July 2011

Friday, July 1

We toured the Pendleton Woolen Mills, then walked around the historic district, including along the river.  Had a good dinner at Mazatlan Mexican Restaurant.  

Saturday, July 2

We left Pendleton and headed to Intermountain RV Park in Wendell, ID.  In the middle of the night the propane detector went off.  There was no way to disconnect it without cutting the wires.  Turned the propane off.

Sunday, July 3

Attended First Christian Church in Twin Falls.  The building was built in 1929 and has beautiful stained glass windows.  The people were friendly and welcoming.  After lunch we went to the Visitor Center and the Perrine Bridge and looked out over the Snake River.

From there we went to see the Shoshone Falls.  It’s known as the “Niagara Falls of the West.”  We were a little late in the season as they had started diverting water for farm irrigation; but it was still an impressive sight.  

Monday, July 4

First stop was at Subway for breakfast and also got sandwiches to take with us for lunch.  Went to Craters of the Moon National Monument.  Watched a video about the history of the area.  Then we took the loop drive and stopped to take some hikes.  We hiked the North Crater Flow Trail, the Devils Orchard Nature Trail, and went to the top of Inferno Cone (which is a cinder cone).   

Ate dinner at Farmer’s Restaurant in Wendell.  After all the driving and hiking, we didn’t feel like driving anywhere to watch fireworks.  

Tuesday, July 5

Kent repaired the propane leak and added disconnects for the detector.  

Wednesday, July 6

After eating breakfast at Farmer’s Restaurant, we left Wendell.  We stopped for lunch in Roy, UT at the Burger Bar (a DDD place) and had great burgers and onion rings.  

Then we continued to East Canyon Resort south of Haneford.  At first they assigned us to a site that wasn’t long enough for us to park the fifth wheel (and no place to put the truck), nor wide enough to open the slides.  Plus, the hook-ups would have been on the wrong side.  When I looked at their campground map, that site was designated as a pull-in for small motor homes.  Someone in the office obviously didn’t know how to read their site maps.  They gave us a different site, but we could only have it for two nights instead of three and we didn’t want to have to move to another site to spend the third night.  So we cancelled the third night and called Moab to see if we could arrive a day earlier than reserved.

Friday, July 8

Left Haneford and went to the OK RV Park in Moab.  It’s in a good location, and we got the best site—close to the office and laundry room, bushes and trees are completely along one side and blocks the view of the building, and there are two trees on the other side.  We have a great view of the mountains.  

Saturday, July 9

After lunch at the Moab Diner, we went to Hole in the Rock.  Rooms had been cut out of the sandstone mountain for a restaurant and a home.  The restaurant is now a gift shop and tours are given of the home.  

Sunday, July 10

We attended the Moab Church of Christ, a very small, friendly church.  When we mentioned the number of churches located so close together, we were told that the land was donated by Charlie Steen (“the uranium king”) to be used for religious groups.  In the evening we walked (1 ¼  miles each way) to the Branding Iron Restaurant.  Just as we finished eating, it started to rain.  It was a warm, gentle rain -- nice walk.

Monday, July 11

Went to Arches National Park.  We did these hikes:  Park Avenue (.5 mi.); Balanced Rock (.3 mi.); Windows (1 mi.); lower Delicate Arch viewpoint (100 yds);  Sand Dune Arch (.3 mi.).  What amazing sites!  

Tuesday, July 12

We had breakfast at Zax Restaurant and then went to Canyonlands National Park.  We did these hikes:  Mesa Arch (.5 mi.); and the First Overlook for Upheaval Dome (.8 mi.).  We also went to the White Rim overlook.

Wednesday, July 13

We went back to Zax for dinner and had all you can eat salad bar, soup, and pizza.   Then we walked the trail along a creek in town and circled around to go down Main Street.

Friday, July 15

Left Moab and went to the Uncompaghre National Forest near Norwood, Colorado.  We checked at the Forest Service to ask about dispersed camping.  We found a really nice spot not far off the road with an opening to use the solar panel, but also getting some shade.   Went back into Norwood to get a shovel and Kent got a fishing license.

Saturday, July 16

Took a drive to Beaver Park area.  I finally got to see the areas where Kent has gone hunting.  Kent decided to fish one of the streams.  No luck.  While he fished, I did a little walking.  

When we got back to our campsite, I did some more walking while Kent worked on rebuilding a campfire ring.  Kent went for a walk after dinner and I sat by the campfire and read.  We saw a beautiful sunset.

Sunday, July 17

Attended the Christian Church in Norwood.  Met a man who grew up in Ripon, CA and attended Ripon Christian School (that’s where Kent worked before we moved to Heavenly Hills).  The guest speaker was someone Kent had met when he at been at the church before.  There was also an older man who had been a classmate of Dad Kinion’s.  So Kent enjoyed visiting with these men.   After church we had lunch at Costa Alegre.  It was exceptionally good Mexican food.   Then we drove to Naturita and got fuel and also hot dogs and marshmallows.  Drove around the back roads to get to Miramonte Reservoir.  Kent thought that we passed the little house that his family lived in when he was a little boy.  We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows over the campfire that evening.

Monday, July 18

Left the forest and headed to Blue Mesa Resort near Gunnison.  Stopped at the Walmart in Montrose and called for directions to the Resort.  About 6 miles before the Resort, we had a blow out on the fifth wheel.  God was looking out for us as the incident happened right before there was a pull out area on our side of the road.  We were able to pull off safely and Kent changed the tire.  We then went on to the Resort.  It’s the largest RV park that we have stayed in so far.

Tuesday, July 19

We went into Gunnison to go to McDonald’s to use the internet.  The campground’s service is slow.  Sent Utah photos to family and friends.  Kent made calls to find a replacement tire and also a call to order a shelf and holder for the freezer.  We spent a couple of hours at the Gunnison Historical Museum since the resort had given us complimentary passes.  

Wednesday, July 20

Kent took the new tire back to Gunnison to have it balanced.  Attended the tour and sales pitch for campground membership.  We decided that it would be advantageous to buy into it.  Afterwards we went to Black Canyon of the Mesa.  Didn’t take any long hikes.

Went to Montrose and spent time with Kent’s Aunt Irene and his cousin, Frank Kinion.  Had dinner with them at Applebee’s.  On the way back to the campground, my sister, Dorcas, called and said that our brother, Dan, had a heart attack that morning, but he’s doing OK.  When we pulled into our camp site, a woman came over and said she was really sick, didn’t know what was wrong, and needed to go to the hospital.  They had a large motor home and didn’t have another vehicle with them.  Kent took her and her husband to the hospital in Gunnison.  She had suffered a heat stroke, was dehydrated and possibly had a virus, so she was kept overnight. 

Thursday, July 21

Kent took the husband to pick up his wife.  He also took the old spare tire in to have it inflated.  We had been given tickets for a free dinner at the resort.  They served pizza, salad, apple pie with ice cream.  

Friday, July 22

Left Blue Mesa and went to Colorado Heights RV Resort in Monument.  Called Dan to see how he was doing.

Saturday, July 23

The resort served biscuits, gravy, and hash browns for $3.50; not bad.  They had an ice cream social in the afternoon and served cookies (25¢) and ice cream (50¢ a scoop).  For dinner they barbecued hamburgers and served it with chips and dessert for $3.50.  These are good times to meet people and visit.  

Sunday, July 24

Attended Academy Christian Church.  The traditional service was very well attended and the people were friendly.  The best sermon we’ve heard for awhile and the worship time was very good.  Went to the mall and walked before the stores opened.  I did some shopping. Talked to Danielle and she said that they got set up for Skype and said we needed to check into it.  For dinner we went to Rosie’s Diner in Monument.  When we got back, we went on the internet and downloaded Skype.

Tuesday, July 26

Had breakfast at Rosie’s Diner.  Went to the Museum of Mining.  Then we went to Wimberger’s Bakery & Deli and Kent bought some German meats and bread.  Had lunch at Popeye’s. 

Thursday, July 28

Kent talked to a neighbor who saw a bear go between their fifth wheel and ours last night.  We’d heard there was a bear in the park, but we hadn’t seen it.

Friday, July 29

Moved from Monument to Lakeside KOA in Fort Collins.  After we got set up, we ate dinner at Outback, and did some grocery shopping.  Dan called and asked if we had time to help him and Sue with some projects.

Saturday, July 30

We went to McDonald’s so that we could try out Skype.  It works great and we got to see Josh, Danielle, and Megan.  It is so cool to do a video call.

Sunday, July 31

Attended services at Dayspring Christian Church.  We went to the White Fence Farm Restaurant in Lakewood for lunch.  It was a really good fried chicken dinner.  Then we went to Dan and Sue’s to see how we could help.  Kent helped put the bench seat back into the van.  Then he got the irrigation pump running.  It’s not wired correctly and he will take care of that later in the week.  

June 2011

June 1-11 we were still at Heavenly Hills helping with projects.  Most of what I did was sort through old boxes of files.  On the 5th, we attended worship at Heritage and had lunch with Barb and Pierre.  On the 7th we had dinner with Gloria, Bill, and Sue.  We had the windows on the truck and fifth-wheel treated to cut down on UV rays, heat, and an added benefit is a little more privacy in the fifth-wheel.  The 10th and 11th were spent shopping and getting the fifth-wheel cleaned and ready to leave.

On the 12th we were getting ready to pull out in time to attend church in Sonora, but the exhaust pipe had come loose and Kent had to repair that before we could leave.  We finally left about 11:30, so we grabbed a sandwich when we stopped for diesel in Jamestown.  Spent the night at Walmart in Yreka and had a late dinner at the Black Bear Cafe.

On the 13th we arrived at the RV Park of Portland and had dinner with John and Mary Ellen.

We went to Camping World on the 14th.  Neskowin Creek was doing a promotion selling memberships in their resort.  After listening to the sales pitch for their resorts and getting RPI resorts, we did some calculations.  We had already realized that campground and resort fees were more expensive than we had planned and that a lot of state campgrounds did not have spaces large enough for our rig.  Our conclusion was that for full-time RV living, buying into a resort and having access to the other resorts in their group, plus affiliated memberships was the way to go.  So Neskowin Creek in Oregon became our “home park.” 

On the 15th, we invited John and Mary Ellen to meet us for lunch at Otto’s Sausage, Portland (featured on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives).  

Then they took us on a scenic drive to Multnomah Falls.

The next morning, John and Mary Ellen met us at Pine State Biscuits (another DDD) for breakfast.  It was really a unique place and only had seating for 16.  A young woman invited Mary Ellen and I to share a table with her and her daughter.  It turned out that she liked to check out Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives locations too and told us some of the places where she had eaten.  A couple sitting at the next table was surprised to hear that this little, local place had been featured on TV.

We went to Everett, WA on the 17th and checked into the Lakeside RV Park.  After we got set up and ate a quick bite, we went to Tonja’s to see our granddaughter, Jessica.  After visiting with them, we met Kenton and his family and visited while they ate dinner.

Graduation was the 18th.  There weren't enough tickets for everyone and so we ended up taking our grandsons, Brandon and Cole, to see a movie.

The 19th was Father’s Day.  After attending worship at New Hope Christian Church in Everett, we met Kenton and his family for lunch at Red Robin.  It made a very nice Father’s Day.

On the 20th, Tonja brought Jessica, Brandon, and Victoria over and we took the kids to Pizza Hut for dinner.  Then took them back to Tonja’s and told them all good-bye because they had plans for the next day and weren’t going to be able to do anything with us.

We went sightseeing in Seattle on the 21st and it was a beautiful day for it.  We started with breakfast at Voula’s Offshore Cafe (another DDD).  The owner was very friendly and even came to our table to visit with us about DDD.  

We drove to the historical district and decided to take the Underground Tour where we learned some interesting things -- like the “glass squares” in the sidewalk above us were sky lights for the underground passages.  After that we went up to the observatory (34th floor) of Smith Tower for a fantastic view of the city and surrounding area.  

We went to Pike Place Market. 

For a late lunch we went to the Last Chance (another DDD).

The next day we went back to Portland.  We needed to get our membership number (since it was being processed while we went up to Washington) before we could go to Neskowin Creek. 

On the 23rd we had breakfast at the Byways Cafe (DDD).  It was another fairly small cafe and while we were eating, a line was forming waiting for tables.  

On the 24th we went to Neskowin Creek RV Park which is located on the coast.  This was the beginning of our membership resort experience.  

After getting set up we drove into Lincoln City to do some shopping and had dinner at Moe’s Restaurant.  It had been recommended as the best place to get chowder.  We had a table by the window so we could look out at the beach.

This resort serves breakfast on Saturdays.  So we decided to try it out on the 25th.  There was also a potluck that evening, with the resort providing the entree.  I had signed up for dessert and took Rocky Road Fudge.  Later we walked to the beach which  was an easy 15 minute walk.  There’s a hill between the resort and the beach, so we could not see or hear it from our site.  That’s a good compromise for us because I like the beach, but Kent doesn’t like to hear it.

On the 26th we attended worship at the Christian Church which is located at Wi-Ne-Ma Christian Camp.  On the way back to the resort, we stopped at an overlook where we could look out and see the Christian Camp.

The 27th was a full day of sightseeing.  We went to Tillamook to tour the Tillamook Cheese Factory.  

Then we ate at a local seafood shack called Old Oregon Smoke.  It was across the highway from the cheese factory.  

After lunch we stopped at the Blue Heron French Cheese Factory.  There was no tour, but lots of samples; not just cheeses, but jellies, dips, and spreads.  

From there we went to the Tillamook Air Museum.   It is housed in a WWII blimp hangar that once housed nine Navy Class K blimps.

I went shopping at the outlet mall in Lincoln City on the 28th.  It is one of the nicest outlet malls I’ve ever been to.  While I shopped, Kent looked for parts to hook up our solar panel.  Later, Kent worked on the solar panel while I did laundry.

We left Neskowin Creek on the 30th and went to Mountain View KOA in Pendleton.

May 2011

On the 1^st we met my cousin Shelly at church in Sierra Vista and then went to her home for lunch.  Her son, daughter and son-in-law, and grandchildren were there too.  Had a nice visit and played cards.

We drove as far as Yuma on the 2^nd and spent the night at Arizona Sands RV Park.  The main reason for stopping at an RV park for just one night instead of a Walmart was because we wanted to do laundry.  After we were set up for the night, we found out that they were working on the water line and the laundry room was not available.  So we went in search of a laundromat in town.

The 3^rd we arrived in El Cajon, CA and checked into the Circle RV Park.  The next morning we met my cousin, Paul, for breakfast at Lake Murray Café and then went to his apartment to visit.  That afternoon we went to the Creation Museum.

The 5^th – 11^th we stayed in Anaheim at the Anaheim Resort.  We visited with Kent’s sister and brother-in-law, Becky and Bob, several times while in the area, and also got to see our niece, Brittnie.  

One day Kent and I ate at Mrs. Knott’s Restaurant (outside the entrance to Knott’s Berry Farm).  Because Kent missed seeing the parking lot entrance and we had to circle around a few blocks, we arrived later than planned.  If we had gotten in earlier, we would have been too early for the “senior dinner” which was only available for a couple of hours.  It wasn’t listed on the main menu and we would have not known anything about it.  What a surprise.

We attended worship at Knott Avenue Christian Church on the 8^th.  We had Becky and Bob over for dinner.  From the back of our RV space, we were able to see Disneyland’s fireworks.

We spent a couple of days at Disneyland and California Adventure.  We took in:  Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln; Indiana Jones; Jungle Cruise; Innovations—House of the Future; Say Hello to Honda’s ASIMO; Aladdin—Musical; It’s Tough to be a Bug; World of Color; Imagineering—Blue Sky Cellar; Mission Tortilla; Soarin’ over California; Grizzly River Run; listened to Billy Hill and the Hillbillies, and the Straw Hatters; and watched the Flag Retreat Ceremony.

Kent enjoying a turkey leg -- his favorite food at Disneyland.

Billy Hill and the Hillbillies

Straw Hatters

The 12^th we left Anaheim and went to Twain Harte.  We stayed at Heavenly Hills Christian Camp.  It seemed kind of strange to be back.  The next day we had lunch at Cover’s Apple Ranch and discovered that their Apple Blossom Community Breakfast was the next morning.  Great timing—of course we went and Kent had a chance to visit with several people that he knew from Tuolumne.

On Sunday, the 15^th, we woke up to 5 inches of snow—a real surprise.  What a change in weather!  We had been in temperatures of 90 to 100+, for the past month.

We attended worship at Heritage in Sonora and it was great to see our old friends.  Had lunch with

 some of them and then headed to Concord to see Bob and Donna.  On the 17^th we had dinner with Kathy and Dick.  Stayed in Concord until the 19^th when we went back to Twain Harte.

On the 20^th we had some medical and dental appointments, so most of the day was spent in town.  Kent did some work at the camp in the afternoon.  The 21^st we both did some camp work.

On the 22^nd, we attended worship at Heritage.  Had lunch with Dale and Roberta.  When we got back to camp in the afternoon, Lewis and Betty arrived.

The 23^rd through the 31^st  we finished up our doctors’ appointments and also helped around camp. Work Camp was the 27^th – 30^th  so we got to see more friends.

On the way into town on the 31^st, we saw a couple of snow plants.  I called Tatia to tell her that the snow season was over.  I let her know where we saw them so that she could watch for them when they went in.  After my eye appointment, we went to shop in Modesto.

April 2011

We planned to leave Ft. Collins on April 4^th.  But it snowed on the 3^rd and more snow was predicted, so we decided to wait.  The 5^th was Kent’s birthday and he didn’t want to hitch up and drive on his birthday.  On the 6^th snow started falling while we were eating breakfast and again we decided to wait.  On the 7^th, while getting ready to leave, the switch for one of the slide-outs quit working.  Kent was finally able to get the slide-out pulled in.  Then he noticed that the tire pressure was wrong on the truck tires (we’d had the tires rotated on Saturday), so he had to go have that corrected.  Finally we were ready to head for Colorado Springs.  We made two stops on the way to find a replacement switch before arriving at Goldfield RV Park in Colorado Springs.

One of the things we want to do while traveling is to re-connect with family members, some we haven’t seen for over 40 years.

On the 9^th, we met my cousin, Bill, and his wife, Laura, for lunch.  After church on the 10^th, we met Kent’s cousin, Mike, and his wife for lunch.   It’s good to get acquainted with family and “catch up” on their lives.

The 11^th, we left Colorado Springs and went to Dalhart, TX.  We stayed at the Corral RV Park.   While there, we had dinner and an enjoyable visit with my cousin, Candy and her husband, Mark.  We also got together a couple of times with Judy, a friend we had known from Concord, CA many years ago.

On the 14^th we left Dalhart.  We spent the night at the Walmart in Abilene.  There was a lot of smoke from wildfires.  The next day we stopped in Fredericksburg.   Only Kent would think of looking for an "authentic" German restaurant in Texas -- we ate at Der Lindenbain.

After lunch, we walked around the historic area and saw this beautiful church building.

Then we went on to Kathy and Paul’s home, my cousin and her husband, outside of San Antonio.   Getting set up took some “doing”—a power line had to be raised, tree branches trimmed, and when we turned the air conditioner on, the breaker would trip, so some electrical work was done.  

While there, the four of us went to the Alamo and the River Walk. 

  

On Palm Sunday we attended worship service with them at Oak Hills Church where Max Lucado is the senior pastor.  

One day, Kent and I went to the SAS outlet store and also had a tour of the factory.  We didn’t know until then, that SAS stood for San Antonio Shoes.

We headed to El Paso on the 20^th.   Parkview RV Park in Fort Stockton was our overnight stop.  The landing gear on one side would not extend and Kent had to use a jack for support.  While watching TV, a severe weather alert came on for thunderstorms and large hail – for the location we had traveled through just a couple of hours earlier.  We were thankful that we had driven further than planned.  The next afternoon we arrived at Mission RV Park in El Paso.  We were in El Paso to see if we could help my sister, Dorcas, whose daughter, Elisabeth, was in the hospital with a rare medical condition. Elisabeth’s husband was out of the area on an Army training mission and they have 6 kids.  

The evening we arrived, we met Dorcas and Gary, Rachel, and Elisabeth's children for dinner at the Cattleman's Steakhouse which is located on a working ranch outside of El Paso.

Bruce was released to come back home early.  Elisabeth got out of the hospital the evening before Resurrection Sunday and attended worship the next morning.  While we were there, Kent helped with some home repairs for Elisabeth and Bruce.  Also, we made a trip to Las Cruces, NM to pick up the parts to repair the landing gear.

On the 28^th we moved to the Quail Ridge RV Resort in Huachuca City, AZ.  We met my cousin, Shelly, her son and daughter-in-law, and Aunt Carol for dinner.  Shelly lives in Sierra Vista.

The 29^th was a sightseeing day in Tombstone.  We toured the infamous Bird Cage Theater and then watched a re-enactment of the Gunfight at the OK Corral. Of course, there was a stop at Boot Hill.