August 20

Finally home!

We had four days at Wine Country RV in Paso Robles to unwind. We were lucky to get a space as the park was full due to an Olive Festival that was to take place over the weekend. The first two days we had a premium spot on the upper level, but had to move to the lower level on Friday to accomodate someone with a prior reservation. Paso is normally very hot in the summer, but this heat was draining. We decided to go see our friend Todd at Moonstone Winery in Cambria. As we neared the coast we could see a fog bank filtering into the town. And I didn't bring a sweater! It was actually cold. By the time we had had lunch and tasted a few of Todd's creations the sun was out. Out we went loaded down with a case of our favorites.

Friday morning we moved to the lower level then we did absolutely nothing, until late afternoon when we decided to visit, Cindy, our favorite wine pourer at J&J Winery.  Rob wanted to talk to winemaker Maureen about availability of grapes in the next couple of months, but she was nowhere to be found. No problem, we tasted our way through the bottles Cindy had opened then convinced her to open a couple of others. We managed to get away with only two cases. Back at the park we noticed a Country Coach Inspire had moved in across the street. I found Rob over talking with owner, Norm, when he was supposed to be watching the lighted BBQ (remember the incident at Carabelle Beach just a few short months ago). Norm and his wife, from San Diego area,  had just returned from a trip to Alaska, a possible destination for next summer for us.

Saturday we needed to check out a new favorite, Pear Valley. Still very hot, but their air conditioner was on full blast. We  came away with only three bottles!

Getaway day Sunday dawned early, and we were up with the chickens (there really aren't any chickens at the rv park). The lower site was somewhat tight, but there was plenty of room for Rob to back out. The drive home was uneventful and we were pleasantly surprised with the condition of the road through Santa Barbara. The construction was finally completed with three lanes in each direction all the way to Montecito. Gone are the days of endless traffic due to the stop lights on the freeway. We arrived home to find the gates open ready for us to back in. Our house sitter, Charlene was doing some last minute gardening in the back yard. She's been a great house sitter and has somehow managed to keep my tomato plants alive and prospering. She proudly presented us with one of the heirloom tomatoes she had been nurturing that must have weighed a full pound. I've never been able to get them to grow that beg, at least not before the squirrels helped themselves.

Today dawned even earlier! Dusty didn't appreciate being able to sleep in his own bed, outside in the dog pen instead of curled up next to my bed. He got me up at 3:30, or rather Rob did yelling at him. Oh well, it's cool now and I can get the laundry finished before the sun comes up. Vacations over!!

August 11, 2012

Yea! California bound! We’re on our way home.

Thursday the last of our fixit list were taken care of. We were in the starting blocks early Friday morning and made it all the way to Red Bluff and Durango RV Resort. This is a very nice, new, clean park right on 5. Wide, long sites with lots of pull-throughs. Temps were blistering at over 100 degrees so the air conditioning got a work out.

It’s 6:45 am and Courtneys are already on their way to the Sacramento area to visit some friends. We’re heading to Ahwahnee where they will join us tomorrow. Forecast for today is over 100 degrees for the next few days.

Ahwahnee is just a few miles from Yosemite if you could go over the hills. By road it’s about 1 ½ hours to the valley floor. The road to our RV park, Sierra Meadows, winds and climbs for several miles and includes a hairpin turn that required use of the entire road. Since no one was on the road it wasn’t a problem. The park is set in a stand of oak trees and across the street is a golf course (Sierra Meadows Golf Course). A sign on the road says to check in at the golf course for the park so Rob drove the RV a few feet down the road to the course. It was very evident immediately that there was no room for the RV in their parking lot. After taking a look around we decided to go right on out and back to the park. It wasn’t any easier to tell where to go in the park. So we drove in the main entrance and straight up a slight hill to a chain across a road that continued up into the hills. At that point Rob decided to drive the car back to course to see what was what. When he came back he decided it was imperative that he back all the way down the hill to the street, about 100 yards. It wasn’t really a problem since the road was pretty straight. Getting into any of the sites was not an easy exercise either. It required a little jockeying to get in. Once in we were set and found, even with all the trees, we did have satellite. Wifi was also available, although we seemed to get kicked off after a using it for a short while. The heat continued into the night well into the 90’s if not over 100.

The park itself is pretty rustic with only basic amenities, water, electric and sewer. We were lucky to have one of the few picnic tables around. Oak and pine trees are everywhere. For the birding enthusiasts there were lots of Acorn Woodpeckers and California Quail, a few Scrub Jays, and a White Breasted Nuthatch or two.

August 12, 2012

This morning we ventured over to our new golf club at River Creek Golf Course. This is a nine hole course a few miles back down the road. It’s owned by a good friend of ours, Dr. Steve Michel and managed by his son, Scott. We have a tee time for tomorrow morning early.

Courtneys arrived in the afternoon after visiting friends in the Sacramento area yesterday. They pulled into the site right next to us. Did I mention that this park is completely empty except for a park host?? Sandy’s been following the Olympics so it was imperative that they have satellite coverage. This had Don jockeying back and forth in the site checking for coverage. Not satisfied he pulled forward into an adjacent site and tried again. Still not satisfied he moved from site to site checking for coverage. Ultimately, he ended up back where he started and after a little more jockeying, finally found the spot they needed for satellite coverage.

Still sweltering, yet we had our afternoon cocktail hour in the shade of a huge oak tree. Followed by a delicious planked salmon dinner.

August 13

Up early for an 8:08  tee time. Rob, Don and I got to the course before 8 and were able to tee off immediately. We were advised to go ahead because the men’s group was to follow us and they were incredibly slow (this from the man in the pro shop). The course is very pretty, dotted with oak trees, huge boulders, a couple of water features with fountains, and a dry stream bed running through. We had planned to play the course twice to get in 18, but by the end of nine we were all dripping wet so we packed it in. Scott was kind enough to comp our round so we weren’t out anything.

After a quick lunch, we decided to take a run over to Yosemite. Neither the Courtneys nor the Browns had been there for more years than we could remember. Seems we weren’t alone in our plan. Cars and people everywhere. We stopped a couple of times to gaze at nature’s wonder and take some pictures then headed for the Ahwahnee Hotel. No place within reasonable walking distance to park and we had Dusty in the car so Rob let us off and went to park. Don, Sandy and I went in to take a look at the hotel. Absolutely beautiful. A very old hotel that’s been kept up as it was built. I found a postcard for Rowan and mailed it in an antique post box. We wandered outside to look for Rob who was nowhere to be found. My plan to summon him by phone was squelched as there was no cell service right by the hotel. As I walked further away I acquired some bars and was able to connect. Just as it began to ring I saw Rob pulling up to pick us up. Lots of people were obviously hiking and picknicking in various areas. One parking lot was almost completely filled with rental RVs. Cruise America must have done a landslide business this summer. Having seen some incredible sites we headed home. From the valley floor to the rv park is about 1 ½ hours.

Half Dome was almost invisible due to a heavy haze from a nearby forest fire. Still awe inspiring tho'.

Cocktail hour was still incredibly hot. We moved inside Brown’s abode in triple unit air conditioning.

August 14

Today was a day to relax and catch up on things we’ve neglected. Courtneys used the day to pack up their coach and get it ready for storage. They head all the way home tomorrow while we will head to Wine Country RV in Paso Robles.

August 10, 2012

Arrived at Camp Country Coach Sunday evening (Aug 5).  Courtneys are still with us. We’re both having service work as well as some things worked on. Courtneys’ collision damage is already repaired and good as new.

While here we’ve had some spare time to wander around. We set Dusty up for a beauty treatment on Monday and we headed to King Estate Winery for lunch. We wanted a reservation for 11:30, but had to settle for noon because the earlier times were full. We arrived about 11:15 and were immediately seated on the patio overlooking the vineyards and the adjacent hills dotted with pine trees. What a lunch we had! Starting with a flight of wines. We all chose a flight which included a Chardonney, a Merlot, a Cab Sauv, and a Syrah. Each glass was about 1 ½ ounces. Good wines, but way overpriced. Lunch took over 1 ½ hours culminating with desserts of malted milk ice cream (Sandy), blueberry pie with salted caramel ice cream (Don), apricot sorbet (Rob), and bread pudding (me). Still weren’t hungry for breakfast on Tuesday.

Tuesday, Rob and I moved to Coach Glass RV Solutions to have our windshield replaced. We had a straight crack of about 7” start from the bottom of the middle between the windshield wipers and ended up with a crack about 20” which was turning around in a circle by the time we got it replaced. In order to let the glass set up we had to keep the slides in and stay at Coach Glass for the night. At least we were able to plug in, but only because we had a long enough extension cord. There are railroad tracks right across the street and the trains ran all night so not much sleep that night.

Back to Country Coach on Wednesday for chassis service and alignment. While we chilled out in CC lounge, Don and Sandy went to see “The Dark Knight”. No high recommendations from them. Don’t waste your money. Some of Sandy’s adjectives…stupid, violent, sickening, moronic…you get the idea. Don’t waste your money.

Aug 5

Thursday, Aug 2 was another day of fishing for Rob again at 4:30 a.m. Today the fish won. At least we have one in the freezer. The day culminated with a delicious dinner at the Tacoma Yacht Club, Vern and Sharon’s club.

Friday Vern got us onto McChord Air Force Base for a round of golf at Whispering Firs Golf Course. Another win for the golf course for me. Rob, Don and Vern had some sort of game going by the hole, not sure who won. Vern gave a dollar to Don who gave a dollar to Rob who gave a dollar to Vern, or something…. Sandy hung out with Sharon all day. Dusty hung out at Sharon’s house. Neither Sharon nor Sandy were home when we got back from golf. They had gone to lunch at the new golf course, Chambers Creek leaving Dusty to guard the house. They wisely closed all the doors to the rooms leaving just the living room and kitchen to his devices. But, he was a good dog and was ecstatic to find out he hadn’t been abandoned when we arrived. We enjoyed some smoked salmon on the patio to the sounds of gunshots echoing in the evening air. Their house is adjacent to a gun range that has been there since the 1800’s. The city council in their ultimate wisdom grandfathered the club’s right to be there despite many complaints from the local residents.

Saturday, found us on the road again. Courtneys and Browns both have maintenance or service work scheduled at the Country Coach factory in Junction City, OR. First stop is at Mallard Creek RV and Golf Resort (do you sense a pattern here???) for the night and a round of golf on Sunday. This time I’m ready for the golf course thanks to some sage advice from Vern.

 We got away from Gig Harbor okay at 9 on the dot, hampered somewhat by Rob’s continuing problem with the lights on the tow car. We were making good time with Rob in the lead. I was reading an absorbing book, but I looked up to see where we were and saw a sedan to the right, partially off the freeway and partially in our lane. He was backing diagonally across the freeway. What the hey!!!! Rob barely had time to swerve into the fast lane. With horn blaring we just squeeked by. As we went by I looked down into the car but couldn’t see anyone in the driver’s seat. Rob said he thought he saw someone slumped over the wheel. Rob pulled over to the side off the freeway. Courtneys were behind us and couldn’t see what the hazard was but had the good sense to stop. The sedan was still backing and hit the left front fender on the Courtney’s coach. Rob got out to see if we had sustained any damage. Traffic continued to speed past, although the cars going north were rubbernecking and traffic was slowing on that side. Eventually an EMT vehicle arrived with lights flashing followed by a couple of police cars. Finally Rob came back and we left on the advice of the highway patrolman who thought we were still in jeopardy just by being on the side of the road. We moved down the road to a rest stop to wait for the Courtneys. We finally got the facts of what happened later when we stopped at Mallard Creek. Apparently a young guy in a red sedan had just been released from the hospital and wasn’t feeling well so he tried to pull off the freeway. He may have fainted with his car in reverse. After Rob swerved around him Don, also laying on the horn, was able to stop. The sedan continued to back up across the freeway hitting Don on the left front bumper. A small truck, pulling a trailer, behind Don tried to wedge the sedan into the center divider. Fortunately, the damage is minimal and no one was injured. Luckily Don has plenty of witnesses for his report to his insurance agent. Otherwise his story that the damage to his front end was caused by someone backing into him on the freeway might not be believed.

We arrived at Mallard Creek with no further incidents. A little unwinding with some wine and a quickly thrown together dinner at the Browns and we’re good to go.

Sunday golf was good for me. I managed to shave 11 strokes off my McChord score by following Vern’s suggestions.

Checkout time at Mallard was 2:00. We made it with time to spare after our golf game. Now we’re safely ensconced at Camp Country Coach for some service work to start tomorrow.

July 31

Leavenworth to Gig Harbor, another 4 hour uneventful jaunt. We’re staying at the only rv park in Gig Harbor, the Gig Harbor RV Resort. Not much of a resort, although it does have a tiny swimming pool. The park is built on the slope of a hill with tight sites cut into the slope parallel to each other upslope. There’s another flatter section at the top, but these are smaller sites and seem to have mostly long term residents. We’re stopping here to visit with friends Vern and Sharon Kondra who live in Tacoma and so Rob can go salmon fishing with Vern.

Tonight we had a visit from some friends from our motorhome group, Southwest Country Coachers, Kathy and Emerson Marsh and their poodle, Fanci. Kathy and Em live in Montesano, about 1 1/2 hours away from Gig. They no longer have their motorhome so it was a treat to see them.

Don and Sandy Courtney, Emerson and Kathy Marsh and Rob

Aug. 1

Rob got up at 4 am to go fishing with Vern. I didn't!

Success!!



Sunday, the 29^th, we headed for Leavenworth, Wa and the Icicle River RV park. Leavenworth has a Bavarian feel to it with lots of shops selling German stuff and German restaurants.

Icicle River RV is on the Wenatchee River nestled in a valley of craggy slopes reminiscent of an Alpine village. At least I think so, never having seen an Alpine village except in pictures. The river runs right along the base of the mountains and our sites were right on the river. Absolutely incredible views from the coach.

Out the front of our coach.

On the other side of the river.

Cocktail hour with our friends Don and Sandy Courtney, enjoying the scenic river overlook.

We only had two nights in Leavenworth so we had to make the best of it. Our arrival day was pretty much shot with the four hour drive from Deer Park. (I think one of those hours was spent inching our way up the hill into Leavenworth in Sunday traffic.) The boys were pooped so we just kicked back and enjoyed the scenery.

Monday we set out with a full days agenda…breakfast, followed by wine tasting (this area is known as the biggest pear producing area in the U.S. if not the world, but is also part of the Okanagan wine producing area), followed by playing tourist in Leavenworth, and ending with German food for dinner.

We were sent down the highway to a café that serves the best breakfast in the area. Rob was told the name and where it was only he forgot the name, but had a general idea where it was. Okay, I think we got there. In any case, we all had terrific breakfasts. The waitress recommended that we order half breakfasts, which we did. Even the half sizes were huge and we ate way too much. This was a late breakfast so we wouldn’t need lunch. We timed it to coincide with the opening of the local wineries.

The first winery we found was called Cascadia. Not an impressive looking building; just a unit in a small commercial building. This is a one person operation: owner, winemaker, salesman, etc. with a master’s degree in oenology from UC Davis. Some really good wines.

Then we went down the road a bit to Icicle Ridge winery. Absolutely gorgeous setting. An old log cabin built by the winery owner and used as his home where he grew pears and raised his family. With his daughters out of the house he decided to retire and turn the house into a winery. Wines were only so so and way too expensive for the quality.

Icicle Ridge Winery

Tourist traffic slowed down some it being Monday, but we still weren’t the only ones on the street. Your typical touristy items in most of the stores, German-style, but many made in China. Actual German-made items were too pricey to consider.

As with other towns in the northwest, gold brought people to this area. Gold mining continued until 1975. The Leavenworth townsite was the supply source for the miners.  A rail route over the mountains completed in 1893 linked Leavenworth to the rest of the country and lumber became a big industry. In 1925 the Great Northern Railway Company decided to move its headquarters to Wenatchee and move its tracks to a canyon not so prone to avalanches. This move, along with WWI and WWII caused a decline in the population and the economy. The townspeople turned to outdoor recreation with the construction of a toboggan run and ski jump in the late 20's. But the town was still in a depression which lasted about 30 years. In the 1960's a group of residents, determined to find a way out of the depression, banded together and created a community plan of action. In 1965 the community committed to "go alpine" and by 1968 14 buildings had been remodeled to reflect the new theme. Theme festivals were added slowly and this year there will be 19 of them. Based on the number of people in town as we drove through I'd say the economy is safe in Leavenworth.

Dinner at Andreas Keller a local German Biergarten.

Next stop Gig Harbor.

One night in Missoula where we got new shoes on the coach and car finally! Not to make it too easy, Rob picked the older Les Schwab to use which made it a little tight to get into. With instructions from Todd at Les Schwab we bypassed downtown Missoula. He suggested that we pull into the Staples lot right across the street where they would work on the tires. Well, we made it into the lot, but not before dragging all the tires on the right side of the coach and the car over the curb as we made a tight turn. The bad news was they don’t have the equipment to make the exchange in the parking lot at this LS. We had to back up across the two lane city street and into the LS parking lot. With 5 ft tall Asst. Mgr Alex standing in the middle of the street to block traffic and me on the walkie talkie, not to mention Rob’s excellent backing ability, we made it into a very tight LS lot. The end result was successfully installed new tires all around. I’m not sure how Rob got out of the lot. I left to go shopping and met him at the RV park. Alex had to come out to boost the air pressure.

With an early start on July 25th Courtneys and Browns made it all the way to Deer Park, WA and the Spokane RV Resort and Deer Park Golf Club. Boy was it hot!. The park is very well laid out with cement pads and grassy spaces in between sites. We were on the golf course while Courtneys were directly across backing up to a wide green space which made a nice spot for meals behind their coach. The plan was to play a round of golf early in the morning. Our plans were changed due to a two day tournament at the course.

View off the back of our coach.

Nearby is an area called Green Bluff; an agricultural area dotted with U-pick farms and orchards. Armed with a map of the area we set out in search of cherries. We found several farms we could have stopped at and picked our own, but we opted for one that already had a great selection of fruits and vegetables already picked for us. The thought was we could pick cherries and make a pie. We could have bought already picked pie cherries for $17/lb or buy a frozen pie to cook for $12. Since I was the likely candidate to make a pie I quickly selected a frozen one and was it great. One of the best cherry pies I’ve ever tasted.

Rob getting ready to pick cherries

Next day we did get a tee time after the tournament at 2:10. The weather cooperated somewhat by providing a light cloud cover, making it a little cooler. For once the course was kind to me and I broke 49 on the first nine. Not so lucky on the second nine, but I came close to breaking 100.

July 23, 2012

We arrived in Anaconda, Mt on Saturday accompanied by Don and Sandy Courtney. We’re staying in the Fairmont RV Park which is right next door to the Fairmont Hot Springs Resort, a hotel with a giant swimming pool and mediocre golf course. (Rob and I played it last time we were here a couple of years ago.) The RV park is okay. It’s a big open lot with gravel roads and pads and some sparse grass around the edges; comfortable enough, but nothing to write home about.

Saturday afternoon Browns and Courtneys cruised by the Art Festival and decided to skip it based on the huge crowd and lack of close in parking. Rob and I went to it last time we were here. It was pretty nice with lots of artsy items for sale, but once was enough. We took a little drive around Anaconda and then decided to see what Butte had to offer about 20 miles east of Anaconda. Rob and I took a trolley tour last time we were here so figured we could fill in a little of the history for Don and Sandy. The open pit copper mine is the most evident tourist attraction. Mining began here in 1955 and ended in 1982. It is one mile long by ½ mile wide and 1780 feet deep. About 900 feet of it is filled with toxic water. This pit is one of the largest Superfund sites. We wanted to see if we could get high enough on the hill to see into the pit so we wound around the town of Butte and kept going higher and higher. Along the route were tiny houses in various stages of decay with some showing signs of reconstruction. Apparently, home to many of the miners. There are many old “headframes” dotting the landscape; evidence of hardrock (shaft) mining that has taken place in Butte since the early 1870’s. Butte began as a mining town with silver and gold also being mined, but copper is what put Butte on the map. When we finally got to a summit we discovered a monument to the 1917 Speculator Mine Disaster. This was a fire which occurred 2000 feet below the surface. 168 men died, most from lack of oxygen. Some survived by building bulkheads preventing the carbon monoxide from invading their safe space.

While Butte was where the ore was mined, Anaconda was where the smelter was. The smelters were closed along with the closing of the pit and the superfund cleanup continues to this day. One of the positive outcomes of the cleanup is a Jack Nicklaus championship golf course, The Old Works Golf Course, one we had played before. We had a 9:10 tee time today for three (Don, Rob and me) and decided to have breakfast at the course. By the time breakfast was over and we had hit a few practice balls the wind started to blow. A little wind (17 mph) wasn’t going to stop us from experiencing this beautiful course. The bunkers are filled with reclaimed slag from the smelting process and are pure black. They’re beautiful, but not any easier to get out of than regular sand. Once again the course won, but I think the wind was the major factor.

Tomorrow we’re on our way to Missoula. Sandy’s looking forward to dinner at the Outback…so are we!

July 20, 2012

Stayed at Southside RV Park in Dillon, next to Courtneys and Stan and Jerre. Very nice RV park with a stream running through the middle. The owners work very hard to maintain this park and they do a beautiful job. The sites we had were long enough for our coach and tow car with room to spare. Beside our coach was a large grassy area with a couple of large trees which provided shade. There’s also a museum of WWII memorabilia including several Nazi items put together by Derek Core, son of the owners. Several of the items are replicas made by Derek in high school metal shop.

Don, Rob and I decided to play golf and found one course in Dillon, Beaverhead Golf Course. Armed with Don’s Ipad we set off for the course given the Ipad’s directions. We ended up in the middle of farmland about ten miles from the RV Park with no course in site. I pulled up the course on my Iphone and got the same location. Then I put in the actual street address and we were taken to the course which was actually about 3 miles from the RV Park. Oh well, we got to play golf and once again the course won. Rob and Don had good games tho’.

Stan arranged for a guide to take him and Rob fishing on the Beaverhead River. Great success the first day. The second day was windy and it rained so fishing wasn’t as good.

So many fish and not one bite to eat. All catch and release.

We were supposed to get the new tires today, however, they were left on the loading dock in Prineville, Or. We’ll have them installed in Missoula onTuesday.

Courtneys and Browns will leave Stan and Jerre behind for Anaconda, Mt. tomorrow, about 100 miles away.

July 17, 2012

Sunday Rob, Kim, Jim and Joyce Posik decided to go fishing at the Nature Conservancy at Flatt Ranch just south of the RV Park. I went with them to observe and capture all their catches on film (or flash drive). It was afternoon by the time we got going. The river (outlet from Henry’s Lake) was at least ½-3/4 of a mile from the parking lot across a meadow with marshes that required a meandering path to the water. I was taking a chair to sit on since the banks of the river were tall grass and shrubs. Joyce immediately caught a fish. I thought she was just tangled so I wasn’t able to get a picture. After a short while everyone shifted to the right to avoid casting into the wind. Too windy for me. I dragged my chair back to the car where I waited and read my book.

Joyce Posik, foreground, Kim in back. Joyce's hat must bring her good luck. She seems to always catch a fish.

Courtneys left Monday to join Stan and Jerre in Dillon, Montana. We said good-bye as we picked Kim up at about 8:30 to go fishing. First stop Trout Hunters, a local fly shop. Rob wanted to get some neoprene knee socks. He had admired those Joyce was wearing. Jim and Rob also found a few flies they couldn’t live without. Next stop was just down the road at “the log jam”, a spot recommended by the clerk at Trout Hunters. There were too many cars in the parking lot so we left to go down to Osbourne Bridge. No one was there. After suiting up the four of them trekked down to the water to wet their lines. Joyce again caught the first fish. No picture again. I was able to sit in the car and watch and read. After a couple of hours with little action it was time for lunch. Kim suggested a local place where one of her colleagues from Linx also works part time. While there it started to rain. Then it turned into a deluge. By the time we were through with lunch the rain had passed and we left to return to the rv park. Just after we turned off the main road on the way to the park we spied two bull moose grazing off the side of the road.

Tuesday Jim and Joyce left to head home and Rob and I headed for Dillon. Nice weather, beautiful drive. Driving along, minding our own business, enjoying the beautiful scenery when....

About 7 miles from Dillon an explosion rocked our coach. It sounded like a cannon went off in the coach. Rob pulled to the side of the road and stopped. Once again luck was with us. This section of road was a straightaway with clear vision in both directions. Just a few minutes before we were on a 7 degree curvy downgrade with no place to pull over.

A quick inspection revealed a blown left front tire. Rob went out to put out some orange triangle markers behind the coach. I couldn't find a truck tire dealer in Dillon so I called Stan and he told me there was a Les Schwab dealer in town. I was able to find their phone number and was dialing when Rob came back and said the Sheriff had stopped and given him three names. Funny tht Google couldn't find any. Les Schwab looked for the right size tire, found one and came out within 20 minutes. “Bob” was able to jack up the coach, remove the tire and replace it with a temporary and have us on our way within 1 ½ hours. We had already planned on replacing all the tires at Les Schwab in Junction City, Or, when we have the coach serviced in August. Bob told Rob to have them send the temporary tire back when we replace the tires and there would be no charge for the tire. He had to continue on to take care of a tractor so he said to go on to the RV park and get set up then go into the store and take care of the service charge. Rob did that and came back to the park after about an hour. He had them price the replacement of all the tires while he was there. Their price came in at $1000 under the price from Junction City. Friday the tires on the Yukon and the coach will all be replaced at the RV park. We don’t even have to take the coach into the store and no charge for the service call to replace the blown out tire.

Bob setting jacks, Rob supervising.

July 13, 2012

Got to Island Park, Id yesterday – Red Rock RV Park about 20 miles south of West Yellowstone. Our younger daughter, Kim, is here in her trailer with her black Lab, Loki, and her cat, Leo. Loki tried to break down the screen door to get in to see Dusty. We took both dogs to an adjacent field and let them run free. Such happy dogs to be free to run and play together unfettered. Loki is genetically Dusty’s uncle, but is a year younger.

Courtneys and Posiks are here also. This will be a laid back stop and, hopefully, Rob and Kim will get to do some fishing.

Tried to go to a concert last night at Harriman park, but when we got there a notice said it had been moved to Rexburg about 60 miles away. Since it was already the hour the concert was to have begun, we went home.

This morning we went to West Yellowstone to revisit the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center. Rob and I had been to it before when the wolf compound was still under construction. There were wolves there then, but we could barely see them. They spent their days lolling in the shade under the trees behind shrubs. The compound is completed now and has two sets of four wolves in different types of environments; one valley and one river. The valley wolves were back behind the trees and bushes, but the river wolves were right out in front. West Yellowstone embraces the bison and has many painted bison spread out around town.

Kim and I went into the center while Rob stayed in the car taking care of come business on his cell phone. There are nine Grizzlies housed here. They are all bears that cannot be released to the wild and they hail from Alaska to Yellowstone. The bears are kept behind closed doors and are released to a yard three times a day. The yard is designed to replicate a typical wild environment complete with waterfall, stream and pond. We watched as one of the keepers hid a mixture of fruits, vegetables and what looked like noodles in various places of the yard, under rocks or logs. Two bears, Kobuk and Nakina, were then released to play in the yard. Kobuk and Nakina are brother and sister that were orphaned as cubs in 1998 when a landowner killed their mother and brother. Each of them made a beeline to a particular clump of logs and chowed down on the food the keeper had hidden. Kobuk then walked into the pond and proceeded to bring a good sized trout up which he promptly consumed. Nakina saw this and decided to try fishing herself, but wasn’t as successful. After they had found all the hidden food they ambled back to the gate area and waited for the gates to their pens to be opened. I think they’ve done this before. After the bears we went over to check out the wolves which had been howling a few minutes before. We also visited a small aviary which has a female bald eagle, a rough legged hawk, a great horned owl, and two golden eagles. All have some sort of permanent damage which prevents them from being released to the wild. Before we left another pair of bears was being released. These two, Sam and Illie, are siblings that wandered into an Alaskan fishing village after their mother disappeared. They are much bigger than Kobuk and Nakina weighing 1000lbs and 750lbs respectively. Kobuk and Nakina weigh 550lbs and 400lbs respectively.

July 11, 2012

We’ve been in Lander since Saturday, July 7^th.  It was only 70 miles from DuBois so it was a quick trip, but we left a little later in the morning than usual to take advantage of the breakfast brunch of Lonnie’s Breakfast Burritos.

As soon as we got set up we went over to our daughter Kris’ house. We were met by our exuberant 3 ½ year old grandson, Rowan. We normally Skype with Rowan once a week, but haven’t been able to due to slow internet in most of the parks we’ve stayed at. How much he has changed in two months.

We also got to spend some time with Eric’s mom, Kae, who has been in Lander for a couple of months. She has a little house she bought when Kris and Eric first moved to Lander. Later, we all had dinner at our favorite restaurant, Asian Cuisine.  

Sunday, Kae treated us to brunch at a new restaurant, Middle Fork. Afterwards we waddled back to Kris’ and Eric’s house to recover. Rob put a couple of coats of varnish on his bbq table. We had brought Dusty over to be able to spend some time not so cooped up as he was in the motorhome, but it was so hot, he just stayed on the front deck in the shade. Later in the afternoon Rob and I went back to the motorhome for dinner of leftovers but we were still so stuffed from brunch we had a glass of wine and went to bed.

Monday, Kae left for her home in Washington and Rob and I hung out with Kris in the morning while Rowan was at his play group. The afternoon was spent watching Rowan at his swimming lesson and more hanging out.

The rest of our time we just hung out with Kris and Rowan, while Eric worked, and caught up on some things we needed to get done.

July 5, 2012

Well, I was right. Our friends (Glasgow/Wright, Helsings, Courtneys, Posiks and Harris) joined us on Sunday and we had a party. Brenda and Lonnie Jenkins joined us on Monday with their yellow Labrador, Dillon. Dillon and Dusty are best friends.

The river is calm enough for Dusty and Dillon to play in the water. They’ve been in several times chasing sticks. Dusty has been thoroughly exhausted. He’s not used to so much exercise.

Yesterday was the parade in DuBois. We sent our chairs down ahead of time so we could be assured of a spot, 14 of them. Lonnie drove them down in his truck with Jim Posik placing them on the shady side of the street in the shade of a tree. The main street through town was closed off about 1:00 for a 2:00 start time. Most of the businesses closed down, except, of course, the bars. Drinking was allowed on the street for the duration of the parade. It started with a single flag bearer and when he got to the end of the parade the parade halted for the Pledge of Allegiance, something I’ve never seen done at a parade. A soloist then sang the National Anthem. We could barely hear either, but we remained standing because everyone else was and the parade wasn’t moving. Just about ever service business had an entry…septic cleaner, cement mixer (spraying the crowd with water), backhoe on a trailer (swinging his arm around over the heads of children scurrying to gather up the candy that was being thrown-could never do that in CA). There was an outhouse being pulled along, Smokey the Bear, the Shriners, one group of horses (all beautiful Buckskins from a local ranch), EMS, and all the town’s fire engines. The firemen delighted in spraying everyone along the route with their hoses. Fortunately, they were at the end of the parade. Unfortunately, so were we and the parade stalled towards the end. The firemen kept spraying and we were all soaked. All except Bobbi Helsing who thought to bring an umbrella. There were also other assorted cars, wagons, groups participating.

Rob’s been fishing a couple of times in the river right in front of the coach, but hasn’t caught anything yet. Some kids in the park have done better.

Some of our group went to a local spot today with a guide. We’ll see if they did any better when they return.

Our bird count has increased. There is usually a hatch of insects in the morning and again in the afternoon. A flock of 20-30 Nighthawks entertained us along with the Red-Naped Sapsucker, Tree and Violet Green Swallows, Gray Catbirds, and even Robins soaring over the river snatching bugs out of the air.  Bobbi spotted a Nighthawk resting on a branch in the tree right in front of the Courtney’s coach. It looks just like part of the tree and was very hard to spot even with binoculars. The eagle has been back several times. It seems to have a favorite perch just on the other side of the river.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

June 30, 2012

We arrived in DuBois mid-morning on Thursday. Did some grocery shopping and just chilled out. Or we would have chilled out except the temp was in the 90’s and windy.

Friday morning I took Dusty out for his early morning walk (5:30) and saw an eagle flying up the river. We’re camped right beside the Wind River. There are at least 4 families of Canada Geese on the bank. Each family is a different age from very tiny to almost ready to take off. They work their way up and down the bank most of the day. I took Dusty for a walk along the river and he decided to go wading along the shore. A doe was walking on the other side of the river. Later on Rob and I (and Dusty) went to inspect possible fishing sites. A fawn was getting a drink on the other side just about where I had seen the doe. The fawn escaped into the brush before Dusty could see it.

Swallows soaring over the river snatching bugs in the air. Then we spotted a woodpecker pretending to be a flycatcher. A new bird for us…a red-naped sapsucker.

Today we turned the coach around so the right side would be in the shade in the afternoon. Now we look out on the river and can sit in the air conditioning while watching the birds play.

Rob bought his fishing license today. Score:  trees 3/rocks 2/fish 1/Rob 0. Tomorrow is another day.

The crowd comes tomorrow! Six other coaches are joining us tomorrow.

PARTY!!

Scenery around DuBois. A little hazy due to smoke from the Fontenelle fire in the LaBarge area. It's been burning for several days now.

June 27, 2012

Our stay in Thermopolis was kind of lazy since we’d been there before and had seen pretty much all there is to see. Stan went fishing on Tuesday so Rob and Jerre and I went into town. Jerre wanted to get some books at Storyteller, the local bookstore/gathering place. There’s a table with chairs in the back of the store with a large shovel laid across it. The owner said it’s there because it can get pretty deep in there sometimes. I wanted to go to the quilt store which used to be right next door, but has succumbed to the poor economy. All I really needed was some elastic to fix the waistband in some shorts. I thought Pamida might have some so off we went to the other side of town. Jerre had never been in Pamida so was excited for the opportunity. Right away we spotted some bargains. There were sales racks out in front sporting men’s and women’s clothing. Rob found a new shirt for the upcoming DuBois rodeo for $7. How can you pass up a bargain like that. Jerre found one for Stan also. Checking out things inside was even better. I’m not sure what all Jerre ended up with. I didn’t find my elastic however; they were out. The sales clerk sent us to a new store downtown. “Go up to the light and turn right. It’s right there.” There’s only one light in town. This store was referred to as a “crafts store” and it did have some yarn and embroidery thread, but also some of everything you can think of. Another hour of checking out all the “stuff”, and again, I’m not sure what all Jerre found. I did find my elastic. By the way, this store is directly across from the bookstore that we had been to earlier.

The wind picked up while we were out shopping and not long after the entire valley was filled with smoke. We couldn’t get a straight answer as to where the fire was, but we thought it was near. Later we learned there were two; one near Casper and one near Fontenelle. Neither place was very close to us so we weren’t in any danger, but there was a lot of smoke.

Stan returned late afternoon reporting that he had caught one trout. The wind was just too strong for fly fishing.

Dinner at the Mexican restaurant.

Today we decided to check out the new Wyoming Whiskey Distillery in Kirby, about 13 miles up the road. Apparently a couple of attorneys from the Jackson area had more money than they knew what to do with so they decided to start a distillery. They are really making bourbon, not whiskey and have been operating for about four years. They are set to release their first bottling in December. Their Master Distiller if from Kentucky and is in the Bourbon Hall of Fame. He was talked into coming out of retirement to start up this distillery. All of the ingredients are from Wyoming; corn from Thermopolis, wheat from Meeteetse, barley from Riverton and water from artesian wells in Worland. They plan to produce 1000 barrels a year and are in production year round. Eventually, they plan to market across the entire U.S.

More smoke filled our campground this evening. Not sure if this is a rekindling or a new fire. It wasn’t as hot today as yesterday and winds didn’t pick up until late afternoon. We had a visitor in the campground in the early evening....a four point buck. 

We’re out of here tomorrow. We’ll go straight to DuBois. Stan and Jerre are headed to Lander where they will meet with the Courtneys and Helsings before coming to DuBois.

June 25, 2012 Thermopolis, Wy

Today was an early start from Buffalo, about 9:00. Our route took us up over the Big Horn Mountains on the Cloud Peak Skyway in a serpentine path both up and down. Down was sprinkled with steep grades requiring the use of the two-stage Jake brake on the coach. We went slowly and as a consequence of the steep slopes our fuel mileage slipped to just over 3 mpg. Not even the downhill side could make much improvement. We got snagged by some construction which appeared that one side of the mountain was being rerouted to the other side of the road. It should make for a nice wide road when they’re through, but it’s not going to be any time soon. Once over the mountains we made our way through Tensleep, the site of last year’s 4^th of July gathering. The Ten Hoeck RV Park was pretty full. Looks like this year’s 4^th celebration will be as big as ever. I did note that Tensleep’s population has suffered this year. It’s down from 304 last year to 260.

We’ve joined up with Stan and Jerre here in Thermopolis at the Eagle RV Park. This is an older park and is very tight, not just for the bigger coaches. Rob had to back up twice to get around a big Phaeton extending out of the campsite into the roadway. When we finally got parked we were also extending out into the roadway and had no place to park the Yukon. The manager told us to park in an adjacent spot which was barely big enough for the car. Only a very small trailer would fit there.

Stan and Jerre were out so we went to the grocery and got the car washed. By the time we got back they had returned. We spent the next couple of hours catching up. After some BBQ’d Italian Sausage, potato salad and green salad, plus a couple of bottles of wine we called it a night.

Stan is fishing tomorrow with a guide so we’ll be on our own to explore a little. We’ve been to Thermopolis before since our daughter lives just a few miles away in Lander. She’s off to Eric’s family reunion in Nebraska so we’ll catch up with her in a few days.

It's nice to see real mountains again.

June 24, 2012 Deer Park RV Park – Buffalo, Wy

Boy did we get off early this morning! Skipping through two time zones in two days is confusing to us and to Dusty. He’s the one who stuck his nose in my face at 4:30 this morning. I managed to get him to lie down for another 30 minutes, but after that he wouldn’t relent so up I got. When we returned from our walk, Rob was already up and heading to a shower. We were on the road around 7 am, unheard of in our travels so far, but then our bodies think it was closer to 9. Our destination was Buffalo, Wy, at least a 7 hour drive (363 miles). Western North Dakota and eastern Wyoming is FLAT! But, did you know…the geographical center of the U.S. is in SD??? I wonder if Hawaii and Alaska figured in to that computation. We passed by the spot, but it was a ways off the main road. Not sure if you can even get to it. There is a monument to it, however, in Belle Fourche. We didn’t stop. Wikipedia says this is it since 1959, which includes Hawaii and Alaska. Before that it was in Lebanon, Kansas and still is for the contiguous US. That would probably be the most likely answer on Jeopardy.

An otherwise uneventful 7 hours of miles and miles of grassland, interspersed with some fields of yellow, we think might be mustard. Of course, we were birding at 62 mph along the way and observed lots of Lark Buntings, Meadowlarks, and Horned Larks, plus the ubiquitous Redwinged Blackbirds. Rob swears he saw a Yellow Headed Blackbird, but I can’t confirm it. A couple of Northern Harriers and, we think, a Rough Legged Hawk rounded out our birding attempts.

We rounded the bend into Buffalo and what did our wondering eyes behold???? The snowcapped Big Horn Mountains peeking through a haze. We’re in the mountains. Real mountains!! Throughout Michigan, and points west the highest peaks noted were shorter than 2000 feet. Why bother.

One other point of interest… We saw a sign indicating we were crossing the “Continental Divide, elevation 1490 ft.” in North Dakota??? Since when!!   A search of Google provides the answer. For those interested here’s the website or just google “continental divide”. http://nationalatlas.gov/articles/geology/a_continentalDiv.html   

It seems there’s more than one continental divide. The one in ND is the Northern Divide. Some of the rivers and streams of ND drain into the Mississippi river system and thus, the Gulf of Mexico and some drain north into the rivers draining into Hudson Bay.  There is historical significance in this in that it served as the boundary between the US and Great Britain (Canada) when the Louisiana Purchase was added to the US. There are still political implications with water rights being asserted by both the US and Canada. For more info, check the website.     

This shot actually has some slope to it and some trees.

Mustard? I guess it's grown somewhere. Maybe just a rotational crop.

Tomorrow we’re headed to Thermopolis where we’ll join Stan and Jerre.