Tourists in the NW and Olympic Peninsula

We have been busy touring during the month of August.  After a one last time run to Costco and Fred Meyer in Warrenton on the bike for supplies on Aug 2 we left Seaside on Aug 4 heading to Forks, WA.  It was a nice trip and when we arrived at Forks we decided to take out just the bike since there was not enough room behind us to get the car out of the trailer.  Friday Aug 5 we rode the bike to Hoh Rain Forest and it was a wonderful ride! 

Larry at Hoh Rain Forest Visitor Center

Big tree that fell in the Hoh Rain forest a long time ago

Us at the Visitor Center at Hoh Rain Forest

Restaurant called River's Edge in La Push, WA

Our view from the restaurant where we watched the river otters playing

We then went to La Push right on the ocean and ended up eating at River’s Edge with a window seat so we could watch the river otter’s playing.  What fun!

God was good to us on Sunday as it rained while we were in church and stopped so we could go to the South North Chinese restaurant.  It rained again while we were eating but stopped so we could ride the mile 'home' and then rained again in the afternoon after we returned home so we really didn’t get wet at all.  (We had taken rags to wipe the seats 'just in case'.)

We rode the bike to Cape Flattery and Neah Bay, again a lovely ride that started out looking threatening but the sun came out about five minutes after we left.  We hiked out to the point to see the lighthouse and that about killed us!  It is only a 1/2 mile hike but it’s down all the way there which means it’s UP all the way back!  After a day of rest we went to see Sol Duc Falls and the hike was more level and well worth the hike.  The ride was great too!

Rialto Beach near Cape Flattery, WA

Cape Flattery, WA the farthest NW point  of the continental US

Lighthouse on an island at Cape Flattery

Sol Duc Falls, Olympic National Park

On Aug 12 we moved on to Port Angeles only to find our reserved pull thru site had been given away and  we had to unhook the trailer.  They did give us a discount.  That was the night of the Perseid meteor shower and I had two come right at me so I ducked!  Pretty awesome since they came one right after the other.  We went to Port Angeles and watched folks crabbing on the public dock by the ferry.  We also went to Hurricane Ridge and it was a beautiful day where Mt Baker could be seen in the distance. 

Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park

Deer on Hurricane Ridge

Mt Baker in the distance as we came down Hurricane Ridge

Sequim Bay, WA

We went to Diamond Point and Sequim Bay and learned we could have stayed at the ROD park there under our CM membership.  It in a much quieter park with better views so live and learn!  Next time we will know!  On one of my nightly walks I found a decorated tree along the path which made me smile and reminded me of the tree north of Sunset Point along I-17 in AZ that has mysteriously been decorated for the last 30 years or so with yellow ribbons, flags and Christmas ornaments depending on the time of year. 

Tree I found on my walk one evening in Port Angeles, WA

Decorated tree on I-17 near Sunset Point, AZ

One bad thing happened one night while I was walking and I got bit by a dog.  The owner was not very nice and told me I should have stayed at the RV park.  I did find out the dog had had its shots so I will live.

Dog bite on the back of my left leg

When we arrived at Elma, WA we were surprised to see our friends Margaret and David.  We were able to see them three times before they left on Monday.  We have enjoyed the Saturday night meals at Elma as well as the ice cream socials.  We have met some nice folks and are enjoying all the upgrades to this park since we were here last 10 years ago.  We took a ride to Gray’s Harbor, Ocean Shores, Ocean City and Pacific Beach checking out the old sonar naval base, seeing the kites flying on the beach and Larry doing 'donuts' in the sand on the beach.  We also checked out some lumber mills in Aberdeen (no tours though as we asked) and drove to Satsop to see the abandoned nuclear power station that never went 'on line'.

Larry 'touching' the Pacific Ocean

Kites on the beach

Satsop cooling tower, Elma, WA

Unfinished reactor at Satsop, Elma, WA

In Aberdeen, WA at a lumber mill

For our 56th anniversary on the 30th we had lunch at Top Wok Chinese restaurant in Elma since on Sunday we went to the potluck at the church and then took a ride to McCleary.

For Larry's birthday we had a late breakfast at the Rusty Tractor.  What a fun place that reminded me of my grandmother's farm in IL and gathering eggs from under the hens!

Rusty Tractor restaurant in Elma, WA 'hen house'

68º high 52º low

We started the month of July by going to the Frontier Days in La Pine.  It is a big deal for the small town and lasted four days this year.  We checked out the vendors and Larry ended up purchasing a new hat and some plastic weld he had seen on TV.  On Tues July 5 we made a last run to Bend to Costco and Walmart since there are no Walmarts on the OR coast where we will be.  Wednesday July 6 we left Cascade Meadows for Sandy, OR to have our AquaHot replaced. 

At Sandy where our heater was replaced

We got set up outside the facility and I went for a walk and found blackberries, yum!  It took all day Thursday to remove the old heater and get the new Espar installed and then Friday morning we ran several tests to be sure everything was working correctly. 

New Espar installed in our bay.  Notice you can see all the way thru the bay now.

We left Sandy around 1 PM on Friday and ran into lots of traffic around the Portland area but once we were almost to Salem it eased up and we stopped to fill the diesel at the Pilot.  We arrived at Neskowin Creek around 4:30 PM and found a nice pull through site that we 'just' fit into.  We didn’t take out the car until the next day.

We went to Lincoln City for church on Sunday morning and saw our friends, Jack and Bev Scovil who had driven from Bay City to surprise their son.  It is a 50 mile drive on the US 101.  It was great to see them as we had just talked about when we could see them while we were on the coast.  It has been several years since we last saw them.  They invited us to a church in Manzanita on Saturday to hear a family of singers they first met in Quartzite, AZ six years ago and we went and had a good time and really enjoyed the Haining Family. 

What a talented family!!

While we were in Lincoln City we each bought new Z-coils.

In the meantime we had moved to Seaside, OR and encountered a small boo-boo when the exhaust tip hit some big rocks as the MH lowered down when we disconnected the trailer and pulled forward. 

The big rock that the exhaust tip hit (and moved) when the coach lowered as we disconnected from the trailer

It smashed the exhaust tip and tore up the fiberglass rear panel so Larry has been busy fixing that. 

The exhaust tip that was smashed and forced up into the bumper area.  Larry cutting to free things up

The weld on the muffler that Larry did when the boo-boo cracked the muffler. We are so fortunate Larry has a welder with us and can make these repairs!

The back panel before repair

The back panel repaired and good as new

Not exactly what he had planned for here!  God was certainly at work in us seeing the Scovils and the small amount of damage to the back of the MH that Larry has been able to repair.  God is good all the time!

We rode the motorcycle to Astoria for some returns and I had a shop.  We discovered Crater Lake Root Beer which is really good, at that shop and are looking for places to buy more.  Unfortunately it is only available in the northwest so we will need to stock up before leaving the area.

The temperatures in Seaside have been wonderfully cool with a high of 68º and the nighttime lows around 52º.  We have met two different 'newbie' couples and are sharing some of the insights we have gained in the last 13 years of fulltiming. 

We have enjoyed the Great Wall Chinese restaurant in Gearhart each Sunday we have been in Seaside.  We used to go for Chinese every Sunday after church for years but in the last year have gotten away from that as we could not find a Chinese restaurant we liked close to us in Phoenix.  That has changed and we are again 'on a Chinese roll'.  It feels good and we are looking forward to more good Chinese food as we tour the WA Olympic Peninsula in the next four weeks.

Enjoying life in OR

June 1 we left Preferred RV and had an uneventful trip stopping for fuel in Fallon, NV and then stopping for the night about 25 miles west of Gerlach,NV. 

Snow capped mountains in the distance as we crossed NV

Unfortunately it was very cloudy so I was unable to see any stars but there is still hope on our return trip to AZ. 

Our spot outside Gerlach, NV where there is very little traffic, maybe one vehicle every hour

We arrived at Cascade Meadows on the 2nd around 3:30 PM after fueling up at Gordy’s Truck stop.  On Friday the 3rd we made a trip to Bend for our mail and to DMV for Larry’s driver's license.  A big Praise the Lord that day as I found my missing drivers license that I misplaced on May 15 so I did not have to buy a replacement!  It was really weird as both Larry and I had looked in the car several times and yet, there it was lying in plain sight between the seats!  God is good all the time as it showed up as we were going to DMV to replace it (along with getting Larry’s new one)!

We went from hot NV to cold OR as on the 8th the night time temperature dropped down to 19º. 

Brief hailstorm at Cascade Meadows that left the ground looking like it snowed!

Otherwise the weather has been beautiful.

On the 9th I did an evening  shop at a fancy resort on the Deschutes River. 

Looking out at the Deschutes River

Larry at the fancy restaurant on the Deschutes River in Bend

That day Larry had a denturist appt. to get his dentures re-lined and they are working much better now.  He learned he should be keeping his dentures in at night to help cut down on gum 'shrinkage'.  He has been doing that so hopefully it will help in the future.

On the 16th we moved to Bend-Sunriver TTN and were able to find a site that Larry was able to back both the trailer and the MH into. 

Our site at Bend-Sunriver TTN

Since it is only seven miles from Cascade Meadows I drove the car so we didn’t have to concern ourselves with getting the car in and out of the trailer.  We were there just a week since none of the sites at TTN have sewer.  I didn’t do any laundry the week we were there and when we moved back to Cascade Meadows on the 23rd, I washed up a storm!

On the 25th our friends, David and Margaret, were returning from Junction City for MH repairs and they took a detour and came to see us, parking in the site next to us.  We had a good time and it was great to see them again after two years!  We last saw then in K Falls when we were getting tires for the MH and this time they bought new tires.

David and Margaret at the restaurant at Cascade Meadows

Our living room blind with four strings broke and since we already had a restringing kit, Larry spent much of Tuesday re-stringing the blind.  The instructions made no sense so Larry just did what seemed 'right' and got it done.  Definitely NOT his favorite thing!

Larry re-stringing our living room blind with four strings.  It took several hours

June 30 we made a trip to Eugene on the bike because my helmet communication system quit on Monday.  The fellow at the BMW dealer was able to fix it by re-booting it and showed Larry what to do if it should happen again.  It was a 240 mile round trip, the longest we have taken but it was a beautiful day for a ride, no clouds and 84º.

We're on the road!

We started the month of May off by using a Christmas present gift card and going to Cracker Barrel after church.  We both had the tilapia and they were the best meals we have ever had at a restaurant!   Since time was getting short until 'take off' time, I went into full gear to get everything cleaned and ready to go, washing the bedding, all the rugs, and the couch throws, cleaning out cabinets and cupboards and making sure we had everything we need for the trip  bought and put away.  We also made several trips to make sure the shed was packed and looking good by moving rock and putting skirting around the bottom.

Dawn surprised me by bringing an orchid over Sat. night before Mother’s Day so I could wear it to church. 

My beautiful orchid for Mother's Day from Dawn

I actually wore it four different times (three Sundays and to the Dr on Monday after Mother’s Day) because it still looked so good and I don’t get flowers very often so decided to take full advantage of it.  We met the family at Sweet Tomatoes after church and had a good time celebrating two mother’s.

Sunday May 15 we all went to Red Lobster’s to celebrate Vince’s birthday as well as our 'good-bye' party.  We took full advantage of the chiro while we could and went three times to see him before we left.

Vince's birthday cake at Red Lobster

                            

Bethany and Colby at Red Lobster

D day was the 19th of May and we would have had an early start if the fuse on the trailer hadn’t blown and finding a replacement set us back 45 minutes.  Fortunately our neighbor had one so we didn’t have to take the MH to Auto Zone after all.  We were trying to beat the predicted afternoon winds from Kingman, AZ to Pahrump,NV and mostly did.  Once we crossed the Spring mountains we did had to contend with cross winds but that was only 45 miles or so.  We did have some excitement soon after we entered Las Vegas as, fortunately Larry didn’t yell 'fire' just pulled over and said we lost a tire or brakes as we were smoking heavily from the passenger side of the trailer.  When he saw the tires were still OK he thought it was the brakes overheating from the long downhill and said we needed to get going to cool them off.  We didn’t have any more trouble and arrived at Preferred RV a little before 5 PM after first filling the diesel tank.  Preferred RV has added a new pool enclosure that opens and closes to accommodate the weather.

New pool enclosure in closed position

When Larry later checked the trailer tire he found the grease seal had let go and we had grease EVERYWHERE but the bearing was still good, thanks to the Amsoil grease and the good Lord. 

All the grease on the inside of the tire and wheel from when the grease seal let go

After Larry cleaned up the tire and wheel

While in Pahrump we spent an afternoon at FrontSight in their Pro shop and Larry picked up his free items.  We checked out the old Charleston Peak RV now Wine Ridge RV.  They have made some nice improvements but have taken three rows of RV sites and put in 30 cabins instead as well as added four two bedroom cabins in the front area where we used to park our trailer.  There is now a Holiday Inn beside what was Terrible’s Town and the Nugget, Lakeside and Terrible’s Town are now owned by a company called Golden and all the rules have changed.  The Nugget no longer has the two for one senior buffet and while we had coupons for the two times we went, the place was very empty with 20-25 folks only where it used to be packed with a long waiting line to get in!  The weather has been wonderful except for the wind but the heat is coming and we left just in time as today was to be 100º.  The nights are still cool though.  We will spend tonight near Gerlach, NV and it is 10º cooler than Pahrump and the night time temps. are still in the mid 50’s so it should be nice.  I’m hoping to see all the stars since there is no light pollution in Gerlach.  We are looking forward to returning to LaPine. OR!

Countdown to leaving

We started out the month of April by going to Chandler to purchase a winch large enough to pull our car trailer.  It is a monster!  We went nearly to Casa Grande and saw parts of AZ we had not visited before.  Then on the 2nd we went to the movie and saw “God is Not Dead-2” opening weekend.  I met the sister and parents of the producer of the movie and told them that explains why there were scenes in the movie from Phoenix.  We both thoroughly enjoyed the movie and went back the next day to see “Miracles from Heaven”.

The one flowering plant at our leased site, looking especially pretty since we are leaving! 

Larry was up at 6 AM several days the second week of April to get everything ready for our RV pad.  We ended up landscaping Dawn and Vince’s front yard for our turn around area but it looks great and Dawn and Vince are happy with it.

Our turn around area in Dawn and Vince's front yard

Our new RV pad

We had several doctor appointments during the month, trying to get everything done before we leave in May.  Larry had a colonoscopy and is getting knee braces for both knees.  He also had cortisone shots in both knees and hopefully the knee pain, using the braces and the shots, will not bother him while we are gone.

We spent several afternoons getting the area where we put the shed/trailer at the end of our RV pad ready and April 29 was 'the day' to move the shed from our leased spot to Dawn and Vince’s.  It was a slow, tedious process but it went well and the shed it now parked in its new home.

Pulling the shed out of our leased site

Out of the spot and ready to roll to our new location

Getting ready to drop the trailer so we can push it into its final resting place

Finally in place at the end of our RV pad

Larry adding rocks under the side door

We have less than three weeks to get everything else ready to leave and are looking forward to once again being “on the road”.  We missed traveling last summer!

Keeping busy

I started off March somehow hurting my back and have been to the chiro several times this month and am doing much better.  Larry also has been seeing my chiro to try to fix his knees and thumbs.  He has been having stomach problems and as a result has been to the VA several times for X-rays and a CT scan.  They have scheduled a colonoscopy for mid April but in the meantime have discovered he has gallstones.  He did a cleanse the chiro recommended and hopefully that will help.

We met another RVing couple at Valle Luna one Tues night and has a very nice time.  We were hoping to get together with them again before they left the Phoenix area but with our health problems, that didn't happen.

We were planning on purchasing trailer tires as soon as we returned to OR this summer to avoid the sales tax but when I called Klamath Falls to ask about them, Basin Tire suggested we upgrade to 17.5" tires.  That got Larry to thinking and he was able to find Goodyear 17.5" tires and aluminum rims similar to what we had for a good price delivered with no sales tax so we went ahead and ordered them so we wouldn't have to be concerned with tire troubles on the way to OR since the trailer tires are seven years old.  They arrived March 24 and Larry was able to get them mounted right away.

old tires off the trailer waiting for new one to arrive

March 20 we all met at Red Robin for Colby's birthday and then returned to Dawn and Vince's new house for ice cream and cake and so Colby and Krista could see the house finished.  We had a good time and enjoyed seeing how busy Dawn and Vince have both been getting the house 'settled'.  They still have a ways to go but Dawn is able to get her car in the garage now.  Larry helped put up the blinds in all the rooms and hung three mirrors in the dining room.  It is really starting to come together nicely.

Chairs I put together

Larry putting flip open tray under the kitchen sink

Colby and Krista at Red Robin

Bethany and Dawn at Red Robin

Birthday cake at the new house

Mirrors hung in the dining room

The house finished with all the stone on the front

I have been busy making reservations for our summer in OR and WA.  I have run into some problems but they seem to be working out OK.  God is good all the time!