ADVENTURE AWAITS

When the “25^th Month” date arrived, I marked it by getting out the travel magazines I’ve been hoarding; thumbing through the pages, marking interesting destinations – jotting down point locale addresses (GPS necessity), phone number (to make sure certain places will be up and running efficiently before I hit the road), mileage information, overnight costs (if I plan that into the adventure): and slipping those notations into my Daytrip Anticipations Jar …

Daytrip Ambitions Jar filled up - 2 new adventures can be pulled each month.

… it’s filling up very nicely 😉 

There are enough folded slips of paper in that jar to allow for two adventurous daytrips a month (places I have never been to with Bob); and all but two of the destinations are under 5 hours round trip – easily doable, with plenty of time to stop and smell the roses 😉

All but two adventures are shoe-string ventures (I am very frugal), and I have been saving “a dollar here, a dollar there”; all year long for the possible overnighter’s – that will depend on how soon the State opens businesses up without tyrannical mandates continuing into 2024 … and beyond.

I am ready to stop living on the past memories Bob and I made together, and start embarking fully on making fresh, new memories; solo lobo.

For the present, spontaneity won’t be as prevalent as it was – I will need the detailed details to make these daytrips a success: spontaneity can be entertained again, after I learn the roadways, landscapes, and reginal nuances better.

Yesterday afternoon, when I got back home from hiking (https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2021/01/life-moves-pretty-fast-shabbat.html), I contacted one of the places I hope to visit this year, and made some inquires. Rimrock Lake Resort is in Naches: Naches is the halfway mark for rattlesnake country. Bob would have known this information I was seeking … I am not Bob – and the question seemed important to me.

I hate snakes; and I really do not want to encounter a rattler. So, I asked if there were rattlesnakes in Naches. The reply I received, was that Rimrock Lake Resort is in the mountains, not downtown … there are no rattlesnakes in the mountain resort area. So, this adventure destination is still on my “to do’ radar 😉

Naches via White Pass (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swle4VkPJ5g)

And it will be HUGE STEP for me: I will have to drive over White Pass. I have never driven that highway solo lobo; and it can be treacherous. It’s a mountain pass that is heavily traveled – it gets shaken, and part of the road I will be driving was destroyed in a landslide a few years back. I will be a little nervous driving over that patch job (it didn’t look very ‘stabilized’ to me while it was being rebuilt). The alternative is to take the long way, over Chinook Pass and through Yakima, to backtrack to Naches – and like I stated … I hate snakes. Yakima is rattlesnake territory. I didn’t mind going there with Bob, but it is not something I would willingly do solo lobo.

White Pass is a dicey road to travel even on the best of days: beautiful … but treacherous.

White Pass Road Event (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lOgbIVg030)

White Pass Closed 2013 (http://www.chronline.com/news/updated-u-s-highway-12-near-white-pass-remains-closed/article_05eb644a-2ace-11e3-ac8d-001a4bcf887a.html)

When I pull that slip, I’ll have to pray long and hard about loading the car; then pull out of the carport, fueled with Faith.

LIFE MOVES PRETTY FAST ~ Shabbat

I went to sleep last night thinking of this hike, so as soon as my eyes opened this morning, I was out of bed in a flash, dressed, and on my way 😊

I had read last night, before I went to bed, that the rain would stop for the day (pick up again Sunday), but it would be cloudy: I can do cloudy … I just have to get out of the house. I don’t like being cooped up and hemmed in – I have to have wide open spaces and freedom of movement. I need to be outdoors, enjoying nature.

Ducks swimming and birdsong. Upper end of hiking trail.

Mallard Pairs.

These mallard ducks set up next building in this same spot every year; they start pairing up in October, and keep close company through the Winter: the male ducks help the hens ‘nest sit’ once the hen lays her eggs: the eggs usually hatch anywhere between March and May.

Common Goldeneye Duck. Male - white cheek spot, black bill, yellow eyes.

TODAY: The backyard lake is drying up.

12-21-20: Ducks congregating in the “Backyard Lake”. The landscape is changing …

Duck equivalent of “standing at the water cooler”; LOL. Golf Course middle section of trail.

I was feeling good, and walking loose at my normal pace – turbo speed; I had slipped out of granny mode, and was confident I could do the entire hike.

So, I did 😊

I only slowed down once …

Entering the danger zone, I noticed dangerous golfers everywhere; every single one of them was just aimlessly wandering around and chopping at the ball – sending the balls wildly careening off into space with no actual goal in sight.

I figured if I passed through the danger zone without getting beaned with an errant ball, it would be a true miracle …

Golfing ‘eager beavers’ - I hoped to beat them.

Dangerous golfers.

A lost baby sock ... poor cold tiny toes. A hiker has left it for the parent to retrieve when they pass this way again.

I made it through the mine field, and crossed the 38^th street without mishap.

Gray cloud overhang. Lower end of Pacific Way Trail.

Under house watercourse spilling into dike drainage ditch; I think it’s pretty cool 😉

Bufflehead duck & unidentified duck.

Work on the dike ...

Big boy toy; tail end of hiking trail.

I hadn’t been this far along the trail since October 6^th … things happen in 14 weeks’ time.

Maybe the city is clearing the drainage ditch to open it up more.

No one I talked to along the trail seemed to know what is going on with the dike work.

This big boy toy, with its deep scooper, is obviously dike maintenance equipment.

Gray clouds opening up on my turnabout hike back to the car.

48th Ave., & Dike Road to 30th Ave. - Pacific Way Trail; a 5.2-mile round-trip hike.

Hooded Merganser Pair & a female Bufflehead.

Golf Course section - political nonsense. Climate change is nothing new … the Earth cycles. And that cycling cannot be stopped; it’s a natural occurrence. Earth was designed to cycle.

Ducks lined up on a log.

Blue billed duck pair.

At this point, I was dreaming of ripping my bra off as soon as I got home (the straps were seriously cutting into my shoulders – Dolly Parton boobs are no fun!), putting my feet up, and relaxing.

When I got home, I shucked my hiking boot & coat … finished my Vanilla Coke … and checked my FB messages.

My touchdown at home base was brief when I saw that Kerby’s was selling sturgeon and chips; and thought to myself, “that sounds good!” I had planned to eat a tuna-salad-sandwich and a handful of Pringles chips … but the sturgeon was luring me: I can have tuna and chips any day of the week, but sturgeon is treat 😉 So, I consulted the checkbook and saw I could swing it, so I hopped back in the car and went after it.

WOW! I had not expected to see a Food Court Arrangement – Lexington is becoming more urban, and looking more citified than Longview; when we lived here 3 years ago, it was a sleepy rural community … things have changed.

Life was moving pretty fast while I was laid up with sciatica most of November and all of December.

I am glad to be out and about now: Elohim granted me my “Christmas miracle” 😉

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0V3BqV_mdnY)

Kerby's has evolved into a Food Wagon-Tent collaboration.

Kerby's - the main attraction.

When I was ordering my sturgeon and chips, I saw an advert for Oysters and Chips, too: so, I got one of those too – and decided to freeze the sturgeon for later on.

It was a toss-up between the 2 for Supper, and the oysters won 😉

2 ct. Sturgeon & seasoned 'chips & 1 ct. Oysters & Sweet Potato Fries.

CHAOTIC DAY

It has been stormy here the past few days, but last night was a whopper: the high winds woke me up periodically through the night … and I prayed the Columbia River would stay put.

The flood level was 21.6 feet last night when I went to bed … and the top-off level is 21.5 feet; so, obviously the Cowlitz River jumped its banks overnight: when I woke up, I canceled my afternoon hair appointment. A haircut is not worth risking my life for – by noon, today, the maximum flood level for the Cowlitz had reached 22.2 feet.

Those poor people – to be hit with flood waters again (last one was in 2015).

I canceled my hair appointment, but there is no way to cancel getting into town to the Post Office to mail off payment for the hospital bills. So … into town I drove. Ocean Beach Highway – the stretch I live along – was littered with torn limbs, leaf litter, tree mosses, ect. from the overnight rain storm that swept through.

If things look this bad in town – where there is very little for the weather to wreak havoc with, I could only imagine what the rural countryside looked like. I didn’t have to imagine for very long: people were more than happy to share their storm damages with me.

There was also a bad wreck on I-5 North, just before the Headquarters Road Exit – it was raining so fast and furious that the saturated ground gave way; and a tree fell onto the freeway, where an SUV slammed into it.

And on Tower Road, up the Toutle, there was wind-blown storm debris all over the roadways … and 2 houses were demolished when trees fell on them (the people escaped okay – shaken, but okay). And the power was out, up that way, too.

Between Castle Rock and Vader - near Strickland Road.

Spirit Lake Highway; up the Toutle.

The Covered Bridge and flooded farm land; seen from Loop Road; in Graysriver.

South Valley Road, in Naselle.

After I left the Post Office, I decided to find Matt’s Custom Meats business and see if I could find beef liver, there (I can’t find it in any of the grocery stores in town): they had it! So, I bought 3 packages 😊 Liver supplies natural iron supplement my body needs: I am severely anemic. Fortunately, I happen to like the taste of beef liver.

I also bought half a Beef Locker Pack, and a big bag of Beef knuckle bones, for bone soup.

Matt's Custom Meats; it took me a while to find the place because I am not yet familiar with all of Longview’s streets. But, I am learning 😉

What I bought this afternoon: the price is comparative to what I normally buy at Stewart’s Meat Market in Yelm.

Hefty Ham Hocks – these things were HUGE!

On my way home, I was feeling on top of the world … but was quickly snapped out of my buoyant mood when I was hailed by a police officer on Industrial Way – the backroad I like to drive home on.

I stopped my car, and he motioned for me to wind my window down: so, I did. He bent into my window and asked, “How did you get here?” I just looked at him (trying not to be a smartass), and said, “I drove.” He followed that up with, “Where did you come from?” I pointed behind my head, and said, “From that way.” (By now, I was wondering what was going on). He said, “That road is closed.” Now, it was really getting hard to rein my smartass side in, but I fought it, and said, “No – no, it’s not; I’m here.” At this point, he was clearly getting exasperated. He said, “This road is supposed to be closed.” To which, my smartass side prompted me to add, “Well, there were cones on one side of the road, but there was oncoming traffic in one lane … and another lane between the truck and the cones, that indicated I should take that center lane: so, I did.” He rolled his eyes, huffed, and pulled out his walkie-talkie; and barked into it. Then he looked at me, and said, “The road is closed from The Lewis and Clark Bridge to Washington Way” – and he points down the road in front of us. I asked, “The whole road?” He said, “To Washington Way, yes.” I said, “Where am I supposed to turn around?” I guess he surmised it would cause more upheaval for me to attempt an in-the-middle-of-the-road-turn, than to just let me continue home … so, he slipped his walkie-talkie back in its holder and said, “Just go.” And I didn’t say another word: I scooted 😉

As I passed him, I caught sight of a mangled car with the front end smashed into the back seat area. Apparently, I had stumbled into a investigative scene. But in my defense … there had been no clear warning to stay off that road; there had been no blinking digital road sign with a detour warning – and the cones being set out, back by the bridge, were set out in such a manner as to indicate there was road work to be done at the Car Wash & Espresso Shack location (for months, there has been road work going on all over town, at different locations). And there had been 2 lanes open for what indicated 2-way traffic movement.

The road was subsequently totally blocked off to through traffic.

When I got home, I opened the meat box from Matt’s, and was very happy with my purchase. Except for the smaller steaks, I broke the other meat cuts down for solo lobo cooking – and I sliced the large sirloin steaks into stew cubes: I eat more stews than I do steaks.

My meat haul with 3 added Beef Liver packs. I believe food is natural medicine for the body; red meat is essential for whole-body well-being.(https://www.livestrong.com/article/407839-the-health-benefits-of-eating-red-meat/)

Beef knuckle bones for bone broth to sooth inflammation – The pain I suffered November thru December this year, taught me that I need to drink Bone Broth.

(https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/bone-broth#joint-health)

Snack Packs for hiking.

I consider the meat package purchase a good expenditure: I garden, and freeze my harvests; I buy noodles and rice in bulk, I stock up on condiments … and I bake my own bread: my freezer and pantry are stocked – meat, and paper products, is all I have to fork big bucks out for. And I really only go big on meat because I want quality meat, not that greasy stinky stuff sold in the supermarkets. If I could, I’d grow my own meat too … but I can’t do that, here; and Bob didn’t want to go back to living on a farm.

Bob did agree to let me have chickens, though for a few years – before we downsized, and went suburban: he even built me a Hen House and Hen Pen. But, I did all the tending, and the butchering (which shocked Bob; he didn’t think I’d be able to do it).

Bob rototilled my gardens every Spring for 40 years.

My chickens were Bob’s ultimate love gift to me … it was a real concession: he hated chickens, so when I finally got them, it was a real sacrifice on his part ~ OX