A brief rant:
Apparently Wells Fargo is still living in the stagecoach era. In the wild west where rules don’t apply equally to everyone. Where large corporations and their millionaire executives with herds of lawyers run roughshod over the law.
I guess CEO John Stumpf and the head of the bank’s consumer division Carrie Tolstedt decided that being the third largest bank in the country wasn’t enough. They wanted more.
The average Wells Fargo customer uses about six of their products such as checking and savings accounts, credit cards, online banking, etc. The company started a program called “GrEight”, the goal being to push each customer’s services to eight or more. Thinking that the stupid customers don’t know what they need or want.
But apparently the customers were happy with what they had so the pressured sales staff opened more than two million fraudulent bank and credit card accounts in their names and without authorization. They even transferred money from customers existing accounts into these new accounts. Debit cards were issued and activated, PIN’s created, and fake email addresses created to sign up the unknowing customers to online banking services.
Did Wells Fargo think that no one would notice?
This massive fraud is currently under investigation, but there already is some fallout. An intial fine of $185 million and 5,300 low level employees lost their jobs.
What about the top level exec’s? Stumpf says ”Wrongful sales practice behavior goes entirely against our values, ethics, and culture.”
I wonder if he managed to keep a straight face.
As for Tolstedt, don’t be concerned about her applying for food stamps like many of the 5,300 fired workers might be forced to do. She will retire at the end of the year with a golden parachute of around $125 million in stock, stock options, and salary. If that money was instead given to the fired workers, it would amount to a bit less than $24K each. In fact, I could easily stay camping full time for $24K per year, for 5,300 years. Yeah.
This kind of crap makes me sick. People need to go to jail. I suggest starting with the two named above.
Anyway, before heading north towards Oregon I whipped up some taco meat under the supervision of long legged wild cats.
We cut across to the coast from Redding along the perpetually under construction Highway 299, spending the night at a nifty BLM campground called Douglas City, 100 miles east of Eureka.
There are just 23 sites next to the Trinity River.
We stayed in number 19.
Your $10 per night ($5 for access pass holders) gets you flush toilets and hot showers in the new bath house. No reservations are taken, but all the sites are great. Be aware this campground fills up when salmon and steelhead are running.
There is a picnic area overlooking the boat launch.
If you zoom in there are two boats about to depart.
Freddy liked the river.
He also likes chasing balls, digging holes, and just sitting on a rock.
There is a little store about one mile away and Weaverville is just seven miles down the road.
We reached the coast and headed north, spending the next night Big Lagoon County Park near Trinidad. Don’t go there. Nasty place.
Six miles inland from Brookings, Oregon is Alfred A. Loeb State Park.
I spent an hour here in 2012 taking campsite photos while camping at Harris Beach State Park in Brookings and wanted to come back for an extended stay. When the coast is foggy and cold, this is the go to spot. No reservations accepted and $22 gets you flush poopers, showers, and electricity.
We grabbed site 15, my favorite. It’s not on the Chetco River but has the most privacy and is huge.
Nearby is the River View Trail.
Freddy was a bit concerned about this sign as he only has paws, not feet. I told him he would be fine.
You need lots of rain to get this green.
A small 20 foot cliff allowed river access for crazy puppies. I dared Freddy to give it a shot. Told him it was the only way to get wet.
He made it.
Then I showed him the easy way to the water.
He was a little miffed at me about the cliff jumping, so he spent most of the time playing ball with other people.
Driving north, just past the town of Waldport is Sixes River Road. 4 miles east you will find Edson Creek Campground.
If nearby Cape Blanco State Park is full or foggy, this is a good alternative. And only $8 per night. Decent vault toilets and one water spigot.
The 19 sites are fairly open.
But if you drive to end of the road, you will stumble upon site 19.
It is tucked down at the end of the road. Requires good backing up skills…
No problem.
Freddy found a short trail down to the creek behind my trailer.
He waited impatiently as I grabbed a ball and a brew and went to meet him.
We frolicked. 25 feet upstream I found a swimming hole so I doffed my clothes and jumped in. The small trout seemed inordinately interested in my twig and berries. Pleasant yet unnerving. I called it a day.
Plus, the weather was changing. Rain was coming. For the next 12 days it poured.
Coast. Wet. Grants Pass. Wet.
By the first week in October the wet season arrived in southern Oregon. It looked dry farther south so we headed back.
I had promised Freddy an ocean swim and pulled over just north of Arcata. I guess he needed to tinkle too.
He found a tennis ball a amused himself.
Freddy was running amok! Bouncing up and down and digging holes. His ears were almost straight up. Look at the shadow, lol.
Eventually he tired out and the sandy pup and I left, still heading south.
We spent the next four nights at a Thousand Trails spot next to Cloverdale on the Russian River.
Freddy’s hair was a mess from the rain and river and sand. So I spent four hours brushing him out. Dematting brush, rakes, and a slicker. He looked great. We went down to the river.
Here is a closeup in all his red carpet glory.
After four days of river swimming, he doesn’t look like that any more.
As the sun was setting on our last night there, he wanted one final ball thrown.
I obliged him.
He is a good dog.
Let’s wrap this post up with a theory.
Everyone has one.
Sister Lesley embraces Theory Gossip, taking known gossip and adding some more what ifs and passing it along.
I am embracing Buffalo Theory.
It goes like this:
A herd of Buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest Buffalo. The slowest will be killed first, natural selection at work, thereby speeding up the herd.
In the same way, regular consumption of beer kills off the slower and weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine.
It’s true. Google it.
Regards,
Greg and Freddy
