Walkin' The Dogs

Most every Saturday afternoon, Marlene, Brent's wife, and Andrew go to the Wellamette Humane Society shelter and spend a couple of hours Walking The Dogs. They take them out for about 10 to 15 minutes each.

One day, I went with them to take a series of pictures to put in one of my slide shows.

This is a dangerous activity, because they might fall in LOVE with one of the dogs and bring it home with them.

The dogs seem to know when somebody is going to take them out and become very excited.

How can you turn down a face like this?

Well, the "Big Eyes" trick worked, because Andrew unlocked the dog's jail cell and out they went for a walk.

This guy really perked up when he saw that he was going for a walk.

And then there was Mr. Sad Eyes.

Golden Spike Rally

As a member of the Golden Spike Chapter of FMCA (Family Motor Coach Association), I attended a fun rally where about 15 coaches gathered at an RV park in Fairview, OR where the Union Pacific tracks went right by our campsites. We had a great time visiting and eating as we watched trains go by on our first day.

Our second day, we took the Brunch Train on the Mount Hood Railroad. This was a 4-hour round trip to the town of Parkdale on a vintage train where they served a meal while we were watched the fabulous scenery going by our train car windows.

We paused for a group picture at the station in Hood River before boarding the train.

When we arrived at the station in Parkdale, we were able to get off the train and streatch our legs for a while and get a good look at Mt. Hood.

All too soon, we were on our way back through the forest to the station in Hood River.

Enchanted Forest

Grandson Aaron and I went to explore a very neat place that is located just south of the City of Salem. It was built and is operated by a family that had a Dream. It is located on the side of a hill that is covered with trees and vegetation. We arrived around 10:00 am and played for about four hours before we had taking in all the rides at least once and several rides Aaron did twice. It was a great place for Grandpa and Grandson to do some bonding.

When we first arrived, we walked through the area where they had various fairy tale displays.

There is nothing like a good Log Ride to get yourself wet.

And then there were the Bumper Cars. I let him drive us around the first time and then he was on his own.

But the BEST was the Ice Cream Cone at the end of our stay!

Dragon Boat Races

I arrived in Salem, Oregon just in time to attend their Dragon Boat Races in the Willamette River. There were many crews from many organizations that participated in this event. They had Heat Races that covered about 750 feet river to narrow the field down to the finalists to race against each other in the afternoon. I was there in the morning to capture these photos.



There was even an Over 50 Crew and they took their Heat.



















The green boat was the winner.

Glen Canyon Dam

I forgot to tell you about one of the places that I visited on my way from Flagstaff to Kanab. I had never been there before in person. Only through the media had I any knowledge of this place. I do remember that it was dedicated back in 1966. It is the second tallest concrete arched dam with a height of 710 feet. and forms Lake Powell that can contain over 26 million acre-feet of water.

Not only is the dam a work of engineering, but the Glen Canyon Bridge that is located in front of the dam is great, too. The bridge is the second highest steel-arch bridge in the United States. It is 700 feet above the river. The span of the bridge arch is 1,028 feet with a road decking of 1,271 feet.

Here are a few pictures that I took.

Zion National Park (continued)

Well, we ended the last post in the 1.5-mile Zion Tunnel. When I came out of the west entrance to the tunnel, I saw this view.



Once on the valley floor, I parked the car and caught on of the free shuttles to take me about 6 miles to the Temple of Sinawava. The shuttle makes several stops along the way and a person can exit the shuttle and take in whatever that stop has to offer. I went to the Emerald Pools and checked out the Lodge. One of the most famous locations in the park is the Great White Throne.



While riding the shuttle, you can look up through the hatch in the roof and see gigantic bolder several hundred feet right over your head.



At the end of the shuttle line is the Temple of Sinawava. From there I hiked the one-mile trail to the "narrows" where the width of the virgin river takes up the entire space between the valley walls. Today the volume of water was too great for safe passage on foot up the river. Just to stand outside the shuttle and look all around at the 2,000-foot vertical cliffs that surround you was awesome.



If you enlarge the picture below and look carefully at the center section of the rim on the cliff of the rock formation in the center of the picture, you mite be able to see the head frame of a cable tram that lowered cut lumber down from a saw mill that was up on the Plato. The mill was active from 1904 to 1924. The lumber used to build the current Zion Lodge came down on those cables. May of the houses that were built in the nearby towns used lumber that had a very scary ride down the cliff on those cables. (Check the area at the top of the red stain.)



Here is what you are looking for.



There is so much to see and do here that if you have NOT been here, be sure to add it to your "bucket list".