Every day the aspen tree framed by our office window has a few more yellow leaves and bare branches.
As October gets underway we’ve been treated to a string of outstanding fall days. It looks like that pattern is going to keep going.
Days like these should not be spent inside. To that end we’ve been on the road quite a bit.
East Fork of the Hood River
Made a swing over the pass to Hood River and around the Fruit Loop. Weactually just went to Kiyokawa Family Orchards.
It’s peak season and the wooden box racks were loaded with pears and apples.
We filled bags with Warren and Tosca pears, Honey Crisp, Ambrosia, Green Dragon and Granny Smith apples.
We also snagged a jug of fresh pressed mixed apple cider.
We drove up Highway 35 along the East Fork of the Hood River. We pulled into Sherwood Campground to have some lunch and a glass of cider.
Fall colors on Mt Hood’s east slope
As you climb higher up the side of Mt. Hood the fall colors pop out of the forest and near the top, most of the low bushes have lost all their leaves.
Winter is coming soon to the high country.
We’ve set up our chairs along the Crooked River a couple of times this week and while extremely low water levels limit fishing, it’s still a great place to have lunch.
Crooked River
Our weather app assures us that this string of beautiful days will extend for another week or more and we’re planning accordingly.
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.
Van lifers at the Adventure Van Expo
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
Pop top on the Deschutes
Comfy place to enjoy an iced tea
Back to front: Maggie, Doogal and Emma
Never forget the extra water
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 apoor 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.
The van builds we are looking at
This year’s trip to Hood River promised a different camper van. DM Vans builds on aDodge 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. “
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.
Deschutes Public Library, main entrance
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.
Looking over what’s new
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.
The building is covered in glassShelves of choices
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.
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.
Independent bookstore on a grand scale
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.
Heading up Highway 20 to Santiam Pass
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.
It was a beautiful early summer day
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.
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.
Always ready for new adventures
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.
As you climb higher up the side of Mt. Hood the fall colors pop out of the forest and near the top, most of the low bushes have lost all their leaves.
