Month: May 2023

Over the river, through the chemical weapons depot, and past the Manhattan Project site we go

~ Wandering Cindi ~ Leave a comment

The drive to Wenatchee, WA was an interesting one! On our way out of Oregon we got to drive past a chemical weapons depot in the high desert, cross the Columbia River into Washington into more high desert and then into the hop farm and vineyard country of Washington. We got there before spring had sprung, so the orchards and vineyards weren’t green yet. It was interesting seeing them in their dormant state.

After we crossed the Columbia, and drove for a bit, started noticing a fence line that wasn’t ending with signs about no trespassing, warnings, and information. It looked like just fenced in sand, no livestock, no crops, just dirt roads on the perimeter. We, being the curious sort, decided to stop and see what it was all about.

They only provide tours a few times a year, and we couldn’t get one booked for this visit, but we will be going back sometime in the future to get an inside (as much as the government will allow) of this historical place. It is also the largest nuclear waste site in the US.

We had a few days of travel before we were going to get to Wenatchee, so we stopped at another Harvest Host for the night. Velan Winery was another fun place to stay. We had a wine tasting and purchased 4 bottles of wine, which we have thoroughly enjoyed. The owner of the vineyard was a very friendly and interesting person. We had a wonderful stay!

The vineyard was surrounded by an apple tree grove.

Our next night was spent at another Harvest Host, Seed Cupboard Nursery. It had a really neat shop onsite and, we found a little decor for the camper! They were exactly what we needed over our dining area. We haven’t named them yet. Any suggestions?

We had to keep moving, and needed another overnight stop. This time we stayed at a lavender farm! We were literally the only ones there. With Harvest Host, they ask that you purchase something from the place you are staying. Since there was no one there, I ordered from their online store and had some bath bombs and body butter sent to my daughter. She said they were amazing. I was quite a bit envious.

We spent a very quiet and peaceful night at Lavender Estates and, the next morning it was time to get moving again. We had a reservation at Wenatchee Confluence State Park, and poor Aaron had work to do.

Oregon, here we come!

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On our way to Oregon, we made a few stops, the first one being Woodward Reservoir, a little northeast of Modesto and just south of Eugene, CA. It was a beautiful setting with LOTS of geese. Geese are big birds that leave big bird poops that look more like a cat’s or small dog’s than a bird’s poop. It was everywhere. Fortunately for you, I did not take pictures of the poop. There were also a lot of feral cats at the campground. Not quite the wildlife viewing we have been looking for but, we took what we could get. We did enjoy our stay there. Aaron even made a few friends.

On our way up to Oregon we got to drive over Mt. Shasta. It was a beautiful drive and a cold one. We stopped for the night at a Harvest Host location. Mt. Shasta Brewing Company. The food was excellent, as was the stout I had with dinner and the IPA Aaron had with his dinner. It was nice to be able to park, enjoy dinner and a beer and get a good night’s sleep.

After our night at the brewery, it was on into Oregon. Oregon is beautiful and diverse with mountains, high desert, forests and the Pacific coastline. This trip, we didn’t get to drive the coastline, but we did hit mountains and high desert. It was my introduction to the Columbia River. We made it to Boardman, OR and stayed in a campground on the shore of the river. It is a beautiful river and for the next month we saw the Columbia River and crossed that river more times than I can count.

One good thing about being there is that Aaron’s company has an office there. So, we were able to have our kids send us our mail and, we were also able to get things we wanted to order from Amazon shipped to the office. That was great. As Aaron was finishing up his work in Oregon, he got another call. It was time go further north into Washington. Our plan, originally, was to wander California in the colder months and then head north into Oregon and Washington in the warmer months. But, needs must and plans change. So, off to Wenatchee, Washington we went.

Hidden View and Big Trees State Park

~ Wandering Cindi ~ 1 Comment

We moved to Hidden View Campground in Raymond, CA. We were closer to Yosemite National Park and we were excited to go explore! But it was still cold and the park was covered in a TON of snow and was pretty much inaccessible. So, we settled in and hoped the weather would change. Well, that crazy California winter wanted to hang on a bit longer. We never made it to Yosemite, but we enjoyed our stay at the campground. The wild flowers were blooming, our view was beautiful and Big Trees State Park was open.

Aaron and I set out to see the majestic sequoia trees. The further north we drove, the snowier the ground around us became. I didn’t (and still don’t) have water proof hiking boots. But, the wet feet were worth it! Hiking with Aaron is always an adventure; this hike was no different. We ended up on a secondary trail which wound around, beside, and through snow melt streams. When I accidentally stepped off the trail, quite a few times, I would sink into snow over my knees. Aaron had to help me up and out more than a few times. We saw so many beautiful trees and so much snow. We cut our own path through the snow and made it back to the main trail. Poor Aaron had to listen to me bitch and fuss when the snow got deep and my feet were wet and cold, but that was expected. I am grateful he is there to push me past what I think I can do, even if I moan and complain the entire time.

After we got back from our hike, we looked at where we wanted to go next. The Russian River further north in California seemed like a beautiful place to explore, so we made reservations and got ready to go. The next day, a phone call from work had us changing our plans…we needed to head to Oregon instead. So, we loaded up and headed north towards Boardman, OR.

Coyote Lake

~ Wandering Cindi ~ 2 Comments

As we settled into our home for the week, we started to get familiar with the local wildlife. The first day or two, there weren’t very many people about, and we saw a couple of deer. I wasn’t fast enough to get a picture of them, though. As the campground gained more people, the deer stopped coming around. But the wild turkeys visited us just about every morning. And there were lots and lots of birds. So I took numerous pictures of birds. Across the water, there were beautiful hills with cattle grazing. It really was a peaceful and relaxing setting.

People who have Airstreams are like people who own Jeeps. They kind of have their own club. Jeep people “duck” each other. Which means if they like someone else’s Jeep they leave them a rubber duck. Airstreamers “flock” each other. They will leave each other a flamingo of some sort to say “Hi, I like your camper.” We were given our first flamingo while we were here. I was quite excited! It lights up! Aaron, not as much, but he is warming up to it 😉.

We really enjoyed our stay here for the week. Aaron was done with his work in Fremont and we decided to move on.