beluga

beluga

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Washington, Oregon, Washington

A wasted morning, we watched a video about clipping the poodle and procrastinated about washing and clipping Lewis.   We really just enjoyed our lazy time and then decided to get in the jeep and explore our surrounding areas.  We'll trim Lewis when we get back this afternoon....

Beluga from the river's swimming area
This park has a lovely, leafy green swimming area right across from our site.  We walked around a bit and I went into the water up to my knees, it was quite cold but it felt good.

beaver damage everywhere

female Merganser enjoying the sun


the Corps of Engineer's McNary Dam, from the Washington side
I can't help thinking about Aunt Erna.   Right before I was born, she was working in Walla Walla, Washington, just a stone's throw from where we are right now.  I have to ask Amy because I think I remember she worked here for the Corps. of Engineers.....could that be?

the dam has a huge lock on the Washington side,  here a barge pushing wood chips and scrap emerges from the lock

We tried to access the dam from our side of the River, but found a dead end road leading to it, sign saying "Visitor's Welcome"....We poked around over there, saw the boat launch, followed a rutted dirt road named Portage Road down to the shore of the swirling river and watched a barge move through the lock.

Then we drove over the bridge onto the Oregon side and discovered a visitor's center, a Pacific Salmon Visitor's Information Center and a fish viewing area.  Oregon's got it!  We toured the Salmon info. center (wrong season for seeing any fish sorting, etc.), and went into the fish viewing area.  It has windows under the surface of the salmon ladders that allow spawning salmon to avoid the  power turbines of the dam.   Just as we were leaving, a salmon literally shot by the windows...hardly time to identify it!  It must be a really interesting area in spawning season.  Not much else happening here, so we drove back to Beluga to get some steaks on the grill.







Lew says "Please don't let mom have the clippers anymore..."
I sure hope Dave can blend in that strip I cut between Lewis's eyes.  I was inspired by the video, but I need to leave the clipping to Dave I guess...He says its a good thing it grows back.

2 comments:

  1. Gee, Sue, I thought once you retired there were no more "wasted mornings" ....don't you just get to do whatever you do and call it a day??

    Lewis is just so cute ....he's your boy.

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  2. Your correct, Mom worked for the Corps of Engineers in Walla Walla. I remember her fondly speaking of the time she spent there and her travels back and forth across the country on a train. It always impressed me when I thought about how brave she was, a shy, single woman, during a time when women did little more than be homemakers, to move across the country by herself to someplace where she knew no one.

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