Author: kyotesue

Catalina Spa has several pickleball courts

It happens almost every year.  We know that the best way to survive chilly, foggy winters in Grants Pass is to leave, at least for a little while.  We have traveled south to the deserts of Southern California for 14 years now.  Sometimes leaving immediately after Christmas and other times waiting until February.  Each year I think maybe we should have gone earlier or later, and sometimes our timing is absolutely perfect.

This year it was perfect.  We are settled in at our favorite little spot at Catalina Spa in Desert Hot Springs, delighting in the pleasant temperatures and lack of wind that can make visiting the Coachella Valley a bit challenging at times.

After our morning walk, I checked in with family back in Oregon.  My daughter Melody and her husband Robert are stuck at home with solid ice sheets all around them.  Neighbors who have attempted to drive have had the unhappy experience of sliding sideways into fences.  Not a time to go anywhere.  The kids have no power and the house is cold.  Their house, built in 1908, no longer has a fireplace, and their heat needs electricity to run.

Daughter Melody and husband Robert live in the house on the left just past the telephone pole

My friend Jennnifer, from book club, just messaged me with a photo of down trees on her property and said we are lucky to be away since there is no power and no internet.  I think we picked the right time to be gone this time around.

I watched the sunrise this morning, filling the sky with brilliant color by 7:00 AM.  Within minutes we were in the pool, with water temperatures at a somewhat cool 85 degrees or so instead of the 95 degrees we are used to here.  

Only managed half an hour before we retreated to the hot tub which was not as hot as usual but still wonderful.  Seems as though there is some work happening on the wells that supply the resort.  No worries, the sun is shining, the dog is napping in the warm light, and Mo is outside in shorts and a tee shirt doing computer work.

When we left on Thursday, January 11, the light snow from the previous couple of days had melted entirely.  This time we decided to take an alternate route south, traveling over to the coast before continuing down Highway 101.  

Our route into California on Highway 199 was only delayed for 15 minutes or so with a pilot car navigating our line of vehicles along the worst of the damage from the summer fires along the Smith River.  It is a curvy road with steep dropoffs, and the forced slowdown makes for a nice, easy, stress-free drive.  There is even time to look at the gorgeous Smith River, flowing high and full after all the rain recently.

We traveled on a day when I knew that one of our favorite places would be open, the Chart Room in Crescent City.  It isn’t perfect, but their fish and chips are one of the best, with truly superb cole slaw and tartar sauce that tastes like my version, hot salty fries, and fresh cod done well.  

We bought lunch and ate in the MoHo, watching the sea lions on the docks, and listening to their constant barking.

Highway 101 was open all the way, with a short stop at the slide that has been under construction and repair for years now.  Our destination for the evening was the Heights Casino, with overnight camping without hookups for $20 bucks. It is money well spent.  There is level pavement to park and all-night security which we appreciate.  We went to the casino where we were required to sign up for a player’s card that included $10 in free money to play.  

It is so funny because Mo and I have been to casinos rarely in the last few years and we don’t recognize any of the machines.  Penny machines have little signs that say the minimum bet for a single pull is 80 cents or more.  You can drop 20 bucks in just a few minutes that way!  Still, we basically broke even for the evening and enjoyed 90 minutes or so of entertainment. Our evening meal was the delightful leftovers from lunch, heated in a hot skillet to keep the fish and fries nice and crispy.

The next morning was still cloudy but no rain dampened our drive toward Santa Rosa where we had reservations at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds.  The northern portion of Highway 101 is spectacular, with butter-smooth pavement and the gorgeous redwoods on either side of the road.  I took few photos, having traveled this route many times in the past, and it was my turn to drive. 

Settling into the RV park was a bit disconcerting, with a camp host who was less than understandable in her directions to our site.  If you ever try to stay there, keep in mind that the campsite signs on the posts are opposite of the direction they should be and it was very confusing.  We did settle in and enjoyed clam chowder from home for our supper that evening.  We thought we could possibly go see some of Santa Rosa, but directions to any of the sites seemed excessively complex, so instead we simply found a WalMart to replace the small electric heater I managed to leave behind at home when loading the MoHo.

The weather was cool and damp and walking the parks didn’t seem particularly enticing.  We did at least have a chance to check out our route for getting back on the 101 Freeway the next morning before settling in for the evening.

My reason for booking the fairgrounds is that it was the most reasonably priced park close to San Francisco.  Our route south included driving across the Golden Gate Bridge and down Highway 1 to Montara, where Mo lived for many years.

The next morning we departed by 8 and were delighted to see that traffic into the city on a Saturday morning wasn’t too bad.  I was especially happy to see this since I am the one who usually drives first in the mornings.  The bridge was beautiful, even in the overcast skies, and following the Google Girl directions toward Highway 1 South and Half Moon Bay was easy.  The toll booths are completely automated, with a bill to come in the mail based on our license registration.  We have no idea how much it cost.

Mo’s once-upon-a-time home in Montara

We parked the MoHo at the mall in Half Moon Bay, and unhooked the Tracker for a drive back to Montara, stopping in Moss Beach to check out the home Mo bought there before moving to the “ranch” in Montara.  Mo was shocked at the changes in both towns and didn’t recognize much as we traveled up the hills toward her Moss Beach home.  The vegetation has grown so much that everything looks completely different.  Mo was overwhelmed by the number of cars parked on the narrow streets and decided that the entire area was much too claustrophobic to ever consider living there again.

We then continued north toward Montara and after a bit of wandering finally found the road to her home that she owned until she moved to Oregon.  The new owners love privacy and have surrounded the place with high impenetrable hedges making it hard to see the barns and pastures that were once occupied by horses that she boarded for people who became lifelong friends.

As we peered through an opening in the hedge, Mrs. Navarro, a lovely lady who lived there when Mo did, stopped to say hi.  Her family owned a nursery across the road from Mo’s place and after all these years she remembered Mo and her dogs.  

I think she thought I was Mo’s friend Carol, but she was incredibly sweet. She offered us branches of fragrant eucalyptus, but I said our car was too crowded.  Mo has no idea of her age, but she was old when Mo lived there.  It is amazing how well she has aged.  When I asked her how old she was she laughed and said, “I am pretty sure I am over 55”.

We drove back to Half Moon Bay and enjoyed some time walking the streets of what is now a very upscale little town.  There were many “home decor” shops, art galleries, wine and cheese shops, and tucked away in the midst of it I found a delightful yarn shop.  I walked out $130 bucks later with some gorgeous cashmere and alpaca yarns to hopefully stimulate my knitting habit once again.  Yarn shops can be devastating to the pocketbook! 

Mo was disappointed that our plans didn’t include an overnight in the area.  Next time we will plan for that so that Mo can connect with the many friends she has there

It was early afternoon when we departed the area and continued south on 101 toward Watsonville.  The strawberry fields were green but it was much too early for the legendary flavorful strawberries that grow there.  We saw no artichokes, another crop for which the area is famous.  By the time we reached Salinas, home of John Steinbeck’s famous novel East of Eden, the sun was out a bit.

Our destination was Camp Roberts.

Mo’s mother made the little guy second from the right, and the other two are mine from more than 20 years ago.

For me, there is nothing quite as delightful as the preparation for the Christmas holiday season.  I don’t have a huge family, so buying presents isn’t an issue.  I usually pick something from the Farmer’s Market artisans in summertime, or from some random travel that we have completed during the year.  I like that I no longer have the huge pressure of “buying, buying, buying” that used to be part of having kids waking up on Christmas morning all excited about Santa.

Each season of life has its own blessings, and those days with young ones are especially sweet, but the days now when my daughters are grown women and some of their kids have kids, I feel especially lucky that I can get them home for the holidays.  Maybe not all at once, and maybe not all the grandkids, but no matter the number, I am so grateful for the people I love coming to our home to share in the delight of Christmas.

I usually start right after Thanksgiving, and this year was no exception, with Grandson Matthew giving his annual gift of climbing up on the roof to install the Christmas lights on the house.  I have photos of homes where I did this myself as a young woman, but no more.  No ladders for me or Mo either climbing up on the roof of our house, especially on the west side where the roof is more than 20 feet off the ground. Even though we have a single-story home, and where we enter is at ground level, the slope of our property creates a high wall on the far side of the house.  Thank goodness for Matt who is still flexible enough to stand sideways on the roof and kneel and bend to get those lights up.

It was wonderful that this year the hard freeze only lasted a day or two and the rain let up long enough for some sunny days for the job.  Matthew figured out a new system of gutter clips that made the job much easier than it had been in the past.  Yay, Matthew!

Mo and I managed to get the rest of the decorations up in time for the annual Christmas Light map published in the local paper.  We are always tickled to see the little red light bulb at our address indicating that our house is one worth seeking out on the Christmas light tours around Grants Pass.

This year I had another reason for making sure that all the inside decor was up before December 9 when my daughter Deanna was to arrive for a short but sweet Christmas visit.  Deanna lives more than 700 miles distant and she drove through the winter weather by herself so that she could visit her sisters and stay with us for a couple of nights in Grants Pass.

Mo and I enjoyed so much walking with the girls around the historic downtown area of Grants Pass after dinner to check out the local decor.  

Grants Pass goes all out for Christmas, with a beautiful downtown tree, and the wonderful animated LED Christmas panels that are located on the sidewalks throughout town.  

Tall wooden nutcrackers stand guard at the shops.  It was a sparkly, sweet, and nostalgic glimpse at what Christmas can be.

Even though it wasn’t actually Christmas, with the house all decorated and the girls spending the night it felt like it.  Such a wonderful gift to us from Deanna.

Here are a few of the Christmas decorations that I put up each year, with most of them having a story connected and a history of their place in our home during the season.

After Deanna left, Mo and I embarked on another Christmas tradition that we seem to repeat every December during the same week.  

We traveled in the MoHo to Brookings for a short stay at Harris Beach State Park.  I made the reservation in early November and was thrilled to get a spot on the A Loop with a view of the ocean.

Mo and I love Harris Beach, with its beautiful campground and easy access to the city of Brookings.  We have camped there for many years, although not often during the summer season when it is crowded and often chilly and foggy.  Winter is the best time for this part of the Oregon Coast.

Mattie loves the beach and as soon as we settled into our site we took her for an afternoon beach run.  In addition to doing doggie zoomies in the sand, Mattie loves to climb the rocks.  

I simply point to a rock and say climb it and she is climbing higher and higher before I can even get the words out of my mouth.  Every year we have photos of her on the rocks with the ocean in the background.  Sometimes even on the same day in December.   

The weather was perfect and in the evening there was no wind to interfere with our campfire time enjoying the warmth as we sipped a glass of wine.

In addition, when traveling to Brookings at Christmastime, we have the lure of the most fabulous light show we have seen anywhere in the country.  This year the Nature’s Coastal Holiday Festival of Lights was even more spectacular than ever.  

With 3.5 million lights covering almost every square foot of the 33-acre Azalea Park, every step is filled with wonder.  We took our time walking around this time, knowing that if we walked too quickly I would want to do it again and again, so this time we walked slowly and sat on benches strategically placed throughout the park. 

The animated light show was spectacular

The Scandinavian-styled chapel was open this year and beautifully decorated as well.

In addition to the light show, we enjoyed fish and chips at Catalyst Seafood, a restaurant that has evolved over the years that we have visited.  The restaurant has been updated and now has a bar with drink specials.  The Cole Slaw is a modern version with jalapenos and who knows what else, but it wasn’t to my liking.  The fish however was as fresh and wonderful as ever, and we enjoyed it thoroughly, even though we only ate half our meal.  Into the takeout boxes it went and those boxes stayed on the table when we left for the light show.  It wasn’t until we got home later that we realized we had forgotten to take home the rest of our dinner.

Better fish and chips for the money at the Chart Room in Crescent City where we will go next time.

We returned home from the beach late on Friday afternoon with just enough time to unpack before dressing for a play put on by our local theater where my friend Lisa is working.  The play was called “Nuncrackers” and was full of hidden sexual innuendos despite it being “ok for kids”.  My friend Kristin was there with her family and spent much of the time hoping her kids didn’t understand some of the more racy stuff.  Still, it was a fun time and a bit interesting to see our first play at the local theater after living here for more than 6 years.

The very next evening was the Christmas party for our book club, held for the third time now at Kristin’s house.  It has become a tradition for Kristin to host the December club where we simply enjoy food, some simple games, and a secret book gift.  

Robyn and Jennifer are amazing young women who belly dance, and do fitness pole dancing, in addition to their techie jobs.  Jennifer often offers to drive me to book club in the winter when it is dark and foggy and I hate driving at night in those conditions.  

Kristin as always is a superb hostess with a lovely home and so much good food to share

Lisa and I round out the generations in the group, adding a bit of perspective to all the young people.  Lisa is close to my daughter’s age, so I probably shouldn’t include her in my generation.  

The very next day we were invited to Maryruth’s home for what has become an annual tradition for her.  She hosts a Christmas party for the couples in her neighborhood where almost everyone is retired and from California.  It was a fun time and Maryruth went all out making party food for the guests.

Finally, it was Christmas week, and time to begin the Christmas baking.  First and most important is the making of fudge, a favorite.  It is good that I wait until just before Christmas to make it because otherwise, I would be eating way more than I should.

I made several kinds of cookies and some cranberry orange bread in addition to the fudge with enough to share Christmas plates with a few select neighbors.

Mo and I filled in the quiet spaces between baking with a couple of Christmas puzzles to enjoy on the rainy days that dominated the weather through Christmas.

At last, it was Christmas Eve, with Melody and Robert arriving from their home north of Eugene before noon, and Deborah arriving from her place in Trail about an hour away at about the same time.  

The afternoon seemed to disappear as we laughed and talked and prepared the traditional clam chowder for supper.  

Robert spoils Mattie terribly, and she loves the new Christmas sweater as well as the treats

Our family has traditionally opened presents on Christmas morning and Mo’s family opened them on Christmas Eve.  I thought maybe I could ask the kids if they would prefer one or the other, but within minutes of arriving Melody and Robert were passing out gifts.  No one wanted to wait.  

Mattie was especially excited about the Christmas presents they brought for her, racing around the room and trying to decide which new toy she loved the most.  It was so very much fun.  

Our original plan was to go look at Christmas lights around town, but no one really wanted to go out on the chilly, foggy night, and we instead stayed home watching a very good Christmas movie.  

Melody crocheted this string of adorable Christmas lights for us

With one pair in the guest room and Deb on the sofa, I went to bed with the warm happy feeling that only comes when my children are again close by on Christmas.

The next morning was simple, with presents already opened we simply had to wait for the Christmas brunch ham to finish baking and for Maryruth and Gerald to arrive for our yummy brunch with Deborah’s fabulous eggs benedict casserole as the star of the show.  Of course, orange juice and champagne, Baileys, and some brandy made everything even more festive.

Ever try for a family photo where everyone is looking at the camera and smiling nicely?

Melody fiddled with her phone and came up with this composite, fuzzy but we are all in it!

Melody and Robert decided that they would stay until the day after Christmas. After Deb and Maryruth and Gerald went home the four of us settled into a peaceful afternoon of knitting and talking and looking at photos on the big TV screen.  Melody and Robert have taken up knitting and crocheting and the two of them knocked out a few hats that evening.  I was shocked at how fast they are at their new hobby.  

Christmas was over.  The next morning Melody and Robert packed up to travel back north through the fog to their home.  Mattie knew they were leaving and started sulking even before they were out to the car.  She refused to get off the couch pillow to say goodbye.

Melody and Robert are two of her favorite people and she was NOT a happy dog when they left.  A funny story to share as I come to the end of this story of our Christmas:  Mo and I mentioned to Mattie in the morning that Melody was coming.  She got all excited and ran around the house impatiently.  I forgot all about it until Mattie started barking and howling the special howl that she only does for her very favorite people.  I thought the kids had arrived, but when I walked into the bedroom there was no sign of them.  Mattie kept howling until I said, no, Mattie, they aren’t here yet, but she didn’t believe me.

A full five minutes later the kids pulled into the driveway.  Mattie had somehow sensed when they turned up our road from the main road about 1/2 mile away.  I have no clue how, but it was amazing to me that she knew they were coming.  Needless to say, the highlight of Christmas for Mattie was the arrival of her favorite people.

Christmas is over, and the new year will begin in two days.  I will then begin to undo all that I did in December, taking down the tree, packing up the village, and finally putting away all the outdoor lights before we leave for California in January.

December was so full and I only realized as I attempted to write about it that there was no way that I could include our beautiful fall days in November without complete overload.  Mo said, “Are you going to post December before you write about November??

Yes, it seems that I am doing that.  Fun stuff in November as well, but thank goodness not quite as much.

 
 November morning at Sunset House

October has come and gone and I am reminded that it is among the very best of times that Grants Pass has to offer.  Mo and I walked outside Saturday morning, thrilled at the gentle fog rolling up the valley below us, with only the tips of the trees on our beautiful Cathedral hills showing above the swirling mists.  The air was still a bit warm, with a low night temperature in the high 50s, maybe a bit unusual for early November.  An atmospheric river is headed our way rolling in the magical circles of radar images that portend flooding and inches of rain, bringing with it the freshness of shifting weather, breezes, and the warm front preceding the coming rain. 

The rains came a bit earlier this year, and with them what around here in the drier parts of Oregon the locals refer to as “green-up”.  We love this time when at last the drip system is decommissioned and the reverse osmosis unit that makes our water palatable for the plants I love to grow settles into its easy wet season rhythm.  It is so refreshing to stop worrying about water, about how much salt we are using to run the system, and how much wastewater is running down the ditch.  It takes 2 gallons of raw water to produce a gallon of fresh water.  At 2.5 gpm for our well, and a 1700-gallon cistern to fill with “good” water, that is a lot of wastewater.  We have adjusted to the need to do this, it was a choice we made when we picked this very nearly perfect little spot of land with the view toward the coast range in the distance and Cathedral Hills a bit closer.  

In the early morning darkness at 7 a.m., the changing leaves of our oaks were brilliant, echoing the brilliance of the warm lights inside the house.  The coffee smelled good, Mattie did her morning thing pottying at the most distant spot she could find on the property and then patrolling the boundaries, smelling the rodents, the deer, and whatever else may have wandered through the yard during the previous night.

October was a month spent at home, enjoying some of the best that the Rogue Valley has to offer, and sharing special times and places with friends.  

My best friend of 60 years Maryruth

Maryruth’s husband Gerald

Mo and Sue enjoying time with our friends

A dinner at a delightful gourmet restaurant out of town on the Rogue River, cooked by an excellent chef.  Except this time his meal was a bit strange and much less than perfect.  It must have been a strange glitch, since meals before and since have been reported by friends to have been fabulous.  Morrison’s Lodge is historic, and a truly fun place to go for a great meal most of the time.  We shared it with Maryruth and Gerald.  Maryruth and I have now shared 60 years of life and friendship together.  Our “anniversary” is in October.

On the very first day of the month, Daughter Deborah invited us to share wine flights and wonderful hors d’oeuvres at the beautiful Hummingbird Estate winery where she is a member.  All of us love to drink wine and listen to music on the deck with the beautiful view. 

A few days later Mo and I visited downtown Grants Pass on a sunny Sunday afternoon to enjoy Art on the Rogue, an annual celebration of the arts, with a few streets closed off for chalk painting, food trucks, and music throughout the downtown part of the city.  

A permanent mural honoring the local tribes was added to the sidewalk in addition to the ephemeral chalk art.

The theme this year was blockbuster movies, some of which I didn’t recognize, but it made for some great chalk paintings.

In early October the city is dotted with the brilliance of sweet gum trees, turning long before the oaks and maples begin their color change.  The warm day and brilliant sunshine brought out big crowds for the event.  A favorite local artist, Cate Battles, and her husband worked diligently on some additional permanent crosswalk murals which weren’t yet finished when we visited.  I am so looking forward to seeing their creations brighten the historic G Street in our town.

During the first half of the month, Mo and I embarked on a major project.  We moved all the big roses that were languishing under the huge canopies and thick roots of our beautiful old oaks.  I love the shade those trees give to us, but the roses not so much.  This red rose is incredibly happy in the new spot, where there is a bit more sunshine and fewer roots to compete with. 

October is the month when all the summer flowers decide they can once again awaken to the cooler temperatures.  It is almost like a second spring each year when everything brightens and smiles at the cool nights and rain.

Even though it freezes here in the winter, I have never had to lift this dahlia which grows more than 7 feet tall every year.  During the heat of summer, she is faded and pale but when fall comes her colors shine and glow until the first hard frost.  This year that frost came just a few days ago, on Halloween.

Some garden stories here at Sunset House are simply strange.  See those two big pointy things that look like palm trees?  They are the “annual” dracaena that are added to flower pots at spring sales.  They refuse to be annual, lasting through winter after winter in their pots, getting ridiculously big.  I finally planted them in the ground and they just keep growing.  

A high point for October was the Eclipse on October 14th.  With our area located in the central line of visibility for the eclipse, there were festivals and activities from Coos Bay on the coast all the way to the Klamath Basin.  A local promoter took advantage of the event to organize a large gathering in the Wood River Valley not far from Crater Lake.  Eclipse Fest was well promoted, with food trucks and RV sites, workshops, and a concert on Saturday night.  

The excitement of the event drew in people from all over, including some very well-known RV personalities.  Chris and Cherie, famous for their Technomedia web presence traveled in their van all the way from Florida to attend.  Some of us who remember the blog world before the influencers took over remember that Chris and Cherie are great friends of Paul and Nina, of Wheelin It.  Nina has been in Southern France for the last 8 years but decided that the constellation of the eclipse, her good friends, and the chance to visit her beloved lighthouses on the Oregon Coast was enough.  She planned a road trip through our part of the world and lucky us, Sunset House was along her route.  Mo and I invited Nina to stay with us and were graced with her presence for an overnight stop.

We ate good food and talked a LOT about all sorts of things, including how to remember the magic of living and the magic of the world when things seem a bit dull and gray and difficult.  I will carry some of the morning conversations I had with Nina for a long time.  After she arrived, before our salmon dinner that I prepared, we took a drive through the beautiful Applegate Valley, stopping in to taste some wine and enjoy the beauty of the Applegate.  As many times as Nina has traveled through Oregon, she hadn’t visited this particular area, so it was a delight to share it with her.  I was sad to see her go since Nina is an absolutely charming and entertaining guest with so much to share.  

Nina is a true dog lover, and Mattie adores her

Nina probably had more followers than any blogger I know and when I heard her statistics I was amazed.  Yet even Nina’s great writing and photography cannot compete with the “influencers” the “YouTubers” and the “Instagram” people who have changed the online presence of RV writers and bloggers.  It was an eye-opening conversation.  Basically, blogging is pretty much dead.  Made me laugh, and I realized again that I will not quit, I love my blog books and my journals that are the result of this blog.  If blogging dies, so be it.  I don’t really care, and as I sit here this morning writing on my blog about the death of blogging it makes me laugh even more.

After the excitement of Nina’s visit and Eclipse Fest, Mo and I settled into our fall routine of yard maintenance in between rains.  Moving the roses did a number on my back and I managed to get a doctor’s visit in time to make life a bit more bearable.  Back soreness isn’t fun, but back spasms are crazy and I couldn’t do much of anything except lie around in my chair.  Sleeping was impossible.  My doctor was amazing, and I am so lucky to have a good GP right here in town just five minutes away.  I even got an appointment within a week which is rare.  A stint of steroids, muscle relaxers, and a new thing for me called Celebrex did the trick and after a week of that regimen, I am again walking around and actually doing something.  

The end of the month was brightened by a beautiful and very different family celebration.  My grandson Axel married his devoted spouse Pycho on October 28.  The wedding was small, and the venue was perfect for a kid who basically grew up with my daughter Melody as a “theater kid”.  Melody was very active in the Albany Civic Theater when she lived there in the early 2000s and knew the right people to rent the theater for the wedding venue.

The kids did all the cooking, spending three days at Melody’s house making Axel’s amazing curry with separate meats for those who wanted them, tons of amazing appetizers, and a truly epic wedding cake that honored the couple’s commitment to natural farming and good food.  They live in a small apartment that is filled to the brim with healthy growing things.  

The place was decorated with monstera leaves and elegant green cloths and napkins that matched the kid’s hair perfectly.  Mo and I drove north early in the morning with Daughter Deborah to attend, and after four hours of fun and food turned around and drove the four hours back home again.  My back wouldn’t let me spend the night in Melody’s upstairs guest room.  It was a beautifully perfect day and I so treasured being part of it.  Axel and Py are so good for each other, and after three years together it is wonderful seeing my grandson bloom with the gift of someone who loves him exactly as he is, someone who is always in his corner. Everyone should be so lucky.

The ceremony on the ACT stage was a traditional hand-fasting ceremony with the silken rope intertwining their wrists for each of the directions with each vow they made.  Their vows were beautiful, with strong intentions spoken by each one for creating a good, solid marriage.  Of course, I cried.

The month ended with a cold Halloween, and any plans I might have had to drive over the Cascades to once again experience the evening on Pacific Terrace in my old Klamath Falls neighborhood fell by the wayside with the cold.  Instead, I drove just a mile to Maryruth’s house where I could enjoy her busy neighborhood which is a popular haven for trick-or-treaters, and get my fix.

It was an evening filled with fun and laughter for all of us, with my friend Kristin and her family showing up at the door to make it nearly perfect.  

Maryruth made some incredible shrimp ceviche and artichoke baguette toasts to keep us fed, with a bit of hot buttered rum to top it off.  Good thing I only had a mile to get back home when it was over.  

Would it be a real blog of our life if I didn’t post the puzzles that we did this month? In between all the other stuff, we still managed to keep a puzzle going on the table most of the time.  

Pre-Dawn Mental Meanderings:

 I woke up at 3:30, lying in the silent dark except for the faint orange glow from the bedroom curtains.  The glow is from the deep orange light bulbs for the porch lights that I found at Home Depot last week.  It lends a spooky, perfectly gentle, warm light to early October darkness.  I love October.  I love Halloween, mostly for the happiness-inducing decorations that I put up not a day later than October 1 and sometimes a few days earlier.  I read recently on some news page that putting up fall decor is good for one’s mental health, and that orange is a happy color.  

I kept thinking about the month past, September, and could barely remember it.  Talking with my daughter yesterday, she moaned that she had “completely lost September”.  I get it.  I think I lost it as well.  Thank goodness I have photos and a calendar to remind me of most of it, but it takes sitting down at the computer, in the dark quiet of pre-dawn, for me to actually remember September.  I don’t want to lose my memories, so I write them down. 

On a sunny Friday afternoon in early September, Mo and I enjoyed some music and wine at Schmidt Winery, a favorite.

I take way too many photos, simply to remember.  In this latter part of my seventh decade, I know that remembering isn’t what it used to be, so I write.  Somehow, writing this way, in a blog, is so much different than a simple journal.  Here I have to pay attention, I need to be a little bit creative instead of simply tracking the facts.  

So I write about 4AM with a cup of good coffee wandering around the outside of the house, taking photos of the orange lights. The stars were bright and sharp, and the early morning moon was a quarter crescent rising in the east.  Suddenly I was accompanied by coyotes, singing the morning awake.  

Mapping in Nez Perce country along the Clearwater in 1987

Yes, Coyote is a friend of mine.  Coyote said hello to me this morning and it made me smile.  It was in the mid-80s when I was working alone in Coyote country in Idaho that I first realized that I had a special bond with the spirit of Coyote.  It helped that I was also working with the Nez Perce, mapping their lands along the Clearwater River, spending time at the Visitor Center, talking and laughing with Nez Perce leaders, and reading the stories about Coyote and the special bond that the Nez Perce have with this spirit. I dreamed of Coyote often and in my dreams, he would speak to me.  As my life changes, as I forget the magic of those years and live an ordinary life, I forget what that life felt like until I am out in the dark and hear coyotes sing.

Now back to September, and our everyday life. 

Mo and I visited Daughter Deborah at her new magical forest tiny home in Trail early in the month.  After we visited there, Deb followed us back to a fun restaurant that we discovered this summer, with the best patty melt I ever tasted and a cold PBR in the lounge portion of the Triple Tree Restaurant out in the middle of nowhere.

I also had a birthday that I completely forgot until I wrote about it this morning and saw the photos.  I was thrilled to receive the coziest, fluffiest bathrobe I have ever owned for a fabulous birthday present from Mo.  

Mo and Deborah took me to dinner at the finest restaurant here in Grants Pass for a lovely birthday meal.  

The rest of the first part of September was lost in late summer garden chores, me cleaning up and trimming all the overgrown plants, Mo doing maintenance projects on the MoHo trying to figure out the battery problem, and finally ordering a new sealed battery. 

Mo has a goal that she has carried ever since she first bought the MoHo more than fifteen years ago.  She wants to be sure that we get out at least once every month.  It can be for a couple of days or even a simple overnight trip, or like last year, two full months on the road in part of August, all of September, and part of October.  This year we have stayed closer to home.  We decided last year when we returned from the “big trip” to New York City and the East Coast that summer trips during “watering season” would be limited to a few days at most.  We love our home.  I love the flowers and the trees and shrubs that we have planted that are thriving beyond any possible expectation in this Grants Pass zone 7, and maybe even zone 8 with a bit of global warming.  

I have never lived where I could leave a dahlia in the ground and watch it bloom year after year.  It is good to be close in the summer and save the long trips for the seven months of the year that we don’t have to think about the well or worry about the flowers.

Our September trip was a special one.  When Mo and I camped just north of Portland on Sauvie Island last spring and visited the small towns where Mo grew up, we thought how much fun it would be to share a camping trip there with Mo’s brother and his wife Chere.  We made reservations months ago for Reeder Beach RV Park,  two sites facing the river, side by side, for four days in mid-September.  I looked forward to hearing Mo’s stories of growing up along the Columbia River told from Dan’s perspective as a young boy growing up in Columbia City, Oregon. 

The drive north was an easy one, with very little traffic on the interstate and perfect weather.  Dan and Chere were already settled into their site when we arrived.  There were fire pits along the edge of the river.  None of us wanted to walk the extra 50 feet or so for a campfire and Dan carried a metal firepit from another site and put it right in between our two rigs.  We used that fire pit every evening, laughing and talking after supper as we watched the boat traffic on the mighty Columbia River.

Mattie loves to camp with Dan and Chere’s dog, Sophie.  They play and play and Sophie is so gentle with Mattie, getting down low enough to be on Mattie’s level.  

All of us were amazed at the volume of boats that traveled that river day and night.  We saw barges hauling grain that may have originated in the Palouse fields of Eastern Washington, loaded to the barge in Lewsiton, carrying as much grain in a single barge that could be moved by 17 railroad cars. The soft white wheat grown in the great fields of the inner Northwest is coveted by Asian countries for the fine noodles that it makes.  Most of the wheat grown in Washington and Idaho makes its way there by way of the mighty Columbia, and then crossing the Pacific Ocean. 

We saw fancy white paddlewheelers with a big red paddlewheel hauling invisible tourists along the river. We saw not a single person on deck on those boats.  Maybe it was too cold, or maybe it was a dinner cruise and everyone was inside eating.  Who knows.  It was a mystery that we talked about every time one of those boats passed.

Sometimes huge gray ships of unknown origin with indecipherable logos entertained us.  The noise of the boats and ships wasn’t especially intrusive, even at night, and I slept like a baby the entire time we were camped. 

The Columbia is a VERY busy river.

On Tuesday, our first full day, we explored the island.  In the morning we traveled north toward the refuge to determine where we might launch our kayaks.  When Mo and I visited last Spring, most of the refuge waters were closed due to nesting migrating birds.  We thought maybe in the late summer there would be fewer closures on the refuge and possibly a place to launch our kayaks.

There are two lakes that show up on the refuge maps, but with a bit of driving we discovered that they may be open to kayaking, but late summer also brings low water and the muck wasn’t the least bit inviting.  

We did find a boat launch on the west side of the island on the Multnomah Channel that looked like a possible kayak site.  It was a beautiful day, with full sunshine, but we planned to explore on this first day and then kayak on the next two days.  

An easy walk with the kayaks to launch on the Columbia River

We found a beautiful beach on the Columbia at the far northern extent of the road near the Warrior Rock Lighthouse trail.  We knew that hiking the 3 miles to the lighthouse wasn’t an option, but did have a bit of hope that we could make it there in the kayaks.  On this gorgeous day, it might have been possible with the smooth water and no wind. We saved the plan for Thursday when the weather gods predicted another sunny day to follow a rainy Wednesday.

Sophie and Mattie loved running on the sandy beach.  Sophie also loves to swim, but it wasn’t enough to tempt Mattie into the water.  The four of us simply sat on the logs enjoying the sunshine and watching more river traffic.

After meandering around some refuge roads near the lakes, we returned to camp for a bit of lunch and some resting time.  

Our afternoon was spent exploring the southern half of the island, where there are many flower and pumpkin farms, and one especially inviting place with u-pick flowers, a coffee shop, a gift shop, and a big produce store.  

I bought an especially delightful striped squash that was much too beautiful to eat and ended up as part of the October decor at home.

The flowers on the island are gorgeous, with all sorts of creative displays adorning the roadways. The afternoon was perfect, and once we were back home, Dan and Chere took their chairs out to the riverside to watch the boats going by.

Those beautiful puffy white clouds were a precursor to a beautiful rain that started falling during the night and continued into the next day.  It was a perfect time for the four of us to drive north to Columbia City where Dan and Mo grew up.  

Mo and I took so many pictures of the family home the last time we traveled this way that I didn’t think to do so on this trip.  Still, Dan was amazed at how well the old house had held up so beautifully and is well cared for.

As we drove around Columbia City and St Helens, Dan told many stories of his memories of growing up along the banks of the Columbia River.  In a family with 2 girls and 3 boys,  you can imagine the “boy stories” that we heard.  We topped off the afternoon with a late lunch/early dinner at the Pour House on the Old Portland Highway, a comfortable tavern where Dan was fairly certain their father stopped for a beer now and then after work.

We knew that there was only one day of rainy weather before the sun was to return on Thursday.  We left early to launch the boats at the location we found at the lighthouse trail.  The water was a bit choppy due to the morning winds, but we launched without incident, hoping to make it to the lighthouse.

Dan was a bit worried that Sophie, being a water dog that loved to swim, might try to jump off the kayak.  She was perfect, and now Dan doesn’t have to worry any more about taking her out in the boat.  He told us later that he had been worrying about this for days before the actual trip.

What I didn’t consider, however, was the effect of an upriver wind combined with an incoming tide and a downriver current.  Those three things coming together made for a bit of a rough ride, and after a mile or so Dan and Chere decided to turn around.  I was getting a bit nervous with the choppy water, but Mo paddled on ahead of me and I did my best to keep up.

Mo looked back and saw me with a very large ship bearing down on me.  Of course, neither of us could hear each other, but we managed to get our boats to the shoreline in time to be ready for the wave from the ship.  Suddenly it felt like the movies when a tidal wave approaches. With the approaching boat, the water receded and suddenly our boats were sitting on the muddy bottom of the river.  Seconds later the big wave came back toward us.  I was extremely glad that we weren’t out on the river when that boat passed us.  But with that bit of excitement, we decided we had enough of the Mighty Columbia and a kayak trip to the Warrior Rock Lighthouse would have to wait for another day, a day that would be less challenging without the tides and wind.

Mo and Mattie on the river and if you look closely you can see the Warrior Rock Lighthouse on the peninsula in the distance on the right side of the photo.

We returned to camp, worn out but happy that we had managed to get the boats in the water at least once on this trip.  The evening campfire started early and ended late into the evening after a joint meal of burgers on the grill and good conversation. 

One very special thing about Dan is his willingness to help with any kind of mechanical problem that might be a bit too much for Mo to handle alone.  Mo brought the new battery she had purchased for the MoHo and Dan said he was happy to help install it.  We decided that I would take the car and Mattie and go home to Grants Pass and Mo would follow Dan home to their place in Beavercreek.  Dan and Mo worked on the rig, installing the battery, doing generator maintenance and tune-up, and a couple of other things.  With such difficulty finding anyone to actually work on a motorhome without a long wait, it is truly wonderful to have such help.  

Late September was beautiful, with a gorgeous soaking rain and cooler temperatures than we rarely see this early in the season.  It was such a relief to see the thirsty pasture grass soak up the moisture and begin the return to the beautiful, soft green that I love.  

 We woke early with the smell of smoke strong in the air. Sitting in the camp chairs by the campfire this morning I watched the stillness of the lake shrouded in the smoke. The campfire rings in this campground are gorgeous, made of the dark volcanic rock that surrounds the caldera.

I don’t know who built these fireplaces, but they are huge and strong, angled with the taller side facing the wind coming from the lake. They remind me of some of the CCC rock work we have seen throughout the country but I never read anything about the CCC working in this area.

At first, I thought the gloom was morning fog, but no, it was actually smoke. Thick enough that the far side of the lake about a mile from us looked very vague, with just a hint of the meadow there that we often paddle to in the kayaks. The outside temperature at the lake this morning was 38F and inside the MoHo it was a brisk 49 degrees. We turned on the furnace and let it run awhile. Our house batteries are acting a bit strange, with nothing but the fridge running overnight and our juice down to 11.9, so we started up the generator.

Mo took Mattie for a nice walk around the campground while I cooked a sausage/ English muffin sandwich for our breakfast. When we first got up, the lake was glassy smooth, and yet before 9AM a slight breeze from the west ruffled the surface. We bantered a bit about whether we should go out on the lake or not, with the smoke and the breeze, but decided to let the temps warm a bit more before we went out on the lake.

In the meantime, we walked the campground together, paying attention to which reserved sites were level enough that we might be able to park the MoHo comfortably. At the upper part of Hogue Campground, there are two very large, very level sites that would be adequate for a big rig. Site 55 and Site 56 are roomy, but neither of them has a lake view other than a tiny sliver of water seen through the trees.

There are a few things that we love to do when visiting Medicine Lake. Kayaking is our favorite, but the beautiful trails at Glass Mountain are a short drive north. On this day we decided that we could do both.

We aren’t a fan of kayaking in the wind, but the breeze coming from the west on the lake wasn’t terribly strong and we launched our boats easily. We had brought them down from the car the night before so that we would be ready. There is a large log that is conveniently close to the water where we can tie up the boats and not have to bring them up until we are ready to load up for home at the end of the week.

We can kayak all the way around the lake in about two hours, but with the breeze decided that a shorter trip to the west side of the lake against the wind and then returning with the wind behind us was the best plan for the morning. As always, it felt fabulous to be on the lake once again. I think it is our favorite. When we were at East Lake last month we thought maybe it was our favorite, but no, Medicine Lake has a special sweetness that is hard to put into words.

There is a spiritual quality to this place that feels as though all the spirits of all the indigenous people who have camped and fished and hunted here are all around us, doing their magic on anyone who cares to pay attention.

It was lovely to be on the water but we were happy to get back home in time for lunch and a bit of a rest from the wind. Our next outing for the day was a visit to Glass Mountain.

We have been to Glass Mountain several times over the last couple of decades that we have visited Medicine Lake, but it never fails to be a thrill to walk among the sparkling rocks and listen to the clink of obsidian as we walk. Needless to say, we don’t take Mattie with us when walking the trails in this area, with the sharp shards of obsidian that could tear up her footpads.

Glass Mountain is a spectacular, nearly treeless, steep-sided obsidian flow that erupted just outside the eastern caldera rim and flowed down the steep eastern flank of Medicine Lake volcano. The Glass Mountain flow, draped over the east side of the volcano, is the youngest lava flow at the volcano, erupting less than 1,000 years ago.

I knew that parts of the trail were steep, but once up the steepest part, things level out nicely, although most of the trail is rocky and uneven. The trails meander around the flow in different directions, but like a magnet, the dark shining outcrop of black obsidian draws us toward it every time.

Mo waited while I walked up to the outcrop, then asked if I wanted her to take my photo. I really didn’t want to walk back to her, so instead tried for a selfie. Here is the selfie, and the next photo is Mo smiling at me while I attempt to take the selfie without tipping over.

We chose to return to camp taking the road that circles around Lyons Peak to the east where we were treated to a spectacular view of the desert and the extent of the smoke plume which had receded a bit since we began our day.

It was wonderful to see that the smoke had cleared at Medicine Lake by the time we returned and we settled in for another wonderful supper and another perfect campfire as we watched the sun set over the lake.

The next morning when we woke it was a brisk 33 Degrees F. The batteries were low again, reading 11.6, and we turned on the generator at 7, hopefully not disturbing anyone. I was glad the sites were far enough apart that it wasn’t much of a worry.

The water was mirror smooth, without the slightest breeze to mar the perfect, smoke-free air. I picked 40F as the breaking point for getting out on the water, and sure enough we reached that temperature by 9:30 AM. We again headed west on the lake, this time aiming for the shallow water that supports an amazing floating garden of pink knotweed, sometimes called smartweed.

I love floating around in the pink flowers inside my pink boat. Makes me all happy inside. Mattie used to be a bit hesitant in the kayak but on this trip, she decided that kayaking was great fun and jumped right into Mo’s boat even before we got into the water.

Mo got out on the beach and let Mattie run around a bit while I paddled around enjoying the simplicity of just floating gently on the lake looking for fish beneath the flower carpet. It was a spectacular morning.

We followed the shore past the old cabin on the south shore and then crossed the lake to get home. It wasn’t too windy but that beautiful glassy surface was a bit ruffled on our way back. I figured out an even easier way to exit my kayak. If I am deep enough in the water, I can use my sticks to push up from the boat. Works well if there isn’t current or it isn’t windy, and if Mo can keep my boat from floating away. Whatever works!

Once back home we settled in for a quiet morning reading in the sunshine before lunch. One of the finer luxuries of camping is the nice nap I took with Mattie until 2 or so when Mo and I decided that a drive up to the Little Hoffman Lookout would be a perfect way to celebrate the beautifully clear afternoon. I wanted to see if smoke was still visible to the north and west of us.

It is about 5 miles of curvy dirt road to get to the lookout. We used to be able to drive to the top, but now they are locking the gate at the bottom of the steepest part of the road leading to the lookout. I read that they are now renting out the lookout for overnight camping for $75 per night. We hiked up the road to the top and were thrilled to see that all around us on all sides the skies were beautifully clear.

The view from the top was gorgeous with most of the smoke pushed toward the northwest beyond Klamath Falls. My legs were screaming by the time we got back to the car but I loved the hike so much.

Back in camp, we settled in for more reading till dinnertime. I cooked burgers and made mac salad before we settled in for our last campfire of the trip and watched fish jumping until the full moon rose shortly after sunset.

Once again I got up around midnight to see the full moon and saw the constellation Cassiopeia directly overhead. Cassiopeia is a constellation we love to track through our skies at home as we sit in the hot tub at night.

We slept well on our last night at the lake, waking again to chilly temperatures in the low 30s. This time the generator was down to 9.6. Pretty sure this means we are due for new batteries for the MoHo. A side effect of the low battery output is the obnoxious beeping of the CO detectors every time we run the generator. We decided that if the temperature rose to 40F by 9am we would go kayaking one more time.

Sure enough, with the skies clear and the water silky smooth, we paddled once again on our favorite lake. This time we traveled east along the shoreline in front of the campgrounds, explored the swim beach and the local boat launch, and paddled as far as the meadow before turning back toward camp.

It didn’t take us long to load the kayaks and get the MoHo ready to roll. We left the campground before the official checkout time at 12 and traveled back through Klamath Falls toward home.

The closer we got to Klamath, the more smoke was in the air, although it wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been on our way through earlier in the week. We stopped at the cemetery to put some flowers on a family gravesite before continuing around Klamath Lake toward the mountains.

A somewhat shocking moment came as we saw the construction taking place along the narrow highway near Howard Bay on Klamath. Usually, this part of the lake is a resting and feeding spot for hundreds of white pelicans, great egrets, snowy egrets, many types of ducks and geese, and grebes.

The road is quite narrow and it seems that people don’t recognize the need to slow down as they navigate the curves adjacent to the lake. There have been repeated accidents with cars going into the water, and some deaths. It still made me sad to see the devastation along the lake as they widen the highway. The floor of the lake is soft silt and it takes a lot of rock to fill it in.

I will close with a photo from days past on Howard Bay.