Charro, Guns, The Attack Robin and Mount St. Helens

We decided that we needed to be close to a vet for a while as Charro was not doing so well. So we stayed for a week at a place called Kelso in Washington. The vet Charro saw in Portland had added another painkilling drug to be given in addition to the one he is already on. However he was off his food and looked as if he could only just stand up. After a couple of days he perked up and Carol found that a few crumbled crisps and some cheese in his dish encouraged him to eat. By the end of the week he was a lot brighter and while still wobbly, can manage to limp along with us for a few hundred yards. It looks like his right shoulder is giving him some problems, he is limping badly on this quarter now most of the time.

The attack robin.

Turdus migratorius as he is called is a widespread, territorial thrush. He is commonly called the American robin. When we arrived in Kelso we were assigned our camp site and the robin was not consulted. He was pissed, really really pissed. We woke up at dawn to this feathered homeland security defender making repeated assaults on our windows. He wanted us gone from his patch of land. Over the next seven days he never gave up, attacking first one window then the next. It seemed that he only rested from the attacks to crap. He crapped on our chairs, our table, Charro’s trolley, the motorbike but mostly on the Trek itself. This bird could crap for America.

The gun

We were some enquiries about getting access to a shooting range as I want to try my hand with a Colt 45 when we saw “the gun”. “The gun” that says quite a lot about American gun culture. At least I think it does. What was special about this gun. It was a bolt action, 22 calibre rifle. Nothing unusual so far. What made it special was it’s size. It was made for a child, it was half size, a 10 year old was a perfect fit for this gun. It was not a toy, it fired 22 long rifle cartridges and it could kill at a quarter of a mile. Oh, I forgot the gob smack, it was pink.

Yup, a little 10 old girls first killing weapon, a Bolt Action Barbie 22.








Mount St Helens

We visited the slopes of Mount St Helens, It is 28 years since it blew it’s top 10 miles in the air, and ash all round the world. The topography was so changed in 24 hours that rangers who had worked the slopes of St Helens for twenty years could not work out where they were from the air. Today they are still containing debris from the eruption behind a man made dam and tunnelling through natures dam to release water in a controlled way. Watching the short but terrifying film of the eruption reminded me that nature has the last say in matters. In seconds 100,000 + trees were levelled. In minutes giant superheated pyroclastic flows were incinerating surface life miles away. In hours sufficient sediment had flowed into local rivers to reduce their depth by 30 feet, stranding ocean going cargo vessels. In days ash from the eruption fell in China.


We are sticking quite closely to our planned itinerary at the moment. After exploring the North West corner of Washington we should be crossing into British Columbia at then end of May or the first days of June.


Carol’s bit.

I was enticed out here under false pretences. “you will only need shorts and
T- shirts “ anyone reading this blog must think I only have one coat. I do, and have worn it constantly since I got here. I left all of my winter clothes back home. I’m now told that the temperatures this weekend are supposed to be up in the 70’s at home, while we have cold and rain. Even my dog is wearing a rain coat.
I left my winter coat behind. ( you can probably see why )

The advantage of this weather is the plant life, the grass is thick and healthy and some of the plants are breathtaking. Oregon and Washington are known for their horticulture. A lot of the plants are Japanese, Azaleas, Rhododendrons, Acers. The soil here is good and people have taken pride in their gardens I’ve got my own little garden in the RV but I’m not sure what the Canadian customs are going to do with it, some things, especially certain plants are not allowed across the boarder. We’re not even sure about Charro’s dog food.