The back-to-school panic has begun with parents and grandparents merrily gathering up their little munchkins, two legged and four legged, to release them into the forests and creeks for one last splash of relaxation before all must return to the reality that is life.\u00a0 Summer is quickly slipping away for another year.<\/p>\n
There is a steady stream of two wheelers, a few with training wheels still attached, rolling along our campground trails, mounted by campers ranging in age of 4 to 80 something.\u00a0 They pass by our host site, wave happily, then disappear for several hours.\u00a0\u00a0 As night falls, John sits outside and listens to the sounds of excited children\u2019s voices spilling their wondrous adventures to their elders, their expressive declarations hang in the air of the campground until long after dusk.<\/p>\n
Tar Baby KatieBug just leaped into the motorhome caked with pine tree sap and matted pine needles stuck, dude claws down to paws. \u00a0Comical Porcupine paws.\u00a0 Not terribly happy with me as I explained the process necessary to remove it but doing so with olive oil helped calm the squirm and did the trick.\u00a0 She is, once again, a happy camper.<\/p>\n
Off to Portland this morning for a visit with my cousin Lyn, her son Kenny, his wife Deborah and their canine four legged family member Dot, a Boston Terror\u2026I mean Terrier ;} \u00a0\u00a0KatieBug enjoys the company of Gus (calm kitty extraordinaire) her first nose to nose association with a feline and patiently puts up with Dots guarded allowance of her investigative sniffing inside the house.\u00a0 So far there have been few disagreements but quick lap time (John\u2019s) is immediately enforced when Dots inner devil child suddenly emerges.<\/p>\n
The years living with Millie have left KatieBug with a calm demeanor that is a joy when traveling or in a campground with other dogs.\u00a0\u00a0 Barking is not allowed unless someone knocks on our door and \u201cquiet\u201d is promptly adhered to upon request.\u00a0 Saying \u201cno\u201d to the undesirable action long enough really does work, for dogs.\u00a0 Children are a whole other bag of worms as confirmed by our campgrounds multitude of \u201cShhhhhhh\u2019s\u201d after 10pm quiet time.<\/p>\n
Portland is full of quirky eateries and we plan to try another handful while visiting.\u00a0 Deborah and Kenny work, so we happily entertained Lyn after requesting a few suggestions for places of interest.<\/p>\n
Multnomah Falls, a short drive from Portland, is an easy walk.\u00a0 Included are a few stairs ascending to uncover a remarkable view of both upper and lower falls.\u00a0 The 1914 bridge hangs above the lower\u00a0plunge.<\/p>\n
Continue up and arrival at the bridge is met with the most refreshing mist that cools your whole being in preparation of the next step of the journey.\u00a0 Pause long enough in front of the upper falls and continuing becomes a challenge with your inner Zen.<\/p>\n Lyn, John, KatieBug and I began one of the eleven switchbacks leading to the first view of the Columbia River.<\/p>\n Part way up we paused for a Kodak moment, Lady Madonna-Lyn in her cove.\u00a0 Stepping into the cove to cool off, Lyn posed, laughing at being portrayed as the Madonna, then we pushed on up the\u00a0steep incline\u00a0to enjoy the view from the switchback.<\/p>\n Half way up the next switchback I gave up and took Geisha steps down the steep decent to the bridge while John, Lyn and KatieBug continued on to the sixth switchback.<\/p>\n Waiting at the bridge cooling down was a tranquil respite and an excellent multicultural people watching opportunity.\u00a0\u00a0 When we joined back up, lunch was our next priority.<\/p>\n McMenamin\u2019s Black Rabbit restaurant, located inside a facility that was formerly a poor farm, was the choice for lunch.<\/p>\n The pictures leave much to be desired as, for some unknown reason, the camera threw a hissy fit and blurred all the indoor shots.<\/p>\n The food was only enjoyable due to the present company as the burgers were less than appetizing.\u00a0 The concept and art works, however, were exceptionally interesting.\u00a0\u00a0 The review I wrote on TripAdvisor brought almost instant concern from Sean McMenamin and when the gift card arrives we shall give them the opportunity to redeem themselves.<\/p>\n Evening arrived, back to our hotel room to stretch out with a few minutes of TV before sleep brought an ending to our day.<\/p>\n Breakfast at Jam, another quirky fun people watching caf\u00e9.\u00a0 When I asked Lyn to smile in an attempt to record the occasion, a young lady at the next table flashed me a monstrous grin and everyone broke out in laughter.<\/p>\n She then offered to take a picture of us all and her \u201csmile\u201d word was \u201cbe happy\u201d.\u00a0 Truly fitting.\u00a0 The food was great, the people watching was greater, the company was the greatest.<\/p>\n Said our goodbye\u2019s promising to meet up soon and left for Millpond.\u00a0 Uneventful arrival back home, except for the Bitch I almost decked\u00a0outside Target,\u00a0and peaceful nights sleep.<\/p>\n Another damp misty morning perfect for elbow grease chores.\u00a0 Saw the local Golden Eagle swoop down and snatch one of the four waterlogged corpses laid out free-lunch style. \u00a0\u00a0An hour later a Raven dipped down for a meal and this time I had the camera standing by.\u00a0 Aggressively, another Raven shot out of the trees in an attempt to steal the free lunch.<\/p>\n Amazing that the mice continue to walk the plank.<\/p>\n Our campground is at maximum capacity, as is usual for a holiday.\u00a0 Impatient kids on bikes zoom around the grounds looking for adventure making walking through the area slightly hazardous.<\/p>\n My idea of harvesting wild berries resulted in keeping a watchful eye on berry laden tendrils crawling throughout the campground.\u00a0 Unlike the crawdads, traps were not necessary so how could it not succeed?\u00a0\u00a0 Drives to town were prolonged as I strategically scouted the roadside, noting where each bunch of potentially juicy blackberries grew.\u00a0 Oregon is known for their wild blackberries and, along with wild fresh mint growing outside our window, I knew my gathering skills would turn wild things into the makings of awesome Mojitos.<\/p>\n What a disappointment when I reached to pick the plumb berries alongside our lawn and was attacked by thorns that not only pricked, but welted up to the size of quarters by the time I walked across the lawn to our door.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0SssstingStop to the rescue, followed by Benadryl producing a daylong dragged out feeling and a lingering itchy prickly puffy arm.\u00a0 Another one of my brilliant ideas not ever\u00a0to be repeated.<\/p>\n BINGO tonight at the Community Center, our first and last.\u00a0 The drive home in pitch black was distressing even with fresh remembrance of our five win night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Big company party group at our pavilion and another church gathering at the group pavilion across the street.\u00a0 Steady flow of campers Thursday afternoon, filling up both our campgrounds by Friday afternoon.\u00a0\u00a0 The weather calls for rain, not cheerful for … Continue reading ![\"Maltnoma](\"http:\/\/perrellas.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/Maltnoma-Falls-upper-and-lower-112x150.jpg\")
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