"ROAD TRIP" Today's Photos

I'd like to invite you to come along on a little Road Trip...from the West Coast to the Rockies to the Great Plains to the East Coast. We'll most likely make quite a few detours and stops, so bear with our poor navigational skills.

We begin.

Any of you who have driven the Oregon Coast has seen this familiar sight at Gold Beach.

The Mary D. Hume was a steamer built at Gold Beach, Oregon in 1881, by R. D. Hume, a pioneer and early businessman in that area. Gold Beach was then called Ellensburg. The Hume had a long career, first hauling goods between Oregon and San Francisco, then as a whaler in Alaska, as a service vessel in the Alaskan cannery trade, then as a tugboat. She was retired in 1977 and returned to Gold Beach. In 1985 she sank in the Rogue River and has remained there ever since as a derelict vessel on the shoreline.


"If we set our minds to it...I'll bet we can float the old gal...Here we go."


"Good so far, she's coming up...a little more now."



"Almost there...Almost there!...I think we can, I think we can..."



"Good Job, everyone!...tomorrow might see her high and dry."




[Edited on 4-30-2014 by Pompano]

Roger,
With a bit of buffing that ol' girl is ready to steam on again

Heading east from Portland, Oregon. While driving along the scenic Columbia Gorge the other day, I decided to take the bridge over to the Washington side near Maryhill to once again visit the unique Stonehenge Memorial.


"What in the Sam Hill...?"


The Stonehenge Memorial was built by entepreneur Sam Hill as a tribute to the soldiers of Klickitat County, Washington, who lost their lives in World War I. Sam Hill's Stonehenge is a full-scale replica of England's famous Stonehenge in Wiltshire. Hill, a Quaker pacifist, was mistakenly informed that the original Stonehenge had been used as a sacrificial site.

Here is a quote I read from the nearby museum..".. Hill was mistakenly informed that the original Stonehenge had been used as a sacrificial site, and thus constructed the replica to remind us that ''humanity is still being sacrificed to the god of war.'' ..."


Hill's Stonehenge lies at the original Maryhill townsite, four miles east of the Maryhill Museum, just off Washington Highway 14, and upstream of the Sam Hill Memorial Bridge. It lies at Columbia River Mile 210. The site also includes monuments to the soldiers of Klickitat County who died in World War II, Korea, and Viet Nam. Hill's own crypt is a short walk southwest of Stonehenge on a bluff overlooking the Columbia River. The day we visited was a slow tourist day and we were the only vehicle there...which made the scene all that much more somber.




Dedication ...

The Klickitat County Stonehenge's altar stone was dedicated on July 4, 1918. The full structure was completed and dedicated on May 30, 1929.

"The Hanging Stones" ...

The English Heritage website (2006) states the name "Stonehenge" originates from the Anglo-Saxon period, and the Old English word "henge" means "hanging" or "gibbet". "Stonehenge" therefore translates to "The hanging stones".

"... It's thought that the name Stonehenge originates from the Anglo-Saxon period ­ the old English word ‘henge' meaning hanging or gibbet. So what we have is literally ‘the hanging stones', derived probably from the lintels of the trilithons which appear to be suspended above their massive uprights. Today the word ‘henge' has a specific archaeological meaning: a circular enclosure surrounding settings of stones and timber uprights, or pits. ..."

Now..aren't you glad you found this out? Road Trips around America are always entertaining & educational. Hey, look up the trail there!...see that huge ball of twine?

You decide

Cawker, KS and Darwin, MN both claim to have the worlds largest ball of twine:

Kansas ball



Minnesota ball



[Edited on 4-25-2014 by durrelllrobert]

Columbia Gorge scene 4/22/2014.

Always fun to tour this place next to the Bonneville Power Dam. Lots of exciting whys and wherefores answered here. Why, the atmosphere is positively 'electric'.




The five-story Bradford Island Visitor Center features exhibits discussing the purpose and building of the dam; as well as films about the Columbia River, fish migration, and current U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ projects. If you’ve never seen a fish ladder, this is a good place to experience it: through an underwater window you can watch salmon and other fish bypass the dam as they follow nature’s migratory course unimpeded.




I pulled in and parked next to this huge propellor ...probably erected by some motorboat club? Jeez, that would sure put some thrust on the old center console, eh?




I found some great salmon fishing nearby...seemed almost too easy.





[Edited on 4-29-2014 by Pompano]

We are still traveling east along the Columbia Gorge...enjoying relaxing stops here and there.


Woke up a couple days ago to a wonderful smell...and sight.



A plus from Mother Nature….The dogwoods are in bloom.



This is one of the most scenic RV parks I've ever found in the Columbia Gorge. One of those hidden gems.....Boardman Marina RV Park...huge grassy and shaded sites right at waters edge with handy docks for your boat with superb salmon, walleye, bass, & sturgeon waiting for you in the river.




Another great feature is the scenic walking path along the rio. This mom with her baby walker and lab-wingman prompted us to get our exercise.

I should mention one thing Ive found thoughtful & helpful on certain Oregon freeways.....FREE COFFEE at most Interstate Rest Areas. Who knows how many accidents this offer has prevented? Free for sure, but a donation can is handy. For a quarter (and a little more) I got a hot cup of Joe and a homemade cookie from some nice ladies. I've seen this in other states, too, and appreciate the gesture.

The 'Lost' RV Park of the Columbia Gorge...

"You'll really like Timberlake Campground. It's up high overlooking the river. Kind of back in the pines, but easy to find...just hang a right at the dead elk and follow the trail up for 3 miles...and look for the little park signs. You can't miss it."

Those were the famous last words of a fellow camper I met at the docks while fishing the Columbia River. And if I ever meet him again, I'll take him fishing in deep water...

Well, I went down the road he suggested...and Lo and Behold, found the turn with the 'elk'....or what was left of it.



From there the road climbed...and climbed...time to put the 4x4 towing the long fifth wheel into LOW. Well, he said it was only 3 miles, but I've gone quite a ways already...and...

Where the heck are those damn signs!?



Hmm...these woods are getting thicker..and darker. And it seems to be getting pretty cloudy.

Sheesh...now's its pouring rain....COLD rain!

The road is narrowing....windows are fogging up...too much driving rain for the wipers to keep up...WHERE THE HELL ARE THOSE &%#(@ SIGNS??



And finally the sign that every traveler dreads seeing....DEAD END. I stopped and had to set the brake to keep from sliding backwards. Got out and looked around. A very small space to try and turn around...

I found myself thinking, "I wonder how long we can last with the food on board? Are there bears around here? Should I give Co-pilot my walking stick to protect herself while hiking out for help? Can I pick up sat tv from here? How many Pacificos do I have?" All important survival thoughts.

Co-pilot did not seem too enthused with the hiking-out idea, so I decided to back over some smaller pines and maneuver the long rig around in the space available...and that worked! With some snapping of branches and flying mud, we got turned around & back on that unmarked and unsigned trail and headed down the mountain for the main highway. As we pulled onto the pavement, the sun broke out of the clouds to welcome us back.

The moral of our event is: Now you know why men...

Never EVER ask directions!


"Hey sweetheart, what say we pull into that do-it-yourself RV wash?"

WIND FARMING

As most travelers know, the Columbia Gorge is a very WINDY place. The Gorge seems to act like a tunnel for the prevailing westerlies. It's so predictable that when heading east I open all the truck doors to save on fuel....




Numerous Wind Farms have sprung up over the last decade in the Gorge.






Since early recorded history, people have harnessed the energy of the wind. Wind energy propelled boats along the Nile River as early as 5000 B.C. By 200 B.C., simple windmills in China were pumping water, while vertical-axis windmills with woven reed sails were grinding grain in Persia and the Middle East.

New ways of using the energy of the wind eventually spread around the world. By the 11th century, people in the Middle East used windmills extensively for food production. Returning merchants and crusaders carried this idea back to Europe. The Dutch refined the windmill and adapted it for draining lakes and marshes in the Rhine River Delta. When settlers took this technology to the New World in the late 19th century, they began using windmills to pump water for farms and ranches and later to generate electricity for homes and industry.


Most of the thousands of windmills used from the late 1800s and early 1900s have been lost, except in rural areas where their pioneer spirit is preserved.

Here are some older windmill scenes from my home state of ND (a high wind area)…typical of early settlers using the windmill for water pumping….and one showing the dependable old hand-pump. If one has never used one of those, then you’ve missed a lot of Americana.




American colonists used windmills to grind wheat and corn, to pump water and to cut wood at sawmills. With the development of electric power, wind power found new applications in lighting buildings remotely from centrally generated power. Throughout the 20th century, small wind plants, suitable for farms and residences, and larger utility-scale wind farms that could be connected to electricity grids were developed.

The oil shortages of the 1970s changed the energy picture for the U.S. and the world. It created an interest in alternative energy sources, paving the way for the re-entry of the wind turbine to generate electricity.

I don't know quite why, but when I first came upon this sight the other day, I thought of the movie "War of the World's" and it's marching war machines. Too much movie popcorn last night, d'ya think...? Still, it was rather ominous.





In the 1980s and early 1990s, low oil prices threatened to make electricity from wind power uneconomical. But in the 1980s wind energy flourished in California partly because of federal and state tax incentives that encouraged renewable energy sources. These incentives funded the first major use of wind power for utility electricity.

For some familiar comparisons, I’m sure many of you have seen the wind turbine displays around the Indio, California region. This from a recent RV trip thru that area.




Today, wind-powered generators operate in every size range, from small turbines for battery charging at isolated residences to large, near-gigawatt-size offshore wind farms that provide electricity to national electric transmission systems. Here a semi hauling a wind vane and his escort en route to a wind farm pass me on the Interstate.




Got to leave you now about the wind farms...it's time to 'tack' a bit to starboard..and talk about some of the beautiful rivers and their fun activities.

RIVERS

I generally like to travel along fishable rivers, which luckily most often include rafting. If you’ve ever been fishing a fast river and snagged a raft or kayak as it zooms by then you know what fun is all about!

The following shots are on or near Hwy 12 going from eastern Washington through Idaho, along Hwy 30 east to the Snake River and into Wyoming & Montana. A beautiful part of North America indeed...and chuck full of fine trout streams! If it happens, not a bad place to spend eternity.










After seeing so much of an increase in rafting & kayaking the last few years, I just had to read up some on 'The History of Whitewater Rafting.'

Whitewater rafting can be traced back to 1811 when the first recorded attempt to navigate the Snake River in Wyoming was planned. With no training, experience, or proper equipment, the river was found to be too difficult and dangerous. Hence, it was given the nickname “Mad River.”

The first rubber raft was made by Lt. John Fremont and Horace H. Day believed to be built it the 1840s. They planned to survey the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains. Although invented back then, it wasn''t until the turn of the century that the first commercial rafting trip took place. On June 9, 1940, Clyde Smith lead a successful trip through the Snake River Canyon. In later years, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. constructed a modern resort hotel in Grand Teton National Park. In the late 1950s the lodge began offering float trips. They used surplus war rafts that were 8 ft wide by 27 ft long. Less than 500 people went that year but the demand started increasing. It wasn't until the 1960s and 70s that whitewater rafting companies started forming. In the 1972 Olympic games in Munich, whitewater rafting was included for the first time. Now whitewater rafting has risen to a popular sport and hobby, growing more and more every year.



]





Here's a sight I found amusing. I gave it some thought and came to the conclusion that this Canada goose (honker) sitting on the rock was just a 'people watcher' and had a good seat for viewing all the rafts and kayaks coming by.






Every now and then, you find the best damn campsites and almost to yourself at that. Just one camper ahead of us. Luck of the draw...maybe.








[Edited on 4-30-2014 by Pompano]

“The mountains are calling and I must go.”
John Muir


MOUNTAIN STREAMS OF IDAHO

Well done trout sculpture. This got me into the mood right away..


This was a great place to do some shopping and also get some advice on what streams and rivers to explore. Bought myself a good baitcasting outfit that was sorely needed after a fiasco off the Oregon Coast a while back.

THE BLACK SHEEP sporting goods store…..the name reminded me of a favorite uncle.



Those assault-looking rifles hanging there don’t appeal to me at all. They seem too warlike and remind me of bad times. To me, there’s no beauty to them, just efficiency….my opinion of course. I much prefer more classic types, like this beauty Co-pilot searched out for me last Christmas. Indeed this rifle is a piece of history that has real character. No indestructible plastic butt and forearm, but a grainy hardwood that you use oil from a crushed piece of walnut to rub a high polish on something to cherish for generations.

MY SHILOH-SHARPS 50-90 GIFT



RIVER SCENES

“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”
Albert Einstein





WILDLIFE SEEN The trails we roamed showed off an abundance of nature. I loved the variety and the balance.

Came across a beneficial beaver dam, a pair of killdeer snipes, and some geese feeding on meadow grasses. All is well.



“The good man is the friend of all living things.” - Mahatma Gandhi


This BALD EAGLE flying over my head seems to be thinking….”SEEN ANY TROUT?”




ELK IN CAMP Welcome visitors to our campsite, but worrisome in that I hope they don’t get too lax and lose their wildness and caution.



WILD TURKEY. Not fair! Foul fowl, I say! For a brief moment this foraging hen gave me a mouth-watering idea for dinner. Luckily for both of us a protein bar saved the day…



…until we came to this great place for a late breakfast. Can you say…Brunch!

BREAKFAST STOP A welcome place on the river road was a treat for us. It felt real homey to me. Lots of western character, of course. Co-pilot would not let me go back for my Stetson…or buy a pack of Beechnut chew. Throwing caution to the winds, I pointed out what I might want on my tombstone….




Co-pilot breakfast of cereal and berries. Healthy? Yes, but Boring! Like religion, politics, and family planning, cereal is not a topic to be brought up in public. It's too controversial.



My breakfast…..Now THIS is real chow! I don't like food that's too carefully arranged; it makes me think that the chef is spending too much time arranging and not enough time cooking. If I wanted a picture I'd buy a painting.
I come from a family where gravy is considered a beverage.




I spotted this TROUT ID SIGN. A reminder of what you’re fishing for is always welcome. So far I’ve managed to safely release all cutthroats, whitefish, sticks, crawdads, and rafts.



Nothing better than a cold water trout dinner…with some Co-pilot fixin’s. Always a treat with fresh mountain air.







1ST CAMPSITE ON THE RIVER.

It’s an adventure finding some of these hole-in-the-wall campsites, but well worth the effort.



2ND CAMPSITE ON THE RIVER



I round a bend and found a fellow FLYFISHERMAN. This fellow was from Germany and an expert at casting….but not much catching at this hole. I offered some worms…..to test his sense of humor.



FLYFISHERMAN COLLAGE….you can almost see the S in his flyline. He had good moves.



Snake River current conditions & gear…
Air temp right now is a whopping 80…up from 42 a few days ago!
Water temperature at mid-day: 39…brrrr…
Visibility is clear and 4-5 ft.
Best time of day to fish... afternoon's will be the best.
Advice from guide…Water temperatures are still on the cold side, so midges are really going to be about it for hatches. Baetis shouldn't be far away but nymphing and streamer fishing is going to be your most productive methods for the next couple of weeks.
Lots of Cutthroat, Rainbow, and Brown trout
Prime time I’m told will be from mid-May 15 thru November…nothing wrong with right now for me.
9 Foot Leader - 3X Tippet - 9' 5 Weight Fly Rod
7’ baitcaster with spoon varieties…worms if needed.


SPOTTED A RIVER RAMP This would have been a good place to launch my fishing boat, but of course the next set of rocks would likely wipe out my engine. Using local drift boats is the way to navigate these rivers. Backtrolling walleye boats are out of place!



81 DEGREES! TAKING A SWIM We’ve had a brief heat wave for two days…yesterday my gauge read 80…time to strip down and cool off like these folks.



CO-PILOT TAKES OVER CAMERAMAN DUTIES. I’m pretty busy, you know. After all, I have to….find a good spot to fish, chose the right hatch, catch & clean something for dinner, tune in the sat. tv, mix a martini, make sure the beers are icy, and a hundred other chores….so I give the camera duties to Co-pilot for the rest of the day.
She practices. She captures me crossing this bridge to trout heaven…says for me to wave to the folks back home.





WALKING DOWN THE HILLY PATH. ….and catches me coming down a hilly trail. I think she’s getting the hang of it now. Maybe needs a wee bit more practice…




She’s becoming a real artist....with her own style.



She found the focus….AND the zoom….sigh.



What the heck…..It’s PERFECT!

And so it goes……

Thanks. Sort of a trip down memory lane. Did some work in Klickatat county a few years back.

[Edited on 5/2/2014 by Cypress]