Camping where Jim's dad once worked

Jim’s dad was a heavy construction carpenter. He moved his family from Oregon to Washington, to North Dakota, to California, back to Oregon and then back to Washington as he helped build various dams across the western United States.The Detroit Lake Dam -- about 50 miles east of Salem and nearby to where we camped for three days at Detroit Lake State Recreation Area -- was one of those dams. 

Jim was a toddler when he and his family lived in nearby tiny Mehama, Oregon, and has no memories of living there while his dad worked on the dam. Wish he did, but we can't share any good stories of that time 60 plus years ago.

The dam and lake are named for the small town of Detroit that was flooded when the dam was completed in the early 1950s. The town was moved east of its original location and today has about 200 year-round residents. According to the town web site, it was named for Detroit, Michigan, because many of its original residents were from Michigan. 

A hiking path circled the Detroit Lake State Recreation Area, where we camped for three nights.  It's a clean, well-run campground with 300 sites and helpful camp hosts and staff.  Highly recommended!

What you are looking at here is a dock and boat slip that are currently nowhere near Detroit Lake. Every fall as water supply decreases, the lake recedes.  By springtime most years, boaters will be using the dock/slips.  One boat launch at nearby Mongold day use area is usable year round.  If you squint (or click on the photo) you can see Jim at center right.

Ghostly-looking tree trunks dot the shores of the Detroit Lake.   They are remnants of trees cut down when the dam was built in the late 1940s early 1950s. Our grand kids thought they looked like spiders.

The Detroit Dam on the North Santiam River.

SIL Lee and Grandson Owen piloting their pontoon boat on Detroit Lake.

Season and family in Stayton, Oregon

Daughter Season and SIL Lee and their kids moved to Stayton, Oregon, from Tigard, Oregon, two summers ago. Last week we visited them at their new home for for the first time. We went out to dinner twice, took advantage of their laundry room, spent time with the sweet boys, walked our dogs in their forest, made a trip to Toys R Us for belated birthday presents, watched an Oregon State Beavers football game, went boating, had a great meatloaf dinner made by Season, and just generally had a nice visit. Thank you for your hospitality! Your home is lovely.

We parked in Season and Lee's side yard -- in front of their huge garden and in and around their boat and pop-up camper -- and hooked up to water and electricity. An RV dump site was just miles away at Fisherman's Bed Recreation Area. Season and Lee have a great piece of country property with a stream and a forest in their back yard and a big front yard with two out buildings.

From top left clockwise: 1) Season and her boys. Owen is seven and Connor is four. 2)The boys on a ride at Toys R Us in Salem. 3) Connor and his collection of animals. 4) The ever-animated Owen pointing out something important to Grandpa.

Lee, Season, the boys and Grandpa Jim.

Lee snapped this photo of Jim and me with Season and the boys on their pontoon boat at nearby Detroit Lake.

Four new tires

After a night at Memaloose State Park on Oregon’s Columbia Gorge, we spent nearly a week with daughter Season and SIL Lee who live in Stayton, Oregon, southeast of Salem. Three nights we parked on their lovely property, which includes a creek and a forest. Then we camped 30 miles east at Detroit Lake State Recreation Area.

We did a lot over those six days. But first we took care of some business, as we had an “incident” driving to Stayton. We were on Oregon 99E near Oregon City when the road narrowed and our tires brushed the curb. The passenger side of the rig even briefly went up on the curb -- which was more like a very rough sidewalk. We don’t think the tow car went up on the curb, but its passenger-side tires rubbed the jagged stones/cement.  

We stopped to check for damage. Our tires looked scraped but OK, so we planned to find a tire store the next morning. By the time we wanted to leave for the tire store, our rear passenger side tire was flat.  

After a visit from AAA, we took both the tow car and our rig to Les Schwab Tires where we bought four new tires for our all-wheel-drive tow car and replaced one of our rig tires with a spare. 

All seems to be well.  More on the rest of our stay with Season and Lee later. 

Memaloose State Park, Mosier, Oregon

After we left Yakima we spent a night at Memaloose State Park in the Columbia River Gorge. It's tucked between the Columbia River and I-84 and next to a rest stop. No real hiking, no river access, not much to do except walk the dogs. But it had lots of trees, pretty views of the Columbia River, and was good place to spend the night (which is all we wanted) if freeway noise doesn't bother you. 

We didn’t have reservations, so I called to check availability and left a message. We never heard back. But we’ve never had a problem at a state park on a Monday in the off season, so we made Memaloose our Plan A. When we arrived, a sign on the closed camp office said there were no full hookup (water/electric/sewer) sites, but lots of tent sites. By "tent" site, they just mean there's no electric or sewer. We wanted full hookups. And Jim didn't believe the sign. So we scoped out the campground, found a couple unreserved full hookup sites (despite the sign) and nabbed one.

The park was full of chubby ground squirrels and Maddie went crazy trying to get to them on our walks. Once inside, she stood on guard intently staring out a window until Jim finally pulled the shade.

Our campsite looks bucolic ... until you realize the white streak to the upper left of our rig is a semi tractor/trailer whizzing by on I-84. The tent (no electric or sewer) sites were big enough for RVs.  Many of them were close to the river and had the best views. 

I read that spiders often build a new web every night -- and this one was on our bathroom window in the morning.

We give this view from the dump site a second place award for "best view from a dump site."  First place goes to one we saw several years ago at the Olympic Peninsula. That one had a view of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. 

The campground at dusk. Memaloose is named for a nearby island in the Columbia River  where Chinook Indians placed bones of their deceased on open pyres.

She said she broke her wing

We spent four days in Yakima, Washington, and camped at Sportsman State Park close to Yakima's downtown. Like I said in our last post, part of the trip was to attend Jim's 50th high school reunion.  We also wanted to spend time with Jim's high school friends, Pat and Cindy. And we did.  But not as much time as we'd hoped because Cindy broke her arm just days before we arrived when she tripped on her flip flop sandal while taking a walk. Ouch.

Despite Cindy's badly broken arm and upcoming surgery to repair it, she and Pat hosted us at their place twice. What a super trooper Cindy is.  

Mend fast, Cindy. And thanks to you and Pat for your hospitality. 

A photo of Cindy, Jim and Pat taken on a previous trip to Yakima and to Bale Breaker Brewing Company.  We had plans to go to Bale Breaker again. But instead there was an arm breaker. We'll make it there another time.

I have no idea if these are edible or poisonous mushrooms  -- but if you know they are edible and you like mushrooms you should head on over to Sportsman State Park in Yakima.  The fungi are huge (the size of my outstretched hand) and all over the place.

Jim walking the dogs on Yakima's Greenway, which includes a trail along the Yakima and Naches Rivers.