My son reminded me of another tale or maybe tail?

One of our favorite games was to race our bikes. At the time our bikes were our do all atv and race car. Those of you familiar with the Cowiche area might know Mahoney road. It is a gravel road that drops from Naches Heights road to Pioneer road on the flats. It is chiefly downhill with one sharp curve after another. We would race on this. Due to me weighing more, gravity worked in my favor and gave me an advantage. Steve often did better on the flats but I owned Mahoney.

My brother and I spent a lot of time around the nearest water.

Cowiche creek was only a guarter mile away so we waded, swam, and fished a long length of it. We also used the canal on Cowiche Mountain. There was a long stretch with no siphon so we would swim or float it.

Our floating was done on truck inner tubes which also were our sleds in winter. One of the departments Dad ran with H and H was shipping which allowed him to get some used tubes.

Going to have a little more serious subject for part of this one.

When I was younger there were whole families that made the fruit picking circuit. California, north through us and cherries in Montana. Most of these families came from Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Many later settled here and actually bought their own farms.

This cycle is repeating but with a different group. Some of the kids from the traveling families were in school with us for a few weeks at a time. One of the kids I remember most was a black girl from Arkansas named Gay. I had no experience with racial problems so started talking to her like any other kid. She seemed shocked that I would associate with her and was shy anyway. Years later when I realized more I came to understand but found it sad. As I have said before, I was raised with the idea that if someone treated you right you did the same.

Having nerve spasms so today’s a two for.

My brother Steve and I were at odds with my older sisters boyfriends.

One had the last name of Payne. We secretly called him pain in the ass.

He had a Malibu he was quite proud of. Steve and I were coming back from the creek and he yelled at us to keep away from his car. I got his attention and Steve peed in his gas tank. He did not come around much after that.

The new place brought new friends and adventures. Unfortunately it also brought the loss of my companion since the age of 4.

I think Dixie missed the old irrigation ditch in Tieton so she would occasionally go to the canal on Cowiche Mountain for a swim. Other than that, she pretty much kept to our property.

She had a litter of pups and like most of her breed was protective. The neighbors weimaraners were prowling around and Dixie stood in the bottom of the driveway to warn them off. Someone swerved to avoid the Weimaraners and actually hit Dixie in our driveway. We knew the man and he felt terrible. I was heartbroken but wanted to shoot the 2 dogs responsible for the loss of my friend. Dad explained why I could not do that but if the opportunity presented itself I would have been hard pressed not to take it. She was a truly great dog and started a lifetime attraction to the breed.

Next Installment on my story.

When we moved to the house on Summitview and Pioneer it was quite a change. We went from sharing a room with a sibling to 5 bedrooms and 2 baths. Unfortunately, it also came with a lot more lawn to mow.

One of our favorite places was a group of huge old sage and greasewood on Cowiche Mountain. We worked very hard to find and catch horned toads. They were tricky to catch but once you had them they would ride around on your shirt for hours. I took one to 4th grade and got sent to talk to Mr. Zeutenhorst when a girl in my class realized it was a live lizard and not a toy.