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Yesterday I returned to Deming from a week-long visit to Tucson to enjoy some holiday activities with my friends. I had a wonderful time! The women who have become my friends are treasures of my heart. They are warm, nurturing, funny, and oh, so loving. I was cared for, looked after, hugged, and gifted.

And I ate - and ate - and ate...to the effect of a tummy ache that still hasn't quite gone away. I don't usually eat as often or the kinds of foods that I experienced during this visit. Every day there was something good, and plenty of it. Not a lot of sweets, except for the M&Ms I love, and the very rich chocolate dessert at the Crones luncheon. And then there was the Tucson LoWs (PuebLoWs) holiday potluck at their campout on Saturday! So now I'm trying to get back to normal.

The timing of my visit couldn't have been better as several events lined up, including a free dance on Monday night at Rincon Country RV Resort, my former 'home'. We had snacks instead of dinner, and margaritas...yum! And I danced, even. I got to say hello to folks I knew there, and wish them happy holidays. Fun.

In a medium such as this blog it is difficult for me to write about my deep feelings about the week's meaningful chapter in my life book. I am continuing to savor the very special moments with these friends - friends I probably would not have made if Doc were still with me. But I can't know that for certain because I was feeling the need to connect with other women before he became ill. Anyway, the sharing with my friends was deep, and added a richness to my life. I am grateful.

Additionally, I am grateful for the ability to observe. Have you ever called one of those numbers on the back of a semi that asks "How's my driving?"? Well, yesterday I did. As I came onto I-10 in Tucson I was 'allowed' to enter from the ramp, as a semi truck moved over. However, he pulled up beside me, and then, with his signal on, proceeded to pull over, before he was fully in front of me. I slowed down to keep from getting clipped. Just a few miles down the road, with a string of cars in the left lane, passing this same truck, he pulled right over, into the cars' lane, forcing them to 'make room' so he could pass the slower vehicle in front of him. I don't know if he was just a new driver, making some mistakes, or if he was intentionally trying to intimidate other drivers. He was traveling with another truck from the same company, so I'm thinking maybe he was new. But, when I stopped for a bite to eat, I placed a call and left my information.

Later, down the road, there was another truck that passed me, and later, as I began to pass him, he sped up. As he did so, I noticed the 'humming' of a tire that didn't sound right. Since he wasn't going to let me by him, I backed off, and pulled into the right lane. Then I looked at the back of his truck and I noticed that the inner left tire was wobbling, and also losing tread. So I backed off further in case that thing blew rubber all over the road. Within several minutes that tire disintegrated and blew, just as another truck approached in the passing lane. I was ever so grateful that I had seen the difficulty and took action to avoid trouble. There was debris all over the road that was challenging to negotiate; the truck finally pulled over several miles down the road.

On another note, today I began working in the Low-Hi RV Ranch office in exchange for my site. I learned that they can only have one person in the office during slow months, so at the end of January I'm back to paying rent...until maybe March when they start gearing up for the spring rally in April. Today I also spoke with the Chief Park Ranger at Chaco Canyon, where I put an application, and it looks promising that I will be camp host and site monitor there for several months, beginning in the spring. I think it will be awesome to be in Chaco for the Summer Solstice and my birthday which are usually very close together!!! I will find out more in January.

Day Break

I used to think that my life would always be the same, as day after day I did the same things, kept to the same routine. Then something happened, and one day I began to wake up and grow up. Now I enjoy the beauty of the changes from one day to another.

Since coming to Deming, I have enjoyed the company of men and women who 'roam' - they come and go, make connections and then move on. Yesterday several rigs left, heading to Tucson and points further west. The park began to feel empty, and my heart began to feel the space where some of these folks had been allowed to enter while they were here.

Yet, as I move about within the flow of the community, I'm beginning to recognize folks out in other areas of the town. For example, yesterday I went with an RVer friend for breakfast. As we were leaving the restaurant, a couple I recognized from the Friday night dances at the VFW entered. I said hello and said I recognized them. We made introductions and then went about our business. Later in the afternoon my friend and I went to the weekly 'jam session' at the art center. And would you believe, the same couple was there, and we then recognized each other again! Of course, some of the LoW group was also present, so I entered conversations with a couple of them with whom I'd not really chatted before.

One of my 'new' acquaintances is involved in a nationwide "grandmothers" group - as in the native tradition of grandmothers. We had quite a conversation. The next meeting is going to be at her house in January, and I will be included in the group because I'm interested in that sort of thing. As it happened I was wearing a T-shirt that had the logo of a Colorado powwow on it. When I went to the counter to get a bottle of water the lady noticed my shirt, and our conversation began. She is of native heritage, from Iowa, and there is going to be a gathering (powwow) of the Iowa group of natives who have settled here in February. I asked if this was going to be a closed gathering, and let her know I would be honored to be invited - I do have Iowa ancestors buried there...I gave her my card with my phone number. Perhaps someone will call.

Today I was asked to accompany a very older - very cute - man to Silver City tomorrow to go to the VA. We danced together on Friday night, and our companions thought it was 'so cute'. Anyway, he's a person who lives at the park permanently and we'd only had a passing 'hello' until just recently.

The weather today was rough - it blew at about 35 mph all day, and we had thunderstorms and downpours all day. It was colder than it has been, so most folks were hunkered down in their RVs. I went outside to check on some areas of the trailer where I heard rattles from the wind blowing, to make sure everything was still secure. To my surprise there was this wonderful, full arc of a rainbow. I couldn't get it all into my camera, but I just had to try to get a good shot. So beautiful.

So I've been meeting surprises everyday, and I've been enjoying them. I used to hate surprises - they seemed to always be of the negative sort. I think I'm getting over that idea.

Gratitude

Well, it's our national day of thanksgiving, and it seems appropriate to enumerate all the things one is grateful for. In today's economy I think it is difficult for some people to see the places in their lives for which they can be grateful. Also all of those who are ill and have not come to terms with their situations may be struggling to be grateful.

I feel moved to remember the many blessings I have received during the last year. And while I put them down on THE day - T-day, there are many other times I have said 'thank you' silently, privately, in my heart. The photo is of the Organ Pipe cactus in southwestern Arizona. It symbolizes to me the many ways I feel grateful to the Creator.

I thank the angels every time I'm been blessed with safety on the road, especially when I could have been in danger. I thank all the people who, without knowing it, made my summer journey pleasant. The folks in John Day were generous, honest, caring people. And all the folks I encountered along the way, making life enjoyable.

On Veteran's Day I made a point to personally thank those I knew of who had given military service to the U.S. Of course I was reminded of Doc's service in the U.S. Marine Corps, and the fact that his passing was connected to his service disability that began in the early 1960s. I met a highly decorated veteran here in the park who refused to receive all his decorations, and still, for his personal reasons, refuses to file with the Veterans Administration for disability. He still struggles with flashbacks from the Vietnam war. And there is Doc's brother, Doug, who also suffered aftershocks from that war. It just became important to say thank you, even though I was removed from it all.

I thank my ancestors from whom I received many good and not-so-good traits!!! That DNA is strong stuff and through it I have survived, just as they did. They were pioneers, and I cannot imagine the hardships they went through. Yet, I carry the same pioneering spirit within me - and it shows up in my leaving the 'comfortable life' and traveling like a gypsy, not only in a physical way, but also in a spiritual way.

Years ago I used to go for walks after dinner, and I found myself 'praying' a part of the Lutheran liturgy - a psalm. "Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of your salvation and uphold me with your" free spirit." Not long afterward my life changed. Perhaps it was already changing and I wasn't so aware of it. But I did wonder why I was saying this prayer as I walked. I am grateful for the changes, although they brought pain to my family. I am grateful to them and hope they have forgiven me.

I am grateful for all the blessings from my family - my children, grandchildren, sisters and 'extended family', those who feel like family but who are not blood kin. You have been and will remain my teachers about love.

I am grateful for my intellect and common sense - those things that help me continue to live in a simple, yet comfortable way. I'm grateful that I have a good brain, that I can perceive and discern.

I'm grateful for the folks who are around me, supporting me, although they are not close friends - more just acquaintances - people who come into my life today and leave tomorrow. I've thought I've been looking for my tribe, where I 'belong'. I realize that for now, where I am is where I belong!!! I'm grateful for being able to know reality more often than I used to.

Today all the folks in the park, and some LoW members who live in town, will come here with their potluck dish to add to the turkey that the park is providing. We will gather and stuff ourselves with the bounty that exists when we share. I am grateful for all the hands who were involved in bringing me this sustenance.

The Lakota people have a word that I especially like that expresses gratitude - Pilamaya - thank you.

To the Creator of All Things - Pilamaya.

Coasting...!

My last post mentioned that Liz and I also had fun - you know, the "F" word.

One of our favorite times was in the mountains - any of them. Even with the trailer, and I WAS conservative, I coasted down the grades, picking up a little speed, and enjoying the feeling of 'freedom'! I know that in some places Liz felt a little nervous, but we always made it safely to the bottom.

Another of our fun times was when we were faced with some kind of small failure, or things weren't quite working out the way we would have liked. A favorite expression was 'dammit', always repeated by the other one. It became just one of those understandings between us.

Entertainment in John Day was limited - old movies two to three times a month in the restored upstairs in the old Masonic lodge hall, and concerts in the park on Saturdays when something special was in town, like the rodeo or the solar fair. Most of the time we listened to the radio - two stations - John Day which played all country and the PBS station out of Portland - all the while putting together as best we could our 1,000 piece and 1,500 piece puzzles. The 1,500 piece one never did get together and we resolved to donate it to the RV park when we got back to Tucson! Dammit.

That all seems so long ago, it now being almost the middle of November.

I still feel like I'm coasting - this time coasting in life. I drove the rig to Deming, NM on October 17 where the Loners on Wheels have their own park. The rent is about half of what I was paying in Tucson, so I'm feeling better about the finances (except for paying off the credit card bills from the trip!) Anyway, now I'm here and the majority of the folks here are also LoWs who are planning to winter in warmer climes such as Yuma, Quartzite and The Slabs in California. So I don't know who will be left here for the winter to do things with.

I've pretty much decided to hibernate and rest here in Deming for the winter, until after the spring LoW rally. That could change if the New Mexico State Park system decides they need me at one of their parks. I am sending in an application for volunteering in some capacity, with 'compensation' being my RV site and hookups. I think it would be fun to take a few short trips to different New Mexico parks and not travel such a long way as the trip to Oregon. Will keep everyone posted on the success of my application.

Deming is an interesting town - another small town with limited shopping, but with a lot of activity. You can always find entertainment and a good place to eat. And there's always dancing at the local VFW on Friday nights. The LoWs have made good friends in the community and they are known for also being a good friend to the community. If you want to go shopping, though, you have to travel to Las Cruces, about 60 miles east.

There are a lot of roadrunners here in the park. They don't really fly much - kind of like chickens. But they can 'leap' up onto things. I have had my roadrunner friend roosting every night on the top of the stepladder at the back of my trailer. It's kinda nice - haven't found any waste material there. S/he gets up there around 4:00 to 4:30 every afternoon, and leaves around 7:00 in the morning.

Until the folks move on I'm chumming around with a couple of folks, seeing things and going out. There is a social hour every day at 4:00 p.m. where we are updated with new LoWs in the park and what's happening in the area. All in all it's a good place to be for now.

Homeward Bound

The photos were taken at the John Day Fossil Beds.



We left Lakeview yesterday because we couldn't stay any longer - the park was being filled by a group for the weekend. Not that I wanted to stay, but it meant I had to face some hazards I didn't want to face...mainly, possible wind conditions. I checked the weather conditions online to see what the weather was going to be. The wind was supposed to die down for Thursday travel.

As we were getting ready to leave yesterday morning, doing our regular safety check, I didn't have any brake lights or right turn signal. After another camper offered assistance, we determined that as the bulb wasn't burned out, perhaps it was another problem. We left the park and headed into Lakeview to the gas station to get some help. On the way out of the park I forgot my coffee cup and the wheel chock, so had to make a turn-around before we could drive the mile up the gravel road to the highway.

At the 76 station we asked for help about our lights, and we were directed to the Shell station about a mile up the road from the intersection. After a major traffic jam at the station, with me tying up space, and folks getting gas, we finally made it across the intersection to the road we were to take for help.

Behind the Shell station there was a small tire center and repair garage. The fellow there checked out all the circuits and fuses for the truck lights, and the connection to the trailer, and located the problem - one of the plugs in the "pigtail" power cord between the truck and the trailer was too far apart. With a minor adjustment, we had lights, and we were on our way - no charge for the trouble.

As we drove south along Rt. 395 I noticed that the wind seemed to be blowing stronger than the 10-15 mph the weather service advised online. For the next several hours we were buffeted by the wind, and finally, as it was getting stronger, I pulled into Susanville, CA for a spot to park for the night. The space was pricey (it was California, after all), and the park personality was nothing great - nice enough though.

This morning we pulled out of the park around 9:15 and went in search of a gas station as I had only 1/4 tank. After a drive through a Shell station with a telephone pole placed in such a way that I couldn't get into the station with the trailer (I tried, though!) and seeing the next station was full of vehicles, I wondered where I'd find gas. I headed out of town thinking that I'd find something in that direction, but when the signs said 36 miles of possible windy road, I turned back into town and headed to the other end in hopes of finding a gas station that would accommodate the trailer. Why is it that the gas stations are always on the opposite side of the street that you need it to be on?! Anyway, success, at last, and we were on our way.

The last time I was in Reno, NV the roads were still under construction, with narrow lanes blocked off by orange cones and concrete barricades - hardly enough room for two vehicles to pass each other. I was a little apprehensive about what I would find this time; however, the construction had been completed and getting through Reno and onto Interstate 80 was a piece of cake.

We had stopped briefly a little outside of Reno for a 'deserved break'(i.e., McDonald's). Getting into the parking lot was easy, although I had to back up a little to pull into the alley that served as the road to the gas station next door. After waiting for some young males, full of themselves, to gas up - and by the way, they pulled up to the gas pump and left their vehicle there while they went to the other restaurant next door to order pizza and get an order from Subway - THEN they pumped their gas! I also filled my tank and headed out of Dodge!!!

From there we had a very pleasant ride to Hawthorne, NV, taking the scenic route (Rt. 95A) out of Fernley, NV. We saw the autumn changes of color of the desert plants and grasses, the mountains and rock formations, and the reflections of the mountains in the waters of beautiful Lake Walker. We arrived in Hawthorne around 3:30, as Liz says 'grumpy time', although today it was her day to be grumpy - leg in a brace, pain, and sitting on the sunny side of the truck (finally it's HER turn!)

We're staying in a nice affordable park named Whiskey Flats RV park, with a pull through, so no backing in. We got here early enough to enjoy some of the wonderful warm weather and sunshine before the sun went behind the mountain. We sat outside and visited with our neighbor, getting valuable information about RVing, and we watched the little birds and the medium birds take turns drinking and bathing out of a puddle left from the morning's lawn irrigation. Tomorrow we'll get to Pahrump, where we will stay through Monday night.

Next, stand by for a report of the actual fun we've had on this trip!!! We'll try to think of something!

Yee Haw!!!

Well, we made it to southeastern Oregon today after a few glitches...Liz needed to refill several meds, so she called them into the Walgreen's in Medford so we could pick them up on our way. After thinking that the brake controller issue was finished, I called Caveman RV to see if they'd called the manufacturer about the questions we had about it. Tim called them and called me back - he'd adjusted it too tight, so I had to drive back to Grant's Pass to get it readjusted. I can finally say, I think everything is working as it should!

So around 12:30 we finally got on our way, and drove over Route 140 to within 10 miles of Lakeview. At about 5:00 p.m. all of a sudden we saw a sign! It said "turn here". Actually it said Junipers RV Resort. We just thought we'd check it out, and out, and out, because it was down a mile-long curvy gravel road. And then we saw it...home at last. Junipers is a very nice rural, and affordable, full service RV park that is 23 years old. It is part of a lease agreement that comes with the ranch lease, where the folks have 1,000 head of cattle. They summer in this area, and winter near Hawthorne, NV.

Right away we decided to take a nice, warm shower - the showers were roomy, well-lighted, and they had nice, soft white bath rugs and a chair to assist with dressing, and fresh, real flowers at the sinks. The park manager, Mary, said that the owners wanted to create an RV park, but had never RVed before. So they rented an RV and took notes about the different parks they visited, and then designed the park to reflect all the things they liked, and improved on the things they didn't like. The views are wonderful, and when the sun goes down, it's actually DARK!

We were going to drive into California tomorrow, and then down to Reno; however, it looks like the winds will be up between 15-25 mph. So we're going to stay another day and try to leave on Wednesday. Liz is still hurting from her fall, and her leg is very painful. So we'll just hang out tomorrow. We may have to stop again for her to go to the doctor.

I've attached a couple of pictures of the round barn we visited not too far from here, before we left for Seattle. It was built by Peter French who was hired by Mr. Glenn to build a cattle 'empire'. He married Mr. Glenn's daughter. The town of French-Glenn, OR was named after them. Architecturally, the barn is AWESOME!!!

Turning the Page

On Saturday we left Brookings, OR where we spent one night after traveling down the coast. The costline out of Coos Bay offers some great scenery and sights and smells of the ocean. Finally, we could be near the water! We stopped at a beach just south of Port Orford and walked in the sand, felt the sea breeze. It was a nice break.

Continuing to travel south, and after being stopped at the state line for produce possession, we drove through Crescent City, CA and into the Redwood National Forest, on the nice freeway that ends around Orick. Orick is a one gas station town with one pump just as you're leaving town. The 76 Station had been gone a long time, although its sign was still in place. On this day there was an extended line of vehicles waiting as each person pumped their own gas - not a fast pump, either! If you pay by credit card, there is a $1 service charge. I think we got spoiled in Oregon, where the gas is pumped for you, and most of the time you get your windshield cleaned.

We decided to drive through the forest going south, and then turn around to head back north to pick up the route to Grant's Pass, OR just north of Crescent City. On the turn-around we drove through Prairie Creek National Forest to experience the giant trees. The speed limit is 35 mph through the forest. We stopped only once to visit the "Big Tree", a huge old tree. The store/gas attendant in Orick told us there was also a group of trees that had grown 'corkscrewed' around each other that was pretty awesome; however, we didn't see it as it was on a trail, and we weren't in shape to walk that far.

As we were leaving the forest road and getting back onto the freeway, my trailer brakes were not working again. This was the second time since having the truck brakes fixed and the trailer brakes checked out. The day before, I stopped at an ocean view and had a hard time stopping, the truck brakes getting very hot, and with the telltale odor. Today (September 22) it happened again coming into Grant's Pass from where we spent two nights at Selmac Lake, about twenty miles from Grant's Pass.

We drove into a Wal Mart for food and I borrowed a phone book to call an RV dealer about doing some trouble shooting. I found a repair place, that also sells Lance campers, who gave me a 1:30 appointment. Finally the problem was found. The brake controller (the new one, and probably the old one, too) was wired incorrectly. The technician, Tim, at Caveman RV, did a complete check of all the systems, and also a road test. It was during the road test that the problem was discovered - the brake wire was also wired to the turn signals, causing there to be no brakes, especially when I was turning! Now we're hoping that the mis-wiring didn't damage the controller. Tim will contact the company tomorrow and if I need some warranty work, he can do it.

Tonight we are staying at Valley of the Rogue State Park near Rogue River, OR and not far from Grant's Pass on I-5. It's a beautiful park, one that Doc and I stayed at two years ago on our way to Canada.

Backing up, to a couple of days ago, we came back through Crescent City and stopped at McDonalds' for a very early 'dinner' - around three. We'd been on the road three hours. After our meal we headed back to Oregon. The drive toward Grant's pass on Rt. 199 was beautiful, and curvy, and narrow, and I'm developing some good trailer driving skills!!!

Around 5:00 p.m., about 20 miles outside of Grant's Pass, I saw a sign for an RV park and decided it was time to stop for the night. We drove about three miles off the road and ended up at Lake Selmac RV Resort. The parking spaces are pull-through's, under big pines - a lovely setting, with the lake across the street. It's a fisherman's place, but now that we're 'out of season' no one else was there and it was very quiet. We stayed there the past two nights.

We have developed quite a liking for saltwater taffy, and so far we've manage to put away about five pounds between us. It's great for snacks, and Liz thinks I need something sweet when it gets to be about 4:00 in the afternoon, and I get the grumpies! Well, now we've eaten all but the taffy she bought for her grandchildren...hope it makes it to Tucson!!!

Our plan is to drive to Lakeview, OR and then head south into northeastern California and down into Nevada. I want to be headed into Arizona by Oct. 1. Stopping somewhere different every night is hard with regard to hooking up and unhooking, so as we travel south we will probably stop for a couple of nights at a time, and try to have sites that are pullthroughs so we don't have to unhook.

Heading Back Toward "Home"

It's night in Coos Bay, Oregon, and the weather is cloudy and chilly - enough that we are planning to move away from the coast as soon as possible. We've been here four nights counting tonight, and we've enjoyed a nice seafood dinner at a local restaurant, two trips to the Super WalMart for supplies, lots of saltwater taffy, and shopping in the tourist gift shops. Tomorrow we head for the National Redwood Forest in Northern California, and begin our trek back to Tucson, going through Oregon, northeastern California, and Nevada.

We have both sustained crippling injuries that the weather seems to affect negatively. The real highlight of the last several days was driving an electric cart in WalMart because I'm having difficulty walking. They really are nice to ride on!!! I found people wanting to help me reach things so I didn't have to get out of the cart. Whatever I did to my back, I have some numbness and tingling now in my right thigh, and I'm finding it more difficult to walk because of pain down the back of my legs as well. As long as I'm sitting or lying down I am comfortable.

When I was in Seattle my brother-in-law Keith, who is a chiropractor, took X-rays. I learned a lot about my structure that I'd never known before. No one had ever taken an X-ray of my spine. I found out that I have scoliosis, and that my hips are rotated as well. No wonder I move the way I do! I also have some degeneration especially in the area of the scoliosis, which is between the middle of my back and my lower back - technically, T-9 to L2-3. As I don't have insurance, and as I am traveling right now, I will seek medical attention once I get to New Mexico in mid-October. The chiropractor in John Day gave me a referral for a chiropractor there.

I have attached a couple of photos now that I've learned how. One of them is Strawberry Peak in Grant County, Oregon (where John Day is). Another is from the Malheur Headwaters archaeological dig area on the first day, when the smoke from the California fires was drifting over Logan Valley in the Malheur National Forest. The flowers are Indian Paintbrush.

Oh, another thing about managing the trailer. When we arrived in Coos Bay we had a full tank of waste, and the plan was to dump it at our site that has a full hookup, with sewer. Well, it wouldn't come out of the tank. I ended up calling Rotor Rooter who came out to pump the tank out. Even though I left water and chemical in the tank while it was stored, apparently it evaporated, allowing the waste to dry out somewhat. Luckily my situation was easy to fix, and not terribly expensive this time - only $51.50.

So tomorrow we are heading for the redwoods and then some sunshine and warmer temperatures so we can wear our shorts again! The park we've been staying in is very nice - Midway RV Park on Arago Bay Highway. With my Passport America and Good Sam discounts we've spent $22 a night for full hookup and free wifi. It's a very nice park, and I would recommend it to anyone who is RVing in this area.

The Rest of the Story

I think that maybe we listened a little too much to the radio and Paul Harvey for this title! Not having posted for about six weeks, there's a lot to say, but that will have to be in some kind of retrospective...

Here, to catch up again is a summary of our adventures since completing our work in John Day.

Liz had to fly back to Tucson for some business the end of July, and was gone for a week. While she was gone I worked on the landscape plan for the house we were living in. The day before her return I was spraying weed killer on the weeds in the driveway, and did something to my back – I don’t know what. I just know that I could barely walk and after four visits to the John Day chiropractor with temporary relief, I have a major issue to overcome. Not having insurance is keeping me from aggressively pursuing treatment, and I don’t want to shorten this trip, so I’m trying to baby myself as much as possible. As long as I’m sitting or lying down, I’m not in pain – and that is a good thing!

We completed our volunteer “contract” with the Forest Service on August 29, and stayed over the Labor Day weekend, the last night staying in the trailer. I had received permission to leave the trailer in the Forest Service lot another week while we traveled to Seattle to see family – Liz’s uncle and cousins, and Doc’s sister and her husband, and his niece. I had been having some trouble with the truck’s brakes, and didn’t want to take the trailer to Seattle. Since I’d had brake work done by Midas before and had a warranty, I made arrangements to stop at the Midas in Kennewick, WA (the closest one to John Day) to have them looked at. It was another expensive repair, but the brakes work great now!!! Thank goodness for credit cards! We overnighted on Monday night at the Best Western there as my appointment was for Tuesday morning.

We had a great trip to Seattle. Liz’s uncle Wayne, approaching 90 years old, was a wonderful host, preparing his basement apartment for us, with food and necessities. We spent time visiting Liz’ cousins Suzanne and Barbara. Suzanne is an artist, working with watercolor, dance, yoga, and horses. Barbara is an artist working with beads, kids, grandkids, home repair, and dogs. Both very different and fun.

Liz and I had a chance to go down to the Pike Fish Market briefly – we took the bus from near Wayne’s house and we spent some time shopping at Nordstrom’s Rack store. After two days at Wayne’s I traveled south to Seatac to visit with Aley and Keith and Katie, leaving Liz to continue her visit with her family.

Keith and Aley are undergoing more changes now that they’ve been advised they will have to move out of their apartment. Keith’s chiropractic practice is growing slowly so there are more financial challenges there as well. Katie had been staying with them since moving from Chicago after they moved from Massachusetts. She’s gotten a job as a counselor, and finally found an apartment of her own. She moved in on Saturday, a move that created some relief on everyone’s part!

It was great to see all three of them. We had fun shopping in the bookstores, drinking pumpkin spice iced coffee from Starbuck’s, and I bought some new beads to work with (they were on sale) at a local bead store near the bookstore.

After the weekend, I drove back up to Seattle to get Liz so we could continue our trip down the Oregon coast. We drove back to John Day and stayed in the trailer. The next day we headed for the coast, spending the first night in Prineville, OR at the city park. It was an old park and I had some trouble ‘fitting in’ there. First I made a curve too short and found myself literally between a rock and a hard place. Luckily I stopped in time to not scrape the side of the trailer – only the sidewalls of the tires. Then, with the help of a couple of men (actually, too many) I managed to back into a long space for the trailer and the truck, outfoxing a rock and steep corner in order to maneuver the trailer into place. And through it all, I was a crank! Four o’clock in the afternoon is not the time to be pulling into a place for the night!!! I was rude to the men, and to Liz, shouting to her to “get out of the truck!” (to help me remove myself from the rock and hard place) – I’m learning a lot about myself that I wasn’t aware of before. And why is it always HOT on my side of the truck that time of day?!

We made it to the coast the next day, pulling into Newport and finding a spot for one night at the popular South Beach State Park. Still having problems communicating when parking, we did manage to back into the space we were assigned. We decided that we needed to rest somewhere for longer than a day at a time, so I called a couple of RV parks about staying three or four nights.

While I was in Seatac with Aley and Keith, Liz hurt herself when she walked out of a pair of newly purchased ‘wedgie’ shoes from a second-hand store (the shoes were a size too big, but they were ‘cute’), and fell onto her knee. She didn’t seek medical attention at the time. So as we were planning to ‘recuperate’ for the next few days, we spent a few hours in the Newport Hospital ER getting her knee x-rayed and treated before heading further south. It was a major bruise around the kneecap, but no breaks, thank goodness! So we’re just two crips trying to make the best of things.

Our most recent stop, from which we will leave tomorrow, September 15, is Darling’s RV Resort, about six miles south of Florence, OR. It is on a beautiful lake near the Dunes, a large geographic recreation area on the coast, where many like to drive their ATVs. This weekend there is the first old car show in Florence. (like ‘show and shines’ in Reno and other cities). We went there yesterday to look around in the Old Town area of Florence, where all the touristy things are. We also drove south to see if we could connect with the ocean; however, it’s all dunes and lakes for many miles. Perhaps when we get to our next place we’ll be able to walk on the beach.

Some Background History

Today I thought I'd provide a little history about John Day, so I've copied the following from the Chamber of Commerce web site.

Tomorrow I pick up Liz from Boise and we'll begin planting those flower beds we've been planning. Have a great weekend. And...here's to new beginnings with the New Moon and Solar Eclipse today.

Who Was John Day?
Visitors often ask "Was there really a John Day?" Little is known about the man for whom a river, a dam and two towns (John Day and Dayville) were named. The following story is based on historical fact - some of it may be true.

John Day was a hunter from the backwoods of Virginia. He had been employed by Ramsay Crooks for several years when he arrived in Oregon, at about 40 years of age. He was described as six feet two inches tall, a handsome man with a manly countenance, straight as an Indian with an elastic step 'as if he trod on springs'. It was his boast that in his younger days nothing could hurt or daunt him, but he had lived too fast and injured his constitution by excesses. Still, he was strong of hand, bold of heart, a prime woodsman, and an almost unerring shot.

John Day was engaged by the Wilson Price Hunt or 'Overland Party' of the Pacific Fur Company (Astorians) as a hunter in the fall of 1810. They were to cross the Plains and Rocky Mountains during 1811, and arrive in Astoria during the winter or early spring of 1812. John Day's early excesses evidently incapacitated him for the extreme hardships of this journey. During December, 1811 he became ill, and his life was saved only because Ramsay Crooks remained behind with him at an Indian camp near Weiser, Idaho. The following spring, Crooks and Day made their way across the Blue Mountains to the Columbia River. They were attacked by Indians, robbed, and left naked near the mouth of the Mau Mau River, thirty miles east of The Dalles. After the attack the two men started back to the friendly Walla Walla country when they met Robert Stuart's party going to Astoria. The two men joined this party and reached Astoria in early May, 1812. The people started calling the Mau Mau River 'John Day River' because he was attacked there. Within a very few years, the maps changed the name to John Day, and then a valley, two cities, the fossil beds and a dam took on the name of the river. It is likely that John Day never actually visited the area which now uses his name so frequently.

On June 20, 1812, John Day was assigned to accompany Robert Stuart back across the plains to St, Louis with dispatches from Astoria to John Jacob Astor. During the night of July 2, 1812, while encamped near Wapato Island, John Day became 'deranged' and attempted suicide. He then ran away from the party and wandered through the woods until he died. (This is the first recorded death) Washington Irving, on pages 111-112 of Volume 2 of Astoria stated that at this point Day was sent back to Astoria, but 'his constitution' was completely broken by the hardship he had undergone and he died within a year. (This was his second recorded death)

After this reference by Irving, John Day receives no further mention in the writings of the Pacific Fur Company or the Northwest Company during their careers on the Columbia River. There is no proof of statements that he retired from his associates and died in a small hunter's cabin on the banks of a large creek that empties into the Columbia a few miles above Tongue Point. (This is his third recorded death)

John Day's name was not mentioned again until 1814 when a 'bridge' of ten canoes containing nearly eighty men left Astoria bound for Athaska Pass. The names of the entire party were listed by Alex Henry in his journal, including 'Passenger Joshua Day'. Since there was no such person among the Eighth Company in Astoria it was concluded that Joshua Day and John Day were one and the same. The next record of John Day is contained in the journal of Alex Ross, Hudson Bay Company Snake River country, 1823-24. It reads 'Went up the Headwaters of the river. This is the defile where in 1819 died John Day. ' Day's defile is a mountain valley which heads in the Salmon River Mountains in Central Idaho. (This is death number four and is considered by most to be the last and correct one)

He left a lawful Will and Testament which was brought back by Donald McKenzie. The will left all of John Day's ready cash to Miss Rachel MacKenzie, and all of his property to Donald McKenzie. The will was given to him by the King of Spain for services rendered. Even though history does not record it, John Day must have been an outstanding man. Wherever he went, a creek, valley or river was named after him. Now a large dam on the Columbia River bears his name, and the 'John Day country' includes the four branches of the John Day River, with the main branch running through the City of John Day.

The Dust is Settling, I Think

Last week I made arrangements with the local body shop to have the repairs made to the truck - new driver's side mirror, tow mirror, and repair of the 'ding' made by the mirror flying off. Mr. Jolly Rancher came through for me, and authorized the body shop to send him the bill. I am very grateful for his honesty and willingness to 'do the right thing'. The paint job looks great! And the body shop was so helpful - they even agreed to repair and paint another 'ding' located near the one they were already repairing, and not charge extra for it! More gratitude!

On Friday I called the trailer repair folks and they towed the trailer to Mt. Vernon, about eight miles west of John Day to check it out. Today I picked it up and towed it back and parked it - all by myself - in the Forest Service parking lot. They packed the wheel bearings and did a full check - and found nothing wrong with it! I dunno - it looked kinda bad, with those tires tucked ever-so-slightly under - I'd call that an under-tow!!! Anyway, if it happens again I think I know what to do now. I was told that the wheel bearings were okay, but getting ready for service anyway. So, another $432 for that service - and everything is fine. I hope I'm at the end of breakdowns, flat tires, etc!

On my way to Mt. Vernon I stopped at the Clyde Holliday State Park to see what it is like. I'd thought about parking the rig there while I was here when I first signed up for the PIT program. I spoke with the park hosts who were very friendly and who gave me a lot of information about getting on as a state park volunteer and getting my parking space free. We also exchanged some war stories about our respective trips up here - theirs was much more expensive...

While I was picking up the trailer Liz called from Tucson to say that the judge would notify her in four months about the outcome of today's hearing. Boo - ooo. When I spoke with her last night she mentioned that a previous blog from before we left Tucson had upset some of her family. I try not to be too personal here as any issues that might arise between us as we travel we try to take care of and there is no reason to discuss them here. I do want to say, however, that over time there may be other things that might upset any of my readers. If it is something that you feel I should be aware of, please email me separately, but not as a comment on the blog. I'll be happy to speak with you about it. Also, this is my blog, for my expression of what is happening in my life, whether it includes others or not. And I will definitely have feelings and opinions about things that I may want to communicate here. As you can see already, I try to keep things anonymous, but those who 'know' who they are might feel a little uncomfortable reading about something that everyone else is reading - well, they DON'T know who YOU are! And finally, sometimes the truth just plain hurts, and that is an invitation to look at reality.

Catching Up

Today is Tuesday, July 22, and I'm posting for the last few days. Although nothing much happens in John Day, Oregon, a lot of things are going on!

July 20
Just Another Day at the Office - er, Pit

When Liz learned that another PIT project was taking place simultaneously with ours, and it involved an archaeological dig, she just HAD to participate. Our boss and another Forest Service staff member working on his master’s degree in anthropology were heading up the dig project. The group was meeting at Big Creek Camp in the Malheur Forest at Logan Valley, about 35 miles from John Day.

When Liz told our boss of her desire to go, but that she had some physical issues and had never camped before, he tried to talk her out of it. But she countered every argument he gave against going with her determination to prove she could do it, and it was decided that she would go. He would lend her his tent and sleeping pad.

While I thought that seeing a dig, and maybe participating might be interesting, I wasn’t desiring to sleep on the ground, be cold and dirty, and work in the heat for a week. I loaned Liz the camping supplies I had, helped her plan what to take for clothing, bedding and food, and agreed to drive her up to the site and back. Those two days – Monday and Friday – I would participate for the day only.

By the end of the week Liz was a veteran camper and archaeological assistant, proficient in using the screens for filtering the dirt, looking for flakes of obsidian (used for tools and projectile points) and charcoal (evidence of human use of fire with stone hopper mortars). She found a tool point the very first day in the first layer taken from the pit.

Over the week other Forest Service staff came to the area to see how things were going. Our boss – the forest archaeologist – has been heading up these digs for over a decade, with many of the same folks who were in attendance this time. The Forest Superintendent showed up one day too, and teased Liz that cougars like small women – she was now ‘cougar bait’!

The digging and screening was intense, in the wide-open spaces of Logan Valley (designated as a National Historic Place), with the Strawberry Mountains within view. The valley has been the site of other digs to gain knowledge and understanding of the people who lived there thousands of years ago. Liz came home with every muscle aching - she said not one place on her body didn't hurt. and she described her experience as "volunteering to go to jail and work on the chain gang!"

Pie for Breakfast

One thing about being a grown-up…we can eat dessert for breakfast if we want to! And this morning a blueberry pie, fresh-baked by Liz last night on the grill, because the oven in our “new” old stove doesn’t work. The stove is a replacement for the one that was here when we arrived – it was dying by the day – only two burners worked – then one – then none.

Last Tuesday before 7:30 a.m., and before I’d awakened, the “maintenance” guy showed up with our replacement stove. An hour later he checked the burners and supposedly, the oven, announcing that all the elements had heat.

We had bought some beautiful blueberries in the local grocery and were looking forward to a fresh pie. When Liz put it in the oven to bake – no heat – now what? Improvise! So outside it went, into the covered propane grill, with juices running over as it “baked”.

Well, it was yummy! And we had pie for breakfast this morning, with cream.

We’re still grumbling about the stove, however. The two-burner to one-burner to no-burner was supposed to be replaced by a brand new stove that currently resides in the Forest Superintendent’s house, for his use while he builds a new house. At this point, because we now have a “working” four-burner it’s looking doubtful that we’ll ever see that new stove.

So Liz has added a new skill to her resume – “Pie Chef a la Grille”!

John Day, John Night

Liz and I seem to have started something new – revitalizing the tradition, and pleasure, of sitting on the front porch and saying “hi” to the neighbors. The only thing is, no one else is sitting on their porch, or even noticing that we are sitting on ours.

We’re on one of the two main streets that intersect in John Day, and we’re only one long city block to the light at that intersection. All day long the street is full of pickup trucks with dogs in the back, logging trucks hauling logs from the forest to the mill in Prairie City, bicycles, motorcycles for singles and duos, trailers with horses, RVs, ATVs, boats, and heavy construction equipment. The Les Schwab Tire piggyback truck rolls through town about twice a week. Oh, and many pickups are loaded with cut logs – we wonder if they’re expecting a really cold winter!

Nary – or almost nary – anyone sees that we are here watching. They are all focused on “getting there.” Some are even on cell phones, as the only reception is in town.

So as we watch we also see the John Day police go up and down the street – and until this past Friday night we’d conjectured that there were only two police on the force – one for the day and one for the night – the day cop I named John Day, and the night cop I named John Night. However, Friday night as we were eating dinner, we met John Weekend. He came to the door friendly-like, and wanted to know if we knew who owned the green pickup across the street. It seems that a local rancher had taken off the pickup’s driver-side mirror as he passed through town. I confessed ownership.

Omigosh! “Malheur” is a French word that means “bad times”…when is it going to end? The tow mirror was lying 15’ down the street from the truck, with broken mirror glass scattered all over. It seems that Mr. Jolly Rancher had called the police to “turn himself in”, so they came over to let me know.

John Weekend indicated that Mr. Jolly Rancher was a good guy who was on his way down to the small “town” of Seneca to cut hay. Apparently he had a wide load vehicle for that. He felt that the rancher would do the right thing to get the mirror repaired. John Weekend took my information and later called to ask if he could give my number to Mr. Jolly Rancher. I said yes, but for him to call the next day, as we were tired. It was the end of the week for the dig and we’d worked in the heat and dust, broken camp, and were finishing up, and just plain dog tired. He gave me his card and told me to call him if things didn’t work out with Mr. Jolly Rancher.

Sure enough, Mr. Jolly Rancher called at 7:45 a.m. on Saturday morning to offer to pay for the repairs. So, with the auto repair shop being closed for the weekend, I set aside the task until Monday. BUT – I did take the truck off the street and managed to squeeze it into the very narrow driveway behind the house.

Still no news about the trailer repairs…

Making Things Fit

Not having a TV available – and there’s probably not much from here (probably from Portland) we are being creative about our “spare” time. We bought a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle and over the span of about a week we managed to complete it – well…almost. I mean, it’s now complete, but on the back of one piece are the words “lost piece”.

You see, the pieces I was working on would stick to my arms (from leaning on the table) and then they’d fall on the floor. I thought I’d kept up with them all. But when we’d put all the pieces into the puzzle there was a little space left – hardly noticeable because it was the color of the table surface - the piece was missing. In jest, I traced the outline of the piece, to make a ‘filler’.

Liz was feeling upset and incomplete having that space and just kept doggin’ me about it. So… on Saturday I thought to look down the heat register under the dining room window with my flashlight. There it was! The run-away piece. With a straightened coat hanger and a dab of Super Glue I nabbed it and pulled it up. Mission and puzzle complete. And Liz is now off my back about it!

Now, we’ve moved on to puzzle #2. Not willing to do something a little simpler, we bought another challenging puzzle. This one is only 1,500 pieces – and about 1/3 of them are some shade of purple. What were we thinkin’? These puzzles are crazy-makers! Sometimes we just want to ‘get a bigger hammer’ and make them go in the spot they’re ‘supposed’ to go in!!

By the way, this time I taped a paper bag over the register.

The Latest
We’re sitting at Subway having a breakfast sub and coffee. Yesterday morning the coffee maker decided it couldn't pump any more. We told the boss about the oven and the coffee maker. Mr. Fixit came to help with the oven - if only we'd pushed the button that said 'manual' for the oven, the grill wouldn't be such a mess with baked-on blueberry pie filling! He also looked at the faucet handles in the bathtub - if you turn the cold one 'just right' you can get cold water. Turns out that the handles that are on don't fit the stems in the wall - duh! He's going to try to fix that for us too.

Yesterday morning I took the truck to the body shop to get an estimate on the repairs - a new driver side mirror, tow mirror (they come in pairs, possibly), repair of the 'ding' where the tow mirror hit the truck fender as it flew off down the street. Total cost $630 and change. I called Mr. Jolly Rancher and left a message on his cell phone. I told him that he could look at the estimate at the shop, and I need to go to Boise on Saturday (to take Liz to the airport) and would like to have the repairs done by then. I haven't heard from him yet.

Short story

The independent insurance agent came out from Boise this morning to look at the trailer. Short story, he doesn't think the insurance will pay for the repairs, and I should have the trailer repair guys who showed up for the second flat tire take a look at it. He's not sure what the problem is, but offered a few suggestions to check out.

Creve! Again!

Liz and I finally got settled into the house; Dee left on Friday morning, so I moved my things from the upstairs room to the other bedroom on the first floor. We spent the day quietly, taking a ride into Mt. Vernon, a little town about nine miles west of John Day. We went looking for a farmer's market we saw a flyer for, but all we saw was a small flea market. Being the adventurous women we are we decided to take a ride on the road leading south through town. It took us to the forest and a much higher elevation. When we ran out of road we headed back on the road we'd passed and coasted down the mountain, to the main highway, somewhere between Mt. Vernon and John Day. Later in the afternoon we grilled bison burgers and watched the sun go down. No big crowds or fireworks this holiday.

On Saturday and Sunday we planned and implemented some of our ideas about the landscape and interior changes for the house. Liz pulled the Heatolator out of the fireplace - all by herself. It's now sitting in the living room waiting for someone to help her get it out of the house. On Sunday we both put our hands to pruning the shrubs and making a landscape plan for the house. I took photos and drew a site plan noting proposed changes.

Today we offered our written report and the photos to our boss, Don. It being a Monday after a holiday, he was preoccupied by other activities and didn't get a chance to look at our progress report before we left the office to take care of some personal things.

Most immediate to me was ANOTHER flat tire on the truck, this time the right rear. I called the road service who sent someone out to put the spare on. Then I took the truck down to Les Schwab again for repairs. Another stem valve that failed. I got it! Replace all the others, too!!! So that's what I did - another $50 for three (including labor for removing the tires, and putting them back.)

It turns out that the people who came on the service call to repair the tire thought they were repairing a tire on the trailer. I contacted the road service to advise them to correct their records to show it was the truck. BUT - it turns out that the people they sent do 95% of the RV repairs in this area. They'd been to the trailer and offered that the tire didn't look so good...DUH!! But they suggested that I might need new wheel bearings. I told them that I would get back to them after I heard from the insurance agent, and I'm still waiting to hear from him/her.

Liz is making plans for a flight back to Tucson for a Social Security hearing on her application for disability. She's been hoping that the government would make a settlement, but no such luck. It looks like I'll be driving her to either Boise, ID or Portland, OR to catch her flight at the end of the month.

Two Days Later

Today is Wednesday. We've been in John Day less than 48 hours. Lots has continued to happen.

On the night of our arrival, after unhitching the trailer, initially we emptied the trailer refrigerator and packed our large cooler with the frozen things; plastic bags for the other things. We took those to the house that is being provided by the Forest Service. Another volunteer, Dee, who will be leaving on Friday, greeted us. She said she had planned to take us to dinner, but it was too late for that now. We looked around to decide on our rooms. Liz took the second downstairs room because of her arthritis and inability to climb the stairs to the second level. I took the room upstairs that had the most windows. Then we went to dinner.

After a nice dinner of pizza and beer we went back to the trailer to get some of the clothes and other things we would need in the house. When we came back with our things we found that the bed-making angel had made our beds! We were so grateful to Dee. We finally put ourselves in bed, to begin learning about our projects the next morning, 9:30 a.m.

Tuesday, July 1, we met our boss Don Hann at the Forest Service office. He got us started on the paper work for badges, and then we learned about the projects available to us. We decided to concentrate on making a plan for the historic landmark house we are staying in. It is in need of some TLC and upgrades, and we will make an assessment and write a plan for this. In addition we will be participating in an archaeological dig in a couple of weeks. We will also be making monitoring stops at selected sites throughout the forest. I will report more details later.

We finished our first day at about 4:30 p.m. I had managed to contact my auto/trailer insurance company to make a claim on the trailer. We were invited to dinner by Don and his wife Ann, and along with Dee we had a marvelous steak dinner at the Snafflebit Restaurant - hello to Su and Liz, and farewell to Dee.

This morning we prepared to go to work on our house project, but I wasn't sure we were to show up to the office. I placed a call to Don and left a message. I went out to truck to clean it up a bit and get some paper work. That's when I noticed that I had a flat tire on the truck - the front passenger side. So I called my road service to request assistance. They sent a fellow from Les Schwab Tires on the west side of town. I needed a new stem valve. Off with the tire, on with the spare, after some hassle getting it from underneath the truck. I followed the service man to the garage and after waiting a few minutes I could leave, only paying the $7 for the stem. I am grateful for the road service - at $110 a year it's a bargain. Today's service call would have been $42.50 in addition to the stem.

Now I'm waiting for the insurance agent to contact me for assessing the trailer on site. I'm also grateful that they decided to look at the damage before denying the claim as a mechanical failure that is not covered by the insurance.

I thought Mercury retrograde had passed, but I understand that it's shadow will continue until July 6. I can't wait!!!

This afternoon here we sit at a Subway wi-fi hotspot where we had some lunch and tried to do some online work. Luckily we aren't tied to a set schedule and we can work from the house and do some of our own field work. This will be a fun project!

The Good News...

But first the bad news…

The day started out well with a good breakfast made from leftover pilaf and scrambled eggs, put together like fried rice. We began getting things unhooked and stowed. First though, I needed to put together the fittings to a new 10’ sewer hose. The hose was just barely long enough to reach the sewer pipe and I asked Liz to hold the hose down so it didn’t pop out of the hole. I attached it to the black tank outlet and opened the tank. Oo-o-o-ze. That’s all. No flow, just slow-moving waste. I decided that it was so slow moving because the tank wasn’t full, so it had no pressure to push it out. So I asked Liz to put water into the tank using the valve on the toilet. To make it easy on herself, she sat down on the toilet and pulled the lever. Soon, water began to flow onto the floor, and I thought – oh, no! Did something happen to the valve? No – it was operator error. She hadn’t pulled it enough for the water to go into the tank. Instead it was going just into the toilet and it had reached the top of the bowl and overflowed. So together we watched the water fill the tank. When it was full, I went out to open the valve to empty the tank.

Yes, there was enough water pressure, but it was still slow moving. Before leaving Tucson I had emptied the tank and put a strong chemical in the toilet to clean out some of the residue that had accumulated over the last four years. With only a little water initially to start the process, it had apparently done its job well, so there was a lot of sludge to move out. The water drained slowly so I rocked the trailer a little to see if anything would dislodge – no. Liz thought that if we shake the hose a little the stuff might move on down to the sewer dump. That action caused the hose and clamp at the tank end to come off, and waste began to flow onto the ground. Quickly I held the hose to the connection and then closed the valve. I put the hose back together and tried again. Eventually the tank stopped flowing – I don’t know what’s in there still, but I put more chemical and a couple of gallons of water in there to keep the process going.

Then it was unhooking the hoses after rinsing all the mess from emptying the tanks – the galley and gray water tanks, too. The water pressure at the pipe was so strong that within a second there was water spewing out and difficult to control. We made a big mess, and had to put away dirty hoses from them lying on the wet ground. Not to mention that we were also dirty and hot and I was getting very cranky!

Finally we got everything put away and rolled out of the “site from hell.”

The man in the office had shown me on the map how to get onto I-84 from the park. Following the directions I found myself not anywhere near where he said I’d be. I drove through a residential area and finally came to a main drag, where I stopped at a gas station to get some directions. After reviewing the map further I saw that I had made a left turn out of the park, when I should have made a right turn…The directions at the gas station were great, and we were actually in a good place to get onto the highway.

At this point we were leaving Boise, heading to Ontario, OR where we would make our connection to RT 26 into John Day. The sign on the highway said “to Ontario” – take a left where the road split. At the same time another sign said “this way to Ontario”. I was headed toward the first sign, when Liz said I should take the other, which I did – it was not the right way, so I had to find a ramp where I could turn around and go in the opposite direction. That solved, we were on our way to Ontario.

Liz was the ‘navigator’ so she advised that we needed to find the route out of Ontario that went to Vail. I was looking for a gas station, and the route was secondary to my interest at the time. I passed all the exits to Ontario thinking that there would be more than one exit with a gas station – NOT!! So I backtracked to the Ontario exit where I saw the gas signs. Liz said that there were gas stations on the exit she wanted me to take, but I didn’t see any. I pulled into a Shell station and was venting about all the hassles of the morning, when I saw a woman at my window. Now that I was in Oregon, she was there to fill my tank and wash my windshield. What a surprise!

After filling up, I parked the trailer and we walked to the nearby Denny’s for some lunch, before heading toward RT 26 and John Day. Instead of going back onto the Interstate and exiting at the ramp, we followed – mostly – the directions given by the station attendant. I missed a left turn because I thought it would have been marked with the route number, but it wasn’t. We meandered briefly, and came out on the correct highway out of town to John Day.

Pretty quickly we were on a very rural, agricultural highway – speed limit 55 – very reasonable for the trailer. We just kept following the route and signs, and enjoying the views. I had phoned our contact with the Forest Service to let him know we were leaving Boise. He said it would take us probably four hours. We finally got out of Boise around 11:00 a.m., so we would be expected about 3:00 p.m.

Again, as we were in the mountains the climbs were sometimes long and steep. I’d been advised that there were no gas stations between Ontario and John Day, so I filled up in Ontario and hoped for the best. Part of the highway into John Day is marked as a Scenic Highway, and it truly is. The trip was very pleasant, but it took longer than expected. After coming through most of the mountains, on the western side the wind was very strong. I became concerned about the trailer in that much wind. I found a pullout by a pond. Both Liz and I also needed a bathroom stop, so this was an opportune moment. There were also thunderclouds and we could hear the thunder from a recent passing threat of rain.

I’m so glad we stopped at this spot to wait. There, before us was a ‘medicine garden’. The plants were wild, not planted there. But there was mullein, great plant for the lungs; sweet sage, the kind the Indians prefer for their cleansing ceremonies. There was willow, chokecherry, and other plants. I said some prayers to the plants and asked if I could have some for myself, taking only a little from each.

After about 20 – 30 minutes I decided to continue, but going a little more slowly. Auspiciously, the posted speeds were the ones I planned to do. A little more climbing, passing through quaint Prairie City, and being inspired by Strawberry Peak, and we came into John Day. It was about 6:00 p.m. and the sky felt dark because of the recent storm. We followed the directions given us, and pulled into the parking area.

I had been told to park the trailer on the eastern parking lot and Liz was getting me into position when it happened. I put the truck in reverse, and eased back…CRUNCH! I put the truck into drive and eased forward…CRUNCH! The wheels on the left side of the trailer were locked and I was pulling the trailer, but the wheels weren’t going around. One of the tires was actually at a slight angle. I stopped, called our ‘boss’, Don, and luckily he was in the office. He came to us and saw we had a problem. I unhitched the trailer and stabilized it.

Then we went to dinner…We had arrived, and safely! And that is very good news!!!

On to Boise

Day Four, from Ogden, UT to Boise, ID was pretty uneventful. We drove all day on the Interstate, stopping as needed for breaks, food, and gas. We arrived in Boise around 3:30 p.m. We were looking for the Flying-J that was purported to be down a certain ramp, about ¾ mile. It wasn’t there. After driving through part of downtown Boise we found a Chevron station and pulled in for a fill-up. Again, asking the cashier about any nearby RV parks, she told us of one near the fairgrounds.

We found the park, and its setting was very nice, along the Boise River greenway. It had grass and fairly large trees. There was no one in the office, and as it was a weekend I thought it was possible that the office wasn’t staffed. There were flyers about the park and how to find a spot, and envelopes at the front door. So we went ahead and pulled into a spot – another pull-through with a small tree.

A little later we noticed that someone was in the office, so I went over to confirm the site selection and pay. The man behind the counter seemed abrasive to me – perhaps it was me, as I was hot and tired, and didn’t want any hassle about getting the rig situated well. He said if I turned the rig to face the other way the distance to the services would be the same – or I could unhitch the trailer. I said I wasn’t going to unhitch for one night’s stay! At any rate, the way the site was situated none of my ‘leads’ would be quite long enough to the electric or the water. Luckily Doc had bought a 30-amp extension cord that I now got to use for the first or second time in its history. I also had to put two hoses together to reach the water, as the main one was about three feet short of reaching the water.

When I paid for the site I said I wanted water and electricity – didn’t need the sewer hookup. He said, oh, that’s a full hook-up site - $30 please, and you can have a 10% discount for cash – we don’t discount for club memberships (Escapees, Good Sam, etc.). With the discount it was $29 and change, after he added tax and other fees. I paid it because I didn’t want to have to move – but I wasn’t happy.

The door to the trailer was facing the western sun, and it was expanding to the point that it wouldn’t close properly – Doc and I had had a similar situation in Pahrump where the door would expand while closed so that you couldn’t get it open without a lot of tugging. It would be about four more hours of sunlight before the sun would be low enough to end the heat.

Liz and I had decided that we would grill the steaks we’d brought, and use our new grill. She was in charge of getting it lit and doing the cooking. After a couple of false starts we had it going. She cooked some rice pilaf as well, and we had some sliced fresh tomatoes. Yum!!! After the sun set and we sat outside a while, we watched another movie we’d purchased at a Flying-J stop – “A Soldiers’ Story.” I began to relax more, and began to sleep a little through some of the movie. So when Liz wanted to pause for a smoke, I went back to what I’d missed.

After movie, bedtime, and a good night’s sleep.

Into Utah

The beginning of Day Three arrived very early in the morning with Liz shivering from the drop in temperature through the night. We’d forgotten about the cool nights – she was trying to keep warm with a little fleece blanket and her lightweight robe. I found a big, warm blanket for her and then went back to bed for a little while. Later, after warming up a bit we got dressed and went for breakfast – a nice buffet. We especially liked the sausage gravy over biscuits. Liz had a hypoglycemic attack as she hadn’t eaten anything for dinner the night before, so she wasn’t feeling well at first. After getting something in her stomach she recovered and felt much better.

After breakfast we disconnected the water and electric and headed out for our trip up I-15. But before we could get there we had to take a little trip west on a secondary road, which turned out to be rugged and slow climbing, and beautiful. Finally on the Interstate we began traveling a little faster.

While the Interstate is faster, it is also a little boring regarding the scenery. I found myself sort of zoning out every once in awhile. Liz took a mini-nap. We had an agreement that I would stop about every two hours so she could smoke a cigarette. As the two hours coincided with the need for a fill-up, that worked well.

Through Utah there are many Flying-J truck stops, and as I had a Flying-J card I stopped there to make my gas purchases. This day we also ate a nice lunch at one of their bigger centers – a lunch buffet this time (two buffets in one day – oh, my!!!).

As the miles passed by and the day wore on, we began to look for a place to stay for the night. There was some construction near where we needed to transition from I-15 to I-84, in Ogden, UT. Following the signs we thought would take us to I-84 we took an exit that actually put us on RT 89, which parallels the Interstate. Again, it was time for another fill-up and when I stopped I asked the cashier how to get onto I-84, and whether he knew if there was an RV park nearby. He said we could pick up the Interstate about four miles down the road, and he thought there was an RV park in the next little town.

We managed to get onto the Interstate, and shortly afterward we saw a big RV Park sign looming next to the road. We took the next exit ramp and made our way to the park, which was just down the street. It actually backed up to the Interstate. It was a beautiful park with big old trees, grass, and flowers. They said they had space available – a pull-through – and that was fine for us. In the evening we watched the DVD of the movie “Chocolat!” on the computer. I love that movie! And it brought me some much-needed relaxation.

When Things Get Tough, The Tough Go Shopping

Our journey toward Flagstaff and Page became a challenge as the day progressed. As we approached Flagstaff, making the transition to Route 89 N I noticed that the truck brakes seemed to be doing the work to stop the trailer, and the brake controller was not showing the right light configuration. Something was definitely wrong.

I pulled into a pullout space seemingly made just for me to get off the road to assess the situation and decide the next step. As I looked around I saw that within only a short distance there was an RV service center! So I made my way there. It was located at the end of a shopping mall area, with very little maneuvering space. I pulled in and went inside.

The man at the desk said that it would probably be two hours before they could look at the trailer. I called the mobile RV service I’d been using to get my repairs done, and asked their opinion of what the problem might be – the trailer brakes or the brake controller. The consensus was that it was the brake controller. The technician had checked over the brakes in March when repairs were made, and he reported that they were fine. The trailer hadn’t been out but once for the driving course I took.

I told the man at the desk to make a ticket to check things out and do what was necessary. He said he would call me. It was almost 10:00 a.m. by the time we completed the paperwork. Liz and I headed over to the mall on foot to bide our time.

We found ourselves in Penney’s and noticed that there was quite a nice sale in progress. So for a while we perused the wares and eventually I found some dresses that appealed to me. Did I need a dress? No. But could I use a dress? Definitely! I found a ‘designer’ dress that I just couldn’t live without and it was over 50% off, for a sale price of just $30 – couldn’t pass it up. And it looked great on! I also found some jeans on sale – and I did need some new ones.

Liz found a couple of shirts and a pair of pants. So we headed to the cash register.

After making our purchases we decided it was almost lunchtime. So we went to the food court and ordered a Subway ‘foot-long’ sub to share. As we were sitting down to eat, I got the call that the trailer was ready. They had put a new brake controller in – cost $210. So after eating our food we headed back over to the service center.

I paid the bill with my charge card, and I asked the technician there to show me how to adjust the controller. He showed me how he had set it to the recommended settings. He said that the same company that made my old controller also made the new one, but the old one had had many problems (the driving course instructor had told me the same thing). He said that he’d had the new controller on his truck/trailer for over a year and a half and had only had to reset it three times. I thanked him for his help, and we drove away.

We were finally on our way again, to Page. This was a very arduous journey through steep climbs and a really BAD road. The road was ‘wavy’ so it felt like riding in a boat on a choppy sea. We were bounced and bounced. Because of all the climbing I didn’t run my air conditioner. So in addition to the bouncing, we had the ‘blowing’ of the wind through the windows. And it was HOT!!!

I was concerned that the last fill-up at the gas station would not get us to Page, and I made a comment about coasting into Page on fumes. Because of the climbing, the truck used a lot of gas, and I couldn’t count on the 100 miles per half tank that I’d been getting. So I became very concerned when the indicator dropped below ¾ and we had many more miles to go. As it turned out, the last few miles into Page are mostly down hill, so I did use coasting to help me get there. Luckily, I had about 1/8 tank when I arrived at the gas station. I filled it up and we headed into Utah.

We figured that we could make it to Zion National Park in time to settle for the night. We approached the park as the sun was dropping. Again, gas was a concern, but I felt we would be fine. When we got to the park entrance the ranger told us that all the camping sites were full, but if we wanted to drive through the park it would be $25, plus another $15 for taking the RV through the tunnel. He said there was an RV park at the junction where we had turned on the road to the park – I guess I didn’t see it – but he couldn’t tell me whether there were any spaces, as it wasn’t the park’s responsibility to keep up with that information. He was blunt and humorless.

I turned the rig around and headed back the 11 miles we’d come. We found the RV park near the corner of the intersection. There was a gas station there where I decided to fill up and inquire about the RV park. It turned out that the young man and woman who were running the station also ran the park. We could stay there for $16 – pull-throughs, water, electric. We had our pick of sites as there was no one else there.

As Liz needed a smoke break she walked over to the park that was old, and could be easily missed as an RV park – it looked like a vacant lot. She walked around to select the right site for us – one that had a working electrical box and water pump. I’d never been to a park where the water was turned on by pumping it first.

After filling up I drove over to the site Liz had selected and pulled in, hooked up, and set up for the night. It had been a long, hard day – still hot. I was glad to be able to turn on the AC in the trailer for a while before we went to bed. Then I opened the windows and turned on the fan. We noticed that there was a restaurant across the road that served breakfast, and we decided that we would eat there in the morning.