May 22, 2015

May 11, 2015

We’ve been at Pilot Butte Scenic Viewpoint for ten days now and so far, everything is going well.  Our duties here are very light, just make sure the bathrooms are taken care of, do some litter picking once in a while and generally being a presence in the park.  We are also required to open the Summit Road gate each morning but last week and for the this week the road is closed for erosion control maintenance.

A few pictures from the top of Pilot Butte:

Looking north to Smith Rock State Park

We have been thinking of getting new bicycles for awhile and have been doing some shopping here in the Bend area.  Since this area is so big on biking, there are about a gazillion bike shops and I think we visited every one at least once.

After looking at numerous styles and price ranges, I just decided to have my Harlo bike completely gone through and be done with it.  I chose Bend Velo, a small shop on 1st Street to do the work and for $120 they replaced the brake calipers, a couple of cables, did a complete tuneup and put on a rack for me.

Since Joyce has never really liked the bike she has now and given the extensive maintenance that would be required to get it back to good riding condition, she decided to get a new one.  She really likes the “cruiser” style and after narrowing the choice downtown to two, she picked a Electra Loft 7i, purchased at Village Bike and Ski in Sunriver.  The 7i is a seven speed model with the gears in the hub so they are protected from the elements.  Scott, the owner, spent a lot of time discussing Joyce’s needs and offered a very fair price on the bike.

As most of y’all know, we are planning a trip to Florida this coming fall.  Here is our rough itinerary, written in Jello and subject to change:
Rathdrum, ID,  Grand Teton National Park, Casper, WY, Abilene, KS, Independence, MO, Union City, TN, Corinth, MS, Lynchburg, TN, Chattanooga, TN, Atlanta, GA, Americus, GA, Savannah, GA and then on into St. Augustine, FL.  If you live along our route, let us know.  Maybe we can visit you during our travels.

May 17, 2015

It’s been rainy and windy here at Pilot Butte for the past few days, but today the sun is out with just a light breeze in the air.

On Friday we welcomed Gary and Marcia Stevenson from Oakridge for a short visit to Pilot Butte.  They treated Joyce and I for an outstanding pizza supper at Jackson’s Corner in downtown Bend.  If you are looking for a place to have something to eat here in Bend, you won’t go wrong choosing Jackson’s.

May 22, 2015

Last Monday, we had to go over to Eugene for Joyce’s eye doctor appointment.  After getting that done, we headed up the hill to Oakridge to spend the night with Jim and Jeanne Glaspey.

Gary and Marcia Stevenson had us all over for a wonderful dinner that evening.

“Nuff said for now.

Barry & Joyce

May 4, 2015

April 27, 2015

After the ceremonies for the C-141 anniversary at Travis, we hooked up our CRV and headed north to Redding, CA.  After getting set up in the Win-River Casino parking lot (I hesitate to call it a campground or RV park) we had a nice dinner in their dinning room.

The next day we met up with Art and Kandi Jones at the Elks Lodge.  They were there to participate in Kool April Nights, a huge event that happens in Redding every year.

That evening we met Art and Kandi in downtown Redding for supper at Applebee’s and then went cruising in their rag-top 1967 GTO.  We had a ball checking out all of the cars and trucks that participated in the cruise.

Here are a few pictures:

There were several "survivor cars" in the cruise.

April 30, 2015

On Saturday morning we hookup up and made the drive up to Jim & Jeanne Glaspey’s RV Park in Oakridge, OR.  The plan is to hang out hear until Friday and then head over to Tumalo State Park in Bend, OR to begin out hosting gig.

After getting settled in, we went to had supper with Jim and Jeanne and his brother and sister-in-law Ron and Tisha, who live down the road in Dexter.  We were also joined by several friends from Oakridge so the conversation was very lively as you can imagine.

We had a wonderful dinner at the home of Chuck and Susan Svendsen at their beautiful home near where Joyce and I used to lived on High Prairie Road.

Yesterday I took our home to W & J Towing here in Oakridge to have the oil changed.  They did an excellent job and we were pleasantly surprised to have a bill of less that $640 for everything.

While that was being done and Joyce and Jeanne went to Eugene for doctor appointments, Jim, Ron and I played a round of golf at the Circle Bar Golf Club.  Although our golf games weren’t all that sterling, we had a great time whacking the balls around the course.

May 1, 2015

The other day, while cleaning under our bed, I slipped and hit my right ribs on the edge of the frame.  Didn’t seem like a big deal but after that round of golf on Wednesday, my right side was hurting pretty bad.  So yesterday, while Jim, Ron and Joyce played a round, Jeanne drove me into Eugene to an urgent care clinic to have it looked at.

The PA I saw did a very thorough examination and told me that, yes it is bruised but didn’t believe there was a fracture.  He told me to take it easy and take Ibuprofen.  I’m feeling much better today.

May 4, 2015

We’re now at Pilot Butte State Scenic Viewpoint in Bend, OR.  We were scheduled to be the camp hosts at Tumalo State Park however, due to on-going construction at Tumalo, we were asked to host at Pilot Butte.

Home for May.

This is a urban day-use park that is the exercise Mecca in Bend, getting heavy use on most days.  There are several hiking trails in the park, both at the bottom and to the top of the Butte.

Our duties here are opening the gate to the Summit Road, cleaning the bathrooms at the bottom and the top, litter picking and providing a general presence in the park.  If you are in the area, stop by and say Hey.

Until next time.

Barry & Joyce