MOUNTAIN HIGH & RIVER WIDE ~Wandering Wednesday 2022-1

Lenny Kravitz – ‘I Want to Get Away’ song:

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewfVFBqOLgw)

I was up bright and early this morning; my garden area was fully watered by 9:30 A.M.

A 20-cent cut in price this morning; still pretty high in a recession period.

Prices have been holding even until today: 8-2-22 prices.

Clatskanie-OR from Heron Pointe-WA; 25 min (19.8 mi) via WA-432 E and US-30 W

I hadn’t eaten anything yet, and my stomach wanted a Bundy Burger for lunch … so I switched out my thongs for sandals, and and drove to Clatskanie, thinking I’d eat my ‘burger, then drive to Lee Wooden/Fishhawk Falls County Park to get a short hike in: but when I got to Clatskanie, Bundy’s was closed tighter than a clam at high tide ☹

So, I jetted across the street to the mini mart; and bought a pound of chicken gizzards … and zoomed back across the street and up the backroad behind Safeway 😊

I had intended to drive the familiar backroad loop route from Clatskanie … but instead of turning towards the Camp Wilkerson Park road towards Apiary, I veered off onto a different road just for the adventure of it 😉

This Daytrip to Vernonia via Mist Mountain, Highway #47, is my first 2022 Daytrip.

I passed the road sign pointing to Scappoose/St. Helens – feeling Venronia drawing me forward. I got surprised in several ways: the Highlander climbed Mist Mountain, at an elevation of 1,320 … and this route into Vernonia led me to different part of Vernonia – both were new adventures for me; I hadn’t driven over the mountain before (with or without Bob), nor had I ever visited the part if Vernonia I found myself in (Bob may have driven through on his truck route – but if he did, he never said anything to me about it).

“Mist Mountain” (is actually higher than stated in this article – I read the posted elevation sign to be 1,320 ft/elev.): https://traveloregon.com/things-to-do/clatskanie-mountain/

Bridge work along the route ...

I was thoroughly enjoying myself 😊

Radio waves were channeling the cheney dog barking … and it appears to me that she is behaving exactly how she tried to prove (falsely) President Trump was behaving – refusing to accept that she lost the election, verbally denying the election results, staging a political coup with a bid for the 2024 Presidential Election, and inciting {mob} mentality. cheney is hosting her own insurrection: and the deadhead obamanites are eating her political barf, up – and spewing it all over social media.

I tuned the biased chatted out.

America has had enough of liz cheney: that was glaringly obvious in her total loss when the count came in. We do not want – nor do we need – liz cheney in DC; let alone, in the Oval Office! Anyone who believes for a nano second … that dementia poster boy biden, actually won the Presidential Election, is as delusional as obama’s puppet is. That is a dangerous person: and that person should not be seated in our governing seats. Kick her treasonous ass to the curb! Kick it hard.

Highway #47 may be a country backroad – but it is a very busy backroad; log trucks were every other vehicle on the road … and cars, pickups, and SUV’s, were seriously crowding my back bumper from beginning to end: I finally pulled over at the Big Eddy campground, and let the bumper riders pass me. I was going the speed limit; but Oregon drivers are rude and obnoxious drivers because they are by and large stoned out of their minds 95% of the time.

This was a new road to me, and I was intent on taking my time, and leisurely looking at the surroundings. I didn’t need to be top-dog on the road.

The area of Vernonia that I drove through was pretty suburban, and edging closer to citified. It’s still got a small-town vibe … but it’s not as {country} as the section of Vernonia I was aiming for – and missed.

WOW. This is a side of Vernonia I never knew existed.

Vernonia from Clatskanie; 39 min (28.4 mi) via OR-47 S

Vernonia, Oregon

Vernonia - along Highway #47 backroad.

Forest Grove was half a mere hour in the distance; so ... I backtracked.

I did not want to end up in Forest Grove! So, I had to backtrack to the green highway sign that pointed to Scappoose/Vernonia 😉

This is a different route than I am used to: there are 3 road routes that lead to Vernonia – this is a new one. I like learning different routes: each route has different scenery, and I like that, too 😊

This route dropped me behind Burgerville, in St. Helens – which is about 30 minutes from home.

When I got to Rainier, there was back-to-back traffic on the Lewis & Clark Bridge, crossing from Rainier to Longview this afternoon; around 1 PM. Bridge crossing was very, very busy.

St. Helens-OR from Vernonia; 40 min (27.2 mi) via Scappoose Vernonia Hwy

W.T. ...

Heron Pointe-WA from St Helens-OR; 34 min (28.1 mi) via US-30 W

Back in Longview - and that little daytrip is a definite repeat.

It was still 90-degrees, but the humidity wasn't sky high, so I decided to nip over to Willow Grove, on my way home, and get a short riverside hike in before parking the Highlander in my carport.

Tugboat on the Columbia River; Willow Grove-WA

This tree root reminded me of a beached octopus. LOL

Hijinx on the River ...

After a light Supper, I watched the fading sunlight gild the clouds 😊

Today was a good day – from start to finish.

A COUNTRY MONDAY

I woke up this morning thinking of some things my friends said to me over the weekend: “You can still enjoy a country life, here, Val. I love you – I’m glad you aren’t moving”.

They are country folk; also, city transplants.

We grew up in the same County – went to the same schools; rubbed elbows with relatives, friend, neighbors, and enemies. Our husbands worked, hunted, drank, bickered, and matured to adulthood together – our children were diaper changed side-by-side, went to school together, and shared a life together before leaving home and moving on to other States.

We have a LOT in common: we have ‘history’.

We support each other’s choices.

We pray with/for each other.

We honor each other by speaking honest truths.

We share the same life goals & values.

We love each other.

We stand together.

Some of my friends live smack-dab-in the city, a few live in citified rural areas (like Lexington; which is becoming more urbanized every year) – and several of us live on the far-flung-outskirts of the city: and though the city is spreading out this way, the corrosive tentacles of city trappings have not yet reached this far on the West end.

City congestion and liberal policies are getting closer to home, for sure; but for the moment, our small pocket of city real estate is holding its own in quieter/cleaner living … and rustic tranquility.

For the time being, we are all enjoying a good life; despite the ever-grasping city.

And, at any given time, I can escape deeper into the countryside when I feel the need for comforting solitude: in this, I know I am luckier than most.

I am blessed.

I am thankful.

As I woke up, I also thought I’d like to have a country breakfast at Omelettes & More; so, I washed my hair, pulled some clothes on, and drove the back way – down Industrial Way.

Omelettes & More from Heron Pointe; via Industrial Way WA-432 E - 9 mins.

The sky was gray: and it was misting while I drove Industrial Way. The mist was light when I pulled out of the carport … but it increased in wetness and density so much so, that I had to use the medium speed of the windshield wipers to keep my vision clear.

Misting gray clouds heavy with humidity - and Industrial Way 'environmental asthma' stink.

Treated myself to breakfast this morning. I like it here.

Something new to my eyes: a ‘hillbilly beard’ covered with a paper beard net; it had actual ear straps.

I ordered a big breakfast: that way, I can enjoy it later in the week, too 😉

'The Works' - brought half of it home, for later this week ...

The booth I was seated at, had a low sitting bench seat: I felt like a midget sitting there … but at least my feet were touching the floor 😉

The table edge hit me high on my breasts – the fork didn’t have to be lifted very high to get to my mouth. LOL

Breakfast finished (half of it boxed); I topped the gas tank off (prices have gone up a.g.a.i.n.), and drove to 46^th, to walk a portion of the Pacific Way Trail. There was road work going on, but traffic was not backed up.

Safeway Gas Prices this afternoon.

Directly across the street from Safeway’s terminals ... WOW!

FM prices (other size of the pricey Chevron) noted on the way out of town.

Slipping the Highlander into park; I slid my backpack-purse straps comfortably over my arms, grabbed my walking stick, and was reaching for the cell phone … when I spotted the box of books slated for the Library at Heron Pointe.

CRAP!

I have been hauling these books around for weeks because the Library is only open for a brief period of time Tuesday mornings ☹ … and I’ve been busy Tuesday mornings, missing that brief window of opportunity. I have been hauling that box of books around for so long, I forgot it was even there.

The Louis La'Amour books I had checked out at the Park Library before the first round of covid nonsense - the children's books I am donating, since I'll never see my grandson again in this lifetime. It hurts my heart to see them ... and I'd rather other children enjoy them.

I had to drive back to Heron Pointe to unload the books, before driving back to the dike to go walking.

So, I slid my backpack-purse off my arms, put my walking stick back into the backend of the Highlander; and drove back to Library at Heron Pointe – and the door was locked. The ‘librarians’ were in the back, playing pinochle! Mind you, the Library is only open on Tuesday mornings, from 10 AM to Noon: very brief … and that’s why the box of books has been in the Highlander for weeks. So, I tap on the door glass to get their attention – point at the box cradled in my left arm – and wait for one of them to lift their butts off a seat and unlock the door. I mean, really!; if the Library is supposed to be Open – it should be open.

Handing the box over, I drove back to the Pacific Way Trail, along the dike. I drove the Old Pacific Way backroad, because there was a water main being excavated/worked on, when I drove 46^th earlier. Driving this route to get to the Trail, would have me on the wrong side of the street to park … so I took a side trip out Dike Road to turn around at the Dead End – which would turn me around the right way to park when I got back to 48^th.

I didn’t mind doing that: I was curious what that street looked like now – in decades past, Bob used to visit the junk yard at the end of the blacktop, when he needed out-of-date-pieces for various machinery/vehicles that needed fixing. The place looked pretty much the same … except that blackberries are covering most of the ‘dead’ machines/vehicles that used to frequently be cannibalized before everything manufactured became digitalized. It was sad to see those abandoned things in the creeping grip of blackberry brambles.

Along the Dike Road ‘for old times sake’ drive, a woman was walking her horse. I was glad to see she was managing it so well; some horses balk & get antsy around traffic – I was glad to see that would not be the case, in that particular moment 😊

A horse on the Dike Road; owner managed it very well - some horses rear, near traffic.

Finally parked along the Pacific Way Trail, I set out on my walk.

Again, I only intended to walk a third of the Trail. 

Pacific Way Trail - 2 miles round trip a third of the way; 200 calorie burn off.

It wouldn’t do much by way of calorie burning (especially after this morning's breakfast)… but it would strengthen my muscles, and loosen my joints for a longer walk, soon 😉

Under the low-lying gray clouds, I enjoyed a country mile walk 😊

I saw a flock of Swedish Black Ducks, enjoying their wet community.

I saw 2 deer grazing in tall field grass. 

There was very little foot traffic on the trail.

I walked among spirited swallows, on the wing – swooping and darting along the path in front of my feet.

I stopped and listened to birds, busily congregating in a leafy bower on the opposite side of the dike slough.

I saw that since I last walked this trail; someone had bought the rundown, windowless house along the trail route: it’s got new roofing, and has been painted … but it still only has 1 upstairs window. In the whole house – 1 window.

A whole flock of Swedish Ducks - I've never seen this many together; I only ever saw just 1 among the other duck varieties.

2 Deer I spotted at the beginning of my walk, today.

Boisterous bird cheeping; I stopped and listened for a few minutes while watching various birds darting in and out of leafy bowers.

1 window in the entire house - very odd. There is another windowless house between Cathlamet & Skamokawa.

It was 63-degrees during my Trail walk; and the gray clouds still hovered. Humidity was 50%: and the misting, which was light from the start of my walk to the gated turnaround – escalated to a full-on-glasses lens-mucking: there are no water clearing glass wipers on my glasses: by the time I had made the turnaround and reached the parked Highlander, I was glad I had kept my walk short 😉

I did a little light grocery shopping on my way home, and grabbed some color spots when I passed them. I like color. I think these will do nicely to liven my new life 😊

These pretties caught my egg when I was shopping ...

Stores are already setting Fall themed Holiday décor on shelves; but, I was not tempted to buy anything Fall related – yet.

Exiting the store, I was hit with a wave of miserable hot – not hot, like burning sun hot … but hot like sticky, muggy, heat: 62-degrees, and it felt like 100% because of the heaviness in the stifling air.

And the air conditioner was useless because it was not hot enough to warrant turning it on. I drove home with all the windows open to create a breeze tunnel, that kinda helped tamp down the muggy stickiness.

Now that I am no longer looking for a new home, I will be driving to Naselle again, come Thursday; to enjoy the company of my country friends there 😊

Keeping that in mind, I also decided to delve into my ‘Ambitions Jar’ and pluck out a destination to visit on my way back home from Naselle 😉

Thursday afternoon ambition.

Tonight, I started working on my own design knit ‘Angel Baby Gown’, to match the tiny blanket I finished the other evening. I will make 2 gown to send off with it: 1 for a girl … 1 for a boy; both will match the blanket.

Grief is hard.

It is important the grieving know someone cares.

I started MOD Angel baby Gown, while Supper cooked.