Milwaukee Railroad

When the Milwaukee Railroad seized operations, the state of Washington acquired the right of way and turned the old railroad into one long trail. West of the Columbia River it's known as the Iron Horse State Park and the eastern portion was named the John Wayne Pioneer Trail . The Iron Horse State Park (IHSP) is well maintained, it receives much use by joggers, bicyclist or even horseback on certain areas. In comparison, the John Wayne Pioneer Trail (JWPT), is more primitive with fewer access points, passing by pasture and large open ranges. Although it's been about thirty years since the railbed has seen a train, there are still various structures that have withstood the test of time and vandalism. Many of the trestles, tunnels, substations or depots on the IHSP have been well maintained and cared for while the JWPT has struggled to received the attention needed to preserve the history it holds.

On our last day of the year, Traci, Ben and I visited Lind where remnants of the old bridge can still be seen. I am not sure of when the trestle was completed yet the date on picture displays the date of March 14, 1912. We arrived on the west end of the trestle and managed to see a BNSF train heading east from Seattle. While we were there, we met a couple of railfans from the Portland area who were highly knowledgeable on the operations of the BNSF railway. According to one of them, BNSF was on the process of placing another track alongside the current to increase efficiency and avoid delays from eastbound and westbound trains. He also mentioned that the two pillars left standing were to be removed the second week in January. Although the two pillars are no Colosseum or Mt. Rushmore, I felt terrible that one more piece of the historical Milwaukee Railroad would soon meet it's doom. Yet despite the news, I was glad that I had taken the time to see them standing and explore the area.

Our goal for the day was to visit Lind and follow raildbed towards Beverly, WA. We drove by Tauton where substation 21 once provided power to the electric railroad. The building is not in great shape from years of vandalism and neglect. The windows no longer hold the weather outside, the floors are cluttered with tumbleweeds intertwined with garbage and the birds leave an unending mark from their nest perched high above. Bricks and oil containers lay scattered throughout the area among piles of boards and large insulators. What once would supply the energy to the giants of transportation, will one day meet it's fate as more people visit to fulfill an inner desire to destroy. If you are finding out about Tauton through my blog, I plea to preserve and not destroy history.

The last stop on our journey was Beverly where the Milwaukee Railroad constructed a bridge to cross the mighty Columbia River. The bridge still stands although the rails were removed in the early 1980's. Beverly was home to many rail workers between 1905-1920 while the Milwaukee Railroad was being built. All the homes in Beverly are manufactured homes, any older house or shops have been destroyed and filled with graffiti. Beverly was host to a train yard, a depot and even its own post office yet the Bridge and an oil tank base were the only structures left that I could see. Until now, the IHSP and JWPT are divided by one bridge closed to public, perhaps one day they will meet.

I retrieved the first image at University of Libraries from the University of Washington.
http://www.lib.washington.edu/

2013 Christmas Letter

Up until last July, I held the title of the perfect parent. My advice and counsel was admired and highly respected by no one. As I progressed in my scholastic years, I realized how little I knew and when my son was born, I found that I knew even less. Without any doubt, Binyamin's birth is the pinnacle of this past year not only for us but his grandparents as well. However, we will leave the best for last. (Feel free to skip if you're already bored, we'll never know.)

This past Spring Traci and I made the trek to Long Beach, WA in our 1979 Cherokee Chief. Our goal was to enjoy one last trip without the need to focus our full attention on a little one. We got to see the world's largest skillet and daffodils by the thousands. The trip in the vehicle was quite adventurous as the Chief doesn't have overdrive and our throw out bearing gave out while driving through Portland. Although memorable, perhaps the highlight of the trip was being able to drive on the beach and enjoy a campfire. How many places can you actually do that? Many perhaps, it's a big world. It's always a treat to spend time at the ocean and overall it was a great trip.

It seems like each year we bring up our 1948 Plymouth and this year is no different. This year we dedicated numerous hours on getting the Plymouth to run. From fiddling with the carburetor to adjusting the oil pressure gauge numerous times and figuring out why the sending unit would not send anything; the Plymouth proved that we are not mechanics. However with the help of a few key players, (uncle Jeff and Eddy) we were able to hear the engine run. Our goal was to pick up Binyamin from the hospital in the Plymouth but we ran out of time. Now that the engine runs, we must focus on making sure the car will slow down… Hobbies, we all have one.

This past summer we celebrated our five-year anniversary. To enjoy our personal holiday, we crossed the Cascade Range and spent the day in Tacoma with our friend Ben Blood. We visited Hello Cupcakes, the LeMay Auto Museum and ate at the Spaghetti Factory. Binyamin was able to visit Seattle for the first time although he probably won't remember it. It was a short one-night trip and great to celebrate another anniversary with my best friend… Well, two best friend now.

Now perhaps you might be asking yourself why did we take our Christmas photo with our Jeep Cherokee? Well, this fall marks 10 years since I acquired the Jeep. I was a freshman in College with not much to my name. In fact, my complete set of possession could fit in my Jeep. The Jeep got a lot of use and received little maintenance through my college years. It's been to California 3 times, Montana and numerous times to Seattle. It's seen many logging roads, and driven on the Beaches and sand dunes of the Oregon Coast a few times. It was the car I owned while I courted Traci, the vehicle we drove on our honeymoon and driven to the hospital when Binyamin was ready to enter this world. There have been times when I was amazed at the car and others were I wanted to scrap it. But I will quote Mercedes Benz with a commercial they aired several years ago. "Nothing makes a driver more loyal to its car, than a car that is loyal to its driver."

Now lets go back to the epic event of the year. This past July, our lives changed from amazing to hilariously amazing. Yes, we are required to say that it's great to be parents. But the honest truth is that being parents is the utmost greatest experience by far. It's a surreal experience. His name is Binyamin Clifford and he is one kid who likes to smile. Currently he likes to be held which is ok because in a year he will be running around our un-child-proof home. He enjoys going on walks around the neighborhood, chewing on his fingers, playing with toys that rattle and waking up from naps as soon as we begin to get comfortable. When Traci comes home from work he begins to kick, swing his arm and his smile goes from ear to ear. Although sitting in a chair for hours isn't his favorite activity, he has been able to travel and see 8 states by the time he was 8 weeks old. His first bed has been a Radio Flyer red wagon and the first car he ever rode in was our 1957 Chevy.

Two thousand and thirteen has been a great year with a several laughs here and there. If you would like to see the extended version of our year, feel free to visit www.jgalan.com.

(Thanks mom for taking the picture).

Ben's 1st Christmas

Since Traci and I began dating we have alternated holidays with our family. This past Thanksgiving was spent with my mom then Christmas with Traci's folks, next year it switches. For Christmas we packed up our bags, loaded the jeep, picked up my mom and sister and headed east to enjoy a white Christmas. The first night was spent in Kellogg, ID where the hotel had several poster of the area throughout the hotel. It appears that there is plenty to do in Kellogg besides kicking tires although the Jeep section at Dave Smith's seems to be quite exciting for myself. Anyhow, we got up early on Monday morning and despite a small snowfall, the roads were in great conditions for traveling. We didn't get too sidetracked on our drive although since Ben did not have any holiday outfits, we had to make a quick stop in Missoula for a little shopping.

On Christmas Eve, I got a chance to take a helicopter tour around Bozeman and the Bridger Mountains. I was not in the mood to fly since I had traveled the day before but was eventually glad I took this opportunity of a life time. We took off from the airport towards the Bridger Mountains and flew over Ross Pass where we immediately took on some turbulence. Bridger Ski Resort looked busy with skiers and snowboarders trying to make it down the mountain in one piece. We flew over Mt. Ellis Academy where we took a few photos of the grandparents home then headed back to the airport. It was great to see Bozeman from above and fly in a Bell Jet Ranger.

Cliff and Evelyn Starkebaum were married on Christmas Eve and so began a tradition to open gifts on their anniversary. Three generation later we are still opening gifts on Christmas Eve. This year I received a few neat gifts all around, my in-laws bought me a new set of leaf springs for the Chevy to replace the two pogo sticks in the rear. I received a CD of Alison Krauss and Union Station, an architectural ruler and a interactive book of the Corps of Discovery. However my number of gifts did not compare to the amount of gifts that Ben got although he was more intrigued on the wrapping paper than the actual gifts. He opened two gifts but had to leave the rest for Christmas Day after becoming over stimulated by all the unwrapping.

A while ago Traci and I bought a 1980 Cherokee Chief in Montana to use as a parts car. My intentions were to resale the car later that year but three years later it was still sitting on the campus of Mt. Ellis Academy. A couple from Pony, MT bought the jeep and needed us to deliver it so we spent our Christmas Day afternoon trying to load the Jeep on the trailer. I had never visited Pony so it was quite neat to see this old mining town left as relic of prosperous times for miners.

Recently I have been captivated by the history of the Milwaukee Railroad also known as the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad. Quite a long name don't you think? Anyhow, It was electrified in Washington, Idaho and Montana and remnants of the old railroad can still be seen today. In Deer lodge there are two locomotives, a E-9 MILW 36A and a E70 ‘Little Joe’ (it's electric). I won't go into the history of the Milwaukee Railroad since this post is about Christmas and not trains. However, this past trip to Montana became a personal 'I Spy Game' of where can I spot old remnants of the Milwaukee Railroad. Somehow history that is just outside my backdoor highly triggers my interest.