The pickup sitting lonely outside a motel. It is like an old friend, waiting for its master to come and head off into the sunset.
This week I will talk about bidding farewell to an old trusted friend. You might think an old trusted friend would be flesh and blood. This trusted friend was metal with rubber tires, a 1977 Ford pickup.
When I took early retirement in 1991, we had a 1973 Chevy Impala and a 1978 hatchback Ford Pinto. The hatchback did not have power steering and was difficult to see out of when backing up. It was a good road car, and Jean and I spent many miles with our collie, Chipper, riding in the back.
We were in Junction City, coming back on Highway 99, in the parking lot at Gibson Motors was a tan Ford pickup with a canopy. We traveled on down the road as Jean and I talked about how nice it would be to have a pickup to haul plywood, etc., as we were remodeling the house.
So we turned around and went back and we took it out for a test drive. We both liked driving it, purchased it that day, and drove it home.
That was in the spring in 1991, and it was just sold in 2021. It became our main source of transportation.
I took a job that required the family to have two cars. I drove the pickup to work, Jean drove the Impala, and we sold the pinto.
Through the years, we put mile after mile on the pickup in all the western states. It has been to Canada, many trips to ranches in Eastern Oregon, on the Oregon beaches and got salt water on the tires. It has been in the parking lot for steam train rides around the base of Mt. Rainer. It has taken us to parking lots and trail heads for walks to view the glaciers of Mt. Rainer. We have been to the coast and the steam train ride at Rockaway, Ore. Our tan friend was always in the parking lot, waiting for Jean and I to carry us on a new adventure.
For years I changed the oil and took care of all mechanical needs. It got new seat covers, a new front end, a first class engine/transmission/rear end rebuild.
It has been buried in sand, mud and covered in snow. But the highlight – it has been slobbered on, in three different occasions, by buffalo, elk, deer, zebra, and musk ox at the Olympic Game Farm, Sequim, Wash., several trips through Wildlife Safari, as well as on and off Washington State and Canadian ferries. Olympic Game Farm was used by Walt Disney and Walt Disney Studios for over 30 years as their main source of live action animals, such as Grizzly Adams, and Charlie, the lonesome cougar, and many other TV and motion pictures. Sequim is located at the top of Hoods canal on Highway 101. Olympic Game Farm was developed by Lloyd Beebe, who was Walt Disney’s animal trainer. Beebe opened Olympic Game Farm to public tours in 1972. It is unique in as much as you buy whole wheat or grain bread and feed the animals. It is not uncommon for a buffalo to pick bread out of your lap or an elk to take a hamburger bun.
Sequim is also famous for the Lavender Festival. There are something like 38 lavender farms in the area. The Festival is normally the third weekend of July. Most of the farms are open to the tourists. In the summer the air is full of the scent of lavender. Many lavender fields were created when the small family dairy farms were consolidated into large herds.
There are so many things to do in the area. The snow-capped Olympic mountains are equivalent to our Coast Range mountains, only higher and more rugged. Just out of Sequim is Port Angeles, the gateway to Hurricane Ridge. A beautiful outing with many trails. From the top of Hurricane Ridge, on a clear day, you can see Mt. St. Helens, Baker, and Rainier, the city of Seattle, the Pacific Ocean, the Straits of Juan de Fuca and the San Juan Islands.
A few miles from the Olympic Game Farm is a 5½-mile spit of sand that heads north into the Straits of Juan de Fuca. At the end of this sand spit is a beautiful lighthouse. It is a very safe walk, but the hiker must be warned to wear good shoes, as people have made the mistake of walking the 11-mile round trip hike in bare feet. The sand and driftwood is very unforgiving to bare feet. It is a beautiful hike.
Two-hundred-fifty species of birds have been recorded over time. Forty-one species of land mammals, and eight species of marine mammals have been recorded on this sand spit. The Spanish first identified the sand spit in 1790. It is now a National Wildlife Refuge. The only motor vehicle allowed is to supply the needs of the lighthouse keepers (volunteers).
The spit is growing by 15 feet per year. In a vicious December 2001 storm, the heavy water split three sections of the spit, where the motor vehicle supplying needs for the lighthouse was unable to get there until it was repaired.
There are guided tours by boat you can charter from Sequim and Port Angeles to reach the lighthouse. The light was first lit in 1897. It is the second-oldest lighthouse in Washington.
A picnic lunch and plenty of water is recommended.
Another outing is to a trail and RR bridge built by the Milwaukee RR in 1915. It carried logs, lumber and passengers from Sequim to Port Townsend and Port Angeles. It was abandoned in the 1980s and turned into a beautiful hiking trail. It boasts the longest wooden trestle bridge over the Dungeness River. On two different trips, in hiking this trail from the bridge, I witnessed spawning migrating salmon by the hundreds. I do not remember what time of year that was.
Another highlight of the Olympic Peninsula is the John Wayne Marina. A beautiful public park, many boats, swimming beaches, some of the best fish and chips I have experienced and excellent clam chowder. It is not uncommon to see a sailing ship. As many readers know, John Wayne, at the end of WWII, purchased a surplus mine sweeper and converted it into a yacht. He spent many relaxed hours on Puget Sound. The lagoon where the marine is located is one of his favorite spots. In later years he bought the property and donated it to Sequim to be used by the public. He also put up many dollars to complete the project.
This portion of the Olympic Peninsula is famous for the largest of the elk species – the Roosevelt Elk. It is not uncommon to see elk along Highway 101 and in the yards of residents in Sequim. Washington state and the game department have a unique feature – many of the elk have a radio-controlled device that, when the vicinity of the warning signs along the roads, they activitate flashing lights, warning motorists that elk are in the vicinity. Of course, you must drive carefully at all times.
While in Sequim, I can highly recommend a café that serves breakfast and lunch 7 a.m.-3 p.m. – Sequim Oak Table Café. They specialize in German pancakes, sausages and other European specialties. The prices are reasonable, and the atmosphere is superb. A beautiful dining experience.
The second is the 101 Diner. It is easily recognized from Highway 101 – it has two gas pumps out in front – for display only. They have a wonderful freshly prepared daily menu. Roast beef, turkey dinners are highlights. They are famous for stew and meatloaf. They have the old-fashioned soda fountain with hard ice cream.
The Ford pickup was parked in the yard for over a year, when someone came by to purchase it – he put a battery in and it started right up and he drove away.
Truly, an old faithful friend that will be missed. Many people become attached to their vehicles, like an old pair of shoes or your favorite jacket. It is difficult to see it go away. But you will always have the memories of that faithful friend, that was always there for you.
Note: My thanks and appreciation to Joan Davis for her remarks regarding the Bremerton Shipyards in the Nostalgia Corner. She grasps my thoughts when I write these articles for The Chronicle – to bring back happy memories and pleasant thoughts of events past in most of our lives.
