Happy Fathers Day and tales of an Army convoy

Location, Yakima, WA

Happy Fathers Day to any fathers who may read this.

We spent several hours yesterday in Sisters, OR.  Why is it called Sisters you may ask?  It is named after three mountain peaks located west of town. The peaks are called North, Middle, and South Sister or also called Faith, Hope, and Charity.

Sisters is located about 18 miles northwest of Bend, OR and is the MECCA for any quilters who live in the west as Paducah, KY is for those in the east. Next weekend is the big Quilt Show when about 1300 quilts are displayed around town. Don’t even think about coming unless you have had a reservation somewhere in the area for at least the last year.

As we approached the town we came across signs saying SLOW – EVENT AHEAD and traffic increased proportionally. What the heck… the Quilt Show isn’t until next weekend. The main cause was a PRCA sanctioned rodeo held a few miles before entering town. The streets in town were jammed as were the sidewalks. We found out later that they had just finished with a parade through town. As we slowly drove through Clyda spotted a quilt shop, our main reason for visiting, so I turned down a side street and found a place to park the truck in the lot of a closed store.

  Rodeo parking.

The main street had recently been paved and new sidewalks have been put in but not completed. They really make the town look spiffy.

  Side walks.

Clyda headed to the quilt shop while I decided to stay outside and sit on a bench. Bad idea, as the wind was cold, so I moved around the corner out of the wind and in the sun which was much better.

Quilt store.

 

Quilts painted on side of building.

Clyda eventually came out and we wandered the streets looking at touristy shops of which there are plenty. We ate lunch in a nice café with good food, in fact so good that I took half my meatloaf sandwich back to the RV and had it for dinner last night. 

Cinderellas Coach (a metal sculpture).

We also stopped at the town park where an art and craft show was set up. It didn’t take us long to peruse the whole event and we did not buy anything.

Today was moving day for all the RV’s at the Bend Elks Club as tomorrow the parking lot will be recoated. Most had left by 9 AM when we pulled out.

We had a leisurely drive north on Hwy 97 to Biggs which is on the Oregon side of the Columbia River where we pulled into a truck parking area behind a gas station to have lunch. As we pulled out of the lot I noticed an Army convoy coming from the east and as we crossed Hwy 84, the Columbia River highway, there was another convoy coming from the west. Highway 97 climbs a very steep hill on the Washington side and comes to a stop sign at Washington Highway 14. Part of the convoy was stopped at the stop sign while waiting for cross traffic. I put the truck into low gear so as to make the final climb to the stop sign then proceeded west about ¼ mile where Hwy 97 turns north again and climbs another steep hill. Of course the small convoy of army vehicles was ahead of us doing about 40 MPH. As we climbed I saw in my rear view mirror that all the rest of the convoy from Hwy 84 had now caught up to us along with a lot of cars and trucks. The convoy speed varied from 30 to 50 MPH but mainly traveled at 40 MPH. There are a few passing lanes but for the next hour or so I only managed to pass two of the Army vehicles. We traveled this way as a very long convoy of Army vehicles, cars, and trucks for 60 miles until we got to Toppenish, WA where the Army went one way and we went another.

Crossing the Columbia River at Biggs, OR

Our view for 60 miles.

Tonight we are camped at another Elks club in Selah, WA out side of Yakima but this time we are on grass under the trees with lots of room around us. It is also an Elks owned golf course and we are camped near the driving range. There are about 20 sites but only four are occupied. The weather has warmed up a little but still cool when the wind blows. 

Selah Elks Club camping.

 

 View of the camping sites

What happened to summer?

Location, Bend, OR

We are camped at the Bend Elks for 2 nights.

Yesterday we left the Likely Golf and RV Resort near Likely, CA  after having breakfast in the small dining room which is part of the office/golf club. Breakfast special was French toast and link sausage. Lots of people paying for golf even though wind was predicted.

We traveled to Alturas, CA then west and north to Klamath Falls, OR where we took on fuel and continued on to Collier State Park north of Chiloquin, OR. There is a logging museum across the road from the campground and we feared that it would be full because the museum operates all the logging equipment on Father’s Day weekend.

I stopped at the campground host and she said there may be one site available for one night. Perfect! We found a pull through site which was good enough for the one night of our stay.

The weather however turned cold, windy and with rain predicted. In fact it did rain towards morning but only sprinkles. Temps are in  the 50's. Tonight’s temperature was predicted to be near freezing at Chiloquin. What happened to summer?

Our drive to Bend, OR was rainy all the way but just occasional sprinkles. Turn on the wipers, wait a few minutes, turn off the wipers.

We had planned to stay at Tumalo State Park near Bend but because of Fathers Day weekend we decided that was not a good plan as Tumalo only has 23 sites for RV’s and they probably were all reserved. So, we opted for the Elks Club which has only 8 back in sites in the parking lot. We have stayed here before but then had the parking lot to ourselves. Today when we arrived only 2 sites were available, all others being taken, and only one of those looked like we could get into it. After much maneuvering I did manage to get the RV parked but there sure isn’t any room to spare as the photo will attest too.

Elks parking lot, Bend, OR. We are second from the right.

A tight squeeze.

We did a quick reconnoiter of Tumalo State Park which was full as we had expected and then drove around Bend including the Old Town section which was jammed with cars and people.

Tomorrow we will drive to Sisters, OR and all the quilt shops which was the reason for stopping here to begin with.

Trouble, trouble…..Trouble.

Location, Likely, CA

We got trouble.

We left home Sunday morning and traveled up the coast to Hwy 166 which took us to Maricopa and then to Bakersfield where we stayed with Budd and Brenda overnight. The main reason for going that way was to pick up a mattress they had for use on our hide-abed couch in the RV. The plan was to add their mattress on top of ours and make it s nice bed to sleep on. Well, that didn’t work as the combination of the 2 mattresses was too thick to fit back into the couch. We ended up getting rid of our original mattress and putting theirs on the bed. It is a much thicker mattress than ours was. Thank you Budd and Brenda.

When we got ready to leave Monday morning my Tire Traker pressure monitor beeped to tell me I had low pressure in one trailer tire. Budd got out his compressor and we pumped it up and left. Our route was through Bakersfield and up the hill to Tehachapi where we stopped at Love’s for fuel.

We stopped in Lone Pine for lunch and as we got back in the truck the alarm beeped again. Same low tire. I got out my compressor, which is in a lockable box in my truck bed, and a generator which is in a compartment under the fifth wheel hitch and pumped up the tire in 100 degree heat on a blacktop parking lot. While I was doing this Clyda stood under a tree at the edge of the parking lot. It was the coolest place around.

We drove up Hwy 395 without stopping in Bishop, which I probably should have done, and arrived in the Mammoth Lakes area about 3:30 PM. It is one of our favorite places to camp but it has been a few years since we have been here.

 At mammoth in the trees.

On Tuesday morning the tire again was low so I decided to put the spare on and take the tire to Les Schwab in Gardnerville, NV to see if the could find the problem. They immersed the tire in water and the problem was very evident. The rim had a tiny hole in it near a weld which caused the slow leak. Of course they did not have a rim that size but another customer who is also an RV’er told me about a shop in Dayton, East of Carson City that might be able to help me. We checked into the Silver City RV Park in  Carson City and I got on the internet to find a phone number and called Dayton Tire Shop. They did not have a rim my size but could get me one by 9:30 Wednesday morning.

  At Silver City RV Park.

On Wednesday morning we left for Dayton about 9 AM. We needed to stop by a post office so did that on our way. The tire shop did have the rim. About 20 minutes later the tire was mounted and we were good to go. A quick stop at a Smith’s grocery store then back to the RV Park. Picked up the trailer and headed for Reno. We had and easy drive through Reno on the new Hwy 395 and stopped somewhat north of there at a rest stop for lunch. We arrived at Likely Golf and RV Resort outside of the town of Likely, CA. The RV Park sits on top of a hill and has wide sites with grass between sites. Full hookup sites are $30 with the Good Sam discount. They also serve breakfast in the morning.

  At Likely, CA Golf and RV Resort..

Getting ready to travel.

Location, At home, CA

I am still slowly getting ready to travel.

All of the major jobs are done on the RV and truck. The truck was in twice within the last 2 weeks. First it was in for regular oil change service but they found that the rear brakes were very thin and recommended that I bring it in for those to be replaced as well as radiator and power steering service.

In checking the service records, which I have on-line, I found that the rear brakes had never been replaced in 108,000 miles. The front brakes were done at 62,000 miles. I guess it is time then.

When I picked up the truck the service writer told me that the rear brakes were paper thin. Thank goodness they recommended that they be replaced or I would have found myself in a real pickle on some big downhill grade while we are on our trip.

Speaking of THE TRIP, we are now scheduled to leave on Sunday. We have pushed the departure date back a few days for various reasons. We will still arrive in Lynden, WA on Tuesday June 17 but will have fewer layover days on the trip.

This morning I installed my new Tire Traker pressure monitors on the RV. It took me a couple of tries to get them right but I hope they help prevent any blowouts by giving me a warning of potential trouble.

HOT, HOT,HOT!!!!

Location, At home, CA

It is HOT!!!! We have had temperatures in the high 90’s for the past three days. It is supposed to moderate tomorrow and be back to normal by Sunday.

It is too hot to be outside so we keep the house closed up with 2 fans on until late in the afternoon.The dog appreciates the fans.

Plants and lawns are suffering terribly.

I worked my usual gate guard job last week, actually 10 days of it. Was hot and dusty most of the time. Also very windy.

I only have 2 photos from my 10 days. One of the fellows cooked red beans and rice in a Dutch oven in our fire ring as well as a Tri-tip roast. That was our dinner. Very good! We also had corn on the cob cooked directly in the fire. The corn is best if it chars a little bit. We don’t remove the husks or silks. After a cob is done we use a pair of clean gloves to pull back the husks which take the silks with them. The husks although hot, become the handle to eat the corn. We just roll the ear in a stick of butter and eat. It is our lunch on Thursday. 

 Camp oven and Dutch oven cooking. The other device is a camp waffle iron which in this case is being burned off before it is used to cook a waffle.

I finished up last Friday and spent the morning taking down camp and stowing everything for travel. I had Craig drive up and pick up a garbage can full of aluminum cans and plastic bottles along with 4 ice chests and 4 folding chairs. I didn’t want to take them with me as we were camping at Pismo Beach with Budd and Brenda for 4 days. I was in no hurry to leave so got the floors vacuumed and even had time for a shower.

I pulled out from the gate at 12 noon and about 1:30 I pulled into the campsite at Pismo. Paul and Kathy our neighbors came in about 1 PM. Clyda had ridden up with them.

We spent a very nice weekend which included shopping at an RV store and Miners Hardware store. They have everything. We played Mexican Train and Checkit in the evenings.

We came home on Tuesday about 12:30 PM. It was already so hot that I didn’t unload much from the RV. In fact I only unloaded the truck this morning because I needed to drive it to a Retiree’s picnic today. I did manage to get it washed as it was filthy from the dust and pollen.

I have more unloading in the RV as we will leave here about June 4^th for our trip to Lynden WA for Michaels wedding. We will take 2 weeks to drive 1400 miles. We won’t travel everyday as we want to spend some time in a few locations. Because of the heat we will drive the East side of the Sierras where it is much cooler. At least it will be after we leave Bishop and climb up to Mammoth, CA.

Trip to Houston.

Location, At home, CA

Almost a month since I last posted. I know, I know, but I have been busy.

The trip to Houston went just fine. We did have a delay of about an hour for our flight from Phoenix to Houston which put us in late. Tim met us at baggage claim and drove us to his house. After a little wine and cheese which sufficed for dinner we went to bed. Friday was laid back while we delivered fast food lunches for the Grandkids at their respective schools. Don’t ask me how that got started.

Saturday was Ivy’s soccer game which was South towards Katy, TX. It actually was not out of the way to go from there to the ship. Tim delivered us to the ship after Ivy’s game finished.

We had an easy and fast embarkation which allowed us to get a late lunch at the buffet before muster drill.

As we were leaving our cabin, our steward introduced himself and said he would have a glass of champagne waiting when we returned. We thought “yeah, sure”. Late I happened to look in the small refrigerator and sure enough, there were two glasses of champagne waiting for us. How nice to start our trip that way. Later in the week a bottle of champagne showed up in our refrigerator. No explanation so we ordered extra orange juice and breakfast in the room one morning and had mimosas for breakfast. Really decadent!

Two days at sea found us at our first stop of Cozumel, MX where we rode a catamaran along the coast then transferred to a bus for an island tour. After the tour we grabbed a margarita and chips with salsa at a local stand.

Our ship, Caribbean Princess 

The next day we were in Roatan, Honduras where Clyda went swimming or should I say wading, with the dolphins while I toured the island visiting an Iguana farm and a private beach development called Parrot Bay. Low key but ok.

Our last stop was at Belize City where we had to tender in because of the shallow water. We both took an airboat ride outside the city to a wetlands area. Again, low key but enjoyable.

 Loading the airboat

 

 Smile!

Our trip back to Houston was enjoyable as the ocean was like a bath tub. Not a wave in sight. It really brought out the sun bathers on all decks.

We enjoyed playing trivia every afternoon and did quite well sometimes. After dinner each evening we stopped at the Crooners Lounge to listen to Bert Stratton play and sing. We first met Bert on our cruise to Alaska in 2001. He is quit the entertainer!

Arriving back in Houston we were off the ship by 8 AM and boarded a bus for Bush International Airport to pick up a rental car for the weekend. We drove directly to Matthews’s soccer game then after the game back to Tim’s house. The remainder of Sat and Sunday was low key. On Monday evening we all went to dinner at Macaroni Grill. Matthew asked us all to dress up for the occasion and just before we left for the restaurant we found out he had asked his girlfriend to go also. It turned out to be a nice evening with everyone dressed up.

Tuesday morning at 5:30 AM we left for the airport and an 8 AM flight to Phoenix. We arrived home just about noon.

It was a nice trip but the best part of it was spending time with Matthew and Ivy. Both are great kids. If we were only closer!