Rhododendron, Visiting Friends in Sandy, and Rainier, Oregon

We left the La Pine/Bend area and drove to Rhododendron, Oregon to visit more friends. As we left Sunriver, we filled the truck with diesel for $5.79/gallon!

It was a pretty drive that day.

I made a reservation at a small campground called Lost Creek on Recreation.gov being careful to note the size of the site to make sure we would fit.  

The site I chose was advertised as 40’ but was really more like 15’.  When we arrived we knew there was no way we would fit in the reserved site.  Luckily there was a curved pull-thru site that was large enough for us available since the campground was not full.  The camp host was really helpful in getting us into a site where we would fit.  

On this huge fallen tree was a sign.....

Fish & Wildlife Habitat
No wood cutting or removal!

The campground description also said they had water which technically they do but it's not at every site and it is not possible to hook up a hose to this pump since the nozzle had no threads. 

We had no cell or internet at this campground.

We walked the 1/2 mile interpretive trail from the campground and along the river.  This area was very lush with lots of ferns, moss, and wild flowers.

What's the ruffled green stuff that sometimes comes falling out of the trees?  What does it do?

It's lichen!  Lichens are important members of the forests.  They process a critical element:  nitrogen.  Plants can't grow without it.

How do plants use nitrogen if it's in the lichens?  The Oregon rains moisten the lichens, and drip from them.  The raindrops now carry nitrogen, leached from the lichens.  The raindrops continue on their path to the ground, where other plants will absorb the water and nitrogen.  

Animals like lichens too!  In the winter, when snow covers much of the food for deer and elk, lichens fall off on top of the fresh snow.  They make a tasty treat for hungry animals.

Even though lichens have such an important job, they don't do it very quickly.  In about five years a lobule (a lichen "seed") will grow about as big as your little fingernail.  How long do you think it would take the reach the size of a piece of lettuce? 

Our main reason for coming this way was to see our friends, Len & Susan.  We met them about 7 or 8 years ago at a Bible study we did at Kim and Robin's house in Anaheim.  Len & Susan moved from Silverado Canyon in Orange County, CA up to Sandy, Oregon when they fell in love with a house and property there.  After seeing their house, we can see why. 

 

Look at the fireplace!  And, the other side is their kitchen.

The property was loaded with beautiful flowering plants and trees and a pond and......

They had some recent storm damage where part of their back deck fell down the slope and into the river below!

I just loved all of the flowers!

Their dog, Bo

We all went for lunch at a local barbecue place.  Then we took them to see our RV at the campground.  It was about a 25 minute drive up a "road" to get to the campground.

 

It was great to see Len & Susan again and catch up and visit their piece of heaven.  I can see why they love it so much!

We said goodbye to Len & Susan and topped off the diesel in Boring, Oregon for $6.19/gallon.    

We towed the RV over to Portland to the Willamette National Cemetery to visit my Uncle Frank’s grave.  Al towed our RV through the cemetery and over to the section where my Uncle is buried.  My Uncle served in the Vietnam War so he was eligible to be buried in a National cemetery.

Those that have known me for a long time know that I had to settle my Uncle's affairs in Tigard, Oregon when he passed away in 2008.  That was no picnic!

 

 

 

After leaving the cemetery we drove to Rainier, Oregon to visit my Uncle's friend, Pat.  My Uncle's motorcycle club were so helpful to me when I had to clean out my Uncle's house and protected me from some unsavory characters.  His friend, Pat, was most helpful and we've kept in touch over the years.  

We arrived at Pat's house on a rainy day and it was a tight turn for Al to get the trailer parked but he did it.  Pat showed us around his property which was beautiful.  

Uh, we did a little weed whacking on this day.

The outer backyard.

In the backyard looking towards the back of the house.

The immediate back yard

 

Pat had a beautiful lilac bush in his yard so I had to cut some and put them inside our trailer to enjoy the smell.  I love the smell of lilacs!  Oh, what a treat!

 

 

We visited with Pat and helped him with some technology projects on his laptop and worked on speeding up his internet connectivity.  

One day we drove to Beaver Falls and did the short walk to the falls.   On the drive over we could see logging processing facilities along the river.

Big piles of logs!

Logs are loaded on to these big ships for transporting down the river.

Beaver Falls

After the Falls we stopped at The Berry Patch for fish & chips and berry pie.  Both of which were a bit of a disappointment.

Another night Al cooked us some of his yummy cottage cheese enchiladas and we ate in our trailer.

We had a nice visit with Pat and were sorry to say goodbye.

We left Pat's place and Al...b.a.r.e.l.y.... squeezed us out of Pat’s fenced in driveway with maybe an inch or two on both sides to spare!  Phew!  

It was nice to be able to visit more friends on this leg of our travels.  Here was our route.

 

Next we're headed to the coast and then up into the Olympic Peninsula.  Thanks for following along!