May 4 - 5 Finally There

Departing early on May 4, by early I mean the sun is barely peeking it’s head above the eastern horizon, we left the cold, windy lava beds and headed for (hopefully) warmer climate. Our holding tanks were full, our water tank was empty, the batteries were low and the generator was out of gas. It was time to leave.
We did not take time to eat breakfast before leaving so we stopped when we got to Weed, CA to eat. We had a wonderful meal at the Weed Café. Lotus had been suffering from a gastro-intestinal problem for a couple of days so we went to the Alpine Vet Clinic, Dr. Grace Roberts, in Weed and had her examined. We left there poorer but Lotus had a whole bag of meds and we all three take our meds together daily.
Weed, CA is at the base of an 11,000 ft. inactive (not extinct) volcano known as Mt. Shasta. Inactive means that it could blow at any time, but what a view out your bedroom window in the meantime.
We spent the night at Orland, CA and arrived at Lathrop in time to have some maintenance on our slide-out room in the trailer. It was another expensive day.
These two days were mostly travel time to reach our final destination at Lathrop, CA and the Sharpe Army Depot campground. We will remain here for about a week, making final preparations for our trip back to Arkansas supporting (?) Carrie and Jerry on their bicycle trip to their cabin in Flippin. Our blog will be inactive for a few days until we begin traveling again.
We are still struggling with the placement of photos. If anyone has any idea how to accomplish this mighty act, please let us know.
Thanks and God bless all our readers.

May 2 and 3 - California Here We Come!

As we said farewell to Oregon and crossed the border into the California nation with fear and trepidation, what could possibly happen. Could we strike gold, or become snowbound in some mountain pass, we might even be forced into the opium trade in the far off Orient. Anyhow, after missing several turns trying to find Lower KlamathWildlife Refuge, we wound up in the Indian Wells Campground at Lava Beds National Monument in northern California. We will tour this tomorrow as well as the wildlife refuge we finally found, so stay tuned.,
May 3 – Lava Beds National Monument
Rising early in the morn, we set out to see the Lava Beds. They are almost indescribable and our camera is not capable of taking photos that do them justice. At one time way back when, there was major volcanic activity throughout this part of the continent. There were also large shallow lakes in this area, resting place for the semi-annual migration of birds along the Pacific flyaway. The area was also home for Modoc Indians until the white man arrived in the 1800’s. The white man promptly drained the lakes for rich farm land and complained about the Indians until the army drove them out to reservations in Oklahoma and the migratory bird population has been greatly reduced due to loss of habitat and hunting.
A great example of these lava beds is aptly called “The Devil’s Homestead”, a dark foreboding plain of jagged lava rocks. Another feature throughout theses particular lava beds are caves.
The caves are formed by hot, molten lava about 1800° F. The outer edges and surface of the flow cool rapidly and begin to harden. This “outside shell” acts as an insulating material, while the remainder of the flow beneath it remains hot and fast-moving. The flow continues on somewhat like a river that keeps on flowing, even though the surface has been frozen over. When the eruption stops and the river of lava drains, a tunnel or tube ─ the outer shell − is left. We were able to tour one of these caves but most of them were beyond our capabilities. There are over 500 known caves throughout the Monument.










There were many other features we encountered, such as “chimneys”, “castles”, and the petroglyth section where the Indians had carved drawings onto the rock wall of a large cliff. No one knows what the drawings mean, much like we don’t know what modern day graffiti means.
We returned to our campsite late in the afternoon, weary but with our spirits refreshed by witnessing once again a magnificent portion of God’s creation.

May 1 - Newberry National Volcanic Monument

We had come this way specifically to see Newberry National Volcanic Monument, so off we went. Much to our chagrin most of the area was closed, and would not be open until mid-May. However, being the determined tourists that we are, we found a back road up the mountains to the trail head leading to Lava Cast Forest.
The first 500 yards of the trail there was at least two feet of snow (see picture of beginning of trail), but it had been stomped down into a passable trail so we decided to give it a go.
6000 years ago there were major volcanic eruptions throughout the northwest. The country then was much as it is today, standing pine forests. The lava from Newberry volcano flowed through the forests and around the trees. As the lava cooled it formed casts or molds of the tree trunks. Over the years, the trees, of course, died and rotted out leaving cylinder like holes in the lava bed. These holes ranged in depth from 13 to 15 feet to the soil.

Leaving the forest, we drove into Bend, had a delightful lunch at a full-service Chinese restaurant, no buffet, our food was freshly prepared just for us. We took enough food home for another entire meal. It was wonderful! From there we went to the Bend Public Library to publish our blog on the internet (finally), download over 150 e-mail messages (mostly junk mail) and other computer activities.
The Bend Public Library is probably the best we have encountered in our travels, and we visited many to take advantage of their internet access. The building was a two story structure with open glass walls, and in use by many people of all ages on a busy Saturday afternoon.
Leaving there we did mundane chores such as buying fuel and food (the two major expenses of our travels, just like home) and returned to our campsite.

April 30 –Changing Landscapes

Heading south on Hwy. 97 through central Oregon Mount Hood was visible for miles and miles and miles. The scenery changes drastically every few miles from rolling hills to jagged clifts, interspaced with river gorges, forests of Ponderosa Pines and lonely desert country. It is very reminiscent of the Colorado high country.
We passed through several small villages. Just wanted to share these pictures of Maupin, OR, just one of those villages.

We arrived at La Pine State Park south of Bend, OR late that afternoon and set up camp in a beautiful pine forest, high and dry. I might add that the weather in Oregon can be cold, windy, wet and any combination thereof. Being so early in the season we got it all.

April 28 - -The Fabric Depot

High point of the trip. Lou has had a brochure from the Fabric Depot
in Portland for years and vowed that someday she would visit it. The pictures say it all! They advertise over 11,000 bolts of quilting fabric, + bridal fabrics, + dress making fabrics, home decorating fabrics, etc. Also, they had every sewing notions imaginable. To top it off, every bolt of fabric in the store was on sale for 20% off. The nice thing about shopping in Oregon – there is NO STATE SALE TAX. What a trip! Joe and Lotus went to Best Buy.
A side trip on our way to Portland was a drive down historic U.S. Hwy. 30 and a series of magnificent waterfalls, the most beautiful being Multnomah Falls. It was really cold and rainy so we didn't do much exploring.

April 26 - A Visit to Granddaughter, Jennifer

We drove to Yakima, Washington to visit our granddaughter, Jennifer Hatcher, a Physical Therapist Assistant. We had a wonderful evening visiting and catching up on what is going on in her life. She is now working for a traveling PTA agency and moves with her job every 3 months. She appears to be doing well and enjoying her life. We are so proud of the mature young woman she has become. Keep up the good work.
Yakima was kind of nostalgic for Joe as he came there with his parents further back than he cares to remember to pick apples. They didn’t stay long because Joe’s father decided that this was not proper work for a man and they decided to seek their fortunes in the wheat harvest, but that’s another story.

April 25 - Happy Birthday, Joe!

Joe’s 76th birthday!! What a man. He is still strong and healthy. Praise God.
Today we decided to cross the river and drive Washington highway 14 west to the Bonneville Dam. Along the way we toured a number of quaint villages nestled up to the Columbia River with beautiful fruit orchards and vineyards between the villages.

A point of interest was Stonehenge, a replica of the one in England. It was a monument to the soldiers killed during WWI, erected by a Quaker who was very much against the war. Close by was another monument to those service people who died in WWII, Korean War and Vietnam. For a veteran of the Vietnam war and a retired military man it was a very meaningful moment.

Moving on to the Bonneville Dam, we were able to tour the workings of the dam, and saw the generators in action. What was fascinating is that they regulate the revolutions of the generator to 62 revolutions per minute. This is done by manipulating the turbine blades that are in the water. It requires constant attention because the flow of the water is not regular. Understand, this rate of revolution is only for the Booneville Dam, one of 13 on the river. Each dam has different revolutions due to their particular design. These 13 dams provide power to the entire northwest area of the United States.
Just a comment, the river is awesome, the gorge is spectacular, yet, puny little man has placed 13 dams that virtually control the river and the salmon migration up the river. He has also laid railroad tracks and highways on both sides of the river. It makes one wonder. We returned to our campsite via the Oregon side of the river, tired but happy campers.

April 23 - McNary Lock and Dam

The McNary Lock and Dam serves several functions such as flood control, generating electricity, recreation and navigation. In addition, allowing for the salmon to migrate upriver to their spawning grounds is a major function of not only McNary Dam but all the dams up and down the river. In cooperation with the Fish and Game Commission and state agencies, the salmon are closely protected and propagated, both for the fish and the fishermen.

Moving on down the road 130 miles or so, we arrived at John Day River Dam and our destination campground for the next several days, Le Page COE campground. It is a beautiful little campground on the bank of the John Day River at the mouth of the river where it flows into the Columbia.

Just a comment about something that is unique to the state of Oregon. There is a law that prohibits self-service at any and all gas stations. No fooling. As one “gas attendant” explained to me, “Without this law, 50,000+ people would be out of work.” Be that as it may, so far Oregon tops the list as the highest prices we have paid so far, over $3.00 per gallon.

April 22 - On to the Columbia River

April 22, 2010
Leaving Mountain Home Air Force Base, Joe wanted to drive by Wilder, ID, a farming community in the Napa/Boise area. The farms of Wilder grow Sugar Beets for processing into sugar, and Hops which are a source of malt used in the brewing of beer. The growing of both is labor intensive. As a 17 year old teenager, Joe came with his family and spent a summer thinning beets and training Hops to grow up the twine trellis. We had to do a drive-by just for old times sake.
We also saw acres and acres of sod being grown, along with nursery stock used in the development of urban areas. This was not being grown when Joe worked out here.
As we crossed into Oregon we said goodbye to the beautiful Snake River. It went northward through a wonderland known as Hell’s Canyon, the border between Idaho and Oregon. We had visited the Hell’s Canyon area with road buddies, Russ and Jane Darrow in years past. We would have liked to visit the area again but, alas, time didn’t allow it.
Dashing on in a northwesternly direction, we arrived at Sand Station Recreation Area, vicinity of McNary Lock and Dam at Umatilla, OR. This rec area is on the banks of the Columbia River, we wonder what Captains Lewis and Clark thought as they floated down the river. It must have been mindboggling to them. According to information provided, on October 18, 1805, Lewis wrote in his journal that they camped overnight in this area. Using small beads, bells, brass wire and knitting needles, they purchased 40 dogs and 6 Prairie Cocks from local Indians to replenish their food supply.
The recreation area we are in has no campsites as such or amenities. However, we had our generator with us, a full tank of water and empty holding tanks and best of all it was free. Evidently, the COE has more of these types of recreation areas along the river so we plan on using them when they are available.