#73 Coveys Great Adventure – October 2020 – Nehalem OR

October 2020 – Nehalem OR

Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach 

If Benson AZ is our home base, Nehalem Bay State Park is a close second. This
was our sixth year camp hosting at our favorite campground. On October 1, we shoehorned our way into site A2 and had our first camper interaction before we got completely set up. The whole Park was open for camping and it was full every weekend despite some pretty wet weather. Oregonians are tough.

 I think I mentioned last year that many trees were being killed by moss. The moss essentially strangles the the tree. The shore pines that dominate the Park's tree coverage are especially vulnerable and the change from last year was striking. Apparently this is a naturally occurring cycle, not an invasive attack, so OPRD has no choice bu to let it run its course. When we first visited the Park in 2014, the trees grew so thickly that it was almost impossible to walk off the trails. Now you can see for dozens of yards as you walk and the trail sides are littered with fallen  trees. After every storm the rangers have to clear dead trees off the trails. 

Covid hit OPRD quite hard because it is completely dependent on the revenues it generates. It doesn’t get any tax support, so when the virus forced the closure of all of Oregon's state parks for several months the revenue simply stopped. Between the layoffs and deferred seasonal hiring campground maintenance really suffered.

One of the big jobs at Nehalem is keeping all the trees trimmed back so that large rigs like ours are able to get into the sites, even to get down the roads in many cases without scraping tree branches. Site A2 is always a challenge for us to get into, but this year the staffing shortage made it especially so. I didn’t time it, but I’ll bet it took us 15 minutes of backing and filling to get in unscathed. I do know we held up traffic for quite awhile, but everyone was patient. Kayeanne is a very good guide; there’s no way to do that kind of maneuvering alone.

A few days later, during a heavy rain, one of the large overhanging trees split and started to fall onto the coach. I got onto the roof and cut away enough of it with a small bow saw that we carry to get Ripley out of the site undamaged. The rangers brought out chainsaws and removed that tree and one next to it. There’s a third one that will need to go soon, too.

The beach at Manzanita was pure joy

As much as we like Nehalem, I think the dogs truly love it. As soon as we pulled into the Park they both stood up and start sniffing. Schroeder immediately went on deer, squirrel and rabbit alert. They both seemed to experience real joy when they hit the beach and the leashes come off. Lucy is now so lame that we didn’t try to make it over the dunes to get to the beach from the Park, we took them to Manzanita where the beach access is much easier.

Covid hadn’t hit the Park quite as hard as it did the Mill, but it certainly made an impact. All of the yurts were closed, which did make our job easier, but that was offset by fewer hosts. There are usually eight host couples in the park, but this year just five. It wasn’t bad during the week, but the Park was sold out every weekend and the work load got pretty heavy. One change that really helped was that the rangers delivered pallets of firewood right to our site. We no longer had to ferry it from the wood barn a few bundles at a time in a golf cart. Now we can sell it right off the pallet. The bathrooms were open, but the showers weren’t, something the campers, and I, really missed.

My first shot at Nan bread

Despite being shorthanded, we still had time for special projects. Kayeanne joined with another host to make new curtains for the yurts. They set up a production line in the meeting hall (closed for Covid) and knocked out several sets. I tried a couple of new recipes.

We became friends with Sharon and Gary Sams last year when we both hosted here. We got together in Park City in June, and they included Manzanita on their Oregon coast road trip. We had a great time with them around a fire one evening drinking quite good wine at The Winery at Manzanita, and then eating great fish tacos at Riverside Fish & Chips beside the Nehalem River. I hope we can see them again when we are in Salt Lake over Thanksgiving.

Voting while on the road certainly wasn’t easy. We applied for Texas absentee ballots in August, as soon as the application was posted. I had them sent to General Delivery at the post office in Manzanita, the closest one to the Park. Kayeanne’s arrived on October 8, but mine didn’t. I waited a few days and then called Polk County. I discovered that they had sent my ballot to our co-op mailbox in Benson, the address we used for the primary election ballots. The person I talked to acknowledged the error, but said Texas state law prohibited sending out another ballot. I called the Benson post office to see what could be done. While they were sympathetic, none of the suggestions were workable given that we had the only key to the mailbox and the time left to election day. I resigned myself to not voting.

Then, on October 27 I got a text message from the Texas Democratic Party reminding me to send in my ballot. For some reason, I replied. 15 minutes later I got a call from a woman who took immediate issue with the clerk’s interpretation of the voting law. An hour later I was on a conference call with her, lawyers for the Party, and Schelana Hock, the Polk County Clerk. The upshot of the call was that Ms. Hock agreed to send another ballot, and even volunteered to drop it off on her way home. That’s when I made a mistake.

It never occurred to me that the she would spend the money to use FedEx to send it. I assumed she would use Priority Mail and gave her the Manzanita post office address. As soon as I saw the tracking number the next morning I realized that I had screwed up. FedEx won’t deliver to post offices because the post offices don’t get paid to handle FedEx deliveries.

I spent the next two days battling with FedEx’s really terrible automated system trying to get the package rerouted. Trying to deal with that system raised my blood pressure to dangerous levels and sent the dogs into hiding. I had given up when I got a call from a real person at the FedEx distribution center in Portland where the package surfaced for the second time. She finally figured out how to get it delivered on Saturday, October 31, to a FedEx drop off location 15 miles away in Rockaway. An hour after it arrived there I had my ballot! Now, all I had to do was fill it out and give it back to FedEx. Except, that this location was just a pickup and drop off point. They could not originate shipments. The closest FedEx location that could on Saturday was in, wait for it, … Portland, a hundred miles away. It was now 2 PM and I was supposed to be working. I’m thinking I’m done, when Kayeanne pointed out that UPS offers overnight service. too. The UPS Store in Warrenton 45 miles away was open. Victory was in sight! Sure enough, they can guarantee delivery by 10 AM on November 3. for just $85.10. Yikes! But too many people had worked too hard for me to quit now. I now know the cost of virtue, but I VOTED!

Just a word about Schelana Hock: To me, she personifies the meaning of “public servant”. She could have shrugged this off, but instead she took it upon herself to fix it. I am grateful to her for her service. I’ll bet every one of the thousands of county clerks and ballot handlers in this country hold themselves to the same standard. 

October seemed to fly by; suddenly it was Nov, 1. We turned in our keys and headed to Eugene to begin to work our way to Salt Lake City to spend Thanksgiving with Liesa and Cory. 

For some reason I don’t seem to be doing much reading lately, but wine drinking hasn’t tailed off. This month we enjoyed Trader Joe’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon – Napa 2017, and a very nice Spanish white wine Raimat Saira Albarino, also from Trader Joe’s.

More soon,

Bob

 

 

 

 

 

#72 September 2020 - Thompson’s Mills – Shedd, OR

About noon on September 8, 2020

I will always remember the smoke. The size and speed of the fires this year took Oregon by surprise. Unlike California, Santa Ana – type winds are uncommon up here. Strong northeast winds combined with unusually dry conditions and a large dry lightning storm ignited over 230 fires. The east-west passes though the Cascade mountains funneled the winds, concentrating and accelerating the fires to levels that Oregonians hadn’t imagined possible. In three days over 1 million acres, twice the state’s annual fire acreage, burned. Several towns that we have driven through recently were heavily damaged or destroyed. 

The ducks never missed their daily bath

At the Mill, we were directly downwind of one of the largest fires. It rained ash. The smoke was more dense than from the Simi, Camarillo or Westlake fires that we rode out in Thousand Oaks. For over a week we didn’t see the sun. Although we weren’t in any danger, we certainly were nervous and checked the web several times a day to monitor the fires' progress. OPRD suspended all non-essential outdoor and indoor activities, eliminating our already-easy duties completely. Visits went from a few a day to none, literally. We had nine cars enter the park in seven days, most to use the restroom and then leave. It was weally, weally quiet. 

Tomato pie? Delicious!

Throughout it all, however, the family farmer tended her garden. Weeds were expunged, tomatoes were staked, and the pumpkins and squash harvested. After the fire risk abated, no visitor was allowed to leave without produce. She also turned out delicious zucchini and squash breads, tomato pie (really) and fried green tomatoes in an effort to use the overwhelming abundance of fresh food. The chickens and ducks got so many veggies that they started to get picky. 

We didn’t do much last month except work at the Mill and go shopping, so as soon as the fires abated we decided that we needed a break. There are dozens of wineries within an hour’s drive of Shedd. Kayeanne picked Cardwell Hill Winery in Philomath, and she hit a winner. Philomath is just west of Corvallis, set in rolling hills. It is home to several wineries, and Cardwell Hill is certainly one of the best. We picked up lunch (excellent) at Eats & Treats on the way through town and got to the winery shortly after noon. We had the place to ourselves and had a delightful time tasting great wines and talking wines and wine making with the owner and founder, Dan Chapel. He has been winning awards with his Pinot Noir for many years and we tasted several, all very good. His 2015 Monet Blocks Reserve is the best Pinot Noir I’ve tasted, and we broke our wine price buying rule. I’m glad we don’t have much space in the coach or it might have gotten seriously expensive. We had a great time and hope to return, soon. 

Then, on the way home we decide to run through a car wash to remove the ash and grime. One of the revolving brushes ripped the rear bumper cover right off the car. I started to look for someone to kill, but the manager took immediate responsibility. He made a call and sent us down the street to a body shop who had us in and out in 15 minutes. Luckily, the cover wasn't damaged, but our Mexican paint job got scuffed up a little. The cover actually fits better than it did, a welcome surprise. They replaced all the fastenings that had failed over the years and from 10 feet away it looks like new. 

Last year we hosted several events at the Mill. In normal times it is a popular destination for school class trips, car club meetings, motorcycle club rallies and bicycle group lunches. This season most group activities have been cancelled or outright banned in Oregon, so we were happy to open the grounds after hours to a paddling club from Corvallis. On our last evening at the Mill about 15 people spent an hour or two paddling their kayaks and canoes in the millrace. The weather couldn’t have been better for it, and everyone had a great time. I’m sure that Ratty and Mole would agree: it was a perfect evening for just messing about in boats. 

That was a nice way to end our stay at the Mill. The next morning we packed up and headed northwest, back to Nehalem Bay State Park to camp host for our sixth year. 

We found several good wines this month:
Fallen Bridge Petite Syrah 2017
Trader Joe's Reserve Syrah - Paso 2018
Pomelo Sauv Blanc 2018

I enjoyed reading Steven Brust's Good Guys, too.

More soon, 

Bob

Roadside art. Look closely

Picking her own at Cardwell Hill

Taco Vino in Corvallis is excellent

Schroeder watched the Chicken Channel for hours

#71 August 2020 – Thompson’s Mills, Shedd Oregon

Faithful readers will remember how much we liked being at Thompson’s Mills last year. We spent two months giving tours of this fascinating 19^th century industrial site, the last surviving water powered mill in the  Willamette Valley. We must have given tours to several hundred people, ranging from single individuals to school classes. In our “spare” time we worked on maintenance projects (me) and took care of the ducks and chickens (she). I had the run of a good shop and got whatever supplies I needed for the projects I worked on.

This year, Covid changed everything. Oregon Parks and Recreation Department is self-funding, deriving almost all of its revenue from camping fees. When camping was banned, OPRD was in the same boat as many businesses: no customers means no income. The state heritage sites like the Mill don’t generate income, anyway, so when the camping revenue dried up, all discretionary spending was stopped. If we didn’t have what we needed for a project on hand we simply couldn’t buy it, period. Even most equipment repairs were disapproved. I sorted through buckets of used screws to find usable hardware for a couple of jobs.

And, the Mill closed to tours. Last year we were often so busy that we weren’t able to talk to everyone. This year we have had days when literally no one showed up. It has been a real challenge to fill our time. Kayeanne has rediscovered her farming roots. Like her grandparents, she has been spending hours pulling weeds, running sprinklers, foisting off surplus squash on anyone she can find and pampering the chickens and ducks. She also turned out great blackberry cobbler and zucchini bread. 

I was happy to see anyone; I’m sure I’ve bored a few people silly. I changed a bearing on the tractor flail mower, and helped move a number of large beams from outdoors into the basement of the Mill to keep them from weather checking. The project they were ordered for was  postponed, indefinitely. I also fixed a broken irrigation pipe and a few other minor things, but that’s about it.

And then it was gone

Wines we enjoyed this month include Willamette Valley Vineyards Pinot Gris – 2018,  Broadside Cab - Paso 2017 and Sho Chiku Bai Nigori Sake. 

We have enjoyed not traveling, and revisiting places that we discovered last year, so there isn’t much new to report this month. I’ve added a couple of extra pictures below to pad the text a little.

More soon,

Bob

Twice a day the ducks march
to the millrace to bathe

Early one morning visitors
dropped in

Kayeanne found her milieu

#70 July 2020 - Montana and Idaho

View through the windshield at Ennis RV Village

July 2020 - Montana and Idaho

I picked Ennis, Montana, for no particular reason that I recall, except that it was in roughly the right area and within an easy day’s drive of Salmon. Except it really wasn’t, because Google Maps includes dirt roads in its directions. And, because it had a Montana state road number, MT 324, I didn’t check it on Google Earth. Luckily, I had a premonition as soon as we turned onto it. It was paved, but the first two vehicles that passed us coming the other way gave me a funny look, like “really? Hmm, I hope you know what you’re doing.” For once, I listened to the voices in my head and we turned around at what might have been the last place that we could. Back at the crossroad, I asked a local about route MT 324. She laughed and said it was an unpaved, rock-strewn, pot-holed mess that got worse after it crossed into Montana. Avoiding that shortcut added over a hundred miles to the easy day we had looked forward to. Nonetheless, the country was spectacular and Covid eliminated any hint of traffic.

"Small" gold mining dredge in nearby
Nevada City

Ennis claims to be the trout fly fishing capital of the world, or maybe just the country, I forget. The storied Madison River passes through town and fishing dominates the economy. It’s a lovely small town that exist solely for tourists, fisher people or not. There is also enough shopping and site seeing to keep non-fishers from going nuts for a few days.

As much as we liked the town despite the Covid closures and restrictions,
discovering the Ennis Village RV Park alone made the trip worthwhile. We pulled into our site to discover a panoramic, 180 degree view of more than 30 square miles of the Madison River valley, all backed up by varicolored, snow capped mountains. Herds of fat cows grazed on lush, tall grass. Deer and flocks

The neighbors come to visit

of geese came out into the fields to feed. One evening a pair of moose crossed the valley in full view. We sat in the coach or on chairs at the edge of the ridge for hours every day watching the show below us. This was the best view we have ever had in six years on the road. Oh, yes, the park was terrific in every other way, too. And the dogs loved it. Just a mile away is Deemo’s, the best meat market we have ever seen. The local supermarket, Madison Foods, even has a great wine section. We plan to return as soon as we can.

Lots of great "stuff" and colorful owners

 One more plus: no trains! It seems to be a rule that commercial RV parks must be located on busy train tracks where long freights blow for every driveway, or just to relieve the crew’s boredom. Ennis is miles away from any tracks. I slept better there than I can remember. The only drawback I can think of is the wind. Every afternoon the winds build, usually blowing a steady 20 mph, often gusting over 40. One afternoon gusts hit 60 mph, causing damage to some campers who weren’t prepared.

Picture doesn't due Cliff Lake justice

One of our neighbors (not above) encouraged us to visit Wade and Cliff Lakes, about 40 miles south of town. They were right. These are mountain lakes, absolutely crystal clear, set in lovely heavily wooded settings. There are small campgrounds that are impossible for us to get into and popular day-use areas where folks picnic, kayak and play in the chilly water. (see more lake pix below)

Ennis was a very tough act to follow, and Riverfront RV Park in Garrison, Montana certainly missed the mark. A double-track freight line borders the park and a switching yard is not far away. Every train going in either direction blows their horns for four crossings. That’s 16 bellows per train. I counted six trains in one hour one night. Poor electric power and lots of mosquitoes didn’t help, either. I doubt we’ll be back, despite the lovely setting, including acres of diligently mown grass and great staff folks.

There isn’t a lot to do in this part of Montana, but the Old Montana Prison & Auto Museum in Deer Lodge is just a few miles away. I’ve never seen these two wildly disparate subjects combined in one place, so we went to find out. The prison museum was depressing and disquieting. After ten minutes we were looking for the exit. The car section, though, was pretty neat. If you go through the area, it’s worth a stop for an hour or two. The ice cream stand next door serves Umpqua ice cream, a Northwest specialty. Don't miss it.

We enjoyed our golf foray in American Falls and looked forward to another nice day. Deer Park Golf Course looked like our kind of track: short, flat, wide open and cheap. Even with those advantages, we still stunk up the place and came away dispirited and humbled. We had forgotten that the golf gods are vicious and capricious. Maybe new balls will help.

This was even better than it looks

Garrison is about 45 miles from Helena, and Kayeanne wanted sushi and chocolate for her birthday, so … road trip! The sushi was great and the chocolate was wonderful. The town proved to be interesting, too. For those who nodded off during Social Studies, Helena is the capital of Montana. Many of the things we wanted to see were closed for Covid, but the state capital building was open, so we looked around.

Typical of many state capital buildings, it was built ~120 years ago of granite and brick with domes, gilding, fancy woodwork, granite floors, etc. None of that delivers any real value for the proletariat, but they never get to approve the budget, anyway. After all, the “public’s servants” need quarters befitting their somber duties.  

The murals and statuary are what you’d expect in a late 19^th century municipal edifice in the West. What struck me, though, was the number and scale of items, some heroic in size, depicting Native American peoples and themes. Given how many Indians were slaughtered by the builders of this homage to democracy to drive them off their ancestral lands, it looked to me like collective guilt or monumental cynicism. If I’m feeling generous, probably both. Commissioning the decorations was certainly cheaper than actually buying the land or paying reparations, but maybe I’m too cynical. Ok, rant off.

After a week in Garrison, I think we were both ready to start heading west to Oregon. Kayeanne picked the Blue Anchor RV Park in Osburn, Idaho. She has offered no defense of that choice, but she hit the jackpot: an old mobile home park that was converted to an RV park, artfully situated between a main freight railroad and Interstate 90. I could hit the freeway with a pitching wedge. The park really had nothing to recommend it except its proximity to Wallace and Kellogg.

This part of Idaho was arguably the richest silver mining region of the country, if not the world. The largest of seven mines in the area, the Sunshine Mine, produced 365 million ounces of silver between 1904 and 2001, accounting for roughly 14% of total US silver production. The mines drilled literally thousands of miles of tunnels and reached depths over 5000 feet deep. Lead, zinc and copper were also produced in great quantities. The fumes from the refining processes were so toxic that the valley where Kellogg is located wouldn’t grow trees until the smelters were shut down for several years. Starting in the ‘80’s, Kellogg High School students have replanted literally millions of trees. Thanks to them and others the area is making a comeback.

In 1972, 91 miners died in an underground fire in the Sunshine Mine. The mining museum in Kellogg does a good job explaining what happened. Not long after that, the costs of complying with growing environmental regulations and a worldwide drop in silver prices led to the end of mining in this area. 

The Shoshone Golf Club is a real test. It’s only a 9-hole course, but you WILL want a cart, and you better bring several extra balls (the new ones didn't help). Yikes.

Wallace has been making a successful transition from mining town to tourist destination for many years. We made a couple of trips just to look around. It reminded me a little of Ouray, Colorado, another mountain mining town. Several stores and restaurants were closed due to Covid, but enough weren’t that we had a good time wandering around. Muchacos Tacos was quite good for lunch.  

Watch the first step....

Do I look nervous?

I never knew Kayeanne had a bucket list, but it turns out that zip lining was near the top. Some of you may recall that on our second date almost exactly 40 years ago, we jumped out of airplanes. That was her idea, too. Apparently it was time to scare me silly again. I have to say that it was a gas, and over too fast, but we still turned down the offer of another ride. Tempting fate is not a good idea.  

Our next stop was Hood Park Corp of Engineers Campground in Burbank, Washington, just across the Snake River from Pasco and Kennewick. We just stayed one night, but really enjoyed it. Lots of grass and shade for the dogs, and no freeways or trains! We’d like to come back and spend time exploring the area.

It was an easy drive from Hood Park to Creekside Campground in Sisters, Oregon. Sisters is one of our favorite places to visit. A number of Covid closures and the Governor’s new mask mandate limited what we could do, but we enjoyed walking the town, again. Creekside Campground is a little tight for Ripley, in fact there are only a couple of spaces that we fit and were lucky that one was available. No utilities, but that’s not an issue for two nights. The dogs loved it, too, lots of grass and trees.

On August 1st , we pulled into Thompson’s Mills State Park to volunteer for two months. (Note to self: do not take the coach on Rt 20 between Sisters and Sweet Home again. I don’t shy away from most roads, but this is one. It is way, way too tight and much too long. Take Rt 126 through Eugene, instead.)

I haven’t been doing a lot of reading this month, but Jim Lynch’s Border Songs stood out.

New wines this month include 19 Crimes Pinot Noir and A to Z Oregon Rosé Wine.

More soon,

Bob

More pictures:

Sunset at Ennis

 Landing is an acquired skill....

#69 Coveys Great Adventure - June 2020 – Utah & Idaho

June 2020 – Utah & Idaho

The ladies, and Beckham strolling

It was great to finally see Liesa. It was a big relief for both of us to see that she really was fine. I think we were more worried about her than we realized, given all that has been going on in the country, and in Salt Lake, specifically. We exchanged several visits with her and Cory during our two-week stay.

Jordanelle State Park is located about half way between Park City and Heber City. Park City is like Newport Beach with mountains. Heber City is already big enough for a Walmart and growing like a weed.  All kinds of new construction is taking place near town and around the lake, and light industry is moving in, too.

Jordanelle is a large park in a beautiful setting right on Jordanelle lake. A marina, a large day use area with extensive picnic facilities, and the campground all face the lake. The campground is immaculate and the sites are spacious, but half of them are pitched so much that they are impossible for us to get even close to level. We never did get completely level in our site, but that was our only complaint. The dogs had acres of grass to explore, and they did their best to sniff all of it.

We met Gary and Sharon Sams when we camp hosted together at Nahalem a couple of years ago and quickly became friends. Business exigencies and “life” took them off the road last year and they returned to Park City. We met them for breakfast at one of their favorite local places, the Five5eeds. The food was great and the company was better. We are looking forward to seeing them when we return in November.  

We really enjoyed our time at Jordanelle, but we were ready for a vacation. In 2017 we had plans to explore eastern Idaho and western Montana but Liesa’s accident cancelled that. We had 45 days before we needed to be in Oregon to host at Thompson’s Mills State Heritage Site, so we decided to head north.

American Falls dam on the Snake River

You may have not seen the news that recreational vehicle sales have skyrocketed. Dealer inventories have been wiped out and the industry is expected to exceed 50% YOY growth. 2019 also broke all sales records. People, especially those with young families, are looking for safe holidays and camping certainly looks safer than climbing on planes to go to theme parks. Ok, but where are they all going to stay? No new state parks or national parks have been created in decades. What RV park construction there has been has focused on the extreme upper end, $100+ per night “RV resort” market. I think state and national park campgrounds that were operating sold out within hours of reservation windows opening up. That’s not an exaggeration. The Covid related campground closures have made things even worse.

We always prefer state park or national forest campgrounds. At our size, though, we can’t count on a “first come, first serve” campsite being available when we show up. Since RV sales started to climb three years ago, we always make reservations, but generally had no trouble getting a spot, usually in a state park. Not any more. Private RV parks are all we can get and many of them are sold out at least a couple of months in advance. Some of the best are sold out all year! Oh, yes, the cost of private parks is roughly 30% more, and the sites and locations are nothing like as nice.

Queen of the links

That said, we planned a route and stitched together reservations at commercial RV parks to visit some areas we have wanted to see for years. We've decided to try to limit our daily driving to about 200 miles, so the first stop was Willow Bay Resort Campground and Marina in American Falls, Idaho. Willow Bay is a county park, by no means a "resort". It has a lot more acreage than commercial parks to walk the dogs. Grass was abundant and it was located on the Snake River just above the dam at American Falls that created a large reservoir. While not right on top of each other, the sites were too close for comfort. We also had inconsiderate neighbors that really made it unpleasant. On the flip side, though, we discovered that the town had a 9-hole munie golf course that was beautifully maintained and inexpensive to play. So, we did. For our first rounds in two years we didn’t play too badly, if you make enough allowance for age, lack of practice, skill, etc.

Did I mention the wind
blows a lot?

I discovered Salmon, Idaho, on a motorcycle ride over 10 years ago, so that was our next stop. We had just arrived in Salmon three years ago when the hospital called at 3:30 AM to tell us that Liesa had been injured. We pulled out a few hours later without seeing anything of the town and have been looking forward to going back ever since. We couldn’t find a site in Salmon, so we stayed in Elk Bend, at the eponymous RV park, about 25 miles south of Salmon.

It's a great life if you don't weaken

The park was nice, but quite small with limited dog walking. It was spotless, though, and the onsite owners were knowledgeable and attentive, always a good combination. The area around the park didn't offer  much to do, including the “recommended” Dusty Mule bar and grill across the highway. Ugh. The setting, though, like the whole Salmon River valley, was lovely.

Salmon was fun. We discovered the Odd Fellows Bakery on our first visit to town and drove 50 miles round trip two more days for outstanding sandwiches on their signature sourdough bread and rolls. Really, the best bread I can remember eating. 

Kayeanne has become quite interested in Lewis and Clark, so I think we are going to be visiting related sites whenever we encounter them. Salmon has an interesting museum focused on Sacajawea. The grounds include an extensive trail that meanders through fields and along the river. We both enjoyed the visit. 

We tried to go river rafting but the outfitter couldn’t find a guide on short notice. We wanted to play the local golf course but we picked the day of the annual Ladies Club Championship, and the next day it rained. We did manage to put a few hundred miles on the car exploring about every side road we could find. We enjoyed Salmon, but I think we’ve done the town and the area.

Wines we enjoyed lately included:

             Snoqualmie Whistle Stop Red, Columbia Valley WA 2016

             Cardwell Hill Pinot Gris, Willamette Valley 2017

Books were mixed: I liked Saturn Run by John Sanford and Ctein, good SF based on real science. On the other hand, John Meacham’s Destiny and Power

finally bored me silly and I dropped it.

More Soon,

Bob