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!