Junction City, Oregon

Monday we had to say goodbye to our motorhome for a couple of weeks.  Our Bounder has a small crack underneath the right-hand side of the bedroom slide.  This crack needs to be fixed under warranty, and Guaranty RV Service in Junction City, Oregon is our closest authorized Fleetwood repair shop.

It was raining slightly when we left home at 8 am.  We ran into more rain as we drove south on I-5.  When we got to Junction City, which was about 100 miles from home, the rain had stopped. 

We were glad to see that Guaranty RV Center was booming with business, at least it was booming with repair business.  We saw lots of trailers for sale, but I don’t know how many people were buying. 

The flower pots outside the service center were blooming.

We stopped for gas in Junction City because the price was about ten cents less than in Vancouver.

On the way home we stopped at an overlook of the Willamette River on I-205 just south of Oregon City.

Tim’s Shelf-Removal Project

Our project today was to help our son, Tim, take down some shelves that were in his garage when he bought the house.  Kiersten and I watched while Dave and Tim did all the work.

The shelves were originally put in with three or four different kinds and lengths of screws.

After the shelves were removed

Dave took home some of the small pieces

The rest of the leftover wood

Afterwards Tim and Kiersten treated us to lunch at Olive Garden. 

Wedding Reception

Some young friends of ours got married last month in St. Croix, Virgin Islands.  Today their Vancouver reception was held at the Hilton.  It’s a lovely hotel located right across from the street from Vancouver’s Esther Short Park.  A wine and jazz festival was being held in the park, so I didn’t get many pictures of the park, except for the park’s famous Salmon Run Bell Tower.

Vancouver's 69-foot-high Salmon Run Bell Tower features a revolving musical display at noon, 2, 4, 6 and 8 p.m. The tower commemorates the life cycle of the Pacific salmon and the fish's value to the Chinook tribe, the original inhabitants of the lower Columbia River.  The tower is decorated with four 5-foot bronzes of jumping salmon as well as 29 blocks of columnar basalt that serve as sitting benches at its base.

Children like to climb on the salmon structures in the park (this photo is from a park  website)

 Outside the Vancouver Hilton

A water feature inside the hotel

Congratulations to the newlyweds, Amy and Caleb!

Amy has been a friend of ours ever since we moved to Washington state in 1993 and became acquainted with her family.  Caleb and Amy have been friends for many years, but their relationship deepened after Caleb suffered a very serious brain condition a few years ago.  It’s a miracle that Caleb is alive today.  We give thanks to God for this couple and for their faith and perseverance.

Walking at Union High School

Dave and Tom walking ahead of Cheryl and I on the track.  They are faster than we are!

In order to encourage one of Dave’s fellow football officials, Dave and I have been walking with him and his wife at the track at Union High School which is near our house.  Steve had knee surgery a few weeks ago and is trying to get his knee back in shape in order to referee this season.  Some other friends from football, Tom and his wife, Cheryl, also joined the walking group.  They have become the unofficial leaders of the group, but we all try to walk together when we can. Tonight I took my camera along to take a few pictures.

 

A pano of the eastern view from the track.  We walked at 7 pm tonight, so the sun was getting low.

Scenes from Long Beach, WA

These competitive kite flyers were from Detroit, Michigan.  

Looking down towards the ocean after the kite festival was over.  

On our final full day, we went for a bike ride from Seaview to Beards Hollow on the Discovery Trail.

Seaview was once a depot on the Ilwaco Railway and Navigation Company, a narrow gauge railroad that ran up the Long Beach Peninsula from 1889 to 1930.

Originally a summer community for the Portland gentry, Seaview’s quiet tree-lined streets invite strollers to enjoy turn-of-the-century Victorian homes which are survivors  of a developer’s plans from the 1880s.

This picture shows the dune grasses which were still fairly green.  We could see the Pacific Ocean as we rode, but only over the dunes. 

North Jetty

The last few times we have visited Cape Disappointment State Park, the end of North Jetty has been closed because the river is being dredged in order to deepen the shipping passage.

This time we were able to see the dredge doing its work.  

A closer view of the dredge ship.

We couldn’t walk all the way to the south end of the beach because of the work going on at the jetty.

This area, where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean is such an interesting area.  We never get tired of exploring here.

Cormorants

When we are this close to Cape Disappointment Lighthouse, we can see that it needs a paint job!

Cape Disappointment’s other lighthouse is North Head, which is visible from Benson Beach at the campground. 

Battery Harvey Allen

Welcome to my new blog followers, Freely Living Life.

On Sunday we visited the battery Harvey Allen at the former Fort Canby at Cape Disappointment.  Now there’s a Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center at the site of Battery Harvey Allen. 

Battery Harvey Allen at Fort Canby

 One of the former gun mounts

The remains of “Big Betsy”, a 15-inch Rodman gun

One of the interior rooms at the battery

Sunset over the Pacific

Our stay here at Cape Disappointment State Park is coming to end.  Beginning in October, we will be able to begin using our off-season senior resident’s pass, which allows us to camp for free at any Washington state park if there are no hookups and for $6/night for full hookups.  What a deal!  We will be back, maybe in October for the Water Music Festival, a weekend of classical music.