Plymouth To Sprague and 11 Years On The Road

Sprague, WA.

57 deg. overcast, no wind.

Forecast = Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain. High of 77F. Winds from the SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.

We left the Plymouth Park COE park about 10:00 yesterday morning and headed back to US 395. Northbound 395 took us up through Kennewick and Pasco and continued NE right up here to Sprague where we turned of at exit #245. Once into the little town of Sprague, we took back roads for about 6 miles to the Four Seasons Campground Resort. 

The roads up here were in very good condition, but we had light rain almost all the way. Once we were on the back roads leading to the CG the condition of the roads deteriorated and in fact the last 3 miles were gravel!! It wasn't really too bad though. Because of the light rain, there really wasn't too much dust from the gravel.

It was 12:40 when we pulled up in front of the office so we traveled 133 miles in 2 hours and 40 minutes including a "Pit Stop" for Jim and Linda at a rest area.
                                    
I'm in site #8 (that Jim picked out of 4 choices he had), and it's a really nice site. I'm pulled in forward, looking out over the lake. The photo below is the view out of my windshield.

Jim took more photos of the park and my site, and I'll be posting more of them in the next few days.

As I mentioned yesterday, as of today, Jim and Linda have been full-timing for 11 years. Both Jim and Linda say that it's been a good 11 years and they have no regrets. When they started out, they decided that they would try the lifestyle for a couple years and then decide what they would do.

I don't think either one of them thought that they would be doing this for 11 years, but once they had done this for awhile, they realized how much they liked it and in fact, couldn't picture themselves living in a stix and brix house.

Those of you that have followed their travels for awhile, know that they have children scattered from coast to coast, and that is one of the main reasons that they have kept doing this for so long. They actually see their children and grand children more now than they did before.

Another reason they're still full-timing is that they've still not found the place where they want to settle down. Oh, they've looked through the years but there's always some drawback to the place they're looking at. They have found places where they would like to spend the summer, and other places to spend the winter, but as of yet, no place where they would like to stay at year round.

And still another reason is the great people that they meet in campgrounds and RV parks as they travel. Through the years, they have met some folks who will surely remain friends for the rest of their lives.

So, how much longer will they full-time? Well, the simple answer is, they don't know. Every so often, they sit down and discuss what they want to do. The last time was just before they bought me, and they decided that they didn't want to quit. (Which I'm very grateful for). Their health is still fairly good, and there's still places that they want to go, so I imagine that until that changes, they'll just keep going. ; )

Oh, one more thing.  Jim and Linda would like to thank everyone for all the well wishes and great comments yesterday. It really means a lot to them.

A Point to Ponder : There's only one way to fail, and that is to quit.

A Little Shopping Trip

Plymouth, WA.

61 deg. partly cloudy, SW wind @ 12 mph.

Forecast = Mostly cloudy. High of 81F. Breezy. Winds from the WSW at 15 to 20 mph.


Jim and Linda decided that they needed a few groceries and some other items, so about 11:00 they took CLT and headed up to Kennewick, WA. where they found a Walgreen's Drug Store. There, they found the items they needed, plus the few groceries they were wanting, (bread, buns and milk).

It was about 22 miles up there and CLT said that it felt really good to get out on the open road for a change, instead of just running around on city streets. : )

By about 12:30 they were back here and were putting everything that they had bought away. Then it was naps, reading and TV for the rest of the afternoon.

For dinner, Jim got out the grill and cooked a brat for him and a hot dog for Linda. While he was doing that, Linda cooked some asparagus on  my stove and got out chips and stuff to go with them.

Today, we'll be heading up to Sprague. From looking at the map, there doesn't seem to be anything anywhere near there, so I'm not sure what to expect as far as Internet, phone, TV or radio. I'm pretty sure that we'll be there at least until next Tuesday, and possibly a whole week.

So,   ,   ,   ,   ,   , if you don't hear from me for awhile, you'll know what's going on.

Did you know that Washington state's capitol building was the last state capitol building to be built with a rotunda?

OH, by the way.  As of tomorrow, (June 1st), Jim and Linda will have been full-timing for 11 years!!!!

On 1 June, 2001 they officially moved out of their house and into their 35' Winnebago Chieftain Motor Home, (Mariah). The vehicle that they towed, was a 1992 Nissan pickup truck that Mariah named TTT, (Tiny Tin Truck).

Ahhhhhhh!!!!!

Plymouth, WA.

54 deg. overcast, E. wind @ 6 mph.

Forecast = Mostly cloudy. High of 77F. Winds from the SW at 5 to 15 mph

Ahhhh!!!! It's good to be wandering again. : )  I didn't realize how stiff my joints were getting until we got out onto I-5 about 9:50 and headed South for a few miles before turning East on I-84. It seemed like the farther East we went the more I relaxed.

I was especially able to relax once we got out of the Portland metro area and the traffic started thinning out. Then, it was smooth sailing all the way to I-82, out by Boardman, OR. The only time I even slowed down was to pull into a rest area for Jim and Linda to make a "pit stop" ,check tires and CLT's tow bar.

Once on I-82 we crossed over the Umatilla and Columbia rivers and entered Washington.

About a mile or two after entering Washington, we tuned off of I-82 on Rt. 14 and followed it west for about a mile to Plymouth Road where we turned South until we came to the Plymouth Park, which is a Corps Of Engineers Park. It was 1:15 when we pulled up to the registration booth, so we traveled the 193 miles over here in 3 hours and 25 minutes.

Jim took a few photos of the CG and the surrounding area after we arrived. As you can see, some of the sites are pull-through. Some have full hook-ups with 30 amp electric, and a few, have 50 amp electric with only electric and water. I'm in site #3 which has 50 amp electric and water. (It's also one of the longest pull-through sites in the park.)

Looking at my site from across the road.

None of the sites are right on the river, but the photo below is a view from my site looking towards the river. You can see a small channel of the river through the trees.

This is a shot looking North from the park. As you can see, except right along the river, there are no trees on the low hills in this area. In fact, unless there's a water source there's not much vegetation at all in this area at all.

We'll stay here one more night before heading up to Sprague, WA. where Linda hopes to do some research of here relatives that used to live in that area long ago.

Did you know that the state of Washington is the only state to be named after a United States president?

A Great Day and Saying Good-Bye : (

Portland, OR.

49 deg. mostly cloudy, no wind.

Forecast = Partly cloudy in the morning, then overcast. High of 68F. Winds from the NW at 5 to 10 mph.


Being that Jim knew he'd be busy visiting with Jeff later in the day, Jim went out and added some water to my fresh water tank, dumped my tanks and then put all the hoses away yesterday morning. It's a good thing that he did that because after Jeff got here, about 2:00, there was no time to do it for the rest of the day.

Most of the afternoon was spent just visiting with Jeff. About 5:00 Heather arrived and soon after that, they all got into Heather's car and headed to the Cascade Grill over at the Jubitz Truck Stop.

Once there, they talked, ate and talked some more before heading back here to the park. Once here, they visited some more until it was past time for Jeff and Heather to head home.

We've had a great visit with Jeff and Heather, but last night was really tough. It's so hard to say good-bye, knowing that it will probably be years before you see your son again. : (  With their outer children, Jim and Linda know that they'll see them at least once a year, and usually twice, and it's not so hard to say good-bye.  But, with Jeff and Heather living way out here in Oregon, it's just not possible for them to make the trip more than once every 3 or 4 years.

And where your kids are concerned, that's a long, long time!!! : (

After they left, (about 8:30), Jim and Linda watched some TV and read a little before going to bed. Another great day with Jeff and Heather. : )

Today we'll start wandering back East. Jim's got a a couple parks picked out that we could stay at tonight, but I don't know which one he'll pick. I guess it really doesn't matter, they're both on the Columbia River.

Did you know that by volume, the Columbia is the fourth-largest river in the U.S., and it has the greatest flow of any North American river draining into the Pacific?

Take A Moment, Getting Ready and Dinner At Jeff And Heather's

Portland, OR.

54 deg. overcast, no wind.

Forecast = Overcast with a chance of rain, then a chance of rain in the afternoon. High of 63F. Winds from the SSW at 5 to 10 mph shifting to the WNW in the afternoon. Chance of rain 20%.


Please take a moment this Memorial Day to remember all the men and women who died while serving in the armed forces of our country, so that we may remain free.

Not a lot happened again during the day here at the park yesterday. Jim watched most of the Indy 500 race and some of the NASCAR race. He also checked my fluid levels and tires. When checking CLT's tires, he found a couple a little low, so he got out his compressor and filled them up to the proper pressure,

Then, a little before 5:00 he and Linda took CLT and headed over to Jeff and Heather's for dinner.

This is the grill that Jim helped Jeff assemble the other night. As you can see, the coals are just about ready to grill some salmon and some asparagus.

Below is a photo of Heather and her father and mother, Terry and Gail Burns. They're helping Heather determine if the salmon is ready yet.

Linda took a potato casserole and a fruit salad to contribute to the meal, and that along with the salmon, asparagus, bakery bread, salad, and fresh strawberries for desert made for an excellent meal. : ) 

Like I said the other day, Jim and Linda hadn't seen Terry and Gail for a long time, so after dinner everyone visited until almost 9:00. 

So, another great day with family and friends. And a very good meal to top it off!!! : )

Today Jeff is planning on coming out here to the park this afternoon, and then when Heather gets done working, she'll come out here too. (Probably about 4:00 or 5:00.) Then, they're planning on going out to eat somewhere, possibly the restaurant over at the Jubitz Truck Stop.

Then, later this evening, it will be time to say good-bye as we're leaving here tomorrow morning.

I'm not looking forward to that part of today. : (

Did you know that on Memorial Day the flag is raised briskly to the top of the staff and then solemnly lowered to the half-staff position, where it remains only until noon? It is then raised to full-staff for the remainder of the day.

The half-staff position remembers the more than one million men and women who gave their lives in service of their country. At noon their memory is raised by the living, who resolve not to let their sacrifice be in vain, but to rise up in their stead and continue the fight for liberty and justice for all.  (Wikipedia)

The Weather and Trying Not To Rant Again

Portland, OR.

52 deg. overcast, S. wind @ 8 mph.

Forecast = Overcast with a chance of rain, then a chance of rain in the afternoon. High of 68F. Winds from the SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 20%.

We didn't get to see Jeff and Heather yesterday as they were busy shopping and doing other things that they needed to do, so Jim and Linda pretty much had the day to themselves.

We had some sunshine yesterday and the temperatures were in the mid 70's, so it was pretty pleasant. Jim watched most of the Nationwide NASCAR race on TV and then went outside for awhile. Linda worked on some of her Family Tree stuff, watched some of the race and read some.

After dinner, Jim took a little nap while Linda watched TV. After Jim got up, the skies started to get really dark so Jim went out and rolled up my window awnings. Well, it's a good thing he did, because we had quite a storm go through the area. We had lots of wind, rain and even some fairly close lightning. (which I understand is quite unusual around here).

On the news, they said that we had about an inch of rain, and it all came down in less than an hour!!!

Now, here I'm going to be careful or I'll go into another rant like I did yesterday.

You see, the weather forecasters have been saying that we were going to have great weather for the whole Memorial Day weekend. Well, we had rain both Friday night and last night, the temperatures have not been as warm as fore casted, and now they've changed their forecast to mostly cloudy skies, possible rain showers, and cool temperatures for the rest of the weekend!!! : (

Not at all like they said that the weather was going to be like, as little as a day and a half ago!!!

Yeah! I could go into a rant about weather forecasters, but I won't!  ; )

Today Jim and Linda will be going over to Jeff and Heather's for a cook-out this afternoon. Heather's parents will be there too and Jim and Linda are looking forward to seeing them again.

Did you know that the south refused to honor the dead on Memorial Day until after World War I when the meaning of Memorial Day changed from honoring civil war dead to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war?  Memorial Day was declared a federal holiday in 1971.

Nothing To Post About and Ranting

Portland, OR.

53 deg. overcast, no wind.

Forecast = Partly cloudy with a chance of rain. High of 72F. Winds from the WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 20%.


Haven't posted cause there's really nothing to post about. : (  Jeff and Heather were both busy Thursday and nothing much happened here at the park.

Yesterday, Jeff came out here for a little while in the afternoon and then Jim and Linda went to his house for dinner. Jim and Linda said that Jeff made a great vegetable soup and some corn bread.

For their contribution, Linda put together a fruit salad.

After dinner, Jim helped Jeff put together a small charcoal grill, and then everyone visited until about 8:30. After they returned here, Jim and Linda read books, watched TV and played around with the computers.

Like I said, really nothing to post about.

OK!!!! Now I'm going to rant a little!!!

If you're traveling this weekend, I hope you're not in the Northwest.  While in almost every other part of the country the gas prices have been dropping, here in the NW they've been going up!!!! The story is that one refinery was damaged by a fire months ago and there is another one down for maintenance, so there is a fuel shortage in this area.

Now, even with the refineries down, the price had been dropping in the NW, until about 2 weeks before the Memorial Day Holiday. Now, all of a sudden there is a shortage, (just in time for the Holiday), and they have raised the prices as much as 50 cents a gallon!!!

As of this morning, the average price of regular gas in the rest of the nation is $3.65 and dropping, and here in Oregon, it's $4.23 and rising!!!! Some stations in Portland are selling gas for as much as $4.45 per gallon for regular!!!

Jim filled CLT up a few days ago when the price was at $4.17 per gallon at the local station, (last check it was up to $4.32), and since Jim fueled me up the day we arrived here in Portland, my tank is full. Jim says that unless CLT absolutely needs a drink, he's not planning on buying any gas or fuel until we get to Montana!!

OK, enough ranting!!

Did you know that Memorial Day was first called “Decoration Day” because of the practice of decorating soldier’s graves with flowers?