I Bought A Cat!

 I figure that if one is going to be going to the Northwest, one should maybe start on the West Coast with the Pacific Ocean. I don't know that much about the coast so I picked a spot in what they call the Central Coast of Oregon. That way, depending on how the wind blows, I could go either north or south and get a feel for all things coastal. 

Water, Water And More Water

 

I just have to say – driving through eastern Oregon is a long, long stretch and I had to stop halfway thru Oregon to rest up. I ended up at the Harney County Fairgrounds which was basically a big parking lot. As Miko and I are walking around the parking lot, I hear a lot of whooping and hollering coming from over at the grandstand area. We wander over there and found that they had a two day bronc riding clinic going on. Today was saddle bronc riding, tomorrow would be bareback. These guys, who looked like they were high school age would come shooting out of the shoot and everybody would yell “Lean Back, lean back” which none of them seemed to be able to do. As a consequence, most of them only lasted about half a second before they hit the dirt. I was entertained. 

Mr. Potato Head?

 After Salt Lake City, I scurried across Wyoming and landed up in eastern Idaho. While in Idaho, I had an epiphany of a sorts. I know this will come as a surprise to many, but I think I am going to give up on my Junior Ranger quest. It is sad and unfortunate, I know, but the thrill is no longer there. I used to swell with pride every time I repeated the Junior Ranger oath and I felt a great sense of accomplishment. Now, after becoming a Junior Ranger over 100 times, there is no glow, no buzz. I guess all good things eventually come to an end.

Birds, Copper, Bison

 After Denver, I was headed for Rocky Mountain National Park. On the day I was going to go there, they got three feet of snow. Nope, change of plans – too much snow for me. My next stop was going to be the Grand Tetons in Wyoming. It turns out that it was too early in the season for any RV parks to be open. Again – change of plans. I looked at a map, closed my eyes, pointed my little finger at the map and decided that Salt Lake City was where I was going. 

Pike's Peak Or Bust

 Anytime you take off in the camper and the camper has been stored away for a winter, there will always be issues. You come to expect it but you cross your fingers and hope that it is nothing major. Well my first issue, I came to discover, was bordering on the major. 

Port, Chocolate and Rose Wine

 Porto, like most other cities, has several museums. There were a few that caught my eye, actually there were a few that I felt that there was no way I was going to miss them. To get to them, I had to cross the Douro River on the double-decker Dom Luis I Bridge. This bridge is 600 feet high and one of the premier tourist attractions in Porto.

A New Country For Me

 Food Tour is over – Farewells have been said. 

 A friend had said to me – you are only a couple of hours away from Portugal – go!  So I went. I got up before the crack of dawn to catch a bus to Porto, the 2^nd largest city in Portugal. My hotel, the Porto A.S. 1829 is located right in the center of the historical district. I got a corner room, overlooking a square and right above where the street musicians would play. They played from about ten in the morning until about ten at night and they all had amplifiers. I think they were an organized group, each would play about an hour, leave and then the next musician would set up. Some of the musicians were fabulous, some were ok. Nobody was horrible. So, it was a treat.