Category Archives: Uncategorized

Looking for Glass

Accessing WordPress to update the blog has been a challenge this weekend. Our Verizon Jetpack has a couple of bars of 3G at times. Other times there’s no connection.

Saturday’s weather was a big improvement. It was a little warmer and didn’t rain. We had periods of cloud cover, but it was a mostly sunny day.

We rode to town and shopped at the outlet mall again. We returned the Levi’s I bought the day before. We had lunch at the deli there. Excellent fare but I recommend sharing a plate. The portions are huge! Donna ordered a breakfast burrito made with two scrambled eggs, chorizo and potatoes. The plate actually comes with two burritos made with full-size flour tortillas. I had a french dip on a toasted hoagie. It was excellent. The au jus was almost like gravy.

After we ate, we went to the beach. We were on a quest to find glass art. There are glass blowers in Lincoln City. Many of the artists blow glass balls in the style of Japanese fishing floats. They participate in a community sponsored treasure hunt called Finders Keepers. Numbered glass floats and smaller objects are placed along a seven-mile stretch of sandy beach. If you find one, you can go to the community center and get a certificate of authencity and more information about the artist. They do this on designated days each month. Over the course of the year, approximately 3,000 glass balls are placed on the beach.

Driftwood on the beach at Lincoln City

We didn’t hit the beach until the afternoon. We walked about a mile up the beach and searched the driftwood, sand and grass but didn’t find any. I guess you have to be there early.

Donna searching for glass art

We stopped for provisions at the IGA store in town. Donna bought fresh halibut for dinner, some Oregon shrimp and veggies. We had two bags of groceries. I put one under the seat of the scooter. The other bag was hung on the hook between my legs in front of the seat.

Siletz Bay

I dropped Donna off at home and made a beer run back to town. When I returned, I saw Donna walking back to our coach. She’d walked up to the office (The Barn) which is nearly half a mile from our site. They had mail for us. The mail was forwarded here from our mail service in South Dakota. How exciting – our first mail delivery since we left South Dakota!

I figured out how the unions on the PEX tubing under the kitchen sink were coming loose. The faucet over the sinks swivels from side to side to allow it to fill either sink. The faucet mount had loosened. When the faucet was moved from one side to the other, it was moving the mount and flexing the tubing underneath.

Discovering the root cause of the problem was one thing. Correcting it was harder than I imagined. It required a deep 5/8″ socket, universal joint, two six-inch extensions, a ratchet and me on my back with my head and arms in a small cabinet. After many attempts to get the socket between the sinks and behind the tubing to the mounting nut, I finally succeeded. Job done!

For dinner, Donna cooked Pan-Seared Halibut Salmoriglio (an Italian garlicky lemon sauce), while I grilled veggies. It was delicious.

Pan Seared Halibut Salmoriglio with grilled veggies

Sunday was very laid back. It was the first Sunday of the 2013 NFL season. Although it was a beautiful day outside, I was mostly a couch potato. I watched three complete football games.

For lunch Donna made a shrimp salad with the fresh Oregon shrimp and rolled it into tortilla wraps. Tasty!

Donna reorganized some cupboards and practiced piano (with headphones) while I was watching football. Then she went out for a walk and spotted a seal in the river. They swim upstream to feed on salmon in the river. I guess it’s easier for them to catch the salmon in the confines of the river than it is in the open ocean.

I grilled chicken kabobs for dinner during half-time of the last game.

Today I’ll work on a few maintenance items and pack the trailer in preparation for tomorrow’s travel day. Tonight I’ll be wearing my number 14 Dan Fouts Chargers throwback jersey while I watch the San Diego Chargers and the Houston Texans go at it.

New Shoes for the RV

It was raining when we woke up yesterday. By the time we were ready to hit the road, the rain stopped. We fueled up and headed down Highway 101 to Astoria. From Washington, there is a 4-mile-long bridge spanning the Columbia River to Astoria, Oregon. The bridge was built in 1966, connecting US 101 in Oregon to Washington. Prior to the bridge completion, ferries linked Astoria and Washington.

We saw freight ships anchored at the mouth of the river, presumably waiting to sail up to Portland. In order for freighters to sail up the Columbia River, a pilot needs to board the ship. These pilots are specifically trained and certified to navigate the Columbia.

Astoria is named after John Jacob Astor. John Jacob Astor was a German-born American businessman. He was America’s first multi-millionaire. He established trading posts in the Great Lakes region to supply fur trappers. He also exported fur to Europe.

He expanded his trading posts west as the fur trade grew. He built Fort Astoria on the Pacific Coast in 1811. When he died in 1848, he was the wealthiest man in America. His net worth at the time was estimated to be 20 million dollars. According to Wikipedia, that would equate to more than 1.2 billion dollars in today’s money.

His great-grandson, John Jacob (Jack) Astor IV, was also a successful businessman. He was the richest passenger aboard the Titanic and died when it sank on April 15, 1912.

Today, the site of Fort Astoria is the town of Astoria, Oregon. Astoria has a population of about 10,000 people. We passed through the town and continued south on US 101.

I anticipated an easy drive. We had a couple of stops planned before we reached Chinook Bend RV Resort near Lincoln City. Every time I expect an easy drive, there’s a curve in the road. In this case, there were many curves as the highway meanders along the Oregon Coast.

Our Rand-McNally GPS was constantly chattering, “Warning, sharp curve ahead” or “Warning, winding road ahead.” Many sections of the highway are narrow with no shoulder. So much for an easy cruise down the coast. Donna enjoyed the ocean views while I kept my eyes glued to the road ahead.

Outside of Tillamook, Donna pointed out the Tillamook Country Smoker. The parking lot indicated RV parking on the right. When I pulled in, I realized there wasn’t any designated RV parking. The lot wasn’t very full, however the cars parked there were spaced in such a way that made it difficult for me to park.

I shoehorned our rig into a space and we went into the retail store. They had two-foot-long smoked beef sticks for $1. We bought a few and returned to the RV. Donna thought the Tillamook Country Smoker was the stop I’d planned. I told her earlier that we would stop in Tillamook to buy cheese at the factory store.

The Tillamook Cheese Factory is a few miles farther down US 101. Tillamook cheese can be found in stores from Portland, Oregon to Portland, Maine. The factory is run by the Tillamook County Creamery Association. There are more than 100 dairy farm families in the association.

Tillamook is mostly known for its cheddar cheese, but they also make other varieties. We sampled several cheeses and Donna bought five kinds, including a smoked gouda with cumin seeds.

We had lunch across the street from the factory at a small seafood cafe. Donna had an oyster burger and I had a crab melt. The crab melt was made with fresh crab claw meat on a toasted roll with melted cheddar. Yummy!

Before we hit the road, I phoned ahead to the Les Schwab Tire Center in Lincoln City. I wanted to confirm our arrival time. I’d made an appointment with them the day before.

The tires on our RV have plenty of tread and look to be in good shape. RVs rarely wear their tires out. The issue is tire age. Tires deteriorate with age due to UV exposure, ozone and general weathering. Tires have a date code on them. The Michelins on our coach are nearly eight years old.

Although they still looked good, I wasn’t comfortable with their age. Having a tire blow-out isn’t on my bucket list. I’d planned to replace them when we reached Oregon. I chose to replace them here for a couple of reasons. First, Les Schwab is a very reputable company with great service and reasonable prices. There are Les Schwab Tire Centers in other western states, but in Oregon there’s no sales tax, only Federal Excise Tax on tires. No sales tax is always a bonus!

It was raining hard with thunder and lightning when we reached Lincoln City. I wish I’d taken photos of the guys replacing our tires. Two guys did the work, all by hand. They don’t have a tire machine big enough for our wheels. They levered the old tires off the rim with large tire irons. Then they wrestled the new tires, each weighing about 90 pounds, onto the wheels.

Donna napped in the coach while the work was done. It took about two hours to change all six tires.

We checked in at the Chinook Bend RV Resort on the Siletz River around 5pm. It was still raining when I set up. We have a pullthrough site with full hook-ups and 50 amp service. With our Passport America discount, it’s less than $25/night.

Donna made dinner. She calls it “pantry food” when she wings it with whatever she finds in the pantry. In this case she made Chicken Tikka Masala from Patak’s jarred sauce.

We’ll spend five nights here. Donna has some work to do. I have some relaxing to do. We’ll sightsee and maybe get a little fishing in.

Long Beach, WA

The weather here in Long Beach, Washington changes quickly. Yesterday started out dreary, with fog and heavy overcast. The fog was enough to interfere with our online connectivity. The campground wifi and our Verizon Jetpack were intermittent.

I unloaded the scooter from the trailer while Donna tried to get some work done. I cleaned the windshield and mirrors on the motorhome and just puttered around all morning. While I was cleanin,g I noticed the center cap was missing from the left front wheel. What happened here? I have no idea how the cap came off.

Center cap gone!

Around noon we went for a ride. We stopped in the downtown area and had lunch at a fish market/cafe. It was still cloudy but the fog lifted and the sun was trying to break through.

Donna ordered a pound of Willapa Bay steamer clams. I vacillated back and forth over the rockfish tacos or rockfish and chips, I finally decided on the fish and chips. The tacos would have been healthier, but the lunch was delicious.

We rode down to the marina in Ilwaco. This is near the mouth of the Columbia River. Ilwaco is a hub of fishing activity. There are commercial fleets and sportfishing boats for hire moored there. There are also markets selling the freshest fish you’ll ever find.

Marina at Ilwaco

We parked and walked along the marina. We made our way to Jessie’s retail store. Jessie’s is a wholesale fish processing plant but they also have a small retail market selling seafood that just came off of the boat. Donna bought a filet of King (Chinook) salmon and 8 large scallops.

Jessie’s retail storefront

We rode back to the RV park and put the food away. Now it was mostly sunny out. We continued our ride up the peninsula to check the area out. Unfortunately, most of the beachfront is private with only occasional areas of public access. In the public access areas, you are allowed to drive vehicles on the beach! There are signs advising to stay on the upper hard packed areas. We decided against riding the scooter on the sand.

We rode about 10 miles up through the town of Surfside. There are numerous RV parks to be found along the way. Most of them are just narrow lots with RVs parked side by side. We stopped and looked at one that had good ratings in our guide. Anderson RV Park has a great location, right on the beach and only a few miles from town. However, the sites are all back-in sites and very tight. I’m not so sure if this area will be a destination for us again.

By now the day was sunny with temperatures in the 70s. By evening it clouded up, then cleared again.

After we returned, Donna had a writing project to complete. While she worked, I loaded the scooter and repacked the trailer. I opened the awning to allow it to dry in the sun. When we left Burlington yesterday, I had to roll up the awning in the rain. While I was working, I had a cedar plank soaking to cook the salmon on. We had cedar planked salmon with lemon and Herbes de Provence seasoning with roasted corn on the cob for dinner.

After dinner we walked to the beach. As we were walking, I realized we were missing what was sure to be a fantastic sunset. There were a few high clouds tinged with red. We couldn’t see the sun. We had to walk past the hotel and down a path to get to the beach.

I was walking quickly and started to jog in order to see the sunset. I wanted to capture an image of it. We were a few minutes too late.

Sunset missed on beach trail

I rolled the awning up when we returned. It would be wet by morning with rain or dew. When I entered the coach I felt a wet spot under foot on the carpet. Oh no! I looked under the kitchen sink and saw water dripping from the lines to the faucet. I ran outside and shut off the water supply. I relieved the system pressure by opening the outdoor shower valve. I found the unions over the PEX compression fittings were loose. I tightened them and turned the water back on. How do plastic fittings on PEX plumbing lines work loose? I checked the other fittings for tightness. We had a space heater and fan blowing into the cabinet under the sink and over the carpet all night.

I woke up this morning to the sound of rain drops on the roof. I’m glad I did most of the packing yesterday, I only have to dump the tanks and disconnect this morning. Today we are heading down to Lincoln City, Oregon. I’ve made an appointment at the Les Schwab tire dealer there to replace our tires. Maybe they’ll have a replacement center cap for the left front wheel. We also have a reservation at the Chinook Bend RV Resort on the Siletz River, just outside of Lincoln City. We’ve booked five nights there. We should have an easy 125 miles ahead of us.

Deception Pass

I didn’t post to the blog yesterday. We broke camp in the morning and had a long day planned. Before I get ahead of myself, I’ll tell you about our Labor Day.

Our grandchildren, Lainey and Gabi, stayed overnight with us Sunday night. Monday morning I was up around 7:20am. I tried to wake the kids up. They need to get in the habit of getting out of bed early since they start school this week. They didn’t get out of bed, but they were semi-awake.

We took our time and cooked up a big breakfast. Donna made huckleberry pancakes and eggs while I cooked bacon on the grill. It was another sunny day. We really lucked out on the weather.

Most of the other campers in the RV park were pulling out. I guess their long weekend was coming to a close and it was time to get home and back to work. As the park quieted down, we took advantage of the indoor heated pool and hot tubi.

The hot tub was the deepest I’ve ever been in. It had to be at least four feet deep! It was also very hot. I got out of it after about five minutes and felt a little dizzy. I think the temperature was too high. I swam with the kids for about 20 minutes and that was it for me.

My daughter, Alana, joined us before we went to the pool. After the girls were done swimming, they took Donna shopping. They found a western wear shop in Mt. Vernon called “The Bony Pony.” While they shopped, I re-organized the trailer and loaded the scooter.

When they returned, Donna had a new pair of cowboy boots. They’re quite fashionable and the price was within reason, especially when taken in context of the prices at the boutique in Kalispell, Montana.

After shopping, the girls all played a round of miniature golf. Donna was the clear winner. She even made a hole-in-one!

Lainey and Gabi playing miniature golf.

Alana’s mother, LuAnn (my former wife), invited us to join her and her husband, Jerry, for dinner. We left a little after 5pm and arrived at their house in Arlington about half an hour later.

We enjoyed a cocktail and hor d’oeuvres at a picnic table in the backyard. LuAnn and Jerry love gardening. In addition to the nice landscape, they also grow herbs and vegetables. Our snack and dinner included many garden fresh veggies.

Later we all sat together at the dinner table. The food was excellent and we talked for a couple of hours. The conversation was great and it was a very enjoyable evening.

Alana took us on a tour of Arlington before she drove us back to the campground. I lived here from 2001 to 2005. The old downtown doesn’t look too much different, but the development on the south and west parts of town is surprising.

After we returned to our motorhome, Alana sat and talked with us for about an hour. We’ll come back this way again, but we’re not exactly sure when that will happen.

Yesterday I woke to the sound of rain falling on the roof top. I wished I’d put up the awning the night before, but I didn’t. The rain was intermittent showers, but it came down hard at times. I really don’t like breaking camp in the rain, but I didn’t have any choice.

We drove away at 10am. We exited I-5 at Highway 20 and headed west to Fidalgo Island. We crossed Deception Pass which brought us to Whidbey Island. The Deception Pass bridge is narrow and the road bends to the right when driving on to the island. My timing was all wrong. Just as we entered the curve, a big semi tractor trailer rig came around in the oncoming lane. He crowded us as his trailer crossed over the center line. I braked and moved over to right as far as I dared. I heard a light scraping sound just as I cleared his trailer.

We continued on down the island through Oak Harbor and Coupeville to the Keystone – Port Townsend ferry. There were signs advising reservations for the ferry. I’ve been on this ferry many times and never heard of making reservations for it.

There are 22 ferries on Puget Sound operated by the Washington State Department of Transportation. The ferries serve walk-on passengers and vehicle traffic. This provides a way to cross the sound to the Olympic Peninsula without driving all the way around. They also travel to and from many islands, including the San Juan Islands. It’s the largest ferry fleet in the USA and third largest in the world.

We made it to the ferry at 11:40 and there was very little traffic. I paid $68.10 for our 50-foot rig with two people on board. Before the ferry sailed form the dock at 12:30, I inspected the coach. I found a light scrape in the paint at the bottom of the front basement compartment. I think I can rub it out. Halfway across the sound, the ferry slowed. This was unusual. The captain announced why were we slowing. There was a big freighter crossing the channel in the fog right in front of us. It was a large ship, but difficult to make out in the fog.

You just make out the superstructure of a large freighter in the fog

You can just make out the superstructure of a large freighter in the fog.

We each had a cup of clam chowder from the ship’s galley. A few minutes before we docked at Port Townsend, we returned to our coach. I was surprised to see our Rand McNally GPS indicating our position on the ferry. It showed our speed at 14mph.

Our Rand McNall RVND 7720 GPS knows we're on the ferry in Puget Sound!

Our Rand McNally RVND 7720 GPS knows we’re on the ferry in Puget Sound!

We left Port Townsend and followed Highway 20 to Shelton. From there, we made our way west until we found Highway 101. This brought us to our present position on the Long Beach Peninsula. They claim it’s the longest beach in the world. We’ll explore the area on the scooter today.

Labor Day

It’s Labor Day weekend. We’ve made our way to the west side of Washington. Here’s how we got here.

Saturday morning, Jimbo picked us up and we went out for breakfast at the Mangy Moose in Priest River. I had biscuits and gravy with sausage, egg and hashbrowns. The server talked me into ordering the half-size serving and she was right. The half plate was more than enough. I can’t imagine anyone eating the full plate.

We had the slides in and jacks up around 11:30am. I stole a line from Captain Ron (starring Kurt Russell) and said, “It’s time to kick the tires and light the fires. There’s a big road ahead. If it’s gonna happen, it’s gonna happen out there.”

We drove down to I-90 at Sullivan in Spokane, then exited I-90 at Airway Heights. We crossed eastern Washington on Highway 2. This route is rural and takes you through wheat fields, sagebrush and small towns. I recognized many of the town names.

My kids were raised in Darrington, a small town in the north Cascades on the west side. High school B league basketball was high entertainment in that small logging town. Most years, either the boys’ team, the girls’ team or both would qualify for the state championship tournament in Spokane. Many of the little rural communities in eastern Washington would also qualify and compete in the tournament.

We left Highway 2 and drove up past the Grand Coulee Dam and Chief Joseph Dam. We hit Highway 20 and headed west into the north Cascade mountains. I was getting tired. I wanted to stop in Winthrop. We arrived there a little past 5pm and found the town was hopping. There were people in the streets and cars everywhere – most likely Westsiders coming over the pass to eastern Washington for a sunny Labor Day holiday. The rainy season starts earlier on the west side.

I looked for a place to park. We pulled into the Red Barn parking lot. Another RV was parked there, but it was posted “no overnight parking.” I found another good-sized gravel lot that was empty across the street. I parked there and walked to the bicycle shop to seek permission for overnight parking. I was told it might be okay, but the lot belonged to the city and technically overnight parking wasn’t allowed.

I didn’t want to take a chance and have a knock on the door in the middle of the night. We backtracked towards Twisp and drove out to the rodeo grounds. There was a rodeo this weekend. We found a pasture full of trucks, trailers, tents and horses.

We pulled in and set up among the rodeo crowd. It was a beautiful spot and no one paid us any mind. Later the pasture turned into quite the party for the rodeo participants and their followers. We joined in with our neighbors from Texas.

Twisp – Winthrop rodeo grounds

In the morning a concession stand served Blue Star coffee, roasted in Twisp, Washington. I think it was the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had. We kicked the tires and lit the fires around 8:30am and drove up the North Cascade Highway.

Since it was Sunday morning on the holiday weekend, we found very little traffic. We climbed through Washington Pass and Rainy Pass without drama. Coming down the west side, I kept our speed in check and we enjoyed the scenery. I was pleasantly surprised as the skies stayed blue and clear after we crested the Cascades. I expected rain.

When I lived in western Washington, I was told to look south. If you can’t see Mount Rainer, it’s going to rain. Then look south. If you can see the top of Mount Rainer, it’s going to rain. It’s pretty easy to predict the weather in western Washington.

Ross Lake

We stopped at a scenic overlook above Ross Lake. I would’ve liked to pull in at Diablo Dam, but one of the drawbacks with a big rig is that you can’t always stop where you wish. I couldn’t remember how big the parking area was across the dam. If I pulled in there, I would be committed and might have a real problem getting back out of there.

Sunny day over the pass

We made a stop at Rockport at the junction of Highway 530. I told Donna that bald eagles are usually roosting there. We walked a quarter mile down to the bridge over the Skagit River. No eagles were there. It must be too early in the season. I’ve seen dozens of eagles there at times. They feed on salmon running up the river. We saw several fisherman fishing for humpback salmon.

We pulled in to the KOA in Burlington a little past noon. We set up in the crowded campground and were joined by my daughter, Alana and her children Lainey and Gabi (Gabriella). We spent the afternoon together. The grandkids took advantage of the heated indoor pool.

I roasted fresh local corn on the cob and grilled marinated flank steak for dinner. We had the obligatory camp fire and roasted s’mores over the fire. Lainey and Gabi spent the night with us. All in all, a very enjoyable day.

Marinated flank steak

Today we’ll kick back with the kids. We’ll probably have to dodge a few rain drops. Tomorrow we’ll move on.

Gabi enjoys s’mores

Huckleberries

Yesterday we woke up around 7am, refreshed from a good night’s sleep in the Sanders County Fairgrounds pasture. There was a train track nearby, but the passing trains in the night didn’t bother us.

I had coffee and yogurt. I took my time writing yesterday’s post before we packed up and left. We were back on Route 200 around 10:30am. It was going to be a fairly short drive and we planned to make stops along the way.

Our first stop was in Thompson Falls, Montana. We parked on the street and walked down to view the Clark Fork River. It was a cool little town. Friendly people and lots of quirky little shops. The river runs along the south side of town just a couple of blocks off the main drag.

Clark Fork River

There’s a dam and small reservoir here as well. The water level on the reservoir can vary by as much as four feet in a day!

We walked along the river and reservoir then returned to our coach via Main Street. We stopped in a little flower shop that had a sign saying they had fresh huckleberries for sale. We bought a quart of huckleberries. They’re one of my favorites and I haven’t had them since I left Washington state in 2005.

Donna with a quart of huckleberries at the Thompson Falls reservoir

We cruised up Route 200 and were thankful we chose this route. The scenery was unbelievable. At one point we pulled into a turn out and walked to the river. The Clark Fork River flows from Montana westward into Idaho and empties into Lake Pend Oreille.

Turnout on route 200

View of Lake Pend Oreille through the trees

Further up the road, I pulled off near the town of Clark Fork and followed a road towards the river hoping to find a picnic area. I feared I’d made a big mistake as I didn’t know where the road led or whether we would be able to turn around. A few miles down the road, we found a small RV park. I entered the park and was able to get turned around.

The park host told us we should look for a turnout on the left with geological information once we returned to Route 200. We found the turnout a short time later and stopped for lunch. It had a great view of Lake Pend Oreille. There were also placards with information regarding the formation of the lake and the ancient Missoula ice dam there. We had a light lunch consisting of tabouleh salad and feta cheese.

We continued onwards and crossed into Idaho. At Sandpoint, we found parking on the street and stopped again. Sandpoint is another cool town. It is somewhat touristy, but not overboard. There are lots of little shops downtown and a great beach on the lake. We stopped at Starbucks and sat outside on a deck overlooking a marina.

We walked through the downtown. When we walked down to the city beach, we found a small RV park! We talked to a guy camped there and he told us the park was run by the adjacent Best Western Hotel. We walked over to the hotel and inquired about rates and availability for next year. They are completely booked up from July 3rd to Labor Day.

We may return there in June. Staying at the RV park entitles you to use the hotel amenities including heated indoor pool, hot tub and exercise facility. Not too shabby. And you’re right on the lake and within walking distance to all the downtown shops. There are also biking paths to ride out of town.

From there we drove to our destination for the day, Priest River. I parked in the grocery store lot. Donna went in to resupply our provisions. While I was waiting in the coach, someone knocked on the door. It was Jimbo’s wife, Cindy Birditt. I haven’t seen her in nearly 20 years, it took me a moment to realize who it was.

Cindy arranged courtesy parking for us in a small industrial complex on the edge of town. In Priest River the edge of town means we are looking at forest out the front windshield. Nice.

Once we were set up, I got online and found a message from another old friend, Howard Brutschy. He knew from yesterday’s blog post that I would pass through Sandpoint and invited us to cruise Lake Pend Oreille in his houseboat. Too bad I didn’t see his invitation earlier! Hopefully we can time things better next time through.

Jimbo drove over and picked us up. We went to town for a cocktail at Jammers. We were joined by Jimbo’s neighbors, Mike and Linda, and went to a Mexican restaurant. The food was delicious. I haven’t had Mexican food that good since we left Arizona more than four years ago.

After dinner we all convened at Jimbo and Cindy’s house a few miles outside of town. Donna was the designated driver – Jimbo loaned us a truck to drive back “home.” We sampled some whiskey and had a great time talking about old times together.

Today we’ll join them for breakfast and then head westward once again. Donna is making huckleberry muffins as I type this and they smell delicious.

I don’t know where we’ll stop tonight. Tomorrow we have reservations at a KOA in Burlington, Washington on the west side of the Cascades. I plan to travel over the North Cascade Highway tomorrow.

Rodeo

Yesterday we took our time prepping for a day on the road. Donna started the day with walk. No bear encounters this time. In fact, I’m surprised at the lack of wildlife sightings. We’ve only come across antelope on the way here, a few deer sightings and Donna’s bear encounter. I was hoping to see big horn sheep and mountain goats.

We hit the road at 11am. Our route took us back down highway 89. This is a tough slog with steep hills and tight turns. We planned to take a short cut across MT49 to US 2. We saw a sign that advised “no vehicles over 21′ long on MT49.” Oh well, so much for the shortcut. We continued on to Browning and picked up US 2 there.

Shortly we were hit by a thunderstorm. This was inevitable since I spent 2 1/2 hours washing the coach and trailer yesterday. We didn’t have a destination today, We only knew we wanted to take Route 200 toward Idaho where we will visit my best friend, Jim Birditt, in Priest River.

In Kalispell, Donna spied a shop called Redneck Chic. It was a women’s western wear boutique. Donna has been wanting to find a pair of cowboy boots. I found a place to park and we walked to the store. They didn’t have her size in the boots she liked. It was probably just as well since the “discount price” was $450.

A little after 5pm, we hit Route 200 at Plains, Montana. Coming through town, Donna was looking for a place to park for the night. Driving through the Lewis and Clark National Forest, we didn’t find any place suitable for a big rig to pull off.

Donna saw a county fairgrounds sign. We followed the signs to the fairgrounds and found the Sanders County Fair was happening. They had RV parking and presently we are parked in a fairly level pasture. Donna cooked linguini with clam sauce for dinner and then we walked to the fair.

Linguini with Clam Sauce

It was the usual county fair midway. The only difference was no admittance fee! There was an arena and we learned that bull riding was about to start. We bought tickets for the rodeo and watched the bull riding. I asked Donna, “Did I ever tell you about the time I rode a bull?” It’s a standing joke. She’s heard this story many times. I won’t let that stop me from telling it now though.

It was 1976. I was living in Longmont, Colorado with my high school buddies, Jim Birditt and Chris Nirschl. I found work at Anderson Fence Company. During my job interview, the foreman, Merle, said to me, “We have this opening on account of the last guy quit. You want to know why the last guy quit?” I said, “Okay.” He said, as he was looking at my shoulder length hair, “The last guy quit because the cowboys on the crew cut his hair.” I replied, “If the cowboys want to cut my hair, they’ll have a heck of a fight.” He said, “When can you start?”

Me, back in the day

Shortly after I began working on the crew as a laborer, another long haired guy was hired. His name was Brad. The cowboys constantly teased us. One day as I was hauling a wheelbarrel full of concrete, a cowboy named Harvey was making catcalls at Brad. Brad had enough and said, “You guys think you’re so tough, well we’re just as tough. Mike and I will ride a bull and show you.” What? Mike and I? What could I say?

When I came home from work and told my roommates what happened, Chris said, “Are you serious? They aren’t talking about the dairy cows down the street. Have you seen the bulls they ride?” He drove me out to a ranch and showed me a proper bull. It was huge and rippling with muscle. I grew up in San Diego and had never even been to a rodeo at that point.

About a week later, Harvey approached us and said he’d made arrangements for us to ride at the rodeo in Greeley on Saturday. He said, “Wear gloves and a jock strap. A couple of cowboys will lend you bull ropes.”

Saturday we drove up to the arena in Greeley. Harvey introduced us to a couple of pro bull riders. They told us what was about to go down. I had no clue. The cowboy walked me down the catwalk behind the chutes and told me how to get the rope set up. He said not to waste too much time. Once I had the rope wrapped around my glove, I needed to go. The chute can be dangerous as you’re in a confined space with the animal. If the bull becomes agitated in there, it can be bad.

I asked him why the bull doesn’t buck as soon as I climb on. That’s when I found out how this works. He told me about a device called a flank strap. This is a strap wrapped around the bull just ahead of his hind quarters. When the gate is opened, an operator pokes the bull with a cattle prod providing an electric shock. This makes the bull jump. He said, “When the bull jumps, the flank strap pulls at his gonads and he thinks you did it.” Oh my. What have I gotten in to?

We drew lots to determine which bull we would ride and what the order would be. Brad drew a mean looking 1,800-pound Brahma bull. I drew a 1,600-pound Charolais. I would ride right after Brad.

Brad’s turn came up and he was very stylish. He climbed aboard the bull and strapped his hand in place. He held his cowboy hat in his free hand and yelled, “Let ‘er rip!” The chute opened and he had a great ride. He came flying off the bull just after the 8-second buzzer. You need to ride 8 seconds to attain a score and Brad made it.

However, when he was thrown off the bull, I watched him fly through the air in a superman pose. He hit the dirt in a belly flop. I was very close to him, watching from the cat walk and heard the wind knocked out of him. At that moment the bull swung around and one of his rear hoofs came down in the small of Brad’s back. Brad made a sickening groaning sound. Two cowboys dragged him from the arena. I was stunned.

The chute operator looked at me and said, “You’re up.” Oh man. I looked across the arena and saw my friends sitting in the bleachers. I saw Harvey, the cowboy on our crew. I saw a couple of good -looking young girls watching me in anticipation of my ride. I climbed on. What else could I do?

I wrapped the bull rope around my gloved hand tightly and sat on it. I said, “Hit it” and all hell broke loose. The cowboy that schooled me knew this bull. He advised me not to lean forward at all. This bull had a reputation for throwing his head back. If the rider were to lean forward, he would be smacked in the forehead and knocked out cold.

I thought about that for about a second before I quit thinking altogether. The ride was so violent, I couldn’t even see. My eyeballs were rattling in my head and the world was a blur. About five seconds later, I was airborne. I didn’t know up from down and had no idea where terra firma was. I found out when I landed on my head and right shoulder. I staggered out of the arena before any more damage could be done.

That was my one and only rodeo experience. I vowed to never get involved with that again.

The next Monday, Brad didn’t come to work. He was still nursing a sore back. Harvey came up to me and said, “I have to hand it to you guys. It takes big cajones to ride a bull.” Then he added, “I’d never do that. Bull riders are crazy. I ride saddle bronc.” The cowboys on the crew never teased us again.

Today we’ll head up Route 200 through Sandpoint, Idaho to Priest River. We’ll visit my old friend, Jim Birditt (aka Jimbo or JB). Maybe I’ll ask him if he remembers the time I rode a bull in Greeley, Colorado.

Pasture at Sanders County Fairground

East Glacier – Bees and Bears

Yesterday I wrote my blog post first thing. This is my usual habit. Donna went for a walk while I wrote. It was overcast and windy, the temperature was around 50 degrees.

Our plan was to take the scooter up highway 89 to Babb. There’s another entrance to Glacier National Park at Babb. We were told that we were more likely to see wildlife there than on the Going – to – the – Sun – Road.

Donna packed a picnic lunch for us. While she was doing that, it began to rain. After her walk, she talked to one of the attendants at the campground and was told it was likely to rain in the afternoon. It seemed like this morning we only had passing showers with intermittent raindrops.

We decided to stay the course and go to Babb. As we rode up the highway, it started to rain a little harder. The raindrops were stinging my hands as we rode along at 60mph.

The entrance to the park is unmarked at Babb. The village of Babb isn’t much. A small store, cafe and gas station. I wasn’t sure where we were supposed to turn off of the highway. We saw a tour bus enter the highway from a road on the left. We made the turn onto that road.

Donna was certain we were on the right road. Me, well, not so much. The only sign I saw said “Road Ends in 12 Miles.” The road was rough and uneven. It had ruts in places that made riding the scooter difficult. The uneven surface and ruts pulled at the front end. I had to be alert and make corrections to our course.

About four miles in, there was a sign on the side of the road that said we were entering Glacier National Park. It still seemed a little weird. The road quality was still poor and I didn’t see any viewpoints or other park signs. After two more miles, we came to the park toll gate.

Scooter with picnic bag at Lower Lake St Mary

From here the road quality improved and it looked like a national park. There were trailhead signs, turnouts for viewing and a picnic area. It stopped raining as we rode to the end of the road. At the end, there was a large parking lot with a gift shop and restaurant.

We turned back and rode to a picnic area we saw on the way in. Wouldn’t you know it, as soon as we sat down for lunch, it started to rain. It didn’t rain too hard though, so we sat at a table under a tree and enjoyed our egg salad wraps.

On the way back, we stopped at a few scenic areas and pulled in to the Many Glacier Hotel. It’s on the east side of Swiftcurrent Lake. It looks very stately. We were wet and cold at this point, otherwise we might have stopped in to take a look around.

(photo taken from internet)

The only encounter with wildlife in the park happened on the way out. A wasp flew inside my helmet. I made a panic stop on the side of the road and flicked it away from the mouth guard of my helmet. A few minutes later, as we were riding along, I realized I hadn’t ejected the wasp when he crawled across my eyeglasses. I opened my face shield and he flew away. I was relieved to say the least.

Donna, on the other hand had her encounter with wildlife while on her morning walk. I’ll let her tell the tale.

Yesterday morning , I decided to go for a hike. I told Mike I would probably be back in about 45 minutes.

I headed down through the campground toward the lake. I came to a sign that said “Lake Trail” and followed it a short distance to a small beach dotted with kayaks. I recalled reading that the campground rented kayaks and I wanted to run up to the office and get a paddle because the lake was like glass. I could just picture myself out there paddling through the morning mist.

We already had plans though to scooter up to Babb and then to Glacier National Park through the Many Glacier entrance. It might be nicer to go kayaking in the afternoon anyway when it warmed up. So I continued on my walk.

I hiked the long way around the park to the road that leads to the highway. I decided to walk to Route 89 and back, which is about one mile in each direction. The road crosses the St. Mary River – a shallow, rocky creek. I wondered if there might be a path along the river, so I crossed to the other side of the road for a look. No path. But it was a pretty river.

As I turned around, I saw a black bear come out of the woods about 50 feet in front of me. I stood still. He never even glanced in my direction. I watched him cross the road that I had just crossed and head into the bushes. I bet he had watched me walk down the road. Figuring I was safe, I continued on.

Just then, a pickup truck was coming down the road behind me and I pointed in the direction of the bear. The truck slowed and then stopped as the driver and passenger looked in the direction in which I had pointed. After a few minutes, they continued on and slowed again as they approached me.

“Did you see the bear?” I asked. They did.

Laughing, the driver asked, “Do you want a ride?”

“Nah,” I said. “I’ll be fine.”

Prior to crossing to the river, I did notice what I thought was fairly fresh bear scat on the side of the road. And I had heard a rustling in the trees across the road, but just figured it was some birds. As Mike would say, “Doh!”

Anyway, I walked to the highway and back with no further incident, though you can be sure I was keeping eyes and ears directed on the woods on either side of the road. This IS bear country after all.

When I told the desk clerk at the KOA Campground that I saw a bear, she said, “Yeah, you should carry bear spray if you’re going to go for a walk.” Hello? Now you tell me!

“So how does that work?” I asked. “Is it like mace?”

“Yes,” she replied. “But you have to spray it in the bear’s face. You can’t be running and spray it behind you.”

Hopefully, I’ll never need to do that.

After we returned to the coach Donna took a hot shower to warm up. It stopped raining during the ride back and began to clear up. Within half an hour of our return, the skies were clear and sunny!

I’ve needed to wash the coach for a while. I haven’t cleaned the exterior, except for removing bugs from the front cap and windshield, since we were in Minnesota. I got the ladder and cleaning supplies and hooked up a hose. Many campgrounds forbid washing RVs. The rules and regulations for this KOA made no mention of it. I took that mean it was okay and spent the afternoon washing the coach and trailer.

I put everything away about two and half hours later. At 5pm, Donna and I rented two kayaks. We paddled across lower St. Mary Lake near the river feeding it from the upper lake. It was windy. The wind made it hard to hold a steady course. After half an hour, we’d had all the fun we could stand and paddled back in.

Donna fixed an outstanding meal for dinner. We had Beef Ragu over spaghetti squash with Stuffed Zucchini. It was very tasty. She picked up the zucchini for free from a basket in a liquor store. The store clerk had a garden that supplied more than she could use.

Today we’ll pack up and head west. Our route will take us back down highway 89. We’ll cut over to Highway 2, then make our way to Route 200. This route will avoid most of the high passes into Idaho. I have no idea where we’ll stop for the night. I hope we can find a nice boondocking spot in the forest.

Beef Ragu with Stuffed Zucchini

East Glacier – Logan Pass

Yesterday we had a leisurely morning. I posted to the blog before breakfast. After breakfast I unloaded the scooter from the trailer. I reset the passenger side view mirror on the coach to a forward position like the driver’s side. This reduced the overall width of our rig by a few inches.

Donna ran a couple of loads of laundry through our Splendide washer/dryer and changed sheets on our bed. She packed a picnic lunch and started our dinner in the crock pot.

We studied the map of East Glacier and decided to ride up to Logan Pass. I’m usually pretty good with maps and directions, however, when we left the campground I went the wrong way. I turned left on highway 89. After about a mile I saw a sign indicating Babb was 8 miles ahead. I knew this wasn’t our planned route and turned around.

In the village of St. Mary, we turned right and entered Glacier National Park. When we entered the gate the attendant looked at my National Parks pass and asked me for identification. This was the first time that happened, but it’s what they’re supposed to do.

The pass is actually called America the Beautiful – the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass. It’s an interagency pass that is honored by the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the USDA Forest Service and the National Park Service.

This pass will admit vehicles (one car or up to two motorcycles) into areas that charge a per vehicle fee or will admit up to four adults in areas that charge a per person fee. Two people can be listed as owners of the pass. Donna and I are listed as owners on our pass. We received our pass as parting gift from my colleagues when I retired. It was a great gift and we’ll make good use of it.

We rode the scooter up the Going to the Sun Road. We stopped at a picnic area at Sun Point and ate the lunch Donna prepared. We had roasted chicken with avocado, bell pepper and lettuce wrapped in whole wheat tortilla. We also had hard boiled eggs, carrots and homemade sweet pickles we purchased from the Amish in Wisconsin.

St Mary Lake at Sun Point

The view across St. Mary Lake we stunning. We saw a couple pulling their canoe from the lake. They said the water was really choppy today. We continued our ride up the road. The views were incredible. The scooter is an excellent mode of transportation in the park. We could pull off most anywhere we wished to take in the scenery.

There were a few sections where road work was being done. The road was single lane at a couple of points, controlled by flag men. There are a few rough spots and even a mile or so of gravel.

On the way up, we decided to limit our stops. We figured we could take it all in, then make stops on the way back down. When we reached the visitor center at Logan Pass we found motorcycle parking areas and had no problem parking. The visitor center there is mainly a gift shop.

Roadside waterfall

From the visitor center, we hiked up the Hidden Lake Trial. This trail takes you up from behind the visitor center to spectacular view points. Much of the trail is boardwalk. The park service tries to keep people from wandering off of the trail in order to preserve the natural flora. Nonetheless, we saw people ignoring the signs and going off of the trail. We also saw people feeding bread to ground squirrels. It’s hard for me to understand why rules don’t apply to some people.

Hidden Lake Trail

Ground squirrels

When we were getting ready to depart from the parking lot, a guy standing in a group of motorcyclists noticed our South Dakota plate. He asked me if we rode the scooter here from South Dakota! I should have pulled one over on him, but I admitted that we trailered it here.

We made several stops on the trip back down. At one stop, as I got off of the scooter, it slipped off of the side stand. I didn’t realize how much of a slope we were on. I grabbed the bars as it was falling and saved it from crashing onto the pavement. In doing so, I wrenched my back and left hip. This getting old stuff is not for sissies. Sometimes it hurts.

Goose Island, St Mary Lake

There are two campgrounds in this section of the park. We rode through them to check out the sites. The campground near Sun Point is definitely not big rig friendly. The sites are small and the road is narrow and twisty. Also the trees overhead could be a problem.

The other campground is near the park entrance. This campground was comprised of three loops. One loop has possibilities, we saw a couple of class A motorhomes shoehorned in there. I’m not so sure if I would chance it though. There were one or two sites that could accommodate us, but it would require some tight maneuvering.

We returned to our coach and were greeted with the aroma of country style ribs cooking in the crock pot. We visited the hot tub. It was soothing to my back and hip. We returned and enjoyed a great meal.

Maple Country Style Ribs

There’s one technical issue in our current location that I find a bit puzzling. Verizon has 4G coverage here for data only. I cannot use my smartphone as a telephone here. I wonder what’s up with that. The first night here, our neighbors from Texas mentioned they have no coverage at all with AT&T. They were worried because they usually check in with their daughter every night.

I had them send her a text message from my phone to let her know they were okay and would be out of touch for a few days. Last night I received an urgent message from her asking me to tell her folks to call as soon as possible.

In today’s world, not being connected is bothersome for sure.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly…Part Two

My last post left off with us sleeping Sunday night in a Walmart parking lot crowded with RVs.

Monday we were up around 7:30am. We had breakfast, showered and hit the road at 8:30am. We were on a northwesterly course on I-90 with the wind blowing us down the road. We faced another 300+ mile day, but I was optimistic. We had the wind at our back and a fairly easy drive ahead.

I thought about a couple of maintenance items I needed to do on our coach and figured I might have time to do some of them while were camped at Glacier National Park. One thing is a strut that pulled loose from a overhead cabinet door in the bedroom. The strut holds the door up when you open the cabinet and because of its geometry it also holds the door closed when you shut it. This door is equipped with two such struts and is working fine, so it’s not a high priority task.

The other thing is a large dresser drawer that holds some of my clothes. I overloaded the drawer. One of the roller guides broke loose. Things like this happen when your house is rolling down the road a few thousand miles. Things like this can happen when your house on a solid foundation for that matter. It’s my own fault for over loading the drawer.

We decided to go to East Glacier and booked a site at the KOA in St. Mary. Our route had us leave I-90 and follow route 287 through Townsend to the state capitol, Helena. This route had us cross the Missouri river again. The Missouri River originates in the Centennial Mountains in western Montana. The official starting point of the river is near Three Forks, Montana.

The Missouri is the longest river in the USA. The Missouri empties into the Mississippi just north of St. Louis. Where the Missouri flows between Helena and Townsend, a dam was built in 1954. This created a reservoir called Canyon Ferry Lake. It also covered the site of an old town called Canton.

I’ve driven past Canyon Ferry Lake many times but have never stopped there. We decided to stop and stretch our legs. We parked near a boat ramp at the Broadwater County campground. We walked to the shore and had a snack.

Canyon Ferry Lake

From Helena, Route 287 joins I-15 for about 35 miles before it splits off and passes through the towns of Augusta and Choteau. I-15 had a few steep grades. Once we were back on 287 there were steep grades and sharp curves. The favorable wind shifted and became a cross wind. My day of easy driving was not so easy after all.

We stopped in Augusta. The main street is wide and we found easy parking. There were several combination bar/cafe/casinos in this small town. There also was a market. We strolled over for a look. Donna asked the store clerk for a lunch recommendation. She directed us to The Buckhorn. Donna also asked if it was smoky in there from cigarette smokers. We were happy to hear Montana banned smoking in buildings open to the public.

Wyoming hasn’t enacted such a ban. The cafes there smell like an ashtray. I think I’ll have to download an app developed by the folks at Technomadia called State Lines for iPhone and Android. It gives vital information for each state. We wouldn’t have to ask so many questions or figure out how to buy beer, wine or liquor. It’s all in the app.

We tried The Buckhorn. The people were friendly, but I can’t recommend the food. I had a burger and Donna ordered chicken. My burger came with greasy fries and Donna’s chicken was deep-fried and also came with greasy fries.

Once we were back on the road, the cross winds became gusty. It made the drive tiring. There was an eight-mile detour on dirt where they had removed the tarmac and were rebuilding the roadbed. After we were back on pavement, we were able to get up to a reasonable speed.

Donna was snoozing in her co-pilot’s seat while I was fighting strong wind gusts. At one point on the narrow two-lane highway, an oncoming tractor-trailer rig blew by us at high speed. The strength of his wake in the atmosphere combined with the cross wind from the left really slammed our coach.

The driver’s side view mirror was knocked out of adjustment by the blast. A few miles later, the arm holding the large mirror swung around towards the side of the coach! There was no shoulder, so I had to continue driving on for a few miles before I found a place to pull off. I was concerned about losing the mirror. After I stopped, I found the mirror mounting arm bolt had loosened.

I opened the trailer and found a 19mm socket and ratchet. I repositioned the mirror and tightened the mount. I made a discovery in the process. The previous owner had positioned the mirror mounting arms away from the center of the coach. They could be positioned in a more forward fashion thus reducing the overall width of the coach. I put the driver side mirror in this position before I tightened the mounting bolt.

In hindsight it seems crazy to me that the mirrors we”re so far outboard. Many times when a large semi or RV passed in the oncoming lane, our mirrors would barely clear each other. When we’re stopped in the campground, I’ll reset the passenger side as well.

We resumed driving. The wind continued to blow unabated. Shortly before we reached Browning, Montana, another big truck blew by in the oncoming lane. This one had a load of uncovered gravel. Just as we were passing by each other he hit a bump. Gravel flew out and of course the cross wind blew it right into the front of our coach. Crack! I can add windshield repair or replacement to my “things to do” list.

We checked into the St. Mary KOA around 4:30pm. I got things set up. The last thing was to put the slides out. The front went into place as always. The bedroom slide was going out when I heard a noise, it cocked to one side and I heard a bang. Oh no!

Before I put the slides out, I always make sure nothing has fallen behind them. I make sure the driver’s seat is in position and won’t interfere with the front slide. This time I missed something. My camera bag had slid out from its place on the shelf slightly. The right side of the bedroom slide got caught on it. That’s what caused the slide to cock sideways a bit.

The bang I heard was the welds on the aluminum stanchions supporting the bed breaking. The hydraulic ram that moves the slide is very powerful. I was able to reset the stanchions to support the bed and get the slide out. I need to have someone weld them in place in the future though. I was not a happy camper and wondered what else could go wrong.

I turned on both roof A/C units and decided it was cocktail hour. I poured a martini and tried to get happy again.

As I said, these things can happen. I learned a couple of lessons. I’ll get everything fixed and be more diligent about checking fasteners to make sure things aren’t working loose. I’ll check more carefully before I operate a slide. The windshield I can’t do anything about other than chalk it up to bad luck.

(Click on photos to enlarge)

Monday evening’s view from the front of our site

Monday evening’s view from the rear of our site

Flying The Koop

…from real estate to wheel estate and back again

Category Archives: Uncategorized

Looking for Glass

New Shoes for the RV

Long Beach, WA

Deception Pass

Labor Day

Huckleberries

Rodeo

East Glacier – Bees and Bears

East Glacier – Logan Pass

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly…Part Two

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: