13. Detroit Lake, 8/14/10

I love the fact that I have SO many friends who are willing to participate in my 50th adventure with me. The challenge is choosing the right friend for each adventure. My friend Jess volunteered to go to Detroit Lake with me. The day, from start to finish, was truly an adventure. Our adventure began early, earlier than planned. As it turns out, it was a good thing we left early because we did not know there were two marinas, and we went to the wrong one first. After we found the right one, we got a very brief lesson on how to operate a wave runner and off we went. Since Jess had a distant knowledge and remote history with watercraft, and I had none, I begged her to drive first (plus I was scared to death to drive). Little did I know, I think she was far more afraid than I was. The ride started out slow because as you leave the marina you are in a no-wake zone so you just let the craft idle thru. This was great - I thought it would help us get our sea legs, get used to the machine, etc.; however, I do not think poor Jess ever got her sea legs. As we idled across the lake, I was secretly wishing that she would drive faster. I wanted to feel the spray in my face, the wind in my hair. This is hard to accomplish when you are going 15 MPH. After some time, we decided to find a dock and switch places, to let me try driving as Jess was still shaking. As we approached the dock, we both realized this was going to be tougher than we anticipated. There was nobody there to help us get the craft in so we could switch places, so we decided to hit the lake again. As you are traveling down the main part of the lake, the wind and wake can be a bit much so we found a quiet arm of the lake and traveled down it. I was hoping that Jess would feel more comfortable as time went by, but I believe the longer we were out there the harder it was for her. She put on a brave face for me, but I am pretty sure she was not enjoying our time on the water as much as I was. Since my watch decided to stop working, and we had no idea what time it was, we decided we should head back to check on the time and if time allowed, switch drivers so I could have a chance to be the scared driver. As luck would have it, our time was up and we had to turn the wave runner in. The young men who took in the boat had a good laugh. Apparently, we had set a new record - we used the least amount of gas that they could remember. When we went to pay our bill, they laughed at us too. So, I had to ask, "What is the average amount of gas that somebody uses in 2 hours with the wave runner?" The young lady smiled and replied, about $25. Jess and I looked at each other and giggled as our gas bill came to a whopping $11.70. It truly was a fun day! Thanks Jess for the great adventure.

A little history on Detroit Lake:
Located in the Cascade Mountains, Detroit Lake State Park is the gateway to beautiful Detroit Lake. The 400-foot deep lake was created in 1953 when the US Army Corp of Engineers completed the Detroit Dam project. The lake is over 9 miles long with more than 32 miles of shore line located in the North Santiam Canyon. This is the spot for all types of water sports: fishing, boating, swimming, water skiing, and personal watercraft. The park has a large campground bordering the lake. Along with two swimming areas, you'll find two playgrounds, a wildlife viewing area, a visitor center with historical exhibits, and a store with gifts, ice, soft drinks, firewood, souvenirs, and educational toys. The reservoir has a capacity of 455,000 acre-feet (560 million m³) of water when full and 281,600 acre-feet in the summer when drawn down. Detroit Lake is stocked by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife with 125,000 catchable rainbow trout along with fingerling rainbow, Kokanee, and Chinook salmon. A self-sustaining population of brown bullhead catfish resides in the lake.

Detroit Lake is one of 32 lakes federally designated for recreation, managed by the US Forest Service. The lake serves many purposes including flood control, water conservation, and recreation. At low pool, it has a surface elevation of 1,450 feet; at the full pool season—typically May 1 to September 1—it can raise up to 119 feet to a water elevation of 1,569 feet.

12. Seattle's Space Needle, 7/30-8/1

When our Seattle Space Needle adventure began, who would have thunk it would have taken 5-1/2 hours to drive to Seattle, surely not I, but indeed that was how long it took. Here are a few fun facts about the Space Needle:

•The Space Needle was built on a 120' x 120' lot formerly owned by the city of Seattle, which was sold to investors for $75,000 in 1961.
•When the Space Needle was built in 1962, it was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River.
•The Space Needle is fastened to its foundation with 72 bolts, each 30 feet in length.
•The Space Needle sways approximately 1 inch for every 10 mph of wind. It was built to withstand a wind velocity of 200 miles per hour, doubling the 1962 building code requirements. When winds around the Needle reach high speeds, 35 mph or higher, the elevators are designed to reduce their traveling speed to 5 mph for safety reasons.
•There are 25 lightning rods (24 actual rods plus the tower) on the roof of the Needle to withstand lightning strikes.


•The Space Needle was built in 1962 for a mere $4.5 million dollars, and because of the popularity of the attraction, the loan was paid off in 18 months. In 2000, the Space Needle completed a $20 million revitalization.
•On April 21, 1999, the Space Needle's 37th birthday, the City's Landmarks Preservation Board named it an official City of Seattle Landmark.
•Many celebrities have visited the Space Needle; they include Kelsey Grammer and all the cast of Cheers, Elvis Presley, Mike Myers, Demi Moore, Melanie Griffith, John Travolta, Vanna White, Michael Douglas, Tim Robbins, Claudia Schiffer, Scott Bakula, Paul Reiser, numerous professional athletes, several world-famous musicians and numerous world leaders and dignitaries.
•During the World's Fair nearly 20,000 people a day went up in the elevators. The 20,000 mark was never quite attained, however, missing by fewer than 50 one day. The Space Needle hosted over 2.3 million visitors during the Fair. The Space Needle annually hosts more than 1 million visitors, making it the #1 tourist attraction in the Northwest.
•Since its inception in 1982, the Space Needle's annual New Year's Eve celebration has grown to be the West Coast's premier New Year's Eve event.
•The Space Needle is approximately 1,320 Milky Way candy bars (605 feet) tall.

The following day Kriss and I took a ride on a Duck Boat. We were taken on a tour of the city of Seattle and saw many of the city's landmarks. Part of the tour includes riding in the duck boat on Union Lake. It was here we saw the houseboat were the famous Sleepless in Seattle movie was filmed. Seattle is a beautiful city full of rich history.