Still on the Olympic Penisula

Still here, still wondering why we came.

Monday, June 24 - We wanted to see Hole In the Wall rock at Rialto Beach. The sky was gray, but no rain.  We parked the car and walked a few feet when the rain arrived. We waited a few minutes and the rain went away and so once again we headed down the beach. My new sandals are great - my feet don't hurt and I walk well in them. The sand on the beach is dark gray and there are enormous trees that have washed down the rivers and up on the beach over the years.  We started our walk and I had a goal of how far I thought I could go. Remember, no matter how far you hike, you have to return the same distance. I had a couple of rest breaks, as suggested by my physical therapist, Brian.  We noticed the gray sky, but it didn't look like rain so we kept walking. Once we reached my destination, we turned around. The gray sky contained lots of blowing rain. Luckily we had our rain jackets with us, but I had on jeans - yuck, wet jeans!  It continued to rain off and on all day as the weather forecast said it would.  

Forks is where a series of novels called Twilight were set. It was made into a TV series. The towns tax revenue went up 25% the first year of the series and has held at that level due to teenage girls with a crush on the vampire coming to Forks to swoon. There are several shops that sell series related items and even van tours to locations mentioned in the novels.

No Vampires Beyond Treaty Line

I posted the pictures for our daughter. But, I don't think she takes the time to read the Blog.

Tuesday, June 25 - Before we left Forks we had several stops to make. We had a 40 mile drive that took us 1.5 hours. It is a very curvy road to Lake Ozette.  We are camped with a view of the lake, but can't put the kayaks in because there are whitecaps on the water. The advantage of being here instead of Mora is that the site is open to the sky and the trees have leaves. The translation of that is it isn't depressing because it's so dark and we are not tracking in wet spruce needles every time we go out. There are many parks that we can return to time and again - this isn't one of them.  We're glad we came here and we are doing the whole loop, so we get to see the whole park. We will go to Neah Bay tomorrow.

Coming out of Mora we saw several exotic cars, Aston Martin's, AH 3000, Porsche, etc. even one with a prancing pony badge, What were they doing on a back road to nowhere on a Tuesday morning?

The last picture is heavily photoshopped. It was very gray day and everything in the original picture was gray. But through digital magic, it appears like there was some color to be seen.

Wednesday, June 26 - Left the CG around 8:30 and drove to  the Makah Indian Reservation on Neah Bay,. We wanted to see the Makah Museum which is a very informative archeological center of the Makah Indians. The village was buried in a mudslide in the 1500's and was excavated in the 1980's when a storm uncovered the village. Many artifacts were recovered which are on display in the museum. No camera's allowed inside.

More photoshop magic. Weak green are now vivid.

We stopped at a smoked salmon place where I bought two packs of smoked salmon. I should have bought more because it is nothing like what you buy in the stores at home.

We are now "camped" at a RV park in Port Angeles waiting out the rain and weekend.  Most of the time that we have spent in Washington is not the way that we normally travel.  After this trip, I can safely say that we have "done" Washington.  Weather wise, this has been a wet trip. Our first trip in 2006 was rain free for eight months and 15,000 miles.

Remember the herb encrusted salmon in the last post?

Thursday, June 27 - I woke up sick.  I don't know what was wrong, but I had severe chills but it was not the dreaded stomach bug. I had my sleeping bag and a fleece throw over me and Don put another one on me and I continued to shiver.  I slept intermittently for 12 hours. I rallied for lunch and we went out foraging. When we returned, I took a nap and then did nothing but lie around and doze the rest of the day.

Friday, June 28 -  I felt a lot better, thank goodness.  We went looking for a place to spend the next few days. Salt Creek CG looks good. Only $32 for a county park.  Washington state is expensive for RV's. In the afternoon, I did laundry and Don washed Koko and Pelli. We drove to Hurricane Ridge for sunset. Great views of the Olympic mountains. A little froggy to the north. No clear view of Canada.

Saturday, June 29 - We went kayaking this morning on Lake Crescent, which is a very clear lake, but right on busy US101, so the trucks can be heard on the lake.  I still can't paddle very far and our adventure was only one hour.  And it was an adventure because I fell into the lake getting in the boat and again getting out of the boat.  Actually, I was just testing the water to see if it was cold and it wasn't too cold. The Ridge is over 4,000 feet high and the wind was blowing 15 so it was damn chilly even with fleece on. A herd of deer live at the VC and two Israelis' with camera lens that looked like tank rocket launchers were taking pictures of the deer. I did not know that a lens with that sort of focal length could be used within 10 feet. We dodged deer all the way back down the mountain. What is about people and "wild" animals? Have they lived in an apartment too long? 

Trying to find a place to stay for the week of the 4th was getting extremely stressful. We want to go to the Japanese Gardens in Portland and this will be our last chance.  We called many places within a 25 miles radius, but everything is full.  I sent an email to my friend, Mary Ann asking for suggestions. She said that they were going to the beach, but suggested we park in her driveway!  We have "camped" in many driveways so we can add one more to our list. This has taken a load off our minds!  We thought you could always get in a private park, but they are full, so are the state, city and county parks.  People go to Portland for the holiday. Why? It's going to be great to see our friends again.

We have decided to try to find a place near Port Townsend for Sunday and Monday, then go south to the Hood Canal and spend two days there and then to Portland.

Sunday, June 30 - Straight line distances to most destinations on the Olympic Peninsula are short. However, travel times are long. This morning the GPS showed it was 22 miles from Port Angeles to Port Townsend. It also predicted it would take 62 minutes to drive there.

Port Angeles is the end of the rain forest. Sequim which is only a few miles east of PA is in a rain shadow and you could tell it as the grass along the road was brown.

We are parked at the Port Townsend fairgrounds. It's open grass field, very quiet, about 1/3 full and it's $17 for W&E. That's half what we paid the last few days so we could  use the Internet. Our "wi-fi" resets tomorrow so we will be online wherever. Terrible addiction. I guess it's like text messaging.

I know Canada is just across the water, but why are there so many Border Patrol here? Are the Canucks trying to sneak across the border to get Obamacare?

Monday, July 1 - I paddled around the Port Townsend. We did the tourist walk in town. Bought some seat back for the yaks at Pygmy Boats where gorgeous wood yaks are sold. Perfect weather, much cooler than yesterday.

Tuesday, July 2 - On the Hood Canal. More later.

Weather Reports

Sunday, June 16 - We left early so we could get a good parking place close to Powell's Bookstore.  The bookstore is HUGH!  It takes up a whole block and has four floors.  They have new and used books titles.  I got a credit for a couple of books and we each bought two books which showed great restraint on our part.  The "Gay Pride Parade" was getting ready.  We walked around for a little while, but the parade didn't start until later that day. The most interesting were the cross-dressers - they were really decked out. The weirdest dressed were not with the parade, just strange looking people walking around dressed outlandishly.  

Monday, June 17 - Our goal was to get to the Olympic National Park.  It's one we haven't been to yet. The weather forecast called for 60% chance of rain Monday and Tuesday and 80% Wednesday.  Ft. Stevens SP was the place we picked to hole up during the rainy weather.  Thursday's forecast called for sunny skies. We had been to Ft. Stevens before for a LD Get-Together three years ago. This is a very nice park, probably one of Oregon's best.  It has 257 sites.  Ft. Stevens was built in 1864 to defend the US against the Confederates - like that was going to happen!  It was active until after WWII. We went to the beach which has dark grey sand - I like the Gulf Coast beaches a lot better.  During Happy Hour a light rain started.  

Tuesday, June 18 - Since we were waiting for the 60% chance of rain,  we headed to the town of Seaside. Not a very impressive town, but Don did get another pair of croc's.  He bought a pair there three years ago. We then returned to Astoria to find a fish & chips place that was recommended.  It was closed so we chose another place - Captain D's would have been much better. In the afternoon Don went for a long trike ride. When he returned, I went for a ride. Apparently I was gone a long time, because as I was returning he was in the car to find me.  Still waiting for the rain - it's sunny here.

We toured Ft. Clapsop, the terminal point of Lewis and Clark's grand expedition.

Wednesday, June 19 - Since we were waiting for the 80% chance of rain, we decided to do laundry. We went to the Mini-Mart Laundry.  Without a doubt it is the best laundromat we have ever used. An attendant was cleaning washers and dryers after every use, inside and out. And Wednesday was free dry day.  The Mini-Mart serves several kinds of coffees and has a very active lunch business.  It is a booming business. This was the best day - sunny and warm.  We each took another trike ride. Where's the 80% chance of rain.

Olympic National Park

I have debated with myself for years about coming here. It has a low attraction factor for me. You see I lived on the east side of the park in 1965. I rode my dirt bike on the logging roads and tooled around the paved roads in an AH Sprite. What could be so different on the other side of the hill? Well actually not all that much. Washington is OK, but for our money Oregon beats it every day from Sunday.

Thursday, June 20 - This was the day forecast for sunshine.  Can't get an accurate weather report here - it changes hourly!  We were on the road at 7:45 to get to the Olympic National Park. Where is the sunshine???  We drove in the mist from Aberdeen north to Kalaloch. We hoped to camp at Kalaloch, but we didn't have reservations.  Some days you just get lucky.  When we reached the CG, the ranger told us that a few sites were open for one night, but could be reserved the next day and we would have to move. We drove through the CG and only a few sites had an ocean view and all were small. The rest were in a dark forest.  The ranger suggested that we try South Beach because they don't accept reservations.  This is a great place.  We are parked on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  It's gorgeous and only $5 per night with our old-age passport!  We drove to Ruby Beach. It's the one that is photographed to show off this area. When the sun comes out, we will go back. 

Friday, June 21 - The sun came out mid-morning while we were walking through firs and ferns. Because of the 120 inches of rain this side of the mountains gets, trees grow taller and faster here than anywhere else. That said, they seemed no more spectacular than firs and ferns at numerable other places. We beat feet back down the Hoi River to Ruby Beach. It was about time we got sun and scenery. Just goes to show, we like rocks and water more than firs and ferns.

Everyone takes this picture at Ruby Beach

South Beach $5 a night. Even better than Kirk Creek in Big Sur

We have been carrying around fire wood since we left Moab a month back. Finally last night we burned it in a fire pit near the chairs in the picture above. We invited the couples on both sides of us over and we chatted until 11pm. Sunset started about 8:30 and the western sky still had trace of light at 11.

South Beach at sunset

Food

Dorothy has cooked some of the best meals of her life on this trip. We have been eating really good. No weight gain either. We bought the Reader's Digest diet books and are getting into their meals. Tasty. Chicken piccata last night, herb encrusted salmon tonight, shrimp scampi tomorrow and smoked salmon is in the forecast at Neah Bay.

Photoshop

I never found much use for Photoshop. Way to complicated. Layers? I have used a feature in Picasa that enhances scenes by accentuating shadows, Thanks Jim for that tip. My favorite utility for managing pictures, viewing, renaming, moving from folder to folder, etc. went with death of my PC. The Mac is not very friendly for photo management, everything requires multiple steps using impossible key combinations and using different programs. I bought a program that helps, but it's not very fast. It has lots of ways to PhotoShop a picture on a level I can understand. The sunset above has been slightly altered. The red was made more red. Now I can make pictures of things I never saw and I can join 21st century photography. Well to my limits. No purple sunlight. Dorothy read an article about a man that has spent years taking pictures of The Palouse and he admits they are photoshopped. Google 'images:ruby beach' and you will see pictures that have been altered to other world colors. I wonder if such alteration is akin to painting on black velvet? It is beyond air brushing Playmates.

Saturday, June 22 - A lazy day, spent sunning in the sun like lizards while watching the surf. Clouds moved in at sunset and by midnight it was misting.

Sunday, June 23 - We headed north on US101 through Forks to the park service CG at Mora. There is a trail to several offshore rocks that I would like to photograph if the weather clears. Forks is a lumber town, now supplemented by all sorts of tours and items for sale related to the TV show Twilight about vampires. We got lost going back into Forks and would up in the Indian village of La Push. There is a most attractive RV park there so we asked the price. $40! Yippee Ki Yay. Groceries in Forks are priced higher than at Whole Foods.

We heard on NPR that sea levels will rise three feet by 2035. This will mean the displacement of liberals from the coast. Horrors! I wonder when the value of coastal property will start falling?

Monday, June 24 - Rain is in the forecast until Saturday. What to do? The fourth is approaching. We are stuck between rain and a holiday.

Oregon Again And Again

Oregon Again And Again

We have been in Idaho, Oregon, Washington, back to Idaho, Washington and now Oregon. Next Washington for a week or so, then back to Oregon.

Sunday, June 9 - Today's mission - see Palouse Falls.  But before we get there, we have a confession. Mary found a great COE CG on the Snake, $7 with hookups. However, when we got there, it was closed. The really bad news is that KOA had taken over management of the other nearby COE property. So yes, we stayed at a KOA. $28 and that included many signs prohibiting this and that, plus a guy in a golf cart to ensure you did not park on the grass or even hang the rear over the grass. Contrast that with our next stop, a private park that not only took Passport America, but had self registration. We went to the falls and they are scenic. But none of us saw a reason to extend our visit.  

Monday, June 10 - We drove west to Sunnyside, WA in the Yakima Valley, where almost every bush has wine berries on it. We had a goal in being in this area.  It's Wine Country and we needed to go to some tasting rooms. We visited Tucker Cellars and Randy Tucker, the owner, was there. We sampled some wines and enjoyed conversation with him. We left with four bottles of wine and so did the Gardner's. We started Happy Hour early, but continued at the campground. I fixed dinner for all of us and once again we were able to enjoy it outside.

Tuesday, June 11 - We left at 10:00 for Prosser, WA where they have several tasting rooms.  The first was Coyote Canyon Winery where we tried some good wines. Next was Apex Cellars where we tried some more good wines.  We purchased four wines at Coyote Canyon and four at Apex Cellars.  Since we got there around 10:45, the knowledgeable sales ladies had time to spend with us and kept giving us wines to try.  By the time we got to the third winery, I had enough to satisfy me.  But they kept giving me wine!  The only thing that I bought was a bottle of delicious pickled asparagus.  Around 12:00 it was time for us to find someplace to get lunch.  We had Mexican and I had no desire to have a margarita with it.  Before we left town we stopped at Chukar Cherry Co. They don't have fresh cherries, they have many different kinds of cherry candy. This was a place Mary said was good.  And she was right!  Now we have 12  bottles of wine and cherry pecan chocolate candy.  

Fried asparagus was advertised at several places. Yuck!

Before returning to the campground, we stopped at Fiesta Foods, a Mexican grocery store.  The population of Sunnyside is about 80% Mexican.  The store had great fresh produce and very good prices, so we bought a few things.  Back at the campground, we opened the Roussanne white wine.  It is so good.  All of the wines we bought are white that are good in the summer.  So we had our last Happy Hour with Dave & Mary.  Mary fixed a Norwegian chicken dish for dinner that was delicious.

Wednesday June 12 - We bid David and Mary adieu this morning and headed toward Portland. We have spent 20 days with them and really did enjoy getting to know them better.  We shared many Happy Hours, delicious dinners, and day trips to take pictures.  It was a great time.  We will see them on the road again someday. It was a pleasure to travel with them. We found we share a lot of interests. Plus, I did not have to think about what to do, they planned the activities and we were pleased to follow. Now, we have to fend for ourselves again. Where to go, what to do, etc. We will just muddle along as we always do.

If you like good photo's, do spend some time on these web sites.  Mary's   David's

We have set a personal record, 24 days continuous days with electricity. Our other record is over 90 days without hookups. Tonight we are nestled in a USFS CG, called Trillium Lake, about 50 miles east of Portland. No hookups. Last week we had a fine campsite for $5 with electricity. Tonight, we are paying $10 for no hookups. We are sure half of that is because it's concessionaire operated. Still it's good place to veg for a few days and plan our next moves. Just fir and spruce trees. It's flat enough for peddling Trixie and a small lake for paddling. Mt Hood is close by. No TV here, but we have a really hot on-ramp to the Internet.

Thursday, June 13 - It was a rainy, cloudy, cold and dreary day.  Sounds like the start of a murder mystery, doesn't it.  Well it was the start of a lazy lazy day where we did almost nothing except surf the web and read.  Actually I enjoyed the day, just reclining in my nest, err bed. Before you think I was too lazy, I did cook three meals.  We watched two episodes of Downton Abby.  Thank you Doug & Roxanne, we are addicted!  Hopefully tomorrow will bring out the sun because the solar panels need it. 

Friday, June 14 - Sun and 60 degrees. I wanted to get to Flag Point to take pictures of Mt. Hood. This requires staying on Bennett Road, which we were not able to do. The roads did not match our paper or digital maps.

After lunch and nap, we put the yaks in the water for the first time since last year in Utah. We paddled out 50 feet and there was Mt. Hood.

We chatted with a Japanese family fishing at the boat ramp. They asked if we fished. We said, we only eat fish. We were surprised a few minutes later when two of the kids brought us three rainbow trout. They tasted great.

Saturday, June 15 - We are in an RV park in Portland. We thought about parking at a Wally World, but Portland does not like them or any big box stores. Kinda like GM food I guess. It's a good park. Across the road from the Columbia River. The Portland YC is across the street, the east border of the park is a snazzy CC and there are two more YC's, down the street. The place is full tonight.

We stocked up on foole and pita bread at middle eastern market and went to Fred Myer for basic foods. We tried to go to Powell Books, which is downtown, but everyone under 30 is downtown on a Saturday afternoon so there was no on-street parking and with the yaks on the roof we were too tall for underground parking. We will try again Sunday morning before the young ones get up.

I think we have only been to Portland twice, but we shopped today at the same Fred Myer as we did when Doug and Roxanne flew out and we drove pass Northside Ford where we got an oil change. But, that's about all we recognized. Driving in much of the city is like driving on the freeway in Marin County. Only non-standard ramps to the expressways and you are always turning the steering wheel.

Sunday, June 16 - We went to Powell's Book Store. It's the largest book store we have ever seen. I like military history. Most stores might have a few shelves devoted to it. Powell's had three 50 foot long aisles and the upper three shelves were higher than I can reach. There was a gay pride parade forming near the book store. We did a lookie-lookie.

Rain is forecast for the next several days. So we will move slowly toward the Hoi Rain Forest.

The Palouse II

First Thing - My PC died. Bought a Mac. Screw PC's. If you have been corresponding with me, Don, I no longer have your email address. So if you ever want to hear from me again, you need to send me a note.

 

 

Sunday,  June 2 - It's hard to believe it's June.  I am still wearing jeans and long sleeves most of the time.  Haven't had on a pair of shorts in a month.  We traveled less than 20 miles to get to our current location in Moscow, Idaho, which is home to the Idaho State University Vandals.  We are continuing to enjoy traveling with Dave & Mary.  Not only are they fun to be with, Mary is a good cook, so we are having very good meals.  Last night we sat outside for a few minutes after dinner, but it just got too cool.  We hope that the weather gets warm enough that we can eat dinner outside.  We have a beautiful site in a county park which only has five sites.  It's very quiet and we have a nice lawn. The price is right $5 with electric.

 

On a very positive note, while doing my shoulder  exercise yesterday, I discovered that I can go past the recommended number of repeats and have not strain or pain -  just like it's a normal shoulder.  Final goal is to be able to sleep on my right side.

 

I have so many pictures of the area and I am so lazy, it is proving hard to cull them them. That's not grass, that's your food growing out there. Wheat mostly.

 

 

 

A short course in the difference between OK and supurb photography. My shots above. David's below. I thought mine looked good before I saw his.

Monday, June 3 - We went sightseeing again this morning but didn't see any great scenes.  But it's nice and peaceful in the CG.  In the afternoon we had cocktails and dinner outside for the first time.

 

Tuesday, June 4 - Weather was just about perfect today.  We went on a scenic drive to the Snake River with Dave & Mary and saw some pretty scenery.  We returned by way of Pullman and stopped at Washington State University which has a creamery and they sell ice cream and cheese.  Dave had a double scoop of ice cream, Don had a chocolate milk shake and Mary and I had chocolate sodas.  It was all very yummy.  Tonight is cocktails and dinner at their home/campsite.

 

Wednesday, June 5 - Wash Day under clear skies and warm breezes.

 

Thursday, June 6 - We moved from Moscow, back to the fairgrounds near Colfax. It's twice the price $10, but it's the center of the Palouse. I see the crop fields like the giant green waves of the Roaring Fourties. The Cottonwoods have been putting out their seeds this week. Near the trees, the sky is looks like it's snowing. The 30mph wind today finished them off. A new record, we have been three weeks with electricity. We have not really needed it, but it's part of the fee.

 

Friday, June 7 - We went on a photo trip with D&M. I again learned that I have little idea of how to take a picture.

I took the picture on the left. I did not want the power poles, the road or the brown fields in the frame. Mary took the one of the right. She removed the power poles with Photoshop. Guess which one I think is a winner?

 

 

Partially redeeming, I went inside the barn and took this one. Since this editor does not allow for spacing between pictures, it appears that the field starts where the wood ends. That is not the case, but the effect is interesting.

 

Saturday, June 8 - Spent the morning cleaning the vehicles. We are now ready for rain or another dirt road. Delightful day. 70 degrees, 30% humidity, a moderate breeze and blue sky. There was a junior rodeo here this afternoon. Fun. Little kids, big horses. The youngest is 3 1/2, 18 is the oldest.  The kids are so confident. When they get hurt, they cowboy/cowgirl up and go on. We thought the girls were a cut above the boys.

Here is the blond headed sweetheart I fell in love with. She handled her mount with aplomb. It was probably the tallest horse in the rodeo.

One bull was really head strong. He did not want to be penned up. It took them quite awhile to get him in the shoot. And even longer to get him out of the arena after he had his ride. It took three cowboys with ropes and three cow dogs over 10 minutes to get him back in the pen.

That's all for the week. We move west an hour Sunday to Palouse Falls, then west to the coast.

The Palouse

What's a Palouse? Last year, I asked David Gardner where they were going in 2013 and he said The Palouse. Huh? I Goggled it and saw a picture of lush green rolling hills and I decided right then I had to see the place. So here we are in eastern Washington, with David & Mary, and it's even more special than I imagined.

Monday, May 27 - We left Oregon and went to Walla Walla, Washington, which is halfway to the Palouse area which Don has been wanting to see for six months.  Our goal was to go grocery shopping and do laundry.  Sunday night was not a good night for me and I didn't feel good all day.  One reason was because I accidentally doubled my meds and to add insult to injury, I burned dinner!  But on the positive side, the refrigerator is stuffed and the clothes are clean.

Tuesday, May 28 - David, Mary and Don are excited to get to the Palouse region.  My thinking all along was that it would be nice and I would have fun.  As we arrived in this area of rolling green hills, I couldn't believe it.  It's a feast for the eyes.  The hills are planted in wheat and barley with some lentils and peas.  We are staying at the Palouse-Empire County Fairgrounds RV park in Colfax, WA.  We went sightseeing and drove to a cemetery where there were 250 American flags waving in the breeze.  It was so impressive.  We went into town to look around and walked the streets.  There is a used book store that was closed for the day, but had some books in stands outside for free.  I picked up one book and if it isn't good, that's okay.  We also went to the library and I got another book for 25 cents.  I am the big spender.

Farm Equipment From Yesteryear

Our Parking Place

Memorial Day

Wednesday, May 29 -  We left Koko at 5:30 a.m. and headed to the Steptoe Butte for early morning photography.  It was cool and windy at the campground.  At the top of the Butte, it was very cool and very windy.  But well worth it because the views were great and Don got some good pictures.  David and Mary are pros when it comes to photography.

Lush Wheat Fields

 

 

 

Other Photographers

Thursday, May 30 - We went sightseeing in Pullman, WA which is home to Washington State University.  This is a beautiful campus and much newer that either Alabama or Auburn.  Incidentally, Auburn's first game of 2013 is against the WSU Cougars in Auburn.  We had lunch at Phikun's Thai Cuisine.  It is in the top five Thai restaurants that we have been to.  On the drive back to CG, we continued to be amazed at how beautiful this area is.  We are enjoying camping with Dave and Mary. We share cocktails each evening and a lot of dinners also.

Friday, May 31 - Today we drove to Moscow, ID.  This is seven miles from Pullman and is home to Idaho State University Vandals.  This is a nice town, but not as upscale was Pullman.  The smell of wood smoke located a decent BBQ joint an we devoured 1.5 racks of ribs. I finally got a haircut which is the first one since the week before we left home.  It was an exciting day at the CG.  There was a huge farm equipment spreading either fertilizer or insecticide  up and down the hills, a crop duster was flying around and the cottonwood trees are in full cottonwood whatever.  The whatever is lots and lots of cotton-like stuff blowing in the air. Don's PC died. The root cause was Dorothy dropping it last year. He now has a Macbook. We went back to Steptoe Butte at sunset for more pictures.

Saturday, June 1 - We went to Palouse for the Rat Rod Show. Fun. 

International Harvester With Mopar Power

Three Window Coupe

Many Roller Girls

One Roller Girl

Baker City, Oregon

Sunday - May 19 - Another overcast day.  I didn't feel like sitting and reading, so I started reorganizing.  Now that we have been on the road for five weeks and have eaten some of the food that I brought with us, I am able to see what we have left.  Previously food items were stuffed everywhere.  Now know what we have and where it is.  Don worked on cleaning up Pelli.  In the afternoon, we decided to take another drive trying to get a view of the Snake River from Hell's Canyon.  We did it!

This has been a great campground and we would definitely be pleased to come here again.

Monday - May 20 - We traveled to Mountain View RV Park in Baker City, Oregon for the Lazy Daze Northwest Get Together (LD NW GTG).  This is our third time in Baker City.  They have a Smithsonian quality rock collection that two sisters collected over many years.  The weather was just about perfect and we sat outside meeting old friends and making new ones.  There are some people that we went with on the LD Baja trip several years ago, along with David & Mary Gardner from San Francisco that we met last year.  A Lazy Daze GTG is like a family reunion.  We had a potluck dinners and lots of good food.  (Ann, I always make the Presbyterian Casserole and it is always a hit!)  We sat outside and had dinner - everything perfect.

Tuesday - May 21 - We awoke to another beautiful day and pleasant weather.  Pete Reed, the Wagon master, needed volunteers for help with this gathering and Don volunteered us to help with breakfast.  They have bacon, pancakes and eggs one morning and sausage, pancakes and eggs the next morning.  Len brings his large propane grill and we become short order cooks.  Yaeko Johnston is indispensable to this project as she is a bundle of happy pleasant energy.  We enjoyed ourselves. Later in the afternoon, the clouds and wind came in and the temperature dropped.  We had another good potluck, but we ate inside this time.

Wednesday - May 22 - Our photographers did not make an early appearance this morning for breakfast, so just take my word for it because it's the truth - we cooked breakfast in the snow - big snow flakes sometimes.  It wasn't cold and we enjoyed it although we did eat inside.  We went with the Gardner's to the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center.  This is a very well done center.  It explains what the emigrants faced traveling to Oregon.  In the movies, the covered wagons are roomy.  The truth is that are about the size of a van and certainly do not have any amenities.  Can you imagine leaving your family and friends, to never see them again and pack only essentials to keep you alive.  They traveled 1,950 miles.  We travel in such comfort now.  It stayed cold and damp all day so we had the last potluck inside again.

                         Intrepid Pioneers                                                         Baker City

Thursday - May 23 - We said goodbyes and headed, along with David & Mary, to Union Creek CG about 16 miles from Baker City to wait out the Memorial Day weekend.  We got there early and found campsites.  A lot of the sites were reserved.  We had potluck leftovers with the Gardner’s.  It's too cold to sit outside.  That's a shame because this is a good campground.  The spaces are not close together and have tables, grills and fire pits.  Maybe another day.

Friday - May 24 - A cool and dreary day.  We stayed inside except that we each took a short walk, mine was shorter.  But on the positive side, Don cooked his delicious spaghetti and Dave & Mary came over for dinner.

Saturday - May 25 - We all headed to Sumpter, OR for their annual flea market sale.  This is a big deal in this area.  I was hoping for something like the one in south Texas, but this was more like a very large garage sale.  We did not buy anything but grilled brats from the Sumpter Fire Department.  One thing that we noticed was the number of well behaved dogs and it was fun to watch them.

Sunday - May 26 – Periods of sun mixed with rain.

For a delightful account, with pictures, of our days in and around Baker City, see Mary’s and David’s blogs.

On to the Palouse area of Washington Monday.

Weather – We have had weather. Two weeks back it was Spring, even hot some days. The last 10 days and the next 10 days will be cloudy with a little rain. The satellites show clouds all the way across the northern Pacific to China. I think that Kim guy in N. Korea is screwing with the weather.