O a-Blacksmithing We Will Go

A-blacksmithing we will go, hi ho the dairy-o, a-blacksmithing we will go.

Tonight in White Salmon, Washington, in preparation for my long-awaited Beginning Blacksmithing Workshop at Old West Forge, I ate a Greek Salad at a pub called “Everybody’s.” True to the pub’s name, everybody in White Salmon seemed to be there. Great place. I chose the salad because all I did was drive 4-1/2 hours. Tomorrow night, after a day of blacksmithing, I might just order a steak with a raw egg chaser.

I’m excited. And not a little intimidated. The blacksmithing art, according to an introductory book I read, requires precise judgment, perfected skill, and a keen sense of timing. This will be a four-day event; in this blog I hope to provide a blow by blow (ha!) account of how it goes for me, so check in tomorrow evening for a report on my first day.

Meanwhile, here are a couple of photos of my journey to White Salmon. I drove I-90 East over Snoqualmie Pass, then down through Ellensburg, Yakima, and Goldendale to reach the Columbia River Gorge and White Salmon. The landscape is mostly sagebrush desert, and as I approached the gorge, a forest of wind turbines.

The east-of-the-Cascades route turned out to be the right choice — ominous gray clouds covered the Western sky, but from my side of the mountains I enjoyed a great view of Mt. Adams and Mt. Hood (pictured here — this is the view from the Inn of the White Salmon).

Tomorrow, when I post photos of my day, I doubt you’ll be as envious 🙂