Missoula to Bozeman - arriving June 25, 2008

In Missoula we visited a Smoke Jumping center, here jumpers repack their parachutes. Our 18 year old guide, on the left, is the daughter and niece of jumpers; she is a college freshman but expects to become a firefighter, undecided on jumping.

The colorful gas station is in Deer Lodge, not far from Missoula. There is some nice open country around here, with railroad tracks running parallel. It was strange to look over and see a couple of airplane fuselages go by, passenger windows and all.

The next three pictures are at Louis and Clark Caverns. L&C passed these caverns but are not believed to have seen them. Marcia is shown a couple hundred feet below ground, at a mile-high marker. Everything around here seems to be named after L&C.

Our WBCCI NorCal unit caravan is now over. In the top picture we are at our rally site on the campus of Montana State University in Bozeman, with 880 other rigs. Susan, Ed and Marcia are about to head out and explore. Weather is great - so far we've won our bet of paying for 3 amp electricity rather than 30 amp. It means mainly we can't run air conditioning, though we do miss the toaster and microwave.

Kamiah and the climb to Lolo Pass

The caravaners in the bottom picture are listening to an automated ranger describe the Indian legend based on the mound in the background. It is believed to represent the "Heart of the Monster" and the origin of the Nez Perce tribe. The other pictures are on the route to Lolo Pass and the Continental Divide.

Hwy 12 in Washington and Idaho

These were all taken along Hwy 12 between Walla Walla Washington and Kamiah Idaho - an incredibly beautiful rural drive. Marcia entered the bottom one in a rally photo contest but unfortunately did not win. It was shot through the window of the moving truck and was not edited in any way.

Multnomah Falls - Columbia River

Sternwheeler Columbia River cruise - Cascade Locks, OR

1. Larry, Martha and others onboard the sternwheeler tour boat.
2. View of Native American fishing platforms on the Columbia. This form of fishing is not permitted of others.
3-4. We spot one of our caravaners crossing the Bridge of the Gods, between WA and OR. (Ed, Susan, Marcia, Barbara, Jane, Mike.)

Fort Stevens, OR

1. Cam recalls his Army days - Ft Stevens, near Astoria.
2. Larry and Shirley have a cat named Oilcan, and it has traveled 40,000 Airstream miles over the last two years.
3-4. Our campsites at Fort Stevens State Park, near Astoria.

Florence and Astoria, Oregon

1. Somewhere on the Oregon coast, probably south of Tillamook.
2. Touring the sand dunes by dune buggy (holds 27 people), near Florence, OR.
3. Outside the excellent Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria, OR.
4. Astoria Column, with panels showcasing the history of Oregon.
5. Larry and Marcia, at the base of the tower. On the drive to the tower we saw evidence of last year's storms with 135 MPH winds - downed trees. Most structural damage seems to have been repaired.
6-8. Other images from Astoria area.
9-11. Wreck of the Peter Iredale, near Florence. There were hundreds, maybe thousands, of wrecks along this part of the Oregon coast, near the mouth of the Columbia River - this one is steel and the ruins survive, others became buried in the sand or were scrapped for salvage.

Lassen Pines - McArthur Rally - June 2008

1. We tried for a photo of our Airstream on this one-lane covered bridge in southern Oregon. Unfortunately on the other side I became trapped on a long dead-end road. I got back an hour later, after a partial U-turn, and reconnecting the truck at a better angle.

2. For 'bro John, who gave me a copy of Hard Road West by Keith Meldahl, an entertaining geologist's take on the western emigration during the 1840s and 1850s.

3. Marcia, Susan and Ed on the Bear Creek bike trail, near Medford.

4. Along Bear Creek.

5. In McCloud, trip leaders Bob and Elaine held a meeting with our group caravaning to Bozeman. We have 11 rigs caravaning; number 12 had to drop out because an accident disabled their tow vehicle.

6. Mt Shasta, hazy because of the many fires burning in California.

7. Burney Falls.

8. A co-generation plant tour. Sawdust and woodchips are burned to make electricity. Very marginal operation as logging scrap these days has competing users, and the plant is labor intensive compared to, say, natural gas.