Our Time Ends at Wildwood

Sunday - Last days of work.  We had fee booth duty again today.  The park was busy, several groups in the picnic shelters and many day visitors picnicking.  We checked bathrooms and garbage cans - worked at the shop cleaning up supplies.  Supper and a campfire.

Monday - our last time duty cleaning bathrooms at Sandy Ridge, the mountain biking park monitored by the BLM.  Park cleanup from the busy weekend and I worked on my curb project, Gary worked on other projects.  This evening was the going away potluck supper for us.  We had a great time visiting with our co-hosts.  We enjoyed our months with all of them.

Tuesday - as we worked on park duties, I continually did laundry, - rugs, rags, towels, and bedding.  We took our canopy down and cleaned up other items in the storage shed at our campsite.

Wednesday - time to pack up.  I worked on the remaining laundry and Gary sorted and packed up the outside bins of the motorhome, putting in everything we had used over the summer and the couple additional things we accumulated.  We turned in our keys and our golf cart and signed our final paperwork for the BLM.  That night, Dick and Anne took us out for supper - we went in to Sandy for pizza.  On the drive home, we saw our last sunset with Mt. Hood. Back in the park, we stopped by and said goodbye to Leslie and Chris. The best things about the jobs we have done in our travels, are  the people we have met and the new lasting friendships we have going forward.  Our time in Oregon is done, we are so glad we came.

Mt. Hood sunset

 Thursday, July 31 - We left the park at 8:00.  In Sandy, Gary stopped for gas for the motorhome and I bought a few groceries - one last time with no sales tax in Oregon.  We drove up to I-84 and headed east.  We crossed the Columbia River into Washington at Umatilla and then up Hwy 395.  We had estimated that we might stay in the Tri-Cities area of Washington boondocking that night, but it was a sunny 95 degree day, so we knew it would be best to be parked and plugged in for the air conditioning that night.  In researching RV parks north of there, the best option we found was Connell, WA.  We checked in to the Coyote Run RV Park there, a nice full hookup park.  The manager was very helpful, we got checked in and set up by 2:00.  Time to rest, we did not even drive around town, just stayed in our cool home.

Our empty site in the forest

Farewell, Wildwood

Sunset - Connell, WA

Colorful clouds

Amazing colors - Connell, WA

Friday - August 1st!  We left Connell at 8:00, driving northeast on I-90 to Spokane, then north on Hwy 395 to Chewelah.  We arrived about noon, hoping to get a site in case the campground filled up for the weekend.  We found the City Park campground and took the last shaded spot of the available sites, it was another 90+ temp day and the weekend forecast was for the same.  We visited with the couple next to us, they were from Canada and had come to town to visit friends for the weekend.  We picked up some groceries and then stayed home that night, watching movies and the interesting campers that arrived.

Saturday - slept in and then took a bike ride around the neighborhood.  Rain clouds were forming, so we were watching the weather.  We discovered my nice mountain riding bike did not have a kickstand, so we visited the local Ace Hardware store and Gary put one on for me. After lunch, we walked across the park to the car show they were having that day.  A lot of vintage cars and trucks.  It was a fundraiser for area military veterans.  Another hot day!  We went to Mass that afternoon at the St. Mary of Rosary church and then stopped at the Chew Vine for an early supper.  We had a nice visit with the proprietors, she told us a lot about the area.  While there, it began to storm, rain coming down in sheets.  We waited until it let up and then went back home.  It continued to rain hard, we were concerned about tree branches coming down on us - we did have a branch on the car when it was done.  No damage, but a mess.  Gary crawled up on top after the storm and cleaned a pile of branches and leaves off.  Then to bed, we will go to Canada tomorrow.

St. Mary of the Rosary Church - Chewelah, WA

July - Two weeks remain

Sunday - Wednesday   Work in the park, fee booth duty.  Wednesday night - we had a farewell party for Richard and Vivian - they were leaving on Friday.  I went in to Sandy late afternoon and picked up Papa Murphy's pizza.  We baked them in the bunk house oven and had our gathering in the office building.  After pizza, we played Progressive Rummy with them and Dick & Anne.

Thursday - Rain in the AM cancelled our hiking plans, so we stayed home all day and worked on travel plans and Gary processed his RV inspection reports.

Friday - up early, we picked up Leslie and Chris and headed north to the Bonneville Dam.  Our friends, Erin and Mike, are hosting there and invited us to come up for a tour and lunch.  We went to their campsite on Robbins Island first.  We walked around the island and saw the incredible views and saw a bald eagle flying over the water carrying a large fish.  Beautiful!  They said they saw it all the time. We all went to the dam and took the Corp of Engineer's tour from the Washington side.  They took us down to see the turbines and taught us the history of the dam.  Afterward, we went over to the Oregon side and Erin and Mike showed us where they work.  We saw the fish viewing windows - much bigger than our little window - and the locks there. We went back to their place and visited while they grilled burgers and chicken for us.  A great time!  On the way back, we drove on old Hwy 30, seeing several of the water falls along the route and the views of the Columbia River from the Vista House.  Driving back in to Troutdale, we stopped at Edgefield, another McMenamins property.  This property was formerly the Multnomah County Poor Farm.  The McMenamin Brothers have bought historical properties in Oregon and made them in to breweries, wineries, hotels, spas and restaurants. (The one we visited in Bend was formerly the Catholic school) We had supper here and toured the grounds. They had a herb garden, fruit and vegetable garden, all to be used for dishes made in the restaurant.  We had a great evening with Leslie and Chris, a perfect end to a great day.

View from Robbin's Island on the Columbia River

Lower spout disperses young salmon to the river, spray keeps birds away

Bonneville Dam turbine

We were this low below the lake

Saving the dam!

Herman the Sturgeon

Our friends at Bonneville, Mike & Erin

Vista House Welcome Center on Hwy 30

View of Columbia River from top of Vista House

Edgefield McMenamins'

             

Building/grounds history                

Saturday - Our plan today was to drive up to Cloud Cap Inn, a historic building used for the Hood River ski rescues through the years.  Up Hwy 35, we drove up to the Cooper Spur Resort and then took the turn for Cloud Cap.  Not far up the gravel road, we found the forest service had closed the road to public use.  From the Cooper Spur resort parking lot, we could see two peaks in the distance.  Staff at the resort told us we could get a good view of them by going up a gravel road just up from the resort.  We made the drive up and had fantastic views of Mt. Hood one way and Mt. Adams and Mr. Rainier the other direction.  Wow!  After pictures, we had a bite to eat at the resort and then headed back.  We drove up Mt. Hood to Timberline Lodge again - to see the changes from when we arrived in May and saw in June.  A lot of snow had melted, we could hike above the lodge on dry ground.  A big change, we would not have seen if we had not been in the area for three months.  Skiers and snowboarders were still enjoying their sport, up on the Palmer glacier snow.  We came upon the lodge staff decorating the outdoor ampitheater for a wedding.  Beautiful flowers and the view - amazing!  Back to the park, supper and then Mass at 7:00 at St. John's.  A campfire to end a great day.

Mt. Hood view

Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams

Cooper Spur Tavern

Back of Timberline Lodge

Above Timberline Lodge - Mt. Hood and wild flowers

Ampitheather background for wedding

July - entrance to Timberline Lodge

Early May entrance to Timberline Lodge

Mid-July Park Excitement

Sunday - July 13   Sitting in Mass, we heard thunder!  Rain predicted, but we had not had a thunderstorm before.  It rained on and off through the morning.  A group showed up that was supposed to use one of the picnic kitchens, but asked to use a covered shelter because of the rain.  We got them set up and then worked on projects at the office and shop.  Late afternoon, we closed the shelter after the group left, it kept raining hard on and off.  I was in the shop, Gary was driving the cart back from the shelter, when we heard a loud crack.  I thought it sounded like behind the shop, Kathyrn in the office thought it was in the RV park next door and Gary thought it was up on the ridge.  It rained hard again after that.  Later, when we headed back to the motorhome, we discovered the lightning crack had hit a tree on the edge of the ballfield, next to the shelter by our site!  We drove around, finding pieces of bark and tree all over the ballfield and even in the shelter the group had used earlier that day.  Wow!  Later we found out that it had affected one of the electrical outlets at our site, but did not damage the motorhome thanks to our Surge Protector!!  Did affect the surge protector but less expensive to replace than other components.  We were Lucky!

Lightning struck tree

Monday - we showed our bosses the struck tree.  We all realized the tree was really damaged and the zoo kids group would be back in the park on Tuesday.  Mark, our ranger, called the main office and arranged for foresters to come and take down the tree late that day.  As we picked up the small and medium pieces that morning and took pictures, we realized the tree crack was widening.  We put up caution tape around the area and monitored the area to keep any park visitors away from the tree.  Gary had to mow the field that day, so he started on the far end.  I drove the golf cart back over to the field to take a picture.  As I looked at the tree, the wind picked up.  I watched Gary mow under and past the tree, then heard cracking and watched the top half of the tree come down on to the field!  It was the very best way for the tree to fall - if it had gone other directions it may have hit the shelter and/or fallen knocking other trees down.  The very worst direction would have knocked trees down very close to our motorhome.  But, it worked out fine.  Late afternoon, the guys came with their mega saws and chopped it all up.  We sat in the ballfield and had a tree cutting party.

The crack widens

Early morning pickup of shattered tree

The top half that fell

Top half on ground, lower half still stands

Tree stump diameter

Tuesday - a sad day for all of us.  Our boss, Brian, left for his new job in Florida.  It was a good move for him, his daughter, siblings and parents are all there.  In the morning, we worked on hauling the branches from the tree that we could handle.  We had a going away lunch for Brian and then helped him finish things at the office and pack up his trailer to travel.  He found he did not have room for his bike, so I now have a new bike to use.  We were sad to see him go, he certainly made things fun for us at the park.

Our friend Chris, Park Ranger Mark and Volunteer Boss, Brian

Wednesday - Park work, Gary hauled more branches, I cleaned curbs in the parking areas.  We quit at noon, cleaned up, packed and headed to Salem for the weekend.  For supper that night, we all went over to Tyler and Jen's house and were treated to wood fired pizza from the new wood pizza oven that he built in his backyard.  Great pizza and then baked chocolate chip cookie dough.

Tyler's fireplace and pizza oven

Thursday - off to the coast again, this time with Gary and Marilyn.  We drove to Lincoln City and found the house we would stay in that night.  Tyler and Nick have a friend that let them/us use the house for the weekend.  A very nice place, four bedrooms and three baths.  We dropped off our stuff, then went in to town to Kylos on the beach for lunch.  Seafood menu, we ate out on the deck on the warm, sunny day.  It was cooler by 15 degrees than our park and Salem.  Very refreshing.  That afternoon, we drove to Newport and looked around there.  Marilyn and I stopped at the outlet mall for a couple things, then drove along the coast before going back to Lincoln City for an early supper at McMenamins.  Back to the house, Marilyn, Gary and I drove over to the beach and took sunset pictures.  Watched a movie and to bed.

Outside Kylos at lunch

Overnight digs

Newport Beach

Newport bridge

Sunset at the beach - Lincoln City

Friday - we slept in and then went for breakfast at Sambo's in Lincoln City.  Then we drove to Depoe Bay for sightseeing.  We went to the whale watching center and watched long enough to see the spouts of water and the back of a whale, several times.  We also watched Coast Guard boats doing a towing drill and other boats going in and out of the smallest port in the country.  Another nice day at the coast - sunny and warm.  We stopped at the Sea Hag, a well known bar in Depoe Bay.  We went back to Lincoln City for lunch, Mo's was too busy so we went to a local place.  Back to the house, we packed up and left to go back to Salem.  After a winery stop, we went back to G&M's house, had a late afternoon snooze and then drove to McMinnville to eat at the Golden Valley Brewery for dinner.  A gorgeous night to eat outside.

Smallest port entry

Coast Guard boats

Depoe Bay marina

Saturday - for breakfast we met friends of G&M, Don & Krista - we have spent time with them in the years we visited before.  Don just retired in June, it was fun to hear about the fun he has had doing things since then and things he plans to do.  Afterward, we did one more trip to Costco with Marilyn, went to the Willamette Valley Winery and out to lunch for pizza.  Then it was time to pack up and head back to the forest.  Once home, I discovered we had had a guest while we were gone - a mouse!  I spent the rest of the evening vacuuming and cleaning up - Gary went up to the shop and brought back a mouse trap - we caught the hungry little devil during the night.  Thank goodness.

Hiking and HIstory - July

Sunday - Went to Mass and then worked around the park.  Marilyn brought the kids over and we took them to see the Pioneer Woman's grave and then hiked the part of the Barlow Road Trail we had discovered before.  The kids seemed to be interested as we shared the history of the area.  Then we took them back to Wildwood and showed them the fish viewing window and some of the trails.  By then it was time for them to head back, pack up and go back home.

Marilyn, Gavin, Nolan, Drake, Gracie & Gary

Thursday - We went and hiked the Ramona Falls trail.  A longer trail and a very warm day, but once again a reward at the end of the trail.  The falls were beautiful and we were refreshed, even chilled, from the cold air around the falls.  Walking back on the trail, we saw beautiful greenery and colorful cliffs through the forest.
 

         

Ramona Falls trail

Preparing for crossing - this bridge is placed here every April

First view of falls - cool air and loud

Trail bridge across stream

Beautiful Ramona Falls

Jewel like colors

Forest carpet

Colorful rock ridge

Friday - Household duties and naps.  Late afternoon we went in to Sandy to run errands.  We first stopped at a little Italian restaurant - they had a three person band playing outside, so we sat and had an appetizer there.

Saturday - we hiked the Barlow Trail today.  Another area along the Barlow Road, we could see where the wagons passed through the forest.  A warm day again, so we did not hike further.  At home, we cleaned, did laundry, and had a campfire.  Later that evening, we met Chris and Leslie in the open ballfield and watched the full moon, called a super moon this month.  We looked at it through a telescope we had received from Linda when she left the park in May.  It was bright and so large! Very cool to see.

Barlow Trail hike from Government Camp

Old trail

Old postal box used for fees