Agate Beach, Oregon and Klamath National Forest, California

Downtown Oakland, Ca

Oakland gets such a bad rap, but this is the view of downtown Oakland from my apartment building. I love it here.

Rewind: More Photos from the Roadtrip

Dog and Butterfly

Dog notices butterfly . . .



Dog says "hello" to butterfly.

The butterfly, one of the biggest I've seen, survived the encounter undamaged. It just flew over to another part of the lawn before flying out of the yard.

Random

The view from the living room in my Oakland apartment.

More Pictures from Cape Meares

More Random Photos

Cape Meares Lighthouse, near Tillamook, OR


Near Cape Meares Lighthouse


Cemetery outside McMinville, OR

Stanley, ID

This place had the best huckleberry milkshakes. The dog is asleep, not dead. And he did not move once while I was taking his picture.

Challis Lanes, Challis ID

Historic St. Mary's Mission -- Stevensville, MT

Random Pictures from the Trip

All of these were taken somewhere in Oregon

Ice Cave Ranch

And some apparently abandoned property has its own story. I ran across this fascinating development on I-93 in Idaho. This is Dugout Dick's Ice Cave Ranch (not to be confused with the Shoshone Ice Caves). For a while, Dugout Dick, who built these homes into the side of a mountain, rented them out for $5 a night. Reportedly, Dugout Dick, who is 92 years old, has been institutionalized, and the hillside homes are no longer for rent. Many in the community apparently consider these to be an eyesore, and I can't say I blame them, but it really is something to see.

Abandoned Property

One thing you see a lot of if you take a road trip through California, Oregon and Idaho (and probably other places as well) is apparently abandoned property. There are deserted and broken down houses everywhere. It's so curious to me -- who up and leaves their property to rot? Living in an area and a socioeconomic category where owning a house is so deeply valued (even when it makes no sense), it's amazing to see a house abandoned, falling down from years of neglect. There must be some deep psychological meaning behind my attraction to abandoned property, but it really fascinates me.

Back in Oakland

I am (mostly) happily back in Oakland. It was a great trip, and I'm not looking forward to going back to work, but I am happy to be back in my own space.

We interrupt this blog for a very important message . . .

I got caught in a bona fide snow storm! Oh, Route Weather how you failed me! I turned on my computer this morning to check the weather along the route, and other than one spot of rain, Route Weather promised a sunny ride. Now, they were right about the rain, but they failed to mention the snow storm before the rain. Luckily, I survived the trip by following very slowly behind a semi. I persevered instead of stopping because I didn't know if the snow would stop, but I did know that eventually the freeway elevation would descend, and the snow would disappear. And it did. Now, I am happy and warm in my hotel room in Portland and grateful for rain.

One Last Post from Montana

Barbara's babies

Scooter and Harley

Walker

Stevensville, MT

I fell down on both taking pictures and updating the blog since I've been in Montana. Right now, I'm blogging while watching Superbad on DVD. Since I've been here, I spent a ridiculous amount of money (tax free!), sang karaoke in what I'm told is a typical Stevensville bar, and ate T-bone steak in a ghost town. Tomorrow I'm off to Boise, ID.

Stevensville, MT: Chez Barbara

Barbara's back yard

Montana 2008 (Day 4): On the Way to Stevensville

Columbia Gorge area in Oregon

Montana 2008 (Day 3): Oregon Wild Life Refuges

I spend another day getting kind of lost checking out wild life refuges. I see some beautiful countryside on the way and stay the night in a quirky hotel in Hood River.