Down the road a bit

We traveled down the road a bit. Following the Columbia River we are now in an Oregon State Park called Ainsworth in Bridal Veil.

This park is pretty much in the woods along the Columbia River. We got lucky since this is a first come first serve park. No reservations. There were about 3 sites left when we got here and one of them we probably wouldn’t fit. We arrived at about 11:00a and if we had been any later we would have been out of luck. The drive here was an easy one with the river in sight the whole trip.

At one point we got a good look at Mount Hood. At over 11,000 feet it really stands out. We will be here for two nights and tomorrow we will be checking out the waterfalls along the Historic Columbia River Highway. There are seven waterfalls along this stretch. Landen is looking forward to seeing them.

Nice Drive

We left Washington this morning and are now in Oregon. That makes 9 states Landen has been in on this trip, CA, AZ, NV, UT, ID, MT, WY, WA, and OR. The drive here was nice,

passing by a lot of farmland.

We are in a park right on the Columbia River now. I did nothing today but sit and watch the barges go by and the fishermen heading in and out of the marina.

We got lucky and got a site along the river. To bad it’s just for one night but we need to move on. Tomorrow’s place we will stay for 2 nights so we can relax for a bit.

Movin on

Today we left Susan’s sisters house in Idaho. We had a great time, especially Landen. Everything a kid could want was there.





He got to fetch eggs from the chickens, drive a quad, help burry a dead dear (kids like that kind of stuff), feed the pigs, play with the dogs, play with the cats, and so on. He spent the night with his cousin every night we were there. This is SO GOOD for Landen. It was sad to leave but we have to move on.

We are now in Clarkston Washington for one night. We are right along side the Snake River and Landen got to swim in the river this afternoon. We got here just in time because the wind really kicked up this afternoon. It is about 20 to 30 mph sustained with 50 mph gusts. I am not going to drive in that. It is suppose to subside tonight and should be OK by morning.

We are under a bunch of trees so we are not too affected by the wind. You can really hear it whipping through the trees though.

A little R&R today

We did nothing today but relax. Landen went over to a cousin’s house for a birthday party and sleep over. I was thinking of pulling the heater out of the motorhome and see if I can find the source of the smell that set our smoke alarms off the other morning but decided to just do nothing.

The stock market has been a little kind to us the last couple of days. The analysts are saying it should continue on a positive slope for a while. Gosh I sure hope so because we have been getting hammered. I keep reminding myself, it all on paper and we are in it for the long run. I am ok with not making any money, I just don’t want to loose what I have.

Back in Idaho

As we were heading up from Utah into West Yellowstone Montana, we passed through a small part of Idaho. Today we traveled from the east side of Idaho across the state to the west side. We even got to see our first Moose on the trip today standing along side the road watching us drive by. Landen said the Moose was looking right at him. We are now in Kamiah Idaho.

The route here is real nice until these guys got in my way. We were down to about 15 mph. Fortunately a slow lane came up and I was able to get around them and resume my 45 mph. We followed the Clear Water River the whole trip. Nice windy roads through the Clear Water National Forest along side the river.

We are at Susan’s sister’s house for a few days. I thought we would be out of luck as far as Internet but they have satellite Internet and a wireless router so we can get online. Landen is having a ball as usual.

Along with their grandson, about 15 cats and 3 dogs there is plenty for him to play with.

We Made History

I just read this artical in the RV Business News.

Record 700,000 Visited Yellowstone in June

No wonder we had a hard time getting a spot in West Yellowstone.

Backtrack

I don’t like backtracking but we did today. We went from Kalispell back down through Missoula and are now in Lolo, still in Montana. Even though we backtracked it was still worth it because it is a beautiful drive. We passed by Flathead Lake, which is the largest fresh water lake west of the Mississippi river. It took us almost a half hour just to drive from the north shore to the south shore. We are now at the Lolo Square Dance center and campground.

This is a nice place tucked under pine trees. The folks here are really nice. I was concerned about getting satellite reception but the guy from the office came out and pointed up between some trees and said if I pointed the dish at that house on the hill I should get it. He was right on and I hade it setup in no time. Landen was hoping to see some square dancing tonight but they only do that on the weekends. Tonight was round dancing so we went over to the dance hall to check it out. Landen thought that was pretty cool and had all the ladies asking him to dance. He turned them down but told me he wanted to dance.

We are heading for the hill in Kamiah Idaho tomorrow. Last time we were up there our Verizon phone was useless. Since I use an aircard from Verizon this site might not get updated for a few days. So if you don’t see any posts we are probably OK but just not able to post any updates.

A bit sore

I am a bit sore right now. Today we rented a raft and went white water rafting.

No we didn’t do the big stuff but what we did got us plenty wet.

The weather was playing games with us with sun wind and then rain.

At one point we were complaining about the rain until we realized we were all wet anyway.

Landen got in some fishing while we stopped for lunch. We were on the river for about 5 hours.

At one point I was telling Landen about all the animals we will be seeing on this trip and he asked me if we would be seeing any Zebra. I laughed and said no.

Well I was wrong, Sorry about the butt shot but he was walking away when I shot the photo.

Tomorrow it’s back on the road. We are heading for the Lolo Square Dance Center…and Campground. No we don’t square dance.

Whew where do I start

We arrived at our friend’s house in Kalispell Montana around noon on Sunday the 4th. What a nice place they have. We got parked next to their house and connected with full hookups including cable TV if we wanted it. I was able to shoot through the trees and get my satellite TV so I didn’t need the cable. After getting set up we headed over to the Kalispell Raceway for a short track race. Landen just had a ball and snagged a couple of hats that were thrown into the crowd. After that we headed back to prepare for the 4th celebration. Fireworks are legal here so between the guests at our friend’s party we had plenty of fireworks. It doesn’t get dark until close to 11:00p here so we had to wait a while to fire them off. This morning we packed up and headed into Glacier National Park. Even though the weather didn’t co-operate too well we still had a great time. We went part way up the Going To The Sun Highway but decided not to go to the top since the top was covered in clouds. Even so we saw some pretty awesome sights. We stopped by the lake to have lunch and let Landen do a little fishing just in time for a big thunderstorm to blow through. After we got back Landen was looking for something to do. Give a 9 year old kid a riding mower and he is good for the rest of the day. He did about an acre before another storm blew through.

Missoula Montana

There were many short thunderstorms yesterday afternoon and by evening is continued raining. When we woke this morning it was still raining. I thought, maybe I will have to drive in the rain this time. It’s been so long since I used my windshield wipers, I didn’t even know if they worked. Well by the time we crawled out of bed, it stopped raining. We hit the road with cloudy skies. As we were leaving the park Susan spotted 2 foxes romping in the field across the street. That was kind of cool.

As we headed on down the road I could see the rain falling up ahead and hoped we would go around it. Well our luck ran out. We hit a hailstorm. Running down the interstate at 60+ with hail hitting the windshield is pretty scary. Good thing they make them things strong. It was short lived fortunately and the rest of the drive was OK. The wipers did work by the way.

We are in Missoula for tonight. I usually don’t make reservations but since it is the 4th of July weekend I did. Good thing since when I approached the door of the campground office I spotted a sign saying Sorry Campground Full Tonight. Tomorrow we will be parked at our friend’s house in Kalispell so we will be good for the rest of the weekend. It looks like the weather is going to get better for a while. We have been very fortunate that until today, all the thunder, lightning, and rain has been at night which makes sleeping real nice and driving safe.

Three Forks

We left Yellowstone this morning and are now in Three Forks Montana. It got down in the 40 last night so this morning Susan kicked on the furnace to take the chill off. When not running the furnace for a while we usually get a little burnt dust smell for a while. This time it smelled like plastic burning and set off the smoke alarms so we quickly turned the furnace off. Looks like I will have to tear into it to see what’s going on. I am sure it just needs a good cleaning.

Anyway, the drive here to Three Forks was real scenic. We had to take a different route than planned because of construction but I had taken this route before and knew it was a good one. It was a short 2 hour drive and we got here about 11:00a. The weather was good until about 2:30 when another thunderstorm came through. It was intense but short. This is a nice place. We came thought here before when it was a KOA. It is no longer a KOA, which is good because it would probably cost another $10 if it were. As it is they charged us an extra $2 for Landen. I don’t understand what it is that Landen will do that will cost them $2 a day. We are only doing one night here.

Good but disappointing

Today was another good day in the park, but also disappointing. The good part was we saw a bear.

We were on our way back and came across a “bear Jam”. That’s what they call it when all the traffic is jammed up and you can’t get through. We knew right a way it must be a bear. The disappointing part was Mammoth Hot Springs is nearly dried up.

When we came through here in 2005 it was one of the best things to see in the park. Now I would probably not bother unless you have plenty of time.

There are just a few hot springs flowing. I would have gone back over to the Yellowstone Grand Canyon waterfalls if I had known the hot springs were dry. On the way back from the springs the wind was howling. I was driving along and saw a tree blow over right in front of me. Fortunately it only made it to the edge of the road and didn’t land in the road.

Today’s weather was a mirror of yesterday. We woke to a thunderstorm that passed over by the time we were ready to go. So far the thunderstorms haven’t arrived this afternoon but the wind is blowing and I can see them off in the distance. I just hope they will be done in the morning like the last two mornings because we are moving on tomorrow. Tomorrow’s drive should be a nice easy, little over two-hour trip. We will be following the Gallatin River up to interstate 90 then over to Three Forks where we will spend a night. Landen just had a ball and doesn’t want to leave.

Thunderstorms

After a beautiful day yesterday we had a pretty wild Thunderstorm last evening. It just came out of nowhere. This morning when we woke it was still raining and the thunder was still roaring. I thought, this is great, we came all this way and won’t be able to see the park. As sudden as it all came, it disappeared and the rest of the day was great, temps in the mid 70 and light clouds. At one point we were standing next to the car getting sprinkled on but there were no clouds in the sky. Couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. Well as I write this at 7:20p the thunder, lightning and big raindrops are back. As long as it is only at night and the days are good we are fine with that.





As I woke this morning and thought to my self, I don’t need to get up right away today and I don’t have to drive the motorhome for 3 hours today, so I just laid there and relaxed. Well I was wrong. We headed into Yellowstone today and I put 125 miles on the car. Seems like I drove for 6 hours, and we didn’t even see a fraction of it. We only did about half the lower loop. All the way into the park Landen was saying, where are all the animals. Then finally we started seeing them and all he could say was Whoa! We didn’t see any bear today but I think you have to hike some of the trails to see them. Tomorrow we are heading back in to see more if this thunderstorm will let us.

Stuck in the back

We are now in West Yellowstone Montana right outside Yellowstone National Park. We got pretty much the last campsite in town so we got stuck in the back of the park, I will get photos later. There was construction on the way and they stopped us for about 10 minutes

so I got a chance to get out and stretch my legs and snap a few photos.

We also picked up a few bugs on the way. Tomorrow we will be heading into the park for the day. The guy in the office here says everyone that has gone into the park has seen bears. One even spotted a grizzly with her cubs. I will be sure my camera is charged and ready to go.

Pocatello Idaho

We are now in Pocatello Idaho. The drive through Salt Lake City was no bad at all except for the idiot trucker in front of me. He didn’t know how to keep a constant speed. When I tried to get around him he would speed up and not let me pass. At one time we were going over 70 mph before I backed off and got back in behind. Then he slowed to 60. I was ready to pull off the interstate for a few minutes and let the idiot go.

The place we are at is not bad but Susan wasn’t too happy that we got the spot right next to Gomer.

When you call ahead the night before for a spot, you get what they have left.

It’s just one night and really not a bad spot.

Tomorrow we will be in West Yellowstone right outside Yellowstone National Park. Landen is anxious to see the park. We have a National Geographic videotape that he watched the other night.

What time is it

Susan called me in today and asked me why her phone says 4:00p but the TV says 3:00p. I though a while and said it’s because out Sat TV is based out of San Diego (Pacific time) and we are Mountain Time. Then she said, but Arizona is in Mountain Time but we are on the same time as California. After thinking a while more I remembered Arizona doesn’t change during Daylight Saving Time. Confusing…

We moved up from Cedar City to Provo today. My map program said it was going to be a little over 4 hours but we made it in 3.5 hours. I set the cruise control for 65 and sat back and enjoyed the ride.

We are in a nice campground right next to Utah Lake. The only problem is, Landen and I were our playing at about 6:00p and damn near got carried away by the mosquitoes.

Next stop, Pocatello Idaho.

Cedar City Utah

We arrived today in Cedar City Utah just before noon. It was an uphill drive the whole trip.

My co-pilot enjoyed the trip. We are at close to 6000 feet now and everything we open explodes. We really didn’t expect much but were pleasantly surprised. This is a nice little town, very neat and clean.

The place we are staying is actually a Best Western, Town and Country Hotel with 10 full hookup sites in the back.

This is a real find. We have all the privileges of the hotel guests with an indoor and outdoor pool and breakfast in the morning. Today there is a festival in the park right across the street and Landen and I took a walk over to check it out. Lots of booths and bands. It is in the 80s here which is nice compared to the 100+ weather we have experienced in the last month. It should get cooler as we head more north.

Whoosh, no more Vegas

We are done with Vegas..for now that is. Susan and I are beat and we even wore out our 9 year old Grandson. Yesterday we spent the day at Circus Circus and Landen had a ball.

We rode the roller coaster 4 times along with all the other rides.

Of the whole Vegas experience Circus Circus was the best deal. We picked up a couple of $5 off coupons for their all day pass so for Landen and me (Susan doesn’t do rides) the day cost us $40. After Circus Circus we cruised the strip and headed back to the motorhome for a little R&R. Then last night we took in the Freemont Experience.

Today we walked the strip

and checked out the attractions at the various casinos. Between the crowds and heat we have had enough.

Tomorrow we hear out. Next stop Cedar City Utah. It’s about a 3 hour drive and we will be doing a one nighter there. In fact the next 3 stops are one nighters until we get to Yellowstone.

Las Vegas

Since it is only 3 hours to Las Vegas we didn’t hurry this morning. Even so, we got on the road a little after 8:00a which got us to Vegas around 11:00a. It was already 100 and then some degrees. I decided to upgrade our site from a 30 amp site to a 50 amp site so we can run both our roof airs and everything else at the same time. One thing I messed up on though is I got a site with the windshield facing the afternoon sun. Even though I got a sunscreen for the windshield, it’s like a big ol’ heater with the sun shinning on it. Landen and I took off to Fry’s Electronics to get a memory card for our new cell phone. Not sure if you have ever been to a Fry’s but they all have some sort of a theme. Well of course this one had a casino theme. We did nothing today. Tomorrow we are going to take Landen to Circus Circus.

Almost too late

Last time we traveled through Yellowstone we had no problem getting reservations at Grizzly RV Park. This time we weren’t so lucky. They are full for the time we plan to be there. This didn’t bother me too much since their price had also gone up more than $10 since the last time we were there. So I started checking around. I think I got lucky. I think I probably got the last spot in town that is suitable for us. Well, at least I think we got a spot. The woman I spoke to on the phone was kind of dingy. She said I did things backward. I was supposed to make a reservation request online and they would call me if I was in. She said now I will have to go online and fill out the reservation request and in the note section state that I already called and made the reservation. She said I will get an instant response via email. I filled out the online request but did not receive a conformation via email. Yes I am worried. If I see nothing in my inbox by tomorrow I will have to call back.

So far so good

Our credit cards are in so we are ready to go. I made our first reservations for our trip. We are booked in Las Vegas for 3 nights starting Wednesday. I worked on our tentative itinerary today. I say tentative because it could change day by day. That’s why I am not making reservations for the whole trip. I will be making them as we progress if I think we need them. The weather here in Lake Havasu City has been very nice since we got back. Sure it’s hot but so far it has stayed under 110, which is good. We have been going to the pool everyday to cool off a bit. Our grandson likes that. He has mixed feelings because he is anxious to get going on his western tour but likes to spend time here also.

Packed and ready

We are ready to head back to Havasu. We will spend about a week in Havasu before heading out on our summer journey with our Grandson. One reason we need to spend some time in Havasu is because of credit cards. The situation is, our cards expire at he end of this month and we have not received out new cards yet. They always wait until the last couple weeks before sending them out. We can survive without them on this trip but having them will make things a lot easier.

By the way, we did get a new phone yesterday, and it only cost me $16.62. Well actually $66.62 but I got a $50 mail in rebate. What a joke. Why make me mail in for a rebate, just give me the discount right there in the store. The girl that helped us at the store had the personality of a rock! She never smiled, in fact never even looked up at us. She went through all the motions and handed us our phone and sent us on our way. Next time I think I will just do it all on line. I think my computer has more personality than she did.

Just had an earthquake

Now I remember what it was I liked about California. Honest, I do like earthquakes. This one just happened about 80 miles away and was a 5.9 Mag. Since we have lived in a motorhome for about 6 years now I am used to the “house” shaking. I almost missed it. It was Susan that pointed it out. Nice little ride.

Free = $270

Our Verizon plan allows us to get a new phone every 2 years for free or at a discount price. Since there is no such thing as Verizon in Lake Havasu City we decided to pickup a new phone here while in California. So we headed over to the Verizon store and picked out a phone that had a big FREE sign on it. Well, sure the phone is free…but we are required to pay tax on the full amount of the phone (a little over $30) and add an additional $10 per month for a “Required” data plan. Let’s see, that’s $30 for the tax and additional $240 for the $10 per month data plan for 2 years, that comes to about $270. So if I had to pay full price for this phone it would add another $300. That would come to about $570 for the phone. Oh, do you want a car charger with that…How about a case to protect your new phone, don’t forget the additional insurance plan. I ended up walking out frustrated with no phone. When I got home I went online and found another FREE phone that will fit our needs that doesn’t require the extra data plan. Tomorrow we are going to head on over to the Verizon store and try again.

Busy Busy

I have been very busy since we arrived back in California. As some of you may know, I am a member of the Elks. A lot of the Elks Lodges have RV parks for their members and that is where we stay. They are always happy to see us here because I always volunteer to help out with lodge and RV park maintenance. I have also taken advantage of the cool coastal weather to do some cleaning and polishing on the motorhome. Susan has been equally busy visiting with her parents. In a few more days our grandson will be out of school and we will be taking off on our summer trip. He is very anxious.

Another hot one today

We are packed and ready to head out in the morning. We are going to try to get an early start to beat some of the heat. The way I got it figured, we should be able to travel in under 100 degree heat the whole trip since it gets cooler as we head to the coast. Right now (5:30p) it’s 109 here in Havasu and 66 where we are going. Huh, the low here at 5:00a was 82. We are going to freeze!

No TV after 12:00

Just out of curiosity I read the specs on my patio TV. The Max operating temperature is 104 degrees. Well today by noon it was 109 on the patio. I had to head inside to watch the races today. This after noon Susan and I went in the pool and the water was over 90 degrees. Not too refreshing there. With both airs running, it stays pretty cool inside. At least we can get some relief. Check the flag in the left column to see what the present temp is.

3 digit day

Today we reached a temperature of 3 digits. My patio thermometer read 105 at one point. I am not sure what the official high was according to the weather stations but it was a warm one. I spent most of the day outside as I usually do but just moved a little slower. It is supposed to get hotter as the weekend progresses and on into the first part of next week. Good thing we are heading for California Monday. At least we will get out of some of the heat. We are going to spend 10 days in California to pickup our Grandson and visit family. We will bring Landen back here for a few days then off to Las Vegas for a few then on up to Yellowstone National Park. It should be a bit cooler up there.

Havasu eye candy

Here is some Lake Havasu eye candy I found. Be sure to check out all the vidios.



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Disaster in the gulf

The oil spill in the gulf it a real disaster. Marine life and life along the beaches will not be the same for MANY years to come. This has put a lot of people out of work since the fishing industry in the gulf is non-existing. It however is making a lot of people a lot of money. Hotel, Motel, Restaurants, and Grocery stores along with other stores are prospering and will for quite some time. Out of work fisherman are being paid by PB to help with the cleanup. I saw were one restaurant owner (former shrimp fisherman) is expanding his restaurant because of the increase in business. This is defiantly an ecological disaster but could be a financial boon for the area.