by Sharon O | Aug 7, 2016 | Uncategorized
We left Oregon and went into Idaho to see Buhl, where the grandparents were buried, then to do some memorial sight seeing of what my husband and his sister could remember as little kids growing up. Of course along the way you always find other things that peak your interest. I loved this old building where we had a breakfast in a old fashioned, no fancy, no thrill restaurant. It was a sign on the wall.
In case you can’t read it,
“On this site in 1897 nothing happened.” Isn’t that funny?
After we left that area we moved into the Hailey Idaho area.
That is a little town I could actually move to, it was so cute. Very touristy and very expensive but really cute. I of course had to get a picture of the flag at the local post office.
It was such a cute little town with a huge rodeo grounds and a nice store or two and even a great skate park for the kids.
I can’t imagine who designed it with a darling statue in the park.
I had to get a picture of it, so adorable.
The skate park.
From Hailey Idaho we moved towards the Stanley Idaho area.
It was very nice and quaint. You could tell it was a community town probably about 100 people. On a sign by the road it said “children playing, no hunting.”
I found that rather funny.
Our dinner in Stanley outside on their patio.
We dined over a river while watching horses across the field.
Along our way I don’t remember the day or exactly where, I saw this sign.
Yep population 7.
At one point we were on a very high pass on pretty gravel roads and found this little guy plus a few of his friends.
I wanted a picture of a cow. I guess I got one.
This is only part of our vacation and some of it might not be in order.
Amazing landscapes and small towns of America.
Our next journey will bring us to Montana.
by Sharon O | Aug 6, 2016 | Uncategorized
On our way out of Haggerman park there was a wonderful little ‘sculpture’ site we had to take pictures of, they were really amazing.
After taking the time for pictures we moved on down the valley thinking we could find a place to stay. Had a few ‘sites in mind’ but we ended up with no luck.
Upper Idaho had some areas a lot of people liked around the sawtooth mountains and there were no campgrounds were available.
I called this next site ‘our pause’… because Larry had told me we needed to dump our ‘black water’ and I said ‘yes we do if we are off camp ground’ sites. So we dropped half of our team in a hot site so they could hold it, and we moved up toward the town of Stanley to dump our trailer in a forest ranger dump station.
We didn’t like the area we settled in, but it would be ok for a night. After returning from our ‘dump’ trip we came back and our team had found a shady much better site for us to stay in. God had provided and we were thankful.
We ended up in a pretty shady spot, and it was way better than what we thought.
We stayed there two nights, with no hook ups for our trailer but ok.
During that stay we had a few days to play so we saw the sawtooth mountains and had a play day which we all needed. Here you see Bruce on of our guys way high on top of this mountain, and my husband was on the trail taking the picture.
The sawtooth mountains were amazingly beautiful.
We tried to camp near them but the grounds were full so we were happy to just play for the day and enjoy the lake-time spent together.
We had a lunch and some played in the water and we enjoyed the beauty of the landscape around us knowing how blessed we were to have a safe and enjoyable trip. It had been hot but we managed and the trip was only less than half over so on to the next journey.
by Sharon O | Aug 6, 2016 | Uncategorized
After we left the Interpretive trail and all that area we headed for Idaho and stayed in Haggerman RV park, in Haggerman Idaho.
On the way we saw the overlook of the snake river, it was pretty to see and observe.
Along our travels we tried to find some wineries that were open or old barns to photograph. Our two favorite things to do.
We tried to find these on the same day we went to go see the grandma’s and grandpa’s gravesites.
The organic winery, was closed but the gate was pretty.
We entered into Buhl Idaho where grandma’s house was found and the gravesite.
It is always a wonderful thing to actually find part of one’s history to share with others who could not come that far to see it. Grandpa and Grandma O’s gravestone.
Together again.
by Sharon O | Aug 5, 2016 | Uncategorized
The journey continued for those heading to better lands.
The people varied from camp sites. Each had their own agenda’s and goals.
The old and the young, all went together. Women worked as hard as the men.
It amazed me how they must have traveled. 
No roads, only un-travelled sage brush filled mountainous ranges.
They had some of their ‘possessions with them’, some treasured items.
I am not sure what the mom’s did with little babies as there was not fresh water to do daily care or even enough heat to keep them warm at night, if the temperatures lowered. They sacrificed so much to leave a land they knew to go to one they wished for. 
The journey was long and they endured many rough times as they faced each day I am not so sure I would have had that kind of determination. When we were there visiting at the museum it was hot, in the high 80’s and not anywhere near the discomfort they would have experienced.
by Sharon O | Aug 5, 2016 | Uncategorized
As we moved through the pictures and the replica’s they had inside of the museum one can imagine how hard the journey was for them. When some of their loved ones died.
They had to bury them and move on.
There was no time for intensive grief life was harsh and they had to meet the goal before the weather changed and the months worsen for them on the journey.
How did they have fresh food or even water is beyond my imagination because the land was so harsh and treacherous at times. I cannot even imagine… the emptiness they had in their hearts looking for a new ‘fresh place to live.’
The stories are interesting to read how they journeyed by day and perhaps night.
I cannot imagine every night going to sleep with the howling of wolves by my bed.
It must have been a bit ‘unnerving’ for them yet they moved forward every day with a goal in mind to find new land and a new life.
The journey was hot, and many got sick and some even died.
There was often discord among the travelers but there also had to be some in charge.
Then there were others who fought the tired travelers.
Families had to give up much to travel the journey.
Keepsakes, friends, family left behind who didn’t join them on the journey.
It was a great ‘afternoon’ spent learning about the history of the Oregon trail.
I will be sharing more in the next few ‘posts’… it was just so interesting.
I had a new appreciation for what it took for these people to travel so far.
by Sharon O | Aug 4, 2016 | Uncategorized
The experience in this place was not easy to forget.
First of all one has to drive out of Baker up to a high altitude to see the setting.
The journey through the Oregon trail for those who had to come by wagon trains and horse back had to have been intensely rough.
The roads are rugged, the landscape harsh. The water not easy to find.
The goal was to get to Oregon. It was a monumental task for all involved.
There was death, and loss and heavy intensive struggles and I couldn’t imagine going that far with no fresh food, no water, no bathrooms or showers.
We are spoiled in the sense of those thoughts. It was a journey for sure that took many months and many hardships for them.
There were two parts of the story. The white man’s part and the American Indians part. I was struck with the Indian history mostly because we met them on their lands.
It was a fiercely fought war and many died. It was hard for me to understand.
So much death and so much at stake and for so little, back then.
The landscape is so barren and so hot and full of sage brush and empty territory.
One had to have an imagination why, they traveled to come this way to the Oregon trail, from many states away ending up in Oregon City, Oregon.
The day was cooler for us and it gave me a ‘thought’ of how this must have been for the many who were traveling by wagon train and by foot.
The museum is well worth one’s time spent, we went in not knowing what to expect and came out close to 5 hours later fully aware of the hardships of the people.
So beautiful, so barren, so empty of life.
So much filled the hearts of those who were traveling for a better land and a better life, with so much hope, so much sadness all filled in one trip.
If you wish to read more on the topic, I am sure any local library or even online searching would tell you much more of the journey of the Oregon Trail.
by Sharon O | Aug 3, 2016 | Uncategorized
We stayed in Union Creek campground from Saturday the 16th of July to the 18th of July. We were able to see some fun ‘little critters’ and also journey around the area without our trailer with us. Larry got some really cute pictures of this little squirrel.
At night Sharon and I were sitting at the camp ground and we had a ‘osprey’ fly over our heads. He was actually a bit scary, he was so close to us.
We thought it was an owl or even maybe a bat but it was an osprey and it was hunting from the waters edge.
The next day we were planning on going to the Oregon trail interpretive center in Baker, Oregon. It is the kind of museum we all loved seeing and we were excited to spend some time in it before our trip actually began.
I didn’t know what to expect. Sometimes museums are a bit boring for me, I like history but it also has to have interesting scenes or pictures and a reality I can grab a hold of emotionally. I was hoping not to be disappointed.
by Sharon O | Aug 2, 2016 | Uncategorized
We had planned for many months and tried to think of the many ways we could go on this trip. My husband and his sister did most of the planning and we also wanted to leave a little bit of room for change or play. It ended up being a 2,840 mile trip.
We saw many lovely barren landscapes. Many points of interest and even a few mountain goats and cows in our road. It was a hot season, next time we might try for a cooler month, it was also buggy at times. Again a different season would help.
We began in Oregon and then moved forward to Idaho then even moved forward to Montana and then back to Idaho and then back to Oregon.
It was a lot of driving, some playing and some sleeping.
When we went down the ‘The gorge’ as they call it in Oregon.
We saw a lot of wind turbines, they are pretty awesome I think.
Large and not too obnoxious in looks.
Some people feel they ruin the beauty of the landscape but I can think of much worse things to look at.
Our first night we were heading to Union Creek campground in Baker, County.
It was the beginning of many long stays ahead of us.
We had our trailer, the other part of our team had a tent, and with both guys driving we managed to cover many miles.
The adventure continued for two more weeks.
Our trailer has a built in awning with a light inside. At night we would turn the soft light on and then have a campfire and it set up the rest of the ending of our day … till the next one began.
by Sharon O | Aug 1, 2016 | Uncategorized
We left for a two week vacation.
It was hot, very hot, but we had a safe drive and a good time.
I took lot’s of pictures, along with my husband. For the next few weeks I will be sharing them, so stay tuned.
It is a lot of filtering through the ‘most’ shareable ones and then writing about where we were at the time. I really hope I don’t lose your interest.
We started in Oregon then moved from there to Idaho then into Montana and then back home again. The weather was mostly in the 90’s with some relief at night. We were in our trailer and my husbands sister and her husband were in a tent.
We have many adventure stories to tell and many ‘good sights’ to share.
We named our ‘old black car’ Gibbs and the trailer Gabby.
Two reasons, we like the name Gibbs and I kept chatting to my husband while he was trying to drive in unknown territory.
So the name is a for sure thing.
by Sharon O | Jun 29, 2016 | Uncategorized
During one of our ‘travel days’ while we were staying in Florence we drove to a place known as Shore Acres.
It is beautiful to visit and take pictures and hike around. There is a trail that leads down to a very private beach.
We went there a few years ago and really wanted to go back and see it again.
This visit brought more tourist visitors, we were not sure why since it was in the middle of the week.
We were anticipating less people but it wasn’t bad, maybe a dozen were on the beach the same time we were.
The grounds around Shore acres have water falls, and beautiful flowers planted like a English garden.
Very beautiful.
When walking around the grounds you will notice there are a variety of roses, dahlia’s, perennial plants, all surrounded by carefully cut box woods.
It is a beautiful site to see and I have heard that at Christmas time it is even MORE outstanding.
On one side of the gardens there is a gate that leads down the path to the beach.
I loved the many picture taking opportunities it gave us as we went down the trail.
They have stairs that are pretty easy to navigate.
I always look for blog pictures and see if they can help tell a story or two.
As you walk the path if you listen really close you can hear ‘wild’ sea lions barking like a pack of dogs.
There is a place alongside the mountain you can climb while on an over look to see and experience them in the natural habitat.
We did that last time we were there, but this time neither one of us wanted to walk the uneven trail.
The beach is so pretty. The mountainside so rugged.
The beach has a drop off I have not walked out to it but it is there, I am sure of it.
Where the beach is higher than the water.
We want to go back when we can see the Christmas lighting and all the festivities in the park.
We have heard it is amazing and beautiful with thousands of lights and decorations surrounding the grounds.
Perhaps next year I can post some ‘holiday lights’ to show you the beauty of this wonderful place.
