Still in Boise and have finished up the Jaialdi Basque Festival activities.  Last night we went to Festa'ra which was a dancing, singing and mythology lesson.  It lasted about an hour and a half and had some good moments but was mostly like enduring a long dancing school recital.  Today we went to a fair at the fairgrounds where we skipped the dancing and spent some time looking at the Basque articles for sale.  That was it for us.  We went to lunch at Eddie's Diner with Bob and Sue, who are leaving tomorrow.

Tonight Gary and I ate dinner at Rick's Press Room which is a restaurant which was visited by Guy Fieri of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on TV.  It was a very cute place and we each had one of the dishes Guy had recommended, Gary had meatloaf and I had an apple, pecan and chicken salad.

While taking the dogs on their last walk of the night I was delightfully surprised by a wonderful fireworks display right in front of me on the festival grounds.  What a treat!

It was 103 here today and we would leave tomorrow for Pendleton but it is just as hot there.  We will leave on Monday and get home on Tuesday or Wednesday.  Our kitchen was improved while we were away and the finishing touches are supposed to take place on Monday.  That is when the plumber is   supposed to hook up the sink, dishwasher, etc.  Can't wait to see the new counter and backsplash.

Thursday we will take the RV back to Funtime RVs for a few minor repairs and to be stored until our next trip.

Jaialdi began for us day before yesterday when we arrived in Boise.  We parked at Boise Riverside RV Park, a minimal park with gravel sites and no cable.  It does have Wi Fi and Dish reception, however.  Our good friends, Bob and Sue are parked nearby.  We came here to enjoy the Basque Festival which occurs every 5 years.

On Tuesday night we drove to The Basque Block where people were milling around in front of some Basque restaurants and the Cultural Center.  We decided not to buy from the tent vendors but to go into one of the restaurants, Leku Ona.  Instead of upping their game to accommodate the visitors we were served poor imitations of Basque food on paper plates.  It was very disappointing.  Gary ordered Paella and got a paper bowl of rice with 2 small chunks of chicken in it.  He complained and the manager gave each couple a $50 gift certificate for a future meal.  We are planning on giving ours away to a policeman or other public servant we see.

On Wednesday we went to the Basque Market for lunch, which was better.  Gary got real Paella with shrimp, clams, chicken and rice which he ate on the street.  Sue and I went through the Basque Cultural Center where there were displays depicting the Basque culture and its history in the United States.  We ate dinner at a Boise restaurant called Fork.  It was excellent.  After that we had movie night in the RV and saw The Theory of Everything.  It was good.

Tonight we will go to the Sports Night and watch rock throwing and hay bale throwing.  We are enjoying being with Bob and Sue.

Pendleton 2

Yesterday we explored Pendleton.  They have lots of cowboy themed street art because this is the home of the famous Pendleton Round-up.  There are areas with majestic older homes and there are brand new areas overlooking the valley.  We found one of the two Starbucks so that I could get a Frappuccino (my addiction) and visited a grocery store for some fruit.  Gary played golf, which means his back is feeling better, and he is playing again this morning.  I have a couple of quiet projects and am going to clean a bit, read a bit, watch decorating shows on TV and just chill out with the pups.  Basically, we are just having some quiet time and enjoying the last cool day we are likely to have for a while.

Pendleton, OR

Yesterday we left Lake Oswego in the morning heading for Pendelton, OR.  Pendleton is about halfway to our destination of Boise, ID.  We are meeting our friends, Bob and Sue there to experience the Jaialdi, which is a Basque Festival held every five years there.  There will be street fairs, a Basque sports night, a show called Fest a'ra and other events and foods all highlighting Basque culture. Many thousands of people come from all over the world to take part.  Usually I avoid crowded events but this sounds fun and different.

We drove the Bays Bus in the rain for the first time today.  Gary didn't like it and had to slow down quite a bit.  We took I-84 which runs along the Columbia River Gorge from Portland to Pendleton.  We passed by the famous gorge waterfalls and the parking lot at Multnomah Falls was completely full.  It was a beautiful day for tourists to visit there.  We passed the usual spots where we take our visitors, Crown Point, Bonneville Dam and Hood River and went beyond those to pass The Dalles Dam and fish hatcheries. There were several areas along the highway that were black from recent brush fires.  One was about 3 miles long. To be perfectly honest, we probably passed more things I could mention but I tend to fall asleep easily on these trips.

We are staying for three nights at Wildhorse Casino and RV Park.  This is a nice park with plenty of grassy room between parking spots, flat spaces and easy walking paths for the dogs.  The view from our site is of the prairie and the Blue Mountains. Because of the drought everything is the color of wheat.  We had dinner at the casino buffet which wasn't very good but we didn't leave hungry.  There must be a motorcycle gathering here because we have seen so many.  One three wheeled cycle had been modified to look like a 1957 Chevy.  I will post the picture of it when I get home.

We visited Pendleton Woolen Mills and the blankets and clothes are so expensive but very vibrant and inspired by the Native Americans.  They had a small museum containing Native artifacts, which was great to see.

We left home on July 16, 2015 for Grants Pass, OR.  We stayed at Joe Creek Waterfalls RV Park KOA which was basic but pleasant.  We wouldn't stay there again because of the slow connectivity and no cable at all.  Gary pulled his back slipping on some gravel, so it looks like golf is out for this trip.

Tonight we went into town for dinner at Black Bear which was only fair.  After dinner I was walking the dogs and saw about 15 wild turkeys walking behind the campground store.  Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me.

The reason for the visit was to have some heavy duty shocks installed on the Bays Bus along with a Steer Straight mechanism.  Our appointment was at 8 in the morning on Friday so we got up early, drove into Grants Pass and took the dogs to a patio behind Jack in the Box to have breakfast and wait for the installation to be completed.  When that was completed we drove the RV back to the campground and parked.  We had our first Dutch Bros. blended drink today.  If they know it is your first one you don't have to pay for it.  It was good but a bit sugary for me. We went back into town for dinner at the Laughing Clam, which we thoroughly enjoyed.  They had a four piece live country band, barefooted, playing and singing. 

On Saturday we went to Jacksonville, OR, an old gold mining town we had been wanting to explore.  We had lunch at the Jacksonville Inn and then I roamed through the boutiques while Gary waited for me.  There were only a few so he didn't have to wait long.  Jacksonville doesn't really have the flavor of a gold mining town anymore.  It is quite gentrified.

We went back to the Laughing Clam for dinner after rejecting some other choices.  The seafood is so good there.  The live entertainment was a lady who sang, played flute and guitar, but who wasn't very good.

This morning we left Grants Pass for Eugene.  We stayed at another wonderful Premier RV Park near Coburg.  We have been delighted with all of their properties.  They have a permanent food cart at this park and we had a hot dog and a frito chili pie for lunch. Gary had a vanilla shake.

For dinner, we had plans with Matt, Aimee and Haley Ann Ramsey, Brian's good friends.  We went to their home for appetizers and then to Tasty Thai for a wonderful dinner.  It was so great to be with them and catch up.  They are such a terrific family.

Last weekend, July 10 - 12, we took Macy with us to Seattle.  It was her first time on the Bays Bus so we set her up in the front seat as Grandpa Gaggy began to drive.  She was sooooo excited.  It lasted about a half hour, which was longer than I thought it would.  Then she wanted to come sit with me at the table in the back and play.

We played with her Beanie Boos and I ended up doing a puppet show for her with them, making it up as I went.  She put her face under the edge of the table so it looked like a stage.  The last puppet I played for her was Baby.  She laughed so hard when she saw Baby's little face come over the edge of the table!

We thumb wrestled.  One, two, three, four I declare a thumb war.  Five, six, seven, eight, try to keep your thumb straight. One, two, three, go.  Then we made up Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, I have caught Macy's thumb plenty.  After that, we made up pinky wrestling.

We arrived in the KOA RV camp in Kent, WA and played on the playground.  After that we went out to dinner.  Macy slept well on the table/bed and Grandpa and I read in the bedroom.  She didn't wake up when I went through to walk the dogs.

On Saturday we went to the campground breakfast room for a cooked breakfast.  Then we went into Seattle to see the Chihuly Gardens and the Space Needle.  She loved both and made a smashed quarter in the quarter machine for a souvenir.

We ate at two different Denny's for lunch and dinner.  After lunch we played at the campground playground and Macy went swimming in the pool even though it was a little cool for it.  She was thrilled.  After dinner the campground was having an ice cream social, so we got some and then we put her to bed in our bed and moved her to the table/bed when we went to sleep.  She didn't even wake up.

We drove home on Sunday after another breakfast at the campground kitchen.  Unfortunately, I had a virus or food poisoning and had a miserable ride home and miserable evening.  (Macy entertained herself with her DVD player.) It was over by bedtime but Gary got it the next afternoon.  All in all, though, it was a wonderful weekend and we look forward to more trips with her.

This is our last night for this trip.  We are still in Lincoln City.  Gary played golf today at Salishan and enjoyed it but said that the course seems to have gone downhill since last time.  He says there are weeds around the markers, no towels in the golf carts and other things neglected which is not what you expect at a course which charges $100 per round.  Also, a crow stole his protein bar from a cup holder in the cart when Gary turned his back.  Well, at least he played.

I went to the Outlet Mall and had a great time.  I bought myself a couple of tops at Jones NY and Chico's, some kids clothes for Macy and Evan and some unusual toys at the toy store.  Evan's sixth birthday is soon, so I will mail his things to Bangkok.  Macy is going on an RV trip to Seattle with us soon, so I got a few things to amuse her on the trip.

Tomorrow we will find out if Gary has to serve jury duty, catch up on some paperwork and mail, do some laundry and take our nephew, Andrew out for dinner.  We will also need to get the Cmax into the dealer to get new brakes, or at least that is what we think is making all that noise.  Isn't it always something?

Tonight we are in Lincoln City, Oregon at the Premier RV Park, a beautiful park with nice, wide spaces and a view of the ocean, even though on the east side of Hwy 101.  A few motor homes down from us they are playing guitars and having a sing-along.  We drove from Ophir to Lincoln City today and it was a surprisingly curvy, winding road.  Going 45 mph felt like a very fast ride.  We stopped briefly in Florence to make sandwiches and walk the dogs.  The trip took over 4 hours.

We had dinner at Macadangdang's Grill which is new since our last visit to Lincoln City.  Tomorrow Gary will play golf and I will hit the outlet mall.

Yesterday we moved from Florence to Ophir, Oregon which is about 8 miles north of Gold Beach, where the fire hydrants are painted gold.  We are staying at Honeybear RV Park which boasts its own German restaurant where the owners of both make their own sausages and serve a meal each night at 6.  We chose the pork loin dinner which was very nice, with sides of sausage, sauerkraut and potato pancakes.  We decided to leave before the owner broke out his accordion and harmonica but did hear the strains of "How Much is That Doggy in the Window" from our campsite.  It was a good call.

We sat around a campfire with our friends Bob and Sue and met a young family from Montana who were on their way home and left lots of firewood with us they didn't need any longer.  We gave them our marshmallows after deciding that the idea of S'mores was more appealing than the actual treat.

Today we ate lunch in Port Orford to the north at The Crazy Norwegian's Restaurant.  Bob and Sue's dog acts up if they leave her alone, so we dined al fresco with her.  They had good fish and chips, etc.  Then we came back to the RV Park and I had a little rest while Gary played nine holes of golf and when he returned we went to Gold Beach to a bookstore we found yesterday which included a coffee shop.  Tonight we will eat outside with the Cowans.  Bob made the Italian sausage and will saute onions while we contribute fruit salad and beans.  We will probably last outside until the sun sets.  It gets pretty chilly then.

Another beautiful day in Florence, OR.  Gary played a round of golf at Sand Pines and was happy with his performance in spite of some windy spells.  He has been taking some lessons and feels they are making a difference.

We have noticed that the middle Oregon coast doesn't seem entirely recovered from the recession.  There are still empty commercial buildings, closed restaurants, etc.  This should be the beginning of the busy season but there aren't that many people here and restaurants and stores are all closing earlier than you would expect for the summertime.

We took a ride through the Oregon Dunes National Park today.  I will post photos when I get to a place with better connectivity.  The dunes are spectacular, so amazingly big with some just bare sand and some planted all over with beach grasses.  I really don't understand why dune buggies are allowed to buzz all over them.  They have to be destroying the habitats of beach creatures.  Where is the protection?

Dudley and Baby got several long walks today. This RV park has an enclosed dog park where Dudley can run.  He loves it.  Baby sits on my lap and watches him.

BBQ dinner at Craig's was good.  We have plenty left for another meal.  Leaving for Ophir, OR in the morning, a little north of Gold Beach to meet Bob and Sue C.

Oregon Coast Trip 6-16-15

We left Lake Oswego today headed for Florence, OR, our first stop on this 8 day trip.  As we left L.O., a smiling teenage boy at a bus stop gave us a big grin and pumped his fist in the air hoping we would blow our air horn.  We certainly would have if we HAD an air horn.  He was adorable.

We crossed the Cascade Range going west out of Eugene on a sparkling, sunny but windy day.  The trip took about 3 and a half hours and we ended up at Encore Thousand Trails RV Park.  It is a beautiful park, thickly wooded and green, with every example of flora you would expect in the Pacific NW coastal area.  There are lots of warnings about how to deal with bears, which we will take to heart.  That is where the good part ends.

There are a few things one should be able to expect as basics in an RV park; electricity hookup, water and sewer.  In this park you could choose any 2 of those in each parking spot but not all three. We decided on electricity and water but were not happy about it.  In addition, the office staff told us to unhook our car from the motorhome and drive around until we found a spot we liked.  The only other RV park that ever expected that was another Thousand Trails park which I complained about in my blog about the Florida trip.  Every other park has assigned us to a particular spot which fit the size of our rig and had room to park the car.  So we drove around and Gary had to pace off each likely spot to see if it would fit the Bays Bus. No, no, no Thousand Trails.  This was your last chance.

We parked and walked the pups.  Then we drove into Florence to explore a bit.  We had a coffee, got Gary a tee time for tomorrow, chose a seafood restaurant to try later, then back to the bus to finish settling in.  Now we are back from dinner and will retire early.

Nice to be traveling, again.

WE ARE HOME!!  We arrived safely on Sunday and have spent the last few days removing things from the RV, washing things from the RV, putting things back on the RV, etc.  Exhausting but worth it. I feel like my house is a palace because it feels so big.  People have asked if we will go on other trips.  Definitely.  I'm not sure where yet but we have lots of friends on the east coast we want to see when weather permits.  We also plan on taking lots of smaller, shorter trips.

There were some surprises on this trip.  One was that we stayed at approximately 35 RV parks along the way, some wonderful and some not so much.  Most of them were really good, though.  We never once barbequed, (used the microwave, instead) we never once sat outside and watched TV.  Actually, we never once sat outside.  The weather was either too hot with too many mosquitoes, or too cold.  Gary became a plumber, electrician and carpenter at one time or another.  We learned to play dodge ball with giant tumbleweeds.  We saw a guy at least in his 70's in L.A. with every inch of his body and face covered with tattoos. 

I am surprised at how disoriented I am after 9 weeks on the road.  The shower seems like the head is on the wrong side, I can't find anything and I can't remember how things like the house alarm work.  It is coming back but I feel really stupid.

Thanks to everyone who followed our blog.  I enjoyed writing it and will continue on future trips.

Macy was still at Disneyland today.  She loves face paintings.

Tonight is our last night as we drove extra hours today to beat a threatened snowstorm in the mountains.  We are staying at Seven Feathers Casino RV Park, one of the loveliest we have experienced and also the first one we stayed at when we started this journey.  The eagle with a fish in it's mouth is at the front of the casino.  We went in to have the buffet for dinner, which was good.  One strange thing, at least for us, was that the casino doesn't take coins in its slot machines so you never heard the sound of coins dropping if someone won.  The machines take bills or tickets only. Maybe that is how it is in all casinos now.  We haven't been in one in many years.

Tomorrow we will drive home!!!

The top picture is Macy on her 6th birthday yesterday with Elsa and Anna from Frozen at Disneyland.  Just had to share.

We started today by scheduling a repair appointment with Cummins, the company that makes the diesel engine in our RV.  Thank goodness it was on the way to our stop for tonight.  Anyway, the Check Engine light was a result of the steep hills on I-5 and everything is OK.

We ended up at a cozy little park called Happy Times RV in Dunnigan, CA.  Because we had promised our good friend, Bob C., we left here almost as soon as we arrived to drive back 20 miles and sample an In N Out Burger, which he said we would greatly regret if we missed.  He considers it to be a very important part of the California experience.  Gary had the Double-Double and I had a cheeseburger and they were very good, indeed.  The picture above of the statue of a cowboy and his horse was in the same shopping center as the burger restaurant.

The other picture is one of a bell tower we saw today out in the middle of nowhere.  Why it was there, I have no idea.  We are driving to Weed, CA tomorrow, nearly all uphill.

Would you like a glass of whine with this blog?
This has not been our best day.  We left Orange, CA heading north on I-5.  The traffic passing by L.A., even at 10:00 AM, was horrific.  Almost the first thing that happened was that another vehicle hit our right hand mirror with its mirror and popped out both of our mirrors.  They were just hanging there and the traffic was too dense to get out and check on them or fix them.  We were now blind on the right side.  We had to travel a good 30 miles that way until we could pull over and Gary could pop them back into their holders.  Thank goodness, the side camera wasn't broken. 

Then we hit the wind and one hill that went down so steeply that trucks could only travel 35 mph.  That was probably when the Check Engine light went on.  When we stopped next we called our repair support and they thought it had to do with the emissions system, so we could keep driving.

At the rest stop both dogs came out of the weeds with seeds/stickers stuck all over their fur.  These things had stickers on them that looked similar to a fan shape.  Once they stuck on, they had to be pulled off in the same direction.  They got all over Gary, all over me and we are still finding them on the dogs and in the rug and beds.  Dudley is below, zonked out after his ordeal.

Better news.
Today was Macy's 6th birthday.  We phoned her first thing this morning to wish her a happy day with Mom and Dad at Disneyland.

We saw an interesting sight about an hour south of Coalinga, miles and miles of trees covered with netting.  I imagine it was to keep birds off, but I'm not sure.

We are in Coalinga, CA now at the Sommerville Almond Tree RV Park.  It has the long pull-through space that we need and good places to walk the pups.  A bonus is the smell of the place.  We are across the street from a large orange grove and the blossoms are wonderful.  There is another perfume here, as well.  I guess it may be from the almond trees although I don't see any traditional looking flowers.  It is delightful.

Two more nights in California and then we will hit Oregon.

Today started with a fierce windstorm in Bermuda Dunes, CA which kept us awake most of the night.  The wind was rocking the RV and Dudley was barking with every blast.  We waited a little longer in the morning before we took off to give it a chance to die down a bit.

We had a short drive, relatively speaking, to Orange, CA where we parked at Orangeland RV Resort, a nice place, however the RVs are packed in pretty close together.

This evening I was reunited with one of my college roommates, Sandy Ganderson Perlmutter.  We hadn't seen each other in over 40 years but it seemed as though it could have been yesterday.  She and her husband, Dan invited us to their wonderful home for dinner.  Gary and Dan had bass fishing in common and they traded fish stories while Sandy and I reminisced and caught up.  It was a memorable evening and I'm sure we will see each other again before too much time goes by.

Today we are in Indio, CA at the Shadow Hills RV Resort to visit our ex-neighbors and wonderful friends, Donna and Bonnie.  We met at Starbucks for drinks and then went back to the Bays Bus to chat and play with the pups.  We had a personalized tour of the Palm Springs-Bermuda Dunes area including their gorgeous modern home, and saw some of the most beautiful golf courses we have ever seen.  They looked perfectly manicured, even at the edges.  There was no rough that I could see.  Gary was in heaven.  He shared his excitement about the new Wilson clubs he bought in Florida.  We had dinner at a lovely restaurant called Lavender in La Quinta, CA.  There are always good laughs and good times when we see these two.  Can't wait for them to get back to Oregon in May.

Only six more days until we get home!!

These are pictures of the Colorado River taken from the Riviera RV Resort in Blythe, CA.  That means we only have one more state to travel before we hit Oregon!!!  Only one more week! So exciting.

Today we saw a cell phone tower that was disguised as a giant palm tree.  It was surprising.  Another surprise was several signs showing silhouettes of what must be wild burros outside of Phoenix.  I'm not sure how they could possibly get to the highway (303) because of the number of fences and concrete barriers, but I guess they must.

We didn't disconnect the car from the RV tonight which will save us some time departing in the morning. 

Prescott, AZ is a lovely small town about an hour north of Phoenix and about 25 minutes from the Orchard Ranch RV Park where we are parked tonight.  We are here visiting our dear friends, Bob and Jan Baker.  We got a VIP tour of the town where we had a drink at the famous Palace Saloon which has many original architectural elements and artifacts from it's long history.  They even had some townspeople dressed as they did 100 years ago to enhance the historical feel.  Then we went to see their beautiful home which has many mementos of their world travels. Dinner was at Prescott Station and Gary had and liked buffalo meatloaf.  It is always so great when we can see each other.  It had been about 2 years since our last time.

The surrounding area is desert with boulders like the ones we saw yesterday.

We got caught in a traffic jam, the first one of the trip, on our way up into the mountains.  Our GPS, which had said we had 45 minutes to go,

suddenly said we had 2 hours and 20 minutes.  Luckily, we only lost about an hour.  We saw the SUV being towed from the place it had crashed into the guardrail.  Hope no one was hurt.

Nothing much today.  We saw some spectacular scenery on the way to the very basic Cactus Country RV Park just east of Tucson.  Giant boulders were stacked in unusual and sometimes precarious looking formations about an hour west of the Arizona border.  Both of us commented on the vast amounts of uninhabited land in the United States. 

We went through a Border Patrol checkpoint as we had on our way east.  This time we saw a Greyhound bus which had been stopped for a special search by the patrol.  A dog was going crazy there.  Later, we stopped for fuel and lunch and after we got on the road again we saw that same bus broken down by the side of I-10 with the passengers standing outside under an underpass.  I'll bet it was a long wait before another bus could be dispatched to pick them up.

We had another time zone change today and are now on Pacific Daylight time because Arizona does not recognize daylight time. 

The stars at night ARE big and bright, deep in the heart of Texas.  The sky show was unbelievable last night in Balmorhea, TX and above is a spectacular picture of the sunrise.  We left after breakfast, heading for Las Cruces, NM and the Hacienda RV and Rally Park.

I am so excited that we found this great RV park.  I have been worried ever since we were last in New Mexico about those darn goat head thorns that hurt our pups, (I had even bought them little boots) but this park has been cleaned out, cemented and graveled over until we can walk the dogs with no worries. Whew!

After we arrived here we did a little research and visited Historic Old Mesilla which is an area of adobe shops, restaurants and booths in a square that reminded me of Santa Fe.  A picture of one of the side streets is above. We wandered around there for a while and then went back to the Bays Bus so Gary could get a little rest.  He is doing all of the driving and it is tiring, especially when it is windy as it was today.

We saw lots of stockyards on our way here so decided this would be the perfect place for a steak dinner.  We were correct.

I am supposed to be the navigator, along with the GPS system but I don't have any trouble falling asleep on the road.  Gary joked with some people we met this morning that the antidote to my sleeping was to ride for a minute on the rumble strip.  I think he was only half-joking, though.  That will absolutely wake me up instantly and my adrenaline does not abate for at least a half hour.  Tricky guy, that Gary.