Oregon

Parting shots of the Palouse

A rancher had collection on sat dishes painted with whimsical designs strung out along the road for a half mile.

I did take one picture of the mountains and the lake south of Joseph.

Sunday - July 17

We stayed an extra day at the swell RV park in Prosser because Dorothy was not feeling all that well. She recovered in the afternoon and we had the pool to ourselves since the weekend crowd was gone.

One year old Alpaca’s snacking

A fruit, new to us, is called a donut peach. The taste is a mix of peach and plum to me.

About half of the stores in Sunnyside cater to the Mexicans who work in the vineyards.

Monday - July 18

Another day we should have stayed in bed. We woke to gray skies and the prediction of rain to commence at 10 and conclude at 12. Such precision. I thought we should get west before it hit. We left at 8. It hit after driving six miles. So much for prediction precision. We pulled off I82 to wait and see what was going to happen. You see I spent the better part of an afternoon a few days ago washing both vehicles. It was the first time they have really been clean since we left. I did not want to see my efforts spoiled in a few miles of driving. 

We went to an Ace Hardware and replaced the toilet seat. That was fun. Replaced a few other items that were worn or lost, surfed the web for awhile, found some more donut peaches, had lunch, took a short nap and then it was 1, the sun was out and we were on our way.

Glenda showed a complicated route using most of the roads in northern Oregon to get to our destination - near Government Camp. I stupidly did not check her route on the map. Big mistake. She took us on a scenic tour on rural roads, that added at least an hour to the trip. She favored a direct route to staying on I84. Going through the Dufur Valley we had a fine view of Mt Hood directly ahead of us for several miles. We finally got to the campground at 5 to be greeted by a Full sign. There are too damn many people not working.

Thankfully, Oregon has hundreds of SnoParks, which are large paved parking areas and there was one across from the campground. I was asleep before 9. About 6 this morning, I heard a car coming down a gravel road which I had blocked with the rig. There was a No Trespassing sign so I was not concerned about it when I parked, if I even noticed the road in my stupor. I was going to move for him, but found I had left the lights on all night. By this time, he had found a way to exit and even offered to jump us off.

Tuesday - July 19

Our quest for a home was quickly satisfied when we noted dispersed camping on the road to the campground. Bigger sites, sun for the solar panels, two bars of LTE and it's free. So we have the rear end of KoKo in the trees and the solar panels in the sun. The boat launch is a mile away and also features garbage pickup.

It's great to be back in the Oregon forests. Nothing like them anywhere.

Wednesday - July 20

Out in the forest the only access we have to the RNC is by PBS. It’s a hoot to hear the libtards ridicule the speeches. For instance, after Don Jr’s. speech they said nothing about the speech, but condemned him for killing wild animals and his birth sign. Yep. Then one said he had actually interviewed a delegate from Mississippi. He yammered on about something to do with people attending church in Mississippi. I would bet not a one of them was over 30.

We are thankful the campground was and still is full. We have a better deal here and it’s free. We looked at the site we had in 2013. It’s more open than most, but I don’t think there is enough sun to fully charge the batteries.

We got on the lake at 9 and there were already 10 yaks in the water. When we took out there were another 10 ready to launch. We recall being about the only ones on the water in 2013. There was one group of about a dozen, who had bought all the right clothes, had boats that cost $3,000+ and the some really fancy Thule yak racks that allowed the boat to be swung down to waist level with one hand. That’s a good thing when you are five foot nothing. They launched and talked to each other for 90 minutes while we paddled around the lake. We made do with the clothes we wear everyday and my 6’4” allows me to get the boats up and down without any trouble.

Mt Hood

Sometimes Hood has clouds

Sometimes not

Sometimes it has it’s signature lenticular clouds. [Note, someone juiced the heck of the green]

If you keep up with lunar positions you could get this photo.

Whatever, it's one of the more majestic mountains in the lower 48.

Malcolm Forbes put With all thy getting, get understanding on the masthead of his column. It’s taken from Proverbs 4:7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

I have spent a life trying to understand. I am re-reading Democracy In America. It is amazing to me that a man of 25 years could so thoroughly understand the culture of America in the short nine months he traveled here. All the more remarkable since most American’s have no clue about their culture.

Campground Full - All this trip we have seen campgrounds close to capacity. Aside from Yellowstone, the places we have been to are not top destinations. And even in Yellowstone, the place we parked was not desirable to most as it did not have hookups.

We paddled Timothy Lake today and noted it was full, as was another one more off the beaten track. We have encountered several private campgrounds that were full. We are trying to get reservations in Portland, but so far all are full. We have never encountered these conditions before. Cheaper gas? So many people not working? Cheaper RV’s?

The Oregon Trail - It usually took from 4 to 6 months by wagon traveling 15 miles a day to complete the Oregon Trail. We have beat that time and from a farther starting point. We made it in only 3 months. But we are so glad to be “home”.

Friday - July 22 - We have enjoyed our days in the forest. We are headed to Portland this morning to see some friends, shop and hope to learn what's going on with the Ford. It acted possessed for awhile Tuesday.