Bend the truck was repaired and seems to be running good.  Now we just need to get the gas station to reimburse us for our costs.  We are hoping that all turns out good.

While in Eugene we went to dinner at Mazzi’s (Our favorite Italian Restaurant) with Harriet’s Uncle, Aunt, and Cousin.  When the bill never arrived, we were told that a prominent Eugene businessman who was sitting at the next table paid for our dinners!  (Malpass Farms (Harriet's Uncle) rents property from him.)

Cousin Tom got out the Mexican Train game, and Harriet admits she's lost her touch!  Tom and Karan, Karan's sister Pam and Harriet's brother Rich did much better!  

In Salem we went to Oregon Gardens with our hostess and enjoyed the visit at the gardens.  We had not been there for a long time and it was very enjoyable.  They even have a trolley that took us on a tour of the gardens and gave us a good overall view of the gardens.  Then we took a walking tour of the gardens, and Harriet took this photo.  What do you see?

Our Salem hosts say that I did not lose my touch fixing Baja style margaritas!

Then it was back to Bend to work, relax, and eat.  Don’t get me wrong, we ate well in Eugene and Salem also!  Last night we went to dinner with Kate and Mel, our friends in Sisters who come to our area of Mexico every winter.

The mountains still have a lot of snow....this is Mt. Washington taken as we crossed over the Santiam Pass on our way back to Bend.  

That is about it for this week(s).   There are more photos in the 2017 July album to take a peek at.  

Until next Pic-of-the Week,
Your friends in Oregon,
Ben & Harriet

PS.  Sam & Zoey are doing OK in Baja... Sam did have an eye problem, but he's been to the vet several times about it, and it is getting better.   

Pic-of-the-Week for July 6, 2017

Wow!  What a busy week of June 25^th!  The weather got hotter, and we decide to try to head North as soon as we could.  We wanted to be North of the border by the morning of the 3^rd of July so we could get replacement tires for the car trailer.  We think the ones on the trailer have been recalled.  Ben put in long days working to get everything ready so we could leave by Friday the 30^th. 

Also, Ben was still trying to get as much done on the Willys Jeep as he could.  Then on June 26^th the fellow welding the Jeep’s gas tank back together after getting the inside of the tank sand blasted gave Ben a call asking if he could come in about 1 hour, to the welding shop, to help put the tank back in the Jeep.  Well, a lot can go wrong in 1 hour.  He started to patch 2 leaks, and the tank BLEW UP!  He was a lucky guy that he was not hurt worse than he was!  So much for having the Jeep running by the time we left.  Now it needs a new gas tank manufactured.

As we probably mentioned in an earlier blog, we installed some new windows and window frames in our house a few weeks ago.  The changed windows are different from the old ones, so Ben had to modify the shutters for those windows and one sliding glass door.  More hard work on hot days.

 [He thinks I had time to take pictures of us hauling these shutters back and forth to make sure they fit proper.  Hah!  Instead, here's a picture of Eleanor helping him to  fill in the bolt holes.  She handed him the bolts and washers for each hole...very helpful! ]

We finally left Buena Vista on Friday, the 30^th of June as planned.  Our friend and house cleaner is house sitting for us this summer and taking care of Sam and Zoey.  This will be a different summer for us as we will be “dog-less”.  [In this photo we are just ready to leave, and they said, "Wait a minute....we're not in the truck!  Where are our beds?"]


We did have what we thought was a slow leak in one trailer tire, so we filled the tire with air before we left home, and by the time we arrived in La Paz (a 1 ½ hour trip), we had lost about ½ the air pressure.  Ben knew that would never do on our trip, so we stopped at a tire shop and had them check the tire for the leak.  We discovered a nail in the tire, which was fixed in about 20 minutes for about $6.00 US Dollars, and we were on our way with no detectable leak the rest of our trip. 

We arrived back in Bend on the 4^th of July.  A 5 day, 2000-mile trip.  That is pushing it for us.  Harriet is making Ben promise to take her to a newly discovered hotel in San Ignacio on the return trip this fall. 

A few details on the trip……

First night stayed at the El Moro Hotel in Santa Rosalia.  We checked in and then took a taxi to the heart of the town to a wonderful seafood restaurant.  [This is a picture our friend George took of the hotel with his drone when he and Ben went north in early May.]

Second night at Hotel El Jardine in San Quintin.  It looks like a hotel set in a beautiful park setting.  Nice rooms and nice restaurant as part of the hotel area.

The 3^rd night at Victorville, CA.  The most notable thing that day (Sunday, part of the 4^th of July weekend), was the extremely long auto line at customs, plus once we crossed, we had to walk back to Mexican Immigration and get our exit documentation since Ben may need to fly down if a hurricane is headed to our area this summer. 

The 4^th night was in Reno, NV visiting with Mike and Mary, good friends from Los Barriles.  Always an enjoyable evening with great hosts!

The 5^th evening was back home to our home away from home in Bend, OR.  5 long driving days.  

 [View from the living room window at Ken and Bea's house (Ben's brother) of the Three Sisters.]

Are you are wondering why we took the car trailer with us to Oregon?  Well, about 2 days before we were to leave for Oregon, we got word that a longtime friend of the Purkey Family decided that she wanted to sell her 1930 Model A Ford Roadster with a Rumble Seat to us.  This was a topic that had been discussed with her quite a while ago, and we thought that she had decided against selling.  It came as a REAL surprise when we got the word that she was going to sell it to us.  Now Ben will have two vehicle projects to work on when we return to Mexico in the fall.  This could keep Ben busy this summer also.  [Once it's all pretty and running good, I'm claiming this one! - HP]  

That is about it for this Pic-of-the-Week.  We hope you enjoyed the attached photos!  [I will start a July 2017 album soon.  Not much in it yet!  HP]

Ben, & Harriet without Sam and Zoey