Skip to main content

20151025 - A Toltec Mask in Wallace Idaho


October 25, 2015, Sunday

After breakfast, we crossed to Pacific time and readjusted our clocks. We stopped in Wallace Idaho, site of the Big Burn, a huge wildfire that consumed millions of acres of forest land in Idaho, in 1910. We ate at the Silver Grill and Bar, then went across the street to Tabor's Emporium. This is a gigantic consignment shop.



Apparently, when old people die in town, their relatives clear everything out of the house and put them on sale at Tabor's Emporium. For $26.45, we found and bought what appears to be an actual Toltec mask. This is a ceramic mask with the Toltec helmet and one cheek puffed out as if chewing coca leaves, and a lizard on the forehead. Someone clumsily drilled a couple of holes on either side of the mask and threaded wire through them so that it could be hung on a wall. The mask contains no maker's mark. It has what appears to be very old dirt in the nose holes. As soon as we can, we will have the mask assessed to see if it is genuine, and possibly donate it to a Museum.



We took Bank Street to King Street, and drove up the back hill to a plaque at Ranger Pulaski Trailhead. It looked like a beautiful hike up the mountain to the tunnels where Ranger Pulaski took settlers to escape the ravages of the fire, getting burned himself in the process. We did not have time for the three-hour hike, so we got back on the road at about 12:45 PM.

We arrived at the Peppertree Best Western in Omak, WA very late. We went to dinner at a good Italian restaurant, and went straight to bed. It was a very quiet room on the fourth floor, in the corner. The hotel has a pool and sauna that are available 24 hours a day. Sadly, we did not get to use it.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Installing HR Block Tax Software in Ubuntu Linux using Codeweavers Crossover

Running HR Block 2017 Tax Software in Ubuntu Linux  Using CodeWeavers Crossover 2017 US taxes are due to be filed by midnight on April 18, 2018. It will surprise no one that a lot of people have waited to the last minute to start filing. At 9:30 PM, I got a call from a young relative who needed to do his taxes for the first time ever. He is a Linux enthusiast, and does not have a Windows or Apple/Mac computer. I thought I would try installing HR Block 2017 Tax Software on the Linux side of my laptop. 1) Obtain and install Codeweavers Crossover for Linux This software allows you to run many Windows apps in Linux-- https://www.codeweavers.com/ 2) Download the HR Block Windows tax software package. This year, its available from www.hrblock.com/2017/DELUXEWIN You will need an activation code, which should be provided when you buy the package. The default download location is /home/yourname/Downloads/ The app’s ...

How to get AAX Audiobook files into Audible Manager

How to get AAX files into Audible Manager – 20180121 My System; Lenovo ThinkPad E440 running Windows 7 64-bit running Audible Manager 5.5.0.8 My MP3 player – Sansa Fuze THE PROBLEM I can download .AAX files from my Audible account to my windows PC, but cannot get them into the Audible Manager. For several years, I have had to manually import audiobook files into the Audible Manager after downloading them from Audible. The usual process was to download the new Audiobook to the default location, C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\Audible\Downloads I would then start up the Audible Manager's army green box. Clicking [File] and selecting [Add Audio Files] in the upper right corner would take me directly to the default file location, where all of the previous downloads reside. I would then left click on the file, and click the [Import] tab at the bottom of the page to import my new AAX Audio file into Audible Manager. Once it was there, I could l...

Critter-Resistant Planter Box

“Never a horse that couldn’t be rode, Never a rider that couldn’t be throwed.” –Cowboy Proverb I had an old, neglected planter box in my yard.  It was full of weeds, and the last couple of times I have tried to plant something in it, the voles took out the roots of my plants, and the deer and raccoons took out the tops.   When we had tree cutters take down a dead cedar tree, they cut the trunk into 16 inch logs.  I had an idea about using them to revitalize the planter and discourage the critters from eating everything.  There was no guarantee that this idea would work, or will work for every critter– But, worth a try! Here’s the planter, somewhat before renovation: The borders of the old box were nearly rotted into mulch; The old box was 4 x 8 feet.  It had good soil inside it, although full of weeds and roots.    1) Strain the soil. I laid down a blue tarp and put a piece of metal hardware cloth on top of it.  I shoveled dirt from the plant...