My brother Bob, the eldest of four siblings, is not a gearhead. He does like trains (see Objects in the Mirror for September 2002) but that's about the extent of it. I was floored to get a call from him just the other day to say that he thought about the GTS page on his most recent adventure. More than that, he took photos (links to which are located below) and got me a copy of the flyer that the artist provides to visitors.
Bob is an accomplished adventurer, having done more things at age 64 than most of us will ever accomplish. A very experienced backpacker, he has added some additional notches to the pistol grip in the last 15 years. He is a serious river rafter. A certified guide, he has traveled some spectacular white water around the world. He has skydived, bungee jumped, and skin dived in some of the most exotic locations on the globe. In fact it was on his way to white water raft with his oldest son in Washington when he dropped in on Steph and I. He was to meet young Bob at the rafting location and so he left our home on a Saturday morning to head up into the Evergreen state. North on I-5 and then east on State 12, he then turned north on Hwy 7. Heading east again on Hwy 706, just three miles outside of Elbe, he saw a giraffe alongside the highway.
This was the location of a farm called Ex-Nihilo, Latin for "something out of nothing." You could tell that he was smiling when he told me over the phone that this would be a great stop on an auto adventure. The farm is the home of Dan Klennert, a welder and artist. The admission is free, although he does accept donations. He says that he will sell his "masterpieces" if the price is right. I suspect that it will rarely be so. The work is phenomenal. The sculptures are a combination of metal and wood. He gets his raw materials from industrial castoffs and from farmers unwanted machinery. He says that he is cleaning up America by welding the junk into art. Inspiration comes from the shape of the metal itself. Using a 400 amp stick welder, he "paints" the components into graceful shapes. He says, "I am having a love affair with a welder and these are all my children."
Thanks Bob. I appreciate the tip. I will include this route on my next drive to Mt Rainier and will definitely stop to see these sculptures.
This is a photo of a horse and, in the foreground, a deer. Note Mt Rainier in the background.
The giraffe that caught Bob's eye as he drove down Hwy 706.
An outstanding sculpture of an elk.
