WELTER CEMETERY ~Interesting

We had business to do in St. Helens, Oregon following our lunch at El Tapatio in Rainier. As we passed through Columbia City, I burst out laughing when I saw the tire cover of the trailer in front of us :-)

This cracked me up; a quip was made of 'Holland capturing his flamingo'. LOL

On our way back home, we were passing near Trojan Nuclear Plant when a gray cross caught the attention of my peripheral vision. I pointed across the dash, and said, "Holland, that looks like a grave marker. Is there a cemetery up there - in the middle of nowhere, all by itself?" He said, "I don't know - let's go see."

So, that's what we did ;-)

A couple months ago, while driving West Side Highway near Vader, we found a gravesite near a fishing hole. It's possible this was the same type of scenario.

I think it's strange to find a solitary grave in the middle of nowhere, but graveyards don't bother me.

And as I walked uphill, closer to the gray cross marker, I could see that the property was still being tended to: there was a clearly marked turn-around kept free of deadfall debris. There were flowers at the foot of the large cross grave marker. Weeds had recently been pulled back from the daffodils blossoming along the track leading upwards toward the cross. Obviously (though there was no Do Not Trespass sign), this was private property still being tended by living relatives.

Out of respect for whoever tends the property, I stayed on the grassy blacktop road leading up to the headstone that caught our attention from the highway.

A grave seen from the highway near the Trojan Nuclear Plant in Oregon.

Hmmm. Very weird - also very well maintained.

'Welter Cemetery'; 1 Grave apparent in the whole thing … and the property is very large.

Waterfall fall length; this is not seen from the highway.

Cross is seen clearly from the highway - it pulled us in.

Highway near Trojan.

There are 2 gates before reaching the gravesite; 1 closed … and 1 opened.

This thing deserves a {research} to satisfy my questions …

Holland is  the PERFECT Ying to my Yang.

I looked this thing up online when I got home. It is a Family Cemetery, located on private homesteaded property across from the Trojan Power Plant north of Goble. The Welter family moved here from Luxemburg in the 19th century.

I only saw the one headstone, but according to a June 2006 accounting, several family members were buried there. Perhaps the headstones have sunk into the ground - or were never marked. But then, I never climbed the hill to see if there were more markers up there.

Welter Family Cemetery: (http://files.usgwarchives.net/or/columbia/cemeteries/welterfamily.txt)

When we got home, Shay stopped in to tell us that there is an offer on the house - but the potential buyers want us to drop the listing price $5,000. I said, "No; this house is worth what I am asking. And just yesterday, we had a new furnace put in at a pretty steep price. I want full asking price." So, we filled out the paper work, and we will know tomorrow sometime if they are still wanting the house.

Following Shay's visit, Holland got a phone call from his friend Sonny telling him that his youngest brother had died Sunday (the following day after Holland learned he was terminal); he had died of stomach cancer at his home in Fargo.

There is no need now to rush off to North Dakota when this house sells … but my heart hurts for Holland.

EL TAPATIO; Rainier-OR

Since the house went on the market, we have spent every day dreaming and planning the life we want to live.

The thought of leaving the Past behind and delving headfirst into a New Life makes our hearts sing.

This morning, the Plan was to scope out a P.O. that would forward our mail to us while we are road gypsies. Then, we would shop around for a reasonably priced Storage Unit to store our stuff in while we hunted down a motorhome and vehicle that would fit our life as road gypsies.

We were hoping for a speedy house sale so we could high-tail it to Fargo to see his brother before he dies; Holland only found out about his brother's condition this past Saturday. If the house sells quickly, we plan on driving to Fargo, then down through South Dakota and down to Moab in Utah, before chasing the sun across the southwest.

We drank our coffee and discussed several ways to purchase the vehicle - and none of them were feasible until the house actually sells and we have $$$$ in hand to work with. Trade-ins on Holland's Ford 4x, and my Highlander SUV would still leave us about $10,000 short needed for a new vehicle: we need the house to sell before seriously looking around a truck lots. We don't want to be hemmed into a loan contract. We want to work a cash deal, which would garner a better buying deal. We could buy a second-hand vehicle; but we really prefer something reliable. Especially since we plan on boondocking most of our time on the road.

The Coach will definitely be a second-hand purchase, but we feel it would be wise to have a new vehicle to get out-and-about with. Plus - if the Coach get's stuck in a bad weather situation (God forbid), a newer vehicle (with a tow winch) will be able to pull it free. A new vehicle is really a necessity for the life we are planning.

So, tired of spinning my wheels with dead-end scenario's and feeling the need to be productive in any way possible … I sent a text to Shay asking for Flyers (this is something that would be simple to accomplish) … and received a text back that perhaps we wouldn't need the Flyers :-)

Good News this morning!

Judy Garland & Mickey Rooney - 'Good Morning' song: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCbnJeMSGZ4)

That happy news kicked us into high gear and ramped up the seriousness of securing a P.O. Box and a Storage Unit.

We got the P.O. Box with no hassle; but the storage unit became a problem as there are none to be had either side of the River :-( So, we'll have to rent a U-Haul trailer for a bit to store our few boxes, clothing, and useful tools we are taking with us.

Feeling positive about the potential buyers interest, we celebrated by eating at a restaurant neither of us had ever eaten at :-)

El Tapatio Mexican Restaurant; 117 W A St, Rainier-OR

Beautifully carved wooden doors.

Everywhere your eyes look, is an artistic delight.

Painted skylight.

Really pretty.

There is also patio dining when the weather is good.

Appetizer; corn chips, bean dip & salsa.

We both ordered this dish; it sounded interesting, and I've been craving shrimp.

SO GOOD! The 'shrimp' were actually good sized prawns; yummy!

And of course, we had fried ice cream for dessert - I'm hooked now. LOL

Even the bathroom was beautifully laid out. I loved the sunflower basin.

Restroom foyer was also a visual delight.

The backroom banquet room was painted in homage to Aztlan.

Beautifully carved porch columns.

The whole place was beautiful … and the food was delicious.

I was so captivated by the artistic wall murals, that I walked out of the restaurant without my boxed leftovers I had intended to enjoy later on (and didn't realize it until an hour later)  :-(

I'm saving the bathroom basin picture … and painted adobe wall colors - and I'm going to pester Holland with them until we can somehow incorporate them into our on-the-road-home. I love Southwestern décor. I'm sure my cowboy can manage a workable deal to keep his dreamer cowgirl happy :-)

Kacey Musgraves - 'Dime Store Cowgirl' song: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp7i5YwkzFs)

He can't wait to show me Arizona and Texas.

And I can't wait to be shown.

Holland's southwestern love vibes surrounds my life; I'd like to wrap our home with southwestern colors, too.