OK, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

We left the park about 6AM this morning to get to Tork Lift Central.  They installed our tow bar and needed to make sure it fit well with our hitch.  They had to install an extension and that made the connection nice and level.  In the back of my mind, I was thinking maybe we should connect it and test it out, but I didn't say anything.  

We arrived before the employees did

Shiny new tow bar

Denis is very happy with his tow bar - this is a different design from the bar we had on our Saturn

They were fast, efficient and knew their trade

After we took care of business, Denis hooked up the coach and we started off.  We didn't even make it out of the parking lot when one of the arms on the Demco Roadmaster pulled off.  What a pain in the butt.  Denis had a heck of a time taking off the frozen screws that held the cylinder but he found the problem and fixed it.  Now we're concerned that the accident may have damaged the Demco and we're hesitant to trust it.  We drove some 60 miles watching the rear camera very carefully.  

This was a long, stressful day and fasting didn't make it any easier.  But we got through it and finally pulled into a rather quiet Walmart for the night.  We were hoping to catch a peace vigil but we're just too worn out.  

That's all folks!  Thanks for stopping in.

I MISS THE SUNSHINE

Too bad we couldn't send all this rain to an area of the country that needs it.  I didn't do much of anything AGAIN today.  Denis ran into another glitch getting the plates for the car but by the end of the day he "fixed" that problem.  He also returned the rental car because we're planning on leaving here tomorrow morning.  

I bought this flat of organic mixed greens at a local farm -  I cut off the tops and they keep growing - notice the clumps in the top left corner with new growth - two salads uses two clusters, isn't that cool?  What a great idea - I'm thinking of adding in some scallions which I think would work the same 

I love small towns - this one combined the post office with the fire department

These horses were watching the goings on at the post office above

This little buck's horns are just starting to grow

That's all folks!  Thanks for stopping in.

WILL IT EVER STOP RAINING?

They say Washington gets a lot of rain and seeing is believing.  We've had rain every day that we've been here.  During the day it periodically drizzles and during the night we have thunder, lightening and downpours.

It didn't stop us from driving 70 miles one-way to Mount Rainier.  I've been pronouncing it RAIN-E-ER which is incorrect it's RAH-NEAR.  See, 60 years old and still learning something new.  We saved the $15 entrance fee with our park pass and the ranger said we probably wouldn't see the mountain due to the fog and rain.

Entrance

Rustic-style Longmire Visitor's Center

Just inside the park is the site of James Longmire's Medical Springs that the family developed in 1888. It is now a National Historic Landmark District and the original park's headquarters with exhibits and a museum.  It's a 40 minute drive to Paradise.  Paradise is where the second visitor's center is located. It is world-famous for its glorious views and wildflower meadows.  Can you believe the park averages 680 inches of snow fall each winter?

Surprised to see wildflowers so late in the season

Just before we arrived in Paradise, Denis yells "there it is" and sure enough the sun peeked out, the fog cleared and we got to see the majestic 14,410 foot volcanic mountain, Mount Rainier.  Denis pulled the rental car over, got out and snapped some photos.  When he got back in the car, the entire mountain was shrouded in fog and disappeared completely.  Unbelievable.

Cleared just long enough for a snapshot

The huge amount of precipitation shapes everything, from the 25 glaciers that cap the mountain to the stands of Douglas fir, red cedar and hemlock.  Remember this is an active volcano, as a matter of fact, the entire Cascade Range has been volcanically active for millions of years.  Hopefully, the vulcanologist's are correct in their assumption that the mountain will give ample warning before erupting.

Made it to Paradise

We watched the 20-minute video about Mount Rainier which was very good and checked out the exhibits.  Remembering we had a 40-minute drive out of the park and getting pretty hungry it was time to look for a place to eat.  Let me tell you, if you ever find yourself on the road to Paradise be sure to stop at Copper Creek Restaurant.
The restaurant has a bit of history and you can click on the link if you'd like to learn more:
History of Copper Creek

This newspaper article was varnished to the counter top

We split the pesto pasta with pine nuts, artichokes and sun dried tomatoes - it was delicious

Famous for their blackberry pies - the crust was amazing

Love the pie cabinet

The drive home was tiring with rain and fog.  It was a long day but we're so glad we took the time to the visit Mount Rainier National Park while we were in the area.

That's all folks!  Thanks for stopping in.

P.S.  Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes.  I know 60 years young isn't a huge milestone when I'm planning, God willing, to live to 100.  I also wanted to welcome my new blog readers and hope they enjoy following our adventures.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

Yes, today is my 60th birthday, ugh!  Where did the years go?  I called my 84 year old dad at the Soldier's Home to let him know his only daughter turned 60 today and he kept repeating "60 years old, oh Sandy, 60 years old".  Some how that didn't make me feel any better.

I received a very funny pug-singing e-card from my brother.   I got nice birthday calls from him and Kathleen, my nieces and nephew, my son and step daughter.  Got lots of Facebook birthday wishes and Denis took me to a nice little bistro called the Shire for dinner.  Delicious tenderloin steak with fresh baby tender green beans and a big potato pancake.  Denis ordered the baked cod with red potatoes. We took an afternoon dinner walk around historic Chehalis.

If you're wondering how we got to the restaurant without a car.  We finally broke down and rented a car.  Yeah, we're free to go see some of the local sights.

That's all folks!  Thanks for stopping in.

MY ATTEMPT AT TRYING TO MAKE THIS POST INTERESTING

When I first started blogging, I liked the idea of keeping a chronicle of our full-time RV travels and hoped that others would find it interesting, entertaining, funny or informative.  I thought it would be a great way to remember the people we met, places we visited and things we did.  What I didn't anticipate was how much I enjoyed sharing and having other bloggers share their adventures with me.  

It's easy to write a daily post when we're moving and grooving but it's another story when we're just hanging out, like today.  Sometimes, like tonight, I'll sit at my computer and wonder what to write about.  Other bloggers have found their "blog calling" but I'm a work in progress.  So tonight's blog is of a more personal nature.

I'm not strongly political, although I have my opinions.  I'm not a religious fanatic, but I am a christian.  I'm not an activist, nor do I think of myself as a pacifist.  I love my husband of 24 years, but I'm not a perfect wife.  I'm concerned about our environment but I wouldn't consider myself an environmentalist.  I would prefer to have all our troops come home and give peace a chance, however, I was never a flower child.  I'm concerned about our food supply, toxins, chemical use, poison vaccines, the endangered animals, the local organic farmers, disappearing honey bees, wars, famines, genocide, gangs, drug use, violence, the future of our youth and wonder if the world isn't going to hell in a hand basket.  

That's why I'm thankful that we're blessed with this lifestyle and can have a day like today when we did absolutely nothing.  Oh yeah, we did move the coach into a full hookup site.  

That's all folks!  Thanks for stopping in. 

DEPRESSURIZING IN CHAHALIS

This TT park is a great place to relax and get back to nature.  It gets dark and very quiet at night so we got a great night's sleep.  In the morning we kept the pace slow and peaceful.  Baked a loaf of bread, Tai Chi, yoga, meditation and breakfast outside with a second cup of coffee.

Staying at a Thousand Trails Park is like coming home

Our site only has electricity and water.  We scouted out a few sites with full hookups, plus cell and internet service.  The park is clearing out fast (yeah, the kids are going back to school) and we should have no problem moving into one of those sites tomorrow.  Need to do some laundry and that's a little difficult without full hookups.

The 300-acre preserve has a wonderful hiking trail that we explored this afternoon.  We walked about four miles around the parameter of the park.  Blackberry bushes were everywhere with tons of berries ready for picking.  On the trail we watched a buck and doe grazing.  They knew we were watching but didn't see us as a threat and let us take several pictures.

Cute little thing

Fall is fast approaching but this flower is holding its own

Lots of blackberries ready for the picking

Love the unexpected

Young buck

We walked to where they keep the horses but none were there.  Denis opened up an electrical box and was surprised by a bee hive.  They swarmed and he got stung by one of them.  Fortunately, he's not allergic.

View of Mt. St. Helens

After our hike we checked out the large heated swimming pool, game room and laundry facilities. Then we went back to our site and enjoyed a nice cold beer before starting dinner.

Game room

Just one family enjoying the pool

I steamed up some rice and broccoli.  I dredged a piece of halibut with Panko breadcrumbs and pan fried it in coconut oil.  Thank you Terry and Sharon for the halibut, it was delicious.

A friend posted this on Facebook and I liked it so much that I wanted to share it with you

That's all folks!  Thanks for stopping in.

CHEHALIS, WASHINGTON

Yesterday Denis got the roof rack installed and the bikes on the roof.  With that accomplished and all the needed paperwork supplied, signed and faxed to Chevy corporate headquarters, the registry of motor vehicles and to the insurance company, we are free to leave (without the car, of course).  But where to go for a week?

We stopped at Walmart because Denis needed to buy oil and a filter for the coach.  The Walmart in Renton was interesting, maybe that's not the correct word, amazing might be better or even jaw dropping.  Now, I know it was Labor Day weekend but the cashier said it's like this all the time.  My recommendation to anyone wanting to shop at the Walmart in Renton is, don't.  The store was disorganized, dirty, had narrow aisles and the people, OMG, let me tell you about the people.  It was a freak show (now remember this is just my opinion).  We saw more tattooed people than you would in a tattoo parlor, guys wore those huge shorts that hang by some miracle on their hips while the gals wear tight, revealing clothes, bright pink hair and high heels.  It is an ethnically diverse area with a high population of Muslim and Asian.  We also saw pimped out cars, which surprised us because Washington has legalized marijuana (maybe they deal with the drugs that are still illegal, I don't know). We were going to spend the night there and some people did, including the homeless man in the bushes, even though signs were posted for no overnight parking. We decided to move a mile or two down the road to St. Anthony's Church and stay there for the night since we were going to their 7:30 mass in the morning.  I think we made a good choice.

We were up and dressed when there was a knock at the door asking us to move the coach to another area in the parking lot because this mass and the four other masses that day are filled to capacity. Isn't that nice?  We find that to be true with most catholic churches with a school attached, as this one has.

After church we drove a couple of hours to a TT in Chehalis.  We were told that they were filled over the Labor Day weekend but we were able to make reservations through Thousand Trails.  When we got here, of course, the 33 full hookup sites were taken but we did find a spot with water and electricity out of the 290 other sites.  However, we are limited in our electrical use because of some problem or other.  We're planning on moving once all the weekend campers leave on Monday. Incredibly, with all the trees, we still get 4G and high speed internet.... yeah!

This is the first preserve in the TT system and has spectacular views of Mount Rainier and Mount St. Helens.  Without a car or bike, I'm not sure how much we're going to get to see but it is a lovely campground in a forest of maple, alder and Douglas fir trees.  We'll go exploring tomorrow.

That's all folks!  Thanks for stopping in!  Time to chill ....

BURIEN CHEVROLET

Yesterday we stopped at a Ford dealer and took the Edge out for a spin.  There were a couple of things I didn't like about the Edge.   First and foremost, was the pin-ball feeling I got as a passenger and second was how high the dash was.  Denis didn't like the panoramic sunroof and problems involved installing a roof rack.  The sales person was giving us a good deal and even offered to paint the all- black vehicle to match our coach but we just didn't like the car.

From there, we drove to the Chevy dealer in Burien, Washington.  They had already approved our credit app and had a Equinox waiting for us.  The color almost matches the light color on the coach.  I think this is the make and model we wanted from the beginning of our search but we were looking for the right price.  Long story short and after a day of negotiations, we signed on the dotted line.

The folks here are fast, efficient, knowledgeable and accommodating

Denis wanted to get our bikes out of the coach and onto the car roof rack as soon as possible.  It was getting dark outside and he wasn't finished with the installation so we ended up spending the night in the lot.  Actually, the street was quiet and we got a good night's sleep.

Man on a mission

Making progress

I love having our home go wherever we go

We'll be here for a while, waiting for plates and insurance but there's light at the end of the tunnel.

That's all folks!  Thanks for stopping in.

BLAINE, WASHINGTON

Another rainy day here in Blaine which kept me inside for most of the day with the exception of a walk to the office to pick up our mail.  Denis didn't bother to get dressed or eat for most of the day (I don't know how he can do that, I mean not eat all day, I'd pass out).  He was on the phone and computer with three dealers, Saturn, Chevy and Ford (it was a bidding war).  I'm not going to tell you who won until tomorrow because I want to make sure it's a "for sure" thing.

I like to get dressed first thing in the morning, wash, brush my teeth and put on makeup while the coffee is perking.  Denis, on the other hand, has no problem hanging around in his bathrobe.

Since it was a rainy day, I made vegetarian chili for dinner with a green salad and slice of flat bread.

Here's a family update:

My brother, Ken, did a great job getting dad's house ready for rent. We made a good team.  He spent precious time, energy and effort at the house while I made phone calls and set up appointments. We had to hire a plumber, electrician and mover.  We had all the wood floors sanded and refinished.  All of dad's stuff is basically stuffed into one room in the basement until I get back in the spring and can sort through it.  Aunt Donna moved in on August 10th and tells me that the house looks so cute and can't wait for me to see it.  Dad's car was sold today.

When I talk to dad on the phone, he sounds tired and very confused.  The staff tells me that his dementia has progressed and they need to remind him to do his daily tasks.  He is using a wheelchair more often now because his legs get tired and weak.  Aunt Donna went to visit him yesterday and found out that he's in a semi-private room now and it's closer to the bathroom (which is becoming an issue).

On the other hand, daughter Christi sounds very happy with her work, new boyfriend and life in Montreal.  Son, Daniel, is doing well after his breakup with his girlfriend and is concentrating on taking better care of himself.  He found a doctor in downtown Quebec that is working on his lower back pain.  He built a raised bed vegetable garden this summer and enjoying its fruits (I mean veggies).

That's all folks! Thanks for stopping in.

BLAINE, WASHINGTON

It rained all night but this morning the sun was peeking in and out all day.  No word from the insurance company with a settlement and no finalization on financing for a vehicle.  At this point it's a waiting game.

I convinced Denis to take a break from his car, roof rack and hitch searches and take a bike ride into town.  It's a nice ride on designated bike lanes and the speed limit for cars is 25-30 mph.  We went to the produce stand and bought some non-GMO corn on the cob, tomatoes, cukes and green beans.

Denis smiling and away from his computer for a while

This restaurant is a local favorite that is only opened on Friday and Saturdays - Hope we're still here

The beaches are boat friendly

Spent some time in the sunshine reading and dozing before it was time to make dinner.  I love my little rice steamer because it makes perfect rice and has an additional pan on top to steam veggies.  I marinated the chicken thighs in soy sauce, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, ginger, salt and pepper before throwing them in a cast iron skillet.

That's all folks!  Thanks for stopping in.

BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD

Just when we thought our car shopping was finished, the financial company didn't like the idea of selling to our limited liability company.  Funny, last night I had a dream that we were making the wrong decision because the price was more than we had planned.  Maybe it's all working out as it should.  Any way, it's back to the drawing board.

We both needed to clear our heads and took a short bike ride this morning.  We ate all those blackberries and I picked another quart this afternoon.  Denis is wearing himself thin with this car business and needed a nap.  While he napped, I took another bike ride along Birch Bay and got familiar with the area.  I found where they have their farmer's market on Saturday and I found a locals-favorite restaurant that is only opened on Friday and Saturday nights.  I watched people in the bay up to their knees in water digging for clams or mussels, not sure what.  It was nice to ride along the water and breathe in the beach smells.

We haven't had exactly sunny skies the last couple of days but this rainbow did show up

Small blackberries but very sweet and tasty

Don't know what they're digging for but they had a mission

Maybe I should have asked someone

That's all folks!  Thanks for stopping in.

BLAINE, WASHINTON

Whew ... the decision has been made.  We're going with the 2013 Chevy Equinox LTZ.  The test drive was a success and the vehicle has all the bells and whistles.  The color, champagne silver metallic, blends nicely with the colors on the motor home and it gets better gas mileage than the Saturn.  The only bummer is making monthly payments again but I think we'll be very happy with this vehicle for many years to come.

The Chevy salesman was nice enough to come to the park for our test drive and then come back again later to bring Denis to the dealership to finalize the paperwork.

It's been a day of phone calls and computer research.  It will be nice to have all this behind us and it would also be nice if the insurance company would let us know what the settlement will be.  Still waiting!

We thought we needed a vacation after two months of discovering Alaska but I think we're going to need a vacation after this car thing is behind us.  It's mentally exhausting.

That's all folks!  Thanks for stopping in.

BLAINE, WASHINGTON

We hung around the park today (easy to do when you don't have a car).  We did some more research on which car to buy and we have it down to two, the Ford Edge or the Chevy Equinox.  

It's so nice to take things at a relaxed pace and get back into a routine.  The simple pleasures of life, like having a picnic table, sitting in the sunshine in our gravity chairs, working out to an old yoga dvd, doing laundry with full hookups, baking bread and brownies.  

Denis got the coach all cleaned up on the outside while I did some serious cleaning on the inside.

We took a walk around the park after dinner and discovered that the park is filled with blackberry bushes.  We picked about a quart ... I love blackberries.

That's all folks!  Thanks for stopping in.

BLAINE, WASHINGTON

Mr. Prince George

We are so happy to be back in the United States with full cell and internet service, membership parks, full hookups and maybe some relaxation.  Yesterday, we drove down the Cariboo Gold Rush Trail all day until stopping for the night. We found a rest area on the Fraser River, BC with a trail leading to an old bridge that had some interesting history.   I loved watching the freight trains that ran along side the Cariboo highway.  It was cool watching two trains, on each side of the Fraser River each going in opposite directions on each side of the river.  I'm amazed how the tracks run on sheer cliffs high above the canyon on what looks like inches to spare.  I was close enough to wave at one of the engineers and he waved back.

Isn't this cool?

300 foot suspension bridge built in 1863

Early morning walk to get the circulation moving - new haircut

This bridge is no longer in use - freaky to walk over because you can see down to the river through the grates

That's the bridge we took

Even though our rest stop was on the highway it got relatively quiet during the night and we got a good night's sleep.  Got up early and took the walk to the bridge before driving across the border into the states.  The line up at the border crossing was insane and it took us about an hour to get through. We still managed to get the the TT park before noon and got a nice sunny site for a week.

Yipee - electricity

We both keep forgetting we don't have a car and we'll have to ride our bikes if we need to go anywhere.  It's temporary and all is well.  Still waiting to hear from the insurance company with a dollar amount, probably on Monday.

That's all folks!  Thanks for stopping in.