Tree planting

We often plant trees on the Fiscalini Ranch the Saturday after Thanksgiving. This year it was rained out so we did it a few Saturdays ago. We dedicated this years planting to our friend Ken Persinger who died suddenly a few weeks ago. Many trees were planted on the hill near the A frame house he and Kathy were restoring. We were lucky to spend a lovely few days with Ken and Kathy this September in Bend, Oregon. We did many active things together and it just shows us how we should treasure life each and every day.

   

A family visit

Lots of good family fun this weekend. My brother, Bill and his wife Patty and their son Alex and his fiance Kristen came to visit. We mostly sat around and heard old stories from my mom and dad,  enjoyed a few hours chatting while watching the ocean, played charades with Bixby, enjoyed mom and dads new deck, and laughed a lot. It is such a special time for us to have 4 generations together.

 Alex and Brian enjoying a serious discussion.

 Bixbys finger is in a splint because 

he banged his hand at a party the night before.

 The painting in the background is my dads painting of Bill

 Bill juggling blocks

 Alex and Kristen are planning their wedding in April

 "A nice comfy pillow" according to Bixby.

Bixby is usually left handed

 but found that he can draw with his right.

 As we were all saying goodbye

 I was annoyingly snapping quick pictures.

The quality isn't great because I didn't have the flash on

but they do capture the spirit of our family.

 The painting in the background here is the one mom did of dad

September continued, The Columbia River Gorge and a wedding

When we hit the Columbia River we turned East. We had not been in this area before so it was a change from the wetter, greener coast. The pioneer history here is interesting and we enjoyed seeing various places where they struggled to cross this mighty river. The river was wider than we imagined and busy with windsurfers, fishermen, including the native tribes, and commerce.

 The first campground we found was Memloose State Park.

We had only been travelling a few hours a day

 as we now had a week to explore the gorge

 A good campsite overlooking the river 

and a nice evening hike.

 Its all very volcanic on the Eastern side of Oregon

 Below is the long house at Celilo native village. 

As Mike is always prone to do, we turned off on this little side road

leading to a very native looking housing area.

A family with a cute little girl waved to us as we turned the RV around

at the end of the road. Many fishing nets were hanging to dry.

I felt awkward taking pictures so this is all I got.

I could have taken many that would look like

the pages of a national geographic

 Then we came to where the Deschutes river came into the Columbia.

Again, lots of pioneer history. I liked that the natives helped the wagons across.

 The fish were getting bigger.

 After camping at the Deshutes we crossed

 the river to explore the Washington side.

Another camper had mentioned Trout Lake so we headed there.

We discovered that there were ice caves near by,

So we explored a cave before finding a camping spot at Elk Meadow RV park

This is listed as one of the best RV parks in the country.

 It is a beautiful spot and a great hiking trail.

with views of Mt Adams in the background.

 This is whats left of trout Lake after a 

mud flow from the mountain filled it in.

 Another great camp spot, another great dinner

and a meadow and a mountain. Ahhh...

 On the way down from Trout Lake we ran into a river running company

This is on the White River

 Nice planter. Nice river.

 And back to the Gorge

 Our next stop was Spring Creek Fish Hatchery.

Hundreds of salmon come in from the

 Columbia river, seeking their birthplace.

They swim frantically up the man made fish ladders.

 Little do they know that they end up here, 

stunned to death and their eggs and sperm collected to

grow the next generation. This is the elevator that opens

and takes them up to their death....sad to me.

 

 Cutting out the eggs

 Fertilizing

 This experience left both Mike and I thinking

 about this process and provided lots of interesting conversations.

They say there are not many salmon  but 4 of these hatcheries,

within a few miles of each other on each river mouth,

are putting millions of fish back in every year.

They go all the way to Alaska, escape being caught.

and come back to spawn after 3 years. 

The fish killed are not used for anything except 

growing maggots !!! Wasted food/fertilizer, weaker fish,

 artificial nature balance ???An eye opener for us.

 The next stop for us along the Washington side of the

 Columbia River Gorge was the Bridge of The Gods.

Ths is another crossing of the PCT and made famous by Cheryl Strayed 

in the movie "Wild". This is where she finished her journey.

The brown sign on Mikes left says Pacific Crest Trail.

 

 We discovered that the original Bridge was a natural feature

 used by the natives to cross over.

 Our campsite was a park on the Cascade Locks,

The locks were built to get ship past the rapids.

 Now the river is damned and its deep enough for passage.

That's our camp in the background..an interesting and historical spot.

I took a walk while Mike made a woman in the next campsite

a pine needle basket. She gave us some delicious treat in return.

We always seem to make these wonderful connections when we travel.

 Another encounter here that I enjoyed was with a woman about my age

who was hiking the PCT alone. Her husband was her trail

angel, meeting her at all the road crossings. 

The next morning she and I were chatting when this

National Geographic cruise ship came into the dock in front of us.

She enthusiastically ran down to "get the scoop" on who they were

and what they were doing. They were focused on geology and 

people from all over the world. What treasures we have in America!!!

 We were off for a breakfast at the lodge at Multnomah Falls.

 Then off to hike to the top,11 long switchbacks...

and each one counted out for us at each turn!!!

 The top of the falls

 We are nearing Portland. Time to relax and some music

 Our base for the 3 days of our nieces wedding

Columbia River RV park...and a rental car

to get us to and from the city.

 That night while we waited for the rest of our family

 to arrive, we discovered a wonderful spot,

The Dock floating restaurant and bar.

 It was pouring with rain and the planes 

were arriving right over us as we wondered

 if they were our arriving family

 The next day we explored the city with Brian, Kelly and Bixby

That evening it was off to Circe 33, a speakeasy, 

to meet up with our 3 nieces and meet the lovely 

family of Danielle, the gal Kristen is marrying.

 My mom with 3 of her granddaughters

 Seeing Kristen and  Danielle together exudes happiness. 

 Kelly, my dad, Brian, my neices Kristen,  Danielle and Michaela.

 The next evening we witnessed a very meaningful

wedding ceremony uniting

Kristen and Danielle as wife and wife.

 Then we celebrated with food, laughter, 

good conversations and dancing.

 Kelly and her grandma...my mom.

We are a family of dancers

 The following day found us on the road again 

heading to Silver Falls State park,

one of my favorite Oregon places.

Off to hike to a few of the 11 water falls

 within the small park.

 South Falls, near the lodge

 After camping at Silver Falls and passing this
roadside oddity, our next stop was Roseberg.
Here we camped at River Forks, a place where 2 parts
of the Umpqua River meet. Across from the campground was a park
and a children's garden begging us to explore.

 A human sundial and a delicious fig.

 The gate to the park

A mulberry tree house like we had at my Pre-school !!

 It wouldn't be Oregon without a logging truck.
We lunched under the new bridge over the Rogue
River...a place we stopped many years ago
to take a boat ride up the river.

Then we were back in California for a night at Siskoyu
Lake resort, another place we have been before.

 And home again, past the golden, rolling hills of California.