It was going to be a long drive.
On roads I haven't been on - in at least 7 years; things change in 7 years. I left hoping & praying familiar landmarks would still be in place. I planned to have GPS engaged … but, you know how sketchy GPS can be. I NEED landmarks.
I dressed for comfort: this drive was a scouting venture, not a cat walk.
I was making this drive to familiarize myself with the route, and to cement the route in my memory, for the actual appointment on the 31st.
Holland did not go. Kelso called yesterday & he's been in a snit ever since. So, he is staying home. In a mood.
The freeway would have been faster - but, I avoid the freeway at all costs. So, I routed my way to Tenino-WA … through Toledo, Chehalis, Centralia, and little towns like Wabash & Bucoda, before reaching Tenino: a little over 1 hour - coming & going.
Plus, I wanted to check the parking out: if the parking slots are going to be too tight to safely, or confidently, fit Betsy into them - I'll pass on the appointment and see what I can do from Longview. Longview will be about $500 more expensive, but Betsy is a Beast and I need a WIDE area to slip her in and out of. Bob could have done it. Holland can do it (when he's not being a Kelso ass). But I am not either one of them: I cannot do it, without room to spare on both side of Betsy's wide girth.
I have had Bucoda in my thoughts for at least a month (before the appointment was even needed), so I know this drive is something I'm supposed to be doing. I just wished it wasn't happening with stress hovering on the Homefront.
Even with the concerning & kinda scary moments during the drive, it really was a nice backroads drive, and I made my Tenino & Home destinations safely - and grabbed a Chinese Supper on the way home, serving it to Holland while laughingly telling him about my adventurous escapades along the route.
He didn't think the hillbilly offer of "follow us and we'll lead you to Tenino" was anything to laugh about. He thinks I need another dog: a territorial dog. So, I guess a dog is going to be joining us, again, at some point - with restrictions … no killer dog. And no dog that sheds loads of hair. A dog bigger than a tea cup - but smaller than a great dane. Somewhere around the 25-30 lb. weight load (the only size most RV Parks will allow). And, if we get another dog; this one is not going to be given away. I will miss Bleu every day of my life - he is happy where he lives now, but he doesn't understand why he can't come back home; and every time Holland goes to Kelso to visit, he stops to see Bleu. It confuses him, as well as makes his stubby little tail wag in happiness at seeing Holland. I will not bring another dog into our life if we aren't going to keep him for the rest of all our lives.
Anyway.
After supper, I did laundry & read more chapters of my recent Cussler-Fargo adventure novel. As I have stated before, Clive's novels are loosely based on actual Historical facts - that is just one of the many reasons I like reading his material.
This novel tells the story of a monk, serving his tenure in the jungle of Guatemala. Bartolomé de Las Casas was a real person, in a real period of History. He was a disillusioned spanish conquistador, who became a Dominican friar. Catholic accounts praise him as a "human rights advocate" … but, I have a problem with that, because though he was horrified at the way the spaniards treated the mayan people - he was not so horrified by the idea of slavery that he would totally denounce it; he would demand equality for the mayans , while at the same time [suggest] black slaves replace the mayan slaves. That does not sound like true equality advocacy to me. It sounds to me, like he was prejudiced towards people he had come to know and gain a respect for (and perhaps more than a little enamored with the mayan paganism practices) - while causally throwing strangers under the proverbial bus as a soothment for his fellow spaniards. So, I'm not going to post any historical facts about him - if you want to know, do your own research. I have shared this little bit, primarily to state that he was indeed a real person, who engaged in the real-life backstory of this Cussler-Fargo adventure.
I have included below more historical facts that relate to the story unfolding:
{{1952 Motagua Valley Landslide and the Jade Temple Discovery
In 1952, a landslide in the Motagua River Valley of Guatemala revealed a remarkable archaeological and geological find: jadeite deposits and what is now recognized as the site of an ancient jade-working temple or ceremonial complex . This event confirmed that the Motagua Valley was the exclusive source of the jade used by the ancient Maya, a material central to their religion, kingship, and art.
The 1952 Discovery
American geologists William F. Foshag and Robert E. Leslie documented the landslide’s exposure of in-situ jadeite in the valley near Manzanal. The pebbles and rock fragments found were identified as jadeite - a sodium aluminum silicate mineral - using modern techniques such as Raman microscopy. This was the first confirmed local source of Mesoamerican jade, ending centuries of uncertainty about its origin.
Geological and Cultural Significance
The Motagua Valley lies on the active fault line between the North American and Caribbean plates, where tectonic collision created the high-pressure, low-temperature conditions necessary for jadeite formation. For the Maya, jade (yax) symbolized life, water, maize, and the divine, and was reserved for royalty and ceremonial use. The landslide’s exposure of jade-bearing rock likely revealed not only raw material but also ancient quarry and processing areas - possibly linked to a “giant jade temple” or ceremonial center, though the exact structure remains under study.
Later Research
Mary Lou Ridinger and her husband Jay later discovered multiple in-situ jade quarry sites in the Motagua Valley, including tools and evidence of on-site jade working. These findings expanded understanding of the valley’s role as both a geological and spiritual heart of Maya civilization.
~Various information sources
&
{{In May 2025, archaeologists in northern Guatemala announced the discovery of two anthropomorphic stone figures at the site of Los Abuelos, part of a nearly 3,000‑year‑old Mayan complex in the Petén region.
These figures, carved from stone and dating to between 500 and 300 B.C., are believed to represent an ancestral couple and were likely used in worship rituals. They were found alongside other sacred structures, including sanctuaries and pyramids, at Los Abuelos, which archaeologists describe as one of the most important preclassical Mayan centers, inhabited from about 800 B.C. to 500 A.D.
The site is part of a larger “urban triangle” of three Mayan cities — Penal, Cambrayal, and Los Abuelos — uncovered in 2025, each revealing unique architectural and cultural features.
So, while the figures are not from a cenote (a natural sinkhole), they are part of a major Mayan archaeological find in Guatemala and are indeed two anthropomorphic sculptures, consistent with the description of “two Mayan cenote pillared figures” in a symbolic or ritual context.
~Various information sources}}
Belize, will be where Clive is taking me tomorrow 📖😉
