Caldera Springs Fishing

With the camper all loaded and a full tank of diesel in the truck, we rambled out of Post Falls west to Ritzville and then south to the Tri-Cities. Taking a little rest break, we strolled around REI and chatted about how this business started as a lower-cost retailer for the outdoor-minded and that now they just carry the cool name brands at a large markup. We both couldn't remember when we bought something from REI and were happy with the price. I guess we are just showing our age again.

Sunset on Columbia River at Rufus.

Back in the rig, we motored out of Pasco and down to the Columbia River. Our destination for the night was a boondocking site at Rufus. We have stayed at this location several times before. It is a no-cost area and the noise from the train and highway is not as loud as some spots along this route.

The sunset was spectacular and we enjoyed our dinner and the view.

The night was windless (we couldn't remember the last time that the wind wasn't blowing in the gorge... if ever) and with those conditions, the temperature outside dropped significantly. Linda and I both woke up in the middle of the night and had to add blankets to our bed.

Our cabin on the lake.

The cold early wakeup got us up and on the road and we continued along the river to Biggs Junction where we turned south heading for Bend, OR.

There was no problem driving though Bend even though they were in the middle of a huge freeway construction project. We followed Highway 97 south to Sunriver. There, we wound our way through the neighborhoods in an area called Caldera Springs where we would join Caroline and Don at a home they had rented.

The house was a large three-bedroom place with a large kitchen connected to the living room. It was warm and comfortable and made a great getaway for our time with the Samulsons. 

One huge positive point for this house was that it was located on a private pond/stream. Because it was private, there was no Oregon fishing license required. Caroline and I took advantage of this by fly fishing every second we could.  One of us had a line in the water every minute from sun up to sunset.  We both caught some big fish. They were all over 14 inches with some measuring 22 inches or larger. 

This was Caroline's first attempt at fly fishing and she did a great job controlling the line.  She caught more fish than I did. It was apparent she enjoyed being on the water casting her green Woolly Bugger and hooking the big rainbows.

We had a great time and enjoyed every minute of the stay. Linda was able to drag me away from the fishing to do a long bike ride. During the bike ride, I was looking at the Deschutes River the entire time we rode, thinking about fishing the riffles and eddies. 

Meals while we were there were beyond belief. No one went hungry and we were able to try out a couple of new food items from Costco. Costco is a big meal provider for our travels. It is so easy to thaw a meal that has been pre-cooked and frozen and throw it in a pan or in the oven to reheat. 

The visit went very fast and before we were ready it was time for us to load up and make the drive back home.  We packed the truck, said our goodbyes, and hit the road.

We drove back to a camp spot we have used many times located in Arlington, OR. It is a port-managed camp spot and it costs $10.  We sat in the sun (windy, but expected 😊) and watched the river flow by until the sun dropped over the horizon.

The next morning we got up and hit the road and arrived home in the early afternoon. It was another great trip in our camper with a wonderful visit to a couple of our most cherished friends. Thanks, Don and Caroline!

The Longer Way Home

The months flew by and our time in Melaque came to an end. It was time to leave The 375. Our next adventure included a visit with Loretta and John Sutherland who live in La Ribera, located northeast of San José del Cabo.

Leading up to our departure, Linda made arrangements with our landlord, Rosa, to arrange for a taxi to the airport.  We needed to leave at about 5 am and taxis are hard to locate for early pickup. Rosa made the arrangements. She and Linda kept in contact confirming that taxi No. 5 would be there to pick us up on our departure date.

They didn't show up! At 10 after 5 am, Linda texted Rosa saying no one had arrived.  Rosa texted that she was on the way. 

When she arrived, there was a period of unloading her Suburban making room for our bags. The problem was that the back door was broken and the seats were unable to fold down. I had to stuff our luggage and myself into the back seat where I rode to the airport. That's one big suitcase, two carry-on bags and my backpack plus myself in the seat.

Linda rode up front and spent her time wiping fog off the front window so that Rosa and she could see the road. It was still dark outside. The defrost did not work and the two front windows would not open. You could barely see the road.

Rosa drove and talked while Linda wiped and asked questions so that she didn't show how afraid for our lives we were.

I sat stuffed in the back with both windows wide open. The wind battered my face and I could not hear anything.  I wasn't prepared for the cold morning wind so all I could do was hug my backpack and cross my fingers.

On our road run to catch our flight, we hit three topas (speed bumps) so fast that I was flung to the ceiling of the rig. Each time Rosa would say, "Oh, sorry!" and drive on into the foggy dark. 

We have had some wild rides to and from the airport, but this was the worst.

But what could we do and say? Rosa did the best she could, we didn't crash, and we made it in plenty of time. She refused to take any money we offered. We were lucky she turned her phone on when she did this morning. She sure had been wonderful to us all season. Thanks, Rosa!

Our flight to Jose De Cabo went well and we were picked up by a driver arranged by Loretta Sutherland. Jorge, the driver, was very nice and was well-tuned into his phone and electronics. He drove relatively sanely, as drivers in Mexico go. He maybe tailgated a bit much, but we made it to La Rebira in good shape. 

John and Loretta were waiting for us and were happy to see us.  My head was throbbing from the pressure of up and down so I needed to get some rest. We had dinner and were able to go to bed early.

Our stay with John and Loretta was great. We ate lots of food, relaxed, and enjoyed the views from their patio.

On Thursday the winds looked favorable and John said, "Let's go fishing." We loaded the boat and hit the water early. The day was perfect and we had a great time fishing. I caught a 15 lb. dorado that we released back to fight another day. John said that his freezer was stuffed and he didn't need fish, so from the start, we knew we would be releasing anything we caught.  Great day fishing for me!

We enjoyed every meal and had a great stay. It was a nice break before traveling home. The Sutherlands place is beautiful and they have it just the way they want it. Thank you, John and Loretta, for your kindness and hospitality. We had a wonderful time with fantastic friends.

Captain John releases the Dorado.

The morning view from the Sutherland's patio.

Our journey home was not the best. The Sutherlands drove us to the airport and we said our goodbyes.  The check-in line was clogged with people and the luggage carrier had broken down. It took forever to get the bags checked in and our boarding passes.  Then our flight was delayed, something to do with crew issues.  We sat and, finally, we were able to board. The flight left Mexico about an hour late.

Once we landed in Los Angeles, we had to run through customs, which was easy due to our Global Entry clearance. Then we grabbed our luggage and moved it to recheck. The recheck area was closed and locked up tight. The guy there said we wouldn't make the flight, but we said we wanted to at least try. He said he'd do his best. We left our bags with him, hoping for the best, and started running.

TSA went smoothly for Linda, but I got a real power-hungry guy who had to frisk me. That took a bit.  We sprinted to the gate and they were just calling our names. We ran up, they waved us through and we entered the plane as they pulled the door shut behind us.

We made the flight and knew that we would be arriving in Spokane soon. Our luggage would probably not make it, but that was ok with us.

We arrived in Spokane and met our favorite, most wonderful driver, Barbara Crow. We checked the baggage area and sure enough, our luggage had made it to Spokane. We rode home in a warm car happy to be done with the winter travel. We just wish we could have brought the warm weather with us.