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

Day of Rest in Redmond

We had a leisurely morning, waking up about 7:30 am. It was cool out, nice. No rain though. Darn. Leslie and I decided to hit two of the local quilt shops, one in Terrebone and the other in Redmond. Both owners were transplants from CA - one from Escondido and the other from Santa Cruz. They really love the peace and beauty of Oregon. Can't blame them. You won't see the beautiful and careful urban planning of Santa Barbara, but you will see those majestic mountain tops and rushing riverlets. I asked how they account for no sales tax and the gal from Santa Cruz said they get you in their income and property taxes. She felt it was a wash economically. She also told us the local economy is highly dependent on tourism and that logging has suffered with the downfall of the housing market. The mill has closed and people have moved out of the area. Sad for them all. They handle the tourist market pretty well though, as they are all super friendly and nice.

After we left the quilt shops we went to the Fred Meyer store, a Target on steroids maybe. I thought the prices there were higher than what we see in CA, but the discounts they have if you have their Rewards Card are pretty good. I signed up for one as I can get diesel fuel with 3 cents off per gallon. When you fill the tank to 80 or more gallons, that is a good thing!

When we got back to the coach, we had a quick bite and ran off to the First Timers seminar. They went over the program and explained how it all works. I am finally making sense of the programs they are offering, and looking forward to sitting in on them.

We declined to go to the volunteer dinner and Debbie Reynolds show. Sorry, Heather, but I needed some time to review the program and I just wanted to do nothing. We did run out to Applebees for dinner. Gotta use that rental car, make it worthwhile.

Tomorrow is a busy day, lots of seminars. We'll be tired. I'll report on all tomorrow. For today, I'll be signing off. But first, a composite of my baby girl and the Sisters...

Redmond and the FMCA Rally

Plans were to meet Peggy and Vernon down the street at 11:30 at the Fred Meyer and refuel. Surprisingly enough, we timed it so well we were behind them in the fuel lane. Oregon does not allow you to fill your own tanks, so we had a most polite young man fuel us up. Don't be too shocked, but we have put over $300 of diesel fuel in the coach since we left. We had a half full tank today, but we wanted to take advantage of the lower price. Also, when we leave Redmond to go to Astoria, there aren't any big truck stops along the way. By the way, maneuvering Big Mac through a shopping center parking lot full of cars can be a challenge. We made it out with flying colors - Good job, Mr. Barber!

While we refueled, Leslie drove the rental car over to the fresh fruit stand and picked up some just picked marionberries (a relative of ollalieberries) and a bag of cherries. Those cherries are sweet and meaty. Absolutely delicious!!

We then proceeded to Redmond, caravaning with the Bullocks. Once inside the showgrounds, we were guided to our spots. Not bad - they are at the end of the line of coaches with no one on one side. Nice, because we have some separation from other coaches and a view to boot, even though part of the view is a low slung warehouse.

We settled in and then were invited to share dinner with several of Peggy and Vernon's friends, who have primo spaces right next to the seminar buildings. Peggy made an apple crisp which we baked in our oven since her coach doesn't have one. Leslie and I made what turned out to be a hit - chicken salad on a triscuit with a slim slice of cheddar and topped with a chunk of tomato. Everyone loved it. I thought it tasted great too.







As we ate and chatted, a chill wind began to blow and the sky clouded over. Some thought we might get some rain and maybe a thundershower. Several hours later, the wind has subsided and no showers yet. I really want to experience the raindrops falling on my head... do you know that song from so long ago? Here's hoping.

Tomorrow we will attend a 'First Timers' Seminar in the early afternoon. Debbie Reynolds will be here in the evening showcasing a movie on her life. Not sure if we will go, but sounds good. There is a volunteers dinner at 5:30 which we will go to. We are volunteering to serve ice cream on Friday with the Full Timers club. Thinking I might sample it a lot, especially if it warms up!

So that's about it for today. Oops, lest I forget entirely, here is a photo of the two Maltese pups who were next to us in Bend. Already I can't remember their names! They were soooo cute, friendly and huggable. I hugged them both with lots of love. They liked it too. I was so tempted to steal them! Didn't.

Cheers from Redmond, OR....
Bonnie Jerry Leslie Lucy

Sisters went to Sisters...

Leslie drove, dragged Jerry along with us, and off we went in the rental car to Sisters, OR., home of the biggest outdoor quilt show in the states. I couldn't be this close and not go there. I also wanted to see where the RV parks are in case we went to the show, which is always the second Saturday in July. I can tell you this, the town is a Western themed boutique, kind of like Solvang but smaller and cuter. On Sunday, the traffic is dense. U.S. 20 routes people right through town. Don't go on a Sunday!

I loved the fabrics and quilts in the Stitchin' Post in Sisters, but my favorite shop was a brand new one in Bend called Quiltworks on Greenwood St. No website for them yet, but the shop has great fabrics and design ideas and the gals in there are really really nice. If you're in Bend, check it out. Within maybe three miles of each other, there are three quilt shops in Bend, and a new super JoAnn's opening up. This town does fabric!!

In addition to devoting the day to quilting, we ventured a bit north and east over to Redmond to seek out our Aug. 15 accommodation at Crooked River RV Resort and to see where the Deschutes Co. Fair grounds is, where we will camp for the next 6 days. And yes, I used the word 'camp'. We will be boondocking, drycamping, hoofing it! - no water or sewer service or cable or wi fi. We will be parked with over 2000 motorhomes in a parking lot!! Okay, confession. We will have 'some' electricity - 30 amps, which will maybe run a few house electric items at a time. Fingers crossed the weather holds in the 80s.

We've been battling with our worthless on-board self-seeking DirecTV satellite dish. It worked in French Camp and hasn't found a satellite connection since. We've had cable but won't in Redmond. We'll be too busy anyway. We do have some great DVDs if we want to watch a movie at night.

This is beautiful country, Bend and Sisters. I can see why people love this state. I can even see me living in it, if my family would all come. Good roads, no sales tax, unparalleled scenery from your front doorstep, inexpensive properties on huge plots of land. Nice.

Redmond is a bit more like the high desert in CA, think Palmdale with pine trees. Crooked River, 12 miles north of Redmond, wants to look a bit like the Grand Canyon. Huge vertical bluffs colored in reds and browns dipping down into a river... probably a crooked river, dontcha think?

If I had time, I'd inform you all of the history of these very interesting places. Maybe you would like to Google them and see what its all about yourself. But I have to go. The washer is finishing up and I have to check it out. This roughing it is so burdensome. Where are the maids when I so desperately need them??????????

Over and out,
Bonnie Jerry Leslie Lucy

Bend, OR

We left Klamath Falls about 9:30 am, after a more leisurely rising this morning. Within 10 minutes or so, we were riding alongside Upper Klamath Lake. It is so huge it looked like we were on the Rincon on 101. For those not familiar, I will interpret: it looked like the Pacific Ocean with the three islands peering out of the mist. The drive was not as white-knuckle as I had been warned. It is quite spectacular to see so much water when you come from southern CA. Most of the drive to Bend was through pine forests, obvious logging areas. We could see groves of newish trees along the road, reseeded by logging companies some years ago. Log cabin shanties appeared here and there, scarce in this stretch of the road. I wondered who would live in the middle of nowhere, surrounded only by blue sky and tall pines. Ha, nirvana for many. A bit too isolated for me. But unquestionably beautiful!

Signs along the road indicated 'chain zones' where cars could pull over to put on chains in winter. Most side roads were dirt and gravel. No signals on cell phones. Just us and a whole lot of 18-wheelers chugging up and down the long sloping road. The roads are in outstanding shape, interesting considering snow falls here and often roads are degraded because of rough winter storms. Our passage was quiet, Big Mac's rear diesel engine purring softly along the way. I could wish all our travel to be that wonderful, calm and peaceful. I am loving this.

Bend was just 130 miles from Klamath Falls, so we got there around noon, and then embarked on a search for the Budget Rent A Car office, where we had reserved a small car to toodle around in. After much frustration, we found it and were rewarded with an upgrade to a huge Mercury Grand Marquis. Then off to our new home for two days at the Scandia RV Park, just a mile away. Lo and behold, we find that our space is a bit unusual. We're parked alongside the office, the last spot available it seems, even though I made the reservation in June. It turned out okay really. We have a nice private little lawn area and two very very cute Maltese puppies as neighbors. When they come out for their walk tomorrow, I will grab a photo of them. They look just like Lucy. She growled at them, but was otherwise non-aggressive.

After getting settled in our 'space', friends Peggy and Vernon Bullock joined us here at the park and we went for Chinese food. They are staying about 20 miles out of town and we will park with them on Monday at the FMCA rally in Redmond, some 18 mi north of Bend. It was good to see them, it's been over two years since I have seen them at a CAWEE conference. We were both high school teachers prior to retirement. Peggy and Vernon are 'full timers' in their RV, having abandoned home ownership to travel the states. They are the inspiration for my sudden urge to buy an RV and travel. It's all their fault!!

I must defer a moment to reflect on my sister Susan and her family's yearlong European sabbatical in a VW camper van almost 40 years ago. I can say this: how did they do it with 2 adults and 2 children in such a cramped space??? and in Spain and Morocco and Turkey and Austria and France and more. Now, that is a grand adventure. I am sitting here in a luxury motorhome with a washer and dryer and wi fi and cable/satellite tv, queen size bed, two sofas, a 4-door refrigerator, oven and microwave. What a long way we have come!! Kudos to the Lordis for their adventuresome spirit. I wish I could have done that with my children. Sorry 'bout that, M H and P. It's never too late though. Missing you, by the way.

Here is Jerry and Lucy, enjoying a beautiful evening, nice and cool. Actually getting quite cool. Time to go in soon.



Another view of our 'space' next to the office. We have our own private little garden, complete with pretty flowers. We are parked parallel to the interior road of the RV park, but it isn't at all bad, all things considered.

Well, blogger is NOT letting me post the other photo. So frustrating. I'll get it in there one way or another, but for now, aloha.

Bonnie Jerry Leslie and Lucy

Klamath Falls, OR or bust...

Nope, not busted, just cringing from massive mosquito attacks. I haven't been surrounded by so many mosquitos since I left Indiana in 1970! We're cowering inside Big Mac, windows closed, A/C on. Nuff of that though. I have to tell you about our trip here from French Camp. We left at precisely 8:45 am and decided to try US 99, since we were so close. Road was full of 18-wheelers and pretty rough so we decided we should go back to I-5 and continue north on it. Good idea. Better road, actually less crowded.

We saw thousands of acres of rice fields, walnuts (or some kind of nut) and a whole lot of olive trees. Add in grazing cattle and enormous alfalfa and oat and wheat fields and you will be aware of the landscape. As we passed through Redding, we could see the promise of what was to come - foothills California style, golden brown speckled with green sagebrush. But... throw in what looked like pine trees and we're getting closer. Closer to the Mount! Shasta that is. Before we knew it, we were surrounded by green pine, and a brush with some white knuckle co-piloting. The co-pilot would be me. And the white knuckles would be mine. I didn't even take photos of Shasta Lake, a beautiful, enormous body of water... why? cuz the curvy downhill uphill road left me kinda nervous. My poor husband had to listen to me all the way. SLOW DOWN!!! DONT PASS SO CLOSE!!! YOU'RE TOO FAR TO THE RIGHT!!!

Finally, I calmed down and looked up and saw this HUGE TRIANGULAR SNOW COVERED SHAPE looming before me, tucked between other less significant ranges. Of course, it was Mt. Shasta herself. Wow. Beautiful. I did take photos. I'll share some here, but you really have to see it to appreciate it. The photos, taken through the front window of the RV, have a tint to them and of course, aren't too sharp. You'll have to remember that DH had the petal to the metal. We were moving on.

We proceeded down several 6% grades, white knuckle all the way, going through Shasta City, Dunsmuir, Weed, etc. until we hit the Butte Valley floor - a stunning high desert landscape filled with fields of wheat and some lucky bovines who got to live alongside.

As we neared the Oregon border, we passed the CA Inspection Station in Dorris, where all cars must stop and relinquish all plant materials. We'll have to eat up all the produce we brought with us from CA when we reenter on our return trip. How would we prove it was 'Made in Santa Ynez'? We thought of labeling all the tomatoes and nectarines, but forgot the label maker, so no go on that. LOL. Just kiddin'.

Anyway, Dorris looked like an old gold mining town nearing extinction. Not quite like Bodie, as 1000 people still live there, but you get the picture. Very interesting. It was nice to go through towns instead of roaring by them on the interstate. Local color and all.

As we approached Klamath Falls, we could see canals full of water on both sides of the road. Water for all the farmers to access. We expect to drive around (read ON THE EDGE) of Klamath Lake tomorrow morning when we head for our destination in Bend. Talk about white knuckle. My good friend Peggy suggested I close my eyes through that portion! Oh no!!!!! Deep breath.

Here's a few photos from the past two days... they don't do justice to the places we drove through, but they suffice as a memory or two.

See ya tomorrow.
Bonnie Jerry Leslie Lucy

French Camp near Manteca

Here we are, one year since my last post. A long time. A lot has transpired since then. One biggie - we have ventured forth on our first RV trip. We're going to Disn.. oops, REDMOND. Oregon. For a FMCA Convention and then after that, heading north to the Columbia River, due west to Astoria on the Oregon coast, and south on the 101 - homebound.

So, today we started out at 8:39 am - precisely. Getting out of the driveway is the most difficult part of our journey. This 40 footer just gets by our fenceposts on the way in and out. Once we managed that, we headed out the 246 to the 154 and the 101. Turned east at Paso Robles to meet up with I-5 and head north. We made such great time that we changed our reservation from Santa Nella to French Camp, an interesting name, the history of which I must delve into.

What we have seen of our trip thus far are lots of tomato trucks, walnut trees, a feed lot with thousands of cattle and expected odiforous sensations, two closed rest areas, and finally an open one. We pulled up next to the 18-wheelers, and while those hard working fellas lumbered off to the rest rooms, we pulled out our delicious deli sandwiches, potato chips and dip, nice cold sodas and sat at the dining table with air conditioning blowing us into a comfort zone no one outside could have felt. 4 Diamond meal and ambiance. Oh, yeah!!!!!

As we approached Manteca, I noticed a wonderful building on the right. A Ghirardelli Chocolate factory, complete with demonstrations, cold ice cream and other delights I will never know of. You see, this behemoth we are driving, does not stop until it reaches its destination for the evening. Not many parking lots accommodate its length. When we get more experienced, we will fit it in to any place we want to go, but for now... we just don't.

It's late now, and I need to sleep. I will tell you one thing about our accommodations for the evening... French Camp RV Park. It is sandwiched between a dying golf course, and appropriately, a very large cemetery! It's not a bad place, couple shade trees. Not too crowded. It's okay. Give it 6/10 stars.

Photos later. Bed calling me. House Hunters is just ending... our DirecTV satellite dish worked after taking forever to lock in to the satellite. See... this is called 'roughing it' in the 21st century!

Later,
Bonnie and Jerry and Leslie and Lucy