A ONE-DAY ROAD TRIP

Friday looked like a good day for a mini road trip.  Debby finished school early, planning to finish up her work on Saturday, so we decided to take a drive.  Packing a sandwich and other necessary snacks, we set out for a drive to Lost Lake.  It was a good day.  The sun was shining and the temperature hovered in the 70’s.

The drive took us East on Interstate 84, where we exited at Hood River, a small town nestled in the Hood River valley between Mt Hood to the South and Mt Adams to the North.  We made our way out through familiar territory, as we lived here for a few years.  We turned off the highway at Dee, crossing the West Fork of the Hood River and headed deeper into the hills along farmlands of pears and apples.
The gate across the entrance to the Lost Lake was locked.  We parked and walked the mile back to our destination.  The campground workers were busy winterizing the

camp for the season.  They stored all the boats and water toys in the barn and winterized the General Store to prevent freezing damage to pipes and goods.
The lake was gorgeous.  It brought back memories of many trips we made here for boating and picnics with friends and family, beginning way back in the early 70’s.  The camp has changed over the years.  More spaces have been added for tent and RV camping.  Group sites have been constructed.  The shoreline camping spots have been closed and no camping is allowed close to the lake like we used to be able to do.  It’s mostly for day use or hiking now.

We walked around to a viewpoint on the North side of the lake to get a good view of the 11,240’ Mt Hood that now sits dry and barren of snow.  It’s been a rough, dry, hot summer in Oregon.  Last winter’s snow is gone.  The glaciers are melting back at astounding speed.  Soon they will probably be gone.  Water levels in lakes and streams are down.  The Hood River looked bleak and puny compared to the roaring, boulder pushing, noise maker it has been.
The mountain had a hazy covering that made it appear to be shadowy.  There were few people visiting here today, as its closed and one must hike a mile to get to our vantage spot.  We sat a while before strolling back towards the store and on up to our Sienna.  It’s beautiful around here in the fall.

We headed back and took a turn at the Dee Highway to go up to the small town of Parkdale where we wanted to visit Kiyokawa Orchards and purchase some fruit.  We always enjoy coming to this particular orchard because they are the only farm in the NW that grows Arkansas Blacks.  I picked up a nice sack of those, plus a Winesap apple, a few pears, including Japanese pears and a jug of fresh Ciider.  This is a great place to come as there is always entertainment and fun stuff going on for the kids to enjoy.
We continued our way South on Hwy. 35 to Hwy. 26 and made our way to Trillium Lake.  It was a perfect time to be there.  Mt Hood was reflecting in the calm water and several people

were out enjoying nature.  A young couple visiting Oregon from Nashville took a photo for us.  I took theirs as well.As we drove home we thought about the day’s events and decided it had been a good day to make the 150 mile loop.

WINTER SIEGE

The end of summer also marks the ending of our travel adventures for this year.  Debby has gotten settled in her First Grade classroom for her final year of teaching. Her new (and final) group of students may never realize the impact their teacher has made in the lives of hundreds, though perhaps in years to come, they may look back and come to know the impact she made in their lives. It is a bitter sweet year for her as she nears the end of this phase of her life.  

As for me, my retirement years have taken me on paths I had not imagined I would travel. The one thing I enjoy most is not only seeing the little things of life, but simply, seeing.  It's one of those things we take for granted and never really miss until it's gone. Curse Macular Degeneration. But until it comes in its full glory, there is much to see and do.  I pray that "glory" may never come.  In the meantime, I shall be wintering at home, enjoying a warm fire, long walks in the Oregon Gorge and seeing God at work in nature.  

My latest camping/fishing/hiking adventure with TrailCodger II at Olallie Lake was a great adventure.  I returned home with a cold that is currently running its course.  I had been exposed to a Cold virus the Sunday we left.  By Wednesday it blossomed.  It caused a drastic change in my plans.  I missed a church retreat and my first week of teaching Field Studies at Outdoor School. Sad times.  However, I will survive and be prepared to teach my second week.

I am excited as the winter season approaches. In the Columbia River Gorge the streams will increase in volume with the winter rains.  

  

 

Freezing mist will cloak our water features and waterfalls in white like a bride. Our many waterfalls will again roar with beauty with the spring thaw.  Such is the beauty of where we hike. 

I am convinced there will be more travel adventures for Mike and Debby, as The Lord wills.  There is always much to see.  We want to see while we can still see.

CRAZY HORSE
June 26, 2015

We were anxious to visit the Crazy Horse Monument.  We were here a couple of years ago.

It doesn't look like much has been done to the mountain since we were here. It was more crowded than it was then.  We found out that a dynamite blast was taking place tonight and people were there to see the fireworks. 

This huge "carving" of the Indian, Crazy Horse (which actually in the translation means, "my horse is crazy"), is a huge family owned undertaking. The Lakota Indian people are not accepting any government funding for this project. The face of Crazy Horse is finished.  It is much larger than the faces on Mount Rushmore.  In fact, it is said that all four of the Presidential busts on Mount Rushmore could fit on the headband on Crazy Horse's forehead!  Huge!

We paid a reasonable fare to enter this park, able to come and go for several days if we chose to do so.  The knotty Pine lodge was an amazing structure.  It was filled with artifacts, sculptures, paintings, souvenirs and so much more.  I noticed how the kids liked playing inside a real Tepee.

A Lakota Indian man demonstrated a couple of dances his people used to do.  His clothing was handed down to him from his family ancestors.  His headdress was made from winter Badger hair and Golden Eagle feathers.  Quite unique.
  

Leaving here we checked into our motel in Keystone before running up to see Mount Rushmore.  We had been here before but Ron and Nancy had not. The mountain was unimpressive in the evening sun as the faces were too dark for me to see with my poor eyesight. We decided to return tomorrow morning. After having a quick bite of food at a nearby Pizza Parlor, we headed back out to visit the Crazy Horse Monument and watch the evening show.

The dynamite blast at Crazy Horse was impressive!  A Laser Light show was put on before the blasts.  It, too, was impressive (what I could see of it). The blast was a series of several blasts that carved a few tons of granite from strategic places along the huge mountain.  Someday, when completed, this will be an awesom exhibit.

This exhibit may take another 100 years to finish but they seem determined to make it happen. I'm not sure I will be around when it gets finished.

CAPE HATTERAS LIGHTHOUSE
July 11, 2015

One of the highlights of our drive along the narrow strip of land called the Outer Banks, was to stop and take a look at the famous LIGHTHOUSE on Cape Hatteras.

 Located on Hatteras Island in Buxton, NC, Cape Hatteras Light is an historic icon on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, operated by the National Parks Service.
At 210' in height, it is the tallest brick lighthouse structure in the United States.

The location of the Light was chosen because of the dangerous Diamond Shoals off shore.  The collision of two ocean currents, the Gulf Stream and the Virginia Drift, a branch of the  Labrador Current that flows down from Canada, creates ideal conditions to generate some serious Atlantic storms.  This current has forced hundreds of ships to run aground on this 12 mile long sand bar.  Perhaps thousands of ships have wrecked in this area over the years including the well known Civil War ship called The Monitor.  This area became known as Graveyard of the Atlantic.

We pulled into the parking lot at Cape Hatteras Light and headed directly for the Gift Shop.  As Debby had not been able to do any shopping all the time we were waiting on the bridge for the

barge to pass, she was having dizzy spells that only a shopping trip could cure.  So we browsed and bought a couple of gifts, enjoying the air conditioning as much as possible before venturing out into the summer heat.

Having no desire to climb the 193' spiral staircase in the stiffening North Carolina heat, we opted to stand in the doorway for a photo shoot, instead.  This is a unique and beautiful work of art, smartly painted with its unique black and white design.  

GLACIER LANDING

GLACIER LANDING

Our second day in Alaska.  Ron and I had purchased tickets on an 8 passenger bush plane out of Talkeetna.  The Talkeetna cafe we entered into on this early morning excursion was already tourist filled; surprisingly crowded.  We ordered our food and found a spot at one of the outdoor picnic tables. 

Arriving at K2 Aviation in plenty of time, we donned Gore-tex snow boots that slipped over our shoes, stored our excess things in a locker, grabbed our jackets and headed for the plane.

The bright red bush plane was equipped with special wheels and skis that allowed a dry runway takeoff and a snowfield landing.  Seven passengers sat in the back with one other in the Co-Pilot chair.

Talkeetna is a little over 350' elevation above sea level.  We flew towards Mt McKinley, an icy mountain rising 20,320' above sea level.  We flew for several minutes above an emerald green, pond and lake dotted valley known as the Mat-Su.  This is, apparently, a primitive wilderness area enjoyed by winter snowmobile enthusiasts when the water and tundra freeze solid. 

Soon we were winding our way deep into the Great Gorge, a half mile wide crack in the mountain nearly a mile deep. It's the home of the great Ruth's Glacier, a half mile wide chunk of ancient ice that measures almost 4000' thick!  

We taxied as far as we could, turning around in the Amphitheater and coming to a stop.  After cutting the engines, our pilot walked back, opened the door and secured the steps; we stepped out onto this massive chunk of ice and snow.

We spent 15 or 20 minutes on the ice just taking in the gorgeous beauty of the mountain.  The air was crisp and easy to breathe.  The snow depth was minimal and easy to walk upon.   After snapping all the photos we could stand it was time to board.  Other planes with tourists were landing, doing much the same as we did.

We taxied to the snow runway begin point and picked up speed.  In a moment we were airborne and watching the glacier speed away behind us.  This was an exciting level of fun...very spendy...but well worth it.

RIVER TAXI

RIVER TAXI

July 8, 2015

Today we were supposed to have had a tour bus trip to the Florida Keys but Wyndham's Concierge's assurance that we had a seat, actually lied to us and all we had was a standby seat, in case there was a couple of cancellations; OR, we had a seat on a SECOND OVERFLOW BUS, just in case another 38 people booked a trip in the next 24 hours.  As neither of those happened, Debby was not happy because she had made arrangements weeks ago to be on today's tour but the Wyndham Concierge talked her out of reservations because "There is always room on these tours". Yeah.  Right.

Putting aside the disappointment, we opted to do some sightseeing in Ft Lauderdale.  We hopped a city bus and found a Water Taxi dock, purchased a couple of all-day passes and headed out.  It was fun!  We did enjoy being on the water and seeing how Billionaires and multi-millionaires live.  We even found some houses owned by poor millionaires!  Yes, poor millionaires.  They own the small houses with small swimming pools in the low rent district. The rich millionaires who own multi-million dollar homes can expect to pay 30 or 40 THOUSAND DOLLARS PER MONTH in TAXES!  YIKES!!

Lunch at BUBBA GUMP's was a highlight of the day!  I always love their Shrimp dinners.  The Atlantic Ocean along the Ft Lauderdale beach was gorgeous. It's no wonder the college kids like to come here for spring break. 

Tomorrow morning we head for the airport.  Florida is over.

THE OUTER BANKS, NC

The Outer Banks

July 11, 2015

We enjoyed the drive across North Carolina.  The rolling hills and lush farm land and tobacco crops were picturesque.  Highway 64 took us directly East past Pirate's Cove, across Washington Baum Bridge, past Gum Neck, across Alligator River and Stumpy Creek, where we connected with Highway 12 just below Nags Head, on the 200 mile island called Outer Banks.  Highway 12 runs right down the center of this narrow strip of sand land; the Roanoak Sound on our right and the Atlantic Ocean on our left.  Unfortunately, the sand berm was so high it obstructed our views of the Atlantic. 

We were held up on the low bridge that skims the top of the Sound for several miles by a huge barge carrying excavation equipment and cranes towards the Atlantic.  The pass through on the bridge was a long piece that actually swiveled perpendicular to the highway, thus allowing a clear waterway through the highway.  This slow moving barge took a while in its approach, but eventually it cleared and traffic resumed. 

Resuming our drive south, we continued to pass

alongside beautiful multi-story beach homes and resorts that one can rent for a week at a time, for a hefty price.  Many of the houses appear to be constructed atop 8 or 10 foot stilts.  I guess when the hurricanes hit, the water level rises and the Atlantic waves can flow under the houses, avoiding too much damage.  I'm not sure being inside one of these homes with the Atlantic Ocean pounding the piers would be appealing!  

There appears to be much to do along the Outer Banks, including camping, sand buggy riding, fishing, and, of course, that ever popular, surfing in the Shark infested water.