Vacation part 2

Yesterday I left off with finds near Jordan Valley. After we went out to Three Forks we made a trip out to Leslie Gulch. Some of the best scenery in Oregon out there.

Just one find out there as well despite a few being available.

Dianne's Cache on Trip to Leslie Gulch

After that we went to Farewell Bend State Park. As I recovered from my sun burn I didn't worry about geocaches. Though I did look for one in Huntington that was missing.

Leaving there my sister and I took off for John Day. We visited some old family friends and then went to lunch at the Dayville Cafe. The Cafe is run by some friends of mine who moved from Grants Pass. I worked with Deanne for many years at the bank so if you go out there say hi for me.

 

After lunch we went out to the Painted Hills. This is part of the John Day Fossil Beds. It is a pretty amazing place to see.

 

My last geocache came later that night when I finally went out to the Redmond area to get the Final for Counting Counties in Oregon. I completed the challenge in 2007 so I might hold the record for the longest time between completion and find.

Three Corners and back

I took a few days off for some big geocaching adventure. The first day I spent at Hart Mt Antelope refuge. No geocaches there, but I did get major sunburn when hiking up the hill near Poker Jim Ridge. It was cool and sunny and I never really thought about sun screen. I'm still recovering.

The next day my Dad and I trekked out to McDermitt, NV from here we would make our way out to Three Corners. This is the corner confluence of Oregon, Idaho and border of Nevada. I've been thinking about this cache for years. Its been on my bucket list and probably talked about in this blog a time or two. Many long nights I've studied aerial photos and maps dreaming of the day.

I tried not to let my major sunburn ruin things for me. It is a long ride starting on the McDermitt Indian Reservation and going through the Quinn River Canyon. This part of the trip is really very nice. Tons of wild flowers on the hills this time of year. The road crosses the river a few times but right now its not an issue. As you get out of the canyon the terrain becomes flat expanses of sage brush. The road is heavily rutted and you need a high clearance 4x4. Reaching the corner though was quite an experience.

 

We also took a trip up to a location called Anderson Crossing, This is a spot you can go down the canyon and cross the Little Owyhee River. I also learned that Owyhee is an old spelling of Hawaii and the area was named after 3 Hawaiian trappers, Who would have known? Finds on this trip include

Quinn River Guarded

Hoonda 

Dusty Trails 

Anderson Crossing 

Drum up your luck 

Iaorne 

3 Corners (SE Oregon Hatrick) 

Coming back we went to Jordan Valley, OR the next day and took a trip out to an area called 3 Forks where a couple forks of the Owyhee River come together. Only found one cache down there

My Daughter Had To Go Pee 4/09

There is also a nearby hotspring. The road to that one is an adventure. Here you can see it across the river. It was occupied so we didn't try to go over there.

Found 2 other caches on the highway and in Jordan Valley

Rock Creek Seeding
**~Steve**~

More on the trip tomorrow...

Grants Pass Food Carts 2.0

I've been preparing for this post for a while. As I wrote last year GP is now home to a few food carts. The main one being Sàigòn Xích lô. This cart caused some controversy and brought more carts with it. The city council ended up changing the rules a bit. Carts can no longer park on the street so they have to rent a spot on private property.

Sàigòn Xích lô is still going and now parked at the corner of 7th and D. Some of the other carts I mentioned last year have disappeared, but this year brings more carts and the new "cart pod". The pod is at the corner of 6th and K and has 4 carts.

Taste of Alaska:

This cart was around last year. I've gotten a chance to try his WTF burger. Its kind of like a hot pocket. Other items on the menu include sushi made with pickled fish, King Crab chowder, and fish tacos.



Flor de IZOTE:

This cart has Salvadorian and Mexican food. I tried a burrito and it was pretty good. I imagine the rest of the menu is pretty good as well.

Your Wingman:

This cart of course sells chicken wings... and I love chicken wings. Lots of flavors to choose from. I'll have to try a few more before I decide which is the best.

Valentino's:

I haven't tried this cart yet. I've heard good things about the hamburgers. They also have sub sandwiches, and it seems like they have some other Italian food. I'll give it a try soon if I can.

If anyone knows of other food carts in the area let me know. I should have all sorts of time to check them out.

Washington and back

Well a lot has gone on over the last few days. May 15th was my last day with the bank after over 10 years. So I've been unemployed just over a week. On Tuesday I made the drive up to Burlington, Washington to talk to a small bank about a potential position. I spent Wednesday talking to people at the bank and exploring the area, and on Thursday I drove back.

You shouldn't take pictures when you drive
 

Thursday also happened to be the day that the bridge on I-5 between Mt. Vernon and Burlington collapsed. As it just happened to work out, because I stayed in Mt Vernon I never actually crossed the bridge on this portion of I-5 because I used the bridge that now acts as a detour. It is a miracle that no one was killed.

The job itself sounded perfect. The town and location were pretty nice. But it is a long ways from family. I'd have to rent my house which would probably mean spending some money to fix up the yard, and buy a new dishwasher.

Maybe the bridge collapse is an ominous sign.

Well anyway no matter what I decide to do what really matters for this blog is that I did take the time to find a few caches.

Road Rage #3
Scatter Creek Rest Stop
Burlington Bootcamp

Just a couple rest area caches and an easy one in Burlington. I think that each one extended my furthest north cache. It was raining for a lot of the trip or I could have grabbed a lot more. That would be one thing about moving north... lots of new caching territory.

Since it was raining and I've wanted a good one fore a while, I stopped at Cabela's and got a new rain jacket. I went with tan

I also took a side trip out to Deception Pass. This bridge should last for a while.

A wigwag?

Leave it to Peanuthead to teach me something new

I was looking at caches in downtown Medford and saw this one

Wigwag

A Wigwag it seems is what they call those old fashion rail road crossing signs that flash and swing when a train comes. I remember one being in the Hugo area. It seems that only 44 of them are left in the country. The ones that exist are grandfathered in as they quit installing them in 1949. Once they can't fix it anymore this one will be gone as well. Just more proof that geocaching isn't always about the find.

Saturday

So Saturday was my dad's birthday. Even though its a 4 hour drive we usually go have dinner at the Cowboy Dinner Tree in Silver Lake, OR.

We've done this for a few years now, and its become habit to find a few caches along the way. This year I found 8

FORT KLAMATH CEMETERY
STOP AHEAD
SNAGGED
Twist & Turn
KCSDTAG #2
One Fish ~ Two Fish
Spring Has Sprung
Sprung-A-Creek

Those last two are really old caches and part of the The Oregon History Challenge!

I now have 8 of the 22 caches for the challenge. All the others look like fun. I'd need a partner for some of them. I might have to try and convince people to help me get these.

A new cache

I may have said once that I didn't plan to hide any easy micros anymore, but I couldn't help myself on this one.

The 10 year itch