Rocky Point – Page 6 – The MoHo and Other Traveling Tales

We found the cheese and the sunshine

The Rogue Creamery in Central Point, Oregon, has been making cheese since the early days of the Depression. At that time, “artisan” wasn’t a common word associated with food, but the Vella family decided the only way to keep their business viable was to create a new image. That commitment to creating artisan cheeses changed everything, and the Rogue Creamery has become world renown, with award winning blue cheese, among others.

I read about the creamery in Sunset magazine, read about it again in some food magazines, and then again in a newspaper article touting this amazing cheese resource right under our noses. They host the annual cheese festival, and it seems that this little corner of Central Point is home to several artisan food makers that participate.

Often, Mo and I would drive through Central Point near Medford on our way to somewhere else and see the big banner “Oregon Cheese Festival” and say to each other, “Gee, we have to do that sometime”. Isn’t is amazing how often something so close to home can be overlooked while we wander the country searching for new adventures?

Yesterday, the adventure was all about cheese, and wine, and chocolate, and more wine, and more cheese, and some great breads, and oh yes…pesto….and salsa….and lavender jam….and habanero chili lime cilantro sauce…..and …..and….more wine.

Just an hour from home, with a dusting of snow on the pass, we found the big white tent with hundreds of cars parked on all the side streets and friendly bike cops patrolling the crosswalks. There were a LOT of people there, and a LOT of people sharing their passion for artisan everything.

We really had no idea what to expect, thinking perhaps there would be a small gathering of folks, a few booths maybe. Instead, the huge tent was filled to the brim and it seems that there was a lot more wine than cheese! For five bucks we got a bracelet with ten spots to check off for wine tasting.

Now, as you know, a tasting isn’t really all that much, but after ten of them, I was as giddy and bubbly as a kid out of school. And I couldn’t figure out how I could be so FULL from eating all those little bites of wonderful tasty things. After all, they were just little bites, and little sips, right?

My favorite thing of all was the Clear Creek artisan distillery using beautiful Oregon pears to make pear brandy and pear liqueur. That was truly amazing stuff, and they even have bottles with a perfect pear INSIDE floating in the crystalline 80 proof tasty brandy. The liqueur was to die for. Maybe that was why all the cheese tasted so good and I felt so giddy.

We topped off the afternoon with a trip to Chico’s for me (ahhh yes…have I mentioned I am a Chico’s addict?) and a Costco run for the best chicken breasts around, cashews that are bigger and fatter than any others, and pecans at half the price of the grocery store. No toilet paper. How many Costco baskets can you count leaving the store that don’t have huge packs of toilet paper in them? Not many!

We woke again this morning to a dusting of snow, and once again loaded up the Tracker with dog, cat, food, (including of course, our artisan purchases of cheese, salsa, hot pepper jam, and other goodies), clothes, cameras, computers and ourselves, for the four hour trip to Brookings where the MoHo safely awaits our return. This time the pass had a lot more than a simple dusting of snow, with the plows running heavy and a near blizzard at the top. Once again I was grateful that we weren’t driving the MoHo over that pass to get out of the basin!

Once in Medford, things settled down, but we again had snow on Highway 199 along the Smith River. I have never seen the Smith running so high and frothy, and all along the canyon, water cascaded down the rocks at every turn. We stopped for one of the biggest ones, along with several other cars taking advantage of the deluge.

Once we reached the “Banana Belt of Oregon”, however, the sun was shining and the skies were clear and gorgeous. Not a speck of fog or rain, but huge white cumulus clouds in the sky made the blue seem even brighter. Harris Beach yielded up the prettiest site we have had so far, and we have had some nice ones. A24, down toward the far end of the front row, has a wide view of the ocean, with just enough trees to keep us a bit hidden from incoming cars on the road below. Lots of empty spaces on the front row this afternoon, and we took the very best\

Just a couple more little things to share that I keep forgetting about. Geez. We finally made it onto the HitchItch.com website. Of course, we are still in the process of being accepted or not, but hopefully they won’t dump us in the near future. Al was right, people seem to really use that site a lot to find out where the RV bloggers are.

Then, I just wanted to share the really gorgeous poster that we bought from our last trip up to the northern part of the coast. The whole Lewis and Clark history was so wonderful, and the poster so gorgeous, we couldn’t resist. It is a good thing Mo’s ceilings are ten footers and that there is still room in the office up high for one more wall thingy. (You know, of course, that you can click on these photos if you care to see them bigger)

Actually, speaking of wall thingy’s. I just have to share this incredible gift from my daughter Deanna. When she visited last month, she said her whole reason was to bring something to me that she just didn’t want to ship in the mail. Needlepoint is something Deanna has done for some time now, and she whiles away her non-driving time with needle in hand. I am the lucky recipient of this amazing stitchery, framed perfectly, and ready to hang. I think of her every time I pass the low wall in the kitchen where it now hangs. Just tickles me no end.

With all the rain predicted for our trip south, it’s hard not to want to just sit here overlooking the amazing ocean, but the road calls, new sights await. Besides, if we sat here it would probably just rain anyway.

Yes!

I won! I won!! Amazing. Those of you who rode along with me in the MoHo on the Coast 101 Quilt Run (my very first such experience), and wished me well, are in for some thank you’s. I won a third prize gift certificate for $50 to spend at will at the sweet little quilt shop in Brookings. I am happy to say that this was one of my favorite stores of the 14 that I visited. I had given up on winning anything except receipts for all the fabric I bought when this little card showed up in the mail yesterday. Needless to say, I am tickled and already imagining and remembering all those gorgeous fabrics and the great ladies I met in the shop last month.

Lucky me, since we are heading back to Brookings on Sunday morning, and I told Mo that we would have to wait until store opening time on Monday before we travel south to California. Once again we are going south, looking for sunshine and warmth. According to the predictions, however, it might be warmer than Rocky Point but probably not much sunnier. A big storm is dampening the west right now, and it spreads far and wide.

Our plans have shifted back and forth several times, with thoughts of traveling far enough south to the Carizzo Plain to see the amazing wildflower show. The image on the right is from the internet (I have no idea who to acknowledge here), but it is one I have seen repeatedly when searching for wildflower blooming times in the California springtime. The Carizzo Plain and the Tremblor Mountains straddle the San Andreas Fault and are a long way from anywhere southeast of Paso Robles and southwest of Bakersfield.

I plugged the plan into Streets and Trips, counted the days, looked at the weather, and looked at the lack of rain and rethought the plan. Wildflowers on the plain are an ephemeral thing, totally dependent on the timing of rainfall, and this year there has been very little. Rumor has it there isn’t much blooming yet. The Carizzo Plain will have to wait for another year. Of course, now that we have ten days to get away, it is raining. Of course.

Gas prices being what they are, and timing being what it is, I decided instead that it might be time to go see Pinnacles National Monument. Merikay was there recently and took some great photos. Mo was there many years ago when she lived near Half Moon Bay, but I have never seen it. Several friends from soil survey have been involved in the soil mapping there as well. I have read papers, and seen the results of research and study, but now I just want to walk and explore and experience what it has to offer.

Being a national monument, we knew that Abby couldn’t go on the trails, so planned for a doggie day care in nearby Gilroy for the two days we plan to stay in the park. The day care seems rather amazing, with no cages, just lots of beds and toys and other friendly dogs in a big doggie park kind of environment.

Last week I wasn’t working, but of course Mo and I had some big projects waiting for a non-working, non-traveling week. We finished the painting project started last year at this time and completed our office, and mud room and back entry halls.

In the early mornings I worked on the baby blanket I am knitting for Mo’s new grand niece born just after her birthday and took one long afternoon to pull out the sewing machine. When Maryruth and I had our girls weekend last fall, we bought fabric and patterns at the quilt shop in Chico, but of course Maryruth doesn’t quilt. I am making this diamond lattice table runner for her. As simple as it looks, it still is a bit of a challenge for me as a newbie, but I am having so much fun with it. It amazes me how all these little puzzle pieces actually turn into something.

This week was a working week for me again, and Mo managed to finish painting her entire big bathroom while I plunked away on the computer. It is Friday!! I shut down NASIS for the last time this evening and won’t look at it again for ten days. Poured myself a glass of wine and took a deep breath. Tomorrow we will brave whatever the weather gods have in store for us over the Highway 140 pass to go to Medford for the day. Our destination: the annual Cheese Festival at the Rogue Creamery and of course an opportunistic Costo Run as well. Gotta stock up for our Sunday exit to sunny…er…rainy California.

Christmas

I am writing this post from the comfy MoHo sofa waiting for the frozen water hose to melt. Of course, we are in California and it dropped to 25 degrees last night. Silly us. We saw rumors of freezing temperatures but kind of ignored them. Couldn’t be THAT bad, right? We are on the road again, but instead of writing about the trip (that will come in the next post), I wanted to write about Christmas. As the years go by, how would I ever remember where we were and what we did if I missed blogging it?!

For the first time I can remember, there was no snow in Rocky Point for Christmas. We had a month of gorgeous sunny clear days, short as they were, and cold temperatures, but not a single day of plowing or shoveling. It made for a good month for me to spend time decorating the house inside and out. Two comments from the day made it all worth while. My youngest said, “Thanks Mom, it finally feels like Christmas to me”. And my oldest said, “Thanks Mom for a true “mom” Christmas”.

The lack of snow made travel easier for everyone, and Deb and my grandson Matthew drove down from Portland on Friday without a hitch. It was wonderful having two nights with them here before Christmas, with time to just hang out together, eat good food, watch a sweet little movie, and have time to talk. Then on Christmas morning the rest of the local family, with Melody and Kevin, grandkids Hillary and Elric, and my sister Sally and my niece Savannah arrived early for our traditional family breakfast of eggs benedict.

The house was warm and festive with family all together laughing and talking and sharing stories. Something that happens all to rarely it seems, so I treasured every single moment of the entire day. After breakfast we opened packages and a highlight for me was the soft sculpture coyote that my granddaughter Hillary made for me. She couldn’t find a pattern so she just designed her own, personally designed and hand sewn. Hillary is an artist who spends much of her time drawing, so somehow she had the ability to picture something two dimensional turning into something three dimensional. Amazing to me, since I am the one that always had trouble with those shapes tests! Vocabulary and reading skills off the charts for me and forget the mechanical stuff! I failed miserably.

Since there was no snow, we settled on another family walk through the Rocky Point neighborhoods, amazed at the 40 degree temperatures and light skies. I hear that winter is coming with a vengeance this week, but lucky us, we missed it! Most of the family left just before dark on Christmas Day, but Deb and Matt waited to leave for Portland until Monday morning, just in time for Mo and I to pack up the baby car and leave Rocky Point behind for two weeks of traveling.

Of course, most of you know to hover over photos to see captions and click to enlarge the picture. For family who want to see the rest of the photos, click here for the web album on Picasa. It seems that these albums are also viewable on Google Plus for plus users as well. I made them visible to anyone interested.

Once all the Christmas hoop-de-do died down, I had some time to read some of the blogs and see all the wonderful Christmas posts from everyone. Beautiful. A belated Christmas to everyone and thanks for being part of my world.

Making a List

Checking it twice. Christmas is almost here and it is time for the final lists: groceries, gifts sent, gifts still in the waiting, cards? yes or no. All the little details that go with this season. After two weeks off while I traveled to Florida, I now have two weeks working full time in order to prepare for our two weeks coming up in Desert Hot Springs. Something about this plan isn’t working that well. It seems as though all my time is spent working or traveling.

Where oh where do I find the time for the baking, the wrapping, the decorating? the Open House? All those special little pieces of the Christmas holiday that make me want to spend it at home in Rocky Point. The snow?? A mixed blessing, of course, with icy roads and shoveling always a part of it, but this year the snow has evaporated and no new snow is on the agenda before Christmas day. Nights are clear and cold and days are brilliantly sunny. It is gorgeous, but surely doesn’t look anything like Rocky Point at Christmas.

We even had the amazing gift of a perfectly clear dark morning to view the total eclipse of the moon. I packed up the camera and the tripod and Mo drove while we searched for some open sky among the trees. The temperature gauge in the truck read a clean 7 degrees F and my fingers had a hard time finding buttons on the camera in the dark. Still, we watched in awe at the heavenly sky treat, punctuated now and then with a shooting star to make it all the more dramatic.

So far, I seem to have at least managed the decorating part of Christmas at home. Mo and I have a lifetime of accumulated Christmas “things”, and as usual her collection is much smaller than mine. We agreed that anything that we couldn’t find a place for this year would get passed on, either to my kids if they want it or to Goodwill if they don’t. Needless to say, there are little treasures that have been tucked into places where we might not think to put any decorations, just because we want to keep the particular item. We are sticking to the rule: If there isn’t a place for it, it goes!

Case in point: all the Disney decorations that Mo had tucked away for at least 25 years. I put them on the little white tree with white lights and we set it in the laundry room next to the cat food. Works just fine with the white appliances and I think that Jeremy likes the lights while he is eating. Lucky for me, we also have porches where things can go. We have managed to eliminate several boxes of “stuff” and when we get back from the desert in January, the packing up of Christmas should be easier than it has in the past. Yeah, I still have my village, but am giving away a bunch more stuff when Christmas is over. I still have a tree inside the house, with my pears and partridges and special ornaments, and Mo still has all her keepsake ornaments from around the world on the green trees on the front porch, protected from weather and lit up at night. It all works.

I will have at least part of my family here for Christmas. Oldest daughter and my grandson are coming south from Portland for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day this year. Youngest daughter who lives in Klamath will be here with her family. Sister and niece might drive out if the snow continues to wait till January, she has 2 wheel drive and is scared to death of snowy roads. Middle daughter is hauling jet engines around the country with her husband in their big rig and will be here in spirit. Holidays off are not part of their trucking life right now. Son and his wife are tucked away in Missouri and a trip west in the winter won’t be on the agenda any time soon. Grandson and his wife and my great grandkids will be in Texas. Other grandson will be going to his father’s family up in Washington State. I have no idea when or if I will ever again have my entire family in one place at one time. I’m just grateful for the internet, email, and telephones to make keeping in touch with everyone so much easier.

I returned home from Florida just in time to attend the traditional Rocky Point Ladies Luncheon, where many of the men of our community volunteer to cook a special dinner for all the ladies, and some of the ladies volunteer to dress the tables in Christmas finery. It was a lovely day spent connecting with the folks who live out here that we don’t often see. The joke was that we show up now and then between travels to take a nap before we head off to some other destination. The favorite comment we get is, “Where are you two going next?”

In the midst of all this fun, I am finally knitting a sweater for my trucker daughter. I have had the yarn for almost two years now, and this time the promised sweater may get finished by her birthday at the summer solstice. Ah yes, I am NOT a fast knitter, especially with all these other projects in waiting. My quilt is sitting in a bin in the closet waiting for another chance to set up the sewing machine. Cookies and tarts are waiting to be made, and I found an online recipe for my favorite goodie from Starbucks, “Cranberry Bliss Bars” that will find their way into my Christmas pile of sweets and savories to share with the family.

I love Christmas. I plan to keep knitting, keep cooking, play some carols on my piano, and enjoy every single minute that I have with family and friends and sparkly lights in my living room.

Rocky Point Sunday

No, I still haven’t put together the rest of the stories about our cruise. Hopefully I can get motivated on that project before I completely forget all the little details. Instead, we arrived home last Sunday night and Monday morning I immediately went to work at my “real” part time job, the one that needs to have 40 good hours of attention every two weeks. Working from home is great, as long as the home computer does its thing without hitches. Instead, my old Dell computer running XP (for the government software) decided to burp and then basically throw up. So it was off to town for me and a couple of days working on the reliable government computer at my official office. I am lucky in that my bosses have all agreed that it is smart to have a real workstation available for me here in Klamath Falls, even though I technically work for Portland, Oregon, for Davis, California, for Sonora, California and for Klamath Falls, 30 miles away from my home in Rocky Point.

After some serious time with my computer guru in town, we managed to get the Virtual PC XP operating system working inside my new Windows 7 Dell. I only barely understand what is going on here, but with this system, I can actually install the government (XP only) software on my new machine. Good thing, since my old machine is still at the computer guru’s house getting gutted. Possibly too much information here for anyone but Rick, but what the heck, I need to have an excuse for not writing about the cruise yet! Back home with a working system and functioning software the rest of my work week went just fine.

I didn’t write, but managed to try to keep up at least a little bit on the blog world. Something interesting appeared that I thought would be fun to check out. It seems that several RV bloggers have dogs that are some kind of blue heeler, or blue heeler mix. We have figured out that Abby is mostly blue heeler with cocker spaniel overtones. Check out Travel with the Whippets and read their stories about the ability of their dog Bandido to disembowel any toy in a matter of minutes. Hmm. Abby does that. Check out Pheebs over on Al’s website. Al has regaled us with stories of the Pheeb’s energy repeatedly since she became a part of the Bayfield Bunch family. Abby. Another story, that I seem to have lost track of, talked about another heeler’s separation anxiety and panic attacks when left for even a moment in a car or a house. Again. Abby. Could it be possible that all this energy, toy destruction, separation anxiety and absolute complete devotion is a characteristic of the blue heeler breed? Just a thought.

The colors have changed here in Rocky Point, just a bit later than last year, but still beautiful. In fact, the aspens seem to have more pink and orange tones than usual. I thought that the pink color in an aspen was related to the variety, but some of these trees are usually just yellow and this year are many shades of pink and orange, so I guess my original thought is completely wrong. Back to aspen research, I guess. In the mean time, I am just really enjoying all our fall color right here at home after traveling clear across the country and missing out on most of the seasonal brilliance on the east coast.

The burning season has opened again for a short time and yesterday Mo raked some pine needles while I cleaned out the greenhouse. Mo also tore up the old boards on the back cabin deck that need replacing and built a very serious bonfire with them. Just one whiff of that wonderful wood smoke reminded me of hot dogs. Yes, hot dogs. I said, “We have some dogs and buns in the freezer, let’s do it!” Within minutes we had defrosted the dogs and buns in the microwave, skewered the dogs to the end of the pitchfork, drug the chairs to the bonfire and had ourselves a quick, impromptu perfect hot dog supper. I’m not on the diet officially any more, but still doing the maintenance thing, so Abby lucked out and got 2/3 of my bun.

I noticed as we were enjoying this wonderful home moment that I had no desire to run for the camera, to turn it into a blog moment, fully documented. I just wanted to enjoy the bonfire, the fall leaves in the background, the smell of wood smoke. So, no photos, but still worth writing about so I don’t forget how wonderful simple moments can be. Last night in the hot tub there was no moon to dim the brilliance of the stars.

Today we will continue a few outside maintenance jobs and start to load up the MoHo for the short trip to Brookings. This year the snow has held off for us, unlike the east coast and unlike last year. We as yet have no snow at home or on the passes, so our journey to the coast will be in time. With night temperatures dropping into the teens and the MoHo un-wintered, we will be glad to get her safely to storage where the temperatures don’t go below freezing. A couple of nights at Harris Beach and some days walking the sands will be fun.