Day 22-26

We have not fallen off the end of the world but this is the first day that we have had internet since Pendleton. 

Tuesday we were up and on the road in a leisurely fashion.  It was intended to be a short day down to Cove Palisades (a little way outside of Bend Oregon).  It was a lovely drive along the Columbia river watching the barges move goods up and down the river and then south through rolling hills filled with winter wheat.   

The name of the highway was the "Journey through Time".  Boy did they have that right.  We went through one small town after another.  There were more closed up markets and business than I have ever seen and all of the buildings were weathered and worn.  There were business that still were working (grain elevators, farm supply businesses, and artist studios) and seemed to be doing ok but...

We kept looking at the mountain that reared up over the landscape and thought it must be Rainier but wished that someone would tell us.  Yvonne wanted me to stop someone along the road but about that time there was a road sign that said "Mountain Identifier."  Amazing.  Someone figured out what we needed.  We pulled off and in concrete there were arrows that pointed to  at least 10 different mountains.  Well we were not looking at Rainier we were looking at Mt. Hood.  For the rest of the trip we were happily naming the mountains as they popped up. 

We made a small mistake with our GPS and put in the wrong destination.  There are days that you need to do what you know is right rather than following the @$#$$# machine.  We were only a few miles off and went to the top of "Round Butte".  The road gets smaller and smaller and about half way up the butte I began to worry that I would have to back this rig down the butte, but there was a turn around on top of the butte and a great view. If you look carefully in this picture you can see a canyon.  We belonged at the bottom of that canyon at the lake.  Oh well, off we went down the  butte and down to the bottom of the canyon.  We drove  around the lake to our camp site and in the process found out that there were boats to rent.  So we rented one for the next day and then set up camp. 

We thought that it was hot but did not realize just how hot until we set up camp and put out our thermometer.     It was only 107 degrees at 5:00 o'clock.  We had dinner,  walked around a little.  Then I decided that I had had enough of this and built a fire in the fire place and watched the stars come out.  Yvonne and Cassie put up with my silliness and we had a great evening but we all stayed away from the fire and just used it for effect. 

Wednesday morning we were up and down at the marina at 8:30 to check out our pet friendly pontoon boat.  Cassie was not sure she wanted to go but when she got on the boat and we headed down the lake to see the eagles she decided she need to be our bowsprit and warn us about all of the skiers and power boats.  This settled down in a short time and we moseyed down the canyon.

The walls of the canyon were stunning and to add to the day, during our voyage we sighted 5 eagles.  Yvonne thinks it was 5 different eagles and I think that it was one eagle cruising back and forth looking at the funny people on the floating board trying to find the eagle in their telephoto lenses.  We never did get a picture of those eagles but I have great pictures of gulls that in the distance I thought were eagles. 

We putt-putted down the lake (no power in this boat) and landed on an island where Cassie had her first chance to swim.  She was not at all concerned with wading along the shore but when I urged her  out past her depth there was a lot of splashing and her trying to bite the water she was splashing.  Eventually it all settled down into swimming.  At that point she saw the geese and headed off to get one.  I still had her on her leash so no problems but the idea of swimming is here to stay. 

The cliffs that make up Lake Billy Chinook are stunning and you can spend a lot of time just looking at the patterns that make up the rock.  You get a real sense about how the land was formed.  An example of this that we saw was going by the one waterfall in the lake and seeing the immediate affect of water on the landscape in a explosion of green. We returned the boat and had some lunch and checked out some of the view points and then back to the trailer.  It was 105 in the campground so not much happened except for some harp playing and some reading. 

Thursday, we were on the road to Crater Lake.  Again we traveled through rolling hills but there were more Lodge Pole Pine and we noticed that we were getting higher (Yvonne and I have apps on our phones that will give us the altitude.  She has one and mine is different and we average them as they are not consistent.)

  We came into Crater Lake National Park from the North entrance.  No one told us that the road was going to be wide enough for one Model T Ford.  You are never ready for the lake when you come over the rim.  People tell you how blue it is and how stunning it is but it just takes your breath away.  We just stood there and gaped and then started taking pictures.  I know that I will never get a picture that will do justice to the amazing caldera that makes up Crater Lake. 

We traveled on around the rim on these narrow rim roads with me being sure that the trailer and everyone in our truck would be rolling down the side of the rim.  We made it and found our campsite.  Set up and then went up to the lodge to find out what was available for us to see. While we were there we saw group of people who were driving several old cars.  Every year they drive there cars on a trip and this years was up to Crater Lake.  We headed back to our campsite but because of the altitude we just hung out, read, Yvonne played her harp I built a fire and Cassie rested.

It is really a hoot to watch people walk by our campsite while Yvonne was practicing and have them take a second look. One time, Cassie started barking and we looked up and there as a young man hiding in the woods listening.  Chris was very apologetic but he could not believe what he was hearing and had to come over.  He was an artist in residence for a  Washington high school  and was making a living as a painter.  We had a spirited discussion about art, Chihuly glass, the world, etc. and then he thought that he should back to his wife.  Thanked us for a great time.  Our next door neighbor Rick came over to tell us, on the first night 32 years ago that he and his wife went camping in Michigan there was a harpist playing in the  campground and it brought back fond memories.  We finally made dinner at 9:00. 

Friday morning we were still affected by the altitude so we decided to drive around the rim stopping all the turnouts and taking pictures.  We have hundreds of pictures of the lake, flowers, birds and will not bore you with them now but if you come over who knows.  Here are a couple.   

We talked a nice young couple into
taking our picture and I offer it to you also. 

It is 33 miles around the lake with views you can find no where else.  It helped to give us the perspective of just how big Mt. Mazama must have been before it collapsed into itself and created what we know today.  The park has a great video that shows what probably happened and it was good that we saw that before we headed out.  It was just so "oh yah" when we were watching the video but when you stand on the rim or go up to the top of one of the surrounding mountains to look down on this crater it becomes another "Wow."

We went back to our campsite for lunch and had a little nap and then left Cassie in the trailer and went out on two little hikes.  One was a loop through a meadow to look at the wild flowers.  You could have spent the whole day just taking pictures of flowers and little streams but we had another hike on our agenda. 

We hiked into Plaikni Falls.  It was a short two mile hike but for us and the altitude it was just far enough.  What a wonderful little set of falls.  Again with Crater Lake and all of it's splendor taking up most of the focus in this area these falls were a gem.  Not very big but they are the only falls in the area and their source of water is the leakage from the caldera walls.  We had a great hike in.  Yvonne was a trouper and we were able to hoof it along at about 2 miles an hour which is great for a couple of old folks at 7,000 feet. 

Back to our campsite to save Cassie (she was asleep) another quiet evening around the campfire and then to bed. 

Day 20-21

We are in a heat wave.  Sunday morning started at 88 degrees and as the day went along it fractured 100.  We were up in time to get to the 9:00 service at Church of the Redeemer.   It was an interesting morning.  First, the bishop is Nedi Moore who Yvonne and I have worked with while she was still a priest in Gonzales.  Second, they have a wonderful old building with  a grand piano and a great little organ and a person who could play both.  It was a wonderful service but it was obvious that they were beginning a search for a new priest because there was a lot of talk about the search process and the number of committees that needed to be set up.

After the service, Yvonne went up to talk to the organist and I was cornered by a woman who had been born and raised in Salinas and had moved with her husband to Pendleton where she though should would never have to deal with a rodeo again.  Pendleton has one of the major rodeos in the US.  I looked up and Yvonne and the organist were going through service music.  We eventually added two singers, a interim priest and myself.  Boy was that fun.  They could really sing.  We would later stand and talk during coffee hour with a man who is sending Yvonne the recipe for Sopas (Portuguese pot-roast).  A very friendly parish and a good time.


We went back to the trailer to save our dog who was asleep when we got there but was really happy to see us.  It is now over 100 degrees so there would be no hiking or river walks but Pendleton has a very cute thing for visitors to do.  There are about 15 statues and murals that you can drive around town and find.  As this could be done from the cab of the truck with a quick run to the statue/mural to read about it, we took on the challenge.  We were able to find all of them.  It was an interesting mix of early settlers and native Americans and a great way to get to know the town.  Cassie went with us and was able to explore many new parks and venues. Some of the statues were traditional and others were very modern.

Then it was necessary to find a DQ and some ice cream.  Cassie was not happy that she did not get some for herself but...   Then back to the trailer to sit in the cool of the air conditioning and do a little reading.

Monday morning we were up and out to the Pendleton Woolen mills.  What an experience.  We had a great tour guide and were able to find a couple of blankets that were seconds that we could afford. It was a great experience to go through the blankets and try to figure out what made them "seconds"  There was a code but often even with the code we could not find the flaw.

During the tour we saw this blanket and was amazed that they would take all of the blankets of that weave and sew them together and then run them by the inspector and then have them prepared to be cut apart into individual blankets. 

We left the mill with a new blanket for the trailer.  I am sure that Yvonne will not allow Cassie sleep on this, but I could be wrong.

We then headed out to do the underground tour of Pendleton.  It turns out that we needed to have reservations.  We got our reservations, went back to the trailer to play with Cassie and then went back to take the tour.

The Underground in Pendleton came into being for completely different reasons than the Underground in Seattle.  The similarities begin with both cities being pioneer towns, settled by business men with a plan to grow a city.  After that, it is completely different.  Pendleton had none of the issues of water or tide or sewer, etc.  They just built basements under their downtown hotels and large buildings.  Then, when the railroad men, sheep herders, wheat field workers, cowboys, and other rowdy men came crowding into town and needed a place for the "entertainment" that they desired (booze, cards, and women), the city put the basements into use.  This picture shows one of the "card rooms" or saloons in the underground.  The city took care of the men's needs by putting the saloons in the basements, the regular shops on the ground level and the bordellos on the 2nd floor.

Another use for the basement area (dark, dank spaces under these buildings) was to house the Chinese workmen that the Railroad Companies brought over from China.  These spaces were lighted by glass  prism panels in the sidewalks that acted as sky lights for the underground.  These were also used in Seattle.  After the RR was finished, the RR would send the Chinese workmen back to China or they could choose to stay and find work.  Of course, the work had to be work that Americans wouldn't do, like, work in the quarry, be servants for the rich, start laundries, etc.  This kept them at the lowest possible social level, as well as living underground, for free as long as they had work.  It had to be dismal at the best.  

We saw an underground speak-easy that had a very small escape tunnel in case of police raid, the first electric freezers used for the ice cream parlor and the meat market, a Chinese jail, an opium den, a Chinese "dorm" room (living area).  It was pretty amazing how the businesses above made use of this space.

Then we went upstairs to visit the "Cozy Rooms" of Madame Stella, one of the most famous and longest running bordellos in town.  Madame Stella catered to the "movers and shakers" in Pendleton and was protected by the police and city council for years.  She was one of 18 bordellos and finally the religious leaders had enough and spied on who came and went from her establishment and blackmailed the city council and police to do something immediately about this "problem".  The police raided the bordellos, rounded up all of the "girls" and in one night closed all of the bordellos, including Madame Stella's.  She returned two years later and opened a boarding house for elderly gentlemen and stayed in business until the late 1960's.  Stanley and I ended the tour with a dish of ice cream at the "Cozy Girls Ice Cream Parlor" and them home to save Cassie.  (She has done very well today.  No barking or destroying the trailer while we were gone.

This Underground was as interesting and fun as that of Seattle.  The story is very different, but still fascinating.  We recommend it to all of you.

Well it is  8:00 and it is still 98 degrees outside.  Time for some dinner and then tomorrow we are off to Cove Palisades outside of Bend Oregon.

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Day 17-19

We awoke this morning (Thursday) knowing that we had hiked all over Seattle and were not as young as we used to be.  We knew that Kath and Tony were arriving around noon and would have lunch with us and that Kathleen and Earnie would arrive in the evening and have dinner.  It was our day of food in the trailer.  It was continuing to rain and the temperature was high so we were not driven to be outside.   We could spend the morning reading and waiting for Cassie to arrive (oh yeah, Kath and Tony also).  Tony brought a copy of the final CD of Yvonne's harp music that he and she made. Wow!!!  When Cassie got out of their car she was not sure what was happening.  Was she here to say goodbye and go home with the Beechers or what.  But when that was worked out she launched herself onto the couch and stayed there.  We spent lunch getting a update of Cassie's life at the Beechers and that she was a really good girl.  We again say to the Beechers THANK YOU. 

The Beechers headed out and we got a call from Kathleen that they were finished with their museum viewing in Tacoma and could they come a little earlier than planned.  Of course.  They arrive a little later and we spent the time catching up on the glass blowers that we had both seen and the tours we had been on.  It was a great afternoon and evening.  We eventually had dinner and they got back on the road and headed back to their little bungalow. 

On Friday we were off to Yakimi to visit with one of Yvonne's good friends from seminary, Judy Lebens.  We had called her on Thursday and she suggested that we take a little back road and a little higher pass so that we could see Mt. Rainier.  When we got up the sky was clear, no rain, so there was hope in seeing the mountain.  The GPS fought us most of the early part of the trip and we finally unplugged it.  While we were driving along we looked up and there it was, Mt. Rainier.  Yvonne began to take pictures from the moving car be cause we were sure that the clouds would blow in and we would never see it again. 

But that day was great.  We wound our way through little tiny towns and the up into the Mount Rainier National park.  We stopped to take pictures of little water falls and raging rivers but were sure that we would not see the mountain again as we were in the bottom of a canyon. 


We began to climb out of the canyon and came around the corner and there were a bunch of cars parked along the side of the road.  I almost drove off the road as right in front of us was the MOUNTAIN.  There is no way to get the photo so that you get the perspective of just how big it is and how it commands the surroundings. 

We had a nice young couple from Germany take our picture and had a discussion about the number of people that were climbing on the mountain today.  With the telephoto lens and the binoculars we could see no one but we are sure that they were there. 

We climbed back into the truck and headed up and up to Chinook pass and guess what, there was snow on the ground.  We just had to stop and introduce Cassie to that white stuff.  She has learned, on this trip, to put her front paws up on the low stone walls and look over.  I helped her up onto the wall so she could see the snow and climbed over myself.  I was just going to have her jump down off the wall (18") and then walk onto the snow.  Well she was having none of that.  She launched herself from the top of the wall into the snow and then pranced around because it was cold.  She was really ready to get back into the car and out of that wet and cold stuff. 

We came down into Yakima and were met at the campground by Judy.  We had some Shrimp Cocktail which came from Pikes Market in Seattle and got caught up with everyone's family and what we were all doing.  Judy then took us on a tour of Yakima.  She had been born and raised here and knew all of the really good dirt.  We had to stop and taste really good beer and had a great meal at a little Italian restaurant.  We left Cassie in the trailer for this trip as she will have a couple of times in the trip when she needs to be able to hang out in the trailer and just snooze.  Our neighbors said that there as about 2 minutes of barking and then they never heard her again.  But she was really happy to see us. 

Judy met
us again this morning (Saturday) and took us to a couple of fruit stands that were outstanding.  Yvonne and I just had to buy a cherry pie for tonight.  Cassie went along and was a great dog until she ate Judy's cookies but.... 

The cherries were amazing but we finally had to get on the road and we have come down to Pendleton (only 88 degrees).  On the trip down Judy told us how to get to several wineries so we just had to stop and have a couple of tastings.  We were in our spot by 5 with the air conditioner going having a beer and hanging out.  Tomorrow we are off to church and I do not know what else. 

Marathon Day in Seattle Day 16

 Because Cassie is staying with our good friends the Beechers, we felt that we needed to get on the road and see everything that we could in Seattle in one day.  We found out that parking in the city was $2/hour and that we could ride the rapid transit for about $2.75/person round trip.  No brainer there.  We started at 8:00 am standing on the street in a light rain with our rain gear on waiting for the bus.  It showed up only a few minutes late and we were on and headed for SeaTac Airport where we changed to a light rail mode of transportation. 

We rode into Pioneer Square and were there by 9:30 to get tickets on the 10:00 Seattle Underground tour.  We had a great tour guide (he went to the University of Oregon, go ducks).  The tour guide (Paul) gave us a short history of Seattle and the reason for the number of buildings with first floors that were underground.  (had to do with raising roads to get them out of the tide zone and a big fire).  Then the 20 or so of us headed out onto the streets to go down into the bowels of the earth to look at what was left of several buildings under the ground.  We spent an hour and one half tromping from one building to another and then going down, down, down.  There were great stories about the founding fathers and the number of people that they ripped off.  One of the founding fathers and first mayor did not want to pay his taxes so he would sue the city for his taxes and then as mayor settle the lawsuit in his favor.  There was a story of the city going bankrupt so they decide to have a sin tax and have the ladies who were "seamstresses" (the highest grossing businesses in the city) pay a tax.  One of the ladies was a very good business woman so she bought a bank and began to sit on the city council and give direction (in more ways than one) to the council members.  This was a great trip. 


We came out of the ground in front of one of Kollin's favorite places.  The Utilikilt company and Yvonne found a new guy to hang out with. 

We then hiked down to the water front to look at the ferry and a very active port and find some sea food.  We had been told that we should eat at Ivars Fish Bar which was established in 1938.  This was an open air fish bar like you would find on Fisherman's wharf.  We ordered clam chowder and some fish and chips.  The clam chowder was amazing. 

We were amused as people did not know that if you eat outside next to the ocean the seagulls will take your food.  We protected our scrumptious meal to the bitter end.  But to show the gulls that we still liked them Stan held a fry aloft and ....

Then it was off to climb 1000 steps up to the market place.  We were a little slow but we made it (I was going to trip that 60 year old guy that was running the steps but Yvonne would not let me.)  When we got to the top we entered the market right into a tea shop where we spent an hour with a lovely young lady tasting many different types of tea.  It was really fun and it allow us to get our breath and let our lunch resettle. 

One of the things I wanted to see in Seattle was Pike Place Fish Company.  They had made a video in the mid 80's about the right way to run a company.  It was a teaching tool that I had used for many years.  Yes they throw fish but customer service is number one and they have a good time doing it.  I wanted to see if this was really true or just for the video.  They were so much fun and careful with the customer.  They answered all the questions and helped each of us as if we were special.  Their way of doing business is good and not just of one video. 

We continued on through the market and came out in Post Alley.   We had been told about the wall of gum but did not believe it.  Well believe it.  "That is gross" as one young lady said and I think that Yvonne and I felt the same way but...  Art must be in the eye of the beholder.  There was gum for about 2 blocks up as far as one could reach. 

We continued along through the market as it was just pouring rain outside.  Enjoyed tasting different types of dipping sauces, looking out across the bay, and looking at all of the stuff that tourists will probably buy. 

The rain let up and our feet had had it.  We found the "Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory" and just had to go in and get a little chocolate and then went down to "Caffe Ladra" and talked the barista into making a "café con leche" (a coffee drink that we had in Spain) and he got really close.  We sat and watched the sun come out and drank our coffee and ate our chocolate.  When we had been reinforced we headed out to our third mode of transportation, the monorail and off to the Space Needle.  Of course it began to rain but we donned our rain coats and kept walking to the monorail.  No sooner did we get in the monorail it stopped raining. 

The Space Needle was amazing but we did not need to go to the top.  What we did instead was to go into the exhibit of glass by Chihuly a local and famous glass blower.  What a stunning show.  You go through an indoor exhibit that is an explosion of color and surrealism.  He had chandeliers of glass hanging from the ceiling which he made to hang in Venice over the canels and boats of glass floating on rivers of black.

You then move outside to a glass house that had fantasmagorical flowers floating in the ceiling.  When you looked you realized you could see the outside world including the Space Needle. 


From there you moved into a garden where glass and plants cohabite to form wonderful visions of fantasy.   All in all we are glad that we let this be the last stop on our day.  It was awe inspiring. 

We had two more things to do today.  One was to find dinner and the second was to get home.  After talking to a couple of locals we headed off to a Thai restaurant that was recommended but in the process got lost and just had to have dinner where I could get a good beer.  We found TS McHughes an Irish pub where I got a good IPA that was locally brewed and Yvonne had a local Hefeveizen.  After dinner we were back on the monorail, light rail, and bus to be back in our little casa by 8:30 pm.  What an fantastic day. 

Cassie comes home tomorrow.  Cannot wait to see the little furball.