Although sometimes it may seem that our whole lives are a vacation, we took most of the month of July to take time off to relax in the pretty Oregon harbor town of Florence.
The marina on the Siuslaw River is quiet most days and then there are the days when it is busy with fishing boats launching. For us the pleasant walk along the marina boardwalk and then along Bay Street is a perfect blend of scenery and window-shopping. The shops along the way hold treasures to gaze at and we have tried a few of the wonderful restaurants. Getting out every day (except one all-day much needed rainy day) and taking this walk two or three times a day gives us some good exercise. And the SPCA Thrift Store at the other end of town provided several new items for our wardrobes.
Florence has activities – Tuesday Farmer’s Market with fresh local produce and a Saturday/Sunday Craft Market. We went to the Bay Street Bash – an old-fashioned block party with a good band, dancing in the street, free ice cream and popcorn and tons of games and crafts.
Our favorite days this year was a visit from our family. Jake drove 7 hours plus to get him, Julie and our three amazing grandchildren to Florence. We ate meals together and ice cream from B.J.’s almost every day. We had a full sunny warm (70’s) day at Heceta Head Beach and we explored the Sea Lion Caves another day. Great and happy memories!
We like Florence for many reasons. One is the weather – when we stayed last June I complained because it was often cold and windy. This July was warmer and still windy but I can’t complain when temperatures elsewhere are extreme highs or there are catastrophic weather events, or the wildfire smoke makes breathing difficult. So now weather in Florence is a plus.
The Oregon Coast is a good place of relief from weather worries. And we don’t worry much about tsunamis.
We like Florence enough to think about it as a potential semi-permanent home – maybe a summer get-away in a condo or retirement community. We are making plans for a stay in the campground next summer and we plan to check out what’s available in housing in the area then.
So, happy August 1st! We traveled a few hours up the coast to our next volunteer assignment – Cape Meares Lighthouse and a new adventure for us.
After one pleasant and relaxing night in a pretty RV park with splashing water fountains in sparkling ponds, we left Red Bluff, CA and drove on I-5 through mountains along the Sacramento River and past Shasta Lake with snow-capped Mount Shasta in front of us most of the way.
Sacramento River next to campground in Red Bluff, CA
Our destination for the start of the busy Fourth of July week is Valley of the Rogue State Park in Oregon. Last time we stayed there we attended a Pow-Wow but we don’t see any activities posted during this stay. After weeks of desert scrub, it was refreshing to see the tall pine forests. Valley of the Rogue is a nature-filled campground cut into a forest of huge evergreens. The air is pine-scented and it’s nice to see every kind of camper – from small tents to RVs like ours. The loop we stayed in had full hook-ups so we had the rustic while enjoying our comforts.
The weather was perfect – light breezes and enough shade that the high temperatures were not a hindrance to sitting outside. I had time to sew outside while listening to an audiobook. My idea of perfect.
After Valley of the Rogue, we backtracked a few miles to Southern Oregon Campground – a nicely landscaped cement pad in a pretty park. We never backtrack, but getting reservations is always difficult during holiday time. Thanks to Doug’s diligence, we had great accommodations.
More pleasant days of just relaxing. We spent the Fourth of July just hanging out. Traveling days can be stressful and we will be working at a new job in August and September. So we are practicing relaxing when we have the opportunity – and this is our plan for our almost-a-month stay in Florence, Oregon. We love Old Town Florence and have been looking forward to our “vacation” there.
Fireworks in Central Point, OR
We just confirmed that our daughter Julie and family will visit us in Florence, so I am happily planning meals together and walks through Old Town with them. There definitely will be special treats for the children and maybe a night or two of babysitting so Julie and Jake can take a break. Whatever we wind up doing will be fun with this wonderful family.
We had reservations for a full week at Carson RV Resort. No beautiful views at our site which faces the back of a Costco, but we are surrounded by foothill mountains. We are in a safe and convenient park to use as a home base as we explore Carson City. And the giant building helped protect us from the constant winds.
This is our second visit to Carson City. Years ago, we took a family trip to visit Doug’s sister, Bev and her family. We remember the great times we had exploring the area. For me, that was my first glance at the majestic mountains of the West – the beautiful Sierra Nevadas and their rolling foothills. Before that trip, the furthest west I had been was Gettysburg, PA. I remember coming out of the airport and taking a deep breath – my first breath of the clean light air. And now we have time to check out even more of this city.
We drove a short distance into the heart of the city and visited the Nevada State Museum and Mint. The displays were impressive. The exhibit about the old silver mining industry was a twisting trek through realistic mines. The displays were as diverse as Nevada – including the Nevada State fossil, the ichthyosaur and some ice age megafauna. We saw antique slot machines and incredible samples of the many minerals in this state’ s soil. We watched the old Coin Press in operation which goes back to 1870 and is the official US Branch Mint.
Nevada State Museum (in the original Mint building)The “mine” in the basement of the museumMammoth!
We couldn’t resist a day on Lake Tahoe. We staked our chairs on Sand Harbor State Park beach. We picked a Monday morning thinking we could avoid the crowds of the weekend but the narrow beach was filled with families enjoying the cool sparkling clean water, bright sun and a mild breeze. We watched paddle boards, kayaks and tubes and everyone on them was having a great time. We enjoyed just sitting on the sand in our chairs, watching their fun and marveling at the crystal clean water, giant trees and sheer cliffs. Mark Twain described Lake Tahoe as “the fairest picture the whole earth affords” and we agree.
We went back into the city center one day to enjoy a Thai lunch at The Basil – a popular restaurant and the main street. We wandered this pretty city with lots of benches, flowers and official buildings. We made sure to do a tour of the State Capitol building with its shiny silver dome and beautiful marble, wood and mural on top of the walls in the newer Capitol building that replaced the first one. We like to see the pride that goes into these State buildings. We gave Carson City a high rating – there are lots of benches, clean streets, no parking charges and plenty of convenient parking lots with a vibrant main street to walk down.
Nevada Capitol
Carson City proved to be a great stop for us – giving us time for laundry, shopping and learning about the great beautiful State of Nevada. Then we had a one-night stay in Red Bluff, bringing us into California.
The gray gravel site at the Ely KOA was no where near as pretty as our last site, but it was level, big enough, clean and had a great view of the mountain range in front of us. We relaxed after a short drive and spent Father’s Day talking to family. It turns out there is lots to do around Ely. Monday we went out first thing to see this town and run errands. We took our very dirty dusty car to a car wash only to drive on a five-mile-long dirt road a few hours later. Oh well, it’s only dirt!
This very long straight dirt road took us to an historic site – the Ward Charcoal Ovens. Definitely something we’ve never seen before. These ovens produced charcoal from 1876 to 1879 for the silver mining industry. Later they were used as shelters in bad weather and a hideout for an occasional stagecoach bandit. The six beehive-shaped ovens are 30 feet high, 27 feet in diameter at the base. Each oven took ten days to burn 35 cords of wood which equaled 1750 bushels of charcoal. Of course, this meant depleting the area of trees, but they are growing back now.
The best part of our visit was our hike on the Willow Creek Trail. This perfect half mile hike brought us heavenly smells – pinion pine, juniper, sage and brittlebush. As we passed a marshy area, the scent of the wild primroses made us smile. Then we saw a small babbling brook – sparkling clear water rushing over rocks. The sound refreshed us after hundreds of miles of viewing desert scrub. To me, this was an iconic moving stream of water – THE “babbling brook” we’ve all heard about. (Bev, this would have been your spot to put your feet in.)
We saw quite a few miniature prickly pear cacti. Only a couple of inches tall!
On the side of the road, we saw four pronghorn – just standing still! That’s unusual – we have seen them before but always moving quickly. They were just chillin’ and looking right at us.
We drove a little bit further to see Cave Lake but were disappointed. All we could see was the dredging operation – no water at all!
Tuesday, June 18th was our long-anticipated Lehman Caves Tour. We are glad we reserved our spots early since all tours were sold out when we got there.
Before our tour we went to the Great Basin National Park Visitor Center and also the Lehman Caves Center. We saw a movie about the Great Basin and bought some things. We like to support the Western National Parks Association stores because some of our purchase money does go back to the parks.
The tour was amazing! The cave is beautiful – highly decorated with thousands of speleothems filling the twisty tight passages we walked through. We did miss the variety of colors we get to see at Kartchner Caverns. I think this tour really gives you an idea of wild caving – with formations on every side of you.
The Grand Palace Tour was ninety minutes. We walked through some areas quickly but were able to stop in the more open areas. In those larger spaces, we were happy to have plenty of time to explore. We carried our own flashlights and phones which we used to take lots of photos. We saw magnificent plate shields, fat highly decorated columns and turnip formations. The turnips were bigger and more perfectly formed than we are used to seeing. There was one area with standing clear water that looked like a fairy tale scene. Our guide was great, and the ninety minutes sped by. It was a thrill to see this cave; to squeeze and bend through the ancient rock shapes. We highly recommend this one.
A day of rest and relaxation and then back on the road. We drove the “loneliest road in the world” – a very long stretch (about 200 miles) of a straight two-lane highway through endless miles of sage. You get mesmerized by the vast flat scrubby land and then you see that you have to cross the mountains. We (Doug, of course) climbed over ten ridges. The highest was Robinson Summit, 7588 feet above sea level.
We stopped at Cold Springs Station, a different kind of RV park. There were a few sites sprinkled between little white cabins and a motel. The office was actually a full size restaurant and bar. But we shall forever remember Cold Springs as “the land of a million crickets.”
It turns out they are called “Mormon Crickets”, actually katydids – fat, black and a multitude of them. The story about their name is that when the Mormons were trying to settle around the Great Salt Lake they were besieged with these crickets – literally a plague of them while they were trying to sow their crops. Soon, the gulls came and demolished those giant bugs, and all was well. This is why the gull is that Utah State bird.
Lots of crickets!
Meanwhile, we had to set up in the midst of these creatures. They seemed to move away from us, which was helpful the next morning when I had to walk across the park to throw out the trash. But there were thousands – all moving in the same direction – and it was like parting the sea as I walked through them. I may have imagined it, but I heard one loud chirp while I was in the bathroom that night and I am convinced that we have a stowaway.
After a few days of overnight stops in extreme heat, we landed in Las Vegas. We spent three nights at Las Vegas RV Resort – a place we’ve stayed in a few times and the place that holds the title of the very first campground we stayed in our RV. It’s clean and convenient.
Once again, we didn’t bother gambling. This time we did the full tour of the Hoover Dam. The Dam, with its art deco everywhere, is a huge awesome engineering feat. The tour was worth the $30 each and took us to the Powerhouse as well as through strange and amazing tunnels winding into the concrete of the Dam.
Lake Mead was low but still a mighty force of water. We found ourselves examining minute cracks in the tunnels and questioned a large blotch of calcite deep inside the Dam!
The rock the Dam is built into is a beautiful pinkish basalt. Up close you see the evidence of ancient inner earth fires and then millions of years of movement and erosion.
There is a new bridge providing a second way over the river. The bridge structure picturesquely frames the mountains. It was another day of very high temps, so we stayed inside as much as possible and enjoyed a nice lunch in the Snack Bar.
Mike O’Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge over the Colorado river
We did venture outside one evening for a great Thai dinner in a popular restaurant right on Fremont Street. (I loved the spicy Chicken Larb Salad while Doug ate every bit of his Pad Kee Mow.) We got in our steps under the world’s largest LED Canopy Screen on Fremont Street. It was certainly an “experience”- loud music, a huge light show above us, glittering neon surrounding us, and a happy variety of strange people to watch. The gorilla danced enthusiastically, the “vets” sold palm decorations, there were nurses who wore only strategically placed band-aids above their waists, the Chippendale booth boosted some well-toned bodies, and all in all, it was the “experience” we wanted but two hours was about all we could handle.
Fremont Street ExperienceThe Flaming Praying Mantis
And then we left all that noise and flashing lights to spend three nights in the opposite kind of place – Cathedral Gorge State Park. Not far from Area 51 (which we have yet to visit), we took Highway 93 – not the long and winding road, but a very long straight and rather boring road through part of the enormous Great Basin. To help with boredom, we often listen to an audiobook. This trip it’s Betrayal of Trust by J.A. Jance. We pulled into undoubtedly the best site we have ever had. So big – with a large ramada of over an equally large picnic table in a manicured gravel circle that could have easily fit our largest Flamingo gathering.
Right across from our site was the perfect desert nature trail that brought us right up to the buff-colored cliffs and into many small tight slot canyons formed by erosion. The formations and canyons of the Gorge quietly tell of the freshwater lake that existed here in the Pliocene Era.
It is aptly called Cathedral Gorge. The rocks stand tall and majestic in their profound silence. We explored. We marveled. The rocks are both basic and intricate. Solid yet eroding. I see rocks like these and try to comprehend their long histories – of ancient seas, tremendous pressures and endless times of nature impacting them. And this awesome geology was right under our fingers.
We leave here on Father’s Day for a short ride to Ely.
It’s been a long time since I wrote our blog. Life, for the most part, was peaceful and easy and somewhat repetitive so I let the blog go. We have just finished our sixth season at Kartchner Caverns in Southeastern Arizona. Last summer we spent three lovely months in the pretty Willamette Valley in Oregon at a day-use state park. There we did tours of a 150-year-old grist mill while we lived in a flower-filled wheat field.
We are heading back to Oregon for this summer and yes, our lives are governed by the weather. We are leaving Kartchner Caverns a few days later than planned due to temperatures of 110 degrees. Our air conditioners have done a great job keeping us comfortable but driving in extreme conditions is usually not a good idea and we are headed to parts of the country that are even hotter than 110. But we know when we do hit the Oregon Coast we will miss this warmth.
So a brief recap of our last few years as we go On the Road Again:
Sadly we have suffered losses, but we carry our loved ones with us in our hearts when we so those who have recently left us join our journey as we go on down the highway.
Our volunteer work continues to enhance our lives. Learning new histories, stretching ourselves to try new things, and meeting new people along the way keeps us young and engaged. Our time at Thompson’s Mills Grist Mill last summer gave us unique opportunities. Doug used his expertise to correct and improve some ancient electrical issues while I helped with a redesign of Junior Ranger programs. It was challenging and amusing to take care of ducks and chickens. We left there feeling appreciated and valued and we asked to return in Summer 2025. That’s a change for us, since we like to try different things during our summers because Kartchner seems to be the right place for us every winter.
Gears and shafts to transfer power from turbine to millMillstone piecesFeeding the chickens and ducks!
This winter season at Kartchner Caverns started out with me being in an accident but I recovered and both of us found our rhythm again in the cave with tour after tour, some exciting and enervating, some not so good. But that’s the pleasure and dismay of working with the public. What never fails is working with the great rangers and volunteers there.
Some of the season’s excitement included Star Parties, Junior Ranger Experiences, a Bat Walk and a once in a lifetime Eclipse Party. We had many wonderful Flamingoes – our outdoor evening get-togethers around the firepit. The food has definitely gotten better, the conversations kept us going and with more and more rangers attending, the camaraderie is warm and lively.
We did make two trips to Philadelphia – both to bury the ashes and memorialize our loved ones. Both trips were filled with the warmth and comfort of family.
Last April, our daughter Becky, her wife Paola and our grandsons Benjo and Mati stayed at our park. We shared our beautiful caves and local attractions. A special day of Cowboy Fun was had in Tombstone. This year, our NJ friends, Genni and Sal, visited us and we had a great time with them – rekindling our long friendship and showing them some of the best of Southeast AZ.
At the Benson Visitor’s CenterSan Xavier Mission
So now our next adventure to Oregon begins. We’ll revisit some reliable and convenient RV parks and add a few new places to our itinerary. Follow along with us as we travel north, leaving the desert in our rearview mirror and pointing the motorhome towards the Pacific.
It was perfect! All the planning, anticipation and excitement all came together in five wonderful days in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
It did take a great deal of planning. We first had to find the right venue. Last year, we spent days traveling around the Black Hills looking at sites for this reunion. We found places with cabins and no RV sites. There were places more like campgrounds with cabins with no facilities (no bathrooms, no linens, no kitchens). We visited mega resorts with plenty of nice rooms, but we would not have had much space to ourselves, and it didn’t have the Black Hills atmosphere we wanted. After days of looking and not being happy with any place, we went to the last place on our list – Spokane Creek Resort. It seemed to have it all – an RV site close to really perfect cabins. These cabins had nice linens, full kitchens in some and little kitchenettes in others. Bathrooms that seemed new and modern with decent towels. And one great feature was that the cabins were all a little different giving us the opportunity to choose exactly what fit our family configurations. We talked to the owner, Brian, who that very day was taking ownership of the resort. He took the time to talk to us, had a workamper show us some cabins and we right then and there wanted to put down a deposit for this summer, 2022. Well, Brian didn’t operate that way and told us that he would put our reservation manually in a “book” but that we could not leave a deposit yet. We were a little uncomfortable – but when we called a few months later we were able to secure the reservation.
Doug and I arrived this year on Friday, July 8th, a few days before the gang arrived. That gave us time to get organized, get a feel for the resort, test out the facilities and get ready. We had an extra day to shop which was vitally important. We took Cabin 3 one day early, Sunday, July 10th, to allow us to fill the refrigerator and start staging all the items for the rest of the cabins. This was a good idea because doing it all in one day would have been crazy.
Before the gang arrived!
Our family started arriving on Monday, July 11th. Jake and Julie and their 3 children were coming in from a long camping trip from Washington to Yellowstone and then through Montana to South Dakota. This was their first long trip in their converted storage trailer. They had a great camping adventure, loved Yellowstone and really enjoyed their camp set up. They arrived tired but excited to see us.
Becky and her sons, Benjo and Mati arrived from Philadelphia – unfortunately, Becky’s wife Paola could not make it. Becky and the boys are seasoned travelers and even though they had gotten up at 3 am and had a longer layover than planned, they seemed no worse for it. Becky and her boys settled into Cabin 3, excited about the bunk beds. Jake and Julie and the kids took the other bedroom where Paisley and Griffin also loved the bunk beds. Beckham slept in his porta-crib. Cabin 3 was full of fun and noise.
My brother Dan and his wife Lisa arrived in their Roadtrek after weeks of traveling from Lauderdale-by-the Sea, Florida, to New Jersey, to Illinois and then through to South Dakota. As soon as we could we got them settled into Cabin 9 – the cabin that was to be our home base for cooking and serving food. They had a small bedroom which they shared with their little dog Buddy. Then Josh and Sarah arrived and got their stuff into their bedroom – a double bed and bunk beds. Now Cabin 9 was occupied.
My brother Steve, his wife Sharon and their teenage son Nico, got there safely and we tucked them into Cabin 8 – a small but nicely furnished rustic cabin with a double bed and bunkbeds and a kitchenette with table and chairs. Although their flights were not too bad, they had the worst experience just prior to boarding their first plane. They had left their dog Felix at his doggie daycare – a trusted place where Felix is loved, and the staff are well-known. They got a call that Felix had been bitten by another dog and was being brought to surgery. It was horrible news. They continued with their plans only after assuring themselves that Felix was being well cared for. Of course, given airplane silence, rushing to their next flight and notoriously bad phone connections, the next few days were filled with worry about their much-loved dog. The doggie daycare did everything possible to take care of Felix and keep our family aware of what was happening. By the end of their stay, Felix was doing okay and once they finally got him home, he seemed to be recovering well.
Next to get in, much later than planned, was Jon and his girlfriend Aurora. Their flight was delayed enough to get them in so late that they had to drive on the very narrow, twisting road through the Black Hills in almost dark. Once the got there they moved into their room in Cabin 10.
Last to get in – but not until the next morning was Amy. Brodie was unable to come so she traveled alone and after her flight cancellation spent the night in the Dallas Airport. She said she made friends there but got no sleep. Doug picked her up in Rapid the next morning. After a long shower and a longer nap, she was ready to join in the fun.
Monday night was a simple dinner of mac ‘n cheese and charcuterie boards. Dessert was a bucket of my homemade cookies. With everyone coming at different times, this seemed the best.
To get the party started we gave everyone a red bandana (to be worn for group photos or whenever). And we gave each family unit a copy of the book of memories that Doug and I wrote in response to the gift Amy and Julie gave us – the gift of us writing an essay every week for 45 weeks of our childhood memories. We are proud of our year-long effort and it was fun to give each family a copy.
I took a leisurely afternoon making Mangia Italiano – Cheese Lasagna, Ratatouille, Chicken Cacciatore (vegetarian and meat), Bracciole and 4 cheesecakes (2 ricotta, caramel walnut and chocolate). At night it was spin-copter time – shooting little copters high into the sky and every child running and running to get them. Dance party and glow sticks kept everyone entertained.
Wednesday was Fiesta Day – breakfast burritos to start the day and a dinner of Green Chile Enchilada Casserole, with bean and cheese quesadillas, Mexican Rice, and Mexican Cole Slaw. For dessert I served the Apple Empanadas I had baked a week before and that had filled my refrigerator during our travel.
Here come the breakfast burritos!
That day the troops visited Legion Lake. The beach and water made for lots of fun – Jake’s kayak got a lot of use. They had a sun shelter and water guns and they all came home tired and happy. After dinner we gathered together, listened to Dan playing his new autoharp and singing old familiar songs. Aurora treated us to her most delectable chocolates and we got to happily sample the delicious varieties. We sampled and sampled and pledged our chocaholic love!
Thursday was an Egg Bake Breakfast with English Muffins. The sightseers spent the day at the Fossil Museum and then at the Mammoth Site. Everyone came home with shark’s teeth and rocks. Aurora had bought a huge geode and everyone got a chance to chop at it and keep its pretty sparkles.
Taking the Junior Ranger pledge
We had rented the Pavilion and had our Big Birthday Barbeque Bash that night. We grilled on their gas grill – had the usual burgers and hot dogs (vegetarian and meat) plus Grandma Lytle’s Potato Salad and a Thai Cucumber Salad (with really hot serrano peppers on the side). There were grilled veggies thanks to Jon and Aurora and watermelon. Dessert was Make Your Own Birthday Cake (large muffins with syrups, whip cream, icing and sprinkles to create individual cakes). Everyone wore their red bandanas, posed for group photos, danced to the music Doug had compiled and did various crafts. Amy and Steve face painted the kids.
We’re in birthday order!
The banner that said, “Happy Birthday to Us All” and the other one with all our birth dates on it was made months ago. Everyone got a Happy Birthday sticker, an American Flag and a Pride Flag. We also gave each family unit a genealogy compiled by Doug’s brother Nelson.
Friday was declared Easy Peasy Day – breakfast of Granola and Yogurt, muffins, mini bagels and left-over breakfast burritos. No dinner for me to prepare since we ordered pizzas from the resort’s café.
The family all went to see Mount Rushmore and Keystone. Our friends from Kartchner, Art and Brenda, had the day off from the workamper jobs at Custer State Park so they visited us for lunch. So nice to connect to them and we fed them leftover lasagna and cheesecake.
Crazy Horse
After dinner, we hung out at our picnic tables while Jonny and Aurora treated everyone to s’mores. We played a family trivia game and treasured our time hanging outside with the huge full moon.
S’mores
Saturday was Sayonara Day – I made a large pan of Apple Cinnamon Roll Bake for breakfast and fed everyone sandwiches and leftovers until they had to leave for their flights.
Jonny and Aurora left very very early for their flight to Philadelphia. Amy went with Becky and the boys to the airport. Sharon, Steve, and Nico took off for their really awful series of flights home to New Jersey. Dan and Lisa packed up and got back on the road to travel south and east to Miami. Josh and Sarah left after lunch to get back to Tucson. As they left, we gathered our stuff from the emptying cabins. We kept some things in Cabin 3 which we had for one extra night so Jake and Julie could help us with everything before they too left to drive home to Colfax, Washington.
On Sunday, July 17th, we stuffed things back into the RV and pulled in our slides and took off for Rozet, Wyoming for our first night away from this wonderful family. We loved every minute with every person and every bit of this experience was a dream come true.
Our children are talking about doing it again – maybe on the East Coast next time – whatever they decide, we will be there – grateful for this happy, loving family.
Yes, we finished our busy weekend of programs at Hells Gate State Park with record numbers. Finally, we have had good weather on the weekends. One Junior Ranger program had 19 children! These weekends are crazy, and our three days off fill up quickly too.
Junior Ranger program
We just left Hells Gate to start this vacation – we are heading towards our Family Reunion in the Black Hills of South Dakota. So we are back on the road again. It’s been a year of planning for this reunion. Our children and families don’t get to all see each other much. We are most excited to have our grandchildren meet.
The reunion is in Keystone which is a good location for them to explore the wonders of the Black Hills. We have reserved cabins for them in a nice resort. The plan is for us to eat breakfasts and dinners together and for them to check out the sights on day trips.
I will be cooking – for about 20 of us. I am prepared. I have my spread sheets and index cards ready with menus, recipes and shopping lists. The breakfast burritos are finished and in our freezer, along with the chicken cacciatore (also a veggie cacciatore) and bracciole.
I planned a theme for every one of the five days. Each theme includes the food for the day, decorations and crafts. On the advice of our grandson, Griffin, we are having a dance party every night. Doug is putting together play lists of all our favorite songs and Doug will be on call to advise about day excursions and directions.
One of the nights will be a joint birthday party. It will be great for us to celebrate everyone’s special day together.
My biggest concern is our family’s travel. Most of them will be flying and right now as I write this the daily news reports of chaos in the airports is scary. So I reached out to the gods of travel and petitioned them for safe travel for our family.
A fast google search to be inclusive brought me:
Hermes, Greek god with winged sandals who protects travelers; Hermes’ Roman counterpart Mercury, who wears the same sandals, is known for his speed. Catholics have a few – St. Christopher and St. Bona of Pisa. Bona is the patron saint of flight attendants. St Joseph of Cupertino, who was known for his levitation skills and Our Lady of Loreto who is Aviation’s protector. The Universal Church also prays to St. Joseph for safe travelling. Hindu Ganesha promises safe journeys. So does the Shinto folk goddess of Japan Chimata-no-karni. I didn’t leave out Hina from Polynesia, Ilmarinen from Finland, Khonsu from Egypt, Lam Lha from Tibet who rides a golden bee, Meili a Norse god who carries a walking stick, Tir from Armenia and Mayan Xaman Ek.
I tried to cover all bases.
As far as our travels go, after Idaho we stopped our first night in St. Regis, Montana. It’s a pretty campground surrounded by tree-filled mountains. Each site is decorated with a wooden carving. The weather so far has been perfect – bright skies with cool temperatures.
Soon after leaving St. Regis, we crossed the Clark Fork River and then we followed this now perfectly peaceful lovely meandering river that about 10,000 years ago gushed the raging flood waters of Glacial Lake Missoula.
Driving near our favorite town of Missoula we spotted McDonald’s Peak. At 9,868 feet it is the highest peak in the region. Not surprised that is it snow-covered in July. We drove past Jeanette Rankin Memorial Highway (a women’s rights advocate and fierce defender of peace).
As we drive through this state, I keep my eyes pealed for the perfect place to situate a small log cabin. It is my daydream to find a spot, maybe along the Blackfoot River or beside the Sapphire Mountains. As we drive, we listen to audiobooks. Stuart Woods keeps us involved with our favorite character Stone Barrington and this trip J. A. Jance, whose Joanna Brady hails from Cochise County, brings us smiles as we recognize the locations. I am also crocheting a shawl for the upcoming wedding.
But mostly I look out the window. The road goes through the grassy plains between the mountains and those mountains are beautiful: Tobacco Root, Absaroka Beartooth, the Bridger Range, Big Belt, Crazy, and Elk Mountains, so far. Montana also has great rivers to keep me occupied: Little Big Horn and Yellowstone.
We love the area around Three Forks. It’s not just the rivers – Jefferson, Madison and Gallatin – that give us the pretty scenery, but it’s history too. It was in this area that Sacajawea in July of 1805 recognized the landscape and helped bring the Corps of Discovery to her people, the Shoshones, who provided the Corps with much-needed horses. And then the geology: in between the grassy areas along the foothills of the mountains, you can see the white soil, the ancient limestone left over from the Mississippian Era about 325 million years ago.
On Thursday, July 7th we left the Hardin KOA. Weather is great during the day which makes driving pleasant, but afternoons and nights can be scary. Last night there was a threat of severe weather – thunderstorms, hail and maybe a tornado. It passed us but it was close and looking at the house-size heap of wood and branches from the tornado that had hit there just one week before, I was imagining the predicted 60 mile per hour winds sending those giant branches into our windshield.
But all is well. I even had time that night to do two loads of laundry and make a cheesecake for the reunion. (My refrigerator and freezer are filling up!)
Yesterday we had a huge moth bothering us during the drive. Doug finally got it out when he opened his window. One more fat black moth was killed during dinner. Then the flock appeared. At one time I counted five moths on the TV. Doug killed three before he fell asleep. When I got up in the morning, I cleaned up a few carcasses and then smashed three more while making breakfast. The big question – how did they get in???? We went from the land of spiders to giant moths.
They are towing their plane!
Today we land in Rozet, Wyoming. Driving through this part of Montana is peaceful with long stretches of grassy prairies with cattle and horses. No more mountains. We passed the Big Horn River again. I love the mountains but Montana rivers winding their sparkling way through the state are beautiful. Passing the Tongue River convinced me it is one of the prettiest.
We drove close to the Battlefield at Little Big Horn. And then near one of our favorite places – Garryowen, which houses the Custer Battlefield Museum. This town has a population of two and covers 540 acres.
Friday, July 8th is our last day traveling. We left All Seasons RV Park and began our day moving through the baled-hay fields. Last night we had a brief and pretty mild thunderstorm. The air is fresh and clear this morning.
Our journey today is just 160 miles.
Last night I made three cheesecakes – they are safely wrapped and stored in the refrigerator. I love baking in my small propane oven but I have to patient and understand the product’s “doneness”. I think the thermostat is close to accurate, but the heat is not evenly distributed. So, I check the food often, which lowers the temperature, so I have to add more time. I change the food’s placement in the oven and accept that timing is a guess. Given the oven’s size I can fit only one 9×13 sheet pan at a time. That is room for just one cheesecake. Each cheesecake takes about an hour so although these cakes are easy to prep, I can’t just forget about them in the oven. It was a total of about 5 hours making them.
Five years ago, I bought and started using a ceramic baking stone. Nothing burns on the bottom now. I learned the hard way with dozens of biscotti with very dark bottoms.
As we travel the winding S curves of part of Iron Mountain Road, I know we are close. We arrived safely at Spokane Creek Resort. We backed into our terraced site, took some deep breaths of the pine air and relaxed for the afternoon and evening. Just a few moths that night.
Our long site is backed up to a mountain covered in tall pine trees. This is a beautiful property. Everything is well maintained with lots of open space. We need to come here sometime when we really can relax.
We were happy to see a brand new playground, upgrades to the pool, shower house and laundry. There is plenty of room around our cabins to park, play and set up extra tables and chairs. We were only here once for about an hour last year so it’s good that we remembered how nice it was. It’s really better than we had hoped.
We arrived earlier than everyone else to prepare for our busy days of food and family. Saturday, after days of working on my shopping list (I did a lot more than checking it twice!) we ventured out to provision us. I took extra time with this list because it is 40 minutes and crazy mountain roads to get to the nearest supermarket.
We first checked out the trail to the Flag at the Top of the Mountain where you can see Mt. Rushmore. I didn’t make it to the top. Too rocky and steep for me and maybe for the younger kids too. But Doug got to the flag and took a photo.
We managed to get all the food stored into the RV. The freezer and refrigerator are full and miscellaneous items are grouped in grocery bags labeled for the day I will need them. Right now our sofa and floor are full too with just enough room for each of us to sit.
After the grocery trip
I have a few things to prep tonight then we move tomorrow afternoon into one of the Cabins with a full kitchen. This place seems to have a great housekeeping staff, but I expect to wash all the cooking equipment tomorrow. I checked out the laundry with one small load. It is a spotlessly clean facility.
The gang starts to arrive on Monday. Some right around lunch and others later in the evening. No matter their arrival time I will have food and drinks for them.
Can you tell I am excited? Yes, but I will be happy and relaxed as soon as they all get here.
This volunteer position is a bit different from any other we have held. Last summer we met with our supervisor, Jeff, who was interested in hiring interpretive guides. We told him our experience, discussed some of his expectations, and then continued to discuss options over the past year over emails.
Jeff has given us autonomy to develop our own schedule with our own programs. This seemed a little daunting, but we have received great support from staff here. Due to COVID, this park hasn’t had these kinds of programming for two years. Knowing that expectations were high and that we had very little direction made us a bit nervous.
During our very busy winter season, we really didn’t have much time to focus on a whole new direction. We were hoping we could use our two PowerPoint programs: Campfire Safety with Smokey Bear and the Bat Talk. These two programs go over well with the audiences we have presented them to. During our last summer in Champoeg State Heritage Park in Oregon, we did the Bat Talk on Tuesday nights to about 25 people each time. I gave the Interp Ranger the Smokey Program and later, after we left, she emailed me to say they were continuing to use that program as well as the Bat Talk. Both programs were also successful at Kartchner Caverns during March and April. These experiences gave us the incentive to use them again.
But Hells Gate has a Lewis and Clark Discovery Center – it just seemed appropriate to create a program about the Corps of Discovery. Doug and I have both read a few books about the journey, including Ambrose’s “Undaunted Courage”. We just finished “Lewis and Clark: Historic Places Associated with Their Transcontinental Exploration” by Roy E. Appleman. The Discovery Center does an excellent job with their signage, so it was hard to come up with something new and different. Plus, our program had to be more of an intense look at a small part of the Lewis and Clark experience. The broad picture of the cross-country trek is very well known.
Lewis and Clark Discovery Center at Hells Gate
After considerable effort I came up with the idea of talking about the food they ate on their journey. We went to the grocery store and bought items for a display. This program is done outside in the early evening in an amphitheater – no electricity. This program is a show-and-tell – a different approach for us. We have done it twice and it was fun to talk about the dry provisions needed for the long trip and how we still use the same food today – only with new packaging. We also discussed the animals that were shot and killed. Did you know that during times of plenty, each person ate about 9 pounds of meat per day? And then, we introduced the subject of Sacajawea and other native tribes and how they educated the Corps about the herbs, roots and other food that they could forage. We only had a few people attend but they seemed to be interested. They really liked the recipes I handed out – some eaten on the journey and some Three Sisters recipes.
Carolyn setting up for a program
We alternate the Food program with “Exploring the Full-Time RV Lifestyle.” We get so many questions about how we live on the road that we thought we would see if anyone was interested in exploring this topic with us. We have had 3 weekends of rain so we haven’t actually done this yet. We are curious to see how this is received.
Doug has taken the lead for the Junior Ranger programs. We do this on Saturday mornings and Sunday evenings. Doug introduces them to the Idaho Junior Ranger Program with their mascot Scout, the Red Fox. We take the children on a Nature Safari around this beautiful park – Doug identifies and explains the different trees and the cycles they go through each year. We discovered that local folks like to come to the Junior Ranger programs which means that we need to have multiple topics since the same kids will be coming over the summer. So we changed the program a bit – added a Nature Scavenger hunt which the kids loved. I created a Scavenger Hunt about the river which we hope to try out this weekend. Luckily, nature abounds here and there is plenty to discuss.
Doug ready for the Junior Ranger program
I took on a shift at the Jack O’Connor Center, which is located in the park. It’s a little out of my comfort zone. O’Connor was a journalist who wrote about hunting, and he hunted large game all over the world. The Center is filled with heads of the animals he killed. I have come to terms with this because with more research I found that O’Connor practiced and wrote about ethical hunting practices. So, for 4 hours a week, I greet guests and show them around the really interesting displays. I’m learning a lot there and so far, only one of the beasts on the wall bothers me – a lion whose eyes follow me around. I think this King of the Jungle is communicating something to me. We’ll have to see what I learn from him.
I added an additional program: Crafts from Nature’s Bounty. We’ve been rained out so I haven’t presented this one yet, but it should be fun. We gather leaves, twigs, rocks, grass and anything else we like and make a design with them. We advertise it for all ages so the challenge will be to keep everyone happy.
And to get to our 20 hours each a week, we rove – we help out during busy check in times in the Discovery Center. Greeting campers, giving them some instructions, turning on the movie when someone wants to see it and chatting about the Lewis and Clark inside and outside displays.
That’s our new job – Thursdays through Sundays.
This gives us three days to explore this new area, run our mundane errands and do what we love the most – spend time with our grandchildren! Jake and Julie and their three darlings are about 45 minutes away and we have already visited them a few times.
And they all came to the park for Memorial Day. It was a cold, damp day, threatening to rain all day. We had reserved a shelter and I made a typical picnic barbeque lunch. Although there was a playground nearby, our little ones spent hours down on the beach of the Snake River. Paisley, Griffin and even little Beckham were completely engrossed in skipping rocks and mainly just throwing them in the river. Their little hands didn’t seem to mind being icy cold. Jake took Griffin for a brief ride in his new inflatable kayak. The river was a little too swift for a comfortable ride but at least he got it in the water for the first time. We had a special treat – Amy was with them since she had flown in for Jake’s sister’s wedding. It turned out to be a great family day for us.
View from the Day Use area beachKayaking time!
We also invited our volunteer neighbors to our picnic and got to know them better – Tom and Kaley and their two small daughters Ember and Rivlin. We are very impressed with this family. Tom and Kaley live in their large class C full time and have been doing volunteer work for a few years. This meant working while Kaley was pregnant and then with an infant, and now a toddler plus another infant. They are doing the landscaping/maintenance around the Discovery Center. It is amazing to see the two of them working with their pretty children with them. The Discovery Center is beautifully manicured thanks to their efforts, and the children seem to thrive here.
Our first weekend of programming work went well, we had some nice family time and now we can get into the groove of our new position. The weather was the worst problem we have had. For four weekends it rained. That is unusual weather here – by now it should be very hot and dry. After a long, cold winter in Arizona, I was longing for some hot bright sun. Hasn’t happened yet but I understand we could be in for a very hot summer.
As I write this on the first official day of summer, the weather finally changed. The sun has come out in all its glory. Finally, the ground can dry a little. We are very optimistic about this coming weekend and hope to present every one of our six programs. We know for sure we will have some audience because Jake and Julie and our three grandchildren will be camping here. I know they will like the craft program and they are already veteran junior rangers so they will be happy to work for another badge. Looking forward to having these boisterous darlings listening to me talking about bats.
Our first two stops after leaving Kartchner Caverns were Gila Bend and Needles. Both of these RV parks are familiar to us and have been frequent stops coming and going from Arizona. Our one-night stays there were happily uneventful.
We spent two nights in St. George, Utah at Hurricane KOA. KOAs are usually easy for us – close to the highway we are traveling on, usually pull-thrus so we don’t have to unhitch our toad and have stores and laundries if we need them. This one was a little odd. At check in we were told we had to unhitch because it would be too tight to pull into our site while pulling our car. That was true. The sites were barely long enough, and our car had to be parked diagonally in front of the RV. With our four slides out we were very close to our tiny neighbors in their R-Pod. And these were “buddy” sites – our door faced our neighbor on the other side. They were nice people but it’s not always a comfortable set-up.
We happened to be there during the International Ironman Competition in nearby St. George which presented a massive traffic problem so on our second day we just relaxed until later in the day when we drove into Hurricane (pronounced “Hurricun”) to explore. We visited the small but very interesting Pioneer Museum and talked to the friendly docent there. We learned about the history of the Hurricane Canal which made the city possible. It took a daunting 50 years to hand dig the canal. It doesn’t exist now because of an earthquake. This is the kind of tourist stop we enjoy – local history and strange artifacts. I even got to see two dolls that I loved – Honey Baby and a pretty Ginny doll. We added a stop for a Mother’s Day dinner at Mekong Kitchen for great Thai food (Red Curry for Doug and Spicey Drunken Noodles for me). We ended our day stopping for essentials at Walmart.
As with the rest of Utah, St. George and the other smaller cities near there are spotlessly clean, beautifully landscaped and, of course, have the advantage of spectacular red mountains in the background.
FILLMORE, UT
We left early to get ahead of the wind on Sunday, May 8th. The drive was short and easy with a short rest stop to stretch our legs. The owner at this perfectly manicured KOA was nice enough to not charge us for an early check in. The cottonwood trees were barely moving in the gentle cool breeze when we arrived. We had time for a nap after lunch, some phone calls from the kids and then the wind hit. The gusts are ferociously moving the cottonwoods and making lots of noise. We are facing in a good direction, so we haven’t had to bring in our slides or worry too much. Hopefully, things will quiet down before we leave tomorrow for our last stop in Utah.
Well, the wind shifted directions and one of the cottonwood branches started hitting our slide, so we brought that one in. A little cozier but still our comfy home. Then the rain came and lasted most of the night. And it got cold! We woke up to snow on the nearby Cedar Mountains.
Just a short ride today but we have to figure out the logistics of leaving at check out – 11 am and arriving at the State Park at check in – 3 pm when we don’t have far to go.
WILLARD BAY STATE PARK
This is such a pretty park. Each site is huge with its own covered ramada over the picnic table. We got here just a few minutes early and drove right to our site. Still haven’t met the hosts. It’s really chilly here – and overcast.
The drive today was beautiful. For many miles we drove along the San Pitch Mountains in the Wasatch Range. The largest and highest spot is Salt Creek Peak. Our highway alternated by aiming right at it or positioned this magnificent peak just to our right. The Wasatch were covered with snow and sparkling in the sun. We even had a few snowflakes hit our windshield.
Those flakes were pleasant unlike the aluminum cans that were flying out of an un-tarped recycling truck ahead of us. A flying can hitting our rig sounded like a gun shot. Hope it didn’t live a dent!
Safely and warmly tucked away in this quiet park for our last night in Utah.
The beach at Willard Bay
TWIN FALLS, IDAHO
We have made numerous visits to Twin Falls and love it here. Our past blogs relate some of our Twin Falls adventures. The Perrine Memorial Bridge gave us a look at those brave souls who jump and parachute into the river. The waterfalls are spectacular: Twin Falls, of course, and Shoshone Falls, deemed to be the “most dazzling waterfall in the state.” There are also the Perrine Coulee Falls.
Looking into the Snake River Canyon explains why I have so many photos of it. This steep canyon with its winding green river is famous with stunning views. Anyone remember Evel Knievel?
I had a strange adventure doing the laundry. I was happy to see a spotlessly clean laundry room. Everything was shiny and bright but there was a small puddle on the floor around the drain. It was a narrow room, but I easily skirted the puddle and took two of the 4 washers to do my clothes. I sat outside reading and when I went back in the puddle was a bit larger. I put my clean clothes into two large dryers and left to go back to the RV. Upon returning, the puddle was considerably larger but not near my dryers. I put my dry clothes from the top dryer on the immaculate stainless steel folding table. I went to get the second load and that dryer was icy cold and the clothes were wet. I transferred them to a different dryer but that one refused to let me put quarters in. So, I went back to the good dryer and used that one again.
Another woman came in with 4 loads of laundry. I directed her to watch out for the growing puddle, showed her the two dryers that were malfunctioning and left to report the problems to the office.
As I started folding my clothes, a manager came in – she was surprised that the washer that seemed to be leaking was the one marked “out of order”. She opened the front door – out gushed an entire tub of water. The flow hit the opposite wall. I had just moved two steps in the right direction so only a few drops hit my legs but now the floor had about 2 inches of water and the drain was obviously not working. The other woman was trapped but dry on the other side of the puddle.
This manager was asking me about the dryer problems when another manager came in the back door with a string mop and bucket – so inadequate for this mess! The first manager had her back turned talking to me and trying to mess with the bad dryers when the second manager opens the broken washer and another onslaught of water rushes out. He got soaked.
My clothes are still dry on the table, so I get my first load out of there and back to the RV. When I returned for the second load in the dryer, the water is now rippling along the floor in little waves.
In spite of the problems, both managers exhibited excellent customer service – helping us get our clothes out without the clothes or us getting wet. They managed to disconnect the evil washer (finally!) and were valiantly attempting to soak up gallons of water with the pathetic mop.
I left with clean dry clothes, and I guess that’s all I can ask for. But it certainly was not the usual time in the laundry.
CALDWELL, IDAHO
Just a one night stay at the perfectly manicured Ambassador RV Park. We’ve been there before also, and it proved to be an easy site to shelter in during the evening’s rain.
PENDLETON, OREGON
We have driven through Pendleton, but never explored it. With a 3 night stay we had a little time to check it out. Pendleton is famous for its Wool Mill, producing beautiful wool blankets with Native American motifs, and the Pendleton Round-Up – one of the best- known rodeos in North America. We weren’t there for Round-Up days and the Mill was closed for tours.
We found an even better place to check out – the Museum at Tamastslikt Cultural Institute. The main exhibits take you through 10,000 years of native culture. The Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla tribes have a rich history in this area and are currently thriving with agricultural and casino enterprises.
The temporary exhibit was my favorite. Native women re-created their childhoods, their traumas, their dreams using mixed media inside antique metal doll houses. Each display takes you into the mind and heart of the creator and by using the iconic houses of our youth, they etched their histories in small, contained rooms that exposed their souls. It was eerie, real and touching. One house, done in mostly white designs, showed the devastation diabetes has had on tribal lives. The structures in the house were all done with sugar crystals – the stark and sharp evidence of this deadly disease. Other houses had many small beds representing the awful history of the Indian Training Schools where young Natives were sent to learn English and American ways but were indoctrinated in ways that were intended to destroy their culture. An eye-opening experience for us. It was the last day of that exhibit, and we are grateful to have had the luck to see it.,
Artwork outside Tamastslikt
We stayed the extra day here to avoid the rain, thunder and wind that had been forecast. This meant that we arrived a day late to our new job but our supervisor, Jeff, agreed that it was better to arrive safely.
HELLS GATE STATE PARK, LEWISTON, IDAHO
So, on Monday, May 16th we got to Hells Gate State Park. We met up with Jeff at the Discovery Center. He has given us carte blanche to develop our own interpretive programs. He gave us a broad outline of expectations and offered his support and the support of the staff and other volunteers. We have a few programs already done, but we have to re-design them a bit to work here. It’s a challenge that I think we are up to.
Swallow’s Nest Rock across the Snake River from Hells Gate State Park
After dinner our first night, we took advantage of the late-setting sun here and strolled along the Snake River path. It’s about a half mile walk from out site in the Volunteer Village to the Discovery Center and depending on what we do with our programming, that might be a nice commute. We will spend the next few days getting acquainted with this beautiful park and the people we will be spending our summer with.
