September 20, 2015

September 15, 2015

Woke up yesterday very strong and gusty winds so the first thing I did was check the weather reports for central Wyoming, especially for I-25 south toward Cheyenne.  Most of it was fairly good except from Wheatland on south but our route of travel had us turning off onto US 26 to Torrington, WY.  Good to go.

We left Casper about 9:30 AM, jumped on the interstate and headed south.  Most of the way we had a quartering westerly tailwind but we did get a few straight cross-gusts that got our attention.  The winds were much better after tuning east onto US 26.

We stopped in Torrington, WY for fuel, paying $2.39 a gallon.  Joyce calculated that we got 8.7 MPG on this last fill-up so that made us pretty happy.

We pulled into the Riverside Campground in Scottsbluff, NE about 2:30.  This is a city park with all pull-though sites on dirt/gravel.  Not bad, especially for $20 a night.

After getting set-up in our site, we drove down to visit the Elks Lodge.  The drinks were cold and the natives are darned friendly.

We plan to visit Scotts Bluff National Monument this morning and then hit the Legacy of the Plains Museum in Gersey this afternoon.  Tomorrow we will go see Chimney Rock National Historic Site and maybe take in the Agate Fossil Beds National Monument.

September 16, 2015

Yesterday was a busy, touristy kind of day.

After having a store-bought breakfast at the local Perkins, we headed off the visit Scotts Bluff National Monument.  After checking in at the visitor’s center, we got our National Parks Passport  book stamped and after watching a great video about the Bluff, we took a short walk on the trail.

Joyce did a little more walking up the trail so I sat down on a bench to rest.  While sitting there and taking in the grandeur above me, I wondered just how hard the trip through this area was for the pioneer’s.  I could only imagine the heat, dust and danger’s they endured.

Mormon pioneer hand cart. 

Some came through this area looking for riches in California, some for the fertile valley’s of Oregon and some to escape religious persecution.  But, if you think about it, they all came with a sense of adventure.

After spending a while there, we then drove to the top of the bluff on a road that was built in 1937.  We took two short walks that allowed spectacular views of the surrounding countryside.

Next stop, Chimney Rock, about 20 miles to the southeast of Scottsbluff.

We watched another video and then took a few pictures.  Since the formation is on private land you can’t walk out to get closer.

The local Indian’s called this rock formation Elk’s Penis.  Remember, the Lakota Sioux had no way to relate the look of the formation to a chimney so they named it for something they were familiar with.  Read more here:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimney_Rock_National_Historic_Site

September 17, 2015

Yesterday was another full day of sight seeing. 

After having a quick breakfast, we drove the fifty miles back over into Wyoming to tour Fort Laramie National Historical Site.  The fort played a significant roll in the region from it’s establishment in 1834 to when it was abandoned in 1890.  Many of the buildings have been preserved along with numerous artifacts.

On the drive to the fort, I noticed a dive bar in Lingle, WY called The Bitch’s Corner Bar.  Well, you know we just had to stop in and check it out.

Yup, it’s a dive alright.  Lois Tobin, the owner wasn’t there but the young lady bartender told us the story of the name.  Seems Lois complained a lot so she called herself The Bitch.  Lois had to fight with the city council to allow her to put up the sign but, in the end she finally prevailed.  Very interesting place and to top off the day, they make a killer hamburger and chicken gizzards.


Thanks for visiting our blog site.

Barry & Joyce

September 15, 2015

September 2, 2015

We finished our hosting gig at Devil’s Lake on Sunday so Monday morning, we drove over to Spirit Mountain Casino.  There we joined Jim & Jeanne Glaspey and Dwayne & Donna Hayes for an evening dry camping in the casino’s huge RV parking area.

Later all of us went to have all-you-can-eat crab in the buffet.  Some of the hosts from Devil’s Lake came over as well.

Yesterday all of us made the short trip to Champoeg State Park where we’re spending a couple of days relaxing.

September 6, 2015

On Friday we hooked up the CRV and headed up to Hermiston, OR for a one night stay.  After getting set up at the Pioneer RV Park, we joined Mike and Dorothy Clements at the Ixtapa Mexican Restaurant for supper.

Saturday morning we left the RV park about 9 AM, jumped on I-82 headed up to Rick and Patty Stills’ home in Rathdrum, ID.

After getting setup in the back yard, we headed down to the Elks Lodge to say hello to Bob Shaw who was preparing potato’s for the evenings meal.  Back at the house, Rick fixed a great taco supper for us.

On Saturday Joyce, Rick and I went and had pedicures then we did some shopping.  Patty was visiting her son and his family in New York and returned home yesterday.  After Rick picked her up at the airport, Joyce and I met them at Capone’s Pub & Grill in Post Falls.  Bob and Teresa Shaw joined us there as well.

September 7, 2015

Yesterday was very rainy and cold here in Rathdrum.  You can definitely tell fall is on it’s way  in this part of the country.

During a break in the weather, Rick grilled some killer hamburgers for supper.

September 9, 2015

On Monday morning we hookup up our rigs and headed toward the Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.  Our first leg was to Deer Lodge, MT where we stayed at the Indian Creek RV Park.  Our plan was just to spend one night there and then head down to West Yellowstone, MT for another night before going down to the National Park.  Well, that didn’t happen.

When we got up yesterday morning, Rick said that they would have to turn around and head back home due to a family emergency.  So, after very sad goodbye’s, Joyce and I headed toward West Yellowstone.

We had planned to stay one night dry camping at Baker’s Hole Campground but given the weather reports for that area calling for temperatures down to 28 degrees, we decided to try for an RV park.  Joyce made some calls but everything in West Yellowstone was booked solid.

After discussing our options, we decided to make the run all the way to Colter Bay.  Plan 2 was to make a reservation at the RV park for one night and then move into the campground for our remaining three days.  When I called, we were told that they were booked up and to try the campground.  Plan 3 went into effect.

Joyce called what she thought was the campground but wound up talking to a different lady than I did at the RV park.  Guess what?  Yep, they had one site left.

Our drive down to Grand Teton took us through Yellowstone National Park which Joyce and I had visited some years ago.  The speed limit through the park is 45 MPH with many 25 and 35 MPH zones and with the amount of traffic, it was slow going.  Several times folks would see something on the side of the road, slam on their brakes and darned near come to a complete stop.  I don’t think people have a clue what it takes to stop a 14 ton motor home or, maybe they just have a death wish.

So, after 275 miles of driving, we finally pulled in here at 4:30.  The cost here is $60 dollars a night, a lot more than we like to spend but today we plan to move over to the low rent district, which will be $12 a night.

After getting setup in our parking site, we drove over to the campground and talked to the volunteers working at the check-in booth.  They said we won’t have a problem scoring a site there this morning so we plan to move about 11 AM.

This big guy just walked right through the campground.

Saw these guys during our boat tour on Jenny Lake.

 

September 14, 2015

On Saturday morning we reluctantly left the Grand Teton National Park and headed east on US 287 and then a couple of county roads, picking up US 26 to Casper, WY.  The drive took us over a mountain pass that went up to 9500 feet and some really beautiful country.  Well, it was beautiful until we dropped down the eastern site then it was just rolling farm and ranch lands.

After driving 258 miles and a stop to get 30 gallons of fuel (at $2.70), we arrived at the Fort Casper RV Park in Casper, WY.  Our purpose in coming here is to visit Joyce’s family as there isn’t very much to see in the area.  We have been here before and did all of the sight-seeing things then.

We have made some plans in our travels due to the RV park owner in Union, TN calling and informing us that they can’t accommodate our stay.  Change 2 to Plan 1 is now in effect:
After Scott AFB, IL:
Hartford, KY (1 night)
Cave City, KY (4 nights)
Yuma, TN (1 night)
Savannah, TN (2 nights)
Lynchburg, TN (2 nights)
Then on south.

Also, we are going to be parking our RV at the Foster Creek RV Park on the Naval Weapons Station north of Charleston, SC from 21 October thru the 30th.  Joyce and I are flying to New Haven, CT to see our new grandson.

Well, that’s enough for now.

Barry & Joyce

August 28, 2015

August 4, 2015

Yesterday we went to the Lincoln City Outlets so that I could get some new work shoes.  While in the G. H. Bass store, I also found a couple of pairs of light weight pants.

We then drove done to Newport to hit Freddy Myers to pick up a few groceries and some cable components so I can set up our portable satellite dish.

On the way back to Lincoln City we stopped at Gracie’s Sea Hag in Depoe Bay for some beverages and supper.

August 6, 2015

So, we have been here at Devil’s Lake for almost a week now and man, have things changed around here.  When we hosted here before in site B-1, the job was to clean yurts/camp sites, sell firewood on Wednesday and Thursday evenings and other stuff as necessary.  When we got here on Saturday, we had one night of firewood sales added to our schedule.  No big deal as we always thought that five nights of wood sales was a little much for hosts to handle.

Yesterday Joyce had to go over to Salem to see a dermatologist about some spots on her face.  The doctor burned off several spots and took biopsies on two others.  We should have the results in a week or so.

August 15, 2015

As most of y’all know by now, our son Justin and his wife Adrian have had a son, Travis Duskin Crocker, born 9 August 2015, 9 lbs, 21 in.  We are all very excited!

 First Bath

Abigail and Skyler, our grand kids who live in St. Augustine, FL, started school last week.

We have been very busy here at the park.  No RV sites are to be had without a reservation and for the most part, we have been full just about every night.  Yesterday the ranger’s checked with Beverly Beach and South Beach and they said they have been full as well.  Want to camp on the Oregon coast during the summer?  Make reservations way in advance.

Last Tuesday we had lunch with Dave and Debi Westphal at their home in Gleneden Beach.  They were the visitor center hosts at Smith Rock a couple of years ago and have remained active hosts since.  Debi fixed a great lunch and we had fun talking about what has been going on in our lives.

August 24, 2015

Last week Joyce had to go back over to Salem to have some basal cell spots on her arm and leg removed.  Hope that is the end of that for a while.

We have been closely monitoring the fire situations in Oregon, Washington and Idaho for the past few days right now our plans to spend some time in the Grand Teton National Park is looking iffy.  Some folks that are there now have reported on Facebook that the smoke is terrible and to the point that you can’t see the mountains.  For right now we are still planning on making the trip up to Rick and Patty Stills’ home in Rathdrum, ID but even that could change.  Hope not but as always our plans are written in Jello so we can stir the pot if necessary.

August 28, 2015

We are almost at the end of our hosting gig here at Devil’s Lake State Park.  We have had a good time here on the Oregon coast, especially enjoying the cooler weather.

Saturday the 22nd, there was a nice little car show here in Lincoln City.

On Tuesday Dave and Debbi Westphal came up to the park for a short visit.  For dinner we walked over to Kyllo's Seafood Grill were we all ordered off of the happy hour menu.  Kyllo’s is pretty pricey but their happy hour offerings are affordable.

We’re going to be buttoning down the hatches for the next couple of days.  The weather forecast is for significant rain here accompanied by some high winds.  Although the rain is welcomed, we could do without the gail force winds.

On Monday we plan to move over to Spirit Mountain Casino in Grand Ronde and meet up with Jim and Jeanne Glaspey and Dwayne and Donna Hayes for our last all-you-can eat crab night.  We’re going to spend the night there and then all of us are heading over to Champoeg State Park for two days.

More next time.

Barry & Joyce

August 2, 2015

July 20, 2015

In just a short ten days we will be packing up and moving over to Devil’s Lake State Park.  We have enjoyed our time here at Smith Rock but it’s time for a new adventure.

On the 18th and 19th, we visited Jim and Jeanie Glaspey, Donna and Dwayne Hayes and Ron and Tisha Glaspey at LaPine State Park.  Fun times as always with the Glaspey Clan.

July 27, 2015

On the 19th we welcomed Chuck and Sue Svendsen from Oakridge for a visit.  Monday morning we drove up to Three Creeks Lake, which is a few miles south of Sisters.  After relaxing there for a while, we then drove down to Sisters for a before dinner appetizer at the BJ’s Ice Cream parlor.  Dinner was at the Sandbagger Saloon at Crooked River Ranch.

Say Howdy Chuck!

A gift from Sue.  These were her fathers and I am honored to have them.

 

One of the resident's at Smith Rock!

Well Hello Ladies!

Mama and her twins.

On Tuesday we went to Bend to do some shopping at the Bend Factory Stores and at REI.  Then we had dinner with our co-hosts at the Oishi Japanese Restaurant in Redmond.

On Thursday we had Tom Halter of Advantage RV Service out to do the recall on our Norcold refrigerator and service our generator.  If you need service on your RV here in the the Bend/Redmond area, we highly recommend Tom.

August 2, 2015

Yesterday we made the run over to Devil’s Lake State Park in Lincoln City where we will be hosting for this month.  It is really nice to be in cooler weather!

We have had some inquiry’s about our itinerary for the run to Florida in September.  Well, as you can guess, we’ll be doing a lot of sight-seeing during the two month trip.  If any of our readers live or your traveling in the same areas we are, please give us a shout.  Perhaps we could get together.

On this I will be checking off some bucket list items including, three Presidential libraries and several Civil War battlefield areas.

Rathdrum, ID:  Visit Rick and Patty Stills.
Grand Teton National Park:  Rick and Patty will be going with us.
Casper, WY: Visit Joyce’s sister.
Scotts Bluff, NE:  I have always wanted to see Chimney Rock National Historic Site and Scotts Bluff National Monument.
Abilene, KS:  President Dwight Eisenhower’s Library.
Independence, MO:  President Harry Truman’s Library.
Booneville, MO:  Going to visit the Warm Springs Ranch where the Budweiser Clydesdales are born and raised.
Scott AFB, IL:  Close enough to St. Louis to see several sights there.
Union City, TN:  I was born close to there in Martin, TN.  I want to do some genealogy research in Gibson and Weakley Counties.
Corinth, MS:  See the Shiloh National Battlefield.
Nashville, TN:  Been there, done that before but we have good friends who we are going to see this time.
Lynchburg, TN:  Care to guess why we are going there?  Does Old No. 7 ring a bell?
Chattanooga, TN:  Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park.  Also, several other places.
Atlanta, GA:  Atlanta Cyclorama and Civil War Museum, President Jimmy Carter’s Library and more.
Americus, GA:  Andersonville National Historic Site and the National POW Museum.  May go over to Plains and see if President Carter and Rosalynn are home.  Peanuts anyone?
Savannah, GA:  We have been there once but didn’t get to do much sight-seeing due to very bad weather.  We’re hoping for sunny sky’s this time.
St. Augustine, FL:  Spend most of the winter here spoiling grand babies.

‘Nuff for now.

Barry & Joyce

July 6, 2015

June 26, 2015

Hot, hot, hot!  The weather guesser’s have said that it’s going to be 100 deg. here today and tomorrow up to 101.

This summer the Travel Oregon folks are hiding bicycles in all the designated Seven Wonders of Oregon.  Since Smith Rock State Park is one of the Seven Wonders, we get one.  The bike being hidden here was built by Vulture Bicycles of Bend and worth approximately $9000.  It was hidden here this morning at 2 AM and it was found at 4:30 AM. 

The Seven Wonders of Oregon Bike Giveaway Page: http://traveloregon.com/trip-ideas/oregon-stories/7-bikes-for-7-wonders/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=Cycling&utm_content=Sweepstakes&utm_campaign=7W_2015_US&gclid=COGio-vfrcYCFQeTfgodHUkBPw
June 30, 2015

Yesterday Joyce and I took a drive up thru Sisters and then out Elm Street (which turns to Three Creeks Road) to Three Creeks Lake.

Three Creeks is a beautiful alpine lake set at 6500 feet in the Sisters Wilderness and one we will definitely visit again.

July 2, 2015

On Tuesday after taking care of some chores that needed to be done in Bend, Joyce and I drove up to the Newberry Caldera in the Newberry National Volcanic Monument.  We have been here several times and always enjoy this beautiful area.

 Paulina and East Lakes and The Big Lava Flow

From the top of Paulina Peak

July 5, 2015

Thankfully, we had a very quiet and uneventfully 4th here at the Rock.  No fireworks of any kind are allowed here and for a very good reason.  We did have some folks come in after the parks official closing with plans to climb up Misery Ridge to watch the fireworks in Bend but we had to turn them away.

One of those folks were Julian Colesberry and his daughter Cecelia who drove all the way from Milwaukee, OR.  Julian was the ranger here at Smith Rock in our first year of hosting and has since moved on to other things.  What a nice surprise to see them again.  We hope the whole family will come visit us at Devil’s Lake in August.

Smith Rock, June 2015

 The two black dots just to the left of center are Golden Eagle nests.  We call those "The Condo's".

 Thanks Kacey for the following photo's!

See ya next time!

Barry & Joyce

June 24, 2015

May 24, 2015

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.

Until next time, have a great one.

Barry & Joyce