Fort Worden, WA - guns, wind and waves . . .

Waaaay up on the easternmost tip of the Olympic Peninsula, north of Port Townsend, WA, Oscar and I found Fort Worden. A strategic outpost from long ago, Fort Worden's weapons protected the water approaches into our nation. One of the disappearing guns of the Kinzie Battery required 51 men to operate the massive canon which could hurl a 1000 lb armor piercing shell 8 miles!

As the Wonder Egg cozied up against the sand dunes, Oscar noted a tall sparsely appointed tree and asked what happened to all the other branches. The answer came in the middle of the night when gale force winds whipped through the area gusting up to 50 mph! The Wonder Egg's curved body allowed the harsh wind to slide effortlessly around without any significant shaking . . . nice. (Some of our neighbors in straight sided "stick built" trailers were a-rockin' and a-rollin' all night long)

Down on the beach, we could see some bits of driftwood. Oscar wanted to go down and investigate.
He discovered those weren't just any old pieces of driftwood . . . this was the mother-of-all-driftwood . . . large trees that had washed ashore. Boy, was he impressed.

As we walked along, Oscar said "Hey Pete, I wanna buy a surfboard to ride the BIG wave!" then he ran over to a sign we never see near San Antonio . . .

I tried telling Oscar that the guy in the picture wasn't going surfing . . . he was still determined to get a surfboard, dog paddle out, and wait for "the BIG one." To get his mind off that idea I had to distract him by walking down to the Point Wilson Lighthouse where we saw what he claimed had to be "The biggest flashlight in the world!" (At least he got tsunami-surfing off his mind)

Mount Hood to Portland . . .

Oscar and I have had a wonderful time in Hood River the past few days. Filled with fishing on the Columbia river with Steve (who was on a men's retreat with guys from his church when this photo was taken), walking the hills of Hood River and enjoying the town, riding along the Fruit Loop and , most of all, hanging out with family. Here are Holly and the kids, Zach, Torie, and Sophie. Oscar really enjoyed running around with his dog cousins.


On the way to Portland, Oscar kept looking up at the steep cliffs in The Gorge and commenting on the beautiful waterfalls along the way. After enough of his Ooooohhhing and Aaaaaaahhhing I had to pull over at Multnomah Falls to let him get it all out of his system. It was very pretty and when Oscar finally settled down, we continued on to Portland.

"Look, Pete! Trees! TALL Trees!!"

So there we were, cruising along the highways of northeastern Oregon looking at vast expanses of rolling mountains and hills covered with . . . nothing. OK, if you count the short dry grass as something, I may be technically wrong. But from where Oscar & I sat, it looked rather barren. Then all of a sudden, we rounded a bend and Oscar started to shake with excitement as he yelled out "Look, Pete, trees! TALL trees!!!!!"
After a long night of sentry duty amongst the large rocks, Oscar thought he had just died and gone to doggy heaven. Sooooo, I figured it was time to stop for the evening.

We stopped at Emigrant Springs State Park, so named because it used to be a favorite stopping place for the Oregon Trail travelers to stop and replenish their water supplies. An old growth forest between Pendelton and La Grande, it is a perfect place to rest and refresh the soul.
As Oscar and I took an late night walk among the towering Douglas firs, he looked up to the stars and said "Pete, I bet those trees touch the stars!" I smiled and said "They might, Oscar, they just might."

Oscar & I shall be staying with family and friends in the area for a while . . . traveling posts shall resume when we hit the road again . . .

City of Rocks

Guess where Oscar & I were yesterday . . .
Oscar thought it was amusing that, just like Florida, you could buy a bag of the state's favorite produce at gas stations near the border. Except instead of a 20 lb bag of oranges, there were 50 lb bags of taters!

We spent the night at a unique state park called the City of Rocks. It is found along a pass the 49ers used to get to the California gold rush. Desolate and beautiful at the same time . . . Here's the Wonder Egg working its way into the park.

Oscar thought the campsite view out our back window was awesome . . .

After hearing a pack of coyotes howling to each other from many different directions, he insisted on going on "patrol" to keep us safe. Here he is on sentry duty . . .

Oscar insisted on remaining on sentry duty all night and when the sun came up this morning, he took this cool picture of the Wonder Egg nestled amongs the rocks. (What a great dog!)

Needless to say, Oscar slept all day today during our journey to Oregon.

Ohio Pass - Colorado

Greetings from Helper, Utah - a tiny town near a steep portion of railroad track where the "helper engines" were put on trains to assist them in the climb over the mountains.

A few days ago I took a scenic drive up the Ohio Pass in Colorado to see the magnificent colors on display. What a delight for the eyes! Here are some of the day's photos for your viewing pleasure . . . ENJOY!!








Tonight . . . Idaho!