Shopping Day!

Captains Log June 29 - Today  was  official “going to town  day”!    We didn’t have as many stops

Look carefully and see
the ground squirrel grab
the bird feeder

planned as our last trip, which was good!  Bill was scheduled for “Zoom” conference this morning so we didn’t leave until about 11.

We went to the bookstore, Staples, Fred Meyers, and then to lunch at Heros.  It was pretty good just not enough AC on to suit me.  We actually had a hard time concerning lunch.  The internet said there was a Panera’s but it was a similar type place but NOT Panera and we headed to Wendy’s and they aren’t allowing seating inside and it was way too hot to eat in the car.  Then we spotted Heros in the plaza and they were our ‘last resort”.

There’s a nice Walmart between us and Medford, in Eagles Point so we called in our prescriptions there and Bill picked them up while I started the grocery shopping.  The rug I bought last time to cut into step covers for the RV was too short so this time I measured and found a better quality one that I could get 2 steps from, so I bought 2.  We divided up some of the shopping list and got done faster and headed back to the campground.

We have 3 feeders out and 7 birds
fighting over this one!

It wasn’t as hot today as it has been but we still didn’t heat up the stove for dinner.  I used the microwave for the warming of the meat but had cold dishes for the sides.

Bill started taking things down outside as we move on July 1 to another site in a different loop.  We are going to B loop and will be in charge of that loop for the month of August. 

Another evening of reading!

Lovely but hot day off!

Captains Log June 28 – Day off!  We have been changed to Monday and Tuesday off so I

These are not the smallest

hope we’re settled in now.   Once we got organized, even though it was going to hit 113 today, we figured it’s one of our 2 days off for the week so we better make good use of it.

Not far from us is the Cole M. Rivers Hatchery on the Rogue River.  I love fish hatcheries and we’ve even thought of volunteering at one for the summer.  Anyway, the visitor center was not open but we did gather some good information from an employee who stopped for us.  We walked a lot of the hatchery and learned they collect, spawn, and egg incubate for Chinook, Coho, Steelhead, and Rainbow trout.  Some are done spring and fall and some just once a year.  A lot of the huge tanks were empty and they were cleaning a lot so they must be getting ready

This is a 4 footer

the fall group upcoming.  We did see tanks of fish from 3 inches up 3 feet.  Some of the larger ones are where they get the eggs from.  It was very hot so once we walked a bit we went up into the overlook building and you can also see the area and info on collecting the eggs.

On the way into Shady Cove, we took the side road into Trail, OR proper and basically it is a tiny post office and an even smaller Town Office.  It does not look to be a very thriving town.

Our first stop in Shady Cove was to the bottle

Bottle man Bill

drop at the local grocery store.  We waited for 2 ahead of us to finish then fed our water bottles, glass bottles and a few aluminum cans in and left with a whopping $6.20!  While there we checked out the grocery store and it was quite nice, a bit pricy but an excellent assortment of fresh items as well as canned stock.

The book store Bill wanted to stop in was closed today and so was the restaurant he wanted to have lunch in, so we saw a little bar/cafe and gave it a try.  Other than it took quite a while, our food was very good.  I had another wrap and again it was huge so I brought home half.  Bill didn’t eat all of his chicken so he brought some of that home.  Sounds like a lunch on Wednesday!

Bill wanted me to get a flyer from the rafting company as he’s interested in us going, so I waited for the guy to finish up a customer and asked for a brochure and he acted like he didn’t know what brochure was!  He handed me a business card and said I could look at the website.  There was a large group of Asians decked out and ready to go.  They were all decked out in new garb and Tommy Hilfiger was leading the pack!

It was so hot out I was craving ice cream so we spent our $6 on 2 singles of hand dipped.  I went with Espresso chunk and Bill had Chocolate Peanut butter.  Delicious!

From there we drove around a couple of the day use areas along the river and another county park campground.  It’s right on the river as where we are has a side along Lost Lake.  We stopped and talked to the 2 hosts there and they said they can park up to 42’ RV’s so maybe next time we’re in this area we will try to get along the river!

The scary door

We watched for the hanging bridge walkway that I had spotted last time we were over there.  Finally saw it and here was a pull off just after.  I was hoping we could walk across it but where the entrance is down the hill has a door on it and has a No Trespassing sign on it.  Normally, those that know me, know that doesn’t always deter me, however, since there were lots of cars going by and Bill is not as much of a rule breaker as I am, so I took a couple of photos and called it a day!  Pooh!

Dinner was simple and minimal heating!  Microwaved the leftover meats and I made a small bowl of shortcut potato salad this morning with canned diced potatoes, drained and rinsed, and last night I made a Cottage Cheese Fluff of sugar free cherry jello, sugar free cool whip and a large container of low fat cottage cheese.  That is one of Bill’s favorites and I change the flavor every time. 

The hanging bridge across the Rogue

 Since we use gas to cook it heats the place 
  up and this created no extra heat.  Anyone who has any good quickie recipes – please share!!

Hot rough day! But we survived!

Captains Log June 27 – It was going to be a super hot day today!  At least most of our campsites are under the trees and the humidity here is quite low.  Bill wasn’t feeling well this morning so I headed out by myself.  There were 30 sites to be done since it’s Sunday AKA Mass Exodus Day!   I was surprised how many were already gone and I suspect is was due to the heat we were heading into.  It got to 108!

I did 16 sites and I was hot and pooped so I headed back to the RV for some cooling down and rest.  Boy, did it feel good to get inside the RV even though we can only run one AC with the 30 amp hook up!  When I was rested and ready Bill said he was going back with me so we headed back and did 12 of the remaining sites on the list.  As usual, there were a couple of slow ones.  We went ahead and took the debris to the appropriate locations and then stopped to chat with 2 of the employees until our last 2 sites emptied.

With the heat like it is I’m trying to plan meals that don’t require a lot of heat manifestation.  Guess that will be the protocol for the next few days!

Bill isn’t happy with the stations we are getting on the satellite but I did turn on The Equalizer, which I really like and was glad to see it was an episode I had not seen.  Bill did watch it with me and I think he enjoyed just watching TV for a change.  He said he might move it tomorrow and see if we get more channels.

Chilling - not in the cooling sense!

Captains Log June 26 – Slow day!  We had 11 sites to clean and did 3 on our first drive through.  Didn’t take 30 minutes.  On our 2^nd run we did 6 and then one of the rangers asked Bill to drive our cart up to the maintenance building so they could take the key to get extras make. 

Apparently on days off there have been keys taken home so no one could use the carts.  They dropped Bill back off and never brought his cart back!  So one of the other hosts cleaned our last 2 sites and Bill and I didn’t find out til she was done.  He had to call one of the rangers about the cart and was told it was sitting in the lot wit the key in it!  It would have been nice if we’d have known.   So he and another guy brought it back so we are good to go in the morning.

We mostly fiddled with the satellite this afternoon.  I spent an hour on the phone with DISH and then Bill spent an hour on the phone and then he left and I got the phone again for about 30 minutes.  We are getting channels and local stations but of course, we aren’t getting a few channels that Bill wants, so tomorrow after work we might try moving it and see if that gets the rest of our channels.

Back to the grind!

Captains Log June 25 – After 2 nice days off it  was time to go back to work!   It was pretty warm out and as usual more of our exiting guests take their time.  We don’t go out until at least 9:30 so we get a couple who are early out.  We go back 3-4 times until they are gone.   Bill made the last trip to the wood pile to empty out the pine cones and tree limbs.

It was a quiet tranquil day!  I put out another hummingbird feeder so maybe they won’t fight so much.  We started with one and I think we now have 5-6. 

Bill drove back to Medford this afternoon as our Amazon package came late yesterday and if we’d have known we would have hung around longer.  We ordered a portable satellite as we are under the trees here and once we move across the road to the other campground we will still be under the trees.  Hopefully it means we will have some sort of TV the rest of our trip.  We love to read but sometimes you just need a break. 

Bill brought back some metal plant hangers that he put up on 2 trees.  One is for the bird seed as the tiny limb he had it on didn’t look like it would last and the limbs for the hummingbird feeders are kind of high or flimsy.  He’ll take them down when we leave and keep the in the RV for future trips.  I had him put one on the driver side near the table window on a post so I can see the hummers when I’m eating!  Didn’t take 10 minutes before I had a bird! 

This week we are cleaning Loop D, which is water only and so it’s mostly tenters.  They are much cleaner and respectful of the campground than a lot of the RV’ers.  We will move July 1 to loop B and as far as we know that will be our permanent spot until we leave.  On host’s days off we double up and do 2 loops for 2 days but Sunday is the worst and no one is allowed off then!

Shopping Excursion

Captains Log June 24 - Going back to my youth today!  Going to town!  Like in my childhood, going to town from Joseph Stewart County Park is about an hour one way.  And you better have a list and map out the order of where you want to go so you don’t waste time backtracking.

Hummer in suspension

For our first actual shopping trip, it went pretty well.  We went to 2 RV places.  One is sending out a mobile guy next week to work on our leveling system and a couple other little things.  The other we stopped at for Bill to make an appointment to bring his truck in to fix the RV connection part that is giving a malfunction light on the truck.

Next we hit the mall.  It’s a BIG 2 story mall and is very nice!  I went to Bed Bath and Beyond and they did not have any of the things I was looking for.  So I headed to Bath and Body Works as they were having one of their annual sales and I picked up a few things I knew I’d need soon.  We checked out JC Penney but no deals that I was interested in.

Bill had made an appointment for a haircut at one of the Wal-mart stores so while he was getting groomed, I did my dry goods shopping and got that out of the way.  We were pretty hungry by then so Bill googled and found a place not far that is a bar/restaurant with great reviews.  I had a chicken wrap that was delicious and HUGE!  I only ate half so there’s another lunch for me.  Bill equally enjoyed his lunch of a BLT and salad.

Now back to shopping!  I was looking for another top to match the shorts I was wearing and checked Ross and Marshall’s with no luck.  Then Bill found a used bookstore so of course we had to go there.  I went to the Dollar Tree next door while he was in the bookstore. 

Time to get the rest of the groceries!  We stopped at Safeway for 2 local specialty items but only found one of what I wanted.  Then on the way back we stop at the last Walmart in Eagle Point so nothing spoils.  Our cooler isn’t very big but we do have big insulated bags.  No ice cream though!

Nice day off!

Captains Log June 23 – Our first day off – well we only worked 3 days but the first one was a killer!

Bill hung the regular bird feeder and the hummingbird feeder and we saw birds pretty quickly

on it.  There was one, then a second showed up the first one ran it off, then another showed up and the first one ran 2 off at a time!  I might have to put out a second feeder.  I have 3 with me and one seed feeder.

Bill went to help in one of the loops since their host was off today.  I did some repairs in the RV.  I put the striker back on the bathroom door jam so that project is off the table!  Repairing the bed was a bit tougher.  While Bill was gone I put the screws in on the platform that were missing and I mounted the new lift arm at one end.  The bedroom is so dark and I

spent a while looking for some kind of  light that I could hang as when the base top is raised you can’t see under the bed.  I finally settled on a string of rope lights that I could plug in beside the bed then string them where I needed them.  Bill  had helped me move the mattress and raise the base lid and we propped it open with broom handles.

After a bit of struggling with the new screws to mount the new arm Bill took down the pole props and positioned it for me to attach the lifts back on each side.  It shut with no problem so I really wanted to do a happy dance, but can’t with my foot!  I kept the packaging from the new one in case the old one still in use acts up we will get the exact match from NAPA.  We put the mattress back on and I think all is well! 

Our reward was lunch in the closest town, Shady Cove.  The recommended place was closed so we went to the second recommended place which was Mexican.  They were keeping pretty busy and only 2 workers and 1 cook.  We stopped at the post office for some stamps and headed home.

So our chores were done for the day – time to relax a while.  Bill took a nap and I went out and started in my camping chair with my book, then graduated to my recliner and watched my hummers fight!  I read a while, just laid back and relaxed a while and then it was time to heat up leftovers and make some steamed cabbage for dinner.  Oh, I made a Strawberry Jello Pie this morning for dessert!

Slower than yesterday!

Small part of Lost Creek Lake

Captains Log June 22 – Slow  day  in  the  park.  That’s a  good thing  for us.   We only  cleaned a
few sites which was fine.   When  we  took  pine cones to the wood dump area, we spotted some 2 x 10 pieces  of lumber   so  Bill is  turning them into  leveling  boards  for  the  RV.   They always split  after  a while  so getting them for free is al-ways good. 

We met a new ranger today.  She used to be with the State Park here but decided to come to the county since she lives close by.  Very nice lady.  Most of the volunteers were here with the state as well so everyone is making adjustments.

Bill said he saw a hummingbird so I made a small batch of syrup and will put it out tomorrow and see what we can attract.  There are several birds we have no idea what they are.

Marina View from up top

This afternoon we drove over to the marina to check it out.  We were told they have great soft serve so of course we had to try it!  It was good but not really the best.  We checked out the marina and boy, is that a steep hill to back your boat trailer down!  They have quite a lot of boats docked.

Then we went over to the Day Use area and there were a few having picnics and some at the edge of the water.  This is a bigger park that we originally thought.  They have a huge overflow parking area other there too.  It’s 1.3 miles from the campground.  Lost Creek Lake is huge and backs up the the campground in addition to the marina and day use area.

Bill grilled burgers and hot links for dinner and we had corn on the cob.  Great dinner and the corn was excellent!

Not much else going on but looking forward to our 2 days off.

Slow Day

Captains Log June 21 - Today we did 2 loops but they are half or more empty so it really wasn’t

Our park wheels

bad.  We did all but one together and the last one just was not leaving!  So after lunch I told Bill I would go do that last one and then go to the other loop and scout around for another giant pine cone.

Wouldn’t you know that this was the worst site of the day?  There were melted cups and plates in the fire pit and half burnt wood.  I cleaned it all out and picked up trash around the site, loaded up some cut boards that were left behind as well.  We also are to pick up any pinecones in the site proper.  We only do around the trees if they are close to the site. 

I left the cart full of the trash so Bill could take it later to the various dump locations.

I went scouting in D loop for another giant pine cone and found a child’s fleece jacket at the playground but didn’t find the owner.  They must have left this morning so I hung it on our site post and maybe they are still here but down at the river.

1st day on the job!

Captains Log June 20 – First day on the job!  We were assigned one loop of 50 sites.  We

Our current spot

didn’t get our golf cart, tools, and  departure /arrival list until about 9:30.  They don’t have to leave until 12:30.  So we headed out and at first we were going to do those spots that were turning around today.  One of the other em-ployees came over to check on us and said to just do them as you go whether someone is coming to the spot today or not.  That was great as it made it easier for us. 

As it is in all campgrounds, you have slobs and you have neat freaks and everything in between.  Some sites took 5 minutes and some took 15.  If the fire pit was a mess and still hot it has to be watered down.  We made 3 trips to the wood dump area to take pine cones and fallen tree branches.  It’s a nice little drive on an asphalt path with a nice view of a mountain just before we turn into the pile.

We were down to 2 sites around 1.  We had some lunch and then went back as they had left so we finished up for the day.  In the afternoon Bill raked up the pine needles and pine cones at the trees beside our site.  We will haul them off tomorrow.  It will be a much lighter day and we will have 2 loops to do as the lady in our loop has her 2 days off.  Currently they have people 

Dandelion - Big ones and I have
not see one in years! 

who are employees that do the bathrooms, so that is great!

The park was a state park until April when the county took it over, so they are still getting organized and a system down.  Some of the staff was here with the state and some are new.  Everyone has been really nice and seem to be easy to approach with questions.

Now THAT'S a Pine Cone

The highlight of my day was finding a HUGE pine cone.  Of course Bill asked what I was going to do with it and I said I’m taking it home as I’ve never seen one so big.  From the tip to the base it is 13 “.  Once Bill told his brother about it 

he asked me to get him one since we will see them in September.  I asked an employee about them and she said they come from old sugar pines and just keep watching and you will find another one. 

We were pretty tired after our work was done!  It’s hot here now but not much humidity so still not as bad as Florida.  If you’re in the shade you can easily sit outside and enjoy the day.

 

Arrived in Trail, OR at Joseph Stewart County Park

Captains Log June 19 - Well  it was a  short drive  in miles,  but a  long drive  in type  of road!  Today we drove to  Joseph Stewart  County Park  where we  will be  volunteering  for about 6 weeks.   Most of the drive was  2 lane  and we came south along Crater Lake area which was curvy and bumpy.   I accumulated  a line behind  me and  once the  road opened  up  one guy passed me,  honked and shot  me a bird!   How Rude!   I guess he thought I should pull off so they could all pass, but I have the same right to the road as they do!

We knew what site we were to park in, A26 for 2 weeks then we will move to a spot in D loop for a month.  We stopped at the Host site and the lady said she had been told we were going to A26.  She said she’d come over later and talk to us.  Well, we got set up, showered and she still had not come by so we left for Medford, about 40 miles, and had lunch.  Then we did some major grocery shopping, ran the truck thru a car wash, and came back.

I was just getting ready to start supper when there was a knock on the door.  We expected it to be the camp host but it was the 2 of the park rangers.  They went over a few things but things seem a bit up in the air still.  We’re not 100% sure what all of our duties are and which loop(s) we will be working in.  We do know we clean sites, pick up any debris, sell firewood, chat people up and keep check on the bathrooms.  We work 4 hours for 5 days a week.  So we have time to see some local sites or go to the grocery on work days and have 2 days to venture further out if we want. 

I finally got to make dinner:   steelhead trout, mixed rice and zucchini.  It was either really good or I was really hungry!

Bill washed the front of the RV for the last time for a while.  Now he will have site cleaning to keep him busy!

This campground has 200 sites in 4 loops, and it’s on a river with a marina, so it’s a busy place.  Hope it doesn’t wear us out!

Last views of Mt. Hood

Captains Log June 18 – Driving day, and crazy roads!  We were on the road by 9:30 and a

Last shot of Mt. Hood

winding and curvy road it was!  Bill said due to where we camped it was shorter to go with the Garmin but as I  live and breathe, it was some curvy mountain roads.  I mean hairpin curves that I slowed to 10mph and held my breath.  For sure I was not a candidate for a speeding ticket!  The scenery was awesome as we were able to still see Mt Hood and then there appears 3 other peaks together called the Three Sisters.  We could see all of them for quite a while.  I finally found a rest area and pulled in to get my last shots of the mountains but we did see them a bit longer and then, poof, no more snowy mountains.

The babies

Somewhere along the journey we saw alpacas.  They had a store where you could buy products made from their hair and had babies that you could pet.  They really are cute animals.  Bill snapped 2 quick photos as we drove by.

Traffic in Bend, OR was horrendous.  It’s in a valley with a 4 lane main road running thru it and there were tons of RV’s on the road heading somewhere for the weekend!  Yikes!  I told Bill I had a little bundle of gift cards if he found a card for a place I could get in and out of in the RV we could get lunch since we were having leftovers for dinner.  There was a stop that had both Chick-fil-a and Cracker Barrel and I’m not so crazy about Cracker Barrel and didn’t really want to stop, sit, order, eat, and take so much time.  We took a chance and got off and followed the road to the back of the 2 places and it was lined with cars, RV’s, trucks and the only space for us was just before the stop sign to leave.  So I pulled in and Bill lined me up along the curb. 

He went to the Chick-fil-a and took a long time but came back with my single with extra pickle!!!  It’s been 6 months since I had one and it was just soooo good!  I’m not much on fast food but that is my #1 choice hands down!

While Bill was getting the lunch I looked on Google maps to see how to get out as the exit was one way, and not our way!  It looked like we could get back on, go to the first light, turn left and immediately turn into a shopping area and stay along the front to an exit back on.  Hallelujah, it worked like a charm!  We caught the light to get on the road and a nice truck driver let me in to get back on the road after we turned.

The rest of the afternoon was heavy traffic and mostly 2 lane with passing lanes switching from side to side.  Our planned stop was a Pilot Truck Stop where we will fuel up in the morning but stay overnight in their truck lot.   Bill checked the fluid in the generator and  we watched some TV, read and I heated leftovers and Green Giant frozen green beans.  Later we had the last of the first half gallon of Tillamook Huckleberry ice cream.  Now the ice maker can do it’s thing without bumping into the ice cream carton.

Tomorrow is a 75 mile drive to our 6 week location.  We wanted to get their early so we can go into Medford to get groceries.  I think we work on Sunday a half day.  That’s it for today! 

Out and about on a beautiful day!

Captains Log June 17 – During the night there was an awful sound that woke us and we each

Creek behind our RV

asked “what was that”?  Then we waited and it hit again and it sounded like a big rain storm.  I got up and the noise was coming from the driver side of the RV.  Then I heard  water dropping from the roof and turned on a light and the windows were wet, then the water hit us again!  It was the sprinkler system that is apparently on a timer!  It scared the Bejesus out of me!  They are hosting a little league baseball tournament this weekend and are rotating the sprinklers.  Would have been good to know we were in the path!!

Mt. Hood behind The Dalles

This morning we showered, ate and headed into The Dalles which is on the Columbia River which separates Oregon and Washington.  The is a massive Dalles Dam here and we had planned to visit it but it is closed today, of course!  We drove over to the Visitor Center to take some photos, then  Bill stopped at the top of the road and I took more pictures, then we went over the bridge to Washington and there is another high lookout so we stopped there as well.  On the Washington side there is a wide canal for boats and barges but none were

The dam from Oregon side

going through while we were there.

The water coming from the flood gates was massive!  Looks frothy live ocean waves.  On the Washington side there is a road that goes down to the river for fishing.  Along the Oregon side the native Americans have fishing rights all year long and they construct shabby fishing platforms all along the river.  I’d be somewhat afraid to

Native out fishing

get on one of them!  There is a certain amount of land that is theirs along the river and it is packed with VERY shabby small travel trailers that I think some live in all year long.  A lot them should be hauled to a dump. 

We found a pneumatic arm that matches the surviving one in size.  We have no idea how much the pound strength is and I think the new one is stronger.  Once we settle at our volunteer place we will take the mattress off and repair the bed.

Bill went to the Oldest Book Store in the state of Oregon but was disappointed that they only

Bridge over Columbia River

sold new books and he was hoping to get some bargains.

We made a stop in a shopping plaza where I got a bottle of Huckleberry Vodka and we got Marionberry cider and Bill got Snapple.  Then it was time for lunch.  The grocery clerk recommended a place at a motel down the road.  The lot was packed and indoor seating was full so we opted to sit outside and get served sooner.  It was pretty warm out but there was a breeze so it wasn’t too bad.  My salad was good and Bill ate all of his hamburger so I guess it was good.

As we entered the RV when we got back the AC was working just as we left it and I no sooner got to the sink and the AC and lights went off.  The inverter panel said “fault”, we checked the power and it was on but not working.  The generator would not come on.  I turned on the RV ignition and nothing was charging.  Bill called our home mobile guy and left a message, then

Mt. Hood behind the cherry groves

he called the guy who is coming to our volunteer location to fix our leveling system and left him a message.  Then Bill was looking at the panel by the door and saw the “coach batteries” was off.  Apparently he sat some thing down there by his chair and bumped it off!  What a major relief that was!  Both of our mobile guys called and the one from Oregon got a good laugh out of it!

Once it cooled off a bit and the manager stopped watering the grass, Bill washed the front of the RV and most of the sides just to get the dust all off.  I worked on catching up my journals and blog.  Dinner was leftovers so that was pretty easy.  

We did not have good luck with the satellite here so no TV.  Oh well, reading is better for the brain anyway! 

Not much to tell today!

Captains Log June 16 – The scenery has drastically changed now!  No more plush green fields

My view for the day!

and hills, no more forests.  I know there are some in these states but we don’t happen to currently be there!  Lots of farming and flatter fields along the highway.   Pretty boring drive.

Tonight’s destination was Sprague, Oregon.  We will be here 2 nights so we can visit The Dalles tomorrow.  We drove around the edge on our way to our campground.  We’re in Dufur, OR at city park.  They only have 12 spaces and we have a very level pull thru spot with full hook up.  The site manager is very nice and we stopped and talked with her on an evening walk.  Her sister was over to visit so we had a nice visit and got a bit of exercise after a day of driving.  This is MUCH nicer than last night’s digs!

3 states in one day!

Captains Log June 15 – Today was pretty much a driving day.  We did make a stop at the 50,000

Silver Dollar place just off the interstate in St. Regis.  It’s pretty fascinating to see all those Silver Dollars.  We’d stopped here before.  They have a huge gift shop and a restaurant so a lot of truckers stop there as there’s not a lot coming or going.   Last time we were here we had lunch in the lot but not today.

The highlight of the day was that we had breakfast in Montana, lunch in Idaho and dinner is Washington! 

We stayed for the night in Sprague, which the campground is what we call a ghetto campground.  Bill said the office lady was very nice.  They have a small motel and 8-10 campsites. It’s pretty much in the middle of no where and we had full hookup if we needed it but it was ratty!

Not a good day!😒

Captains Log June 14 – Crazy day!  Kam had a 12:30 flight home and Bill had made an appointment for some work on his truck for 11, so he dropped her off at the airport on his way.  Poor thing, she ended up being in the airport ALL day!  The plane she was assigned had engine failure in one engine and they waited too long to put the people on another flight! 

Bill was running a couple of errands as well, but I was opening the compartment under the bed and one of the pneumatic arms that raises it went wonky and the platform shifted and I was in a BIG pickle.  I managed to move the mattress to one side on edge to survey the situation.  Not good!  All but 2 of the screws hold the head part were broken off and the arm was bent.  I called Bill to come straight home so he and I managed to get the broken arm off, unscrew the platform, get it back in place with one screw for now.  One screw was left out to use as what we need to buy. The mattress is back on the bed.  Bill then went to the largest Ace Hardware in the country and bought new screws for the platform and some for putting a new arm back on but ACE didn’t carry the arm so now we will be on the lookout for that.

Bill was out buying parts when Kam contacted him to pick her up so it was around 5 when the 2 of them got home.  She is scheduled to start over tomorrow on a 7:00 AM flight!  Guess who gets to take her?  While they were gone I made a small rhubarb crisp and rearranged my freezer AGAIN to see how many boxes of Huckleberry ice cream sandwiches I could get in.

While they were both gone I spent some time on my bills, paperwork, printing my bank statement, doing laundry and cleaning until the bed incident.  I had taken one of the frozen pasties out for dinner so since now there were 3 of us I also put out leftovers and there was plenty of food and I emptied some of the fridge at the same time.

I told Bill we needed to go back to ACE for other screws so he and I left out and also, Bill had left the bed part somewhere in ACE earlier and could  not find it.  We went to the hardware department and as I was getting the screws Bill mentioned to the other guy about the arm and lo and behold, he had it.  Thank goodness!  Now we don’t have to remove the other one to carry around.

Kam had gotten me a gift certificate from an ice cream shop that is very highly rated in

The highlight of our day

Missoula, and this was our last chance to use it.  It was some of the best ice cream ever.  We each had 2 scoops, mine were coconut and expresso heath, Bill had salted caramel and coffee mocha.  Huge scoops too!

😒I had Bill take me to Walmart – no huckleberry, but I did pick up some nice veggies.  Then we tried Rosauer’s where I’d bought them last, no luck there either.  Just a ways further on the way home was an Albertson’s and they were in closing mode so I raced back to the ice cream and got my 5 boxes of Huckleberry sandwiches. 

Sightseeing Up and Down!

Captains Log June 13 – It was a full day today!

Looking down on a piece of
the "M"

The three of us left for downtown Missoula after breakfast and the plan was to hike to the top of the “M”.  Bill wasn’t feeling good so when we exited the truck he said he’s lay down a while and catch up with us.  So we each had our backpacks and Kam had her big camera and I wasn’t going to haul any extra weigh up, I just had my cell phone.  We chose to take the straight up hike on the left side of the mountain.  About ¼ the way up, I thought this was a big mistake!  It seemed like I didn’t have any air!  We stopped a lot on the way up, hanging on to rocks, limbs and whatever what handy. 

Reaching the top was awesome!  I felt like I conquered the world!  You come out at the top of

U of M football stadium

the “M” and you can’t actually see the whole thing from up there anywhere.  We took photos of the football stadium, Bill’s tiny truck in the parking lot, and the college commons.  I took a photo on the way up of the interstate between Mountain M and Mountain L.  I went to the bottom of the “M” and took a photo of Kam at the top of it.  Bill couldn’t see us to get a photo from the bottom due to trees at the bottom blocking his view.  We sat for a while and rested for the switchback trail going down.  They are paved and have a few benches scattered along the trip down.  It was a lot longer but a lot  easier as well.  I was very excited to have

Path going up

made the trip at 67!  

View of the circle from the hilltop

We headed back to the RV for lunch and then Kam and I headed to the town of Arlee, about 30 minutes away.  We visited Ewam Garden of One Thousand Buddhas.  There were quite a few people that when we arrived.  The grounds are beautiful and it’s really hard to describe it all.  The main part of the garden is a circle divided evenly

The entrance

into 8 sections.  There are dividing walls about 3 feet tall and on them are 2 rows of Buddhas.  There are Buddha statues on the exterior  wall and other statues that are larger that have specific names   Up on the hill behind the circle is a triangular display of prayer flags that have been bought in memory of someone and blank ones that can be bought.

The garden in the circle and all around are beautiful and most of the

One of the Monks

flowers were in full bloom.  It’s a very peaceful place.  They have a coy fish pond with statues around it as well.  There is no charge to visit but there are a couple of donation stands.   You can also place coins on / at the statues and say a prayer. 

Kam and I enjoyed the sereneness of the compound, the beauty of the flowers, and the calmness you feel there. 

One of the divider rows in the circle

We went the gift shop but didn’t buy anything.  We did see the Monk, who must be in charge as he was emptying the donation stands.  Good thing, as Kam had trouble pushing in our donation as it was pretty full!

It’s a difficult place to describe.  It’s very peaceful, quiet and inspiring!

We headed back to the RV park  and later the 3 of us went to Lolo, which is sorta outside of Missoula.  Kam took us to a highly rated steak restaurant for dinner.  It was full so they took our name and we walked up the small hill behind it to the distillery there.  Kam ordered a flight of

At the center of the circle

their spirits while I ordered an Old Fashion and Bill went all out with water!  I drank one of Kam’s flight and it was great!   She bought a bottle of Huckleberry Vodka that she can’t have until I get back in the fall.  She traveled carry on so she better hope I don’t get thirsty!  By the time we got back down to the restaurant our table was ready.  We each got a different cut of steak.  The huge “grill” is right where you can see the guy cooking and Bill went to watch and ask questions.  I hope that means he’s going to do a good job of grilling for me!

Dinner was delicious!  We all had salads which were extremely fresh and crisp.  I had a white sweet potato and thought they brought me a regular potato but the server said it was a white sweet potato.  It was the sweetest that I’ve ever had so I will be watching out for those!  Kam and Bill ate all their dinner but I only got through half of my steak.  Kam and I both wanted some mini huckleberry vodkas so after Kam paid the bill we drove back up the hill and got the minis and headed back home.

It was a full day and beautiful out all day!

Back to Missoula

Captains Log June 12 - Time  to head  south back  to Missoula for 3 nights.   Kam sat up front with me and got the birds eye view  as she and Dan  are looking at RV’s maybe next summer.  It seemed to take us forever to get to Missoula and it was only supposed to be about 2 hours!

Bill misunderstood what site we were assigned and had me park in D5 and then Kam saw the

One of the old buildings

map and it was D6.  He went up to see if we could stay in D5 as we had our slides out and utilities hooked up but is was no.  Timing is everything and we no longer got moved to the next space when our neighbor pulled in to D5. 

The church

Once we had some lunch we headed into Missoula to Ft. Missoula.  It was very nice out for a change and we enjoyed walking the grounds and thoroughly enjoyed the museum.  It covered the use of the fort when it was first established in 1877 through WWII when it was an internment camp of Japanese citizens relocated from California.  Some of that was very sad as they were separated from their families and most lost their businesses.  There are some buildings not from the original fort but from the same time period that have been moved to the grounds.  One is a tiny church and another was an one room school house.

There was also a train section that has an old engine and train

Train Station

station and other train related things.  Bill took my photo with the train to send our friend Bruce who loves trains.  All in all we got some good walking in and enjoyed spending time back in time!!

We crossed town to the base of the “M” mountain.  The M is for the University of Montana and the grounds are at the base of the mountain.  The river runs along one side.  The campus is beautiful and we drove around it as Bill wanted to see the football stadium.  At the mountain base there are 2 trails going up to the “M”.  One is switchbacks directly in front of the “M” and the other is more strait up and rugged along the side.  You could see quite a few tiny people up at the “M”.

Inside the school 

There was no cooking going to happen so we finally decided to go to Famous Dave’s, which is mostly a BBQ place.  Bill and I have eaten at one before.  It was not bad!  I enjoyed my brisket salad but I think Kam and Bill were not overly impressed with their food.  It’s nothing like 4 Rivers at home!

It was a full day and time to relax back at the RV