I forgot to ask my host for the WiFi connection so I can’t connect with the internet.  I do want to do a summary of my day so thought I would just write it on the Word document and upload tomorrow.  I know some of you are early readers so I am sorry that it won’t be available for you.

It was actually a very fun day on the road.  I hope someday to take a trip when time does not matter.  I think that would be even more fun that my current trip.  Time does matter to me because I don’t want to be traveling after dark.  I must plan my driving time accordingly.  Today was one of those days.  I have so much planned to pack into one day and still get to my destination before dark.  Well, I did it!

I actually got up when my alarm clock went off at 6:30.  I was almost ready to leave by 8:00 am as planned but I got busy talking too much and snapping a tripod photo, which means me being included in the photo.  I had not yet taken a photo of Don and Darrelyn with me.  So we did that in the morning and that took a little extra time.  Of course I forgot to take one with my cell phone so I have no photo of them to share.  I actually did take off in the morning but was an hour late.  I enjoyed my stay in Eugene with Don and Darrelyn and their little four legged family members but the road beckoned me.  And oh what a beautiful road!

OREGON IS MAJESTICALLY BEAUTIFUL!  I remember driving through Oregon once before on the interstate freeway system.  I do not remember enjoying it nearly as much as I did today traveling the back roads.  The trees here are so tall that they seem to make a tunnel of the two lane highway as you drive through them.  The first part of my trip was getting from place A, Eugene, to place B, The State Capitol.  Don mentioned the State Capitol being in Salem and I would be going right by there.  I hadn’t been certain I’d have enough time to go there but the closer I got, the more I knew I wanted to see it.  Don said it wasn’t very impressive or much to see.  Well, I told Bossy where to go and she took me there!  I was impressed.  From the first time I looked at the capitol building I was impressed.  I loved the architecture.

THIS IS WHERE I FELL ASLEEP ON THE COUCH WRITING MY BLOG.

So this is now Thursday morning, writing about my Wednesday.

I spent one hour and 20 minutes exploring the capitol in Salem Washington and enjoyed every moment of it.  Took a few pictures which I will send later as I have no service on my phone to transfer them.  I will not have service for at least a week while I am here except when I leave for visits to other places.  I am on WiFi so hope this will publish.  The pictures won’t be with the right day but I’ll send them when we go into Portland later today.

After I left the capitol I drove to the little town of Silverton Oregon.

And this is where the story will continue.  My morning has already been amazing and I will not go there until I finish yesterday.  Must leave again in a few minutes.  I will finish this later.  To be continued.  I don’t want to lose it so I will publish as is.

Write more later!  12:08 p.m. Thursday June 4.

CONTINUATION OF  WEDNESDAY JUNE 30.

When I left Eugene I purposely wanted to drive the back roads.   After visiting the capitol in Salem Oregon I headed out to the little road that would lead me to Silverton.  What a wonderful little city.  It is one I wouldn’t mind exploring more closely.  I think it would be a great little community to retire in.

The reason I wanted to come to Silverton was because in my Olbrich Garden Book it is listed as a reciprocal garden.  A reciprocal garden is one that will honor my Olbrich Botanical Garden Membership.  When you join Olbrich Gardens you have privileges to go to a great list of other gardens across the U.S. with free admittance and free parking.  I have tried to make it a point to see as many of the gardens as possible.  There are so many gardens I did not get to see.  My pass has saved me quite a bit of money and my guests also have free admittance.  Silverton garden is actually Oregon Gardens.  It was well worth the drive to explore them.  They are amazing and actually quite new as far as gardens go  There is still a lot of land that is being readied for additional plantings.  Oregon gardens are on very hilly terrain which creates amazing aesthetic views of the botanical design and growth.  Again, I wish I could put photos on with this entry but without my phone I cannot do so.

Ultimately I was driving to my next destination with Silverton just being a couple of hour layover to enjoy the gardens.  My hostess gave me free reign to come any time and to even change my mind if I should do so.  Well, I did so.  I was actually going to my car, quite reluctantly, to forward my trip and I just had to call her and cancel plans for the evening.  I turned back around, checked back into the gardens and quickly went to the places I had not yet seen.  It was truly an amazing adventure.

While at the gardens I just had to share one of the most beautiful visual displays with someone else.  I saw two ladies down a path and felt drawn to bring them to my visual paradise.  I noticed they did not have any kind of cameras so I just knew I needed to point out some of the visual aspects.  Besides, I think I just needed to share the beauty with someone else.  They treated me graciously, came with me and agreed that it was spectacular.  I enjoyed our conversation.  I am never lonely as I travel but sometimes I just need to share time and conversation with others.  I asked both ladies what their wisdom for the world is.  CJ’s wisdom is:  “Get heath back; reconnect with friends and family; learn to live going less than 100 miles per hour.”  I think she was referencing after you retire.  Her friend Karen’s wisdom is:  “Don’t wait; learn something new everyday; avoid loud and aggressive people.”  Both ladies were a bit younger than I am but both retired.  

I am actually learning a lot on this trip about being retired.  Several places I’ve stayed are places of those who are now retired.  And every place has its own ideas of what retirement is about.  My cousin’s mantra is “I’ll do it when I want, how I want, IF I want.”  Some just want to hibernate.  Others are desiring to reconnect with past relationships and friends (maybe that is where I am), others live very disciplined and regimented days, others give themselves the freedom to go with the flow and do as opportunity arises.  Some are spontaneous enjoyers of life, others have strict and demanding terms that go with their retirement.  I find that retirement is a really big life change for everyone involved.  So much I could expound on but must go forward with my Wednesday.  It is now Friday morning, and of course I am late with yesterday’s blog and want to catch up on that this morning also.

Back to the gardens.  I finally left and had about a three hour drive left before I reached the Columbia River.  Oh how uneducated I am in so many areas.  I was totally unaware of how huge and important and beautiful the Columbia River is.  Some widths of it appear to be lakes.  The Columbia River has more dams than any other River in the United States.  I have been told that there are 13 total dams.  Below are a few facts copied from the Internet:

Columbia River Facts

• The Columbia River basin comprises some 260,000 square miles, from its headwaters in British Columbia, Canada, to its mouth at Astoria, Ore., bordering Washington and Oregon.
• The basin includes parts of seven states, 13 federally recognized Indian reservations, and one Canadian province. Nineteen percent of the watershed is in Washington.
• The average annual flow for the Columbia River at The Dalles, Oregon is approximately 190,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) (1 cfs = 448.8 gallons per minute).
• The river’s annual discharge rate fluctuates with precipitation and ranges from 120,000 cfs in a low water year to 260,000 cfs in a high water year.
• After dams were constructed along the river for flood control and power production, the flow regime of the river changed. Records kept since 1878 show that flows were much higher in the spring and lower in winter before dam construction. In addition, the velocity of the water moving down the river was significantly greater before dam construction began in the 1930s.In 1917, Washington adopted a water code to help manage water allocations from surface water bodies in the state, including the Columbia River.

 

I also looked up some info on the dams.  I counted 14 in the article and then another article seemed to have even more accounted for.  So, I will say that I don’t really know for certain how many dams are on the river but will say that the river is the most impressive river I have ever experienced.  I MAY have a chance to go on a River Cruise.

I arrived to my destination, Carson Washington in a daze of awe and wonder as to what was surrounding me.  The location of the home is in the back hills, a bit from the Columbia River.  My friend’s property is 20 acres and very mountainous.  Not hills.  MOUNTAINS!  A fast flowing, wide creek, Panther Creek, winds it’s way through the property.  When a window or door is open it actually sounds like the distant roar of a waterfall.  The sound is peaceful and lulling, like a song coming from heaven.  I cried as I looked out over the evening light and the thousands of trees I could see from my parallax.  No matter what view I have it is one of trees and trees and more trees.  All kinds of trees, young ones, stately tall elegant old growth trees, just trees and more trees.  Because of the rise and fall of the land the view is astounding.  The house is built with walls filled with glass.  It sets high above the creek’s journey below.  Even a yard such as this must be managed.  Charlene and Larry live here.  Larry manages the  land by using a zip-line to traverse from one mountain side to the next.  I can see the lines hundreds of feet over my head.  A zip-line is high.  He said I could go on it.  I think I will.  Dave has sent me some papers that must be signed for legal documents.  I am waiting to receive them.  His request was that I sign the papers first, get them posted, and THEN go on the zip-line.  So that is what I plan to do.  I get a little flutter inside me when I think about it.  Will I have the courage to do it is the question I ask myself.  I think I would like to do so.  I contemplated going on a zip line over a canyon when I was in Canyon Texas but I was concerned I might cause an injury early in my trip and so wanted to continue on my journey.  I still want to continue on this journey so I will give due consideration and investigation before making the final decision.

More about Charlene and Larry in a later blog.  “They” are keeping me up to late every night so blame it on them that my blogs are not ready on time.

This is goodbye for Wednesday’s blog.  Now I will start on Thursday! (And it is already 11:04 a.m. on Friday).  This has been designated as a day of rest.

Oh, one more thing.  Charlene and Larry are a bad influence on my writing.  I can’t remember when I have gone TWO DAY IN A ROW without writing a poem.  So I shall write one here for Wednesday though the date will be today.  And I can never recapture the true moment of Wednesday.

Memory of a Garden

by Kathleen Martens

Written June 5 2015 in memory of 

Wednesday June 3, 2015 “Oregon Garden”

A misty moment lingers

In the mind from days past.

Emotions of the moment

Are later hard to grasp.

 

But I do remember

The beauty of the day

The stroll through a garden

On a warm summer day.

 

The sun dappling

In reflection pools of light

Upon the water’s surface

Create a gentle sight.

 

The hush of wonder

Floods my heart 

I cling to the moment

That shall not depart.

 

Flowers so delicate

Exquisitely designed

Only the hand of God

Could create so refined.

 

And the majesty of trees

Each standing alone

Adding beauty to the world

That I have never known.

 

How do I grasp

Such beauty so exquisite?

I will simply go again

For another visit.

 

The visit of my memory

That gently stroked a flower

The hours that I lingered

In the garden by the hour.

 

Thank you God for the gifts

Of your magnificent creation

That floods my heart with such peace,

And gives me such elation.