We are back on the Oregon Trail. \240This beautiful spot was a stopping point for us and the early travelors. \240It has good water, relief for the eyes, and a marker for how far you have gone and how far you must go before reaching Oregon City.

At the base of the Elkhorn Mountains, is an old dredging 'boat'. \240It floats over the water while the buckets scrape the bottom below and through a series of sifting, they yield little golden nuggets.

The town of Granite, established in 1864, supported the mining groups in the mountains. \240The town has 13 historical buildings.

Near Granite and high in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, are the Ah-Hee diggings. \240In 1870s and subsequent 20 years, the Chinese miners worked abandoned gold mines.

The Blue Mountains and Pendleton ahead of us.

Columbia River and Mt Hood. \240We will be on the other side of Mt Hood tomorrow.

A night's stop in the Columbia Gorge. \240It's so fun to watch river traffic again.

About 70 canadian geese and I watched the sun rise over the Columbia River.

We catch ourselves smiling as we travel down the Gorge. \240We have spent so many days here and climbed so many trails. \240The Gorge will always be held dear in our hearts.

As our home base, we have spent a couple of days on car registrations, dental cleanings, eye appointments, labs, doggie exams, etc. \240the days go by quickly, but we need to get these things done. \240Today, we stopped by a favorite vietnamese deli for Banh Mi and smoothies. \240It is wonderful to get the fresh french baquettes they are famous for. \240Jim's smoothy was Mango, mine watermelon.

This morning we put up a horse shoe worn by Jodie, resident mule at the Anderson Ranch in Hagerman. \240Jodie is very sweet, curious, and gave our Dashie a run (and girly squeak)when he wandered into Jodie's field.

The clouds have been amazing. \240Here's sunrise with Mt Tabor to the left and Mt Hood to the right.

Today, we had lunch with Shamir. \240Shamir and Jim have been friends for 20 years. \240These friends have shared the joys and struggles of life over the years, watched each others children grow up, played more than a few games of tennis, and in spite of diverging paths at retirement, stay connected. \240Here's to good friends 🥂.

Yep, this is Oregon.

The mighty Columbia as it widens at the mouth. \240We are on the Oregon side, looking over at Washington.

A Clark family favorite and a small seafood hut we have been going to for more than 40 years.

Spending time with friends and neighbors, we get to share warm applesauce, doggy kisses with Bennie and Clara, and admire Barry's new guitar. \240We hit the jackpot with Barry and Julie as neighbors and miss our time with them. \240We vow to go camping together within a year.

Dave, Jim's brother, has been so good to us. \240We interrupted his Seahawks game to let him know we will be down South for months. \240He always has a joke, a hug for me, and some conversation with our dogs.

I get to follow Jim on this leg of our travels.

Our camp site overlooks the farm land of Pendleton. \240For a few days, we will explore the area.

We went on a historical tour and got to see one of the city's SpeakEasy clubs during the Prohibition. \240Underneath a meat packing business, it had a front, back, and escape door.

Above the meat packers and not far from the SpeakEasy entrance is a staircase to "The Cozy", a brothel, which operated until the mid-60's.

...and then there are tunnels under the city. \240They connect multiple business, legitimate and otherwise. \240The tunnels are rock walled, and have a packed dirt floor.

We finished our day by walking over to the Umatilla River. \240It is a wide river and shallow, but a nice feature in the middle of the town. \240Nearby we picked up freshly baked rolls for our dinner.

We cross the Oregon-Idaho border and camp for the night. \240