Scotland 2015 - Day 14 - August 29, 2015

Okay - everybody..guess if it rained today.

Here is the caravan park where we stayed last night just a little bit north of Oban.  Oban is an old city with a cutsie main street that is narrow and lined with tourist shops

There were lots of rabbit warrens dug in the hillsdes close to the beach and then on small burms amongst the caravan parking areas.  When we came back at dusk there were rabbits everywhere on their evening siflay.

We drove into a litte town to "top up" my iPad.  While dad was doing that I wandered around the little store wanting to buy some canned peas, but I couldn't find the ones I wanted.

Our first goal was Bonawe Funaces, a 18th century charcoal iron works.  

It was realy incredibly interesting.  I didnt know anything about this - probably because I slept through (honestly, I slept through all of them) every film shown in chemistry in both high school and college.  There were lots of ways to make iron and the charcoal method was that was used here.  Have a big stone vat;  fill it up with iron ore, charcaol and ground limestone; start the charcoal on fire; use some BIG bellows to blow air onto the charcoal, and presto you have molten iron.  Read about it here - 

http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/taynuilt/bonawe/

There were old stone buildings and great displays explaining most everything.

There was a water wheel here, but in 1941, it was dismantled and all the cast iron was then used for the war effort.

Below Dad is standing where the molten iron poured out of the furnace and filled long depressions that had been made in the sand. Attached to this first depression and perpendicular to it were other depressions about three feet long that also filled with molten iron.  These ingots of iron, called pig iron, are what was shipped to other industrial sites to be made into iron thingys.

Visualize that you are at the fair in the pig barn.  Lying in her pen is a big mother pig and nestled up to her belly are all her piglets happily nursing.  Then think of what I just described about the iron filling the depressions in the sand..  Right pig iron!  Or better, piglet iron.

The road to the furnaces passed through the perfect old Scottish town.  We couldn't help but take these pictures

Our next goal was another industrial site - a modern one

This is an electrical power plant that produces electricity for peak demand - like at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  They can respond to a grid need in 28 seconds.  Really neat, you should read it and learn something new like we did today.  I can't possibly do a good account of the process.

www.visitcruachan.co.uk

photographs weren't allowed, but I could take this picture of the process, simplified

Back on the road again, Dad naturally got hungry.  We're in the Trossachs, a vacationland where lots of people looking for outdoor fun were gatherig.  It was like being at a truck stop

Welcome to The Green Welly Stop.

why you would name your store after a green muck boat, I don't know.

There was a little cafe.  My mouth started watering at the thought of a juicy hamburger with fries and cole slaw.  yes - I see Ray coming with the food

Dream on!  It was still very tasty.

We're in a caravan park on the eastern edge of the Lock Lomond and Trossachs National Park.  Looks like driving up to Mt Hood.  It isn't a national park like we envision but a great outdoor place where people walk, kayak, mountain bike, etc.  It is beautiful through - like driving up the Clackamas.

Here's our park

At the facilities block ( toilets, showers, dish washing site, and trash site) there was this poster.  It's probably just an insect repellent with Deet.  Don't need it today anyway.

Oh - Im having a bit of problem with the way Scottish society treats people and animals and things.

First there was the photo I sent regarding poor soccer dogs that don't have good playing skills on the field

Then the older folks crossing the street ae seemingly criticized for having poor posture.

Now today  a slam against the flora of Scotland.  Just because some veggies, say pumpkins are, well big, they should be called plus size rather than......

We're on our way into town now.

And it did rain today - at least 95% of the time