Caching and sight seeing

Thursday we cached around the Astoria and Fort Stevens area. We were not real successful, only 3 caches all day. Tom kept reminding me we were not going to make our goal of 43 if we did not do a better job. Our excuse was we did not have our DeLorme PN-40 working. I had contacted DeLorme to help me out, but they did not get back to me until too late to cache with it. So we were using Tom's Garmin, my Palm Pre on the internet and the TomTom. NOT an easy way to get all the information needed to get the caches. Our first cache of the day was only about a mile from our campground at Fort Stevens State Park. This was a Memorial commemorating the one and only shell to to hit on the US mainland since the War of 1812. The cache was called June 21, 1942, which is the day the shell was fired from a Japanese Submarine and hit about 3 miles from Fort Stevens. The guns at Fort Stevens were ordered NOT to fire back, but the mines along the Columbia were increased.

The next cache was placed in a local cemetery. Unfortunately it was a puzzle cache and I did not notice this minor detail so we did not find it. We did see many interesting Civil War grave markers. Who would have thought there would be Civil War veterans buried in Oregon. They fought in the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg. We then saw the cutest family of Canadian geese, dad, mom, and 4 babies. They were learning to swim, splashing, diving, just having fun.

We then tried to get a cache that was deep in the woods. It was described as having to go over and under brush. The first part of the trail was not too bad, but when we were just 90 feet from the cache there was a large, diameter 4', downed tree across the way into the very heavy brush. We decided that my knee would not make it and Tom would probably bleed to death scrambling over that tree since he was wearing shorts and a short sleeve shirt that day. We were also attacked by mosquitoes as large as B-52 bombers. Fortunately, we had sprayed with repellent earlier. We were successful with 2 other caches. The ranger told us of the hurricane winds in 2007 that blew down so many trees.

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After such a very busy day we decided to reward ourselves to a special dinner. We drove into Astoria for a delicious fish dinner with a view of the spectacular Astoria bridge to Washington.

Friday morning we were surprised by an early phone call from our dear friends, Dennis & Jill Curtin. They are traveling on the east coast so our 7:30 was their 10:30. We were so happy they are enjoying the RV lifestyle. We decided that we could not waste this beautiful sunny day in Oregon. We understand this does not happen very often.We drove to the beach to see the wreck of the Peter Iredale. About 30 years ago we visited this wreck on a camping trip with the kids. what is left of it, was in the sand. The tide was so low we could have walked a half a mile out to the water. There was also a huge amount of driftwood that had washed up on the beach.

We have been to Fort Stevens and Astoria several times, but have never driven out on the Jetty at the mouth of the Columbia River. It is just about a 3 mile drive with no traffic other than a few bicycles. When we got to the furthest point on the Jetty we found the huge parking lot was completely empty except for one other car and ours.

We walked out to the wilkdlife blind and spotted what remained of a long trestle and discovered the bay was named Trestle Bay. We later learned this was a railroad line that was used to transport the mines from the Fort to the mouth of the Columbia.

We drove to the part of Jetty which is the furthest point north west in Oregon. What a beautiful day to see this part of the country. These are a few pictures. I don't think we will see sunshine like this for a long time.

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To make this perfect day, the first 72 degree day this year, sunshine,  & clear skies, even better, we found a cool cache.  The hint was “what is a clay pipe doing up here?”.

We got our Fort Clatsop fix. We just love everything about the Corp of Discovery’s Adventure. We have been to Harper’s Ferry where Lewis bought guns, Cahokia where they bought supplies before leaving, Camp Dubois where they left the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi and St Charles where they started their trip. We love the museum under the Arch in St. Louis. Standing where this amazing unequaled exploration happened always inspires us.

It was getting late in the day so we did the drive through tour of Fort Stevens. Normally this would take 2 hours walking. We did it in 25 minutes stopping to read the information on the tour guide. Then it was home, Skyping Julie’s 19th casino birthday party and a home made spaghetti dinner complete with salad and garlic bread. Like sunshine in Oregon this does not happen very often.

On the Road Again, Caching Places That We’ve Never Been…  Thanks for joining us.

Exploring The Gorge

On Sunday after the Mother's Day Brunch we went back to Troutdale and planned a drive east on Old Hwy 30, a winding road with beautiful vistas of the Columbia River, waterfalls, and interesting edifices.  We scouted out several places that we wanted to try for dinner on our way to Vista House at Crown Point State Scenic Viewpoint.

What a view, both inside as well as outside.


 We then drove down to Multnomah Falls and along the Historic Columbia River Hwy.  We spent more than 2 hours stopping at the many of the falls, taking lots of pictures before heading back on I-84. We made the trip back to Troutdale in only 25 minutes.


We had spotted Tad's Chicken and Dumplin's on our way up Old Hwy 30, but it was packed. Probably a Mother's Day tradition in Oregon.

We drove a little further to Tippy Canoe Bar & Grill. We had a delicious dinner with a great view. We had a great Mother's Day. 

Monday we got up late after such a busy Mother's day.  We ate a very late breakfast at Shari's then  drove to the Post Office to mail a letter to SpecialQuest; remember I work for diesel. We then decided it was time to do some caching. It had been a long time since we had followed our GPS'r to GZ (that's Ground Zero in caching terms).  We located a cache in a cute park in downtown Troutdale. There were a couple of real nice sculptures in the park and a historical marker telling the story of how Troutdale was founded. This is why we love this hobby; we  find so many interesting places while traveling in towns we have never seen before.  We went back to the RV to work on the Golden Spike newsletter.  We finished the day at the a local Chinese restaurant.

Tuesday we decided to go back to McMinamin's for lunch. I had been thinking about that vanilla milkshake since Saturday. I have to say it was worth it. We went to the Co-op ATM in Fairview. and noticed a Target right around the corner.  It had been a long time since we had gone shopping too. We needed milk and creamer.  After spending over an hour and over $70, we checked the GPS for nearby caches and saw there was one only 500 feet away.  You can't turn your back on a cache just 500 feet away!  It was near a cute little city park that had sculptures of animals carved into the trees.  We walked about a quarter of a mile along a path in a wetlands  area.  We found the cache easily and while walking back I looked at the GPS and found ANOTHER cache about 300 feet away. You can't turn your back on a cache just 300 feet away! So off we went down another trail that led towards the back of an elementary school, and off the trail through the wetlands to the GZ.  We looked and looked and spotted the cache. I don't want to give the cache away so I won't mention the name of the cache. It was 20 feet in the air suspended by a fishing line through an eye-screw. The line went tree to tree then down another tree about 60 feet away. Tom lowered the line, I grabbed the cache, signed it, and Tom pulled it back in place. We have heard from the cacher that placed it and he has suggested some others in Astoria. We love this hobby!  We then went back to put the finishing touches on the newsletter. We printed the snail-mail copies and emailed all the rest.
Today I drove back to the Post Office and mailed the newsletters. We packed up and drove to Astoria. We only took one wrong turn, actually a missed turn, which was my fault, but Tom negotiated the tight neighborhood streets like a pro and was a good sport and didn't get too upset at me. Whew!
Tomorrow - we cache!
Blessings to everyone, especially our friends, the McFalls, who just suddenly and expectantly lost their son. Please join us in praying for them in this impossibly difficult time.

On the road to Oregon

 We are starting our next trip with Mom to celebrate Patrick MacIntire's retirement party at the Edgefield McMinimins just outside of Portland Oregon. 

We left Fresno and our beautiful neighbor's house across the street (that is our daughter, Jennifer, and family's house). We love having them so close across the street, especially since they watch the house, pick up the mail, AND watch our 'puppies'. The 'puppies', otherwise known as the crazed Dalmatians, play with Sampson, the enormous Great Dane, rescued by Jennifer from the Central California SPCA.

Our first stop was at the Redding Moose. We were visiting my cousin  Sharon and husband, Gary.  We were so surprised by Gary's offer to cook dinner. Shrimp appetizers, Bar-B-Que steak and chicken, baked potatoes, salad, and a delicious desert. We talked and talked until after 11p.m. It is so nice to see family that we haven't seen for several years and catch up on all the family news.

We had minimal hookups at the Moose Lodge. Tom just had to get this picture of the water hook-up.  Needless to say we did not take on any water in Redding.

We then drove to Canyonville and stayed at the lovely Seven Feathers RV Resort.  What a difference. We told mom she has seen the opposite ends of the RV accommodations. We took the shuttle to the casino for dinner and a $5 complimentary card for the slots. We used their $5 on the penny machines, played for about an hour and walked away with $15 between the 3 of us. Now that's a lot of free fun. 

We arrived at the Sandy River RV Resort in Troutdale just east of Portland by early Friday afternoon. Then we drove downtown Portland for a yummy Italian dinner with my sister, Janet, her husband, Patrick, my 3 nieces, Natalie, Jocelyn, & Paige, nephew, Ryan, and spouses & partners.

The next day, Saturday, was Patrick's Retirement party. There were lots of friends, family, food, and tears and laughter during the toasting. Patrick took it quite well and rebutted the jabs and thanked all for coming from as far away as Wisconsin, southern California and parts in-between.

We later had dinner in the patio next to the pump house. McMinamins is the old Poor Farm that has been restored to an amazing eclectic retreat. The grounds are spectacular. They make their own wine, beer, and ice cream. I can vouch for the ice cream... as good as Blue Bell!

The next morning, Mothers Day, was brunch at the Black Rabbit restaurant, more laughing, crying and talking and then it was time to say goodbye to everyone. But not before we gathered for a final picture.

Tom  & I went back to our RV and planned a drive up the Columbia Gorge.  More of that trip tomorrow.

Third Rally Down; Heading Home

We had a good time in Tucson at the Monaco Pre-Rally, but it was time to head north to the beautiful Verde Valley between Phoenix and Flagstaff. We were in charge of the Golden Spike Rally in Cottonwood and we had lots of details to take care of. We checked in again at Dead Horse State Park (pictured on left). This is a very well appointed park with 50 amp and water at every site and two dump stations at the park entrance. The staff is exceptionally friendly and helpful; Wanda even gave us discount coupons to local restaurants and grocery stores.

First on our list was to contact all the places we would be visiting at the Rally.  We made the trip into Clarkdale to the Verde Canyon RR and confirmed the 20 people that would be traveling on Monday. We checked in with Pink Jeep Tours and the Jerome Haunted Tours. Then it was time for our first trip to Wal-Mart for the 'makings' for 5 Impossible Pies, 2 Taco, 1 Seafood, 1 Quesidilla, and 1 Ham & Swiss. For this rally the Clovis/Fresno Crew will be fixing breakfast for everyone for 3 mornings. I have to say we did not think this would be one of the tasks we would be doing in a RV kitchen, but the Windsor did just fine, although the kitchen did look a bit used.

The Harrisons and Halls, the Clovis/Fresno Crew, arrived 2 days early for planning, shopping and dining out. We had a great dinner at the Tavern Grill in Old Cottonwood one night and Nick's across the street the next night. We were warned about the noise at Nick's but I guess we just didn't listen. The food was quite good there too.

We moved from Dead Horse to the Thousand Trails RV Resort to get the organized and assign spaces to the other 9 rigs.  Everyone started arriving Saturday, March 27; by 5:00 we were ready to stop by the Price's new Bounder for a Champagne party then on to the Z Circles. We learned about this fun in Quartzsite at the Geocaching BOF. This is a get acquainted activity where we divide the group into teams of 4-6 and they visit one RV then split up and visit the next rig where they meet 2-3 other couples. This rotation occurs three times with 'Heavy' Hor'douvers in each rig.  By the end of the evening we were well acquainted, well fed, and ready for bed as the next day was really full.

The next morning we had our Impossible Pies, fresh fruit, and an assortment of breads and flavored cream cheese. We finished quickly and caravaned to Sedona for the Pink Jeep ride. I have to say we were quite disappointed in the tour which was mostly on the highway with only 2 very short stops and a 'drive-by' of the airport . We did see the beautiful Sadona vistas, but we could have seen that in our own Jeeps; for $45 we won't be taking that ride again.  We went back to the Thousand Trails RV park where Tom & I had set out 7 geocaches to introduce the group to.  Several couples found all 7 and others had fun learning about this growing sport. This last month the million cache placement mark was reached worldwide - now that's a lot of caches!  Again we piled into our cars and went to the Casino for a cheap but good dinner.

Monday morning it was Omelets in a Baggie.  We had chopped ham, bacon, sweet peppers, cheese, mushrooms and eggs boiling in zip-lock bags in a huge propane turkey cooker.  Adding to that were Yogurt, Fruit and bagels. This group does not go hungry!  A business meeting followed with Tom 'seconding' every motion almost before the motion was made. Remember this is a railroading group.


 We then drove to Clarkdale, ordered our Pannini's, and boarded the train for the most beautiful ride up the Verde Canyon.

People say they can see faces and forms in the rocks. These are just a few of the over 50 pictures I took with 2 cameras.

At the end of the ride up the canyon, the engine was taken on a siding to the end of the train to haul us back. Why do I get an image of Gene Wilder when the engine passed?

Following the train ride we all went to Su Casa for Mexican dinner. Yummmmm.

Guess what we did the next morning? BREAKFAST. More Impossible Pies, Fruit, Yogurt, breads, bagels. This was an 'optional' day of the rally so 4 rigs headed back home.  The rest of us were picked up by the Jerome Haunted Tours led by the affable Ron Roppe. This was a very interesting historical tour.  Ron couldn't have been more accommodating and entertaining. He explained the connections between Cottonwood, Clarkdale, Jerome and the mining companies. Jerome, build literally on the side of the mountain,  was like the hell-on-wheels town that followed the railroads. Brothels, gambling, saloons, bootlegging and 4 hospitals. This was truly the wild west in the late 1800's and as late as the 1930's. Boy did we learn a lot on this 1 1/2 tour and and hour for a delicious lunch that Ron gave us discount coupons for.  Whew. It was a good rally and we think everyone had a good time.

We were saddened to hear of the accident on the Eversole's way to Quartzsite the next day. Thank God they are OK with only a few bruises.

We left on Tuesday after the Jerome tour and drove to Mesa to RV Renovators for some work on the RV. More on that in our next blog.  Thanks for stopping by. If you have any suggestions for improving my feeble efforts at blogging, please leave comments.

Love and Hugs to All, Barbara, Tom and Pansy