Get Me Out of Here

I couldn't stand the heat anymore in Portland and took off a day earlier than Chand and Lindsi. The temperature gage in my car read 111 degrees while I was driving around MLK. I made a snap decision to blitz my way to Moscow Idaho at about 1:00pm on Wednesday. I dinked around on the way a bit and hit moms place about 9:30pm. I slept like a baby and the temperature at night got down into the low 60's/high 50's. A MUCH welcome change from the blistering temps in Portland.

We loaded up the camper and hit the road for Laird Park, just outside Harvard, Idaho.

The rest of the folks who could make this camp trip / birthday party arrived on Friday. Saturday we went huckleberry picking at a super secret location that I won't divulge even under torture. You can't just drive there...it requires 4 wheelers.

After naps and a great BBQ, we had the birthday cake.

Happy Birthday MOM !!!!!

Rolled into Portland in the afternoon on Wednesday....pretty sure. It's been a bit of a blur.

Stayed with Chad and Lindsi for a night or two and then we loaded up and headed to lake Merwin. Their cabin is awesome. Sort of a combo cabin/camper funky spot. The view is incredible and they know how to host. Spent some time on the boat, some campfire time, and a few beers. Great time.

Headed back into Portland Sunday evening and crashed. Spent the next day and night with Michelle and Michael. They threw a little bash that night and all the old Crew showed up: Courtnie, Sadie, Chris, Sarah and her husband. Great time.

There's a heatwave in Portland at the moment. I decided to hike Multnomah Falls yesterday.

It hit 106 yesterday and it should hit at least that today. Insanely hot. Crazy hot. We went to The Kennedy School last night (an Elementary School converted to a movie theater/bar). Saw a movie and drank some frosty beverages and stayed out of the heat for a few hours anyway. Chad and I sat out on the sidewalk next door and joked around with his “colorful” neighbors until about midnight. Those dudes are a riot.

Getting ready to head to Idaho for Moms birthday/camping/huckleberry picking. I may be back on the coast......really not sure what's going on. I know that the coast is WAY cooler than Portland at the moment. I want to hit the coast and I also want to explore a bit in Montana. Toss a coin? Where's the magic eight ball when you need it?

Sitting in a coffee shop on Alberta called the Black Cat. Big, huge fan blowing in here, no AC. Pushing 100 degrees in here but it beats sitting outside with no breeze. I'm drinking iced mochas currently but will be switching to $1.00 cans of PBR here real soon. If I'm miserably hot I might as well have a buzz going. Very eclectic croud. I like the flavor of the place....although I'm at least twice as old as everybody here.

I left Bainbridge in the morning after having another fantastic breakfast. I decided to see as much of Hwy 101 so I headed North for a bit and then got on 101 just South of Discovery Bay and headed South on 101. I thought I was going to stay one night in Astoria at the Hotel Elliot....fat chance. Astoria was PACKED with people. A fair/carnival/whatever was going in full swing. No place to park and hotels were full.

I just kept heading South and checking campgrounds, which were all full. I made it to Lincoln City and my car pulled itself into Lighthouse Brew Pub. Had a Captain Neon burger and a few pints of their Wheat beer. Headed South full and happy, still looking for a campsite........full.

I pulled into Rock Creek campground, just North of Florance. Got a spot that a couple was just leaving. Finally......set up camp quickly and started a fire.

I got up early the next morning and headed toward Florance and Hwy 126 East toward Eugene, Oregon. I ended up on Hwy 97, heading North toward La Pine, Oregon. I stopped just North of La Pine on Burgess Road and had lunch at some dive bar, and continued toward Crane Prairie Reservoir in Dechutes National Forest. Found the campground, it has been almost 15 years since I was there. I found the walk-in tent sites completely empty so I had my choice of 6 sites. The one farthest from the car was on a point with it's own beach.....I took that one (Blue Loop, Site #96). It took 11 round trips to get all my stuff down there. I paced it off...........170 yards....one way. It was 95 degrees and I was tired. I hung the hammock and took a load off. Got a bunch of firewood and had a nice fire. The view from my tent is unbelievable.

Camping lessons learned in the span of 20 seconds:

1.A parachute hammock, in high winds, behaves remarkably similar to a parachute....go figure.
2.Flip Flops are NOT suitable general footwear in Central Oregon.
3.When you kick a big chunk of lava rock while ignoring lesson #2, you will turn your toes to hamburger.
4.When you put together a great first aid kit for your camping trip, put is somewhere that you can find it in less than an hour.

The little beach was awesome. I sat there quite a bit, plus I could just jump in the kayak and paddle from there. The wind picked up quite a bit from about 4-9pm.

I got up the next morning and checked out a bunch of lakes in the area, paddled a few. Most are full of power boats and I really don't like paddling while avoiding big boats and the wake they leave. I stuck with smaller lakes like Little Lava Lake, which don't allow motors on boats or limit their speed to 10mph.

Ended up heading in to Bend and got some laundry done. Had a great slice of New York style pizza next to the laundrymat and headed back to the campsite.

Ate some dinner and relaxed. When I got done relaxing, I went to bed.

In the morning I decided that as nice as this place was, I wanted to see different surroundings so I packed up and headed toward Mt. Hood and Lost Lake. I drove up to Timberline Lodge and had a salad at the Blue Ox and then headed toward Lost Lake. More full campsites.......packed full. Hmmmm.....

I called Chad in Portland and headed into town. Stopped at Helens (KJ's mom) place and we caught up. Spoke with Chad and he got me close to his place and to a group of pubs/bars on NE Alberta. Alberta used to be a pretty run down place but not anymore. Holy Cow. I found some bar that turned out to be a Vegan restaurant. I decided not to eat until I met up with Chad and Lindsy. Had a few beers and sat outside in the sun. Chad pulled up on his motorcycle while I was on the phone and I didn't know it was him, just some random guy yelling at me. Followed him home. We hit a bunch of places up and down Alberta and had a late dinner. Flutes of Miller High Life for 50 cents....we had 8 of them if I remember right.....10 maybe? Hustlers out on the streets arguing over how much change you had...fun stuff. Definitely miss the flavor of Portland and Alberta was a huge surprise.

Not really sure what I'm up to today. I suppose I'll take the bike and kayak off my car along with a lot of gear and venture into town. I'd like to browse Powells for a few hours and a few random destinations....Voodoo Doughnuts, for SURE....love those bacon maple bars.

Miles driven so far: 4253

Lets see........ I was in Spokane. I met with KJ around Noon on Monday. We talked for a few hours and then she had to start her 3pm - 1am shift. I had the place to myself. Spent the time playing with the dogs, doing laundry and even did a bit of work...just a bit though.

We talked some more after she got off work. I threw my sleeping bag on a bed in the basement and slept like a stone until 9am when I woke to the smell of coffee. We chatted some more and I finally had to take off around noon. Hit a bookstore or two and the Rocket Bakery on Garland....great coffee and even greater pumpkin bread.

Headed out of Spokane Washington on 395 North and then turned onto Hwy 20 at Kettle Falls. About 6 miles out, I spied a campsite not on my map, Trout Lake. I figured it was worth a shot so I turned onto the road and drove about 7 miles or so into the mountains. As it turned out, this was a free campground, so that was cool. Only 4 spaces and I grabbed site #1.

Paddled around the lake the next morning before I took off for Diablo Lake.

I stopped and had some great coffee in Twisp, Washington....

The road from Winthrop to Diablo is stunning.....

Check out the little island in the lower left corner....

Got to the campground at Diablo (whose name escapes me at the moment.....cascade maybe?...anyway.) Took site #153 because, well, because I liked it.

Did a bit of paddling the lake but the wind was really blowing hard so I called it a day and opened a bottle of wine. In the morning I paid for another night of camping and hit the water, which was like glass.

Remember that little island? It's a bit bigger than it looks from up there.

Got up early this morning, packed up camp and took off. Missed the 10am ferry to Port Townsend and got to hang out for the 12:00. Just made it on that one.

Called Duane and alerted him that I was in the neighborhood. Made it to their house around 2:00 or so. Took Duane and Phillis out for dinner and a few relatively warm beers...but they were good!

Not really sure where I'm off to next........Most likely work my way to Astoria, down the coast, maybe into Mt. Hood National Forest and Lost Lake.....but I will be in Portland on Friday, one week from today.

So, I took off because of rain and since my ankle is really bothering me hiking is out. I figured I'd see more sites rather than napping in the rain there. But, Wow, what a place. I plan on heading back in August for a couple of days on Bowman Lake, about 9 miles from Polebridge, Montana.

I stopped again at the place I took a shower at on the way into Glacier ($7 if you bring your own towell, $10 if you use theirs). I bought a couple of t-shirts and had a beer with the owner.

I headed down to Kalispell and then down the West side of Flathead Lake on Hwy 93 until I hit the Hwy 28 junction and headed south that way. Hooked up on a couple of small stretches of other highways until I met up with US 90 West toward Spokane. I stopped at Lookout Pass and got a price list for riding the trail, shuttles and rental prices for helmets and lamps, used the facilities and took off for Wallace. My mouth was watering for a big burger at the 1313 club, which is AWESOME...and CLOSED when I got there. I trotted to a BBQ joint just across the street and had a superb beef brisket sandwich and a local brew....which was real, real good......HoneyWeiss or something like that, brewed in town if I remember right. Then I found out the truth.........

Stopped for the night at Steve and Michelles and got to see all the cars Steve is working on. This Corvette was getting some minor paint work done for rock chips from a trip the owners took up 101 on the coast. Nicest one I've ever seen.

I'm putzing around Spokane again today. Should be off for Diablo Lake tomorrow. It looks like the weather will cooperate then.