Mon, May 16, 2011

Monday, May 16, 2011

I have read stories about actors who were drug addicts and were still able to function normally, I’m hoping I am able to do the same today. – Donna Downey

The morning did not start off well.  The muscle spasms were there as soon as I tried to get up and move around this morning. So I did more drugs, took a hot shower, and Charles brought us  a continental breakfast from the motel.  Since there were no medical services in Canon Beach, as soon as the drugs kicked in we decided to ease on down the road toward Yachats, OR.  If the back didn’t cooperate we would at least be closer to some type of medical care. 

Luckily everything went very well.  I was still a little uncomfortable and made a very limited number of exits from the car until later in the day but the back cooperated and the severe spasms seem to have calmed down dramatically. 

It was one of the prettiest days we have ever spent on the Pacific Coast.  After three rainy days we were greeted by the sun as we left Canon Beach and it was beautiful all day long.  There was only the slightest breeze which is so unusual in our trips along the Oregon coast.  Usually by mid afternoon the wind will just about take you down and it’s almost always on the cold side.  Today, it was almost a warm breeze. 

Because the weather was so nice, we made a world of stops to enjoy every possible view and overlook between Canon Beach and Yachats.  It could only have been a better day if my back had been 100%. 

We had a wonderful lunch at the Pelican Pub & Brewery in Pacific City, Oregon… great view of the ocean… grilled salmon salad for Charles and seafood quesadillas for me. 

We are looking forward to another day on the coast tomorrow.  Got a great room tonight in the Yachats Inn… got a fire going in the fireplace and watched a beautiful sunset.  Life is good.

Charles is well tonight, I am much better and we hope that y’all are doing well!

Peace, Hope & Love,

Donna, Charles, Paris & Dodger



Sun, May 15, 2011

Sunday, May 15, 2011

You should never attempt to write in your journal when you are on drugs. – Donna Downey

Ok, these are legal drugs we are talking about…muscle relaxers.  After two days of doing nothing except taking these little white pills, I see little change in my back spasms.  This is not a good sign especially when you are as far from home as is possible and still be in the United States.  Hopefully one more day and we’ll be good to go.

So, today there are no pictures… everybody gets a break, me, Charles, and y’all as well.  But don’t get used to it.  As soon as my back is better, we’ll be back on track.

We have had some good food, halibut and chips several times, and some kind of chowder that was divine.  Charles has taken very good care of me and Dodger and Paris have taken turns laying on the couch with me.

We did more reading. I read several short books on creativity in photography while Charles read several newspapers. We watched another Nascar race and Fox News and then I think we watched a bunch of Cajuns catching alligators… or I dreamed it or I was hallucinating from the drugs.

Hopefully, tomorrow my back will give up the fight and we’ll be back on the road.

Charles is doing well tonight, I’m taking another muscle relaxer.  We hope y’all are doing well.

Peace, Hope & Love,

Donna, Charles, Paris & Dodger



Sat, May 14, 2011

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Don’t really know what to do when your back “goes out” except wait for it to “come in”. – Donna Downey

It’s never fun to be “puny” on vacation but if you are going to be forced into taking a day or two to sit in one place… Canon Beach, Oregon is a really nice place to be.  Most of you know that I have a sensitive back; one that likes to bring me down occasionally.  This morning I woke up and felt that inner groan, knowing that I wasn’t going anywhere today. 

So we experienced one of those changes we are used to dealing with. A muscle relaxer later I was feeling much better and enjoyed an entire day of complete rest.  We read, well I pretty much slept most of the time, and there was a Nascar race on TV which made the day quite tolerable for Charles.  We ate well… now you know nutrition is important when you aren’t 100%.

So we are all spared the too long ramblings I usually write about our day and I only took two photos this afternoon. Both of them were within 20 feet of our room just to give my back a little test.  There is a tree just outside our door covered in the prettiest soft pink blossoms.  

Charles is well tonight as are Paris and Dodger.  I am tolerable and dependent on drugs for my relief.  We hope y’all are well tonight.

Peace, Hope & Love,

Donna, Charles, Paris & Dodger



Fri, May 13, 2011

Friday, May 13, 2011

Photography is my passion, found later in life I hope I have time to get better at it. – Donna Downey

Yesterday we went ahead and made a reservation at one of our favorite places, The Inn at Canon Beach, Oregon.  Our room has a fireplace and a Jacuzzi and we have been looking forward to it since we made the reservation.  Since we had a place to stay we were free to ramble… like we don’t ramble every day.

The morning consisted of a return trip to the Columbia River Gorge and started with mild temperatures and blue skies.  The Gorge was beautiful as usual and at several river inlets the area was covered up with fishermen.  Don’t know what they were fishing for maybe salmon or trout but they were packed in there like sardines.  Coming from the deep south it still seems odd to see everyone fishing with sweatshirts, hoods, and jackets on while actually looking like they are enjoying themselves.  This part of the country is probably one of the few areas where a sweatshirt actually seems appropriate. 

We knew from the forecast that the sun probably would not last, and sometime around lunch the skies were mostly cloudy.   As we drove toward the Pacific coast the temperatures began to drop and it remained overcast for the rest of the day. 

We made a few stops to photograph wild flowers and watch the fishermen but our first real stop would be right after lunch.  The Gray’s River Covered Bridge was built in 1905 by a family that owned property on both sides of the river and is the only covered bridge in Washington state still in use.   It is 158 feet long and 14 feet wide and with no windows it seems almost like passing thru a tunnel.  The family that built the bridge left it uncovered originally but soon found out that the exposed bridge became too slippery to safely cross with livestock so they covered it.  Charles took a nice long nap and I explored the bridge.

Just a few more miles and we made a short stop to see the St Mary Catholic Church in McGowan, Washington.  It sits on the Columbia River and was built in 1905.  It has never had any utilites and services are held periodically for special occasions with kerosene lamps.

Our next stop of some length was the North Head Lighthouse in Ilwaco, Washington.  The lighthouse is located in Cape Disappointment State Park.  It was built in 1898 to guide ships coming from the north toward the mouth of the Columbia River.  This area is the windiest place on the west coast and the second windiest in the US.  Winds in excess of 120 miles per hour have been recorded at the lighthouse.  The area also served as a fort as early as the civil war and gun batteries still sit atop the cliffs near the lighthouse that were used during World War II.

We made the hike out to look at the gun batteries and then made the hike out to the lighthouse.  We got a pretty good dose of the chilling wind and since the light was not good for photographing the lighthouse we did our best and were ready to get out of the cold wind and back to the Jeep. 

From the North Head Lighthouse it was just forty miles to Canon Beach and our warm room awaited us.  We checked in and lit the fire!  Charles walked to the restaurant next door and brought us back some supper.  We are warm and toasty in our room.  It began to rain just before sunset so we didn’t make the walk over to the beach but are enjoying relaxing.

We love the Pacific Coast and plan to take most of a week to enjoy it. We’ll be in no hurry tomorrow to get up and out and hopefully will have some good weather sometime before we have to leave the coast headed back toward Mississippi. 

We are well tonight and hope y’all are too.

Peace, Hope & Love,

Donna, Charles, Paris & Dodger



Thur, May 12, 2011

Thursday, May 12, 2011

As we approached a particularly picturesque portion of the old Columbia River Scenic Byway I said, “Oh, it’s only about eleven miles and at least five waterfalls long.” Charles responded, “Yep that should only take us about four or five hours”.  And he actually smiled after that.  Gotta love that man! – Donna Downey

I think most people would say I’m pretty easy going.  I like to get along and see little need for confrontation.  But traveling with a photographer must really be a lesson in patience for my husband.  He does love a road trip but still he is endlessly supportive of my never-ending photo stops and is so helpful and basically serves as my assistant.  He does all this most of the time with a great attitude.  It took us years to get this worked out because he would ask me if I wanted to stop and get a picture of something, and I would reluctantly answer no.  I have learned to say yes when I really do want to stop and he has learned he better not ask too often! 

Now, let me just say everything was perfect today.  Weather – check. Scenery – check. Motel reservation – check.  Meals – check. Puppy playtime in the snow – check. Short journal - maybe, maybe not.

We decided to stay another night in The Dalles.  We have a good room and had plotted out a loop that made it easy for us to just sit tight tonight. 

We left after sleeping late, relaxing and reading for a while then eating breakfast in the motel restaurant.  Charles had read about the historic Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood and so we decided it would be the destination of the day.  It is a ski lodge built in 1936-37 by the WPA in just 15 months near the top of Oregon’s tallest mountain, Mt Hood.  It was built entirely by hand out of massive timbers and rocks found in the surrounding wilderness.  It is a National Historic Landmark and just walking up to it from the parking lot you realize it’s a special structure. 

There was still plenty of snow on Mt Hood as we found out when we took a nice paved road out of Dufur a small town east of Mt Hood.  Just about a mile and half from the main highway to Mt Hood we began to see snow.  The only problem was that the snow was also in the edge of the road and as we continued we could see this road had not been plowed after the last snow. A few more curves and there was deep snow over the entire road.  So we pulled over and while Charles studied our options I took the pups out for snow playtime.  It ended up costing us quite a few miles. 

The last couple of miles up to the lodge were like driving down a tunnel of snow.  Around the last curve and there was a parking lot (actually several parking lots) full of skiers and snowboarders and the lifts were running.  We parked and headed up toward the lodge… Wow! What a sight.  The snow was up to the second story and once inside it was an eerie feeling walking around the first floor with some massive windows and the entire view obstructed by snow.  The dining room was on the second floor so we headed upstairs.  They served a buffet until 2:00 and it was almost 1:30 so we decided to eat and then explore the lodge.  The meal was delicious with a beautiful view from our window.  After lunch we explored the lodge and read about its history and the construction process.  Once outside again we walked over near one of the ski runs and watched for a short time. 

Then it was off to our next destination of the Columbia River Scenic Highway 30.  It is the only remaining section of an historic road.  Most of it was replaced by I-84.  Although only 24 miles long it is also home to something like 11 waterfalls, a few of which are unbelievable.  The most popular fall is Multnomah Falls.  Fed by an underground spring, the upper fall is 542 feet which moves on to the lower falls of 69 feet.  It is the tallest fall in Oregon and said to be the second tallest fall in the US.  When we arrived there was a large film crew packing up and Charles found out they were there filming a promo for Wheel of Fortune. 

It was the nicest weather we have had when we were visiting the falls.  The last two times we stopped it was raining and trying to photograph was a challenge.  Today, it was perfect weather and the only moisture came from the spray generated at the bottom of this huge fall.  It’s a popular photography spot and we stayed a while waiting for the light to improve and visiting with a few other photographers before heading out.

Just a few miles down the road we crossed over the Columbia River at Cascade Locks and took Washington Highway 14 back to The Dalles and our room for the night.  After two hearty meals today we opted for a light picnic supper in the room.

It was another beautiful day on the road.  We are well and hope that y’all are too.

Peace, Hope & Love,

Donna, Charles, Paris & Dodger