All the same, I'd rather be the crow"

Well, we won’t be leaving for Texas in time to make it to the Rio Grande valley. The medics just won’t be done with me soon enough so we had to cancel our reservations. But for now we don’t lose our deposit. We have a years grace before we lose anything. It seemed pretty nice to me. I guess RV parks like where we we’re going understand their clientele? I’m sure there are always people, like us, who have medical changes in plans and they need to make allowances for that. Good for them, good for us.

Other than that, ‘all is well’. The weather has been very nice for the last couple of weeks. It’s supposed to be 62o and sunny today. That makes our extended stay here a little more palatable but this is still not a great place to winter in an RV. We’ll be here into December but head south to California ASAP. South being the operative word. Exactly when and where remains to be seen? We’ll be watching the weather and the passes as our departure nears.

I’ve been up to my knees in leaves for the last couple of weeks. That is my primary job right now. There are lots of trees on the complex and it’s keeping me busy. I’ve been using a blower, tractor, and a big tractor tote to keep them under control. So it’s not a bunch of raking by hand. I’ve even learned to pick up a tote with the fork lift, take it to the compost pile, turn it over to dump the leaves, and pick it back up without getting off the tractor. Kat is busy in the office and Jade is enjoying the birds and squirrels. Once or twice a week we have to drive somewhere. The work is easy, mostly enjoyable, but not always understandable. We drove an injured crow 40 miles to the Audubon Society but then a couple of days ago I was watching turtles being euthanized. Oregon has a season for crows; so you can kill them but if you find an injured one, they’ll save it for you. Turtles on the other hand, are not so lucky. They were non-native and expendable. In this case a Red Eared Racer (the kind we got as kids) and a Snapping turtle. But they did get a sedative before they lost their heads. Go figure! In fairness this doesn’t happen often and the state is kind of between a rock and a hard spot. Either way they choose to react they’ll offend someone. And common sense be damned! Some of you may have heard of the “Snowball incident”. That was a deer the state was taking away from some family because you can’t maintain wild animals without a license. That has caused a stir and cost the state $40,000 in legal fees, and it ain’t over.

My procedure is over! All is apparently OK. Everything still works even if it’s a little uncomfortable at times. And time should take care of that. I must confess I was a little scared after my visit with the doctor before the procedure. This was the visit that I think covers their rear ends and tells you all the things that can go wrong. I was reminded that one in four can’t do this, one in four can’t do that, you’ll be incontinent, you’ll be impotent, one in a hundred will have a perforated what’s’ it and die, and someday we’re just going to get angry and cut somebody’s off. Well, maybe not the last, but you get my point. Then at the end he did say that one in four were kind of ‘poster patients’ and everything went just dandy. Then just before the procedure he stopped by to say he thought everything looked ‘real good’. Well, it did and I think I am one of those ‘poster patients’.

So! I have a couple of more visits and if things look good like I think they will, we ought to be able to be on our way. Maybe around the second week in December. In the meantime I’ll be battling those leaves with a break for Thanksgiving at Rick (Kat’s oldest) and Tina’s.

A CROW FUNERAL

The sound of many crows calling at once filled the air. I peeked out the window, and everywhere I could see, crows, maybe a couple hundred of them. They were on the sidewalk. They were on the power lines. They were on the logs that served as stops for parked cars, and they were in the trees. Almost hidden against one of the logs, I saw a dead crow. There were a few crows standing near the body. The noise continued for about a minute or so, when suddenly, an unseen conductor waved his baton, and the cawing stopped. The silence was equally as loud.
There was a pause.
Then, the invisible conductor again waved his baton, and there was a great and noisy flurry of feathers, as the crows took off and flew in all directions. Soon they were gone, leaving their lifeless kin to the elements. I continued my watch in silent awe, feeling that I had just witnessed something few have seen. In the various articles and books I have read about the corvids and their behavior, the authors cannot agree as to whether the Crow "Funeral" is fact or legend.
What it comes down to is, only the crows know the significance of this behavior. The term "funeral" is for us a convenience, a way to explain what appears to be the obvious. But, until a Crow-Human/Human-Crow dictionary comes out, we may never know the absolute truth. Better to observe and appreciate another highly evolved species and the rituals that keep their "society" together.

Stuck in PDX

“Speed bump!” We sure ain’t where we wanted to be anyway. Not by a long shot! I’m not knocking Portland you understand? It’s just the circumstances that keep us here.

Back in June sometime I had my check-up at Kaiser which included the ever delightful prostate exam. Unfortunately my doctor found a firm spot she thought should be checked a little further. I went to a urologist and he confirmed the firm spot. So then it was a biopsy in August which confirmed that my doctor was correct in being suspicious. The biopsy was positive for cancer. Now I have had a couple of consultations and wait for treatment. I’ve opted for brachytherapy which is insertion of radioactive seeds into the prostate. It looked to be the least invasive to me and besides several people I know have had that procedure quite successfully. One in particular, but I won’t go into it. I go in for an Ultrasound in a couple of days and have my prostate measured and mapped to determine seed number and location. Then I have the procedure and get out of here hopefully by the middle of November. So! Not to worry! Everything is under control. Just a little ‘speed bump’. I have good doctors and this seems to be a joint effort of three of the major hospitals here in Portland.

Obviously this has changed our itinerary. We were going to head across the top of the country through WA, ID, MT, ND, MN, and around or by the Great Lakes and then go through Columbus to Texas. We do have reservations to winter once again in Texas. It looks like we’ll be OK with that. At worst we should be on our way by Thanksgiving and our reservations are in Dec/Jan.

We’ve been staying at a park in PDX. Not the greatest but it’s close to shopping, The Mall, and Wal-Mart. There is a bike trail that is nice and we try to ride our bikes when we can. That hasn’t been easy because of back and knee problems but were working it out. Kat has been going to therapy for her back and I just got cortisone shot in my knee. Things are looking up. We did get all of our medical things taken care of except of course for the big ‘C’. That’s next.

In October and for the remainder of our stay here we are moving to Clackamas Fish and Wildlife. We talked to the volunteer coordinator Jennell and she has room at the inn. We worked there in May and June and it’s a good fit again. It’s much nicer than where we are and only a couple of miles away so still close to everything.

So we’ll get this little “speed bump” taken care of and be on our way soon.

Scenic Beach

Here’s what the brochure says;

Scenic Beach State Park is a 88-acre camping park with 1,500 feet of saltwater beachfront on Hood Canal. The park is known for its wild, native rhododendrons and stunning, clear-day views of Hood Canal and the Olympic Mountains. ADA-compliant paths lead visitors to a country garden, gazebo, rustic bridge and huge trees. A wide variety of birds and wildlife call the area home. The park is ideal for those who appreciate outstanding natural venues for outdoor activities.

I guess that’s fair as far as it goes. When you play Camping Host there for a month you develop a little more perspective. We spent August there working for and with Rangers Mike and Shawn. Mike has been there forever and will retire soon. Maybe you could tell he was a short timer with a little bit of a KMA attitude. We worked mostly with Shawn and the ranger aids. Shawn was very nice and loved to stop by and pass time talking and laughing. We saw lots of her and her dog Bo. Our job was to make our presence known, answer questions and to do some site cleanup. Not bad or difficult really, all things being equal. But then, when are all things equal? We’re use to dealing with RV’ers who might be a little more mature and understandable to us. But this is a park for tenters, and tenters are a lot less of that. Mostly they whine a lot and have kids who have skateboards and attitudes. Neither parents nor kids can read or tell time and they pretty much live in their own little worlds believing someone will guide them along, help them find firewood or turn on the shower, be the sheriff and most definitely clean up after them. We had knocks on the door at night for children crying, generators running, too much fun being had by somebody else, and one knife incident. Three State Troopers showed up for that one. Not as bad as it sounds. Some old veteran took offense to a woman who had had much too much to drink stumbling through his campsite trying to find the restroom. He had a knife and called her a “drunken slut”. Probably accurate according to the Troopers! So they let it go. I should tell you that it wasn’t dangerous, just annoying. And it’s not totally fair to say it was that way all the time and with everybody. Nevertheless we probably are more in tune to volunteering at Fish and Wildlife and where campgrounds are closed for the season and such. Definitely where there are RV’ers, not tenters!

The trees were huge like it said in the brochure. That and the climate made it a little difficult. It seemed we missed half of summer. Instead of getting a nice tan I think I mostly just developed a good case of ‘rust’. But there was wildlife. There were lots of little Douglas squirrels and two deer that seemed to hang pretty close. We saw several Pileated Woodpeckers. They’re the big ones that look like Woody Woodpecker. Shawn was telling us about one of her “walk and talks” with a kids group and she said that and got no reaction. One of the chaperons leaned over and whispered to her, “these kids don’t know who Woody Woodpecker is”. So for those in that category consult your field guide or go online. Or look at the picture I provided.

I got to play a couple of rounds of golf with Mike and his buddies. Mike is very competitive and enjoyed beating me the first round. In my defense I had never seen the course before and played like crap. I was glad to get another chance and redeem myself. I shot an even 80 the second time and nobody was close. Mike paid for my golf and lunch and was a great host. Well I paid for lunch the second round. I haven’t learned when to lose gracefully I guess. But if you read this Mike(?) don’t get angry. I’ll give you another shot if we’re back around.

We took a ferry trip to Seattle one day and did Pike Place market. That’s where they throw the fish to buyers. Another day we went to Port Townsend and met Bob and Dee who we know from Texas. They were volunteering at Deception Pass about 50 miles north of us so we met in the middle. We had lunch and walked around Port Townsend a bit. Lots of neat little shops but mostly we enjoyed seeing them again. After Bob and Dee went back on the ferry we went to Ft Worden. That’s where “An Officer and a Gentleman” was filmed. It’s a well preserved installation that once guarded the approach to Seattle. On another day off we took a ferry trip to Edmonds to meet Troy and Brie, Kat’s son and his girlfriend. And then I ran out of words and we left.

Rick and Tina's

We stopped in Eatonville for a few days to see Kat’s son Rick and his family. Tina and the grandkids Tyler and Cheyenne are all well, as is Rick. We didn’t get to see much of Rick. He left the evening we got there to attend ‘labor relation’ classes or some such in the big city. One of the big cities, maybe Spokane? We did have a nice dinner at Ruby Tuesdays in Puyallup with most of the Washington side of the family. Troy and Mike were there along with Kat’s half sister Kim. We all got there separately and embarrassingly enough Kat didn’t even recognize Courtney (Mike’s daughter) when she came in. In Kat’s defense Courtney came in by herself and kids do grow up and change. I don’t remember the head count but there must have been a dozen or so. It was good to see them all!

We got a look at Rick’s new trailer. New used anyway. And very nice! We were hoping to have them come over to our next stop at Scenic Beach but they were not able to make it! Maybe next time.

Speaking of Puyallup. There’s a one word tongue twister! Say that real fast 7 or 8 times. Sometimes I get it right once. There are probably lots of words I would mispronounce but they are words I don’t know or haven’t heard and don’t see often or at all. I cannot say Puyallup out load without first saying it to myself a couple of times. Just one of those things? (Pu yallup- pu yallup- pu-allup- pew allup-pewallup) There I got it! Until next time anyway. But I can read Sequim. It’s a town in Washington on the Olympic Peninsula. Kat always reads seequim. I always correct her. Squim! It’s pronounced squim!!! She can say it she just can’t read it. I’m reminded of a phone conversation with my cousin Nancy who lives near Chicago. She gave me a hard time about some of our names here in the Northwest. I replied, “ and this is coming from a person who lives in ellanoise? Illinois!

Host Hook-Up

For the past 17 years Oregon Fish and Wildlife has held an annual get together for all current and prospective hosts and volunteers. I guess in the strict sense of the phrase it’s not really a rally because lots of ODFW volunteers don’t have an RV. But for us it kind of feels like a rally. ODFW staff hatchery managers and crew spend a few days recognizing current volunteers and recruiting new folks.

Because of our circumstance and proximity we helped some this year putting it on. Mostly just some grunt work and driving. Kat spent the better part of a day pedaling her bicycle all over the campground getting people in the right RV site and letting them know what was up.

Mostly we met some friends and made some new ones. There was one potluck and the rest of the meals were catered. There were several interesting speakers talking about ODFW related subjects and prize drawings for ODFW gear and such. You can’t volunteer without the T-shirt and the coffee mug. I’m developing quite a wardrobe of volunteer shirts. I entered the Pro-Division casting contest and (drum roll here) finished in second place. Pro-Division in this case meant that you had held a fishing pole at some point in your life. I think Tom won, but I got another coffee mug. After Tom it was just a case of who was luckiest. That turned out to be me.

There was a tour of the hatchery which didn’t seem like it would be a big deal, because we had worked at one, but it turned out to be very interesting. They happened to be harvesting salmon and collecting markers that had been implanted in the fish for tracking and study. They were knocking fish in the head and cutting off the snout if they were tagged and then put on ice to be sold to a fish buyer. Just a baseball bat and something like a paper cutter for cutting off the nose. Kat didn’t like that part much. Understand though that the life of these fish was over anyway. These were spawning salmon and after spawning they die. This way ODFW gets some return on raising all these fish. Seems fair to me!

The "Rally"

I’ve written about Rally’s before. Kind of like a big fair for RV’ers. Vendors, seminars, RV’s for sale, food, and entertainment. But this was the Grand National and it was huge! We walked through RV’s until my knees didn’t work anymore. Maybe even saw a couple (RV’s I mean) we liked. But then we’d need to win the lottery. I guess even before that we would have to start playing the lottery. I’ve learned you can’t be guaranteed a win if you play, but you can be guaranteed not to win if you don’t play! We went to some good and not so good seminars. Seminars on safety, cooking, maintenance, exercise, even one on romance. And even if we didn’t need that seminar I had fun. I probably embarrassed Kat a little though. I played in the golf tournament and had a great time. I played with a couple and their friend from Montana. They were very nice but a load to carry for 18 holes (golfers will understand) so we didn’t finish in the money.

Another important aspect of Rally’s is that it’s a huge opportunity to spend money. “It’s Like pouring sand down a rat hole.” Our big expenditures were two “Fantastic” exhaust fans and a supplemental brake system. The brake systems are for the ‘toad’ (see previous entry). Because of insurance liabilities they have become mandatory. Most states are requiring it now. Ironically Oregon does not. Police are being trained to investigate at accidents. So if you don’t have an aux braking system and you are involved in an accident you can pretty much bend over and grab your ankles. So we got one! And even if it was expensive we did save some on the deals at the “Rally”.

We enjoyed the whole experience.

Who wants to join us in Perry, Georgia, next year for “The Rally”?

This was the write up in the Good Sam Magazine.

Many Good Sam Club members were among those in the 3,852 rigs that gathered in the high-desert town of Redmond, Oregon for The Rally, July 19 through 22, 2007, joining what has grown to become the definitive annual gathering for RVers.

Organized by the Good Sam Club's parent company, Affinity Group, The Rally put almost every facet of the RV experience at attendees' fingertips on the 132-acre grounds of the Deschutes County Expo Center. Participants could choose from a broad range of seminars, RV displays, parts and accessory exhibits, fun activities, tours and live entertainment from some of the hottest performers in the country. TV game show emcee Bob Eubanks even joined the fun to host the Good Sam Club's Almost Newlywed Game on The Rally's final day.

The Rally had something for everybody. Like kicking tires? You could have spent days touring the hundreds of 2008 RVs from more than 15 manufacturers. Just about every RVer could find the rig of his or her dreams, from lightweight trailers that sold for around $15,000 to diesel-pusher motorhomes with million-dollar price tags. One of the most popular rigs was Country Coach's 2008 Rhapsody, which featured four slide-outs, one-and-a-half bathrooms and a host of high-tech features. The price: a cool $1.3 million. Visitors could also browse the aisles of RV accessories - everything from cookware to trailer hitches to handcrafted art - in three large indoor-exhibit areas.

The RV hardware on display was rivaled only by the lineup of more than 150 seminars on topics that ranged from personal safety in an RV to how to set up a satellite dish and tips on planning a trip to Alaska. The impressive roster of instructors included Highways columnists Joe and Vicki Kieva and Bob Livingston.

Beyond the seminar halls and exhibits, Good Sam members found plenty of ways to have fun. Pet lovers got a chance to trot out their four-legged traveling companions during Friday's Rally Dog Show, which featured a swimsuit competition, a singing contest and - we're not kidding - a competition to see which pet owners bore the closest resemblance to their pooches. The event was hosted by Robin Dickson, CEO of Dogs for the Deaf.

On Sunday, the Good Sam Club sponsored the Almost Newlywed Game, hosted by longtime television host Bob Eubanks. Scores of Good Sam Club members watched as four couples chosen at random squirmed under the hilarious questions and double entendres posed by Eubanks.

It's a good bet that the awesome surrounding scenery inspired a sense of wanderlust, and The Rally's tours proved to be the perfect tonic. Throughout the day, buses took Rally guests to such destinations as the Deschutes Brewery in nearby Bend, the Newberry National Volcanic Monument and Crater, and Mount Bachelor, where tour guests enjoyed a high-altitude lunch at Pine Marten Lodge.

You didn't even have to have a driver's license to have a good time. The Rally's Youth Program offered a full slate of activities for young people ages 6 to 17. Participants kept busy with an Oreo cookie stacking contest, face painting and trips to some of the area's surrounding attractions.

The fun didn't stop as the sun dropped. Evening entertainment at the Hooker Creek Event Center included performances from Suzanne Somers, Gary Puckett, BJ Thomas, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and Beatles tribute band, Ticket to Ride.

Of course, a special thanks needs to go out to the 291 RVers who volunteered for activities, parking, registration, seminars, transportation, security and attendance duties during The Rally. As Marty Hayes said, "I like to help out, but I also made sure that I took some time to have fun."

Before the Rally

As I have said, July was "Rally" month for us. But we had to hang around for a while before they started.

Because it is summer and about a 'zillion' RV's are headed this way for the "Grand National Rally" in Redmond Or. we made some advance reservations where we could. That started in Milo McIver state park. It's just down the road from Clackamas and Oregon City. We did some relaxing, got some sun, did a little walking and some reading. All that retired RV'ing stuff we're supposed to be doing. McIver is on the Clackamas river which is home to a substantial population of Ospreys. I sat on the river bank for a time one afternoon and watched an Ospery dive for fish. They fly into the wind along the river at maybe 50' and look for fish. At times they will come to almost a hover and when they see something they fold their wings and dive straight down into the water. Most of the time as I watched they were coming up with what I assumed was a trout. Hard to tell exactly? Then they would fly off to eat. Fun to watch!

Woodburn was next. Woodburn is near the heart of the Willamette valley and as a result very much an agricultural center. It's also home to a decent RV park with a pool that happens to be right next to the Woodburn Factory Stores. Guess who went to the pool and who went shopping. Need I say more?

Then it was LaPine State Park. When we pulled into the park we realized our reservations were for the same site we had stayed at coming through here from Goose Lake. Jade liked it! She knew where to hide and watch the chipmunks. We did some bike riding and walking. But this is where Kat started to suffer from sciatica.

We went to the lava cave and didn’t make it all the way in. Maybe it’s really called a lava tube. They’re tubes (go figure) that lava flowed through and then receded to leave a long tunnel (Of course that was a couple bazillion years ago). I think in this case it may be a quarter to a half mile long? I did the whole distance a long time ago but can’t remember for sure. Anyway we couldn’t do the cave so we went to Bend and did dinner and a movie. We saw the latest Bourne movie. Pretty good but of course nothing like the book. The books are great! Just a side note there.

We also drove up to Newbury Crater and National Volcanic Monument (or something like that). Newbury crater is home to East and Paulina lakes and a couple of campgrounds. In the last few years, since it became Federal, they have made several improvements to the area. There’s a huge obsidian flow in the area. Just lot’s of things to do and look at if you’re into the outdoors.

Another day, and on the advice of the Park Ranger, we drove a couple miles up a dirt road to see some waterfalls. The trip and the falls were good but not something to write home about. The dust however was memorable. We got back to pavement with enough dust on the bumper to grow potatoes. That was after getting up to speed and trying blow some of it off. Of course “up to speed” in our little “toad” maybe not be enough to blow much dust off. For those of you not in the know a “toad” is a car towed behind a motorhome.

Our last stop before the big event was Sun Rocks, a private park south of Prineville not too far from the reservoir and state park. And only about 45 minutes from Redmond and the site of the “Rally”. This was just a few days in a 3rd rate RV park. This close to the Grand National Rally in time and space we couldn’t be picky about where to stay. We were seeing motorhomes from all over the country. But Sun Rocks did have a first rate pool and we both got lots of pool and sun time. Kat was even getting into it. We have already started to make reservations for next years Rally in Perry, Georgia. But before that, IT’S ON TO THE “RALLY”.