To The Dump, To The Dump, To The Dump Dump Dump...

Yes, perhaps this is an all time low for a blog topic but hey this is our real life so you get even the trashy stuff : ) We had several large items to get rid of the main thing being our old fireplace insert that we removed to put in the gas fireplace. We are so glad to have that out of the yard. So this weekend we took McKenzie on her first trip to the dump, again you are probably asking why bother talking about it. Growing up in Monroe Matt and I both have memories of going to dump with our parents. I won't claim these are priceless childhood memories we recall fondly but we have them all the same.

McKenzie's memories of the dump probably won't be anything like the ones we have of standing on the edge of platform watching all the household garbage join in with everyone else in towns. The dump of our times was an adventurous place where kids helped to throw the garbage in and once my Mom let a strange man drive our car because she had the trailer on it and couldn't get it to back right. The dump or 'solid waste facility' as they are called now is a much different place. They are very efficient and organized and children under 12 must remain in their vehicles. You also have to go to the recycle station first to sort your recyclables then head over to be weighed on your way in and weighted on your way out to see how much your load will cost. Dumps are no longer outdoors - you now are in a large building with a row of loading slots on a raised platform. You throw your items over the rail onto a cement floor and then a giant tractor comes along and sorts out large things that could have been recycled and then crams the rest through a slot at the end of the building into a cargo container. It's all very organized and efficient. When we were kids if you accidentally threw something in that you wanted to keep your Dad could always just jump down into the bin and fish it out for you. Not today if it goes over the rail it's gone.

McKenzie did pretty good at the dump but we could definitely tell she didn't like the smell. I was going to try to take a picture in action but I just couldn't bring myself to get out the camera at the actual dump so here is one of Matt and McKenzie in route to the dump. At the dumps of old I would have gotten that camera out and I would have take a picture of Matt holding McKenzie with our garbage in the background...