The Rusty Tractor

is a restaurant in Elma, Wa, which has, of course, the eponymous outdoor decorations ...

and excellent comfort food, with an exotic twist.  Vicki had salmon fish 'n' chips, I had the yak hamburger steak.

On the way, we caught the first glimpse of Mount Rainier from the rest stop on I-90, about 81 miles away.  The smoke is from all the wildfires burning in Washington this year.

More pictures.

Seen on the road

A few signs we saw.

You thought the pet rock was good, look what they're selling now

Apparently Penny has returned to Nebraska, and is teaching physics there ...

Fans on the farm in Washington ...

And some sage advice from the Oregon DOT

Phoenix Zoo

March 2014

It took a while, but we did finally go to the Phoenix Zoo.  It was a warm day, so the animals were sluggish, but there were a lot of animals, a good variety.

More pictures.

Chicago

Vicki's brother Steve lives in Chicago, in one of these buildings

with this view from his deck

When we went to visit, he took us on a boat ride on Lake Michigan, with Joy and Steve's kids and their kids.  It was a fine, sunny day and the kids went swimming in the lake.

More pictures of the boat ride.

The next day, we went to Lincoln Park Zoo.

More zoo pictures.

And a farmers' market, on Division Street, just around the corner from their apartment.  I remember Division Street from my IBM days.  They didn't have a farmers' market there at night, back then.

Catalina State Park

is our favorite place to stay near Tucson.  It's in the desert foothills of the Catalina mountains, with wonderful desert and mountain scenery.

including some very large or unusual cacti

or in bloom

There is a trail that goes through some pre-Columbian ruins

and a riparian area

A nice park.  More pictures.

Ranchita, CA

The town of Ranchita, California is little more than a wide spot in the road, but they have a yeti

and a sense of humor

More pictures of Ranchita.

Name That Town

I'll give you the clues, and see if you can figure out where we were.

First clue:

Kind of tough to get in just one clue.  Here's two more:

If you don't have it by now, you're too young, or you don't watch Me TV.

Look! - up in the sky!  It's a bird!  It's a plane!

More pictures of Metropolis, IL and Paducah, KY, just across the river.  Including a big chunk of kryptonite!