Annual Washington - Oregon Loop Trip, May 29th

Today we had a photographer scheduled to take a series of family photos.  She had us meet her at an old dilapidated farm house that had been abandoned,  There was an old shed and a cluster of yellow roses that were growing wild.

She brought a number of props for posing the pictures and several things she could put on to make the kids laugh.  It worked and only the littlest grandchildren had a hard time sitting still but managed pretty well.  Linda and Kristen will review them and pick the best of the various groups of photos on Thursday.

Then it was off to another neighbor's home and pool for the afternoon as it was over 90 degrees today with about the same or hotter for tomorrow.

As playgrounds and pools are a good distance away, those neighbors that have playgrounds, pools and ponds or anything for the kids to enjoy, share them with neighbors even though there is a good distance between homes.

In addition to the pool they also had a playground structure.

If you look closely you will see the band aids on Calvin.  He fell and hit his face on the ground.

The pool and slide was the main attraction.

Reese jumping to her dad

Brynn diving in

Aaron brought one of the large farm tractors around to take some for a ride.

Linda didn't miss her chance and got a selfie with Aaron and Leah.

Aaron took them around some of the orchards and equipment buildings.

This is one of the cherry orchards that was planted last year.

Emily and her family leave for home in the morning and it has been nice to have all of us together.

The next few days we will be checking out several areas near here to see if there are some we really like.

Annual Washington - Oregon Loop Trip, May 26h t0 28th

We had a great overnight visit with friends in Sandy, OR before moving on to our daughter's home hear Moses Lake, WA where we will spend the next two weeks.

On one side of us is a new corn field and their cherry orchard beyond that, the other is our daughter's yard .

Thursday night we attended our grandson's baseball game and then went out for pizza. Then on Friday my son-in-law showed me around the county and the various crops and orchards in the area.

Our other daughter and family arrived Saturday afternoon for the first time we have all been together for a while.  We are making the most of our time all together as they leave on Tuesday.

It wasn't long before they all went to a neighbor's home that has a great swimming pond and they had a ball.

The swing platform has multiple levels for all ages to enjoy.

The pond has a constant flow of fresh water and it is pumped out for irrigating crops.

The bottom is nice sand that slopes out gently.

There are kayaks and paddle boats on the pond

Even sand for sand castles.

Saturday night our oldest granddaughter watched all the younger ones while the six of us adults went out to dinner at Michael's on the Lake.  Great prime rib!

The evening was more activities and roasting s'mores.

Mike and Calvin riding the ATV

Calvin may be wearing more than he ate

Aaron, Calvin, Paige and Leah

Brynn and Kristen roasting marshmellows

Sunday afternoon we all went to Leavenworth to the Enchanted Park on the Wenatchee  River for a picnic and to walk the trails along the river where they launch raft trips.  

We planned to check out some of the shops in Leavenworth and get some ice cream but being Memorial Day weekend there wasn't a parking place to be found, especially for a diesel pickup and a large GMC Yukon.  We retreated to Wenatchee and the Public Market for some nice ice cream.

Annual Washington - Oregon Loop Trip, May 22nd to 25th

Every year for the last several years we have attended the Northwood RV Owners Association (NROA) Rally in La Grande, OR with visits before or after to some of our favorite spots or new ones that we want to explore.  This year due to commitments at home in late June we won't attend the rally. Instead we started the trip early and are making a number of stops before we go to one of our favorite spots at Wallowa Lake near Joseph, OR.

We left just in time as summer and 90-100 degree heat descended on much of Northern California.  

After several years of drought followed by record rain and snow this year we were anxious to see the level of Lake Shasta and of course the amount of snow on Mount Shasta.  All the rivers on the way were running high as the high temperatures were accelerating the snow melt.

We weren't disappointed as Lake Shasta was full and probably the highest level we have seen it for many many years.

Mount Shasta is covered in snow from top to its base and this pictures is of the south facing side.

Once we got into Southern Oregon the temperatures moderated some and by evening they were pleasant.  It should be nice the further north we go.

We spent our first night on the road at Seven Feathers RV Resort and Casino.  It is listed as a 10-10-10 RV Park and the rates are reasonable for a very nice park.  They provide shuttle service to the casino where we went for dinner and breakfast.  

Nest stop is Silver Falls State Park near Salem, Silverton and Sublimity, OR for two nights.  We had been by here a number of years ago but never stopped.  I wish we had as there is an extensive trail system that I could have done then but I'm not sure how much my hips and knees will take now.  We will give it a good shot.

We had a lot of trouble finding the campground as the only sign that indicated there might be one said Overnight lodging facilities and Conference center.  We went in as there was no one in the registration kiosk but all we found were cabins.  We turned around, left the park and returned to the main road.  At that point we accessed the internet to find a park map. We returned  to that entrance and finally found a sign that had a small tent on it.  This is the first place with campgrounds that didn't have signs that clearly indicate CAMPGROUND!      I guess you have to have been here before.

We found our reserved site and got situated in this beautiful campground and had a very restful night.  We even needed the heater to warm up the trailer in the morning.

There are a multitude of trails in the park and to the waterfalls.  There is the "Trail of Ten Falls"  which is about 7-8 miles long or you can do short segments to see the larger falls.

We chose to do segments to avoid having to climb out of the canyon.  It isn't a great elevation change but some are steep trails.

We started at the North Falls which has a 136' drop.  It is a short walk to the overlook unless you continue into the canyon and to the base of the falls.

Then we went up Silver Creek to the Upper North Falls.  It is a nice .4 mile trail to the base.

Next we went to the South Falls which has a drop of 177'.  Again we just took the trail to the overlook as the trail into the canyon is quite steep and the hips and knees were already saying ENOUGH!

Video of the South Falls

Next we move on to Sandy, Oregon to visit good friends.