RELAXING IN REDDING

Sunday evening we arrived in Redding-and the welcome committee arrived shortly after!
Denise and Pat showed up just as we were beginning our set-up routine,so thankfully w
e could take some time out to have a welcome cocktail! The heat here is something that we are not used to-over 100 and it is after 4pm-eek! they promise(those weather gurus)the temps will be around 80 tomorrow-lets hope they are correct! We have had such lovely weather all summer in Montana-and Idaho and Washington were beautiful-we are, I guess, spoiled. If we can make our way to so. cal slowly-we might miss the incredibly hot weather that Oct. can produce there too! tonight we order pizza and just enjoy visiting-tomorrow Pat is making his famous bbq ribs-looking forward to that! it is good to be off the road for a few days-this is a pretty park, owned by the same people who have the one in Eugene-gotta comment on the potties here-just because they are sooo nice,just like a fine hotel, really! After all that experience dealing with "camp" potties-I guess I just tend to notice more-or at least with a different eye-its wrong, I know-but my fellow "potty hotties" out there know what I mean! The owners designed this place to be what they always wanted when they started travelling in their Rv-and seldom found. They have done a great job in making a really nice park!
Last night we had a wonderful evening with Pat and Denise-Clint and Mindy and Austin and Katy were there too-Mike and Austin played guitar-Pat made the best ribs ever-We met a cousin of Pat's,Rick-and his wife Jana, and son Drew. they have lived here in Redding for quite awhile-yet Pat did not know it. They are a cute family and it was fun to get to meet them.
Today we have just been relaxing at "home"-laundry,walks, and Daddy got a much needed manicure-tonight we will go back to Pat and Denise's for dinner, then on the road tomorrow AM to Arbuckle. I can finally tell Daddy yes, today we go to Arbuckle!
everyday we get up, and the first thing he asks is "are we going to see Mary Lou today?" This has been the conversation since we left Washington Sat. morning. We are all looking forward to getting to Arbuckle-lets hope Arbuckle is ready for us!
the pics are of our park in Eugene-the backseat duo, and a special edition of "working out on the streets of Redding"-it was quite a sight-good thing the zoom was not on the camera lens-eek!!enlarge the pic to full screen-go ahead!

AND THE FUN JUST CONTINUES!

Sept. 29,2009

The happy travellers arrived in Eugene,Oregon Sat. afternoon-the weather is pretty-and pretty windy too!
We have been at this Premier Rv Resort before-this time we are parked in the back next to the pond and the cows-really pretty, and peaceful here. There is a huge football game tonight-Oregon at Eugene against Cal-the park is packed with "houses" and very quiet because everyone is at the game-just a few miles away from here. We are lucky to have made a reservation and to have a site here. the cows are out in the pasture having dinner-we do the same, and it is an early evening.tomorrow we head for Redding-the first time the three(make that four) of us have been in Calif. for awhile! Daddy and Ginger are good backseat buddies-they nap when they want-and both respect each others space-very happy travellers indeed!Three hundred and fifty miles to go tomorrow-then we will stay put for three nights-we are looking forward to seeing everyone in Redding tomorrow!
I had to take one last pic of Mt. Rainier last night-it looked pink against the sky-so pretty! I called Nolan as we went thru Portland-such a great city. Daddy brought his CID cap along, so Dave, if you need any help with those bad guys in Iraq-let him know!

DADDY'S MOST EXCELLENT ADVENTURE:PART I

Sept. 25,2009


THIS MORNING SHERYL, MIKE AND I MET AT PATRIOTS LANDING TO PACK DADDY FOR HIS "BIG ADVENTURE". WE SAID GOODBYE TO THE FANTASTIC, AND LOVING STAFF-THEY HAVE BEEN SO VERY GOOD TO DADDY, AND THEY ALL DESERVE A BIG HUG!!
WE SAID GOODBYE TO SHERYL-SHE WAS SOOO INVITED TO COME WITH US,BUT HAD TO DECLINE DUE TO BEING MOM TO NIKE AND DUNCAN-THEY WERE INVITED TOO! GINGER WOULD HAVE LOVED HAVING THEM FOR COMPANY IN THE TRUCK-BUT I GUESS IT WAS JUST NOT MEANT TO BE. WE WILL MISS YOU SHERYL,NIKE AND DUNCAN!
THE HOUSE IS NOT TOTALLY ORGANIZED FOR DADDY-BUT WE WILL FIND ROOM FOR EVERYTHING,AND WILL GET A ROUTINE GOING IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS-REALLY!
TONIGHT WE HAVE CHRISTOPHER COMING FOR DINNER-HE IS STILL WORKING IN TACOMA, AND IT IS SO COOL THAT WE WILL GET TO SEE HIM. I GOT UP EARLY AND MADE BEEF STEW IN THE CROCK-POT,SO I FEEL REALLY ORGANIZED, IN THAT AREA ANYWAY! THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS ARE GOING TO BE A REAL ADVENTURE-I AM GLAD TO HAVE THIS FORUM WHERE I CAN SHARE. I AM ALSO GLAD THAT YOU ALL CAN COME ALONG WITH US!!

THE PICS ARE OF THE BEAUTIFUL VIEW OF MT. RAINIER OUT OUR BACK WINDOW WHILE HERE IN GRAHAM,WASHINGTON. WE HAD LUNCH AT PATRIOTS LANDING WITH DADDY ON WED, AND ONE OF THE RESIDENT,PAT,JOINED US. PAT HAS LIVED AT PATRIOTS LANDING FOR A YEAR-SHE IS JUST A DOLL. LAST NIGHT WE TOOK SHERYL FOR A NICE ITALIAN DINNER-THE LEAST WE COULD DO FOR ALL OF THE HELP AND LOVE SHE HAS GIVEN TO DAD WHILE HE HAS BEEN IN WASHINGTON. WHEN DAVE HAD TO LEAVE FOR IRAQ,SHERYL WAS LEFT TOTALLY IN CHARGE-SHE HAS BEEN JUST THE BEST-AND DESERVES A HUGE THANK YOU FROM US ALL-THANK YOU SHERYL!!!!!(NOW GO HAVE A GLASS OF WINE FOR ME)

FUN IN IDAHO

You can read the blog below,just had a few more photos that will give you a feel for where we are! Idaho is a fun place!on the subject of fun..when we arrived here, we were told that we had just missed emmylou Harris-she had been parked in the space next to ours the previous day-in her Hummer hauling-Prevost bus.
enjoy the view from our temporary yard-and some fun pics I wanted to share.

I DA HOE HERE WE COME!!

Sorry, but when you come here I guess it just gets said that way. Anyway-we had a beautiful trip from Whitefish to Coeur D' Alene Idaho. Neil showed us a route that was just great all the way. We went thru some beautiful country. The Clark Fork area was gorgeous-Paradise tiny but pretty too. We went thru the small mining town of Wallace-main street filled with tourists-no where to park the "house" anywhere. I am sure Mike was happy about that-but he pretends to be sorry! It is fun to go thru these little old and lots of time very Historic towns-and I have no place to put antiques anyway-so all is good! When we came down the hill into Coeur D' Alene( which in French means "heart like an awl" we got our first look at Lake Coeur D' Alene-it is fabulous-deep turquoise blue, and really huge! Like any nice area as this, some pretty wonderful homes line the shore-and hide high in the hills above-we could definitely live here for a bit!
We found our RV Resort away from home-home,and were so happy that a nice camper at the KOA had told us about it. It is quite pretty-and our space was fight on the river,we are feeling really special-I think we have THE best spot in the park.
All day and eve-boats of every description and size pass by us,some are really beautiful,some are classic teak from another era-super fantastic! There are also large tour boats looking like old steamboats, and then also really modern design,filled with tourists on a dinner cruise or just a cruise around the lake. I think if we ever get to live here-we would have to have some sort of a boat.
We took the next day off to just relax-Friday we went out to see the oldest building in Idaho, the Mission Of The Sacred Heart. I have a few pics-this Mission was just beautiful-very elaborate inside for its time(built 1850-53)-unfortunately, they are doing some refurb work on the exterior. I could not bring myself to taking a pic with painting lifts and construction workers all over. They have a huge job to do in the restoration project-glad they are taking care of the Mission-but wished they had had a day off! We walked all over the grounds-many buildings had burned-the river barely flows past now, but it was a great landing site for the steamboats from St. Louis.There was an old burial ground, and lots of old plantings and trees.
From the Mission we went to check out Sherman Ave. This is a historic street, and now the main hub of downtown. The street it pretty-and crowded! Flower baskets hang from all of the light standards-I love this custom of the Northwest! We found a cute little bistro-had a wonderful Tai Chicken Pizza-did a bit of window shopping-then back home. It was a beautiful day-and just got better at dinner time. we went to the Cedars,the floating restaurant just down the road from the resort. We sat out on the patio/deck, and immediately you know that you are really floating-it is fun! Dinner was very good-and actually turned out to be enough to share again the next night.
The atmosphere was so special-still quite a few boats out on the lake,and the restaurant has a dock out front-you can just get off of your boat and go to dinner. While we were there a huge fancy boat/yacht/came up and docked-the owner of the restaurant came out to greet the group-it was like a bit of Hollywood in Idaho!
finding out what a nice place we had found-we decided to enjoy it for an extra two days. We will be leaving in the morning(Monday) for our journey to Washington. We have found a park in Puyallup-pronounced-poo-ya'll-up. We are looking forward to seeing Daddy-and Sheryl-and setting our joint plan for the most excellent adventure to Arizona.
the photos are some views from our house, and coming into Coeur D'Alene,and the Mission we went to see.

MT. OBERLIN

The blog will follow-I had to add more pictures of Mt.Oberlin-so check them out then read the story below! The mountain in the pic is the one we climbed.

YOUR'RE TAKING US WHERE? OR-NEVER WALK WITH A GUY WHO CLIMBS ICE WALLS FOR FUN

We were all excited to be going on a "hike" with the group-or at least most of them.
Walt had a plan-so we took off to Glacier-and again took that road that goes to the sun.I had no idea what was in store for me that day-otherwise I would have not been able to do it!the "walk" turned out to be a walk alright-a walk straight up Mt.Oberlin. I could not believe where Walt kept pointing-I kept thinking(hoping) that he was just being Walt and was kidding-not. We kept climbing-and climbing,I kept whining-and they kept saying "you can do it"-so I kept doing it-the scenery was awesome-it was a perfect day-sunny, warm and so clear-I know there were no clouds-because I was UP high enough that I would have felt them! This really has to be the most scary thing I have done-but so cool now its done! I finally had to quit-just short of the summit-I was feeling so dizzy from the elevation(we climbed from about 6000ft to over 86000ft in less than two miles-I did not feel safe climbing any higher,Mike stayed with me-he could have just left the bear spray, but that is my Mike-we just sat and drank water, and gazed out over the area where we had just been walking-way,way way down. After a bit, we decided to start heading down. the down was so steep-and all shale(slippery) I was not looking forward to it at all. Turns out it was not so bad-you just had to kind of go down sideways-works muscles that you did not know about-Mike told me not to look out ahead-just down in front of me-he was right-I looked out once-not good-we were sooo high up still! Finally we made it to semi level ground. I was once again able to start enjoying the scenery!
It was a good walk back to the visitors center-and along the way we saw several bighorn sheep-they are soo huge! We never saw a bear, although we did see some scat(that is a fancy term for bear poop-for you non-Montanans) We sat for a bit at the center-the rest of our group came along shortly,we were all glad to see each other alive! While we were waiting-I went into the center to get the specifics of how far we hiked,and how high we climbed-the ranger said,when I told her we had hiked the Oberlin trail-"that is not a designated trail,that is mountain climbing!" So,be careful who you hike with-and if they climb ice walls for fun-well you had better just go on that hike!! in the pic of the mountain from the parking lot at the visitors center-t last place on top where you can see grass-that is where we were.the rest of the group went all the way to the top-amazing!

the pics are just different scenes along our hike-behind the group photo are mountain goats-all over the walls by the falls-amazing!

PAT AND DENISE-THEIR MOST EXCELLENT ADVENTURE

After many hours of planning, and re-scheduling-and hoping-Pat and Denise actually made it to Montana! We did not know until almost the end of season that they would come-we had to pack as much in a few days as we could-we were up for the challenge!
When Pat and Denise had gotten themselves all set up in their little Kabin,we got to visit a bit-but Mike and I were still on the clock. Walt was nice enough to let us close the office early-among other things he did with our guests in mind-Thanks again Walt! The next morning we took off for breakfast at the Buffalo cafe-it is a Whitefish institution- next we drove out to Little Beaver Lake (Andy's fishing hole)to see if we could get some trout for dinner. We all caught fish,the bears stayed away,-and the farmers market awaits! We all got the fish guts off ourselves-some of us had lots of "potskis balls o'fire" salmon eggs on our clothes and hands-We headed downtown to the market. The crowds were there-but so was the wonderful fresh chard, and corn, and Japanese eggplant! After our shopping we headed down the street to the Great Northern Brewery-Denise and I both had their unique huckleberry ale-the boys each had something boring-it was fun sitting upstairs and watching the busy crowd below. Our next stop was the Bulldog-part saloon, part diner, part casino-its a hoot!
They are known for their hamburgers-and one other thing-the one stall on the left in the "ladies" room. It is a must see-and to "some" a must do photo op. Those of you who get the chance will just have to see for yourselves-that is my story---you know the rest. so, the next day was Glacier Park. Turns out,Pat was going to get his first look at Glacier-how cool! We had a sunny and warm day-stopped at the Lake Macdonald Lodge for a good little lunch-then on to the sun we did go! We had not planned a hike for the day,but we strolled a bit on one trail and saw some mountain goats lazing in the sun.We had a great day of enjoying nature at its finest!
That evening-we had trout on the dinner menu. I tried a recipe that calls for de-boning the trout before cooking-never have done that-but I gave it a try-it wasn't too bad-I stuffed the fish with a mix of wild mushrooms and herbs,wrapped each in foil and Mike grilled them to perfection. We had a couple of good dinners during their visit-and we made sure they not only got fresh Montana trout-but also the obligatory huckleberries!! The whole visit was fun-not long enough-but way fun! We have been so lucky to have some great visits from family-and that includes you,Ken and Scotty and Allyson-this summer!!

the pics are of Pat and Denise on the porch of their Kabin at our KOA home away from home-Pat and Denise and their fish caught in Little Beaver Lake,At Lake Macdonald in Glacier Natl Park. The dancing is Me and Mike-well, they have this sign above the kitchen door-its says "absolutely no dancing" well, every time we went into that Buffalo cafe,I read the sign, and just knew that before we left Whitefish I would have to try to dance there-did it!

WAY DOWN UPON THE SWAN_EE RIVER....

The last few weeks were really busy, but we somehow figured some fun time in(duh).
We had a great and exciting day of floating down the beautiful Swan River. The day could not have been more beautiful(more than I can say about the lovely bruise I recd from a very large rock) There is more to floating than one would think-it can be some work too! Mike had to save me a time or two. He once asked me-can you really be that klutzy? If I did not know that he was right-I would be so hurt! anyway-to sum up, it was a great day. The Stave's gave us all an "end of thee season" party. We had lots of good food,and basically just enjoyed being able to visit with each other after a good summer.My patio tomato plants have done me proud-the topsy turvy planter turned out to be a disappointment-very few tomatoes, and only one bell pepper. the good thing is-Don and Sheri cooked up some fried green tomatoes,the ones that had not yet ripened-they were delicious! I had never tasted one before-but I hope to again-sweet home Alabama!

the pics are of Ashle(AKA Stephanie) and her daughter Meadow,The boys from the hood-and Ashle)my yummy Montana tomatoes-and THE POTTY HOTTIES on the golf cart-hey we were wearing heels!

END OF SEASON ANTICS AND FUN

The end of season has arrived. With mixed emotions we have come to the end of one great summer. There were days when we asked ourselves-"selves" what are we doing??
Fortunately there were many more days that were just so much fun-and yes, there were really many! We have made some good friends,learned some good lessons-and know that we left whitefish with our heads held high-we did it! our first workamping job was a success-and now we look for our next adventure, and challenge-but this time we know what it will be. Mike and I-and Ginger too-are on our way to Washington now-we are going to take my Daddy on a road trip that will eventually end in Arizona. We are moving Dad to Phoenix-he will be in a really good smaller care home. It is going to be a new experience for Daddy-but I think he is up for the challenge. More updates as they happen. I have added just a few pics from our final days. they may be in two postings-or just scattered in with other blogs-but I hope you enjoy them. and the adventure/journey continues.......

the pics are of our elegant last dinner in the woods-courtesy Mr. Kaylynn,ginger and her best bud-benjie,my last gallon of eggs to scrample at Bobs,and Mike and Don on our last day at Bobs.Lastly THE POTTY HOTTIES,and our irrepressable computer Queen.