Mount Shasta lay ahead of us as we entered the forested lands of the park by the same name. This was our second of twice yearly trips back to our home state of Washington and we were pretty excited about the journey.

The crisp, clean air was intoxicating. We have the distinction in Kern County, California, of having the worst air quality in the nation, so these trips to the north are the only opportunities we have to detoxify!

This year we went a few weeks earlier than usual and the Mountain was still pretty much free of snow & I was able to get some nice shots of the colorful leaves before they had all dropped.

Election Day 2008.
America chooses its future. I heard that on a tv station this morning and liked the very sound of it..."chooses"....yet I like many, have come to doubt the electoral process after the questionable outcomes of the last two elections. And as Americans head to the polls in record numbers (they expect 80% turnout!) I wonder how this day will play out.

We’ve been reading for MONTHS concerns about the electronic voting machines, tests had indicated problems in some States and districts early on. Today, on election day the first headline I read as I logged online was Could voting meltdown history repeat itself? Unprecedented primary turnout has exposed cracks in infrastructure. In 2000 it was the hanging chads in Florida, four years later, it was malfunctioning machines in Ohio. One would think 8 YEARS would have been sufficient time to assure, within an acceptable margin, that these machines function, that come election day this would not be a concern.

I read that in Virginia, the governor wouldn’t agree to printing out additional paper ballots even though during the primary they had run out of ballots and had to hand out sheets of paper! The NAACP filed a federal lawsuit in that state “demanding more electronic machines in minority neighborhoods, and extra paper ballots in case those machines are tied up by record turnout however a judge denied the request Monday following a hearing. State Republicans had contended that changing voting procedures this late in the game could disadvantage their candidates.”

This morning on CNN they report for example, that Alabama reports in 8 districts they are having problems with machines. The top 3 problems overall being reported across the country are 1) mechanical (machine breakdowns) 2) access to polls and 3) registration problems. The other day I was reading how folks were reporting phone calls advising them because of the huge expectations of voter turnout those voting Republican were to vote Tuesday, and those voting Democratic would vote Wednesday! There were also stories of flyers being distributed stating anyone with a prior arrest record who came to vote would be arrested, and other assorted fear mongering, aimed at keeping people from the polls. The Republican Party will do whatever it takes to hold onto the power they have abused for the past 8 years. I remain optimistic Obama will rule the day, that there will be hope for this country.

Get this, I just watched footage of a gal getting ready to vote, she is TOSSING A COIN to determine who she will cast her vote for….OMG!!!! Thank God it was HEADS, for Obama! As if the machines themselves weren’t problematic enough.