Monday, June 9, 2014 (Castle Rock, WA)

We woke up to cloudy skies, though the wind wasn't too bad yet, maybe we'll get on the road before the wind starts.  We had a quick breakfast and then got packed up and on the road by 9:00 a.m. before the wind was too bad.  Once we got inland a bit, there wasn't any wind at all, just how we like it.

The drive up I-5 was just that, a very familiar drive with lots of cars and trucks, not the most scenic way to travel, but it gets us down the road.  We had a 190 mile drive to Castle Rock, our stopping point for the day and we arrived around 1:00 p.m.  Not a bad day at all. 

We got set up in our site at the Toutle River RV park and right away noticed the frequent and whistle blowing trains.  There is a train track on one side of the park and I-5 on the other side.  We had read the park reviews on RV Park Reviews website and knew that the train and road noise was the downside of this park, but since it was only for one night we can handle it.  The RV park is really quite nice, it has a swimming pool, hot tub, and even two sauna's.  It is set up for big rally type events with a big meeting area and lots of sites, the only downside are those noisy trains. 

We thought about taking the drive up to Mt. St. Helens, but decided we'd been in the truck long enough today and we'll save that for another time.  We didn't really do much during our stay here, other than do some reading and take a walk to the river, it was just a one night, convenient, stopping over spot.

Tomorrow we head for Camano Island.  We are excited to see our kids and grandkids.  It has almost been a year since we've seen them all.

Saturday - Sunday, June 7 & 8, 2014 (Newport, OR)

Saturday

We got up early to get everything packed up and loaded back in the truck and headed to the storage unit to get the 5er.  We got the batteries back in the 5er and got everything hitched up without any more incidents, that's always a relief and then we were off to Newport.

We had a pleasant drive to Newport and arrived at the Port of Newport Marina & RV park shortly around 1:00 p.m.  This is the first time we've stayed at this park and it appears to be a nice one.  The sites are level which is always a plus and there is plenty of room for our 4 slides, though there are no picnic tables, which is OK for us. 

It took us a bit longer getting set up because we had so much extra stuff to unpack.  It sure is nice being able to travel with your home because there is none of this packing/unpacking of suitcases. 

It was pretty windy out and our slide toppers were definitely flapping around....hmmmm hope the wind quiets down or it will be a tough night for sleeping.  That is one disadvantage to slide toppers, when it is windy, they are very noisy. 

We took a walk around the park and the docks and checked out some of the boats.  I'm definitely a land traveler, I don't find the idea of living on a boat appealing at all, especially on the Oregon/Washington coast.....much to cold and windy and wet for me. 

We walked over to the Rogue Brewery and split a Rueben sandwich and watched the boats in the harbor come and go.  It's free fishing weekend and the public dock which is next to our park and the brewery was quite busy with people fishing and crabbing.  Maybe tomorrow we'll go check it out. 

Sunday

Rich researched local churches and we decided to visit the Radiant Foursquare Church here in Newport.  We got to meet the pastor and visit with him for a bit before the service which is always interesting and pleasant.  The thing I liked about this service was after the message, the pastor had a "what did you hear" session, where people from the congregation could share what they heard from the message.  It was interesting to hear the different perspectives.

After church we went to lunch at the Chowder Bowl and had a bowl of chowder, yummy.  We both really enjoy the chowder recipe at this restaurant vs. Mo's. 

After lunch, we went back to the 5er and got Gracie and went for a walk on the public pier and watched people crabbing for awhile.  Then we walked down the south jetty to the beach.  The beach on the south jetty was beautiful, the water was so much calmer and there wasn't as much wind.  We were bummed, but Gracie more so, because when we started out on our walk we didn't think we'd end up at the beach and so didn't bring her ball.  Let me tell you, she knows when there is sand around that her ball must be around too, she just kept looking at us, like I know you have it, where is it?  Oh well, next time.

For dinner, we decided to walk back to the Rogue Brewery and split a Crab Louie salad.  Watching all those people catching crabs had made us hungry for some crab.  The salad was OK, I thought for the price that it should have a lot more crab on it than it did....but it was still good and a nice treat.

Tomorrow we pack up and head north.  Originally we were going to head north along the coast, but the forecast is for more wind which is not good when you are pulling a big 5th wheel, so we will go back and go up I-5.  Not our favorite way to go, but we are tired of this wind.

We will be in Washington for about a month, visiting with our kids/grandkids, so again, I probably won't be posting regularly.  Until next time.....

May 21 - June 6, 2014 (Mehama, OR)

We said goodbye to Bend and traveled over the mountains to my mom's.  We had a beautiful travel day.


Broken Top & the 3 Sisters



Mt. Washington



Mt. Jefferson



We got the 5er all tucked away at the storage place and got the truck loaded up, boy we sure have a lot of stuff.  When we store the 5er we have to unload the refrigerator/freezer which always adds to our "stuff".  Good thing mom has an extra refrigerator and freezer.

We arrived at mom's and after hugs and kisses we got the truck unloaded and stuff put away which as you can imagine, took a bit.  Good thing we are staying put for a bit, it's a lot of work when we leave the 5er. 

I'll just recap some of the highlights of the time we spent at mom's instead of a day by day scenario. 

On the Friday before Memorial Day, my mom and I met one of my aunts and my cousin and our task for the day was to put flowers on family members graves.  We made a stop at my uncle who owns Kraemer's Nursery and stocked up on a trunk full of roses which made for some beautiful bouquets.  We got to see some graves of long departed relatives that my cousin and I never even met.  It was fun to spend time with my mom, aunt and cousin, the only downside to the day was that it was a very wet and drippy day.

Another fun adventure was that my daughter Amber (who is pregnant) invited me to go with her to Portland to a big baby shower type event.  I can't remember the last time I spent a one on one day with my daughter.  It was a lot of fun and we even got a bit of shopping in too.  It was a very enjoyable day.

One afternoon I took my mom for a four wheeler ride around her place.  We had to mash down all the briars and ferns that had grown up on the trails from last fall.  It's amazing how fast that stuff grows back.

Of course, Rich and I did some house hunting while we were there.  We even found an amazing place that we thought would make up for being in the rainy valley, so we put an offer on it.  We were the first ones to view the property as it just came on the market and the next day we put an offer on it, but they also got another offer which was a cash offer, can you believe it?  Oh well, I guess it wasn't meant to be, though it was a big let down for both Rich and I.  The place had an amazing shop that Rich was itching to make his own.  And the yard was calling me, it was huge with lots of room to plant and the house was beautiful.....sigh.

We got to visit with a couple of my brothers and their families while we were there which is always a pleasure.  I'm sure when we are back later this summer, we'll all get together. 

We had one not so pleasant adventure.....we went back to the 5er the day before we were going to be leaving and found out the batteries were dead....not that big of deal you say....well it turned into a big deal.  We decided to hook up the 5er and plug it into the truck to see if we could get them charged up a bit...BIG mistake.  Rich backed under the 5er but needed to lift it a bit so it would slide into the hitch, well when he went to raise the hydraulic jacks, they didn't raise but settled down which put the 5er hitch pushing down onto the bed of the truck and the front of the 5er setting on the side rails of the truck.....uh oh, now what, we are stuck with no way to raise the 5er off the truck.  Not only that, we are stuck inside the storage yard with no way out.  Rich tried calling the office, but no one answered.   Then Rich remembered, the generator that we keep in the truck toolbox, so he pulled that out and went to plug the 5er into the 30 amp and guess what, the plug end was different.....well rats, that's not good, not good at all.  I kept suggesting that we call Coachnet and ask them to come give the batteries in the 5er a jump, but Rich said he wanted to figure it out.....well alrighty then, I'll just say some prayers and be quiet.   Well after letting a lot of air out of the truck tires, and using a piece of metal to make a bridge from the back of the truck to the tailgate and much anxiety on my part, Rich had me slowly drive the truck out from under the 5er.  I'm happy to report that my husband was correct, he was able to figure a way out of our situation without any damage to the 5er. 

So we pulled the batteries from the 5er and headed back to mom's.  We stopped at NAPA in Mehama and asked if they could charge 6 volt batteries, but they can't leave them unattended overnight, so it was off to plan C.  Rich was able to get them charged on a charger he had in my mom's shop after he purchased an additional cable.  I don't begin to understand all the differences and nuances between 6 volt and 12 volt charges, so may not have explained everything correctly, the important part is just that they got charged and when we put them back in the 5er, the jacks were able to work properly.  Whew....good lesson to disconnect that battery switch next time we leave the 5er parked for awhile.

We had a great visit with mom, loved spending time with her and her two puppies.  We are heading to Newport for a couple days and then on to Washington for a month.



Wednesday - Tuesday, May 14 - 20, 2014 (Bend, OR)

Wednesday

Today was going to be a long travel day for us and one that would require a fuel stop along the way.  If you recall, we usually only travel around 2-3 hours but today was going to be a 5 hour drive.  It was a pretty day for driving with lots of sunshine and no wind.

Pretty field of blue flowers, by the time I got the camera ready I only managed to capture the last little bit of them (to the center right of the picture)

We stopped for fuel in Burns and managed to find a station where the 5er would fit and we could maneuver back out onto the highway.  Whew, glad that's done......

We arrived at Crown Villa in Bend around 12:45 p.m.  It felt good to be back in Bend.  It was nice to be able to smell the pine and juniper in the air.  When you live there all the time, you no longer can smell it.  We didn't get our original site but we did get on the same row.  It just felt so good to be back in Bend and familiar surroundings.

Site 435

Thursday

Rich took the truck in to get the oil changed and the transmission fluid changed.  While we were out riding bikes we got a call from the dealer saying that some additional emmisions work was needed.....yikes we weren't expecting that.  It was going to take a couple days to get the parts and get them installed so they gave us a loaner truck.  It was a brand new Silverado, very nice inside, we've never had such a nice loaner vehicle before.  I guess they thought it might ease the pain of the expense of the additional work the truck needed.  Since the truck has to work to pull the 5er, we need to keep it in tip top shape which is why we went ahead with the repairs.  Other than driving around Bend and checking out the town that was pretty much our day.

Friday

The schedule today was to take care of some medical appointments while we are in town.  I dropped Rich off at his and then went on to mine.  I do have to say, driving that smaller truck was a lot more relaxing than driving the dually.  I'm always nervous that I'll scrape something.  

After our appointments we did a little shopping and stopped to visit our old neighbors.  It was fun to catch up on their news as well as see their new little baby boy.  We also checked out the home we sold a year and a half ago.  It still looks good.  Boy have home prices gone up in Bend.  I guess that's the gamble you take when you put your home up for sale.

We also ran into some other friends at Crown Villa, Gary and Ellen.  Gary is actually doing some camp volunteering for Crown Villa.  It was a surprise to find them still in town.  One of the funerals that we attended in January was for Ellen's mom, Burla, our dear dear friend.  When we spoke to them in January their plan was to head south to the warm beaches in California.  I guess that's the joy of being retired and full time rving....you can change your destination/plans at any time.

Saturday

We had breakfast at Jakes this morning.  Jakes used to be a truck stop on the south end of town but had to move their restaurant years ago.  They are located on the north end of Bend and are no longer a truck stop, but serve a very hearty breakfast, you never leave hungry.

After breakfast we drove up to the Terrebonne and Redmond area to scope out some properties for sale.  We are always on the look out for where we would like to settle when we are done traveling.  We both really love the Bend area and the sunshine but with home prices so high in the area, may not be an area we can afford to come back too.

Sunday

We went to church at what we still consider our "home" church, Westside.  It sure was good to be back.  We really enjoyed the service.

After church we checked out some model homes in the Bend area, which is always fun for us.  Other than that, we didn't really do too much.  During a walk through the rv park, we saw another Mobile Suites so we stopped and chatted with the couple for a bit.  They've been full timing for approximately 6 years and don't plan to stop anytime in the near future.  We had fun comparing notes about our two different rigs.

Monday

Today we are suppose to get the truck back, yahoo.  Rich ran a few errands in the morning and also stopped in at our old work place for a visit with folks.  After he got back we just  hung around the 5er until we got the call to come and pick it up.  Luckily what they quoted us before they started the work is where the final bill ended up.  That's always a relief that it's not more, I was hoping it would be less, a person can always hope.  =)

After we got the truck back, we stopped by the used bookstore where we have a book credit and picked up some more books for the summer.  I love books and always like to have a bunch on hand, can't run out of reading material.  We also stopped at Adair Homes and picked up some material on their building process, which might be an option we look into someday.

Tuesday

Today is our last day in Bend as tomorrow we pull up stakes and head to my mom's for a couple weeks.  Our plan after a visit with mom is to head to Washington to visit kids/grandkids before we return back to Oregon in mid July.  We'll probably then be in Oregon until October unless things change.....you never know with us.  So that being said, I probably won't be posting to the blog regularly during the summer months, so if you don't hear anything for awhile, it's only because we are staying put and visiting with family and helping out with chores, etc. etc.

We ran a few more errands and Rich got his haircut from his barber of 37 years.  So far in this last year of travel, he's managed to make it back to Bend for his haircuts with the exception of the last several months. 

In the afternoon we met our realtor in Redmond and toured two houses.  One was a definite no, and the other was a maybe, it had an incredible view of the mountains and backed up to a farmers field but we'll have to check in with the city and see if they are going to expand in the area.  (postscript - found out that yes, this is the next area that Redmond will be expanding into, so that knocks that house out of the running....)

We've really enjoyed our stay in Bend and find that we really miss the area, so who knows where we'll end up settling one day.

Until my next post.....enjoy the sunshine....when it shines...(I am missing that Arizona sunshine) and have a blessed summer.



Monday - Tuesday, May 12-13, 2014 (Catfish Junction, OR)

It finally had to happen....... I finally drove the 5er on the freeway.....this morning after we pulled out of our rv park Rich pulls over to the side of the road, gets out, walks around and opens my door and says "you're driving".   What!!!!  Well I guess it was now or never....I don't know how to describe the anxiety I had about driving our home down the road, other than to say the responsibility scared me.....to tears.   I was driving down the freeway with tears running down my face.  Rich kept saying I didn't have to drive if I didn't want too and how come was I crying....he was feeling pretty badly about the tears.  I don't know why I was crying other than I was scared.   I did  manage to squeek out about 10 miles worth of driving before we came upon a rest area and I pulled over and let Rich take over.  I felt much better after I was back in the passenger seat and could relax again.  I know it was silly to be so emotional about the whole thing but what can I say other than I'm glad I have an understanding and patient husband.

We left around 9:30 a.m. and arrived at our next destination, Catfish Junction RV park which is on the Snake River and in Oregon!  Yahoo, we are back in Oregon. 

the hills were so pretty with the pink and green

This is going to be a short stopover for us, so we didn't really do too much while in the area.  The first day was pretty warm out and they must have had some sort of "hatch" of these annoying moth type bugs, they were everywhere.  It was hard to open the screen door and get inside without a bunch of them flying in.  Luckily by the second day they didn't seem to be so bad.

We took a quick trip into Weiser, ID to fuel the truck up and other than just kicking back and relaxing by the river we didn't do much.  We have decided that instead of heading up into Washington that we are going to take a detour into Bend and then onto my mom's for a bit before heading up to see our Washington kids and grandkids.

Friday - Sunday, May 9-11, 2014 (Hagerman, ID)

Friday

It rained during the night and the morning was cool and breezy so we weren't in too big of hurry to get going this morning.  We pretty much just hung around the 5er this morning doing a little reading.

By the afternoon we were ready to get out and do a little exploring even if it was still cool and breezy outside.  Just down the road from our RV park is a state park called Malad Canyon State Park so we decided to check it out.  We pretty much had the park to ourselves.  We did take a little scenic walk along the canyon rim which was nice.

We are standing on a little bridge that crossed over to the other side of the canyon

This was called the Devil's washboard

That was pretty much our day, not too much to report.  We did extend our stay another two days because the forecast is for a couple breezy days and we don't like to drive in the wind with the 5er if we don't have to.

Saturday

It was another cool and very breezy day, we sure are missing that warm Arizona sunshine.  I had read in a local newspaper that the local high school was having a plant sale today, so we decided to check it out.

On the way we passed a local flea market, so decided to stop in for a quick look.  It was still fairly early and when we walked in the flea market, it felt like we were the only visitors.  It made it a little awkward when we visited each booth because they were so eager to show off their wares and I know I felt we should buy something at each booth.  We did end up purchasing a home made bar of soap and a 10 cent Zane Grey novel.   By the time we left, they were getting more customers so that made me feel better.

We stopped at the high school and I got my "plant fix" by wandering through the greenhouse checking out the different plants for sale but did manage to leave without purchasing anything.  I was tempted, but the stuff they had for sale just wasn't sturdy enough to be traveling around in my mobile garden.

The afternoon we spent reading, the wind had definitely picked up and it was pretty chilly outside.  We tried to go for a walk, but the breeze was so strong it was like walking in a gale, and was no fun, so back to the 5er we went.

I have been working on knitting a throw blanket for the 5er these last several months and finally finished it this evening.  It's a good way to watch tv and still be productive.  =)

Sunday

Happy Mother's Day!

In this small town of approximately 800 residents, they have six churches, we decided to attend the Hagerman Christian Center.  Wow, I have to say in all of our travels so far, this has been my favorite church so far.  The people were very friendly, loved the worship and pastor Isaac.  He had a very good sense of humor which he incorporated into the service and his message.  The church seemed like it was very involved in the community and the people all seemed really happy.  I'm glad we chose to attend this church today.

After we had a bit of lunch, we decided to try our walk again.  The roads around here do not have a lot of traffic since it is mostly a farming community.  There was a road by our rv park that looked like it headed over to the canyon rim so we decided to check it out.  We had a lovely walk through farming country, saw lots of farmers out working with their irrigation pipes, picked a lovely bunch of wild asperagus and got in a nice 3-4 mile walk.  It was still a little breezy today, but the temps felt much warmer, a perfect day for a walk.  We never did see the canyon rim but that was OK.

Our foraged wild asperagus

Me and Gracie trying out the new blanket, it's nice and soft and comfy....



It was warm enough after our walk that I was able to sit outside for awhile and do some reading, that sure felt nice.  All in all it was a very pleasant Mother's Day.  I got to talk to my daughter Amber this morning and my mom this afternoon which is always enjoyable.  To all you mom's out there, I hope your Mother's Day was an enjoyable one.

Thursday, May 8, 2014 (Hagerman, ID)

Today was a travel day.  We woke to cloudy skies and dark black clouds along the Wasatch mountain range.....ick, I hope the rain stays away until we are out of the area.  We were packed up and on the road by 9:45 and with no rain, yahoo.  Our travel today is again on the freeway and should be about another three hour drive.

We had a very nice pleasant travel day and because we didn't go through any big cities, the traffic was really light though we did go through a couple construction zones.  Rich asked if I wanted to drive since the road was so nice, but I declined with the excuse that I wanted to just relax today since it was my birthday.  That's a good excuse don't you think?  And yes, I know, I really need to try driving the truck with the 5er attached but I just didn't want to get all tense and stressed.  I don't know why I'm so intimidated by the thought of driving the truck and the 5er, I guess it's the responsibility that we are hauling our "home" down the road.  I'll talk myself into driving one of these days.

We arrived at our next camping spot, High Adventure River Tours RV park which is just off the freeway but is a lovely park.  We both really like it here, the back of our 5er looks out on a plowed corn field and it is very quiet, even with the freeway nearby.

I think it is good to stay in parks like Wasatch View Estates in Ogden, because it makes you count your many abundant blessings and then when you get to a park like this one, you can really appreciate it.

After we got set up, we drove into the town of Hagerman to check it out and scope out a restaurant for a birthday dinner.  Hagerman is pretty small, I think the population is around 800 folks.  We stopped at the Visitors Center which was also the Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument Visitors Center.  We looked at the fossil displays and then spoke with the ranger (who grew up in The Dalles, Oregon area) about some sights to see in the area.  We also watched a short video on the history of the fossil beds in this area, it was pretty interesting.  They also had a display on the Japanese displacement camps during World War II because apparently they had one somewhere around here.  I was impressed with the visitor center, especially with it being located in such a small town.  We also found a restaurant that we will come back to for dinner.

When we got back to our 5er, another couple had just pulled into the spot next to us, so we said our hello's and started chatting.  I had noticed that they had on the side of their truck a sign that said Mobile Missionary Assistance Program, so I had to ask about that.  Rich and I had a very nice chat with Jim and Helen.  They live in Sun City, AZ from October - May and then during the summer months travel in their 5er to various spots and do volunteer construction and repair projects for churches.  The program sounds very interesting and they are always looking for additional helpers.  Finally we said our goodbye's so they could finish getting set up and we apologized for breaking the unwritten rule of not interrupting people when they first arrive and are getting setup.  

Soon it was time to go to dinner at the Snake River Grill.  We took another route into town through some very pretty farms.  We had a very nice dinner at the grill.  Rich had rib eye and I had a sirloin steak and grilled sturgeon plate.  The meal was very delicious and to top it off we shared a turtle brownie topped with vanilla ice cream which was super yummy.  For being in a small town, the food was surprisingly good.

I had a very enjoyable and relaxing day and enjoyed phone calls, texts and emails from various family members.   And a big thanks to my husband for making my special day, special.