The "Bubble" is No More

The Wanderer followed Team Chuck and Linda into Oregon where we found blue skies and clean air. They led us to beautiful Silver Falls State Park near Silverton. Claiming to be the “Crown Jewel” of Oregon, the park has hiking trails to 10 waterfalls. Over the 3-day stay, we hiked to all ten.

The trails and falls were beautiful!

Like many small towns we have visited, we found the agri-community of Silverton and the surrounding area to be quite charming. We especially like the generous and trusting nature of rural folks.

"Self Serve, Please put money in box."

Dang COVID kept us from exploring as we would have liked, but didn’t keep ABN and Linda from finding The Oregon Garden. (Chuck followed along to take photos while Captain stayed at the RV park and did laundry.)

Neighboring the garden we discovered The Gordon House, one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unisonian designs for middle class families. Think “form follows function.” 

Of course it was not open for tours.

Located nearby is the Gallon Bridge so named because, during prohibition, folks could go to a house nearby and buy a gallon of spirits.

While looking for the bridge, we stumbled upon the small Bavarian town (Pop. 3500) of Mt. Angel, complete with an Abby, Bavarian style restaurants and a Glockenspiel. Apparently it is a prime location for Oktoberfest with over 300,000 folks attending (not this year.) Once again, COVID allowed us a glimpse but not a full exploration (We must return!) We were lucky to find a Bavarian restaurant with a large outdoor patio so we could safely enjoy our first restaurant meal since early March.

Mt. Angel Sausage Company

Our “bubble” dissolved as we parted in Silverton. Chuck and Linda returned to their home in Kennewick, Washington while we parked at Hood Park Campground on the pretty Snake River in Burbank, Washington for a little R & R and some “social distance” wine tasting at Red Mountain. We are definitely developing an appreciation for the Washington bold reds!

Hanging out with friends in a bubble was a wonderful reprieve from home isolation.

Friendship is one of God's greatest gifts!

As we continue on our Summer 2020 Adventure, we will continue to do our part to slow the spread of COVID-19 by avoiding crowds, social-distancing, frequent hand-washing and wearing a mask in public places.

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Wildfires, A Bear and Plague

After 3 days and 1222 miles across Western Colorado, Utah and Nevada, with 578 of those miles on 

The Loneliest Road in America

the “bubble” landed at Camp Richardson in South Lake Tahoe.

Greeting us at the campsite were permanent residents,

Mr. Steller's Jay and his rather large, noisy family

Mr. and Mrs. Marmot

A large family of begging Golden Mantled Ground Squirrels

Even though they were persistent, we refrained from feeding.

We don’t think this gal/fella is a permanent resident but maybe a frequent guest that sauntered through our campsite as though it was familiar territory.

Linda was quietly reading when a person on a bike called out that there was a bear behind her. She screamed and ran to her door. The rest of us were inside; photos were taken from the door. 

The critters were cute and quite entertaining but after seeing this sign

we were constantly on guard that they did not crawl on our feet or legs. There were LOTS of them running around, so guard duty kept us pretty busy and after awhile they became pretty annoying.

Disappointingly, the beauty of Lake Tahoe 

Photo from 2012

Photo from this year.

was diminished due to smoke from wildfires.

The smoke was noticeable but tolerable where we were camped but pretty dense as we drove to the Truckee River in Tahoe City on the north side of Lake Tahoe.

With poor air quality, strenuous outdoor activity was not advised (not to mention a few minor injuries in the bubble), so we decided easy hikes were in order.

Upper Truckee River 

Upper Truckee River Trail

Fallen Leaf Lake

If there is a garden to be found, Linda and ABN will find it! 

This one was found at Tallac Historical Estate next to Camp Richardson. (Love these boxes!)

In spite of COVID-19 and the wildfires, lots of people are spending time at Lake Tahoe, especially at the beaches.

Most were wearing masks as there are posted signs in South Lake Tahoe warning of $100 fines for those not wearing masks. Apparently the locals are not happy with the masses, especially those attending large events.  We understand a protest is being organized for Sunday. Fortunately we left on Saturday!

The “bubble” is moving toward Oregon, hoping the wildfires do not follow. Plans are changing as the fires are active in areas we had planned to visit. It’s all part of the adventure. 

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Greetings from the Bubble

If you read our last post then you know we were self-isolating in preparation to join our friends, Linda and Chuck, from the state of Washington. We met at Boyd Lake State Park in Loveland, CO 

and the “bubble” was formed. Okay, time to ‘fess up; within 24 hours we had stepped out of our bubble. But this was part of the plan. The reason for meeting in Loveland was to reconnect with a former co-worker and mentor of Captain and Chuck from their days at Texas Utilities. (Did we mention there is another nuclear engineer in our bubble?) Since we were already out of the bubble, it seemed like a short drive to Evergreen to visit another former TU co-worker was reasonable. While out of the bubble we practiced social distancing as memories, stories and laughs were shared from 30+ years ago. (Nuclear engineers can be much more fun than one might think.) And then we stepped back into our bubble.

Look what we found in Fort Collins!

 

From Loveland, the bubble floated over to Estes Park and the Rocky Mountain National Park.

(Don’t worry, we restrained ourselves and posted only a few photos.)

Thanks goes to the following for sharing their trails with us.

Even with masks and other safety measures

Shuttle from "Park and Ride" to trail head

we didn’t feel too restricted as we hiked and took in the majestic views.

As we entered Colorado we saw signs stating face coverings were mandatory in public spaces throughout the state. We noted this was pretty much observed but not strictly enforced.

Currently the bubble is moving toward Lake Tahoe, dodging wildfires as we go.

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