The first year I biked at least 2555 miles was 2011. This year (see photo) I reached that goal yesterday with a couple of days remaining in November. A few things have changed—I’m older and own a different bike—but my basic approach hasn’t. Ride every day no matter what. That’s worked every year since 2011.
Continue readingPosted in Biking
Like many (mostly older?) Americans I’m bummed that penny production ended this month. Just because pennies cost several times their value to make doesn’t mean the United States should stop minting them. Lost in the coverage of this issue in both mainstream and social media is what Victor D. Brenner, the Lincoln wheat penny designer, might say if he were still around.
Continue readingPosted in Government
The cost of Washington’s annual Discover Pass (see screen capture) went up from $30 to $45 on October 1. The price of a daily pass stayed the same. While this is the first increase since the annual pass debuted in 2011, not surprisingly the 50 percent hike affected sales, at least in the first month. This post has a few thoughts on the increase and Discover Passes in general.
Continue reading
It was fall 1975. Gerald Ford was president, Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine won the World Series, the Cold War was at its height, and the defense contractor I worked for opened an office in Silverdale in advance of the coming Trident boom. The photo shows the first place I rented in Kitsap County for more than a few weeks. It’s in Chico, across the street from Town & Country Auto Repair and just a few steps from Hank’s Grocery.
Continue reading
If there’s such a thing as a malaise-era collector stove, I’m pretty sure I own one (see photo). It’s a Tappan Gallery electric range that was manufactured about 1970. While I cook on a gas stove at my home on Mud Bay, the Tappan gets daily use when I’m at my vacation place on Treasure Island.
Continue readingPosted in Mud Bay & Rocky Point, Treasure Island
The big news out of the nation’s capitol today is that the Senate reached an agreement that will lead to the end of the government shutdown. This post would have been more timely last week when there was still no end in sight. However, Congress is so polarized, and so clueless, that while the current shutdown is the longest in history, it won’t be the last. Can anything be done to send Congress a message that future lengthy shutdowns are unacceptable?
Continue readingJustice Delayed, posted in September 2025, described a check forgery case that I’m in involved in as a witness. Today I learned in an email that the criminal part of the case is all but over, at least for me anyway.
Continue readingPosted in Government
Chico Creek is in the early stages of another great fall chum salmon run. It may not match the abundant 2024 run, but it won’t disappoint anyone interested in seeing lots of migrating salmon up close. That’s my observation after checking several good viewing points along the creek yesterday, including from the bridge at Taylor Road (see photo). The salmon there were already about a mile inland from where Chico Creek flows into Dyes Inlet and seemed to have enough energy left to continue their journey further upstream.
There were no salmon in Chico Creek just a week ago. Perhaps they waited for the creek to rise from last weekend’s heavy rains. Or maybe it’s the lure of being the star attractions in tomorrow’s Kitsap Salmon Tours, an annual fall event that kicks off the celebration of salmon returning to Kitsap creeks and streams. Whatever the case, the fall salmon run has begun and their timing is perfect.
The low-quality photo, taken with my old iPhone 7, shows the ugly drifting dock section seen in Mud Bay this morning. Fortunately it’s gone, carried out into Dyes Inlet by the ebbing high tide. There’s another photo at the end of this post showing an even less flattering view.
Continue readingPosted in Mud Bay & Rocky Point
The price of a first-class stamp is 78 cents, up 5 cents as of July 1, 2025. But that’s only if you buy your stamps from the USPS. As I found out this month while looking for additional Halloween stamps (see screen capture), there are ways to buy stamps for less than the latest Forever rate.
Continue reading
Mud Bay Blog 