Kay DubYa

Cat Tails

Pussywillows and Cat-tails

Isn't it funny how some things remind you of other things?
When I look at this photo, I find myself humming a song by the great Gordon Lightfoot.

It goes something like this

Pussywillows, cat-tails, soft winds and roses
Rainpools in the woodland, water to my knees
Shivering, quivering, the warm breath of spring
Pussywillows, cat-tails, soft winds and roses

Catbirds and cornfields, daydreams together
Riding on the roadside, the dust gets in your eyes
Reveling, disheveling, the summer nights can bring
Pussywillows, cat-tails, soft winds and roses

Slanted rays and colored days, stark blue horizons
Naked limbs and wheat bins, hazy afternoons
Voicing, rejoicing, the wine cups do bring
Pussywillows, cat-tails, soft winds and roses

Harsh nights and candlelights, woodfires a-blazin'
Soft lips and fingertips resting in my soul
Treasuring, remembering, the promise of spring
Pussywillows, cat-tails, soft winds and roses

-Gordon Lightfoot

Hamilton Ruins

Hamilton, Nevada is a ghost town in the White Pine Mountains in White Pine County.
Once the County Seat of White Pine County it had its day between 1868 and 1869 with the discovery of Silver nearby.
The decline started shortly after 1869, the County Seat changed to nearby Ely in 1887, but the final nail in the coffin came in 1931 when the Post Office closed its doors forever.
The only thing left in the town are ruins like these, (and yesterday's post) a cemetery and old mining gear scattered on the landscape (seen in previous posts).

Collapsed

Two collapsed homes in Hamilton, a ghost town, off Highway 50

Duck at Ruby Lake

The Bridge to Nowhere?

Isn't that strange? A bridge named "The Bridge to Nowhere"
I looked and it certainly looks like somewhere to me.

Signs and Skies

Don't look back.

More Gear

Americas Loneliest Highway

U.S. Highway 50, forty miles east of Eureka with another 40 miles to Ely, Nevada.

Very close to defining the middle of nowhere

Hamilton Cemetary

Spools of It

Barrels of It

Old Mining Gear

Sunday Drive

Resting Between

My Own Sentimental Journey

Sentimental Journey flies out of Elko today at 11am and as promised... a little Sentimental Journey of my own.

The first shot was taken of me with Sentimental Journey at an airshow in Paradise Valley, Arizona in 1985.
The middle shot was taken of me at the Ogden, Utah airport in 1994 and the third shot (which I am reflected in the polished metal in blue) was taken last Sunday in Wendover, NV.
Interestingly enough my son is behind me in the metal reflection. (Incidentally in his photos, he is the same age I am in the first photo.)

The last shot is my son manning the waist gun port on the starboard side.

I guess I am passing the torch to my son. Maybe in 24 years he will post photos of himself and perhaps his kids with Sentimental Journey.

1985

1994

2009

Sentimental Journey Nose Art

The nose of Sentimental Journey is sporting Betty Grable in one of the most recognizable pin-up poses of World War II.

I can almost hear the music playing in the background.

The Chin Turret

Sentimental Journey Day 2

Specifications (B-17G):

Engines: Four 1,200-hp Wright R-1820-97 Cyclone turbocharged radial piston engines Weight: Empty, 36,135 lbs.,
Max Takeoff, 65,500 lbs.

Wing Span: 103ft. 9in.
Length: 74ft. 4in.
Height: 19ft. 1in.
Performance: Maximum Speed at 25,000 ft: 287 mph
Cruising Speed: 182 mph
Ceiling: 35,800 ft.
Range: 2,000 miles with 6,000 lb. bomb load
Armament: 13 12.7-mm (0.5-inch) machine guns

Sentimental Journey Fly-By

Right on schedule, Sentimental Journey does a fly-by of the field before lining up for a landing.

I am not gonna lie... I was a little giddy!

More tomorrow.