Two States At One Time!

Sunrise @ the Rosebud Casino

Day 24    July 3

Since we’d spent the night in the Rosebud Casino parking lot, just about 30’ from the state line marker at one end of the parking lot, first thing we did in the morning, was walk over the state line into Nebraska. Yippeee!!! A new state!

Rosebud Casino. It was a nice, quiet parking lot for the night

The casino and the parking lot, were partially in South Dakota and partially in Nebraska. I’m sure this is a bureaucratic nightmare for at least two people in cubicles.

The state line

Anxious to explore Nebraska, we started it off right by having breakfast in Valentine, just over the state line. When I told the waitress that we were looking for fun stuff to do in Valentine, she laughed and said, “There’s not much to do here, so good luck with that!” Not the kind of encouragement we were hoping for.

Despite the waitress’s remarks, we did find something to do. After a walk-a-bout around town, we drove through the Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge, and took a hike down to a small waterfall.

More cuteness in Valentine, NE

Valentine, NE

Cute sidewalks in Valentine, NE

Valentine, Nebraska. Getting ready for July 4th.

Nice hike to this little waterfall

Longest train I’ve ever seen

And….then back on the road again. On this day, I completely gave in to the junk food lifestyle. I had Fritos, chocolate covered pretzels, and a Dr. Pepper. I was officially having junk with my junk. Great.

Late in the afternoon, we stopped in Broken Bow, a quintessential small Nebraskan town. There were a few vendors set up in the town square, as a kind of pre-July 4th little set-up. We bought fireworks from the local volunteer fire department, and we bought some homemade jams, and a homemade pie from a couple of the local women.

The jam maker’s young son told us all about how he almost blew up his brother and sister last July 4th, with fireworks they’d purchased from the local volunteer fire department. And his mom and I lamented about how fireworks are dangerous. Foreshadowing of what was to come for us the next day!

Our last stop would be Omaha, where we were going to visit Mark’s cousin Rick and his family. On the way, I noticed a very small yet very annoying gnat on the inside of the front windshield. That sucker drove me crazy for almost 30 miles. And then, finally, I obliterated the bastard right on the windshield. A small splat, clean-upable with just a little piece of tissue. Take no prisoners!

Yes, I Spat In Their Face

Sunset, on the road

Day 23   part 2     July 2

BADLANDS   (are ya catchin’ my Springsteen references?)

On July 2, we headed east on South Dakota Rt 44. Our mission….to spit in the face of the Badlands. And spit, we did!

Badlands National Park was amazing, and we spent lots of time looking around and taking pictures. It’s a place unlike any other that we’d been to. Very cool.

Badlands

Badlands

Mark, takin’ a selfie @ Badlands

Badlands

Badlands

Badlands

Badlands

Badlands

Mark, Fiona & the Badlands

Badlands

Badlands

Mark, taking in the Badlands

Badlands & Fiona

Badlands

When you exit the Badlands, I believe it’s actually a state law, that you have to stop at Wall, SD. Specifically, it seems to be required that you stop at Wall Drug, in Wall, SD.

I’ve seen those bumper stickers for years, that say, “Where the hell is Wall Drug?”, and I thought there was a town called Wall Drug. But no. The town is called Wall. Wall Drug is the drug store in Wall, SD.

Wall Drug Store

Post Office in Wall

Wall Drug, in Wall, South Dakota, is one of those places where Americans, and peeps from all over the world, can stop and buy a bunch more stuff to add to their pile of stuff that they store and cart around with them! 

Mark bought a t-shirt. And it was really hot out, so we got ice-cream cones. An ice-cream cone is something you can buy and you never have to worry about what you’re gonna do with it or where you’ll have to store it.

We then headed south.

Beautiful sunset

On the road again

Spent the night in the parking lot (FREE!!) of the Rosebud Casino, right on the South Dakota, Nebraska State Line. Oh so close to touching Nebraska, but that’d have to wait until the morning!

The Ties That Bind

Anywhere…USA

Day 23  part 1      July 2

On the 23rd day, I did some calculating. We’d driven 3500 miles so far, and we were only as far east as South Dakota. We were on track for the longest cross country crossing ever. By most people’s calculations, we should have reached the east coast by then.

In all these miles driven, through cities and through tiny towns, I’d found what unites us all as Americans. It’s our need for self storage facilities to store all of our junk. Those are the ties that bind us as a nation.

Everywhere we went, no matter how big or small of a town or city, and no matter how rich or poor of a community….there was always at least one self storage facility. 

Why do we have so much stuff that we actually need to pay other people to store our stuff? Why can’t we get rid of any of it?

And while I’m analyzing this, let’s really call it like it is. By “stuff,” I mean “crap.”

There’s no logical explanation for this phenomenon, except for one. And that is, plain and simple, Americans just love their stuff.

Our Stuff….You’ll get it from us when you rip it from our cold dead hands.

Things Aren’t What They Seem!

Mt. Rushmore KOA

Day 22   July 1

Woke up this morning at the Mt. Rushmore KOA campground, excited to start the day and to get to Mt. Rushmore!

On our morning dog walk, we noticed the sign for an all you can eat pancake breakfast at the campgrounds. I don’t even like pancakes, and they’re not high on Mark’s food list either. But, when you travel, you have to experience things for experience sake. And that’s why we ended up at the all you can eat pancake tent that morning. And now, at least, we can check that off of the bucket list.

Had to try it once @ Mt Rushmore KOA

First stop of the day was the highly anticipated Mt Rushmore. We were both really excited to see this great American spectacle. And I have to say, I was kind of disappointed at how small it looked from the entrance. Big let down. Until we walked on the path that takes you closer up to it. And then, disappointment disappeared! So if you go there, you MUST take the walking path that takes you up closer for a much better look and appreciation of the big heads in the rock!

Big Heads in Rock

Yippeee!!! We’re at Mt Rushmore!

Mt Rushmore

A new head has been added @ Mt Rushmore!

Second stop of the day was the Crazy Horse Monument. I’d heard from others that this was an amazing thing to see. And I have to say, that I was also kind of disappointed when we first arrived. But here’s the thing….if you go there, you have to watch the film that’s shown in the theatre. The film explained and showed the magnitude of what is being done at the monument. When you look out at the monument, it just doesn’t look like much of anything. But, when you see what that mass of rock started out as, it is truly remarkable. 

Crazy Horse. More impressive when you learn about than, than when you just look at it and don’t know shit about it.

American Indian bead collection @ Crazy Horse Monument

You know what else is remarkable about the Crazy Horse Monument? That I didn’t buy any jewelry from the American Indian craftspeople that were showing their work in the visitor center. I love jewelry, and there were so many beautiful pieces there. But, in my new minimalistic lifestyle, I’m pretty content to just admire, and not have to own.

From Fit To Frump in 21 Days. You CAN Do It!

Little Big Horn

Day 21        June 30

This morning, we drove into downtown Billings, just to get a quick peek at what it looked like. I wasn’t sure what to make of the place. As we entered downtown, I can’t remember which we saw first, the Women’s Prison, or the Department of Corrections building. Howdy folks. Welcome to Billings. We did a quick drive-a-bout and then got the heck out of town.

Sometimes, ok, all the time, when we’re driving, we have weird conversations. Or, I should say, we have conversations about weird stuff. Today our conversation centered on our lack of exercise since we’ve been on the road. Mark cracked me up when he said,

“I’ve got to get on an exercise program. I can still feel my chest muscles, but, maybe it’s just fat.”

Well, I hear ya bro! Pretty sure I’ve lost every ounce of swimming muscles in my arms. And I’m not sure I could hold a plank for longer than 10 seconds anymore.

A couple days ago, I tried to do some tricep dips on a picnic bench. I did a few, and promptly got a splinter in my hand. I took that as a sign that my exercise program shouldn’t start that day.

Why Do I Need My Muscles Anyway?

I need my muscles because on days like today, I need to be able to slam our sliding door shut.

We took the scenic byway out of Billings, onto Rt 212 East, so that we could stop at the Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument. Call me crazy, but I don’t like war stuff. Maybe ‘cause, growing up in Virginia, I was dragged to every battlefield and war related place known to Virginians. I’m done with that stuff. Over it.

BUT….Little Big Horn Battlefield N.M. was one of the most beautiful and spiritual places I’ve ever been. The land itself is stunning, and the American Indian Monument kind of got to me. I think what I was feeling was “White Man’s Guilt.”

Little Big Horn

Graveyard @ Little Big Horn

Little Big Horn

Graveyard @ Little Big Horn

Graveyard @ Little Big Horn

Little Big Horn

Little Big Horn

American Indian monument @ Little Big Horn

American Indian monument @ Little Big Horn

The 45 mph winds also got to me. It was howling out there, which made it on the difficult side to open and shut the large sliding side door. Yep, I need to rebuild me some muscles!!

Tiny Spaces Going Places

So, you want to know what it’s like for me and my family to live in a small van? Here’s a little simulation you can do at home.

Take two dogs, your significant other, one microwave oven, one camp stove, a small college size fridge, and all the stuff you need for daily living (clothes, toiletries, food, etc), and lock yourself in a small bathroom in your home for one week.

Section off the shower so that it is 2’ x 2’. That is the only part of it you are allowed to use. To get the full experience, hang a plastic shower curtain in the round to section off this area so that the shower curtain can suck on to your body as you shower.

And, by the way, you can only use 2.5 gallons of water per day per person. That includes shower, sink and toilet usage. 

Any and all dirty laundry that you produce will stay in the room with you all week. Shouldn’t be too much laundry though, because you’re only allowed to bring 2 pairs of pants/shorts and 3 t-shirts/tops. You are allowed 7 pairs of underwear. If you have an accident, you’ve got yourself a problem.

So, what do you think? Can you do this? If you try it, and you are not bumping into each other and tripping over the dogs constantly, than you are doing the simulation in a bathroom that is way too big. Downsize, and try it again!

Goodbye Wyoming. Hello Montana

Before we left Yellowstone we stopped to see Old Faithful, and the beautiful historic Old Faithful Lodge.

Mark and I disagreed on the route to take out of Yellowstone, because we didn’t agree on where we were going next. Mark won, and we headed north, to Bozeman, Montana.  

Bozeman was a place I had little interest in. And it was a place that I ended up loving. In fact, I was loving it even before we got there, because the drive there was so gorgeous!

The road from Yellowstone to Bozeman

The town of Bozeman is a cool little college town where the main drag is filled with cute shops and restaurants. We ate lunch, walked around taking photos, took a drive through the campus of Montana State University, and then went to the Museum of the Rockies.

Lunch!

Downtown Bozeman

Bozeman, architecture

Bozeman, architecture

Bozeman, architecture

Bozeman, architecture

Public art, Bozeman

I thought we hit the jackpot at the Museum of the Rockies when I saw a flyer advertising some kind of art and beer tasting event. I was disappointed when I realized the flyer said JULY 29, not JUNE 29. Bummer.

Part of the Museum of the Rockies

Fence detail @ Museum of the Rockies

Weird creatures in Bozeman

Intersection. Bozeman

Our final stop this day, was at the KOA in Billings, Montana. An ok place, with a slight sewer stink about it. Don’t recommend the place, but, some kind and honest person at the campground saved my sorry a** by turning in my backpack to the front desk, after I had left it in the bathroom. 

My backpack had my wallet and my phone in it, credit cards, cash, and keys to the RV. And I didn’t even realize it was gone until the next morning. Phew! I was really lucky! So, I must give some bonus points to the Billings KOA, for having a truly honest person staying there!

Stuff We Saw @ Yellowstone National Park

Rapids

Day 19   June 28

YELLOWSTONE

This was one freakin’ spectacular day!!!! Why? Because Yellowstone is so freakin’ gigantic and so freakin’ amazing!!! 

I drove through Yellowstone 30 years ago, on my way from Calgary to Atlanta (weird…yes…just was where I was and where I got a car to drive to). I only saw a tiny fraction of the park back then, and it was so long ago that I barely remember it. So, this was really just like my first time there.

We spent all day driving the loop road, 156 miles total, and stopping at different spots to hike around and see the sights. It was a non-stop feast for the eyes and senses.

The weather was pretty fickle, and we experienced everything from sun, to rain, to hail (yes, it hailed on us again!). The weather was constantly changing throughout the day. But it worked out great. It’d be pouring rain, and we’d wait in the RV for 5-10 minutes until it stopped raining. Then the sun would come out, and we’d go have a look around. And then it’d start raining (or hailing) again. Couldn’t have asked for more perfect timing!

I’m assuming that, due to the weather, a lot of people probably stayed home this weekend. And that was good for us, as it cut way down on the number of tourists in the park. Again, impeccable timing!

 Stuff We Saw

Elk

Bison…lots and lots of them!

Bison

Get the heck out of our way!!

Waterfalls

Waterfall

Waterfall & river

Waterfall

Creeks, streams, rivers and lakes

Mark @ Yellowstone Lake

People fly fishing

Geisers

Weird geothermal stuff

Geothermal stuff

Geothermal stuff

Forests

Tall trees

Jr. Rangers and The Pretzelberry

Selfie. Craters of the Moon

Day 18   June 27

Why Do Kids Get All The Good Stuff?

We spent a good part of the day exploring Craters of the Moon National Monument. There’s lots of little hiking trails that take you to all kinds of varying and cool volcanic formations.

Craters of the Moon

Craters of the Moon

Craters of the Moon

The Space Shuttle @ Craters of the Moon

Crazy dead tree @ Craters of the Moon

Craters of the Moon

Climbing on the lava formations @ Craters of the Moon

Mark @ Craters of the Moon

We met a nice couple from the San Francisco Bay area,  with their young boy who was working on getting his Jr. Ranger badge. He was going to a Jr. Ranger workshop given by the park ranger, and he was doing work in his Jr. Ranger workbook, and was out hiking with mom and dad and learning stuff.

Obviously, this got me thinking… Why do kids get all the good stuff and get to have all the fun? Why is there just Jr. Rangers for kids? Why isn’t there like a Sr. Ranger thing for older people? I’d like to get a badge too, ya know.

And ya know what else? Those kids with all the great Jr. Ranger activities and stuff…they don’t even pay for their own trips to these cool places. Their parents pay for it!!!!! It’s a total free ride for them. Well, I’m payin’ for my own trip, and I want a freakin’ Sr. Ranger badge!!!!! Who can I talk to about that?!

The Pretzelberry

So, ok, one perk of being an adult, is that I can eat whatever the hell I want, when I want. That’s worth something, especially when you’re on a road trip, and you need to eat constantly, because you’re burning so many calories sitting on your ass all day driving from place to place that you’d probably die if you didn’t eat the whole time.

In the afternoon, we drove from Craters of the Moon, to Yellowstone National Park  in Wyoming. That was 254 miles, where I got to eat anything I wanted. And that was when I invented the pretzelberry!!

The Pretzelberry

The pretzelberry is a pretzel & strawberry combo. A near-perfect mix of sweet and healthy, with salty carbs of no nutritional value what-so-ever. I say near-perfect, only because, what would have made it absolutely perfect, would have been some melted dark chocolate on top.

Alas, after consuming many pretzelberries, we arrived at Yellowstone, and settled into our campsite for the night.

Entering Yellowstone

Arriving at our campground

Rotating Dirty Clothes!

The Best Way To Rotate Your Travel Clothes

Since we travel real light (not much room for stuff/clothes in a B-van), what’s the best method of rotating your clothes?

Is it better to wear the same outfit 4 days in a row, or is it better to completely rotate your outfits every day?

In my opinion, it’s best to wear the same outfit every day for 4 days, and then start on a new outfit. That way, every 4 days or so, you get to put on a completely clean outfit.

If you have three outfits that you rotate every day, then after wearing them all for a couple days, then you’re just putting on dirty clothes EVERY day.

Underwear is exempt from this system. I highly recommend you change undies EVERY day!

Behind The Scenes….Airing The Dirty Laundry

Carey, Idaho

Day 17

The Dirty Laundry

Mark and I were having a couple disagreements today. 

From how I see it, Mark uses too much water in the rig. We have small holding tanks, and have to be careful about our usage. So, I pretty much am like the water nazi, constantly yelling…”Too much, too much, OMG, look at how much water you’re using to wash your hands!” Seriously, it almost puts me into cardiac arrest when I see him running the faucet!

Apparently, Mark disagrees with my usage assessment, since he hasn’t changed his habits at all and keeps telling me to leave him alone.

Then, from how I see it, Mark uses too much bug spray. Pretty much the same argument as the water usage scenario. I’m not making any headway there at all either. No matter that applying bug spray is like rolling in toxic chemicals. He don’t care!!

I obviously am lacking relationship superpowers. I should just give up. But, I can’t. Nagging at Mark about these things, gives me something to do.

What Happened and Where We Went

On June 26th, we left Boise. We were on the road by 9:30 am, which is unheard of for the two of us. We usually wake up early, but then we seem to loligag around until we get run out of town (until check out time from the campgrounds).

We turned on the radio, even before leaving our campsite, and discovered FM 96.9, out of Boise. The Bob and Tom Show. It was one of those morning zoo shows, at least that’s what they used to call them. OMG! These guys were hilarious! 

It was a great way to start our day…with some good laughs. We listened until we lost the station signal. It was good while it lasted.

We took Rt 21, a recommended scenic drive, just outside of Boise. This took us through some beautiful and cool places. First stop (besides just some nice overlooks) was Idaho City, an old western town with a neat old cemetery just outside of town and up on a hillside.

Rt 21, Idaho

Rt 21, Idaho

Idaho City

Pioneer Cemetery. Idaho City

Pioneer Cemetery. Idaho City

Pioneer Cemetery. Idaho City

Rt 21 starts heading south and becomes Rt 75…also a gorgeous part of the country. We stopped in Stanley for a couple of chocolate espresso milkshakes at a roadside stand. That should have been enough caffeine to keep us driving for quite a while longer!

Sawtooth Mountain Range in the distance. Rt 75, Idaho

Rt 75, Idaho

Rt 75, Idaho

We then passed right through Ketchum/Sun Valley. It was a beautiful area. We’ll have to put Sun Valley on our list of places we need to visit during ski season.

The final destination on this day, was Craters of the Moon National Monument. This was a definite hi-lite. A very bizarre and super cool place to visit, with a $10/nite campsite right in the thick of things! It was pretty amazing!

Craters of the Moon

Craters of the Moon

Craters of the Moon

Our campsite @ Craters of the Moon

 

The Skeeter Assassin

Day 16 was so laid back, I don’t even have photos to prove it existed.

June 25th was a happy day for us beer lovers. It was the day that we got our RV fridge fixed. A huge thanks to Airstream Northwest Adventures for helping us out!

On the other hand, June 25th was a tragic day for mosquitos, because that was the day I bought a fly swatter.

I’ve always been a good athlete, and I happen to have very good hand to eye coordination. It was just a given that I’d be an amazing fly and mosquito swatter. The big surprise was that it was so much FUN to kill mosquitos! Who’d have known?!

I was having such a great time going after them, it was almost a shame there weren’t more. And there weren’t really very many, so to make it a little more challenging, I was going after them left handed. Ya know what? I’m pretty freakin’ fast and accurate with my left hand too!

I quickly earned the nickname, “The Skeeter Assassin.”

Anyway, I digress….with our fridge fixed, we were finally able to buy some food and drinks. Yea! We made a yummy dinner of steak and a big salad with grapes and raspberries and almonds, and a side of beer! We were back in business!

Doggie Diarrhea and Praying For Cold Beer

Cold local brew. One of favorite discoveries on our trip!

Day 15

We called the local Airstream dealer first thing in the morning, and explained to them our situation. Our situation being, that we couldn’t keep our beer cold. Fridge problems.

The service manager at Airstream Northwest Adventures, Zonia Allen, couldn’t have been nicer, and told us to come in at 10:00 am. We did. They looked at the fridge and determined the problem. Then they called the fridge manufacturer, Nova Kool, in Ontario, Canada, who told us they’d overnight ship the part we needed.

This whole thing took just long enough for me to write a blog post, and to eat some of the oatmeal cookies that one of their customers had brought in. To read about the cookies, check out my post on June 24th.

In the afternoon, we visited the World Center for Birds of Prey, and in the evening, we hit the Basque neighborhood for dinner, in downtown Boise.

Northern Aplomado Falcon @ the World Center for Birds of Prey

Nice view @ World Center for Birds of Prey

Mark, taking in the nice view @ World Center for Birds of Prey

Dinner time

Mark showing Dax his photos from the day

And Then, The Doggie Problems!!

Turned into a nice day. But, really, what day would be totally complete without one of our dogs coming down with a shack nasty case of diarrhea?

Yep, Trixie had the runs. It was so bad that I couldn’t even attempt to clean it up with a doggie bag, yet, not so bad that she couldn’t hold it until she got out of the RV. …THANK GOD!!! And believe me, when we saw how bad she had it, we were taking her outside all the time!

How Low Can We Go?

This was all making sense now too, ‘cause just the day before, one of the dogs had puked on the bed. It soaked all the way through the doggie bedspread, onto our sheets below. About a 6 on the “Scale of Disgusting.” We’d have to wash our sheets, and the doggie bedspread as soon as possible.

Somehow though, “as soon as possible” turned into “the next day.” The next day, however, our sheet was starting to dry out, so that turned into, “the day after the next day.” Well, by then, our sheet was dry. And by the next day, we were so over it, that we didn’t even care.

I’ll admit, I was bothered a bit by our acceptance of the situation. On the other hand, we are Glampers. And sometimes Glampers have to rough it. Yea, that pretty much explains it all away, right?

More Doggie Projectiles

Trixie had diarrhea for more than a week. Four days into her illness, Dax got it. Holy Crap, Batman! 

We had changed their food before leaving home, and it finally occurred to me that that was probably what was causing the problem. A visit to Petco was in order, where they graciously took back two bags of food, and we picked a different kind of food. 

Voila! Within two days of switching food, both doggies were having the most stellar poops. Like a couple of parents to a newborn human child, Mark and I were ecstatic. “Good poopies! Good poopies!” we both exclaimed! Proud parents…yep!

People In Boise Know How To Have Fun!

Rafting on the river

Day 14

On Monday, June 23, after gettin’ the hell out of Dodge (Skeeter Lake), we’d planned to stop at the Airstream dealer in Nampa. Nope. That dealer is closed Mondays. We’d have to try again on Tuesday.

So we went to Boise, Idaho, to the Boise River RV Park.

We spent the day biking on the 26 mile Greenbelt bike/walking path that runs along the Boise River and into the downtown area. We didn’t bike the whole thing, but we did a good portion of it.

Man, bike, river

Our ride took us along the river, past folks swimming, paddle boarding, kayaking, rafting, and floating in the river. This was a fun, fun place, with lots of happy people! Everyone we passed on the path, said hello. It was almost annoying to have to say hello back to so many people. But I loved the friendly vibe!

Playing in the river

We rode past Boise State University, into some cool parks, right into downtown, and around the State Capitol building. We stopped for a snack at a great little independent coffee shop with an attached gift shop where we, of course, bought some Star Trek pins and some alien/Area 51 pins to decorate our rig.

Downtown coffee shop & novelty shop

The State Capitol building

The coolest thing we discovered on our ride, was an artificial wave in the river, where surfers and kayakers lined up to take their turns.

A surfer on the artificial wave

The surfers would enter the wave from the side and then see how long they could stand up. And the kayakers played by paddling into the rough water current that the wave created. This was a one person at a time on/in the wave operation, and everyone wore helmets. Not for the faint of heart.

A mobile coffee shop by the river

So far, we were loving Boise!

Post Script: Mark broke one of his pairs of reading glasses today. Poor boy!

Broken reading glasses

Skeeter Lake, Idaho….A Mosquito Haven

Leaving Hood River. Will miss the Beautiful Columbia River Gorge area.

Day 13 part 2

Since we were going through town anyway on our journey eastward, we drove through Hood River to have Lew look at a couple things on our rig before we went on our way. The main thing being, that our fridge kept turning itself off for no reason. This was making it real difficult to keep our beer cold. Plus, we did have to throw out a bunch of food too, and it was starting to tick me off.

Lew didn’t find anything wrong with the fridge other than that, for some reason it was not switching properly between 12v and 110v. We would have to try to find an Airstream dealer somewhere on the road that would take a look at it.

After meeting with Lew, we did the almost unthinkable…we stopped at McDonald’s for lunch.

Besides the bizarre stuff that fast food restaurants try to pass off as real food, I was struck by another bizarre thing. Southern accents. Why, or how, is it that folks who don’t live anywhere near the southern part of the country, end up with southern accents? I decided it was just one of those unexplainable phenomenon…like on the X-Files.

On Rt I-84, heading towards Idaho

On Rt I-84, heading towards Idaho

Baker City, Oregon. Still making our way to Idaho.

Skeeter Lake, Idaho

Our travels this day, ended outside of Nampa, Idaho. There is an Airstream dealer in Nampa, and we planned to go there the next day to have them look at our fridge. We spent the night at the campground at Farewell Bend Recreation Area. It was a decent campground, with a pretty view of the lake below.

Skeeter Lake, aka Farewell Bend Recreation Area, Idaho

It was also the sight of the nastiest, biggest mosquitos I’ve ever seen in my life. Those SOB’s were biting me right through the legs of my pants. By the next morning, I had huge skeeter bite welts on my legs. 

We hi-tailed it the hell out of there first thing in the morning. Didn’t even walk the dogs. Just got the heck out of there, and didn’t stop until we felt we were safe!

I nicknamed that place Skeeter Lake. Mark knows exactly where I’m talking about when I mention that name. And we both vowed never to return!

We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Maps!

Mt St Helens off in the distance

Day #13

I had a few epiphanies on Day #13.

First, people in Washington love to fish. Everywhere we went, everyone was fishing. I have no interest in fishing, but, fisher-people dotting the landscapes of every river, creek, pond, and lake, was kind of cool.

Second, there’s a metric ton of forests in Washington. There’s plenty of space for Sasquatch to roam about freely without being seen. But, what does he eat? And how does he breed? Is there just one of him? He’s always referred to as Big Foot. There is never any mention of Big Feet, as in, more than one of them. If there’s only one of him, and he doesn’t breed, then, is he just really really old? And then, getting back to a previous inquiry, what does he eat to stay alive for so long?

Third, when in the countryside/foresty parts of Washington, it’s probably a good idea to do some research first, or, at least, ask directions, prior to driving a long way on the wrong road.

We had taken this particular road towards Mt. St. Helens, ‘cause on the map, it looked like it went right by Mt. St. Helens…and it did. But we learned today, from the ranger, that it was the other side of Mt. St. Helens that had blown out in the eruption in 1980…not this side that we were on. Oh. Shoulda asked about that first.

The Space Shuttle…on the “wrong” side of Mt St Helens

We looked at some big posters on the wall in the ranger station, showing the eruption and blown-out side, and decided that was good enough. And we continued on our merry way on the road we had already committed to.

At least we got a great view of the non-traumatized side of Mt. St. Helens, from a great lookout point on Curly Creek Road. And we’d purchased a video from the ranger station, that we watched that night. It was as good as going to the proper side. Got to see everything on the video. Phew…saved ourselves a whole heck of a lot of driving!

I drove a good part of the way as we headed back towards Hood River, OR. The winding mountain roads were beautiful, as was the Jethro Tull music that we had blasting on the stereo. A perfectly sublime road trip moment. And I thought to myself, “Life doesn’t get much better than this!”

Adios Portland. Hola Cougar Washington!

Swift River Reservoir Campground

Day #12    part 2

After having my bike stolen in the early afternoon, I spent the second half of June 21st pretending to be a duck. Ya know, let the bad shit roll off my back. Don’t let the bad stuff get me down.

I did walk away from REI with a new pair of hiking shoes that I love. So, that’s something good!

After filing the police report on my stolen bike, we made a quick stop down by the waterfront, just to have a peak. And then we left Oregon.

We headed towards Mt. St. Helens, in Washington. Stopped for the night in Cougar, at the very beautiful Swift River Reservoir Campground.

Our campsite @ Swift River Reservoir Campground

Mark & Dax @ Swift River Reservoir Campground

Mark & Dax @ Swift River Reservoir Campground

Surrounded by magnificent tall trees, bordered by the river, and sparsely populated, we had a lovely evening. Sat around the campfire and played music until late, with nobody nearby to complain!

Evening @ Swift River Reservoir Campground

Today I realized that Mark and I had fallen into a couple of  rather traditional roles. Mark had become the “hunter.” And I had become the “gatherer.” Mark was the one who hunted around the grocery marts to find meat.  I was the one who gathered up kindling for our fires. And we never, ever, switched roles.

Gathering kindling for the fire

Portland Sucks!!

Day #12   part 1

Loved Portland…Until I Hated It

The first half of Day #12 was painful. I hate to even write about it, so, I’ll make it quick and short.

My road bike got stolen. For those of you who know me and my bike, yes, my white Trek Madone 5.5 with cool upgrades like electronic shifting. UGH!!!

We had stopped at REI in downtown Portland, to buy some hiking shoes. We were only in the store about 20 minutes, when I remembered that we hadn’t remembered to pay for parking.

When I went outside to pay for parking, my bike was gone. Some a**hole had cut through our band new kryptonite cables and locks, had picked the lock on the bike rack, had cut through some straps, had opened up the rubber straps that hold the bike onto the rack…and had taken off with my freakin’ bike! The only good news, was that they didn’t have time to also take Mark’s road bike. 

Aarrrggggggg!!! Freakin’ infuriating, not to mention a complete let down and total disappointment in the human race. People (who steal bikes) SUCK!!

I filed a police report, and then, despondently just finished off the rest of the afternoon. Nothing I could do about it, and I tried to not think about it, and to get back to a happy state of being.

I just decided that I’d hate Portland, instead of loving it, even if just for a couple of days. And that would have to do.

Cycling Adventure & The Painfully Cold Shower

Flower fields on Sauvie Island, Oregon

Day #11

On the morning of Day #11, otherwise known as June 20th, we got stuck at Target. We intended to make a quick stop there on the way out to Sauvie Island, but the quick stop turned into 3 hours.

It was all good. This was a Target superstore, and we needed some stuff, so that was cool. We stocked up on food, water, and various supplies (paper towels, paper plates, etc.). And when we brought everything out to the RV, we then got caught up in another reorganization of our stuff. 

And that turned into having to also make a stop at West Marine. We needed some hook thingies to hang some stuff with, and we needed toilet chemicals. And we needed to waste time walking all around the store ‘cause it was big and really nice and full of stuff  that is fun to look at, but that we didn’t really need.

I was pretty happy when we finally pulled out of that shopping center, and headed out to Sauvie Island to go cycling. Not sure what the whole story about Sauvie Island is, but we sure enjoyed it. It seems to be all agricultural, and nature preserve-ish. 

Let the cycling begin!

If you want to drive around Sauvie Island, you have to pay like $8 or so, for a permit. The guy who owned the little convenience store/bait shop (ya gotta be careful which fridge section you go food shopping in!), he let us park in his lot for free, since we were just gonna be cycling around the island.

We had a great ride. Sauvie Island is just outside of the city, but it’s completely rural. A great place, and a great sunny day for a bike ride.

Out and about around Sauvie Island

Since we had gotten such a late start to the day, by time we finished our ride, it was already 5:00 pm. So, instead of going back to the “night is like day” RV park, we decided to just shower in the RV, and head right downtown for dinner and drinks.

Problem…the hot water fault indicator light kept coming on. Damn! We couldn’t get hot water! I was determined to take a shower, and so I just took an all-cold water shower. The water was colder than I bargained for. It was painfully cold, and the entire 1.5 minutes of my shower, I screamed and cussed like a sailor. Smartly, perhaps, after hearing me screaming through my shower, Mark decided to just wipe down with a wet paper towel and skip the real shower. Smart man. A little dirt and sweat never hurt anyone.

Downtown Portland

Downtown Portland is cool. It is so cool, that, right off of the city center, there exists the coolest Apple store ever. It is all glass on three sides! WOW!!! For Mark and I, being the Apple lovers that we are, it was an overwhelmingly beautiful site!!

Apple store, in downtown Portland

OK, seen the Apple store. Next, dinner and drinks at the roof-top restaurant at The Nines (hotel). Nice views overlooking the city. Great food. Great drinks. Pricey, yes. A thing to do once, definitely! 

View from the top of the Nines

View from the top of the Nines

And so concluded Day #11. Another perfect day (except for that darn shower!!).

Hello Portland, Oregon!

Portland, downtown sky scape

Enough of nature already. On Day #10, it was time to leave the Columbia River Gorge area, which was full of spectacular scenery, and head west to the big city of Portland.

We made only one stop, in Troutdale. Just a small nondescript town, with a most excellent Italian restaurant! Pompello Ristorante. Best Italian food I’ve had in a long time. 

If you go there, don’t be put off by the slightly grumpy owner. Maybe we annoyed him because we changed tables three times before we ordered. Well, there were problems with each of the tables!! duh!

We got to Portland around 2:00 pm, and headed directly into the downtown area. Portland is full of many cool little urban neighborhoods. Lots of energy, artsy-ness, lots of cafes, galleries, and shops. I really dug the place!

Hangin’ out @ a downtown coffee shop

Trixie, diggin’ the Portland coffee house scene!

Fish gate on a downtown store front

We’d been warned by friends about bike theft in Portland, and so we made a stop at a local bike shop and bought another kryptonite cable lock to lock the bikes up to each other and to the bike rack on the back of the RV. 

I was craving veggies (yes, I love veggies, and hadn’t been getting enough of them on the road), and was thrilled to spot a tiny little juice stand right near the bike shop. Got me some super-duper-veggie charged drink, and immediately felt healthier!

Juice & smoothie stand.

The day was getting on, so we headed about 7 miles out of the city, to the Jantzen Beach RV Park. We got ourselves a nice little spot, wedged in tight between the other RV’s, and right smack dab underneath a huge security light. You know the kind of lights that are installed on big poles in big parking lots to keep crime down? Yep…right under one of those suckers! 

And so, the day came to an end…or didn’t come to an end….perpetual daylight was upon us!! Very disorienting when I woke up at 1:00 am, and thought it must have been 10:00 am ‘cause it was so bright!! Oh well. There are much worse problems to have in life than a little too much daylight during the night!