Mad props to Dan, as the Banks Lake 2019 edition gave *far* more memories than past trips. Things I'll remember... Wear sunscreen Bring rain gear on *every* trip Deep down, Fish and Wildlife officers are people too Tepui makes a very wind resistant tent REI Nikwax work really well Lastly, just because Leona does it, does not mean we all should Thank you Dan, my son and I will be able to talk about the highlights of this trip for a lifetime.

Finally had opportunity to get into Stew's self-service garage today, replacing an O2 sensor on my daughter's "new" '03 Beetle. I'd been considering a few projects I wanted to try myself, and decided this was about as easy a repair as I could find to get in and see what the place is all about. https://stewsgarage.com It's located just off 405 in Kirkland, had two 4 post lifts and 5 2 post lifts. Each bay has a wide assortment of handtools as well as air-powered tools. Specialty tools are available as well. In addition there are mechanics that work there who are willing to help answer questions and provide guidance on repairs. For those that are interested in doing their own thing, but need a large dry place to work, or who lack the tools, or want to use a lift, this seems to be a great solution.

I picked up an ARB bull bar bumper on CL late last summer, and after watching it soak up a Washington winter on my back porch I figured it was time to find a way to get it installed. I'd had a couple of places price it out but the labor rates were just too high, and I really wanted the satisfaction of doing it myself. Fortunately John "JR" Russell said he'd be up for helping, and this weekend I loaded everything up Saturday AM and headed over to his place. I have a 2014 Tacoma, and the ARB install requires cutting the factory bumper cover. This was my main concern, in that once cut, you don't go back. The ARB install instructions start wtih the cut, which I thought was nuts - especially in light of this being a CL find. I told JR that I wanted to ensure *everything* fit before we cut plastic. Thank goodness he agreed, and we proceeded to remove the grill and lower bumper cover, and all the parts I had worked out. Once we had the main hanger installed, we installed the winch - which required one trip to HD for longer bolts to accomodate the Factor55 fairlead and a quick stop for lunch - and mounted everything up. Surprisingly it was 8PM before we knew it and we had a couple of small items to finish. We buttoned up, and I headed back home to take care of some family obligations, with plans for me to head back sometime on Sunday to finish up. Sunday started early with haircuts for my son, picking up my daughter from a charity event, and finding her a new car to drive (she just turned 16 and has her license.) Then to a soccer game (son's team whipped the opposing team), and *finally* calling JR to make sure he was still available. On day 1 we did not install the "witness" bolts, which fix the bumper into place. However JR's hurculean strength on the primary bolts was in full display, as the bumper did not move much at all, but it did shimmy just enough that the clearance we set initially was causing some rubbing. After we made some adjustments and drilled out the witness holes, it all came together. I have some pics of the front end torn apart, but somewhere I stopped taking pics (I'm horrible at taking pics of anything going on), but what I do have I'll post up. Thank you JR, and thanks to Judy for letting me clog up the driveway all weekend and very likely keep JR from a list of things that were more important!

Mad props to Aaron K for organizing a wonderful weekend of scouting for the upcoming NWOL. 10 vehicles ran Ruby Creek into Cashmere for dinner at MP111, then 6 up Nahahum to find a campground with 4 staying overnight. Got to see the international space station overhead twice that night. Great day of scouting Chumstick (my first time to the top after snow blocked last year) and finally got some firsthand recovery experience after Aaron and John got stopped by snow in sight of Sugarloaf LO. Big thanks to JR and Judy for hosting the awesomeness Sunday night. Great to meet new people and just relax. I have a couple of pics from the top of Chumstick I'll try to post.