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Published: September 14th 2006
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We are now at Memaloose State Park near The Dalles Oregon. We are volunteer camp hosts at the campground. The park itself is fairly small, about 60 campsites including both tenting sites and areas for RVs with full hook-ups. Camphosts usually get the best campsites and we are no exception. The windows of our trailer look out onto the Columbia River Gorge and the island from which this park takes it’s name, Memaloose. Memaloose was a sacred indian burial ground on an island in the middle of the river. There are no indians buried there now, only a white man who wanted to be buried with the indians. When a nearby dam was built it caused the water level around the island to rise and now most of the island is underwater. The tribes came and relocated their ancestors to another burial site before the dam was finished. The Columbia River Gorge gets it’s fame from the breathtaking scenery and the fact that Lewis & Clark traveled and camped along it’s banks.
We have a different job here than we did at the lighthouse. Here we are campground hosts and we share the job with 3 other older couples (it’s a
big campground, around 60 sites for both tents and trailers). Mike has the responsibility of doing all the watering and equipment maintenance, I work at the campground store and help with the weekend interpretative programs the rangers put on. An example of the programs are what we are doing this weekend. On Friday evening we are showing a video about eagles in our outdoor amphitheater & Saturday night we are putting on a Jeopardy like game show about the Columbia River Gorge with the campers making up the teams. We work about 4 hours a day and have 2 days off every week. Well, Mike usually ends up working more than 4 hours because since his job is irrigation he ends up moving the sprinklers about 3 or 4 times a day.
What is taking up a lot of our attention lately is the discussion and planning of our trip to Europe in July. Our very first foreign exchange student, Kristina, from Sweden is getting married the end of July and we have decided to go over for the event. We are flying out of Portland on July 3 and arriving first in Amsterdam. We have a few days of playing tourist there. I was able to book a hotel in a very old building on one of the canals that was built in the 1600’s. So, a few days in Amsterdam then off to Sweden. We are traveling thru Sweden for about 7 days with our very special Swedish tour guide. Then we switch countries and guides and head to Berlin Germany to hook up with Nicolas who will stay with us as we travel around Germany. I think Berlin will take up a lot of our time (there is so much to see in Berlin). Then back to Sweden for the wedding then back to Amsterdam for a few more days then heading home on July 28. When we get back, we travel back to the lighthouse at Heceta Head for another month of tours. Then finish up our volunteer season with 2 months (Sept/Oct) at Smith Rock State Park near central Oregon.
We are also making plans to sell the truck and trailer. No, we are not giving up this lifestyle, we love it too much. The truth is, this truck and trailer are too much. Much too big and not fun to tow and the truck makes driving the cities and towns a real drag.
Mike & I have been kicking around some travel ideas for the near future. Want to hear? If you don’t care…stop reading. We do plan to spend the winter holidays in southern Oregon with Mike’s family then after Christmas we head south to the Baja pennisula in Mexico. We want to find a cheap little furnished apartment and spend 3 months on the Sea of Cortez. That’s the time the grey whales will be there breeding and birthing. We’ll take a crash course in Spanish and how to properly say margarita. Then back to the states in April and hopefully on to Yellowstone National Park for a summer job. We almost had jobs there for this summer at a non-profit bookstore. The lady really wanted to hire us but couldn’t find jobs for both of us close enough together so we had to look elsewhere which led us to volunteer in Oregon (win win situation really). We are hoping if we get our applications in early enough for 2005 hiring we can make it work.
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