While waiting for my various dental appointments to come and go, I came to really like the bike I’d bought up in Socorro. But then on a nice Sunday morning in December, I’d rode it to the Patio Cafe carrying my laptop to try and listen to the Seahawks game. I did that simply because I liked the outdoor patio there at the cafe, and the bike ride.

There is a setup on the NFL’s website where you can sign up to listen to games. Since I don’t have satellite TV, that’s what I usually do. Anyway, there was something wrong with the WiFi at the cafe, I couldn’t connect. The cafe was closed on Sundays so no help there. The game had already started as I hurried back to my RV, leaned the bike up against the RV without attaching the locking cable, ran inside and turned on the computer. After 4 minutes of screwing with setting up the computer, I finally have the game coming through the speakers and settled down to listen to the game. Four feet away, within those three hours I listened to the game, someone walked up, grabbed my bike and rode away. As soon as I noticed it, I called the police, and a few days later had fliers up all over town. The cop was helpful but didn’t hold out much hope of ever seeing it again. And he was right, 4 weeks later, not a word about it from anyone. I really miss that bike, so comfortable to ride, so smooth, so easy to change gears. Oh, well. It’s original MSRP was $500. Even though I only paid $125, it felt like I’d lost $500.

On a return trip from the border, I took this shot of Columbus. Still had nice warm weather.

The weather had been very nice for a month with warm days and cool nights, but then that big winter storm rolled in. It really hammered the country, ruining crops in Florida and dumping feet of snow all over the Midwest and eastern states. Even we, in the Southwestern desert, felt it as the nights and then the days grew colder. Eventually culminating in this event:

This happened during the night and early morning. Stayed cold all day.

There were still some people staying here at Columbus Best RV Park.

And a shot up the alley towards the west.

So I spent the rest of 2009 in Columbus Best RV Park in Columbus, NM. Walking to downtown whenever I wanted to eat at the Patio Cafe or check out movies at the library. Every 21 days or so, I’d drive up to Deming to do some serious shopping for food but most of the time I just stayed home and worked on my computer projects while planning the journey into Mexico. Oh, and watching the nightly news from El Paso as they recorded each days massacre of another five to seven people in Juarez. Enough to make a grown man cry to be sure, but I had a mission of sorts, of the most selfish kind. I don’t have to go to Guadalajara, but I’d been planning the trip for a year in order to visit several small villages near there with world renown artisans plying their trade. Copper and gold smiths, painters, sculptors, and weavers. I wanted to see them and their work in the villages where they worked.

Oh, and enjoy the weather too. So, I waited out the cold weather in Columbus for a couple more weeks, got the last of my dental work done, and headed south on January 14th, 2010. Before I left Columbus, I got a couple more shots of the main street where I’d spent so many hours over the past couple months.

Main street, looking West.

Last look at the hotel where Villa's men killed two of the 18 they eventually killed during the attack. Main street looking East.

Well, that’s all there is from Columbus or from New Mexico, the next posting will be from inside Mexico as I head due south (nearly) for a thousand miles.

As I rode into Columbus, this roadrunner crossed my path. Where's Acme when you need them?

The first week in Columbus, I rode the bike around town several times, at least twice a day, and visited all the local sites. And I did find a very nice little cafe with WiFi. Named the ‘Patio Cafe’ it’s right downtown Columbus and has the best food! Wow, the soups especially were unique and delicious. Everything I had there was just excellent. The kitchen staff all spoke Spanish and no English but the waitress told them that I wanted to take them all back to Fairbanks with me. They laughed at that but didn’t want to go. Shame though, I could have opened the best restaurant in Fairbanks.

He stopped to check me out.

The open desert near the RV park.

While I was riding my bike around Columbus, I noticed another museum across the street from the one I’d already been to. This one was much bigger, newer, built by the park service. It took a couple hours to wander through the place and read all the history. Naturally, it’s focus was the attack by Poncho Villa and the US army’s response and campaign.

A touring car used to escape the attack. Has bullet holes all over. The family that used it was able to miss being killed, but here were some wounds, and headed up to Deming to alert everyone up there of the attack by the Mexican forces.

Just an old wagon.

An army transport vehicle used during the campaign.

A plane used during the campaign, 'The Jenny', and the commanding Generals touring car in the background.

An armored car, which turned out to be a precursor to the tank.

This hill overlooks both the town of Columbus, and the attack route of the Mexicans.

Where the army staged for the counter attack. The Mexican border is just three miles away.

And the town of Columbus.

After roaming around the site for 2-3 hours, I went back into downtown and visited the sites of the attack.

A week later I called and set up my first dental appointment in Palomas, Mexico at the Fierro Clinic.

The Fierro dental clinic.

The office is very modern, comfortable dental chairs…lounges really…Novocaine or whatever they use these days that actually worked (I’d had some surgery done in Mazatlan where the doctor had to inject a pain killer five times because is wasn’t working like it was suppose too, like it had been watered down), and an assistant that speaks English. After showing the doctor my broken fillings, he went right to work setting the root up for a crown. Instead of the $600-$900 I’d be quoted in the US, this would only cost me $190. After the work was finished, I walked over to the counter to pay and Dr. Fierro asked me how everything went. Shook my hand and thanked me for coming. I left the office and headed back to the border. Two hours later, after they had run out of patients, the good Dr. and the staff were having an early afternoon dinner when two armed men charged into the building wielding automatic weapons and grabbed Dr. Fierro. His kidnapping was in the Deming newspaper the next day and the staff at the RV park where I was staying let me know about it. That kind of put a damper on my dental work visit to Mexico. Who wants to be kidnapped walking to the dental clinic? I waited an extra week to see what would happen to the good Dr. and to let things cool down a little before I started to go back for the rest of the work. The staff was pretty closed mouth about the kidnapping when I’d inquire about the doctor, all they would say is that they didn’t know anything about the situation. Protecting the business I gathered. Anyway, after I left that day, I wandered down the street towards the border and stopped in what’s known as ‘The Pink Store’. This is a nice large store stuffed with Mexican handicrafts from all over Mexico. Then there is a bar and restaurant there too. In fact, when you walk in, they ask if you’d like a Margarita. Free! But just after dental work that doesn’t sound all that appealing so I skipped on that. But I did have a nice lunch.

Giant sculpture outside of the pink store.

Some of the brightly colored ceramics available. These happen to be bathroom sinks.

A look at the thousands of items available.

I can't fit this sculpture in my RV.

My favorite glass works. I almost bought a set of these.

Another of those metal sculptures outside the Pink store.

Just showing the wild colors they use for buildings down here.

An interesting building a block off the main street in Palomas.

Just as I was taking the above picture, this guy on a bike zipped past me and shouted something to some bad looking dudes to the right of the building. Sounded like nothing I wanted to be involved with so I quickly got out of there and back into The Pink Store for a few minutes. Nothing happened back there that I know of after that, no sirens, no squealing tires so I probably misjudged the action going on. I did feel it had something to do with my walking back there with a camera, but I never pointed it at the guys standing along side the street. The guy on the bike came back as I was walking back to the Pink and gave me a glance over his shoulder as he passed me. Wasn’t a friendly glance either.

So, that was my first trip into Mexico since early 2007. Exciting in many ways. Nerve racking in others. Palomas is only around 45 miles from El Paso/Juarez. Juarez is the murder capital of the Americas. Over 2,000 killed in ‘09 and now in ‘10, already more dead then at this time last year (I’m writing this in Jan. ‘10).  Many kidnappings too. Not often tourists but that isn’t unheard of either. Especially in the bigger cities.

But, despite the potential for violence along my route, I’m determined to head on down to Guadalajara in early January, then over to the coast. The people in Mexico are really nice and I’ve only felt threatened once in all the months I’ve lived there. I didn’t expect this trip to be any different.

After I left Socorro, I traveled 3 hours south to Deming, New Mexico. I planned on staying at a LoW campground. LoW=Loners on Wheels. I expected this to be a laid back, live and let live kind of park with the expectation of some fun meeting people enjoying the same life style I had chosen. I’d checked out the club online several times over the years so thought I knew what was up with them. Well, my expectations were 180 degrees out of sync. The park was one of the most up tight parks I’d been to in 5 years. They even had the laundry room locked up! Wow, very unusual in my experience. Oh, and they had this rule that you could only use certain kinds (which meant certain brands) of liquid detergent. Then there were 20 other rules, and then more rules. So, next morning I got out of there. Park was nice enough, but really, if I’d wanted to be imprisoned, I wouldn’t be an RV’er. When I walked into the office the next morning asking for a refund for the prepaid second night, it took them several minutes to figure out how to do a refund. Even asking me if I could just forget about it. (NO!). But they did have some pretty ‘cactus’ in little gardens here and there in the park so I got some pictures before I left.

At the LoW RV Park in Deming, NM

And some of the cactii all around the park.

Weird looking stuff.

Interesting color.

This one had fruit.

Eventually, this will be 20' in height.

Looks neat, but packs a bite.

Some of them had these tall central spires.

Someone put a lot of work into this miniture, so I thought I'd show it to the world.

And the cactus garden. Started and maintained by the guests of the park. Some of them are here for months at a time.

It’s a half hour drive from Deming, NM south to Columbus. Right on the border with Mexico, Columbus was my chosen spot to hang out while I got some dental work done. I had picked this place because I had never been there and wanted to visit a new area, it was only 3 miles from the border, and there were two RV parks in town. Here’s a shot of some of the hills around this very wide and dry valley on the way down from Deming. After I parked on the side of the road, I walked to the other side to get this shot. When I made that walk to and from the RV, I was forced to walk in the scrub land right next to the road. When I stepped up the stairs, I noticed that I had maybe 10 cacti spines in my shoes. Took me 10 minutes to get them all out. Including the 2 that had penetrated the soles of my shoes and into my foot. A little blood, nothing to worry about. What I was very worried about though, was that some of those spines were long enough to flatten my new tires. So as I drove away, I turned sharply onto the roadway trying to reduce my tires exposure to the spines. A week later, I hadn’t lost any air from the tires so I got lucky.

A few miles outside of Columbus, NM.

When I arrive, a half hour later, in Columbus, I drove around this little town and soon found a museum. Since it was still so early in the day, I stopped in there and got a look at the local history. The history of Columbus includes an attack by Poncho Villa, the Mexican bandit, back in 1916 or so. Several people killed and many buildings burned to the ground. That attack set off a series of counter attacks so the town of Columbus, which had at the time of the attack maybe 300 soldiers stationed there, eventually had thousands. The counter attack was not hampered by the Mexican government, since Villa was a rebel and they were trying to get rid of him anyway. The US military was never able to capture or kill him and the campaign into Mexico faded away over time. But the US army was able to test out several new implements of war like a prototype tank, and the use of airplanes in supporting roles. It was also a campaign where motorized vehicles were used more then horse or mule. The tank wasn’t very successful but the planes and trucks were. And then WWI started up so the US moved on to other things. Villa was later assassinated in his home town by one of his rivals in Mexico. I’d guess you could call it a successful attack on the USofA.

The Columbus Museum.

Pretty good condition, considering it's age. That's my RV behind.

A fire truck used during the campaign.

Looks fun to drive.

If you like to look at old cameras, the museum has plenty.

The hotel where two died. Shot as they tried to escape from the front door. Man and pregnant woman.

After browsing around town and the museum for a couple hours, I went back to the ‘Columbus Best RV Park’ and set up in a spot where I was suppose to be able to receive WiFi. That turned out to be true and within the hour I was back on-line. Then after some more Internet research on the town and Palomas, Mexico, I jumped on my new bike and headed back to town. Since the park was  only around 2 miles from downtown, and the place is flat as a skillet, and by the looks of it, as hot as one in the summer, it wasn’t long before I’d literally seen the entire town. A library downtown had internet computers, a nice cafe across the street, a newer post office, a museum, a grocery store…everything I could want for a few weeks stay, while I had dental work done. Then there was a grocery store, cafe, & bar in a big, newer building. Funny thing was the hours of the cafe and bar. Not even open until 11:30am and closed at 9pm. When I came back late in the day the following afternoon, I found that the bar, inside the same building but with different hours, brand new, was only open Thursday, Friday, & Saturday from 5:30pm to 9pm. So, as a result of that, I only went there twice while they were open in my two months in Columbus.

Went into Mexico for dental work about a week after getting to Columbus, I’ll show you that next time.

After leaving Magdalena, it’s just a short run down the hill (Magdalena is up in what passes for mountains around this part of New Mexico) to Socorro. As I’m coming into town, I notice a RV park on my right which has a ‘Free WiFi’ notice on their sign. Initially, I pass the place because I don’t recognise the name of the park from my guide books. Not being one to miss an opportunity, I whip a U turn and park along the road. The office looks  deserted but while I’m picking up a brouchure the owner walks in. Wishing to wash the bad taste of the poor WiFi I’d had to contend with at the last RV park out of my mouth, the first question I have for him is, “Do you have free WiFi, and does it cover the park”? He laughs and tells me, “Yeah, it is a very strong signal all through the park, and very fast equipment, too”. Then when he told me it was only $175 per month for full hook ups, I was, pardon the pun, hooked. That was less expensive then the crappy park I’d just left. I moved my rig right in, tried to level it, then happily hooked up to electric. In 10 minutes I was on line.

The next day, I removed the bike from the carrier and rattled around town a bit. I’d had several problems with the bike up in Magdalena so I was kinda looking for a new bike and happened to find a bike shop which had some used bikes on consignment. Didn’t hurt that the bike shop was right next to a nice bar, so over the next 2-3 weeks I visited the shop several times. I also went to the local Wal-Mart store and gathered a few names and prices. I kept coming back to the bike shop though, since they had a really nice ‘Giant’ brand uni-sex bike. The price on it was $175 and I didn’t want to pay that much soI finally asked the shop owner what he would take for it. Since it was on consignment, he just handed me the bike owners phone number and when I called them I offered $125 for it. They took it, I got the bike, and we were all happy. Except for the bike shop owner. He got nothing except goodwill. When I had looked up the bike on line, I found that the MSRP was $500 originally, back in 2002. It still looked brand new and I found that the woman that owned it just never rode it. Her husband had gotten it for her when he had purchased his. I hoped that it’s looking somewhat like a girls bike might help keep it from being stolen, since most bike are stolen by guys.

I rode all over Socorro with my new bike and had a great time. Visiting the old church, the artist galleries, the nice little bar downtown, etc. Now here in Socorro there were several galleries I visited. Very large, with lots of high quality artwork. Took my time and visited all I could. Which is why I ended staying there a month. Oh, the weather was very nice too. Short sleeves, but carry a jacket weather.

Looking back towards the mountains where Magdalena is, from the RV park I'm staying at.

The old church. Built the first time in the 1500's.

A neat spiral staircase.

The altar.

Some of the statuary.

The plack.

This was one of the places where the Indians, that were being brutalized by the Spanish, ‘For God’, rose up and killed the missionaries. Wasn’t for another 50 years that the Spanish came back, murdered thousands of the now peaceful Indians, and forced them to become Catholic. If you didn’t believe, you died. One of the main reasons I dislike religion in all it’s forms.

The atom bomb plack in downtown Socorro.

One piece of nuclear blast damaged wreakage.

This is a tiny city park. Right across the street from my favorite bar.

This is 'Veterans' street. This is all there is. It's not being kept up very well.

And here is the bar where I hung out. The Capital. Very old, lots of wood.

After a month here in Socorro, there wasn’t much left to see, so it was time to head south again, closer to Mexico.

The next couple nights, Saturday & Sunday, I stayed at the casino, to watch the NFL games and to hang out in the casino. After leaving the Dinosaur NP, and traveling most of the day,  I’d arrived here around 4:30pm. I’d been here 4 years before so it wasn’t all that interesting and I used the spare time to do some minor repairs to the RV.

Parked at the Ute Indian reservation casino RV Park.

They have a discount for overnight parking if you have a casino cash card, I didn’t but an Indian guy walking by the check in counter offered his. Friendly.

Looking over at the casino.

The next morning, Nov. 2nd, I'm back on the road south. This interesting plateau was just a couple miles south of the casino.

Since my destination is due south, I don’t bother with freeways. I’d have to go out of my way to get on one anyway, so I stay on two lane roads the rest of the trip. Not seeing any traffic for 2 hours at a time is my kind of travel. A few miles before my destination – Magdalena, New Mexico, I’ll passed the VLA (Very Large Array) where they have been conducting deep space radio investigations for decades.

Here's what most of the trip looked like. No one in sight. Suits me fine.

Oooo, new blacktop. Quiets the trip, smooths it out. Loverly.

The VLA. This is as close as you can get from the highway. You can take a tour if you want, but I wasn't that interested. I've seen hundreds of pictures in articles about the VLA so feel I know most of what there is to know about the site.

This site is just about 30 miles from my destination, Magdalena, where I expected to find an interesting art community. Turned out that perception was wrong, but it had an interesting local history. There were and are some artists there now, but not like I expected. I didn’t find any original art I liked enough even to think about buying.

Downtown Magdalena. Most of the business, like this one, had closed years before. I could see some really old antiques through the windows. Those still in business, had reduced hours.

I did find a museum, art gallery, and thrift store all displaying artwork but nothing spectacular. Then I had trouble with the owner of the campground. I was trying to help him work out his problems with a weak WiFi signal in the campground area and told him I was a Computer Consultant. That upset him for some reason and rather then letting me help him, he soon started accusing me of somehow messing with the system from my RV. The signal was so weak in the first place because he didn’t have an outside antenna, just a standard two antenna AP inside his house. Which had a metal roof. Ass. So, I only stayed two nights.

Wholesalers of Everything, and a sign on the door, "If we don't have it, you don't need it".

And the little museum. Use to be the train station.

So, after almost two days here in this quiet and sleepy little town, I headed off to Socorro, NM. Hoping to find a better RV park with good WiFi. I did find a nice bar across the street from where I was staying and I had an afternoon beer there alone with the bar tender, but then the owner walked for the night shift and promptly turned up the jukebox way to loud for that time of day with only one customer. But it is his bar, so I just went home.

The trip from Vernal to the Dinosaur NP wasn’t long, 30 miles maybe, and it was only 9:30am when I got there. The parking lot held only one other vehicle. This is the kind of touristy stuff I like to do. Major attractions with no, or few tourists. That means I have to travel during undesirable times of the year, like early November, but it sure has worked out for me over the years. I’ve been lucky to have huge tourist attractions nearly to myself on many occasions. And the weather has cooperated over those years too. I do like a good storm though…but not to drive in.

A shot of the countryside. Most desert like.

I was wondering what this area looked like 65 million years ago. And I was hoping my camera would take a shot into the past and bring it back to me, no such luck. Damned time paradoxes!

The rusty rig.

The uplift behind the rig represents millions and millions of years of geologic changes. The strata has been broken thousands of times by quakes which also pushed it up to it’s current position.

The museum.

Some dinosaur bones.

A meat eating nasty.

Very large leg bone...brontosaur, maybe?

Time to take a hike around the site.

Local strata showing it's age.

Odd looking hill.

Hard to miss all the differing strata.

Another interesting hill.

The pipe in the above picture comes from the parking lot of the upper museum. It’s this glassed walled building that was built back in the 50’s to protect all the dinosaur bones that were sticking out of the hill side. They’ve been taking bones out and shipping them to museums since the early 30’s. Then a few years ago it started to sink and break up. So they’ve closed it until 2012. I’ll have to come back to see really big bones that were left in the hillside.

The bone gallery...closed to the public. Damn.

And here in the rock, a real dinosaur bone.

The white arrow is suppose to show you where it is. It’s a leg bone.

Balancing rock.

Petrographic carvings. Could be old, could be new, no one knows anymore.

And another.

Back on the road. I've gained some altitude so there is snow.

An hour later, heading into the hills. I was wondering if it would ever stop climbing. Very steep in places. Slowed to a crawl on occasion.

Later that afternoon I stopped at an Indian casino. They have a nice RV park there but no bar in the casino. Would have been much more fun if they did.

The next morning, I wandered around the RV park and took some more pictures around the area. This park was pretty remote, miles from a small town, on a spur road miles from the freeway. I talked to the owner and found out his family had owned the park for decades. Both his parents were gone now and they left the park to him. He’d moved back to take care of them. He was cleaning and fixing it up after years of neglect. It is looking pretty good now and if I didn’t have a destination in mind I might have stayed a couple weeks…but now that I think of it, it was too cold at the time, there was no WiFi, and it was miles from anywhere, so no, I wouldn’t have stayed, even if I had nowhere to go. One peculiar thing about this lonely park was that it was right next door to another lonely RV park! About the same size, had the same river access and all. Strange that they ended up so close together. Probably the 2nd park came in and took advantage of the services now available the first park had paid for, sewer, electric, water; so their initial investment was lower.

The Snake river in the morning.

Looking off to the South.

A view across from the campground.

Note that the day is hazy and overcast. It was coolish too, probably in the low 50’s. I only stayed long enough for some pictures and breakfast and then headed out. Backtracked to the I-84 freeway and soon I was in Idaho. After driving 2 hours the dismal weather really got to me and my normally sunny disposition drifted into mild depression. So I pulled over at a rest stop and grabbed the Woodall’s Camping Guide looking for an upcoming campground along the freeway. I found one nearby, 50 miles down the road, in Glenns Ferry, Idaho. The major attractions were the smallness of the town, and the fact that there were 3 RV parks there, including a relatively new one. Which increased the odds that at least one of them would have free WiFi. Since it was so early in the day, I would still have time to go further south if none of the campgrounds were suitable.

So, I continued on to Glenns Ferry and arrived around 1:30pm. Pretty early to stop for the night but what did I care. The first RV park I pulled into had free WiFi so I hooked up for the night. It was a rustic park, probably close to 50 years old, but pleasant enough. They had cable TV too. The following pictures include some of the antiques they had on the grounds of the RV park, and then later in town. I walked downtown and bought a few minor items for the RV, then spent some time shopping in the old grocery store they had there. For a Thursday afternoon the town was really empty. Only saw a couple cars while I was wandering downtown.

I'm parked and all snuggled in. The weather hadn't changed much from earlier in the day.

The near neighborhood. I saw something up on the hill that was picture worthy, but can't remember what it was now.

A one hundred and fifty year old pioneer wagon.

A neat old building that use to be a barn, then an auto shop. I took the picture because of the artwork on the side of the building. It also had the look of an old livery stable. It looks abandoned inside when you peer in the windows. This is right downtown. On a Thursday afternoon.

Then this Conestoga wagon was downtown in a lot. I got the sense that they have a Pioneer Days celebration here in town and these old wagons become part of the parade.

Another Conestoga.

I stayed overnight here in Glenns Ferry and since I arrived so early the first day, I had several hours of browsing & wandering time. I liked this little town and am pretty sure I’ll make a point of stopping here again. Maybe on my way back up to Alaska.

The next morning as I was getting ready to leave, I got distracted by something, can’t remember exactly what, but it ended up I climbed into the RV thinking I’d disconnected everything. Well, I hadn’t. I’d forgotten to disconnect the cable TV cable & the power cord from the parks services. As I pulled away, I heard some funny noises and a few yards beyond that pulled to a stop. I could see my thick electrical cord lying on the ground, still connected to the parks service outlet. When I opened the power compartment, I found that the power cable had pulled the junction box off the plywood compartment wall, cracked the wall badly, then pulled out of the connectors and the junction box. The TV cable had pulled out of it’s connector but had not damaged anything else. Embarrassed, I inspected the parks service connectors with the owners and since everything was OK on their end, I collected my damaged cords and off I went. Heading for Vernal, Utah and the Dinosaur National Monument.

The following series of pictures kind of show how the weather was over the entire day.

The mornings weather starts out dismal and dreary. No rain, though.

A couple hours later I'm nearing Morgan, Utah and there is some blue in the sky.

Then I headed into the hills (mountains?) East of Salt Lake City.

After crossing the foothills, still enjoying an overcast cloud cover, and the blue is gone.

Then, just an hour later, it's all clear!

Interesting topography.

Ancient ocean floor I suppose, or I was shooting the moon, who knows?

Fading light in the late afternoon, in the Utah desert.

Although the trip was only 7 hours from Glenns Ferry to Vernal, I arrived after dark somehow and set up in a downtown Vernal RV park. This was my destination so I’d be close to the Dinosaur National Monument for the next mornings trip. I stayed at Fossil Valley RV Park. Wasn’t a very nice park. Didn’t care for it.

Next time, I’ll take you all on a trip around the Dinosaur NM.

I left Portland Oct. 28th, 2009, Wednesday, at 8:15am. Heading East, I had in mind going to Missouri and visiting Taffy. But Springfield is a thousand miles out of my way from my plan of heading into the South West and warming up in the desert, doing some minor work on my RV there, and then getting some dental work done at the border with Mexico.

I had been checking for months and found via the internet that Palomas Mexico, right across the border from Columbus, New Mexico, had several highly recommended dentists. My resources also showed a low cost RV park just 3 miles from the border. But first I needed to back track into the Columbia Gorge. And if I kept to my plan of visiting Guadalajara, Palomas was both a good place to cross the border, and right on my route south.

Within an hour of leaving the RV park in Corbett, I stopped at Multnomah Falls, within the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area (NSA). The NSA starts just a few miles East of Troutdale, Oregon.

Millions visit the falls every year. I was lucky to be there when there was only one other visitor. The place is packed in the summer. Multnomah Falls is the second tallest year round waterfall in the nation, dropping 620 feet from its origin on Larch Mountain. Unusually cold weather can freeze the plummeting water into a majestic icicle. I’ve been here hundreds of times, having lived in the Portland area for decades and with relatives in Walla Walla, it’s just natural to stop here on the way by. Or to run out here in the heat of the summer where the natural cooling from the falls makes a comfortable sojourn. And the falls are right off I-84.

I’ve hiked to the top of the falls numerous times in the past but the urge to travel was too strong today so this visit I just got a few shots from below. Around 5 years ago a family hiked up to the top with their dog. When they got to the look out at the top of the falls the dog was so excited to be there he slipped between the fence slats and fell to his death. I mention it only because I was there that day so heard about it and saw the poor dog’s body brought down to the lodge and given to the owners so it was on my mind this day.  I was also here a couple days after a giant bolder that use to overhang the pool by 50 feet or so, came loose from the cliff it hung from and plummeted down into the pool. No one is allowed in the pool under normal circumstances so no injuries but it was pretty spectacular from what I hear, splashing water onto people on the bridge 50 yards or so from the pool. There’s a picture here later.

Multnomah Falls, from the freeway parking lot.

Lower Falls

Lower falls.

Still the lower falls.

The bridge.

Fallen fall leaves at the falls.

Off in the distance, the Columbia River.

The upper bridge. The trail leads to the top of the falls.

The bridge.

The gorge.

Looking back towards the lodge.

The pool at the base of the main fall.

And the main falls. Hard to see but there is an observation deck at the top.

And the money shot after I walked back down.

That’s the tour of Multnomah Falls. After this nice refreshing hike, I got back on the road and a few miles later stopped at Bonneville Dam.

Driving my RV past the dam's power house. Spillways on the left.

Upper view.

A turbine blade. This one was removed from service when it started to develope cracks.

Power distribution.

One of the fish ladders. This one passes water by the fish viewing and counting windows.

I happened to walk into the fish viewing area when this Sturgeon was passing the window.

The pond of slack water behind the dam.

And back on the freeway heading east. That's the Columbia on the left.

A few hours later and I'm just coming into Pendleton, Oregon. Those are the Blue Mountains off in the distance. There's still time in the day to nearly get through them.

Here's a view looking back west from the foothills of the Blues.

An hour later and I find snow.

It was getting late so I pulled into this RV park along the river. Catfish Junction RV Park. It was pretty chilly so after taking a couple pictures it was back into the RV to warm up.

The river at dusk.

Taken the same time as the last picture but didn't come out as dark.

So, this day I traveled from Corbett, Oregon to a tiny point on the map in Huntington, Oregon, along the snake river. I traveled 328 miles over 9 & 1/2 hours with stops.

Next time I drift South on the journey to New Mexico.

After returning from the coast, I hung around Gresham and did a bunch of shopping at my favorite stores. Most nights I’d dry camp either in a vacant field near LT’s Pub or at the Flying J truck stop. That got old quick as a storm rolled in and the temps dipped into the low 40’s. I finally decided to stay at a ‘Passport America’ campground up in the hills above Troutdale. With a PP card, you get to stay at 50% off. If the parks daily price is $28 per night, you only pay $14.  The park is nice, in the very small town of Corbett, Oregon, and named Crown Point RV Park. Stayed there 2 weeks while I shopped and visited with my other friends at LT’s Pub. If I celebrated to much, I would just stay the night at the empty lot near LT’s. If not, I’d drive up to Corbett.

Julie & Nancy...

Julie telling me how her genius son was doing in school.

Margie...

I gave Margie a call because I love Margie. She and I have been hanging around together since we met while she was a bartender at the old LT’s. Years ago. She didn’t like being a bartender who had to cook. Other then that she loved it. The cooking and other stuff drove her nuts until she finally quit. Went on to be a carpenter, office worker, etc., etc.. You know the drill. We play pool usually and although she’s better then me, somehow I tend to win more often. Funny how that goes. She also has this infectious laugh, so I’m always trying to be funny around her. So far I haven’t been able to talk her into traveling around the country with me for a few months. I’m wearing her down though, .

It's me!

Margie took a picture of me, even though I warned her about broken cameras and the like.

Linda showing off her winning ticket.

Still showing off. Jennie enjoying it all. Gordon trying to escape being in the picture.

Finally, Max shows up for work.

Love Max too. She is a part time bartender here at the new LT’s. At the old LT’s she was a full time tender. We got to be fast friends up there during the period I was hanging out there every night. (It was on my way home)! Now she works at the old M&M restaurant and lounge. Another place most of us hang out.

Really nice to visit with everyone again over those two weeks I stayed up in Corbett and hung out at LT’s.

Finally, it got to be time for me to move on South. So, the younger crowd I hang out with all came over to M&M’s for a going away party.

Oct. 25th, Sunday afternoon & evening.

Danny the bartender...

Danny is also a friend from the old LT’s. He actually doesn’t need to work as a bartender…he’s a day trader…but he gets cabin fever so here he is bar tending. Been doing it for years now. Use to own one of those little stores out in the boondocks.

Max is back behind the bar grousing at me for taking her picture.

TJ (Theresa) & her bf Lee show up.

Downtown Gresham.

I ran outside to get a picture  of downtown before it got dark and I forgot. This is looking North. It’s an old fashioned downtown with small eclectic shops, bars, & cafe’s. There’s even a tea room. It’s gone through many stages while administration after administration has tried to revitalize it. A few blocks in any direction shows much new development and even a block to the right in this picture are fancy row houses. And we’ve got MAX, the Metro Area Transit trains for people that work downtown. I ride it all the time.

Behind me just one block is a large city park. Gresham is a neat little town nestled in an urban area. There are bike paths that go for miles, creeks, parks, large treed hills looming up around you, and everywhere it’s green. The annual rainfall is so high that all green things thrive, even when mistreated.

Problem is that it’s not often considered a destination by people that live around here. Gresham is so close to Portland that for the most part, people do their shopping or partying closer to downtown Portland. And when they don’t, there are many big box stores withing a few miles of downtown. There were times when you’d see nearly 50% of the business along this street closed and for sale.

There is one closed bread bakery just a block from here that was remodeled into a brew pub and restaurant. It failed and closed. Then it was bought and reopened as a pub…this went on over and over. I was a real estate broker back when this was going on so I often talked to the owner(s) about the business and I’d go on line and check the secret things a broker can check to see how much it sold for each time. Believe it or not, the place was a real estate cash cow. Each time it sold, with all the beer making equipment, it went for a higher price! With the new owner not doing their homework the pub was doomed to fail as the mortgage kept getting higher with each sale. Low traffic in downtown Gresham meant not enough customers, higher mortgage meant high prices, fewer people came, business fails. Must have happened 4 times over 10 years. It’s now a pub again as Main Street Ale House. Opened in 2003 after a Italian restaurant opened and closed in just a few months. I think they’re still open but because they’ve been closed so often, I didn’t think of visiting there. But I’m not sure. Hope they got a good price on the building.

Well, back to the M&M party. A few people I knew who didn’t want to hang out at the new LT’s because of the overly loud and uncomfortable feel of the place came to say goodbye here. It was great getting to visit with them again like old times.

TJ, Lee, & Jackie.

Jackie even came by. You remember her from her visit up to Fairbanks in the summer of 2007? She’s preggers now so only soft drinks for her.

Jackie's BF, Jeff, showed up too.

There were a few later arrivals but I got tired of taking pictures.

Next time, we’ll visit Multnomah Falls as I leave the area and head easterly.

The next morning, in Seaside, we get up late, have a nice breakfast and sit around talking until early afternoon when we headed back down to downtown so TJ could do some shopping.

On the way, stopped to look at the ocean.

The Pacific Ocean.

Seagulls having a party.

Then we headed downtown and visited this restored merri-go-round. It’s over a century old and very popular with the kids, and some adults too.

Ride anyone?

One of the seawater canals.

TJ stands on one leg to enjoy the view.

Seasides' main drag & tourist draw. During the summer, this place is elbow to elbow with tourists.

The Lewis & Clark statue and our favorite hangout in the background - The Shilo Inn.

On the main floor of the Shilo is a nice resturant and a bar. We usually hang out in the bar or at a table right next to those big windows and watch the tourists and the ocean. Very pleasant in bad weather. Pretty good food too, if a little expensive. Years ago, we spent the night up on the 3rd floor rather then attempting to drive back to Portland half drunk. Even only being up 3 floors gave us a really neat view of the ocean and beach the next morning.

Here's a shot of the huge beach that's here at the Seaside Turnaround. It's known that Lewis and Clark visited here.

Another shot of the turnaround.

Off to the south.

TJ has to stay up topside as I cavort down in the sand...no wheelchair access, and the sand is too loose.

Met this guy just hanging out, enjoying the beach.

Deserted beach.

And finally, sunset over the Pacific. From the Seaside turnaround.

After spending the night at the RV park, we headed back to Portland but instead of backtracking, we headed up the coast to Astoria. It’s only 17 miles up the road from Seaside. I’m sorry about the number of bugs on the windshield in the pictures but I’d been unable to wash the windows for a while.

Crossing the bay. Astoria is basically on and below that hill up ahead.

The bridge on the left played a bit part in the movie  ‘Short Circuit’ starring Alley Sheedy. The name of the movie is coincidentally my CB radio handle. Like you need one anymore. I do have a CB radio just in case, but hardly use it.

TJ getting a picture.

Here's a pretty good shot of the bridge. It's really impressive. Either from the ground or while traveling over it.

Last shot showing how high the bridge is.

A few miles up the road I got this shot of the Columbia. It empties into the ocean at Astoria.

We got back into Troutdale, where TJ lives, around 6pm and I dropped her off so she could get ready for her boyfriend to arrive. He works out of town as a tower builder…you know those big wind generator towers? He builds those. Got layed off a couple weeks later.

I headed to Gresham and stopped at the rebuilt LT’s Tavern. My favorite bar before I had gone full time RV’ing. The original had burned down two years ago and the one I went to on this day was the rebuilt version, in a different place. To be honest, it just wasn’t the same. I know, you can’t go home again. Many of my friends came in over the next several visits I made there, and it was fun catching up with everyone. I even found a nearby parking lot where I could dry camp and spend a night or two.

I’ll get to that story in the next installment.