July 29, 2020
Hi folks! Ok…I told you in my last “quick update” post we were moving to a remote mountain RV park in the Oregon Cascade mountains. Well….we didn’t. We had a beautiful drive through the mountains to get to this RV park. We were getting really excited, it was looking like our kinda place, lots of hiking and beautiful, heavy green forests all around. And then, we pulled into the RV park. It was the only RV park around for miles, which we thought was part of the appeal. We like being out in the remote areas a lot of the time, closer to nature. Except this place had nothing appealing about it. In fact it was quite terrible. And small. There’s no way we would fit in any of their spots, in spite of being advertised as “big rig friendly” and my having provided our size info while making the reservation. Weeds everywhere, I don’t think a lawn mower had been used for at least a couple of years. “On the river with mountain views” was promised – the river banks were so overgrown you couldn’t tell there ever was a river there, and, unless the mountains moved recently, there never was a mountain view from there. Amazing what photo shop and some creative writing can do to make anything look good online. Anyhow, we pulled in, looked at each other and both said, “we’re not staying here!” So the owner (who was not very warm and fuzzy let’s just say) was nice enough to let us out of our 8 day reservation without charge. I said our plans had changed (that is true!) and I think he knew from looking at our rig we were never going to squeeze into a site anyhow. So we headed on down the road, with no cell signal available to find another spot. As it turns out, we were only about 50 miles from Salem, Oregon and that’s where we headed. And we found a very nice, in town, RV park we stayed at for 2 nights while I figured something else out. And today, we moved just 10 miles down the road, out of Salem, to a very nice RV park just outside a little town called Silverton, Oregon.
We’re right in the middle of the Willamette Valley. Produce growing region galore! Cherries, berries of all types, peaches, nectarines, plumbs, melons, and all kinds of veggies are grown all around here. We’re in hog heaven! We have been finding all kinds of great produce while in Oregon, and I think we just landed right in the middle of it all. Here’s a picture of the fruit we bought yesterday at a farm stand around the corner:
Really, we have been eating so much fruit, but who can resist when it’s grown right here and the real deal?? I have the freezer stocked full of bags of berries too! Silverton has a farmer’s market on Saturday, can’t wait to see what is there, I’m expecting it to be full of great produce. We explored Silverton today and had lunch in town – it’s a cute little western town and I think we’re going to enjoy it a lot.
So, yes, our Plan B is working out. And, why not take advantage of being mobile? It’s part of the fun and the journey, and it always works out just the way it should. ☺
Before we left our spot near Crater Lake National Park, we rented a pontoon boat for half a day. They allowed doggies, so Gerry came along which is great. It was called Odell Lake, located in the central Cascade mountains. We enjoyed the day on the water, but, the boat was not very nice! In fact, I think the last time this boat could have been referred to as “nice” or “cute” or “not ugly” was about 20 years ago. Yes, really. It was bad. But, it floated! I guess that is what is most important! So we’re getting the run down of how to operate the boat before we take it out, and the guy says, “don’t pay any attention to the gas gauge, it doesn’t work. In fact, the gas tank gave out awhile back, and we have it hooked up to an auxiliary gas tank.” Hmmm, we wondered, do we have enough gas?? He says, “yes, unless you’re going to do laps around the lake I think you’ll be okay.” Comforting. So we get going, and I discovered the “auxiliary gas tank”:
We didn’t run out of gas, and we ignored the broken seats and the gross carpet and enjoyed our day on the water! Some pictures here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/7gr7GWofQ9c4G7aXA
Another highlight is our hike on the Pacific Crest Trail (the PCT). It’s the trail in the movie “Wild” with Reese Witherspoon. I know we talked a lot last year about hiking parts of the Continental Divide Trail, and talking to through hikers on it. I was eager to experience the PCT too. So we did a great day hike (about 9 – 10 miles) on the PCT, near the Odell Lake boat adventure. This section of the PCT went by 3 lakes, called the Rosary Lakes, and Pulpit Rock stood towering over the lakes. It was a great day, and we met some very nice folks who were camping for the night by one of the lakes and they shared all kinds of good info about places to go in Oregon. We also met 3 guys through hiking on the PCT. One from Michigan, one from South Carolina, and one from Australia (yes, he had a great accent!) The Australian was a former Rugby player, he and Steve swapped some Rugby talk. They had all started at the south end of the PCT (the Mexico border) in early March, and were in the last month or so of their hike which ends at the Canadian border. So impressive seeing these hikers with all their gear, hiking day after day, no matter the weather or how they’re feeling, they are on the trail.
Walking on the PCT made me think about all the footsteps that had fallen on the same trail I was on. People from all over the world, from all walks of life, coming to hike. All the contemplation that has been had on that trail, all the self reflection. And all the beauty that has been soaked up, walking through the woods. We all walk through the woods and over the mountain for different reasons, but in the end, I believe, we all are better for the walk. I know I am. Here’s some pictures from our PCT hike: https://photos.app.goo.gl/hdbtxx5xbxbRkCar8
So that brings you up to date on everything going on here! Hope everyone is enjoying summer, all the daylight and sunshine, and I hope you are all able to find some local produce bounty too!