Walking around Vancouver and Northern Oregon.

The day after our tour of the old Fort Vancouver (Hudson Bay Company) we headed off looking for a nice hike with maybe some wildlife involved.

On the way there we spot this...it is not every day you are graced with a good view of Mt Rainier.

Cloaked by clouds more days than not, we got very lucky on this day see the majestic Mt Rainier...even if were 70 miles away.

We headed for Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge just north of Vancouver, which advertised two great hiking trails.

Forty minutes later we entered the refuge only to find out that the trails were closed, and only the auto loop was open. Well, why can't I just walk the auto loop instead...even though there were signs to stay in your car. We walked about a mile in, with the sounds of shotguns going off on both sides of the road...you can hunt the refuge at this time of the year.

At about the mile mark a car with a refuge volunteer stopped us and said that only cars should be on the road...because people walking disrupt the wildlife. WTF? And hunter shooting the birds do little to bother them? Well, I knew we were breaking the rules and walked back the car and joined the other "lemmings" circling the marshes.

Carla and I did stop and watch this Great Heron stalk something in the grass for at least ten minutes before failing at the strike.

With careful observations, we did see a heron eating a grass snake along a dike.

On the the way to our next hiking opportunity we spotted this store right off the freeway...how can I pass up a chance to see some Berks, in a German setting?

On the Internet, Kelley Point seemed like a good bet...and so be it! We just had to drive across the Columbia into Oregon to get there.

They did have the rules posted in every language, but I think "Yiddish" was missing.

What an outstanding hike this was...walking on the sands of the Columbia River and watching barges and big ships just offshore.

Mount Hood is also uncovered this day, much to our surprise.

The landscape is so serene and beautiful along the water.

Old docks or log ties line the shore on Kelley's Point.

The author of the blog insisted on one selfie type photo to prove he here!

Some very big ships were loading in sloughs of the Columbia.

Another day gone and I'm just trying to catch up with my portfolio.

Walking around Vancouver and Northern Oregon.

The day after our tour of the old Fort Vancouver (Hudson Bay Company) we headed off looking for a nice hike with maybe some wildlife involved.

On the way there we spot this...it is not every day you are graced with a good view of Mt Rainier.

Cloaked by clouds more days than not, we got very lucky on this day see the majestic Mt Rainier...even if were 70 miles away.

We headed for Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge just north of Vancouver, which advertised two great hiking trails.

Forty minutes later we entered the refuge only to find out that the trails were closed, and only the auto loop was open. Well, why can't I just walk the auto loop instead...even though there were signs to stay in your car. We walked about a mile in, with the sounds of shotguns going off on both sides of the road...you can hunt the refuge at this time of the year.

At about the mile mark a car with a refuge volunteer stopped us and said that only cars should be on the road...because people walking disrupt the wildlife. WTF? And hunter shooting the birds do little to bother them? Well, I knew we were breaking the rules and walked back the car and joined the other "lemmings" circling the marshes.

Carla and I did stop and watch this Great Heron stalk something in the grass for at least ten minutes before failing at the strike.

With careful observations, we did see a heron eating a grass snake along a dike.

On the the way to our next hiking opportunity we spotted this store right off the freeway...how can I pass up a chance to see some Berks, in a German setting?

On the Internet, Kelley Point seemed like a good bet...and so be it! We just had to drive across the Columbia into Oregon to get there.

They did have the rules posted in every language, but I think "Yiddish" was missing.

What an outstanding hike this was...walking on the sands of the Columbia River and watching barges and big ships just offshore.

Mount Hood is also uncovered this day, much to our surprise.

The landscape is so serene and beautiful along the water.

Old docks or log ties line the shore on Kelley's Point.

The author of the blog insisted on one selfie type photo to prove he here!

Some very big ships were loading in sloughs of the Columbia.

Another day gone and I'm just trying to catch up with my portfolio.

Vancouver, Washington

Well, we left on this past Thursday for our trip south with a stop in Vancouver to visit with my bestie, Judy.
Rain seemed to be the order of the day, but we will forge head.

First stop was to set up shop at the Elks Lodge before we start exploring.

Judy's husband, Tom, suggested we head over to Fort Vancouver, which is exactly what we did.

There were an assortment of building dated 1911 to 1914 that were being restored to their early years glory. Such detail and workmanship shows us that the skill is still alive in doing this type of work.

The Hudson Bay Co. was here first in the very early 1820's and built a fort and English gardens to supply the residents of all the foods they would need to survive the winter. Originally 18 acres, it is not just one.

Beautifully groomed terraces.

The "Big house" inside the fort was completed in1838 and is a beauty.

Quite a few of the buildings inside the fort were of a rougher, beam and mud construction.

As the poorly photographed plaque says, the original residents were not a problem and the cannons were never fired in anger.

The carpentry shop and its 13 foot walls for protection.

Back then, just about everything had to be produced...on site.

Here they were making square nails, the old fashioned way. A good blacksmith will make a thousand nails a day.

They would use nine year olds to tend the bellows...all day long with never a complaint.

These are the four towers that raise a drawbridge on Interstate 5,  where is crosses the Columbia river. It's quite an ordeal when a ship needs to go up rive because it shuts down the freeway for approximately 1/2 hour.

Spokane...first post with a new PC.

Before leaving home for our winter retreat, I had to retire my old iMac desktop and replace it with a newer (Windows system) PC which will take some getting use too. It's been many years since I last used a Windows PC, so my learning curve will be slow. This Android Samsung Galaxy View is big, light and allows me to access unlimited data through my AT&T plan.

The iMac was so large and heavy, plus I needed some sort of access to the Internet, which the View supplies me with now. 

BNSF is a major player in the trains going thru the middle of Spokane...and there are a lot.

There has been a much contention with the railroad coming thru the town, with the past accidents this last year in other parts of the country.

After waiting for the train to pass, I headed for Carver Farms where you can pick your own vegetables...so you know they are fresh!

Most products, except squash and corn, were done for the season.

Bell peppers were all mushed out on the tips...worthless. 

The tomatillo's looked ok, but I have never incorporated them in a recipe and am unfamiliar with their taste, so I left them alone. 

The "TOMATOES"? This is what it was all about. My last batch of salsa turned "south" before we left home and I thought I'd get a replacement here in Spokane...not!

The first buy at Costco was terrible and was returned the next day. Then we tried some fresh "Pico de Gallo" that...to tell you the truth, was garbage.  Carla says, "well honey, once you make the salsa you like...none will do better"!

I picked thru the last of this years tomatoes, which in days will be of no use anymore, to get the sweetest smelling 7 pounds for my next...and last batch of salsa for the year. 7 pounds for $6.39...of the most fragrant tomatoes this season. This, along with lots of garlic, onion, cilantro, anaheim and jalapeno should blow the doors off any of the crap that is sold in the stores.

On the way home to the RV park I noticed this business, which main building looked to be a 1/4 mile long, and stopped to investigate...because that's what I do.

 I see pallets and pallets of metal ingots.

Mystery solved, Kaiser Alluminum! Back in the 1940's, the power provided by the "Grand Coulee Dam" was just what the Alluminum industry needed...cheap electrical power to heat the furnace's.

As I was on my way home, I spied a look at this master piece while on my way to Costco, yeah...I like Costco many time a day! A quick look, over a fence, brought to view what I thought might be a late 1940', or an early 50's motorhome.  I found out that this was a 1948 motorhome, set on a 1997 chassis...how awesome is that? It looks like much work is to be done, but I envy the guy who has the money and time to complete this job. 

When this Flxable Clipper is finished...she will be the "belle of the ball". It was manufactured in 1948, the year I was born...and mated with a 1997 chassis...can I do that too?

One of the last things before dinner is to take the dogs on a short walk.  The Elks lodge is built on a granite bluff overlooking a lot of the Spokane valley, which provides us not only a place to walk, but a place to look out over the city. -