THE DUST WILL WAIT

We've been driving the road out of the valley over 45 years.  The dusk and dawn trips have always  provided sightings of white-tailed deer, (and even once we saw a moose!) Two weeks ago was the first time that we've had a very unfortunate sighting...and encounter. It was getting dark that Sunday night as we turned east, away from the Columbia River, and towards the valley we call home.  The hubby was driving and I was chatting about nothing in particular.  There had been little traffic, so I noticed when a dark sedan came up quickly behind us on the two-lane road.  We were going 60 mph, the posted limit. He quickly passed us and disappeared around one of the many wide corners on this route. "That guy must not know about the deer crossing at dusk," was my observation after he zoomed away.  "He would never be able to stop if one runs in front of him." My hubby confirmed his agreement. We rode on for several miles in silence until we began the climb up...

"Mom!  Look!  That woman is crawling over the barrier on the overpass!" It was a weekend in July and I was with my youngest daughter and her two children at the fast food drive-up window where we  had a clear view of the overpass on I-205.  My daughter's agitated voice jerked my attention away from the baby in the back seat.   I scanned through the windshield in the direction her hand was waving. "Awwwoooh!" was my response as my eye caught the movement of the  leg of a woman as she straddled the railing. I began rifling through my purse seeking my cell phone while still keeping my eye on the scene.  Where was that cell phone? Then a man drew our attention.  He was walking slowly toward the woman with one hand stretched in her direction. I recognized him immediately.  He was one of several panhandlers we've seen guarding the end of the off ramp at that location. Although we couldn't hear their voices, we could tel...

We are on the road! So, I'm taking creative license with  Day 9 Early Fall Landscapes subject on Two Weeks in Autumn Photo Challenge. This is Multnomah Falls that is on I-84 East of Portland, Oregon. If you look closely you can see little figures of regular size people on the lower bridge between the trees.   The Falls has it's own personality with each season.  In the winter I've seen it completely frozen.  In the spring the amount of water increases and the mist from the explosive force is cold and impressive.  In the summer it is a nice cool retreat and a great hike for people who need a bit of exercise after a long trip. The most luxurious view is early fall.  Click here to see who else is carrying their camera!

Traveling the 3500 miles in June, we never once thought to check the Garmin to see if it could locate rest stops.  We were always looking. The Interstate Highways provided full service stops at regular intervals until we got into Arizona.   According to the locals, the state is out of money. Most of the rest stops are barricaded. Fortunately the main gate facilities at Grand Canyon National Park (south rim) had restrooms with all the right stuff:  running water, sinks, and toilet bowls.  And, on the backs of the stall doors you could read the details of how the water got there (from the north rim) and an intricate drawing to explain how it is recycled back to your next flush.  (A few of the particulars confused me, but ..oh~ never mind.) Farther into the park, where no water is available, there are outdoor chemical latrines with huge black vent pipes.  I don’t know the physics involved, but I can tell you this:  when...

When I was a kid, my Mama and my Aunt Myrtle talked about a far away land called I Dee Ho.  When I grew older I realized they were really talking about a state...the one squeezed into the shape of a big fat L,  between Washington and Montana. Over the years, I’ve crossed the border into Idaho at times to visit Lewiston or Coeur d'Alene.  I’ve also had the thrill of a jet boat tour through Hells Canyon on the Snake – the  river that cuts a huge smile from Wyoming, all across Idaho, and into Washington.  (It spills into the Columbia River about 40 minutes from my house.) In June we had the opportunity to see more of the beautiful and not so far away I Dee Ho country.  Near Twin Falls, ID, the Snake River tumbles over a rocky 212 foot Shoshone Falls and flows through the Snake River Canyon.      I was reminded of when I was very young and that crazy stuntman Evil Knievel attempted (unsuccessfully) to jump the canyon on his moto...

While traveling through Nevada, I was surprised and entertained by the fantastic cloud formations in the sky above us. There aren't many opportunities to pull off on the shoulder of Highway 95, so most of my cloud photos were taken through the dirty car windows.  Even while I was driving I would wake up WR and instruct him to aim and shoot. I'm not sure what I was trying to capture in this shot.  Maybe all those little clouds that look like UFO's. But look closely at the cloud in the upper right, while ignoring the reflection of my dash and the bug splatters on the windshield. It could be that lady lizard in the television show "V".  The one who says  "We are of Peace."  It also resembles me.   (Oh, and we weren't very far from AREA 51 . )  Spooky! ps. Gattina is once more hosting The Muffed Target at Writers Cramp s!

There is a lot of desert on the way to the Grand Canyon.  Through it, we followed the highway that put Utah in our rear view mirror and the Arizona sunshine on our hood.   We arrived in the park on the east end of the south rim where our first encounter is The Desert View. But this post isn’t about that.  In fact, I don’t know if I can describe the overwhelming smallness of my being as I glimpsed the Grand Canyon for the first time.  The deceptive altitude has already given notice to your lungs, so taking the breath away entirely requires just a short sniff.  As I waited for it to return, I thought about Auntie Ferns statement – I could have stood and looked at it all day .  Yeah. So…… while we joined other people along the viewpoint, I noticed a girl carrying a very young Rottweiler puppy.  She moved closer until she was standing right beside me.  It was apparent that her mother and father were watching closely as other park visitors we...

Canon Power Shot Worldess Wednesday can be followed here !

After four years of blogging, I have invited a guest blogger to post on The Dust for the first time! Iggy writes at Intense Guy .  His posts, which I enjoy very much, are often about his travels. He also has a wonderful sense of humor which his readers especially enjoy when he dabbles in the Alien World of orange (construction) barrels and cones. His Alien World was my first thought when downloading a batch of our travel photos from Nevada.  The two I forwarded to Iggy rewarded me with a most delightful response. It's all yours, Iggy! * * * * * * * * Thank you Pamela! I really do appreciate getting pictures of "orange roadside critters" and knowing that other people are thinking about me from time to time. Your pictures were very welcomed and unique. I enjoyed reading about the area where you took them - and then writing my own version of "what is going on here?" About midway between the towns of Reno and Winnemucca Nevada, lies the Forty-Mile Desert...

I was very thankful that my husband encouraged me to learn a deep breathing technique to deal with stress.  Because, the moment on our two week road trip when I needed stress relief the most, the only relief available was deep breathing. We spent the night at a Casino/Hotel where we got the best deal of our entire trip.  Room:  $24.99, dinner $9.50.  We were ten stories up -  and “up” I was at dawn!  Awake, and taking pictures of the sun lighting up the high desert rocks. After an equally low-priced (but palatable) breakfast we headed for Hoover Dam, a spectacular view and tour that our good friends encouraged us not to bypass.  So, we beat the traffic jams (road construction and security check-point) and parked in the huge garage of the visitor center, cut out of and built into solid rock. We quickly passed through a second security check point, much like you do at the airport, but were shocked to find that the  $30.00 Hoover Dam tour was s...

We've been on a road trip for two weeks.  Last night we drove I-84 over Cabbage Hill (Blue Mountains) and stopped to look at the last 45 minutes of road to home. It was our welcome quilt. There is no place like home.

4 Rambo, 1 ramBoPeep from pamela on Vimeo . Taken this afternoon about 120 miles East of Portland Oregon, on I-84

This is a snow squall over the Blues.  It left a trail of white behind it as it sprinted the edge of the valley..  I couldn't help myself.  I grabbed my camera and set it on the dashboard and clicked this photo yesterday while I was driving.  I played it safe... I just clicked and didn't look at the photos until I got home.

I enjoy driving.  I don’t even mind driving alone.  1700 miles in this last little trip.  No one could have guessed that the weather would be perfect and I should have retired my snow tires in favor of my radials.  The highways were mostly dry and the sky was mostly blue.  Other than losing a tire mid trip (and me worrying about the others all the way home), my little car just rolled merrily along.  I don’t care, however, for those those wacko drivers.  My cruise control is faithfully attended.  That is why I know that I’m not the one with the inconsistent gas pedal.  Does anyone else ever get exasperated when passing or being passed by the same car for the nth time?  Or even worse, getting blocked in by a few cars that have drivers chit-chatting with passengers or someone at the other end of the cell phone.   My biggest pet peeve is to be passed by a car, only to have it swerve quickly over in front of me and slow down....

Greetings from somewhere east of Sacramento, California. My eldest grandson has a "gaming" keyboard.  I guess I didn't even know such a thing existed.   All the squiggles and buttons on it make me cross eyed.   I'll be here for about two weeks - so I'm sure I'll get the hang of it.  (I can't find the delete button.) I am helping my middle daughter with her children this week and next.  Her Traveling Nurse contract ends on March 6, afterwhich she is moving her family to Spokane.  That's about 10 hours closer to my house then their current address.  Smurf Ella is closing in on 9 months old and is quite the charmer.  She is so petite and sweet.   Today she surprised her mama by showing her how she could play pat-a-cake with grandma.  I'm thinking about marketing the 2 1/2 year old Dinkum as a "guaranteed weight loss" program.  As soon as he opens his eyes in the morning the chase is on.  I don...

Christmas Eve Morning we find ourselves once more in Portland, Oregon at our youngest daughter's house where I am using her strange little lap top.  The keyboard is made for miniature fingers and some of the buttons can do strange and improbable tasks.  If only one could make me 36 once more. I slept (not) to the stereo qualitity of two snoring men.  It is a small apartment and the things that happen in the apartment upstairs are no secret either.  Even Curlymop, the 5 year old granddaughter, was awake until 11 p.m. as the result of sipping someone's Thai Tea.  That could have been part of my wakeful problem, too.  I actually blamed it on the salad;  I crashed and burned on a whole chili that I misidentified as a dark peanut. When I did nod away, I dreamed that I didn't get any Christmas Cards.  That has been on my mind because I didn't send any this year, or for several years past.  It has to be very much like blogging.  If yo...

Another weekend on the road.  The sign said Welcome to Orofino , Idaho. It was the 62nd Logging Show and the Clearwater County Fair. The time was well spent and the hours on the road were worth it. My favorite competition was the Springboard Chop.  The contenders chop an unusual angle into a pole and push a pointed flat board into the cut.  They then climb onto the board, which bounces precariously like a diving board, and proceed to chop another place for another board until they reach the top.  Once there, they balance and chop off a smaller attached and secured log . I also enjoyed watching the muscles flex and spasm as they were pushed to their maximum abilities throughout the day.  Some of these men participated in every contest. This fellow was last in his time trial. ( They called each group a "flight.")  I was compelled to capture the moment;  exhausted, he turned and sat on his finished product while his chest heaved.  None...

Not a DUCK! from pamela on Vimeo . Just got back from a 4 day road trip that included the beautiful Washington State coastline. I'm POOPED.

Curly mop watching the leopard pace, through the viewing window - Portland Zoo The summer has become an adventure. With Grandchildren. I've been blessed with the opportunity to visit them all, and have some visit me. For over a week I had my 12-year old Red-headed girl, 7-year old Goober, and 5-year old Curlymop . Wednesday night I kissed two of them goodbye and sent them flying away home on a jet out of Portland International Airport . Curlymop is safe at home with her mommy in Portland. Yesterday I headed home and was accompanied by Karmyn and her children . The Caboose and Jammin ' rode with her and my passenger (and her 4 plus hours of jibber jabber) was Buttercup. In the car: Buttercup: (constant talking) Grandma: What did you say honey? Buttercup: I wasn't talking to you grandma, I was talking to myself. Grandma: Ooooh . I have another date with Curlymop in early Augu...

Roller skate in a Buffalo Herd My Mom Better Than Yours I love Dana love Shelby Support Strippers