Jacqueline’s Jaunts

Darn wind. It’s an awful drive again. I wish Mother Nature would calm the wind down.  We headed south on I-82, then west on I-84. We followed I-84 to the campground with a few detours. More fields of mustard and wheat. As stated in another blog, the mustard fields are beautiful. Lots of cattle roam the hillsides. I don’t think I’ve mentioned this before, but on this trip we have seen many trains hauling oil tankers in both Montana and Washington.  As we followed the Umatilla Lake, we could see whitecaps. At times, the wind would hit us so hard that it would move us onto the shoulder. Not a fun drive at all.  We passed the  Umatilla Army Depot  and could see the munitions storage bunkers from the interstate. The link I provided is to an article that provides lots of great information about the depot.  There are huge windmills along this route, which makes sense, but if you're in an RV, it’s a nightmare. At times, the road was right next to the river, an...

We decided to drive an hour and a half to Pendleton and tour the  Pendleton Woolen Mill . The drive from our campground was nothing but open range and windy. It was everything for me to stay awake. I can fall asleep in a car so easily. Mom always said when I was little, if I would not go to sleep, she or Dad would drive me around the neighborhood. The town has a rich history and many well-preserved buildings. We found the store/mill and checked in for our tour. We shopped before and after our tour. The one thing I was excited about was purchasing a solid wool blanket for our king-size bed at home. The solid blankets are not as expensive as the patterned ones.  The tour was very interesting. The looms are unbelievable. Takes two people three days to wind up the main thread roller, and it will run continuously for a month—miles and miles of thread — and it’s fascinating. There is only one woman sitting at a white color bar looking for imperfections! She fixes most on the spot. N...