Birch Bay State Park, Washington Visit Mike and Paul Semiahmoo Residence 7/15 - 7/18/2024 Travel Tour

                                                       From: casarollnotes.blogspot.com                                                                                                      Tim and Linda Bunyan

While we visit Mike and Paul we stay at Birch Bay State Park located about 5 miles from their home in Semiuahmoo, Washington.

Mike and Paul have a new member of their family.  "Molly".  A very young pup they rescued.  Molly is playful and already knows the game of ball.  She does go fetch and returns the ball ............ for as long as one can endure at one playful day.

Mike loves taking Molly for a walk and ample space along the waterfront.

Canada can be clearly seen from Mike and Paul's patio, the Peace Arch Park, erected to signify peace.

We create peace with a walk about Whatcom Lake Falls.

The park has ample parking for a quick lunch at the picnic table.  Mike's car is so lovely.  

We met Mike and Paul's friend Adam (Deltec), at the boat launch.  A lovely, lively place filled with boats and swimming and a beach shoreline filled with dogs, and children with their families.

The Nature Market where Adam referred us to purchase fresh mushrooms from his wife's company!

Paul enjoys Molley.  She has 'puppy needs' of rest after her runabout at Point Whitehorn Marine Reserve.

Mike and I hike a trail; but first MUST clean our feet to this Nature Preserve!

We go into the wilds!




The forest of live and downed trees provides scarce habitats for many birds, amphibians, and small mammals.

Rock bench dedicated to honor Carl Batchelor conservationist.  "There are some who live without wild things, and some who cannot." - Aldo Leopold.

The shoreline at Cherry Point is constantly in motion.  Naturally eroding bluffs feed new sediment to beaches.  Treese and overhanding plants provide nutrients and a safe haven to aquatic species.

Roadside Stand!

"Home is Where the Heart Is."

Larry and Tracy came by Mike and Paul for a visit while on their 2024 Road Trip!!

We take a walkabout and see the seas at the Harbor.  They are as happy as us getting out into the warm sunny afternoon,.

Walk about the modern and well-maintained marina with about 300 slips....what a great boat show!

The Grand Finale to playing cards: Hand and Foot Card Game with the best shuffler in town!

Mike displays his vintage dish from Bev Klaus during Diane's visit...sorry no pic of lovely Diane!

IT is time to depart the U.S.A. and cross to the country of Canada to Capilano River RV Park in Vancouver, BC.

Mount St. Helen's Castle Rock/Toutie, Washington 7/12 - 7/15 2024 Travel Tour

                                                   From: casarollnotes.blogspot.com                                                                   Tim and Linda Bunyan

Mount St Helens, National Volcanic Monument

Our RV campsite is in Cowlitz County established in 1982 by President Ronald Reagan following the 1980 eruption.  Harry Gardner County Park RV sites.

 It is managed by the U.S. Forest Service and is part of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

The explosion destroyed and covered a 7 mile radius to:

Evidence of the volcano's destruction 

RECOVERY

The 110,000 acre National Volcanic Monument is set aside for research, recreation, and education.

It's just so amazing to see such a large expanse of undeveloped areas.  The huge valleys and large hills and mountains feel overwhelming in a way, but create this sense of awe.

Inside the monument, the environment is left to respond naturally to the disturbance.

St Route 504 provides spectacular views of the landscape, blast zone, and Toutie River Valley.

We drove the Windy Ridge for 4 miles of the crater.  

Mount St. Helens Visitor Center at Silver Lake 

exhibits include the culture and history the natural history and geology of the volcano and the eruption, including the recovery of the area's vegetation and animal life.

Johnston Ridge Observatory is located near the site of volcanologist David A. Johnston's camp on the morning of May 18, 1980.  Due to landslides, it is closed

 but we were able to visit the Coldwater Science and Learning Center.,

Each visitor center along the 50-mile park drive operated an educational facility and conference center.  Bear Meadows is an alpine meadow and viewpoint.

Remarkably, gradual recovery of the land is evident as revegetation proceeds and wildlife returns.  Project repairs continue throughout the park.

Weyerhaeuser's commitment to replanting trees in the blast zone is harvested and plans to reharvest and plant again.

Sacramento, Medford to Portland, Oregon 7/09 - 7/12/2024 Portland, Oregon - Columbia River RV Park

                                                          From: casarollnotes.blogspot.com                                                                                                      Tim and Linda Bunyan

We depart Sun City July 2024

We departed Sun City   

early, eager to leave the Sacramento Valley with temperatures of over 100 degrees. 

First day drive through Northern California to Medford, the first night, then onto Portland, Oregon.

 We arrive at Harvest Host at the National Register of Historic Places: EdanVale Winery in Medford, Oregon for our first night on the road again!

We park (Harvest Host - free) among the gardens and orchards.  The mansion was established in 1885 as Oregon's first Pear Orchard.  We enjoyed the air-conditioned tasting room with five other women tasting while Tim and I selected the pear cider and cranberry cider to our delight.  We chose The Charcuterie Board with our tasting as the perfect fit for an evening dining out.

In the pioneer days of the Rogue River Valley, this land lay between two of the few established settlements, what would soon become known as Ashland Mills and Jacksonville, Oregon.  Cultivation began in 1853.  The same year the nearby town of Medored was incorporated, Joseph H. Steward, an enthusiastic fruit dealer from Chicago, purchased the 160-acre property and planted the first commercial pear orchards in the United States.

In reverence to the past, we toasted with pear cider in the vineyard/orchard tasting room and settled into a rest for our first day which always takes a prior week of early sunrise mornings to get things organized, cleaned, and packed to comfort level in the RV.

Onto Portland Oregon.

 Signs along the Travel Tour - even Truckers need the Lord (photo taken at a truck stop).

PORTLAND - We decided to change our plans from the Elks Lodge to confirm a reservation in Columbia River RV Park, located about 5 miles north of Portland. 

Eager to see the river city: Portland, Oregon.

 We found the area not as bicycle-friendly as we had anticipated, so we drove to Portland's Peral District.  We enjoyed our visit to Portland's iconic bookseller: Powell's City of Books,

the headquarters that claims to be the 

largest independent new and used bookstore in the world!

 The book: "Horse" was written by Geraldine Brooks.  I bought it ......It was recommended and I want to read it and also pass it along to Jason.  He has little time to read so this is selected as a narrative among three related stories about an enslaved man grooming a winning thoroughbred in the mid-1800s, the early years of horseback racing.

 

The City of Books has nine color-coded rooms and over 3,500 different sections.

 We were sure to have a spot and a location much more interesting as it is located near the marina on the Columbia River.

Tim and I set out for a walkabout Fort Vancouver to find it was established as a fort in 1849 while it was bargained from the 1st Regional Port of the Hudson's Bay Company in 1825!  In 1869 Oregon Trail immigrants (all 500,000) traveled 2,000 miles to arrive in this area and be 'taken in' by the British leader of the HBC.

Fort Vancouver was a 19th-century fur trading post built 1824-1825.  It was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, 

located in the Pacific Northwest.  The Army facility continues in operation.

Onto Washington to visit Mike and Paul at their home in the Northwest seaside resort in Semiahmoo, Washington.