Monday, April 30, 2012: Sun, Rain, Snow

It took us a while, but we finally made it out the door at 10:30 a.m! Last minute packing, shutting down of hot water, heat, Jeanie checking in with classes and finding something she'd forgotten to grade, then grading it. Goodbye call from my brother, tears with Dawn. (Some of you know what that's about.)

Vanita drove like a dream--and of course Scampi behaves herself very nicely at all times. We cruised down 101 and the back side of the Hood Canal, noticing that Seal Rock and Mt. Walker are open now, all you campers! Whitney Gardens in Brinnon was in full flower, with its amazing 20-foot high rhodies. It was hard not to stop.

T-Lou has an upgraded Bagel bed this time around, and he liked it as much as he could like lying around in a car all day. Oh, wait. He's 14 years older in dog years, so he kind of likes lying around. However, he got some outside potty time throughout the day.

We drove from nascent sun to nasty blinding showers south of Olympia, on past Portland to the Columbia Gorge, which was a moody, wispy-clouded dream, all those basalt formations, waterfalls looking sort of Tolkienesque and ancient ruinsish. We saw a few sailboarders braving the day, and went past Marylhill Museum with a sigh. It's been a long time since I was down there with the Pierce English Department. (Can you believe that we used to be able to do things like that instead of going to trainings about how to use the latest software abomination?)

Beautiful vistas!

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Scott the calm driver. Sorta.

It seemed sudden when things just gave away to the huge plains of eastern OR. Tumbleweeds, dust storms, and giant windmills, which was perfect since we were just at the part in Don Quixote where he goes windmill tilting. The power line towers looked more like his giants. It was especially cool to be using our iPod (thank you, Phoebe!) to listen to a free book through the old tape player. (We also did listen to some tasty Bruce Molsky & Bob Carlin on a good old fashioned tape.)
Jeanie's untangle the yarn project.


We had decided to take the easy way out and camp at a KOA in Pendleton. Gotta tell you--never go there! It was a nasty concrete lot with trailer beasts sandwiched in, and some of them had obviously decided living there permanently would be fun. We zipped in, zipped out, and decided to try for the elusive Emigrant Springs State Park (SP).

We climbed up a huge plateau and on the way up the flat tire light came on. I freaked (of course I was driving), but when we checked it out a mile later at the windy freezing top of the plain, it was fine. Scott has a theory, but we'll probably schelpp it over to Les Schwabb tomorrow while I do some work at the La Grande public library.

But...we found the park, and it's a nice little spot, right off I84. Highly recommended as a cheap night's stay--noisy from the freeway but still, woods! And $16 for electric vs. almost $40 at KOA. We hope to go for the SPs as much as we can.



See the snow?

Tonight we had kale salad that Scott made from the garden--with yummy sorrel, raab, and celery also from garden--apples, a little mayo, a little orange juice, red cabbage, a little orange juice. Four different kinds of kale, Scott notes. And salmon burgers! Mmmmm.

Hope I have time to read this cool new book of Egyptian myths (Chronicles of Ancient Egypt by Jonathan Dee). I have looked for months for a good text for my myth class that isn't "about" the myths but retells them. Everything is for children or is much too old. Voila, finally, even if Dee has written some dippy books too. This is pretty straightforward and has neat sidebars (but not too many) and art. Yee haw!