AUG 30 - Kam is in control!!
Mom's laptop crashed and she's in the sticks so she's going to have to wait until the weekend to get he PC to someone that can help her. Ive told her to switch to a Mac but she refuses to listen ;)
In the mean time look at my recent bathroom renovation!
Here are my cute dogs!
Maggie
 Mabel |
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Captains Log August 30 – Pretty much Arches NM took
up most of our day. The crowd was
The 3 Gossips
minimal so there were no problems with parking anywhere we wanted to stop. I
think my software moved my photos around so they are not in order so I can’t be
sure to label them correctly, but they are nice to see! I also took a lot of photos of unnamed rocks
with forming arches and windows. I found
a lot of them.
We took a snack with us as there isn’t anywhere to buy any food. It was a lovely day out and we certainly got our share of walking in.
On the way back thru 
Delicate Arch
in the truck. I also had to have a script for 10 “tide me
over” pills as I had the script refilled further down the road. So we picked those up as well!
Back at the ranch “literally”, I put in a piece of floor molding that had come loose and put pickle steaks on to cook a couple of hours for dinner. I fixed one of my stove burners.
It was after dinner when I opened my laptop and it
started an update. No big deal, it was
going to take about 30 minutes. Well
once it was done I had 2 choices to make and neither sounded good so I shut it
off and decided to have it looked at so I didn’t totally lose all of my photos
and
Can't remember the name! Bill took my pic-
ture standing in the middle
data. So tomorrow I will call about
getting it repaired/checked.
Captains Log August 29 – My laptop got sick last night
so when I turned it on today I got some messages that I didn’t like! Could not set up a timely appointment for it
until we get to
Today’s drive was mountainous and boring. At the end of the journey we drove past the
entrance of
As we drove through town it was not nearly as packed with people and cars as it was the first 2 times we were here. It was nice to know we could park and not circle for ages!
We settled in our pull thru spot and later took a drive thru town again and looked around at what was new and what was the same. The town is growing still and there were several new hotels. Looking forward to going to the park tomorrow.
😢😢Captains Log August 28 – This morning before
heading out I called Gina to see if they
Assembly Hall
wanted to meet for dinner since it
would be our last night. They readily
said yes so we planned to meet at Black Bear Café.
Then we headed across the road to the public
transportation rail, bought our one way ticket and waited for our train. About half way up the street a pick-up truck
tried to out run the train and hit it.
There weren’t many of us on the train but we had to fill out little info
cards in case we later claimed injury.
No one was hurt and we didn’t even know why we stopped initially. The pick up truck was more damaged than the
train. He had a flat tire, scraped up
side panel in addition to a ticket and paying repairs on the front of the
train! An exciting way to start our
visit to
Inside Assembly Hall
We exited right at the corner of the square. Just inside the gate was the
There were well over 150 girls, all dressed in various black dresses and ages from 6 to 18. They all play the harp. They were rehearsing with their “groups” in the Tabernacle and it was closed to the public. So we started in the Assembly Hall and sat and listened to beautifully played organ music. The hall itself actually looks like a church to us.
The entire
We walked along the side of the square where the
Beehive House is and the flowers they
Beehive House
plant there are gorgeous! It was open for tours but the tours were
longer that we wanted to do so we headed further down the street to the 
Temple from the top
about the building. It’s truly gorgeous inside and everything is
BIG! The pillars, the statues, the
paintings!
We took the elevator to the top where you can look
out over the
From there we crossed over to what we thought were
all office buildings but there was shopping mall in the center of the buildings
with a nice food court. We got to have a
Chick-fil-a! Yum! Then we walked it off going back to the
The train ride back was totally uneventful and much
faster! We didn’t do much other than
Dinner with Gina and Rick
read until it was time to head out to meet Gina and Rick for dinner. It was a nice ending to our time together and
we are hoping they will get to come to
We stopped at Walmart for a few things since there won’t be one for our next 2 stops. It was CRAZY! I’ve never seen so many stock persons in any store and to do it on a Saturday evening! Bill didn’t last long and went to the truck. The check out lines were long and of course they are short staffed so didn’t have all of the self check areas even open.
Time to get home and put stuff away and prepare to head out in the morning!
Captain Log August 27 – Not much went on for the first half of the day. Bill took his truck to get
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| Gina, Kelly andElaine |
Mid afternoon we headed to our friends' Gina and Rick’s house in Tooele. I took 4 desserts for everyone. We were early so Bill and I could help set things up and visit with them a while before the rest of the family arrived. Elaine, aka Mom, was there when we arrived and she looks better than she did 2 years ago. It was great that she could make the drive to join us.
Later Becky and Brian arrived with 4 of their kids. Boy, have they grown in 2 years! Later their other 2 arrived as they work and didn’t get off early. We love that family like our own. We’ve watched the kids grow up and now Andrew, the oldest is 21 and has his Masters Degree in Accounting and worked 3 years with the IRS while in college and now works for a big national CPA firm. Three of the kids are in high school, one skipped a grade and is in middle school and one went to work out of high school. They are such a fun family and we had such a joyous gathering.
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| Andrew and his little brother |
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| Bill and Rick and their special beverages |
Sadly we had to say good bye but it was such a great time with lots of laughs and a little bit of tears that Dad Wendell could no longer we there with us. We look forward to another reunion down the road.
Captains Log August 26 - Bill headed out this morning for a Dermalogist appointment to follow up on his leg. While he was gone I did a load of laundry, baked cookies, Cranberry Dessert bars, put the new drawer latch on the broken drawer, replaced the icemaker water filter, and washed up all the dishes I dirtied and the breakfast ones – that’s Bill’s normal job!
I baked items to take to the cook out tomorrow and
will make a batch of Brownie Brittle also.
I already made one batch yesterday and took it to Gina and Rick so
they’d have their own to enjoy! I did
have about 6 cookies for us and 4 cranberry bars so in case we don’t beat the
kids to the table Friday, we have a taste at home!
Bill called after his appointment and I sent him to the store for a couple of things to pick up on the way home. We go through fruit like there’s no tomorrow.
After lunch we played tourist for a while. We started at a cemetery there Bill read
Orrin Porter
Rockwell Headstone
Rockwell was buried in 1878.
He was Brigham Young’s bodyguard.
I have no idea how Bill knew that or why he wanted to see the grave but
we went. The information he had was
sketchy so once we looked with no luck, he called the office of the cemetery
and she text him maps. Well, even with
those we were not having any luck so he called back and she said she’d send
someone to help us. As soon as he hung
up I found the marker. It did not look
like the one in the photo he found and the writing was on the opposite
side. A guy showed up in just a couple
of minutes as he was working there in the cemetery. He said that is one the graves he gets asked
about often. So we got photos and were
off on our next chase!
Bill asked Rick last night where the immigrants
crossed over the mountains and he told us it was over next to the zoo and there
is a monument called “This is the Place”.
How doofy is that? Well we headed
there and at first we found a monument to the Native Americans in 
This Is The Place Monument
of that.
Then we turned around and discovered the This is the Place monument is
HUGE and part of a complex called Heritage Park with a village you can pay to
go in and a gift shop and Pioneer Center.
They have wedding there and other activities. The grounds also host a monument to the Pony
Express with a replica of the station that was once there. The other monument is to the Mormon Battalion
whose job it was to forge a trail from
After our excursion it was time to fight the traffic back to the campground! It was not as bad as I expected as I really wasn’t sure how far we had roamed.
RV’s were coming in steady once we got home and I
went to the office and had a
State Capitol and Arch where
Brigham Young's property started
conversation with the manager. She was very nice and apologized as they are
short staffed like very were else. She
said she totally understood and I was right that the sites should be checked
she would get someone out to take care of it.
Well not long after I got back to the RV a guy shows up in his
cart. I went out to kinda show him what
I was complaining about and he goes and gets a shovel. How do you pick up trash 1-2 inches big
that’s mostly paper or plastic, with a shovel?
I politely suggested pinchers would work best and he left on his cart
and came back with pinchers and did a great job!
Dinner was easy! Bill and I both had big pieces of chicken left from dinner last night so I made salads and nuked a bag of riced cauliflower and added butter and grated parmesan and dinner was ready! We had our cranberry dessert bars for dessert! Yum!
Captains Log August 25 – Another driving day! Today we took our time getting around as we
could not check in at the KOA in
We made on bathroom stop about half way and then it was mountains and lot so traffic. I was very happy when we got off the interstate onto a city road where the traffic was a lot slower. We did hit a detour about 6 blocks from the campground but it was no issue, except we entered at the wrong place and there were 2 dumpsters pretty much in the way so Bill got out and steered me in to miss the dumpster and not bang of the truck. When Bill got out to check us in it was 12:52pm! This is a big KOA with 207 RV sites, 18 tent sites and 5 cabins. There is a section of about 60 sites that are seasonals.
We ended up on the entrance road so EVERY vehicle on the daily side passes by us. I was not happy with the condition of the site and plan to speak to the manager. When you pay $70 a night for a site it should not have trash scattered on it. Bill says to let it go, but when we work at a campground we are thorough with the cleaning!
Our friends wanted to meet for dinner if we were
available so we agreed to meet them half way at 5:30 at Olive Garden. I can’t tell you the last time I was at an
Olive Garden, so it was a nice change of pace.
Once we got set up and did some laundry, it was time to shower and get
on the road. We had a lovely visit and
the food was good, but not as good as the company! His parents owned the campground in
They are hosting a cookout Friday evening with his mom and his youngest sister and her family. They are the family members we know best and have spent a lot of time with. Two of the grandkids have worked there when we did so we really want to see them as well.
We had no trouble finding our way back to the
campground and just relaxed!
Captains Log August 24 - Driving Day! We had a change of plans this morning and decided not to stay at the truck stop we had on our itinerary, as we found a city/state park for $31 just off the interstate. It’s a small place but very well kept and close to the road but not a high traffic area. Very nice for the price! We landed in Heyburn, ID
Once it cooled off a bit Bill went out and washed
the back and sides of the RV. He saw
another guest washing his so he got out his “stuff” and got on it! He had done the front at our last stop but
didn’t see anyone washing the whole RV so he didn’t. The problem was the water spotting from the
sprinklers at the fair ground. He said
it looks good except for the windows. He
had to use Soft Soap on the front so maybe in
I made Bison burgers for dinner and had some cube steaks that I went ahead and made pickle steaks for Thursday as we’re meeting our friends for dinner tomorrow night and we’re having a reunion cookout at their house on Friday afternoon. All I have to do with my steaks is thicken the broth for gravy and warm them up! Yum!
I printed a few post cards and then it was time to read a while after dinner!
Captains Log August 23 – Big time shopping
day! Bill carted me all over
Good shopping is kinda far between out here so I have to take advantage today! We went to World Market, Bed Bath & Beyond, Walmart, Ross, Camping World, Trader Joe’s and Rediscovered Books! I was pooped! I picked up some Christmas gifts along the way and most of what was on my list to start with!
The highlight of the day for Bill was we went into
Bill was happy to find RV windshield wipers at Camping World as he had tried about every camping place we’ve seen for the last 2 weeks. I was about to order them on line.
So it was a productive day with a nice lunch out at a BBQ place!
Captains Log August 22 – Happy Birthday Dad! I still miss you and I love you!
It’s a
beautiful day in
I had read that the
There is also a VINTAGE car collection. They are in mint condition and beautiful
cars. The museum has received grants
enabling them to add a lot more space to their building. There is a small seating area with a large TV
that shows video of Bob Hope on his WWII tours to entertain the troops. That was super in addition to so much inclusion
of the part that women played in the war efforts, including Rosie the Riveter! If you’re ever near
Bill found a used book store that he wanted to go to, like
Then it was head home for some chicken pasta salad I made before we left and watching some new episodes on Hallmark!
Captains Log August 21 - There was no hurry this
morning since our drive was only about 35-40 miles and we didn’t want to get in a pickle
of our spot not being vacant when we arrived. We decided not to tow this morning so Bill
wanted me to head out and he’d follow.
It was interstate driving and so he told me to head out and then he
missed a turn and never caught up to me until the exit, literally! He pulled up behind me and followed me into
the RV park. Which, by the way, is the
nicest park we have ever been to! All of
the sites are the same size and full hookups.
Each spot has a strip of grass, gravel drive thru, and a nice picnic
table. They said they were rated the top
campground in the state of 
The view down our row!
Once we set up and had lunch Bill went to town on
several missions! He did not find
windshield wiper blades for the RV, or a phone charger cord at Walmart or ATT,
but he did get my hand soap on sale at
While he was out I wrote my blog, downloaded and
resized pictures, checked off all the charges on the credit card bill, called
the
Bill made several stops but didn’t find any new
wipers for the RV. Guess I will have to
order them! He ran the other errands and
was home in plenty of time for dinner! I
grilled Hot Links and had a couple of sides and we were good to go. Later we shared the rhubarb while we watched
Hallmark!
Captains Log August 20 – We realized we lost an
hour yesterday when we crossed into 
My finger steaks after I ate one!
We dilly dallied and had a late breakfast and we put off leaving the RV as the sprinklers were going like crazy and we hoped the RV was getting a good wash! We finally made a break for the truck and managed not to get soaked.
Bill dropped me in front of McDonalds so I could use the wifi since we don’t have it at the fairgrounds, and he was headed to get the truck washed. As soon as he left I read the sign on the door that it was drive thru service only. I called and he circled back to get me and we couldn’t think of a place to go in the area the might have wifi. I figured a library but who knows! So he dropped me at Dollar Tree and I can spend a long time there. I did get some Halloween cards and a couple of birthday cards. I’ve been in a lot of Dollar Trees and this was the first one I was appalled at! EVERY aisle was jammed with boxes of inventory, merchandise was all over the floors and so much was not in the rights places. I’m gonna chalk it up to the inability to find anyone to work! Everywhere we go there is a shortage of help. Somebody needs to cut off the free money so people will go back to work and take care of themselves for a change instead of the rest of us paying their way! I don’t like getting on a soapbox in my blog, but that really irritates me that they think the money is provided by the government, when it comes from people who work or have worked and pay taxes so they can sit on their A--- and watch TV all day!
Ok, moving on---- Bill did get the truck washed and
we had picked a restaurant that serves Finger Steaks. They were on a list of what foods are well
known in various states. Well, actually
it is a food of
With all the water spraying the RV, it had water spots a all over and on the windows, so Bill got out his ladder and worked on the windows but the hardness of the water did not come off very well. We might have to try again at our next location.
We did remove the southwest decal that we bought when we had our fifth wheel and then moved it to the door window of the motorhome. It’s gotten brown spots all over it and it’s really hard to see out when the passenger needs to so we took it down and it was torn some but I trimmed it to a smaller size and rolled it up with parchment paper to save in case we want to use it again.
I caught up some on writing the blog and downloading and resizing my photos but with no wifi it will have to wait until we get to the next place to get things posted.
We had our last 2 stuffed chicken breasts that we got in Cave Junction. Bill’s was Cordon Bleu and mine was spinach, feta and mushrooms. I made some “tortilla” points with a bit of parmesan cheese on them and some sliced cukes that the lady that turned us away from with the wrong reservation dates gave Bill. They do not compare at all with store bought cukes. They are so crispy and flavorful! Now I want to plant some!
Watched some Hallmark, read and called it a day!
Captains Log August 19- The drive to
A couple of things fell off the counter that were
no big deal, but later a glass bottle of Torani syrup was not secured as well
as I thought and it crashed on the tile floor and what a mess! Bill was swabbing what he could with towels
and rags until I could get off at a rest area.
We did the best we could without putting the slides out. What a sticky mess! Once we stopped for the day, we had more to
clean up when the slides were out and more glass. I mopped it all
Train picture for my friend Bruce!
twice but we finally got it
clean!
Then we arrived at our campground in Fruitland, ID and apparently the directions took us in the back entrance and there was gully and we had a big bump there and the tool caddy on the counter spilled all over and a few other items hit the floor. Luckily nothing broke!
Then Bill went to the office and they didn’t have a reservation for us! He called me on the phone and I got out our confirmation and it had the right dates on it and it was prepaid, and had a confirmation number. The lady looked it up and said the confirmation and booking was for those dates but in 2023! Geezy Pete! She asked if I did it online or called in but I had no idea as I made probably 50 reservations for this trip! She offered us a free night parked along the side of the gravel road but we wouldn't be able to open the slides. We exited where we should have entered but traffic was so bad I couldn’t cross 3 lanes to make the left turn so we drove to the right until I found a turning area.
Bill got on his phone and we were headed for the Wal-mart (across the river in Ontario, OR) we passed but as I pulled in it was swamped and there was no where that I could park and know that I could exit, so I drove the outer road to the side and exited. I just drove straight and slow while Bill searched a place. He called the county fairgrounds and fortunately she said she was sure there was space for us but it was only water and electric. We had planned to dump at our scheduled place so we went to the fair dump station and then parked. The water is not at each site, so Bill took the hose to it and put water in our tank and we just used the pump and made do. At least we have 50amp electric and can run both AC’s!
We chatted some with our neighbors. One told us that this is a Passport America place and we got 50% off our first night and that made our stay half of where we thought we were reserved. Oh, she was refunding our prepaid there!
Needless to say, we were pooped from the ordeals we faced today, but we managed and when you RV you have to be ready for the unexpected! So yesterday wasn't our last night in Oregon!!
Captains Log August 18 - Our last day in
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| There's the big nugget! |
We did some driving around the blocks to get most of the pictures. I loved the alligator and the orangutan. While taking the photos we stopped at Safeway at the “Bottle Drop” to turn in our last
The main reason for coming here was to visit the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center and its on the other side of our campground so we stopped at the RV and put our few grocery items away and went ahead and had lunch. I bought a bag of frozen Marionberries that were on sale. When we last saw them they were ridiculously priced so I wouldn’t buy them, but today I think I was at the right place at the right time! Now to work them into the freezer!!
Sadly the
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| Bill is in a rut! |
Captains Log August 17- This was NOT a fun
day! Nothing but mountains for 90% of
our drive
Only cool thing along the road today
to
There were not any “rest” areas as this was strictly a 2 lane road. We pulled in the a truck weigh station to have some lunch and then were back on the road.
Our campground is on the edge of town right by the interstate that we will be leaving the area on. Had no idea when we booked. It’s another seasonal place but had overnight spots dotted all around. We have a pull thru and that is always good. Very level also!
Captains Log August 16 – Our last day in
Bill had read there are 
Too short to get in
was
one that you can’t stand up in. We went
the first one that you can walk into and the family whose truck we saw was
there, a mom and her 3 kids. We chatted
with them and she agreed there wasn’t much info about the area. That one went pretty deep but forgetful Kelly
didn’t bring the flashlights or headlamp so we made do with our phones until it
was too dark.
We found 2 closed caves and went just to the
opening of another. Then we were a
little turned around about the way
Kelly in the cave
back!
Fortunately you could see cars driving by so that’s the direction we
took and it was the right one! Not
impressed and would not recommend this place at all!
We stopped at Goodwill and St Vincent de Paul and picked up a few more books and I got some yarn. Then we had a BIG lunch out (Bill had leftovers – I had a salad so – no). On the way back to the RV Bill dropped me at Home Depot while he got the truck washed.
Nothing more exciting, just leftovers for dinner,
finished our itinerary back to
Captains Log August 15 – For me this was a stay home day! I had laundry and cleaning to do and to get caught up on my posts and photos. How ever, the crappy WIFI here did not cooperate with me. I told Bill that next summer I’m getting whatever contraption I need to have decent WIFI without counting on campground or cell service that I can hotspot from!
This morning Bill washed the front of the RV and took a nap. It’s was 97 out at the time, so I’m sure it was a well needed nap! After lunch we went into town with a short list for the grocery store and I’m not sure where else he was going.
I found some nice rhubarb the other day so I cut it
all up this morning and froze a bag and made a 6 serving pie with a crump topping
for us. Rhubarb was on the list I sent
with Bill in hopes he finds more so I can freeze it. My kids love it and it’s difficult to find it
even frozen in
Our neighbors on one side left this morning and a new neighbor arrived. He had a bit of a struggle to get backed in due to all the vehicles at sites kind of blocking the road, but darn if he didn’t get it in! They are an older couple and left for lunch I think, as soon as they were parked!
After making the pie I spent the rest of my “free” time mapping and booking our trip home. Hope to finish it off tomorrow.
We had a lovely dinner out at the only “fancy” place I could find. The servings were huge. Bill only ate half of his filet and I ate all of my lobster smothered salmon but none of my huge baked potato with a ton of toppings! No dessert, we had pie at home.
Captains Log August 14 – Another exciting day!
Today we were exploring 
The last one
further south we drove, the worse the
smoke was. I took a series of photos as
we drove and it was denser by the mile.
Bill had called a while back and verified the 
Cave opening from the inside
go down into the cave and walk a mile to the end, then walk
back. It’s called a lava cave because it
was a tube from a volcano 80,000 years ago and the end is open like a
cave. The temperature in the cave is 42,
there is NO lighting, rocky pathway, and low ceilings in some spots.
While I did a bathroom run before heading in, Bill
paid our fee and rented big flashlights for us.
It’s a good thing as I hadn’t remembered to get our flashlights or my
headlamp before we got on the road. I
doubt our flashlights would have been light enough in there so rented lights
were the best option. It was difficult
to take photos with my Nikon while using the light and watching the
walkway. Geez – I needed one more
arm! Also, I could have used a jacket as
I only took a chambray long sleeve shirt to wear over my t-
Nice walkway to get started
shirt!
I am disappointed in my pictures as people
were moving in both directions in the cave with their lights and as soon as I’d
be ready to snap a photo there would be a light bomb! The floors were smooth in some areas but not
all the way. Bill was having trouble
with the walkway with passing people and said he’d sit and wait for me to go to
the end, but I asked people returning if it looked any different further along
and they said it was the same all the 
Bill in the cave
way, so there was no reason to continue. So we went about 1/2 mile in and then back so we got in a mile for sure today.
Exiting the cave was like hitting a heat bomb! We sat on the bench at the outside of the cave and took off the extra clothing and rested for a few minutes. As soon as we sat down my phone chirped a couple of messages. I text back and after a few minutes rest we walked back up the path and turned in our lanterns and walked to the truck. It was an awesome experience and I’d highly recommend it.
We stopped briefly at the visitor center as we had
been there 2 years ago and did the bus trip to the top of the cone but today
was so smoky they were still running it but telling
Wall inside the cave
guests you might not see
anything due to the smoke.
Time to head back into 
My cave flash bomb
as
soon as I got to the check in booth the young lady asked if I was looking for a
phone! I told her I was and it was red
and she had it sitting right there. What
a relief!
With that bit of drama done for the day, I was ready to
get my shopping done, have lunch and head back to the RV. We made stops at Bed,
We also made a stop at Flyte Camp Vintage Trailers and Restorations. We knew it would be closed but Bill watches their program on TV and wanted to at least see the place. We took some photos and I looked up a place nearby for lunch. We had brisket with sides at a food truck at a brewery! It was warm out but we were under cover at the brewery and had plant misters mist us on and off! The brisket was good but Bill didn’t like his cole slaw but my broccoli salad was delish!
We stopped at some point during the day at Goodwill and found 3 books and listened to a lady get riled and rude because the sign said “Masks Required” and she wasn’t wearing one. What a B she was to the personnel! She kept stating if they required masks they should provide them! I was close to joining the fray, but knew Bill would not like me getting involved. She was flat out rude and stupid!
Most of the stores here do require masks so I don’t
understand people who don’t keep one in the car!
It was good to get home! I used my new griddle pan to cook our chicken skewers on for dinner and it worked great and didn’t warp like the last pan, of course this one was almost 3 times the price but well worth it! I set up the Dish and we watched some TV for a change and called it a day!
