Daily Archives: Sunday July 22nd, 2012

15th Anniversary : John Day, OR

The last few years we have made it kind of a tradition to go somewhere for our anniversary. Usually not on our anniversary, since it sometimes lands on Memorial Day and crowds…yuck….lol Since we’ve been living in OR, we done the Red Woods in CA, taken a portion of the OR coast a couple of years until we got it covered and we’ve done Mt St. Helens.

This year we decided on John National Monuments and we didn’t want to take 26 since we’ve already done that a few times. We took 84 to 97 to 206…..wow. It was so different and so beautiful.

Got to one viewing area and got to see all the peaks including Mt Rainier, which we totally didn’t expect. Saw a bunch of wind farms…that was cool.

Since we have gotten our Wrangler, when you take it out on a nice day, other Wrangler owners will wave at you. Just like bikers do, they acknowledge each other. So we’ve been getting use to that, it is pretty cool When we turned off of 84 to go south, there were so few people on the winding roads, very in the middle of no where feeling….really neat. Well, people out there wave at you also as you drive by, I felt like I was back in Germany, where everyone said “Guten Tag” when you passed them

Didn’t do it like we originally planned…..it never does work that way….lol But it worked out for the best. We decided to change from the campground we thought we were going to head to the 1st night, because it was an hour & half from each of the 3 John Day Units. We really wanted and needed to hit 2 of the units Tues if we were going to all of them in, because at the 3rd unit, we wanted to do the 4mile hike.

We hit the Clarno Unit around noon Tues, did the small .5 mile hike, saw some really cool plant fossils.

We decided to camp at the Wildcat

It was nice and quiet…..didn’t get to enjoy it to the fullest, since when we go there, we set up a portion of the camp and then headed back out to see The Painted Hills Unit. We thought it would be only about 20min away….nope, more like 50…..lol But we found it and hiked the small .25 mile trail around the very colorful and stunning hills.

Didn’t get back to our campsite until about 7 and only had a few hrs of day light to left, we quickly finished setting up camp and get us some dinner.

The next day we headed to The Sheep Rock Unit. They have a really neat museum with all sorts of fossils. Now when most people think of fossils they think of from the dinosaur age, these are from the age of mammals. The John Day Monuments are considered the best in the world for the age of mammals. People have been researching them for over a hundred years and are still making new discoveries.

Now a weather observation, we live outside of Portland and 75 degrees is very nice. So when you see it on the weather that John Day is 75, you think comfortable. Big mistake….lol It is desert and with direct sun, it is hot. Wow…..lol

We did the small hike of the fossils, then headed for the 3mile loop. (Blue Basin Hike) We’ve found that we like getting the switchbacks up out of the way, instead of using them to come down. To us it’s the hardest part of the hike and we like to get it out of the way first. When we finished the hike, we were happy with that decision.

It was also our first hike with our camelbak packs. They were so much easier then our all day hike packs with camelbak water bottles. They held 100ml and the weight was spread out so much better on our backs. Which really helped with the climb up.

Really enjoyed the hike, like all climbs up….feel like I’m going to die and I curse the gym because that is suppose to help with it and it doesn’t seem to…lol Seriously, I use a climbing treadmill at the gym to help with the up and downs like a hike, I do about 4-5miles of that 5 days a week. Go on a hike and 1/4 mile up about kills me by stealing my breath…ggeezz..

Instead of going home the way we came, we wanted to continue on 26 to 7 and jump on 84 in Baker City. On the way there we found out last camp site of the trip….called Middle Fork Campground

This was the most awesome of sites we’ve ever had….there was 10 campsites and we were the ONLY ones there.  We had the whole campground to ourselves, only one or two vehicles went by on the road, we had a small, very chilly river, that we used to rinse the hike off and the big bonus, a nice pile of chopped firewood.  It was a great way to end our last night of camping for our anniversary.

The reason for taking that route home was I’ve never seen that part of Oregon and hubby wanted me to really see the high desert plateau…..where you go from 2k-3k feet in elevation down to 200ft. That was really neat. They had a lot of spots for run away trucks to go off the road. I highly recommend checking it out….unfortunately, wasn’t able to find any links to it.

[EasyGallery id=’johndaynationalmoumentandcampi’]

**I’m trying to get the gallery to work.  They are posted in my Facebook :

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3351445627670.2127103.1314756288&type=3&l=8dc7d9ed5a

15th Anniversary : John Day, OR

The last few years we have made it kind of a tradition to go somewhere for our anniversary. Usually not on our anniversary, since it sometimes lands on Memorial Day and crowds…yuck….lol Since we’ve been living in OR, we done the Red Woods in CA, taken a portion of the OR coast a couple of years until we got it covered and we’ve done Mt St. Helens.

This year we decided on John National Monuments and we didn’t want to take 26 since we’ve already done that a few times. We took 84 to 97 to 206…..wow. It was so different and so beautiful.

Got to one viewing area and got to see all the peaks including Mt Rainier, which we totally didn’t expect. Saw a bunch of wind farms…that was cool.

Since we have gotten our Wrangler, when you take it out on a nice day, other Wrangler owners will wave at you. Just like bikers do, they acknowledge each other. So we’ve been getting use to that, it is pretty cool When we turned off of 84 to go south, there were so few people on the winding roads, very in the middle of no where feeling….really neat. Well, people out there wave at you also as you drive by, I felt like I was back in Germany, where everyone said “Guten Tag” when you passed them

Didn’t do it like we originally planned…..it never does work that way….lol But it worked out for the best. We decided to change from the campground we thought we were going to head to the 1st night, because it was an hour & half from each of the 3 John Day Units. We really wanted and needed to hit 2 of the units Tues if we were going to all of them in, because at the 3rd unit, we wanted to do the 4mile hike.

We hit the Clarno Unit around noon Tues, did the small .5 mile hike, saw some really cool plant fossils.

We decided to camp at the Wildcat

It was nice and quiet…..didn’t get to enjoy it to the fullest, since when we go there, we set up a portion of the camp and then headed back out to see The Painted Hills Unit. We thought it would be only about 20min away….nope, more like 50…..lol But we found it and hiked the small .25 mile trail around the very colorful and stunning hills.

Didn’t get back to our campsite until about 7 and only had a few hrs of day light to left, we quickly finished setting up camp and get us some dinner.

The next day we headed to The Sheep Rock Unit. They have a really neat museum with all sorts of fossils. Now when most people think of fossils they think of from the dinosaur age, these are from the age of mammals. The John Day Monuments are considered the best in the world for the age of mammals. People have been researching them for over a hundred years and are still making new discoveries.

Now a weather observation, we live outside of Portland and 75 degrees is very nice. So when you see it on the weather that John Day is 75, you think comfortable. Big mistake….lol It is desert and with direct sun, it is hot. Wow…..lol

We did the small hike of the fossils, then headed for the 3mile loop. (Blue Basin Hike) We’ve found that we like getting the switchbacks up out of the way, instead of using them to come down. To us it’s the hardest part of the hike and we like to get it out of the way first. When we finished the hike, we were happy with that decision.

It was also our first hike with our camelbak packs. They were so much easier then our all day hike packs with camelbak water bottles. They held 100ml and the weight was spread out so much better on our backs. Which really helped with the climb up.

Really enjoyed the hike, like all climbs up….feel like I’m going to die and I curse the gym because that is suppose to help with it and it doesn’t seem to…lol Seriously, I use a climbing treadmill at the gym to help with the up and downs like a hike, I do about 4-5miles of that 5 days a week. Go on a hike and 1/4 mile up about kills me by stealing my breath…ggeezz..

Instead of going home the way we came, we wanted to continue on 26 to 7 and jump on 84 in Baker City. On the way there we found out last camp site of the trip….called Middle Fork Campground

This was the most awesome of sites we’ve ever had….there was 10 campsites and we were the ONLY ones there. We had the whole campground to ourselves, only one or two vehicles went by on the road, we had a small, very chilly river, that we used to rinse the hike off and the big bonus, a nice pile of chopped firewood. It was a great way to end our last night of camping for our anniversary.

The reason for taking that route home was I’ve never seen that part of Oregon and hubby wanted me to really see the high desert plateau…..where you go from 2k-3k feet in elevation down to 200ft. That was really neat. They had a lot of spots for run away trucks to go off the road. I highly recommend checking it out….unfortunately, wasn’t able to find any links to it.

**Yes, I know the gallery is not working.  I’m trying to get it going. They are posted in my Facebook :

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3351445627670.2127103.1314756288&type=3&l=8dc7d9ed5a

Pauline’s Daily Tweets

  • Boy Scouts: Stop the secrecy! Allow your Board to VOTE to end the ban on gay scouts and leaders http://t.co/n6dTLk6 via @change #
  • Amazing Aurora Tribute Art on Instagram (Photos) http://t.co/XjJPz9N #
  • Spotted T-shirt : Troutdale – A Quaint Drinking Village with a Fishing Problem…..lol #
  • Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy’s Lonely Crusade for Smarter Gun Control http://t.co/mMrPDuC #
  • Totally loving our new chairs we got for our balcony, now we can enjoy the beautiful weather in comfort =) #
  • Disabled vet asks for public support, says airline workers kicked his service dog http://t.co/tqnNwG2 Unbelievable! #
  • The National Rifle Association’s Bizarre Colorado Response http://t.co/oBKK068 #
  • Colorado Shooter James Holmes’ Family History Goes Back to the Mayflower http://t.co/pkXYMpv #
  • The U.S. Constitution, Rewritten by Our Legal Experts and Readers http://t.co/8M2qvg8 Some interesting things in there. #

Powered by Twitter Tools

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2012-07-22

  • Alaska town: Feline mayor is the cat’s pajamas http://t.co/XqX066U LOL #
  • The woman who stood up to Joe Paterno http://t.co/Rp2lkr1 #cnn #
  • Going to try and finish a book today, wishing I was at the last minute family reunion…would've loved to hear more stories & get more info #
  • Looking forward to the pictures that they'll be taking. #
  • Johnsons Landing Landslide: News Crew Captures Footage Of Second Landslide In British Columbia T… http://t.co/XQFo4xX Must see…wild! #
  • Polish Jew Rescuers In WWII Celebrated As Heroes http://t.co/WPNsNR6 #
  • Just finished The Presidents Club: Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity http://t.co/NyBee6b Very fascinating & highly recommend #
  • RT @UltraViolet Its been 20 years since a woman moderated a presidential debate. Lets make sure that trend ends in 2012 #
  • Democrats Mock GOP For Protecting Own Health Care In Repeal Vote http://t.co/r6r3vPO via #
  • Donald J. Sobol, 'Encyclopedia Brown' Author, Dead At 87 http://t.co/bUlbRTr Some of the 1st books I've read. #
  • Senate Republicans Filibuster DISCLOSE Act http://t.co/oFOjdhf Disgraceful!!! #GOP #
  • Reid: Lack of campaign finance reform turns US over to 'angry, old white men' – The Hill's Floor Action http://t.co/Lc1fIk3 That sums it up #
  • Neil deGrasse Tyson at the Starship Smackdown, Comic-Con 2012: http://t.co/UvT4ldT This is cool =) #
  • 9 Great Nonbelievers In U.S. History http://t.co/33rvgaN #
  • 15 Prominent Republicans Who Want Romney To Release More Tax Returns Right Now http://t.co/b8uxbJf #
  • Daughter's in love, Dad feels jilted http://t.co/G7mA9RE #cnn =) #
  • Sherrod Brown Hugging His Wife In Photo Prompts Conservative Blogger's Conspiracy Theory http://t.co/dLIwVQf Wow…what a moron #
  • Hey Michigan Politicians – So You #WannaBeMyDoc on ACLU — http://t.co/yg73tDz via @aclu This is such BS! #
  • “The church has always been willing to swap off treasures in heaven for cash down.”
    — Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899) #
  • So hoping that my brain is not a muddle tomorrow like today….icks…..that was a pain #
  • You Know Who Else Needed to Learn 'How to Be an American?' Dwight Eisenhower! http://t.co/FZ5FHry #
  • I Believe: An Atheist's "World View" http://t.co/2m3StLm #
  • Report: The Stimulus Successfully Saved Teaching Jobs http://t.co/LJtzs6L #
  • Morgan Freeman On Marijuana: Criminalization Of Weed Is 'Stupidest Law Possible' http://t.co/FeZZtCO #
  • Mitt Romney Taxes For 2010 Not Fully Disclosed http://t.co/LWTPrhq #
  • Bank Contractors Break Into Occupied Homes, Terrify Residents, Lawsuits Say http://t.co/TijFE4u This is BS!! #
  • It has been a long weird day, but got my work done…so I'll take it. =) #
  • Immigrant Mom Loses Effort to Regain Son Given to US Parents http://t.co/hxO2KUA Legal KIDNAPPING!!! Shameful!! Shame on the Mosers!!!! #
  • Permission to Live: How I lost my fear of Universal Health Care http://t.co/srba6co From a die-hard #GOPer #
  • Michael Tomasky on Romney: the Un-American in the Presidential Race http://t.co/0eKIEzr #
  • RT @dcdebbie: Ann Romney has a hard life-she manages 4 homes, multiple maids, nannies + sometimes a broken car … http://t.co/Vbalz9n #
  • Defense Department: Soldiers Can March In Uniform In San Diego Pride Parade http://t.co/OZ6BgIZ I'm big support of LGBT rights…but no #
  • I believe in same sex marriage, BUT you do NOT wear your uniform at a POLITICAL event….that applies to everyone, including teabaggers #
  • Get matching t-shirts announcing your military service, but do not wear your uniform at a political event…..their are reasons for that #
  • Just got some shopping done, now going to chill out and do some reading. #
  • Sorry, but Ann Romney and Michelle Obama are full partners, and fair game http://t.co/6wtpsnX #
  • Horrible! Woke up to learn about #theatershooting =( ABC News http://t.co/puoFTZz My thoughts are with the victims. #
  • Expired Assault Weapons Ban Would Have Covered Rifle Used In Colorado Shooting http://t.co/ZMj6yb0 #
  • 'Dark Knight Rises' Shooting Victim Stopped to Help Young Mom – ABC News http://t.co/eii8hjj #
  • The Geography of Gun Violence – Neighborhoods – The Atlantic Cities http://t.co/DVw6iRo #
  • Just trying to focus and get work done, so I can do my own thing later this evening #
  • Presidential Debates Respond to Campaign for Women Moderators | The Nation http://t.co/7v72X4e #
  • Romney kept reins on Bain, bargained hard on severance during absence http://t.co/SDbwvcI #
  • “Nice Guys” Contribute to Rape Culture : Ms. Magazine Blog http://t.co/ne1TDKQ #
  • Why the Bishops' "Religious Freedom" Argument is a Lie http://t.co/Chf1jHP #
  • Garfield @GoComicshttp://t.co/47bQcar #garfield #GoComics LOL #
  • Boy Scouts: Stop the secrecy! Allow your Board to VOTE to end the ban on gay scouts and leaders http://t.co/n6dTLk6 via @change #
  • Amazing Aurora Tribute Art on Instagram (Photos) http://t.co/XjJPz9N #
  • Spotted T-shirt : Troutdale – A Quaint Drinking Village with a Fishing Problem…..lol #
  • Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy’s Lonely Crusade for Smarter Gun Control http://t.co/mMrPDuC #
  • Totally loving our new chairs we got for our balcony, now we can enjoy the beautiful weather in comfort =) #
  • Disabled vet asks for public support, says airline workers kicked his service dog http://t.co/tqnNwG2 Unbelievable! #

Powered by Twitter Tools