Category Archives: Hiking/Camping

A Month of Catching Up!

Posted on Friday July 5th, 2013 by Pauline | Comments Off

I didn’t realize it has been almost a month since I last did a post. I know I’ve been working on the blog, but that has been all in the backend so I totally lost track of time. I’ve had to go find my last post just to get a sense of what is has happen since.

I should be doing work voice mails, but we just had a storm cloud move through…no rain, unfortunately…..and it has finally cooled down from 91.4 to 79 and the humidity has dropped nicely…in fact the breeze can give a chill. Most pleasant it has been mid day in a long while, so I’m sitting outside and enjoying it. ToRn is trying to get some good shots of hummingbirds and I’m typing this up….grin

I know ToRn has done some blogging about this, but it helps me to figure out the timeline and what I’m going to say…so bear with me and my repeats.

We went to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson in June. That was really cool and we highly recommend it. It is a combination museum, zoo and botanical garden. 85% of it is outside, so make sure you take water, wear a hat and lots of sunscreen. Saw the fattest black bear we have ever seen….no black bear in the wild gets that big….lol Saw the cutest gray fox and very cool ocelot. ToRn posted pictures here: <a href=”http://wherethehellarewe.com/2013/06/13/arizona-sonora-desert-museum/” target=”_blank”>http://wherethehellarewe.com/2013/06/13/arizona-sonora-desert-museum/</a>

It was much bigger then we thought and spent more time there then planned. But we still got to the Saguaro National Park, the west unit, just much later and much hotter….lol…..triple digits according to the Jeep. We went and saw the petroglyphs and got ourselves new sun hats at the visitor center. Now we look like typical birders…..LOL….but the hats are much lighter and covers the back of your neck and we got them in our favorite colors, I got my purple and ToRn got his green.

Found our first fresh kill on June 15th. It looked like it was a fawn. Since it was out in the open, we believe it was from a pack of coyotes, mountain lions would drag it back to the treeline and try to bury some of it to keep for later. We found it in the morning and I didn’t see any vultures the evening before when I did my walk that we think it was killed over night. The bones were still “juicy” but everything picked cleaned or on it’s way to clean. Now it looks like it has been there for several months it is so bleached and dried.

For awhile there we had 3 wild turkeys hanging around. If you ever had seen the movie Dark Crystal they reminded me of those 3 mystics, hunched all over…lol Last 2 weeks we’ve only been seeing 2 of them. Not sure if one of them became someone’s dinner.

Finally been seeing an occasional bobcat….and all without going out on a hike. ToRn saw one when I was out on a hike, just walking in front of the rig, about 30ft away. Of course, I had the camera as he looked for it before he remembered and grabbed the video camera. We got it posted : <a href=”http://wherethehellarewe.com/2013/06/21/last-nights-bobcat/” target=”_blank”>http://wherethehellarewe.com/2013/06/21/last-nights-bobcat/</a>

Then a few nights ago, we saw a bobcat bouncing in the grass in the middle of the drive away. The little bugger was hunting. =)

Yesterday, we had a visitor say that they saw a small black bear. About a year old, more chestnut colored, acting like it should and running from people. Then a staffer saw it running across the road after we were just out looking for it this morning…LOL So ToRn went back out later, didn’t find it, but got more critter pictures. =)

Hummingbirds have really picked back up. They are going nuts right now. We have broad-bill, violet crown and black chinned on a regular basis. The rufus showed up a few days ago. Larry at Patons told us that they have 2 magnificents hanging around there. Got the feeling we are going to be taking a trip down there…lol

Finally got the iBird Pro app for our iPhone and iPad. They also have a new one out just for iPad only, called Waite’s Birds…free to download with 50 different birds, the cost of getting them all is normally $49.99 but we got it on sale for $9.99! I LOVE sales. What is really cool about it, is over a month ago we had some of the people from iBird Pro, they all have some of their bird pictures in there and the guy that does support was showing me the new one while it was in beta. Showing all the cool things it does. So I’ve been looking for it, I really wanted to get it while it was on sale….so I’m tickled by that….grin

We went to the small parade Patagonia has for the 4th. Kind of reminds of our small one of Troutdale Summerfest. But with a few differences….like here in Patagonia, you are encouraged to bring your water guns and balloons…lol It is the only day of the year you get to throw water balloons at the town marshal and the parade participants return the favor….grin With the heat and climate here I can full understand that, it was hot. And they “hung” the Grand Marshall…lol

We’ve had one actually thunderstorm and a few rumbles here and there. Boy, our kitties do NOT like them. They totally go into hiding, we feel so bad for them. They didn’t grow up with thunderstorms in our part of Oregon. I’m so hoping they start doing much better with them by the time we leave Arizona.

Wow, this turned out much longer then I expected and I probably missed something. Nothing unusual there….grin

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Posted in Everyday Stuff, Hiking/Camping, RV Living, Travels

Tagged Cats, Everyday Stuff, RV Living, Traveling, Weather, Wild Life

Getting New Experiences

Posted on Friday April 19th, 2013 by Pauline | Comments Off

Lets see if I can get this post done tonight…..lol

Right now, sitting by the fire, stars are out, we are at Gunsite Wash BLM just south of Why, AZ, the nearest fellow RVers are a couple 100 yds away, so totally private feeling.

It has been an interesting few days on experience, I can tell you that.

The experiences….well, hubby learned what not to do when needing to turn around. I’ll let you read <a href=”http://wherethehellarewe.com/2013/04/19/new-lessons-learned/” target=”_blank”>his post</a> on that and what was going on with his way of thinking.

But we got Ackbar stuck in about 8″ and 4′ wide sandbar, with Kermit being towed behind him and getting him stuck in a few feet of loose sand. With Kermit being the reason why Ackbar got stuck. We really should’ve taken pictures of it….BUT we are like, holy crap! How are we going to get out this? So emotions won’t have allowed that.

We unhooked Kermit, got him out easily, next was trying to Ackbar out. ToRn tried rocking him, we tried putting the leveling pads under the wheels, in the end, Torn shovel out some of the sand, put some old mats under the wheels, we put Kermit in front with the tow strap, in low 4wheel and slowly got Ackbar out.

I have NEVER done that in my life. I’ve never had my wheels, keep going and going in one spot and things shaking….I thought I was messing up the Jeep. But we did it and Kermit and Ackbar are fine.

The good thing is that my dad got me a tow strap with my first car in ’90 that we have never used and still had. I’m very proud I still had this…..sometimes being paranoid about being prepared for the worst helps out big time. I got that from living in Alaska….you carry chains, jumper cable, tow straps, food, water, blankets, first aid, tools…..if I really did what I was taught to do, the back of our Jeep would be packed.

Then when we thought we were in the free and clear, the even-brake monitor gave us “pull cable not operational” (rolling eyes). Just what we needed. Long story short after messing around with that, we unhooked and ToRn drove Ackbar and I drove Kermit for the last 80miles.

I since then I have called even-brake and they say the braking system will still work (then one when you brake on the RV, the tow will brake) even with that error. So we will tow our last leg of the trip. Then support gave me instructions for resetting (he called it “relearn”) the monitor. If that doesn’t work, we’ll deal with it once we get to Patagonia….right now, it is just nice to know that it is safe to tow.

On our first BLM experience outside of Joshua Tree, our house batteries seemed to run down pretty fast. And that was just after stopping, so they were charged and full desert sun on the solar panels, not good. Ended up running the generator and then they didn’t seem to run down that fast. But I think we found what the problem was, the ‘fridge didn’t switch to LP and stayed on AC….so that put a drain on the batteries. Which brings me to the ‘fridge……

ToRn did a <a href=”http://wherethehellarewe.com/2013/04/17/ackbars-maintenance-update-2/” target=”_blank”>post</a> on this, but the ‘fridge is not working on LP. The freezer seems to be, but not the ‘fridge part. It runs fine on shore/generator. Which made us not go to more BLM/boondocking sites after Joshua Tree. But since then I’ve learned that when the generator is not charging the house batteries and sending power to the plugs, to check the circuit breaker on the generator itself. Those things are everywhere….lol

We decided to head to a RV park in Quartzsite, AZ…not realizing that many of them close on Apr 15 since their season is over….lol I did find us 88 Shades RV Park. It was reasonability priced, $29.67 with GoodSam/AAA discount, including tax. It had several pull throughs for big rigs with tows, 50amp/water/sewer hookups, leveled gravel lots, only issue with the lots was ToRn keep finding 3inch nails from fencing, not good for tires, otherwise it was maintained, just showing some of the age, a lot of permanent residents, didn’t use the laundry/shower/restroom area, couldn’t figure out their internet step up, got decent 3g verizon most of the time, but they had a very nice desert garden. Would stay there again if in the area.

Used the time there to get the ‘fridge down on temp, make more ice, do laundry, clean and chill out.

I’ll do more on Quartzsite and Gunsite Wash in the next few days. This post is getting pretty long and my battery is getting low. =)~

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Posted in Hiking/Camping, RV Living

15th Anniversary : John Day, OR

Posted on Sunday July 22nd, 2012 by Pauline | Comments Off

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 crowdsâ€¦yuckâ€¦.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 206â€¦..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 farmsâ€¦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 plannedâ€¦..it never does work that wayâ€¦.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 quietâ€¦..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 awayâ€¦.nope, more like 50â€¦..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.Â 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.Â 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.Â They are posted in my Facebook :

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

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Posted in Everyday Stuff, Hiking/Camping, Pics, Travels

Tagged Everyday Stuff, Hiking/Camping, Oregon, Traveling

15th Anniversary Camping Plans

Posted on Wednesday May 30th, 2012 by Pauline | Comments Off

A little back story, when we chose our wedding date, I was just thinking of trying to avoid the jump in prices that a summer wedding always brings.Â And our wedding ended up on May 31st….big mistake, always stuck dealing with holiday stuff and with my current job, I have end of the month stuff to deal with…blah We should’ve stuck with the Oct date…..lol

Now when we plan to celebrate our anniversary, it is normally anywhere from a few days to a few weeks that we do our plans.Â Since we’ve moved to Oregon, we’ve tried to see different parts of the northwest, especially our adopted state. We’ve done 3 trips to the Oregon Coast to get it covered, camped in the Red Woods and now we are finally going to head to <a href=”http://www.nps.gov/joda/index.htm” target=”_blank”>John Day Nat’l Monuments</a> this week.

It is about a 4hr drive to the 1st campsite of <a href=”http://www.forestcamping.com/dow/pacficnw/umacmp.htm” target=”_blank”>Bull Prairie Lake</a>, just north of the 3 parts of the John Day Nat’l Monuments. We want to see the <a href=”http://www.nps.gov/joda/planyourvisit/painted_hills_unit.htm” target=”_blank”>Painted Hills</a> and the <a href=”http://www.nps.gov/joda/clarno_unit.htm” target=”_blank”>Clarno Unit</a> after we set up camp Tuesday.Â Then Wednesday, pack up and head to the <a href=”http://www.nps.gov/joda/sheep-rock.htm” target=”_blank”>Sheep Rock Unit</a> to do this 4mi hike : <a href=”http://bp2.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip.aspx?tripId=536378″ target=”_blank”>http://bp2.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip.aspx?tripId=536378</a>

Hoping to get our 2nd campsite in <a href=”http://www.fs.usda.gov/malheur/” target=”_blank”>Malheur National Forest</a> before all the sites get taken.Â But with it being mid-week and school still in, the odds are on our side.Â =)Â Thursday we’ll come out of the Nat’l Forest at Baker City and jump on 84 for the 5-6hr drive to head home.

The weather keeps going from overcast to sunny…..lows at night in the 40s and highs in the 60s/70s, really hoping it works out and we get to see some stunning scenery.Â Totally looking forward to some hikes, even if not looking forward to the drive…..lol

Right now, I want to get more done, work wise and for the camping…..but keep thinking I’m missing something…..grinÂ Never ending cycle.

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Posted in Everyday Stuff, Hiking/Camping, Travels

Tagged Everyday Stuff, Hiking/Camping, Oregon, Traveling

Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted on Thursday November 24th, 2011 by Pauline | Comments Off

I hope everyone is having a great day of family and food.Â As I start this, hubby has the turkey in the oven and we have football in.Â Been way too long since my last actual blog, doing our normal of gym, errands and work.Â =)

I have finally got what family info I have and put it on ancestry.comÂ So far a few of my cousins have added info, which is cool.Â Just would love to get even more.Â I have all of my great-grandparents names and only one set of great-great grandparent’s names.Â I lucked out on the great-great grandpa, he had lots of kids and descents who have put info on ancestry.com and I’ve got as far back as the 1500s in Germany….so that was really, really cool.Â But for everyone else, I haven’t been able to get across the pond back to the old country.Â =(Â Doesn’t help that I can’t read German…..lolÂ If I can get back to the 1500’s on all of the direct lines, I’d be very pleased.

I just want to establish where the bloodlines are from and then what I really would like, it is find the distant and current relatives that are still in Europe.Â I know that my maternalgrandfather’s side was still in, what was then East Germany, in the 1970s.

After getting tied into it for week, I’m taking a break.Â When I start back up, I think I’m going to start on uploading pics so maybe it will enjoy other family members toÂ add to it.Â Then I want to start something on my hubby’s side……there is so much to do, that my head spins on where to start.

**Just had our turkey dinner…..tummy is stuffed….grinÂ He made a great meal.Â I think I just love having all the different types of food together…..and look forward to the leftovers.

I’m hoping that I’ll be able and go and visit my folks this coming June.Â It has been too long.Â And I would love to time it with their 40th wedding anniversary.Â =)

This year has just flown by, I think not having an actual summer didn’t help.Â It was so wet/damp at the beginning and so short.

We did get one more camping trip in and totally lucked out and got awesome weather!Â We went to Mt Rainier National Park back in Sept.Â It was sunny and in the 80s.Â We took off the jeep t-tops once we got into the park.Â It was so beautiful, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

We camped at Cougar Rock, it was so peacefully….helps to wait until after school is back in session….grin

Camp

On the drive around the park, we stopped at a glacier river, that showed it’s history of how it has moved through the years.Â Meet a couple that lives just across the river in Washington from PDX, that has been going to Mt Rainier for years and has seen all the changes.Â They must have been in theirs 80s, they were so neat to talk to.Â Would’ve loved to talk some more, but we were out in the open without any shade…..very hot.Â Putting our hands into the glacier river felt so good.

Glacier River

This year's bridge, until it gets wiped out. =)

On the drive up.

And we drove up to Paradise so we can do a small trail and see Nisqually Glacier.Â Since last winter was heavier then usual for snow and our summer started later, parts of the trail still had snow.Â But the small hike had such an elevation increase at times that it took 3hrs round trip.