Portal has seen its share, and more, of interesting people, both those who have become residents and those who winter here. Many are part-timers; the original owners of Faranuf who I bought the house from lived in Washington State and only came down here for a few months a year at most. There are 2 people (that I know of; there are probably many more) who I regret not having the opportunity of meeting, as they passed away before I arrived in Portal. One was Kim Murphy, the long-time ranger who, when he died in 2014 and his house went up for sale, I acquired the Rex Allen movie poster from, signed by Rex himself to his "ole pals" Kim and Dawana, Kim's wife. The other was Bob Waldmire. I just learned about him very recently; he wintered in Portal for many years, and was an artist whose main subject was Route 66. I've been reading about him online, and he was a fascinating person, just one of many here in our area. He was born in Illinois, where his dad supposedly invented the corn dog when he owned the "Cozy Dog Drive In". Bob promoted Route 66 through his drawings and cartography; he would draw "whimsical" maps of the road. He lived in converted buses and such, and his 1972 VW Microbus was the inspiration for the character Fillmore in the 2006 animated movie "Cars". There are many residents here who have drawings done by Bob, and he was quite well known here. Unfortunately, he died from colon cancer in 2009. But he had a positive attitude about things right to the end; here's a video where he was interviewed during his last days, living in a converted bus. My friend Helen, who knew him and sold his house here after his passing, calls him a "classic hippie". He had a love of wheeled vehicles and RVs, including this one that was in his back yard --
It's a Shasta trailer from the late 60s, a classic that people lovingly restore to its original condition . And I recently became involved in Bob's legacy here in Portal. Through the Facebook page "Cochise County And Its Wonders", a high school teacher in Douglas, Mark Silverstein, got in contact with me after he'd seen some of the photos I'd posted there. He was a big fan of Bob's, in fact did a documentary on him. When Bob's house here was put on the market, Mark bought the Shasta trailer. It's now parked at the Portal Lodge and Store. Mark and his wife Maggie are renovating the trailer and will turn it into a type of "traveling museum" devoted to Bob's work and legacy. Mark invited me to take photos of the ongoing restoration, Here's what it looks like now --
Mark and Maggie will be finishing the exterior this coming weekend.
The trademark of the classic Shasta trailers were the "wings" on both sides. Mark removed them prior to re-painting --
The inside of the original trailer is fairly intact, though Mark said it was a mess inside when he bought it -- mouse nests and such, a Hanta Virus colony. But much of the original kitchen was still there --
As I mentioned, it's a ongoing project, which I'll be chronicling in future posts...
Tuesday began with another memorable sunrise --
I was scheduled to work at the Visitor Info Center. I just love my commute to "work" --
It was a quiet morning -- only 3 visitors. Then I was replaced by another volunteer just before noon -- which surprised me, as I knew nothing about it. But I was kind of glad as high winds were forecast for that afternoon, and I wanted to make sure Discovery's canopy came through ok. (It better; it was supposed to withstand winds up to 90mph.) As I was leaving I took a photo of the garden in the parking lot; plants are beginning to bloom --
The wind was picking up as I was heading back to Faranuf. By 2pm, I estimated it was blowing at about 30mph, with much more powerful gusts. I kept a close watch on the trailer canopy, and saw that it was swaying a bit as the wind was hitting it on the side. I became a little, well, concerned as this was the most powerful wind storm I've encountered since moving here. I don't know how the birds in the back yard managed it, but they were still at the feeders -- and on the ground; I figured they'd get blown away, and I'd see them flying across the yard -- a different kind of flying. The wind lasted until around 7, when I went out to visually inspect the RV canopy. I noticed something on the ground in the front yard. Crap, it was a roof shingle! I picked it up -- and saw another one. I looked up on the roof and saw a loose shingle at the top of the roof pitch. Faranuf was brought here in 2007, and the roof has lasted until then with only one missing shingle -- pretty good for a composition roof in an area known for its high winds. Luckily, the original owner, as he did with nearly every aspect of the house, had placed some extra shingles in the garage, so now I just have to figure how to attach them as replacements for the ones that blew off. Time to go online and Google "replacing roof shingles".. The rising full moon was memorable --
As you can tell, this area doesn't lack for excitement and interest... And here's another clip from the Critter Cam. Even the Gray Fox is afraid of the Striped Skunk...
Bob Waldmire, 1945-2009
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