I love looking out in the morning sunrise and seeing the river fog settled over the Clackamas River. I know when I used to drive to Warm Springs and see the fog settled on the Deschutes River it was so beautiful. Now I just get a cup of coffee and set in my heated house and watch the action of it. It moves up and down. I never knew how much movement river fog has before.
When I moved to Estacada, Oregon last year from Central Oregon I figured it was only a 2 hr trip home so I could go home and see my beloved mountain. I also love the rest of the Cascade Mountain Range in Central Oregon. Mt Hood and Mt Jefferson being my favorite. When I got to my new home I had this amazing view of Mt. Hood. Anytime I am lonely or depressed I go look out the window and know the friends I am missing are just on the other side of her. She makes me serene again, she settles me nerves, I am at home if I can see her standing majestically tall and proud.
She is the second most climbed mountain. fourth highest in the Cascade range. tallest one in Oregon. She has so much native history and they called her Wy'east who was a warrior. You really should google it and find out about this mountain as it has so much about its history I can't write all of it in my blog and bore the ones that don't want to know that much.
Every year it seems we loose a climber or a hiker on it. It is beautiful and dangerous. When I was a child it stayed covered with snow year around but now only the glaciers remain in summer. It is beautiful from all sides and you can take a great drive around it, go up I84 to Hood River and turn and go through Parkdale and up to hwy 35 and over the mountain to hwy 26 and back to Portland and see how amazing she is from all sides. I keep calling the mountain a she but Wy'east was a he.
Wanting a beautiful relaxing day trip, head up and around Mt. Hood, see the meadows, the streams, the mountain, the trees, the valleys, she has it all.
It was not this ghost town but one that the Chinese were working on the railroad. They had a custom that when they buried their dead they would place a lot of food around the burial plot. The people would wait until nightfall came and go out and collect the food and take it home and eat it. Hence the first known Chinese take out.
Not sure why I thought it was a fun story but it really stuck with me. I love stories on history or how something came about. Like I said I don't know if this has any truth to it but the documentary said it was true but it was an interesting thought for sure.
Posted off Facebook by a friend that said to copy and paste so here goes.
Our country needs a picture of a rainbow today to give us hope. We need to find a way to end our hatred and discontent in our nation. There is a reason it says "United we stand, Divided we fall". Many forces are about to divide our nation and it isn't all Republican's or Democrats' m Trump or Biden. One person does not have that much strength. It is other countries, extreme groups. It is like a gossip that everyone joins in on and then after it destroys someone you find out the gossip was wrong. DON"T PLAY INTO HATE.
Boy has COVID made a difference in our lives. One of the most important things in life is family. I find it extremely sad that our elderly set in nursing homes and no one is allowed to visit them. This picture is of my family, 5 generations of love and strong women there. My mom loved that little gal there and they had a special bond.
Love is the essence that makes our world work. You can see what lack of caring and love does to a whole country with all the hate filling our country in this day and age.
We need a connection with others. It is a basic human need to live. People who don't get touched become insane or even murder people, it messes us up emotionally and here COVID makes us where we can't touch each other.
When I was working the Emergency room as an ER tech and the Ambulance as an Advanced EMT and doing police work too the things I saw will be forever lodged in my mind and heart. People asked me how in the world can you do that job? Well let me tell you how. I care for other humans, the idea that someone is laying alongside the road bleeding and in pain with no help goes against my nature. I would never want a loved one of mine to lay there and no one help them because it was to unsetting to them. It is more upsetting to me to see them need help and no one is there. There are some days I had to take a break and go to my husband just to get a hug and that gave me the strength to go on. Sometimes it was just a good friend but that touch and that caring would always get me through.
I remember one wreck was so horrible we lost many in our profession that finished the job and then went back to the station and quit. That was in police that were there and EMT's that were there and fire Rescue. I don't think one group made it without someone quitting. It is almost indescribable the pain the rescuers went through. We lost 3 kids and some others and the only one we were able to save was the drunk that had caused the wreck to begin with. I HATE with a passion drunk drivers and what they cause. If you want to drink then drink but no one, I mean no one has a right to get in a vehicle and drive after he has drank at all. Even one beer affects your reaction time. You do not have the right to risk other peoples lives. To make a long story short without a bunch of gory details, we loaded up patients heading to the hospital working like beavers to try and save them and the blood was so bad it was dripping out the back of the ambulances, as soon as one ambulance was loaded another was loading too. We went two directions to get to the hospital, back before air life was in the area. We ran for their lives as fast as we safety could do so.......two days later our board of directors got a written complaint to the board of how unprofessional our crews were as our ambulances were bloody and when we got to thee hospital the ambulance doors were open and they could see the blood and how disgusting it was that our crew members had blood all over their uniforms....really lady??? really???
In our rural area we were lucky to have any advanced EMT's, many rural areas run with first responders. The three of us that were advanced kept our radios and pagers on at all times as people don't decided when they are going to have a heart attack. We responded as a second out call (not on duty) because it was a cardiac event (heart) and in the middle of the night, we threw on our EMT t-shirts and were finishing dressing as we ran out the door. We arrived and the man was unconscious, we dosed medication to him and got him stable and loaded him up and took him to the hospital and he survived with no aftereffects and we were so proud.....and then the board got a letter again complaining that we arrived in T-shirts and our hair wasn't combed and she thought it was unprofessional. Well those minutes it would have taken us to get a uniform on and our hair combed would have cost him his life.
I must admit we had one EMT that refused to go on a call when he had been sleeping until he brushed his teeth. He said how would you like it if you had someone with bad breath in your face? Well if I was dying I don't think I would care........
I survived and wish I could physically still do the job but I survived because I got my hugs. This not being able to hug people is messing people up mentally. Suicides' have gone up dramatically, yes stress has something to do with it but touch can heal so much of that stress. We need interaction between people.
Touch is a necessity. This is why people who have pets live longer. It does not have to be a human but the love of an animal and petting them can also help you. That is why many hospitals let animals come in and even have therapy dogs etc. that come in and visit patients because it works.
It is important that we social distance but we also have to have some touch for our souls to survive. WE can't keep locking our elderly in a jail cell to be served meals to and left to just set alone all day. We can't keep our patients in hospitals in there alone, the effect it has on families is painful and damages us to our souls. I can not even imagine the pain of having one of my loved ones in the hospital trying to survive and I can't go see them. That is as harmful.
I wish I had the answers that plague our world in this modern age. I know many times in the past we had plagues and many died and they were separated and quarantined but in those days it was family members that attended them and hoped they didn't catch it or already had it. The point being they were cared for by a loved one. I admire our nurses and they are caring loving people. I know how much it means to me when I would go to my community hospital and have a friend that is a nurse or doctor on duty and know I was cared about meant to me. It is just different when you know them. A nurses job is a amazing dedicated job and we would be in so much trouble without them but there is nothing like having a loved one there. A hug from them will get you through anything that is why God says "love is the greatest gift of all", it is one of the most beautiful things on earth and the most destructive when it is abused or used unwisely.
I treasure my family and my friends and my animals that give us so much love and strength. Don't judge homeless people that have dogs, they need those dogs, those dogs are their lives. I gave a man on a street corner a bag of groceries and he was so thankful but when I handed out the bag of dogfood he started crying. I know if I hadn't given him the dog food his dog would have ate most of his stuff I had bought. Sometimes that dog is what gets them through life. I know mine have. When mom was so bad I am not sure I would have survived but passed with her if it wasn't for my dogs. When she went to bed at night and I laid and cried my dogs would snuggle me and get me through. People don't understand what they mean to me but for 2 years they were my world, my strength to get through the day as I watched my mom slowly drift away day by day and there was nothing I could do to stop it>
One of these days the people will realize that the right wing and the left wing are on the same bird called congress and they don't much care about us, we are just the bait they use to get their way. Everyone worries about who will be president....well the real problem and power lay with congress not the president. I will never vote for someone that has been in congress for years and not fixed the problems. Moving them from a different seat to another chair will not change anything. Moving from the house to the senate will not make them work harder or more honest.
We need to clean up congress, look up your facts, a lot of them have criminal histories and many of their deeds are cleaned up at our tax money being spent on it.
People say, I had no choice as none of the other candidates had the experience, the experience of screwing the American People and dividing us????? How do they get experience??? If you know how to make phone calls you can find people who know how to do things. I found out in 911 you don't have to know everything you just need to start making phone calls until you can find someone that will help you get what you need. Don't be embarrassed because you don't know an answer, say I don't know but I will find the answer for you and get on that phone and start following leads until you find the answer. As my dad told me, if you come to a fork in the road and it didn't work don't lay down and quit, try a different road.
Growing up on a farm you do not get the right to say I don't know, if one of your stock is sick or your crop is sick you find out how to fix it. You don't get to say I don't feel good and am not going to work today or your animals and crops will die. You have to figure out how to get it done even if it means asking for help but get it done you will.
Growing up on a farm with not a lot of money taught me more that I used in life in all my jobs then the book education I received. Both are good but never put someone down because they do not have a college education. I know many that have a college education but don't have good ole common sense and don't know how to improvise in an emergency, if it isn't like the book says it will be then they are lost and believe me life doesn't run smooth or according to what you think it will.
I am so totally sick of politics, I hate bills that have tons of stuff in them and if you want one thing to have to let 30 thing go in the law that you didn't really want.....cut the garbage and go back to simple language and simple truths. If you want to pass a bill on welfare why are you putting in highways, aid to other countries etc..
Congress was not set up to be a lifetime career. It was to serve the country and go back to your career, congress not only is now a career your working life but also when you retire. Where else can you just work a few days a year and get paid for the whole year with all the benefits of health insurance and every other working mans benefits while you don't work. It costs so much money now because of all the stuff they add on. Unions also suck, many times when people try to do a job themselves as a volunteer they won't let you because you aren't union. Even fixing a road you can't just go volunteer in most places....
I HATE POLITICS AS IT IS!
The natives helped the first settlers across the river and guided and helped them build watercraft to travel the river not knowing that soon they would come in waves and take over their land. If they could have seen into the future a different story would be told today.
People can be so selfish when it comes to something they want, a lot don't care who they stomp on to get what they want. I hate the laws that allow them to take property because it is the "best" for the public. Who says it is the best as it sure isn't the property owners. I have a friend that they came in and cut his ranch in half out of Baker to put I84 in. Now instead of driving his cows to a new pasture in spring, he must gather and load all of them in a truck after truck load and haul many miles to get to the rest of his ranch and summer grazing area and then do the same thing in late fall where he can feed them during the winter. An 80 year old man in Bend Oregon lost his house that he had been born and raised in and never lived anywhere else where they could put a stupid round up in. Can you tell I dislike roundups? People who invented them never drove big rigs through that area. How hard is it to start your life over at 80, he doesn't even have energy to put everything away even if they pack and move it. I can't even imagine how heart broke he was. He fought it so hard and all he got out of it was lawyer fees and still lost his lifetime home. He knows how the natives felt for sure.
I know we depend on electric and the dams made electric cheaper to use but what did we give up for it? I still get mad when I think of them flooding The Cove to make Round Butte dam. Some of the most beautiful scenery in Oregon now buried under mud and chemicals from insecticides and is now a yucky green.
They did the same thing to our beautiful Columbia. I know a guy that was elderly and lost his farm when they built dams on the Columbia and flooded his farm. It broke his heart. You might say it was good for most, well who decides what is good for who and who doesn't count?
I hate the falls were covered up and the natives lost even more of their heritage and way to eat and make a living for progress. Well progress has made our world what it is today. No regard for nature, littering everywhere, destruction of property, we don't even know our neighbors. In many ways the old ways were hard but people needed each other and were there for each other. When I grew up we always left our keys in our cars because a neighbor might have an emergency and need it. One time we came home from a vacation to see relatives and our truck was gone. Did we call the police, nope, dad said I wish I knew who had it where I could go help them. About two weeks later our truck came home with a home baked pie and a big thank you, I would have lost my crop without that truck.
Many farmers and ranchers are still that way. When my dad got hurt and lost his hands, (they sewed them back on but they didn't work hardly at all) the neighbors came over and worked his fields up and put his crop in for the year. I loved growing up country and I still love central Oregon with a total passion.
Even today this Columbia River remains a big part of Oregon in so many ways. Treat her well people as she is a life line. Please do not throw litter in her, don't dump your soapy water etc. in her. Treat her well and she will help you for years to come. Pollute her and she will become a sewer.
A lot of people do not realize that Christmas trees are one of Oregon's biggest crops. Trees are usually harvested between 6 an 10 years old. That is a lot of committed time for a crop before you get any money from it. Oregon is one of the leading states to produce trees. They are usually harvested starting in the first part of November and shipped all over the world. According to google in 2016 Oregon harvested 5.2 million trees. They say the average growing time of a 7 feet tree is 4 to 15 years depending on the type but average is 7 years.
This is fun and some are hard but a great way to start my day as it brought back memories and made me think too. Try it.
Every time I see an old barn I wish it could tell me it's history. One of my favorite things is when I go for a drive and find an old barn. I wish I was rich and I would travel the US and find old barns to take photos of.
I loved his discovery but not sure what it is. I have been told when I posted it to Facebook that it is an old ice house, an old food storage, an old pump house and on and on. It is located in Central Oregon. Who knows maybe at one time it has been used for all of it. Please comment if you know or have heard anything or know any stories about this?
This is the old house that is now a museum at Champoeg state park. I know until I sure did not know the history that Champoeg had in our state. It is a fun place to camp too, has disc golf, lots of bike and walking trails, lots of meadows and some fishing too. It isn't far from I5 so stop in some time.
All these are easily accessed by car so easy for elderly to go and enjoy.
Mt Hood is a staple to look at no matter where you farm. Each area has its own crops. On the south side they grown peppermint, wheat, alfalfa, potatoes and now lots of seed crops. On the east side they grow a lot of fruit, apples, cherries, and lots of other food crops like squashes etc. On the west side they grown a lot of Christmas trees, shrubs, flowers. I think almost anything is grown somewhere in Oregon. It is a diverse state from farming to ranching to recreation. If you like it you can find it in Oregon. A lot of people don't even know that we have geysers in SE Oregon. Many people travel outside of their area or state and don't even realize what it right outside their doors. I remember once posting a photo of some caves and people were saying, "wow, those are so neat, where are they?". Well they were right outside of their home town by 2 miles.
There is no reason why you can't travel and enjoy our state when you are elderly, you can drive or even take a wheel chair to many nature places, see animals, see historical places.
Here are a few photos I took yesterday of some farming on the west side of the state near Portland. Portland is big but right out of town not even 20 miles you will find a lot of farm ground.
We don't grow hot weather crops like cotton but are starting to grow a lot of hemp and wine grapes.
Many people think of seagulls as being a coastal bird and not an inland bird. Many birds of all kinds frequent and live in the waterways of Central and Eastern Oregon. Chickahominy Reservoir in Eastern Oregon is on the migrating route for birds and you will find many unusual birds during migration times. But many birds thought of as ocean birds live there year around. The same with The Cove (Round Butte) and Pelton reservoirs in Central Oregon. When I was growing up you did not see them on that side of the mountain but when they started building reservoirs the birds started moving in.
Everyone should try and get to the Vista House sometime in their life as it is a beautiful place and is in the National Historic Register. It has been important to our area way before white men ever entered the area as it is a great lookout. You should google it and find out all about it. It was built in 1016 through 1918 and remodeled in 2000. It was designed by the architect Edgar M Lazarus. It has stained glass windows and marble floors. It was not a popular thing to spend money on due to it being during world war II.
It was built as a rest area for the Columbia Highway and was said to have 20 bathrooms. It is now a museum but is not open now due to COVID 19 but you can still walk around it outside and the views of the Columbia River area is beautiful.
If you have any interest in Oregon History this museum is a must see and plan on spending some time reading the columns Take time to go into the basement which now has an elevator to use and where the 20 bathrooms were located.
It is noted for the winds that hit it and are some of the highest in Oregon. I am sure you have seen on the news people getting blown all around including news people and camera men. They put up a wind gauge once but as you can guess it got blown down.
During winter it is closed except on weekends and almost impossible to get to when there is snow or black ice. The road I took up was like 10% grade. I can't even imagine trying to get up and down it in snow or black ice but you will find many houses built in the area.
Be sure and stop just before you get to it at the woman's Forum state park for some great views also and some walking trails.
Take the time to do some research on this if you like history because this place has a lot of it. I can't wait to go back when it is open. I have not been there since the 60's and I wasn't interested in history at that time, just enjoyed the view and off I went. I plan on spending a whole day up there as soon as possible.
My new home
Here are some reasons you will see why I love living in Estacada and how Mt. Hood is still a prominent part of my life and makes me feel at home.
Welcome to the beautiful area of Estacada, Oregon and the Clackamas River which runs right below our house. McIver Park is right below us to the south and we live right on the cliff which scares me sometimes as I don't like heights at all.
I have not worked on my blog for a few years as they found a brain tumor in my mom and I took care of her until the last. I have lost her now and finally am getting on with my life after 3 years without her. It was really hard as she lived with me for 26 years and most were happy years.
I went back to 911 after she passed but finally retired again for the fourth time. My daughter asked me to move in with her as she got a place with a mother in law suite at the south end of the house. She said I would never retire if I kept living in Madras as they would continue to talk me into working. I had agreed to work 2 days a week but ended up working full time with over time every week.
To make a long story short I moved to Estacada, Oregon with my daughter and was enjoying being around family and doing family get to gathers and then COVID hit and been pretty much home bound since. My family worries because of my age. I go for a drive once in a while but I live in such a beautiful place with an amazing view and a big yard with lots of birds and squirrels and an occasional deer or coyote. I can still see my beloved Mt. Hood so I feel at home.
I brought my three dogs with me.
My sweet "Cara", a wheaten terrier, Wheatens are amazing dogs and have a special clip but I clip her all down since I spend so much time outdoors. They are hypoallergic and don't shed. She is the oldest of all my dogs and already at the high end of her expected life span but we keep hoping. She acts like a puppy most of the time and runs and plays but some days her arthritis gets to her and she is slow moving.
The youngest of the bunch my "Sassy" dog, a red and white border colllie. A dear friend gave her to me when I lost my beloved Hank dog, an aussie and the best dog I ever had. Sassy earned her name as when we first got her we called her Penny because of her color and a copper colored circle she had. After about 2 or 3 weeks I said, mom I think we should have called her Sassy. As soon as I said Sassy her ears perked up and she came flying to me and Sassy she became. She has tons of energy and thinks her biggest job in life is to be attached to my leg or my daughters now too. My daughter hates it as she gets hair on her when she is dressed in her work clothes.
Now on to the adventures of the 4 of us. I bought a 4 door Jeep Unlimited and a small utility trailer I put a bed and ice box and porta potty in.
Now on to catching up with our adventures.
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