Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: RV trip

(+2 map insets!) Hello everyone!! We're finally home, safe and sound! Steve and I arrived a week ago from our epic 3-month "Covid Summer" RV trip around western Oregon, and with a few days to settle in, I'm finally ready to start posting again! What a blast we had! :) To be honest, if we didn't have a bunch of upgrade projects lined up for the next few months, we'd have been happy to just turn around and head out and find out what it means to be a "snowbird!" Wow, what a difference from last year's camping season! A year ago we returned home from our six-week trip to Vancouver Island, Canada, and both of us were totally wrecked. The trailer was damaged and we were totally exhausted from the stress of the many problems we experienced along the way. It took us months to recover from that trip…despite all the fun we managed to have between the worries, the negatives hung over us for a long time. As I've reported in the past, we didn't think travelling would be in the cards for 2020, what with Covid-19 taking over and throwing a wrench in the works. Staying safe was our priority and our rural home was our sanctuary. As summer approached, we learned that Oregon State Parks were opening up for reservations in June and we wondered if camping was a crazy idea. Then, when Steve's sister reported that camping in California was working out just fine, we pulled our heads out of the sand and made some reservations at nearby campgrounds. Who knew if the campgrounds would be shut down again? We prepared ourselves with the understanding that we might have to turn around and go home at any point but it was worth a try, right? Our Covid-19 Camping Trip Was a Complete Success! Our adventure started at the end of June and lasted through the beginning of October and included a two-week pitstop at home to add upgrades to the truck and trailer. We drove over 1500 miles on Oregon's scenic highways and back roads, enjoying breathtaking settings along the coast as well as deep forest and high-desert alpine forests too. We managed to avoid many threats and stressful situations during our adventure: Covid-19: First of all, we kept out of the corona virus' reach by staying away from people. Steve was our shopping hero and braved the stores when needed, being sure to protect himself wherever he went with a mask, rubber gloves and sanitizer. Whenever we were out hiking or biking, zooming around on our scooters, making the rounds with Pumpkin or just going on my morning walk, we made wide berths around passersby and never left the trailer without a ready-to-use mask in a pocket. Chatting with people was always done at a 6-feet distance, though we did have to gently remind folks who forgot when they wanted to see Pumpkin up-close in her hiking cage (we don't blame them, she's amazing! :D). Wildfires & Smoke: The fire season in Oregon (and California too) has been historic, with over one million acres burned so far. And, even though we're headed into the fall rainy season, there are still six huge wildfires that aren't completely contained. Thankfully, Steve and I were able to avoid the fires and smoke, though it did require the cancellation of several campsites and unexpected stays in other areas. It seemed like the entirety of Oregon was socked in by literally the worst smoke on the planet, but we got lucky. Our perfect oasis was found at lovely Fort Stevens, where we spent 14 blissful days in an idyllic escape from Oregon's troubles and only the rare whiff of smoke on one day! Our House Didn't Burn Down! On September 8, the Willamette Valley became socked in with smoke and caused us to flee the campground at Champoeg State Heritage Area and stay at L.L. Stub Stewart for a few days. That day, one of the biggest wildfires in Oregon erupted just a few miles from our home and would go on to burn almost 33,000 acres (they are still drenching hotspots as I type this post). Once we became aware of the fire, we watched the news nervously and worried more and more as the size grew quickly and marched in all directions--including towards our home. The Rogue River created a protective line but if wind combined with bad luck, embers could have easily jumped over and burst into flames. After a couple of very tense weeks, the first containment was underway…and it was the side headed towards our home! We were so relieved. We also learned a very important lesson about making sure our most precious valuables were safe-guarded if we were away. Our pictures. My journals. Priceless sentimental keepsakes. Our important paperwork. Irreplaceable files. What a terrible loss all of this would have been. We count our lucky stars that we have a chance to fix these issues for the future. Fun Was Had! With three months out, we had a lot of great adventures! Hiking together, going on my wonderful morning walks/hikes, walking around campgrounds with Pumpkin, taking pictures, riding our bikes, taking our boat out on lakes, fishing, hanging out in our hammocks and in our "easy-up" in our "easy-up" shelter, reading, playing video games--the list goes on and on! So much to chat about, so many pictures to post…it's hard to know where to begin. I'll try to keep it simple, though I've already included a book to read here, heh! Today's Picture (and map graphics) Our last campground stay was at LaPine State Park and one morning I took my Sony along to capture some of the gorgeous things I saw when I stepped out of the trailer to start my day. Oh, Those Darling Chippers! Near the end of my walk I made my way along a trail that hugs the Deschutes River, keeping my eyes open for "fluffy buddies." I caught glimpses of the many resident squirrel species that were always nearby--the elegant mink-chocolate Douglas Squirrel with its light-colored underbelly, the huge Western Grey Squirrel and smaller introduced Eastern Grey Squirrel. But of course there were also chipmunks! At least two of these small, striped squirrel species were found in great numbers around the park, including the larger Townsend Chipmunk and everyone's favorite, the tiniest of all--the Least Chipmunk! I was lucky enough to get pictures of little chippers along the way and then, to my great delight, I saw a pair of tiny cutie-pies jump onto a log and stand nose-to-nose, just for me! What luck that I got a nice image of this pair to share with you today! I am also sharing a couple of graphics which show the places that we stayed during our trip this summer. You'll notice that we didn't get to the eastern side of the state but certainly enjoyed the west coast and central parks to our fullest! I hope everyone had a safe and wonderful summer. I apologize for my sporadic posting over the past few months and lack of visiting! I'm looking forward to stopping by to say hi in the next few days! Explored on 10/20/20; highest placement #5.

(+4 insets) (this picture is super at full-size!) Our visit to Newcastle Island-- Saysutshun --was really wonderful and I got lots of pictures which I've finally finished processing. I wanted to present them in a logical order so I'll be rolling them out in four more presentations including this one. :) I hope you enjoy the show! Setting Foot on Saysutshun The short ferry ride to Saysutshun was lovely and we enjoyed taking pictures as we approached the island's harbor. Many boats were moored outside the main cove and it was neat to see the variety of sizes and types. Steve helped get the bikes off the ferry and we made our way up to the visitor's booth, where we were greeted by a very gentle and knowledgeable man and his big smile. Speaking in his soft voice, we were given a map of the island and suggestions on where we should go to make the most of our visit. He told us about the spiritual power of this place and I did not doubt a word of what he was saying. I felt it vividly the moment we arrived. There was a very strong sense of spiritual energy that emanated from the island, something that was very surprising and wonderful to me. Although I'm not religious in the traditional sense, I consider myself to be very spiritual and in touch with the planet and its life forms. I could feel this energy strongly from the island itself but also from the man who was speaking to us. It was totally fascinating to me. Steve could feel that there was something a bit different going on but for me it was very strong. Cool. (If you'd like more information, this is a link to the island's culture and history page (click) . Today's Pictures My main picture shows the boats we saw moored outside and at the mouth of the island's harbor. Saysutshun offers moorage to visitors and residents and I can see why it's such a popular place for boaters to come and stay! Insets include more pictures of the boats as well as an extremely wide, 360 degree panorama of the view from the visitor's kiosk. You can see my bike on one side near the kiosk and on the left, one of their wonderful totems which is set up at a meeting area complete with a host of benches. Finally, there is a picture of the lovely tribal artwork adorning the visitor's kiosk. Rock Tumbling Update After reevaluating the rocks over a week ago, I pushed most back to the first step but allowed others to go on to the second step, and yesterday I washed them all off and put them in a pan of water to appreciate how they were coming along. WOWZERS!!! It was really wise to be more critical of every rock and its realistic progress because the difference in quality of tumbling was blatantly obvious! About 95% of the rocks in Step 2 looked AMAZING. Silky smooth and with very few divots or rough spots, I gave the green light to almost every one to head to Step 3--the Pre-polish stage! I'm so excited…they'll be heading to the final stage in another week, and just WAIT until you guys see these beauties, they are just GORGEOUS!! The Step 1 rocks were also in great shape and though I had to hold back a large handful, I've placed all of the ones that are ready go to go Step 2 into a jar where they will sit until I get enough rocks that will fill a tumbler. In the meantime, I filled the second tumbler with all of the rocks that I decided to re-run as Step 1's and added a few new rocks to fill the tumbler. There are some seriously gorgeous rocks in that batch…heh…every batch…:D…and it will be such fun to share pictures of the polished beauties! Pam, I hope all is well in your world! Feeling a bit better each day I hope! You've been on my mind as I gather rocks, I am sure you would love them all as much as I do! *BIG HUGS* from southern Oregon! Explored on 1/27/20; highest placement #1.