Monday, September 10th, 2024 – Safeway
Toward the end of last week, we talked about the wildfire smoke rolling in, but we didn’t have a photo at the time, but we took one yesterday.
Today, the smoke has wafted away, and the sky was slightly overcast grey, nothing like the above picture. We just thought you would like to see it.
We didn’t come across any roadkill and found some money.
Not much, only two pennies. Not a good start to the week, and we are leaving town and won’t officially walk again until Saturday, but we are looking forward to some unofficial finds in Bend, Oregon.
On our way out of the neighborhood this morning, we acquired a light jacket.
It was slightly damp, and we carried it home for Goodwill. We don’t mind, call it weight training for this coming winter when everything we pick up will be waterlogged.
We picked up an almost tool.
Half a bungee cord. But calling it a tool would be a stretch, or at least half of one.
This is a first for us.
A Starbucks urine cup. Really? They do have restrooms. Even if you didn’t buy the cup but found it, you could carry the cup into a Starbucks and pretend to be a customer. Of course, then you would have to pretend to pee.
The McLitterers did their thing again.
This pair of litterers have been dropping their trash on our routes, though not at the rate as in the past. Here is the link about them. The only difference is McDonalds has quit using the white plastic bags, opting for paper. It makes for more environmental littering. We will start an Eco-Littering Club for environmentally conscious litterers.
We picked up a run over handcuff bracelet.
According to the Internet, these are supposed to signify that you are locked or dedicated to a relationship. Perhaps it could have something to do with bondage, or maybe they’re the same thing.
Tuesday, September 11th, 2024 – Park-and-Ride
Today is our short walk and we were anxious to get going on our minivacation of four days with some dear friends who were trailer camping in Bend, Oregon. We found no money, removed a rat, and picked up a drill bit.
It was lost, but well centered, both psychologically and physically in the center of the road on Norway Hill.
We came to a couple of signs in the road.
We each followed our sign and bumped heads. No concussions, though.
After our quick walk, we loaded our car, and Chuck drove six hours to Bend, Oregon to meet up with our friends who were camping there. Chuck enjoyed a well-deserved cold Martini at their campsite.
Wednesday through Friday, Bend Oregon.
In Bend, we visited with some family who migrated there from the Seattle area, wandered the town, drank a little beer, and visited with our friends.
As we approached Bend from the north, the air was clear. But as we neared Bend, the air became thick with smoke with little pieces of ash falling from nearby wildfires. Overnight, the smoke became thick at times, depending on the prevailing winds.
After our first day in Bend, with the poor air quality, the wind shifted and we had a few hours of light rain that brought some relief.
We were not really doing any trash pick-up, but we did find a tool.
A 6/7 mm open end wrench in great condition, and also a give-away ball from Summit Health.
We were walking at the time, so we’ll count them in this week’s wrap-up.
On Thursday, we travelled about thirty miles north to Smith Rock State Park for some hiking and sightseeing and the weather was perfect. In the photos below, click on the photo for a larger view.
After our hike, we continued to drive north about three miles to the Peter Skene Ogden Scenic Viewpoint.
It is located at a rest area on Highway 97 and easily accessible. This bridge was constructed in 1911 and is still in use. It crosses the Crooked River Gorge 320 feet above the canyon floor. The gorge has a rock wall lining the visitor’s side that keeps people from getting too close to the edge. But, evidently, not dogs.
Saturday, September 15th, 2024 – Riverside Drive
Back at home and back to work. This morning was cool and with a slight mist from time to time. We removed a very large roadkill rat from the street and found some money.
Yep, another two pennies. That makes only four cents for three walks. Pitiful. But we found a tool.
But it was only an Allen wrench. Pitiful.
We picked up five articles of clothing.
The Cabela’s hat was found along Woodinville Drive across from the apartments. The top-center photo was a kid’s tee shirt, and the top-right are a pair of men’s underwear. The bottom two are neck gaiters from the school near our house. They were both on Riverside Drive on opposite sides of the street, and we found one on our way to Bothell and the other on our way back.
We don’t normally take pictures of balls, so when we found a golf ball on our way down the hill toward Riverside Drive, we put it in our bag. When we found a second one, we put them together and took a picture.
We proceeded to find two more before we reached the bottom, and a fifth around the corner on Riverside Drive. As with a lot of items we find, we don’t really know how these ended up in the ditch, but we can make something up. The road down to Riverside Drive, known as “Lazy Husband Road,” has several turns and someone wanted to see if he could make a golf ball roll all the way down. The fifth one made it and rolled around the corner. So that’s what happened. Or not.
Another of these mouthwash bottles.
They are 21% alcohol (42 proof), so some kids are getting a buzz and good breath at the same time.
On Woodinville Drive, just past the Bothell City limits in Woodinville, there is a mess.
At least three abandoned vehicles and an abandoned motorcycle. There is also a bunch of trash tossed into the bushes. We pick up the trash we can, but there are some heavy items like bar stools that have been dumped. We will try to get Woodinville’s attention, but they are too busy building apartment buildings and drinking wine. Woodinville has more than 130 wineries and tasting rooms.
At the park-and-ride, more partially-smoked Marlboros.
Last week we reported finding seven partial packs of Marlboros. These two add up to nine packs since we started taking photos of them.
Also at the park-and-ride, another used condom.
Someone had a good trip – and without leaving the parking lot, too.
We found a couple of bottles this morning.
A full, unopened bottle of Gatorade, and a half full, opened bottle of urine. This guy had a hydration plan, but missed the hydration step and proceeded to dehydration.
That wraps up our short TrashWalking week. Our take:
- 4 Cents. It was a short week, but still.
- 8 Balls including 5 golf balls.
- 6 Articles of clothing including two neck gaiters.
- 4 Abandoned vehicles.
- 3.5 Tools including the half bungee cord.
- 2 Roadkill rats.
- 2 Partial packs of Marlboros, total of 9.
- 2 Urine containers including a Starbucks.
- 1 McLitterers’ McMess.
- 1 Bend Martini, per day.
- 1 Bad air day.
- 1 Nice hike where we didn’t need to pick up any litter.
- 1 Forty-two proof mouthwash.
- 1 Bondage bracelet.
Have a great week and remember it’s possible to be happy with minty-fresh breath.
Trash Walking 