March 31, 2026 - Return to Fresno

 

 Title: March  31, 2026 - Return to Fresno

Hike Info : Description 

Hike Info:

Type: Car

Description:

Not sure why, but I got up at 6:00 and took a shower-I know why I took a shower, just not sure about the time. When Sherri got up, we had the hotel’s breakfast. It was the usual fare for Quality Inn: eggs, cereal, waffle and a few other things. We got packed and left the hotel at 8:50.

Andrea had told us about a place she liked: When Pie Meets Bread. When I looked, it would have been within walking distance. Sherri bought a cup of coffee, a cinnamon roll and an apricot pie. The piece was for later. The coffee and roll we had as we traveled. At least part of the roll as it was gigantic. The temptation was to eat all of it. I had a couple of hunks. We both felt this could be something we could spend calories on.

We got onto I-5. The question is: should we go the faster way down I-5. There is another way out of Red Bluff, following old Highway 99 to Chico. We took the latter as we had the time. While the road is longer and only two lanes, we go through orchards of various tree types and fields of green. Occasionally we encounter water on the windshield.

After passing Chico, we changed to going down Highway 170. Unlike the section of 99 we traveled, 170 has a minimal amount of stoppage and we sail along pretty well. Then we hit I-80 until we turned off to go to our friend's house.

 

We got in pretty close to when we told Peter and Jamie, 11:45. We had not visited their house since they moved up here. So we get a tour of the house: Sherri with Jamie and I with Peter. Peter and I do more talking about things and do not move too much until we get prompted to get the show on the road.

Today is Jamie’s birthday. We take them out for lunch at Cantina Azteca in Rancho Cordova. It is a low-key time which we enjoy talking with each other before we get served. Then we continue on while we eat. Peter drives us back to their house and we leave about 1:45.

There is much more traffic going down Highway 99 than we had this morning. But for the most part, we keep moving. One of the debates was do we stop at the Turlock Costco and get the car washed. But with the off and on rain, we decided to forego that.

We do need to get gas as we have been using the same tank as when we filled up in Oregon. Modesto’s Costco is close by, so we stop there. It is 3:45 and we are making good time. Afterwards, Sherri notes that 99 shows red on Google Maps.

We used to live in Modesto, so we should know our way around. But that was over 45 years ago. Modesto has changed a lot since then. We let Google tell us where to go. It takes us to the west of 99, then has us go back on it a couple miles later. But we still see red. Sherri provides a tour of downtown Modesto and gets us back onto 99 in Ceres.

Traffic along 99 for the home stretch has some stoppages, but nothing bad. We got home at 5:45, pretty tired. Steven has already gone out as we expected. The car gets unloaded. Then we collapse onto our chairs and watch a round of Jeopardy. Life is good.

March 29, 2026 - With Dennis and Bonnie

 

 Title: March  29, 2026 - With Dennis and Bonnie

 Description :   Animals : Flowers and Plants

Description:

Today is Palm Sunday and we will be going to church with Dennis and Bonnie. A long time ago, I went to the same church as them. I am looking forward to going again. They go to a Christian Missionary Alliance Church in Roseburg.

I got up at 6:30. The Barn, where we sleep, is a restful place. If you wait a bit longer than I did, you can watch the effect of the sun rising out of a large window-I think that same large window would drive Sherri nuts as she does not like light in her bedroom, particularly in the morning. Anyway, I showered and got myself ready for church. Sherri got up and was ready for Bonnie’s breakfast at 8:00. It was a light, but enjoyable breakfast of cinnamon rolls, sausage and fruit.

At 8:30, we left for church. During the Pandemic, Bonnie had sent a pretty wise letter to Sherri from her pastor on how the church would be dealing with the lock down. We got to meet him. He seems a pretty down to earth person. Also got to hear him preach. Only two main points, not the standard minimum requirement for preachers. Being Palm Sunday, there was the typical message about Jesus coming into Jerusalem. Whenever you hear a sermon, I try to figure out what applies to me. Nathan Goble made that pretty easy.

Walking a path

By 11:00, we were back at the house. We moseyed around a bit more-lots of talking and enjoying each other. Dennis needed to go back to church to deal with the offering for the morning. When he came back around 12:30, we had lunch: lamb gyro. Pretty good. Simple, nourishing and tasty.

Our families have been intertwined for over 50 years. We backpacked together and had kids around the same time. Moriah recently got married and we were hoping to see her and Alex. But as I told Dennis, if Moriah was available it would be a blessing on top of a blessing. Moriah and Alex did bless us with their presence. I got to have a bit more of a take on Alex than at their wedding. They look like they are a good fit. They have now been married for six months.

Alex has responsibilities with his church’s youth at 3:00, so he and Moriah leave. This leaves us the four of us to do what we seem to do a lot of on this trip: talk. Which we do for a while. It is suggested we walk Dennis and Bonnie’s property. We did this several years ago when they first got the property. Now to see the changes they have made

Dennis

First stop is a tree house which we all climb up into. It gives a good view of both their property and the valley beyond. I wonder, is this for the grandchildren or for Dennis? Down we go and start examining flowers, such as trillium and shooting stars. Dennis has cut paths around his property. We take on which ends in a bramble of blackberries. When we go the other way, we descend to the property bottom. Dennis talks about the boundaries and what they could do with the property, if they wanted to. You can tell that even though he is in his 70’s there is both pride and a vision. I am glad we can walk the property with him.

Dennis and Bonnie's Forest

By 6:00, we are back at the house and Bonnie has dinner ready within 15 minutes of us arriving. Interesting how a dinner can be simple, yet interesting visually and able to feed both the body and satisfy the taste buds.

By 7:45, we cleaned up from dinner and talked a bit. It is time for another round of Winspan. I thought last night I felt I competed reasonably. Tonight? I am last once again, but pretty pitifully. Bonnie won tonight with Dennis coming in second. We talked for another 45 minutes before retiring. After reading, I close my eyes by 11:30.

Animals

 
Flowers and Plants

March 28, 2026 - Go to Roseburg

 

Lawrence and Andrea

Title: March  28, 2026 - Go to Roseburg
Hike Info : Description :  Extra Photo's

Hike Info:

Type:Touring

 

Description:

By the time I got up on Saturday morning, both Andrea and Lawrence were already gone to Silver Falls State Park for their March Madness walk. That is 20 miles with an elevation gain of 2700’. Ah, to be young again and do that kind of challenge.

I got up at 7:00 and had my normal breakfast of granola. I putz around a bit until Sherri gets up at 8:30. I finished packing. There was a discussion of how long to pack for. For an explanation of what really seems like a silly statement: we have found that when we are going for a shorter stay, it is easier to carry in only the essentials and minimize that baggage. I put my medicines together and some underwear, socks and shirts. We had decided to only pack enough for the next two nights. If we stayed a night on the road back to Fresno, I would deal with that later. 

The original plan was to spend 1-3 nights getting back to Fresno. But rain is forecasted starting Monday and with Sherri being banged up, we will probably take one night to get back. First we will spend a couple of nights at Dennis and Bonnie's house. Dennis was my best man and roommate many years ago. If we got there early enough, they had talked about taking us on a hike to Toketee Falls, just east of Roseburg.

 

When we leave Salem at 11:00, that dims the possibility of going to the Falls. We had talked about doing the “No Kings March” in Eugene, but we also started late for that. Also we wanted to avoid the crowd there and not eat in Eugene. About the time we were thinking of stopping at a rest stop and having a peanut butter and Nutella sandwich, we saw an inviting sign for Creswell Bakery.

We get to the bakery about 12:30. Even for a small town, there is a nice line-not terribly long, just that there was one is an indicator that we will be in for a treat. There is a turkey provolone sandwich special today. We decided to take that and split it. Pretty tasty. By the time we finish, it is a little after 1:00.

 

 

We stopped at a rest stop for a few minutes and then we are off again. We get to Bonnie and Dennis’ at 2:20. They are waiting for us. It is good to see them and talk with them. We talked for over an hour. Bonnie had mentioned to Sherri earlier that they could take us to Wildlife Safari which is about ten miles away. They have season tickets to it with enough for guests. Sherri wants to go and I mention this to Dennis. They made it possible.

What is Wildlife Safari? It is a Jurassic Park type place, only thing instead of dinosaurs, it has all kinds of exotic animals: giraffes, antelope, elephants, rhinos and hippos, bears, lions, tigers and many other animals. You stay in your car and drive the premises on their roads. It is one way traffic. Today there is not much of a line in most places. The one place where the grizzlies are playing, people are trying to get good views of them and not moving. They are fun to watch. Another place is the tiger area.

When we get back, Bonnie gets dinner on the table and we have pot roast, carrots, potatoes and a salad. She has it all together within an half an hour of us returning. Wonder Woman she is. After dinner, Dennis serves us some soft-serve ice cream. Then there is more talking.

Dennis and Bonnie have a tradition to play a game each night. At 8:00, we started to play Wingspan. Sherri and I have played it before, but it has been awhile we have to get refreshed on the rules and strategy. This causes the game to be a bit slower than usual. We finish up about 10:45 and are back in the Barn to go to sleep by 11:00-a long day it is.

Extra Photo's

March 27, 2026 - Salem

 

Title: March  27, 2026 - Salem
Description : Extra Photo'

Description:

The Helical Planter

I seem to be making a habit of getting up at 7:20. I guess I am looking at what kind of light there is. My CGM says that I have low blood sugars, but the meter says I am OK. Everybody says to rely on the meter. I still have my granola breakfast. Lawrence goes off to work. Then Andrea gets up about 8:30 followed by Sherri at 9:00.

We had brought lemons from Fresno. Some of them are getting a bit soft, so Sherri is making lemon bars for the Salem group-which temporarily includes Sherri and I.

 

As Sherri is working on the bars, Andrea and I continue working on her planter. I look at what pieces we need to make the under the sidewalk piece work, Andrea continues to fill up the planter with dirt-actually augmenting the soil, trying to add nutrients and breaking up the clay.

Then it is off to Lowes for supplies and parts. When we get back, the pipe goes under the sidewalk and the various pieces and parts go on it to bring it to the surface. Then the irrigation line goes through the pipe. Lawrence and Andrea will put the soaker house and connect to the water supply later on. My part gets done by covering the whole with the dirt I took out of there. It almost seems like I knew what I was doing on this little project.

We have lunch at 12:30. I finish off the remains of yesterday’s lunch at Word of Mouth. Very filling. Then I take a rest for about 40 minutes.

Next up is a walk over to Oregon State Hospital. This is where One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest was filmed. There is a small museum which has a combination of information about this place, its history, the history of confinement for mental health, as well as sections about the movie. The museum is proud of serving as the backdrop for it. At first there was a strong dislike for the book, but as the director saw changes in care for those under his care, he realized that the book’s portrayal could be very beneficial. It was an interesting time there.

We got back to the house about 4:20. Andrea has a 5:00 book decorating appointment=not sure that book need to be decorated to be attractive, but she is thrilled to go to it. Lawrence comes home shortly afterwards.Sherri gets my muddy clothes soaked and washed.

Then the question is where do we eat? Lawrence said that he had not been to Wolfhound’s Bar and Grill. So that is where we go. Andrea meets us there. I am not terribly hungry after my lunch-just like yesterday. Sherri and I split a Shepherd’s Burger which comes with tater tots. Andrea has the same thing, only the whole burger. Lawrence has a Wagy Burger which is a slider. Sherri ordered a side of brussel sprouts-which the three devoured. Also Lawrence and Sherri have a ginger shake-there is oohs and aahs over that.

What is Andrea doing to her father?

After eating, we took a trip down to the Capitol Mall. The cherry trees are in full bloom and even though it is after 8:00, the mall is crowded with people strolling, enjoying this scene of nature. Salem has strung Japanese lanterns, which cast a subdued light on the blossoms. Oregon’s Gold Man stands tall above the Capitol building.

It is time to go back to the house as Lawrence and Andrea need to get ready for their 20 mile walk tomorrow at Silver Falls. Sherri and I try to leave them alone so they can get ready-we can get ready tomorrow morning. Then it is time to say good night and good bye as they will leave well before we get up. I get to bed about 10:20.

 

 

 

 

 

Extra Photo's

Exhibit at the Oregon State Hospital

Cherry flowers

Lawrence, Gary, Andrea, and Sherri on the Capitol Park

Gold Man

March 26, 2026 - Salem

Title: March  26, 2026 - Salem

Description:

Today may be more of a Sherri recovery day after yesterday’s fall. I got up at 7:30. Andrea got up close to the same time. Lawrence leaves for work shortly afterwards. Then Sherri gets up. She is definitely feeling yesterday’s fall. Her appearance is not as bad as I feared, but there is scrapped skin which did not show up yesterday. Also some bumps which have developed.

After breakfast Andrea convinces Sherri to seek advice from Kaiser. A video appointment is set up for 11:50. This gives Andrea and I enough time to unload the dirt which is still in back of the Highlander into her helical planter. This just about fills it up. We also talked about running the irrigation system over to the planter. This means going under a 2’ sidewalk. We start on that before Sherri gets on the phone with Kaiser.

Sherri’s doctor thinks that there is nothing broken, but she may have some bruising and pain for a couple of days. They leave it at that when we get back to Fresno next week, she can seek an appointment.

By this time, it is approaching 1 and we decide to go out to lunch at a place called Word of Mouth. We have been here before when in Salem. It is a converted house with food pretty much made in a more homey way. I have the Chicken Fried Steak which comes with potatoes, biscuits and gravey-a whole two plates. I finished about a third of it. Lawrence later this evening continues working on the chicken. Sherri has a burrito and Andrea a Rubeun sandwich. I am stuffed and do not need dinner that evening.

When we come home, I gain a truer knowledge of working with clay soil. Andrea had finished driving the ½” pipe under the sidewalk. We realized that we needed a longer piece. Also decided that it might not be bad to put a bigger pipe under the sidewalk. It took us a lot of muscle and about half an hour to remove it. The clay had adhered itself to the pipe and refused to let it go. Finally by twisting it we were able to .

Then it was time to rest time for 40 minutes. After that, Andrea and I went to Lowes to pick up pipe and other stuff. When we get back, it is almost 5:00. Andrea and Lawrence get ready to go and meet their new foster dog, RipTide. I work on driving the new pipe through. That takes longer than expected-clay again. About the time I finish up, Lawrence and Andrea come back.

Lawrence goes off to his climbing gym. Andrea, Sherri and I go to Costco and pick up an umbrella. When we come back, they eat. I am still full from lunch. As 10:00 approaches, it is my bed time.

March 25, 2026 - Salem

 

Andrea at Florfe

Title: March  25, 2026 - Salem
Hike Info : Description 

Description:

Today is a low key day. I go up at 7:50 with the light shining around the curtains in our room. Lawrence is working today and will be each day through Friday, so we will have only contact with him at night. Granola and toast for me for breakfast. This is about normal. Andrea and I talked for a while, mostly about gardening. Then Andrea takes off to drop off clothes at a shelter.

A project which Andrea is doing is creating a helical planter. She needs to fill it with dirt, so that is a task for today. Before going there, Sherri and Andrea stop at a coffee-florist shop called Florfe. Seems like it specializes in floral patterns in customer’s coffees. It looks decorative. Sherri notes that this place is like a fairy tale.

Florfe Coffee

Then off to a place to get clean planter soil for Andrea’s planter. We got what amounted to 8 buckets worth, about 40 gallons worth of soil. When we got back to the house, Andrea and I dumped it into the planter. Looks like more than another load to fill it up.

By this time, it is noon. I have a sandwich from yesterday. Then it is another trip for more dirt. This time it is about 45 gallons is what we get. Sherri notes that the Salem Costco has the umbrella she wants. So we will go there soon to secure it. After getting the dirt, Andrea stops by Lowes. But that is cut short as a person is coming out to measure their front door for a new one.

We don't see these in Fresno

We miss him, but Lawrence took care of it. When we got home. Lawrence and Andrea went out for a walk. I decided this would be a good time to lay down for a while. When I got up, all was peaceful. We will unload the dirt tomorrow. Maybe make another trip then to get more dirt,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gary walking the Oregon State Hospital grounds

After work, Lawrence went out for a run. When Andrea got up from her rest time, we all went out for a walk. That was a bit short lived as Lawrence called up and would like a ride. Sherri and I went on with our walk around the Oregon State Hospital. We were out for an hour or so. Sherri wanted to look at a house a street away; I came straight home. About ten minutes later, Sherri came in looking pretty bad. She had tripped over a crack and knocked her knee, hand and head. For the most part she was OK, sore and needing an ice pack.

Steven and us got on Zoom for a while. It is good to see him. Then time to make dinner. Sherri has me do it. Just a chicken quesadilla. Hers came out OK. Mine came out burnt. Oh well. After I cleaned up, I took a shower. It felt a lot better than the one in Bandon. Around 10:00, I went to bed.

March 24, 2026 - Go to Salem via Umpqua Lighthouse

 

Title: March  24, 2026 - Go to Salem via Umpqua Lighthouse

Hike Info : Description : Extra Photo's : Animals 

Hike Info:

Type: Car

 

Description:

Morning Jog

Today is leaving Bandon day. I got up at 7:20 and started cleaning up. Everybody else got up shortly afterwards. There is a light rain which will be with us throughout the day. Packing the car is not the most efficient in the world, but it gets packed-both of our cars do. By 9:20 we are ready to go.

 

 

 

 

 

What was missing was breakfast. David had talked about the Bandon Baking Company

Umpqua  Lighthouse

as being most excellent. They also served breakfast. Both the wait line and the wait for the food was slow. But in this case, it was well worth it. While we waited, a steady stream of customers came in. This is not a place which would be considered elegant, more like very basic with cardboard containers to eat out of. But that is not why I go someplace. Is the food good? Can we enjoy ourselves there? The answer is yes. Sherri and I had a breakfast burrito; Lawrence a cinnamon French toast; and Andrea and egg mitt. But the real highlight was the pastries. I ate all of mine, regardless of the effect on my blood sugars-they did eventually go high, but not as bad or as fast as I feared.

By 10:30 we were on the road again up towards Florence. This is about an hour away. Before Florence we turned off to go to the Umpqua Lighthouse. It is raining pretty good there. We parked by a whale watching volunteer whom we talked with. The visibility is not good and the water is pretty choppy, so no whale sightings today or any time when we are in Oregon.

 

 

Gary looking into the lense

 

Andrea bought tickets for the tour and museum. At noon the tour of the lighthouse started. The docent lady has been a nomad for the past 21 years and has only a month more left on this volunteer gig before she moves on. Sounds like she maybe going to a more permanent residence. She is interesting, telling us about the history of the lighthouse-how it was originally by the river but got destroyed during a wet winter in the mid-1800’s. This part of the coast remained without a lighthouse for a while until enough ships and lives were lost. The idea was to build an interconnected grid of lighthouses The original beacon through their fresnel lense had a 2 mile reach. Now it will reach as far as the curvature of the earth will let it. The current shipping lane is about 60 miles out. Lighthouses are about 30 miles from each other so that the ships could determine their location through triangulation with two beacons. Umpqua’s beacon still guides, but there is also a Coast Guard lookout closer to the beach which is chiefly responsible for the safety of ships.

 

 

Andrea and the lense

 
She then walked us over, in the rain, to the lighthouse. Inside the lighthouse we went. While the outside is white and gray, that is a covering for the brick. Inside the column, the brick is exposed. There is a lightkeeper’s office attached to the lighthouse where he would keep his records. She explained more of the history and how the lighthouse is currently being used. We then climbed up the stairs, 62’ up, to the floor below the lens. There is a short ladder up into the actual lens. The lens itself rotates with three different signals: two whites and one red. This creates the signature for this particular lighthouse. We are able to poke our head inside, not staring at the light, and gaze as the lens rotates.

The lense

Then down we go. Since the lighthouse was interesting, we decided to spend a half an hour going through the museum-actually a bit more. I was particularly interested in one map which showed all of the various patterns the various lighthouse beacons make-that is how ships identify the locations. What is on the map is a bit different than what the docent said. The map may be out of date. 

 

 

Lense motor

After looking over the museum, we went downstairs to an art gallery. Most of which was not in my taste in trinkets. There was one item which was of mild interest to me. But my tastes are pretty narrow. Sherri, Andrea and Lawrence's were much more fascinated than me. Lawrence bought a wire sculpture of a frog and a wheelbarrow

 

 

 

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By 1:30, it is time to get on the road. In Florence we headed east towards Eugene. Rain continued to follow us. Outside of Eugene, Google routed us on a wide berth around the city. Andrea and Lawrence went into the city, to Costco for gas and supplies. We got to their house about 5:00 and just finished unloading when Lawrence and Andrea drove up. We unpacked them as well.

Coast Guard lookout

We rested for a while and then Andrea baked chicken breast, carrots and white rice for dinner. By this time, it was close to 8:00. Since the Oregon State Hospital is close by, we finished the night off with Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Next. Definitely not an uplifting movie, but it was shot at the State Hospital. Andrea would like to tour it with us-I do not think she intends for us to stay there. We got to bed before 11:00.

Extra Photo's

Inside the museum

Another view of the Coast Guard Lookout 

Umpqua Lighthouse

Telescope

Lense

Lense

Sherri inside the Lense

Lawrence coming down from the Lense

Andrea and the Lense

Gary and the Lense

Light keeper's room and lighthouse

View of the Corquille River

Haunted Outhouse

Animals

Newt