Over the Mountain and Through the Woods

Greetings from Oregon. We've been here all day! Where have you been?

This morning we woke bright and early, well Malcolm did, to wait to be unloaded. When the four sleeping beauties arose, the biggest one, myself, decided that it was high time Miss Ella got a haircut.It had been only two weeks since I shaved her pretty little face, but her body had a months worth of fuzz on it.Much better!

We unloaded this morning in Scio, OR at Top Hat Mushroom.

Scio is about 30 miles from Salem, on the western side of Oregon. It was 60 degrees, overcast, and a balmy breeze blowing. It felt, looked, and smelled like spring time!
After catching up on some things that needed doing, they finally got us unloaded. They mix the milo seed with wood chips from nearby lumber mills, and press it into molds to make trays for growing mushrooms. The actual mushrooms are grown somewhere further south.
Though we had come in after dark, I just had a feeling that it was an incredibly beautiful drive. And so when we left, going back the same way we came in, I made sure I had my camera ready. We hadn't even gone 1/2 mile before I asked Malcolm to stop so I could take a picture. We parked on the bridge of this slightly used road, and took in the scene.


We traveled a two lane that crosses the Cascade Mountains between Bend, OR and I-5 near Salem. It was a very pretty drive, though the road was much busier than I expected it to be.

I have to say that Oregon has some beautiful forests! I love the huge pines, the moss and ferns, and the deep earthy smell of it all. As we climbed in altitude the snow from this weekends storms began to make itself more noticeable along the shoulders.

A littler higher and it was hanging onto tree branches, trying valiantly to stay despite the warmer temperatures. At this point it was about 36 degrees.

Between pictures I was looking over the map trying to determine what the various peaks we were seeing were. The first one we noticed kept peaking at us between trees and over other peaks that were between us and it. I believe that this was Three Fingered Jack, elevation 7,841 feet.

And I believe these two lovelies are two of The Three Sisters. The third was further over and my picture didn't turn out good. Notice the snow whipping of the peak in the wind. It was gusty below, so it must have been really whipping up there!

Santiam Summit pass is at 4800 feet. Just a guess, but I think they get a little snow up there. I'm basing this on the size of the reflector poles. Malcolm was in awe! Never have we seen poles this tall. The picture looks like a bit of an illusion, but the truth is that that bottom green line was level with the top of the SUV when it passed next to it. Amazing!


This is a picture of the lake, or what was a lake, behind Detroit Dam. I was reading about it, and learned that at its time of completion in 1953 it was the 8th tallest dam in the world. I'm not sure what's going on because the website is still proclaiming the lake to be the fishing, boating, and recreational center for the area, but I can't imagine that there is much of any of that going on. It was nearly completely dry, except for what looked like a river running through the deepest trenches of the lake. It was a huge area, and looks devastated! Can you even imagine how many trees were cut down in order to create this lake? The entire bottom that was exposed was covered in huge, ancient tree trunks.
I started this blog Monday evening, but didn't finish as I needed to get some sleep in order to drive. Its now 10:30 on Tuesday morning and we are just south of Stockton, CA. Should deliver south of Los Angelas this evening, or tomorrow morning. So over joyed to be going back to that area of California! If you've been reading this blog for a time, you know I'm being completely sarcastic in saying that. I've come to appreciate and enjoy being in California, but once we're south of Bakersfield, I do not care for it at all.

Despite my lack of affection for southern California, I'm still in happy spirits. I'm holding out hope that I'll be home by this time next week. And even though I'll be in the desert, I know that our broker already has a load lined up that will bring us back to central California tomorrow.

Hope you all have a great day! The spirit of the holidays is infecting me quickly, and I hope your all catching it too!