2007 Mt. Hood Territory Geocaching Contest

My #2 son, Christopher, and I did the 2007 Mt. Hood Territory Geocaching Contest. We found all ten caches plus two other caches. We ended the day at the historic Timberline Lodge looking for a virtual cache. We covered over 250 miles. The weather was absolutely perfect -- not too hot and not too cold (except at the 6,000 ft. level on Mt. Hood).

Dedication Ceremony for Interpretive Trail, Fields Bridge Park, West Linn, Oregon

On Saturday afternoon, August 23, 2008, I attended the Dedication Ceremony for the Interpretive Trail at Fields Bridge Park along the banks of the Tualatin River in West Linn, Oregon. The Missoula Ice Age Interpretive Trail is a project four years and #100,000 in the making. Miniature bronze replica of the Willamette Meteorite and Signboards about the Meteorite and the Missoula Ice Age Floods that scoured most of the Northwest were displayed. The Willamette Meteorite weighed 151 1/2 tons. The Meteorite is believed to have been grounded during one of the larger cataclysmic Missoula Ice Age Floods on a hillside in West Linn. It had floated over 400 miles from Canada on an iceberg. It is the 6th largest meteorite found in the world and the largest found in North America and Canada. The Willamette Meteorite is currently on display at the Museum of Natural History in New York City.

The Dalles-Dash Coin

My #2 son, Christopher, and I did The Dalles-Dash Coin Contest on Thursday, August 21, 2008. We left Vancouver, WA about 6:00am. We found 11 of the 12 caches plus two other caches and two benchmarks. We spent a lot of time hunting for the cache near Pulpit Rock but never found it. I was disappointed to not receive the The Dalles-Dash coin. It evidently will be mailed to us after the coins are activated. The weather was perfect -- warm with a bit of dizzle in the morning. We ate a late lunch at Cousins Restaurant. Great food! We drove back via the Old Columbia Highway from The Dalles to Mosier and from just west of Cascade Locks to Corbett. We stopped to view Multnomah Falls. There was an tremendous amount of water! We were back to Vancouver about 9:30pm.

Missoula Ice Age Flood Trip -- Day 8

Friday, August 8 – I rose early and packed my suitcases. I had a great breakfast with the remaining Elderhostel group (some left earlier). I caught a hotel shuttle ride to the Greyhound Bus Station, arriving about 8:30am. I was told that the 11:20am bus was going to be late – about 12:30pm. I went to a nearby deli, Rockets, to get a sandwich and apple juice drink to take with me. I had a cup of tea and a muffin to tide me over. Back at the bus station I was told that the bus would not arrive until about 1:00. I was about 10th in line by now. We finally boarded the bus.

When I tried to sit in the front seat next to the window (the driver’s small but extremely heavy backpack was placed next to the aisle in that row), the driver ordered me to move back. I told him that I was sitting in the front seat. He asked me where I was going. When I said Portland he again told me to move back in another seat. He told me at least three times to move back. I sat in the seat anyway.

We had no sooner left the Greyhound Bus Station when he threatened to take a woman behind me off the bus. We turned around at Medical Lake to return to the bus station. The door was loose but the driver had not pushed the round knob to lock the door. I saw it unlocked as did the young man in the front seat of the aisle across from me.

Back at the Greyhound Bus Station we changed buses. The bus driver went into the station. The Greyhound Bus floor and front window was filthy. I sat in the front seat again with the driver’s heavy back pack. The bus driver showed up with his pink lunch sack in hand. The young man across the aisle said that we went back as the bus driver forgot his lunch.

We finally left about 2:05pm. We were not allowed any food on the bus trip other than what we brought with us or could quickly grab from machines. And go to the restroom. We had to do one or the other or both in less than 5 minutes. There were no food machines and no restrooms at The Dalles and Hood River. The smell from the restroom at the back of the bus was sickening.

Some of the passengers had missed their connections so the bus driver told them that they had to go all the way to Portland.

A young college graduate student got on the bus in Tri-Cities. She asked to sit in front seat where the backpack was placed. I told her that the bus driver did not want anyone sitting there. He smilingly took the backpack from the front seat and offered the front seat to her. His extremely heavy backpack fell down the stairs blocking the door. The bus driver and the young college grad student chatted all the way to Portland.

We finally arrived in Portland about 8:30pm (two hours and 20 minutes late). The bus driver made up some time but at the expense of the physical comfort of the passengers. I will never again ride a Greyhound bus if I can possibly help it!

Missoula Ice Age Flood Trip -- Day 7

Thursday, August 7 – After the hotel breakfast, we continued the ancient path of the Missoula Ice Age Floods. We climbed the Twin Sisters (Two Sisters Legend). I also got photos of Wallula Gap. As we traveled back toward Spokane, we stopped at a little known Lewis & Clark campsite. We traveled through Waitsburg where we saw the outline of the Jolly Green Giant on a hillside. We had a delicious lunch at the Weinhard Café in Dayton.

I photographed the historic Dayton Train Station (where I signed the visitor log book) and the UP yellow caboose with the red/orange trim. We traveled through Snake River and Palouse country. We saw the train bridge and the sand bar at Lyons Ferry, Palouse Falls and the Basalt Needles, and the Elongated Loess Island. We had a Farewell Dinner but I left afterwards to look for the cache again for Trevor’s Tourist Trap #1 geocache (GC17C5G).

After making another long hike from the Red Lion River Inn across Riverfront Park, watching a skunk crawl into the base of the cache site and being frustrated that I could not continue my search, and trying for about an hour to locate a computer in downtown (the library was closed and I could not find an Internet Cafe) and finally ending up at the Business Office of the Davenport Hotel so I could contact Trevor, I felt that I had the right to claim "Found It."

Missoula Ice Age Flood Trip -- Day 6

Wednesday, August 6 – After breakfast at the hotel, we traveled northwest to view the ripple marks at Crescent Bar on the Columbia River. We saw the steel horses on the hillside and Sentinel Gap from an overlook near the Vantage Bridge. We drove by Potholes Reservoir over the O’Sullivan Dam. We stopped at Frenchman Springs Coulee. We saw basalt feathers along the old Vantage Road. After checking into my hotel room in Walla Walla, I went on the “Downtown Historic Trail” and located benchmarks. Afterwards I purchased “dinner” at a deli across from the hotel, Best Western Walla Walla Suites Inn, of a sandwich w/pickle, BBQ potato chips, apple juice and Hershey almond bar which I ate in my hotel room while watching television.

Missoula Ice Age Flood Trip -- Day 5

Tuesday, August 5 – After breakfast, we checked out of our rooms and loaded the luggage on the tour bus. We traveled from Spokane to Moses Lake. We explored the “scablands” west of Spokane as we traveled to the Grand Coulee Dam and Dry Falls. We had a picnic lunch at Dry Falls. It was really hot! On the way to Moses Lake, we stopped at the two-story Yeager Erratic and the Lenore Caves. We checked into the Shilo Inn Suites in Moses Lake. I changed rooms as the non-smoking room smelled strongly of smoke. The halls smelled strongly of smoke. We had dinner at Sharis. I ate delicious breakfast for dinner – scrambled egg, French toast and crisp bacon with orange juice. I slept with the window wide open as the non-smoking room smelled strongly of smoke even after airing it out.

Missoula Ice Age Flood Trip -- Day 4

Monday, August 4 – I used the hotel’s calculator to figure out the coordinates for Trevor’s geocache. I ate breakfast with the Elderhostel group. I picked a seat at the back of the tour bus so I could be a “Nester” – one who does not rotate seats. It was an exit row seat so I had more leg room. We departed about 8:30, traveling to nearby Hangman Creek to view the flood deposited bank. We picked up the box lunches in Spokane. We traveled northeast to Sandpoint where we ate our picnic lunches. We stopped at the signboard at Lake Pend Oreille and then traveled on to the Cabinet Gorge Dam on the Clark Fork River. Massive dams of ice once stood here (15,000-12,000 years ago) and blocked water from leaving western Montana until their catastrophic failures. Water roared across Idaho, Washington and Oregon to the Pacific Ocean in the largest flood known to have occurred on earth. We traveled back to Spokane, arriving at the Red Lion River Inn in time for dinner. Don Popejoy gave a talk but I chose to walk back across Riverfront Park instead to hunt for the cache. No cache!

Missoula Ice Age Flood Trip -- Day 3

Sunday, August 3 - I ate breakfast with Richard at the hotel restaurant, Ripples. I worked on Trevor’s Tourist Trap #1 geocache (GC17C5G) from 7:00am to 3:58pm. The clock tower chimed 4:00 as I walked back across Riverfront Park. I met Richard and his MIT college friend, George, on the hotel patio about 4:30pm. I picked up my Elderhostel packet and chatted briefly with the Elderhostel leader, Don Popejoy. I sat with Richard and George for awhile on the patio drinking ice water. It was a very hot day and I was so thirsty. We had dinner at 6:00pm and afterwards a Welcome and Orientation session. I was the only person in the group except for the leader, Don Popejoy, to repeat the trip.

Missoula Ice Age Flood Trip -- Day 2

Saturday, August 2 – After breakfast at the hotel, I went benchmarking and geocaching across Riverfront Park and downtown Spokane. I rode the Skyride Gondola over Spokane Falls and the red train throughout Riverfront Park. About mid-day I stopped at The Davenport Hotel for a slice of their delicious southern-style coffee cake and the Historical Walking Tour of the hotel. I ate dinner on the patio of the hotel restaurant, Ripples. I was joined by a friend, Richard Naylor, a MIT graduate in geology, who was also going on the Missoula Ice Age Flood Elderhostel trip.

Missoula Ice Age Flood Trip -- Day 1

Friday, August 1, 2008 – I arrived at the Greyhound Bus Station in Portland, Oregon about 7:30am. I took the Greyhound Bus at 10:00 from Portland to Spokane. Next time I will take a plane or train but never the Greyhound Bus again. I arrived in Spokane about 5:00, got my checked suitcase and took the hotel shuttle to the Red Lion River Inn. I had a view from my room of downtown Spokane across the parking lot. I ate dinner at the hotel’s Ripples Riverside Grill and watched a remake of one of my favorite all-time movies, “The Railway Children.”