Travel

June 21, 2026June 20, 2026

Van-life?

Central Oregon sunrise through morning fog

The heat of summer really started up this week with temperatures pushing toward 90º. High desert days, even the sweltering ones, usually start and end cool . . . sometimes even cold.

So we shift our travel to early mornings and are sheltered in AC with a good e-book by afternoon.

One recurring trip in June is a visit to the Adventure Van Expo in Hood River, OR. It’s a gathering that started with enthusiasts connecting with van conversion companies and has gained in popularity and of course, size.

Our trek has been to find a good way to travel and live semi-off grid in the wilds of the Pacific Northwest.

In the spring of 1998 we paid twelve hundred dollars for a 1972 VW Westfalia camper. A bright blue Vanagon that served us very well for a decade.

Along the eastern edge of Oregon lies Hells Canyon, this was one of many excursions along that part of the state

Transporting not just JQ and I, but also three Border Collies across Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana.

On a late fall camping / fishing trip to the Lower Deschutes a wet dog walked shivering up from the river to the van. We wrapped her in a wool blanket, fed her and the next morning made inquiries at the Maupin General Store.

Sage, an ancient Golden that literally wandered into our lives

We called her Sage. She turned out to be a great companion for Maggie (our six month old puppy) during her hip surgery ordeal. While in Montana, Sage showed Maggie how to ‘chomp’ a soft serve ice cream cone. Good times!

There was an attempt to re-kindle the wanderlust briefly in a poor copy of the Westfalia.

Eurovan parked in Greys Creek Campground on the Gallatin River, Western Montana.

A Winnebago build on a VW Eurovan that never lived up to the experience we enjoyed with the German design.

These days Class B RVs are way too expensive, stuffed with unnecessary tech, adorned with bling and usually built on a diesel Mercedes chassis that could be a nightmare to get serviced.

This year’s trip to Hood River promised a different camper van. DM Vans builds on a Dodge RAM ProMaster with a minimalist approach. An online discovery spurred memories of that old Westfalia.

Very comfy seats and lots of window space, both pluses

DM offers a practical layout, well built cabinetry and windows that let the outside in. Plus, no flat panels or multi-speaker audio systems, just clean basic design. It’s a van conversion with ample solar power to allow for off grid adventures.” It really is “Everything you need, Nothing you don’t. “

June 7, 2026June 7, 2026

A Trip to the Library

At least once a week we make the trek to the Crooked River. This week was no different.

That journey usually takes us past the site of Deschutes County’s new Central Library. It’s been under construction for a bit more than a year, but this month it opened.

The thing about libraries is that you don’t need to search through stacks to find a book, movie or magazine.

The internet has put the library online and most of our reading involves connecting to a website and downloading a borrowed e-book or audio book.

Physical books can be tracked via the library’s catalogue and a visit to our local branch makes pick up quick and easy.

But there is something nice about craning your neck reading titles on a row of books. You walk into the genre and start to find reads you never knew existed.

The apps, like Libby and Hoopla are great search tools. However, prowling the shelves of the library will often bring a forgotten author back to your attention or a book cover will spark your interest in ways no computer search can.

Lots of natural light and places to read

The new library is beautiful, as well as cleverly laid out.

Along the outside walls are massive windows and lots of nooks with comfortable chairs, desks and tables to review that stack of books you pulled.

Shelving takes up the middle ground and then in the center of each of the three floors are closed work spaces.

Some are staff offices, but many are study carrels, meeting spaces and even a MakerSpace.

Not sure we’ll visit there often, it’s kind of out of the way, but they did an excellent job of making a library that invites a visit.

May 24, 2026May 23, 2026

Strawberries

Strawberries . . . the harbinger of summer we’ve been waiting for. We acquired a half flat of “fresh from the field” berries at Nanneman Farms stand on a brief road trip this week.

The weather has been a bit janky these last few weeks. We woke up to a fresh dusting of snow early this week. We were starting to think summer may never get started.

Then the days warmed and forecasts brightened. We figured it was a good time to head west over the mountains.

Portland, OR. street view from Powell’s City of Books

Our destination, Portland, Oregon . . . primarily to visit family and friends. We did manage a trip to Powell’s City of Books, all of which has been on the ‘to-do list’ for a few weeks.

For 30 years we lived on the edges of the Rose City, so there’s no novelty in a trip to the city, but Powell’s is difficult to replicate in any location.

Most of our reading material these days is supplied by the local library and a majority of that is ebooks. Technology has profoundly altered our relationship with books.

You don’t do a quick stop at a book store . . . especially this one.

Independent authors, which make up a large portion of our reading material, frequently only distribute via eBook. JQ has become an avid audio book “reader”.

So, between Libby.app, the county library system and Hoopla our reading material lives in a tablet or e-reader.

We’ll avoid the Cascade range passes as avenues of travel from November to May. However, when the fresh fruit comes into season the Willamette Valley becomes a destination . . . our “go to the source” location.

Moving between the high desert and the coastal rain forest makes the trip that much more interesting.

As we get into the heart of fruit and produce season there will be more quick trips to the farm stands in the valley.

Nanneman Farms in particular offers seasonal berry varieties you’ll never see on the shelves of your local mega-mart.

December 14, 2025December 12, 2025

Roadworthy

We’ve had our share of ‘risks’ including tumbleweed blocked roads, broken bones, gashes needing stitches, flat tires and dead car batteries.

It’s winter and though we’ve yet to see snowfall, the signs are there. The season has changed. For that reason we’re doing what we always do this time of year.

No . . . not decorating a tree . . . we’re putting snow tires on the Subaru.

Taking advantage of a wide spot, while exploring the Great Basin of Central Oregon

For close to three decades an all-wheel drive wagon has served us well. We don’t pamper our cars, they get regular service, but also put on lots of miles.

We’ve driven around wildfires, washed out roads, roaming livestock, and downed trees.

We subscribe to the adage ‘the journey is as important as the destination’ and these treks don’t always take the well traveled route.

To ensure a trip is roadworthy, there are bins, bags and crates carefully packed with essentials.

The high desert is a maze of two track dirt paths and we’ve navigated our share.

We mostly rely on paper maps to show landmarks, as well as numbered roads. Two cloth sleeves tucked into seat pockets are filled with USFS, BLM and USGS topo maps covering every corner of the state.

Some items are semi-permanently stowed; cooking gear, shovel, axe and bucket, water, first aid and simple auto repair kits. The changing seasons require some stores get shifted.

For winter we’ve re-stocked the hot cocoa mix and pulled out the bug spray. Our goal . . . a standard kit for the road.

In addition, there are camera cases, a drone, and at least one tripod. Extra socks, hats, and coats are packed neatly in a duffel, which winter necessitates.

Drone pilot prepping for flight . . . Fort Rock, Lake County, Oregon

You can’t forget sustenance. We don’t picnic in the classic cold chicken and potato salad sense.

Meals are small, pulled from a variety of bento boxes over the course of a day. We choose from a couple of coolers the smaller is good when we’re not hauling cold drinks.

Part of Oregon’s outback, Summer Lake Wildlife Area

We’ve developed these systems so at a glance you can tell the car is packed for the trip. Something may get left out . . . but it’s rarely of consequence.

November 30, 2025November 29, 2025

Return Again

Any reader of this blog will have figured out we venture to the same places with regularity. This is by design.

Our explorations are, to some degree, dictated by the change in seasons. Like the adage ‘you never step in the same river twice’.

We go to canyons to explore rivers, the high desert to find wildlife and mountains to uncover minerals.

There’s interest in the place, but of equal importance is the journey there.

A spot in the winter offers something different than it will in the summer. This is less a measure of temperature and more a matter of a shift in flora and fauna.

There are times when roads are impassable or the sun’s heat becomes unbearable. We time an excursion, when possible, to variants of weather. One can fish the year around. The only obstacle . . . road conditions.

Rivers in warm months are a pleasant picnic. As the season turns cold, there are fewer fishers but just as many fish.

Summer Lake Wildlife Refuge at start of fall migration.

Migratory patterns help predict when Summer Lake will have its greatest number of species.

But there are always birds and Winter Ridge makes a very photogenic backdrop capped with snow. Each season offers it’s own photo op.

Rock hounding is great adventure to unique locations. We’ve uncovered interesting stones while being treated to beautiful views.

Summer’s heat is not the best time to be chiseling away at a rock face or scraping a hole in the desert floor. But from winter to late spring the road in is a mud trap. Again . . . it’s a matter of timing.