September 29, 2014

09/06/2014

After leaving Clear Clear Lake Recreation Area, we made the short run down to Hermiston where we spent two nights before heading over to the Oregon coast.  Mike and Dorothy Clements treated us to another great meal while we were there.

On Sunday the 31st, we made the run to the Elks Lodge in Hillsboro, a suburb of Portland.  They didn’t have any hookup sites available so we dry-camped in the parking lot.

After leveling the rig and getting the satellite dish up and running, we decided to have a toddy in the bar.  We met some really nice folks while there who made us feel right at home.  We didn’t feel like driving so the bar tender suggested we order a pizza which turned out to be very good.

Our rig has a 2000 watt inverter system installed so Joyce was able to watch two hours of TV.  We left the system running all night which was powering the refrigerator and a couple of other small items.  When I got up in the morning I was actually able to make a cup of coffee with my Keurig brewer but, when I went to make the second cup, the system shut down.  That’s when I discovered the controls are set to kick the system off at eleven volts.  I can reprogram the system to turn the system off at a lower voltage so I might experiment with that soon.  Also, the system can be programed to start the generator and charge our coach batteries automatically if the voltage drops below a certain set point.  Hey!  Here’s a new gadget I get to play with!

We got the car hooked up and then made the run over the hills to Nehalem Bay State Park where we are the F-Loop hosts for September.  On the way over we stopped at Camp 18 Restaurant for breakfast.  If you are ever traveling on Hwy 26 between Portland and the coast, you gotta stop here for a meal.

After getting backed into our site and setup, we had our orientation meeting.  It was nice to see Al & Dorothy Pope who are the wood hosts this year and Stuart & Jennifer Leishman.

 

Home Sweet Home for September

Nehalem Bay

 09/16/2014

On Friday the 5th, we made a drive up to Fort Stevens State Park near Warrenton to visit Jerry & Susan who we hosted with at Smith Rock and who are volunteering in the museum there.  It was great to see them again.

On Sunday, Gary and Marcia Stevenson from Oakridge came us for a visit.  Joyce and Marcia went for a long walk on the beach while Gary and I solved the worlds problems.

Yesterday we welcomed Jerry and Marilyn Howlett who we host with every year at Smith Rock.  They have been on a month-long tour of Oregon and Washington and are now on their way down the coast.  They will be staying here at Nehalem Bay then go on down to Bullard’s Beach State Park.

09/22/2014

On the 17th we welcomed Jim & Jeanne Glaspey and Dwayne & Donna Hayes to the park for a five day visit.  Then on Friday Ron & Trisha Glaspey came over along with their son Jason and his wife Hollie.

On Friday, Joyce flew down to California to attend the 708th/710th Airlift Squadron Reunion.

09/29/2014

I can’t believe haw fast our time here at Nehalem Bay went.  On Wednesday we’ll be packing up and heading south for our volunteer gig in Surprise, AZ.

We’re going to head east to Boise, ID with a stop in Pendleton, OR.  Then we plan to spend a few nights at Hill AFB, UT, just north of Salt Lake City.  Our next stop will be in Spanish Fork, UT where we are going to visit our good friends Ron and Katie Cutler.

For many years I have wanted to see all the National Parks in southern Utah so we are going to do that on this trip.  Our first stop will be at Moab, UT so we can visit Arches and Canyonlands NP’s.  If time permits I would also like to see Dead Horse Point State Park in the same area.

My mother has said many times that we should take the time to visit Capitol Reef NP near Torrey, UT so we are going to do that after leaving Moab.

Joyce and I have been told by a lot of folks that we should not miss touring Zion and Bryce NP’s so that will be our next stop.  Since we think that the evening temperature’s could get a tad cool down in that area, we have reservations at an RV park in Kanarraville so that we will have power hookups.  From there we’ll make day trips to the parks.

Have a great day!

Barry & Joyce

September 3, 2014

08/26/2014

As I said in the last post, we are now parked at the Clear Lake Recreation Area near Chaney, WA.  We were joined on Sunday by Jim & Jeanne Glaspey who just spent one night with us.

Wave at Jim!

Yesterday Rick Stills and I toured the Buck Knife Factory in Post Falls, ID.  Lasting about 45 minutes, the guided tour takes you through the process of making their knives from start to finish, finishing up in the small museum.

After a few minutes in the museum we browsed around in their factory store.  Buck’s offers a 30% discount to veterans and they also have seconds or blemished knives for sale.

08/27/2014

Yesterday Joyce and I went to downtown Spokane and toured the Riverfront Park, site of the 1974 Worlds Fair.  This 100 acre urban oasis offers beautiful gardens, a gondola tram, an IMAX theater, and a small amusement park for folks to enjoy.  Had had a nice time doing the tourist thing and just enjoying the day.

 The kid in you always comes out when your on a carousel.

08/28/2014

Rick and Patty Stills came over to Clear Lake visit yesterday, joining us for a steak supper.  It was fun to spend some time with them before we head down to the Oregon coast and hour hosting assignment at Nehalem Bay State Park.

08/29/2014

With no special place to go or nothing that had to get done, we took a long drive up US 395 yesterday.  In fact, the drive all the way up to Kettle Falls, then back down through Davenport was 222 miles.  We saw some really beautiful countryside especially when driving south on Highway 25, which parallels Lake Roosevelt.

The 150-mile long Lake Roosevelt, named after President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was formed when the Grand Coulee Dam was built in 1941.  We hope to come back up this way in the future and do some more exploring.

08/30/2014

We’re back in Oregon.

We were out of Clear Lake at 10 AM and after a short 155 mile drive, we are again parked at the Pioneer RV Park in Hermiston.  We plan to stay here until Sunday and then visit one of the Elks Lodges in the Portland/Vancouver area for one night.

08/31/2014

Yesterday we had lunch with Mike and Dorothy Clements who live here in Hermiston.  After filling ourselves up on some outstanding Mexican food, we drove up to Kenniwick, WA to get some groceries at Costco and Fred Meyer’s.

When we came out of Freddy’s, the wind was howling and we noticed what we thought was smoke from a fire.  Also, there was multiple sirens screaming headed west out of town.

Well, turns out that smoke was actually blowing dust across I-82 and when we got to the onramp traffic came to a halt.  We had to sit it out there for over thirty minutes.  Here it what happened:  http://www.nbcrightnow.com/story/26412451/breaking-multi-vehicle-accident-on-i-82-and-locust-grove-rd-in-kennewick  Here is another story about the accident:  http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2014/08/30/3129021/interstate-82-entrance-closed.html?sp=/99/900/901/  If we had been just a few minutes earlier we’d have been right in the middle of it.

Joyce & I normally avoid driving on holiday’s, especially Labor Day, but we need to be at Nehalem Bay State Park tomorrow.  So, we’ll leave here today and drive to one of the Elks Lodges in the Portland/Vancouver area and then on over to the coast tomorrow.

09/02/2014

After a surprisingly easy drive through Portland,  we spent the night dry-camping at the Elks Lodge in Hillsboro.  We worked our 2000-watt inverter to the max in the evening and I was even able to make a cup of coffee with the Keurig machine in the morning.

Yesterday we made the short run over the hills on Highway 26 and US 101 into Nehalem Bay State Park and to our host arming site in F-loop.  After getting set up, we attended the orientation and then the park staff hosted a potluck supper for the departing hosts as well as the seasonal rangers who are being laid off.

Today we will start our duties in the park; cleaning yurts, fire pits and camping sites.

More later!

Barry & Joyce