Washington and Idaho

Rusty

Rolling on back-What's the matter little guy?

Spirit Lake

Pat and Lori

Teapot Tower

Well it's been a long time. So much has been going on. We went to the small community of Steptoe, Washington, to visit our friends, Jay and Janet. Janet fell and tore her knee up, so she was in the hospital having knee replacement surgery. We wanted to help, but Jay is so efficent, there wasn't alot we could do except be there for moral support. Janet was in the hospital in Colfax, so we went every day to visit her. Rusty seems to have a problem. Had it ever since we left home. Stop anywhere there is grass he runs to it and falls over on his back. Starts squirming and groaning and rolling. He is so funny. I think I'm going to plant him a 3x3 foot patch of that green stuff when we get home. He sure enjoys rolling in it. We left there, Monday, July 28, and headed to Blanchard, Idaho to meet my brother Pat and his wife Lori. They bought 20 acre's on top of HooDoo Mountain. What a name-right? What a view. I thought we would take the camper up to their property and camp up there with them. Silly me! We got about half way there and went the rest of the way in Pat's pick-up, left my camera in the truck-drats! No way was that camper going up that mountain-soooooo-we turned around and went back to Spirit Lake. What a beautiful place. Pine trees like I have never seen before. Cedar trees that are as tall as the pines! Amazing! First night in the campground, there was one heck of a thunderstorm with all the rain included. WOW! Rusty went to Ed, and when Ed wouldn't let him in bed, he came to see me, and he wasn't taking "no" for an ansewer. So, in he came-shaking like a aspen leaf in a wind storm. Woke up later, and it was quiet, and Rusty was back in his bed. We camped almost under the water tower in Spirit Lake-one of the cutest I have ever seen. In the morning, we are off across Montana to Wyoming to see our daughter, Mishelle and her family-husband Mike and daughter Hannah. Gonna have a good time when we get there. I'll have lots of pictures then! See you soon.

Columbia River Gorge

Don't try this-Second trip through the Gorge--Second flat tire on camper

Ground squirril-Don't eat my shoe laces

Multnomah Falls
Just like Willie Nelson's song, we're "on the road again." Went up to I-84. What a beautiful drive. We stopped at Multnomah Falls. One of the prettiest falls I have ever seen. The Columbia River Gorge is one of the prettiest drives we have ever been on. Sadly, it's very unlucky for us. This is the second time we have gone through there, and it's the second time we have had a blow-out on the camper. While waiting for our road service, we met some friendly little ground squirell's. Thought she was gonna come up and chew on my shoe laces. Now, I'm real nervous about all the tires. Ed said he thinks it's because he ran up over a curb the other day. I'm not so sure. Still, the scenery is amazing. We stopped for the night in Umatilla, Or. and are camped near the Bonneville Dam. We toured it the last time we were here, so won't do it again. Tomorrow, we are going on to Steptoe, Washington to visit with our friends, Jay and Janet. Janet tore her knee up and was going to have surgery to replace it today. Maybe we can help some.

July 6, 2009

Well, we went to the coast on Monday. Gosh, it was cold! Wish we could have picked a better day, but you take the days you are given. Even so, a bad day at the coast is better than no day at the coast. I love the ocean. The Oregon coast is so pretty. There are many lighthouses, but this is the only one we got to see. It is at Yaquina Head. There are more state parks than you could ever imagine. I think the entire coast is state parks almost.

Independence Day in Gervais, Oregon

What a nice 4th of July we had. Got to visit with family and meet a neice-Paula and 3 of her children-I had never seen before. Maybe next time we can meet the rest of her family. Carol has a busy life and her son has grown so much since the last time we saw him. There were fireworks all over the place, and we could even see the ones from the neighboring town. The backyard displays were almost as good as the ones Gervais put on. I could still hear them after I went to bed.

BBQ like I've never had before. I've never seen so much food! James and Virginia sure have been a joy to visit and we are enjoying out time here. As with all family that lives far away, we just don't see them often enough.

July 2, 2009

What a day! We went to the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon. It is the home of the "Spruce Goose" that Howard Hughes built for use as a military transport airplane. Thing was so big, it barely got off the ground. It was built from wood so as not to use any metal that was so important to the military during WWII. The museum has hundreds of military aircraft in one building and space craft in another building; and they are both huge. Ed could have spent weeks there looking at all the planes. Unfortunatly, the battery in my camera was about shot, so I didn't get all the pictures I wanted, but I hope you enjoy some of the ones I got.

June 30, 2009

What a beautiful drive we had today. The Sisters Mountains are three peaks once called Faith, Hope and Charity. Those names didn't last long and they became known as the Sisters. There is North Sister, Middle Sister, and South Sister. The forests are green and lush and the trees are huge. Doesn't look as if the beetle kill that is so devestating in Colorado has reached here, and I sure hope it doesn't. As we were getting ready to get back into the pick-up and head down the road, Ed noticed this Bluebird sitting on a post watching us. I took several pictures of him, but couldn't get the angle I wanted. I was trying to move very little because I didn't want to scare him off. Finally, I decided I was just going to have to tromp through the weeds to get where I needed to be. He didn't seem to mind at all, and was still posing till we left. What a good sport!

La Pine, Oregon

Made it into LaPine, Oregon tonight. What beautiful country we drove through. Big ponderosa pines, cedar trees and even a few aspen. High 80's today. It's gonna get cool tonight. Should make it into Gervais tomorrow and will stay at Ed's brothers--James and Ginger-for a while. (The snow capped mountains don't show up between the trees) shucks!