Retiring in Bolivia

Monday, January 6^th, 2025 – Safeway

The start of the first full week of TrashWalking 2025 was mostly a nonevent. The weather was cold but fine, we didn’t need to deal with any roadkill, and we found no money. The first photo-worthy find of the year was a hubcap.

And a broken GMC, at that. It could at least have been a Cadilac.

We found part of a necklace.

It’s a piece of bone or seashell with the inscription “Santa Cruz, Bolivia.” We don’t know how this ended up here, but we don’t know much about Bolivia, so we wondered about living there. From the Internet here are the pros,

• Low Cost of Living:Bolivia boasts one of the lowest costs of living in South America, allowing your retirement savings to stretch further. 
• Natural Beauty:Diverse landscapes ranging from the Andes Mountains to the Amazon rainforest offer stunning scenery for outdoor activities. 
• Rich Culture:Bolivia has a vibrant indigenous culture with unique traditions and festivals. 
• Affordable Housing:Housing costs in most areas are significantly lower compared to developed countries. 
• Relatively Safe:Bolivia is considered one of the safer countries in South America with low crime rates in major cities. 

That’s all well and good, but what about the quality of their litter?

Tuesday, January 7^th, 2025 – Park-and-Ride

Last night, we checked the weather forecast on our phone app and the National Weather Service and both agreed that there would be no rain and temperatures near freezing. But this morning, our outdoor thermometer stated it was about 39°F (3.9°C). We checked the phone app and it was sticking to its freezing prediction, but the NWS had changed to 39°F. We’ll take the seven-degree bonus.

And we found a coin.

One cent at the freeway bus stop. It’s not much, but at least we are no longer penniless.

A couple of months ago, some semi-permanent mystery signs appeared that were covered with black plastic. Today on the freeway off-ramp, at least one was revealed.

End Road Work? Are you kidding? Just continue about three-hundred yards ahead. But perhaps we are misunderstanding the sign. It could be a protest sign. End Road Work! End Road Work! We could get behind that.

We picked up a book on the freeway off ramp

It is “Karen’s Birthday” from a series of books, “Baby-Sitter’s Little Sister.” It is available on Amazon for $8.33. From the Amazon synopsis,

It’s Karen’s birthday! She can’t wait for all those presents. Karen is even going to have two parties — one at Daddy’s house and one at Mommy’s.

Great, “I’m glad Mommy and Daddy are divorced. I get more presents!” Note, this is not to be confused with the 2007 movie, “The Babysitters,” which also features girls getting gifts.

Wednesday, January 8^th, 2025 – Safeway & 100th

We found neither money nor roadkill today and we are beginning to wonder if everyone made a New Year’s resolution not to litter. When we arrived home, we had only two pop tabs, meaning we found only two cans on our walk. But like most New Year’s resolutions, it probably won’t last.

This is a photo of still life we took this morning. We call it Black Pants on Black Pavement at Night. We think it would be worth $1,002 if there were ten Benjamins in the pocket, which there wasn’t.

They are a pair of Costco’s Kirkland brand women’s pants, size eight in good condition. Janet said she could use them, but they would be a bit baggy. Chuck has no clue.

Thursday, January 9^th, 2025 – 160th to 124th Street

Wow, another slow, three pop-tab day. We removed a roadkill rabbit from the road on Norway Hill. There was nowhere nearby to place it in a final resting place, so we carried it up the road for about fifty feet and placed it in the ditch. Then we spent about five minutes gathering twigs and leaves to cover it up. Meanwhile, cars were passing by some thanking us for what we do and others wondering what we were doing. If they only knew.

We found a tool.

And this was a good one, a Milwaukee power tool battery. Normally, we find these run over and destroyed. However, this one was in good condition and, better yet, it is the exact model Chuck’s power tools use. Score!

We picked up a mic on the Tolt Pipeline. That sounds like we heard a mic.

But no, we picked up a real lapel mic. And we heard nothing from it. Disappointing.

Friday, January 10^th, 2025 – 100th Ave NE

It rained our entire walk, and we came home soaked. And another slow day with only two pop tabs from beer cans. The only things of interest we picked up were two heavy, waterlogged clothing items. First, on Junita-Woodinville way, a shirt from Land’s End.

Then on Simonds Road, another pair of pants.

Did we mention we found two pop tabs?

Saturday, January 11^th, 2025 – Riverside Drive

We didn’t find any money today and removed a rat from the road. On the other hand, the rain had stopped, making our walk a little better. We also found a tool.

A small seam ripper or stitch remover from a sewing kit. We know, it isn’t much, but we are a bit short on tool finds this week.

This is a first for us.

A matched pair of nondescript wheel covers in the ditch about thirty feet apart. How does that happen?

At the Sammamish River Park, we found a bong.

It’s twelve inches high and like most we find, is broken. It’ll be the ninth one in our collection.

There is new construction at the bottom of the Tolt Pipeline Trail.

They have a giant tree-eating machine clearing several trees. We want to see the environmental impact statement.

We thought we would make it through the week without finding a condom.

But we were wrong. This was in the gutter in front of the apartments on Woodinville Drive. What? You couldn’t wait until you got upstairs?

Also, in the park and ride, an almost-full pack of cigarettes.

We don’t smoke, so we’ll give them to anybody who wants them, provided they do not litter the butts of the package. Oh, and they are a little soggy.

That’s wraps up another TrashWalking week. Our take,

• 1 Cent.
• 4 Balls.
• 3 Wheel covers, two matching.
• 3 Items of clothing including two pairs of women’s pants.
• 2 Tools, including a seam ripper.
• 2 Roadkill, a rabbit and a rat.
• 1 Bolivian bone.
• 1 Construction protest sign.
• 1 Impatient condom.
• 1 Broken bong.
• 1 Pack of soggy cigarettes.
• 1 Book about a girl getting gifts.
• 1 Tree-eating machine.

Have a great week and remember to keep your cigarettes dry and don’t litter.