Across Canada and back: Out back of beyond

Jupiter in close alignment with Venus - did you see it?

A man, a river, and a hot day...Bill in the Spokane River

Our trek homeward included a night in Coeur d'Alene with its beautiful lake, fed by the crystal clear Spokane River. I swam in the campground pool, and Bill opted to swim in the river the next day. Our neighbors were intrigued when we came out at dusk with binoculars and camera to view the alignment of Jupiter and Venus, a once in a lifetime occurrence. Our clear skies gave us a great way to see it, but our equipment wasn't powerful enough to see Jupiter's rings or moons.

Dust devils everywhere in eastern Washington

The first view Lewis & Clark had of the mighty Columbia

Hood River Park's great campground

Driving from Coeur d'Alene to Walla Walla, we were struck by the drought conditions west of the Rockies. Everywhere we looked, we saw dust devils whirling through parched fields. Only in the river bottoms was there anything green and flourishing. Cattle huddled under shade trees to stay out of the 100 degree heat, and horses lazily flicked flies with their tails.
We found a lovely Army Corps of Engineers campground on the Hood River and spent a quiet night watching the sun set as tugs maneuvered grain barges on the far side of the river.
Morning found us crossing the great Columbia River that separates Washington and Oregon. We've been following the Lewis & Clark trail from South Dakota westward, recalling the stories of the Native Americans that helped them find their way from river to river, where the good portages were, where the mountain passes were easiest, and showing them how to survive in this inhospitable land. They must have rejoiced to see their first glimpse of the Columbia, knowing they had forged a path for future adventurers and settlers!
The northeastern quadrant of Oregon is high desert, but Highway 97 affords spectacular views of the mountain ranges to the west. We've seen them from Hwy 5 and from the air, but this was the first time to see Mt. Hood and Mt. Jefferson on the western horizon, a majestic sight!
North of Bend, Oregon, Highway 97 becomes much more heavily traveled, with commercial interests lining the road on either side, construction underway to widen and improve the road, and vacationers heading both north and south for the 4th of July holiday weekend. We stopped at a roadside stand and picked up fresh fruit and veggies for our weekend at Crater Lake, and found a Trader Joe's (our favorite!) to stock up on other groceries.
We missed my nephew and his wife by a day (they left for Chicago yesterday), so we're camped at a high-end resort in town (they have pavers at each site instead of plain old asphalt), with great trees, lots of room between RVs, and a laundry, where I'm doing our last loads before heading home.
We decided to take advantage of Bend's dog-friendly atmosphere and eat out, a delicious seafood dinner at Anthony's on the Deschutes River. The sun set and a wonderful cooling breeze came up - a lovely evening.
We're excited to spend a weekend with Matt & Kim, and Monday evening with my brother Al and his family in the Bay Area, and then HOME at last on Tuesday!