So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

Coos Bay, Oregon Coast

We're at my favorite spot on the Oregon Coast. This is where I saw the red Coast Guard helicopter rescue diver pluck four dead bodies out of the water. Their boat overturned crossing the bar. The orange life jackets and the boat washed up on the beach, but the bodies kept floating offshore.

One thought struck me
As an ice cube swallowed
that falls near the heart
And just lays there coldly burning
Into fear itself: 

‘When you die
You're part of the furniture.’

Then I whispered
‘Adieu’

Covered his face
And left
-Ronberge (anno tercio)

I go out again with Captain Bill on a 6 AM, five hour, rockfish hunt. He has a high tech fish finder with a 100 foot conical range that tells him the number of fish and their sizes. It seems a little unfair to the fish, but I limit out on seven big black rockfish in a couple of hours. I borrowed a lingcod jig from a garrulous old submariner (my age) who I have been pumping for sub stories on the way out. I use the jig to catch a ling that fillets out to three pounds or four meals. The rockfish each yield two fillets that weigh a pound total, a good weight for dinner for two. We've eaten them twice so far...they have they consistency of halibut and a hint of swordfish flavor.

I find a magic place on my walk today. It's on a cliff that allows access to a deserted beach by lowering yourself with a rope anchored to a tree. I'll make breakfast sandwiches and coffee and take Mrs. Phred to see it in the morning.

Mrs. Phred on the beach. We've been here four nights, which is something of a personal record for being in one place. The white line keeps me asking what's up the road?

Strange things grow on our planet and in the ocean. I'm sorry I forgot my wetsuit. The swimming looks great except for the 55 degree water temperature.

Down the road is a colony of several thousand barking seals.

Crabs are very big along the coast. I buy Mrs. Phred a Crab Louie for here lunch in Winchester Bay today. Next October they will have a community college shooting massacre here that will leave ten dead.

This is the right lower jaw of a 60 foot humpback whale that washed up on the beach near the Umpqua Lighthouse in 1991. We're heading inland in the morning to an RV park about midway between Crater Lake and the whitewater rafting in Bend.

Siletz River, Oregon

 The Terror of Highway 101

We're heading down Highway 101 on the Oregon Coast one more time. After Packwood, Washington, we spent three days in upper northwest Oregon at Fort Stevens State Park, then two days at the Jetty Fishermen's RV park. Just now we're finishing three nights at the Coyote Rock RV Park on the Siletz River. If you stay at Coyote Rock, make sure they give you a spot on the river.

 He wore black denim trousers and motorcycle boots
And a black leather jacket with an eagle on the back
He had a hopped-up 'cicle that took off like a gun
That fool was the terror of Highway 101

Well, he never washed his face and he never combed his hair
He had axle grease imbedded underneath his fingernails
On the muscle of his arm was a red tattoo
A picture of a heart saying "Mother, I love you"

-Vaughn Monroe

Personally, when I had my Harley, I had a chicken sewed into the back of my black leather jacket rather than an eagle and a naked brain painted on my helmet....  Anyway, We went fishing again out of Depoe Bay and I caught some rock fish and a decent ling cod.. I'm cooking some of the ling cod tonight. First I marinated a chunk in white wine and salt. I'm covering it with breadcrumbs and then adding a mix of mayonnaise, sour cream and minced green onions. It's all topped off with paprika for appearance.

 The Jetty Fisherman's RV Park is at the mouth of Nehalem Bay. The tide rips in an out and crabbing is very popular. In the morning I walked along the railroad tracks and back for several miles. It's a beautiful spot to camp.

 Mrs. Phred and I booked a fishing trip out of Depoe Bay near the Siletz River. Our boat had a total of six fishing people. We didn't catch as many fish as we might have because Mrs. Phred got seasick. I have another trip booked out of Charleston, Oregon on the 12th by myself at 6 AM.

 This is one of the famous Tillomook cows. Tillomook makes great ice cream and cheese. If you go there see the Tillomook cheese factory and the huge air museum in the WWII blimp hangar...I treated myself to a half gallon of Tillomook ice cream and now I must pay the calorie counting price...Black and white cows make the best ice cream...

At the Jetty RV Park they rent crab traps and cook your crabs. Nice if you have your own kayaks and don't have to rent a boat....but the tides rip in and out....

Mary Lou, poor girl, she pleaded and she begged him not to leave
She said "I've got a feeling if you ride tonight I'll grieve"
But her tears were she'd in vain and her every word was lost
In the rumble of an engine and the smoke from his exhaust

Then he took off like the Devil and there was fire in his eyes! He
Said "I'll go a thousand miles before the sun can rise." But he hit a screamin' diesel
That was California-bound" And when they cleared the wreckage, all
They found

Was his black denim trousers and motorcycle boots
And a black leather jacket with an eagle on the back
But they couldn't find the 'cicle that took off like a gun
And they never found the terror of High way 1 oh 1

Billy the Mountain

Mount Ranier, Washington

 So we picked up the car at the Seattle Jet-N-Park and drove 3 hours back to Ephrata to pick up the RV. It's all agriculture there and they are spraying rainbows on my morning walks.

Billy the mountain
Billy the mountain
A regular picturesque
Postcardy mountain
Residing between lovely
Rosamond and gorman
With his stunning wife ethel
A tree, a tree.

Billy was a mountain
Ethel was a tree growing off of his shoulder
Billy was a mountain
Billy was a mountain
Ethel was a tree growing off of his shoulder
Ethel was a tree growing off of his shoulder
( hey, hey, hey! )
Billy had two big
Caves for eyes
With a cliff for a jaw
That would go up or down
And whenever it did
He'd puff out some dust
And hack up a boulder, hack.
Hack up a boulder, hack, hack.
Hack up a boulder, hack, hack.
Hack up a boulder.

-Frank Zappa

We drive to Packwood and take the 3 hour drive up into Mount Ranier.

Packwood is a funky little place with lots of wood carvings, saloons and a public library..

In the morning, big elk wander around Packwood eating grass. The volunteer fire department has planted some pretty flowers. I zap myself on the electric fence that they use to keep the elk away.

 After Packwood we drive to Fort Stevens State Park on the north tip of Oregon. We meet Jil and Tom in Astoria for breakfast.

Jil and Tom are in their new camper truck.

"It's off to Las Vegas to check out the lounges,
Pull a few handles and drink a few beers, oh Ethel,
Ethel, my darling, you know that I love you,
I'm glad we could have a vacation this year,
Oh neat-o, glad we could have a vacation this year."

They left that night, crunchin' across the Mojave Desert,
their voices echoing thru the canyons of your minds...
"Ethel, wanna get a cuppa cawfee? Howard Johnson's, ahhh
there's a Howard Johnson's! ... Wanna eat some clams? ...

                                                                   -Frank Zappa-

Easy Peasy Salmon Carbonara

This might be a little healthier than Carbonara with bacon.

Ingredients:
8 oz spaghetti
1 tbsp butter
4 oz heavy whipping cream
2 eggs
3 tbsp  Parmesan
6 oz salmon fillet
package frozen Peas

Cooking:
Cook the spaghetti, the salmon and the peas. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a pan Remove from the heat.

Lightly beat the cream, eggs and half the Parmesan in a bowl. Stir in the cooked salmon flaked well.

Drain the pasta well and return to the pan with the melted butter. Add the salmon mixture and peas, then toss well so the heat from the pasta lightly thickens the sauce. Serve with the remaining Parmesan and plenty of black pepper.

Afterthought: It might be a good idea to heat the mixture enough to be sure to cook the raw eggs onto the spaghetti and thereby avoid the possibility of Salmonella poisoning.

Goodbye Alaska, Hello Seattle

Blog Number 1,001

Ok...so I didn't retire after the 1,000th blog after all.....There was such an outcry from my loyal readers that I feel obligated to continue....I call this picture "seals on the rocks"....

 This is a tidewater glacier...the other types are alpine glaciers and I forget the 3rd type.

 We kayaked in this mess a few years ago...

 We saw a lot of Orcas in Prince William Sound.

 Nothing special here..just more scenery...

 They say that sea otters have about 1,000,000 hair per square inch...they used to make good hats until they became endangered...now they're all over...

 Caribou are called reindeer when they are domesticated...you can't buy caribou meat, but reindeer sausage is ubiquitous in Alaska....I beat Mrs. Phred playing scrabble last night by two points...it's not all skill...the luck of the draw plays a factor...

 Brown bear in Denali...we saw 12 bears...our bus driver kept up a constant patter although the website promised that the 14 hour trip would not be narrated...it was obvious from the way that she yelled at the passengers that she spent the winters as a school bus driver.

Sue and Les look at bear photos on the bus.

 These two moose (mooses?) locked horns and left their skulls behind.

Sheep in Denali.

Sue and Les say goodbye in the Anchorage airport. I had two pomegranate mojitos...the tab for those was $30...my dad always told me to get a price first...

 The whole crew preparing for a raft trip on the Kenai River.