Sisters and on to the Coast! – 6/6-8/19

Sandi & I decided that a three night stay in Bend was clearly not enough, so determined our next visit would be one week.  Then, we went up the hill to a small town named Sisters and decided a one week stay was still way to short, so, have decided we will be back next late Spring/Early Summer for two weeks!

I’m sure that Sandi and I are NOT your “A” typical road trippers, as we almost enjoy the getting there and discovering what to do as much as the doing what we have planned.  Sisters is one of those discoveries.  We stopped in last year for just an hour or two on our way to Bend in order to visit a quilt store, “Stitchin Post”.  

Stichin Post is more than a quilt store as it highlights local quilting, ceramics, wood and metal artists.  The store also boasts a large class room and offers “one on one” knitting classes and just plain, free knitting help.  I witnessed a knitting instructor  slowly and carefully walking another lady through a knitting problem.  There are several other quilt and fabric stores in town, and Sisters is the home to an annual quilt show.  Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show “The World’s Largest Outdoor Quilt Show™” which is held the second Saturday of July.  This year will be its 45 anniversary. 

Retirement Road Trip – Silk Ties (all Barry’s Ties) by Sandi Hall

Sandi doesn’t buy as much material at quilt stores anymore….we just visit every Goodwill and other thrift stores looking for silk ties as that is her new favorite medium for her art……PLEASE checkout Sandi’s art page by clicking “COTTONANDSILK-NATURE CREATING ART” on top of “Our Hallway”’s main page to see how Sandi’s fabric art has evolved from cotton to silk….and everything in between.

Sisters is more than just all about quilts, as I said in last years blog, it is a smaller version of Jackson Hole Wyoming.  The town is a new old town, meaning that it has kept its old town feel, with new and renovated stores.  There are art galleries of all types, even outdoor galleries; candy, clothing and souvenir stores.  The stores are filled with local wares, popular tourist brands (such as Lazy One sleep wear, Frye Cowboy Boots) and regional favorites like Pendleton.  We have seen less than 20% of the town, and there are so many eateries we need to try.  Staying in Sisters itself is a bit of a challenge, but there are many lodging options less than 30 minutes away in Bend.

This year we never made it to the Lava Flow State & US Ntl. Forest parks or downtown Bend, and there is so much more to explore in the Bend area.  You can read more about Bend and the Lava parks in my blogs from our 2018 Fall Trip.

On to the Oregon and Washington Coasts.  While in Oregon we wanted to do some tax free shopping. Who wouldn’t want to save 8-9%.  We have for years been stopping at the Lincoln City Outlets on the Oregon coast, but saw that some of our favorite stores have left….so we researched a new, larger outlet mall.  The Woodburn Premium Outlets just north of Salem on I-5 was our midday stop, but first getting there!

Three Sisters Peaks

Oh how I wish I could have pulled the motor home over and taken pictures.  If the Cascade Peaks weren’t “the shot”, then the wildflowers were definitely “the shot”.  As you know, I love wildflowers, especially since I grew up enjoying the Sierras by car and backpacking. 

Mount Jefferson

When you backpack or hike anywhere you see so many extremely small and delicate wildflowers, and large one too, that you just don’t see going 65mph on the highway.  The route from Bend to Salem (US 20 and OR 22) takes you through Sisters, with amazing views of the snow capped Cascades; then up and over the Cascades to Salem.  The central Cascades are home to primarily Ponderosa and Jeffery Pines with scatterings of Silver Tipped Firs, Hemlocks and more.  The forest is quite dense with both trees and brush.  On the eastern side of the Cascades (along US 20) the US Forest Service is clearing the forest floor and using control burns to manage the forest. On the western side, there is evidence of strip logging.  When passing through young planted forest there are signs informing you of when the forest was replanted, this is a practice all over Oregon and Washington States.  Getting back to the wildflowers….sorry I got side tracked….we saw so many shades of purple and yellow flowers low to the ground and high rising plants.  There are also wild pink Azaleas along OR 22 on the western side of the Cascades.  Azaleas and Rhododendrons are very plentiful in north western Oregon and Washington.  I will be taking pictures of some beautiful trees and shrubs this week sharing them with a wildflower post….so stay tuned!

Now back to shopping one of my favorite past times.  Here are some shots of the Woodburn Outlets.  One thing that struck me funny right away was that there were only a couple of vacant stores in this mall of nearly one-hundred twenty stores, its sister outlet in Vacaville has almost more empty than operating stores. 

We are very selective in our shopping as we tend to go to the same stores Columbia Clothing, Ascis Shoes, Kitchen Collection, (Lululemon if available) and Sandi is always on the lookout for Birkenstock shoe stores.  Sandi left me in Kitchen Collection telling me that she was heading for the Crocs store and we could meet up her in Columbia; within a minute I got a text that she didn’t make it to Crocs as she found a store called Shoe Rack.  When she showed up in Columbia she was proudly wearing her new Birkenstocks…..note only her second pair in 33 years of marriage and she is always wearing them.

After chowing down Tuna Sandwiches Sandi fixed in the motor home, we were on the second leg of our trip to Long Beach, Washington where we will be staying for a week.  Within no time at all we were on the outskirts of Portland hanging a left off of I-5.  There are basically five Oregon routes from I-5 to US 101 that run up the Oregon Coast.  US 26 is by far my favorite route as it is a great two lane highway that offers plenty of passing lanes so the guy behind you knows he can pass you SAFELY in just a few miles…..not needing to take a chance on a curve or hill.  The highway hits the coast at a little town we love named Seaside.  I’ll be sharing more about Seaside later this week, as I KNOW we will be there for SURE! 

See you again in a couple of days as I’m now posting only every other day or so as I’ve received feedback from readers that it was hard to keep up on a daily basis…..and believe me with the flaky wifi service at RV parks and campgrounds its hard to get them all posted everyday.  

Hello Campers!  Sandi here!  Yesterday’s favorite conversation topic was “concert’s we have attended”.  I guess we are still on a music theme.  Anyway …… we were listening to Country Music and it sparked a memory for my mom of attending a concert with my dad featuring 3 or 4 of his favorite Country Western artists.  My family resided in Redwood City during my early childhood years and we attended many concerts at the GREAT Circle Star Theatre.  Barry and I both evolved into mass coliseum concerts during the 70’s and early 80’s.  Between the 3 of us, some of the concerts we have attended (in sort of 1st name alphabetical order); Barry Manilow, Beach Boys, The Carpenters, Chicago, Don Ho, Elvis Presley, George Straight, Gordon Lightfoot, Judy Colllins, KC & The Sunshine Band, Lawrence Welk, The Lennon Sisters, Liberace, Neil Diamond, Roger Williams, a Day on the Green at Candlestick Park (with 6 bands I can NOT remember) and Barry’s favorite (… mine too) … John Denver …. our very 1st date!  

My belly laugh for the day was when Barry and I were recollecting some of the hilarious antics of people we have met, spied on, and laughed at while on the road.  (Don’t judge us, you know we ALL do it … LOL!!!).  The belly laugh came from a memory of watching a husband and wife work together … or better said, “apart” … to back their trailer into an RV spot.  I’m having a hard time not peeing my pants as I type.  Moving forward …… with our new RV, Barry is having a hard time seeing me in the back up camera … so we decided I needed to have flags (I suggested American Flags) so he could see what hand signals I am trying to use.  You guessed it …. we are preparing someone else to receive their belly laugh for the day at our expense!  Belly Laugh’s are sooooo worth it!!!!

Bye the way … today’s great music pick was Etta James!

Spring 2019 – To Bend – 6/4-5/19

Lake of the Woods is a very relaxing cabin/camping/RV resort to stay in for a weekend or a week.  We didn’t take advantage of the Pizza Place or the Restaurant, but the food looked excellent, fun and well priced.  The restaurant has indoor and outdoor seating all with views of the lake. 

If you want to enjoy the lake just launch your own water craft from the marina or rent something for an hour or the day.  They have canoes, kayaks and party boats for fishing or just fun!  The beach area has Wooden Adirondack chairs as well as plenty of room for your own chairs and blankets.   Franklyn and I went for a walk and found a new large gazebo with electrical outlets to hold family events that is right on the lake and includes a view of Mount McLoughlin.  

The RV sites are large with good space between campers and has a real camping feel; Sandi said it made her feel like she was in Yosemite.  Some sites are full hookup and the others have electric and water.  The cabins come in small two person to large family size cabins.  Most of the cabins are new and some even have small decks to enjoy the afternoon.  

The two plus hour ride, yesterday, from Lake of the Woods to Bend took us on, the straight as an arrow, US 97 and was enjoyed by all.  US 97 offers great views of the central Cascade snow capped peaks and lava beds from ancient volcanoes as it rolls through small Oregon towns.

Our stay in Bend was once again at Thousand Trails, Bend River.  Bend River is one of the larger parks in the system and offers many activities right on the property.  The old town buildings house the camping check-in office, general store and saloon (free wifi access and non-alcoholic BYOB saloon). 

Franklyn and Harriet enjoyed watching the wild Dutch Bunnies that flourish in the park (we have found bunnies in many central and coastal Oregon parks).

Something I haven’t posted much about is how much Sandi and I love to explore Ace Hardware stores.  Ace stores are independently owned and each have their own character.  One of our fav’s is Camp Abbott Ace right down the road from Thousand Trails. 

Camp Abbott Ace has everything from basic home and garden hardware to household and pet supplies to way beyond……they even have a Hallmark Gold Store.  Where most Ace stores have free fresh popped pop corn, this Ace has a free coffee and soda bar!!!……just wish it was CocaCola products.  The next time you need something, especially expert help, don’t go to the big box where you can’t find anyone to help you….go to your local Ace and support your own community.

The weather today in Bend was about 25 degrees cooler than yesterday which hit 78; so we went on a drive and explored about 50% the Cascades Lakes Highway.

Winding up from the valley floor and then along the lower Cascades we passed and stopped at a least a dozen lakes with their small resorts, some of the lakes were designed by God and some man made.  Today’s cloudy skies offered amazing cloud formations and then for fun it started snowing!!! 

Cascades Lakes Highway travels for miles crisscrossing the Deschutes River and circles around the base of Mount Bachelor before ending up near the Old Town and Old Mill Districts of Bend. 

Since we were in the Old Town District and it was lunch time, we stopped in a great restaurant bakery, Jackson’s Corner, we found last fall.  The quality and service is still excellent.  I was a little cold due to the weather so I had the robust, with a slight kick, house tomato soup served with homemade house bread; repeating from our last visit Sandi couldn’t pass up the Jackson Blue salad (it was amazing as I had to help her), and Betty (my Mother-In-Law) once again had the grilled Tillamook Cheese Sandwich (at least a 1/2 lb of cheese) on the homemade house bread.

Be on the lookout from a new blogger on Rollin’ Down the Hallway.  Sandi, my editor and co-photographer, is going to take to the keys and contribute her own road tripping thoughts and pictures!!!

Hello bloggers!  Sandi here! My addition to our road trips will rarely be geographical or historical.  No offense Barry!  What intrigues me about family road trips … and has since I was a little girl … is the “family time”.  Sometimes our journeys take us on long stretches where words aren’t spoken … only visual memories are taken in.  Though the RV/car may not have verbal chatter going on at times … it is certain that music is always playing.  We like a wide range of music and I have yet to figure out what makes us choose the music that we pick for the day.  

Yesterday, on our drive from Lake of the Woods to Bend …. it was “60’s Hits”.  A conversation did start up about a list of the “top 100 songs of all time”.  I found the list and read it out loud in the RV.  We, especially me, took such GREAT exception to the list … realizing quickly that it was composed by current popular vote … not educational prose.  #1 was Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin.  This song deserves #1 on musicality alone (‘cuz NOBODY knows what the lyrics are really suggesting!) … Barry read that most music professors when teaching about “mixing” ultimately use this song.  I suppose another vote from me would be that back in the 70’s Bob #1 of 5 sang it to me while dancing at a high school dance (I was SURE he was going to be the man I married …. lol).  ANYWAYYYY …. 2nd on the list was what I wrongly guessed to have deserved #1 which is Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen.

I was saddened that very few Classical Pieces made it on the list … and no Country …. Come On Now!!!!!  I decided to make up my own list for the 1960’s decade … and here it is!

Pop – Sounds of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel 1964

Motown/Soul/R&B –  RESPECT by Aretha Franklin 1967

Country – Crazy by Patsy Cline 1961

My Classical Pick of the Day – Afternoon of a Fawn by Beethoven … a piano piece with 9/8 time that I was never even close to accomplishing.  

Belly laugh of the day:  When leaving our Lake of the Woods campsite, I got lost following Barry to the dump station.  Really … it’s true … eventually, I even ended up leaving the campground completely and had to make a U-Turn when I realized I was at the highway.  Geesh!  Just as I was about to ask the general store where the dump station was I saw Barry flashing the RV lights at me …. …. …. no more than 50 feet away from our campsite!  Ohhh … what a good laugh!

Spring 2019 – Crater Lake – 6/1-3/19

Yet another Road Trip has begun with this trip taking us back to the Northwest, but once again.  The first reason we are heading back is that we had a three night credit at Lake of the Woods which is just up the hill from Klamath Falls; the second reason is we love Astoria’s Sunday Market, the third reason is we love the Bend area.  Last fall we were to have three nights in Lake of the Woods, but an early Cascades snowfall took care of that idea.

Franklyn my second co-pilot, my first co-pilot took this picture.

Our first night, Saturday, took us just to Win-River Casino in Redding.  Win-River like most Indian Casinos has a nice RV Park, with a GREAT price……not to mention that it is a casino!  Win-River is one of the smaller casinos, but has a hotel, RV park, several restaurants and a clean playing area.  Our last stay here I doubled my $20, this time I paid it back….yes I’m a big time gambler.

Yesterday’s trip took us up I-5 to Medford, where we stopped for Safeway Gas ($3.29 a gallon) and use 10 of our rewards credit.  We got the first 25 gallons for ONLY $2.29 a gallon!!!   We saved another group of points for a tank on the way home.  The trip to Medford is one we’ve done a dozen times or more.  

It is always exciting to wait for Mt. Shasta to appear on the horizon as we head north on I5.  The mountain is so beautiful packed with snow.  It is further down the hill than I ever remember seeing it at this time of the year.  

Lake Shasta, which benefits from Mt. Shasta’s snow, is the highest we’ve ever seen it.  Just a few years ago it was so low we could see the old Sacramento river bed on the bottom of the lake.  It’s so fun seeing all the snow.  

The Siskiyou Mountain peaks just west of Mt. Shasta are still covered with snow which along with Mt. Shasta will insure that Lake Shasta remains fairly high through most of the summer.

The burn area from last years Carr and Delta fires, just north of Redding, is starting to see some life on the forest floor.  Isaiah 61:3 tells us that beauty comes from ashes,….and here comes the beauty with some green starting to appear amongst the ashes.  They are still working on the hillsides just off the freeway removing timber, repairing the fire trails, etc.  I know that in just a few years the hillsides will once again be green.

Once we hit Medford we headed east on OR-140 to our destination, Lake of the Woods.  We discovered Lake of the Woods about four years ago, and returned last fall…and was only able to stay for one night due to snow  The weather is perfect at 75-80 degrees and the lake is clear.  Lake of the Woods is a small lake sitting at about 4,000’ level.  The resort has Camping, RV sites and Cabins, a Marina and Marina store and Pizza, general store and lodge which includes a restaurant.  When we arrived yesterday the park was packed with day visitors, today it is still busy just not packed.

The ride on OR-140 from Medford to Lake of the Woods takes you on a great two lane highway that rambles through valleys with grazing cattle, small farms and horse stables.  The valley is bordered by small rolling green mountains with heavy brush and light forest trees.

Today we visited Crater Lake which is about an hour drive north of Lake of the Woods.  Crater Lake was created about 7,700 years ago when Mount Mazama a 12,000’ volcano began to erupt.  The mountain didn’t blow its top off, instead the vents that opened around its peak had  great lava flows of magma which emptied the mountains chamber.  The mountain with its empty chamber was no  longer able to support its own weight and collapsed forming a caldera. 

The deep basin (caldera) filled over the centuries with rain and snowfall creating Crater Lake.  No streams run into the lake, so there is very little sediment giving it very pristine water.  Even though no rivers run from the lake, it keeps its constant level with it’s natural precipitation, seepage and evaporation.  Oh, if your wondering what happened to the volcano….it is sleeping and could once again begin erupting and build a new mountain.

Here is a picture I took from the south rim of Crater Lake.  Here you can see Mount McLoughlin (9,495’) on the right and Mount Shasta (14,179) on the left.  Not in this picture but just south east of Shasta is Mount Lassen which tops out at 10,457’ and is the southern most peak and volcano of the Cascade Range.  We could also see Mount Lassen on Saturday as we headed north on I-5 covered in snow.  Oh, and did you know that Mount Shasta and Mount Lassen are also both considered sleeping volcanoes?  They are both being monitored for seismic activities and are listed by the USGS as hight threat volcano.  

Until tomorrow, good night from Lake of the Woods.

Early Snow, Early Home

We were all set to enjoy our last three days of our road trip at Lake of the Woods near Klamath Falls Oregon and taking in sights of the area including Cater Lake National Park, but winter started early.  I knew we had to be out of the Cascades before November 1st in order to steer clear of any chance of snow.  Watching the weather closely, up to 24 hours before leaving Bend, the three days that we were to be in Lake of the Woods showed partly cloudy and sunny days in the low 60’s and nights in the mid 40’s.  We arrived greeted by cloudy skies and a warm breeze, next morning we woke up to a dusting of snow. 

 

 

Looking at the latest weather report it was to be possible snow until mid morning, sunny the next day and rain the day we were to leave…….I asked a local that worked at the resort and he said he was caught off guard by the snow, but don’t worry it’s to be nice weather the rest of the week.  I didn’t like his weather report as it was the same as I saw two days early and IT SNOWED!!!  

After Sandi and I researched, quickly, the route options and conditions we chose to come home heading west on Oregon 140 to Medford, catching South I-5 home.  Sandi and I always say “getting there is half the fun”, even if getting there is home.  We are able to quickly adjust to the shorter trip, by a day, and the new route.  We made an early stop for the day in Yreka California, minutes from the Oregon border, so we could link up with my Cousin Roz.  Roz lives in a little town up the hill from Yreka and came down to visit and have dinner with us……well she had other plans and treated us to dinner.  It is always great catching up with Roz, who we get to see about once to twice a year.

The next morning we headed home down I-5 with more amazing views of Mount Shasta.  Sandi (my navigator, photographer, editor, Best Friend and Wifey) got an incredible shot of Mount Shasta, clouds and fog as I kept us on a steady course.  For the second time in three weeks we went through the fire devastated forest from this summer’s worst fires.  These are some shots that Sandi was able capture of the devastation.  

 

These images out of our windows of the Delta Fire went on for miles, before we dropped below the fire area.  We stopped at a Rest Area just above the Carr Fire and a few miles below the Delta Fire.  The Rest Area was untouched and gave a remembrance of how the mountain sides were forested just months earlier.

 

As you pass through Redding I-5 becomes straight as an ironing board dropping you into the valley and Northern Sacramento Delta.  It was interesting to see the rice fields that were being harvested just three weeks ago, now under water beginning their next life.  

The balance of our journey was uneventful and fun as we asked each other our traditional end of a road trip question “what was your favorite spot/event”.

 

Betty, Sandi’s Mom, said it was Vancouver BC as she loved how green the city was, Queen Elizabeth Park and the high rise buildings…oh and the Tsawwassen Mill mall.

 

 

Sandi’s was the night we had a picnic dinner on the beach and boardwalk in Long Beach Washington while watching the sunset.

 

 

Mine was Queen Elizabeth Park and going by the house (three block away) where my Dad grew up as it always make me think of how he viewed the quarry when he was a kid.

 

Hope you enjoyed this trip with us and join us for our next adventure.  Please watch for a new post in the next week as I’m doing some research on the Volcanos of the Cascades as they have re-sparked my interest!!!   ……and don’t forget to click the “Follow” button to the right of this post so you won’t miss one in the future!