02-13-2019 to 02-15-2019 St Vincent Island and Visiting Friends in Apalachicola

Current Location: Rainbow River State Park, Dunnellon, Florida

Slightly steamy at 68 degrees F, 87 percent humidity, and partly cloudy moonlit skies at 6AM

Our time at Indian Pass turned out to be just as wonderful as I had hoped.  We enjoyed quiet days and gorgeous beach walks.  Mattie could run to her hearts content in the soft white sands on our early morning sunrise walks. 

The day after we visited Saint George Island was another clear but windy day, and the waters of the sound were too choppy to make an attempt to land on the island.  Instead, we went for several beach walks, and enjoyed some relaxation time.  Verizon internet was quite good at Indian Pass, and we managed to get banking and bills taken care of, correspondence handled, photos uploaded and such.  It was nice to have a bit of a down day to handle those chores without feeling as though we were missing out on something.

For several years now, I have followed a lovely blog, Raven and Chickadee, by Laurel and Eric. Laurel’s blog is beautifully written and photographed, and they often travel to places in the US that we also especially enjoy.  One of their gigs is volunteering on Lopez Island in the San Juan Islands in Washington, and I read everything I could on Laurel’s blog before we traveled there for our Puget Sound trip in 2014.

I have used her blog as a resource numerous other times, and especially as we planned this trip east toward Florida.  You see, Laurel and Eric are from Ashland, Oregon, just down the valley from us.  They have even spent many lovely hours kayaking our favorite Recreation Creek at Rocky Point.  Somehow it just never happened that our paths crossed at the right times, even though we were within a quarter mile of each other, but not at the same time!

Now they are in Florida, and right near us in Apalachicola.  It takes over 3000 miles and a few years to get some people together, I guess.  We made contact by telephone and arranged to have lunch and a town walk in Apalachicola on Friday, Valentine’s Day.

Mo and I woke up that morning to an incredible sunrise.  In addition, there was a stillness in the air that let me know that maybe my dream of kayaking over to St Vincent Island could actually happen.  We rose to a quick breakfast, and had the kayaks on the water just a little bit after 8am. 

The paddle across the narrow sound wasn’t difficult at all, even with the choppy current and cross winds that funneled through the channel from the east.  Even on a still day, there was choppiness and breeze in the channel, so I was glad we hadn’t tried it on a windy day.  I have no photos of the crossing, with the camera once again safely stashed in the pelican case and me paddling too much to even think about bringing out the phone.

Landing on the island was simple, with soft waves gently lapping the shoreline at the western tip of the island.  St Vincent is a large barrier island, and unlike some that are long and narrow, the island is wedge shaped and covers quite a distance.  I knew we wouldn’t get to experience all the wildness that is there, but even a bit of time walking the beautiful beach was wonderful.

We didn’t see any of the deer that are on the island, and definitely didn’t see the red wolves, or even many birds, but we did see a lot of interesting tracks up near the dunes. There are old roads on the inland parts of the island that can be used for organized tours or bicycles, but the wildest parts of the interior were much too far for our short morning visit with the boats. 

There is a ferry that will take people to the island for a small fee, and that way you could bring along a bike and see the interior.  For me, the beach walk was enough, and I felt completely satisfied that once again I stepped foot on the pristine world of St Vincent.

At 11:30 we headed for Apalachicola and our lunch date with Laurel and Eric.  Such lovely people, and so very much exactly as I had envisioned each of them.  Laurel is full of southern charm and delightful conversation, happy smiles, and lovely laughs, a great talker but also a great listener.  Eric talks less, but when he does he is just as interesting.  He was the park manager for the city parks in Ashland for many years.  He is from the “south” as well, Southern California, just like me, so we laughed at our common background being raised in the LA basin back when it was a nice place to grow up in many ways.

We had a great lunch at Up the Creek Raw Bar, right on the river.  We at first got the primo table outside on the deck, but the chilly winds drove us indoors for less wind and a bit more warmth.  I had another version of incredible gulf shrimp, although after tasting Laurel’s version, I did wish I had ordered blackened instead of fried. 

After lunch the five of us, including Mattie, walked the town and listened to stories of Laurel’s family, who have roots in Apalachicola that go back generations.  Several hours passed very quickly, and we parted ways at 3 so that Laurel and Eric could return to more friends who were dropping in to visit.

I am sure our paths will cross again, with a date for kayaking the Wood River together the next time we are both back in the Rogue Valley at the same time.  That might be awhile, since Laurel and Eric are planning a Maritime trip this summer instead of returning to the Northwest.  Lucky for us, since we hope to do the same in another couple of years and we can add Laurel’s blog to those of our friends who have spent time in the Maritimes.  So much to learn, and so nice to have folks leading the way with inside information.

The next morning I received a note from Laurel about the perfect launch site and paddle on the Ichetucknee River, our next destination as we leave Rainbow Springs. Laurel said she likes the Rainbow River but the Ichetucknee is her favorite in all of Florida.  Can’t wait!

But first, I need to write about our three days at Rainbow Springs.  Perfect paddles, perfect weather, perfect days.  Finally.

02-01-2019 Visiting Friends

Current Location: Janna and Mike’s place in Southeastern Arizona

Partly cloudy and 48 degrees F at 9PM

We got quite a sendoff from our Organ Pipe campsite Thursday morning

The last couple of days have been largely devoted to moving a little bit and then visiting a lot.  Leaving Organ Pipe on Thursday morning was easy.  We knew that we had plenty of time to drive the 116 miles of fairly quiet Highway 86 to the western side of Phoenix. 

It was time to meet with Jo, from Mom’s Little Runaway, a fellow blogger who has been following our blog for years, and never fails to comment. We decided that with plentiful, free, and easy parking for the MoHo, the big Casino Del Sol on the west side of town was a perfect place to meet.  There was also a nice restaurant in the casino, Moby’s, which looked like a good choice for lunch.  The drive was beautiful, with a high cloud cover that kept it from getting too hot, and only gentle breezes. 

I loved seeing the difference in the landscapes of Southern Arizona as we continue east.  Even though this is still part of the Sonoran Desert, it is quite different than the area near Organ Pipe.  Here the valleys are broad and the grasses are thick under the creosote, mesquite, and palo verde trees.

Walking into the Casino was a bit of a shock.  We have been to Vegas and Reno, but certainly didn’t expect the kind of over the top decor that greeted us as we entered Casino del Sol.  It was gorgeous!  With ceilings painted and lit to look like evening skies, and walks that felt like the streets of New York, New York in Vegas, it was quite a treat. 

Jo was waiting for us and in no time at all we were seated at a nice table and catching up on real conversation after so many years of simple comments on each other’s blogs.  That is almost always a fun experience.  It always surprises me a bit when people turn out to be exactly as I imagined them to be, even though we have never met.

Thank you, Jo, for a nice visit.  I know we will pass this way again and will make time to catch up.

We arrived at Davis-Monthan Agave Gulch Family Camp in plenty of time to get settled in before meeting for dinner with our other long time friends who once were our Rocky Point neighbors.  Wes and Gayle now live in nearby Sauharita.  We have spent several days at a time exploring Tucson and the surrounding area with them, but this time was a one night only thing since we planned to be on our way the next morning. I chose a random restaurant that looked interesting that was near enough to the base to be easy and they kindly agreed to drive north for the evening. 

Settling in to the campground was a big disconcerting, because someone was already in our assigned site.  Since we were already consigned to overflow, and the camp was quite full, we were glad that with a bit of struggling and juggling, we ended up in another overflow site, although it was a back in instead of a pull through.

Once again, we managed to schedule our time in Tucson to coincide with the famous Gem Show, and the family camp was filled with a 10 day minimum wait for a full hookup site.  As I said, a popular place. 

We drove the short distance to the restaurant, a bit daunted by the ridiculously filled huge mall parking lots, but finally found a space.  Wes wasn’t so lucky, and had to drive around a bit before finally locating a parking place.  I had called for a reservation as well, but even so we had to wait about 45 minutes to get a table in the very noisy, and very popular brewery.

With the tall four top table, we could at least lean in to try to hear the conversation, but it wasn’t easy.  I have no clue why restaurants are like this so often.  Still, we had some good laughs, some very good food, and a tasty beer to enjoy while we caught up with what has been happening in our respective lives.  I can’t believe I completely forgot to take a photo of the four of us, but have included an older one just to remind you of these friends who have often shared fun times with us.

We were both a bit tired even before dinner, and after we returned, it was only minutes before I was in jammies and in the cozy bed.  I think I lasted only a few minutes before I was out.

This morning was a busy one.  We had to be out of the campsite by 10, but needed to use the good Verizon signal to catch up on end of the month finances, make sure bills were paid, and accounts balanced.  We needed to contact people about “stuff”, make arrangements for more “stuff”, and get everything packed up ready to go as the generator ran to charge up all the electronics once again. Then we needed to go to the dump station to clean our tanks, get fuel in the MoHo at the Express, and grocery shop at the commissary before leaving the base.

I have no excuse, but somehow in the midst of this, I managed to forget that this was the day I had been worrying about for the last two weeks.  A day my long time friend Maryruth was to be in surgery for an unexpected development.  I forgot to call her, I forgot to write her and be sure she knew I was thinking of her, because I wasn’t!!!! I got mixed up and thought that her day was tomorrow!  I am still appalled at this whole thing because she has been on my mind every single day for two weeks now.  What in the world?!! 

So this evening, as we were sitting down to dinner with our hosts, and I received a phone call from her, I immediately said, “Oh, are you on your way to the hospital now?”  “Uh, Sue, no, I am on my way home from the hospital.  Everything is fine.” Awful, just awful.  I could have crawled under a rock.  I am still incredibly appalled at my crazy brain drain.  Some friend. 

Leaving Tucson was easy, and we took the far east road along the base to get on I-10.  Of course, we had another little important errand to attend to before leaving town.  For years we have had a tradition of treating ourselves to See’s Chocolates for Valentine’s Day, but this year we will be in parts of the country where there are no See’s Candy Stores.  At dinner last night, we passed a store, and took the time this morning to return and get a box of chocolate, with a solemn promise that it will not be opened until February 14th, when we will be somewhere in Florida.

By 2pm we were driving down the bumpy road to Mike and Janna’s (from Restoration Cowboy Style) place where they had so kindly invited us to spend the night on their property with full hookups, including WiFi.  Such great people, and even though we have followed each other’s blogs and commented for at least 9 years, we had also never met Mike and Janna. 

Not only did they provide a parking space and a little dog for Mattie to play with a bit, they offered to make dinner for us.  Janna also invited two other friends from this area, Dan and Linda, to the lovely dinner.  And what a dinner it was!  I have read Janna’s blog long enough to know we were in for a treat, and I wasn’t disappointed.  Brisket cooked to perfection, roasted carrots and potatoes, a great salad with homemade dressing, and topped off by a magical Instant Pot cheesecake creation that was perfect.

Conversation and laughter was all around and it was a truly delightful evening.  We loved seeing up close all the work they have done on the house they are redoing, and hearing their stories of how they met and their lives in Arizona and Montana.

Tomorrow we will continue eastward, hoping for a spot at Fort Bliss near El Paso, where Mo was once stationed when she was in the Army Reserves.  This is a great family camp but like Davis-Monthan does not take reservations.  I called today and was told, first come first served but currently there are five spaces available.  Let’s hope we get there early enough to get one.  If not, we might just continue driving another couple hundred miles to wherever.  Wish us luck.

April Delight

Just a reminder, if you click on any of these photos, you will be taken to the SmugMug album where you can view many more scenes from Sunset House and all the gorgeous kayak views. 

As often happens, I can only seem to begin writing by paying attention to what is happening right now.  Get in the moment, so to speak.  I started this blog a week ago, going back over my calendar, reviewing my photos, thinking and remembering what early April felt like.  It seems like a VERY long time in the past.  The cliché is that time flies the older we get, but I am grateful that the month of April seemed very nice and long to me.

Pansies at the front porch like the cooler weather

At the moment we are having days in the low 80’s followed by days that never manage to get to 60 degrees F.  Nights are cool, but no longer frosty, and the flowers here at Sunset House are thriving.  I am watching the weather today, because we are planning some outdoor activities with famous fabulous guests in town, and the skies go from blue to gray and back to blue in a matter of moments.  Crater Lake awaits.  Today we will do the classic round trip tour over the mountains hoping for sunlight to highlight that fabulous blue.  That is another story, one that will evolve over the next week that we get to share with long time friends, Erin and Mui, from Two to Travel, who are on the road in the west for the first time in a long time.

We had time for a bit of travel ourselves this month, with a quick trip to the Oregon Coast to share a couple of days with other blogging friends, John and Carol, from Our Trip Around the Sun.  They are on their way north to Alaska, and passed so close to our home that we couldn’t miss the opportunity to spend some time with them.  The last time we visited, Carol and John were volunteering at Ding Darling NWR in Florida.  They showed us a fabulous time with tours of the refuge, time at the beach together, and a truly fabulous dinner that lasted well into the night.  Some people are just right, and laughter is often the key.  We shared a lot of laughter with them.  Their love of Jimmy Buffett, good margueritas, and a joyous approach to life is contagious.

We met at Harris Beach State Park, where they found a site big enough for their rig along the back row in the trees.  Harris Beach is in the process of some renovations, so we weren’t able to snag a spot there, and instead Mo and I camped down on the waterfront at a private campground.  I loved listening to the sound of the surf all night long, and the wind and rain on the roof lulled me to sleep.

The sun came out for our beach walk with the dogs, a rather funny time for Mattie and Jimmy who are not exactly similar in style.  Mattie is crazy about the beach, runs like a wild thing in the sand, and gets very excited.  Jimmy, a precious and very sweet dog, didn’t think much of Mattie’s exuberance, and learned to hide behind John’s leg when Mattie came tearing at him, trying to get him to play.

 

I was a bit embarrassed, because there is just no stopping Mattie when she gets like that.  Play with me, NOW!  I think Mo and I made a big mistake when we let her play with the huge bloodhound that used to wander over to our house for doggie visits.  Mattie learned to play rough to keep up with him, and he loved it.  Jimmy, not so much.  In fairness, Mattie does great at the dog park, and at doggie day care she was a hit, so she isn’t mean, just very high energy.

We had dinner at the Sporthaven Grill, on the patio in the threatening rain, where the waitstaff brought us warming blankets and turned on the big propane heater.  It was quite delightful. We also spent most of a rainy day in their home, with snacks and drinks and a new game called Skip-Bo.  I guess it isn’t a new game, but it was new to us and created more opportunities for lots of laughter.

We came back home to spend more time fiddling around on the property here at Sunset House.  Mo built a beautiful arbor for a treasured vine that I have babied and coddled along since I first bought it in 2002.  She is finally happy here in the wonderful Grants Pass climate, protected from the sun and the heat on the east side of the house where she now lives with our new rhododendrons.

I have loved rhodies ever since I saw my first huge bloom at a nursery in Southern California.  Yes, I even remember the moment, 1963, when my eldest was an infant and my husband and I were daydreaming about someday having a place to plant flowers.  It was exciting to find the colors we wanted and to dig the holes nice and big, mulch them deeply and give them the perfect site.

I finally transplanted all the hostas, some plants that I brought from my home at Hauser Lake in Idaho back in 2002 when I moved to Klamath Falls.  Others were brought over from Mo’s house in Rocky Point.  We babied them through the incredibly hot summer last year and I know they are also very happy to be on the shaded east side of the house at last.  Rhodies and hostas, another favorite thing of mine.

We started going through the RV shed, purging unneeded “stuff” with the help of the Facebook Marketplace.  That app works great, much better than the local Craiglist.  With facebook I can view the profile of anyone requesting to see our stuff and it is bit easier to be selective about giving out an address or phone number.  With Craiglist, I was immediately bombarded with several fake purchasers offering to send me a check and have it clear before their “shipper” would pick up the item.  A huge scam!!  So glad I didn’t fall for that one.

We moved the BBQ off the back porch, finally deciding that the big black covered thing was getting in the way of our peaceful view

One of my most favorite things about Sunset House is the light.  Morning sunshine streaming into the bedroom is the best part of an east facing bedroom window.

Mid month we took a few days of mini vacation time for a few days of kayaking over on the east side of the mountains, where spring is a bit later arriving, but nonetheless, we were blessed with gorgeous sunny days. We spent the nights in our little apartment, where we now have renters in all the others except the smallest, Apartment B, where I used to do all my quilting during our transition times living at the Apartments in Klamath Falls. 

We have yet to find any kayaking that appeals to us here on the west side of the mountains.  The Rogue River is a bit big and rowdy for us, and the few lakes are actually reservoirs with barren shorelines.  Not our style.  We love the refuges and birds that we find when kayaking in the Klamath Basin.

We launched our kayaks for the first time in all the years we lived in Klamath Falls on Lake Ewauna, the body of water between Upper Klamath Lake and the Link River and the Klamath River. The launch is right in town at Veteran’s Park, and is in a more populated area than we usually kayak, but nevertheless, we were treated to some fabulous birds and great views of Klamath Falls proper from a completely different perspective.

American Avocet

American White pelican, the mascot for Klamath Falls

Klamath Falls from a completely different perspective

The next day we returned to our favorite kayaking spot of all time, our very own Recreation Creek. The mountains in the distance are the ones around the rim caldera of Crater Lake, with Mt Scott on the right.

We launched at Malone Spring and traveled north to Crystal Spring, truly one of the most amazing places to enjoy in the entire Klamath Basin. 

It was still early in the season for the east side, and the wocus lilies were still underwater.  I have taken so many photos of blooming wocus, but this time it was completely different to see the gorgeous colors underwater.  And thank you, daughter Deanna, for the polarizer lens birthday present.  Without it these wonderful colors are just shadows below the water reflections.

Another beautiful view of Mt Scott where my family hiked to the top with me on one of my most memorable birthdays ever.

We began our month of course on April Fools Easter, with Daughter Deborah and Grandson Matthew joining us for all the traditional Easter goodies.  I do love decorating for Easter, with the bunnies and all the energy of emerging springtime.  We invited the neighbors as well, a couple who have been good friends with Deborah from the time she lived here in the cottage, and who spent a previous Easter with us back in Rocky Point a few years ago.

There is that east morning light again!

As soon as Easter was over I packed my bags for a quick solo trip to Nevada City, California where I spent a lovely afternoon and evening with Jimmy and Nickie, from the Intrepid Decrepit Traveler.  They opened their home and guest room to me, took me to dinner in their charming town, and regaled me with stories of their past travels and their excitement about their upcoming trip to Peru, Machu Picchu, and the Amazon.  Such excitement!

The next morning we hiked a gorgeous springtime trail along the South Yuba River where the warming sunshine had us rolling up our sleeves and pant legs.  California is magnificent clothed in that flourescent springtime green, and I loved being there. 

I then traveled back to Oroville for my annual girl-time visit with lifetime best friend, Maryruth.  We are going on 55 years of friendship now and it is something I treasure.  Maryruth loves to cook and she spent several days cooking up tons of goodies so we wouldn’t have to cook much during my visit.  What a treat!  We spent most of the time holed up in her craft room office making cards, a hobby we both have come to love.  We spent a long time anticipating this card making retreat, and actually didn’t leave that room very much during the 3 days I was there. SO much fun. 

Of course I don’t have a lot of photos of this time because I was quite busy, and every time I bring out the camera, Maryruth has a fit, but we did at least manage to get our traditional toe photo.  We have done these photos for a few decades, to prove we were together, back in the days when selfies and tripods weren’t the norm and we couldn’t ever get a photo of the two of us at the same time.

Other days of the month have been filled with making a slide show for Mo’s brother Roger’s Memorial happening in late June.  It was a new thing for me, and of course I had to call on my trusty friend Erin once again.  If you want to get lost in some of the most amazing wildlife and travel photography ever, click on that link.  Erin is always so amazing in her willingness to share and help me when I need to understand anything relating to photography and especially Lightroom.  Her expertise has been invaluable to me over and over again. 

I managed to get the slideshow finished, and ready for the family’s review.  A big job, but also a fun one because reviewing and editing 437 pictures of Mo’s brother Roger gave me a chance to know him in ways I never did in the 15 years or so I actually knew him in real time.