We got to meet up with Amy, an old friend of Denis' from the Gelato Vero days who is working as an archeologist at Cascades. She found out three days before that she would have a job. Usually would have been here for a month by now but these is the times we live in.
Diablo Lake (near the flat tire)
She should have been in the same day as us but got a flat about 20 miles away. Got the text the next day and offered to help fix it since she was having difficulty getting the lug nuts off. She has a super nice class B motorhome so it had dual rear tires. The lug nuts were deep into the rim and the tool that came with it broke when I applied force. That was the first of a comedy of errors. Eventually, I got punched in the face by a tire and the car slipped off the jack but we managed to get the spare on.
Sunday was also Fathers Day so we got a glance at what the dogs had been up to last week. They had made a card for Denis that stated that though they knew he was not their "Pawrent" -- the demonstrated this by sketching their actual parents - they wished Denis a Happy Fathers Day! They also got him a Rubik's cube which Denis has been fiddling with ever since. Both Calvin and Sophia wished him a happy day and Sophia sent a very sweet text about how much Denis has supported them both. He's a good dad!!
Shrew Mole
Deer seen from our site
Sue was on her own as usual on Monday - she took the dogs to Rockport State Park and hiked a few miles. There they spotted what we think is a shrew mole. Imagine hiking along in ancient forest (300 years old) and seeing, out of the corner of your eye, a moving ping pong ball-shaped brown fuzzy situation on the trail. Just ... super cute.Also a bonus Sue ate all the pretty unripe blackberries on the trail! She then drove up to the the Newhalem River Hydroelectric Project, which is within Northern Cascades National Park, which supplies 20% of Seattle's electricity. The founder of this plant - built in 1917 - created an exotic garden that has since been replaced by native plants. He also colorized the waterfall by installing lights. They continue tradition to this day though with more efficient lighting. She then visited the Visitor Center which was so tiny! - North Cascades National Park is often cited as the least visited National Park in the lower 48! But, it contains more glaciers than Glacier National Park -- they are just .... smaller. That evening we took the dogs together for a hike in Rockport forest and saw more gorgeous forest. This post is ultimately called "walk on dirt and see water" but with exxxxtra beauty.
Sue hiked Blue Lake on Tuesday - this is a very beautiful situation. A pretty easy climb but a couple of spots were dicy as there was still snow on the trail/path was angled. Got a lovely video of some fishies swimming.
That evening, Amy invited us to a pot luck with the other workers at the park. We made a Spanish Tortilla (forgot to take pics but it was really good), red peppers and olive oil, and a garlic aioli. Trying to get rid of all alcohol before entering Canada we also brought a bottle of rum and Mai Tai mix. It was a fun time!
While fun, also grim as we saw and heard of the effects of our current administrations's policies on Forestry/Park Service Workers. For example, Amy usually would have started in May and was anxiously waiting to see if she would be hired and she did -- with just 3 days notice. She left Kentucky in her Mercedes Class B on Thursday and arrived at Cascades Saturday. An awful, personal example of the carelessness and capriciousness of our so-called administration. Most of the others were in the same boat. The decimation of Forestry staff has caused trails to go neglected which could lead to dangerous situations. They are talking about unionizing to try to protect their jobs, improve their pay, and continue their mission of making the park a safe, valuable resource for visitors.
Dogs at Trailhead
Blue Lake
Dogs at Cidery - it was cold!
Thursday was Juneteenth so we all had a holiday. Amy took us on a hike up Sauk Mtn we were not prepared for. 1000 feet elevation - skinny little path with no "edges"
(Sue's term - meaning something to stop you from tumbling 1000 feet down the hill.) Near the trailhead we saw a grouse! We don't know which exact kind, but please do google Grouse "Drumming" as their sound is amazing and we heard it throughout the hike.
Amy was just a fantastic guide and we were so grateful to hang out in nature with her. Unfortunately Denis is too out of shape and Sue has a fear of heights so we made it about 3/4 of the way up before we turned around and headed down. Still a beautiful hike with stunning views up and down valley all the way to Puget Sound! The dogs, as usual, were real troopers hiking comfortably on a narrow path perched high up on the mountain.
Afterwards we had a nice stop at a pizza place where the dogs were treated to Puppicinos by the server! Amy came to Riganante for dinner of roasted, marinated cauliflower steaks and spinach salad. A nice change from the meat fest we seem to have been indulging in lately.
Grouse!
Friday was a rainy day and Denis did a half day to take a long drive up valley to the other side. We stopped at places Sue saw but Denis missed out on. Ended up in Winthrop, an artsy old west kinda touristy town where we went to a cidery for lunch and walked around the town looking at local art. Fun day. Sue spent $10 to buy a tiny tiny bird puzzle to keep her occupied.
Notes on food: we finally got up the courage to use our micro/convection oven to bake choco-chip cookies. It worked great! We also did the Mississippi Pot Roast in our instant pot. If you have not tried this recipe do it immediately We had a nice vegan meal with Stanley Tucci's Spaghetti with Lentils and a spinach salad. Yum.
Photo Dump!
View from Sauk hike
Rockwood Park
Suspension Bridge at Power Plant
Blue Lake
Thing Sue spotted as we left Cascades RV Park
Suspension Bridge, Power Plant
Murray instructing Klaus on the fine art of looking at burbling creeks.
Short drive up the 5 from Eugene to Portland. Rolled into the park and went to Deschutes brewery for a pint and a nosh. Dinner that night was fish tacos from our Wild Alaskan delivery (cod) with our corn on cob on top of salad.
Overall, both Eugene and Portland featured humans feeling free to be who they are - regardless of gender identity or any other constraints. And they were not all white cities! It was really lovely and refreshing after being in small, conservative Oregon towns.
Portland was having Fleet Week this weekend so we decided to tour a Guided Missile Ship. Waited almost two hours for the tour (it was hot - 93 degrees!) which was a bit disappointing. Get to tour the deck and get a mostly rote explanation of the systems. This weekend also featured Chinese boat races - we did not get to see but we got a pic of the bots!
This chapter combines two places and includes two weeks of travel. On the 23rd we traveled back to the gorgeous Oregon coast on some narrow winding roads. We have now come 1,300 miles! Diesel costs us .69 cents per mile! Eeeeek!
Bird of the Week(s): Baby Duckies the dogs and I saw at Mingus Park.
We decided to head inland to the Ashland area to visit Crater Lake which is a National Park. We first booked a RV park right near Crater Lake... then we checked the weather and saw that they still have loads of snow! So we changed to a park near Ashland. First stop after we got set up was to buy some award winning blue cheese said to have been rated the best in the world(1). We also got some lovely cheddar, bourbon peach jam (gross) crackers and sausage. San Diegans can buy Rogue Creamery cheese at Ventissimo Cheese locations. You must buy some immediately!
Pretty rad charcuterie board we made with the blue.
Tick Count - same score. No ticks here!
Bird(s) of the week.This week it's the Wild Turkey (seen in this pic chilling on Sue's hiking path in Lithia Park) and the Canadian Jay we spotted at Crater Lake.
I'm a Canadian Jay eh.
The RV park was on a small lake complex and was well-maintained. It included the obligatory feral cats! Our site was ok - not great. Lets just say that our neighbors at the campground had a Lazy Boy chair at their campsite - that should give you the vibe. The park abuts Bear Creek Greenway which is a multi-use, paved trail that runs for 20 miles or so. This meant that we could ride a lot of places on our bikes. So often we have been on small two lane roads that were a bit sketchy to ride on.
Notice the Asian Touches
Ashland is famous for its Oregon Shakespeare Festival. It turns out it's actually not a festival but a location featuring multiple playhouses. We bought tickets to Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest" for a Sunday matinee. Neither of us had seen an Oscar Wilde play before. The play was well acted and fantastically silly with lots of Wildean one liners like “To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.” and “Never speak disrespectfully of Society, Algernon. Only people who can’t get into it do that.” The play was reimagined taking place in Malaysia (instead of London) and
featured a predominately Asian cast. It was was an excellent choice and worked well.
In addition to its theater fame, Ashland has a combination of arts, shopping, and natural beauty. My friend Bonnie used to live there and gave us lots of tips for our visit. [Bonnie is an HR Director at Harvard so please say a little prayer for her]
For Sunday dinner, inspired by leftover peanuts from our drive (plus the amazing Trader Joes Argentinian Shrimp we had in the freezer,) we decided to make Shrimp Pad Thai. Was pretty decent but recipe needs work.
On Monday Sue checked out Ashland some more. Walked in Lithia Park, enjoyed buffalo cauliflower and a sour ale alongside the Ashland Creek. Very lovely homes adjacent to Lithia Park which Bonnie claims were purchased by "rich Californians" (Bonnie herself was a Californian and is now a rich Massachusetts resident.) Tuesday found Sue hiking Upper Table Rock which has a lot of volcanic rocks along the way and enjoys a view of Table Rock (and tons of Turkey Vultures). Tuesday we did ribeye with some of our Rogue Creamery blue cheese. Yum! (we are not eating a healthy diet right now and need to adjust that)
That evening, Amy invited us to a pot luck with the other workers at the park. We made a Spanish Tortilla (forgot to take pics but it was really good), red peppers and olive oil, and a garlic aioli. Trying to get rid of all alcohol before entering Canada we also brought a bottle of rum and Mai Tai mix. It was a fun time! 
(Sue's term - meaning something to stop you from tumbling 1000 feet down the hill.) Near the trailhead we saw a grouse! We don't know which exact kind, but please do google Grouse "Drumming" as their sound is amazing and we heard it throughout the hike. 
Friday was a rainy day and Denis did a half day to take a long drive up valley to the other side. We stopped at places Sue saw but Denis missed out on. Ended up in Winthrop, an artsy old west kinda touristy town where we went to a cidery for lunch and walked around the town looking at local art. Fun day. Sue spent $10 to buy a tiny tiny bird puzzle to keep her occupied.
