MADDOGS

TUESDAY--June 29, 2004--Spent Sunday and Monday at the Wellness Health Conference. I think my workshop went well; the evaluations were excellent. I had a good time there and met a lot of people that I liked, and laughed bunches. Spent Saturday and Sunday night camped by the river. Monday's night camp was in Astoria.

Early Monday evening Heather was crossing over I-5 on a bike and hit the curb with the wheel. She biffed. Since her dad had gone to Tahoe, I had to evaluate her injuries over the phone. Robin took her to the doctor's this morning. Heather has a cracked rib; a swollen & scraped cheekbone, right hand, hipbone and knee. There are also many other places with road burn and an almost-deep-enough-for-stitches cut on her righ palm,.

Fortunately she'll live, but dealing with this long-distance has been stressful--for both Heather and me.

TUESDAY--June 29, 2004--Fort Clapsot, the last stop for Lewis and Clark before heading back to St. Louis. The fort is about 50' X 50' and housed 32 people. The flagpole is in the actual spot of the original, the rest of the fort may be a few yards off in one direction or the other. The original fort was built to get the company through the winter; it was not built to last ie. they didn't peel the bark off the logs. So the original fort decayed fairly quickly. This is a recreation from Clark's drawings and the details of his journal. The expedition was very miserable, their hide clothing actually rotting away as they wore them, in part because it was raining all the time. On the other hand, the Native Americans lived through the same winter,experiencing the same conditions, in comfort. It is puzzling to Jude why Lewis and Clark (& all others who came West) didn't adopt some of the ways of the Native Americans rather than clinging to the European way of doing things--after all, during the Revolutionary War the whites fought like the Indians rather than like the British or French. 

TUESDAY--June 29, 2004--Inside one of the rooms at Fort Clapsot. Four bunks (or 8 men) per room. 

TUESDAY--June 29, 2004--Lewis and Clark River. The Native Americans called it Nathal River. The pilings are lane markers. During the mid to late 1900s, trees were cut and dumped here, then lashed into rafts and pulled by tug boats either upstream or downstream. The pilings kept everyone in the right place. 

TUESDAY--Jude standing next to Sacagewea and her son. Jude thought the statue looked small, but now can see it is life-size. The bottom end of 5 feet is shorter than she thought. 

TUESDAY--Jude and friend at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. This is the skull of a grizzly bear, placed on the wall to show how tall he was if he were standing on his hind legs. Jude is about 5'3", so this grizzly is huge! Imagine the grizzly with fur, and flesh, and muscle--growling with an open mouth, dripping saliva. This would be a pretty accurate rendition of Jude's dreams. 

TUESDAY--Historical marker indicating the place where Lewis and Clark first saw the Pacific Ocean. Maybe if you double-click on the photo, the words will be legible. 

TUESDAY--This was Lewis and Clark's first view of the Pacific Ocean, located just barely across the border of Washington. Of course then in 1805, there were no borders. 

TUESDAY--Lighthouse at Camp Disappointment, just across the border into Washington. Although Lewis and Clark were never here, this is where the Lewis and Clark interpretive center is located. Jude got here rather late in the day (4:30pm) because she stopped along the way and took a 2 hr. nap. The place closed at 5 and because she was so late, they let her in for free. Then because one of the workers was staying late that night, he let her wander about the place for as long as she wanted. So Jude stayed here about 2 hrs. looking at the displays and doing the hands-on activities. She even loaded a dug-out canoe with 35 boxes of supples without tipping the canoe over and the supplies into the water. The Crew doesn't have a clue how she did this without our help. After she left the center, she met a family who got there too late to get inside. They gave Jude their name and phone number and invited her to visit if The Crew ever goes to Bryce Canyon. 

TUESDAY--Gray day today. Never saw the sun today until just before sunset. High temperature was 59 degrees. It might turn out to be a sleeping bag kind of night. The Adventure Crew likes these kind of days. Bleak, some people say, but the MADDOG definition of bleak days are TAN-FAN-DANG-GO!!

Night camped at Camp Wal-Mart in Aberdeen, WA.

SUNDAY--Seaside. Morning on the beach. Three Arch Rocks. 

6-26-04--SATURDAY--Seaside,Oregon. Just after sunset. I liked this photo better than sunset. Walked the beach until dark, then had to ask some teenage bonfire junkies how to find the path back to the parking lot. Night camped next to the Necicum River. 

6-26-04--SATURDAY--The Martin Clan at Oceanside. They meet once a year (grandparents, offspring & spouses, grandchildren) to build a monster sand creation, then hang around to watch the tide tear it apart. What a awesome tradition. I'm going to use it in my workshop on Monday. Way to go Martins!!! 

6-26-04--SATURDAY--Most interesting sight at Netarts Bay. The Crew peeked inside. All washers & dryers were silent and no one was lurking. Where oh where can the Speed Queen be? 

6-26-04--SATURDAY--Netarts Bay. Low tide. Heron. 

6-26-94--SATURDAY--Morning on the Pacific. Drizzle of rain. Two blanket night last night--high 40s. 

FRIDAY--Sunset is a meditation. Florence, OR. 

Umpqua River, almost to the ocean--near Reedsport, OR. 

A 5 pound bull frog that knows how to croak in ecstasy. 

This is the giraffe that wanted to go on a MADDOG adventure so much, he tried to climb in the Nomad. 

Tiger, tiger burning bright. . . 

Jude dreams every night. This is a version of what her dreams look like--in her dreams, the bear is a grizzly and twice as mean. 

Pixie took a lot of photos at the Wildlife Safari. We are just showing a few on the blog; the rest will be printed up and sent to Ben. 

THURSDAY--The Adventure Crew is on a MADDOG ROADTRIP!!! We are out of the rut and into the groove. Tan-fan-dang-go!

This is the plan: Jude will speak at a conference in Seaside, Oregon this coming Monday, June 28th on You Too Can Write Your Life Story; then we will go to Seattle to visit Holly; then do part of the Lewis and Clark trail backwards, ie starting at the Pacific Ocean and traveling East; drop down through Montana to Idaho Falls and visit Cousin Renae and Aunt Nola; visit GG (Great Granny) in Logan; then circle around to Sac Town via Hwy 80. That is the plan--the reality is that the Adventure Crew wanders--or in other words: Who knows what the MADDOGS will actually do?

We ate lunch in the looming presence of Mt. Shasta. While there was snow on the mountain, it was 87 degrees at the picnic, but get a load of the atmosphere.

ANSWERS TO WEDNESDAY'S POP QUIZ:
The movie: Goonies
Mr. Walsh's sexual torture device: snow chains

How many answers did you get right? 

7PM--Since we exited in the town of Winston, Oregon (Which just happens to be the home of the Wildlife Safari) we had a Crew meeting and croc had the final say that we should spend the night here and go to the Wildlife Safari in the morning. The Nomad took us to the Wildlife Safari so we could see what time it opens (9am) and how much it costs. They are going to charge $17.50 for Jude because she is an adult, but the rest of us get in free. Is that a deal, or what?

Anyway, there were some picnic tables at the Safari (it was already closed for the day) and the deer had come out of the hills to have a picnic of flowers. We saw 6, but Pixie could only get a photo of two. 

WEDNESDAY--Jude at the back of the Nomad. The top drawer is for the marijuana. The second drawer is for the cocaine and heroine. You must never mix the drugs. The bottom drawer is for Mr. Walsh’s sexual torture devices and how-to manuals.

These famous lines are from one of Jude’s favorite movies. Can you guess which one? Hint: Chunk and Sloth.

Notice which drawer Jude opened first. But exactly what sexual torture device did she find?

TEST FOR THE DAY: If this entry is successful, The Adventure Crew can hit the road and start acting like the MADDOGS they are!!!! 

FRIDAY--

MADDOG at the wheel!!!!!

Jude has been exibiting some strange behaviors lately. Here she is chomping on the steering wheel. The question is, why. Could it be:
A. She's frustrated at being caught in grid lock?
B. She's trying to stay awake while driving to the next destination?
C. A ROADTRIP is long overdue?