Sam And Saundra's Second Time Around - Part 43

Sam And Saundra’s Second Time Around – Part 43

Oregon

3/17/11 – Going Home for Recess.

Time for us to head home.  We leave Tucson in nice, warm ‘golfing’ weather.  Touch base in Yuma, where it is getting toasty warm at 85.  In Laughlin it rises to 87.  It starts going down from there.  Jackpot was comfortable when we parked, but in the morning it was in the high 50’s and raining.  Snow hit poor Brutus as we traveled north.  I did not worry, much.  Snow was not sticking to the roads during the day.  Sleet pelted us sideways going through Boise – It does not snow here at the end of March – right?  We did not stop for a planned hour or two with Aunt Anne in Ontario due to the cold.  We waved and kept going.  The snow, sleet and low visibility followed us.  The Snake River was very, very high.  As we passed Farewell Bend, our favorite Channel Cat fishing spot, we note that the river has swelled above the regular water line.  (Here is a good place to let Jerry know that the internet says that there ARE Flathead Cats in the Snake.  I had never seen or heard of this until Jerry said it.  They apparently stay in areas that have trees/snags in the water, like around Brownlee Dam.  My point?  Sorry for doubting you Jerry – even though I was raised next to and in the Snake – you were right! )

Arizona Farewell

Sam is on a marathon drive in this bad weather and we push on through snow dusted La Grande and Cabbage Hill.  The horizons around Pendleton are covered in mist and snow.  It definitely does not snow here in late March.  My knowledge base is beginning to fray around the edges. Sam stops in Pendleton for the night.  It is cold.  Very cold. In the early thirties cold. Luckily, Sam had filled the propane and we broke out the double-thread blanket I made for the grandkids.  It works.

The final trip home through the gorge was drippy wet, slushy at times, but no more sleet or snow.  Gusts of wind kept Sam on his toes as I was being amazed at the sights of new waterfalls caused by all the extra wet.  The Columbia River was high. Trees were covered by water in places. The railroad tracks, on both Oregon and Washington banks, were oh so close to that high, waving water line. I was musing on how things would look if I were a passenger in a train, when I realized that the cloud that we had been driving through since we left Jackpot was keeping us from seeing the usual Green of Oregon.  Everything was gray as we drove up to our home.

Almost Home

It no longer matters what color or temperature the outside is – we have family.  Bright comes back into our world! Yippee to be home!  There’s Grandkids – Owen, Jaron and my goodness - Sami has grown so happy and expressive.  Mmmmm. Now where is that Reagan?