http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help.html Renee came up with an idea to try to help a family or two that had been a victim of the recent wildfires. So we came up with a plan, and then rode out Highway 94 towards Barrett Junction and Potrero to try to find information about families who could be helped. We originally planned to ride all the way to Potrero (where the fire started) and talk to people there. But we got lucky. I was leading the ride, and as we came to Barrett Junction (which really is nothing more than a cafe along the road) I waved to a group of bikes at the cafe. Well, everyone behind me thought I was signaling for a left turn into the cafe’s parking lot, and turned in there! I quickly realized I was all alone and turned back. As it turned out, this was fortuitous. We decided to have a late breakfast, and when we finished, Renee noticed that right across the street was the FEMA disaster assistance center! We had not noticed it before because it was in a little valley and not quite visible from the road. We wound up getting our information there. Although we did ride out to Potrero, that turned out to be just for fun in the end. We still have some work to do to select a family or two to help, but we’ll figure it out! http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help.html#0 c9b8c35f-111d-4934-a0db-566e4f09b537 http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help_files/Media/IMG_0634.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help_files/Media/IMG_0634.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_93"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">Parked outside the Barrett Junction cafe</p></div></div> http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help.html#1 db73fc7a-6e58-4da3-9df6-e67b30102ff8 http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help_files/Media/IMG_0635.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help_files/Media/IMG_0635.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_93"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">Colleen, Jett, and Jan</p></div></div> http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help.html#2 9c5c9d8b-6fb8-4d2d-a642-0fc5b0661f0a http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help_files/Media/IMG_0636.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help_files/Media/IMG_0636.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_93"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">Jett with Elvis!</p></div></div> http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help.html#3 bfe5e9df-13cb-4062-8887-6a0169b169b2 http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help_files/Media/IMG_0638.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help_files/Media/IMG_0638.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_93"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">Part of the FEMA compound.  If you look closely you can see Blackwater’s disaster assistance vans</p></div></div> http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help.html#4 92b593c2-8cd4-4d3f-9032-92854a4bd3e8 http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help_files/Media/IMG_0637.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help_files/Media/IMG_0637.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_93"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">Talking to one of the organizers.  She was from the Church of Christ.  Both the C of C and the Mormons had disaster relief teams at the site.</p></div></div> http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help.html#5 2d8c888b-1127-43d5-a3ae-a2e3e44574b2 http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help_files/Media/IMG_0641.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help_files/Media/IMG_0641.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_93"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">Looking through the families’ applications for assistance</p></div></div> http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help.html#6 13ac45d8-4863-438f-b472-42aafe3317eb http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help_files/Media/IMG_0640.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help_files/Media/IMG_0640.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_93"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">Another shot of the compound.  This is the food tent.  Those red and purple bags are full of onions.</p></div></div> http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help.html#7 134e0288-5d02-433c-9d30-6edcf017ba5b http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help_files/Media/IMG_0639.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help_files/Media/IMG_0639.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_93"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">The hill behind the compound was completely burned off - the ground had been scorched orange and the rocks had been charred</p></div></div> http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help.html#8 917be6ee-3768-495b-983b-3271bcd520dd http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help_files/Media/IMG_0646.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help_files/Media/IMG_0646.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_93"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">This is a pic of a mobile home lot.  There was nothing left but twisted metal</p></div></div> http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help.html#9 43a96445-d5a8-40c1-a538-a257a5c8ae22 http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help_files/Media/IMG_0645.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help_files/Media/IMG_0645.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_93"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">Again, the hills in the back were burned.  You can see some charred stones.</p></div></div> http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help.html#10 795fbf72-7845-462c-a6c5-99b79a68fa32 http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help_files/Media/IMG_0644.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help_files/Media/IMG_0644.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_93"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"/></div> http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help.html#11 6ae39465-cb75-479b-8255-35670b9af583 http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help_files/Media/IMG_0642.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/thorw/Motorcycling/Trying_to_Help_files/Media/IMG_0642.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_93"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">More devastation.</p></div></div>