We’re Fishing Instead of Crabbing

A half-baked idea is okay as long as it’s in the oven.

Off with the front windshield and back panel for a beautiful day on the water!

I thought this little tiny boat was just my speed.

Friday we did something different.  We didn’t go crabbing.  We went fishing. This was kind of like the semi-blind leading the blinder in this circumstance.  We didn’t catch a thing.  We didn’t have a bite.  We also think  half the time we had everything hooked up wrong.  But, then again, from what we understand no one else did any good either.  We’re going to blame it on the fact that the fish weren’t running yet.  They were all out in the ocean getting ready to come in.  That’s our story and we’re sticking with it.

Here's Jerry trying for the perfect setup on his pole.

The first thing you have to do to prepare yourself for this new adventure is to buy licenses.  Oregon seems to require a license for every type of fun you can think up.  We jumped in the boat and went down to the Wheeler Marina.  That place was absolutely packed with everyone else around trying to buy bait or licenses.  Once that was accomplished we were back out in the boat with high hopes of snagging that big one.

And, Janice is trying for a better rigging than Jerry.

The problem for us fishing here is we’ve not done a lot of trolling for salmon in years and years.  Thus, we didn’t actually know how to help.  Oh, we knew a little … just a little.  We know how to tie everything and connect it from point A to point B.  The problem was putting the actual plug bait on the hook and keeping it there without dragging the bottom. The current was swift, the depth not so deep and the seaweed plentiful.

A garage sale we just had to visit.

Either way I think we all had another great day doing something.  After being totally skunked, we headed into Wheeler in a vehicle instead of the boat.  The first thing that caught Jerry’s eye was a sign for a garage sale.  You can guess where we stopped ... the garage sale.  We don’t have too much too worry about at these places because most of the nooks and crannies in our motorhomes are already full of something else.

View from our table at the Pizza Garden.

Next, it was off for pizza …. again.  The day was still gorgeous and we sat out on the deck just above the river.

Another great day and we had taken advantage of all of it.  Now you know what we were up to on that Friday which was over a week ago from the time this blog will get posted.  With all this activity just maybe it's time to start posting a little more often again to get caught up again.

A Heron sitting in the tree and watching us eat.

Friday, July 30.

Winter Leaves A Mess

Winter time takes a toll on many things.  We notice that many times just driving down the highways.  The roads become “weathered” with pot holes and settling.  The yards and gardens need maintenance when spring comes.  Then, to top all of that off, if you’ve been sitting in the deserts of the Southwest during the winter, you’ve accumulated more than what you feel is your share of dust and dirt.  However, until you’re actually out of there, you can’t do much.

Another place I’ve discovered that winter takes it’s toll is on us.  We become so accustomed to eating and eating and more eating that the pounds start coming back on.  Spring and summer usually means cutting back on some of the eating out because most of the RVing friends have headed in other directions.

Even our summer home base took a beating this last winter.  We have a little cabin (very little cabin) at an elevation of about 1400’.  That’s not very high but it’s high enough in the state of Washington that it gets a bit of snow.  This last winter the snow and ice brought down some pretty heavy branches and even cracked a tree in half.  Some of the branches nestled into the deck and the property we have.  The part of the tree that cracked away …. fell onto the roof and then down the side of the cabin.  The gaping hole isn’t large but it’s there and needs to be replaced.  

So now we have lots of cleaning up to do.  One nice thing is that some of the grass we had thrown around last summer is showing through where we had a second RV site dug out.  Hopefully, it’ll keep on spreading and keep on growing to help keep the mud and slides out.  We can’t plant much else there or the deer would have a frenzy with the fresh vegetation.

Speaking of deer we did spot a few grazing.  Their winter coats are starting to give way to the summer coat but not quite yet.  It won’t be long though until we get to meet all the mothers introducing their  new babies.  I guess we probably need to stock up again with the wet cob we feed them.

Elks RV parking  - St. Helens, OR

Terry left on Tuesday for a couple dental appointments in Phoenix.  Moving doctors and dentists around when you’re on the road can be a little challenging.  First we had to move them from Texas where we lived to Arizona where we resided for a short time.  Now we have all the doctors in Portland but still have the dentist in Phoenix.  That’ll get changed next.

We took a ride across the bridge from Longview, WA to Rainier, OR and then drove south to St. Helens on Hwy 30. We didn’t go far. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful drive. We love the cute little town of St. Helens. It’s small, has everything one would need, close to the river, little traffic and is a bedroom community to Portland. If we were ready to settle down, it would certainly be a place of interest.

RV park on the Columbia River in Goble, OR – usually fills up with fishermen

There are several places right on the Columbia River where RV parking is available.  The private little marinas are still pretty empty but with fishing season and summer just around the corner, they won’t be that way long.

Fishing at Trojan Lake – close to Rainier, OR