Crooked River, OR

With apologies to our Cornhusker friend, Sr. Villa, several days have passed since my last blog and they were busy ones! I have no photos from our days at the FMCA convention because I was way too busy attending seminars, visiting the vendors, talking to the vendors and buying stuff from them. Up to the moment we drove away from the Deschutes County Fair/Expo grounds, we were buying stuff for the RV. Six humongous tires were installed in the last hours, in our space, while we sat in the coach. How's that for convenience? They came right to the door. I think Les Schwab Tire Centers and all the other service vendors did very very well this week as there were over 1800 coaches there seeking information and repairs.

Just as the tires were done, the mobile screen guy drove by. Cute, loquacious and eager to please, he measured two of our western facing windows for screens and then helped us install the drop down awning screen we bought an hour earlier. The sun bore down on us unmercifully from the west every afternoon and we realized we needed more protection from the sun on that side.

On a last pass through the Beef Building (there was also the Swine bldg, Dairy bldg and more such named bldgs), I succumbed to one of the few remaining desires I had - I bought two folding 6-speed bikes on sale from Camping World. How fun! We now have transportation inside the campgrounds and about town. All I have to do is remember how to ride a bike! I actually think Jerry will get a kick out of riding one. But I told him he will have to change shoes and hats, cuz cowboys don't ride bikes!

We found other 'treasures' to purchase, all mostly necessary items for the RV. Yeah, sure. What a shopping trip! Haven't been that nuts since the time I went on a cruise with my sister and on the way home stopped at a Lexus dealer and bought a car! That was not an impulse really, I had been studying them. And the opportunity just seemed to present itself. Nuff said. Now, and especially now after this week, I'm back to being really really broke!!

I can't end this discussion of our stay at the FMCA convention without mentioning a few other important points. One, we met some really nice people! Thanks, Peggy, for the intros! Two, we learned a whole lot about this traveling apartment! Three, FMCA signed the Texas Tenors for a show on Thursday nite and it was wonderful! Their harmony and voices are amazing. I watched them progress through America's Got Talent and was sad they lost, but the ventriloquist they lost to was an outstanding talent. Piers the Negative said the TT's music was too cheesy, and maybe it is a bit, but we love to hear it. They sang opera, country, patriotic and Sinatra songs. Beautiful!

Sooo glad we went. So sad we blew so much $$. But you got to remember, there is NO SALES TAX in Oregon! Where else you gonna spend your kids' inheritance?

We departed the showgrounds about noon thirty for our 'resting spot', Crooked River RV Resort, nestled in a deep little valley surrounded by cliffs reminiscent of a small Grand Canyon. I took some photos finally, of us, Big Mac and the Big Crooked River cliffs and THE RIVER. Beautiful. To view, go to my gallery: http://gallery.mac.com/bnjbarber#100981

Tomorrow we head north to the Columbia River and west to Astoria. More on our adventure manana. Should be another beautiful trek through nature's wonderland.

Bonnie Jerry Leslie Lucy