OREGON TRIP 3 – DAY 1

Wednesday, June 23^rd I left on the last leg of my journey to log a geocache in each Oregon county by motorcycle. I was on the road a little after 6:00 but it wasn’t as cold as my previous trips. As the western part of the state was my target there were no Oregon caches to do for a long ways.

The first cache attempt was in Multnomah County. It was supposed to be near two waterfalls with a trail leading up to them. As I was on the Interstate I had to exit and reverse my direction to access the falls area. However, even though I got with .15 miles of the cache which was just off the Interstate I could find no trail. To get to the cache I would have to climb 200 feet in elevation through thick brush and blackberry bushes which was totally impractical given my time constraints.

I got back on the Interstate, reversed my direction again and shortly stopped at a small pullout where a cache was supposed to be located down by the Columbia river. To get to the cache you had to walk through about 100 yards of woods and then across some marshy flats for about 430 feet. Unfortunately, with all the wet weather, the flats were in about 6” of water. I didn’t want that cache bad enough to endure wet feet for the rest of the day and maybe longer depending how long it would take for my boots to dry.

As with most counties, I had 3 caches lined out for Multnomah County. I had received prior warning that the next one might be in a construction area so I wasn’t surprised to find that was the case. I exited the freeway and turned south to find myself immediately in the construction area where they were stopping traffic. When it was my turn to go through I found that access to the cache was right in the middle of the construction so I pulled over to the shoulder of the road and parked in the construction area. Access to the cache was also fenced off by construction fencing. The cache was located in the woods so I had to work my way around the construction fencing and find a trail over to the cache area. Eventually I found the cache in the thick woods. All this area has lots of blackberry bushes which can make hiking brutal. I can tell you it was a load off my mind to finally get a cache in Multnomah County. That was easy, I said to myself.

Portland is in Multnomah County so my plan was to find caches for that county east of Portland and thereby being able to bypass all the traffic and congestion and then crossing the Columbia into Washington in the Longview area. As I hope to complete the Washington counties next year I had lined up three caches in Cowlitz County, WA. I was in Longview now just after midday and there was quite a bit of traffic. The first cache was in a little area near a creek. The coordinates took me to a rather unlikely spot in the open at the base of a hill where there was a beautifully ornate but broken container. I thought someone had robbed the cache but it was such an unlikely spot for one that I decided to look around a bit more. I saw a tree up the hill which was covered in tall grass so I climbed up to it and, sure enough, there was the actual cache.

The next cache was still in town so I found a parking spot in a fast food lot. It had gotten really warm so I took off my heavy shirt and overpants and packed them away. I had to walk a couple of blocks to find the cache which was cleverly hid. It was a benchmark but the top of the bench could be lifted off its base and the cache was down inside.

As my goal has always been two per county I skipped the third one I had lined up and crossed the river back into Columbia County, Oregon. The first cache was supposed to be a Travelbug hotel where Travelbugs are exchanged. It was located on a very busy highway 30 which is four lanes separated by a median barrier. I had found that as I got into these woods and steep hills my GPS reading would jump all over the place and caches had to be located more by where you think they might be (geosense) than by GPS readings. I must have searched for this cache for close to half an hour even crossing the four lanes to the other side of the highway. I didn’t stay over there very long because it seemed a very unlikely placement. Just as I had decided to give up I thought I would forget about the GPS and try one more search up the hill into the woods just looking for likely spots especially as it was supposed to be a rather large container. Just as I was about to give up again I found the container lodged in the crotch of a small tree or bush close to the ground. There weren’t any Travelbugs in it, however.

The next cache was a little beyond the really heavy traffic at a public boat launch and small picnic park. It was a small inlet and quite pleasant. Again I had to rely on my geosense rather than the GPS and eventually found the cache located in the end of a log. I took a pop break here on the boat dock.

Now on to Clatsop County and the 1880 Westport Tunnel. To access this cache I had to travel about a ¼ mile on an old unpaved dead end road through deep woods. I didn’t actually get to see the tunnel because the road was getting so bad I was afraid to go any further on my motorcycle. Again I found the cache by geosense and using the hint given in the listing. It was located in the middle of 5 trees almost grown together a little ways into the woods.

The last cache (Fallout III) I got for Clatsop County was near Astoria and was so named because the cache owner thought the neighborhood looked as if it had survived a nuclear explosion. It was in dense woods also and the cache was in a tree just within reach but not hard to find for a change.

I arrived at my motel in Astoria around 5:30 and after unpacking had a bowl of split pea soup courtesy of the motel. After eating I walked around Astoria a while which is an interesting place. Fortunately I was there on one of the few days it isn’t raining. There was no computer in the motel lobby so I had no way of logging my caches for the day. After lubing my motorcycle chain I turned in for the night. It had been a successful but somewhat frustrating day. M/W

JULY 1 AND BUSY BUSY BUSY

Here we are at our farm in the hills of north central Idaho and trying to make up for time lost to trips and cool weather. I checked out my collection of seeds and planted my raised bed in carrots, lettuce, beans and a couple of lemon cucumbers.

Speaking of cool weather, it's back again. The overnight low here was 48; the high today was 78. I wore a sweatshirt until late afternoon when I took Nellie for her walk. And I have yet to put away my winter pajamas. But, you know what they say about northern Idaho: you can't depend on summer until after the Fourth of July.



Mike did a lot of yard work and was otherwise industrious. Here he is fixing the closer on the back door. And below he's painting a window facing on the south of the house. He works under two mottos: "It's always something" and "Nothing is ever easy."










Three cherries on the little sour cherry tree look as though they might mature. I actually swathed the fencing in netting until I realized there's really no reason to try to protect three cherries from the birds.


The raspberry patch is more sincere than it has ever been -- loaded with potential berries and also producing canes. Life is good . . .




Farmer Kyle was here yesterday fertilizing with his huge equipment. Mike and I had to chuckle because a previous farmer did the same thing with a 4-wheeler. Sorry I don't have a picture of that for comparison.



The wheat looks so good right now. Rumor has it that an old-time farmer here says he has never seen it looking so good at this time of year.





Lastly -- take a look at this toadstool that I found under a pine tree in the grove. I think this is the spot to build my fairy village. KW

PAMMY

Little Emerson (granddaughter) turns two soon, and I'm accomplishing one of my goals -- to make her a doll for her second birthday. As I worked away on this rather other-worldly creature, I began to call her Pammy. Emerson may name her whatever she wishes, but to me she's Pammy. I used Butterick pattern 4090 to make this simple "baby's first doll." The instructions called for her face to be drawn on with permanent markers, but I just couldn't accept that "quick and dirty" method. Still, I'm not good with faces, so I copied the face my mother put on my doll Mopsy and embroidered the details. So much better! So, Pammy is finished now but she needs a few clothes -- simple shirts and diapers with velcro closures that little hands can manage.

IT'S ME AND THE DOG

Mike is home from his tour of western Oregon. There were no mishaps involving life, limb or motorcycle, but there was a mishap. I know he wants to tell about it, so keep watch for his travel updates.

Mike was tired when he arrived home, but Nellie and I were tired, too. Nellie was not happy that Mike went off and left us again. She isn't sure which of us is the leader of the pack when Mike is gone, and I think she worries that it might be she. I've always said that in Nellie's mind I fall behind her in the pack order. Anyway, we took our walks and I put food in her pan, but she ate less than usual, stayed outside during the day and was restless at night. Today she invited herself into the house and slept on her pillow for hours. KW

HALLIE WAS HERE!

Our girl Hallie was here last weekend, including Father's Day. One of the accounts she manages for her Seattle-based employer is a Lewiston business. She flew into Lewiston Thursday afternoon, attended an employee benefits fair at the Lewiston business Friday afternoon, and visited a friend from high school days Friday evening. Saturday we went to the farm for an overnight stay. She flew back to Seattle Sunday evening.

Hallie always brings treats to Nellie. Here Nellie waits patiently as Hallie unwraps a special organic dog treat.



Hallie weeds the raspberry patch on the farm as Nellie ponders something -- possibly a rodent.





Hallie suggested a wider fence for the cherry tree we planted this spring. The deer had munched it here and there -- not badly, but we certainly want to protect it. I grated some Irish Spring bar soap and we attached it to the fencing. Worth a try.


Hallie and Mike return from a walk with Nellie in the lead. A family backpacking trip is planned for the first week in August. Practice is in order.



Lovely yellow wild roses grace Curfman Road. We would like to transplant some to our yard, but they are very "stickery." I don't know if I could start from a slip or not, but I might be able to dig up a very young shoot. These are on the road right-of-way, and I know the county wouldn't care. These wild roses can be problematic.


Mike left yesterday morning (Wednesday, 6-24) for the coast to complete his motorcycle geocaching tour of Oregon, taking the camera with him. Mike and I have a "share and share alike" philosophy that works most of the time. You'll just have to imagine me sewing, gardening, and walking the dog. Summer seems to be here, so Nellie and I are taking our walk early in the day while the air is cool. Even so, she became overheated this morning and unapologetically plopped herself into a mud puddle. I had to wash her down. KW

OREGON GEOCACHING – TRIP 2B

After a warm evening in Medford Sunday, I awakened Monday to overcast skies but it was still pleasant. I had to make an out and back trip to Grants Pass in order to log a cache in Josephine County. Even though it’s only 30 miles, a short distance on the Interstate, it’s like going from arid desert country to the cool mountain forests.

A GPS receiver is not a three dimensional device. It can get you fairly close to any location horizontally but not necessarily vertically. Therefore, I ended up parking on the Interstate for a cache that was located near an underpass below the freeway. I quickly scrambled down the hill and was able to locate the cache in short order. I climbed back up and was on my way to the next one but I had to go a ways in the wrong direction to exit and return. The next cache was off the Interstate and in a fairly secluded area. Even though I had two caches in the county the next one was only a couple of blocks away on a dead end street so I thought I’d try for it. It ended up being a waste of time because I was unsuccessful in finding it.

Time to leave this area so I headed back east and then turned north toward the Crater Lake area. I had wanted to visit Crater Lake but the north entrance was not open yet due to snow and I didn’t know how much time I would have. I was now traveling in dense forest and it was fairly cool. I found a beautiful spot with a rushing stream where there was supposed to be a cache called “Old Cabin”. I must have looked for at least a half hour to no avail. In the thick tree cover and mountains my GPS was jumping all over the place but you would think I should be able to find a foundation or something. I reluctantly left for the Diamond Lake area, the old stomping grounds of my hunting partner, Ken. I didn’t get to explore that area as much as I would have liked because I was running low on gas. The one cache I did find I wished I had worn my motorcycle helmet to go after it because the mosquitoes almost took my head off.

The next cache east of the Diamond Lake area required a pleasant hike of close to a mile back in the woods. The woods were much more open here and I wasn’t bothered by the mosquitoes. At this point I was worried about running out of gas, however. Fortunately, I found a little town that to my surprise had a gas station so I gassed up and had some lunch there. I guess I haven’t mentioned it, but I carried my lunches consisting of a little canned snack such as sardines and crackers. I also had an ice pack in an insulated pouch to carry some milk and pop.

Now I was heading north toward Bend on highway 97 that I call the Highway from Hell. Even though it is a two lane road the traffic is heavy to put it mildly. There are occasional passing lanes which is the only salvation. But the worse part was the wind. If you’ve ever ridden a motorcycle behind a big semi on the Interstate you would know what it was like. The wind is like a big invisible fighter clubbing you left and right.

Two of the caches I got in this stretch were on dusty gravel roads off the highway – not pleasant on my bike. One at a convenience store at a wide spot in the road was interesting. The write up said the cache was behind a planter which was on the porch of the store. I looked and looked but there simply wasn’t room for a cache back there. Finally I saw it. It was an envelope made from duct tape that you had to open to get the cache log.

Even though I’m forced to plan quick caches on these purposeful trips I like to plan an occasional one that gets me off the beaten track. This one was located in the desert between Redmond and Prineville. It was a mile hike in the desert with snow covered mountains in the distance – very refreshing.

This was the shortest day of my journey arriving before 5:00 in Prineville which is a nice little town that is home to the Les Schwab tire company. In fact, two caches I got there were outside of town near their big warehouse. I had a relaxed evening in town and was able to access a computer in the motel lobby to post the caches I had done the past two days.

I was on the road again the next morning before 7:00 heading north toward Madras and then Hood River. I picked up several caches along the way but the most memorial events were not the caches. Again it was windy and cold with lots of traffic. At one point I came upon vehicles (mostly big trucks) backed up for about a mile with no one moving. I couldn’t even see the front of the line to see what the holdup was. After hesitating a few seconds I got in the passing lane and eased all the way to the front to find that a semi had collided with two cows. I figured the worst that could happen was my being sent back to the end of the line. I politely asked the Patrolman if I could go on through and he said, “Sure, go ahead”. I couldn’t believe it! Made sense to me though.

In addition to the wind I soon hit rain and then snow. Fortunately it didn’t last too long. The sun came out and I found a nice spot to take a lunch break where they erect temporary scales on the side of the road. There happened to be a nice cache out in the woods there too.

My afternoon (and evening) was spent on the Washington side of the Columbia where I picked up a few caches for next year’s Washington counties quest. The wind had to have been blowing 35 to 40 mph but gratefully it was now a tailwind. Near Kennewick I had a nice stop at Plymouth Rock State Park which is a little island. I hiked out in the sagebrush for my last two caches of the day and trip. I didn’t arrive home until 9:00 p.m.

Overall this trip wasn’t as pleasant as some I’ve made but I did ride some great roads along with some not so great ones and I accomplished my mission. I traveled 1,550 miles, logged 46 caches in 14 Oregon counties, 3 Washington counties as well as checking California off my states list. Tomorrow I depart for the Oregon coast leg of the mission. M/W

OREGON GEOCACHING TRIP - 2A

Finally it seemed like a decent weather window for my second trip into Oregon on my quest for logging a geocache in each county. I departed Saturday, June 12^th, a little before 7:00 a.m. The temperature was in the upper 40’s which is cooler than I’d like but at least it was dry. The first leg of the trip was the same as the last one which was in Washington. To take a break I stopped for one cache in Washington which was hidden near a big tree in thick brush down an embankment near a creek. I entered Oregon near Milton Freewater and then turned east at Weston toward the little town of Elgin. This was beautiful scenic country much of it forested and with many curves and hills – ideal for motorcycling. I logged several caches in Umatilla and Union Counties before reaching Elgin. One near Elgin required about a half mile hike out in the forest, had a beautiful view overlooking a valley and had not been logged this year.

From Elgin I turned west going through LaGrande and continuing on westward. It was more open country between Elgin and LaGrande but soon got back into the winding hilly forested roads. These were some of the most fun motorcycling road I’ve seen. After passing through John Day and Canyon City I arrived in Burns about 6:00 pm where I found several other motorcyclists staying at my motel. Some were from Canada and one from North Carolina. I had a nice stay at the Silver Spur Motel, dinner at good old Subway and even a treat at the DQ.

After breakfast at the motel I was on the road again before 7:00 heading south toward Lakeview. My first stop was at a rest stop in the desert. This cache involved about a 1/2 mile hike up a hill in the desert. It was a beautiful morning, not quite as cool as the one before but it took quite a bit of searching before I located the cache. Only Mickey Warnock (and maybe Milo) could miss a turn out in the middle of nowhere. It was located at a service station which was the only building for miles around and I guess I was looking at that. At any rate, after about 20 miles I realized my mistake (I knew I wasn’t supposed to be heading toward Bend) and had to turn around.

I found a couple of very nice caches before reaching Lakeview. One was at Lake Abert which is a beautiful alkali lake in the desert but the noseeums were terrible. The other was at Chandler Wayside and involved a steep hike up a hill. After being on a motorcycle for a long time the caches that require a bit of exertion are welcome.

I had two caches lined up in Lakeview but wasn’t able to find either one. One was actually in the museum which was closed as it was Sunday. Although I didn’t find the cache at the other location either I got a good picture of a couple of quail.

From Lakeview I ventured south into California because it was the only state west of the Mississippi that I had not logged a cache. I got two caches on the east side of Goose lake which straddles the border. I had lunch at one which was a beautiful spot at a Willow Creek Ranch memorial.

After lunch I retraced my route back to Lakeview where I gassed up before heading west toward Klamath Falls. I logged one cache between Lakeview and K Falls which took care of Klamath County. Highway 66 between K Falls and Ashland is a wonderful motorcycle road and I saw several other motorcyclists taking advantage of it. I picked up three caches on this stretch which was in Jackson County.

I arrived in Medford at the Rodeway around six o’clock. It was a much bigger city than I had imagined. I had a sandwich at a Burger King and got a couple of caches in town. After returning to the motel I lubed my chain, showered and hit the sack.

To be continued….. M/W

MORE SEWING RULES

Mike returned last night from his Oregon geocaching tour. I think he had a good time but seemed relieved to be home. He doesn't get a lot of sympathy from me. I figure any discomfort he experienced was self-imposed.

While Mike was away, Nellie (the dog) and I stayed home. And while Mike was away, summer came and went. The high on Sunday was 89 while this afternoon we're at a chilly 54 with some light rain.

Mike plans to write several posts about his Oregon experiences, but he's not ready yet, so here's one I wrote while he was away.

It's been known from the beginning of time that you can't patch old fabric with new. Jesus used this fact as a practical illustration for spiritual application. So we all agree that for the optimum end product we should use new materials. But it has come to the point that we have to think about what we're throwing away, and we seem to be experimenting with uses for old textiles in order to keep them from the burgeoning landfill.

Re-using textiles is not a new concept. Remember our pioneering ancestors who kept anything that might be useful. Clothes, curtains, and such were made from feed sacks, and then the feed companies began to play to that, using a variety of pretty prints. Some children went to school dressed in feed sack fabrics. "And we knew who they were, too," remarked a friend who lived through that time, implying that maybe it wasn't as great then as we like to remember. Today we're looking for those prints in replication. Quilts might be made from the feed sacks or from the better pieces of old clothes. One of Grandma Ina's patchwork quilts was done in dull woolen scraps with the exception of one deep red piece of velvet. I'd love to know the story of that quilt. A child's coat might be fashioned from a man's suit or overcoat. When I worked at the local museum, one of our dear volunteers made a vest for me out of a pair of her husband's old slacks to show how it was done. For that to be successful, you have to coordinate the broadest part of the female anatomy with certain wide spots in the slacks. As interesting as this re-use project sounds, I never wore that vest.

My mother, a teen-ager in the 1920s, told me that she did not have new dresses of her own. Instead, her wardrobe consisted of the dresses she made over from her mother's cast-offs. (As an aside, my Mother's parents were conservative but not poor.) If Mother liked a particular dress, she could hardly wait until it was handed down. However, in my time, my mother was finished with the concept of re-using fabric and said as much. She saw re-use as something she had moved through – something she no longer had to do. In the '50s and '60s, my growing-up years, she loved the availability of wonderful new blends and experimental fabrics. She could measure the quality of fabric by feel as well as by sight. She rarely skimped on quality and lamented it if she did. She subscribed for swatches from several mail-order fabric clubs based in New York City ("Fabrics 'Round the World" was one) until we began to see more quality fabrics in our regional stores. So, it was an exception for Mother to re-use fabric, and if she knew what I'm doing, she would cluck her tongue and say, "Kathy, can't we just go to the store and get you some fabric?"

So what is it I'm doing? I'm making doll clothes out of worn embroidered pillowslips. I'm cutting around the thin sections as best I can in order to preserve the embroidery. Here's a photo of Shirley Ann wearing a nightgown embellished by embroidery done by my mother. The pattern for the gown was originally published in 1930 for the Patsy Ann doll. I did a lot of the work on the gown by hand.

And now I'm off to prepare the guest room. Hallie is coming tomorrow to meet with one of her accounts here in the valley. We're excited because she's going to spend the weekend with us. We'll go the farm. KW