NO HIKING TODAY

Based on all the moaning and groaning this morning I thought Jim and Kathe were never going to get out of bed.  Kathe finally hobbled to the door and let me out, but I didn't have much hope of an adventure to write about today.

After breakfast, at about 11:00 AM, they started to get out the maps and plan something for today. There was no way Jim was going to get Kathe to put on those hiking boots again today, so they compromised and picked out a couple of Jeep trails to nearby lakes.

First up was Clear Lake because it had a dirt road all around it which was fun for awhile. It was very dusty and the campground was very primitive.  No water, pit toilets, and lots of fine dirt. The lake looked fun, but us  RV campers wouldn't have lasted 10 minutes there much less overnight.

On to the next stop, Frog Lake, which was much smaller and very green.  There were thousands of tiny frogs crawling all over the place.  At first they looked like little bugs, but they were actually frogs about the size of a dime. So, back to the Jeep!  The campground wasn't much better than the one at Clear Lake, but the Frog Lake Trail intersects with the Pacific Crest Trail so they walked a little on that trail.  A very little.

Tomorrow we are off to Portland.  I'm looking forward to a nice grassy campground, keep your paws crossed for me.

ZIGZAG

Today Jim promised Kathe a nice easy hike. They set out for Zigzag Falls Trail, a nice little half mile hike in the forest.  It was a beautiful hike and because it was Sunday there were quite a few families enjoying the trail with their doggies. You might be wondering why Kathe and Jim never take me with them on hikes anymore.  Simple, I'm 12 years old now and I'm good for a while, but someone always ends up having to carry me back home.  I prefer to stay home  in the first place, instead of bouncing around in a backpack, or being passed back and forth like a sack of potatoes.

So back to the hiking, they had so much fun at the falls and it was such a short hike that Jim decided they should try the trail to Mirror Lake next.  An okay choice on paper, but it was uphill, rocky and switchback after switchback in reality. The sign said it was a 3 mile round trip with an elevation change of 750 feet.  It didn't say, 750 feet straight up, with absolutely no downhill stretches to catch your breath.  It took a while to reach the Lake, but they made it.

The draw to Mirror Lake was the spectacular reflection of Mount Hood in the Lake. But the forest fires have just about hidden the mountain from view with smoke so all they got was a picture of the Lake.  It least the hike was completely down hill on the way back.  The only thing that kept Kathe going was the promise of a hot fudge sundae from Dairy Queen on the way back to camp.

Everyone is home now and stretched out on the sofa, I'm just glad they made it home in time for my dinner.

HISTORY LESSON

With their maps and a magnifying glass Kathe and Jim set out this morning for a day of hiking and driving on the trails around Mount Hood. First up was the Trillium Lake Trail hike that was recommended by the Ranger a couple of days ago.  Kathe and Jim drove out the forest road to the Trailhead parking but there were so many cars that they drove on.  There were hundred of people at the Lake enjoying Saturday in boats and rafts. There wasn't a spot open on the beach.  So much for that hike.  It was a beautiful spot with the beautiful Mt. Hood in the background.

Moving along they started to look for the Barlow Road. The Barlow Road was built in 1846  by Samuel Barlow and Phillip Foster as the last overland segment of the Oregon Trail. It's construction allowed covered wagons to cross the cascade Range and reach the Willamette Valley, which had previously been impossible.  It was a difficult trail to find but they were able to find it hidden off the road near a primitive campground.  They walked on the actual wagon trail used by the pioneers. Then later in the morning they found a Jeep road that was part of the Barlow Road and drove that until it became too dangerous for them.

As for me, I stayed home and watched out the window as a little gray squirrel was stealing peanuts from the next door neighbors picnic table.  Silly campers left out a whole bag of peanuts--boy were they surprised when they got home!

INTO THE WILD

It's Friday night and the masses have arrived.  I doubt if there are any of the 400 sites vacant tonight. There are lots of kids on bicycles so you have to make sure that your leash is short and listen for the wheels.  I guess that's what you have to expect when you camp in a resort in the middle of summer.

Kathe and Jim went to the Ranger Station this morning to find out about the various trails in the area. They bought a map of the Jeep trails in the area, some of which are actually part of the Barlow Road portion of the Oregon Trail.  They never get tired of that stuff.

One of the hiking trails that the Ranger suggested was right down from road from our campground. Wildwood Recreation Site is a wooded wetland that has trails along the Salmon River. You are allowed to bring doggies on the paved trails, but there have been bears seen in the area.  So they decided not to take me along.  I was okay with that because bears stink anyway.  I remember smelling one at a Thousand Trails Preserve in Oregon a few years ago.  Once was enough!

Later this afternoon Kathe and Jim drove up to the Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood. They were going to take the chairlift up to the top of the mountain, but they arrived too late. They toured the hotel which is being restored to the way it once was when the WPA built it 1937.  It was really a beautiful building. The tourist were all asking for souvenirs from the movie, The Shining, that was filmed at the hotel.

MOUNT HOOD VILLAGE

We woke this morning to another overcast day. Seems that there are fires everywhere and the smoke is drifting our way.  We learned that the biggest fires are in British Columbia but there are smaller ones here in Oregon as well.

Our drive today took us along the Columbia River for about 100 miles before we turned onto the scenic route to Mount Hood. There were lots of beautiful pine trees but my pictures were unable to show the true beauty because of the hazy smoke  We couldn't smell any smoke but it looked alot like a fog above us.  Eventually Mount Hood popped out of the trees and the view was incredible.

We are staying tonight at the Mount Hood Village RV Resort. It's a large Thousand Trail/Encore Resort and it's really nice.  Lots of tall pine trees and very rustic, just what Jim wanted.  I've taken a couple of spins around our loop and met several doggies.  Some nice, some not so nice.  Oregon doggies are a little different from L.A. doggies, more aggressive and barky than I'm used to.   I'll try to make friends because we are here for 5 days.

It's over 100 degrees tonight and it's 7:00 PM. Guess we will be listening to the hum of the air conditioner again tonight.

50 MILES AND STILL NO WHERE

This morning Kathe and Jim went for a bike ride along the river. Kathe managed to stay upright and rode for about 5 miles before the lounge chair started calling her name. Jim kept on riding for another 10 miles.Kathe rides for the scenery, but Jim rides for exercise.  I like to relax in the grass.

It was another hot day, over 100 degrees so we didn't really do much.  When they went shopping in the town Hermiston yesterday they found out that the area is known for producing delicious melons. Kathe went a little wild and bought three of them; a cantaloupe, one red and one orange watermelon. They are very tasty, but we now have to eat melon at every meal. Tried it, didn't like it!

After lunch things were a little boring so we all jumped into the Jeep for a road trip to the town of Heppner, about 50 miles  from here along the Oregon Blue Mountain Scenic Route. Heppner is the county seat so we thought it would be a bigger town than Boardman.  Nope.  Population 1,291. Enough said.  This is a picture of the courthouse, one of the few building left standing after a  flash flood in 1903. Torrential rain and hail fell on the town and within 15 minutes a wall of water 15 to 50 feet high and wiped out 1/3 of the town and killed 247 people. A dam has been built so that this will never happen again.

Tomorrow we move to Mount Hood Village.  It's a Thousand Trails/Encore Resort so you never know what to expect.  We might have Internet, and we might not.  So don't worry if you don't hear from me tomorrow--I've gone rural!

FARM TO TABLE

We are really enjoying our time here in Boardman, Oregon even if it is really hot every day.  This morning after breakfast the three of us sat outside under a shady tree in our lounge chairs.  Well, I wasn't actually in a lounge chair myself, but the grass felt so cool under my tummy that I fell asleep.We watched the tug boats pushing barges up and down the river to the Port of Morrow.

Kathe and Jim went to the SAGE center, an interactive learning visitors center where they learned all about the technology that takes place at the Port of Morrow.  SAGE stands for sustainable agriculture and energy, and there were exhibits on all the industries that are located in Eastern Oregon.

They had some really great exhibits, like driving a virtual tractor and milking a cow with an electronic milking machine. Kathe did okay on the tractor and Jim managed to get a few gallons of virtual milk out of cow #244. They had a lot of fun learning about all of the things that are grown and processed in this area.

The area is known for growing wheat, onions, melons, beans, potatoes, bean, barley, mint, mustard, and canola.  They had a great exhibit showing how potatoes are processed into curly fries here at a plant in Boardman.  And did you know that the potato waste from those fries is fed to dairy cows. There are thousands of dairy and cattle farms in this area as well.  The Port of Morrow also processes milk for the Tillamook cheese plant.

They learned about the irrigation and energy that is needed to produce the food we eat. They even took a virtual hot air balloon ride above the county and saw 30,000 poplar trees that are being farmed just down the highway from our RV Park.