Chevy & GMC Vans

My wife wasn't able to go, but Ryan jumped at the chance for a cabin/ATVing weekend. We loaded up on Friday afternoon and left around 5pm. We arrived at Tollgate, Oregon, around 8pm. By the time we unpacked and checked in via cell phone with mom, it was after 9pm and getting dark. Even though the upstairs deck is still MIA, we rolled out our sleeping bags on the downstairs covered deck and slept 'partly' under the stars. (It only got down to 40 degrees F overnight.)

After breakfast of cerial and Pop Tarts... dad wasn't planning on doing any cooking!... we unloaded our toys and hit the trail.

The snow is still hanging in the most shaded areas. Here is Ryan busting a drift on her ATV.


We also encountered a few mud puddles. This one looked bad but had a solid bottom and was fairly shallow.




We then headed out to my favorite overlook. I was suprised to see sheep out there.


It used to be common to find them out there, but I haven't seen them in years. I didn't see a herder around, but he couldn't have been too far away.


Ryan wanted to pet one. I said she could try...


But they wouldn't let her get anywhere near them.




We later went back to the cabin, played some games, took a (mountain) bike ride, hiked, searched for morel mushrooms (none found), drove down to town to McDonalds for dinner (a story in itself), came back to the cabin and watched "Bridge To Terabithia", and then hit the sack out on the deck again.

We again had cerial and Pop Tarts for breakfast and took another ATV ride.

Ryan was leading the way and suddenly stopped for this.


No sooner did we shoo the snake off the road, we saw this little frog.


While stopped, I needed a picture of my ATV pal.


We started packing up around 12:30pm and here I am locking up the cabin just before 2pm.


The truck and trailer are loaded and ready to head out. No, you can't ride home on the trailer!


Ryan snapped this one of me while I was opening up the gate just before we pulled out.


Dropping down off the mountain, we drive through some wheat farmland before reaching town. I've been driving past this cool old barn for more than 30 years and have always wanted to get a picture of it. Today the sun was right and I was in no rush...



Yeah, we could have stayed another day since it is a holiday weekend, but I knew that both my daughter and wife were missing each other. We'll get another trip up pretty soon and bring Kathryn and her ATV too.

Looks like you both had a great time, and well done on the barn pic

Very cool........it's SO important to spend time with your kids. I like the T-shirt. Some years ago my friend Norm and I put vinyl graphics on a blimp in that hanger. At the time there were two blimp hangers. It's a real shame one of them burnt. Those structures are very impressive.

great pics/story of the weekend. nice to have a getaway like that one... takes your breathe away with some of those views. thanks again for posting

and great to see you back James

trybe13 wrote:AWESOME Matt! I can say that I am truly more than a little jealous!
Father/daughter time like that is sooo important in helping our girls to grow up and be well rounded/grounded women. Any man that has ever dealt with a lunatic girlfriend can be sure to find very little -if any- father/ daughter bonding time.

Welcome back James!

Smiliesafari wrote:Very cool........it's SO important to spend time with your kids. I like the T-shirt. Some years ago my friend Norm and I put vinyl graphics on a blimp in that hanger. At the time there were two blimp hangers. It's a real shame one of them burnt. Those structures are very impressive.

I enjoyed that museum in Tillamook and the hanger is large. I didn't realize there used to be two of them. What caused it to burn?

Awesome pictures with a great story to read...... Thankyou for postin`......

What a great way to spend the holiday, Matt. Looks like a blast. How far is the cabin from Selah?

Especially liked the picture Ryan got of sasquatch !

I'm not too sure about the accuracy of the story but this is what was in the rumor mill. The blimp hanger that was burnt was being used for hay storage. Supposedly there were a few farmers that were mad because the hay was going to be shipped to China. And the rest is history. It's a real shame. The blimp era is a real important part of the US aviation history. Anyway, nice pics of the weekend. My baby girl is 35 and has a very busy life. We don't get the opportunity to do much together any more. There's days that I miss it a lot. It seems like you can't wait for them to grow up. When they do and get lives of their own you really miss them.

T.Low wrote:What a great way to spend the holiday, Matt. Looks like a blast. How far is the cabin from Selah?

My wife will tell you "too far". During non-snow season, it takes about 2:45 to get there. It's an easy drive really, and about 2/3rds of the way is interstate or divided highway.

If you and Jen ever want to come down and check it out, let me know. You would have your very own cabin. (Other ASV members also welcome.) There are two cabins on the property. The larger cabin was built by my step-dad for our family, and the smaller cabin was built by my step-dad and uncle for my uncle. (Both my step-dad and uncle have passed on and I bought the property from mom.)

Oh, and think 'rustic'. No running water, no commercial power, and two outhouses!

Great pics Matt. Thanks for sharing the fun. Time well spent and like Skip,,not much time with my Daughter the last couple of years,,in college and busy. Spend all the time you can,,it'll be gone before ya know it.

wow way better than my weekend! thanks for sharing the pics, looks like it was a great time!