My last post here was last March 2022. It was quite a year. Let's see, my last post was when I was at Honey Bear RV Resort in Gold Beach, Oregon. I continued up through Oregon and Washington through the Summer. I visited so many new places. Whale Watching in Anacortes, Washington was a highlight of my Summer.
I visited one of my favorite spots over the summer, Reeder Beach RV Resort, https://reederbeach.com/ .
It's on a small island in the Columbia River very close to Portland, I love sitting and watching the tug boats and cargo ships pass by. And, as you can see, Charlie enjoys the view as well. Shortly after I snapped this picture I was getting something out of an outside compartment and I left the door of the coach open. I saw movement from the corner of my eye and glanced over to see Charlie with her two front paws on the top step of the coach leaning out and sniffing intently. I proceeded to scold her to get her back into the coach but she had other plans. In a heartbeat she had bolted down the steps, raced under the coach and across the small gravel road to a huge tree which she bolted up as if she was rocket powdered.
I tried calling for her, bringing her food to sit at the base of the tree, and at one point me and a couple of other campers even tried to coax her to jump into a blanket. This tree is very tall and the lowest branch is probably 30-feet up so Charlie had no options other than to jump or fall from the tree. I was sure she would get hungry and I'd find her at my coach looking for food the next morning. Well, that didn't happen... On the second day and after a lot of researching, I found information on the Portland Humane Society's web page about tree rescues for cats. There are a group of arborists listed who volunteer to rescue cats. After calling a dozen folks on the list and speaking to a couple of them I was directed to a young man, Rick, who evidently is the go-to person for Portland cat tree-rescues. I reached him on his cell phone while he was at a music festival out of state. He said he would be happy to help when he returned 2 days later if Charlie hadn't come down by then. After 3 nights and four days without food or water, Rick arrived. Campers gathered around and watched as Rick tossed a line high into the tree over a sturdy branch high above where Charlie was perched. He secured his line and proceeded to deftly climb the rope into the tree.
It was so obvious that Rick had done this many times before. You could hear him calmly talking to Charlie as he entered the tree canopy at which point Charlie began crying louder than I have ever heard before. Rick had mentioned earlier that when they cry out it is a good sign they are ready to let him help them. He sidled up to the branch she was perched on, had a brief conversation with her, offered her a treat, carefully picked her up and holding her close slipped her into a pillowcase-like bag. After that, it was a quick zip to the ground and he handed me the cat in the bag to a round of applause from the onlookers. No muss, no fuss. I tearfully asked him how much I owed him. He said payment wasn't necessary... He did consent to a teary and heartful hug. Rick is proof there are real-life heros in this world. Rick later told me the older gentleman that had come with him was a well known folk musician he had met at the music festival, Michael Hurley, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hurley_(musician)#:~:text=Michael%20Hurley%20%28born%20December%2020%2C%201941%29%20is%20an,music%20has%20been%20described%20as%20%22%20outsider%20folk%22. .
Needless to say, after that adventure, the door to my coach is never left open.
Don't worry, the screen door is closed!
Hope you enjoy these photos from my stay at Reeder Beach. I'm looking forward to returning this Fall.
In early Fall I received a call from my step-sister that my mother had a seizure and the tests revealed that she had metastatic lung cancer with multiple brain masses. I returned to Kansas and a few months later, December 5th, she passed in her sleep.
Thanksgiving 2022
I am thankful 2022 is in the rearview mirror.
Images from 2022
