Coming Home

On the journey home, Staff wanted to take the southern route through Salt Lake City, Utah and Lake McConaughy in Nebraska, both of which offered kitesurfing opportunities.  I was glad for a change in scenery.  Luckily, we didn't encounter ungodly high temperatures and humidity until we reached Iowa, and even then it was cooler than it had been.

First stop was Pendleton, OR.  The area is known as the high desert, with cooler temperatures at night and low humidity. Just your basic campground populated by prison guards.  Stafford found out from the owner that they find it more affordable to park a trailer rather than rent an apartment as they tend to transfer often. The things you learn when you ask questions!

Pendleton, OR

Next stop, Salt Lake City, UT, which meant a stop at Salt Lake itself.  Staff was able to spend an hour or so kitesurfing.  My plan was to simply walk around the park, but then I saw the jet skis for rent.

Staff and I have often observed that it truly is the "wild west," where caution is thrown to the wind, and people seem generally less concerned with safety rules and regulations. My jet ski experience reinforced this notion.

First, the guy gave me what I considered an all too quick lesson in how to operate the jet ski.  Throttle?  Wait, what does that do?  Next, he told me to go slowly out to the buoy, then circle back and give him the "thumbs up" sign to let him know everything was running OK.  When I circled back, he was no where to be seen.  I guess he had confidence in both me and the machine.

Off I went and had a ball all by myself flying over the waves. Going against the waves resulted in a lot of slamming against the water.  So I tried driving with the waves, where I found myself getting doused by a wall of water as I hit the trough of the wave. Then I tried riding perpendicular to the waves.  That seemed to be just right.

Later when I returned, I called out in a nice sing-song voice "you-hoo!" hoping the guy would come out of the rental shack to help bring me in. The jet ski had to be hooked up to a large clip on a rope, which in my opinion was a 2-person job.  Again, he was no where to be seen. After a few more urgent cries for help, I jumped out in water over my head while trying to swim and drag the jet ski to the rope.  Somehow I managed to pull it up the rails, clip it and lurch out of the water, stumbling from the pebbles stuck in my flip flops.  When I finally found him on his cell phone in the back of the shack, I thanked him and paid for the gas I had used.  But he knew I was mad-yes, he knew!!  (It's been pointed out to me that I have a habit of being nice and over-tipping people who provide terrible service and expecting them to know how disappointed I am.)

View from jet ski on Salt Lake

Salt Lake

Staff kiting on Salt Lake

Lake McConaughy in Ogallala, Nebraska

Spill-way that empties surplus water from Lake McConaughy into the lower level Lake Ogallala

After being spoiled by the electric, water and sewer hook-up at Lake McConaughy, we spent our final night slumming it at rest stop next to the trucks.  Unfortunately the generator ran out of gas after about 3 hours, leaving us without air conditioning. Back in the van we went and hit the road, bleary-eyed humans and canines.

I've become a fan of sleeping at rest stops and Wal-Mart parking lots once in awhile. However, after a long day of driving I am willing to fork out the dough for a real campground with hot showers and electricity.

After 116 hours in the car at 13.5 mpg (Staff wanted me to include some hard data in the blog) we arrived home, just over 3 weeks on the road.  Doggies and humans slept very well that night.

Final Views of Hood River

Fruit orchards along the "Fruit Loop" in Hood River

"The Heights" neighborhood

Does anyone in this town not do a sport?

 

The "doggy wall" we had bought to keep doggies in their section of the van was clearly not working.

Driving toward downtown, literally "down" town.  Better check your brake pads often if you live here.

Driving along Hwy 281

Doggies happily waiting for mommy and daddy to get in the car and take them on their next adventure

We spent our last nights camping in various areas around Hood River, including a rest area, Wal-Mart, and back in Tucker State Park.  We were uncertain of the Wal-Mart in Hood River.  Being a resort town it does not offer overnight stays.  Everyone would camp there if they did, and that would ruin their fine reputation I assumed.  Actually, someone in town told us that if you did camp there, Wal-Mart did not care and would leave you alone. It was the city police who would come knocking on your door at 3 a.m. to ask you to leave and perhaps even give you a ticket.  So it was a risk.  We decided to do a stake-out.

While inconspicuously munching on our Quiznos sandwiches in Wal-Mart's parking lot at 9 p.m., we noticed that another RV had pulled in, one of the behemoths.  It was hard to tell if they were going to try an overnighter.  Then Staff saw it - the slides had come out!  As Staff says, "When the slides are out, they're stayin'." (For non-RVers, slides are those sections of a behemoth RV that actually push out to allow for extra space inside.)  Well, if they could do it, so could we. We were able to do our usual sleep of the dead, not awaking until 9 a.m.

Sunday, July 17, was our last day in Hood River.  I was torn between leaving a city that had so much to offer in terms of good restaurants, shopping and outdoor activities, and returning to our friends, family and routines back home. The latter won!

The photos here were taken when I decided to visit some places that make me happy while my husband was getting in one last day of kite surfing.

Lavender Valley

The honey bees are friendly and only sting when they feel trapped.  Feeling certain that I would trap them if I cut my own flowers,  I bought the pre-cut bunch.

Fresh lavender in the trailer

Finny keeping watch in the trailer
 

This was cause for a screeching halt and illegal u-turn in the middle of the road.

If walking up and down Hood River's hilly main street isn't enough exercise, you can always walk up this flight of 413 stairs.

It seems that everyone in Hood River is there to cycle, windsurf, or kitesurf.  I don't think it is allowed to simply exist there.

Follow the sign for yummy food...

Along any country road in Hood River you're bound to find a barbecue or fruit orchard.

A little country music completes the picture at the roadside barbecue.

 Everyone stakes out their favorite spot in the trailer

Canon Beach, OR

A day in Seaside was enough for us.  Staff suggested we drive just 7 miles further to Canon Beach, which had a much better reputation as far as "cool" beaches.  Well, he was right.  Once again the scenery was spectacular, and without meaning to sound snobbish, the town was nicer.  When the sun was out Canon Beach was paradise. I even told Staff I would consider staying there the rest of our vacation.  Finny absolutely loved running up and down the endless shoreline, and then wrestling with Yuki.  Cloud, too, seemed to forget his arthritis and trotted along the shore.

Soggy Finny

The surf at Canon Beach

Sammies on the northwest coast

Finny and Yuki on the beach

Ecstatic Finny at Canon Beach

Canon Beach

The ocean was very chilly-nothing like the Pacific that I remember in Japan. Apparently this has to do with the way water currents flow around the globe. Staff can explain it to you more or you can google it.  The tide was out so you could walk out pretty far before the water went above your knees.  Something about the ocean is both intimidating and calming. It makes me feel very small in the world. 

Staff was able to kitesurf in the ocean and did very well in the waves. He said he loves the endorphins he gets from kiting.  He also loves to be in the water, especially the ocean. I think he is part fish.  I can't recall if it was here or in Seaside that Staff kindly gave me my first kite surfing lesson.  It was hard! The kite is super powerful, and without the harness, it would have flown out of my arms.  Had I held on, it would have torn my arms from their sockets.  Staff was very patient.  I look forward to more lessons with the actual training kite.

The problem with Canon Beach was that it tended to rain often and then the temperature would drop into the 50s.  I can handle being sandy myself and having a film of sand everywhere in the trailer (we do sweep, but to no avail); however, when it's damp, cold and sandy, that's a recipe for Seasonal Affective Disorder. I was very SAD and needed to get out of there the very next day.  The forecast was for 4 more days of rain. No thank you.

Yes, I did play with the photo coloring option

A shepherd and his sheep

Momma Bear and Baby Bear

Finny beating up on his sister, Yuki

Canon Beach

Haystack Rock at Canon Beach

The city of Canon Beach

The RV camp we stayed at was the priciest yet.  It was kind of a luxury town, so I get it.  The guy in the office was very unfriendly.  Perhaps he suffered from SAD.  I would if I lived there. It's supposed to be summer, for goodness sake!

The very next morning we headed back to Hood River. This time we drove through Portland.  It was the first truly large city we had been to in our travels thus far. And might I add, it's beautiful, at least from the highway.  Lots of rose bushes and lush greenery were everywhere.  Apparently there is a cable car that takes you up to some peak right in the city.  Again, google for more info.  All I know is I took a picture of it from the highway.

Driving into Portland

Driving back to Hood River, OR

As we drove east to the other side of the mountains, I could feel SAD leaving me.  We were greeted with intense sunshine and hot arid weather once again. I'm glad we had the opportunity to see that part of the country, but I don't think I could ever live in a place like Canon Beach.  I love sunshine too much. When the sun does show its face, Cannon Beach is spectacular.

The estuary that runs into the Pacific at Canon Beach

Seaside, OR

Princess La Boo (Yuki)

Just when I thought we were finished road tripping for awhile, Staff had another suggestion. How about driving to the Pacific Ocean? We're almost there anyway.  Personally, I was OK with staying put for another month before getting back in the car.  But my husband asked me to trust him.  He said I'd love Hood River, and I did, right?  Right.  Ok, so here we are tonight in Seaside along the northwestern coast of Oregon. If Hood River is like Door County in Wisconsin, then Seaside is like the Dells.

First let me start by saying that the scenic drive between Hood River and Seaside is worth the trip, if nothing else. Where Hood River and The Gorge are brownish and dry, this side of the mountains is lush, green and rainy.  Huge monoliths stand out of the water along the side of the highway, not quite mountains but about the size the US Bank tower in Milwaukee. When I think of Southeastern Wisconsin's landscape, I think of glaciers moving at the speed of a snail. The word that comes to mind in this part of the country is "seismic."  Nothing slow and meandering about the geological formations here.  It reminded me a lot of Japan. And it wasn't just because of the land - one of the first signs as you enter the town of Seaside says "Tsunami Hazard Zone." Tsunamis freak me out. I don't know how long I will be able to stay here.

We are staying at Bud's RV Campground in Seaside.  Our Good Sam Club membership came in handy, giving us a 10% discount.  You can't beat the price for hot showers, laundry, full hook-ups (to you non-RV people that means, water, electric and sewer) and Wifi. I won't say the price because that would be tacky, but let's just say it costs less than 5x7.

Heading west out of Hood River toward the Pacific

Me doing "yogurt" (as Staff calls it) in Seaside

Staff checking out the kiting possibilities in the surf

Pacific coast in Seaside

The highway on the way to Seaside

Waterfall in the crevices