Long Weekend to Eastern Oregon

I thought about doing this trip day by day, but I think I'll just summarize a bit...

Marian and Earl joined us for a quick trip to the Steen's Mountains in the southeast corner of Oregon and a look see at the Fort Rock area set-up for riding the quads. It was a long hot drive that first day. We tried to stop for lunch, as we passed through the beautiful Klamath Marsh Refuge, but didn't find a spot big enough until we were back in the central Oregon high desert.

By the time we reached French Glen it was close to 100 degrees outside and not that much cooler in our coach. Instead of staying in the beautiful BLM campground, we opted for the "rustic" rv park to be able to plug in for air conditioning. Rustic AKA weeds...unlevel parking spaces...frogs popping out of shower heads...picnic tables busting as more than one sat on the bench (now that's another story...lol). But we did have a pretty little common nighthawk, who chose to perch on a branch next to us nearly the whole weekend.

We spent the next day touring the mountains. Norman and Earl gadded about on the quads, and Marian and I took my air conditioned pickup. I don't know exactly what the guys did along the way. Marian and I stopped to look at the flowers (with the flower book)...

visited with a pastel artist out working in a meadow...

toured campgrounds...

took each other's pictures in a patch of snow...

got mud all over our shoes...

read all the signs along the way...

looked at all the viewpoints...

laughed and gabbed.

By cracky...I think I have these pics in the correct order. Whaddadeal...got to remember to learn how to do this blog in a different way. The pics are a challenge.

Any-the-way...we traveled from the marshlands...to the juniper/sagebrush level...through the aspen...and on to the rocky ridges and snowpatches. It is the most awesome landscape. We didn't stay long enough to do the area justice, but it is definitely added to our "got to go again" list.

The highlight for Norman and I was being able to add the "highest cache in Oregon" to our 'found' list. It was at the summit of the Steens at 9733 feet. The picture shows a road behind us, but unfortunately there was a gate. We did only have to climb the last few hundred feet.

We grabbed a couple more caches along the way...got lots of mosquito bites (ugly little bugssss)...and the outside our vehicles turned brown with all the dust. Speaking of the dust...we tried to settle in for a couple nights in the off-road vehicle areas outside of Bend. But the roads are only paved so far then it was more dust. Norman was sorely disappointed and not about to add more dust to our already covered motor (something we have to think about with a diesel engine in the back).

We spent one night at a Walmart, before re-thinking our plan and heading to East Lake. Norman and I haven't been in this area since the kids were wee ones. Instead of dirt roads and only one campground at Paulina and East Lakes, the road is paved and is lined in campgrounds.

From here the fellows were able to access the off-road area without taking the rv's into it. Marian and I spent a leisurely day reading, chatting and hiking the area. Norman and Earl hooked up Earl's trailer w/quad to our pickup and drove over to ride.

I give up...everything keeps popping up in all the wrong places...my editing is going to pot in a handbasket right now...so...here it is folks...enjoy...we sure did!

blogging, basking (?), baking in Bakersfield

We've been having problems with our transmission for a couple years. And we've supposedly had it repaired...So as we approached Needles, CA, we were surprised to have our transmission "code" and the speed drop down to 30 mph. Norman went under the bed and under the RV and jiggled wires...took apart modules and put them back together...added some dialectic grease to some connections. All to no avail! We limped into Bakersfield at 30 to 50 mph and into an Allison repair center.

They've been working on the transmission and wiring for 2 days now...still getting "error" messages.

We've both read a book...watched an old movie...baked brownies...gone out for a great steak dinner...shopped at Wally World...played on the computer...and are running out of things we would like to do. Because we'd both like to be 'on the road'.

Norman has been keeping track of everything that has been done to the coach. Most he understands, but some is new and interesting.

At night it's really quiet despite Highway 99 and the Golden State Highway right beside the facility. We are surrounded by a barbed wire topped cyclone fence that is locked at night (we have a key) and locked garages in front and back. On one side is one of several oil refineries (?). This is a picture of it just as dawn was breaking.

We are hoping now to be leaving in the morning.

300th Cache Found

We out into the bombing range for probably our last quad ride and geocaching find before heading home. We walked about 2+ miles through the desert doing the Jackass Golf Course. Here is Kathy holding up the top of one of the caches.One of us carries the Good Sam red tote bag, and we haul some of the trash out of the desert. That's Bill, Kathy's husband, with the beard.

And we found our 300th cache. This is the top of the 19th hole of the golf course. Sure had fun...but it was really hot!

Took the quads straight to the mini-mart for soft ice cream cones!

Couple days with Diane

Di and I met at Tucson Electric Park and watched the Mariners lose *B-( to the Diamondbacks yesterday. It was a fun game, and, NO, Cole, Ichiro and all the other big names didn't play. Drat the luck! Both teams played their rookie and wannabe rookie players...But the hot dogs, beer, game and crowd made for a great time... The crowd got into the Mariner rookie pitcher's apparent headshot to the Diamondback catcher. But really the guy didn't even have to dodge or duck, and the catcher caught it easily. The umpire jumped in front of the catcher and threw the pitcher out of the game. Both teams crowded near the mound...they seemed to come out of the woodwork...but no fight took place. The crowd hooted, hollered and laughed!!! Whadda joke...later a Diamondback pitcher did the same thing and the umpire just looked the other way...

We checked into a motel that was really a dive...yukko...It was a Days Inn even, but we checked out the room for clean beds and said "oh well"...Then hurried down the freeway and caught "Alice in Wonderland" in 3D...drooled over Johnny Depp as we gorged on popcorn...Later we skipped the tacos made with calf cheeks or pigskin and opted for shredded beef and chicken...lol

This morning we took in the desert museum...How do you like our version of "Batwoman"??

We saw lots of beautiful desert plants and cactus...hmmm, guess they're desert plants also...lol...Read about the beginnings of the Earth and ancient Arizona...saw fossils

a bird in its saquaro nest...

a couple of bobcats...

turtles in a pond...

and many other desert critters...

HAD A GREAT TIME!

Another busy week...

We joined almost two dozen neighbors...geo trackers, pickups & quads...on a ride north to the Big Eye mine. It was a great time, except those of us on quads didn't know where we were going. We rode behind the vehicles at a reeeeallly slow pace. Coming back we led at a much faster pace.














It was a heck of a good time except for the flat tire we got going into the parking area. What a bummer! And to top it off, we had to buy a brand new tire to replace it paying the dang sales tax, and it didn't match the other three tires.

The four of us in the picture are the only ones who managed the 1/2 mile hike uphill to the mine. We used our little maglights and our nifty baseball hats with LEDs in the bill and did a peak inside. But it's pretty old and the roof (?) is not real well supported, therefore we only ventured a hundred feet or so inside. Bonus: it felt really refreshing to go inside the cool air after our hot walk up to it.

Saturday was the annual Hank's Day parade. Hank and his wife are both dead now. Their pictures are at the beginning of the parade sitting in a big ol' front loader. The parade isn't a big one, but lots of fun. It has the usual rodeo queen and attendants...old cars...Shriners and their funny vehicles...Red Hat ladies looking pretty silly...and we filled our pockets with all the candy thrown. We're darn good senior citizen beggars...lol

Also on Saturday Norman and I joined a couple hundred geocachers in the Old Town Square and blew bubbles for about 10 minutes. We FILLED the air with shiny bubbles. And we got to count this little event as a cache "found". Great fun....

Then on Sunday we joined over 350 geocachers for a poker run along the Colorado River...the a bbq tri-tip dinner. We were among the first to finish the poker run, so sat and played a couple games of cribbage in the sunshine while waiting for our noon dinner. Nope...didn't win good hands. And we didn't win any of the raffles, but our non-cachers, who attended with us, won a nice ammo can. They gave it to us, so we'll be thinking about hiding another cache one day soon.

Here we are...Buckshot & Foxy and Duck1 & Duck 2...before all the big crowd finally arrived. I gave Bob and Jan their geocache names. We had to register that way, and, of course, they had never done it before...Appropriate names for a couple of Eugene residents.

Catch-up VS Ketchup 2

OH-BOY, it has been a busy week! We began with a drive to Mesa to spend a couple days with my baby sis, Diane. Di and I had a wonderful time gabbing and gabbing. And she whipped me in cribbage game after game. I'd be just a few points out, and she'd pass me like the wind.

Norman found a Harbor Freight store a couple blocks away and got his fill wandering through it. Usually I'm sitting in the car reading a book, so he's not in the store long before the 'guilts' start gitting him...lol...Got a good deal. He bought a gift for the grandkids, the salesman told him to go online for a coupon and bring it in for a little refund. Norman didn't find the coupon, but online our little gift was way less than half-price. He printed the page and the salesman sold Norman four sets of the little gift at the online price. Woo-hoo...love those kind of savings.

We took Di out on a geocaching walk near her home that lasted 'way too long'. But we did find eleven! Here's a pic of Norman giving Di a 'high five' with her very first find. And, yes, one of the caches was attached to the bottom of this garbage can...stinky...

I did say the walk was 'way too long'...But we treated ourselves to a really good lunch topped off with nummy ice cream sundaes before walking home. And then we all had naps...

Early the morning after getting home, Bob (Eugene friend) called and away we went out in the desert just across the Colorado River in California. The area pictured on the right is called the 'Talking Rocks' and is on the Quechan Indian Reservation. People carted in these rocks to form a grafitti of sorts in all directions for about a square mile. Some of them actually are graves, but most are just love notes of some sort or another.


We came upon another of the hundreds of mines in the desert. The hill here is peppered with big holes the guys like to drop rocks in. I know, I know...it's to see (hear) how deep they are. Sometimes we don't hear them hit bottom.

And we play on the equipment...

We don't do a whole lot of figuring out where we're going and depend a lot on our GPS and watches to get us back to our starting point. So were surprised and happy to come upon the old gold mining town of Tumco on the other side of the mountains. The old miners took out about $1000 a day in gold at it's peak. A whole bunch of money back them. This last pic is Bob and I fooling around in the cemetery for Norman...hee-hee

And interspersed in our days this week were...more long walks...finding the owner of a lost dog...garage sales & hauling back a computer desk for a neighbor...happy hours...setting up Bob and Jan at Boo n Ethel's place for about a week...happy hours...oh, I said that...hmmm, and I'm up at 5am to do this blog.

Happy Valentine's Day! Much love to all the lovers...

International Festival in San Luis, AZ

With some friends we drove to the bordertown of San Luis and enjoyed the 1st Annual International Festival. We had the most scrumptious steak tacos for only a dollar each! Yum...still thinking about them. And grazed and drank during the time we spent there.

The weather wasn't too cooperative. We were looking forward to all the music and dancers, but the rain made it difficult. The stages were really wet after a terribly nasty cloudburst. And you certainly couldn't be standing out in it with the beautiful wood guitars or all the electrical stuff some bands had...

But the mariachi band was wonderful...We danced to Elvis's "Hound Dog" played by the rock band setting up behind them. I guess we were the show; no one joined us in the street to dance. Guess I'm like my dad, can't pass up a good tune...Norman and I love the Mexican dancers. We missed the first group but the second one was absolutely terrific. Sorry, I didn't get a picture of them.We left as another cloudburst was about to put a damper on the doings. And topped off the jaunt with a half hour stop at the casino along the way, where I was the lone winner. Well, truth be told, I played some of it back, but still walked out with $10 more than when I went in.

Early to bed tonight...busy day tomorrow. We have a breakfast with about 200 geocachers...Then it's the block Super Bowl party...Gosh, sure glad we don't work anymore. I don't know how we'd fit it in.

A Couple of GUY Rides...

The fellows did a couple "guy" rides this week. I figure, when we gals do some things without the guys AND have a heck of a good time, the guys need the same time without us. So I stayed home and did my thing.

They had a great time both days, although Norman complained about a sore butt after the second ride of over 100 miles. This is a picture of Harv and Bob in front of one of the tunnels constructed through the hills for the canals that water the hundreds of 'salad' fields in the area. Isn't this a great picture of the guys on top of one of the ridges? The "boys" have been flying quite a bit lately, so we have lots of jet trails in the sky. They are sure exciting to watch, especially out where we live. They fly pretty low when turning back into the bombing range.
Any-the-way...I like this picture.

This a picture of some of the wetlands surrounding the Colorado River. And, Yes, they did ride north and find the river this time...lol...The following picture will give you an idea of the ridges we've all ridden along north of town.

The next day they took Woodcutter's Pass in the bombing range over to see the mobile anti-aircraft guns and the turquoise mine. I keep calling these tanks, but they're not.

This is a picture of the Pass. It's pretty rough, but a fun ride. Several cars...trucks...left abandoned and stripped on this trail. We have wondered how they made it as far as they did. Harv likes to ride reeeeeal fast, and he found this trail a bit frustrating.

And another good picture Norman took of the three of them with one of the anti-aircraft guns. Pretty amazing that they have been in the desert for decades and the turrets and guns still move. They are definitely fun to play with and a good lunch stop.

This is the long ride...around 100 miles. We use our extra 1 gallon can of fuel to be certain, we can make it into Wellton. Wellton is on the other side of the mountains from us. We fuel up there and then ride along one of the canals back home...a nice flat...wide...fast...dirt road...

It's a 'Crack-up' job!

HEE-HEE...GOTCHA! Boo n Ethel's patio got extended today with the addition of 500 Mexican brick. Boo, not being satisfied, decided without asking any of us to add another 800. LOL It will look nice and keep the dust down. This was a pretty tough job especially with the addition of 2 or 3 supervisors. But the guys had it finished in about three hours.

Meanwhile, Ethel and I dug out the last of the cactus type plants she didn't want. Then divided the large clumps of aloe vera, and put them down the length of the driveway. She's already planning what she's going to do next along there...Oh, and I took a couple of the larger plants over to Donzella's place. I'll have her rental portion looking like a jungle one of these days...hee-hee...

This is a 'virtual' cache we picked up on our walk along the Colorado River. The sign tells about the 'Ocean to Ocean' highway that was constructed around 1915. We're pushing 200 caches now. It won't take long before we are over that mark.

Last year a couple of us suckered Cheryl with jokes. We had her hook, line and sinker...lol. Last night she got even with Fred. All year she's picked up pieces to dress him as a magician. You see last year he showed her how to change an orange into a peach...very magical!

Me-hi-ko

Off to Mexico with friends...lunch...Margarita Grande...BIG Pacifico...pink daiquiri...plus free tequila shots at the pharmacies/liquor stores.

Shop while you eat

Came home broke...liquor...candied cactus and sweet potato...gifts for the grandkids...meds for friends and relatives...oh, and tequila filled chocolates...YUM!