Days with Glenn and Karin

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Sally and Tom are on the road again. After a fun filled, way too short, time at Malheur we have hit the road. We toured with our friends Glenn and Karin some of the high points in eastern Oregon and northern Idaho.

The Rocky Mountain Range extends from mid-Alaska to the tip of Chile. The range spawns great rivers. One of the northwest's most powerful rivers is the Snake River. It originates in the rugged Rocky Mountains in Wyoming and flows through Idaho and Oregon, carving out great canyons. (For more on the river: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_River.) One of those canyons is called Hell's Canyon. It is on the Oregon and Idaho border. It is a National Recreation site, and quite remote.

We stayed in Enterprise Oregon near the town of Joseph. Joseph is famous for its statues - pretty stuff. We drove a truck high into the mountains to get to the Hell's Canyon Overlook.

We have been plagued by rainy, cloudy weather, and our trip that day was no exception. Flooding was forecast on most of the rivers in eastern Oregon and in Idaho.

The rain held off until we had taken many pictures of this deep canyon, too deep even to see the river, at some points a half a mile wide, at the bottom. It is an impressive sight, even in the rain.

Glenn and Karin have friends that live on a mountain top in Idaho. Our next trek was to stay on their ranch. It was quite a climb to get to the homestead of Ace and Lori, but it was a beautiful area.

We originally parked our rig on a flat spot that turned out to be not so good. We sunk up to our axle. But not to worry (easy to say now), Ace has a friend with a track driven Caterpillar who pulled us out. There was lots of gnashing of teeth in the process, but we survived.

From the mountain top, we took trips to St Maries (pronounced Mary's) and Coeur D' Alene Idaho. We saw a few boats on Lake Coeur D'Alene that we would like to live in, but they are a little pricey for our bank account.

We also ate dinner at the restaurant run by Christina Crawford (yes, that's Joan Crawford's daughter of Mommie Dearest fame).

Pretty good meal in a lovely location and a very unusual sunset on the way home.

Next stop was way up in northern Montana. We had wanted to tour Glacier National Park in 2007 on the way to Alaska, but it was still too snowy. So we tried again this year. It was still too snowy, but we stayed visited anyway.

Got part way up the Going to the Sun Highway and all the way to Polebridge and Bowman Lake.

Polebridge reminded us of Alaska. A great bakery in a very old building, the Nothern Lights Saloon (soon to open under new management) and (according to Sally) the very best thing she has ever eaten. Huckleberry turnover.

Glenn and Karin are among the crowd from our first work camping job up in Maine. We also keep in contact with others, including Pat and Jeff. They were working at the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge near Missoula Montana. We drove over to see them, parking the rigs in the Charles Waters Campground at Bass Creek Park in the Bitterroot National Forest.

On the way, we toured the National Bison Range - it has a 19 mile auto route. We saw bison (with babies), a black bear (very far away), pronghorn antelopes, and an elk herd (also with babies). Gorgeous scenery too.

We re-supplied up in Missoula, but then chose to stay for a week at the campground. Missoula has a lot of interesting things to see. They have a smokejumpers school and base. The plane at left is the one they jump out of to fight fires in roadless areas.

They also have a carousel. Sally had to ride. She says that it only cost a quarter for children (no distinction between first or second childhood.) Picture courtesy of Karin.

Stevensville, the town closest to the refuge, had it's annual Heritage Days Festival. That's the end of the parade - a decorated crop sprayer. Besides the parade they had craft vendors, a tour of town in a horse drawn wagon and lots of other fun.

Stevensville was the beginning of Montana - St Mary's mission was started in 1841. So we had history too.

There is a nice brewpub, good restaurants, and we had good company to sit around a fire or two, so the time there was a lot of fun.

We are sad to leave our friends Glenn and Karin (and their dog, Cooper, and cat, Chico). The next adventure waits as we travel east following the Oregon Trail. See you in the funny papers.

Jordan Valley Rodeo and other essentials :-)

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We take you back to the thrilling days of yesteryear. Bucking broncos, bull riding and barrel racing are a small part of the Big Loop Rodeo in Jordan Valley, Oregon.
It is hard to imagine a town of 200 having a event that attracts over 2500 spectators, but this annual event does just that. There are calf, cow and horse roping events.

One event called the big loop has two cowboys, one roping the head of a horse and the other roping the front legs. Some people think the sport is a little barbaric, but the contestants stop if there is a danger of hurting an animal.
 They also do traditional riding events bronco riding (unbroken horses), saddle bronc riding, cattle riding and even bull riding.

The area is a Basque community, settled in the late 1800's by people from the border area between France and Spain. Note the outdoor area to play pelota - also known around St Pete (where Sally grew up) as jai alai. This was built back in the 1800's and is still marked for play.

The Basques evidently were excellent herding and ranching folk, so rodeo skills are learned at an early age. This showed really well in the barrel racing. The youngest contestant appeared to be about 8 years old. We ate the usual "fair" food and walked the vendor area. It is amazing what can be done with leather and wood.

We also noticed that a lot of the spectators and participants are not wearing what we normally think of as cowboy hats, with creases in the top and rolled up brims. They wear a traditional flat top hat with a wider brim.

Sally has been helping the refuge with bird surveys. The counts are helping with a study on the environment impact electrical tranmission lines crossing the refuge would have. The new lines proposed for installation would be coming from a wind farm. A lot of concern with the environment, but impacts have to be studied. There are very few areas where wind turbines and transmission lines will not affect animals in the only habitat they have.


Speaking of animals, there are more than just birds at Malheur. Tom has passed the requirements for agriculture tractor driving. On one of his test runs, he came face-to-tractor with a badger. The badger left slowly, turning to see if the tractor was chasing him. No pictures on this one, sorry.

We spent one weekend at home. Which means Sally went birding and Tom hung around playing music. You just need those breaks every once in a while. Of course, hanging out in this beautiful area is a very nice vacation. And of course, there was the snow Saturday morning - at least 3 inches. It melted quickly, but we had flurries all day.

Three years ago, we went to Alaska to work for the summer (yes, we went back last year). We traveled with another couple, Glenn and Karin. We plan to tour some of Oregon, Idaho and Montana with them. We went to meet them in Bend to start preparing for our tour. For fun, we ate an excellent Indian meal and then toured the Deschutes brewery.

We had been before, but both Glenn and Karin are fans of good beer and Deschutes brews some of th best. Unfortunately, they don't distribute back east. We stocked up on many items (including some Black Butte Porter from Deschutes), then brought them back with us to the Burns area. We are looking forward to that adventure.

Having said that, it means our time here at Malheur is at an end. It has been great working with the staff and volunteers once again this year. The Buena Vista Maintenance Manager bought the food and drink for a last cookout for the volunteers. We wish to say thanks Andy. We will also say this has been another adventure and we hope for many more out here.

Next time - traveling adventures with Glenn and Karin.

Nehalem State Park and Bend OR

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Because of the timing of events, we worked 10 days straight. This is very abnormal for us, because we haven't worked that many days in a row since 2006. But you can't always dictate the timing of events, so you just settle in for the ride. We rested after the work time finished, but not for long.

We decided to head to Bend, OR, for a day of R&R. First we took in a sports bar to watch hockey playoff action, then a nice motel with a hot tub. We needed a few supplies, so we used this as the guise for the trip, but we just wanted a quick change of scenery. We stopped a few minutes to watch the bus carrying a local Guard unit come home - it wasn't a big parade but everyone stopped and waved at the buses. The motorcycle club and a couple of other groups served as the escort.

One of the reasons for such a short trip to Bend was the "weekend vacation" we had planned. We made a trip to the Oregon Coast with the motor home. Our visit was planned with Tom's cousin Darlene and her husband Tony. We spent two days traveling each way, but we had planned short days so we could do a little touring. We stopped in Salem to spend the night (in a parking lot. It is nice to carry your bedroom with you.) The next day we took almost 5 hours to do 100 miles.

We drove through Tillamook - a town we visited two years ago. We made a repeat stop at the Tillamook cheese factory - great grilled cheese and ice cream for dessert.

We stopped at produce stand, which is low on vegetables thsi time of year, but they had a lot of jams, jellies and hot sauces. Tom is a fan of hot sauces. The stand had a sample area. One of the signs should have been a clue, It said try the samples at your own risk. There was on called 100% pain, so Tom had to try it. He reports that his sinuses cleared very well for the next three hours. We did buy some of the home made mixes and dips, but 100% Pain was not purchased.

When we arrived at the state park, Tony and Darlene were already set up. We joined them around a campfire and strolled down memory lane. As the weather began to turn to rain, we went inside and had a great meatsauce and pasta supper.

The next day, we went out in search of fresh seafood for the supper Sally planned for the evening. We ate a wonderfull meal at an offroad restaurant right by the docks in Garibaldi. They directed to a fine shop to get our evening entre. We should have taken pictures. Killer Seafood (look them up) Simmerin' Sauce and fresh clams, scallops and prawns. It was very tasty. We ate way too much, but it was way good.

The weather was iffy the first two days, but we managed to get good campfires in, but Sunday was beautiful. We took strolls on the beach and around the campground. We just had a good old time! Thanks Tony and Darlene for the campfires and great company.

On the two day trip home, we stopped in a quaint ski village called Sisters. It has all the trappings of a ski village, but the people we met are really proud of their village.They are into all sorts of crafts and hobbies. There are a couple of really good bookstores and shops. Sally's yarn store radar was working - we stopped at a 5 and 10 cent store that turned out to have a great stock of yarn and roving. We had a nice little stop.

Then we resupplied and came "home" to Malheur. Weekend trips are fun and something to be excited about, but now we relax a day or two then off to another adventure. Thanks for joining us.

Signing off with a picture of a Yellow-headed Blackbird - more bird pictures to come next time!

Malheur NWR First Take 2010

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We are getting settled in well at Malheur. We arrived a little early in the year, so our actual work schedule did not start for a week, so we spent some time getting setup. We had a very pretty day the first Saturday, so we took a tour of the the refuge trying to spot wildlife. We were successful with many birds, not a lot of mammals running around in sight.

These are greater white-fronted geese. Very colorful.

The refuge is 187,000 acres, mostly concentrated along the Donner and Blitzen (Thunder and Lightening in German) river. That many acres along a thin line make the refuge very long. It is 42 miles from the main office to the south end of the refuge. There is a dirt road that travels that length. We only drove the southern half of it. Water is the big attraction for wildlife, and the north end of the refuge is dry(er).

We did have a big dust storm then the next morning, some precipitation in the form of 4 inches of snow on the Monday after we arrived.

We then had two weeks of very cold and snowy weather. This was not part of our expectations of volunteering in the high desert, but mother nature is in control.

Our normal work week is three eight hour days. This year we are doing some strange things with that schedule. We worked two days, then off for four, then ten days in a row. We are now finished with our obligation for April (but we are helping with other projects during our "off time".)

The big thing going on during the 10 days was the annual bird festival in Burns. Snow geese and Ross's geese like the ones in the picture are a main attraction.

The festival is normally the first weekend in April, but because of Easter, it was moved the second weekend. We had a lot of visitors and participated in several events. Sally won a painting during a raffle. And not just any painting, but the one chosen for the printing of the festival posters and flyers. She wanted to win a special bottle of wine, but she seems happy with the prize she got.

Sally also got out to do bird counts. She and the Biologist went on one trip, She and another volunteer on another trip, she even got to go on a special tour. Tom, lazy soul that he is, just covered the visitor center while she was having fun, but we predict payback will happen.

American Avocet - a most photogenic bird.

Tom spotted this hawk - Rough-legged, we believe, though he is a very odd specimen.

Note the adult and baby Great Horned Owl hiding out in the side of a cliff. Lots of raptors here






We will be heading to points west on our days off, Bend and Nehalem State Park. Watch for those posting, they should have a lot of "wildlife". Until then ...

Moving West (Part 3)

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Utah is a lovely state. There are mountains and canyons and desert lands. Our trip through last year was a fight with wind and snow. This year the weather has been beautiful.

Our drive started in Bullhead City, AZ and we ended the first day at a truck stop in Payson UT. We made an attempted stop at Zion National Park, but they were closing.

We had decided to stop this year and tour Salt Lake City a little. Sally had been here before, but Tom had not. The city has wide streets (so the ox team can turn around without any trouble.) The city was well planned with the streets in easy numerical layout. There are a lot of parks and open air lots. The Temple Square is impressive with the buildings all complementing the Temple. The people we have met are very kind and generous with their time.

We also visited "This is the Place Heritage Park". It's located at the spot where the Mormons overlooked the beautiful valley and decided that they would settle. Unfortunately, it was cold and raining, so we couldn't see much of the valley. The exhibits in the visitor center were interesting, though, and we enjoyed the candy made of honey.

We spent some time looking up our genealogy. Sally was looking for books on her family and trying to trace the parents of her great-grandfather Hiram Page.

Tom was tracing back individuals. He discovered his great-great-grandfather, Joshua Hall, served in the civil war. Joshua was in a unit defending Mobile. His unit surrendered late in the war (actually after the war ended, but communications being what they were, they did not know). He was a P.O.W. for all of six days then sent home.

We drove out to Antelope Island State Park, an island in the Great Salt Lake. The name comes from the number of Pronghorns that inhabited the island when it was “discovered”. The area is full of beautiful vistas. The Great Salt Lake is in a basin, so it is surrounded by hills and mountains - many still snow covered this time of year.

Sally went to the Mormon Tabernacle to hear the choir sing Sunday morning. It was their 8201st weekly radio broadcast - the first one was in 1929! The music was glorious. The acoustics were wonderful and Sally enjoyed the selections. They sang Simple Gifts, one of Sally's favorites.

Our next move was to Boise. We cross several high points between the two cities, including the continental divide. We marveled at the snow covered mountains while we fought a little wind. We left the southeast early this year to give us time to pull off the road for a day or two if the wind and weather was as bad last year, but the resistance was much less this trip. We wanted to the oil changed in the motorhome, so we found a place that could do the job. They had to put the RV on a rack. We had them check the brakes and found one of the rear drums was working metal-on-metal, not a good situation while traveling up and down in the mountains. The repairs on our little home have amounted quite a bit this month, but the house is 10 years old.

We made our last metro area shopping trip and then headed to Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is an one-hundred-eighty-eight acre water sanctuary held in the public trust for birds and western wildlife. The area was set up as ranches. Water rights and the diminishing bird populations convinced some locals to apply to the federal government to create the sanctury. Malhuer was designated in Sept. 1908 and slowly bought up the land that comprises three lakes and river that moves water from the Steens Mountain to lakes. More about Malhuer later, thanks for reading and we hope you are aoo doing well.