I can’t believe how fast our time here at Pilot Butte has flown by.
For the most part, the folks who use Pilot Butte help us take care of the park. We have seen people hiking with a trash bag picking up litter and also cleaning up after dogs, whose owners think that isn’t their responsibility. That being said, we have experienced two incidences here in the last week that are very disturbing.
Sometime in the middle of the night a few days ago, we found that the men's restroom door had been pried open and bent beyond repair. Not only that, but we think the automatic locking mechanism had been damaged as well. Then, yesterday morning we get a call informing us that someone had set a fire up on the top of the Butte in the observation deck area. Joyce and I drove up there and discovered not only did the perpetrators start a fire, but they had melted wax and spread that all over the place. It took a lot of work getting that mess cleaned up.
I don’t know how much all of that damage is going to cost the park to fix but you can rest assured, it ain’t going to be cheap. It’s sad that money will have to be spent for this kind of thing rather than on improving the park.
June 2, 2015
Yesterday we made the short run up Hwy 97 to Terrebonne and then out to Smith Rock State Park where we will be spending June and July. This is our eight year hosting here so you might say, it’s our home park.
Jerry and Marilyn Howlett, our good friends and co-hosts are here again this season and as has become a tradition, we went to the Terrebonne Depot for dinner last night. We were joined by Janice Railton, another good friend who is a new full-time RV’er. As always, the food was excellent and the conversation was lively.
June 6, 2015 (1948)
Happy Birthday Barry!
Yep, another one of those darned things has come around and as a lot of y’all know, the days between them seem to go by much faster.
June 16, 2015
“Time keeps on ticking, ticking….”
On the 10th, Joyce and I took a park pickup and a flat bed trailer, then made a road trip to Harris Beach State Park located on the southern coast north of Brookings. Our purpose was to pick up a slightly used Kubota 4X4 to replace our John Deere Gator that has seen it’s best days. We were also tasked to take a Ford Escape from there up to Willamette Mission State Park, a few mile north of Salem.
The drive down to Harris Beach was 314 miles so we got an early start and after a few stops, we arrived at Harris about 2 PM. It didn’t take too long to get the Kubota loaded up and then with Joyce following me in the car, we made the two hour drive back up to Grants Pass to spend the night.
The next morning we jumped on I-5 and made the long drive up to Willamette Mission, dropped off the Escape and then after another three hour drive we got back home around 5 PM. All-in-all we drove 785 miles in two days. Normally, a drive like that would take Joyce and I at least 3 days.
On Sunday the 14th, Joyce and I along with Jerry and Marilyn had dinner at the Kokanee Cafe in Camp Sherman which is a few miles up Highway 20 from Sisters. This place has been on our bucket list for a long time so we made reservations to get it check off.
Yes, the Kokanee ain’t cheap but you need to dine there at least once. The Lamb Chops were to die for, the salad was delicious and the service was impeccable.
June 23, 2015
On the 17th, Joyce and I drove over to Oakridge so that Jim Glaspey and I could make the drive down to Vacaville, CA on Thursday to attend our 2nd Aircrew Reunion.
Jim and I played golf on Tuesday and Wednesday in Oakridge and although our golfing was not great, we had a lot of fun.
The eight hour drive down to California went smoothly and we arrived at the Vineyard RV Park about 4 PM where we were greeted by Rick & Patty Stills and Jeff Hard and his wife Darcy. In addition, there were several of our “old” flying buddies there enjoying some adult beverages so of course, Jim and I jumped right on that.
On Friday morning, we spent some time with Jim son who lives in Vacaville. That evening there was a reception at the Travis Air Force Museum where about one hundred of us gathered for a meet and greet.
Saturday morning Rick and Patty made a huge breakfast that kicked our day off. Then reunion was held at the Pippo Ranch in Vacaville and I can say it was even better that the last one. Chief Master Sergeant Jack Pledger and his committee did an out standing job putting it all together and we had a great time. Can’t wait for the next one in June 2017.
The C-141B, 63-8088. One of the most beautiful airplanes ever built.
My office for many years.
Barry & Joyce
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