A Summer in Eastern Oregon

Time seems to slip by so fast some times and definitely did get away from me.  So since I’ve been lax in my writing, I will have to back up a few months (to last spring) to fill in the gaps of our adventures.

We left White Tank Mountain Regional Park near Phoenix, Arizona in late March and traveled up the road to Kingman, Arizona.   

For those of you who haven’t been to Kingman, Arizona it is not a place that we would make a second stop at but it does have its interesting features – like the ‘running rabbit holding a rose’ statue.  No explanation, no marker, just a statue on the corner. 

It’s an old Route 66 town and still has businesses capitalizing on that fact with all the tourist souvenirs you could possibly want to buy. As well as a few museums and interesting diners with the Route 66 theme.

One of the more interesting things in Kingman, to me anyway, was the electric car museum. They had displays that included the current electric land speed holder, electric street rods, a 1909 Ellwell-Parker baggage tug, and an electric drag motorcycle called the “Kawashockie”.

As we worked our way over to Pahrump, Nevada, we did a drive by of the little town of Nothing, Arizona.  Now we can say, “We saw Nothing.”  I wouldn’t go out of your way for this one – there’s nothing there!  (Sorry, couldn’t help myself.)

We took a drive one day to the little town of Shoshone, California, a little old ghost  mining town near the base of Death Valley National Park.  In the early 1900’s some of the miners actually lived in these homes carved out of the soft rock that made up the surrounding hills.

This sign just hit me as a bit odd.  Promoting health in Death Valley?  I guess they couldn’t get a job anywhere else. I think I might be a bit hesitant about going there.

After a quick stop in Pahrump we worked our way back north with stops in Beaver, Arizona, Nephi, Utah, and Caldwell, Idaho.  We didn’t do much in any of these towns as the weather wasn’t exactly nice as we made our way to our volunteer position at Irrigon Fish Hatchery near Umatilla, Oregon.

Irrigon Fish Hatchery, our home for six months – the longest we have stayed anywhere in our years on the road.  We arrived the first of April and found the Hatchery Host site.  First things first, we had to move the deck over so that we could back in and open the slides.  That done, (with a little pain on the side) we were able to set up in a more permanent fashion.  After assessing the area, we knew there was going to be plenty to keep us busy around the site and we found out later that it had been a few years since volunteer hosts had inhabited the site and “worked” at the hatchery.  That being said, we met the staff and sat down with Diane, our supervisor and the manager of Irrigon Hatchery as well as the neighboring Umatilla Hatchery – considered a complex of joint partnerships of state, federal and tribal fisheries.  Diane had prepared a list of projects, with the help of her staff, that we could tackle  – that list was ever changing and grew over our time there.  It was a fantastic arrangement for us though and we got to work.  Finished many of the projects – wood shop renovation, painting, tinting the hatch house windows, building picnic tables, etc., etc., etc.  We enjoyed the staff and learned so much from them and the way these two hatcheries operated.  Don’t think all hatcheries are the same, they are not – different species of fish, different equipment, and different methods.  We were also included in the spawning of fish, the movement of fish, and the cleaning of fish – lots of fish called Jacks (salmon that do not stay out long enough in the ocean – they are immature).  So all in all, we kept busy and the time flew by.  On a personal note, we cleaned up the site and had a beautiful flower garden and ‘green zone’ around the RV – and we had a fabulous vegetable garden that just kept on giving and giving.  And the highlight for Lee was the fishing – we have Walleye in our freezer!  It was very difficult to leave this time – we were close to family to visit (both sides for us), made new friends, loved our little ‘home site’ and garden plot, the nearby venues such as McNary Dam and towns like WallaWalla and Pendelton – and did we say we enjoyed the summer.  Anyway, back on the road now.  New stops and adventures blended with visits with family, doctor appointments and on to a new volunteer position at the park mentioned above – White Tank Mountain Regional Park near Phoenix.

We spent one of our “weekends” out in western Oregon, playing around on the beach at  the little tourist town of Seaside and visiting with friends Debbie & Duane at their volunteer gig near Astoria, Oregon - and Bill & Rena (sorry, did not get a pic of them – this time!) who was also volunteering near by.

Another aspect of the volunteer position was giving tours and being involved with the ‘Kids Fishing Days’.  That as well as fishing myself when the opportunity arose - thanks to Keenan and Mike!  The cute little guy in the center bottom of the above photo is a Wolf Eel that we encountered at the Seaside Aquarium. (I didn’t catch one of those)

One of the bonus items that came with our volunteer position was the availability of a garden spot.  It produced beyond our expectations - tomatoes, corn, cucumbers for pickling, five different types of peppers, lettuce, dill and carrots.  By the end of the season we were giving away buckets of veggies to whomever wanted them.

One of Linda’s goals while we were in the area was to attend a day at the Pendleton Roundup – one of the premier rodeos in the country.  This rodeo has been going on for 107 consecutive years and draws all the top competitive riders from all over the country and world. It is considered as the “primer” for the world championship held in Las Vegas each year.

Included in the roundup are all the local native American tribes who participate every day of the week long roundup.

The native American tribes performed their dances and showed off their dress during a portion of the rodeo.  One of the highlights of the day was their bareback relay race – now those guys are a bit on the crazy side! A number of the riders ended up taking serious tumbles as they tried to change horses during the race.

This has got to be one of the best run and orchestrated rodeos we have seen.  It seems like every possibility or things that could go wrong had been thought out and fixed. That aspect showed itself a couple of times as the animals either went a bit on the wild side or broke equipment during the rodeo.

We were seated right across from the chutes so we got some pretty good pictures.

No bunny rabbits or chickens here – this was a real rodeo!

As the slogan for the Pendleton Roundup says

“Let’er Buck!”

The RV site that the hatchery supplied to us was quite nice as you can see.  It needed a little work when we first got there but it made for a very pleasant setting all summer long.  There are (hoped for) planned improvements for the site in the coming year, such as a laundry facility, WiFi, an additional RV site, as well as an improved windbreak.  If these improvements do happen this will be quite the place for any volunteer.

The morning we were getting ready to leave we heard a vehicle pull up - The Tracy Mobile - and then a chanting started up “Host lives matter! Host lives matter! Host lives matter!”  I was just coming out of the shower when I heard this and then Linda went out the door and started laughing.  I had no idea what was going on, so I got dressed as quickly as I could and went out to see what was happening.  It was great – Keenan and Tracy had decided to give us one last unique going away present.  We can’t say ‘thank you’ enough to the staff at Irrigon and Umatilla Hatcheries for the outstanding summer we have had.

The world according to Snickers & Meggs

 

Wow!  Meggs and I liked the place called Oregon – so many birdies!  I really liked the looks of the ones called Quail, just little fat walking dinners for me.  I just wasn’t able to convince my pets to let me catch one.  Meggs and I did catch a couple of mice while we were there though and our pets were really happy about that.  One we killed, but I really think it died of a heart attack trying to run from us rather than us biting it.  The other one we had cornered and our male pet went after it with a shoe and smacked it – we were so proud of him!  Our pets were really good to us while we were in that place called Oregon.  They gave us a view out the back window that had all kinds of birds and stuff running around, kind of like a big screen TV with wildlife shows 24/7 – we liked it as we laid down on our recliners and just watched.

They also gave us an addition out the back side of our home that let us run in and out whenever we wanted to, we called it our “Kitty Kondo”.  It was fenced in on the outside so the Coyotes wouldn’t get us (or so they told us).  But I think it was really so they could keep an eye on us and they wouldn’t get lost looking for us.

This thing came around every once in a while to scare us.  We think it was a big dog, but it looked kinda funny for a dog and it never barked at us. 

 

That's about it from Meggs and I for now.  We are headed down to Arizona for the winter - I hear there's some more fat little Quail down there. Yes Siree Buddie – lunch time!

               Bye for now,

             Snickers & Meggs

So with one last look at a sunrise over the Columbia River from the Irrigon Fish Hatchery, we say so long for now and if possible see you in Arizona.

Home is where we park it!

Lee & Linda

Winter vacation is over – Time to head North!

 

It’s been a while since I sat down and updated everyone on our happenings.  So I need to back up to early November of last year as we made our way to our winter home from the St. George, Utah area.  As we approached FOY (Fountain of Youth) RV Park, we passed the little derelict town of Bombay Beach.  Many years ago it was quite the little beach/vacation community – now it is just sad.

I’ve written about The Fountain of Youth RV Park and the surrounding area a number of times, so I won’t delve into it much this time other than we were busy. 

 

 

We have seen it in past years, and this year was no different, as the time of year dictated that the cute little tarantulas come out of their holes to mate.  This little, clueless male was on his way to find the love of his life.  Unfortunately, it is a one way trip for male tarantulas – there are no second chances.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Linda hooked up with one of the hiking groups right after we arrived. No matter whether you are hiking the Ladders, the Grotto, the Burnt Sienna, etc., these hikes are all located in the Box Canyon/Painted Canyon areas just outside of Mecca, California.  The hikes are a great exercise for the body and the mind – and you meet wonderful people to chat with and enjoy the ever-changing scenery.

 

This season, with the amount of rain received in the desert, the hikes were accented with the greens popping everywhere – trees, bushes, cactus, even the ‘floor’ of the desert looked like it needed to be mowed.  As always, Linda enjoyed each and every hike – up, down and all over the hills.

 

 

 

We made many trips into Rancho Mirage to visit with and participate in functions, holidays, birthdays, and even an anniversary.  We had never seen the mountains surrounding the Palm Springs area so covered with snow as we did this winter.

During our many trips, we either took the cats (Snickers & Meggs) with us to Leo and Kathryn's place or had friends watch over and feed them.  

As always any weekend with our sister and brother-in-law is an event, sometimes low key but most times it gets pretty busy. We enjoyed the numerous visits (as did the cats) and met many new people as well as what are now old friends. Kathryn has always had a knack for decorating and Leo (after taking care of Kathryn’s honey-do-list) has a knack for naps – he is very good at it!

It seems that Snickers (our male cat) has also taken up the napping habit, he has had an excellent mentor.

 

The southern Sonoran desert has always provided us with lots of photo opportunities – this year was no different.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the last several years we have done quite a bit of biking.  Linda and I took one of our long rides with friends, Phil and Linda, one day going from a high point in Joshua Tree National Park down through Box Canyon to the little town of Mecca.  About 26 miles on paved roads.  It was a very enjoyable ride!  Phil and I rode quite often while he was here.

One other long ride (and quite a bit more of a challenge) was with friends - Doc, Heinz, and Terry, which consisted of a 35 mile ride up through the sand to Chiriaco Summit and then down along Red Canyon Road to the canal and back to the RV Park (FOY).  Friend, Phil, drove us all up to the starting point and off we went.  It wasn’t as bad as I remembered it being four years ago but it was extremely tiring and had one very fast, long, big rocks, filled downhill.  I also helped some with the making of a few new bike trails this year, probably not as much as I should have, but what I did do was appreciated by all, besides it was kind of fun making new trails for all to enjoy – bikers and walkers.

 

 

 

Linda and friend, Annie, kept busy all season with their line dancing group.  Practice three times a week, perform at the talent show every three weeks and at one of the special events.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Linda also enjoyed the “Show and Tell’ gatherings for crafters.  Each season there is a craft show and this year she entered a necklace she had made and got a second place ribbon.  Lots of beautiful quilts – hand stitched, machine finished, crocheted, knitted, etc., wood carving (Lee did not have a walking stick to enter this year.), cross stitch, etc.  And one fun category – painted rocks.  It was a very well attended show by all.

 

 

 

Sister, Amy, and brother-in-law, Daryl, came down from Washington to visit and take care of some needs in Los Algodones.  We helped shuttle them back and forth from Leo and Kathryn’s place as a few visits were in order. We had fun where and when we could as you can see Amy and I ended up in the Yuma Territorial Prison for a short time – it was Amy’s fault!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The end of the season always seems to come so fast and this year was no different.  The end of February the RV park puts together a bit of a parade/party – this year it had a Mardi Gras theme.  Nothing like watching a bunch of old people get dressed up and get - what you might think – “happy” – but it was all in fun and enjoyment!

So with a few last days enjoying the area and desert walks, it was time to head out for our slow trek northward and our summer volunteer stint in Oregon.

 

Our first stop after leaving FOY and southern California was the White Tank Mountain Regional Park, just west of Phoenix, Arizona.

The park is known for it’s trail system which includes trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding and is well used in all these categories.

We enjoyed the hiking and biking part during our stay and seldom left the park for any reason.  Wandering or riding through the groves of Saguaro, Fishhook, Cholla and Prickly Pear cactus was a rather focused affair as we tried our best to avoid the pointy parts.

Here is Linda doing her best to imitate a 30 foot Saguaro cactus with arms.

 

 

 

 

The park is quite large and has most of the normal desert animals like mule deer, coyotes, javelinas, snakes and lizards.  We didn’t see many of them during our stay but the ones we did encounter we enjoyed.

This year has been a very unusual year for the southwest desert with its large amount of rain.  All the seeds that have been laying around out in the sun for years and years took advantage of this influx of water and sprouted like crazy. We have never seen the desert so green and so full of color like it has been this spring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we took our numerous hikes and bike trails we found a number of petroglyphs that could be easily overlooked.

Playing in the Cholla cactus can be a hazardous endeavor as I found out this day, as we took a picture.  I never got closer than three feet to this Cholla but what got me was all the little arms that had broken off and were laying on the ground.  I was trying to avoid the large bush and didn’t bother looking down often enough so my shoes ended up looking like huge, fuzzy slippers once I got out of there.  No spines in the flesh but it took some doing to get them all out of my shoes.

 

 

 

 

Saguaros have a relatively long lifespan, with some living up to 150 years. They don’t grow their first side arm in their younger years and sometimes wait up to 75–100 years of age, but some never grow any arms. A Saguaro without arms is called a spear.

 

These guys can grow up to 45 feet high and one was recorded at over 70 feet before it got toppled by a wind storm in the 1980’s.  This guy to the right was along the bike path so I stopped and took a picture looking up while I was still on the bike. 

 

 

 

 

 

Saguaros don’t always have just the two normal arms that you see in all the pictures and souvenirs.  They get down-right bizarre at times like the ones below.

 

 

 

The World According to Meggs!

 

 

I’m special!  Everybody says so – at least my two pets do.  See my pretty nail covers, they are called ‘soft paws’ and come in many colors to accent my natural Tortoise Shell beauty.  Next time maybe I’ll wear blue – bright blue, that’s a good color for me.

My pets say I’m a little Diva and I’m spoiled.  So what, I know what I want and when I want it and, besides, what are ‘pets’ for………me!

I’m getting this traveling thing down pat and even have a special little suite with a fur rug that I ride in while we travel.  My pets do cater to my needs and even got me a pretty red halter that I wear when I’m outside.  We attach a leash to it so my pets can hang onto it and not get lost when we go for a walk.  The other pets that we run into (mostly the pets that belong to the dogs) seem to get all excited when they see me and want to touch or rub me – I don’t put up with that very well.  But I will let them mess with Snickers, my brother, he’s not that special anyway.

 

This is my brother, Snickers, he’s a Tom Cat.  For you guys who don’t know what that is, it means that he is a boy.  Being that he is a Tom Cat (boy) he is not what you would call a real deep thinker.  He tried to use the cactus as a scratching post one day – that boy got some serious air time when he found out that a cactus has a lot more claws than he does, sharper too!

Well, that is all that I have to say for this time.

 Meggs

 

We made a couple more stops on the road as we headed north at places we had not been in all our prior rv years on the road.  We spent a week in Kingman, Arizona and another week in Pahrump, Nevada.  Don’t think we will spend anymore time in either of those places – but did explore some local museums and enjoyed several trails around each stop. 

So now we are in the Mesquite, Nevada area for a follow up doc visit (in St. George, Utah), a bit of visiting, and then the continued trek north to a fish hatchery on the Columbia River in Oregon – near Umatilla.  We will be in the area for six months so if you happen to travel through there this summer give us a call. 

 So with one last sunset from Arizona, we wish you all the best with whatever you are doing this summer – enjoy!

Home is where we park it!

Lee & Linda