Camp Sherman and Steens Mountain/Frenchglen

Sunday morning, July 5, we are off eastward on Highway 84 to Biggs and then south on 97 to a lunch stop in Shaniko.


(Joe and Barbara heading down hwy 84)

Shaniko was a sheep herding town doing reasonably well at one time but is now pretty much bust. A local gent was trying to revive the town but passed away and the little town is really struggling. But it is an interesting ghost town to explore, which we did. Had root beer floats with lunch which was amusing to watch. When they popped the ice cream in the root beer it started a catalytic reaction that wouldn’t stop. The root beer foamed like crazy and as fast as you could suck it up it kept coming and coming. Joe ran out of breath and we had root beer foam all over the table, which really didn’t bother the restaurant as they were prepared and also appropriately amused. I think it is one of the town’s big amusements!

Shaniko church and wedding chapel
Lots of old cars and trucks around, here is an old fire truck .

Shelle's Shaniko buddy, why I wear cowboy boots and hat.

We continued onto Redmond then cut over to Sisters. What a neat little town and how spectacular the view of the 3 magnificent mountains that make up the Sisters. The traffic is pretty bad in Sisters so we slowly plodded through taking in all the sights. Continue on highway 20 about 10 miles to the cut off to Camp Sherman. The drive in is neat through a heavy forest past farms and lodges and all of a sudden, there is camp. The trip from Stevenson Wa. To Camp Sherman was 227 miles at an average driving speed of 49 MPH. Longer drive than normal but a very nice, relatively easy drive.

Metolious River from the bridge "in town".





O.K., more Hitchhiker stuff. We met Stacy and Sharon wise before the Vacaville get together, albeit on the way. They met us in Bakersfield (along with the Collingwood’s) before the Vacaville event and we went to the Three Rivers (by Sequoia) Jazz affair. We had an excellent time and became good friends even before the Vacaville event (as we did also with the Collingwood’s). We had agreed to meet them at Camp Sherman, so we were excited to see them again. Of course as always Stacy had to be there before us, we have never seen him back his trailer, we suspect he hires it out! Nevertheless, it was another great reunion.

Wise's and McDole's Hitchhikers at Camp Sherman RV park.

The camp is small and the rigs are very close together but it is very acceptable and the setting is awesome. A short walk takes you into “town” crossing over the Metolious River. The Metolious is an awesome river. What is interesting is that the headlands are only about 2 miles away and yet the river is mighty with plenty of water. It comes right out of the ground and is immediately a good sized river. Maybe an average width of 20 to 30 feet and a pretty decent current, it is just a quintessential mountain river. Also very popular for trout fly fishing (flies only and catch and release only). The general store ought to be out of a book, it is just classical. It is the town meeting place, the grocery store and the bait/tackle/fishing store.

Typical Metoaliuos River view around Camp Sherman

Just one of the lovely flowers along the river.

Looking down the Metolious.


Down the bike trail.

Here is a shot of Wizard Falls, at the fish Hatchery. Basically, if you have seen one fish hatchery, you have seen almost all of them. But Wizard falls is pretty unique. The water color is indescribable.









You just can't do this phenomena justice, but I think I caught some of the aqua and other colors.










Very unique spot.

Here is part of our expedition, making sure the bridge is still sound, hands out to calibrate the wind effect on the bridge. The daring daredevils are almost right over the feared Wizard Falls.

We did visit the head waters of the Metolious. We took Roxy, sort of an educational thing. Remember in one of Jimmy Buffet’s songs (Pencil Thin Mustache) there is a line “they send you off to college, to gain a little knowledge, and all you want to do is learn how to score”. The only knowledge Roxy wanted is to learn is how to catch those dang chipmunks!

Roxy on her "How to catch Chipmunks better" training.

The clasic shot of the headlands , Mt. Jefferson in the background (we all take this shot, it is better in the early am, I know someone who woke their wife up at oh five hundred, oh yes early, to get the "best" shot). But it still looks O.K., don't cha think (Sharon?)

After dinner we had a rousing game of Rally Ho. Rally Ho is a version of Trivial Pursuit for RVer’s. Stacy and Sharon had been practicing as had Murray and Shelle, so this was a big deal (well sort of, maybe a little deal…but it was a deal!) The guys took on the gals. I won’t tell you who won 2 out of 3 but it wasn’t Stacy or Murray. End of this story is the guys won the next evenings match and the final tournament match came down to the last game, both teams within reach of victory, when the girls got an easy question and sneaked into victory (remember, it’s my story!).

After dinner we took Roxy out into the forest and let her run. What joy! I remember when I was a little kid and had to take ball room dancing lessons when I got out of class I would run and run to be free, it must feel something like that for Roxy!

Next day we went into town for some shopping including a restock for liquor. If you don’t know this Oregon only sells liquor in State liquor stores and even though Oregon does not charge tax, they charge dearly for liquor. A bottle that I would pay $26 for at home, including tax, was $45 here!

We checked out Suttle Lake, a natural mountain lake near Camp Sherman. Roxy got to go swimming and chased some ducks all over the lake, no easier to catch than a chipmunk.

Lake Suttle

The Rox saving a stick from drowning! After safely clearing the lake of all ducks and geese. Wonder Dog!

Lilies around the lake.

Too many other adventures to mention, some of which included friends of Joe and Barbara, Stu and Rosemary from Bend visited, great night of camp fire singing (me on uke, Stu on guitar), s’more'a’s, Stacy got his guitar out, trip to fish hatchery and the introduction of “Duck Farts” (story some other time).

Next stop; Frenchglen. Frenchglen is in the south eastern high desert area of Oregon. Totally different from anything we had experienced yet. Back to Bend then east on highway 20 and into nowhere land. Pretty barren and very sparsely populated. We reached Burns and hung a left down 205. 205 gets to be an interesting drive. Through Malhheur Lake, which is basically dry most of the year, but you still drive up on a levy. Then the country gets real butte-ey, you can almost see the Indian look outs staring down at you. Then you get to the Malheur Refuge area and it is all swamp, grass, reeds and water. Frenchglen and the area are full of history, old cattle barons and all that.

The town of Frenchglen is one small hotel, a general store, and a school. Then the fun starts, the camp is 3 miles away over a very wahsboardy dirt road. It took us over 20 minutes to go 3 miles (we found out later the drive is somewhat smoother at 35 mph and less painful because quicker). We arrive at Steens Mountain Resort (where in the heck they came up with “resort” we’ll never figure) and our first sight is Star. Star is an adopted wild Kiger Mustang for which this area is famous. The Kiger mustang is one of the last herds of pure Spanish Wild Mustangs anywhere in the world.

Star, the Kiger Mustang.

This is Star, she is a beautiful animal, very sweet and very mild. One kind of wishes she was still wild. (The herds are very well and very efficiently controlled and when they get too large for their environment they are mercifully culled and sold for adoption.)

Anyway, this place is not what I would call a “resort” but it is pretty cool. Rustic, yes but that is what we expected. Marvelous view of the valley and surrounding mountains, one of our books gave it a 9 out of 10 scenic rating. Aside from a little dirt and washboard road, there was only one thing wrong with this place: MOSQUITOES! Yikes! No problem during the day, say after 9am, but at night they were fierce. Good test for our 100% DEET.

Star out in her field getting ready for dinner.

The Rox getting to meet Star and the Mur saying a big hello. Star was pretty mellow with the Rox, but Rox is an alpha dog and a predator, so even though she liked Star, she had to give her a little nip on the nose, just to keep things even.

There is a loop that goes up to Steens Mountain with spectacular views but all the road is dirt and 8 miles of it are very bad (8 miles is a long way on a very bad road) so we did only parts of the loop. We were able to find one of the herds of wild mustangs, although they were pretty far away. We could see them with our binocs, but unfortunately they were out of camera range. It was still very exciting for us.

Driving from camp just into Frenchglen we saw several Ibis, other ducks, quail, dove, red winged black birds, night hawks, and a fox (actually had to stop for the fox, he just kept running slightly ahead of us, though I might wear him out!)

On the north loop we saw deer, tons of great wild flowers, Fish Lake, a small remote trout lake, and the Kiger Gorge. The Kiger gorge just makes your whole body go “WOW” and drops your jaw. Spectacular, very deep U shaped gorge, reminded us of Waimea canyon in Kauai (except much more green). We were standing at almost 9000 feet to view the canyon and it wasn’t just the altitude that took our breath away! Impossible to capture in a picture, but one is compelled to try.

wild flowers along the road.

Moma deer ready to leap away from us.

More wild flowers along the way

Barn Swallow Mom feeding her little baby under the eves of the general store in Frenchglen.

This is a Night Hawk. There were several around camp and they would come out about 4 pm and in the morning. A new bird for me, pretty cool.

Overlooking the Malheur Refuge area, and Roxy wanting to be sure she could see what we saw!

Part of the reserve

We also did the Diamond City loop stopping at the Round Barn built by Peter French (the huge land baron, also Frenchglen name sake, who was shot for being a horse’s patoot). He built 3 of these at great expense so he could exercise his work horses through the winter.

We also ventured out to the Kiber Mustang lookout, an 11 mile rough, awful dirt road. Oh my God, what a ride. At 5 miles Shelle was begging for a turn back but at five miles we figured we were almost half way of the 11 mile trip. Wrong! The road just kept getting worse. Narrow, rutty, rocky, slippery at points, dusty, scary at points. One stretch takes you up hill, hill/mountain on one side, big drop off cliff on other side. The truck is fish tailing as it slips on the rocks but you have to keep going or loose traction. My mind vividly saw us fish tailing over the cliff. Anyway we made it, of course only to realize we were only half way because we had to go out the same way we came in. We did see a couple horses but a long way off. It was in fact a very pretty drive and there is something special about knowing and feeling that there are no other human beings within an 11 mile radius. I wanted to buy a shirt that said we survived the Kiber Mustang Lookout road!

Best the camera would get these Kibers. Family of Pronghorn Antelope.

Mr. French's round barn.

Neskowin and Columbia River

It is Saturday June 28th now and off we head for Neskowin, a small coastal town just north of Lincoln city. This is a very slow but super pretty drive, parts are very reminiscent of California Highway 1 near Big Sur. Spectacular views, some literally breath taking. Our average speed for this leg was 31 MPH. Lincoln City presented us with two big deals. One, they had a huge kite contest going on and the scene at the beach was incredible, all these humongous kites of so many shapes and brilliant colors; what a view. Two, the traffic was awful! Lincoln City traffic is always bad and the town is very long, takes forever to get through it. Outside of the kite contest, good place to avoid.



One of our excitements for Neskowin was to meet up with our new, good friends Rich and Joan Walters. For those that don’t know this background, Shelle and I participate in a forum on the Internet for people that own a Hitchhiker trailer as we do. Great place to exchange info, learn new stuff, swap stories, etc. After a while you just get to know people even though you haven’t yet met them. Several of us got together a while back in Vacaville and met in person for the first time. We made several strong, lasting relations. This is where we met the Walters and were anxious to see them again.

We had a great reunion with Rich and Joan and they meshed perfectly with the Wysocki’s and Godley’s who we are traveling with. We had a nice happy hour, went to the one restaurant in Neskowin, a very small place, had a great meal and wonderful time.

The camp ground is full of bunnies, they are everywhere. We had tacit approval from the manager to let Roxy chase some bunnies, so after dinner we let her loose. Wow was she happy. Karl said he had heard of the “green flash” but had never seen the “Brown flash”! We would lose track of Roxy, but we knew where she was by the scattering bunnies! What great fun. No bunnies were caught but several were almost tagged.

Neskowin basically consists of the restaurant, Hawk Creek Inn, a general store and an inn. Of course as all other spots, Neskowin has a beautiful beach, quite popular on the week end, and a beautiful little island called “Proposal Rock”(see opening picture above). There is a small river that runs through the beach down to the ocean. We walked Roxy out onto the beach, this was definitely a case of leash required, and met a boxer puppy called Riley. Riley was 8 months old and really full of it.
Here is Riley (off leash causing quite a commotion).











Sunday we drove to Tillamook, know best for its cheese. It really is a Wisconsin on the Oregon coast. We skipped the factory tour, too many people plus we really aren’t factory tourers. We did do the Pioneer Museum, one of the more interesting museums I’ve seen. It has a little bit of everything, if anything it might have too much. All sorts of pioneering stuff, nautical stuff, old cars and carriages, all nicely displayed. The highlight, the piece d résistance, is a phenomenal taxidermy collection including giant elk to humming birds…yes a hummingbird. And several of the displays are set up like a real life situation, like a bobcat defending its catch from an incoming eagle. Excellent, highly recommend that stop.

Next we took the three capes drive, another great adventure on an interesting road. You drive out on a levy that is not very wide (us with our very wide truck) and then it turns into a forest and runs along the coast. One of the few remaining old forest Sitka Spruce stands is preserved by the Cape Mears lightSitka Spruce are noted for their straightness. They used to often be used for wooden mast because of their strength and straightness. This old boy didn't follow the rules! This is the Octopus Tree, due to the harsh weather on the cape and its position towards the end of the cape, it grew 8 "limbs".
The rest of the forest, a little more protected has the typical Sitka and is certainly worth the look. It was pretty foggy when we were here, but still stunning.

This is the light at Cape Mears, one could almost say it is cute (of course I wouldn't be so smultzy). It is really small, the smallest light house in Oregon.
The area around the light was rich and plentiful with wild roses, like this pretty one.

Monday meant that we would meet the Thurman’s, Gary, Karen, and their yellow lab Abby. Gary is another Hitchhiker forum buddy whom we had not yet met, same for the Walter’s. Our friend Stacy (another forum friend from the Vacaville meeting) commented on the phenomenon that when you meet someone from the forum who you have never seen in person there just is not that normal uneasy beginning, no one knowing what to say. And so it was meeting the Thurman’s, Karen got out of the car, hearty, heartfelt hugs were exchanged and the conversation burst forth. Great folks, now on the good friends list! We all eventually headed back to Hawk Creek for a great lunch and Gary and I chewed some beer (we like the stout hearty stuff :-)).
Next destination is the Columbia River area. We cut across to the 5 freeway via highway 18. Good country road, until you get near the 5. We should have probably cut down the 22 (actually as advised). The towns of Dundee, Newberg, and Sherwood (all very British sounding, eh?) were terrible. A billion traffic lights, all red! We skirted Portland taking the 205 outside circle (a good move) then 84 to Bridge of the Gods (once many, many moons ago a natural bridge across the river). We will be staying on the Washington side, so this is our best bridge possibility (like Hood River Bridge is super narrow, not meant for rigs). Still it keeps you on your toes, it is, or at least looks, narrow and the steel grate bottom kind of pushes you around a little. No big deal after you have done it.

There are not a lot of camping options in the area, but 90% are right on the river which may sound good but they are small sights, right on the highway, and even worse, right on the railway, which runs all night and all day (whooo uh whooo). Our choice was Timberlake RV resort which is well off the beaten path. Through the town of Stevenson (very nice little town), then Home Valley, then up into the mountains, to about 1000 feet. Quiet, peaceful, plenty of trees and ferns, and flowers, very serene.


Our sights were up the hill a bit, all gravel, and when the owner said just put it into 4 wheel drive, I said with dropped jaw, I don’t have 4 wheel drive. So he said well, just get back as far as you can and take a big run at is, DON’T SLOW DOWN. Man, we all went up that hill smokin’. It really wasn’t that bad but we weren’t taking chances!

Good place to mention here, one of the very few detractors of our trip was the fact that there were so many fires going on in California our sky was almost always hazed over with the smoke that came up. We had many days that should have been picture perfect that were marred by hazy overcast grey skies. Even later when we got to Crater Lake, we could not see the lake in its full regalia nor its famous deep, dark blue because of the smoky skies. But such is life and this was only a very minor detraction, and not always present.

The town of Stevenson has a fantastic Interpretive Center with all sorts of history, memorabilia, and info on the Columbia Gorge. A working very old logging truck, Indian fishing paraphernalia and info, lots of collections and a fantastic movie, in a real movie theater (that you view at your convenience by pushing a button) about the entire history and formation of the Gorge. Very well done and informative and quite interesting. The town also had one of my favorite lunch stops at the Big River Grill (on Wednesday they make a wonderful peanut/chicken soup, we bought a quart to go after a great lunch).

Our group decided to go up to Mt Hood for lunch, about 30 or 40 miles away and a wonderful drive. What an impressive mountain and you get all these different views as you drive up. We got up there to discover scads of skiers and snow boarders having a great time in the middle of July. Very pleasant lunch at the lodge and nice drive back. Shelle and I stopped for a hike along the Hood River with Roxy, then bought some local cherries, some more sightseeing and called it a day.
Driving up to Mt hood.
Great lunch at the Lodge, neat place.

Mount Hood from the lodge, actually our view out the window by our table. (And remember it is July)

Our next adventure was to explore all the water falls along the Gorge area. It was an overcast day, actually drizzling when we left, but that just added to the charm and romance. It also, thankfully, kept the crowds down. The scenic drive along the waterfalls is enough to put a lump in your throat; it is so beautiful and just plain old moving.

Horse Tail falls, note the size compared to Shelle and Roxy. Roxy gets really excited around water falls (but of course, so do I!)
The falls entering a collection lake and then turning into a river.
Multnomah Falls, the best known, most famous and most photographed (also obviously, the most crowded).
Multnomah from the bridge.

Bridal Veil Falls. Easy walk down to viewing are, pretty hefty walk back up.
A field of Camas Lilies. This ever rarer and rarer wild lily is concentrated in the area of Bridal Veil Falls, really very pretty and, I thought, quite unique. One of the best stands of this lily.

Up close with the Camas

For our last night in Washington and Timberlake RV we decided to eat out for diner partly because it would be the last night the Wysocki’s would be with us, they were to return towards home the next day. We found a fantastic restaurant, right on the river, called the “Crab Shack”, it was perfect. And to make something wonderful even better, there was a local bagpiper playing for his own pleasure and anyone who would listen, which certainly was us. Shelle had a marvelous salmon dish and I had a to-die-for halibut plate (and of course we shared). How good can it get?!
We watched the Wysocki’s depart the next morning and did the same shortly after they left. On to the next adventure (and my next post).


As you may know, the Columbia River is world famous for wind surfing. The town of Hood Oregon, almost where this was shot, is to wind surfing as Huntington Beach is to board surfing. I'm telling you, these guys were very, very good (and in great shape).

We saw this gorgeous wild Tom Turkey fly across the road while we were on our way back to camp. You should have seen him in his splendour with all his feathers out flying. Only the second time I have been able to photo a wild turkey, great bird (just ask Ben Franklin).
















Bridge of the Gods over the Columbia looking towards Washington.

There were wild flowers everywhere, plentiful and beautiful. One of the highlights of the trip. I could have shot a million pics of all these flowers. These were near camp, I think they are Fox Gloves (corrections accepted).

I'm thinking wild Tiger Lily here.

These are wild Sweet Peas (I actually ate one of the peas and lived to tell!)

These guys were actually just like this, no posing, no photo shop. Ain't nature great!