Of Fire Roads and Food Carts in Everyday Ramblings

I was standing in the middle of the creek on some rocks when I took this yesterday.

Most Honorable and me hiked this trail a couple of years ago and at this exact time of year but the trail was much wetter then and slippery and he slid off the side of the trail not too far up from here (and not anxious to repeat that) this hike we went up high enough to get the pictures and then came back down and hiked for miles on a nice sedate but beautiful fire road that we call our own.

I had purchased a book with detailed information about day hikes in the Columbia River Gorge earlier in the week and by literally counting off paces we found an access trail to a wonderful narrow trail (unmarked) that runs alongside the fire road but gains elevation really fast and gets you above the sound of the traffic on the scenic highway that now runs through the gorge along the river. Who knew?

This is like our secret place. I kid you not; we hiked for 4 hours and saw no other people… on a summer day in July!

It smelled divine and we saw lots of birds, including what we are pretty sure was a Hairy Woodpecker, a bird I have never seen before.

When we came down the road from the trailhead, all along the road to the next trailhead cars were parked bumper to bumper on the road to avoid the parking fees (we think) in that lot. Our lot is free and was mostly empty.

The traffic was pretty intense getting out and back from Portland though. It took us much longer than it used to.

There is a fish & chips place that Kes found before we started Weight Watchers that had a bluesy bar feel and the best fried salmon… but the last time I was there it was clear the place was in decline as the owner, a nice talkative fellow succumbed to alcoholism. We looked it up before we left and they had lost their lease but had moved into a food cart, in a food cart court in the same neighborhood where an old gas station used to be.

It took us a while to find the place on our way back and it was just starting to drizzle.

But oh man, serious yum, fried salmon and fries seasoned with just the right about of pepper! Once every two years…I can handle that! Especially after a 9-mile hike with a badge (on my Fitbit) earning elevation gain. :)

We came back and ate and played with the cats and did practical things like change a small filter in the vacuum cleaner that I didn’t know was there and exchange newly learned information about Excel. Oh and he brought up a bookcase they aren’t using as they have been culling their books. We set that up.

In the morning Most Honorable had gone over to the French bakery to watch the day’s stage of the Tour but it turns out that the package they had for the big screen television had ads. And although he enjoyed his fresh out of the oven baguette and apple tart with his coffee (and the companionship of a slightly grumpy older bike enthusiast struggling with his Apple TV at home) my brother-in-law called and said heck, I’ll just come back there and watch the end of the stage streaming off your internet connection and get cat love too!

So I watched it with him and Carlo while Diego supervised from the other room.

And today I need to work. But I get to do so from home on this dark rainy day in my pjs.

Don’t tell anyone, okay?

Last updated July 09, 2016