Oregon – Page 15 – The MoHo and Other Traveling Tales

Cameras, computers and other such stuff

It’s been a busy week for me, working a bit more than 40 hours like real folks, although I still managed to do more than half of that time from home. Working with the current project leader for a soil survey project I managed a few years ago is actually a lot of fun. Chris is a great guy, a smart and savvy soil scientist with good ideas. We spent two full days this week putting our heads together to refine the detailed descriptions of the geomorphology of the area.

Understanding the landscape and how it was formed is crucial to understanding the soils that form on those landscapes. Part of the data associated with a published soil survey is detailed information about the landscape for each soil that occurs in the area. After our review, my job this week is to get all that information in NASIS, the big database in the sky. It keeps my brain running at full speed and makes it a bit hard for me to sleep at night.

But now it is the weekend, and I promised myself I would refrain from firing up NASIS and trying to keep looking at all that data. Yeah, probably boring as heck to anyone but the few of us involved in the process, but it explains why I speed read blogs and sometimes don’t take the time to comment. Sorry folks, really, I love your blogs. I am praying that I never need a knee replacement after reading Laurie’s detailed account of what she and Odel have been doing after his operation. They are doing a great job, both of them, I just hope I never have to do it. I have been enjoying the migration of the Canadians back to their home territory and the folks still wandering across Texas trying to avoid the fires. There are several women RV’rs who are departing on their big full-time journeys, and several buying new rigs. I love reading about their adventures. I can’t possibly link to all my favorites without missing someone, so I won’t even try.

It is wonderful to have the MoHo safely at home again.

I love Rick’s detailed instructions and comments about the state of the current computer/internet world. I searched his blog to find all his posts about Windows 7. One of the comments that he often makes has to do with all the new software that will only run with 7 and won’t run on XP. I had to pay big bucks to take my old computer from Vista back to XP so I could run the government software that will ONLY run on XP, so I have been missing out on some of the newer bells and whistles that Rick discussed, specifically the new Live Writer and Internet Explorer.

While we were traveling last month my Dell Inspiron kept feeling really hot, and I worried that if that computer goes (it’s five years old) I would be in big trouble. Ahhh. Solution. Buy a new laptop with Windows 7. I have a great friend here in town who is an IT dude and he put me on to a business machine, a lightweight Dell Vostro, with all the bells and whistles and a shiny cherry red exterior to boot. Also, when I got home from our trip I discovered that the government has updated NASIS to a new version that will run on the XP that is hidden inside the Professional Windows 7.

Bingo! I ordered the new machine and decided to keep the old one just for NASIS, but if it dies, I’ll have a backup. Whew! Of course, a new machine always means more computer time, and I have been moving programs and photos and documents and re-installing programs and trying to find old disks for programs that I forgot I had. I do love Picasa, and immediately downloaded the newest version to my new Windows 7 computer, only to discover that all the “people” tags did not migrate to the new Picasa with the 60 gig of photos that I have been tagging diligently. Big sigh on that one. I wonder if anyone knows anything about that? Rick?

Lots of lawn to rake

I am working as much as I am allowed as a retiree, and saving up the bucks for our big trip to Alaska this summer. It’s only two months away now, with a departure date of July 6th, after the Fourth of July holiday.

Klamath Falls is having a huge celebration this year, with some changes to the parade and a big family bbq in Veteran’s Park before the fireworks. I am so glad to be here for that to share with my kids and grandkids. I love that holiday, and always insisted on family day picnics where I made the teenagers do three legged races. They always rolled their eyes and thought I was nuts, but it was a holdover from the church picnics of my childhood. Melody called me up all excited. She is on the town committee planning the picnic and said, “Mom, we are having three legged races, you HAVE to come!”. I’ll be there and will race with my daughter and probably laugh till my sides hurt.

Lots of trees makes for very few sunny sites to locate the greenhouse

Sitting here at my desk this morning, I see dirty patches of snow on the shady part of the road, but bright sunshine on the grass. I raked a lot last weekend, and Mo finished up all the lawns during the week. It’s beautiful except for the vole damage. Those dang little critters just make a total mess of the grass when the snow load is heavy, deep, and long lasting.

One area they tore up especially is the 10 by 12 space where the greenhouse will be. We are going to stake that area off today, and my job will be to get what is left of the sod up and leveled. The chickadees are here in force, and the squirrels are already raiding the feeders. Big sigh again. One more year of squirrel battles, rabbit battles, and deer battles are ahead of us. Hopefully we can keep all those critters out of the greenhouse!

Like many of us out there, I read Al’s (The Bayfield Bunch) often, gleaning information about all sorts of things, not the least of which is photography. If you search his blog for the word “camera” you will get 8 pages of posts about this topic! I once was a “photographer”, darkroom and all, but now I just “take pictures”. My old fabulous film camera Canon A-1 lies buried in a case in a cabinet. I haven’t had it out for years now. Al’s photos inspire me, though, along with lots of other great blog photographers, and I decided that I can no longer be satisfied with my little Nikon point and shoot. It takes nice photos, but the fine detail and perfect focus isn’t there, the telephoto isn’t enough, and the lens bends ocean horizons on the edges. No amount of Picasa fiddling will fix that. My choice of camera was the same as Al, I decided on the Nikon D90, and have been searching for the best price, hoping to manage a purchase before we travel the wide open landscapes of Canada and Alaska, hopefully filled with wildlife that will require a telephoto and vistas that will need a wide angle lens.

I fertilized the rhodies a lot last year, looks like we have flower buds

Talking with my other daughter yesterday, the one now driving airplane engines all over the country with her husband, yielded a surprise. In one of her other lives she was a professional portrait and wedding photographer and she offered her high end Nikon equipment to me for the Alaska trip. Whew! I can’t even remember what the models are, but it’s top notch, one with a metal body that will be heavier than the D90 but will give me the chance to see if I really want to lug a DSLR around while traveling.

She also made very clear that her telephoto lens is an auto focus anti vibration thingy that is about $2,000 worth of fancy. Whew again! I just hope I don’t get mugged while traveling. She laughed and said, “Now Mom, the only bad part is that you have to drop it off on your way back from Alaska.” Well, Duh! But at least I don’t have to come up with plus or minus $1,000 bucks for the D90 before we leave. Yay!

Medford and Iraq

One of the best things about living in Rocky Point in Winter (yes I know it is supposed to be Spring) is the ability to leave it behind and head over the mountain to Medford on a whim. This wasn’t exactly a whim, since I needed to get to the Social Security office and Medford is almost as close as Klamath Falls. Big difference, however, between those two cities at the moment. Klamath Falls has snow flurries and Medford has spring sunshine. It was a fairly easy choice deciding which office I wanted to visit.

Traveling 140 over the pass at Lake of the Woods

There have been some new followers to the blog since we left on our travels to the southern deserts last month, and I thank each of you. It’s always encouraging to see that folks care enough to follow along. Russ and Donna are Oregonians, now on the road, so we travel many of the same roads getting from here to there. Andy Altes, Sara, John W, don’t appear to have blogs. MacTrailer’s blog is in Portugese, but can be translated with Google Chrome. Not sure if IE does this as well. He does not yet have any posts, but I would imagine that some will follow eventually. Margie Anne’s New Zealand Diary is a fascinating look into life on another continent, where fall is in progress and winter is on the way. I may have thanked Linda already, but didn’t want to miss thanking her again, since I read her entire story of their Alaska trip last year and she has sent along some helpful emails as well.

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The snow level was the lowest we have seen all winter in April!

Yesterday morning, looking out the office window at the snow, I was glad for the excuse to leave our forest and travel the short 50 miles or so over the pass to Spring. Medford isn’t always quite a beautiful as it was yesterday. In winter, fog can lie in the valley making things very murky and cold. In summer, it can get very hot, and similar inversions hold the smog close to the ground as well. Yesterday, however, the skies were clear and the grass incredibly green. Forsythia was in full bloom along with the landscape tree flowering pear, used everywhere in town for early spring snow white blossoms. We planted a flowering pear last fall to replace the sweet gum that couldn’t handle our hard late spring freezes, so I am really looking forward to it’s first year in our yard.

Mo decided that it was a good day to replace some of the lost tools from last month’s vandalism, so after the social security office we went to Harbor Freight. I should say Mo went to Harbor Freight, while I sat in the car with Abby for 75 minutes of pure heaven, doing absolutely nothing except watching the white puffy clouds slide across the brilliant blue sky, enjoying the sun and spring breezes. I took Abby for a walk, took a couple of photos, and just soaked up the warmth.

Pidge asked if our insurance company was stepping up, but Mo decided that with only 1500 or so in losses and 1000 deductible it wasn’t worth making the claim. It’s amazing, but the trauma of the vandalism is almost completely behind us now, and the only thing left to do is slowly replace the missing items. The MoHo is intact, and as beautiful as ever. We did have an interesting conversation this morning about next winter, however. We probably won’t pay 179 per month to store the MoHo in a high security covered storage facility! Ha! Talking about other options, including storing her in Medford just for November and December and heading south from January through April next year. Who knows, plans shift and change, but I like the thought of this one.

After a good shopping spree at Harbor Freight, we did the Costco run, and had the best hot dog in the world for a buck and a half. That is often part of the Medford run for us, a perfect dog at Costco. On the way home we took some side roads through the tiny town of Eagle Point, with it’s historic old grain mill, and then along Butte Creek which was in full flood stage, almost overflowing it’s banks with brown wild water. Another side road took us up to a higher terrace, one we have never seen before, with broad vistas of the surrounding mountains and beautiful grasslands and big ranches. Someday, maybe by 2020, Mo and I will decide to leave the deep winter snows of Rocky Point, and the possibilities of where we might go are always there in the background. In spite of our love for so many parts of this amazing country, we will probably remain somewhere in our beloved Southern Oregon.

You might wonder how Medford relates to Iraq. I guess it doesn’t, except it was on my mind a lot yesterday as I watched the blue skies. My grandson Steven is once more being deployed to Iraq, and yesterday was in the security advance group, out of touch, until he leaves today for 3 weeks in Kuwait before going on to Iraq. Steven has a wife and two young children, my great grand kids, and already did one tour of Iraq a couple of years ago. When he came home from war, he left the Army, but the world out there was incredibly difficult for a young father with two kids and he decided to re-enlist. Steven is a computer security specialist, so his assignments are not front line, but even in the Green Zone he was subject to bombings and danger.

to Medford (11) I don’t understand why we are pulling troops out of Iraq, and yet more young men and women are still being deployed there. Steven says that it will be more difficult this time, without the large number of troops, there won’t be as much support as previously. Makes me sad and angry at the same time, but I honor our troops and what they do for us. I just wanted to take the moment to honor Steven and send him off with a big hug and lots of support.

Pahrump to Fernley and home to Rocky Point

I can’t believe that I am once again sitting at my desk in Rocky Point, looking out the window at snow. The snow came down in big fat flakes all day yesterday but didn’t stick, but this morning we woke to more than a good inch covering everything as if it were winter and not April. Somehow luck was with us all the way home, and we slid into Rocky Point on bare pavement under blue skies on Tuesday afternoon. This storm blew up the next day and now will be with us for a few more days according to the weather predictions. I am hoping that all the folks on the road heading north are warm and dry and avoiding this latest round of weather from the Pacific.

We left Pahrump early in the morning on Monday, driving hard and straight north on Highway 95, through the tiny town of Goldfields, and passing Tonopah, the Nye county seat, in the blink of an eye. Somewhere in all my western travels, I don’t think I have traveled this route, usually preferring to go west to 395 in California. We were rewarded with decent gasoline prices, at 3.69 per gallon for the $172.00 fill-up in Fallon, Nevada. I heard rumors of prices well above 4 bucks on 395, but will have to see what Donna and Russ have to say about that, since I believe they traveled that route south in their pretty new Lazy Days called “Therapy”. I think we must have passed each other somewhere close to Susanville.


*Goldfields, Nevada in the process of restoration by the local folks*	*We were on the other side of Tonopah before we knew it*

The skies were clear all the way north, but the temperatures were only in the high 40’s as we traveled through Nevada. Our plan was to boondock for the night, but when we reached Fallon, it was still only 3 in the afternoon, and once on the major east-west route of ALT 50, boondock sites were in short supply. The lovely BLM land, great for boondocking, all seemed to be considerably south of Walker Lake, another spot that I would have liked to explore, but it was much to early in the day. Like horses heading for the barn, we were on a roll and wanted to get as close to Reno as possible before stopping for the night.

A quick search on Streets, turned up a CampClub USA park west of Fallon in Fernley, Nevada, right on our route. My visions of camping in the open desert on a big alluvial fan with never ending vistas was only partially realized. I was still on an alluvial fan in the desert, with a decent view only obstructed a bit by the RV next to us. By 4pm we were settled in to a very nice little park called Desert Rose. In addition to our CampClub discount, this park had just about every other club discount, including Escapees. It wasn’t fancy, but clean and lined with level concrete pads, new trees, grass, and “the best cable TV this side of Michigan”, according to the very gregarious caretaker. We even had decent Wi-Fi where I was able to post the last couple of blog entries.

We slept well, after staying up much too late catching up on cable news and the internet. Tuesday morning dawned clear and gorgeous again, if a bit cool, and we were on the road by 7:30. Our route was straightforward, through Reno on Alt 50 to I-80 to 395 north to Susanville, Alturas, and then on 39 home to Klamath Falls. The skies were still gorgeous, with puffy clouds and snowy mountains in the distance as we approached our mountain home.

We love to camp at Medicine Lake, and the snow covered barren slopes of Glass Mountain, formed entirely of black obsidian, beckoned us as we passed the familiar turn-off on our route.

Once in Klamath Falls, we gassed up the MoHo at Fred Meyer for 3.72 per gallon, picked up some vet only cat food for Jeremy, and took the Lakeshore route home so that we could stop in at Moore Park for our free dump site. Klamath Lake seemed especially full, and the A Canal delivering water from the lake to the farmers on the Project was also full, indicating that for the first time in a couple of years, we are having a good “water year”. The farmers will get their irrigation from the Project, and the salmon will have enough water to make it back up the Klamath River. We will have enough water to get the kayaks back out in Recreation Creek hopefully very soon, at least if this snow ever melts.

Once home, we were happy to see that almost all the snow was melted and the road looked fine. The grass was starting to green up except for extensive areas where the voles have tunneled a virtual city protected by our 4 month snow cover. Daffodils are starting to appear, and the buds on the trees look good. Mo backed the rig into her waiting berth and in no time we were unloaded and back home with the fire going, checking the recorded shows on the DVR and laughing at Jeremy racing around the house after all the invisible ghosts that must have taken over while we were gone.

Something wonderful about rounding this bend in the road and seeing our home turf across the lake

I spent all day yesterday washing bedding and rugs and clothes from the MoHo and tried to get adjusted to being back home while I watched the snow fall and remembered the 100 degree afternoon in Laughlin. Sometimes that re-entry can be ambivalent; I’m so happy to be home, yet somehow feel a bit disoriented. Mo doesn’t seem to get as confused by all this as I do, and she just settled in easily to our home routines without a hitch. By this morning, however, all seemed just fine to me, in spite of the deep snow. I have no clue if I will be working next week, thanks to the government shutdown rumors, but either way, it’s good to be home.

Heck of an early winter here

Nice to have a new follower, I am always amazed when that happens. Thank you. Barry and Linda are talking about boondocking sites, always an interesting subject.

The guest cabin is getting buried!

Although for the last few days I haven’t been spending much time reading. Every morning I have shoveled 2 to 4 inches of snow from the driveway, enjoying it actually, until today when we had more than a foot dumped on us overnight. It seemed like a little bit too much, I had nowhere to throw it and it’s only November. Mo tried to start up the snow blower to finish the job, but it wouldn’t go, so I shoveled and she plowed and after about 3 hours we had the driveway and road passable. This big storm has rampaged across the northwest, leaving snow in Victoria, ice in Bellingham, and wreaking general havoc on roads and highways all over the place. We knew it was coming, but the predicted temperatures tomorrow are below zero, and that’s Fahrenheit, not Celsius! The wind blew hard all night and covered the wide front and back porches with hard, icy snow that I couldn’t scrape off no matter how hard I tried. I think I am ready for a break already. Yeah, I know it’s only November.

I’ll be off to visit a friend in Florida for a week in early December while Mo keeps the home fires burning and the road plowed. The day I return, we are jumping in the Tracker and going to pick up the MoHo in Redding and find some sunshine in Desert Hot Springs for Christmas week. Whew! I am having Thanksgiving this year, so there will be some good family time there, and told my Klamath daughter and grandkids that I would celebrate a late Christmas with them when we return.

The road to Medford on the way to Costco

The road home from Medford. Class A with no chains??

Yesterday Mo and I decided to make a Costco run. For us, that is a 45 mile drive to Medford, over the pass on Highway 140, past Lake of the Woods and down the Crater Lake Highway. It’s usually a beautiful drive and we can be at the Costco parking lot in less than an hour. Not so yesterday. After our morning snow exercises, we left around ten and the storm was already coming on fairly strong. By the time we left Medford and headed back east, it was in full force, with many sliders and slow vehicles trying to get over the pass. I was especially surprised by the big Class A motorhome stranded on the pass trying to get out the the Basin. I have no clue why someone would attempt to drive a big rig like that over a stormy, snowy pass, with chains required signs everywhere, but with no chains.

Today we had to go the opposite direction, again after morning snow exercises and on another snowy, icy road. I ordered a free range organic fresh turkey from Howard’s Meats in Klamath Falls and of course needed to do the rest of the Thanksgiving shopping there as well. On the way home, we saw that Klamath Lake is beginning to freeze already, and there are still hundreds of ducks in the bay, and even some Canada geese. Tonight that little bit of open water is going to close in even more. I worry about the birds. Our lake and basin is on the major Pacific flyway and these little ones are on a clock that didn’t include subzero temperatures in November. Heck, we rarely get sub zero temperatures in the deepest of winter!

The MoHo is in Redding, where tomorrow morning the temperatures are predicted in the low 20’s. Pooh. We drained the tanks, but didn’t put antifreeze in the drains. The whole reason for that expensive storage place is that Redding rarely drops below 30 degrees and we wouldn’t have to winterize. Sigh again. Mo thought about driving down there today while I did the Klamath shopping, but 3 hours each way in a winter storm isn’t particularly fun. After talking to some folks we decided that the rig would probably be fine. The temperatures will go low, but it is inside, and the sun will be out and the temps in the 40’s by 10 am. Tomorrow is the coldest day, so we are watching the weather map on weatherunderground and hoping it won’t be as bad as predicted.

Tomorrow is the big cooking day, so as long as the power grid holds up I should be busy. Mo also got the snow blower running this evening so my shoveling time might be a bit less. Who knows. I love winter, and I love being able to leave it as well! It’s the best of all worlds.

August 24 LePage to Spokane

Wonderful to have such a great night’s sleep and to wake up to fresh breezes and a view of the water. LePage Campground is a delightful little treasure tucked away on I-84 and a good overnight stop.

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The trip along the Columbia River is the best part of the route, and once across the river into Washington the landscape becomes barren and boring unless you look deeper into the rest of the story.

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We settled into Riverside State Park close to Spokane early in the afternoon, just in time for the arrival of Mo’s brother Don, who lives in Spokane. The Centennial Trail winds along the river through the park and we unloaded the bikes for a nice little afternoon ride. It’s great to see the Bowl and Pitcher area again with it’s wild waters, basalt columns, and to walk across the swinging bridge over the Spokane River

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Photos from the rest of our day are linked here

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Be forewarned, the following is my own personal journaling, much too wordy for a blog, but the more important reason for this blog, keeping track of my feelings and memories while we travel. I write here mostly for me and for Mo, and for my kids, and of course, anyone else who wants to know more.

Sue’s JOURNAL:

What a difference a day makes, AND! a good night’s sleep. AND a computer that works properly. AND! the allergy medications worn off. Whew! The sun is gorgeous this morning, coming over the brown hills to the east, framed in green locust trees and accented by the blue waters of the John Day River, fat and lazy due to the John Day Dam just west of us here at the mouth of the river. This little campground is a treasure, and we enjoyed this mornings cool breezes, and a good night’s sleep. We didn’t even have to unhook last night, and our site is right on the water. The campground is unassuming, but we look out over the water from our awning side and are on level pavement pull through. In the distance we can see the freeway, the railroad, and the hills around us are punctuated by the brilliant white and graceful windmills. Power and transportation, all right here, and yet so rural and very peaceful.

The drive from this park to Spokane is pleasantly uneventful, without much to see except the river itself, huge and wide. I have traveling it far too many times, however, to pay much attention any more to the charms of Eastern Oregon and Eastern Washington, especially the area around the Tri-Cities. The most entertaining part of the trip was watching what the NUVI was telling us, and seeing her calculate the same routes I have used since I first started traveling these roads in 1972. We knew company would be coming for dinner so stopped at the huge and fabulous Kennewick Fred Meyer for supplies before continuing on into Spokane.

I looked at the very brown, very dry fields all around us and tried without much success to see them with new eyes. I know the story of wheat in Eastern Washington, the levels of precipitation and the depth of the soils increasing exponentially with the bushels per acre harvested as you approach Pullman/Moscow on the Washington-Idaho border. I know the amazing story of the Great Missoula Floods that 13,000 years ago emptied a lake that covered a large part of Montana in what some say may have been as little as two days. These brown scabby hills to the west of Highway 395 between Richland and Spokane are actually part of what is called the Channeled Scabland. However, as a tourist passing through on the highway, none of this story is visible unless you know the tiny details and what to look for. Today, it just looked incredibly brown and boring. The only good thing to be said is that the 100 miles or so from Tri-Cities to the Interstate 90 is now all four lanes, a good highway. I traveled it for years as a 2 lane pain in the neck road full off slow truckers and furious people who couldn’t pass them.

We arrived in Spokane by 2 in the afternoon, and this time used the NUVI to negotiate the river and the bridges that make getting around sometimes a bit difficult in this town. Of course, we found out again why everyone thinks that Spokane has the worst roads of any large city in the west. Huge potholes and construction was going on everywhere, and we negotiated red flags and orange barriers all across town. Another issue is the fact that Riverside State Park is sometimes hard to find, with the headquarters actually several miles north of the campground. The Garmin Girl kept trying to make us go very far north. If I hadn’t known the city, we could still be wandering around out there. Once in the campground, however, all quieted down. No one was in the kiosk, and we had no clue what our site number was supposed to be, but thankfully the telephone worked and after a call to headquarters, we settled into space 12 right next to the river.

We unhooked the Geo, only to discover that the battery was completely dead. Somehow we had managed to park in a way that worked well, and we backed the MoHo into the site, and pushed the Geo off the road facing the front of the MoHo, thinking a jump would do the trick. We were not so lucky, however, since it only clicked a bit before we gave up and called AAA. Funny part about all this is that Triple A in Oregon had to route us to Triple A in Washington, and no matter how hard I tried to explain to the operator that we were NOT in Nine Mile Falls, she still sent the assistance to Nine Mile Falls, insisting that was the address of Riverside State Park. We were especially lucky that the cell phone still worked down in the river canyon, because when the mechanic called me, he knew exactly where I was and drove back from Nine Mile to find us. His charger had enough power to start the little car up, and after letting it run a bit, we were just fine.

:By this time, Mo’s brother Don had found our campsite to join us for the rest of the afternoon. I also called an old friend in Coeur D’Alene who agreed to make the long drive to the west side of Spokane to visit. While we waited for Laura to arrive, Don and Mo and I went off for a bike ride on a small portion of the Centennial Trail that is in Riverside State Park. This trail extends from Nine Mile Falls through Spokane east into Idaho ending on the east side of Coeur D’ Alene Lake. I remember when the trail was just a gleam and a plan, and before I left the area almost ten years ago it was fairly well developed. It is a great place to ride. In fact, there are several trails in this part of Washington and Idaho that have been developed for biking, many from old railroad right-of-ways.

When we arrived back to camp from the bike ride, Laura arrived with a huge bowl of fabulous veggies from her garden to add to our supper. We cooked the pork chops and corn on the cob outside, while I did some rice and a salad in the MoHo. It was wonderful having some time to visit and catch up on our children, families, and doings over the last couple of years. Laura and I haven’t seen each other since she visited me in Klamath a few years ago, so this was an extra special treat. It was nice having Don there as well, and he and Sharon took Abby down to the river for a swim.

The moon was full and clearly visible through the trees and the park was dark and quiet except for the faint sound of the river below us. It’s really dry this time of year, so even if we could have found some firewood, there were no fires allowed. By the time everyone left it was close to ten after a hot shower when we got to bed. I love how well I sleep in the MoHo, with fresh air, all close and cozy, and wonderful dream time.