Pic-of-the-Month for March 19, 2021

 Hola Amigos,

We have some good news....and some sad news.  The good news is that we got our first Pfizer vaccinations yesterday here in Baja for Covid-19.  The sad news is that we had to put our dachshund Sam down on March 7.  He would have been 14 in April.

Here's a picture of Sam in one of his favorite places...sharing an old lounge chair on the veranda with Zoey, and with his signature look: tongue out.  (Zoey's look is her "go fast" ears folded back!)

He had some health issues, and he was having some trouble walking, slowly losing control of his hind quarters.  On Saturday the 6th, he found a cat in our yard, and did the "final chase".  I heard some loud yips, and when I found him in the yard, he couldn't walk at all.  We spent most of the night up with him, and he was frustrated and in some pain.  We decided to put him down on Sunday.  The vet who did it for us was very caring and gentle with him (and us!)  We are all missing him a lot.  He's been such a big part of our lives (following me EVERYWHERE except my morning walks), traveling thousands of miles with us every year, and a friend of many.  And no, we are not getting a replacement pup, so don't even suggest it!  When we travel this summer, it will be a lighter load with just Zoey and her accoutrements.   

The good news:  We managed to get signed up and notified of Covid vaccinations available for us folks over 60.  It's quite a story, but some comments I've heard from folks tell me it's not uncommon anywhere in the world.  Here's the paragraph you can skip if you don't want to go through our frustration with us!

On Monday we were notified by email that vaccines would be available in Santiago Tuesday, La Ribera Wednesday, and Los Barriles Thursday. We tried Tuesday in Santiago since we were already there paying property taxes, were sent away because even though we live in that county, they said we could get our shots in Los Barriles on Thursday. On Wednesday, we went to La Ribera, signed up, and waited 4 or more hours and finally gave up and went home when they said they would continue the next day. We went back the next morning, and they said "if we didn't call you last night, you're out of luck. We're out of vaccinations". He suggested Miraflores, so we went there and arrived at about 8:30. We signed up (got numbers 83 and 84). We had time to find a breakfast restaurant, went back to wait with the crowds and found a friend there to visit with while we waited (she was just getting inside when we were leaving). It was really pretty efficient. When our numbers were called, we got signed in, had our temps taken, were accompanied to a room for the vaccination (with 5 nurses in attendance!) then led to a room to wait 15 minutes. We were then allowed outside for 15 more minutes. They also gave us a follow up date of April 8. We are SO HAPPY! Not so funny thing is, Los Barriles vaccinations got cancelled for Thursday. So glad we found the Miraflores group to help us.

This is the Centro de Salud in Miraflores. It is 21 miles from our home, but we think it was worth the trip!

Our garden continues to grow and produce an abundance of tomatoes and cucumbers, squash, beans, lettuce, carrots, and some corn. Oh....and beets! I've never grown them myself (maybe because of childhood memories of weeding beets out in the hot sun?), but Ben decided he needed some. He has already canned two batches of pickled beets, and is hoping to do some more next week.

Aren't they pretty? Quite tasty, too. If they last long enough, we might have to bring a few jars north with us this summer!

I'm hoping also that I'll be able to easily find canning lids this summer. They sure were in short supply last year.

To the right is a sampling of our daily tomato crop. And there are many more left on the bushes! Bite sized and yummy.

We got a new skylight installed last week over the opening outside our kitchen door. When it rains, we get puddles outside that door, and it was always a mess and dangerously slippery. I've been trying to come up with something to put over that area that wouldn't cut out the light. I saw our local glass company advertise something similar and decided it was time to do it to our house. I couldn't believe it when the guy installing the framework was wearing a harness! First time I've ever seen that in Mexico. However, I'm not sure what in the world he attached the line to on the bathroom roof. Ryan suggested it was probably hooked to the water pipe to the solar panel, or maybe the support bracket. Then...see that ladder leaning against the wall? That's what they used to climb up there and attach the safety rope. We watched him climb up there to disconnect it, and it made us very nervous! It's a climb and jump I could have done in my teens and twenties, maybe. Now? Not a chance. I don't even do ladders!

This is what it looks like from below --> I like it a lot. Now I want it to rain a little bit so I can check it out. They did have a very nice scaffolding that they used in the process. 😉

Burros!  We have burros in the barrio, and there are two babies right now.  Every day, they come by our place and bray loudly so we'll come out and feed them some yummy garden leftovers.  They are pretty insistent, and I've seen one of the Mamas kicking the male out of the way.  She gets first choice or else!!

This baby boy is the newest, and the littlest one I've ever seen.  

I have created a 2021 March album with these and more pictures if you'd like to look.  And don't forget to check out the cute grandkids!!  Sure wish they lived a little bit closer than half way around the world.  

We are looking forward to friends Jill and Rudy arriving in early April for a nice long visit.  Our friend Maria is still here with us.  We are appreciating her cooking skills and she keeps improving and winning in Mexican Train, too!  

We hope that you are all staying healthy and getting vaccinated.  It is a great relief to us to have that first shot done.  It will make traveling this summer so much more enjoyable.   

Hasta la proxima vez,

Tus amigos de Baja,

Harriet, Ben, Zoey and Maria

Pic-of-the-Month for February 24, 2021

 Hola Amigos,

February has almost ended, so it's time to get a Pic-of-the-Month out for you.  

That's Ben and I out on the point, taking a selfie!  

Ben and I are fine, other than Ben had a cold that he generously passed along to me, and friends Mel and Katie while they were here.  Ben always gets over colds quickly.  The rest of us, not so fast!  I'm still coughing a bit, but finally feeling much better. Then, just when I was starting to feel better, we decided to hike up Flat Top Hill near Rancho Leonero.  We made it just fine, but on the way back down (near to top), I slipped and fell and landed on my face and scraped my lip, and twisted my ankle in the process.  Well dang!  We made it down ok, just a lot slower than normal.  Fortunately, our friend Maria found me a walking cane to use, which helped a lot.  As for Katie and Mel's recovery, Katie says they've slowed down their trip north quite a bit to recover, rest and enjoy some warmer weather before they get to the Rogue River for a month of Steelhead fishing in March.  Ben is feeling bad about passing his germs around.  

Our garden is still doing well and producing lots of veggies, although some of the squash bushes are looking pretty tired!  We finally figured out what was getting to our corn, and being very thorough about stripping the cobs....it was the birds!  Every kind of bird; Orioles, Cardinals, Pyrrhuloxias, Cactus Wren!!!  Ben's solution was to use bird netting, and when the birds got in after his first attempt, he covered our entire garden area with bird netting.  He was fortunate to find what he wanted in La Paz, and was able to go back and get more when the first attempt didn't work.  It is now nice and tight.  (Lots and lots of zip ties were used in the construction of this beautiful structure!)    We just hope the bees can find their way in!!   Some corn in our second planting is just about ready.  

The Jeep.... oh yes, there's always something about the Jeep!  Ben has towed it to La Paz, and it is in Edgar Majalca's shop getting painted!!!  (He did the 1930 Model A Roadster for us).    AND... he ordered a nice big fan from the US and had it shipped down here.  A man in a shop next to Majalca's, who builds and repairs Baja Race cars, is making a cowl for the fan and installing it in the Jeep.  We HOPE that this is the solution to it overheating and stalling out when we're going slow on rough roads.  The new paint won't help much, but it will certainly look better!  Ben selected some colors that Edgar suggested, but you'll have to wait to see what it looks like after it's finished.  

We enjoyed our time with cousins Tom and Karan, even though it was short.  I do know they will be back one of these days...they are Baja lovers for sure.   Unfortunately, my friend Jill and Rudy have delayed yet again (her work now!)  Hopefully, they'll be able to get some time soon.  The airport here now has a COVID testing station set up.  You need to get a test before you fly out now, and they have it well set up.  Tom and Karan used it the first week it started, and were pleased with how easy it was.  

By the way, Covid vaccines are starting to become available here for those of us over 60.  I've tried to sign up, but haven't been successful on the computer app yet.  I guess I'll go into the clinic and ask for help!  (Can't believe I can't get a computer app to work!)  We'd probably feel better about traveling if we could get the vaccines before we head to Oregon this summer.  I have signed us up for Oregon, but Deschutes county is slow getting them.  We'll just have to wait and see what happens.  I think things are slowing down a bit here, but we do see several things closing down when employees get Covid.

Our friend Maria is still here, and will probably be here for a while yet.  She is a fantastic cook, and Ben and I have been enjoying her willingness to cook for us.  Ben is afraid I'm getting very spoiled...and I probably am.  It was really nice having her help when I was sick with the cold, and the sore ankle, too.  She's introduced us to a lot of her favorite Mexican foods, and she likes to fix an afternoon appetizer for us several times a week.  

I mean, really.... this is so much better for you than chips and salsa, right?  

Our orchids are starting to bloom again, and we have a lot of them sending out bud shoots.  Here's the first one to "re-bloom".

If you'd like to see more photos of our garden and activities in February, check out the February 2021 album.  And of course, a few pics of our cute grandkids! 😏

We hope that you are all staying healthy, getting your vaccines as they're available, and enjoying life as it's happening in 2021.  We're looking forward to a bit warmer weather in March, and maybe getting the Jeep back.  Thanks for being our friends, and keep in touch!  We'd love to hear from you, too!

Tus amigos de Baja,

Harriet, Ben, Sam & Zoey (and Maria!)

Pic-of-the-Month for January 2021

Hola Amigos,

Happy New Year!  2021 is roaring in with good news and bad.  Vaccines are available to many now, and medical folks in Mexico are first in line, as it should be.  Here in Baja, a number of people are getting the Covid virus, especially after bigger gatherings of family and friends over the holidays. Hospitals in La Paz are quite full.  Ben and I continue to isolate ourselves, and when we visit friends or have someone over, make sure it is small numbers; no larger than 6.  According to the rules in place, both of us are too old to go into a grocery store (over 65), but the local stores don't hold us to that, thank goodness!  

Fortunately for us, the weather has been sunny but coolish for us (55 - 70) for the last several weeks, and today it is sprinkling rain with a bit more forecast.  Our garden is appreciating it very much! We've had our share of windy days, but it is supposed to be calm for the next week.  The kite-boarders don't like that forecast much, but we love it!  

Since our last "Pic-of-the-Month", we've done a few projects and gone a few places.  

1.  At the end of December and over New Year's weekend, we helped our friends Mel & Katie (at least Ben did!) put a new roof on their 5th wheel trailer out at Los Frailes, with a few other friends of theirs helping.  We stayed overnight 3 nights with them while the work went on.  A lot of it is recorded in an album I created here:  Crabb's New Roof  It included taking off some of the old plywood which was rotten and replacing it with new, and putting on a rubberized mat over the whole roof and gluing it down.  Katie made sure we all had plenty to eat!!  

2.  We are re-landscaping areas of our yard.  Last month I showed you where Ben and I took out some cactus and agave plants.  We have now planted some rose bushes there.  We'll see how they do; it might be too hot for them there in the summer, but they will have regular water.  They don't look like much yet, and don't compare to the robust roses we had in our garden in Salem, but they'll add a touch of color to that corner of the garden.

3.  I tried to nurse a Grosbeak back to health who had run into our window, and was then grabbed by one of my dogs and had puncture wounds.  Unfortunately, she didn't make it after several days, but I felt blessed to be able to hold and pet such a beautiful bird.  You can see from this picture how eager Sam was to get her in his grip again.  Bad dog!  

4.  Ben continues to grow amazing things in the garden.  We had our first corn-on-the-cob last night!  Yum!  Yes, we managed to keep the dogs and other critters out of it to get some mature cobs!  We think perhaps a fox got in there, because something peeled back the husk and chewed on a few cobs.  Our dogs aren't as subtle...they just knock the stalk down and eat everything on the cob!  We have also had Patty Pan squash, Yellow straight neck squash, zucchini, a "kind-of" Spaghetti squash, lots and lots of cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes and green beans (I just pulled out my bush beans and planted pole beans).  

  

5. While we were at Mel & Katies, we met a very nice Mexican-American lady who had befriended them and was camping on the beach at Los Frailes.  Maria is now visiting with us for a while, and we are reaping the benefits of her Mexican cooking heritage and skills!  She is visiting Baja for the first time in her life, and likes it very well.  She has been joining me on my morning walks and it is nice to have someone to chat with as we walk.  She's also got my pace speeded up a bit!!  It's also nice to have a native-Spanish-speaking person around to chat with the locals and find out what's going on here and there!  

5.  Ben is building new book cases to replace the termite riddled ones we had in one of the upstairs bedrooms (he already replaced one in the other upstairs bedroom a couple years ago!)  It's coming along nicely, and he prepped all the wood with Bora-care, which will repel the termites.  In the meantime, I've been going through the books from that room and giving away many of them to a local Book Thrift store.  Less is better, right?  I'm hoping the new book cases aren't completely full.  If they are, more will be going to the thrift shop!!  I'm thinking some empty spaces would be nice.  

6.  We have some very pretty and interesting flowers blooming in our garden right now.  Here's some of them...

This one is from a plant our friends Jerry and Susy gave us years ago.  It is an agave plant that eventually, after many years, blooms like this!  So fun to watch it develop.  From my internet search I think it is this one ... "Agave attenuata (Fox Tail Agave) is a succulent that forms large rosettes of attractive spineless leaves atop a stout stem."

These bright red flowers are geraniums and Colancha. I've managed to get the Colancha to survive several years, and it really puts on a great show!  So bright and pretty. 

This is a bouquet of my Zinnias that I planted in a mass planting.  They are doing pretty well, but I can see I need to improve the soil in at least part of the bed.  I'll try again next year for a bigger mass!

It's kind of skimpy there on the right!

We are expecting more company next week; cousins Tom and Karan will be visiting us for a few days before they head on to spend time in La Paz.  It will be great to visit with them and maybe feed the Oregon farmer some Baja corn!  Our friends Jill and Rudy were supposed to come next week, too, but last I heard they are delaying their trip again due to Covid testing that is required to enter the US.  :-(  I heard in the meantime that Alaska Airlines is going to be setting up a testing station in the SJD airport that will have results in 1 hour and cost $50.  Sounds like a good deal to me.  (She was not flying on Alaska, so not sure if the test would be available to them or not.)  

That's enough trivia for this month!  If you'd like to see more pictures, here's the January 2021 album.  Enjoy!

Hasta la proxima vez!

Stay healthy, everyone

Tus amigos de Baja,

Harriet, Ben, Sam & Zoey

Pic-of-the-Month for December 2020

 Hola Amigos!

Feliz navidad y prospero año nuevo!  What a year, huh?  But when we can enjoy God's creation in this beautiful place, we count ourselves blessed!  

We are healthy, happy, busy, and enjoying our life at home and in our little community.  Healthy is a good thing to be in 2020!  I have been walking 6 days a week, usually between 2.5 miles and 3.5 miles.  I walk through sand on the beach (like in the picture), I walk on roadways, I walk on a few trails through the arroyo, up and down hills.  Sometimes, I walk to the flag monument (when I'm feeling very ambitious!) and when Zoey is not with me.  I feel like I've accomplished a great feat when I get up there!  In the picture below, that point of beach sticking out just to the right of center is the same one above in the picture above...just a different perspective.  Anyhow, that picture pretty much contains our house and where I walk.  Los Barriles is at the next point of beach sticking out across the little bay.

Ben has taken on the garden this year for his project.  We are getting some nice results already, in spite of the mystery creatures who have eaten almost every pepper plant, quite a few corn sprouts, most of the lettuce that has sprouted, and have nibbled on just about everything else!  Our first corn crop is sending out tassels!  I'm picking green beans from our bush bean plants, picking cucumbers and Patty Pan squash, and just about ready to harvest some Beet greens.  Our tomato plants have set on fruit, and most of the squash and cucumber plants are producing.  Ben has put in an irrigation system that is pretty slick (as long as the timers and valves work!) and he's out watering (by turning a dial) most mornings.  

Yesterday Ben decided to remove a huge agave and a large nopal type cactus in the front north-east corner of our yard.  That involved the Jeep and winch and chain!  It worked, and today he is taking wheelbarrow loads of stuff to our pile of garden refuse, that seems to be getting bigger and taller all the time!  When we get that all cleaned up, he's going to extend the water line he put in earlier to water whatever goes there.  I'm hoping for some pretty flowers, but probably not Bougainvillea!  (Pretty, but very thorny!)  

One other major project we worked on is that Ben severely pruned our Mesquite tree; Ben finally got to use his new chain saw, which works very well.  It will eventually come down all the way and we'll encourage the San Juan tree growing right next to it to take over.  Mesquite trees have serious thorns on them, so dealing with them is not fun!  We both ended up scratched up after this!  We hauled all the branches over by our fire pit, Ben cut them up into fire pit sized pieces, and I pitch-forked the little leafy branches in piles.  We have been enjoying fires this fall on non-windy evenings, since we do have a nice sized pile of firewood now!  

Another of Ben's projects is to get the 1956 Willy's Jeep running properly.  Soon, he'll have the right combination of carburetor, clean radiator, properly working fan and whatever else it might take to get it to go uphill on a bumpy road without dying or overheating!  We took a ride with some friends a couple weeks ago in the hills to the west of us, and were kicking ourselves for not getting up there a few years sooner!  What beautiful country!!  

This is a canyon where I wouldn't want to be on a rainy day, but it was cool on this day!

We have also been going out the Los Frailes to visit our friends Katie & Mel and enjoying Taco Tuesday with them at La Palapa Restaurant in Cabo Pulmo.   The road hasn't been too awful, and we heard rumors from a person in the know that the pavement would be done all the way to Cabo Pulmo, but it was going to take 5 years or something like that!!  For 5 miles of road!!!  That will be a major improvement for that area.  Some people in the area have fought the development of that road for years, but it looks like it will finally happen.

We had a guest, our niece Chrys from Sisters was here a short time, and spent hours walking the beach and to and from town.  She also came across some baby turtles hatching on the beach, so that was exciting for her!  She loves it here, and would spend more time except for those 2 boys of hers back home!  

We have a "new" Christmas tree this year.  During our house painting last spring, the old one somehow disappeared.  We got this one from a rancher friend who also sells Farm Cheese.  We did two things on one trip when we got our tree!  For those who don't know, this is an Agave bloom stalk.  They last for years, if you don't abuse them.  

We wish all of you a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year.  Please stay healthy, and count and enjoy your blessings!

Tus amigos de Baja,

Harriet & Ben, Sam & Zoey

Here's the link to 2020 December pictures!

Pic-of-the-Month for November 12, 2020

 Hola Amigos!

I have been remiss in updating you for a whole month plus some.  I will try to be brief (haha....Harriet brief?), and hit the high points!  

We are back home in Baja.  Hooray!

We left Oregon October 6, and arrived at our home in Baja on October 12.  The trip went well.  We traveled with friends Katie and Mel, Ben drove our pickup, and I drove the new Escape to Reno.  The rest of the way, our friends Mike & Mary drove the Escape and I rode with Ben.  The picture below is east of LA on the way to Palm Springs.  There were miles of these wind turbines.  

We had no troubles crossing the border, and enjoyed our favorite hotels and restaurants on the way south.  

Our house and yard was in good shape when we arrived, and it is always great to get here, let the dogs out unleashed to run around, and to sleep in our own bed!  And it is so BIG, after living in the trailer for 3 months.  We always appreciate getting back.  And we can expect a couple of months of meals on the veranda enjoying the fresh air, and watching the birds and the ocean.  

We are still careful when we go out to the stores and banks.  Masks are required; all of the service people wear them all the time.  Covid cases in this area (La Paz and Cabo Counties) and pretty well contained, but cases are still popping up, and we all need to be cautious.  We don't go to larger gatherings of people (including church) and try to stay a good distance from folks.  A year ago at this time, we were working hard, getting ready for our Feeding the Hungry Fashion Show.  This year, (2020) we changed it to March, but it was one of the first things cancelled due to Covid.  We expect we won't be having one in March 2021, either.  We will probably send out some news soon on how we want to continue helping the poorest of the poor here in the area.  Our fund raising efforts last spring were very successful (and easier than organizing and running fashion show, I've got to tell you!!)  We believe we have sufficient funds to keep helping 20 to 30 families for 4 to 5 more months.  

So, what have we been doing?  Ben doesn't have an "old car" project, so he's "helping" with the gardening this year.  If you know him, you know he doesn't do anything half-way!  He's ordered the right kind of dirt (limo, pronounced leemo), he's gotten two orders of compost / mulch from a fellow in Santiago who creates some gorgeous stuff, he's put in a sprinkler - drip system in the little garden, he's tilled until the tiller wouldn't start, then managed to fix the tiller while waiting for parts to arrive from Oregon!  He's dug holes outside of the garden in our awful clay/rock soil and filled it with a mix of the limo and compost and planted squash and cucumbers.  (He used the Jeep to pull a very big rock from one hole, then drug it all the way to our gate.) 

 He has started tomatoes and squash and onions in starter trays.  He has built shade structures for several of our raised beds.  He keeps records of when he planted things, and has done lots of research on what kind of soil and water and fertilizer and sunlight each plant needs.   Phew!  We'll probably need another fridge to hold all of our produce before this gardening season is over!  

What do I do in the garden?  I get to plant what I want (beans, lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, radishes, spinach, sunflowers and zinnias) and make sure it's watered.  I can make recommendations based on my vast gardening experience, and then watch Ben do it his way!!  😂  It has been fun watching the garden grow this year, and having more help than I've had in years.  

While he's doing his watering rounds in the mornings, Zoey and I go out for our walks.  I make sure all the burros are still around, count cactus flowers, check out the changes on the new construction in the neighborhood, find stuff (I found a workable iPhone 12 on the beach the other day...no claims on it yet.  Anyone know what the chances are to unlock and use it with one of my sim cards?)  

The other day, I noticed a committee of buzzards on some Cardon cactus, then I noticed the odor.  Something had died, and the committee was waiting to become a wake of buzzards.  (Go ahead....Google it!  "A group of vultures is called a kettle, committee or wake. The term kettle refers to vultures in flight, while committee refers to vultures resting on the ground or in trees. Wake is reserved for a group of vultures that are feeding.")  The next day, I saw the youngest baby burro (about 6 months old) without her Momma near that same spot.  Her Momma was one of the oldest of the burros, so alas, baby is without Momma.  She did join the group of other burros in a few days.  

After that cheery news, it's time for some pretty pictures!  

Here's what we ordered at La Playa the other night.  Tacos for 2?  I think more like 4!  Delicious!

Barrel cactus blooms in our yard, and a rare walk on the beach to the north towards Los Barriles.  

We have made several trips out to Cabo Pulmo to visit with Katie and Mel and enjoy Taco Tuesdays at La Palma restaurant there.  Other than the nasty road (unpaved for over 6 miles that feels like 12) it is a fun trip.  

Nice view from the restaurant, and yummy mango margaritas!

I have created two new albums.  October 2020 and November 2020, if you'd like to take a peek.  

We do have some company coming down soon.  Flights are available; just not as many.  If you want to come isolate and quarantine with us, you're welcome to come (bring your masks!)

BTW, dogs are doing fine.  Sam had some growths removed yesterday and did great on his "spa day".  The doctor was able to use just local anesthesia on him, and she said he was perfect.  She did say he might have Cushing disease, so we'll probably have more tests done on him.  He is 13 and 1/2 years old, so not doing too bad for an old guy.  Nine-year-old Zoey has been taking shorter walks.  In the hotter weather, she was really wilting, and I am NOT wanting to carry her, since she's over 20 pounds!  Ugh.  She might be able to go farther when it gets cooler...we'll see!  

Drop us a line and tell us if you still want to receive this, or just say "hi!  Good to hear from you!"  Let us know how you're doing, since we didn't get to visit with many of you this last summer.  

Hasta la proxima vez,

Tus amigos en Baja

Harriet, Ben, Sam & Zoey 

Pic-of-the-Month for September 2020

 Hello Friends,

Yes, we are still in Oregon, but as it starts to get cooler and damper, we're leaning to the south!  We plan to leave here (Bend-Sisters area) on October 6, traveling with our friends Mel & Katie.  When we get to Reno, we will be joined by friends Mike and Mary, who will help us drive down my new 2018 Ford Escape!  I managed to convince Ben that I need a "drive-around-town" car in Baja, and this is what we found!  Its peppy, 4x4 and a beautiful red color, which I am partial to.  If you come visit someday, I'll most likely pick you up at the airport in this beauty (if you don't have too much luggage!)  

This picture was taken east of Salem during the horrendous fires that happened in early September here in Oregon.  We were in Bend when they started, and had planned to go over to the Willamette Valley to visit friends again.  All of the mountain passes from Bend to Salem & Eugene were closed, except Highway 58 to the south, which we took.  Everywhere we went during that week and a half was extremely smoky and hazardous breathing.  Many people lost their homes and businesses to the fires, and there was also loss of life.  Our daughter pointed out the news articles about the 13 year of son of Chris Tofte, Wyatt, who died with his dog and grandmother trying to escape the flames.  Chris was Rebecca's classmate in school where she attended in Salem. Oregon forests will take years and years to recover as the fires were huge and intense, and still burning.  The picture below is typical of the atmosphere during that time.  This was between Salem and Portland on I-5.  

And this is a photo of the Lion's head fire near Mt. Jefferson, shortly after it started.  This is from Sisters.

We took a day trip with Ben's brother Ken and sister-in-law Bea to Hood River to the Western Antique Aeoroplane and Automobile Museum (WAAAM).  We were met by John Hirons, who flew in with his restored Piper Cub.  (Handy to have an airport next to this museum!)  They have many, many cars and airplanes.  We were impressed, and although we only spent a few hours, it's a place you could spend a LOT of time!  Well worth the visit.  The car below is a Martin Parry body on a Ford Model T chassis. (Ben has the newer version with a 1928 Martin Parry / Model A.  

We also took a trip to western Oregon in August, before all the fires.  We visited family and friends in Eugene, Salem, North Bend, Medford and Cathlamet, Washington.  While in Salem at friends George and Carolyn, Ben and George replaced awnings on both of our trailers, theirs and ours.  That was an interesting job, prefaced by watching YouTube how-to videos!  

At Ben's brother John and sister-in-law Sirkka's, we took a drive down the coast to Bandon and Port Orford.  Bandon has some really neat sculptures made out of "stuff" found on the beaches.  Amazingly, they turned out beautiful!  Here's one example.

There are more examples posted in our 2020-09-September album. 

John led us on a fun hike at Port Orford with beautiful views...at least in one direction.  The view to the south was fogged in!  But the view to the north was gorgeous.  

Next we traveled over to the Medford area to visit our friend Pat.  On the way there, we happened to visit 3 or four vineyards to sample some wines, and buy a few bottles of our favorites.  We stopped at three in the Roseburg area, and one near Jacksonville.  

We had a lovely time visiting with Pat (and sampling some of our new wine).  She took us shopping at Harry and David in Medford (evidently the only retail outlet open any more) so we could buy cheese and (more) wine and all kinds of goodies that they sell there.  Then we went to Central Point to the Rogue Creamery, which sells world famous Blue Cheese.  See -  https://roguecreamery.com/rogue-river-blue-2020/   I'm not a big fan of Blue Cheese, but this one is so good and creamy!  This is the building where it's made and sold.  Don't blink, you'll miss it! 

After we got back to Salem (where George and Carolyn had graciously kept our little trouble-maker doggies and let us park our trailer), we took off again sans trailer to visit Sandy and Debi on Puget Island in the Columbia River.  They have done extensive remodeling, and allowed our little doggies in.  We had some more great eating, boating, and exploring.  They are great hosts, but don't tell anybody...they were so busy with company this year they're probably looking forward to going back to their place in Baja for a forced vacation!  

This is the slew in front of their place...the Columbia River is just right over there!  You can see barges going by.  

I finished my quilt for our daughter Rebecca and got it sent off.

Then we took one final camping trip with friends John and Marilyn.  She had bought a used Tango trailer that is ultra light, and several years old.  They had made some modifications (improvements) to it, and wanted to go on a "shakedown" trip out of the smoke. (They live in Stayton, which was in the thick of it during the fires.  In fact, they were in an area that was "be ready" to evacuate).  Anyhow, we looked at the smoke map and decided that Lakeview was our best bet.  We spent two days with them first at Ana Reservoir (the north end of Summer Lake), because there was a wedding being held at our favorite Lakeview RV park that weekend!  When we drove into the park at Ana Reservoir, we noticed a red Minnie trailer.  Ben went over and knocked on the door and yes, it was our friends Gary and Debbie, escaping from the smoke in Bend!  So we spent Saturday exploring with them as well.  We went to Christmas Valley, Crack in the Ground, and Fort Rock!  (See the September photo album for more details).

Fort Rock

At the Fort Rock museum.  It wasn't open (closed after Labor Day), but we still got some good pics of the buildings.  

Here's a picture Marilyn took of our camp.  Our trailer is on the right, theirs is on the left, and Gary and Debbie's is the red one across the road.  We also spent 2 nights at the Juniper Reservoir RV park west of Lakeview and did some exploring in that area.

So, now we are again parked in brother Ken's driveway, packing up, waiting for our latest internet orders, and trying to get organized.  We hope to put the trailer away for the winter on October 3, then leave here October 6.  If we missed seeing you this year, we're sorry.  Covid-19 managed to put kinks in many plans, and we'll pray that next year will be better.  

We'd love to hear from you, and hope someday to see you at our casa in Baja!

Your soon to be traveling south amigos,

Harriet, Ben, Sam & Zoey