Hello friends,
I have a bit of time (all day!) to write and let you know what we've been doing this summer. So far, we've enjoyed ourselves very much, although we're not visiting many restaurants this year, which is a favorite summertime activity we are missing. However, we are saving a lot of money (and I'm getting dishwater hands!!)
We have been to all our scheduled doctor appointments, and our doctors have announced that we are both in good health. The dermatologist didn't need to do any carving this year, and that's always good news.
In mid-July, after Ben's birthday celebration with some Central Oregon friends we joined our friends George and Carolyn S. to go to Hart Mountain Antelope Refuge. If you've known us for any length of time, you already know it is one of our all-time favorite places to go in the summers. We love it because of the wide open spaces and all the wild life (antelope and deer and cougars(!) and birds of prey). Also, the hot springs there is a lovely addition. We can at least be clean some of the time with all the dusty roads around! We were able to camp for several days in our favorite site. It was not too crowded there, but it seems like every evening, many folks would drive down that little dead end road looking for a camp site. Ben said he even heard someone coming in around midnight one night!
One of the neatest things this year is that we saw the Neowise Comet right from our campground! George took a fantastic picture of it with his iPhone! This picture was taken far from camp, because they didn't think it would be visible in our little canyon camp. But it was! Pretty cool. This is a great example of bright skies in Central and Eastern Oregon at night. Star gazing is a treat!
The other neat thing is that we saw a Mama antelope with triplets! They were right in the road in front of us. Ben crept as close as he could in the truck; they were very curious!
We spent one night on the way home at a horse camp near Hole in the Ground. I'd never been there...Ben said he'd been there years and years ago. It was indeed, a big hole in the ground. No one is real sure how it was formed; volcano, meteor? But it was very impressive coming up over a ridge to see it.
Our next little excursion was west, to the valley, where we spent a couple weeks to visit friends and family. I also picked up the quilt I'm making for my daughter from the lady in the Brownsville area who quilted it for me. I'm slowly getting the binding sewn down on it. Poco a poco!
We returned to our Bend base for another doctor appointment and another camping trip in Eastern Oregon. On the way to the doctor, with our trailer hooked up and ready to go, we got a notice on our truck that a tire had low pressure. Rats! We managed to get it into a Les Schwab after the doctor appointment, but it did delay the start of our trip a few hours. We did make it all the way to Leslie Gulch, on the far east side of Oregon. It is just north of Jordan Valley (if that tells you anything!) on the Owyhee River. We haven't been there in quite a few years, and Katie and Mel have never been there. They were duly impressed! That gulch is amazingly beautiful. Pictures really don't do it justice... you need to travel up and down it yourself!
I included Katie and Mel's camper in this picture to give you an idea of the size of the pillars. Awe inspiring!
It was dang hot there...in the 90's every day, and dry camping. We did OK, but this is how Zoey got cool one day.
She who hates water, took a drink, then decided it felt good enough to just lie down in it! It was several inches deep there where she was.
Mel and Katie spent one day fishing (they took their camper right down to the riverside, sat in the shade, and set their poles up.) They did just fine! They caught some Catfish and a few other types of fish. They do know how to fish!
After a few hot days in Leslie Gulch, we headed back west to the Steens Mountains. Katie and Mel had never been there, either! We stopped at the Pete French Round Barn on our way, and Ben pointed out the two owls perched up high in the rafters.
Of course, the Gorges, and the view from the top are always amazing.
We took the south part of the loop drive to return to camp, and on the way, saw large herds of wild horses. They were healthy looking and beautiful.
The little colt was kind of homely, but he was frisky!
We are currently back in the Bend/Sisters area for the week, and next week plan to go back to the Valley, then to the coast to visit brother John, and then to Medford to visit another friend. That's all we've got planned so far. The Pendleton Roundup was cancelled this year, along with every thing else, so we won't be going there.
We hope you are all staying healthy and happy. More pictures are in our July-August 2020 Album. I'll probably be adding more throughout the month.
By the way, our Chinese-American-Mexican granddaughter turns 2 tomorrow, August 12! Hard to believe, but she is chattering in English and Chinese now. Once in a while, we can figure out what she's saying! Ryan says she is 93 centimeters tall (about 36"), so she's going to be tall!
Shoot us an email, or give us a call if you'd like to visit us this summer. It's been a tough year socially for all of us, and my shopping trips have been cut severely. But meeting with friends in a socially acceptable manner is great with us!
Until the next time...
Your traveling Baja amigos,
Harriet, Ben, Sam & Zoey
