White Shepherd Stories

Andiamo's First Trip in the Motor Home

Journey, Andiamo & Pirate

Andiamo & Journey

Here we are on our way to the Oregon coast.  We went down Interstate 5 (I-5) through Portland and further south to Eugene, Oregon.  At Eugene we headed west to Florence, Oregon, where my cousin lives.  Once we got away from Portland, the traffic wasn't bad.  We left around 2:30 PM  on Thursday, and made it to Florence around 8:00 PM.  The most tiring part was getting through the awful Portland traffic.  Believe it or not, it is worse than Southern California traffic.  I thought it was because I was usually going through it on Fridays, or holidays, but that was not the case this time.  I have decided that I will not be driving that route again, it is just too awful.  I stopped once along the way to walk the dogs at a rest stop.  So proud of Andi, as he realized the purpose for the stop and he actually took care of business pretty quick.  

The drive through the coastal range, from Eugene to Florence is beautiful.  It is a winding road along the Siuslaw River, through the Siuslaw National Forrest - very pretty.  Florence is a small town with a population close to 9,000. It is a fishing town, and a favorite tourist spot in the summer, about halfway between the California state line and the Washington state line. 

Photographer of the picture above, of Florence, Oregon  is unknown.

The picture is of the Siuslaw Bridge, which is a short distance in from the coast where the Siuslaw River meets the Pacific Ocean.  It is such a pretty place.  

We had a very nice visit with my cousin, Dolores and even got to attend an October Festival (in September).  It was at the Green Trees Club house.  They had two bands and it was "pot luck".  So many delicious dishes and lots of nice people.  I really enjoy visiting at Green Trees.  When I am walking the dogs I never know what will appear as the road curves around in this lovely park.  We have run into wild turkeys, quail, Canadian Geese and raccoons.  I am glad we have not run into the many black bear that visit the park.  It is hard enough to handle three dogs on a walk without throwing a bear in the mix.  

On Saturday we headed north, for Yachats, Oregon.  I was going to the wedding of a friend.  It was being held at the Heceta Head Lighthouse area.  What a beautiful place that is!  I don't think anyone could find a more beautiful place.  This was one of the most beautiful and romantic weddings I have every attended.   Pictures follow:

This is taken from the Light keeper's home (now a Bed & Breakfast Inn).  You can see our motor home in the parking lot to the left, close to the bridge on Highway 101.

Looking south from the Inn - the Pacific Ocean. 

View north from the front porch of the Inn.  Lighthouse in the upper center, on the cliff. Wedding sight below the lighthouse.  You can see the chairs and the arbor where the wedding will take place.

 

Looking the other direction on the porch, past the tables that will be used for buffet, serving appetizers, and later, for dinners.

Above is an old picture of the same location when there were two homes for the light keepers.  They took down the head keepers house in the late 30's.  That leaves a wonderful lawn space for activities and for events such as this beautiful wedding. There is still a white picket fence going all the way around the property.  I believe I saw a sign saying the keepers homes were built in the 1800's.  I keep wondering why they took down the one home.  They were both beautiful.  History notes that the first house was sold for $10.  It was dismantled and taken to Mapleton, Oregon, where the lumber was used to build a store. 

A very nice gentleman was driving down to the parking lot where I parked the RV,  to give us rides up to the Inn.  It would have been a pretty good hike.

 Rhonda's sons walked her to the alter.  

Rhonda & Ray

A kiss for the bride and groom.

Back to the Inn for local wines and beer or hot drinks.   

Dinning room in the Inn.

Beautiful hand crafted stairway.

One of the Inns beautiful fire places. 

Such a beautiful wedding and a very handsome couple. 

Finally hitched a ride back to the parking lot to be greeted by some very patient dogs. We played and walked around a little after I fed the dogs - a little late.  We headed north.  I was thinking of stopping at Devil's Lake in Lincoln City, but it was late and by the time we got to Newport, I saw the Walmart parking lot and it looked pretty good to me.  We slept well and I fixed us all a nice breakfast before we headed north.  

Such a beautiful day again!  

I love this place - Bear Creek Artichoke Farm.  They have fresh made bakery goods, blueberry-lemon scones, apple dumplings with brandy sauce, fresh coffee, and dozens of tasty jams & jellies, mustards, homemade pestos, artichoke dip, and too many other things to name.  Free samples and many gift items, along with fresh vegetables and fruits.  

Back on the road again.  Beautiful dairy country - cows everywhere!  Such a pretty green country with beautiful little streams, rivers and trees.

When we got to Tillamook I was thinking a lot about the ice cream bar at the Tillamook Cheese Factory.  I was going to let the guys out for a short walk and then go inside the factory for a little shopping.  The big guys were very excited and they charged at the door as I was getting out of the RV.  I scolded them and insisted they get back and sit-stay until they were released.  I noticed that Andiamo had gotten back immediately when I yelled at them.  

I am not quite as stern with Andiamo as he is just following his big brothers and they are the ones that know better.  I use positive training in most circumstances, however when we are dealing with life threatening issues (such as trying to jump out of the RV without permission) I am much more strict with them on a "wait" or a "stay" - they know better.  After they backed up and respected my "stay" command, I noticed that Andiamo had backed up completely under the bed and was looking out at me.  I like this picture.

After a little shopping in the cheese store, I got a single scoop of ice cream in a fresh baked waffle cone. I got a double dish for the dogs and I split it three ways for them. They were very happy.  The large parking lot was emptying fast and I decided to walk the dogs and wait until the majority of people were gone.   The dogs were playing and enjoying the late afternoon sunshine.  

A nice man in a pickup truck came by and was admiring the dogs.  He asked us if we had a place to stay and I told him I had just planned to drive a little ways north and find something. He said he had an RV park a short distance north of the cheese factory. He said it had a fenced dog park where the dogs could play.  That did it!  I was so tired of leash walking them and they were just as tired of not being able to run.  It was about 5:00 PM and I was really ready for some relaxation.  He had given me a flyer and I headed north a couple blocks.  The park was so nice.  I signed in, but before we even went to our camp spot, I unloaded the dogs and took them over to the dog park.  They were in heaven.  

Pirate

Andiamo

Journey really likes our camp host, Craig.  It was quite a surprise to see Journey take to someone so fast.  He is usually quite aloof, especially toward men.  I have never seen him make friends this fast.  

The dogs played from about 5:30 to 8:30, while I sat at the picnic table and Craig threw the ball for the dogs and we talked dogs. The dogs finally seemed to wind down a bit and I thought we should get settled in our campground for the night.  Craig offered to build us a camp fire, but the dogs had not had dinner yet and we were all tired. Little Andiamo had climbed on my bed and he was out. I had to wake him for dinner.  He ate and went right back to my bed where he slept the rest of the evening.  It sure makes a difference when you have tired dogs.  I enjoyed a glass of wine and read my book for a while before I went to bed.  Andiamo did not chew up another thing that night.  

The next morning we headed for the dog park again and we still had it all to ourselves. Another hour or two of play and we were just about to leave when Craig mentioned another treat for the dogs.  He had a petting farm with goats and bunnies.  Everyone enjoyed that, especially Andi, as he had never seen anything like that up close.  

 Andiamo & Pirate

This little brown goat liked to rear up on his hind legs and pounce at the dogs.  They loved it.  

Before I knew it, Andi had his head through the wire to get a closer look.  

Kashmir goats.

"Oh boy, there is that little brown goat again.  I like him."

Craig is really a nice man and we had such a good time at his RV park, we will certainly be going back soon.  What a difference it makes to have a place to let the guys run and just relax, talking with good company.

I just about had to drag Andiamo away from the goats.  He loved them.

We loaded up and headed north to Astoria.  It is at the top northwest corner of Oregon, where the Columbia River empties into the sea.  Docked in Astoria was a huge cruise ship named Amsterdam.  It was beautiful, but I did not get a picture.  We still had about 70 miles to get home, up river, so we drove on through Astoria this time.  The dogs were a kick as we drove up our road.  They whined a little, then it got louder and more excited as we neared the top of the hills.  When I turned into the driveway it was very hard to contain them.  They were so happy.  Wonderful trip, but always nice to be home again.

That is Andiamo out checking his yard, which is almost all green again after the drought this summer. 
 

We Went to Sauvie Island, Oregon

Quest, Journey & Pirate at the Pumpkin Patch - Sauvie Island

What a great day!  I decided to go to Sauvie Island to see if I could find some good photo opportunities.  Seriously, I knew we would find good photo opportunities on this beautiful island.   We go there fairly often.  

Sauvie Island is the largest island in the Columbia River.  It is about 26,000 acres.  It is actually one of the largest river islands in the United States.  Before I moved to the northwest I really hoped to find a place to live on Sauvie Island.  I did find a perfect place but I was not ready to move yet.   By the time I was ready, there was nothing available, that was right for us.  I am glad we are close enough to visit often though. It has lakes, and beautiful fields of flowers, sheep, cattle and too many fields of crops to name them all.  It has some historical old homes and some lovely new ones.  It is just a wonderful place.

The picture above was taken at the Pumpkin Patch.  It is located at Kruger Farm http://sauvieislandfarms.com/  At Kruger farm there is the best farm market!  On this visit we just bought some carrots and plums (even though I had lots of them on my trees), but these were a different kind.  I also bought some corn. I normally buy more vegetables, but since I have a garden growing this year, I did not need as much.  I sure needed the Marionberry Cobbler I bought though!  I baked it when we got home and it was incredible!  I would have bought a pie, but they are huge and I have to eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner, for days...  it is rough, but someone has to eat it.  The cobbler is smaller, maybe 4 days. The dogs got a taste!

Kruger Farm is wonderful.  They have outdoor concerts in the summer and they also have a huge maze in the corn fields.  They have hayrides, pick your own flower fields, and I could go on and on, but it would be better if you check the website link, where everything is listed.  

Pirate and I scouted around the farm market, for the best place to take a few pictures.  

 

Only one dog gets to help me find the right place because bad manners are catching and it is easier to remind one dog.  With two or three dogs, I get an overload of suggestions on which way to go.

I finally settled on the pumpkin patch a bit away from the market, where there were a lot of people who looked ready to come over and visit.  We are sociable - it is actually the opposite, some of us are sometimes too sociable.  Also, it is too hard to keep their attention with a lot of distraction.

 My boys have a good "stay", I consider it one of the most important commands, not only for pictures, but for safety.   They are all good at it, but if either Pirate or Journey starts to get up, it is not easy to stop them in their tracks, verbally.  All went well with our photo shoot though.  I thought it might be interesting to post what it looks like when it does not go well.

 

Lost Quest in this one.

"We have to close our eyes, mom, the sun is too bright."

Pirate: "I need to come give you a kiss, mom".

"Ok then, I won't even look at you".

Sometimes you just need to give up and move on to something else.   After the photo shoot we went on to drive around the island for a while.

 Looks like the beginning of a BIG bird nest.  

Pumpkins, and more pumpkins....

This is the Multnomah Channel, it borders the south side of Sauvie Island.  There are areas on this channel where there are many houseboats, and boat docks.  It is smooth and a good place for bird watching in addition to the boats and houseboats.  

The roads are narrow; but they are good roads and very scenic.  

The North side of the island is the main part of the Columbia River.  It is busy with large ships and barge traffic.   Fun to watch something so huge silently slip by.  There are several beaches on this side of the island.  Clothing is optional on one of them.  (No pictures.)

 Photographer unknown on above shot.

Interesting variety of ships on the Columbia River

 

Although vacant right now, I happen to know that this nest belongs to an Osprey, (thanks to some shared information from Rachel Pass).  I have observed this nest on various visits to the island.   (Picture below is from a previous visit.)

It was such a nice day, but time to head home.  We traveled home via Highway 30, headed west, on the Oregon side of the river.  Then when we get to Rainier, Oregon, we cross the river over the Lewis & Clark bridge and from there, up into the hills to our home just outside of Kelso, Washington.   Hope you enjoyed the trip.    

 

 

Related article

Sauvie Island

SAUVIE ISLAND (an Oregon flashback).

Hayrides, Caramel Apples, Corn Maze, Animal Barn & Acres of Pumpkin! All Here at Kruger Farms

Sauvie Island's Bella Organic Farm can continue hosting dinners, but within limits, court rules

Sauvie Island Bike Ride

Touring in The Northwest With Judi

On The Road to Florence for Thanksgiving 2013

 

I decided to go visit my aunt Zelma and my cousin, Dolores.  They invited me to have Thanksgiving dinner with them, at the clubhouse in the park where they live.  We go to visit every few months.  Aunt Zelma is now 101 years old and is doing well.  I love visiting with her and her daughter Dolores.  The park where they live is very pretty. There is a small RV parking area, but we usually end up parking in their driveway to be closer to them.  It is a little scary at night as there are often reports of bear in the park.  We have been lucky enough to miss any confrontations so far.  The bear have not hurt anyone, but I prefer not to test them.  I walk the dogs a lot when I am there and I keep a good lookout for bear.  I have no idea what the dogs would do if we should come face to face with one.  

I would prefer to have left the day before, but Journey's agility class is on Tuesday, so we had to leave on Wednesday.  I suspected that the highway would be crowded on the day before the holiday.  There are several routes we could take to get to Florence, Oregon, from our home in Kelso, Washington.  My favorite is the coast route, (highway 101).  I usually go to Florence on the Interstate Highway 5, then we go home via the coast route and take a couple days to get home.  It is much too pretty to drive right through.  The weather has been pretty cold, lately.  I prefer to just travel with the dogs, but I am not comfortable leaving our parakeet alone for that many days.  So I loaded everyone into the RV and we headed south on the Interstate on what would normally be a 4-1/2 to 5 hour drive.  We were expected to arrive around "Happy Hour".  It did not take long to realize that was not going to happen.  I called Dolores and told her not to wait up for us. We would just pull in and go to sleep as it would probably be late when we arrived.  It took us about four hours just to get to Oregon and drive through the Portland area.  The traffic was stop and go, at about 2-3 mph until we got south of Portland. at Wilsonville.  Then the rest of the I-5 travel was stop and go,  any where from 15  to 40 mph.  We got to Eugene, Oregon at about 8:45 pm.  From Eugene we headed toward the coast, where Florence is located.  It is a good road, but it is two lane with many, many turns. That leg of the trip always takes about two hours to get to Florence.  By this time the traffic was not bad, but we still did not arrive in Florence until  close to 11:00 pm.  I was so tired.  Almost 9 hours on the road in horrible traffic.  I had a terrible head ache, a sore neck, I had leg cramps from sitting and having my foot poised from brake to gas to brake to gas for all those hours.  I stopped once to walk the dogs and then again to walk them and feed them.  I was actually too tired to eat.  When we pulled into the park it was absolutely silent.  I could see millions of stars while I was walking the dogs, and the Christmas lights were so pretty.  We were just crossing the road in front of my aunts place when all three dogs started barking and scared me to death.  Fortunately it was a decorated, life size snowman, not the bear I expected to see.  It felt so good to get in bed, however, after nearly nine hours of driving I kept dreaming I was still driving. Journey likes to sleep with me.  He occasionally cuddles up, but mostly he just sleeps next to me. During this trip he was apparently feeling a little cooler and he was also worried about Pirate taking his place, so he crowded next to me as close as possible.  It did not bother me, as it was pretty chilly at night.  A double bed can be a little crowded though, with two or three 90 lb. dogs sharing it with me.  

" Isn't it time for our walk?"  This is what my bed looks like when Journey and Pirate finish with a wrestling match on it. 

My cousin, Dolores, trying to untangle the dogs so we could go for our walk. 

Carol and her dog, Fargo, accompanied us on the walk.  Quest likes to walk with Dolores.

On Thursday morning we had a nice walk and then we all went to the clubhouse for a lovely Thanksgiving dinner.  They really did it exceptionally well, for such a large crowd. There were around 150 people there and they served the dinner, instead of having a buffet as in the past.  It was wonderful.

My aunt Zelma is seated on the right.  It is hard to believe she is 101,

After dinner we walked home.  Everyone was tired and I sure did not last long after dinner.  I slept much better Thursday night.  Friday we enjoyed our walks and visiting with friends of my aunts, and dog walkers in the park.  

 Pirate and Journey caught the scent of a bear in the front yard of a home down the road from my aunt's place.

Florence is a beautiful little town on the Oregon Coast.  I had considered possibly living there before I found my home in Kelso.  It would have been nice to be close to my aunt and my cousin, but a little too far from my daughter, who lives in Portland.  Where I live now, I am only about a 45 minute drive from Laura & Kevin.  I am also much closer to the dog events and activities I enjoy.

The clubhouse has two swimming pools, a large hot tub spa and a sauna.  They have pool tables, tennis courts, a comfortable clubhouse and many other things to do.  I enjoy all the birds, and especially the wild turkeys that wander around the park.  There are beautiful places to walk, by the Siuslaw River or even just around in the park.  It does not look like the mobile home parks I  was used to seeing.  It has winding roads and many of the residences look more like houses than mobile homes.  It is a very nice place, except maybe for the bears.  They are interesting, but I am nervous about them, especially at night when I would not be able to spot them as easily.   The little town of Florence is full of cute little shops, typical of the little coastal towns.  There are docks and a marina on the river, near the beaufiful old bridge that  allows the 101 highway to cross the river.

Quest in front, Journey and Pirate on the bench.

On Friday night it was a little colder than normal and I realized, at about 2:00 am, the furnace was not working.  The dogs and I were fine, but I was worried about the bird. The next morning I put the bird inside aunt Zelma's house for the rest of our visit.  I set out to figure why the furnace, and a couple electric recepticles were not working.  After reading the trouble-shooting section of the RV manual It seemed that it must be the coach battery.  (Not the vehicle battery,)  I drove to Schwab's and sure enough, they tested it and it said "replace battery" - the old one was installed in 2005.  The operation of replacing the battery was exciting for the mechanic.  He was, unfortunately, afraid of dogs.  Since there was no where I could leave them, they were in the RV.  I leashed them and put all three in the cab of the RV, tied to the seat and the steering wheel. When Vern came around the corner of the RV and looked inside, he startled the dogs and they all barked.  I quickly told him they were securely tied.  He looked a little skeptical, but his eyes gradually returned to normal size and he worked efficiently to remove the old battery and replace it with the new one.  My cousin knew an RV mechanic, (who makes house calls, YES!) and we had lined him up just in case replacing the battery did not do it.  He told me to test everything when I got back and to be sure everything worked. When we got back to my aunt's place I did that, and was delighted to find that everything worked just fine, including the parakeet's heat lamp.  

Pirate and Quest

Pirate ready to play with Quest

Quest being silly.

Journey has a very long tail ... this time he is sharing part of Pirate's tail though, and it looks even longer.

A few more walks to see all the Christmas decorations ...

"We don't think this is right, the reindeer are all going the other direction and why don't we have lights too".

Back at the gazebo.

 After one more walk, I packed up and we were ready to head north on Highway 101.  First I went inside to visit with Zelma and Dolores a few minutes more.

Hope to get back in a month or two.  I really enjoy our visits.

Our trip home began by driving up the coast past the Sea Lion Caves; the tiny town of Yachats (yaw-hots); Waldsport; and on to Newport, where I always stop for fish & chips, or scallops, fish & chips.  

 Scallops, halibut & fries with a side of salad.  Then I bought some smoked salmon, a piece of fresh, wild salmon and some fresh scallops to take home. 

Our drive was rainy and a little windy, but nothing that made handling the RV difficult. The coast can be very windy.  Sometimes bridges swing so much the warning lights go on and you are better off not trying to cross them.  I crossed once when the lights were just yellow.  It was very frightening and I cannot imagine what it would feel like if the lights were red.  

After my early dinner I continued driving until we arrived in Lincoln City.  It was getting dark and still raining.  I decided to stay at the State Park at Devil's Lake.  I found a camping spot that did not have too many puddles.  We took a short walk, then I got ready for bed and caught up with some email and Words With Friends.  It was cozy inside and nice to listen to the rain all night.  In the morning the sun kept peeking out and the blue sky kept showing through.    

Bear Creek Artichoke Farm was open when we got to it.   They have so many wonderful goodies there and lots of samples.  I love to stop.  I always get a hot apple dumpling with cinnamon sauce over it.  What a treat!  I also bought a couple of berry scones, for another day.  They make the best scones, they are never dry, just right.  I bought some of their home made Pesto and then,, best of all, the most wonderful Artichoke dip that they make right there.  I had some fresh vegetable snacks to dip in it later, if I got hungry while I was driving.  I usually get a larger flat of the artichoke dip, but I made myself settle for a small one this time.  I was sure looking forward to it.

 

Artichoke farm with a few left over pumpkins in the soggy field.

One more stop, at the Tillimook Cheese factory where I got a couple Christmas gifts in the gift shop and an ice cream cone for me and a dish with two scoops, for the dogs. I split the ice cream in the dish for the dogs and they loved it!  The rest of the trip was good -  sometimes a little stormy, but still pretty and I was enjoying a recorded book on the radio.

Nice to get home.  As I opened our gate, the UPS man arrived with a package.  I replaced the little dish of artichoke dip, that I had been enjoying, on the shelf on the dash in the RV (not on top of the dash).   I had to get out to receive the package he was delivering.  When I got back into the RV I found a very clean plastic cup, without a smidgen of artichoke dip left.  I was so disappointed and mad at someone.  I don't know who did it but they all got a lecture.  I also enlightened them about the possibility of not taking them on future trips.  They didn't believe me and I knew I would never leave them. They are the best travel partners I could ever want.  I can get more artichoke dip on the next trip.  I cannot imagine an RV trip without my best buddies, even if one of them did have a momentary memory lapse about not stealing.  I decided my lecture was sounding pretty silly, although they all seemed to be taking it seriously.  There had only been about 1/4 cup left, but well, it would be hard for you to imagine how wonderful that artichoke dip is.  I searched their faces to see if I could determine who took it.  They were all pretty much poker faced.  

Nice to be home.  The dogs set about marking their territory and setting things straight with the dogs across the road.  Rocky growled, barked and postured but I think he was happy to see them.  Rocky is an "only dog", so he directs most of his comments to Quest (our alpha dog).  Sometimes he tells Pirate about it, but if they are all outside he normally ignores Journey (the kid).  

Journey really tickles me.  He charges out when I give him access to his doggy door. He runs down to the fence at the road, full speed!  He comes to a stiff legged bouncing stop uttering grand "WOOFS", which are dramatically increased in power by the bouncing stops.  If Rocky ignores him, Journey usually goes back up the hill and tries his dramatic display again, sort of like - "maybe you didn't hear me the first time".   If Pirate and Quest are not busy they occasionally join forces with Journey, to encourage him and emphasize the drama.  That really gets Rocky's attention.   It is nice to have good neighbors to guard your property while you are gone.   Between Rocky (German Shepherd), Kona (German Shepherd) and Cody ( a large yellow Labrador), our property is under surveillance even when my three big guys are on a trip.