Gave Santa My List

Unfortunately, he said that I wasn't near good enough this year for a Harley Davidson, Yamaha 4x4 quad or a new Corvette. I guess I'll try again next year.

Update From Meridian

Just enjoying the Arizona weather and relaxing. I've been doing a lot of geocaching and increasing my find count. I've pretty much done everything close by, so now I'm back doing it in Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler and Queen Creek.
Friday night we had a wonderful Veteran's Day program. All branches of the service (both Canadian and American) were recognized individually. Then, we had a short performance by the Uptown Angels (actually 3 sisters) that did a 40s and 50s USO type tour with old songs. They were very good and the 45 minutes went by in a hurry.
Today, Keith and I are off to Phoenix International Raceway for the next to the last NASCAR race of the year. No - I'm not driving. We're taking a tour bus. And of course, rain is in the forcast.

Friday

Spent most of the day lounging around the motorhome and enjoying the last day of nice weather for awhile. The winds picked up around noon and were gusting up to 45 mph and blowing dust and sand. When we went up to the "happy hour" tonight, only 20 people showed up. The new activity director is going to have to be straightened out or this park will slowly go downhill. If this is what a Friday night is going to be like, we won't be going again.

Tomorrow, the rains and cool weather will be upon us for the next week. Yuck!!!!!!!! I guess I'll have to go and get a library card from the Apache Junction library so I'll have something to read.

Update From Meridian

Things are starting to return to normal now. Most (not all) of our close friends from last year have arrived for the season. Dutch and Tony are back at their home in Fountain of the Sun. We spent most of the day with them on Tuesday catching up on all sorts of various topics.
Bob and Maggie along with their dog Zoey arrived late Tuesday. The 1st thing Zoey wanted to do was to come and visit "Uncle". We weren't home but she led Bob to our door and she sat and waited for us to come out.
Yesterday, Keith and Caroline got here and Axol wanted to see "Uncle" also. Gosh, it's wonderful to be loved.

I finally got around to putting the palm tree up. So, I guess we're now ready for the season. Now, the only thing to do is to get the coach washed and waxed.

"Tk In AJ

What a hectic week. I flew back to Redmond on Tuesday and arrived late in the day. Trish picked me up at the airport, picked up the pickup and spent the night at Jerry's house. Got up early on Wednesday and started my trip back to AJ. Along the way, I picked up geocaches along the highway all the way to AJ. I arrived back Saturday afternoon safe and sound.

One of the most enjoyable sights along the way was between Fallon, Nv and Hawthorne, Nv. I stopped along the road to pick up a cache and spent 45 minutes sitting there watching the US Navy's "Top Gun" pilots screaming down the valley and doing mock dogfights. I tried to get a picture but they were moving way to fast to try and focus the phone on them.

As I neared Hawthorne and driving along Walker Lake I spotted a herd of Bighorn Sheep and managed to snap a picture of them.

Now, I need to hookup the water softener, put up the palm tree and I'm done.

Busy Day Ahead

Well. not really. Just the activity meeting this morning and then coming back to the coach and picking out what clothes I want to pack for tomorrow's flight back to Redmond. Yup, back to Redmond to get the pickup and bring it down here for the winter. No sense in letting it sit another 6 months. I plan on being back in the land of "fun and sun" sometime on Saturday.

Of course, I'll do some geocaching along the way so it will take me a little longer to get here.

Getting Into The Routine

Lounging - enjoying the warm weather - Happy Hour around the pool - meeting old friends and making new ones.

Life is good

Awning Is Now Fixed

After calling several RV mobile techs, and some saying they didn't want to mess with it and others not even calling back, Cheryl spotted a mobile tech in the park yesterday and had him stop by. $79 and the awning is now working (somewhat). We will have to replace the awning itself since it did get some stress damage when it came out unexpectedly, but for now it is working.
Last night Stephanie (Jim's daughter) brought her puppy over for us to babysit for 3 days while she is proctoring a volleyball tournament in Phoenix. He's a cute little guy and smart, but I'm not used to puppies anymore. Holly kinda looked at him and said WTF is that?
They played (as much as you can play in a motorhome) and at bedtime, I just put him on the bed with me. For a tiny toy poodle, he didn't take up much room and slept next to me all night so that was a plus. I think today, we will go to Jim and Toni's house and take him with us so that he can bein his own surroundings for the afternoon.

We've Landed In Apache Junction

We left Yuma this morning around 9, stopped for fuel and headed on towards Apache Junction. We arrived around noon and it was 97 - no breeze and hot. It took awhile to get the coach set up for a long term stay. Cheryl and I kept coming back into the coach to get somewhat cool before going back out again. Tomorrow, I'll call the mobile rv repair so we can get the patio awning working. We need some shade. We have the patio table and umbrella and chairs set up, so we are almost ready. The last thing I'll do is put up the palm tree.

Pictures of our place tomorrow.

Our Annual Los Algodones, Mexico Trip

Yesterday, we did our annual tourist trip to Los Algodones. We had nothing special in mind when we went except to pursue my hobby of Geocaching. I knew of 2 geocaches in Los Algodones so loaded them into my GPS and off we went. I found both of them without any trouble and now can add a foreign country to my statistics. The 1st one we found was in Pueblo Viejo ( a local eatery) and after signing the logs and dipping several trackable items in the cache, we decided to come back for lunch since the food smelled so good.

Now, we went shopping. Of course we made a trip to the local pharmacia/liquor store/smoke shop and made a few purchases. As far as souveniers go, we didn't buy a thing. Cheryl found a turtle that she wanted to put out in front of the motorhome. But, I didn't feel like carrying it around and thru customs and across the border (80lbs) so we passed on it.

When we got back to the coach, I thought about doing some geocaching around this area, but the temp was 105 and no breeze, so opted to enjoy the air conditioned coach and have a short nap.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's adventure or lack thereof.

Landed In Yuma

What a long day yesterday - 3 hours from Lake Havasu to Yuma. We'll be here for 4 days and then head to Apache Junction for the balance of our stay down south.

After we arrived and got set up, I tried to extend our patio awning. (Yes, it's the awning that we had trouble with when we left). It went out about 3 inches and that was it. After monkeying around with it, I was able to get it back (or close to) the closed position. Now, it's zip tied and I'll put a couple more on and hope that it makes it to Apache Junction so that we can get a mobile repairman out and get it working again.

I was going to find one here, but we want to go to Los Algodones, Mx today for some good authentic Mexican food and a little shopping. Of course, I'll take my GPS with me as there are a couple of geocaches in Los Algodones and if I find them, I'll be able to add a foreign country to my stasistics.

I'll post the results later. Time to go.

On The Road Again

We left the Redmond Fairgrounds RV park on the 5th or October and went to Coachmasters in Bend to have a couple of things done to the motorhome before we headed south for the winter. One of the things was to check out our large awning. It needed a motor replacement and they informed us that it would take several days to get the motor in. We decided to wait until we got to Apache Junction before we would have it fixed since they told us it would be OK to travel. Well, we got 2 miles down the highway and a gust of wind caught it and it extended fully on the Bend Parkway. I managed to get the motorhome pulled over and out of the traffic. Coachmasters came and got it rolled back up, zip tied and back to their lot we went. They were able to overnight a replacement motor in and the new one was installed the next day. We spend one more night in their lot and left early on the 7th to start our journey south.

Our 1st night out was spent at the Bordertown RV resort. Nothing fancy about this place but just a real convenient overnight spot. Waking up the next morning, there was frost on the window of the car, so we knew we had to get out of there and quick, so buttoned everything up and headed to Terribles Lakeside RV Resort in Pahrump for the next 3 nights. (Now the weather is starting to get nicer).

After Pahrump, we were on our way to Yuma, but at the last minute, we decided to go to Lake Havasu for a couple of days before heading on. Now the weather is getting downright perfect. Yesterday it was in the triple digits and cools down to 70 at night. Perfect for me, but not for Cheryl. We'll leave today and make the long trek to Yuma (2 1/2 hours) and spend the next 4 days there.

Stay tuned for updates.

Flying the 2 flags proudly. The 10th anniversary of 9/11/2001 is tomorrow.

Redmond Oregon

We actually got back to Redmond around 5PM on Monday night. The traffic was so light on the holiday weekend, we made very good time. We parked the coach, but didn't hook up the water or sewer. Just electric so that we could take it to the car wash and get 4000 miles of road grime and dirt off it as well as 4000 miles of bug splatters. $20 worth of quarters and it is relatively clean. We're now parked for the month and enjoying the Oregon late summer and early fall weather.

Pictures of the journey will be loaded soon.

This Is A Catch-up Blog

After leaving Spearfish, we headed towards Yellowstone for 3 days. On our way to Riverton, Wy - both Pete's and my motorhome overheated. Mine wasn't as bad as Pete's. His fuel actually shut off so there wouldn't be any motor damage. He stopped in Casper while we went on to Riverton. 3 hours later, they showed up and the problem was the rear radiator was plugged with road debris and wouldn't cool. So, before we left for West Yellowstone, we stopped at a car wash and $21 later, we had a clean radiator and was cooling just fine.

The resort we stayed at was just outside the boundry of Yellowstone, so it was easy to get into the park whenever we wanted. As saw Buffalo and Elk, bug never did see Moose or Bear while we were there. Naturally, we visited Old Faithful and toured the Old Faithful Inn. I can remember being there when I was just a wee lad and it was great to see it with a different outlook.

Since we were in the park, I just had to do some geocaching and pick up another state in my geocaching experience.

West Yellowstone is a really neat little town. Most of the building are rustic or a "log cabin" look. Many cute little pokey shops to go in. Of course, more t shirts and sweatshirts for me, so will have to weed out some that were in the coach when we get back to Redmond.

I've got many pictures to post, but will hold off and create separate blog entries for the Black Hills and Yellowstone.

We left West Yellowstone this morning and are on our way back to Oregon and will be "home" on Tuesday. Tonight we are in Twin Falls, Idaho and tomorrow we will spend the night in Burns. That way, we can arrive in Redmond early enough in the day so that we can take this dirty filthy road grime and bug splattered motorhome to the car wash and get it cleaned before we check in at the RV park.

Stay tuned for pictures and updates.

Heading To Spearfish SD

We're leaving this morning for a short drive up to Spearfish and will spend 2 days there touring Lead and Deadwood. It's not enough time but, we are running out of time and need to be back in Redmond on the 6th of September and still need to see Yellowstone (and that's even going to be cut short a couple of days).
Yesterday, Cheryl and I just poked around in the little "pokey places" in Hill City and then in Keystone. Just a relaxing day with nothing else going on. I've been waiting to see the deer in the meadow in front of the motorhome, but they have been elusive and haven't come out during the day.
After a solid 2 months of wearing shorts, today will have to be a "Long Pants" day. The weather has turned a mite cool, but only for the day and back warm again tomorrow.
I've got a lot of pictures to post, but will put all of them in a separate blog entry later.
Later-------------

Mount Rushmore

We visited Mount Rushmore this morning to see it in the morning light. What an impressive sight. So much has changed since I was last here 55+ years ago. The National Park Service has done a remarkable job on preserving and improving it.

The 1st picture was taken this morning.

The 2nd picture was taken after the evening lighting ceremony.

The last picture was taken by a friend of ours using his phone. I'll explain. They invited all veterans to come down to the stage for the lowering of the flag ceremony. Then after the ceremony was over, the Ranger asked those of us who served during the Vietnam era to step forward since we were despised and looked down upon at that time. The applause and a standing ovation from the crowd choked both Cheryl and I up. 47 years and finally the appreciation was shown. As we walked back up the steps we actually had people ask to shake our hands.

I'll post more of the pictures of our day tomorrow. This blog deserved it's own space.

Hill City South Dakota

This was a short days drive. Only 65 miles from Wall to here. We're parked at the Rafter J RV Resort for the next 4 days. After getting set up, we wandered around a bit and found a quilt shop for Cheryl and Debbie. Right next to it was a small winery and just had to go in and do a little tasting and buying. Red Ass Rhubarb wine. Now, I'm not a wine drinker, but I did like this one. We then went out in search of wildlife and found some and I'm sure we'll see more while in the Black Hills and then Yellowstone. Not much else to post right now, but will be off to see Mount Rushmore later.

South Dakota Badlands

We took a drive thru the South Dakota Badlands yesterday. What an amazing area. One side of the road could be prairie and the other side towering rock formations or deep canyons. It's hard to describe, but on most of the rocks and canyons as you get close to them, look like they are covered in clay. If you have ever seen a birdsnest that is made out of clay, that is what they look like up close. The wildlife was abundant. We saw a herd of wild buffalo out in the distance and hoped they would come closer. As we drove along the road, we kept seeing more and more and finally, they were right off the road. The herd in the Badlands is estimated around 800 strong.

The little prairie dogs were fun to watch as they scampered around and issued their warning chirps when you got too close. As we exited the park on the south end and headed back to the interstate, we came across a little store that had hundreds of the little critters around. Unsalted peanuts were their favorite food and for 50 cents, you could buy a bag and walk out into their little colony and hand feed them. Funny little things.

Our last stop before heading back to Wall, was to an abandoned Minute Man rocket silo from the Cold War Era. It's decomissioned now, but under the protection of the National Park Service. We were'nt able to get the underground tour, but could look down thru the glass cover and see the missle replica. I always thought the command center for the missle was where the missle was, but it is several miles away. According to the information that was given to us, even though these are decomissioned, there are still hundreds that are active throughout the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas,Wyoming and New Mexico.

Off today to the Black Hills for 4 days (give or take).

Wall South Dakota

We're spending 2 days in Wall, South Dakota. Why you ask??? Well, one day was spent touring Wall Drug. What an amazing and eclectic place this is. It was started during the depression by offering travellers free ice water and has grown from there to one of the top tourist attractions. You could spend a couple of days just looking at the historical pictures that are on display. What a fun place. Tomorrow, we're going out into the Badlands National Park and see some of the scenic rock formations and will also tour an abandoned missle silo from the Cold War era. The underground tour is already booked, but we can do the above ground tour on our own.

More to come - stay tuned.

On The Road Monday

We didn't get very far on Monday. We only made it to Al's Oasis just past Chamberlain, SD. But then, that was the plan for a short days drive on the back roads of SD. Tuesday, we had another short drive to Wall, SD. If you go thru South Dakota on I90, it's almost a must that you have to stop at Wall Drug. It's an institution.


Wall Drug was started during the depression offering ice water to travelers and the tradition continues today. There are 26 different shops and restuarants in the "Drug Store Complex". We spent most of the day just wandering around and looking at the souveniers. We did go to the restuarant and have lunch. Wonderful food and plenty of it. Cheryl and I rode the Jackalope but, I had one helluva time trying to get her down. The hips don't work like they used to.


Tomorrow off to the Badlands National Park and a deactivated missle silo from the cold war era.

Soo City and The Class Reunion

The time went by way way too fast. We arrived in Sioux City (well actually North Sioux City, SD) on Wednesday afternoon and after getting the coaches set up, we drove back to Sioux City and went to Miles Inn for a couple of "Charlie Boys" and a frosted schooner of Coors Light. Keith and Caroline came and joined us and we visited for a bit before we took Pete and Debbie on a little sight seeing tour of the Morningside area before heading back to the RV Park.

Thursday, Pete and I did some serious geocaching. I found a string of 105 caches and we tried for all of them. Only managed 102 of them before calling it quits and back to the coaches.

Friday started the reunion activites with a get together at a restuarant/lounge just outside Sioux City and on Saturday we had an impromptu lunch get together and then the dinner Saturday night. Sunday was a breakfast and everyone went their separate ways. Keith and Caroline and the kids wanted to get together Sunday evening for dinner, so it was off to the Pizza Ranch and a short visit before heading back and getting ready for a Monday departure. Way way to fast and not enough time for a good visit. I guess, it means we have to come back. We didn't even get a chance to see our friends from Arizona (Dutch and Tony).

On The Road To Sioux City Today

We're leaving this morning for Sioux City for a 5 day stay. Visiting relatives and attending the 50th class reunion of East High School class of 1961. Unfortunately, the RV park that we would normally be staying at, is still under water from the Missouri flood waters, so the next closest is a KOA across the river in South Dakota.
Yesterday, we toured the Amana colonies, bought goodies and took Pete and Debbie sightseeing since they had never been there.
We had a great dinner at the Ox Yoke Inn (real German food) the night before. Wait until I get them to Sioux City and a culinary delight at Miles Inn.
More to come.

Colony Country RV Park

We're at the Colony Country RV park in North Liberty, Iowa and will be here for a couple of days before moving on. Tomorrow, we will take Pete and Debbie to Kalona to see the Amish community and then to the Amana Colonies for some shopping and good German food.
As an added plus to our stay here, one of our very best friends lives right across the road from the park. We surprised her this evening after dinner and spent 4 hours reminiscing and catching up on all the news. Pictures tomorrow.

Last Day Of The Rally

It's just about over. I have absolutely nothing scheduled for today. I'm going to kick back, relax and maybe have a cold drink or two and just enjoy the exhibits and tour the "show coaches" and see what I want to trade ours for. Just kidding!!!!!!!!!!! No new motorhome for us. We'll just have to make do with this old ratty one of ours.
We now have our stabilizing jacks fixed so life is good. HWH came to the coach yesterday and installed a new shuttle valve and now everything works fine.
We'll leave here tomorrow morning (not early) and start working our way to Sioux City for my 50th class reunion next weekend.

Circus in Baraboo Wisconsin

Well, not really a circus, but the old winter headquarters of the Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Circus. Many of the old buildings have been preserved in the original state and are open to the public. The railroad built a spur into Baraboo and all of the railroad cars were stored here during the winter. Now, there are only a few cars left (Most were scrapped years ago). The museum is restoring and preserving the circus wagons from circus' from all over the world. I took so many pictures that I will edit this post and post more when I can download them from the camera.

We spent the entire day just roaming the grounds and strolling down "Memory Lane".

The next day, we headed off to Madison Wisconsin for the FMCA Rally. We arrived on the grounds of the Alliant Energy Center around noon, set up the coach and watched the parade of motorhomes arriving on the grounds. They are esimating around 4500 to 5000 motorhomes to be here when the rally starts on Wednesday.

Yesterday, we had a new experience. We went to the nearest WalMart to get a few groceries. This store was built on a parking lot. Parking is on the ground level, and you take an escalator up to the store. Wierd.

Today, starts my meetings and they will be all day long for the next 2 days. Then I'm free to enjoy the rest of the rally.

Arrived At The Wisconsin Dells

It was only a 2 hour drive from our previous stop, so we arrived early enough yesterday to do a little sightseeing. When we checked in at the RV park, we were given a 2 for 1 card that was good at most of the attractions in the area, so we decided to put it to good use. Our 1st (and only) stop for the day was to take a 2 hour scenic boat ride on the Upper Dells of the Wisconsin River. I had done this with my parents when I was 11 or 12 years old (as near as I can figure) and was fun to do it again. Then it was back to the motorhome and potty the puppies and off again to a dinner at Crabby's which is a pirate themed seafood buffet. Stay tuned to this channel tomorrow to see what we can find to do today.

Duluth and Beyond

We could have spent more time in Duluth, but we needed to move on and get closer to Madison, Wi, but not at the RV park. It seemed like the ore trains came thru about every 3o minutes and we were only 50 yards from the crossing. The blowing whistles were loud and annoying.

We arrived early in the day and went down to the waterfront and discovered that we could take a harbor cruise and out onto Lake Superior so we signed up for it and found that it was their Pizza cruise. Unlimited pizza and salad while cruising.

On our way back to the harbor we passed under the bridge and watched it raise so we could pass. Following us in was a Great Lakes Freighter loaded with cement and it looked like he would run right up our tailpipes. Pete and I managed to snag a couple of geocaches while there when we toured the nautical museum. If Duluth weren't so far away from home, it's a place where I could spend more time.

Left the next morning for Stoney Creek RV Park is Osseo, WI. Even a blind squirrel can get a nut once in awhile. This is not a park, it's a resort. Beautiful grounds, miniature golf course, skate park and a small water park for the youngsters.

We will leave in the morning for the Wisconsin Dells and spend the next 2 nights there before heading into Madison, Wi for the FMCA Rally.

Keep tuned.

Leaving Today For Duluth

We spent the last 2 days in Bemidji and met the nicest young couple that are the owners of the KOA. Normally, we try to bypass KOAs but this one was very convenient. They even trimmed tree branches so that our slides wouldn't rub the trees. Not many places will do that.
Yesterday, we went to Itasca State Park to show Pete and Debbie the headwaters of the Mississippi River. Normally you can walk across the rocks from one side of the river to the other and never get your feet wet, but with all the rains and snowmelt in the higher elevations, the water level is extremely high, so I opted to walk across the log from one side to the other instead of the rocks. At my age, I didn't want to make a fool of myself and fall into the water. We did a bit of souvenier shopping and generally relaxed. We also toured the Bemidji Woolen Mills. The young man that gave us the tour gave us a lot of information on the different wool plaids and how some of them are registered and in order to make that particular plaid, they need permission. After the tour, we met the owner of the mill and he gave us a lot more information. Of course, Pete and I did manage to do several geocaches while in the area.

Now In Bemidji Minnesota

We left Jamestown and moved north to Minnewaukan and spent 2 days at the Country RV park. After we arrived we went for a short drive into town and discovered it was their summer festival so watched the parade (color guard/3 fire trucks/2 4 wheelers and a semi. Visited with the locals for a bit and then had a cold one at the Dakotah Spirit bar. The next day, we drove the tow car up to Munich to see Buster and spent the day with him. He told us about an Icelandic Festival in Mountain, ND so went and took a gander there. All in all, we had a nice visit with our son.

The next day we left and headed to Bemidji, Minnesota and after getting settled, we had to drive into town and see Paul Bunyan and Babe the blue ox. Today we will drive around Lake Itasca and walk across the Mississippi river.

Good News - Not So Good News

Tonite we're parked in Jamestown, Nd at a funky little RV Park. The good news, is that this morning when I started the coach, the air pressure gauge was working and seemed to work all the way here. The jury is still out on that. When we arrived, and lowered the jacks and extended the slides, we noticed a puddle of hydraulic oil under the pump and solenoids. I called Coachnet right away and they found a tech that thought he could help us. After a few trial and errors, we managed to get the jacks in a safe travel position. The slides were a different story. He called HWH (the slide manufacturer) and finally got a tech to call us back. In just a matter of a few minutes, he was able to bypass the shuttle valve and now the slides will work, but we can't use the jacks until we get to the FMCA rally in Madison, Wi and get a new shuttle valve installed. The perils of motorhoming.

But, on the bright side, we got the laundry done, the Honda washed and waxed and went and saw the worlds largest Buffalo. The live buffalo herd was down in the ravines in the trees keeping cool and didn't venture out.

Tomorrow, we will head towards Munich, ND to see Buster. Trying to find an RV park or campground was virtually impossible. We will be staying out in the country around Misawaukeen(sp) The have 9 spots on their farm place with full hookups. We'll still be an hour plus from Buster, but that's what the little car is for.

More later

Bismarck, ND

We pretty much had an uneventful journey across Montana. After leaving Osburn, our next stop was in Deer Lodge, Mt for one night. Other than being rather close to the highway, the park was OK. Looking at the map and where we wanted to wind up the next night, we had a long day of driving to Miles City for the next night. We stopped for the night in a fairly new park and managed to sink down in the uncompacted gravel and never did get the coach level. As we approached Bismarck I noticed that the air pressure gauge for the front air dropped to zero. Not a good sign but the warning buzzer didn't come on so continued on to the KOA campground. (Did I mention that I had KOAs). We're only going as far as Jamestown today so that the laundry can get caught up. If a problem persists we may spend several days trying to get it fixed. If it's just a faulty gauge, we'll continue on and monitor it along the way. Here's hoping.

Osburn Montana

We spent 2 days in Osburn/Kellogg/Wallace Montana. The little RV park was most accomodating so we could take a guided mine tour this morning. In Kellogg, we rode the Silver Mountain Gondola to the top of the ski area and had lunch. The trip takes 25 minutes and is the longest gondola in the US. The history around this area is rich in mining history. We're now in Deer Lodge Montana for the night. Tomorrow we'll try and get an early start in hopes of making it to Miles City. It's either stopping early in Billings or making the long push to Miles City. I guess we're going to just play it by ear and see where we wind up.

Day One Of The Madison Trip

We're parked in Osburn, Idaho at a funky little campground/RV park. I managed to snag one of the 2 spaces that is clear enough for satellite reception. Whew!!!!!!!!!! We'll be here for a couple of days so that we can explore the surrounding area and take a couple mine tours. Pictures tomorrow.

Prosser Day 2 & 3

Not much doing in the way of club activities so Pete and I went geocaching yesterday and explored Prosser. What a neat little community. We managed to find 9 in a short while. For our evening dinner, we carpooled to Grandview for a 5 Star dinner at Dykstra's House. Wonderful food to say the least. Today, we took the ladies to Chukar Cherries for a bit of shopping and then showed them around the town. After lunch, we went to Winery Row and did some tastings and of course a couple of purchases as well. Full bellies + warm weather = a sleepy afternoon.

Winery Tour

Yesterday, our group toured the Columbia Crest Winery (about 25 miles from Prosser). 9 acres of underground wine cellars and over 50,000 barrels of both white and red wines are stored there. Quite an experience to see the barrels stacked rows, upon rows. They are gearing up for this year's grape harvest that will be later this year, due to the cooler weather. The time limit for picking the grapes on 12,000 acres is usually only about 30 days. The winery employs a staff of 165 year round, but during the harvest, the employee count triples. This winery is only one of around 85 that are in the area.
I'm not a wine drinker, but did manage to taste several and actually bought some to take with us on our adventure to the midwest.
Updates to follow:

Prosser Washington

We finally made it to Wine Country RV Park in Prosser, Washington. Talk about a tough drive. 101 miles and most of it on the freeway. As we pulled in to register, we noticed that the 2 coaches ahead of us were part of our group and as we were waiting in line, the next 2 that arrived were also part of our group. We have 16 coaches at this rally. Tomorrow, we will get a guided tour at one of the many wineries complete with a lunch and of course a little tasting. More to follow tomorrow.

I Won!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday we went to the Wild Horse Casino in Pendleton and I actually came out with winnings. YES!!!!!!!!!!!
On the way, we stopped in Hermiston to get fuel and visited a geocache travel bug hotel. I dropped off 4 travellers and picked up 4 more to move along. The casino/hotel is undergoing a major expansion. I guess the gambling must be good. We did spend entirely too long there and it was dark when we left for the 65 mile drive back to Ione. No deer along the roads, but the owls were flying everywhere.
Today, I'll head out and pick up the 5 geocaches that are in the Ione area. After that ------------

Ione Oregon

As you drive into this little burg - the welcome sign says "Growing With Pride". Since we were last here 2 years ago, there hasn't been much growth. The only thing new is their "RV" park. It has 8 spaces and I don't see how you could comfortably park more than 4 in it. $40 per night to sit on a gravel corner lot. No office - you have to call the phone number listed and if someone answers and feels like coming into town, you can stay there. There is water and sewer along with 30 and 20 amp electric. No - we are not staying there. We're across the street at Chery's brother's place and are running our electric into his shop.
We're leaving this morning to take her brother to Pendleton to the casino. It's his 1st trip out since hip replacement surgery 2 months ago.
I always say the name of this town as I-One - and hope to be able to say later today I-Won.
I know, that's kinda sick. Later

Parked At Heceta Beach In Florence, Oregon

This is our last day here. For the most part, the weather has been pretty good. We had the usual mix of Fog - Wind - Rain and Sunshine. Other than taking a little sidetrip down to Coos Bay, we've stayed around the park. Cheryl took her sewing maching to the activity room and worked on another quilt. I managed to pick up most of the geocaches around this area without venturing out into the forest or off the beaten path. Tonight, we will meet friends from Veneta (Anne and Maury) who we met in Arizona and head to the casino for Double Turf and Surf at the buffet. I don't do steak, but will manage to eat my share of shrimp, scallops and of course the normal roast turkey.
Tomorrow, we will leave early and head to Ione, Oregon and spend several days with Cheryl's brother and his wife before heading to our last FMCA Rally of the year with the Rim Rock Roamers and then we will head east.

Still At Coachmasters

The coach was finished on Friday afternoon. After looking at the crazies out on the road, we opted to spend the weekend in the lot. (Unpaid Security). But, I got the coach washed this morning and will finish the exterior cleaning tomorrow. To top it off, we have a perfect view of the fireworks display that Bend puts on the 4th. Tuesday, we'll head back to Redmond and visit Les Schwab tires and bite the bullet and put on 6 new tires. There is plenty of tread wear left, but looking at the date code on the tires, it's time to replace them. Then it's off to the Oregon coast for a couple of weeks before we head to Prosser, Wa and visit Washington's wine country. Free samples and wine tasting tours.

Time For An Update

Right now, we are sitting in Coachmasters RV Repair Lot. Exciting isn't it??? Our time in Central Oregon has come to an end. As soon as we get the oil changed and a couple other little things done, we will be venturing to the Oregon coast for several weeks.
Since arriving in Redmond the end of April, we've attended a Rim Rock Roamers FMCA rally in Canyonville, Or and the Northwest FMCA rally in Albany, Or. The balance of the time we have been hanging out at the Deschutes County Fair and Expo RV park in Redmond. The 2 months we were there went extremely fast and didn't seem like it was time to go.
After we leave the Oregon Coast, we will head to Prosser, Wa for another RV rally with our club. After that, we will venture towards the midwest with another couple from our club to attend the National FMCA Rally in Madison, Wi. The following weekend is my 50th class reunion in Sioux City, Ia. We had planned on spending a month or so there and then head south. But, due to the flood on the Missouri River (the rv park is under 5' of water) we have changed our plans and will head back to Oregon via the Black Hills and Yellowstone with an arrival back at the Fairgrounds RV park on the 6th of September and spend another month there before we head back to Apache Junction, Az for the winter.
The blog will be updated a lot more frequently as we start our trek East. Stay tuned

Sitting in Loigandale Nevada

We left Bullhead City, Az on Monday and drove to Logandale,Nv to spend several days with our friends John and Sue. Yesterday they gave us a guided tour of Fire of the Sun state park and Lake Mead. Today, we went with them to one of their friends and partook in a wine bottling party. We bottled 3 different types of wine and a total of 45 gallons. We will be bringing some back to Oregon with us. Tomorrow, we will start our journey north and should be back in Redmond either Sunday or Monday. Below are several pictures from Fire of the Sun

The Winnebago Has Wandered

We left our winter home in Apache Junction this morning and drove the motorhome for the 1st time since 11/1/2010. It seemed strange to be driving down the road. Our 1st stop on our trip back to Central Oregon is in Bullhead City, Arizona. We plan on spending the weekend here and then on Monday leave for Mesquite, Nevada. It's interesting to see the names of the different washes and stream beds. One that tickles me everytime I see it is "Rattlesnake Wash". I know there are car washes and truck washes. But who wants to wash their rattlesnake. The next time we are in that area, I'll have to stop for a photo-op. It was sad leaving this morning. Many of our new friends are still there until the end of the month. I think that next year, we will stay until the end of April before we start our trek north. Since we are right across the river from Laughlin, I can see a casino night tonight and maybe even again tomorrow. More to come as we move north.

February Update

No, the coach hasn't moved - still at Meridian Rv Resort. I've been doing physical therapy for the past month. 3 days each week. I think that the back and legs are finally on the road to recovery. At least, I can drive the car without too much discomfort.

We've just been enjoying the RV park and the activities that they offer. And, I've been doing some geocaching