Merica Road Trippin! Chapter 2 "On The Road Again"

 I'm a little delayed in releasing the second chapter for the Road Trippin blog.  Remember that storm I told you about that happened on July 1st when we left on our trip?  Well, apparently mother nature thought since we wern't here to enjoy her fury, she would pay us another visit on the 12th.  More trees down and power knocked out again!  

So I have been spending some time doing cleanup and getting the tree off my shed!  This storm took out some huge older growth trees.  Ripped them out right at the base of the tree.  Good thing is we are all safe.  The cleanup is not done but thought I would come in and cool off.  I'm missing those cooler temperatures we were experiencing in Montana and South Dakota.


Mother nature is not happy!
Base of the tree that hit the shed!
  
Thankfully, this old oak was leaning on about a 30-degree angle away from the shed.  The limbs that did make contact on the shed only did minimal damage.  The tree would have done some serious damage had it been a direct hit.

So much for issues at home, let's get back to the Road trip!  We left Portland on the 5th. We will make our way to Spokane, Washington on this day. Pronounced spo-can not spo-cane as my co-pilot corrected me on more than one occasion.

The Columbia River Gorge in the Pacific Northwest runs along I-84, with the Columbia River serving as the border between Oregon and Washington state.  It's a scenic drive, and what makes it even more enjoyable are the number of waterfalls along the way.

Views from the Vista House at Crown Point
Looking out over the Columbia River at Vista House


Haze from wildfires burning in Washington State.
.








 


 The Vista House was built as a rest stop observatory for travelers on the old Columbia River Gorge Highway and a memorial honoring Oregon's pioneers—particularly those who made their way down the Columbia River.  Our view on this day was obstructed by the smoke from active wildfires burning in Washington.  

Wind gust of over 100 MPH have been detected on Crown Point.  The first time I visited this spot was with my son and Daughter-in-law. The wind was so strong that day, it was hard to open the car door.  On the trip this time the wind was not so bad but still breezy.

To enjoy the waterfalls, you need to travel the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Highway 30.  There are pull offs where some of the waterfall are visible right from the road, or a short hike will get you even closer.

Latourell Falls 249 foot drop

I think it sounds much more romantic to pronounce this "LAtoorEL" in french, but apparently locals pronounce it as "Lateral".  Regardless how you say it, it is a stunning waterfall.  Since we are on a road trip, we didn't have time to explore all the hiking trails in this area.







Short .2-mile hike down to the base of the falls




Ugh! Me and the tree comparing bulges.  My six-pack has turned into a half barrel, LOL!









Bridal Veil Falls 2-tier 120 foot drop













Wakeena Falls 242 foot drop













OneOnta Gorge




As you can see in the picture, the trail through the gorge is closed due to fire damage





Discouraging to see the vandalism at this spot!  Grow up people!

So the premiere Falls in the area is Multnomah falls.  I have been there before, but my co-pilot had not.  It's the highest waterfall in Oregon at 620 feet. It's also the most popular.  We were not aware that we would need a timed entry pass in order to see it, but parking is a premium in this area.  Cost was only $2 to park, but we were not able to get a time pass till later in the afternoon.  Since we are on a road trip and already made reservations for a hotel in Spokane, we couldn't wait around that long. My co-pilot managed to get a drive-by photo.  You may have seen this waterfall in the movies before, most notable would be Twilight.

Partial view of Multnomah Falls


Horse Tail Falls 176 foot drop

Our last waterfall stop along the scenic Highway 30 byway was Horsetail falls.  This one is easily seen from the road.  While we were there, some ambitious young fella decided to strip down to his skivvies and swim out to the falls.  From the sounds he was making, the water was cold enough to raise his voice a couple of octaves.

Looking for an early morning testosterone boost?  Try a cold shower!



 Since we were on a road trip, we barely scratch the surface here.  I would say we were in this area for about 3 hours.  It's a beautiful part of the country.  We need to make our way back on to I-84 and head towards Washington.



Running On Empty.  There was a $2.00 per gallon swing on gas on this road trip. The highest was in Oregon at $5.09 and cheapest in Missouri at $3.09. Not to mention the 5lb. bag of ice and Bag of Doritos for $9.  Money, so they say, is the root of all evil today.

There were active wildfires in Washington, right along the Columbia River.  We saw air tankers battling the fire as we were driving along I-84.


 



If you look close you can see the air tanker dropping water



Picture of the fire taken at night (Jurgenhessphotography/columbia Insight)


Making our way into Washington



Comments

JimBob said…
Very cool pictures!
July 16, 2023 at 11:27 AM
Angela said…
This was hard!
1. Jackson Browne "Running On Empty"
2. Jean Shepard "Root of All Evil"
July 17, 2023 at 11:03 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Not So Welcome Mat

Image
 So we're back! Time to blow some dust off this Blog and share another week of "paradise" A.K.A. Sanibel/Captiva Island. New experiences in store this year for starters we got a new "Beach Angel"  Skylar, she's our newest grandchild. She, her two sisters and Mom and Dad are with us this year.  At four months old she now takes the title of the youngest to share this special place. Today Skylar and I spent some quality time on the Lania (also known as the screened in porch for you folks back in the midwest).  As you can see Skylar thinks PaPa is a hoot! A long drive which started at 2:45 a.m. Friday Morning.  Our first leg of the trip was quiet because the Beach Angels rode with their Mom & Dad till we met up in Kentucky for some Smiley face pancakes in Paducah.  We started a routine years ago when the Beach Angels were little where NaNa would give them surprises along the way. It was typical five & dime type stuff that was meant to occupy them so we ...
Read more

Butt Cheek Beach

Image
We are staying on Grassy Key, it's one of 13 islands that make up Marathon.  The house is right on the water on the Gulf side.   The view from our house  The water in this area is relatively shallow, and the pier on the right is part of the property.  Looking forward to some stunning sunsets.  I hope to see plenty of wildlife as the waters here are very clear, and it's easy to see the bottom.                                                                                 The house on Marathon The street we are located on is very quiet and the houses next to us are vacant. It makes it feel like our own little personal paradise. After getting things unloaded, we go out to check out the pier and about halfway down the pier, we ge...
Read more

Help Wanted in Paradise!

Image
  Help Wanted As we made our way down here it's been really eye opening to see how Covid has impacted our economy.  We normally stop in Paducah KY at an IHOP just off I-24 for a quick breakfast.  The restaurant  is usually open at 5:00 a.m.  This year they were not open yet as we went through. Reason, not enough staff.  It seems like everywhere we stopped along the way there were always "Help Wanted" signs. When we got into Sanibel on Saturday we decided we were going to eat healthy this week so we stopped at Cheeburger, Cheeburger for lunch. By the way I did have a veggie burger! Sanibel is back open at full capacity but half of the tables at Cheeburger were not seating customers.  Reason, not enough staff.  Also noticed numerous empty shops where the business owners apparently went out of business.  Sad to see. One thing is for sure if you want to work there are jobs out there.  I'm counting down the months to retirement but maybe I'll...
Read more

Tuesday's addition chasing the sunrise

Image
So Tuesday we spent on the beach.  The nice thing about being right on the beach is you seem to spend much more time on it.  We have logged quite a few hours on beach time this week.  Since we only see it once a year the more time soaking up the sun and the surf the better. On Tuesday morning we got out early Carol wanted to see if she could get some pictures of the sunrise.  We are not on the best part of the island for sunrise or sunset pictures we are spoiled from spending so much time on Captiva where sunset especially, is worshiped. One beach Angel (Taylor) was up for the task the other Beach Angel (Lexi) did one of her favorite things SLEEP! When we hit the beach like a kid and a mud puddle I'm drawn to the water and automatically go into treasure hunting mode.  I looked up and Carol and Taylor are gone.  They were on a mission to find that sunrise and it was some where down the beach around the bend. A quick check of my pockets, ...
Read more

Boogie Board Beach Angels

Image
So Sunday started off with overcast skies, a quick thank-you to the man upstairs for giving us such a beautiful place to be, and breakfast at the Lighthouse Cafe.  Best seafood omelette on Sanibel hands down. When we got back we were in "Beach Mode".  Not Marshawn Lynch "Beast Mode" but Carol lets getting moving, time to go to the Beach Mode.  Since the skies were still overcast we weren't  in full Beach Mode which means we didn't take all the usual stuff.  For those of you that have been with us you know how much of the usual stuff we take! I would have to rate this as one of the best Beach Days for the Beach Angels that I can remember.  Our spot on the beach has a nice sandbar running  just out from the shore line and it made for Boogie Board heaven for the girls today. The Beach Angels 2011 The beach angels 2017 It doesn't seem like that long ago we would have to take them up after a couple hours for an afternoon nap.  Ok, t...
Read more

Let Freedom Ring

Well as you can guess by the title of the post it is 4th of July.  Now close your eyes and concentrate real hard.  Can you hear it?  The sound of the surf.  I'm posting today from the beach.  Looks like today will be the best beach day so far. Carol and I started the day off at Amy's Over Easy for some breakfast.  The crowds were already gathering for the annual 4th of July parade.  Carol says "B is before P" so beach it is.  We finished breakfast about five minutes before the parade was about to begin. We headed back to Captiva.  Besides if all the people are at the parade the beach will be all to ourselves right?  WRONG!  The beach was packed I have never been here and seen so many people.  Doesn't matter though its still a beautiful day. Today we even got to set up the beach canopy so I knew we would be in for a longer visit.  Its funny watching all the people come to the beach.  You have the minimal...
Read more

Time Out Tuesday

Image
S0 I have been up around 6 all week.  This morning was no different except I needed to be extra quiet because sometime during the night I got room visitors.  There were two Beach Angels sleeping on my floor!  Why they would give up their bed for the floor beats me.       Looks Comfy doesn't It So with camera in hand I headed down to the dock to capture some shots of the Sunrise.  I would normally have my photographer in tow but due to her bum ankle I'm on this mission alone.  I wanted to also head over to the Beach and walk down to Blind Pass. Another First this year capturing more Sunrises than Sunsets For some reason when it comes to the ocean I'm like that kid you tell to stay out of the water puddle.  If I'm near it I'm gonna get in in it.  What usually starts out as ankle deep ends up being knee deep in no time.  Just me and the relaxing sound of the waves to serenade me as I put on my best "Shell Whisperer" impressio...
Read more

Welcome to Marathon

Image
The adventure continues as we head further south, down to the keys.  Home base this week will be Marathon.  On Monday, we have a trip planned to Dry Tortuga National Park.  That is pretty much the only thing that has a time commitment to it.  We're just going to let the week play out and see what each day brings us. We drove through Fort Myers Beach on our way to an overnight stop in Bonita Springs.  I think due to the higher concentration of houses and businesses on FMB the devastation was extreme.  We stayed in a house on the south end FMB back in 2019.  Below is a picture of that house taken in March of this year.  Bottom floor blown out, and what you don't see in this picture is the whole back of the house is gone. Beach house FMB March 2023 When we drove by, all that is left is an empty lot.  Property on FMB is selling for the same dollar evaluation post hurricane Ian as it was before hurricane Ian, house or no house.  There's no do...
Read more

Superman & Tweety Bird

Image
Thursday morning it was time for more seafood omelet research.  We went to the Island Cow and I got a what?  answer: Seafood Omelet.  Just seeing if you've been paying attention.  The cow's omlete did have a pretty good amount of seafood but the crab meat was only shreds and there was more shrimp than anything.  There was also a watery consistency to the inside of the omelet that was most likely from not suffciently draining the seafood before adding it to the omlete. So ranking order so far IMO is: 1.  Hungry fisherman @  Lighthouse Cafe 2.  Crab & asparagus omelet @ Amy's Over Easy 3.  Loaded Seafood Omelet @ Island Cow On Thursday the high rollers came to Captiva.  I'm not referring to a group from vegas with money to burn, but mother nature rockin the waves in the gulf.  You know it's rough when you look down the beach as far as the eye can see and there is not more than a hand full of people in the water. W...
Read more

The Road

Image
 It's been awhile since I posted on the blog. I usually only post when we're on a trip.  No trips recently, just navigating down this road we call retirement. I do however have some thoughts to share with you if you care to listen. This past Sunday looked like it was going to be one of the last warmer days for a while as we drift into the colder months towards winter. We decided to fire up the grill and partake in one last summer ritual with some barbecued ribs. As I'm out on the deck, it's late in the day the sun is falling and there's this warm glow off the horizon. The silhouette of a lone squirrel is jumping the treetops, making its way to settle down in its den for the evening. The evening is peaceful, there is a hoot owl in the distance calling to its mate. I walk over to the window, which is directly in front of the kitchen sink.  There she is head down hard at work washing dishes.  She doesn't detect my presence, so I press my nose up against the window,...
Read more