Geocaching and Benchmarking in the Columbia River Gorge, November 4, 2009

My eldest daughter, Kimberly, and I went geocaching and benchmarking in the Columbia River Gorge. We left Vancouver, WA about 7:00am, traveling across the I-205 bridge and east on I-84 to Troutdale. It was very chilly and windy. After finding several geocaches in Troutdale, we traveled along the old Columbia River Highway finding geocaches and benchmarks along the way. At Crown Point the wind was blowing so strong that we had trouble standing upright!

We traveled east to The Dalles on I-84 where we had Afternoon Tea at The Anzac Tea Parlour - "A Taste of Australia" in a historic house. Besides the sandwiches and savories shown in the photo we had scones with jam and cream and choice of desserts. I saved my chocolate covered strawberry and Anzac biscuit (what we would call a cookie) to have later. We were invited into the large kitchen with its blackboard slate floor, old growth beams, and collection of collectible tins.

We did some geocaching and benchmarking in The Dalles and Mosier on the way home. We took the Old Columbia River Highway via Rowena Crest. I photographed and got the coordinates to a Glacial Erratic in Mosier for a Waymark. The sunset was absolutely spectacular! There was a full Harvest Moon but it was seen dimly behind the clouds. The three outstanding caches: Co-Pilot's Log, Bridal Veil R.I.P. and Old Town Troutdale.

Cedar Creek Grist Mill, Woodland, WA, Sunday, November 1, 2009

My daughter, Kimberly, and I did some geocaching on the way to the 1876 Cedar Creek Grist Mill in Woodland, Washington and then one geocache afterwards on the way to I-5 S and back to Vancouver. At the Grist Mill we watched the grinding of two kinds of wheat into flour and cornmeal. We were given small brown bags of flour (great for scones, biscuits, pancakes) and cornmeal (great for cornbread to serve with chili). Neither of us took the bread flour as we did not make bread. We got a couple recipes also: Collins' Honey Beer Bread and Grist Mill Buttermilk Pancakes. I have the "Cedar Creek Grist Mill Favorite Recipes" Cookbook c. 1991 which has recipes for Baking Powder Biscuits and County Scones.

Geocaching Tour of Yamhill County, October 24, 2009

On Saturday, October 24th, my #1 daughter, Kimberly, and I toured Yamhill County finding about fifteen geocaches and benchmarks. We drove west on Hwy 99 W to the Glacial Erratic just west of McMinnville, then south past Dallas to Guthrie Park, back to Dallas and east to Salem and then I-5 home to Vancouver. We stopped for a late lunch at Quiznos in McMinnville. We enjoyed “The Sunset Pioneers,” “Hoover History,” “Y.V.V. Cache,” and “Guthrie Park on the Applegate Trail” geocaches.

Pumpkin Tea, Wednesday, October 21, 2009

My eldest daughter, Kimberly, and I went to the Pumpkin Tea at the Pomeroy Living History Farm on Wednesday, October 21st. We had a nice table for two. We were served Cucumber and Garlic Butter Sandwiches, Ham with Apricot Cream Cheese Sandwiches and Walnut and Swiss Cheese Sandwiches. We also had warm Scones with Strawberry Jam and Devonshire Style Cream. We had Pumpkin Cake, Chocolate Orange Tarts and Maple Butterscotch Brownies for dessert. There were two chocolates also. Kimberly and I drove east past Moulton Falls and stopped at the Cedar Creek Grist Mill near Woodland, Washington. The leaves were changing to reds and golds. It was a lovely afternoon.

GSA & IAFI, Tuesday, October 20, 2009

On Tuesday, October 20, 2009 I manned the Lower Columbia Chapter of the Ice Age Floods Institute (IAFI) booth at The Geological Society of America (GSA) Annual Meeting & Exposition in the Convention Center in Portland, Oregon from 9:00am to 1:30pm. I met a lot of interesting people. After my stint I wandered around the auditorium looking at the various exhibits. There was a book for sale that intrigued me – “Stories in Stone” by David B. Williams.

That evening I attended a lecture at the Museum of the Oregon Territory, 211 Tumwater Drive in Oregon City. The Lower Columbia Chapter of the Ice Age Floods Institute (IAFI), in conjunction with the Geological Society of America (GSA) Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon, presented noted geologists and authors Bruce Bjornstad "On the Trail of the Ice Age Floods" and Bob Carson "Where the Great River Bends." Bjornstad has created several challenging Geocaches and an Earthcache (pp. 135-137). The view from the large museum windows of Willamette Falls is spectacular. I was so exhausted I kept dozing off!!

Geocaching Tour of Washington County, October 10, 2009

My #1 daughter, Kimberly, and I toured Washington County finding about a dozen geocaches and benchmarks. Our first stop was The Old Scotch Church which was organized in 1873 by Scottish settlers from Aberdeenshire, west of Aberdeen, Scotland. This is one of the oldest continuously used churches in the state. We drove west on Hwy 26 to Hwy 6 and then southeast to Forest Grove. We stopped for a late lunch--the $5.00 special--at Subway.

We followed Hwy 47 to Hwy 210 where we traveled east (more or less). We ended our tour at Petrich General Store (AKA the North Shore). A general store has operated in the community since the 1890s, and was purchased by the Petrich family in 1964. The original Petrich General Store burned down in 1994 and was rebuilt by the community. We followed Hwy 210 back to Hwy 217 and then I-5 home to Vancouver. We enjoyed "ODD's are 1 in 44," "Banks Tour" (except for the cache location) and "The General Still Stands" geocaches.

Geocaching in Columbia County, Wednesday, October 7th

My daughter, Kimberly, and I found 17 geocaches and three NGS benchmarks in a tour of Columbia County. We left Vancouver at 8:00am, drove south on I-5 and 405 to Hwy 26, and traveled west to Hwy 47. We found two benchmarks at or near the intersection of Hwy 26 and Hwy 47. The park at Buxton was quite interesting as was the Clatskanie Park. The leaves had turned gold and red. Two trees on a farm had plastic pumpkins hanging from the branches. We stopped at Subway for lunch and later Dairy Queen for ice cream. We got back to Vancouver about 8:00pm. Tired but pleased that we did so well. Only two DNFs.