We took a drive up to the 5950 level, where the views of the valley were fantastic. Luckily, we went up on a day that it was clear -- before the rally.
One of the few times that we could view Mount Shasta because of low clouds and rain.

Took a drive up to Castle Lake in the rain and cold (38deg) but wow what a view. Still lots of ice on the lake with low clouds.
The Montana rally was lots of fun for us. I counted about 30 rigs all parked in one area of the park. There was over 60 people and I bet about the same number of dogs. Below is a picture of one of our shared meals. Every one has pulled out but us and one other couple. We will be out of here in the morning.

About 10 of us went to a local river and did a hike. This is the "Middle Falls", 1 of 3 falls on the trail. We got back to the trucks before the sky opened up with heavy, heavy rain, thunder and lightening. Our trip back to the campground was with the wipers on fast.

A new friend at the rally had some old graphics from the front cap of a 2001 Big Sky Montana that he gave us. Dick pulled together some of the crew here that had experence on putting on the decals. What a difference in the looks of our truck. (It was fun taking pictures of the guys putting the graphics on the truck. And some of the "supervisors" who sat on the sidelines and gave instructions.-Jackie)

This is a picture of some of the "supervisors" during and after the decal installation.

It took 4 of us to get the graphics installed and took a little over an hour per side. Many thanks to Butch, Robbie, Ray for all the help and also to Dave for the graphics. What a great bunch of people.

Just a reminder you can click on any picture and blow it up for more details.

It has been a really fun time. My fears of being the "newbies" who were not part of the group were unfounded. We were made a part of the group in no time, and are looking forward to seeing all the these great folks again! It was so much fun and we made some lasting friendships. (Jackie) And we learned to play Mexican Train Dominoes, although I'm not sure I'll get Dick to play again as he was the biggest loser! In spite of the crummy weather (rain, wind, cold), it was a great rally. And our truck looks super!

(Dick) I was told that I was the big winner at Mexican Train because I had the most points. LOL

I was going through Internet withdrawal so we went out today and purchased an air card so we can have internet just about most places. I still need to get the computer in the truck working with it so we can go online when we are going down the road.

Southern Oregon and California

We left the Palasades and ventured south on Hwy 97 through the center of Oregon and made our next stop at Collier Memorial State park. It's in the trees so we had a hard time finding just the right spot to put the rig into. I think we took out some trees when we left.
We spent one afternoon at a logging museum and was amazed at the mutitude of equipment they had there.

Another side trip up to view Crater Lake National Park. We are at a little over 7000 feet of elevation and all the roads around the crater are closed, but did get a view from visitors center.

Here are a few views of the lake, crystal clear.

We are now at Lake Siskiyou California at the Montana owners rally but will up-date this Blog at another time. We are not sure where we will go from here but either toward San Francisco, Sacramento or maybe Reno. I guess you will just have to check back and see what we decided.

Give us a shout and let us know how you all are doing.

The Cove Palisades, OR

This is a view of the lake and coulee from up above the Cove Palisades. We wound down into the coulee, across a bridge and partway up the other side before coming to the campground.
Here is a shot of the moon coming up over the rocks. There are turkey vulture flying around, getting ready to roost for the night in a tree in the park.

Just thought we'd add a picture of CC -- she is still with us. (She didn't much like the high 90degree weather!)

View of the lake at the bottom of the coulee.

The turkey buzzard tree.

In flight, ready to land.

To give an idea of the height of the coulee wall, look for the boat in the water.

Just some pictures of the unique gealogy in the area.

bikes, trucks, church, falls and down on the old farm...

It's May 13 and we are back in Ephrata to see the Dentist but the rig is still in The Dalles area of Oregon. Here are some pictures that we took last week and wanted to share. The bike ride was 6 miles each way above the river and it was a lot of fun.

Because of the heavy winds we went for a long truck ride on two days and here are some pictures that show some of what we found. We went out to breakfast and Church on Mothers day and just relaxed after a long walk along the river trail.

We will depart The Dalles on Thursday and go South on Hwy 97 down the center of Oregon and find a place to camp as we need to be in Northern California on the 22nd.

The WiFi hot spots are few and far between in Oregon so will post again when we get a chance.

Please leave a comment so we can get some idea if this Blog is being looked at.

second stop, still in Oregon...

On Monday, 5/5, we moved west to the Deschutes River Campground (OR State Recreation Area), 66 miles. We are backed up to the river, with a wonderful view (again). The geese and their goslings seem to have made this area their home.

Yesterday, 5/6, we took a “road trip”, starting with a local road just on the other side of the Deschutes River, which lead up, up, up, above the Columbia heading west. It came down just before The Dalles, where we stopped at a PetCo for supplies for CC. Then we went to the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center and Museum. It was great. From there we took historic highway 30 heading west, where the views are incredible. Back home at 5:00 for a relaxing evening. Weather forecast for today is winds gusting to 50, so no bicycle trip today. We don’t have internet access in the park, so are going to go into town (Biggs) and see what we can find. Then maybe another “road trip” to see the scenery.

We are going to leave the BigSky here and take off Tuesday morning for Ephrata for Rotary and dentist appointments. Then back on Wednesday evening, to pull out early Thursday and head south to the Bend area.

on the road, finally...

May 1, 2008 and we are off to see the world. We left Ephrata and about 10:00 AM and headed toward Boardman, OR. We had perfect weather for our first day "on the road".
150 miles the first day at 10 mpg at $4.58/gallon. You do the math, I don't want to see the bottom number. We go lost in Pasco and turned onto a dead end street and had to back out and turn around. Very interesting but as you can tell we made it.

In Boardman we are camped with our back window facing the Columbia river. Here is the view. It is really spectacular. We watch the riverboats and barges ply the river, and closer to shore the geese out with their goslings.
Last night, 5/2, we had dinner outside with the sun setting in the background. We're camping with Kathy and Bryson Bailey, and here she is at the table with us. Prior to this, we had "cocktails" around the campfire with the Baileys and some new-found friends from Bend, OR. Then after dinner we moved inside to have a rousing game of Hand and Foot. (On the table in the background are the flowers I received from our girls and their families for my retirement.)

Today (5/3) Boardman is having a Cinco de Mayo celebration here in their park. We walked over to participate and have some mexican food. (Why are we always eating?!) They have games, a mariachi band, etc. It was fun. I love this hat on Jackie so had to get a picture and share it.

The weather has been cloudy with the sun peeking through at times today, but still quite warm.
I'm still not sure "retirement" has sunk in. It feels like a long weekend. Will let you know later.

Dick:

What a way to start, warm, sunny and a light wind. We will leave here Monday and head, and head, and head, well were not sure where we are going. We need to be back in Ephrata on the 13 so will leave the RV in Oregon and drive up to visit the Dentist and then will pick up the rig and head for Northern California.

Will keep you posted as WiFi permits.

Day 1, starting a new life...

0 days 0 hours

She did it, yesterday was Jackie's last day at work. She even slept in this morning. If you call 7:00 AM sleeping in. We are having breakfast and then will finish hooking up the 5 wheel and heading out. One minor problem, when we got home last night she said that she forgot her coat at work. We can just leave it except her trailer keys are in the pocket. So on the way out of town we will stop and get it. She loaded up the truck with "stuff" from work and gifts, so now will have to decide where to put it. I guess it can wait until our next stop. The GPS is set up in the cab, the bikes are on the front and the bed us full of fire wood.

Another small change of plans is that we have to be back in Ephrata on the 13 for a Rotary meeting and Dentist on the 14th. We will leave the rig some place south of here (Oregon?), drive up and spend the night with friends.

So it's Boardman, Oregon today and then ???. No plans just figure out where the next stop will be and just keep it that way.

Pictures of the party with the next post, I forgot my camera so have to rely on others. I did find one from last weekend in Ellensburg at the Rotary Convention.