Me Tarzan, you...?!

Wednesday July 6, 2011: Me Tarzan, you...?!

After a beautiful night sleeping outside, I did my powerwalk on a path along the lake. There is a whole lot of driftwood along the shores. I would love to take it home but Spouse would have a cow! How nice some of my orchids would look mounted to that beautiful wood...

We are now at the base of St. Helens. You know, that volcano that blew its top in 1980 and decimated the region. That same volcano that is still active... So why not check it out!

We first headed to Lava Canyon. There are stunning views of Mt. St. Helens and the lava fall. A hiking trail takes you through the trees to a canyon with rushing water. Beautiful purple penstamen, lupine and the white puff ball of bear grass adorn the trails as well as other flowers of which I do not know the names. There are signs warning about the rushing water and I put all jokes aside to Dallas and Crew about this one. Having lost a dear friend in similar circumstances, I wanted them to understand the gravity of the situation. We crossed a bridge and headed down the rocky trail, and there was a suspension bridge to bring us back. It was a narrow bridge...

Let me give you a term that you may not have heard: ob-nox'-i-um: n. a substance secreted from the little known obnoxia gland in males... When you come to a narrow suspension bridge, that straddles a hundred feet over a canyon with rushing water, what would you expect 3 males to do? Of course! Turn it into an Indiana Jones adventure. What a kick tho! Crew wanted to pee off the bridge, so Spouse made it as difficult as possible for him!

We finished that hike then headed over to Ape Cave. Ape Cave is a lava tube approximately 2 miles long. At the point of entry, you can either take the lower cave route which is an uneventful 3/4 mile tour, or you could take the 1 and 1/2 mile route. As we waited for the tour, we asked Spouse, who had the backpack, for one of our apples. He said they were in an ice chest in the car. We all looked at him like he was from another planet. He had the backpack, supposedly with the goods, but once again... we would go hungry!

Oh well... We started on a tour but when the tour wanted to do the shorter route, I convinced my guys to go the longer trail. Thus we left the tour group. So, it is about 42 degrees and it is dark. Did I mention it is dark? We each had a flashlight. Spouse and Dallas had ones on their heads. Crew and I had to hold ours in our hands. Did I mention it was dark?

I almost can't believe that they let the public roam freely in this tube. We started the trek... our first obstacles were boulders the size of volkswagen bugs. And there were boulders the size of footballs. And there were boulders the size of truck tires. Now, it is difficult enough to make these climbs in broad daylight, but in the dark with flashlights was a true challenge. For me, losing my balance meant flailing my arms, which means my flashlight is not on the trail and I have no idea where to go! And when you do fall, you are falling on lava... nice sharp, unforgiving lava! So you learn real quick to go slow! Note to self: wear gloves when spelunking in Ape Cave.

Dallas likes to lead, so he became the scout. We now call him Sacajawea! We climb. Spouse starts complaining about how stupid this was. We urge him on. We continue. Over this huge rock, down thru this one. Watch your step, there is a water puddle over here. Then the path levels out for a while. We can actually walk without using our hands to brace us up. Then another climb. Go to the left, now go to the right. Try going this way. Crew, are you there? Then it flattens out again. At this point, I feel like I am in a giant esophagus! Or maybe a colon! We wind our way ever so carefully hoping our batteries do not die. We do turn them off to see just how dark it is... cannot see our hands in front of our faces. It is dark. Watch your head.

We press on. I hear voices and we catch up to a mom and pop and 6 year old Travis. This is an incredible trek, it is hard to believe a 6 year old is doing it! We all start to help one another. Sacajawea is leading the way. We climb, then it is flat. We come upon an 8 foot wall. It has a spot about 3 feet up for a foot, but then you have to put your other foot against another wall and start to shimmy up. Don't fall... lava hurts... fortunately for me, Sacajawea was already up there and he was able to give me enough of a pull to hoist myself up. He helped everybody on this one. We trudged on, lava falls, watch your head. Climb up these. It is flat now, there are boulders there. Travis falls and starts to cry. He is getting scared and cranky. We forge ahead. We finally see one of the sky openings. We know we are close. We come upon a huge climb... ever so slowly we climb. Spouse falls on his knee. He skins his arms and bloodies his finger. He is ok, and we trudge on. Finally, we see the light at the end of the tunnel. There is a ladder, and we climb ourselves out of the 42 degree cave into the 90 degree sunlight! Here we can look at our wounds and shed our clothes. When we started out, we questioned this adventure, but now that we all made it out without major injury, we can smile and pat ourselves on our backs... excepts it hurts too much to move our hands to our backs!

I did not bring sunglasses because I knew I would be in a cave, but now we had a mile hike back! Travis and his parents caught up to us. Travis is no longer cranky! Imagine that! This is one heck of an adventure, and I cannot believe a 6 year old would even attempt it!

We get back to Hannah and clean ourselves up. Dallas and Crew napped... They came alive come s'more time though! We had originally planned to move on, but decided to spend another night here, even though we now have neighbors...

Yale Lake and S'mores

Dam!

Tuesday July 5, 2011: Dam!

First order of the day was to walk Bart. He had a spring in his step so last night's episode apparently was a non-issue.

After a few days of holding steady, it was time to move on. So, we decided to head back down the Columbian Gorge and visit the Bonnieville dam. Albert recommended the tour and he was right on!

The Bonnieville dam is the last in a series of dams on the Columbia River. This was one of FDR's projects to help build our infrastructure while helping people find jobs during the depression. It is not a dam that is a reservoir. Its purpose is to generate electricity while improving navigation on the river. Thus, it is not unusual to see incredible rapids coming out of the floodgates. We took a tour, then toured some on our own. I loved watching the fish on the fish ladders. One of the major concerns of building the dam was fish migration patterns, especially salmon. So a series of fish ladders and bypasses were created to facilitate their progress. There are windows where you can watch them migrating upstream. It was mesmerizing to watch! A lamprey attached itself to the window giving us all an up close and personal view!

The Red Cross was there soliciting for blood donors. Spouse and Dallas gave. Crew and I could not for various reasons. After several hours at the dam, we headed down to the fish hatchery where we viewed Herman, the 70 year old sturgeon. He weighs 450 pounds (but he doesn't look like a pound over 440!).

We left the dam and headed east on I84 to Cascade Locks, where we can cross over to Washington on the Bridge of the Gods. We headed north on 30, then caught 90 west. The roads were heavily forested and wild foxgloves, sweatpeas and beargrass showed their wares along the sides. We decided to pull into a campground at Beaver Bay near the town of Cougar. The campground is right on Yale Lake. It doesn't have RV hookups, but we should have enough water to get by. They have shower facilities so we should be able to make it.

Our site has tall trees and is quite spacious. We lit a fire in the fire ring where the boys all made their s'mores. I slept outside. The trees did a good job of blocking a lot of the stars, but I could still see plenty of them, and so many of them shone through the tree limbs that it felt quite Disney-esque!

What Were We Thinking

Monday, July 4, 2011: What were we thinking?

Woke up to a sunny day. Time to do some housekeeping. After my powerwalk, while the boys washed the truck and Hannah, I did all the laundry. Sounds weird, but it is kind of therapeutic to watch clothes tumble in the dryer. I must need some more sleep!

Then we readied ourselves to go to Multnomah Falls. Albert told us about all the waterfalls along the Columbia Gorge so we decided to check it out. I made some sandwiches. Spouse loaded up the truck and off we went.

The Columbia Gorge is a national treasure. We are on I84 going east. To our north is the Columbia River. To our south are steep canyons and crags that are heavily wooded with water cascading at various points. Hawks are cruising the area by the dozens. The air is crisp and clean and warm. The map I have is not very specific so we get off at where we think we should and cruise along a little sidestreet past tiny cottages. When we see the traffic start to jam up, we grabbed the first parking space we could find. It turns out we are at the falls right before Multnomah (Wahkeena Falls), but we figured we would just hike over to them.

We grabbed our stuff... but wait... Doug has his backpack with all of his survival supplies, but where is the backpack with the food? Oops! Here it is a holiday at a major tourist attraction and Spouse is futzing with his GPS, while our sandwiches are in Hannah! The entire state of Oregon, and probably Washington too, are here and Spouse is worrying about getting lost??? And he did not pack our food?

Needless to say, we are not amused. But onward we trekked. Wahkeena Falls are beautiful, and there is a hiking trail that takes us to Multnomah. Multnomah Falls cascades 600 feet from its top. The trailhead says it is a mile hike to the top. In Spouse's survival pack, he has beef jerkey and Cliff bars, so we fortify ourselves, and begin the trek to the top with the masses of people. What were we thinking of going to a major tourist attraction on a holiday? Oh well, up we trek. It is a paved trail that gets quite steep. There are 11 switchbacks, and they are numbered so you know where you are. Crew is sure the creators of the trail personally conspired against him. Dallas just jumps ahead and leads the pack. The trail offers stunning views of the Columbia river. Today it is a little choppy with some whitecaps. Lichen covered trees, ferns and some wildflowers guide us along. The canopy of trees shades the trail all of the way.

We are somewhat amazed at some of the people on their way down. Obesity in our country is very alive, but they made it and I sure do give them credit! Of course, we are emaciated - our food being left at home... The first 9 switchbacks are all up hill, the last 2 are downhill (which means you have to go uphill to get out, which Crew is sure the creators conspired against him!). And at the 7th switchback, a mile marker is posted... Hey! It is posted as a mile hike, yet we still have 4 switchbacks to go! What gives? We ultimately make it and the view from the top is spectacular and well worth the trip. After enjoying the area above, we headed down, down, down. The crowds were enormous. We should have charged for our parking place when we left. We were able to scoot out and get home to our waiting sandwiches.

After we ate, Spouse and I did some grocery shopping, then we all went to Albert;s for a 4th of July BBQ. Albert and his wife Ricki live in Lake Oswego which is about 45 minutes from where we are staying. Every year, their neighborhood gets together and they watch the fireworks over the lake from one of their houses. We visited with all of their neighbors, and as the skies started to darken a wee bit (it was around 9:30 and there was still light), all the kids in the hood started lighting their own fireworks. Dallas and Crew got in on this gig, channeling their inner pyromaniacs! Cars could barely get by with this thing shooting over there, and that thing shooting over here! How different it is being in a place that isn't at risk of fire by the mere presence of fireworks.

When the fireworks over the lake started, we all found our places to watch in between the two trees that should be cut down! Still, there was a good view and we enjoyed the show.

When it was all said and done, we said our goodbyes once again, and made our way back to Hannah. All along the way, the fireworks serenaded us.

As we settled in for the night, Bart kind of started to yelp. We were reading in bed and jumped up to see what was going on. Apparently, he was trying to get up and slipped and did the splits. It startled him so he could barely yelp. He was almost up when we got to him to comfort him. He was panting heavily, poor guy, but he was ok. We all loved on him but we all felt so bad. Your pets are your chosen family. We love them dearly and it is hard to watch them age. Bart is 13. His back legs are not as cooperative as they once were. Dallas always lifts him into the truck. And everyone lifts him into Hannah. He can go downstairs ok, but up doesn't always work. He used to fight us, but now he waits to be lifted. Like a kid, I think he wishes he knew he had this power over us a lot sooner!

We Got the Blues!

Sunday, July 3, 2011: We all got the blues...

Woke up to a cloudy and cool morning, just like the weatherman predicted. I climbed over the boys' bed to do my powerwalk, which in this area is totally uneventful. The berry brambles should be providing berries at this time of year but they are way behind. Heck, they are still flowering! It will be weeks before I would be able to channel my inner bear to graze on ripe juicy berries! Came back and we all just kind of lounged around, reading, doing my needlepoint.

Because the boys are using the foldout bed in our couch, it blocks our passage to the outside world. When Spouse feels the boys have had enough sleep, he deflates their air mattress. Crew is usually awake already. Dallas could probably sleep all day. They really don't move much when we climb over them. Fortunately, Bart can scoot under the bed.

Around 3pm, we gathered our stuff and headed to Bluesfest. This is a blues festival on the Willamette River in downtown Portland. There were 4 different stages and a gazillion people. But our mission was to hook up with my dear friend Albert Almeida. Cell phones are marvelous things but when the music is busting all decibel charts, they prove to be quite useless! I waited til the singer came up for air and found my Albie.

Albert and I used to work together at Blue Cross in the 1970's and 1980's. He moved to Portland around 1990 and we have kept in touch throughout the years. He is such a special friend and holds a permanent tender spot in my heart. The last time I saw him was about 10 years ago when I had a conference in Portland. He had hair then! Now he is shaved clean but he still looks like Albie!

We laid out our blanket. Spouse and the boys played dice. Soon some of our 'neighbors' joined in. The music was good. The venue is phenomenal. Scores of boats lined the cove to take advantage of the music. Dinghy's were lined up all around. The clouds departed and the sun came out. When a band finished at one stage, one would start immediately on another stage. There were screens broadcasting the talent scattered around so you could see something from any angle. Albie and I visited and caught each other up on our lives. He recommended some sights to see in the area.

Later in the evening, we said our goodbyes. As we exited the venue, the line to get in was probably a quarter mile long! We had parked in underground parking a few blocks away. Getting a truck around in those buildings is quite a challenge, but Spouse was able to inch our way out, with all of us holding our breaths expecting to take out a curb or two!

7/2/2011: FOUR, FORE, FOR, 4...

Saturday July 2, 2011: Fore, Four, For, 4

Today, Spouse and I decided to play golf. Why, on a weekend is beyond me but it seemed like the thing to do. We got a tee time at Glendoveer East golf course. It reminded me a little of Griffith Park courses, except with huge stands of redwoods. Then there were the hills, kind of like Elkins Ranch. It was good to get the golf cobwebs off of us. I stunk on the front 9. My mojo was off with waiting on every hole. Even if I didn't wait, my mojo was off! Spouse was his normal self - either off or on! Did better on the back 9 and the backup disappeared so it was play as you go golf. Overall I shot 101 (should have been about a 90 as I missed so many easy shots). Spouse shot 115. Some beautiful holes with Mt. St. Helens in the background.

When we got home, they boys had done some cleaning in Hannah! Wow! I wonder how many arguments they had as to who would vacuum vs who would scrub the sinks! I am just glad to see the results!

Now, everybody is watching 'Something About Mary' - always good for a laugh. Who knows what the rest of the night holds...

7-1-2011: You do it. No, YOU do it...

Friday, July 1, 2011: You do it. No, YOU do it...

One of you go get Doug for breakfast.

You do it because I am reading. No, YOU do it because I already did it yesterday. No, You do it. Do we really need to get him? He should know it is breakfast time.

Go get him otherwise neither of you will eat.

I will do it if I don't have to do dishes. But I am reading.

GO GET HIM!

I love kids...

Did a nice power walk around our area. We are in the town of Idanha, about 45 miles east of Salem, Oregon. The campground is everything I think a campground should be. The RV spaces are quite large, with fire rings. When you look out your window, you see trees, not other RVs. The Santiam River runs behind the property, or actually rushes past the property serenading us as she runs. We are secluded and quiet. It is the perfect hybrid between RV camping and tent camping. There are some great tent campsites along the water. Absolutely beautiful here! But they are booked for the holiday weekend so on we must go.

The boys are getting good at helping break down camp. We readied Hannah and headed to Portland. Spouse saw a sign for cheap gas, so even though we still had a half a tank, he actually got off the freeway with all of the traffic to fuel up... Only you needed an 'Oregon' card to get the cheap fuel. So he maneuvered around the trucks and cars to go to another station, which was even more difficult to maneuver in. We left without fuel...

We made some calls and were able to find an RV space at a park 8 miles east of Portland. Things are full for the holiday weekend so we jumped on the spot and the park is very pretty. The spaces have a tree or two and a grassy area with a picnic table. Still too close for my taste but I am sure we will be quite comfortable. They have a recreation room with movies, games, puzzles, etc. Spouse and the boys are off at the movies. I have had a sinus headache all day so I am hanging in Hannah.

I talked to my buddy Albert and we will be getting together for the 4th of July. Spouse and I will be playing some golf tomorrow, and maybe going to the Bluesfest concert on Sunday with Albert. We will see.

I love how light it stays up here. Plenty of daylight til about 9:30. Fireworks probably won't start here til after 10!