October 2019

Spirit Mountain. Photo taken from the site of the Ft. Yamhill bockhouse.

October found Rich and Cheryl volunteering at Ft. Yamhill State Park located near Grand Ronde, Oregon. A sweet site that we will return to in 2020. The fort was in operation for only ten years, 1856 -1866. An interesting piece of history. A small section of the Killamook trail, the inland route the indigenous people used to walk from the coast to Willamette Falls in Oregon City, borders the park. Fort Yamill was built to moniter the Killamook trail.

September 2019

Granary Tree. Acorn woodpecker food storage.

September. A lovely month as the maple leaves change color and begin to fall to the earth. Squirrels and acorn woodpeckers gather acorns. Humans return to school and work.

At Tou Velle State Day Use Park and Marina near Medford, Oregon, Rich and Cheryl gather mostly cigarette butts left by fishermen. Lots, and lots. They also gather confetti. Hordes of the stuff. Birthday confetti. Graduation confetti. Bridal confetti.

Two precious items gathered, two kittens. One we were able to reunite with its mother. The second, mother not found, we took to a no kill shelter. The little tyke spent the night with us. Mimi, our cat, nose bent out of shape went outside and refused to come in the RV.

We still think about the little guy and hope it is adopted by a good family.

Bend: Playing Hard

Peregrine Falcon

Choosing which places of interest to visit during our short stay in Bend was a bit of a challenge. First stop was The High Desert Museum. The museum is large enough that you cannot experience everything in one day. Raptors in Flight was our favorite. We walked to the exhibit area arriving near the end of the group. Location is everything. There were a few bench seats available so we sat there instead of on the ground. What we did not realize is that our seats were in front of one of the five or so "ghost"* trees where a handler puts food treats for the birds to encourage them to fly. Raptors would fly straight toward us. A few times, the leather strips attached to a raptor's leg, called bewits, would tickle Rich's hair. Close and exciting. The raptors are all rescue birds. We loved it!

Rich being goofy at the museum. There are seventeen miles of old lava flows in Bend. Astronauts have been known to visit and practice walking on the very rocky ground as seen in the background of the photo.  

Paintbrush

Lava Cast Forest, beautiful and stark, surprised us with a few blooming plants, butterflies, birds and chipmunks. 

The last lava flow at Lava Cast Forest was about 1300 years ago. Slowly, plants and trees are returning. Beautiful twisted downed trees show the creative resiliency of nature. Twisting allows the trees to retain water more efficiently.

The High Desert Museum and Lava Cast Forest were the two new places we visited.

We had an exciting moment while kayaking the Little Deschutes River. Not paying enough attention the kayak was heading toward a dead very dense bush. Not thinking we both leaned away from the bush and tipped the kayak over. Fortunately, the Little Deschutes isn't very deep, three to four feet, and is slow moving. We managed to get back in the kayak without tipping over again. It was an exciting kayaking experience. 

 The Big Flow, one mile of obsidian, and Lava River Cave, a mile long lava tube, are two places we have visited before and absolutely love. Lava River Cave at about 45 degrees in temperature was the perfect place to spend a 95 degree afternoon.

As our time in Bend comes to a close, we reflect on the many wonders of the earth and the stark beauty of the area. 

* ghost tree. My maternal grandmother called a standing dead tree, gray with no bark, a ghost tree.

Playing Tourist

Munson Falls


After three weeks of home maintenance projects we were finally had a week in Pacific City to play tourist. We visited Munson Falls located in Tillamook. Sorry about the picture quality. We forgot a good quality camera and our phone cameras are lame. 

Rich with the wild hair.

Cape Meares Lighthouse located in Tillamook, is the shortest lighthouse in Oregon.

Our next adventure takes us to Bend, Oregon. We are playing tourist for the month of August. In September, we head to our next volunteer gig near Medford.

Creaking Down the Trail

North Falls Trailhead

A main draw for volunteering at Silver Falls is the Ten Falls Trail Hike. My hope was that Rich and I would be able to hike the ten falls trail by the end of our stay. Rich is challenged with going downstairs and I am challenged with going upstairs so we hiked the ten trails on two separate days. Our hiking pace is slow, a meander.

The ten falls in no particular order.

Lower North Falls

Drake Falls

South Falls

Lower South Falls

Twin Falls

Double Falls

Winter Falls

North Falls

Upper North Falls

If you counted there are only nine falls. We missed a picture of Middle North Falls.

These photos where taken during our volunteering stint at Silver Falls in May and June.
We are now hanging out and resting in Pacific City. No cell service helps with the resting.

The Universe's Little Joke

April first was a moving day for us. Moving from Newport, Oregon to our next volunteer assignment at Silver Falls State Park. As we traveled north on Highway 101 I noticed that the back door to trailer was flapping in the wind. Honking went unheard by Rich. Radio too loud? Eventually, I was able to pull alongside his truck and tell him the news. That task done we continue on down the road. I am now the lead car. After a few minutes I hear car honking, honking, honking. And yes, that dang door is flapping in the wind again. This time I close and lock it and the rest of the journey is uneventful until we arrive and I unlock the door. The lock is now attached to my key. Okay that's three, we should be good now. Rich does the normal getting water, sewer electricity hooked up. During our travel, a short developed so no electricity to the trailer. It is Monday and the electrician will be out Friday. Two trips to Ace Hardware to buy extension cord, surge protector, portable light and another gizmo that needed replacing, we can somewhat function on the 20amp supply line. At least we can recharge our phones at the same time. A relationship saver believe me. It was kinda refreshing a few days of low technology. One light, washing up by candlelight.

Work wise, in April we had two tasks. Two days of cabin cleaning and three days of day use. Day use, we clean the three shelters, litter pick the parking lots and around tables and the grounds. A lovely rest after eating lunch ends our work day.

A Month Off?

A Peaceful Morning at Road's End

March. A month off. A most looked forward to time of rest and relaxation. That was the hope, myth, intention.The reality was another story. The first weeks in March Rich and I cracked out our taxes. Normally a smooth and simple process. However, during the transfer to the new trailer some tax documents were misplaced. Some had been put in storage and we forgot the where. Some documents had a mind of their own in choosing their hiding spot. We persevered. All documents were eventually located and taxes filed. With the taxes, medical appointments and other tasks, the bottom line was we had just about five days off. Sigh. In 2020 we will be taking more time off in the summer so that we actually experience rest and relaxation.

After the Rain

Fossils!

February at Beverly Beach was a great year for finding fossils. Clam fossils are always abundant. With some guidance from one of the other volunteers, we learned the art of "seeing" bone fossils.  In February, the Hatfield Marine Science Center offers a day when you can bring in your fossil finds and they will tell you about the fossil. The series of three pictures is a vertebra, most likely from a small whale. 

Rich found this excellent fossil.

The circle in the fossil is the spinal canal

After a heavy rain, frogs appear in various ponds in the park. We enjoyed the raucous chorus of the male frogs. And then enjoyed seeing all the soft ball sized orbs containing frog eggs which will become tadpoles after we leave. The arrival of the frogs also heralds the arrival of a heron. This heron hung out in a pond near one the bathrooms. Normally, very shy, they fly away as you approach. However, this heron stayed near its food source which allowed me to approach close, the closest I have ever been to a heron.

Great Blue  Heron

Rich at the Whale Watch Center in Depoe Bay

 February at Beverly Beach was wet and cold. Fortunately, Rich and I were lucky. We filled in a few days at the Welcome Center and Whale Watch Center.

January is Busy

Seagull Rock Painting, Beverly Beach

This lovely rock art painting managed to survive the many king tides and high wind.

Rich and Cheryl

January, Rich and I continued volunteering at Beverly Beach as camp maintenance specialists (picking up litter) and filling in at the Welcome Center. Planning around rain drops we managed a walk on the beach most weeks.

Snowy Morning

One morning we woke to snow on the ground. By noon it had returned to its liquid state.

December 2018

December at the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse was so much fun, I didn't post a blog update! Ops! In reality it had more to due with our cat, Mimi was ill and we made many trips to the vet. She is okay now. Medication for hyperthroid, a pill every 12 hours, and a change in diet to keep her kidneys healthy.

Rich in the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse gift shop

 At the lighthouse for two days of our four day work week,  we worked in a very small gift shop. While there were not many sales, we had opportunities to chat with folks from all over the world.  For the second two days of the work week we were on the main floor of the house greeting folks and answering questions. The most frequently asked question had to do with the ghost story associated with the lighthouse. We tell an embellished version.

Parlor.

In December, the Oregon Coast Aquarium puts on an outdoor light display. Rich and I had great fun. The fish and other sea life displays were outstanding.

Cheryl at Don Davis Park in Newport

December was a very busy month. Rich and I volunteered for two days during Whale Spoken Here week. When it wasn't raining, I stayed outside talking with folks and handing out stickers. From December through mid to end of January, gray whales migrate south. The most frequently asked question. How many are in their pod? Answer, zero. Gray whales are solitary mammals. We had a wonderful time and will volunteer next December and maybe in March, too.