Friday, July 30, 2004
Greetings from Salem, Oregon
Would you believe I didn't take one photo yesterday?!? It's time to catch up on some work. I have website work to do for a few clients, and Jim is helping to install Wi-Fi here at Phoenix RV Park. Our timing was just perfect. We happened to be on the Oregon Coast just before Coach Connect plans to install Wi-Fi at this park in Salem. Jim says, "Can I help?" Sure! And then we'll give a couple of our seminars to the park residents and guests. And, we're already scheduled to give seminars at another Coach Connect Park next weekend.
Here we are. Phoenix is a very nice park right in town.
This is the first place where we've had good cable TV in weeks. Great timing too! We got to watch the Democratic convention last night. Being members of the ABB party (Anybody BUT Bush!) we were thrilled to see Kerry give such a meaningful speech. Confidence is high :-)
Have you seen our map lately? It's looking pretty good for 3 1/2 months on the road. In August and September we plan to add California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Whew!
OK, enough dilly dallying ... back to work.
Would you believe I didn't take one photo yesterday?!? It's time to catch up on some work. I have website work to do for a few clients, and Jim is helping to install Wi-Fi here at Phoenix RV Park. Our timing was just perfect. We happened to be on the Oregon Coast just before Coach Connect plans to install Wi-Fi at this park in Salem. Jim says, "Can I help?" Sure! And then we'll give a couple of our seminars to the park residents and guests. And, we're already scheduled to give seminars at another Coach Connect Park next weekend.
Here we are. Phoenix is a very nice park right in town.
This is the first place where we've had good cable TV in weeks. Great timing too! We got to watch the Democratic convention last night. Being members of the ABB party (Anybody BUT Bush!) we were thrilled to see Kerry give such a meaningful speech. Confidence is high :-)
Have you seen our map lately? It's looking pretty good for 3 1/2 months on the road. In August and September we plan to add California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Whew!
OK, enough dilly dallying ... back to work.
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
Oregon Coast
We are staying at a campground right on the beach. Barview Jetty, near Tillamook. Odie so loves being able to run on the beach!
If you've been anywhere near Tillamook, you know that there is a Cheese factory here. I visited when I passed thru this area 25 years ago and remember being very impressed with learning about the cheesemaking process. We saw a little of that today, and certainly tasted some cheese, but I think what I'll remember most is the crowds!
It takes a lot of cows to supply the Tillamook cheese factory! We thought about you, Emily - there's lots of handsome cows around here.
There's also a Naval Air Station blimp hangar that has been turned into a museum. Jim loves anything to do with old planes!
And, this one's for you Mom!
We are staying at a campground right on the beach. Barview Jetty, near Tillamook. Odie so loves being able to run on the beach!
If you've been anywhere near Tillamook, you know that there is a Cheese factory here. I visited when I passed thru this area 25 years ago and remember being very impressed with learning about the cheesemaking process. We saw a little of that today, and certainly tasted some cheese, but I think what I'll remember most is the crowds!
It takes a lot of cows to supply the Tillamook cheese factory! We thought about you, Emily - there's lots of handsome cows around here.
There's also a Naval Air Station blimp hangar that has been turned into a museum. Jim loves anything to do with old planes!
And, this one's for you Mom!
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
Ocean in View! Oh the Joy!
These were the words of Meriweather Lewis upon reaching the end of the Columbia River and viewing the Pacific Ocean. They left Camp Wood near St. Louis on May 14, 1804 in search of a water passage to the Pacific. They arrived at the Pacific on November 7, 1805. A total of 542 days.
We left St. Louis on June 16, 2004 and arrived at the Pacific on July 26, 2004. A total of 40 days.
It HAS been a long time since we've seen the Pacific Ocean. I lived in California from '73 to '83 and spent much time along the Pacific coast. Jim and I went there together in '94. So, it's been at least 10 years. It IS different from the Atlantic.
Black volcanic sand:
And, cliffs overlooking the ocean:
Even though it's been mostly by accident, we have really enjoyed following the Lewis and Clark trail. Along the way, we've seen several visitor centers telling the tale about their journey thru that particular area. There are a few things I am particularly impressed with about the Lewis and Clark Expedition, aka the 'Corps of Discovery'.
1. It was a military endeavor, yet it had two 'Co-captains' of equal rank and respect. No account of the story has anything but glowing words to say about the leadership of the expedition. These 2 equal co-captains were very wise in the way of teamwork. They spent the entire winter at Camp Dubois assembling their team. They knew that endurance would be a key factor. Those who couldn't endure that first winter were weeded out. Those that made it were valued.
2. NO ONE died as a result of the journey. I am incredulous over this one. They traveled thru unknown territory, bore unthinkable hardships, grizzly bears, canoeing over waterfalls, freezing temperatures, no food ... it goes on and on. One corps member did die in the early days of the expedition, but he died of appendicitis, this would have been a killer no matter where he was. All 33 who undertook the entire journey, made it to the Pacific AND back to St. Louis on September 23, 1806. See a timeline of the entire expedition here.
3. The expedition would not have made it without the assistance of the Native Americans along the way. The Shoshone girl, Sacagawea, was the wife of Toussaint Charbonneau. Toussaint was hired as an interpreter, but it was his wife who really did the interpreting - and a lot of the guiding. She also was prized as being calm under pressure. It was her efforts that saved many important cargo items when the canoes capsized going thru the rapids. And, she had a 2 month old baby on her back at the time. (Her story reminds me of the story of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers ... SHE did everything he did only in high heels and backwards!) And, she was only 17. Other stories of help included getting food and shelter from the Nez Perce, horses from the Shoshone and canoes from the Clatsop. The corps were under orders from President Jefferson to develop peace and friendship with the natives.
4. It is unclear exactly what happened to Meriweather Lewis, but all indications are that he committed suicide in 1809. I wonder if it had anything to do with the knowledge of how the Indians were being annihilated by those who later followed his trail. All accounts, however, are that he suffered from moodiness, which escalated to severe depression after the journey had ended.
5. Sacagawea's baby, Jean-Baptiste Charbonneau, was raised by William Clark and went on to great adventures around the globe. I'd love to read his autobiography!
So, we've turned south now and are following the Oregon coastline. Our partnership with Lewis and Clark has ended. Our last visit was at Fort Clatsop Memorial near the mouth of the Columbia. Our shuttle bus driver felt compelled to apologize for the sunny day, since, he expected we would rather have the more authentic experience of cold and rain! This is where the Corps spent the winter of 1805 and only saw 6 sunny days. Here I am noting the one area of the journey that we didn't see ... Great Falls Montana.
They have a replica of the fort and costumed guides to talk to. It's a gorgeous forested area.
Here is one of the costumed volunteers complete with a replica of William Clark's dog, a Newfoundland named 'Seaman'.
Back on the road now, on the Pacific Coast Highway.
These were the words of Meriweather Lewis upon reaching the end of the Columbia River and viewing the Pacific Ocean. They left Camp Wood near St. Louis on May 14, 1804 in search of a water passage to the Pacific. They arrived at the Pacific on November 7, 1805. A total of 542 days.
We left St. Louis on June 16, 2004 and arrived at the Pacific on July 26, 2004. A total of 40 days.
It HAS been a long time since we've seen the Pacific Ocean. I lived in California from '73 to '83 and spent much time along the Pacific coast. Jim and I went there together in '94. So, it's been at least 10 years. It IS different from the Atlantic.
Black volcanic sand:
And, cliffs overlooking the ocean:
Even though it's been mostly by accident, we have really enjoyed following the Lewis and Clark trail. Along the way, we've seen several visitor centers telling the tale about their journey thru that particular area. There are a few things I am particularly impressed with about the Lewis and Clark Expedition, aka the 'Corps of Discovery'.
1. It was a military endeavor, yet it had two 'Co-captains' of equal rank and respect. No account of the story has anything but glowing words to say about the leadership of the expedition. These 2 equal co-captains were very wise in the way of teamwork. They spent the entire winter at Camp Dubois assembling their team. They knew that endurance would be a key factor. Those who couldn't endure that first winter were weeded out. Those that made it were valued.
2. NO ONE died as a result of the journey. I am incredulous over this one. They traveled thru unknown territory, bore unthinkable hardships, grizzly bears, canoeing over waterfalls, freezing temperatures, no food ... it goes on and on. One corps member did die in the early days of the expedition, but he died of appendicitis, this would have been a killer no matter where he was. All 33 who undertook the entire journey, made it to the Pacific AND back to St. Louis on September 23, 1806. See a timeline of the entire expedition here.
3. The expedition would not have made it without the assistance of the Native Americans along the way. The Shoshone girl, Sacagawea, was the wife of Toussaint Charbonneau. Toussaint was hired as an interpreter, but it was his wife who really did the interpreting - and a lot of the guiding. She also was prized as being calm under pressure. It was her efforts that saved many important cargo items when the canoes capsized going thru the rapids. And, she had a 2 month old baby on her back at the time. (Her story reminds me of the story of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers ... SHE did everything he did only in high heels and backwards!) And, she was only 17. Other stories of help included getting food and shelter from the Nez Perce, horses from the Shoshone and canoes from the Clatsop. The corps were under orders from President Jefferson to develop peace and friendship with the natives.
4. It is unclear exactly what happened to Meriweather Lewis, but all indications are that he committed suicide in 1809. I wonder if it had anything to do with the knowledge of how the Indians were being annihilated by those who later followed his trail. All accounts, however, are that he suffered from moodiness, which escalated to severe depression after the journey had ended.
5. Sacagawea's baby, Jean-Baptiste Charbonneau, was raised by William Clark and went on to great adventures around the globe. I'd love to read his autobiography!
So, we've turned south now and are following the Oregon coastline. Our partnership with Lewis and Clark has ended. Our last visit was at Fort Clatsop Memorial near the mouth of the Columbia. Our shuttle bus driver felt compelled to apologize for the sunny day, since, he expected we would rather have the more authentic experience of cold and rain! This is where the Corps spent the winter of 1805 and only saw 6 sunny days. Here I am noting the one area of the journey that we didn't see ... Great Falls Montana.
They have a replica of the fort and costumed guides to talk to. It's a gorgeous forested area.
Here is one of the costumed volunteers complete with a replica of William Clark's dog, a Newfoundland named 'Seaman'.
Back on the road now, on the Pacific Coast Highway.
Two nights without Internet
One night I can handle, besides the trees in this campsite were so gorgeous, I figured it was worth it.
By the second night, I wanted Internet! We planned to stay at Fort Stevens a the mouth of the Columbia River, right on the Pacific ocean. We got there a little early - 3pm and almost considered traveling further down the road - but then we noticed the crowds checking in and figured we'd better secure a site. There are a lot of trees in this park too, but we got a site that was open and thought Internet would be fine. We were wrong.
So, this morning we got up early and left for Fort Clatsop (where Lewis and Clark wintered 1805 - 1806). There's a big parking lot here, so we fired up the generator and raised the dish. Say Halleluja! We have Internet. I can now catch you up on our last 2 days!
Multnomah Falls
The Columbia River Gorge is known for it's waterfalls. Not where we were on the East end ... that's all desert. But, you can tell as soon as you've crossed over the Cascade range. The mountains stop the weather ... all the clouds coming inland from the Pacific Ocean drop their moisture when they hit the mountains, so, it's green and lush west of the Cascades and it's dry and hot east of the Cascades. You can tell we're getting there:
We had to go under a low bridge to get to this particular spot. Good to know ... we can make it (just) under a 12 foot clearance!
And, here's the falls. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and we enjoyed this spectacular sight along with (at least) 25,000 other people! We always need exercise so we decided to hike up the 1.2 mile trail to the top of the falls. Yep, it was good exercise!
I remember from my travels here over 20 years ago that there are LOTS more waterfalls, but we would need to unhook the Honda to drive on the smaller, winding road. We decided to be satisfied with seeing Multnomah and continue on our way. There is just SO much to see in this country!
We passed Portland and saw Mt. Hood while crossing the Columbia river.
Once you're on the ocean side of Portland, the Columbia River is much more commercial. Take a look at this lumber.
One night I can handle, besides the trees in this campsite were so gorgeous, I figured it was worth it.
By the second night, I wanted Internet! We planned to stay at Fort Stevens a the mouth of the Columbia River, right on the Pacific ocean. We got there a little early - 3pm and almost considered traveling further down the road - but then we noticed the crowds checking in and figured we'd better secure a site. There are a lot of trees in this park too, but we got a site that was open and thought Internet would be fine. We were wrong.
So, this morning we got up early and left for Fort Clatsop (where Lewis and Clark wintered 1805 - 1806). There's a big parking lot here, so we fired up the generator and raised the dish. Say Halleluja! We have Internet. I can now catch you up on our last 2 days!
Multnomah Falls
The Columbia River Gorge is known for it's waterfalls. Not where we were on the East end ... that's all desert. But, you can tell as soon as you've crossed over the Cascade range. The mountains stop the weather ... all the clouds coming inland from the Pacific Ocean drop their moisture when they hit the mountains, so, it's green and lush west of the Cascades and it's dry and hot east of the Cascades. You can tell we're getting there:
We had to go under a low bridge to get to this particular spot. Good to know ... we can make it (just) under a 12 foot clearance!
And, here's the falls. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and we enjoyed this spectacular sight along with (at least) 25,000 other people! We always need exercise so we decided to hike up the 1.2 mile trail to the top of the falls. Yep, it was good exercise!
I remember from my travels here over 20 years ago that there are LOTS more waterfalls, but we would need to unhook the Honda to drive on the smaller, winding road. We decided to be satisfied with seeing Multnomah and continue on our way. There is just SO much to see in this country!
We passed Portland and saw Mt. Hood while crossing the Columbia river.
Once you're on the ocean side of Portland, the Columbia River is much more commercial. Take a look at this lumber.
Sunday, July 25, 2004
Windsurfers
The Columbia River Gorge is world renowned as a premier windsurfing location, yet we haven't seen any in the 3 days we've been here. We are just getting ready to 'stow and go' and noticed that the wind has indeed picked up. There are some whitecaps out on the river and, sure enough ... we see windsurfers.
The Columbia River Gorge is world renowned as a premier windsurfing location, yet we haven't seen any in the 3 days we've been here. We are just getting ready to 'stow and go' and noticed that the wind has indeed picked up. There are some whitecaps out on the river and, sure enough ... we see windsurfers.
Saturday, July 24, 2004
Where the Sam Hill are we?
We have a view of a snow-capped mountain and yet our thermometer reads 110 degrees! We went for a paddle on the Columbia River and felt the HOT breeze in our face. We are actually on Sam Hill's land. He's the one who built the replica of Stonehenge you saw in an earlier post. And, he turned his mansion on the hill into an Art Museum, complete with Rodin sculptures. It certainly does make one turn around and say "Where the Sam Hill are we?"
We got up early today to drive up the hill and catch a glimpse of Mt. Adams in the morning light. Still pretty hazy, but you can certainly see the mountain.
We're supposed to be able to see 4 mountains from here. We could see 2 - Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams. The other 2 were hiding.
On the way back, we stopped at an overlook where we could see our campground down by the river. Here I am taking a photo.
Here's our campground.
Did I mention the heat?
I think we're ready to head towards the coast tomorrow. We did go for a nice paddle in our kayak this afternoon, but we didn't take the camera cuz I knew we were going to get wet ... splash, splash. Did I mention the heat?
Here's another photo of the gorge.
We have a view of a snow-capped mountain and yet our thermometer reads 110 degrees! We went for a paddle on the Columbia River and felt the HOT breeze in our face. We are actually on Sam Hill's land. He's the one who built the replica of Stonehenge you saw in an earlier post. And, he turned his mansion on the hill into an Art Museum, complete with Rodin sculptures. It certainly does make one turn around and say "Where the Sam Hill are we?"
We got up early today to drive up the hill and catch a glimpse of Mt. Adams in the morning light. Still pretty hazy, but you can certainly see the mountain.
We're supposed to be able to see 4 mountains from here. We could see 2 - Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams. The other 2 were hiding.
On the way back, we stopped at an overlook where we could see our campground down by the river. Here I am taking a photo.
Here's our campground.
Did I mention the heat?
I think we're ready to head towards the coast tomorrow. We did go for a nice paddle in our kayak this afternoon, but we didn't take the camera cuz I knew we were going to get wet ... splash, splash. Did I mention the heat?
Here's another photo of the gorge.
Friday, July 23, 2004
Rivers and Mountains
A humbling day. Not everything about life and nature and America is good. Some days you need to pause and think. We visited The Dalles Dam on the Columbia river today. A marvel of modern technology and a destroyer of natural habitat. The spin that they put on it in the visitor center was dificult to describe. I was surprised at how readily they acknowledged that the salmon were all but destroyed by the dam - even though our treaty with the native americans promised to preserve their fishing grounds. Yet, the overall tone was that the dam was necessary for modern civilized life and we need to accept the cost. There is a movement afoot these days to tear down the dams and save our wild salmon. Then, of course, there is the other view called 'Save our Dams'.
Here's what we saw of the Dalles Dam.
And, here's a view of the once mighty, now calm Columbia:
If you know me, you may think that I am on the side of the 'Save the Wild Salmon'. Ideally, yes. But, there is this annoying thing called reality - and the comfort to which we are accustomed. It was HOT today. 108 much of the day, just barely dipping below 100 after the sun went down. I know I wanted my air conditioning, and I'm certainly not going to deny anyone else. Hydroelectric power is one of the cleanest available. hmmmm
We were also humbled by the sight of mountains. We left the motorhome hooked up at Peach Beach and took the Honda for a ride up Mount Hood. Here's our first view:
Then we got closer:
And closer:
We drove to 6,000 feet and had a view not only of Mt. Hood to the south, but of Mt. Adams, St. Helens and Rainier to the north. I think I need to get a polarizing filter to cut thru the haze with my camera ... but maybe you can make out the flat-topped Mt. St. Helens in this shot.
And, here's the road we were on when we took that photo. We sure are glad that we have a 4 wheel drive Honda in addition to our 30 foot motorhome!
On our way back, we took the small road on the Washington side of the river. It afforded some spectacular views.
Just in case you were wondering why our campground is called "Peach Beach" .... The 'Beach' part is easy, it's right on the banks of the Columbia and people use the beach to launch their windsurfers/sailboards. Except, there hasn't been enough wind since we've been here. And, for the Peach part ... it is surrounded by Peach orchards. We stopped at the fruit stand and bought a couple today. They are SO sweet and delicious!
Well, it's time to go to bed and contemplate on how lucky we are. g'night
A humbling day. Not everything about life and nature and America is good. Some days you need to pause and think. We visited The Dalles Dam on the Columbia river today. A marvel of modern technology and a destroyer of natural habitat. The spin that they put on it in the visitor center was dificult to describe. I was surprised at how readily they acknowledged that the salmon were all but destroyed by the dam - even though our treaty with the native americans promised to preserve their fishing grounds. Yet, the overall tone was that the dam was necessary for modern civilized life and we need to accept the cost. There is a movement afoot these days to tear down the dams and save our wild salmon. Then, of course, there is the other view called 'Save our Dams'.
Here's what we saw of the Dalles Dam.
And, here's a view of the once mighty, now calm Columbia:
If you know me, you may think that I am on the side of the 'Save the Wild Salmon'. Ideally, yes. But, there is this annoying thing called reality - and the comfort to which we are accustomed. It was HOT today. 108 much of the day, just barely dipping below 100 after the sun went down. I know I wanted my air conditioning, and I'm certainly not going to deny anyone else. Hydroelectric power is one of the cleanest available. hmmmm
We were also humbled by the sight of mountains. We left the motorhome hooked up at Peach Beach and took the Honda for a ride up Mount Hood. Here's our first view:
Then we got closer:
And closer:
We drove to 6,000 feet and had a view not only of Mt. Hood to the south, but of Mt. Adams, St. Helens and Rainier to the north. I think I need to get a polarizing filter to cut thru the haze with my camera ... but maybe you can make out the flat-topped Mt. St. Helens in this shot.
And, here's the road we were on when we took that photo. We sure are glad that we have a 4 wheel drive Honda in addition to our 30 foot motorhome!
On our way back, we took the small road on the Washington side of the river. It afforded some spectacular views.
Just in case you were wondering why our campground is called "Peach Beach" .... The 'Beach' part is easy, it's right on the banks of the Columbia and people use the beach to launch their windsurfers/sailboards. Except, there hasn't been enough wind since we've been here. And, for the Peach part ... it is surrounded by Peach orchards. We stopped at the fruit stand and bought a couple today. They are SO sweet and delicious!
Well, it's time to go to bed and contemplate on how lucky we are. g'night
The Mighty Columbia
What a day! We left Walla Walla, Washington this morning and headed west. The first notable sight were windmills. A whole windmill farm in fact.
Here's a newspaper article I found about this wind-power farm. Pretty cool.
Then, we hit the snake river, or rather the lake formed by a dam on the snake river.
Not the same sight that Lewis and Clark saw for sure. But, we thought of them just the same. Last night we re-viewed the DVD on the Lewis and Clark expedition. We bought the DVD in St. Louis, it is the same production that you can see in IMAX productions and we highly recommend it. Imagine ... you've just pulled heavy boats UP the Missouri river and are hoping to see the water passageway to the west when, all you see, is snow-capped mountain ranges!
I actually have a hard time believing that they pulled those boats up the Missouri. When we were in St. Louis, we watched modern, power boats struggle against that current. How in the hell did they do it in 1804?
Anyway, they wintered in Montana, crossed the Rockies on foot, were further confronted with the Bitterroot mountain range and struggled over that. THEN, they were on the Snake river going DOWN stream!! Then, that became the Columbia river. The great waterway to the Pacific!
We saw that today. Not quite the same to be sure, because dams have changed it's nature. But, spectacular, nonetheless.
Somewhere along the line we were in Oregon! But, we can't put the map on our Motorhome yet, because we still plan to sleep in Washington tonight.
Still imagining Lewis and Clark, we watch the Columbia River and see Mt. Hood in the distance. I wonder if they saw this and thought *#@!* another *#@*! mountain range! Fortunately, the Columbia river cuts right thru to the Pacific, but they wouldn't know that!
Thanx to Rodger Smith who told us about an RV park on the Columbia river. We met Rodger at the Life on Wheels conference. He read our weblog, and emailed us about the "Peach Beach" RV park on the Washington side of the Columbia. It's a GREAT place.
Yep, that's the Columbia river off our port side. And, complete with Electric and water hookup, our site is costing us $15/night! Pretty good. Thanx Rodger!
Even better though ... there is an attraction nearby called 'Stonehenge'. Oh boy, how am I going to choose just 2 or 3 photos from the 30 - 40 we took at 'stonehenge'??
Let me show you some of the words from the plaque about this place.
And, the view from here.
What is it about traveling, learning and seeing beautiful sights that is SO fulfilling? If it were all over tomorrow, I'd die a happy woman!
What a day! We left Walla Walla, Washington this morning and headed west. The first notable sight were windmills. A whole windmill farm in fact.
Here's a newspaper article I found about this wind-power farm. Pretty cool.
Then, we hit the snake river, or rather the lake formed by a dam on the snake river.
Not the same sight that Lewis and Clark saw for sure. But, we thought of them just the same. Last night we re-viewed the DVD on the Lewis and Clark expedition. We bought the DVD in St. Louis, it is the same production that you can see in IMAX productions and we highly recommend it. Imagine ... you've just pulled heavy boats UP the Missouri river and are hoping to see the water passageway to the west when, all you see, is snow-capped mountain ranges!
I actually have a hard time believing that they pulled those boats up the Missouri. When we were in St. Louis, we watched modern, power boats struggle against that current. How in the hell did they do it in 1804?
Anyway, they wintered in Montana, crossed the Rockies on foot, were further confronted with the Bitterroot mountain range and struggled over that. THEN, they were on the Snake river going DOWN stream!! Then, that became the Columbia river. The great waterway to the Pacific!
We saw that today. Not quite the same to be sure, because dams have changed it's nature. But, spectacular, nonetheless.
Somewhere along the line we were in Oregon! But, we can't put the map on our Motorhome yet, because we still plan to sleep in Washington tonight.
Still imagining Lewis and Clark, we watch the Columbia River and see Mt. Hood in the distance. I wonder if they saw this and thought *#@!* another *#@*! mountain range! Fortunately, the Columbia river cuts right thru to the Pacific, but they wouldn't know that!
Thanx to Rodger Smith who told us about an RV park on the Columbia river. We met Rodger at the Life on Wheels conference. He read our weblog, and emailed us about the "Peach Beach" RV park on the Washington side of the Columbia. It's a GREAT place.
Yep, that's the Columbia river off our port side. And, complete with Electric and water hookup, our site is costing us $15/night! Pretty good. Thanx Rodger!
Even better though ... there is an attraction nearby called 'Stonehenge'. Oh boy, how am I going to choose just 2 or 3 photos from the 30 - 40 we took at 'stonehenge'??
Let me show you some of the words from the plaque about this place.
And, the view from here.
What is it about traveling, learning and seeing beautiful sights that is SO fulfilling? If it were all over tomorrow, I'd die a happy woman!
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Greetings from Washington
We add another state to our map! Ya gotta understand that RV etiquette requires that you can't add a state to your map unless you spend at least one night in the state. Driving thru doesn't count!
It was beautiful trip from Moscow, Idaho to Walla Walla, Washington. I didn't know that there were wheatfields on mountains. It was a beautiful drive.
Even though I've done a lot of traveling in this country and all over the world, I have been unprepared for the variety of the landscape in even one day of driving in the western U.S.
Did you know that Eastern Washington is a wine region?
Hey! That means we stay another day! There are wineries and wine-tasting rooms galore all around Walla Walla!
We add another state to our map! Ya gotta understand that RV etiquette requires that you can't add a state to your map unless you spend at least one night in the state. Driving thru doesn't count!
It was beautiful trip from Moscow, Idaho to Walla Walla, Washington. I didn't know that there were wheatfields on mountains. It was a beautiful drive.
Even though I've done a lot of traveling in this country and all over the world, I have been unprepared for the variety of the landscape in even one day of driving in the western U.S.
Did you know that Eastern Washington is a wine region?
Hey! That means we stay another day! There are wineries and wine-tasting rooms galore all around Walla Walla!
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
Time to leave now
It's 9am and we've taken our walk and washed the dog. Jim is perusing the maps and the campground directories to see where we should go. I like Moscow and the University of Idaho campus so much, I'd be happy staying here another week! But, camped in this field, we have to depend on our generator for electricity. It's noisy, it's smelly, and it's actually pretty expensive. They turned the electricity off on Saturday morning - so, we've been on generator most of Saturday, all of Sunday, Monday and Tuesday morning, and we've use about 1/2 tank of gas. Our gas tank is 50 gallons so that means roughly 25 gallons. At $2/gallon, that's $50 for 3 days - just about the same as a campground hookup fee. We really need to get better batteries, a 2000 watt inverter and some solar panels. Then we can have electricity without using the generator much. BUT, that'll cost us about $3,000. If you would like to donate to the cause of reducing noise pollution and lowering gas consumption, what better way than to contribute to 'Odie's Roadies Solar Power Fund'! Just click on the Tip Jar at the left and PayPal will do the rest!
Meanwhile, it is SO nice to know that we can park somewhere without hookups and get by - the generator does work very well. I say it's noisy - but, it's nowhere near as noisy as most generators we hear. This is the first time we've used it for 3 days straight and it's been great. I've been on the computer for at least 6 hours each day. And, we've been supplying Internet service wirelessly to the RVs around us as well. Here's a photo of our trusty generator:
Before we leave, I need to post some more of the photos we've taken around campus. We saw lots of pretty scenes AND, the 'Taking Great Photos' class during Life On Wheels was very inspiring:
That's it for Moscow! Now we're off to follow the Lewis and Clark trail. Then, we'll be visiting a park on the Oregon coast that just had a Coach Connect Wi-Fi system installed.
It's 9am and we've taken our walk and washed the dog. Jim is perusing the maps and the campground directories to see where we should go. I like Moscow and the University of Idaho campus so much, I'd be happy staying here another week! But, camped in this field, we have to depend on our generator for electricity. It's noisy, it's smelly, and it's actually pretty expensive. They turned the electricity off on Saturday morning - so, we've been on generator most of Saturday, all of Sunday, Monday and Tuesday morning, and we've use about 1/2 tank of gas. Our gas tank is 50 gallons so that means roughly 25 gallons. At $2/gallon, that's $50 for 3 days - just about the same as a campground hookup fee. We really need to get better batteries, a 2000 watt inverter and some solar panels. Then we can have electricity without using the generator much. BUT, that'll cost us about $3,000. If you would like to donate to the cause of reducing noise pollution and lowering gas consumption, what better way than to contribute to 'Odie's Roadies Solar Power Fund'! Just click on the Tip Jar at the left and PayPal will do the rest!
Meanwhile, it is SO nice to know that we can park somewhere without hookups and get by - the generator does work very well. I say it's noisy - but, it's nowhere near as noisy as most generators we hear. This is the first time we've used it for 3 days straight and it's been great. I've been on the computer for at least 6 hours each day. And, we've been supplying Internet service wirelessly to the RVs around us as well. Here's a photo of our trusty generator:
Before we leave, I need to post some more of the photos we've taken around campus. We saw lots of pretty scenes AND, the 'Taking Great Photos' class during Life On Wheels was very inspiring:
That's it for Moscow! Now we're off to follow the Lewis and Clark trail. Then, we'll be visiting a park on the Oregon coast that just had a Coach Connect Wi-Fi system installed.
Monday, July 19, 2004
Living in a field of flowers
We're still in Moscow, Idaho. The conference ended on Friday. They kept the power on for those of us in the University's parking lot until Saturday at 10am. We were allowed to stay there till Sunday, then we had to leave the parking lot. We were told we could still park on the campus property, just not on the parking lot. So, we're in an empty field right next to the parking lot with a few other diehards. Diane and Andy are still here with us. We parked awning to awning so we can just open both our doors and feel like we're in adjoining apartments. They plan to leave today and head up towards Glacier National Park. Make sure to watch their Blog (permanent link at left) to see photos of that spectacular scenery.
It has been so much fun to be with friends for this time. We will miss them! The other night, Jim got out the projection equipment and we had another 'Movie Night'!
Hey! Our weblog earned mention on dailywireless.org! Pretty cool. At least I think that's cool ... I'm not really sure. When I first started blogging in May 2003 I thought I was doing it just for me - I've kept personal journals since I was a kid - this was just a new way to do it. I didn't even tell Jim it was there. Then I decided that some family and friends may be interested in reading it, so I told them about it. Now that we're actually on the road, it's gotten more interesting and I get a real kick out of discovering that we had over 1,000 visitors last week!
Odie has a girlfriend! One of the other RVs parked in this field with us has a black miniature poodle named Amy. What fun!
Boo Hoo!! Sob ... Diane and Andy left this morning.
Looks like we're staying at least another night. Just too lazy to move! Actually, Jim is still working on another RVers computer. He's getting rid of some very stubborn viruses. He also installed a couple of wireless networks in the last few days. Hey! He's earned enough to pay for our week at Life on Wheels! Cool!
We're still in Moscow, Idaho. The conference ended on Friday. They kept the power on for those of us in the University's parking lot until Saturday at 10am. We were allowed to stay there till Sunday, then we had to leave the parking lot. We were told we could still park on the campus property, just not on the parking lot. So, we're in an empty field right next to the parking lot with a few other diehards. Diane and Andy are still here with us. We parked awning to awning so we can just open both our doors and feel like we're in adjoining apartments. They plan to leave today and head up towards Glacier National Park. Make sure to watch their Blog (permanent link at left) to see photos of that spectacular scenery.
It has been so much fun to be with friends for this time. We will miss them! The other night, Jim got out the projection equipment and we had another 'Movie Night'!
Hey! Our weblog earned mention on dailywireless.org! Pretty cool. At least I think that's cool ... I'm not really sure. When I first started blogging in May 2003 I thought I was doing it just for me - I've kept personal journals since I was a kid - this was just a new way to do it. I didn't even tell Jim it was there. Then I decided that some family and friends may be interested in reading it, so I told them about it. Now that we're actually on the road, it's gotten more interesting and I get a real kick out of discovering that we had over 1,000 visitors last week!
Odie has a girlfriend! One of the other RVs parked in this field with us has a black miniature poodle named Amy. What fun!
Boo Hoo!! Sob ... Diane and Andy left this morning.
Looks like we're staying at least another night. Just too lazy to move! Actually, Jim is still working on another RVers computer. He's getting rid of some very stubborn viruses. He also installed a couple of wireless networks in the last few days. Hey! He's earned enough to pay for our week at Life on Wheels! Cool!
Sunday, July 18, 2004
Where to now?
What an interesting lifestyle we've gotten ourselves into. We've finished with the Life on Wheels week-long school and now we're looking at maps and saying, "Where should we go next?"
Wherever we want.
Ok, what do we want?
Take a look at this map. We are currently located where the star is. If you were here and could go anywhere, where would you go?
This is what I wanted. I wanted the complete freedom that I had when I was 20. I left college with a few friends and we just started driving and camping. Each new day was a total unknown. That lasted 2 months till we ran out of money and had to stop and get a job! My memory of that time is what motivated me to try the RV lifestyle. What hits us now that we're here is that we're not the same as we were when we were 20 ... duh! When we were twenty much about life was brand new - that was normal. Now, at 50 we have 30 years of life experience that has taught us what is 'normal' and how life 'should' be. And, believe me this isn't it! Normal is living in a house and having a job.
But, this IS what we wanted. It may be uncomfortable not knowing where we're going or why, but that's the idea. The way to grow and have an exciting life is to step outside of your comfort zone ... yes, it's uncomfortable. But, it passes. Then it's exciting to look at the map and plan. Here's what we've come up with for our next stretch.
Whaddaya think? Doesn't that look great! The first part is continuing to follow the Lewis and Clark trail. Purely by accident, we've covered a lot of their route this summer ... at this point it seemed so logical to continue. We will follow the Columbia river and see the spectacular waterfalls along the Columbia River Gorge. Then the stretch of road down the Oregon coast and the Northern California coast is the stuff that travel magazine covers are made of. Our goal will be Melinda's driveway near Lake Tahoe. I think I'd like to stay there for about a month, like we did with Jimmy's driveway in Long Beach Island. .... sssshhhhhhh - I haven't told her this yet :-)
What an interesting lifestyle we've gotten ourselves into. We've finished with the Life on Wheels week-long school and now we're looking at maps and saying, "Where should we go next?"
Wherever we want.
Ok, what do we want?
Take a look at this map. We are currently located where the star is. If you were here and could go anywhere, where would you go?
This is what I wanted. I wanted the complete freedom that I had when I was 20. I left college with a few friends and we just started driving and camping. Each new day was a total unknown. That lasted 2 months till we ran out of money and had to stop and get a job! My memory of that time is what motivated me to try the RV lifestyle. What hits us now that we're here is that we're not the same as we were when we were 20 ... duh! When we were twenty much about life was brand new - that was normal. Now, at 50 we have 30 years of life experience that has taught us what is 'normal' and how life 'should' be. And, believe me this isn't it! Normal is living in a house and having a job.
But, this IS what we wanted. It may be uncomfortable not knowing where we're going or why, but that's the idea. The way to grow and have an exciting life is to step outside of your comfort zone ... yes, it's uncomfortable. But, it passes. Then it's exciting to look at the map and plan. Here's what we've come up with for our next stretch.
Whaddaya think? Doesn't that look great! The first part is continuing to follow the Lewis and Clark trail. Purely by accident, we've covered a lot of their route this summer ... at this point it seemed so logical to continue. We will follow the Columbia river and see the spectacular waterfalls along the Columbia River Gorge. Then the stretch of road down the Oregon coast and the Northern California coast is the stuff that travel magazine covers are made of. Our goal will be Melinda's driveway near Lake Tahoe. I think I'd like to stay there for about a month, like we did with Jimmy's driveway in Long Beach Island. .... sssshhhhhhh - I haven't told her this yet :-)
Saturday, July 17, 2004
Life on Wheels is over :-(
The Life on Wheels conference that is. I feel that our personal 'life on wheels' is just beginning since this is the first day when we have no destination. We have to think and come up with where we want to go next!
What a great week this has been. Imagine if you were changing careers and becoming a meeting planner, for example. Wouldn't it be great if you could attend the annual Meeting Planners conference within a few months of making your decision? That's what this has been like. Think about it ... how many people do you know who live full-time in their RVs? I mean besides us! Not very many I bet. Here at the conference we get to meet LOTS of them. And take classes from many of the most experienced ones. What a treat to meet Joe and Vicki Kieva who I feel we know already from reading their column in Highways magazine. Then there was Mike and Terry Church who write the book on RV travel in Mexico, and the Pacific Northwest, and Europe. We even got a peek inside their Bigfoot motorhome which they have customized to meet their particular lifestyle. Here's a photo of what used to be the bedroom!
And, here's Mike in the living room area. They took out the dinette and put in what looks like a sectional couch right behind where Mike is standing. They obviously don't place as high a priority on sleep as we do! Their bed is in the cab over area.
We learned so much from all these people this week.
We learned wonderful stuff
Like this tip that was worth the price of admission alone! Dave Baleria taught a class on GPS and mapping software. We use a program called Mappoint along with a GPS receiver. It's great. The GPS lets us know exactly where we are at any time and the mapping software shows us all the roads, campgrounds, gas stations and restaurants etc. Dave showed us a website that has lots of downloadable overlay files of other information. Like all the dump stations in the US, or all the Camping World Stores, or all the City parks that allow overnight camping. Way Cool! I just downloaded the file for hotsprings and now have the location for 1,437 hot springs all over!
We also learned how to write articles for magazines and how to submit them to editors. We learned how to travel in Mexico and how to 'boondock' - that is live in your RV without any hookups.
We learned horrible stuff
Like we have the wrong tires! Yep, those brand new tires that we just bought. They're not rated for amount of weight that we are. It seems like the folks that sold them to us should have known to check that?!? But, they were just replacing the tires we had on there - I don't know when those were put on, it couldn't have been from the factory cuz surely they know the right tires. Tire and weight safety were major topics at this conference. It does feel good to at least know about this stuff now ... I'm not sure what we're going to do about it.
We learned lots of useful little tips
Like when you're cleaning and maintaining the outside of your rig, don't tackle it all at once. Divide your motorhome into 4 parts: 1) left side, 2) right side, 3) roof and 4) front and back. Clean and inspect one part every month. Another tip was to pick up a business card from each campground when you register. Put the card in your wallet, or on the dash of your towed vehicle. Then, if something bad happens to you when you're away from your motorhome, the emergency personnel can know where your 'home' is. We learned to adjust our side view mirrors so that the flat one and the 'wide angle' one overlap just a touch in the middle.
We met lots of other Datastorm users. There were about a dozen here at the conference. One afternoon several of us got together.
I love communicating via email, but that face-to-face is so special for really getting to know who people are. Once they heard about what Jim does, several of them wanted him to come by and set up or fix their networks. It's amazing how many folks are not only traveling with one computer but two!
As soon as we get rested, we may submit a proposal to be presenters at next year's 'Life on Wheels'. There was a LOT of interest in computers, digital photography and Wi-Fi, and the people using their computers in their RVs need to know as much about how to use them as anyone else! I was thinking about Jim doing a 'Basic Computer Maintenance' and I would do a 'How to share your travels with a Weblog'. Whaddaya think? Send us email (link at left) or leave a comment (link at bottom).
Well, it's starting to clear out now.
Here's one woman we met, getting hooked up ready to go. She's traveling solo with this big rig! Well, that's not quite true ... she has a dog and a cat with her.
And here's the Gypsy Journal folks taking down their manual Direcway Satellite dish. They have a hatch in the roof of their coach. Looks funny doesn't it?
Three months on the road
We left Ft. Lauderdale on April 16 - exactly three months ago.
Total Miles: 6,513
Total gas cost: $1,260
Total campsite rent: $931
Total RV maintenance costs: $1,013 (tires, oil/lube, loft project)
Hey! It's July 17. Happy Birthday Dad Guld!!
The Life on Wheels conference that is. I feel that our personal 'life on wheels' is just beginning since this is the first day when we have no destination. We have to think and come up with where we want to go next!
What a great week this has been. Imagine if you were changing careers and becoming a meeting planner, for example. Wouldn't it be great if you could attend the annual Meeting Planners conference within a few months of making your decision? That's what this has been like. Think about it ... how many people do you know who live full-time in their RVs? I mean besides us! Not very many I bet. Here at the conference we get to meet LOTS of them. And take classes from many of the most experienced ones. What a treat to meet Joe and Vicki Kieva who I feel we know already from reading their column in Highways magazine. Then there was Mike and Terry Church who write the book on RV travel in Mexico, and the Pacific Northwest, and Europe. We even got a peek inside their Bigfoot motorhome which they have customized to meet their particular lifestyle. Here's a photo of what used to be the bedroom!
And, here's Mike in the living room area. They took out the dinette and put in what looks like a sectional couch right behind where Mike is standing. They obviously don't place as high a priority on sleep as we do! Their bed is in the cab over area.
We learned so much from all these people this week.
We learned wonderful stuff
Like this tip that was worth the price of admission alone! Dave Baleria taught a class on GPS and mapping software. We use a program called Mappoint along with a GPS receiver. It's great. The GPS lets us know exactly where we are at any time and the mapping software shows us all the roads, campgrounds, gas stations and restaurants etc. Dave showed us a website that has lots of downloadable overlay files of other information. Like all the dump stations in the US, or all the Camping World Stores, or all the City parks that allow overnight camping. Way Cool! I just downloaded the file for hotsprings and now have the location for 1,437 hot springs all over!
We also learned how to write articles for magazines and how to submit them to editors. We learned how to travel in Mexico and how to 'boondock' - that is live in your RV without any hookups.
We learned horrible stuff
Like we have the wrong tires! Yep, those brand new tires that we just bought. They're not rated for amount of weight that we are. It seems like the folks that sold them to us should have known to check that?!? But, they were just replacing the tires we had on there - I don't know when those were put on, it couldn't have been from the factory cuz surely they know the right tires. Tire and weight safety were major topics at this conference. It does feel good to at least know about this stuff now ... I'm not sure what we're going to do about it.
We learned lots of useful little tips
Like when you're cleaning and maintaining the outside of your rig, don't tackle it all at once. Divide your motorhome into 4 parts: 1) left side, 2) right side, 3) roof and 4) front and back. Clean and inspect one part every month. Another tip was to pick up a business card from each campground when you register. Put the card in your wallet, or on the dash of your towed vehicle. Then, if something bad happens to you when you're away from your motorhome, the emergency personnel can know where your 'home' is. We learned to adjust our side view mirrors so that the flat one and the 'wide angle' one overlap just a touch in the middle.
We met lots of other Datastorm users. There were about a dozen here at the conference. One afternoon several of us got together.
I love communicating via email, but that face-to-face is so special for really getting to know who people are. Once they heard about what Jim does, several of them wanted him to come by and set up or fix their networks. It's amazing how many folks are not only traveling with one computer but two!
As soon as we get rested, we may submit a proposal to be presenters at next year's 'Life on Wheels'. There was a LOT of interest in computers, digital photography and Wi-Fi, and the people using their computers in their RVs need to know as much about how to use them as anyone else! I was thinking about Jim doing a 'Basic Computer Maintenance' and I would do a 'How to share your travels with a Weblog'. Whaddaya think? Send us email (link at left) or leave a comment (link at bottom).
Well, it's starting to clear out now.
Here's one woman we met, getting hooked up ready to go. She's traveling solo with this big rig! Well, that's not quite true ... she has a dog and a cat with her.
And here's the Gypsy Journal folks taking down their manual Direcway Satellite dish. They have a hatch in the roof of their coach. Looks funny doesn't it?
Three months on the road
We left Ft. Lauderdale on April 16 - exactly three months ago.
Total Miles: 6,513
Total gas cost: $1,260
Total campsite rent: $931
Total RV maintenance costs: $1,013 (tires, oil/lube, loft project)
Hey! It's July 17. Happy Birthday Dad Guld!!
Thursday, July 15, 2004
Life on Campus
Today started by getting up at 5:30am!! That is unheard of for me. But, that's what we have to do in order to walk the dog and be ready for the 6:30-7:30 exercise class, make a couple client calls and be to the first class by 8am. The exercise teacher is fabulous by the way - Lynn Difley, and she has a website, which I really must browse when I get some time! We ride our bikes everywhere to save a little time. It's great going downhill. Unfortunately, that's not the only way the hills go!
And, it's HOT! So amazing. We're from Florida. We're in Idaho and we're complaining about the heat. Aaaaah, but it's a dry heat. So? It's hot.
Regular classes are from 8 to 4:30. All in the University of Idaho facilities with full audio visual capabilities.
Then there's something planned for every evening. Last night it was a barbeque downtown, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce of Moscow, ID. Pretty nice, and free food:
And, what a nice downtown! We went walking a few blocks looking at the quaint, outdoorsy shops. But, wait, what's this?
An invitation?
They had some very nice wines. We especially liked the Camas Prairie Winery Merlot .
And ... who's this?
Andy liked the Tej. A wine made with hops - perfect for beer drinkers I guess.
Today was:
Refrigeration and Ovens (Jim)
Nutrition in the Fast Lane (Chris)
Solar Savvy (Jim)
Taxes and Working on the Road (Chris)
Quartzsite: The World's Largest RV Gathering (Jim)
Work your way across the USA (Chris)
Traveling with Pets (Chris)
Hosting in NW State Parks (Jim)
Then we all went to a presentation tonight on Lewis and Clark. They went right thru this area 200 years ago. Pretty cool.
Now it's 10:30
g'night
Today started by getting up at 5:30am!! That is unheard of for me. But, that's what we have to do in order to walk the dog and be ready for the 6:30-7:30 exercise class, make a couple client calls and be to the first class by 8am. The exercise teacher is fabulous by the way - Lynn Difley, and she has a website, which I really must browse when I get some time! We ride our bikes everywhere to save a little time. It's great going downhill. Unfortunately, that's not the only way the hills go!
And, it's HOT! So amazing. We're from Florida. We're in Idaho and we're complaining about the heat. Aaaaah, but it's a dry heat. So? It's hot.
Regular classes are from 8 to 4:30. All in the University of Idaho facilities with full audio visual capabilities.
Then there's something planned for every evening. Last night it was a barbeque downtown, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce of Moscow, ID. Pretty nice, and free food:
And, what a nice downtown! We went walking a few blocks looking at the quaint, outdoorsy shops. But, wait, what's this?
An invitation?
They had some very nice wines. We especially liked the Camas Prairie Winery Merlot .
And ... who's this?
Andy liked the Tej. A wine made with hops - perfect for beer drinkers I guess.
Today was:
Refrigeration and Ovens (Jim)
Nutrition in the Fast Lane (Chris)
Solar Savvy (Jim)
Taxes and Working on the Road (Chris)
Quartzsite: The World's Largest RV Gathering (Jim)
Work your way across the USA (Chris)
Traveling with Pets (Chris)
Hosting in NW State Parks (Jim)
Then we all went to a presentation tonight on Lewis and Clark. They went right thru this area 200 years ago. Pretty cool.
Now it's 10:30
g'night
Wednesday, July 14, 2004
Brain overload
Yesterday we took classes on:
Traveling in Mexico (see RollingHomes.com)
Driving a motorhome
Fresh water & septic systems
RV Insurance
Geocaching (see Geocaching.com)
Electronic communications on the road
RV Exterior Care
Today we're going to
Digital Photography, Radial Tire safety, Boondocking: Use those Holding tanks, Wireless Internet and Great Photography on the road.
That is after we take our hour-long walking/physical fitness class. Which starts in 10 minutes (it's 6:20am)
Bye!
Yesterday we took classes on:
Traveling in Mexico (see RollingHomes.com)
Driving a motorhome
Fresh water & septic systems
RV Insurance
Geocaching (see Geocaching.com)
Electronic communications on the road
RV Exterior Care
Today we're going to
Digital Photography, Radial Tire safety, Boondocking: Use those Holding tanks, Wireless Internet and Great Photography on the road.
That is after we take our hour-long walking/physical fitness class. Which starts in 10 minutes (it's 6:20am)
Bye!
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
First day of School!
Got up early today. The first event was a physical fitness walk from 6:30 am to 7:30. It was great. We hope to do that every morning this week. The teacher puts us thru stretches and ankle rotations before and after walking.
Here's where my first class was today.
After a full day of classes today, the four of us got together at the local micro-brewery to review the day and sample the Huckleberry Ale!
We learned a lot. How to properly weigh your RV to determine the tire inflation on EACH tire. How to maintain the steps at the front door so they fold in when the door is closed and slide out when it opens. What kind of batteries and inverters to buy so you can have power even when you're not plugged in. Where to find jobs while you're traveling. How to write so that a magazine might buy your articles. How to get the most performance from our Ford V-10 gas engine. And, how to travel to Mexico and enjoy the Copper Canyon area.
Then the sun set on our little RV community:
I'm beat.
g'night
Got up early today. The first event was a physical fitness walk from 6:30 am to 7:30. It was great. We hope to do that every morning this week. The teacher puts us thru stretches and ankle rotations before and after walking.
Here's where my first class was today.
After a full day of classes today, the four of us got together at the local micro-brewery to review the day and sample the Huckleberry Ale!
We learned a lot. How to properly weigh your RV to determine the tire inflation on EACH tire. How to maintain the steps at the front door so they fold in when the door is closed and slide out when it opens. What kind of batteries and inverters to buy so you can have power even when you're not plugged in. Where to find jobs while you're traveling. How to write so that a magazine might buy your articles. How to get the most performance from our Ford V-10 gas engine. And, how to travel to Mexico and enjoy the Copper Canyon area.
Then the sun set on our little RV community:
I'm beat.
g'night
Monday, July 12, 2004
A Work Day
The conference seminars start tomorrow. Today was basically a free day. I had some computer web work to do. Jim had a project to help a fellow RVer with a wireless network inside his motorhome. Diane and Andy went for a bike ride to Washington (just a couple miles away). They chastised Jim and me for being 'all work and no play'. Yeah, right!!
Their motorhome is so close that we may as well be living in the same house this week.
This photo was taken from my window while I'm working on the computer. I just open the window and we can talk!
This evening was the 'open house'. Jim washed off the windows in the front and I straightened up the inside. We had lots of people interested in seeing our coach. There aren't many like it and we LOVE it. It was great fun to show it off.
Then we wanted to look at the converted bus by Nick and Terry. How cool. They've been RVing for several years and have been disappointed with the standard coaches. So, they decided to take a Grayline bus and convert it to living quarters. It was VERY nice.
How's this for a beautiful bedroom?
Here's their office and computer system.
They make their living on the road by publishing a newspaper called the Gypsy Journal.
According to Nick, Terry did most all of the cabinetry. I'm impressed.
I'll be taking their seminars this week: "The Frugal RVer" and "Working your way across the USA"
The conference seminars start tomorrow. Today was basically a free day. I had some computer web work to do. Jim had a project to help a fellow RVer with a wireless network inside his motorhome. Diane and Andy went for a bike ride to Washington (just a couple miles away). They chastised Jim and me for being 'all work and no play'. Yeah, right!!
Their motorhome is so close that we may as well be living in the same house this week.
This photo was taken from my window while I'm working on the computer. I just open the window and we can talk!
This evening was the 'open house'. Jim washed off the windows in the front and I straightened up the inside. We had lots of people interested in seeing our coach. There aren't many like it and we LOVE it. It was great fun to show it off.
Then we wanted to look at the converted bus by Nick and Terry. How cool. They've been RVing for several years and have been disappointed with the standard coaches. So, they decided to take a Grayline bus and convert it to living quarters. It was VERY nice.
How's this for a beautiful bedroom?
Here's their office and computer system.
They make their living on the road by publishing a newspaper called the Gypsy Journal.
According to Nick, Terry did most all of the cabinetry. I'm impressed.
I'll be taking their seminars this week: "The Frugal RVer" and "Working your way across the USA"
Sunday, July 11, 2004
Greetings from Moscow!
Moscow, Idaho that is. We're here for a week of RV Life on Wheels conference. It's like going back to college for a week, but all the classes are about living in RVs. The classes are held at the University of Idaho, and they start tomorrow. Today, we're just getting settled in and oriented.
To get here, we drove over the Lolo pass and down the canyon created by the Lochsa river. What a gorgeous road - also called the Lewis and Clark Highway in Idaho.
Once we got to the bottom - we had to go back up again. Very different landscape as we got closer to Moscow. Back to fields and farmlands again.
There are supposed to be 650 RVs registered for the conference, and they will all be parked on campus. Here's where Diane & Andy and 'Odie's roadies' are parked:
So different from the Hutchinson rally where thousands of RVs arrived in the rain. Here the weather is gorgeous and there are lots of folks giving guidance. Once we were guided to our site and hooked up to the electric, we went to the registration tent and then went on an orientation tour around the campus.
Pretty huh? One of the first events that will happen tonight is 'Open House' .. or, rather Open RV. How much better to see RVs that are already lived in and talk to the owners, rather than look at brand new ones and talk to a salesperson. Anyone who is willing to have people come in and visit their RV puts a bright green sign in their window "I love to talk about my RV!". When you see that sign tonight, you can visit. I love it! There's one problem though ... "I love to talk about my RV!" But, I also want to visit others. I guess Jim and I will have to take turns or something.
Later.
Moscow, Idaho that is. We're here for a week of RV Life on Wheels conference. It's like going back to college for a week, but all the classes are about living in RVs. The classes are held at the University of Idaho, and they start tomorrow. Today, we're just getting settled in and oriented.
To get here, we drove over the Lolo pass and down the canyon created by the Lochsa river. What a gorgeous road - also called the Lewis and Clark Highway in Idaho.
Once we got to the bottom - we had to go back up again. Very different landscape as we got closer to Moscow. Back to fields and farmlands again.
There are supposed to be 650 RVs registered for the conference, and they will all be parked on campus. Here's where Diane & Andy and 'Odie's roadies' are parked:
So different from the Hutchinson rally where thousands of RVs arrived in the rain. Here the weather is gorgeous and there are lots of folks giving guidance. Once we were guided to our site and hooked up to the electric, we went to the registration tent and then went on an orientation tour around the campus.
Pretty huh? One of the first events that will happen tonight is 'Open House' .. or, rather Open RV. How much better to see RVs that are already lived in and talk to the owners, rather than look at brand new ones and talk to a salesperson. Anyone who is willing to have people come in and visit their RV puts a bright green sign in their window "I love to talk about my RV!". When you see that sign tonight, you can visit. I love it! There's one problem though ... "I love to talk about my RV!" But, I also want to visit others. I guess Jim and I will have to take turns or something.
Later.
Friday, July 09, 2004
Traveling Companions
We had a pretty short day planned today. We're going to travel together to Moscow, Idaho for the conference and we'll take 2 days to get there. Here are our rigs, all hooked up and ready to go.
We're traveling over the Lolo pass today, going to Idaho. This was one of the roughest segments that Lewis and Clarke had to traverse.
I figure it's not often you can get a photo of your rig on the road. And we were on such a pretty road. So, I took lots of photos of Diane and Andy's Itasca Spirit towing their Honda Element.
We found nice spots at the 'Gateway to the Wilderness' campground in Clearwater National Forest. Look at this nice river that's just behind our site.
We took a walk to an overlook.
And, before you know it, it's happy hour time!
We had a pretty short day planned today. We're going to travel together to Moscow, Idaho for the conference and we'll take 2 days to get there. Here are our rigs, all hooked up and ready to go.
We're traveling over the Lolo pass today, going to Idaho. This was one of the roughest segments that Lewis and Clarke had to traverse.
I figure it's not often you can get a photo of your rig on the road. And we were on such a pretty road. So, I took lots of photos of Diane and Andy's Itasca Spirit towing their Honda Element.
We found nice spots at the 'Gateway to the Wilderness' campground in Clearwater National Forest. Look at this nice river that's just behind our site.
We took a walk to an overlook.
And, before you know it, it's happy hour time!
Thursday, July 08, 2004
Friends!
Diane and Andy (see their blog here) left Fort Lauderdale in their motorhome this past January. We left in April. They traveled west, then north. We traveled North, then west. They tried to escape ... but we caught them!! We told them about the conference (RV Life on Wheels) that we're going to ... and they decided to go too!! Cool!
We arrived in Missoula yesterday afternoon and we had been assigned the campsite right next to them. They were out and about, but they left us this note, aren't they cute?!
Here they are, arriving home a little later:
We had a fabulous time just chatting, and chatting, and drinking, and chatting some more. If you read their blog, you'll see that they are much more active outdoors than we have been, and they had already checked out a whitewater rafting trip for us all to take today. Hey! We're game. I guess we just need someone to push us a little. It is SOO great to be with friends!
So, here we are at the outfitters. Actually, this is after the river rafting. We couldn't take our camera with us on the trip for fear it would get drowned!
So, you can see we made it! Here are a couple photos we purchased from the outfitters. Pretty cool, their photographer knows just when we would be running the best rapids and made sure to be in place to catch these great photos. I know we're not readily identifiable here so ... Jim is in the bow of the boat on the left, Andy is on the right. I'm behind Andy and Diane is to my left. When we started out, Diane and I were in the front of the boat. I have done this before, so I knew that the front was the most fun. Yes, you also get the most wet - but it really is fun. So, halfway thru we switched places with they guys.
And I dare you to find any of us in this photo!
What a great day! We're all off tomorrow, headed towards the conference at Moscow, Idaho. We will be traveling highway 12 which follows the Lewis and Clark route. Oh ... the river that we ran today was the Clark Fork .. named for guess who??
Diane and Andy (see their blog here) left Fort Lauderdale in their motorhome this past January. We left in April. They traveled west, then north. We traveled North, then west. They tried to escape ... but we caught them!! We told them about the conference (RV Life on Wheels) that we're going to ... and they decided to go too!! Cool!
We arrived in Missoula yesterday afternoon and we had been assigned the campsite right next to them. They were out and about, but they left us this note, aren't they cute?!
Here they are, arriving home a little later:
We had a fabulous time just chatting, and chatting, and drinking, and chatting some more. If you read their blog, you'll see that they are much more active outdoors than we have been, and they had already checked out a whitewater rafting trip for us all to take today. Hey! We're game. I guess we just need someone to push us a little. It is SOO great to be with friends!
So, here we are at the outfitters. Actually, this is after the river rafting. We couldn't take our camera with us on the trip for fear it would get drowned!
So, you can see we made it! Here are a couple photos we purchased from the outfitters. Pretty cool, their photographer knows just when we would be running the best rapids and made sure to be in place to catch these great photos. I know we're not readily identifiable here so ... Jim is in the bow of the boat on the left, Andy is on the right. I'm behind Andy and Diane is to my left. When we started out, Diane and I were in the front of the boat. I have done this before, so I knew that the front was the most fun. Yes, you also get the most wet - but it really is fun. So, halfway thru we switched places with they guys.
And I dare you to find any of us in this photo!
What a great day! We're all off tomorrow, headed towards the conference at Moscow, Idaho. We will be traveling highway 12 which follows the Lewis and Clark route. Oh ... the river that we ran today was the Clark Fork .. named for guess who??
Tuesday, July 06, 2004
Greetings from Montana (via Tetons and Yellowstone)
Yep, Montana! The last thing you read in this Blog was about Thermopolis, Wyoming. I'm 2 days behind! We've been busy going thru Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Parks. We took over 100 photos. That's a lot to sort thru! OK, let's see if I can remember where we've been and what we've done ....
After leaving Thermopolis, we thought it was going to be uneventful until we hit the parks. We were wrong. Soon we were in the Wind River Canyon. It was spectacular. Reminded me a little of the Cheddar Gorge in England.
We went thru 3 tunnels in a row. You can also see the railroad tunnel on the other side of the river:
So, we're on our way to Grand Teton National Park. Yes, Emily, we rearranged our route a little to see them! But, I'm afraid you still have to go there in person because we only spent 1/2 day and our photos do not do justice! You have to see for yourself! But, here goes ...
We crosed the continental divide before seeing the Tetons and saw some pretty spectacular Rocky Mountains.
I was almost beginning to wonder if I would recognize the Tetons when we saw them, when we came around a corner and they smacked us in the face! It was such an awesome sight that it brought tears to my eyes! The photograph doesn't come close. You have to be there.
Then they got closer
and closer
Then we pulled into our campground and CRASH - unbelievable!! a national park maintenance crew in a van backed into our motorhome. They obviously didn't see us ... we're only 12 feet high and 9 feet wide! Jim even honked the horn as they backed up, not believing they would really continue to back up and run into us. We were at a dead standstill just waiting to pull into our campsite. AaAaaaaarrrrrrgggghhhhhhhhh. Well, it sounded a lot worse than it was. They broke our front license plate (the Odie's Roadies that Lynne and John gave us :-( and bent the bumper in so it rubbed the front tire.
They were very apologetic and the reporting procedure was quite efficient. They sent us to a service station nearby to bend and cut the bumper so it doesn't rub and we will visit a body shop soon to deal with whatever front end damage we can't see. Anyways ... after that, we drank heavily and went to bed.
On to Yellowstone ...
We don't have much time, so we knew our main stop was Old Faithful. We just had to see that famous geyser, and we did. Click on the link to see a little video - it'll probably take a while to download.
Old Faithful.MPG
And, here are some photos:
The area around Old Faithful:
Notice the Yellow Stone (thanx to Andy for pointing this out to us .. Yellow Stone = Yellowstone!)
And, here's the only Buffalo we saw all day:
What is really amazing about Yellowstone is how the thermal activity covers such a large area - steam was coming out of the ground for miles and miles and miles ...
Yellowstone isn't just about thermal activity, there's some beautiful rivers too.
And wide open vistas.
We crossed the continental divide several times. There was a time in my life I would have wanted to go backpacking along the Continental Divide Trail. Now, I am perfectly happy looking at it from the comfort of my motorhome!
And saw beautiful wildflowers:
Then we had to leave on this beautiful but kinda scary road. This is the road to the north entrance.
That's all folks!
Here's a map of the route we took thru the area. As you can see, we barely scratched the surface. We will have to come back sometime when we have more time. I'd like to maybe get a workamping job in Wyoming and stay a whole summer sometime.
Yep, Montana! The last thing you read in this Blog was about Thermopolis, Wyoming. I'm 2 days behind! We've been busy going thru Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Parks. We took over 100 photos. That's a lot to sort thru! OK, let's see if I can remember where we've been and what we've done ....
After leaving Thermopolis, we thought it was going to be uneventful until we hit the parks. We were wrong. Soon we were in the Wind River Canyon. It was spectacular. Reminded me a little of the Cheddar Gorge in England.
We went thru 3 tunnels in a row. You can also see the railroad tunnel on the other side of the river:
So, we're on our way to Grand Teton National Park. Yes, Emily, we rearranged our route a little to see them! But, I'm afraid you still have to go there in person because we only spent 1/2 day and our photos do not do justice! You have to see for yourself! But, here goes ...
We crosed the continental divide before seeing the Tetons and saw some pretty spectacular Rocky Mountains.
I was almost beginning to wonder if I would recognize the Tetons when we saw them, when we came around a corner and they smacked us in the face! It was such an awesome sight that it brought tears to my eyes! The photograph doesn't come close. You have to be there.
Then they got closer
and closer
Then we pulled into our campground and CRASH - unbelievable!! a national park maintenance crew in a van backed into our motorhome. They obviously didn't see us ... we're only 12 feet high and 9 feet wide! Jim even honked the horn as they backed up, not believing they would really continue to back up and run into us. We were at a dead standstill just waiting to pull into our campsite. AaAaaaaarrrrrrgggghhhhhhhhh. Well, it sounded a lot worse than it was. They broke our front license plate (the Odie's Roadies that Lynne and John gave us :-( and bent the bumper in so it rubbed the front tire.
They were very apologetic and the reporting procedure was quite efficient. They sent us to a service station nearby to bend and cut the bumper so it doesn't rub and we will visit a body shop soon to deal with whatever front end damage we can't see. Anyways ... after that, we drank heavily and went to bed.
On to Yellowstone ...
We don't have much time, so we knew our main stop was Old Faithful. We just had to see that famous geyser, and we did. Click on the link to see a little video - it'll probably take a while to download.
Old Faithful.MPG
And, here are some photos:
The area around Old Faithful:
Notice the Yellow Stone (thanx to Andy for pointing this out to us .. Yellow Stone = Yellowstone!)
And, here's the only Buffalo we saw all day:
What is really amazing about Yellowstone is how the thermal activity covers such a large area - steam was coming out of the ground for miles and miles and miles ...
Yellowstone isn't just about thermal activity, there's some beautiful rivers too.
And wide open vistas.
We crossed the continental divide several times. There was a time in my life I would have wanted to go backpacking along the Continental Divide Trail. Now, I am perfectly happy looking at it from the comfort of my motorhome!
And saw beautiful wildflowers:
Then we had to leave on this beautiful but kinda scary road. This is the road to the north entrance.
That's all folks!
Here's a map of the route we took thru the area. As you can see, we barely scratched the surface. We will have to come back sometime when we have more time. I'd like to maybe get a workamping job in Wyoming and stay a whole summer sometime.
Monday, July 05, 2004
Hot Springs
Well, we made it to Thermopolis and Hot Springs State Park yesterday afternoon, even tho we had to endure a few miles of dirt road to get there. It made me think of when I was a kid and my family drove the 1500 miles of dirt road that was the Alaska highway. Unthinkable! And we did it 5 times between 1959 and 1966!
And, here is the scene at Hot Springs State Park. Pretty fascinating.
Here is the outdoor baths where you can soak. Admission is free, but they limit you to 20 minutes. At 104 degrees, that's just fine. It felt GREAT.
There is no place to camp at Hot Springs State Park. We were disappointed at first, but things always work out y'know! We found an RV park just down the road called Fountain of Youth. What a find!
Now we gotta get on the road, we have miles to go before we sleep! Our friends Diane and Andy are in their motorhome resting in Missoula Montana. We've asked them to stay put until we can get there. They've been on the road since January and we can't wait to get together and compare notes. There's a link to their blog in the left column of ours - or you can click here. Check it out, they have some gorgeous pictures and lots of stories.
Well, we made it to Thermopolis and Hot Springs State Park yesterday afternoon, even tho we had to endure a few miles of dirt road to get there. It made me think of when I was a kid and my family drove the 1500 miles of dirt road that was the Alaska highway. Unthinkable! And we did it 5 times between 1959 and 1966!
And, here is the scene at Hot Springs State Park. Pretty fascinating.
Here is the outdoor baths where you can soak. Admission is free, but they limit you to 20 minutes. At 104 degrees, that's just fine. It felt GREAT.
There is no place to camp at Hot Springs State Park. We were disappointed at first, but things always work out y'know! We found an RV park just down the road called Fountain of Youth. What a find!
Now we gotta get on the road, we have miles to go before we sleep! Our friends Diane and Andy are in their motorhome resting in Missoula Montana. We've asked them to stay put until we can get there. They've been on the road since January and we can't wait to get together and compare notes. There's a link to their blog in the left column of ours - or you can click here. Check it out, they have some gorgeous pictures and lots of stories.
Sunday, July 04, 2004
Happy 4th of July!
6 years ago today, Jim and I got married ... we both agree it's the best decision we've ever made! We got married on a chartered water taxi in Fort Lauderdale, and we've made sure to do something memorable each year since on our anniversary.
1st anniversary: scuba diving on Sangalaki, an island near Borneo (thanx Mom!)
2d anniversary: watching fireworks off the pier from our kayaks
3d anniversary: repeat of #2
4th anniversary: at great friends' home on mountainside near Lake Tahoe
5th anniversary: twilight scuba dive in Fort Lauderdale, then watching fireworks later from the boat, with Mom and Kayuba dive club!
This year, we had hoped to be at the fireworks display at Mt. Rushmore, but the timing wasn't quite right. We woke up this morning in this beautiful site.
Then took a walk in the woods.
Look at the earrings Jim got me for an anniversary present. They are porcelain feathers with a buffalo painted on them. Cool.
And our next stop today is Thermopolis and Hot Springs State Park. I've always loved hot springs. From Liard hot springs on the Alaska highway to Hot creek in California, I've visited a lot of them. Thought I might write a book at one point, but I never did. This will actually be the first hot springs for Jim and me together. One of our favorite places in Florida is Warm Mineral Springs, but that is less than 100 degrees, we liked to keep our hot tub at 104 - which is exactly the temperature that Hot Springs Park is supposed to be! After waking up to 42 degrees outside. We're looking forward to the hot water.
Wish us luck, we have no reservations and this is the 4th. Hope you all have a great day too!
6 years ago today, Jim and I got married ... we both agree it's the best decision we've ever made! We got married on a chartered water taxi in Fort Lauderdale, and we've made sure to do something memorable each year since on our anniversary.
1st anniversary: scuba diving on Sangalaki, an island near Borneo (thanx Mom!)
2d anniversary: watching fireworks off the pier from our kayaks
3d anniversary: repeat of #2
4th anniversary: at great friends' home on mountainside near Lake Tahoe
5th anniversary: twilight scuba dive in Fort Lauderdale, then watching fireworks later from the boat, with Mom and Kayuba dive club!
This year, we had hoped to be at the fireworks display at Mt. Rushmore, but the timing wasn't quite right. We woke up this morning in this beautiful site.
Then took a walk in the woods.
Look at the earrings Jim got me for an anniversary present. They are porcelain feathers with a buffalo painted on them. Cool.
And our next stop today is Thermopolis and Hot Springs State Park. I've always loved hot springs. From Liard hot springs on the Alaska highway to Hot creek in California, I've visited a lot of them. Thought I might write a book at one point, but I never did. This will actually be the first hot springs for Jim and me together. One of our favorite places in Florida is Warm Mineral Springs, but that is less than 100 degrees, we liked to keep our hot tub at 104 - which is exactly the temperature that Hot Springs Park is supposed to be! After waking up to 42 degrees outside. We're looking forward to the hot water.
Wish us luck, we have no reservations and this is the 4th. Hope you all have a great day too!
Saturday, July 03, 2004
I'm getting used to this!
I no longer am in awe of the fact that I have my own shower with me even though I'm in the shadow of Devil's Tower. I'm starting to take it for granted. When I took a shower this morning I didn't look up at the skylight and marvel at the fact that the magical Devil's Tower was right outside. No, I looked at the crevices on the floor and noticed how dirty they were, promising to clean the shower when I was finished. In other words, I've moved in. This IS home.
I'm comfortable with the fact that I live in a home that moves. I no longer do a mental review when I wake up of where we are so that I'll be properly oriented when I open the door. I just get up, open the door and take whatever view I find there. When we're driving down the road and I feel the need to visit a bathroom, the thought 'we'd better start looking for a rest stop' doesn't even flash thru my mind before I simply get up and use our own bathroom.
This was the view this morning. I just can't get enough of it.
But we did have to leave. Highway 90 is a great road. Look at this view ... Mountains ahead! Real mountains!
Another thing I've gotten used to is that all our stuff is with us as we drive. We're pretty good at securing everything. You learn real quick that ANYTHING left out will be on the floor soon. Driving on the highway is NO problem. But today, we drove UP and DOWN and lots of curves, and some dirt roads. I think Jim actually enjoyed it. Seeing how the motorhome handled, trying out 2d and even first gear! I think this is another guy thing. Me? I'm holding on tight. Watching some items in the coach come flying out of their heretofore secure places. Wondering if the brakes are going to work good enough for us to make that turn at the bottom of the hill. This is new .. I'm not sure I like this.
But, everything did work fine. Oh Boy (that's what we call the motorhome) made it up the mountains without even breaking a sweat. And the brakes with the brake assist in the toad (that's short for towed vehicle) got us slowed down just fine. Jim had a grin from ear to ear. And I took some pictures!
Here we are at the top of a 9,666 foot pass. Yep, that's like 9000 times higher than we're acustomed to in Florida! Hey Dad ... notice the camper in front of us?!? Looks just like yours!
And here's our camp for the night. It's a national forest, so no electrical hookups. We're running the generator in order to put up the satellite dish and use the computers on the Internet. Too bad we don't have a good battery bank and an Inverter - we could have electricity without the noise and smell. Well, that's one of the main things we plan to learn about at the conference we're going to: RV Life On Wheels.
Bye for now. Gotta turn this generator off and go for a walk!
I no longer am in awe of the fact that I have my own shower with me even though I'm in the shadow of Devil's Tower. I'm starting to take it for granted. When I took a shower this morning I didn't look up at the skylight and marvel at the fact that the magical Devil's Tower was right outside. No, I looked at the crevices on the floor and noticed how dirty they were, promising to clean the shower when I was finished. In other words, I've moved in. This IS home.
I'm comfortable with the fact that I live in a home that moves. I no longer do a mental review when I wake up of where we are so that I'll be properly oriented when I open the door. I just get up, open the door and take whatever view I find there. When we're driving down the road and I feel the need to visit a bathroom, the thought 'we'd better start looking for a rest stop' doesn't even flash thru my mind before I simply get up and use our own bathroom.
This was the view this morning. I just can't get enough of it.
But we did have to leave. Highway 90 is a great road. Look at this view ... Mountains ahead! Real mountains!
Another thing I've gotten used to is that all our stuff is with us as we drive. We're pretty good at securing everything. You learn real quick that ANYTHING left out will be on the floor soon. Driving on the highway is NO problem. But today, we drove UP and DOWN and lots of curves, and some dirt roads. I think Jim actually enjoyed it. Seeing how the motorhome handled, trying out 2d and even first gear! I think this is another guy thing. Me? I'm holding on tight. Watching some items in the coach come flying out of their heretofore secure places. Wondering if the brakes are going to work good enough for us to make that turn at the bottom of the hill. This is new .. I'm not sure I like this.
But, everything did work fine. Oh Boy (that's what we call the motorhome) made it up the mountains without even breaking a sweat. And the brakes with the brake assist in the toad (that's short for towed vehicle) got us slowed down just fine. Jim had a grin from ear to ear. And I took some pictures!
Here we are at the top of a 9,666 foot pass. Yep, that's like 9000 times higher than we're acustomed to in Florida! Hey Dad ... notice the camper in front of us?!? Looks just like yours!
And here's our camp for the night. It's a national forest, so no electrical hookups. We're running the generator in order to put up the satellite dish and use the computers on the Internet. Too bad we don't have a good battery bank and an Inverter - we could have electricity without the noise and smell. Well, that's one of the main things we plan to learn about at the conference we're going to: RV Life On Wheels.
Bye for now. Gotta turn this generator off and go for a walk!
Friday, July 02, 2004
Spirit of the Mountain
We took a guided hike around Devil's Tower this morning. Way Cool!
*note* added 12/27/06 a Google place marker
Here was our guide, Chris, who is a Lakota Sioux Indian. He is also part Cheyenne, Italian and Irish! He told us lots of stories surrounding Devil's Tower, or Bear Lodge as the Lakota call it. They have no word for Devil.
Devil's Tower is a major symbol of Wyoming by the way - even more than Yellowstone!
It truly is magnificent. And we had such a gorgeous blue sky to offset it this morning.
This place is considered sacred to at least 7 Indian tribes. Here's Chris trying to absorb some of the spirit of the stone:
Legend has it that 7 girls were playing near here one day when a giant bear appeared. The girls prayed to the earth to save them. The earth responded by raising them up beyond the reach of the bear. The earth just kept rising as the bear clawed his way to try to reach the girls. The bear's claws created the columns we see today and the girls reached the sky and became the star system know as the Pleiades or the 7 sisters.
When we got back 'home' we had a relaxing afternoon, basking in the power of this monolith. Gaze at our majestic dog!
Some stormy weather moved in late in the afternoon and cancelled the Lakota storyteller we were hoping to hear tonight. But, I found this website with lots of Lakota stories as well as other tribes. And the storm was beautiful too.
I really like this place. I could stay for a few more days. But, we gotta get going. Talk to you later.
*note* added 12/27/06 a Google place marker
Here was our guide, Chris, who is a Lakota Sioux Indian. He is also part Cheyenne, Italian and Irish! He told us lots of stories surrounding Devil's Tower, or Bear Lodge as the Lakota call it. They have no word for Devil.
Devil's Tower is a major symbol of Wyoming by the way - even more than Yellowstone!
It truly is magnificent. And we had such a gorgeous blue sky to offset it this morning.
This place is considered sacred to at least 7 Indian tribes. Here's Chris trying to absorb some of the spirit of the stone:
Legend has it that 7 girls were playing near here one day when a giant bear appeared. The girls prayed to the earth to save them. The earth responded by raising them up beyond the reach of the bear. The earth just kept rising as the bear clawed his way to try to reach the girls. The bear's claws created the columns we see today and the girls reached the sky and became the star system know as the Pleiades or the 7 sisters.
When we got back 'home' we had a relaxing afternoon, basking in the power of this monolith. Gaze at our majestic dog!
Some stormy weather moved in late in the afternoon and cancelled the Lakota storyteller we were hoping to hear tonight. But, I found this website with lots of Lakota stories as well as other tribes. And the storm was beautiful too.
I really like this place. I could stay for a few more days. But, we gotta get going. Talk to you later.
Close Encounters
Look where we are!
We're staying in the KOA here because our friends Lynne and John (who have been living in their RV fulltime for a few years) said it was one of their special memories. It does have a real nice, friendly feel to it. They have a group bonfire every night. AND, they have an outdoor showing of 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' every night. Cool!!
Unfortunately, we were just too tired. We only made it thru the first half hour or so. Maybe tonight.
Our 'Close Encounter' was with George!! Yes, George from the famous Vagabonders Supreme Team of Tioga and George. We've been reading his Blog about the Adventures of Tioga and George for over a year now. It was SO much fun to meet someone for the first time who you know so well! You Rock George!
We're off to hike around the Tower.
Later
Look where we are!
We're staying in the KOA here because our friends Lynne and John (who have been living in their RV fulltime for a few years) said it was one of their special memories. It does have a real nice, friendly feel to it. They have a group bonfire every night. AND, they have an outdoor showing of 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' every night. Cool!!
Unfortunately, we were just too tired. We only made it thru the first half hour or so. Maybe tonight.
Our 'Close Encounter' was with George!! Yes, George from the famous Vagabonders Supreme Team of Tioga and George. We've been reading his Blog about the Adventures of Tioga and George for over a year now. It was SO much fun to meet someone for the first time who you know so well! You Rock George!
We're off to hike around the Tower.
Later
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2 computer geeks and one perfect poodle, live and travel in their RV making a living with computer skills. Computer Education for RVers, Internet Satellite Installations, Wi-Fi help, Website design.
Previous Posts
- Google Earth
- Blog Migration Successful!
- Blogger migration
- Water in the River
- Christmas Day
- It's a Wonderful Life
- Sittin' on the Bench of the Bank
- The Park is filling up
- Solomons Castle
- Visitors
Archive
My links
- Blog Index
- Site Feed
- Map of where we are now
- "Geeks on Tour" Our Business Website
- Our Web-based Photo Albums
- Mom's Blog
- Other RVers
- Diane and Andy's Blog
- Tioga and George
- Brightwing RV
- Lynne and John
- Cliff and Marie
- Hitch Itch: RV Travel Adventures and Journals
- Gypsy John
- Anne and Norm (fellow divers now discovering RVing!)
