Wednesday Drama

TRAIL MIX: The MPA student body is away at summer school (a/k/a camping), and the dogs and I are here holding down the fort.

Have I mentioned our dogs are neurotic ... on a good day? Well, when 3/4 of their pack is gone, they're off-the-charts frantic. And so, it's in everyone's best interest if I take them for a loooooooong walk first thing in the day, in hopes of wearing them out a bit.

Mission accomplished this morning!  Of course, they wore me out, too. Stay tuned for details. ...

We parked on the Magnolia side of the Hiram Chittenden Locks. Fighting our way through the tourists, we made it across the locks, through the park on the north shore, and then entered the western end of the  Burke-Gilman Trail, a two-mile stretch between the locks and Golden Gardens, a great park along Puget Sound. 

One of the first things we passed was Red Mill's "Totem House" location.  It was a fish and chips eatery for 65 years before the local burger chain bought it out in 2011.  It's kinda hard to miss from the road. ;)  - a destination for tourists and locals, alike.

Just beyond that, there was a nice lookout point I'd never seen before. It offered a great view of the train bridge, which we're used to looking at from the south side.

At the landing, there was also an interesting statue.  As I turned to take a photo of it ...

 I heard a furry commotion - namely, the dogs, who were both on leashes, and I was standing on the leashes.  Not only did I hear them, but I heard the sound of nylon sliding.  Not sure how I *knew* that sound, but I did.  And I knew what it meant.  That would be my backpack.  My NASA backpack, which I happily donned this a.m. as a nod to the 45th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11.  Because I'm a nerd. But I digress.

As it turned out, my NASA backpack had 'liftoff' of its own, alright.  As in, off the viewpoint overlooking Puget Sound, and and down a cliff. With my phone, my keys, my driver's license, and a credit card in it.

I still don't know how the dogs managed it, frankly. The deck was surrounded by a rail with cables less than three inches apart. I'm almost convinced one of them SHOVED the pack through. 

The *good* news is the pack didn't fall all the way down to the water. Instead, it got caught in weeds about 18 feet down.  Of course, my first thought was to find a way down to it. We patrolled left and right, and saw nothing but steep cliff with no access point.  I was OK with that. I really thought the best bet was to fish it up.  I had the dog leashes, which I thought could get me the 18 or so foot reach I needed. And I thought I could lash my sunglasses to an end using one of the side/ear rest pieces as a 'hook.'  But I worried that my dollar store glasses might not be strong enough.  I've had many a pair of dollar store glasses disintegrate while just sitting on my face.  

I looked around and noted there was a van near me in the parking lot. It looked to be one of Ballard's many 'city campers' - otherwise homeless people who live in their autos.  From where I stood, I could see the van was packed to the 'rafters' with who knows what.  If he had even one bungee cord of any length, that would make a great hook and I'd be in business.  As my good luck would have it, the owner hopped out at that instant and I asked him if, perhaps, he had a coat hanger or bungee cord.  

Curiosity piqued, he asked why, and I showed him where my backpack was. 

"I can just go down and get it," he said. 

I told him I'd already explored access routes and that it was super steep and that looked like a really BAD idea and that I had leashes, I was just looking for an easy hook.  However, the homeless man in flip flops INSISTED on climbing down the cliff to retrieve my pack. 

He jumped the fence, and that's just what he did (as I held my breath).  Fortunately, he was back within 30 seconds, declaring, "You were right. That was a bad idea. It's super steep down there." 

I thanked him profusely and apologized to him that I didn't have any cash to reward him for his trouble. He smiled, as if it was no big deal. 

As we walked away, I said to the dogs, "That man is our hero today!"

We continued our 4-mile walk and along the way, I found an ATM. I was going to slip our backpack retriever a $20 or leave it under his windshield wiper on our way back.

However, as we approached the parking lot where he had been parked, I saw red lights flashing. "Oh great!" I thought. "He hurt himself climbing down the cliff!" 

Fortunately, the lights weren't a rescue. But they were from a fire truck, and the city campers (a/k/a homeless people) were being cleared from the lot. The man from the van was long gone. 

We all know firemen are heroes, every day. But sometimes, the homeless guys are the heroes, too.

By the way, none of the photos I took today were worth the drama they involved, but here are a couple more ...

I saw hundreds upon hundreds of boats today, and I want to buy a fleet, just so I get to name boats. ;) A couple of my favorites today were 'Little Wharfin' Annie' and 'Tipsea.'

I also stumbled across Leif Erikson. Probably not that unusual, given all the Nordic-heritage folks in Ballard. :)

Here's our proof that we made it to the end of the trail ... 

FIELD REPORT:  I had a number of updates from the MPA field trippers today. 

It looks like Annabelle got some water time in. I'm glad she's wearing a life vest, but I'm not sure what's on her head. ;)

And here's CJ's breakfast. Peanut butter and Fritos on a bagel.  That's why people go camping, right? To eat stuff you can't eat at home? ;)

Our squad was in charge of dinner tonight, too. Even though I wasn't there, I say 'our' because I planned the menu and did the shopping.  On the menu were delectable riblets in a special sauce ... 

as well as a side of red potatoes and green beans in a Greek feta dressing.       

Via text, Christian reports it was "a phenomenal success" - no easy feat, cooking for 30 or so in camp!

TO THE MOON: On this day, 45 years ago, Apollo 11 launched on a mission like no other. ...

Below is the scene at the Launch Control Center in Firing Room 1, where NASA and contractor managers and engineers monitor computer consoles, ensuring all is ready for liftoff of Apollo 11. 

You can listen in on a Mission Control audio clip here;
https://history.nasa.gov/ap11fj/audio/t-0010100.mp3

July 16, 1969, was a turning point for this nation - and the world. It was the day the 363-foot tall Saturn V rocket rose from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, at Kennedy Space Center, 

On board were Neil A. Armstrong, commander; Michael Collins, command module pilot; and Edwin E. (Buzz) Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot. What those astronauts and their massive support team would accomplish in the next few days would become legendary for all humankind.