Birthday parties and choo choo's

What a busy weekend I have had and two very contrasting days they were too.

Saturday, my beautiful grandgirls joint birthday party, was grey, windy and miserable - not that the kids noticed, they were too busy having fun, I wish I could bottle their energy. My son ended up lighting the big fire pit and all us sooky adults huddled around it while the kids ran themselves ragged.

Sunday was the Tumoulin stations 100th birthday.The day was warm bright and sunny from sun up to sun down. A friend and I played at tourists, ate steak sandwiches with heaps of fried onions, walked along the railway track, bought plants from a market stall and throroughly enjoyed ourselves. I noticed a pyrex dish (the oval ones with the seperator in the middle) - it was turquoise with a star design, two japanese girls grabbed it, turning it over and getting excited over it - the price was two dollars, I hung around in the hope they were going to put it down but no, they bought it. I think that was the only downspot of the day.

 

 Indiginous dancers preparing for a dance display.

 We watched how to boil a billy at the fettlers camp.

The track towards Ravenshoe,  now only used for the restored steam train as a tourist attraction. We've promised ourselves a ride one day.  Doesn't look bad for the middle of winter.  Wanting to make the most of this glorious day we headed off towards Ravenshoe for coffee and cake, despite being about 50 miles away from where we live the area is so different, dryer, more open. Ravenshoe is the highest town in Queensland and boasts the highest pub in queenland, I suppose since the towns second pub is only a couple of hundred metres down the hill from the first pub its the second highest pub in Q'land.  

                                                                                 The highest railway station in Queensland, nearly 3000 ft above sea level.  This is at the end of the railway track at Tumoulin. I love Ravenshoe, it has a reputation though of being a bit of a ferally town, it has a wide main street and lots of clues to its history of being an old timber town, it just has this wonderful  atmosphere, its like stepping back in time.  Its set right at the top of the Great Dividing Range.

I love this picture, a lot of americans were stationed here during WWII, I can just imagine them gathering here, waiting to catch the train, the young girls of the town in their pretty dresses all waiting to go to a dance in the next town, blushing and giggling. The old railway station is a museum now, the outside area littered with relics of the old days, its so pretty and we found a little second hand shop nestled away in one of the old carriage sheds, Barb bought a cute sundae dish from the 30's or 40's, it would be nice to think that one of the G.I.s and his 'girl' shared a sundae or a banana split before being shipped out 'up north'.

We weren't ready to go home just yet and still had plenty of energy left so we drove out of town and head towards the Millstream Falls - the widest (when in full flood) in Q'land, if not australia). A few years ago it was possible to walk down a track and walk across the top of it a short way (in the dry season) but now you walk down a winding bitumened path and have to view it from a special platform, despite being a fair way from the falls we could still feel the spray on our faces.  This used to be a popular swimming place as well. I seem to be obsessing about those american soldiers, can you see them diving off the rocks in the middle, giggling girls spying on them  from the bushes.  I was obviously born in the wrong era and the wrong place. This place seems to hold onto its past and occassionaly glimpses are caught of a bygone age.  Can you imagine living in this house overlooking the falls, on top of the world.

Well the scenic tour of my weekend is over. It will probably be a while before I get to have another day like this.  Its back to a normal week now, job hunting and cleaning and sorting out my life.  I feel rejuvanated though, ready to tackle anything that is thrown at me - wet kippers and bricks aside though LOL.