Oct. ll, 2014
Well, here we are back at the Fountain of Youth Spa Rv Park in Niland, Ca. We have a different site this year due to a new reservation policy. We love our new site, it faces west and we have shade on our patio almost the whole day. Our friends from last year came over to visit us almost immediately and helped move our car trailer to the side of our huge site.
We are involved in a lot more activities this year. Joel is playing water volleyball and basically hanging our with the guys. I have now started exercising in our new gym, playing pickleball which is a a game like tennis but with a wooden paddle and a wiffle ball. I have helped to write a play for our xmas show and I have a nice part. I volunteered to work in the activities office one day a week and will probably start ping pong next week. Have already been to a potluck, lots of great food.
I went to the first karaoke, was a big hit singing rock and roll. Then I was in a talent show here and had fun. We are going to be in the Palm Springs huge xmas parade so we went out and got a plug in inverter and lights for the car.
We are having thanksgiving dinner with our friends Luna and Kent at their house. I sing with Luna and we have lots of fun. We had to do a few repairs on the rig. Joel changed a leaking propane valve, our fresh water tank is leaking, our slide is sagging, and our windshield is completely cracked, but like old folks it has the same symptoms, ha ha. Looking forward to lots of fun here this winter.
Saturday, November 22, 2014
Sunday, November 2, 2014
PALM DESERT, CA FINALLY
It is now the first week of Sept and we are in Palm Desert at the Emerald Desert rv park. It is a very upscale park with lots of pools, hot tubs, and loads of grass and loads of ants. We get a great double site which holds our coach, trailer and car and is facing north which helps with the heat. We came here to go to the Eisenhower Medical Center and find doctors and get some checkups done. We found an internist, a urologist, an opthmologist, had glasses made, had xrays and bloodwork and thank heavens all is fine. We stay for almost a month, we even go to the dentist and have cleanings done. I go to urgent care as soon as we arrive, I am still not well and find out I have a raging urinary infection and get antibiotics which clears it up. We are now ready to travel down into the desert.
We first go to Sunbeam rv park in El Centro for a week to get our two rugs rebound and fix our flooring. The company who put it in last year is in El Centro. We manage to get the rugs done but not the flooring. They will have to come to us in Fountain of Youth where we spend most of the winter. We have a few issues with our coach which need attention. Our large living room slide, the rails are sagging so the slide won't come in unless we help it. It has to go to a dealer and they have to take it out and fix it. Our new windshield we just got in June is now cracked again, this time on both sides and the coach cannot be driven this way. We are trying to get this fixed, also our fresh water tank has a leak by the valve and our propane valve is leaking. We had a sunshade made for the front windshield, and door and window and that keeps a lot of the sun out, we are now facing west.
Well, here we are back at the Fountain of Youth Spa and rv park in Niland. The flooring people have come and fixed the floor. We are still trying to get other problems worked on. We come in and discover that they have changed their no reservation policy so we can't get the site we wanted but get an even better one. We will probably stay here thru February and maybe go to Arizona for March and April, on our way to our summer vacation, north to Wisconsin and Michigan. Well, will keep you all posted during our winter here.
We first go to Sunbeam rv park in El Centro for a week to get our two rugs rebound and fix our flooring. The company who put it in last year is in El Centro. We manage to get the rugs done but not the flooring. They will have to come to us in Fountain of Youth where we spend most of the winter. We have a few issues with our coach which need attention. Our large living room slide, the rails are sagging so the slide won't come in unless we help it. It has to go to a dealer and they have to take it out and fix it. Our new windshield we just got in June is now cracked again, this time on both sides and the coach cannot be driven this way. We are trying to get this fixed, also our fresh water tank has a leak by the valve and our propane valve is leaking. We had a sunshade made for the front windshield, and door and window and that keeps a lot of the sun out, we are now facing west.
Well, here we are back at the Fountain of Youth Spa and rv park in Niland. The flooring people have come and fixed the floor. We are still trying to get other problems worked on. We come in and discover that they have changed their no reservation policy so we can't get the site we wanted but get an even better one. We will probably stay here thru February and maybe go to Arizona for March and April, on our way to our summer vacation, north to Wisconsin and Michigan. Well, will keep you all posted during our winter here.
SPARKS, NEVADA
Well, haven't written for a while. We finished the Oregon Coast and headed for Reno, Nevada. Had to go through northern Ca first for a couple of days. Arrived at Sparks Marina Rv Park. Gps did alright but by the time we came in it was dark and Reno doesn't have lighted street signs. It was real hard to see which road we were on. Finally I spotted the Sparks Marina sign all lit up and way up high for travelers to see. The office was closed but paperwork was left for us and we settled into a very long pull thru site that had a picnic table and astroturf grass, real nice. We were to be there for about a week and the next day we were to meet our friends dave and Teresa for breakfast at the El Dorado Casina. It is about 10 minutes away. It is right on the city street and it took us a while to find the entrance to the parking garage. I wasn't feeling well but that does not stop me from eating. I have had a low grade fever since we were on the Oregon Coast, which was cold and damp even in August. We had a nice breakfast, we were glad to see them. Joel had some business in town so I hung around the coach and rested. From Reno we were on the way to Las Vegas. I miscalculated the distance and found out we could never drive it in one day. We found a real isolated park along the way which had a huge pull thru. We had to drive at least six more hours to reach Las Vegas. It was so hot when we arrived, 100 degrees or more, we couldn't even step out of the coach. I still wasn't feeling well so Joel went and did the laundry. We had a nice dinner with my brother and his wife who live in Vegas about 20 minutes away. They were so glad to see us. We only stayed a few days and off we went to Palm Desert, Ca.
Friday, August 22, 2014
THE OREGON COAST
Aug. 6, 2014, we arrive at Devils Lake Rv Park in Lincoln City, Oregon. This park is across the street from a large beautiful lake. The park itself is nice, but was up on a hill, so all sites even though they were large, were impossible to level. We just walked crooked for 3 nights. The first day we go to "klikos" for lunch, overlooking the beach and tide pools. The food was o.k. but the view was better. Before we went our car would not start, so a workamper jumped us with his golfcart. We went out and bought a new battery. Well, next day, same problem, jumped again and joel took the car to a specialty car repair shop. After a few hours of troubleshooting, it is found that the electrical component that moves our electric seats was malfunctioning and was draining our battery. Part was on back order so Joel disconnected it, memory seat still worked. We took some nice scenic rides, the weather was low 60's and cold and damp. We met Pete and Donna who we know from our winter home in Ca. We were so surprised. They were visiting family in Portland, and they recognized our car. How do you like that? Then we wintered 2 years ago in Fort Pierce Fl and friends we met there, and we follow each other on facebook, well, they were in Tillamook an hour up the coast. We each drive a half hour and meet in Pacific City and had a great dinner together. All was not lost.
Well, it is Aug. 9th and we are at Woahink Lake Rv resort in Florence, Oregon. We have huge sand dunes behind us and a lake across the street. Weather cold and damp. One of the folks in the park takes Joel atv'ing in the dunes, made his week. I do 2 loads of laundry and fight rotten weather, and an upset stomach. We leave on the 15th, but our rig won't start. Our battery minder not working, so the owner is nice enough to jump us from his truck. After about a half hour we are on our way.
Aug. 15th, we pull into Nesika rv park , gold beach, Oregon, right near the ocean, colder and damper. Oh, great, now it is drizzling. It was the only place I could find with a pull thru to fit us. Unfortunately, hard to make turns in this park. Giant hedge scratches our trailer on the way in. Then when we were leaving, had to move all the way to one side to avoid tree boughs. Oh no, now we have huge gash in trailer from hitting the electrical receptacle box. I am feeling worse with my stomach.
On Aug. 18th, we pull in Mad River Rapids Rv Park in Arcata, Ca. We have long pull thru but with shrubs on one side. Hook ups so far back we have to use 30 feet of sewer hose and an extra piece of cable wire. We are only staying 2 nights. We visit town of Ferndale, and drive around taking photos of beautiful Victorian buildings, weather still cold and damp, we stop at Loleta Cheese Factory, very small to watch cheese being made. Can hardly wait to get to Sparks, Nevada, our next stop.
Well, it is Aug. 9th and we are at Woahink Lake Rv resort in Florence, Oregon. We have huge sand dunes behind us and a lake across the street. Weather cold and damp. One of the folks in the park takes Joel atv'ing in the dunes, made his week. I do 2 loads of laundry and fight rotten weather, and an upset stomach. We leave on the 15th, but our rig won't start. Our battery minder not working, so the owner is nice enough to jump us from his truck. After about a half hour we are on our way.
Aug. 15th, we pull into Nesika rv park , gold beach, Oregon, right near the ocean, colder and damper. Oh, great, now it is drizzling. It was the only place I could find with a pull thru to fit us. Unfortunately, hard to make turns in this park. Giant hedge scratches our trailer on the way in. Then when we were leaving, had to move all the way to one side to avoid tree boughs. Oh no, now we have huge gash in trailer from hitting the electrical receptacle box. I am feeling worse with my stomach.
On Aug. 18th, we pull in Mad River Rapids Rv Park in Arcata, Ca. We have long pull thru but with shrubs on one side. Hook ups so far back we have to use 30 feet of sewer hose and an extra piece of cable wire. We are only staying 2 nights. We visit town of Ferndale, and drive around taking photos of beautiful Victorian buildings, weather still cold and damp, we stop at Loleta Cheese Factory, very small to watch cheese being made. Can hardly wait to get to Sparks, Nevada, our next stop.
All these pics are the pacific ocean
at the Oregon coast, gorgeous rock formations
This is called the devils churn
Pictures of Victorian homes in Ferndale
Below pics of gardens in cheese factory gardens
These are our friends, Bob and Camille McCullough
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
CASCADE LOCKS, OREGON
It is Aug. 5th and we are here at Cascade Locks Koa in Oregon. We are only staying 2 nights so we have to accomplish a lot. We got in before 2pm and set up and then went to see some gorgeous waterfalls about 20 minutes away. I hope you like the pic. I took a video but you will have to turn it sideways to watch. It seems when you hold any camera vertically to take a video it will flip it 90 degrees. Anyhoo, then we went to the fish hatchery where they raise trout and sturgeon. We saw a 12 foot sturgeon named Herman and he is about 50 years old. Had a nice dinner and relaxed the rest of the evening.
Well, today we have made arrangements to go zip lining in Stevenson, Washington which is right across from where we are over the Bridge of the Gods over the Columbia River. It only took us about 20 minutes to get there and we were in a beautiful lodge. We had lunch before we went on our tour and we both had the special which was corkscrew pasta with fresh marinara sauce with chicken breast and parmesan cheese. We had some homemade bread with it and it was very filling.
Well, now to the zip line tour. We got all geared up and had to take a long hike into the forest. We climbed up hills to get to the first zip line platform. This is really cool. All in all we will take 8 zip lines across the forest, starting with very short to very long. We also had to cross 3 suspension bridges to get to the platform and that was the hairiest part for me. The first 2 were short and easy. Then we had to rappel down to the ground to get to the furthest one. This is not something for the faint of heart to do. The rappelling was the favorite part for me. I took a few pics and some video of me coming in to the last platform. Enjoy. Some is of us and others of the group we were with, a family of four. We had a great time. It took about 2 hours and the weather has cooled down a lot and was delightful. Walking to one of the platforms we passed some blackberry bushes and had a snack.
All in all a wonderful day. One more thing crossed off the bucket list. Tomorrow we go to Lincoln City, Oregon on the coast, oh we will be having crabs and clams all week. Yum, yum.
Well, today we have made arrangements to go zip lining in Stevenson, Washington which is right across from where we are over the Bridge of the Gods over the Columbia River. It only took us about 20 minutes to get there and we were in a beautiful lodge. We had lunch before we went on our tour and we both had the special which was corkscrew pasta with fresh marinara sauce with chicken breast and parmesan cheese. We had some homemade bread with it and it was very filling.
Well, now to the zip line tour. We got all geared up and had to take a long hike into the forest. We climbed up hills to get to the first zip line platform. This is really cool. All in all we will take 8 zip lines across the forest, starting with very short to very long. We also had to cross 3 suspension bridges to get to the platform and that was the hairiest part for me. The first 2 were short and easy. Then we had to rappel down to the ground to get to the furthest one. This is not something for the faint of heart to do. The rappelling was the favorite part for me. I took a few pics and some video of me coming in to the last platform. Enjoy. Some is of us and others of the group we were with, a family of four. We had a great time. It took about 2 hours and the weather has cooled down a lot and was delightful. Walking to one of the platforms we passed some blackberry bushes and had a snack.
All in all a wonderful day. One more thing crossed off the bucket list. Tomorrow we go to Lincoln City, Oregon on the coast, oh we will be having crabs and clams all week. Yum, yum.
Waterfall above and Joel below
cooling his feet in the pool of the waterfall
Herman the Sturgeon
Beautiful rainbow trout
All geared up and ready to go
Joel is first up
Joel rapelling down
He looks tough
This is me, wheeeee
Below is video of waterfall in case one above didn't work
Sunday, August 3, 2014
PENDLETON, OREGON
It is July 30th and we just checked into the Koa in Pendleton, Oregon for 5 nights. It is a large koa and we have a long pull thru open to the sky for our satellite dish. We are close to town and Pendleton is one of the original western towns. It was really the wild wild west.
It is the 31st and we go into town for a tour of the underground. Chinese workers came to Oregon during the gold rush days and they lived in underground rooms doing the laundry and such. They were not treated well and were lied to. They were told that if they lived there and did all the work they would earn enough money to bring their families to Oregon, which was a lie because not only didn't they make enough money, but were treated really badly and addicted to Opium which kept them docile. When the town had no more use for them they were put in the mines and then the mines were blown up. Horrible way to die and these workers did so much, ran all the laundries.
We also toured a brothel which was in use up to 1953. It was really nice, but you had to walk up a flight of stairs which had 32 steps, I don't know how the drunken miners made it up. I was like a large hotel, with sitting rooms, all original. It was so interesting to see this. It was a nice tour.
The next day we went to a museum and saw how Pendleton became a large town. We walked through a caboose of an old train and went into an old cabin. It was a nice museum and the day we went it was free. One day a month is a free day and we happened to be there on this day. We had a nice lunch in town , pulled pork and taco salad and yesterday we went to a Chinese restaurant and they gave us far too much food. Today we are hanging out at the rig, it is about 90 degrees out and we will go to Safeway later to stock up on groceries. Tomorrow we will go to the Koa in Cascade Locks, Oregon.
It is the 31st and we go into town for a tour of the underground. Chinese workers came to Oregon during the gold rush days and they lived in underground rooms doing the laundry and such. They were not treated well and were lied to. They were told that if they lived there and did all the work they would earn enough money to bring their families to Oregon, which was a lie because not only didn't they make enough money, but were treated really badly and addicted to Opium which kept them docile. When the town had no more use for them they were put in the mines and then the mines were blown up. Horrible way to die and these workers did so much, ran all the laundries.
We also toured a brothel which was in use up to 1953. It was really nice, but you had to walk up a flight of stairs which had 32 steps, I don't know how the drunken miners made it up. I was like a large hotel, with sitting rooms, all original. It was so interesting to see this. It was a nice tour.
The next day we went to a museum and saw how Pendleton became a large town. We walked through a caboose of an old train and went into an old cabin. It was a nice museum and the day we went it was free. One day a month is a free day and we happened to be there on this day. We had a nice lunch in town , pulled pork and taco salad and yesterday we went to a Chinese restaurant and they gave us far too much food. Today we are hanging out at the rig, it is about 90 degrees out and we will go to Safeway later to stock up on groceries. Tomorrow we will go to the Koa in Cascade Locks, Oregon.
These underground rooms had bars, some were speakeasies
during the time of prohibition and had secret doors and rooms
to hide in during raids
Pics below of the laundry area
Huge meat market below
Gambling parlors
Both of these pics are of the recreation areas below
Below the brothel sitting room
Old Chevrolet fire engine outside the museum
Caboose we toured at the Umatilla Museum
Old barn
Above is the cabin with double story living quarters
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
BAKER CITY, OREGON
Well, we pulled into the Mountain View Trav l park about 1pm. It is Mon. July 28th and we are scheduled to be here for two nights. It was really turning out to be a hot day so we turned on the generator in order to cool the coach. The ac ran for about 2 minutes and then stopped. The generator kept working but it wasn't powering the coach. On top of that our compressor in the engine part of the coach is not working so we had a hot 3 hours going down the road.
When we got to the campground we plugged into the 50 amp power, but it would not power the coach. Oh dear, what is wrong now. A workamper and the owner of the park came over to check the power and even our inside breakers but could find nothing wrong. Then they went off and brought back a room air conditioner and set it up on our kitchen table so that we would be cool. The temp was about 90 by now. By fiddling around with our electrical panel, we managed to get it working.
Then a fellow camper in front of our site, Ron and his wife Jan, he came over to ask if we needed any help and he is a whiz with electricity. He said he would come over in the morning and check all our screws and wiring because something must be loose. This campground has very high water pressure, over 100 psi which would bust pipes in our rig. Well, we put on our water regulator to keep the pressure down. However Ron forgot too. At 4am his wife went to the bathroom and stepped into water, his whole coach was flooded, the pressure broke his ice maker line for the fridge and it all seeped in. So he spent most of the morning mopping up and drying out his area rugs. To get back to the electrical problem we had, then he came over, shut off the power and DID locate a loose wire in our breaker box, that came off when he touched it. He tightened everything up and now we are good to go. These folks we meet on our travels are so wonderful.
We decided to go the the Oregon Trail Interperative Center so we got in the car and it refused to start, what now. One of the campers gave us a jump and we went to a tire and battery center up the road and it was discovered the battery was no good, so we got a new one. So off we went to the Center. It is high up in the mountains and tells the whole story of the Oregon Trail, I took lots of pictures. If you take a 2 mile hike you can see the original wagon wheel ruts, but with the temps so high we decided not to do that.
Then we went food shopping and came back to the rig for our afternoon snack. I also did two loads of laundry while we were here. Not bad for only two nights.
This evening we went to a gorgeous historical hotel in town for dinner. It is from the 1880's and was owned by a gold mine owner. It is a beautiful place. The dinner was wonderful, Joel had the ribeye steak and I had hazelnut encrusted tilapia with a lemon blanc sauce. I loved it. It is the first time I have ever eaten fish when we go out. Now we are back to the rig and relaxing. Joel is putting the car in the trailer for tomorrow we go about 2 hours up the road to Pendleton, Oregon to the Koa. Enjoy the pics. Joel also put in a water softener in the bay, what a difference!
When we got to the campground we plugged into the 50 amp power, but it would not power the coach. Oh dear, what is wrong now. A workamper and the owner of the park came over to check the power and even our inside breakers but could find nothing wrong. Then they went off and brought back a room air conditioner and set it up on our kitchen table so that we would be cool. The temp was about 90 by now. By fiddling around with our electrical panel, we managed to get it working.
Then a fellow camper in front of our site, Ron and his wife Jan, he came over to ask if we needed any help and he is a whiz with electricity. He said he would come over in the morning and check all our screws and wiring because something must be loose. This campground has very high water pressure, over 100 psi which would bust pipes in our rig. Well, we put on our water regulator to keep the pressure down. However Ron forgot too. At 4am his wife went to the bathroom and stepped into water, his whole coach was flooded, the pressure broke his ice maker line for the fridge and it all seeped in. So he spent most of the morning mopping up and drying out his area rugs. To get back to the electrical problem we had, then he came over, shut off the power and DID locate a loose wire in our breaker box, that came off when he touched it. He tightened everything up and now we are good to go. These folks we meet on our travels are so wonderful.
We decided to go the the Oregon Trail Interperative Center so we got in the car and it refused to start, what now. One of the campers gave us a jump and we went to a tire and battery center up the road and it was discovered the battery was no good, so we got a new one. So off we went to the Center. It is high up in the mountains and tells the whole story of the Oregon Trail, I took lots of pictures. If you take a 2 mile hike you can see the original wagon wheel ruts, but with the temps so high we decided not to do that.
Then we went food shopping and came back to the rig for our afternoon snack. I also did two loads of laundry while we were here. Not bad for only two nights.
This evening we went to a gorgeous historical hotel in town for dinner. It is from the 1880's and was owned by a gold mine owner. It is a beautiful place. The dinner was wonderful, Joel had the ribeye steak and I had hazelnut encrusted tilapia with a lemon blanc sauce. I loved it. It is the first time I have ever eaten fish when we go out. Now we are back to the rig and relaxing. Joel is putting the car in the trailer for tomorrow we go about 2 hours up the road to Pendleton, Oregon to the Koa. Enjoy the pics. Joel also put in a water softener in the bay, what a difference!
The pic above is where the original trail was
All these pictures portray the hard hard
journey the pioneers had to go through.
So many lost children and parents on this trek
The pic below is after Joel finished the great
dinner we had, a well satisfied look
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