Willamette Falls - 2nd largest waterfall in North America by Volume

14 May, 2018; Willamette Falls, Oregon City, OR



Almoat hidden from view by all it's commercial uses . . . . 



An ancient fishing center and native village for probably a thousand years,  Willamette Falls began a transformation in the early 1800's as Lumber Mills, Woolen Mills, Paper Mills, Flour Mills, and eventually electrical generation plants reduced, then eliminated public access.  




The power of this waterfall in such an urban setting is hard to recognize.  I have stood at this spot during periods of extreme flooding and seen HOUSES floating over the falls.


Notice the big pile of log debris in the foreground








































When the paper mill closed in 2011, plans started to emerge to return this magnificent waterfall to the community.  I'm looking forward to visiting in the future when the falls have been restored and the public has more access.


Portland Thorns - Women's Soccer!

12 May, 2018; Portland, OR




Other teams have mascots . . . .


The professional men's soccer team in Portland, the Timbers, get, well, a log.  Nevertheless, professional soccer commands a near religious following in Portland.  





Saturday, I went to a Portland Thorns, the women's pro soccer team, game.


Of all the possible sections in this big stadium, we chose one of the two where members of the 'Timber's Army' (also, apparently, the 'Thorn's Army') choose to be.  What this meant was that for the entire (ENTIRE) game, everyone in those 2 sections was on their feet yelling, screaming, and singing.  Holding up flags, waving or holding up big scarves (think Dr Who), depending on the field position.

The whole experience was incredibly loud, tribal, and very fun!  One very noticeable thing for me was the age demographic.  Most of the time in the SW, I'm surrounded by retired, white-haired RV people.  In contrast, the stadium was filled with young people (hair-dyed, tatooed, skin pierced) and young families.  I found it invigorating and very colorful!




I didn't get a photo of the giant red plume of smoke that gets set off when the Thorns make a goal - silly me, I thought I'd get another chance.  Unfortunately, Orlando held the Thorns to 1 goal.



Back in the PNW

9 May, 2018;  Oregon City, OR

For the first time, I’m experiencing some culture shock


Or, if not culture shock, serious re-location adjustment.  I drove up into Oregon from the East side on Hwy 395.  I was on the ‘Oregon Outback’ Scenic Byway and it was very different from the usual coast and coastal mountains.  I had to look at my map – first surprise – despite having lived in Oregon over 35 years; I really hadn’t realized how big Eastern Oregon is!  My usual travels don’t take me very much further east than Bend or Klamath Falls – they aren’t even half-way across Oregon.
Anyway, it was a beautiful drive – lots of lambs, kids, calves, and foals.  Big lakes that I had never heard of (distressingly, they seemed very low, some were really dried up.


Not dried up; typical green rivers of Oregon


You never know what you’ll find in the insulating box around the water hook-up.


In SW Arizona, I’m cautious of finding snakes, scorpions or spiders.  In my first hook-up here in Oregon, I found frogs; very much in keeping with my impressions of the PNW as essentially benign.



Several things kept surprising me


  • Weather forecasters talking about ‘the coast’ – I haven’t been near a coast in almost 9 months.
  • Having to sit in my car and wait for an attendant to fill up my gas tank.  Something I used to take for granted is now somewhat irritating.
  • I usually look for Oregon/Washington license plates when I’m in big parking lots.  I keep thinking – ‘Oh, look, they’re from Oregon’ before I remember, Duh, I’m in Oregon!!
  • Everyone in stores keeps commenting on the ‘lovely sunny day’ – I admit it, I now consider sunny days the default!  I’m almost taking them for granted.

My second night was in the mountains just south of Bend.  Huge ponderosa pines and the smell was more persistent but just as intoxicating as the ‘desert smell’ I love.  I stayed at LaPine State Park, home of a ‘big tree’.  This big tree is over 500 years old, and even though it lost about 30 feet of it’s crown in a storm, it’s still the biggest Ponderosa pine in circumference.






I’m driveway surfing with friends until my RV park reservation comes open in June.  Not sure how much I’ll post now that I’m in the city doing mundane, every day kind of things.

Back to life in the green tunnel that is the Pacific North West!





Yup, I'm in Nevada

2 May, 2018; Sportsman's Beach CG, just North of Hawthorne, NV


Heading for Home!


I never know exactly when it will happen, but at some point as I'm thinking of returning to Oregon, or have started for home, my chilled out 'vacation mode' goes away and I become impatient to be home (even though I no longer have a home there).  My usual day is 3-4 hours of driving; today was 8 hrs - I stopped for gas FOUR times.    It doesn't help that I almost always have to pass through Nevada.


The Mojave desert and the great basin are not my favorite deserts - lots of sage and tumbleweed, maybe an occasional Joshua tree.  But, sights like these lighten my mood!







This is one of my favorite stops along this part of highway.  I score a sweet spot for the night at Sportsman's Beach CG in Walker Lake Recreation Area (hwy 95 about 10 miles N. Of Hawthorne, NV).  With my geezer pass, it's only $3.  On the upper loop, I even get OTA Television!







A day for puttering around

30 Apr, 2018; Boulder Beach CG, Lake Mead NRA, Boulder City, NV


Some days are just meant to be relaxing


I had thought that I'd take care of making some appointments for when I'm back in PDX and then take a hike before it got too hot.  But, after making my calls, I was feeling lazy and the overcast sky meant that it wouldn't get too hot - I could hike later - after another cup of tea.  

I had my tea and read my Kindle outside in the shade of a tree.  There are a lot of birds here and the trees were full of birdsong.  A hummingbird visited some flowering bushes about 4 feet from me.  A family of Gambel Quail scurried by in the brush.  

Lately, my fridge has been struggling to keep cool in the unrelenting heat


I had a thought that if I strung up a tarp on the fridge side of the trailer, the resulting shade might help the fridge and my Yeti cooler of ice (frequent iced drinks help me when I'm struggling in the unrelenting heat).  

So, as an experiment, I gathered up several suction cup hooks that I've been using inside the trailer and stuck them on the side of the trailer, hung a small tarp (previously, I had attached grommets along the edges of this tarp) and staked it out enough to make room for the cooler and any breezes to circulate.

The ground is too hard to drive stakes; I had to use rocks

Enough work, time for lunch


One of my favorite things about traveling is visiting different grocery stores, preferably smaller markets that cater to locals.  I love finding food that I have never tried (and have to Google to even figure out what to do with it).  Sometimes, I just find familiar food that's packaged in a different way.  I was in a Food City last week and found plastic bags (instead of cans) in the deli section with different types of refried beans, Spanish Rice and prepared tamales.   

In the pasta aisle, I found small packages of  'Fideo' - which is like vermicelli only in small 1/2" segments.  I've had Fideo in Mexican restaurants where it replaces rice.  I got some general instructions on preparing it from the waitress and am looking forward to trying it myself.

But, the real find was Machaca (dried shredded beef).  Like beef jerky only shredded very finely.  An interesting and practical way to carry meat without refrigeration.  Apparently, you just re-hydrate it and use in burritos or with eggs and salsa or . . . ? ? ? 






So, I added some hot water and a can of green salsa and let it re-hydrate for a few minutes.  Since it's so finely shredded, it didn't take very long.  Then, I made a bean/beef burrito - it was very yummy!


This culinary experiment was followed by more reading and sitting in the shade.  I saw several bunnies, more bunnies, and I may have nodded off for a bit.


A leisurely walk rounds out my day


 I have to get some steps recorded on the fit bit today - so I strolled around the campground and down the road to the beach.  There's about 1/4 mile of beach before you get to the lake - the water is always really low here.

I love the smooth bark on these trees



There are two types of palms here; this is the short, fat kind


And on the left, examples of the tall skinny palms


Moon coming up over the mountains (and the RV park next door)

The crickets are out and dusk is falling as I finish a salad for dinner.  I'm gong to finish this post; sketch for a little while and call it a day.

Maybe I'll take that hike tomorrow.


Vintage 1957 Westphalia Trailer!!

29 Apr, 2018; Boulder Beach Campground, Lake Mead NRA, Boulder City NV


Sorry as I was to say goodbye to all those noisy Harley's . . . .


And, despite the weather warnings for high winds, I left Kingman, AZ this morning for one of my favorite campgrounds.  Boulder Beach CG is just about 4 miles from Boulder City, NV and just a few miles from Hoover Dam.  The campground sits on the west shore of Lake Mead; so I get a great sunset view as the setting sun lights up the Mountains to the east over the lake and sets over some hills to the west.  There are big trees, lots of shade, level sites and access to the lake.

I only felt the winds a little bit while driving - the winds didn't pick up until later in the afternoon after I was already set up.  I was stretching my legs and walking around the campground when I came upon this gem.


A vintage 1957, completely original, Westphalia Trailer!!





Randy and Alisha (sp?) were pulling out, but were kind enough to show me their trailer and share some details.  The trailer was imported from Europe awhile back and Randy and Alisha became it's proud owners a couple of years ago.  Despite it's age, all components and interior are original!


Here's the brief tour with, unfortunately, only pics from my cell phone.




The furnace is built into the door!  Now that's a space saving idea!  And apparently, there is a mirror - I didn't notice that when I took the pic.




Inside and immediately to the right is a small bathroom with a funky old-fashioned toilet.




You can see the 2-person dinette on the right and a double bed in the back. On the left is a large wardrobe/storage area - with lovely glass insets in the front double doors.





In the front, next to the bathroom is a generous kitchen.  The counter top is hinged at the back and when closed, the top is that same lovely wood paneling seen throughout the trailer.




I saved the most spectacular thing for last.  Built into a shelf along the dinette is a cocktail set.  Yes, those German campers knew what they were doing.  I was very impressed that even after 60 years, it was completely intact.




Very glad I decide to take my walk when I did today.  A few minutes later and I would have missed meeting Randy and Alisha and getting to tour this incredible trailer!!  They were so nice to put off their departure a few minutes and let me barge into their trailer with my camera!

Is this Oatman AZ? Well, yes, but also part of the 2018 Laughlin River Run (think 75,000 folks on Harley’s)

28 Apr, 2018; Kingman AZ

I went to Oatman for pioneer charm


Named after Olive Oatman who, at 13, was kidnapped by Indians in 1851 during a raid that killed most of her family.  She and a younger sister were taken; her brother Lorenzo was left for dead but managed to hike to an outpost to safety.  Olive’s younger sister died during their captivity, while Olive lived among the natives for several years before being rescued by her brother Lorenzo. She went on to marry but struggled with what we would call PTSD today; After hearing many different versions of her story for years in almost every pioneer museum in the area, I wanted to visit the town named after her.


Olive, with a chin tattoo common among the Mohave; Olive claimed the specific pattern  identified a slave

A stop on Route 66


Oatman grew as a mining town along Rte 66.  Even today, small feral burros wander the mountains and beg carrots from tourists.  In fact, the burros are such an attraction that you can buy burro treats from the local stores (small grain and hay feed biscuits).  Normally, there are the usual staged shoot-outs on main street on the weekends as well.

I had heard that the road to Oatman was narrow and winding and not for RV’s.  It was fairly scary even in my car!  Ed’s Camp was a popular stop for gas, ice, and food along the old Rte. 66. After the new I-40 was put in, Ed’s camp withered away and now only serves tumbleweeds.




The first 10 miles from Kingman was fine – just a narrow 2-lane road.  But, then I hit the mountains and the final 10 miles to Oatman consisted of an even narrower 2-lane track with no shoulder, few cliff barriers, and ridiculous hairpin turns!! 









The views were great though.  I passed a patch of huge Ocotillo in full bloom; I’ve never seen anything like it.  Around a couple of the hair-pin turns, there were small pull-outs.  It’s a good thing, because the views were spectacular.







Boys, Bikes, and Bands . . . .


From the number of motorcycles I was seeing on the road, I knew to park on the outskirts of Oatman – but even then I really didn’t have a clue. While I'm sure the bulk of the 75,000 people were in Laughlin - still way too many were taking side trips to Oatman, Kingman and Chloride today.





I walked up a hill from where I had parked in a wash outside of town and was soon in the middle, of Oatman, and, in the middle of a stop on the 2018 Laughlin River Run!  I don’t know how many motorcycles were there but I counted over 200 already leaving before I even got there.




Cycles lined both side of the street all the way through the little main street, filling every parking area and stacked up on the shoulders and washes coming into town.  There were the vendors you find at any major event selling jewelry (lots of little skulls), patches, t-shirts, and gear (in this case, motorcycle stuff).






Between the growl of the Harley’s, the giant speakers for a couple of bands, and yelling, laughing people, I may not hear correctly for a week!  I had planned to have lunch in Oatman, but the crowds (and especially the incredible noise) drove me out.

I did see a bit of Oatman peeking through as I scurried back to my car.


Cool old bike at one vendor spot







But, oh, the bikes were beautiful!!  And the people were friendly (if a little bit well lit); I was offered chicken, beer (and a ‘mustache ride’ . . .) – but overall, no one was getting too frisky; there were families there and lot’s of police to manage traffic and, from the event’s website, ‘public nudity’.


This beauty belonged to a guy I met at a turnout - he warned me about the crowds and gave me some good advice on where to park.



I've always loved Indian motorcycles; apparently the leather seat and saddlebags are required - I saw several but this one was the prettiest.

Is this glittery or what!!

. . . . and, of course, the famous Burros!!


Despite the noise, the Burros were very calm








Altogether an interesting day, even if it wasn’t anything like what I had been expecting.

Chloride, AZ: required stop on the SW Snowbird circuit!

28 Apr, 2018;  Kingman AZ

There are many routes to sunny Southern AZ for snowbirds.


There are lots of ways to travel, depending on your preference for highways or secondary roads, concerns about weather, etc.  Over time, snowbirds have visited many sights along the way, posting photos and sharing tips on the best viewpoints, diners, camping spots and, in this case, ghost towns.





Folks still live in Chloride. 


I saw some houses(some nice, some abandoned, kind of mixed together), lots of trailers, and the tourist center – a pub, a diner, a souvenir place.  There was a reconstructed old time mining street where I heard they enact melodramatic main street shoot-outs. 






Abandoned, I think


More rusty stuff


Cool old trailer; abandoned now.


It was hard to get a photo without a motorcycle in it.


There are a lot of motorcycles in Kingman and again here at Chloride.  I had heard that there was ‘some kind of event’ but wasn’t giving it much thought (dum, dum, dum, dum ‘foreshadowing’).




I was more interested in the art.


There were a lot of wall paintings, and up-cycled stuff in people's yards, and outside art galleries.  All fun stuff.


The heads are bowling balls




cute bowling ball guy

 More motorcycle foreshadowing (see next post)


Note the spine is actual vertebrae!

Recently, I had heard that there are Murals!


The Murals are about 1.5 miles past a cattle guard.  Just drive through town on the main street to get to the cattle guard.  The road is quite rough; sometimes it’s cut with deep washouts and sometimes it seems to be a wash.  Watch out for the big rocks if you don’t have great clearance.  Signage is pretty good  - look for painted arrows on rocks.

As you can see from all the photos, I really liked the Murals.








This answers 'why?'

























A remarkable coincidence!


As I was winding my way up into the hills to see the murals, I was waved over by an oncoming SUV.  The road was very narrow and I had a big shoulder where I was - I was glad to get out of their way.

As the SUV made it’s way downhill, I got out of the car and chatted with a couple women who were walking their dogs in front of the car.  In the usual chat about where we were from and where we are going, it came up that these women are in the process of creating an ‘intentional community’ between Santa Fe and ABQ (Placitas, actually).  How coincidental – this is one of the areas that I’ve been researching as a potential place to settle down!  Hopefully, we’ll keep in touch and I can visit the next time I’m in Santa Fe.


They warned me about snakes and wasps near the murals; I didn’t see any – but the cactus was lovely!




It's a long way back down.