Paws and Friends

One of the attractions at Hagerman is the Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument. The Visitor's Center is in Hagerman, and is normally closed Tuesday and Wednesday so we went Monday, not even thinking about the possible government shutdown. We are glad we did! The 600 foot high bluffs rising above the Snake River, as shown in this picture, comprise the Hagerman Fossil Beds, revealing the environment at the end of the Pilioene Epoch (a very long time ago!). Mastodons, sabre-tooth cats, beavers, muskrats, otters, antelope, deer, ground sloths, hyena-like dogs, fish, frogs, snakes, waterfowl, and yes, CAMELS lived here! The sediment layers from river level to the tops of the bluffs span some 550,000 years:  from 3.7 million years old at river level to 3.15 million years old atop the bluff. Yep! A very, very, very long time ago! We were surprised to learn about the two kinds of camels: the camelops and the camelids. Beale was on to something in the 1850's, introducing camels i...

We love scenic by-ways, and the Thousand Springs route on old US 30 is one we have taken many times, including those times when it was the ONLY way to go! (Ummmm, that does "date" the writer, doesn't it?!)  Exit 137 from the west on I-84 takes you through Bliss, Idaho, then south on US 30, along the Snake River. We seem to be following some historic trails....Lewis & Clark and the Oregon Trail, anyone...? As we were driving this route we remarked on how L & C were able to chart their path so accurately and return east pretty much over the same route. Then there is the Oregon Trail--where they can identify the "exact" pieces, then approximate the general route. Pretty amazing! Then there is the Snake River. We have counted the number of times the highway crosses it across Idaho--I cannot remember that number now, but it certainly is a "mighty" river of the west, one on which all travelers over time have relied. The Thousand Springs  are fo...

We are in the midst of what the weather channel is calling "Mountain Snows in the North West"....! Thankfully, we have only experienced wet fog near the pass before Elgin (5100'), then rain showers as we descended. Weather at LaGrande was beautiful and dry! Just a bit on the chilly side as the wind was blowing. It felt very "winter like", reminiscent of all the Christmases we spent driving through this country heading for the Willamette valley.  We chose two-lane highways from Walla Walla:  WA 125 to OR 11, then OR 204, OR 82 to I-84 and found the drive okay, especially after leaving the fog behind! Here is our route: View Larger Map We are glad we did NOT venture on our original plan; traveling east on US 12 then south on US 93. We still have mountain country to travel, but the storm will be past before we get to those sections. Farewell Bend State Park, Oregon We had reserved a pull through site at Farewell Bend State Park, with 30 AMPS and water. W...

We had planned on taking US 12 east from Clarkston, to Lolo, MT, then head south back through Idaho to explore south western Wyoming and north eastern Utah. When Lindy found reports of a frozen mix in towns along this route, we decided that we did not want to be taking the motor home through any snow or frozen mix! We changed our plans! Isn't that what full-timing is all about?! We do have that flexibility to change and adjust our plans. So we back-tracked some, but entered "new" territory by visiting Walla Walla. We realized that we have indeed been following the Lewis and Clark Trail in our journeys in Washington and Oregon. Such fun! This trail we will continue to follow in our future travels. Here is our route so far: View Larger Map We tied up at Blue Valley RV Park for a few days, to give us time to explore this part of the country where we have never been. The park is small, but is clean. The streets and pads are asphalt, with concrete patios with picnic tab...

Thirty nine miles up the road....! That is the distance we traveled from Toutle River RV Resort to Harmony Lakeside RV Resort, up I-5, then about 21 miles on US 12 towards Mt. Rainier and access to the Eastside part of Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. Harmony Lakeside RV , this time of year, was very nice! It made you feel like you were in the National Forest, with all the trees and gardens that they have built up around the park. It would be tight if all, or most of the sites were occupied. But we believe it would still be manageable. We had to back in, and turn slightly, to get the coach off the road. We succeeded nicely! There was no one on our passenger side but the lake, and shoreline next to it. The roads were well graveled, so in rain we experienced little mud. We walked every morning, around the campsite, and it was not boring, for the weather changes made for interesting sights and "feels." Here are a couple of pictures from those walks:...

Toutle River RV Resort We spent September 4-6 at Toutle River RV Resort in Castle Rock, just off I-5. We liked the park. The sites were gravel, the roads paved, good places to walk the dogs, and our site, 177, had an open space on the passenger side to the next site, although there were not that many people in the park both times we were there. There are train tracks just beyond the north western boundary which caused the motor home to rock some....along with the whistles.... You'll see that the park is huge! There is a trail along the interstate to the Toutle River, which is a fun, even in the rain! The  Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument  offers a wide range of experiences for visitors to enjoy on three sides of the mountain:  West, South and East. We chose our park so that we could access the Westside via Spirit Lake Memorial Highway (State Route 504) from Castle Rock at I-5. Our trip was 52 miles one way....and it was billed as offering views of the ma...

We've certainly enjoyed our time at Lincoln City. The weather has been glorious! We've only had two days of steady rain! Celebration! The RV park does have beach access by crossing 101 when it is not busy, or through the tunnel next door of the parking lot of the Inn at Spanish Head then back up to the sidewalk then down the street to the 77 steps to the beach. The last couple of days that is where we walked early in the morning. Tide was out, so there was plenty of wet beach for good traction. Made for great comfy walking! We did discover, through geocaching, that there was a little known parking lot by a city park in Historic Taft, just down the street from us on 51st street with great beach access! We parked in the lot off of Dune Street, and took the dogs out to the beach and played ball, then could walk all the way down to "our" part of the beach by the Inn at Spanish Head, then walk back. Dogs loved it! It is called Seal Beach--can you see the seals in this...