Oregon to Washington

The trip from Malheur to Bellingham took two days. The first day we left M at 9am, had lunch and shopped at Costco in Bend and drove as far as Brooks Memorial State Park which is in the mountains about 20 miles north of the Columbia River on Hwy 97. Many wildfires had been burning in the area so it was smoking from Bend to there. It was 100 as we crossed the river but it did decrease to 95 by the time we stopped. However, by the time we were set up and R was inside with the A/C running, it had cooled down considerably. The next day dawned clear and bright and off we went; through the Yakima Valley and up over the mountains to the north. Then through the valley and Ellensburg and up and over the mountains to its north.

The next stop was Leavenworth, a very pictureques town nestled in a narrow valley with mountains all around. It looks very much like the Bavarian village that is its theme. Parking for an RV is limited to a lot on the west edge of town so we did not get to explore the downtown area. Next time maybe. So after lunch at a place called Rudloofs Pizza and Dogs, we motored west on Hwy 2 up and over Stevens Pass. It was long tedious stop and go adventure passing through Monroe because the Evergreen State Fair was happening. As we climbed up Stevens Pass, we encountered clouds and rain by the time we reached the summit and it was wet until we passed Monroe. But as we neared I-5 the clouds broke up and the pavement was dry as we turned north. Our destination was Bellingham an hour north. We took the appropriate exit and pulled into a parking lot so that we could have supper before looking up our relatives. We were a day early so we did not want to ariive early and say, "What's for supper?"

After parking, I took the girls for a walk and, on the way back to the rig, I noticed that one of the tires on the trailer was flat. Not low, but flat. How long it had been, I don't know. We had stopped at a rest area less than an hour ago and thigns were ok, but there it was. Luckily, across the street was a Discount Tire Store. I hurried across the street because it was 5:45 hoping that they were still open. They were and so I went around the blockk again and pulled the rig behind the store. The store was closing at 6pm, but stayed open to take care of us. The tire was damaged beyond repair and looking at the other tires, another was well worn. I had replaced one tire before we went south, so we ended up replacing the other three. With all the mountain driving we did that day on two lane highways I have to believe that Someone was looking out for us.

Time to Go

Tomorrow is our last day here at Malheur. Twenty four days have come and gone quickly. I feel guilty only staying for this short time, but our supervisor knew about this last year. When we found out that we were going to spend two months at San Juan Is Nat Hist Park ( or SAJH for short) I originally told Carla that we weren't coming to Malheur this year because we could not be here for the full term of the ranch opening. Carla replied that she was willing to work with our time schedule. "How about you come the first of August and help setting up the ranch?" So that's what we did. Actually, we worked more days than if we were just hosting at the ranch. 171 hours converts to 21 days. If we were working the normal three day on, four day off schedule a month would be 15 days so I don't feel so bad.

The trailer is almost packed and ready. The satellite dish still needs to be taken down and the truck backed under the trailer and attached, but that can wait for a while.

I just looked up and the moon is about 5 degrees above the horizon and smiling at me. It must be full tonight. Awesome to look at, terrible for star gazing.

Just went outside and fought the misquitoes to dump the tanks and finish packing. Some of the work will have to wait until tomorrow. The bugs won tonight.

Before I came in tonight I checked out the sky. I easily found Venus. It is the brightest thing in the night sky besides the moon. Its about 60 million miles from us and getting closer. I also spotted Saturn and Mars nearby. Soon it will be late enough to see Jupiter come up in the East. I miss looking at the stars and planets.

Sunday Aug 21, 2010

Sitting here having a piece if toast figuring what I want to do with the rest of my day. It is our last day of rest at Malheur before we leave on Wed morning. Last night we were invited into Burns to have dinner at our supervisor's home. Good food, good conversation, good company made for a good time.

Up at 6:30 this morning to take the girls on our mile loop. After my Cheerios I decided it was time to "do Susan" again. I have cassette tape that I made from a Susan Powder video many years ago I used to do it regularly before breakfast. I knew it well enough to be able to watch a soccer tape or the news and excercise at the same time. I had the tape set up and turned on the TV on the morning of 9/11 and watched the plane crash into the second tower. It's a moment that I will never forget.

So I did Susan here in the screen porch of the Rec Building across from our trailer. It is very soothing to look out at the landscape while you work out. It's been a while since Susan and I have sweated together so it was good to do it again. Now I'm back in the trailer writing this. The forecast is for clear with temps in the 70's today with lows in the high 30's and then a slow warming trend for the next few days. Today sounds like a good day to clean up the truck and put a coat of wax on it and the front of the trailer. I don't like starting out on a trip with a dirty vehicle.

Weaving

Today we drove to John Day. The 70 miles up over the Strawberry Mts. are very enjoyable. Lots of ups and downs; two passes to go over. Winter driving could be dangerous. Lots of curves. Lots of great scenery. John Day is a quaint town. Mining history in the nearby Canyon City. We stopped at a couple of antique shops and the Grant County Museum. It's worth the $3.50 admission.

The best part of the day was the stop at Skeins, a knitting, spinning, weaving shop. Teresa recognized us when we walked in. She greeted us like old friends. We spent an hour in the shop talking about colors, yarns, weaving styles, and looms. R had to buy a book, of course. It's titled "Woolbur". Great children's book. Read it if you find it at the library or book store. Teresa remembered when R read this book out loud to her and me last year when we were there. We all smiled at that.

We left with $75 worth of yarn, books, and memories.

Fuana Musings

1. 10000 White Pine Butterflies gave their lives today as we drove up Hwy 395. It looked like a snow shower as we drove along. I will need to rewash the front of my truck.

2. Yesterday at the ranch must have been snake day. Three bull snakes were seen. A visitor pointed one out to me. Rand I were walking along a saw another. The third was encountered by R as she walked to the barn. She screamed, the snake hustled one way, R hustled the other. Don't know who was more frightened.

3. A small brown weasel ran across the road on the way out to the ranch yesterday.

4. There are five pronghorns hanging out by water on the refuge. The herd has been there all week. I hope they stay there until hunting season is over.

5. There are several Herons that are still using the nests in the Cottonwoods at the ranch. They are fairly quiet until one of the parents shows up with food I guess because all heck breaks loose. There's all kind of squacking and sputtering as Junior tells Mom or Dad that he wants dinner NOW! The noise continues until the adult flies away.

6. This morning, for the first time this year, I heard a sand hill crane calling. We have yet to see one this year. Last year they were everywhere. Not many ducks or geese this year either, but White Faced Ibis are very numerous. Any flocks you see here are these black birds with the wings in the middle and down-curled bills.

7. Lots of carp were caught in the Blitzen River on Saturday. Unfortunately just a drop in the bucket. They are more than a pest here in on the refuge.

8. R and I are getting acquainted with the cows at the ranch. Several that were there last year already come running when R walks up to the corral in the morning.

9. It is a full-time job keeping the hummingbird feeder filled here at our trailer. It is great fun to watch them jockey for position to get the sweet liquid. Some work so hard to guard their feeder. Others work equally hard to pester the guard. Sharing is not in their vocabulary.

Ranch part 2

The ranch has been open four days now. We worked Mon, Tues and today, Wednesday. Monday we had the most we have ever had in one day, 28. It was fun. Lot of fun people who enjoyed themselves, asked lots of questions, and caused the day to zip by.
Then came Tuesday. No one. Nothing worse then sitting waiting for visitors and none show up. Today five. Better then zero but not much. Luckily I have been taking my loom with us so I did get a scarf done today. I don't want to start another until after R and I drive to John Day on Friday because there is a shop called Skiens that I want to stop at and see if I can get any new ideas from Teresa the owner . I'll let you know what I find out.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, everything is set up. The displays in the homestead house and the bunkhouse both look great. The cows have arrived. There are four yearling calves in one pasture and four cows with little ones in the big corral. Two of the moms have yet to become moms, but are due soon. So there are two little ones to enjoy right now with more to come.
The mosquitoes are still pesty but are definitely on the downhill side. The real pests are the horseflies. They are prevalent and nasty. It is very distracting to walk around the ranchsite these days because of these biting devils. The poor cows are really miserable right now. They are constantly moving, waving their tails, ears and heads in a futile attempt to keep the those biting flies away

Opening the Ranch

Getting ready for the opening –Sodhouse Ranch Aug 2010

For the last two weeks R and I have been busy with all the tasks necessary to have the Sodhouse Ranch cleaned up and ready for Sunday Aug 15. Well, today is Sunday and it is. If you were at the ranch two weeks ago and then stopped by today, you wouldn’t recognize the place. The shoulder high grass is mowed. The walking path has been cleared. The buildings can be seen and accessed. The homestead house is set up with furniture and accessories like it would have been when it was used as a kitchen to feed the workers hired to do the haying on the ranch.

The bunkhouse has been transformed. When we first came here a couple of years ago the swallows owned the bunkhouse. Hundreds of them flew in and out daily through many openings. The inside was covered with the results of their occupation and the smell was intense. A couple of years before a screen had been put up in the stairway to limit the birds to the upstairs area but that was the extent of the work. So during the last two years of our visits my mission has been to eliminate the bird intrusions. I patched holes that had been made by flickers and used by the swallows. I used old boards so that the patches blended in with the rest of the building. The opening in the roof where the stove pipe exited made a huge entrance so last year I nailed a large piece of tin over it.

This year when we arrived we noted that the bunkhouse had a new shake roof so the roof opening problem is a thing of the past. It was time to clean out the inside so that visitors could enjoy it. Several days of hauling debris from the upstairs and well as the first floor followed by two sessions of power washing left the bunkhouse looking good! Looking good and ready to set up. Add a small wood or coal stove, a table, a couple of nail kegs, lantern, and lots of period accessories and the main room looks good. The second room downstairs is furnished, for now like a bedroom with a small table, a trunk, and a bed. Now the bed is different from what you are familiar with. The vaqueros who occupied this building slept in beds that resembled coffins. They measured 6 ft x 3 ft and were 2 ft high. The “box” was filled with straw and their bedrolls were laid on top. For men accustomed to sleeping on the ground when they were herding cattle, these must have been like sleeping on a feather bed.

Tomorrow, Monday is our first day “on duty”. I hope we get some visitors that stop by for a tour. The cows arrive tomorrow which will be fun. I will tell you about them in another entry.

Columbia River State Park

Long ago I had a group of friends in Portland that were interested in climbing. We decided to go for a day of rock climbing. That day we chose an area called Horsethief Butte. It was in Washington across the Columbia River from The Dalles. It was a great area to practice our new-found interest. And so we did. Lots of cracks, rock faces, and other areas to “play on”.

Things have changed. Columbia River State Park is a new state park, that was formed in 1990 when three parcels of land were purchased and merged with public land to form the park. Besides the climbing area, there is a campground, a picnic area, and a boat launching ramp for visitors to enjoy.

The area that this park occupies has been used by people for thousands of years. They have left behind pictures to prove it. There are both petroglyphs and pictograph displayed in this park. Some petroglyphs were moved here from an area that is now under the lake created by the Dalles Dam. Some petroglyphs are still in their original positions on rock faces above the river. Alongside these carvings are many pictographs decorating the same rock faces. The pictures come in three colors; three, black, and white and in all sizes and shapes, beautiful all. The volunteer guide lead us past many of these interesting pieces of art and also pieces of history. At the end of the trail is “She Who Watches”.

Malheur Again

It is time to get the Sodhouse Ranch Ready to be open to the public. It is only open from Aug 15 – Oct 15 each year because it is a rookery during the spring and summer. The tall cottonwood trees at the ranch are home to Great Blue Herons, Double Crested Cormorants, and Snowy Egrets so the ranch is closed until the birds are gone. So because it is the 6^th of Aug, “prep” time has begun. Its time to get the ranch ready for visitors. Time to mow the area and edge, clean up the buildings, and get out the story boards, antiques and other items that are for display. It took us a full day to take everything down last fall and because of the cleaning needed, it will take a couple of days to set up.

Normally, by the time we arrive here, the mowing has been done. Not this year. So in order to get the grass mowed in time for the opening on the 15^th, Tom, a fellow volunteer, and I said we would do the job. The right equipment a tractor mounted mower, was not available, so it was decided that we would use the skidder with a brush cutting attachment to do the job. Four hours of video study on Thursday allowed us to pass the safety test. Friday we spent the morning with hands-on training learning to safely operate the vehicle.

Once in the unit, you settle into the operator’s seat, fasten your seatbelt, turn the key to start. Everything on the skidder operates on hydraulic pressure. The diesel engine just powers the several hydraulic pumps to move the rig, operate the various movements of the boom and whatever is attached to it. Attachments include a blade, a scoop, and auger bit, or even forklift forks. It increases the versatility of the piece of equipment. A teenager would feel at home in the cab right away because everything is operated by two joysticks, one for each hand. The left controls the vehicle movement, push forward for forward movement, back for backward. Because the rig is tracked, turning is a different movement. A left pull causes the rig to turn left immediately. Backing and turning takes some time to get the feel of it.

So Friday afternoon, Tom drove the rig out to the ranch with me following in the ranch pickup. We spent the afternoon alternating between the skidder and a DR Trimmer getting familiar with each one and getting some work done. We had a supervisor that dropped from a tree to watch our work. Saturday we spent the entire day and got the needed areas taken care of. A big job done.

Goodbye to Goldendale Observatory

Goodbye to the observatory

The end of the month meant it was time to go. Some of our volunteer stays have been up to 90 days. Our stint at Goldendale Observatory was for the month of July so 31 days. What will I not miss? I will not miss the “swing shift” schedule of late nights and late mornings. The observatory was open until midnight because the sky is not really dark until after 11:00. So it was probably around 12:30 before we would climb into bed followed by a few minutes of the current book. My son tells me that getting up early and going to bed early is what “old people do”, but it feels right to me. I have always found myself awake about six-ish. When I was working it was necessary to “get up and get going” early in order to get things done. Now that I am retired my body is still ready to get up and get going. I feel guilty letting the morning scuttle away. The girls, Mollie and Peaches, are awake and ready for their walk about then too so that’s another reason.

I also won’t miss being in “lock up”. The park is surrounded by a chain link fence and the gate is locked except for the hours it is open 2-5 and 8-12mid Wed-Sun. That meant that every time we drove into town to go to swimming or get groceries, we had to unlock and lock the gate, swing it open, etc. Not a big deal, but, like I said, I won’t miss it.

What will I miss? A lot actually. Goldendale has much to offer; an actual downtown main street with no parking meters and no traffic signals. A general store, a couple of grocery stores, 6 or 7 churches, including a nice Methodist Church, several parks, one very active swimming pool, all compliment the small town friendliness that abounds there. I will miss the view of Mt Hood from our dining room window.

Most of all I will miss viewing and learning about our universe. Its beauty and vastness is mind boggling. When you learn more about distances and numbers involved in the heavens, you will truly say it is ………astronomical. I enjoyed getting comfortable with the big telescope. After being trained and shepherded for a short time, I was allowed to be alone in the dome shaped telescope room in the evening to open up the top and be sure that the big telescope was aimed at our first object, which was the planet Venus. Venus is the bright “star” in the western horizon at sundown right now. As of Saturday July 31, 2010 it was about 78 million miles from earth and getting closer every day. It will get as close as 40 million miles about the end of the year, but because it will be between us and the sun, it will not be easy to see. However, about the first of October it will be close enough and bright enough that if you know where to look high in the southern sky, it will be visible during the day.

I will miss looking into the stars and recognizing constellations and certain star arrangements. Looking at the Ursa Major (the Big Dipper) and I know that the second star in the handle (named Mizar) is actually a binary or double star. I know where to find the Ring Nebula (M57) which is the wallpaper on my cell phone right now. Whenever I believe that I am a “Big Deal” all I have to do look to the stars and realize that I am a single individual on one planet in a solar system revolving around a rather insignificant star among the billions of stars in the Milky Way Galaxy. Then remember that there are millions of galaxies just like ours ranging out there in all directions for virtually forever and I know what a grain of sand lying on the beach must feel like.