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.