South on the Summer Road

Turning South on the Summer Road

We left Chinook, WA on 8/26, for a very tiring ride across the Columbia River to Fort Stevens State Park in Warrenton, OR. It was an arduous journey of about 15 miles and Ron complained about the length of our trips.

Fort Stevens State Park is one of our favorites of all places we’ve visited over the years. Our first stay here was sometime in the early 70’s and we’ve been back a number of times since. It is located on the Oregon Beach and the Columbia River and was originally a shore battery with large cannon protecting the entrance to the River. Now a few of the concrete gun emplacements remain but there’s not much left to see.

I wish all of the RV park owners in the country would spend a few days at Ft Stevens. The camping facilities rank right among the finest anywhere. We had a paved parking site in the forest, 30 amp power, sewer, and water, plus a fire ring and all for $22/nite. You can’t beat it. The spaces are bigger than you’ll see in any private park and the maintenance of the park and its buildings is fastidious, and that’s almost an understatement. Many work-camper “Camp Hosts” populate each camping and they are available to help if you have some difficulty or just need some information. It’s truly a marvelous place.

One of the highlights has always been going out on the beach to view the remains of the Peter J. Iredale, a large steel-hulled sailing ship that grounded on this beach way back in 1906. When it was determined that she could not be freed from the grip of the sand, they salvaged all that could be taken off, including the steel plates covering the hull. They left just a skeleton lying on the sandy shore.

Today, that skeleton has dwindled to just the bow section and the keel. You can still see the stumps of the steel masts sticking above the sand as well as the rudder post.

If you have a 4X4 vehicle you can drive on the beach from the shipwreck to Gearhart, OR, just north of Seaside. It’s a long ride but it’s fun to drive on the beach. We took the Jeep down and drove part of that way on our first day in the park. We also drove way out on the jetty and looked across at Chinook, WA, from whence we had just come.

We returned several times after that to spend the afternoon reading and flying our kites. Our new kite certainly garners a lot of interested spectators who either want a closer look or to know where they can buy one like it.

We spent 4 wonderful days just enjoying the outdoors. On Wednesday we even experienced 84 degrees, right on the beach. It was like heaven after all of the cool and damp weather of this past two months.

Our thoughts are now turning south on the Summer Road and getting back home. We’ll stop in the Eugene area to have the “bra” for the front of the coach repaired, and have a full courtesy inspection at the Cummins Engine service center there. We should be back in residence by the evening of Sept. 2.

It’s been an enjoyable 2 months on the Summer Road. There is always so much to see or do in all of the little coastal communities along the way, not to mention the grandiose scenery of the Oregon Coast. We look forward to returning again to the Summer Road in 2008. In the meantime, we have to get back home and get the house ready to be abandoned for the winter and the motorhome ready for our really long stay in the desert southwest.

Thursday, 23 August 2007

We Joined the Fun at the Kite Festival

When we arrived at the beach the skies were quite clear but quickly the conditions turned cold, cloudy, and very windy, but there were more kites in the air than we have seen on any other day. It was an amazing sight.

When someone here says, “Go fly a kite,” they really mean GO FLY A KITE, so after whining for several days, Ron convinced Judy that we should join in the fun with a kite of our own. It’s no surprise that kite vendors are numerous at the kite festival. The only real issue we addressed with the expert salesman was that the kite be easy to launch and fly. Ron inspected various “delta” kites, up to 6’ across, but finally fell for a beautiful “Lotus Flower” kite that is just more than 5’ across and 2’ thick.

The salesman was a truth teller as it shot into the air after assembling all of the spokes that hold the shape of the flower. Ron flew it for about ½-hour before the winds became so strong it flew straight into the ground.

It’s capable of handling winds up to 25 mph so we’ve something else to take to the beach and desert to augment picnics. It would have been really neat to fly it last year during our stay at Joshua Tree National Park.
Tomorrow at the festival should be very interesting, especially after dark as the “Lighted Kite” show starts at sunset and there is a big fireworks display following that. Ron said he might mount one of the rescue strobe lights we have left over from our boating days but Judy said he was too late to have his kite inspected and certified for the event.

Here’s Ron flying his kite. Þ

Wednesday, 22 August 2007

A Nice Day at the Washington International Kite Festival
Long Beach, WA

Late this morning we returned to the kite festival grounds and walked the length of the event before stopping for lunch from one of the vendors along the way. We took the pugs with us today and they grew lots of smiles and laughs as they rode along with me on my scooter. Two fat pugs and a fat old guy rolling along. I guess it makes quite sight.

The weather today was even nicer than yesterday with the clouds breaking up as we arrived followed by large areas of blue sky and sunshine. In the sun it actually became too warm for the black pugs so we kept them well hydrated and, at one point as we sat on a lovely hill overlooking the kite area, Judy made a sunscreen out of her jacket to help Angel stay cooler. Next to our spot was a bronze statue of Clarke (of Lewis and Clark of the Corps of Discovery). This beach was the expedition’s first contact with the Pacific Ocean. In his journal Clark wrote of finding a sturgeon that had washed up on the beach that was 10’ long. They also discovered some remains of a whale and a “flat fish” which was their first sighting of a halibut.
There were many more kites today since there was a much more favorable breeze. Fighting kites were chasing each other across the sky; huge airfoils hung almost stationary, and fabulous animals danced on the wind. Long “trains” of 100 or more kites were launched marking the sky like a dotted line. With all of them displaying brilliant colors and shapes it was a really beautiful sight to see.
Similar to the trains are the arches like the one below. These long strings of multiple kites are attached to the ground at each end.

We’ll return tomorrow without the pugs as the participants in the events change from day to day.

It’s an event very similar to the balloon fiesta in Albuquerque, NM. The crowd, including children of all ages, is very well behaved and just there to have a nice day at the Washington International Kite Festival. The balloon fiesta is a larger event but the kite festival takes place at a much nicer hour of the day.

Dueling multiple kites were fun to watch.


The tail of this large kite was easily 60 or 70 feet long.

Good Friends on the Summer Road

Tuesday, 21 August 2007

Chinook, WA

This afternoon we met up with Dave and Sue, friends we made on that ill-fated caravan to Mexico’s Copper Canyon. We drove the short distance from Chinook to downtown Long Beach for lunch at the Lightship Restaurant. The restaurant sits atop a hotel right at the beach and has wall-to-wall windows giving an unrestricted view of the beach, the surf, and the Kite Festival.

Lunch was delicious and even though the skies were gray and cloudy, the view was very nice.

After lunch we strolled out among the vendors on the beach to get a closer look at the kites that ranged in size from downright tiny to enormous. The big wheels, as seen in the background of this shot of Sue and Judy, are fascinating. They lift off the ground then settle back down and roll along for a little while before doing it all over again.

It was very nice to spend some time again with Dave and Sue. We both travel to the Pacific Northwest every summer and this is the second year that we’ve been able to meet somewhere for a quick reunion.

Dave and Sue are staying on the property of a friend who lives just a short distance from our RV Park. That property has 3 RV spaces on it that are most often used by other members of their family who come to the area to celebrate family events or to go fishing. Everyone is very excited right now as the Chinook salmon season opens on the Columbia River this coming weekend.

I’ve seen pictures of long strings of kites like these but never have I seen them in person. This string must have had close to 100 kites all flying from one string. It went so high it was hard to make out the kites at the top of the string.
There were huge kites flying also, even though the breeze was very light. This devil kite was obviously too heavy for the wind but it did struggle completely off the ground several times.

I have to apologize for not posting to the blog for a few days but we're staying in Chinook, WA. Chinook is on the Columbia River, sort of across the river from Astoria, OR. We're actually about 6 miles north of the Astoria bridge. Here in Chinook there is no TV reception on the antenna, the RV park in which we're staying has trees that block the satellite, and there is no wifi. There are no sewers in which to dump your waste water, grey or black, and the showers are about a block away from the coach. It was the 3rd choice in trying to find a place here during the kite festival and Judy sensibly grabbed it when she could.

So, a couple of cable TV channels ($1.00/day) and that's it. Life is good and it's amazing how fast time flies when you're having fun.

We'll actually be spending most of our time in Long Beach where the kites are. It's just 10 miles from theRV park. The kites are up this morning. I drove out to see while Judy stayed behind at the laundromat in Long Beach doing our laundry.

I had to come into town to the internet coffee house to update the blog.

So, for this week don't expect much in the way of updates. I'm sure I'll have lots of neat kite pictures to share next week, however.

Ron

TRAVEL CUTS

It’s turned into a rainy Saturday afternoon here in Kelso, WA, where we’re spending the night before our RV Park reservation kicks in tomorrow in Chinook.

I just woke up from a nap and while washing my hands and face looked at myself in the mirror. Of course I had some lines on my face from my pillow but the most noticeable thing was my bad case of “BEDHEAD”. I grabbed my brush and did the best I could. You see I got a haircut the other day in Redmond.

Those of you who have known me for years will remember the days when no barber or barberess could touch my hair. It was the men’s hair salon or nothing else. Heck, the first time I worked for KNCO radio they had arranged an advertising trade with the styling salon located on the ground floor of the Holbrooke Hotel. All male employees were required to have their hair trimmed every single week. Joel Granados, the stylist, used some special technique, I don’t remember what it was called exactly, (the Roffler Method?) but I admit it looked great. In those days I wore my hair quite long on the sides and back—not as long as Kenny Rogers but pretty long. Why people working in radio think they have to look sharp and cool is beyond me. Who sees them? Well, I felt I had to look good. Looking back I think I’ve always felt that way. Today though, not so much.

I remember when I was 12 or 13 years old my mom gave me enough money for a haircut—not a haircut and an ice cream soda but just a haircut. I walked the four blocks to the barbershop waiting my turn while reading Detective Stories. When I finally got to sit in the big barber chair her said to me, “What’ll it be, sonny?” I replied, ‘A regular haircut with a SQUARE CUT. “You’ve got it,” he replied and set about giving me my cool, really in, really groovy, REALLY GEORGE, haircut. When he was done he spun the chair around and handed me a mirror so I could see the back of my head. Yup, there it was. My hair ended abruptly in a line straight across my neck. Oh, it was so cool. As I walked back home passed the ice cream shop I had no money to visit, I was sure everyone was looking at me and saying things like, "Look at that cool kid. He’s got the latest style haircut. Wow! It was great.

Home again, I walked in the back door—you never ever came in our house by the front door unless you were company—and found my mom in the kitchen baking something for desert. She briefly glanced at me and said, “That looks better.” As I passed her heading for my bedroom she shrieked, “What kind of haircut is that?” I tried to explain that it was the latest look, but she had instantly accelerated beyond listening. “If your father sees that he’ll think you’re becoming some kind of hoodlum. You turn around young man and get back to that barber shop and get that fixed.” I tried to explain that I had no money to get another haircut and she told me that was my problem. She wasn’t going to spend any more money on the head of a boy that would do something so stupid.

Fortunately, the old Italian barber was an understanding guy and he tapered the hair on the nape of my neck thus allowing me to avoid living on the streets for six weeks while my hair grew out—at least I thought that was a distinct possibility. My dad was a really strict guy given to using his belt and threatening things like something called Juvenile Hall where bad boys are sent.

You might think the story ended with the hair repair but my mom had to tell my dad about it anyhow. Unlike that father-son talk about other stuff dads are supposed to have with their sons that we never had, we sat in my bedroom where I learned about the significant financial impact on the family brought about by my need for haircuts and how important it was not to waste any of that money or we might all live on the streets. It was up to me to save the family by never getting a square cut again. Sort of like when Smokey Bear looks right out of the television screen and say, “Only you can prevent.” Oh, the pressure on a young psyche.

In high school as a wannabe jock and popular guy I was finally given the freedom of doing what I wanted with my hair, if I could afford it. I had a daily paper route back then that monthly paid me enough money to get my haircut twice. I could have had Nick the Italian barber cut it for about $5 but preferred the prestige that came with having a flat top haircut—with square cut—done at the Blue and Gold Barber Shop next to the campus of UCLA in Westwood, CA. Everyone knew that they were the only place anywhere that could make the top of you head so flat an airplane pilot could mistake it for an aircraft carrier. The closest thing today to my hair back then is the top of that hair worn by the red headed guy with the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus. Though no hair on my head was more than 3/8” long it daily received several ounces of rose pomade or butch wax. On hot days in the sun that stuff would melt and run down my face and neck but my haircut was so cool.

A few of you—maybe only Judy—will remember when I was a real clotheshorse. I had 4 or 5 suits plus 3 or 4 sport coats, many pairs of slacks, lots of dress shirts, and 20 or 30 ties. There was even a time when we would go to the fabric store where I would choose swatches and Judy would make custom neckties. One of my favorites was the Campbell Soup tie. All of the suits and slacks were double knit polyester of course and the slacks had bell-bottoms. The sport coats were garish and definitely in style. My hair at that time as always razor-cut at the local styling salon. Today's wardrobe consists of about 50 tee shirts, 12 pairs of shorts, 3 pairs of washable leisure pants, and two pairs of rockports. At home there is one suit which probably no longer fits and a blue blazer left over from the yacht club days--I don't know what happened to the grey slacks that went with it, though.

After moving from the LA area to the mountains of northern California all that sort of went by the wayside. Levis and flannel shirts seemed so much more appropriate. My hair grew quite long and a beard sprouted on my face. I was a mountain man. When my hairs needed trimming however it was still at a styling salon.

Nowadays while living the RV lifestyle all of that has changed again. Now, since we always try to go where temperatures are mild, it’s shorts and tee shirts that advertise where we’ve been. Rockports on my feet and a haircut I get somewhere along the road. Haircuts are a crapshoot. In a strange town you’re hardly going to stop guys with nice looking haircuts and ask, ‘Where do you have your hair cut?’ You see a place with a sign that reads, “No appointments necessary. Walk-ins welcome,” and go for it. Yeah I know that super Walmarts have hair salons in them but I just haven’t been able to do that yet. Oh how I don’t like Walmart. I see RVs with signs on their rear end reading, “This rig stops at all Walmarts” and wonder, ‘why’? Those of you old enough to remember the Sears bargain basement will know what I mean when I say Walmarts have THAT SMELL. The smell came from the wieners rotating slowly on those silver rollers for day after day and the popcorn and everything else in the snack bar. That’s what Walmart stores smell like to me, and I only go there when it’s the only choice around. No, no Walmart haircuts for me. I’m a Nordstrom kinda guy. “Have a seat sir and we’ll have an executive shopper take care of you. We have a hair salon should you care to partake of it.” I’m a shopping and haircut snob, I guess.

The sign said, “Walk-ins welcome” so I walked in Redmond, OR. I should have gone the other way. Think about it for a minute. A busy hair salon must be a good salon. If they’re busy you’re going to need an appointment and they won’t take walk-ins. Isn’t that logical. Well, anyhow, the place was clean and smelled nice and the lady said, “Have a seat. What’ll it be today?” I told her I wanted a regular man’s haircut, quite short (I didn’t want to be looking for another sign soon). I told her I still wanted to be able to comb it, but feel free to use the clippers on the sides, and taper my neck—no square cut. There would be no razors involved in this shearing. She sprayed my hair with water and began buzzing away. With me looking in the mirror just a couple of minutes later (Joel Granados used to take 30 minutes minimum with that Roffler whatever) she asked if it was short enough. With wet hair stuck to my head it looked fine. Half an hour and 10 miles away later, when my hair had dried, I looked in a mirror and realized that the hair on one side of my head was much longer than on the other. My head is lopsided. To even out the effect I should carry my head leaning slightly to the left. It was probably the worst haircut I’ve ever had. My mom made me go back to the barbershop to get the square cut fixed and I should have gone back to the hair salon to have it fixed in Redmond. But I didn’t. It’s my new outlook on life. If the haircut is bad I can have it fixed the next time I get a travel cut. You see, by now, I’ve come to realize that no one is looking at me and saying, “Look at that man’s haircut. Isn’t it stylish and cool?

Ron

I promise, this is the last update from the 2007 FMCA International Rally. Really, I promise.

We weren’t pleased with the plan for parking the rigs—both occupied and those for sale. When we were here in Redmond, several years ago for the Good Sam Great American Rally, most of the units for sale were located in the center circle of this circular-shape facility. When entering the gate it gave the feeling of entering a fair of some kind with all of the colorful banners and flags blowing in the desert breeze. FMCA chose to have its International Officers occupy this space, putting the display coaches about one block away from the fairgrounds itself. Mr. Tony Orlando and his band put on a terrific show at the final show of the Rally. Not a dry eye in the house could be found following his moving tribute to the troops and his signature "Tie a Yellow Ribbon."

Because of this you only went into the fairgrounds itself to use the wifi, to pick up your snail mail, to attend a seminar’ visit the vendor buildings, or attend the evening’s entertainment. There are so many new coaches brought to one of these affairs that it literally can take hours to walk through every one that interests you and get a salesman to answer your questions. Most Rally goers spend more time doing this than anything else.

The over priced food vendors who at the Good Sam Rally were almost scattered amidst the display coaches, had to feel somewhat out of the stream of things with this arrangement.

We ran into some folks we’ve met before. One had a horror story. We met him last winter in Yuma, AZ, and again in Puerto Penasco, Mexico. Last April, as they were headed somewhere, they were stopped at a traffic signal waiting for the green light to make a left turn. A large semi truck, turning left from the road on their right, dragged is trailer across their motorhome ripping the whole front cap off. What a horrible experience as glass exploded all over the place and their motorhome’s front was torn off. Well, the coach is still in the shop awaiting some of the parts to put it back together. It was new enough that it wasn’t a total loss but, in the meantime, they are without their only home. We finally bumped into Kevin’s mother-in-law, Norma, and were able to pass along a page of photos Kevin had sent of Alex’s first day at kindergarten. She said she’s really missing the boys. We never did see father-in-law Dave, however.

The seminars we attended were really great. After all, I learned how easy it is to become a blogger and Judy learned a lot of new stuff about our medical evacuation insurance and the liability insurance we carry on the coach. The entertainment was better than we’ve seen in the past. Our only gripe was the arrangement of the camping and display stuff—oh yeah, it was too damned hot.

Though we are perfectly happy with our RV we too toured many of the shiny new ones. They have become so complex in the ten years since our coach was built. Many of the systems in the living area are now controlled by computer touch screens located throughout the coach. Close the drapes, rotate the TV, kick up the air conditioner, turn on the heat, extend the patio awnings (if it gets too windy and you’re not home to deal with it they’ll automatically retract the awnings), electric reels to extend the electrical power cord or sewer hose out of the side of the coach, blend up some margaritas—no not quite—but almost. All of that stuff is wonderful if it works but it’s been our experience on the road that it often doesn’t. When some of those new computer- controlled systems fail it can literally leave you stranded along the roadside waiting for a tow to a repair facility. If no qualified technician can be found you might have to wait for the factory to fly one in to you. What ever happened to “keep it simple, stupid.”? We can and have fixed a number of things and systems on our coach. With the new ones that would be impossible in many cases. Add to that a financial depreciation of 40-50% in the first year and it’s amazing they sell any of them. Sell they do, however, as a considerable number of the display coaches disappeared into the campground during the week.

As I write this we’re sitting in a beautiful RV park on the slopes of famed Mt. Hood. The Mt. Hood Village RV Resort is located in a beautiful mature forest of evergreen and deciduous trees. So many that there is no hope of pointing our satellite dish at any satellite. That is the only drawback, however, as the lush green of the forest far overshadows any need for satellite TV.

For some reason, though we only traveled about 100 miles today, I was very tired when we arrived so, after lunch, I took a 2-hour nap. Feelin’ much better now for it.

BUT IT'S A DRY HEAT!

Have I mentioned that it was nasty hot in Redmond. Now with what is going on in terms of heat all over the country that’s probably not an earth shaking comment but it has been HOT. BUT IT’S A DRY HEAT THEY SAY.

It’s true. I’d rather sit in a dry sauna than a steam bath but HOT is HOT. Motorhomes, especially older ones like ours were not built for extreme heat or cold. Sure we have air conditioning but with only 30 amp electrical power available we can only run one of the two units on the roof. I gave in yesterday and removed us from the commercial grid and fired up the generator so I could run both of them. Even then we hit 84 degrees inside the coach before they began to cool us down a bit.

Thankfully it has cooled down considerably today. It’s only 80 degrees out this afternoon compared to 97 yesterday. There’s even rain in the forecast for the weekend when we get back to the coast and cool ocean breezes. My mantra has always been that you can almost always put on enough clothes to stay warm when it’s cold but you cannot take off enough to get cool when it’s hot.

Last night’s entertainment was Debbie Boone. She was terrific but she complained of the heat as the building in which she was performing is one of the only ones on the fairground that is not air conditioned. She even had some old fart in the audience come up to the stage because he was cooling himself with a little battery operated fan. She took it from him and held it to her face briefly. When she returned it to him she asked if they (FMCA) had given them away and did everyone have one? Of course they didn’t and we didn’t so she just pushed on. The show had to go on. Her face was very shiny with perspiration before the evening was over.

Tonight we get Tony Orlando and we’re looking forward to his performance. Tie and Yellow Ribbon and all that stuff.

Of course we planned to keep up our resolve and not purchase any more stuff—our RV runnith over already. We were weak and we have more stuff. Now Judy has to figure out where it will live. Fortunately blogging doesn’t take up any more room or I might have to do this out in the heat.

For the first two days we were here we were connecting to a very neat commercial wifi service that had set up here in the fairgrounds. After two days of wifi bliss they suddenly announced it would cost $27.95 for 5 days to continue with them. Well, as luck would have it, we’re parked directly across the street from the FMCA activities center where they have set up free wifi. For most folks that means taking the laptop over into the room and doing it there as the range is very small. With my wifi directional antennae with amplifier I am able to tune in from here in the coach and it has been neat. Sometimes when a truck or motorhome passes between me and the activities center I lose my connection but it comes back and it’s a small aggravation at most. Judy won’t pay bills or do online banking because of it but I’ve been able to surf the web, publish my blog without having to pay anyone for it.

Today is the last day of the rally and tomorrow we head for Mt. Hood Village. We’ll stop for the night along the Columbia River on the Washington side of the river before heading for Chinook WA for a week. The International Kite Festival will be underway in Long Beach and we’ll go over if it’s not raining. I’ll surely have some pics for the blog if they’re able to fly.

Several of you know we installed a new HiDef TV in the motorhome along with a new HiDef antenna on the roof before leaving home. I have been blown away by the quality of the picture from broadcast tv stations. Some are in 1080i (the highest) and some are at lower qualities but all are incredibly sharp and clear. Each TV station seems to have 3 or 4 channels. On NBC, for example, they have the channel we’re all used to seeing plus a 24 hr weather channel, a 24 hour news channel, and sometimes more. PBS in Portland has 6 channels! It’s going to be a new world when all broadcasts convert to digital (if not HiDEF) next year because even they are sharper and clearer than old analog signals. It’s too bad the content isn’t keeping up with the hardware.

If you enjoy the blog feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of any of the updates. If you don’t enjoy it, keep your comments to yourself. Hehe

Ron

The rally in Salem, OR, at the Oregon State Fairgrounds is over. It was hosted by Monaco Coach Corp, the maker of our motorhome. It was actually called a pre-rally, in other words a small rally before the huge rally in Redmond, OR. When Monaco puts on a rally it’s really neat. The cost of the event for attendees covers two complete meals per day (breakfast and supper) and, at the latter they even include an open bar. Though mass-produced, the margaritas were great. The catered food was certainly not of the rubber chicken variety but was delicious, nicely served, and plentiful.
One of the hidden advantages of attending most rallies is that you can get stuff fixed; many times absolutely free or just pay the actual cost of the parts. At a Monaco rally you can ask them to fix two items. We did and they did and we are very happy as it cost us nothing at all. Additionally, the suppliers of much of the equipment used on RV’s are at these rallies and they too fix stuff. For example, the makers of the awnings on our coach came and made some adjustments on our large awning and installed a couple of new straps on two others, without charge. It’s almost like having a lifetime guarantee on these items.
We’ve moved on to rally #2, the FMCA International, at Redmond, OR. This large rally will play host to thousands of motorhome owners (sorry, you tow able RV guys will have to go to a Good Sam Club Rally instead).
Some of the features of the event include semi to big name entertainment nightly, a huge display of new motorhomes numbering in the hundreds from the less expensive at $75,000 and up to the offerings enticing only the very wealthy running from $2,000,000 to about $4,000,00 each. It’s fun to visit and look though we completely avoided those top-level coaches. I mean what’s the point? We’re not masochists.
Aside from literally hundreds of vendors hawking everything from new diesel engines and tires to microfibre cleaning cloths there are seminars taking place all day every day. These can be very useful and informative. You can learn all of the ins and outs of maintaining your RV toilet, tire safety, take driving lessons, learn about wifi, and as this posting shows, how to create and maintain a healthy weblog (blog).
Again, as at the Monaco event, making and renewing acquaintances and friendships is a highlight. Ron was seated out on our “patio” when some folks walked by and saw him. They said, “Wow, he’s outside. We had to come all of the way from Alta Sierra (a Grass Valley Suburb for those of you not familiar with our hometown) to Medford, OR, to finally meet the weather guy in person. We sure miss you Ron and wish you’d come back to KNCO radio.” Then at the “Ricky Nelson Legacy Tour” entertainment last night at which Ricky’s two sons performed their late dad’s songs, we happened to sit with a whole row of folks from Grass Valley.
Over the years we’ve come to realize that there is something strange about Grass Valley. It’s a relatively little place, off the beaten path, and still decidedly rural yet everywhere we go we run into people who live there, used to live there, or have friends or relatives of live there. It happens so often that it seems totally out of proportion to the size of the place and its population.
I dislike feeling I’m part of a captive audience and I do get that feeling here in Redmond. For example, we recently purchased a tank of diesel fuel on the coast and paid $2.69/gallon. Here in Redmond the price is $3.15/gallon. Is it just a coincidence that the fuel is so pricey at the same time that thousands of motorhomers, a considerable percentage of whom drive diesel coaches came to town? Hmmm. Oh yeah, gasoline prices here are higher than in other areas as well.
The food vendors on the fairgrounds are also out to make their year’s income off of us. Try $3.00 for a soft drink, or $16.00 for a plate of fancy nachos. I wonder how they can sell any of that stuff with thousands of RV’s a short walk away full of food and drinks in their own kitchens (or in the case of those $4,000,000 rigs, at the wet bar).
We’ve now attended two huge rallies and three smaller ones. In the future we’ll stick to the smaller ones. They’re more fun, more intimate, and usually don’t have as large an impact on the greedy local businesses.
We leave here on Friday, Aug 17, on a two-day journey back to the coast. We’ll end up on the Washington, side of the Columbia weather for a few days where we plan to meet up with Dave and Sue Anderson, friends with whom we’ve kept in touch since that infamous trip Mexico.

Notes from the Summer Road 2007

Dear Friends & Family,

We left Grass Valley, in the first week of July headed again, as in previous years, for the Oregon Coast. When we left home it was very warm, in contrast to the cool and moist coast of Oregon. The mornings were overcast and wet but each day there offered some afternoon sun allowing for outings and photography.
We paused overnight in Coos Bay, before moving on to Florence, for a weeklong stay at the South Jetty RV Park, right next to the famous Oregon Dunes. Yeah, Ron finally got his chance to take the Jeep through some really soft sand in getting out to the beach. Judy was quite sure we would get stuck but we just mushed on through. Afterwards she said she’d have no more qualms about driving on the beaches here on the North Coast.
We had a tailgate picnic in the cool ocean breeze. In the surf was the carcass of a whale that had washed ashore. It appeared to be quite a recent event as it was completely intact. We later heard on the television news that a much larger than normal number of marine animals were washing up on the beach due to the return of what they called the “dead zone” offshore. I presume that it must be something like a red tide. Either way, Kevin reported the following week that there was a large sea lion on the beach just north of the whale carcass.
Kevin and his family joined all of Dodie’s extended family for a week of fun on the dunes with their ATV. Unfortunately our schedules didn’t mesh and we departed some hours before they arrived.
We continued north about 50 miles to Newport for more of the same weather and even a little rain. Actually there was so much rain that the weather guys in Portland announced a new record of 7 consecutive days of measurable rain in July.
Depoe Bay, a summer tourist hotspot, was our next stop. Near Depoe Bay we stayed in a lovely RV Park/Fish Camp along the Siletz River. Waking at sunrise one morning Ron grabbed his camera and got this shot of a foggy sunrise in the river canyon. Record Salmon are caught here on the river in spring and fall. The RV Park offers guided fishing trips on the river in their boats or your boat. Those who bring their own boat leave them in a parking area and the park launches them whenever you are ready. We only stayed in this area for about 5 days but had some good food, bought some gifts for the boys, and enjoyed the peace and quiet.
Rockaway Beach appears to be a favorite spot for those who enjoy renting beach cottages, as there are hundreds of them available. They run the gamut from old and funky to modern hi-tech. There isn’t much to do besides beach coming in Rockaway Beach but it’s a great place for that. The beach is beautiful and the rocks offshore are very interesting. The photo below shows “Twin Rocks”. Several local kite clubs were on the beach the day we arrived and their kites were the most spectacular we’ve ever seen. Some of them were easily 50 or 60 feet long. Numerous international kite-flying meets occur in this area every summer and are so popular that one should make RV Park or Hotel reservations as much as a full year in advance.
While staying in Rockaway Beach we visited the Tillamook Cheese Factory where we took the self-guided tour and ate lunch (definitely not recommended), the lunch that is. We did top off a remarkably mediocre lunch with an ice cream cone, however.
After Rockaway we continued north to our favorite spot on the coast, Seaside. We spent a lovely week here reacquainting ourselves with the area. Nearby Cannon Beach offered a marvelous lunch and, of course, Haystack Rock, the most famous and photographed rock on the Oregon coast. We drove out to the point at Ecola State Park where there are views of both Cannon Beach and the Tillamook Head Lighthouse, weather permitting. On the morning we drove out there it was beautiful and sunny but a fogbank just offshore hid the lighthouse. We returned near sunset and got the view you see below. The setting sun provided beautiful color as it silhouetted the lighthouse. Tillamook Head Light is no longer in use. Its remains sit on a huge rock located 2 miles offshore and was known during the years it was operated as Wild Tilly. We can only imagine how difficult and lonely life had to be for the light keepers out there.
Looking in exactly the opposite direction we could see Cannon Beach and, in the distance, Haystack Rock.
The rough and rocky coasts provides so many opportunities when the weather cooperates and the colors near sunset are wonderful. The beach below took on a warm glow that was so beautiful Ron couldn’t resist this shot.

Seaside marked the end of our first coastal visit this summer. We’re off for two weeks of RV rallies (conventions). The first will be in Salem, OR and is hosted by Monaco Internation (Monaco Coach Owner’s Club) and the second will be in Redmond, OR, hosted by the Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA). The first will see 200 or 300 Monaco coaches attending while the FMCA affair will see thousands of motorhomes of all makes in attendance. Big name entertainment will be featured each night as well as several thousand new motorhomes to look at and drool and vendors selling everything you could ever need to make life pleasant and trouble free while living the mobile life.
More importantly, we’ll meet some new folks, some of whom may become friends we’ll see along the way for years to come.
We’re having a wonderful time this summer and look forward to what’s left of it here in Oregon. After the rallies we’ll return to the coast of Southwest Washington before turning south and heading for home the beginning of September.