October 20, 2016

October 15, 2016

 While at Davis-Monthan we got a very spacious site in the new section of the park with excellent 50 amp power and great water pressure. The base has all the amenities of most large bases and of course we took advantage to get some shopping done at the exchange and commissary.

 We left the base this morning about 9:30, jumped on I-10 headed toward Deming, NM.  For a Saturday there was a lot of traffic out on the boulevard.

 A couple of weeks ago I bought a Cobra Drive HD dash cam and today we came very close to needing to use the video freeze feature.  Not going to go into a lot of detail but to say that some people need to go back to driving school and learn how to merge onto an interstate.

 We arrived at the Hi Low Ranch RV Park, a bare-bones Passport America facility.  Actually, this is the home park of the Loners On Wheels RV group but accept other travelers as well.  Not a bad deal at only $19 a night.

October 17, 2016

 After a restful night sleep we headed up Hwy 26 then onto I-25 to Truth or Consequences, NM.  Why go to T or C?  Well, we had never been there'd that is a good enough reason for us.

 We arrived at Elephant Butte State Park around 1PM where we are going to spend three days.  Even though the lake is really low this time of the year it is still beautiful, in a desert kind of way.

 After getting situated in our site we drove into town, first stopping at the visitor center where we picked up several brochures and travel guides.  Did you ever wonder how T or C got it name?  Well read on.

  Back in 1940 there was a radio program hosted by Ralph Edwards called Truth or Consequences.  During a T or C broadcast in late 1949, Edwards made an announcement:  the show’s produces wanted to hear from any town or city that would be willing to change its name to “Truth or Consequences”.  Edwards and his staff received letters of interest from several cities, the most interesting one coming from Hot Springs.  The show’s producer, Ed Baily, traveled to Hot Springs to check out the town.

 After a vote by the town residents on 31 March 1950, the resolution was passed.  The very next day on 1 April 1950, the first T or C Fiesta was staged which included Sheriff’s posses and other groups from all over the state and even a delegation from Chihuahua, Mexico.  That Fiesta is still celebrated each year.

 Now you know the rest of the story.  There was also a long running television program hosted by the same name.

 After getting back from town a couple pulled in next door.  Ron and Mary Koether are from Sweeny, TX, a small town south west of Houston who have been full-timing for just a year.  They are on their way back “home” from a volunteering gig at Capital Reef National Park in Utah.  After getting setup they came over for a visit.

 We had a nice time getting to know each other and talking about our hosting adventures.  Ron and Mary are also very knowledgeable of Texas State Parks and know Goliad very well.  We hope they can come up to the park to visit us.

October 20, 2016

 Monday Joyce and I drove the 94 miles up into the mountains to tour Silver City, NM, named for the silver deposits discovered in the area.  Founded in 1878 the city has a rich and colorful history.

 After walking around in the downtown area for a short time we made our way to the towns visitor center where we got a lot more information and a recommendation for a place to have lunch.

 The Little Toad Creek Brewery & Distillery is locally owned and operated and a place you need to visit if you are ever in the area.  I ordered the Pub Club that came on their home made
wheat buns that are made with the brewers grain.  Delicious!

 Joyce decided on The Toadstool, Portabella  mushrooms stuffed with herbs and cheeses deep fried in beer batter.  Both of us thought this dish was amazing and probably the best we have ever eaten.

 We will definitely return to Silver City.

 On Tuesday we went up to the little village of Chloride.  This once booming town now has only 11 permanent residents that are very proud of their community.

 Our first stop was at what used to be the town’s Pioneer Store that is now the museum. Linda, the curator is the daughter of the folks that bought the store in 1989 after it had been closed for 68 years.  Be sure to read the story of the store at the link above.  Each of the buildings and and the hanging tress are described in detail.

 Stopped here for a picnic lunch.

 Yesterday we made the easy 125 mile run down to the RV Park on Fort Bliss near El Paso, TX.  We plan to stay here for three days getting laundry done and stocking up on provisions at the commissary.

 Until next time.

Barry & Joyce

October 14, 2016

October 2, 2016

 Today we took a drive down the coast to Malibu and then up Malibu Canyon Road to US 101.  There are some really beautiful houses in that area and I’m sure most of them come with a very hefty price tag.  Heck, it looked some of the gates we saw cost more that our first house.

 We’ve had a good stay here at this Navy base and I’m sure we’ll be back again in the future.  With roomy sites, free WiFi, free washing/drying and all the other amenities, the $30 a night is really a bargain for this area.  You can read my review here:  http://www.militarycampgrounds.us/california/fairways-rv-resort

 Tomorrow we’ll head out to the Elks Lodge in Indio, CA.  It’s only about a 200 mile run but we have to drive out through Burbank, Pasadena and San Bernardino so we know traffic is going to be a mess.  I think we will try to get out of here around 9:30 AM so hopefully the morning rush hour will be over.  We have made this trip before going both ways so I know what to expect.

October 4, 2016

 All RVer’s, especially full-timers should expect the unexpected and yesterday was no exception to the rule.

 We left the naval base around 9:30, made our way up to the 101 and headed west.  After topping out on the 7% grade traffic came to a complete stop and then moved on for 5 MPH for a long way.  I had hoped that the 134 would be better and it was, a little.  Got into a couple of white knuckle situations with people cutting in and out of the traffic and idiots trying to merge onto the boulevard at 20 MPH.  We finally made our way down the 57 and then onto the 10 westbound.  How's that for LA lingo.  We did move along at a decent speed for most of the way to the Elks Lodge here in Indio.

 We got settled into the RV park around 2:30 then went to the lounge for a well deserved libation.  The lodge has several sites with electric and water for $22 a night and a few with sewer hook up’s at $27 a night.  Since we are only here for two nights we selected one of the pull-through sites with electric and water.

 Joyce went to the Morongo Casino leaving me to keep the bartender company.  Linda told me about the Desert Trip Music Festival that will be starting on Friday in Indio.  This is a huge festival, staring The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and others.  Not only are they having the festival starting on Friday but their going to do it all over again on the 14th too.

 Starting this coming Thursday they lodge is going to be charging $100 a night for members to park here.  Now I understand the lodge wanting to make a few bucks and even at a C-note it is still cheap.  We hear that one of the casinos in the area is is going to charge $125 a night for dry camping and $150 for hookups.  That being said, I do question the lodge’s decision to charge members that high rate.  Seems like some gouging going on if you ask me.

 I always tell you about Joyce’s donations to casinos but I rarely talk about when she wins.  Well, night before last she played at the Morongo Casino and won a good chuck of change playing bingo.  Then last night she played at the Fantasy Springs Casino and came out a winner on a penny machine.  Congrats babe!

October 7, 2016

 We left Quartzite yesterday morning at 9:30, jumped on I-10 bound for the Elks Lodge in Tempe, AZ.  Since we only had just over a half a tank of fuel we stopped on the way and got diesel for $2.38 a gallon.  The next part of the trip was not bad but when we got into the Phoenix metro area the traffic picked up considerably.  After navigating through that we pulled into the Tempe Elks Lodge at 1 PM.

 The RV park here has has twenty-six full hookup sites and as I write this they are adding eight more specifically to accommodate rigs over forty feet.  All sites here have 30/50 amp electric service giving us the ability to run both our AC units.  Thats a good thing since the temperatures are forecasted to be well over ninety degrees during our stay.  At $25 a night this is a very good value for this area.

 There is an animal hospital right behind us so we had barking dogs all night long.  We did run our AC’s and fans so that provided enough white noise to block out most of the barking.

 After getting set up I went in the lounge to pay for or stay and Joyce went to do a little shopping.        Later my sister-in-law Ronna came by after she got off work and then my brother Mark came over when he got off work.  We had a really nice visit, making plans to get together today and then Saturday.

October 11, 2016

 Last Friday evening Mark and Ronna took us out for dinner at The Mission at Minder Binder, one of the most unique restaurants Joyce and I have ever visited.  I can’t begin to tell you all of the “stuff” on the walls and ceiling in this place.  A couple of things that caught my eye was a chariot and a for real stuffed horse.  The food was fantastic and the conversation lively.

 On Saturday we went to Mark and Ronna’s new home over in Laveen that they had built last year.  Mark grilled tri-tip and we watched football all afternoon.

 Our plans were to leave Tempe on Sunday and head south to Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson but change three was put into effect.

  We found out that our good friends Ed and Cindy Kopic who we volunteered with at Sunflower RV Resort a couple of years ago were headed down this way.  They are going to be hosting at Val Vista Villages in Mesa for the winter this year so we thought, “what the heck”, lets go visit them.

 So on Sunday we left the Elks Lodge and headed east 16 miles to the Val-Vista Villages in Mesa, arriving here about 12:30.  After getting into our site Ed and Cindy made a delicious barbecue rib supper.

 We are staying here on our Passport America membership so we are only paying $25 a night plus tax.  That's a great price for this area of Arizona.

 Joyce and I had planned to stay just three days here but have now decided to extend that by one more day.

 Yesterday we drove up to Scottsdale to have lunch with our favorite bartender Trevor Garand who served drinks at Sunflower.  We met at Bootleggers in Old Town and ha d a ball.  Can’t wait to do that again in the spring.

The Gang's All Here!

October 14, 2016

 On Wednesday the girls wanted to go shopping so Ed and I made a road trip out to the Lost Dutchman State Park in Apache Junction to see Willie Beck who is hosting out there again this year.  You might recall that Willie hosted with us at Valley of the Rouge State Park one year and we still stay in contact.

 After visiting with Willie for a while we drove up into the hills to Tortilla Flat near Canyon Lake for a bite to eat and a cold one.

 The walls and ceilings are covered in $1 bills.

Canyon Lake

Just had to throw in a couple of pictures of Travis.

   Yesterday after saying our goodbye’s to Ed and Cindy we left Mesa and headed down to the Agave Gulch FamCamp on Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, AZ.

Be back soon.

Barry & Joyce

September 30, 2016

September 20, 2016

  When we got to Fresno the temperature was 99 degrees and getting hotter.  Later in the day it actually reached 103 which is the highest we’ve seen this summer.

  We are parked at the Elks Lodge in Fresno with 30 amp electrical service, water and a dump station.  With only 30 amp we can only run one AC unit at a time so we left the living room unit running when we left to visit my mother.  When we went back about 9 PM we discovered that the AC unit wasn’t working and trust me, it was hot in the RV.

  I did some troubleshooting and after disconnecting our surge protector and plugging directly into the power box the darned thing started working.  I’m going to do some more checking tomorrow.  Hopefully our surge protector hasn’t gone haywire.

  Today we drove down to Lemoore NAS to do some shopping at the commissary and exchange.  Mom picked up a couple of things and we got some things we needed as well.

September 25, 2016

  Man, the last few days have rushed by way too fast.

  On Thursday Joe Thibault, Bob O’Brien, Mike Hargis and Jerry Rita came by the Elks RV Park for a short visit.  I went to junior high school with all of them and then high school with Joe and Bob.  I hadn’t seen all of them except for Joe in 50 years so it was great to see them and catch up on what everyone has been doing all these years.

  On Friday Joe and I attended the Hoover High School Class of 1966 Ice Breaker.  Since this is the first reunion I have attended I had no idea what to expect but I can say it was a lot of fun.  Hey, some of those folks look really old.

  On Saturday one of my classmates had a mini car show and gathering at his shop.  One of the guys that showed up was a C-141 pilot who flew out of Norton AFB, CA for several years.  Also there was Dennis Campbell who was a flight engineer with the 710th MAS at Travis.

September 26, 2016

  Yesterday we hooked up the car and left the Elks Lodge bound for Camp San Luis Obispo.  This is a small California Army National Guard base that has a long history.  The RV park is here is great and at $23 an night a outstanding value for this area.

September 29, 2016

  On the 27th we spent most of the day in Morro Bay which is only 8 miles north of here.  After having lunch at the Harbor Hut (don’t recommend this one) we drove out to Morro Rock and watched the surfer’s for a while.

  On the 28th we walked around downtown San Luis Obispo for a short time but the temperature was about 100 degrees so the time there was short.

  After stopping at America’s Tire to have the Honda’s tires rotated we headed south to the Pismo Beach area.  While driving around in Cayucos, this beautiful Ford Woody caught my eye.

  A couple of weeks ago Joyce ordered a new throw rug for our coach from Overstock.  At the time of ordering she had it sent to my mother’s home in Clovis but a couple of days later we were notified there was going to be a delay in shipping.  No problem, Joyce chatted online with them and had the rug sent to my brothers place in Laveen, AZ.

  Well, that didn’t work out so good.  The darned thing was sent to Clovis so rather than have my mother re-ship it or go through the hassle of getting Overstock to correct their mistake, we just drove over yesterday to pick it up.

  We were actually supposed to leave Camp San Luis Obispo yesterday but we just extended our stay on more day and then delayed our arrival at Port Hueneme.  RV’ers plans are always written in Jello.

  We left Camp San Luis Obispo at 10 AM and pointed the motor home south on US 101.  Traffic going down wasn’t  too bad so we made pretty good time, pulling into Port Hueneme Naval Construction Battalion Center, Naval Base Port Hueneme, CA. about 1:30 PM.

  After clearing the main gate we stopped for fuel at the Naval Exchange’s gas station and put 65 gallons of diesel in the motor home.  At $2.44 per gallon that is a real bargain in the Ventura area.

  Got checked into the Fairways RV Park without a hitch but after parking we had trouble with the living room air conditioner again.  So, the surge protector is the problem and after looking at the connectors I found the problem.  It can’t be fixed so Joyce has ordered a new one on Amazon.

October 1, 2016

  Yesterday we made a return visit to President Ronald Reagan’s Presidential Library and Museum.  They have added a lot of new exhibits the main one being the VC-137 27000, commonly called Air Force One.  A presidential helicopter is also there and of course the presidential limousine as well.

 A piece of the Berlin Wall, The American Sector and the Soviet Side.

  I had the privilege of being on C-141 crews that flew the President’s limo on two occasions.  One of these missions was to pick up the car at San Francisco International and fly it to Andrews AFB, MD.

  After we got airborne we got a call from air traffic control asking us to contact the Military Airlift Command’s command post at Scott AFB, IL.  After establishing a phone patch they asked to speak to the senior Secret Service agent on board and for us not to listen in on the conversation.  I was watching the agent’s face the whole time and I could tell something really bad was happening.

  This was during Britain’s Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s visit to the United States.  Mrs. Thatcher had left San Francisco for a trip to Yosemite National Park.  Since the weather was very bad in that area they couldn’t fly her to the Valley so they decided to drive her.
  After the agent got off the radio he told us what had happened.  During the clearing of the roads up to Yosemite one of the Secret Service’s cars slid off the road and an agent was killed.  The rest of the flight was very quiet.

  Last night we had dinner at Little Tony’s Italian Restaurant and then went to see “The Light Between Oceans” at the base theater which is free.  So, a movie, some popcorn and a soda cost us $6.

More next time,

Barry & Joyce

September 18, 2016

August 31, 2016

After arriving here at Champoeg and getting set up in our site we went to a Great Clips in Wilsonville to get me a haircut that I desperately needed.  After that we got our toes done at a salon right next door.

Yesterday was a “get stuff done” day.  After having a quick breakfast at Denny’s we made stops at Walmart and Fred Myers to get a couple of things.  The next stop was at the Woodbury Factory Outlets so that Joyce could scratch her shopping itch.

Since we suspended our Directv service for one month while we were at Devil’s Lake that doesn’t start back until the 2nd, we have been using our bat-wing antenna for television.  The signals are very weak here in the park so we went to Camping World to see about getting something that might help.

We bought a new King Jack Replacement Head that was on sale just to see if it would make a difference.  When I got on the roof and started to take off the old bat-wing antenna I noticed that the mounting bracket was cracked in half.  It’s a miracle that the darned thing had stayed on as long as it has.

Did the new antenna help?  Yes, somewhat.  We did get several more channels but the signals were still very weak on some of the channels.

September 1, 2016

Yesterday was another shopping day with a run to Costco and Fred Myers.  Since we will be spending some time in Oakridge and then at Valley of the Rouge State Park we wanted to get stocked up on groceries.

After getting all of that done we decided to drive up to Linn City for something to eat.  Joyce did a search on Yelp to find a place and discovered the Linn City Pub up in West Linn.  Even though it is 26 mile drive from here I can say without a doubt it was worth the hassle.

The Pub is located in a strip mall and is our kinda joint.  They have several beers on tap and a full bar with very friendly bartenders.  There are several big screen TV’s all around had baseball games dialed in for your pleasure.

After having a couple of drinks we ordered the Artichoke Dip off their happy hour menu.  This euey-gooey concoction of artichoke and cheese was beyond delicious and I think the best we have ever had.  We then shared a Prime Rib Dip sandwich with tater tots that was fantastic as well.  If you are in that area make sure you stop in for a cold one and a bite to eat.

September 5, 2016

On the 1st we headed to Jim and Jeanne Glaspey’s RV Park in Oakridge.

After a few days relaxing in Oakridge we hooked up and along with the Glaspey’s we headed down I-5 to Valley of the Rouge State Park near Rouge River, OR. We are being joined by Jim’s sister Donna and her husband Dewayne.

Gettin' the rigs ready for the trip south.

I’ve always said that this park is not a “destination” park since it’s located right next to I-5 making it pretty noisy.  But you wouldn’t know it with the amount of folks here for this Labor Day weekend.  The place is full to the brim.

Valley of the Rouge State Park. 

Slides out, jacks down and antenna up.  We be campin' now.

The plan is to spend four nights here then roll on down to the Win-River Casino in Redding, CA.  From there Jim and Jeanne are going to Dixon, CA to visit family and we will be staying at the famcamp at Travis AFB.

September 7, 2016

Yesterday Joyce and I went down to Phoenix, OR to tour the Palm Harbor Homes factory store.  When we hang up the keys someday this area is one of the areas of the country where we might want to live.  We were very impressed with the quality of these manufactured homes and especially your ability to customize them to your liking.

September 10, 2016

Joyce and I along with Jim and Jeanne left Valley Of the Rouge about 10 AM and headed south to Win-River Casino in Redding, CA.  After getting situated in our parking spots the girls made a quick get-away for the casino to get their bingo set up.  Jim and I joined them in the restaurant for dinner.

 Win-River Casino RV Park

Jim and Jeanne's beautiful toy hauler.

Yesterday morning after breakfast we left the casino again around 10 AM.  Jim and Jeanne headed to the fairgrounds in Dixon and us to Travis AFB.  We got here about 2 PM and after a lot of hassle we finally got parked.

When I made reservations a few months back the office girl assigned us to site 3 where we could use our onboard satellite system.  When Joyce went into the office to check-in we were told that we had been moved to site 61 which had a tree possibly blocking the view to the south.  To make a long pissing contest with the guy in the office and some maneuvering we got the TV working and all is good.

We have been coming to the Travis Famcamp for a number of years.  When Tony, the previous manager was here he ran a tight ship and was a little hard to get along with.  After he left things here seemed to get better for a year or so but that is now changing for the worse.  I’m not going to go into the details here but if your interested read my review when it’s posted at:  http://www.militarycampgrounds.us/california/travis-afb-famcamp.

September 13, 2016

On Sunday we stopped out at Bozo’s Bandwagon, one our old watering holes for a drink.  Not much has changed except we didn’t know a soul in the place except for the Ti Terry, the bartender.

After having one there we drove over to Miss Darla’s in Vacaville to catch up with some of the old 710th Military Airlift Squadron guys.

After that we drove to Dixon to have dinner with Joe and Lori Martin at Bud’s bar & Grill in Dixon.  It was really nice to see them again.

Yesterday we left Travis and made our way to the Calistoga RV Park at the fairgrounds.  We’ve been coming to this park for a long time and have watched them make a lot of upgrades.  This year they upgraded the dump station and are in the process of replacing the water lines in several of the parking sites.  We’re going to be here visiting Joyce’s family for several days.

September 17, 2016

We left Calistoga yesterday morning and made the short run back to Travis AFB where we will be through Sunday.

After getting setup in our site we stopped out at Bozo’s Bandwagon to say hello to the owners Elaine and Ralph.  It was good to see Mary behind the bar and after awhile Ed Zakaracks and Jerry Thorpe stopped buy.  I worked with Ed at the wing stand/eval and with Jerry at the flight simulator when I was the branch superintendent there.

We then went to see the movie Sully.  Do yourself a favor and go see this one.  Of course, anything that Tom Hanks touches turns to gold.

September 18, 2016

Last night we had supper with Don and Diane Johnson.  Then this morning we did breakfast with Joe and Lori Martin.  Great friends and good conversation.  Thanks for the goodies Lori!

Barry & Joyce

August 30, 2016

August 8, 2016

We have been at Devil’s Lake State Recreation Area for over a week now and I can say with out a doubt that things around here haven’t changed much.  We still have grid-lock traffic in Lincoln City and normal coastal unpredictable weather.

When we got here on the 1st the sun was shinning with very light winds and that lasted until Sunday.  We had rain yesterday and for the most part we’ll have more of the same today.  The good news is we are supposed to clear up by Wednesday.

We had a really nice surprise today.  Bruce and Val Rust from Tucson, AZ stopped by for a visit.  We hosted with them here five years ago and haven’t seen them since we visited them at their home in Tucson four years ago.  We plan to get together with them while they are in the local area and then on our way to Texas in the fall.

August 13, 2016

We’re just about one-half the way through our gig here at Devil’s Lake.  So far things have been going good but we have noticed a marked increase in visitors who leave their site and yurts a mess.  We have picked up trash and even garbage out of the sites.  Also, we have seen a lot more dog poop around the park that is not being cleaned up by the owners.  To top all that off, yesterday Joyce was walking by the showers in B-Loop and a lady (I hesitate to call her that but…) came out of a stall with two dogs in tow and left the stall a mess.  Just another reason that we don’t use the public facilities unless we absolutely have no other choice.

Last night we went over to the Spirit Mountain Casino for supper.  On Friday’s they have the all-you-can-eat seafood buffet that includes fresh crab.  Of course we over ate by a bunch but it was oh-so-good.

Ben came to visit us.  He did all the work on this trike including the paint.

August 20, 2016

On Monday the 15th we drove over to Spirit Mountain Casino to meet up with Jim and Jeanne Glaspey, his brother Ron and his wife Tisha and his sister Donna and her husband Dwayne.  They had all been to the music festival in Lebanon and decided to spend a couple of days relaxing.

The other day I met a gentleman that is staying in one of our yurts along with several family members.  We talked a while and yesterday hr came down to our house with a for a visit.

Gary and I discussed where we grew up and he told me that he had been adopted as a young boy.  Some of his adopted family lived in El Centro, CA and over the years they would go there for to visit them.  During those trips he remembers playing with two of his “cousins”, Mary and Cherilyn Sarkisian.  Gary then told me that Mary turned into a prostitute and Cherilyn became a rock star who we know today as Cher.  Very interesting.

Later in the day I met Grum and Juliet from Christchurch, NZ.  They are biking from Portland to Los Angeles and are staying in our Hiker/Biker camp for the night.  Since I have spent a fair amount of time in that beautiful city we had a good time talking about CC and their travels here in the U.S.  Check out their web page at:  http://www.grumgoesglobal.com/about-grum.html.

August 23, 2016

Yesterday we welcomed Gary and Marcia Stevenson to Devil’s Lake for a one day visit.  It is always fun to have visitors and we especially enjoy Gary and Marcia.

August 26, 2016

On Thursday I met a lady named Charlotte from North Carolina who pulled into Devil’s Lake in a 1995 Dodge travel van.  As usual I struck up a conversation and she began to tell me about her adventures driving US Highway 20 from Boston, MA all the way to Newport, OR.  Now mind you, Charlotte is a feisty 81 year old who could talk a mile a minute and who I could have listened to for hours.  She told me she only got off Hwy 20 when it merged with I-90 and “when the bastards forced me off for fires”.  Now that is a great adventure.

August 30, 2016

Yesterday we hooked up the CRV and left Devil’s Lake headed to Champoeg State Heritage Area near Woodburn, OR.  It was a short and easy run over the hills and with a stop at Spirit Mountain Casino it only took us 2.5 hours.

Joyce and I each get 10 days free camping a month in Oregon State Parks so our three day here only cost us $8 for registration.  BTW, if you are a disabled veteran Oregon State Parks offers this benefit to you even if you are not a Oregon resident.  Learn more and download an application here:  http://oregonstateparks.org/?do=v.page&id=19

Got to throw in some grand baby pictures!

Abigail.  She is growing up so fast and getting more beautiful each day.

Skyler.  Getin' his swagger on.

Travis is a 1 year old now.

 

Just for fun.  I spent may hours doing just that but I was always studying my -1 flight manual.  You know that bridge in Lake Havasu?  I'll sell it to you real cheap.  LOL!  Don't know who drew this.

More later.

Barry & Joyce

August 4, 2016

July 29, 2016

Joyce and I are almost to the end of our Smith Rock gig.  We will leave here Monday and head over to Devil’s Lake State Recreation Area in Lincoln City for the month of August.  In September we’ll start making the trip to Texas.

Here is our itinerary:

Sep:
1-4, Oakridge, OR.  Staying at Jim and Jeanne Glaspey’s B & B and RV Park.
4-8, Valley of the Rouge State Park, Gold Hill, OR.  Jim & Jeanne are going to join us there.
8-9, Redding, CA, Win-River Resort & Casino.
9-12, Travis AFB, CA.
12-16, Calistoga, CA.  Visit family and friends.
16-20, Travis AFB, CA.
20-25, Elks Lodge, Fresno, CA.  Going to attend my 50th high school reunion and visit family.
25-28, Camp San Luis Obispo, CA.  Gonna explore that part of the California coast.
28-1 Oct, Port Hueneme Naval Construction Battalion Center, Port Hueneme, CA.  We’re going to visit President Ronald Reagan’s Presidential Library in Simi Valley, CA.  Going to pay our respects to Nancy.
Oct:
1-3, Elks Lodge, Ontario, CA.
3-5, Elks Lodge, Indio, CA.
5-6, Quartzite, AZ.  Pass through.
6-9, Elks Lodge, Tempe, AZ.  Visit my brother and sister-in-law who live in the area.
9-13, Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson, AZ.
13-16, Deming, NM.  Tour Silver City and Columbus, NM.
16-20, White Sands Missile Range, NM.  We have been there before and toured White Sands National Monument.  Anyone have suggestions for other things to see in the area?
20-21, Fort Stockton, TX.  Just passing through.
21-25, Elks Lodge, Kerrville, TX.  Going to spend an evening in Lukenbach or two at the Sunday and Monday Evening Pickers Circle.
25-29, Jim Hogg COE Campground, Georgetown, TX.  This park is not far from Austin where we hope to see our friends The Peterson Brothers Band along with their parents, Glenn Sr. and Deanna.
29-1 Nov, Lockhart State Park, Lockhart, TX.  Gonna get me some Texas b-b-que and play some golf.
1 Nov-1 Jan 2017, Goliad State Historical Park, Goliad, TX.  This will be our second time hosting at this park.  Looking forward to seeing friends that we made the last time we were there.
1 Jan-1 Mar, Hidden Valley RV Park, just outside San Antonio, TX.  Going to take a trip to Florida to visit Michelle and her family and in February, we're taking a cruise out of Galveston.

If you are reading this and live near one of those places get in touch.  We would love to see you.

August 2, 2016

We left Smith Rock yesterday morning and headed across the hills to Devil’s Lake State Recreation Area in Lincoln City, Oregon.  The drive over was fairly easy except the gaggle going through Salem.  You really have to be on your toes driving through the traffic in that city.

As most of y’all probably know Joyce and I have hosted here several times, this being our forth time I believe. We’ll be cleaning yurts, selling firewood and generally keeping the park clean.  On most days we’re usually completely done with our duties by 2 PM.

Thanks Marcia Stevenson for the pictures of Smith Rock.  We really enjoyed Gary and your visit. Hope we can do it again at Devil's Lake.

Until next time.

Barry & Joyce