BUSY, BUSY, BUSY AROUND HERE!

Yesterday I dove into our packages of mail first thing in the morning, doing only those things that needed immediate attention.  Everything else (including trying to match Anthem’s “explanation of medical benefits” statements with each provider’s bills… how can they possibly make all that stuff SO confusing??) will sit in a pile on the table until I have the time and desire to deal with it.

By 10 am, I was on my state park supplied bicycle, cruising the trail to see if it needed to be blown.  Not bad, so I figured it could wait until an actual “work day” (our work week is Wednesday through Sunday, but since Odel is away, I’m trying to do a little more than my 20 hours).  On the way home I stopped at my favorite overlook and saw two “pirate ships” heading downriver.  They were moderately sized, old-looking, masted sailing ships, and they looked right at home.  Wow.

Back at the campsite, Ranger Matt was removing the front wheels from the Gator, taking them to town for new tires.  We had a short chat, and I confirmed the plan for Wednesday: the Visitor Center would be closed so I, the newbie volunteer, could go (for free) on the Mt. Hood Railroad, on a 4 hour excursion trip from Hood River south towards Mt. Hood.  Tough work day, huh?  :)

Then into the car, and off I went.  My first stop was the Hood River Chamber of Commerce (picking up “Fruit Loop” touring maps for my Visitor Center) – which happens to be at the Port of Hood River.  What did I spy with my little eye?  The ships!  They are the Lady Washington and (on the far right in the photo) the Hawaiian Chieftain, which I toured in Sacramento several years ago.

Turning 90 degrees to my left, I saw another unusual sight at the dock, a seaplane.  Sailing ships, the little seaplane, and on a windy day you see both sailboarders and wind surfers… very busy, colorful, and interesting.

Just before I headed off for further sightseeing, my phone rang: Dave, our good friend from Sacramento, and his friend Dwayne were calling from near Bend, Oregon.  They are heading to Alaska, and Hood River looked like a good stop for the night.  Dave was surprised to hear that Odel was in Memphis, but we made plans to have dinner together.

Shortly after I got home, my ranger radio chirped.  Ranger Matt called to say he couldn’t get back with the Gator tires until Wednesday afternoon.  I asked whether Dave and Dwayne could park their little van here on our acreage for the night – the answer was a cheery “Of course!”.  (Sydney and Frank, take note if you want to escape Arizona’s heat for a few days!) When Dave and Dwayne arrive a few hours later, they loved that development.

They set up the van for sleeping, took a quick stroll on the trail, then we headed off for the largest of Hood River’s two - or maybe three – breweries, Full Sail Brewing.  Over pub grub and microbrews (local white wine for me), we talked about travels, recent and ancient.  With Odel gone, it was particularly pleasant to spend time in the company of friends (plus, they treated me to dinner.) 

D & D were up with the sun this morning, setting off on the trail for several miles worth of exercise before they headed out at 8 am.  I was right behind them, heading to the Mt. Hood Railroad depot for my “continuing education”.

I had already researched the Mt. Hood Railroad, thinking it sounded like a fun trip, maybe something to do with visiting friends and family – but at $25 to $30 for an afternoon excursion trip (the least expensive way to go), I had mixed feelings. 

It turns out that the Oregon State Parks Department thinks it is a good idea for the volunteers to be familiar with two of the Columbia Gorge’s tourist attractions, the Mt. Hood Railroad and the Sternwheeler, a riverboat that plies the Columbia. A few days ago, Ranger Diane radioed me, scheduling me on the free-to-me railroad trip, and today was the day. 

I met my little group at 9:30: Sally, the organizer who works at the Vista House at Crown Point; Melinda and Dick, the host at Rooster Rock, a day use park close to Portland, and three campground hosts from Memaloose State Park, the nearest campground to the Mosier Twin Tunnels Trail.  Everyone was friendly and talkative, and it was fun for me to meet other volunteers and hear stories of their experiences (ALL of them have hosted in numerous Oregon State Parks).

The train departed at 10:30 and returned at 3 pm, with a one hour stop in Parkdale for lunch and sightseeing.  On a sunny day, we would have had fabulous views of Mt. Hood from Parkdale, practically at the mountain’s foot – but today was overcast and hazy.  Most of the ride is through a tunnel of trees, with views (of anything but trees) few and far between. 

Though the historian narrating the trip was full of interesting information (and corny comments), I’m afraid the public relations aspect of the trip was a failure – I could recommend the trip only to railroad buffs who find four hours on a bumpy, swaying train in an uncomfortable chair closely examining the trees of the Columbia Gorge a good way to spend their time.  Unless they do some serious chainsaw work along the side of the tracks (ha, ha), I would not make the trip again. 

I headed home, ready to fire up the Gator and clear the trail, but instead met Andy, another of the Rangers, apologizing that the Gator was still disabled.  Tomorrow, he says.  Maybe I’ll tackle the pile of mail… or take a walk on the trail… or have a glass of wine and commune with Luna… hmmmm…

I can’t wait until Odel gets home – I sure miss him!  So does Luna – she is always communicative, but with Odel gone, she often sits beside me, looking up into my face and meowing non-stop, as if to alert me that something is NOT RIGHT in her world.  I know, baby; I know just how you feel. 

TOURIST? OR RESEARCHER? A DAY OFF!

Hey, it’s my weekend!  Monday and Tuesday are our days off, while the Visitor Center is closed.  I was up early, had breakfast, let Luna play outside until she was ready for her first nap of the day, and was out the door around 9 am, with a tour of the eastern end of the Gorge in mind. 

First, though, I headed to Panorama Point, a county park about 5 miles south of here.  I had been there a couple days ago while exploring our nearby sights, and wanted to get back in the morning on a sunny day to try to capture remarkable Mt. Hood.  When you drive up, out of the Gorge, Mt. Hood is a looming presence that can take your breath away when you come around a curve or over a rise – take a look.

Odel and I are stationed at the west end of the Mosier Twin Tunnels trail, which is closed to vehicular traffic.  On the other side of the tunnels, the old Columbia River Highway travels another 20 miles between the tiny town of Mosier (population 640) and the large town of The Dalles.  A map I wanted to pick up for the Visitor Center was available in The Dalles, so that stretch of the old road was my route today.

I had a perfect day for sightseeing.  I stopped at Rowena Crest, one of the high points on the road, and took a photo of the graceful curves climbing up the steep hill.  This road was built to accommodate Model T’s – meaning no grades greater than 5%, and no curves with less than a 100 foot radius.   You can see the beautiful engineering well at the Rowena Crest.

I stopped along the way to The Dalles at every point of interest, including all the turnouts and overlooks and the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center.  I walked through a few streets of The Dalles and picked up my maps at the Chamber of Commerce, then hopped on I-84, the “new” road and visited two state parks on my way back to Hood River. 

Then it was home for lunch and a pretty thorough cleanup, while Luna had quality time outdoors.  The afternoon was a combination of errands (library and post office) and more sightseeing, strolling the streets of Hood River, a great little town.  I finally headed home about 6 pm, feeling much better equipped to talk with our visitors about what lies to the east of Hood River along the old highway. 

This picture shows the one little fly (tiny, tiny –just a gnat, really) in the frosting on our cake: the locked gate that has to be negotiated each time we leave or return.  It stretches right across the old highway, at the point that it becomes the bike trail, and is locked with a heavy chain and huge padlock, rather time consuming to come and go. I took this picture looking west, as if I was heading to town – but I continued to drive east, right up the trail (flashers on, 5 mph). 

I had planned to drive through the orchards, vineyards, and lavender farms up towards Mt. Hood tomorrow, but got so much mail that needs to be dealt with that I might not make it… but the mail can probably wait one more day.  :)

THE MT. HOOD CYCLING CLASSIC TIME TRIALS

It was a day of fit, sweaty young men in lycra.

Thursday night, it RAINED! Rain and wind, more rain and more wind. Odel and I were up early on Friday, talking about what we needed to do to make sure the bike trail was free of hazards for the bike racers, who would be coming through our section beginning around 10:45. Jump on the Gator and go look for trees or rocks on the trail? We also wondered where the race organizers were, since we had expected them Thursday afternoon.

Just then, a bike rider (recreational, not a racer) went zooming past. A-HA! How about if we ask a rider? We walked down our hill to the trail and started down towards the visitor center, where the bikers slow down, and saw two large trucks parked outside the locked gate - the race organizers with tents, cones, cameras, signs. We caught up with the rider as he turned to come back up the hill. He reported only one hazard, a rock, and said he would move it on his way back – thank you!

The organizers were happy to see us, with keys to the gate. We let them in to set things up, and the day got underway, not yet 8 am. Ranger Matt arrived shortly, and we all watched the race organizers set up.

Everyone needed a parking pass to park a car in the lot, so we learned how to sell daily passes, annual passes, extra cars passes – cash, check and credit cards. Lots of little procedural details, but no matter what else Matt was doing, his first priority is greeting and interacting with the visitors. He is a listener (I admire that), not an interrupter or a monopolizer (I fear I stray into those areas). Learning the procedures will be easy – learning the history of the trail, details of this area, which restaurants to recommend, where the good hikes are, how far it is to The Dalles or to Cascade Locks, how to nicely ask a trail user to observe the leash law… all of that will take a little longer.

We came home at 2 pm, the official end of the visitor center hours, though Matt kept it open until the race ended. Around 3 pm, our official radio “beeped” – which sets off a round of slapstick-style alarm: “What’s that? The radio? Where is it? How do we answer it? Yikes! Yikes!” We’re improving, though – the first time it beeped, we looked at each other in shock, then stared at the radio laying on the passenger seat until Odel moved over to pick it up.

Ranger Matt was calling to ask if we could make sure the gate was locked after all the race people left. We also had a rattlesnake warning sign to post halfway along the trail, so we got on the Gator and headed up the trail. With all the wind and rain, we found lots of leaves, needles and twigs on the trail, so decided we might as well blow as we go. Odel got out to start up the blower and I caught him with his Mickey Mouse mode, wearing his hearing protectors in stand-by position.

Odel leaves for Memphis today, so I’m taking him to the Portland airport – an easy and pleasant 50 mile drive along the Columbia River – then “reporting for duty” at the visitor center. Life sure got busy all of the sudden!