"Huh."

8/1/2017

I got my butt out of bed (camp) earlier than usual today so I could take Jane for some more pampering in the form of an oil change and brake check. Our destination: the Mustang Ranch of Eatonville, WA, conveniently both highly recommended and close by!

It’s not often that I get the pleasure of stopping at an old hot rod / restoration shop. My favorite thing about them – besides the obvious presence of great cars – is the smell. Shops full of old American cars just always smell great, like a combination of rust, musty vinyl, and old paint with a healthy dose of engine oil and burned hydrocarbons. Divine! Weird, I know.

The Mustang Ranch of Eatonville is no exception. A sleepy little place tucked back out of the main thoroughfare of life, it still nourishes its classic roots. Rows and rows of stripped vintage Mustang parts crowd the shelves, waiting to find new homes in cars given another lease on life. The skeletons of cars long past saving rest in the yard peacefully, waiting to donate just one last thing to another more fortunate car. The old tools of the trade line every wall, each with a purpose today maybe unknown, but essential in decades past. The guy that runs this shop though, he knows. His name is Don.

Don’s working on several vintage Mustangs for customers right now, but he made space in his shop for Jane. I felt a bit bad pulling up, as all of these other cars were beautiful and clean and pristine, and Jane looked a bit ragged. Should have made her presentable for company! Oops.

Don pulled her into the bay – notably without a single attempted stall or any other silly business – and we put Jane up on the lift to inspect her leaky brake line. A cursory check of the offending brake yesterday showed it a bit wet, and there was some brake fluid loss in the master cylinder, so I assumed that that line was just leaking a bit.

Well, an inspection of the line showed it bone dry, with the fluid coming from inside the drum brake. Pulling the drum showed that the inside of the brake was also bone dry. And that’s when he said it. My favorite phrase, heard out of the mouth of every mechanic to ever look at Jane: “Huh.” The simple statement of puzzlement uttered when something just does not make sense.

I laughed pretty hard. This is Calamity Jane at her finest – always the wild card, and probably for no reason other than to be ornery. It’s just so typical that I kind of expected it in the back of my mind anyways.

Don said, “Well, I don’t quite know what I’m supposed to fix here,” and I laughed harder.

Once I had finished giggling enough to be of some use, we traced the lines the whole length of the car and found nothing amiss. So the consensus was to just top off the brake fluid and turn a blind eye. Sometimes these things just happen. Especially when Jane’s involved.

He moved on to the oil change then, kindly listening to me prattle on about silly things Jane has done to me, places we’ve been and things we’ve seen. It’s been a while since I last had someone around who knows what I’m talking about when I have cars on the brain. I ended up hanging out bothering him for a couple of hours, just shooting the breeze and checking out his cars and assorted car parts.

We put Jane on the lift to check out her undercarriage thoroughly. As expected, everything's dirty and everything leaks! All is well.

Really liked their old tow truck.

Eventually I did recognize that he had to get on with his day, so Jane and I took off for Mount Rainier, fresh and ready to rock and roll! It was a beautiful, perfect day – nothing but blue skies and nice light breezes and warm sun. Exactly right for a nice long hike.

Not really sure what was going on with this family of raccoons in the road...

I drove up to Paradise (yes, it’s really called that) and made my way onto the Skyline Trail, a hike popular for its stunning mountain views and incredible wildflowers. And let me tell you, that trail did not disappoint. Every turn I made brought new amazing sights into view - roaring waterfalls far off in the distance, massive cracking blue sheets of ice, flowers of every possible color, and a multitude of silly marmots. I really do have a soft spot for those little guys.

Well, I can confirm that he wasn't exaggerating. 

Believe that is Mount Adams in the background there. 

Check out these awesome crevasses! They look like extensional fractures (think stretch marks from growth, but in a rock) but may just be erosional, not sure.

Obligatory Kelly shot.

Really liked this shot with this guy. Just a reminder of how small we are in this world of ours. 

Conduits of life.

I took the Golden Gate Trail down the slope back to Paradise, seeing more fields of flowers and channeled meltwater on the way. Then I collected Jane and we coasted down the mountain back to the peace and quiet of our campsite. This place is just wonderful.

Until tomorrow... Kelly signing out.