Catching up with where, who and what has been happening since leaving the campground...

Back at Home
Phoenix, AZ

I apologize for the delay in postings to the Oregon Dunes blog.  I left the Tahkenitch Landing Campground on the morning of September 28th.  I moved Irv to a maintenance yard for the week that I would be traveling with Deborah when she would arrive in Portland on the Monday, Sept. 30th.

I would first like to acknowledge that I made an error on the 20th Posting (the previous posting dated 9/24/2013).  Go back and check it out.  See if you can see or determine what my error was!!!  Leave a comment on the blog.

Ok, so here we go.  I drove to Portland on the 29th of September and stayed at a wonderful place that we found through "Airbnb", a website that allows users to search for places to stay throughout the world.  We have used them in Denver, Brooklyn (NY), the island of Hawai'i (both Kona and Hilo), and in Portland, Or. The places we have selected have been wonderful.  And the place in Portland was also.  The couple who own the house have been there 25 years.  The house was built in 1908 and our room was quite comfortable.  I spent the first night alone and then Deborah arrived on Monday, the 30th of September.  We spent an additional two days and nights touring the area.  We had a great time.

  The house was in NE Portland with easy access to the bus and light rail system.  And on our first day we had lunch at the Cadillac Cafe.  This was a recommendation from a teacher in one of the Deborah's presentations.  The food was spectacular and there was a Cadillac in the restaurant.

 
After lunch we headed to the nearest light rail station for a run to downtown Portland.  The same teacher that had given Deborah the guidance about the Cadillac Cafe also gave her some pointers about downtown Portland...Powell's Book Store, Voodoo Doughnuts, and the Portland City Grill Happy Hour.  Sorry, no pictures of the Powell's Book Store, but it was huge with rooms behind rooms, hallways to upstairs and downstairs, purple room, gold room, red room, green room and probably some rooms we never heard about.  It would take you a couple of days to cover all the rooms and floors to see and wander through all the books, new and used.  After our visit to Powell's Books we headed for the Portland City Grill for happy hour.  The Grill is on the 30th floor of an office building in Portland and is, I am told, the highest point in all of Portland, with wonderful views of the city.  Here we are with the Willamette River in the background.

Also, from this specific seat, you can see the original location of Voodoo Doughnuts.  Of course, you won't be able to see the original location of Voodoo Doughnuts with this picture, but, take my word for it, we could.  And we put that information to good use.  After we finished with Happy Hour, we walked the three blocks and managed to take part in the Voodoo Doughnut craze.  For a mere $10, we managed to buy five items from the Voodoo shop.  And it was money well spent.  Here is the Portland Cream doughnut ©
"A raised yeast doughnut filled with Bavarian cream. Topped with chocolate and two eyeballs, representing the vision of our great city."  It was marvelous. 

To accompany this masterpiece we purchased an Apple Fritter, a Peach Fritter, a Maple Bar, and a powdered sugar covered, lemon jelly filled doughnut.  It took us three days to consume all the doughnuts, but somebody had to do it and we felt we had to step up and handle it.

And all of that activity was just the first day in Portland.  Day two had us visiting Washington Park, which is in the southwest section of Portland.  Within the area designated as Washington Park there is the Oregon Zoo, the Hoyt Arboretum, the Japanese Gardens, the International Test Rose Gardens, the Oregon Holocaust Memorial, and the Childrens' Museum as well as archery ranges, tennis courts and many trails throughout the park.  We spent the better part of four hours touring the rose gardens, the Hoyt Arboretum and the Holocaust Memorial, all of which were well worth the time.  We spent the rest of the afternoon visiting with some friends who used to live in Phoenix and now reside in Portland.

On Wednesday morning (Oct 2nd), we headed east into the Columbia River Gorge to go visit some friends of mine from my days as an Air Traffic Controller.  They live in Benton City, Washington, which is in the bottom end/southern end of the Yakima Valley.  Normally it's about a three hour drive.  However, if you have never toured the Columbia River Gorge, the trip, as we found out, with all the stops and sightseeing, actually took us about six or seven hours to complete. But it was worth the trip.

Vista House

These two pictures are taken from an overlook of the Columbia River Gorge.  The pictures are facing east, up river.  The next series of photos are looking from the walkway in front of the Vista House building, facing the Columbia River.  From the top photo, you are looking west, down river toward Portland.

 The next photo is slightly more north than west...

 The next photo is almost due north...

 And the next photo is looking northeast, up river.

The Vista House is about 730 feet above the Columbia River and is a Oregon State Park. Check the link:
http://vistahouse.com/  for more information about the Vista House.  All of the travels through the first portion of the the Columbia Gorge follow the old U.S. Highway 30 route for about 30 miles.  Vista House is positioned in the first 5 - 10 miles of the drive.  There was a lot more to see.

Our next sightseeing stop was at

According the Wikipedia entry on Latourell Falls, the height of the falls is 249 feet and is unique among the falls in the Columbia River Gorge, in that the water from the falls drops straight down, uninterrupted from an overhang.  All of the other waterfalls in the Gorge typically tumble from multiple levels.


After I completed the filming of this waterfall, Deborah and I walked back toward the base of the falls.  The sound and the power of the water falling so near was incredible.

In order, we then visited the Bridal Veil Falls. It was about a 1.5 mile walk to the base of the falls but well worth the stroll.

 Our next stop was the World Famous Multnomah Falls.

The falls were absolutely splendid.  Unfortunately, it was pouring rain when we arrived, but could not miss the opportunity to get into the picture.

 We took our pictures (or had them taken) and walked up to the bridge in the background.  The force of the falls and the spray was almost more than the rain.

After Multnomah Falls, we made one more stop at the Elowah Falls before heading east alongside the river.  We tried stopping at the Bonneville Dam to view the salmon making their way upstream via the fish ladder.
Unfortunately, Uncle Sam and all the of the appropriate branches of said government (BLM, BOR, and such) were closed.  You remember, the government shutdown???  And we had been told that this salmon migration was one of the largest ever. 

After the Bonneville Dam we turned east and headed to our destination...Benton City, Washington.  I had not seen my friend, Larry, in about 15 years and I hadn't seen his wife Cheryl in over 30 years, since we had parted ways in Tucson in late 1982.  We had gone our separate ways, Larry and Cheryl to California and Washington and me to Phoenix.

I have been accused of making these installments overly long, wordy, and dare I say...tedious.  So, until next posting...

All Things Must End...

Tahkenitch Landing Campground
Gardiner, OR

As I near the end of my tenure as the campground host at Tahkenitch Landing Campground, it appears obvious that we are ending Summer and moving in to Fall along the Oregon Coast.  Last week, as I was driving back from Eugene, you couldn't help but notice that the trees were beginning to change color.  Nights are cooler recently than they have been - by about five degrees or so, requiring more covers for sleeping.  We have had more rain in the last two or three weeks, real, hard, running down the road rain, than we have had since the middle of May.  Yesterday, as I was leaving Reedsport and Gardiner on my drive back to the campground, I saw about 25 - 50 Canadian Geese on the ground in Gardiner, near the river.  And, as I was walking through the campground last evening, a flight of between 75 and 100 geese took off from the corner of the lake, formed into a "V" and headed south.  With the end of Summer and the school year beginning, the number of campers staying at the campground has dwindled to almost zip/nada/nothing.  Since Sunday, a week ago (9/15), there have only been five campsites in use.  And two of those were occupied by folks with reservations for a week.  I have had only three drop-in campers in almost 10 days.  I had a reservation last Friday (9/20), but it was raining mightily and it seemed likely she would not show up...I was correct.  I have had two nights in which I was the only camper in the campground.  Welcome to Fall in Oregon.

I thought I might share a wildlife encounter with you.  During my walks in the morning, I pass a large lily pond, just north of the campground.  All summer I have been walking past the lily pond and just last week, I noticed a rather large beaver napping on a log, close to shore.  Actually there were two beavers, one large and one not so large.  I did not have my camera with me and when I returned, about an hour later, they were nowhere to be found.  Not to be deterred, I began carrying the camera every morning and last Saturday I was rewarded with a couple of family portraits.

 

And I was blessed, in all this fall weather, to experience an evening of clear skies with a full moon. 

I was very disappointed in the camera's ability to capture the full moon.  So I tried some variations with the settings...

That was better. 

But this was what I was looking for...

I hope you enjoyed the full moon as much as I...

A walk along the Sweet Creek Trail and Falls...

Tahkenitch Landing Campground
Gardiner, OR

Full Moon Rising over Tahkenitch Lake

Last week, when some friends from Phoenix were visiting the campground for a couple of days, we took a walk along the Sweet Creek Trail.  The Sweet Creek Trail is in a canyon about 11 miles East of Mapleton, Oregon, along Sweet Creek Road.  The trail is only about a mile to a mile & a half long, but is quite fetching as a splendid place for a walk.  From the trail head, you enter the trail at about mid point.  About a hundred yards in from the trail head the trail splits left and right.  The left trail takes you up canyon to a vista point and trail's end.  The right trail takes you down canyon into the gorge.  More about the gorge later.  Sweet Creek Trail follows a stream path up and down hill.  There are about four or five water falls from the trail intersection left and ten or twelve water falls from the trail intersection right.  Left is up hill and right is down hill.  The day was sunny for the most part and warm during the walk. 

And after walking about a half mile of the trail we climbed up to a view point of several waterfalls down to the scene above.  And the sound of the water falls was just splendid.


(For Full Screen viewing, click on the square in the bottom right corner of the video)

After pausing for the view, we reversed direction and headed down the trail for the Sweet Creek Gorge. 

Portions of the lower trail is on catwalks bolted to the side of the rocks forming the gorge. 

There are more falls on the lower portion of the trail and a dedication mounted on the rock along the catwalks.

And, naturally, when hiking, it is always a good policy to take a break from the strenuous trail.

So, when are you going to come and join me on the trail...?

Visitors from Phoenix...

Tahkenitch Landing Campground
Gardiner, OR

One of 22 float houses on Tahkenitch Lake.

Last Monday (9/2), some friends from Phoenix, AZ, came to visit.  They were on their way north to the Seattle area and parked their Rialta motor home in the campground.  They visited for two nights (9/2-3) and headed north on the Wednesday the fourth.  We had a wonderful time hiking and exploring the woods nearby.

I took them on the Three Mile Lake Trail on Wednesday and the walk was wonderful.  We found some Huckleberry bushes and enjoyed handfuls of the sweet, black berries.  I spoke of the Three Mile Lake Trail in one of the earlier blog postings.  It was interesting to see the differences in the land and the lake between the first visit and the second.  

This is Three Mile Lake on July 16th:

And this is Three Mile Lake on September 4th:

The differences are remarkable.  And the very next day, we experienced the rain shown in the last blog posting.  I would almost be interested in taking the walk again to see if the rain made a difference.

Except for the rain last Thursday, the weather here has been warm by Oregon Coast standards.  The area is looking at the low 70's this week.  But, as always, the mornings are misty and cool.  Perfect camping weather.  So why aren't you here enjoying it?  Why are you still sweating in the heat everywhere but here?  You have only two and a half weeks left to come visit before I am done...

It is the last month for Campground Hosting in Oregon...

Tahkenitch Landing Campground
Gardiner, OR

In the last posting (#16) of this blog, I was "WOWED" by the possibility of rain occurring at the campground.  I believe I described it as "Not very much rain but rain any way you look at it.".  Well, last Thursday it was real rain, lots of it, with lightning, thunder and wet everywhere.  As I sat at the dining table listening to the roar of the rain on the roof of Irv, watching the water course down the road toward the lake, seeing the lightning and feeling the vibration of the thunder, I filmed some excellent video of the event.

(You can watch in 'Full Screen' by clicking on the square in the bottom right corner of the video)

The rain lasted for about three hours and it was great.  This was the first rain of any volume at Tahkenitch Landing Campground since the second and third weeks of May!

Good news!  Deborah's cataract surgery on her right eye was as successful at the surgery on her left eye.  She was stunned at her ability to see colors and clarity.  She indicated that, at first, it was hard to get used to the ability to see without glasses or contact lenses.  She kept thinking that she had to take her contact lenses out each night.  She is loving it.  She does need readers for the close work, anything within an arms reach, but driving, looking at scenery, reading street signs and highway signs are all good.  The biggest drawback to clarity of vision is now she really knows what I look like.

My post as Campground Host at Tahkenitch Landing Campground is slowly coming to a conclusion.  I will be moving Irv from the campground to a temporary storage facility on or about September 28th.  I will be meeting Deborah in Portland on the 30th and we'll be spending a couple of nights in Portland before heading to Seattle to visit with friends and family.  It has been a fabulous summer with temperatures never reaching the beastliness of Phoenix.  I love the cool, moist climate along the coast of Oregon...even when it rains.  After our visits to the Seattle area, we'll return to the neighborhood to pick up Irv and head home to Phoenix.  We should be back in town around the middle or October or so.  And I will looking for the next adventure.  We have some travel planned between now and the spring.  Wonder what will come next summer?

Suggestions anyone? 

Some More Minutia...

Tahkenitch Landing Campground
Gardiner, OR

Can you believe it????  Rain!  Not very much rain but rain any way you look at it.  Rain enough to get my shoes damp.  Rain enough to get the ground wet. Not enough rain to make the grass green again.  Not enough rain to raise the level of Tahkenitch Lake, but rain none the less.  And do you know what came with the rain today?  Thunder and Lightning!!!  Oh, not much lightning was visible but, can you have thunder without lightning?  The sound of the thunder was spooky.  I was on my morning walk and thought the very brief flash of light might have been car lights along the highway flashing across my vision.  Of course the thunder sounding in the distance dispelled any confusion.  For my entire walk, the thunder rolled over the hills and across the lakes.  Cool to hear, but not cool with the dry conditions in the forests.  The possibility of lightning caused fires is very real.  We need more rain.  Give us more rain, real rain, not this off and on drizzle stuff.

And it's going to be a busy weekend  at the Tahkenitch Landing Campground.  The highest number of camp sites in use for any evening since I came to the Host position is 17 (last evening).  This weekend, I have 14 reservations and already have six additional camp sites in use that are not part of the reservation list.  It might be a record for me this weekend.  Who knows...Tahkenitch Landing Campground might be full this weekend.  Can you imagine the pride and excitement of a full campground?  Even if the campground is not full, it has never been close before.  If you are in the area, I only have camp sites 13, 15, 21, and 25 available.  Don't delay.  Ah, the ultimate dream of the camp host: "I'm sorry folks, the campground is full!"

There was a full moon on Tuesday, August 20th.  It was the second full moon in the month of August, 2013.  Does anyone know what it is called when you have two full moons in a calendar month?  Come on, someone knows!  Here are a couple of photos of the full moon over Tahkenitch Lake.

The campground is blessed with extensive rows of wild blackberry bushes.  Many of the bushes are displaying large, succulent blackberries, ripe for the picking.  I have harvested a goodly amount.  They have been plucked and frozen for future use after the current crop is just a memory.  Today, however, I could not resist pulling a handful loose for my morning yogurt.  Wild blackberries, Oregon blueberries, and fresh peaches with yogurt and a touch of sour cream.  I added a dash of vanilla and a sprinkling of cinnamon to taste.  Ahhhh! The good life!  What more could anyone ask for?

As I sit in Irv (RV) at the dining table and look out the picture window at the lake, I wonder how far east this cloud cover extends.  Often, when I am returning to the campground after a day or afternoon in Eugene (50 miles east), I find that I don't encounter clouds or coastal fog until I am near the campground.  Last Sunday, upon returning from the airport in Portland, driving west on Hwy 126 from Eugene, turning southbound on Hwy 101 in Florence, I traveled under clear, sunny and then clear moonlit skies until I was about five miles north of Tahkenitch Landing Campground.  In a minute or two, I went from a clear moonlit sky with the sun recently set to one-half mile visibility in fog.  It was literally around the corner on the highway and in to the soup.  Welcome to summer on the Oregon Coast.  I wouldn't want it any other way.

Tell your friends about the blog.  Visit me often.  Write when you can.  See you next week...