Crossing Texas – Dec. 27-30, 2011

More Pictures!

There is nothing quite like receiving an invitation to a birthday party in Corpus Christi, Texas (sunny and 72 degrees) to make you jump up, dig yourself out of eight inches of snow and skedaddle out of New Mexico!  It was for this reason that we skipped our drive down to the Carlsbad Caverns and, instead, headed directly to Forney, Texas for a couple of nights.

Forney is a nice little suburb of Dallas (22 miles east) and we enjoyed staying at the Plantation Place RV Park for two nights while visiting family.  The RV park is on a 40-acre parcel (complete with a southern plantation mansion) but you wouldn’t know that from the lack of space between pitches.  More on the park can be found here on RV Parks.

Other than visiting our dear family members there were two other highlights of this area:  The Hole Thing Donuts and 4T’s BBQ, both family-owned businesses located in Forney.   The donuts are simply amazing with varieties like Maple Bacon (yes, you read that correctly) and S’mores as well as your old favorites.  While there, I sampled a pulled pork roll made from 4T’s barbequed pork and The Hole Thing’s dough which was a taste sensation.  The Hole Thing is thinking about adding this to their menu and I hope they do.  The meat was so delicious that I stopped by 4T’s on my way home and picked up some brisket for dinner.  (Both restaurants are reviewed on Yelp!, click here for The Hole Thing and here for 4T’s.)

In other news:  A slight update to our General Plan (map on the tab above):  We have decided to leave for Europe out of Miami rather than NY, thus saving us a trip up the eastern seaboard in the mucky spring weather.  This also gives us more time to enjoy the sun and sea around the south and down into the Keys.

-K

DITL - First Time Driving in Snow Chains

Also known as the First Time Alan Speaks!

Enjoy!

New Mexico, USA – Dec. 21-26, 2011

More pictures! 

(Including campground pictures)

If you can risk getting the tune of The Twelve Days of Christmas stuck in your head just one more time, ours picks up at #5: 

On the first day of New Mexico, Mother Nature gave to us . . .

          Five Days of Snow [which lead to];

         

Four short walks, three other campers, two Lomls sniping, and a dinner with only four items.  (And that includes the cranberry sauce!)

As previously reported, we knew a storm was coming to New Mexico and so we plotted and provisioned ourselves enough to hole up at the Bottomless Lakes State Park outside of Roswell, N.M., for what we (and the weatherman) thought would be a one-to-two day storm with little accumulation of snow.

Now, there are parts of New Mexico that routinely get buried in snow – Roswell is not one of them.  So when the snow started on the 23^rd and kept falling on the 24^th and 25^th, to the tune of over 8” accumulation, the already quiet area became paralyzed.  They do not plow the back roads in this area of New Mexico, so getting the campground plowed was out of the question.  But that didn’t stop us!  On the 24^th we wanted to pick up a few more items for our Christmas Dinner, so Alan hooked up the chains and we attempted a ride into town (Pepper only, naturally.)  A short video of this will be coming out soon – a drive so pumped with adrenalin that my SP finally spoke!  (I know, I know, I am working on it as fast as I can!)

Unfortunately, we did not make it into town:  The chains worked great, but the snow was still coming down and, not knowing the road at all, we were concerned that we would drive off into the ditch—it was that difficult to tell where the road ended and the snow drifts began.  Hence, our dinner was down to only four items:  A Diestal turkey breast, fresh cranberry sauce (because I had carpe cranberried while at Whole Foods and made the fresh sauce a few days ago), stuffing and roasted beets.  But it was plenty, most notably as we had started the day with home-made cinnamon buns (in the pictures above – unfortunately they proved more photogenic than tasty.)

The Noses and I were thankful that the park had access to a nice hiking trail and we took off on that every day—sometimes just River and I as the snow had become so deep that Rosco’s (ahem) stomach dragged through the snow which he did not appreciate.  As we were one of only three campers in the park (and the only hikers), the dogs enjoyed a lot of time off leash which at least tired them out enough to enjoy the long hours laying around inside Salt.

The weather did not warm up as fast as promised, so we decided to stay an additional night (the 26^th) which gave us time to go into Roswell, have a delicious lunch at El Toro Bravo, do five (yes five!) loads of laundry, visit the UFO museum and buy some LP.  It is the latter that led to the Two Lomls Sniping.

I don’t want to even count the weeks that we have been in the Inclement Weather Experiment, suffice it to say that it has been long enough for Alan to hitch a ride with me on the Stir-Crazy Wagon.  The sniping began when I suggested we take our empty LP tank to Roswell for filling (we have two) but Alan thought we could last on our second tank one more day. (The worry of this second tank running out added to my sleeplessness of the night before.)  So we began our drive, without the tank, over the icy and snow-filled road out of the State Park.  After four slow and stressful miles, I said, “I think we should go back and get the empty tank.”  This started the sniping—I am sure you don’t need the details.  It was just a little sniping for which we each apologized over cervesas at lunch.

As you may have surmised, we did return to camp for the second tank.  However, we have yet to run out of gas in the first tank.  Is that called a win-win?

-K

P.S.  A special note of thanks to Bennie and Debra, the two camp hosts at Bottomless Lakes State Park.  They each provided just the right amount of assistance, local knowledge, and care.  Please see the Campground page at the top of the blog for more information on the (delightful) park.

Musings - On Snow Days

I have to say, I am quite proud of us:  We navigated our way between two snow storms in our drive south. Using all our resources, as we have learned to do, we mapped the weather and managed to slip out of Colorado and into Southern New Mexico after one storm but in time to hunker down for the next.

So here we sit in the Bottomless Lakes State Park (Roswell, NM), with snow falling down in large chucks, but not a lot of accumulation.  (Thankfully, it is hovering around 32 degrees down here!)  We attempted a walk in the almost horizontally-blowing snow, but succumbed to the warmth and Porter awaiting us back at Salt.

It has been nice being holed up for a bit.  Alan is finishing (and even starting and finishing) projects like exchanging all the bulbs for LED, creating a banana hanger, and, maybe most important of all, re-arranging the cords that hang down from the TV so Rosco has an easier time sleeping on the bed.

For me, I whipped up a batch of my Flax Seed Bread and while the yeast is hard at work, I am kicking back and reading a book.  

Miles driven:  0.  Cheers to snow days!

-K

P.S.  Christmas Eve day will find us at the Laundromat and doing some final grocery shopping.  We have a turkey breast (only part of a turkey would fit in our oven), stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and fresh cranberry sauce coming.  Starting the day with cinnamon rolls!  (And a short prayer that the NBA games will be shown on one of the channels we receive [surprisingly well] with our antenna—must be the UFO museum in town helping out.)

Colorado, USA - Dec. 18-20, 2011

More Photos!


Oh Colorado!  I wish we could stay forever and maybe someday we will - it is definitely on the list of Future Farmland!


Unfortunately, our travel here hit during week six of the Inclement Weather Experiment.  The weather has beaten us down, more or less, ever since we left Oregon's Umpquah Lighthouse State Park (see postings labeled Oregon or November 2011.)  I suppose I should just speak for myself, although maybe a posting like this one will finally get my Silent Partner (SP) to speak up!


If we had come to Colorado during the early weeks of the Inclement Weather Experiment (like weeks 1 or 2), then we would have undoubtedly lasted much longer.  But my tolerance for freezing pipes, unreliable fresh water, waking up 6,000 times a night because the heater turns on, and cramming two people and two dogs into 19 feet day and night had me at my wit's end far before we landed in Colorado.


Thus, despite our love for the area and all its natural beauty (and the people!  Wow!  Healthy, happy, active people everywhere!) we were only here a few days.  Of note here:  Timing is everything - if we had come in week 8 of the Inclement Weather Experiment, I probably would have voted to buy a house and stay forever--but I still have the Aventura spirit in me.


During our short time we managed to stay in one County Park, Horsetooth Reservoir, (Fort Collins) one State Park, Cheyenne Mountain, (Colorado Springs) and, thankfully, no RV parks.  (Pictures of the parks are in the link above.) Both parks had full hook-ups even in the dead of winter (treat!), although Horsetooth's water froze on day two in the park which created the driving force behind us leaving the cold once and for all (until Switzerland!)  Both parks have easy access to miles of hiking trails although Cheyenne doesn't allow dogs on the trails.


We received fantastic service from the folks at Ed Carroll Porsche who took us in, fed the dogs cookies, and fixed up Pepper in half a day.  If you ever find yourself hungry in the Fort Collins area try Cafe Mexicali -- fast, delicious, Mexican food and they make the tortillas right in front of you!


After that it was Whole Foods (ahh, such at treat, but there goes Alan's bonus check!), REI and PetsMart before stopping in at the US Forest Service--our favorite stop anytime, but especially in Fort Collins where the helpful lady first asked what we were after (unlike the Visitor's Center where they just pummeled us with brochures about museums [ick] and guided tours [double ick] without even asking where our interests lie) then provided great information, complete with maps and a recommendation to cross-country ski at Eldora outside of Boulder.  (Unfortunately, due to the aforementioned Escape we did not stop to ski.)


Warm weather is what we are after (I cannot wait to sleep without the heater and I am sure my SP can't wait to leave the fresh water hose hooked up without worrying about it of freezing) so New Mexico here we come!  It promises to be 60 degrees on Boxing Day (that's 12/26 for all you Americans) - time to haul out the bikini!


-K


P.S.  Since Alan's last installation of the Heat Rope, Salt has functioned without fail despite the below-freezing weather.  Our trouble in Horsetooth was the Park's water spigot--but my breakdown paid no heed to which device was failing, it was simply the snowflake that broke the Kloml's back.

On The Road Update - Colorado, USA - Dec. 19, 2011

That's right folks, we're in a Porsche dealership!


We left Great Falls, MT with one focus:  Get Pepper to a Porsche dealer.  I didn't report ALL the issues we had coming down from Canada:  Not only was Salt frozen in some very unsightly places, but Pepper was having a system meltdown.  


The heater worked great for the passenger, but while it was on, it blew ice-cold air all over the driver.  The cigarette lighter (e.g., phone, computer, Simon charger) wouldn't charge so Simon quit working just south of the border, leaving us with just old-fashioned maps (difficult for our old-fashioned eyes!)


Our choices for a Porsche dealer were Salt Lake City, Utah or Fort Collins, Colorado.  We opted for Colorado as it ranks high in the Future Farmland listing.  So we hurried through Billings (Yellowstone River RV Park), Montana and Douglas, Wyoming (both RV Parks are on our listing) to a county park spot at Horsetooth Reservoir, just a few miles west of downtown Fort Collins.  We are so happy to be back in a campground and not in an RV Park!  (Full hook-up site with a view of the reservoir is only $20/night!)


I won't attempt to describe the beauty of the drive -- I thought Wyoming was fantastic until we hit Colorado.  There is so much beauty out here.  As soon as the Pepper gets fixed, we will be out taking some pictures.


-K


P.S.  Pepper is getting a new battery and struts to keep the hatch open . . . to the tune of $1,200.  Still better pricing than in Orange County!

Great Falls, MT, USA - Dec. 12-17, 2011

Having over-estimated our ability to live in below freezing weather for more than a week, we decided to head south ASAP after Calgary, but along the way I had a demo to perform so we had to stop for a few days in Great Falls, Montana.  Thus began Salt's second foray into a foreign land.


It was like we landed at the gas station in a spaceship:  First they see Pepper (i.e., not a Ford F-250), then Salt, then out jumps a short-haired woman in bright red snow boots (despite it "only" being 20 degrees outside) followed quickly by two pure-bred terriers and, the pièce de résistance, a man without a cowboy hat and it was like we were the only people capable of moving:  People just stopped and stared.

But despite their curious stares, the people were friendly and welcoming starting with our hostess at Dick's RV Park.  (Please see the Campground page at the top of the blog for more details, but here are photos of our pitch, the grounds, and the store/bathroom/laundry.)


With the weather so cold (finally above freezing during the day -- barely -- but dropping to the teens again at night) we had to park Salt at Dick's RV Park so she could be plugged in to run the heater.  We stayed at the Hampton Inn (excellent service) for my two demo nights before returning to Salt for the remainder of our time.


While I was busy preparing and performing my demo, Alan had his work cut out for him defrosting Salt:  Our night in Lethbridge, Alberta, (at the Bridgeview RV Park), where the low was 6 degrees overnight, left Salt with frozen fresh water lines inside the coach as well as the two exit pipes.  (We had shorted out the heat tape plug in Calgary while trying to defrost the black tank valve--something we discovered when we attempted to activate the tape [in the freezing and dark evening] in Lethbridge.)


But Alan had the fresh water running (hot and cold) the first day, and on the second he fixed the heat tape plug with one of his "just in case" supplies that I use to give him such a hard time for packing.  (Oh yes, he's not letting me live that down yet.)


However, the exit on the black tank was still frozen.  So Alan spent the final full day un-installing the original heat-tape (and insulation), applying a blow-dryer to the pipe until it was flowing, and installing the new rope-style heat "tape" (and insulation).  All with the cold wind blowing on him as he lay under Salt.  But Salt was once again fully functional!  (We will be writing up an article on the winterization of Salt but, in the meantime, if you are interested, click here for some photos of the heat-tape and heat-wire insulation work as well as the insulation we put underneath the bed.)


Our two nights at the hotel provided us two dining out opportunities.  The first night we had pizza delivered to the room from Howard's Pizza (reviewed here on Yelp), and devoured it while each sitting on our own queen sized bed drinking scotch (our idea of luxury has changed quite a bit in the last four months!)  The second night we drove out to The Cattlemen's Cut Supper Club (reviewed here on Yelp) whose idea of a "Lighter Side" menu can be seen here:

Deep Fried Half-Chicken is "On The Light Side?"  You get the idea . . . but it was good, hearty food.  It was quite busy, and a Wednesday night no less, so I asked the waitress if it was always so busy.  She replied, "Not really, but it's Cowboy Christmas."  Always eager to learn the ways of a foreign land, we asked just what was Cowboy Christmas?  Her reply, "It's just a night all the cowboys come out and get drunk."  


'Nuf said.  Time to giddee up and head south!


-K

B.C. to Alberta, Canada - Dec. 9-11, 2011

More Pictures!


Fortunately, our longest drive day yet (340 miles!) was also one of the most beautiful.  Unfortunately, Bloggie ran out of juice half-way through the trip!  But here's a quick scenic drive, Nelson, B.C. to just before Banff, Alberta:

Our lessons are coming in handy now -- as long as we remember to practice them!  But we did on this trip; calling the SpringHill RV Park in Cochrane on our way to make sure that they were open.  "Indeed we are!", replied the very helpful Bonnie, but they need 24 hours notice so they can clear a site.  


This information came to us in about hour 7 (and 300 miles), I'm sure Bonnie could hear disappointment in my voice.  But she was a doll:   She went outside in the dark, cold night to see if one of their sites might be cleared of snow thanks to the wind--and sure enough it was.  So we headed her way as fast as we could. (By the way, this was the last time we gave thanks to that Cochrane wind!)


We arrived just as she was locking up for the night, but that didn't stop her from welcoming us, showing us around and making sure we got settled into our pitch.  A warm welcome like that after so many hours on the road was delightful.  (Please visit the campground page at the top of the blog for specific information about the park, but click here for a photo of our pitch, and here for a photo of the park--remember it was December!)


Our time in Calgary was family related so we didn't do any tourist-y things, although we did enjoy a nice walk along the river in Cochrane, where everyone let their dogs run free.  Also, if you happen to be in the Marda Loop region, check out Phil and Sebastian Coffee (unbelievably good coffee in a great setting) and the wine store in Mac's shopping center (helpful staff and tons of great wines.)


What we did was spend an inordinate amount of time trying to keep Salt from freezing.  The Airstream comes with heated tanks, so they were o.k. but the lines exiting the coach (oh yes Kim, I wrote "coach!") are unprotected.  Further documentation of our freezing and de-frosting will be covered in the "Great Falls, Montana" posting.


-K

Musings - On Missing Butter & Panic Attacks

I have mentioned how great it is to travel with dogs, but they do have their moments.


When we were in Nelson, B.C., it was so cold that I didn't want to leave The Noses in the car while we went out to dinner (I'm talking 15 degrees Fahrenheit!)  So we took pity on them, put away everything within reach (or so we thought), drew two deep breaths and headed out for the evening, leaving them toasty and warm (and sleeping on our bed) in Salt.


We returned to find the bag of John Ward Fine Coffee on the floor, with some good sized teeth marks.  Thankfully only a little coffee was missing, apparently The Noses didn't enjoy it as much as we did.  


I then spotted the cover to the butter dish on the floor.  Knowing River's penchant for laying on our pillows, I turned them over and low and behold the butter dish appeared.  Empty.  At this point, River let out a nice smooth burp (as if we didn't already blame her--Rosco has his issues, as you will see shortly, but getting into food isn't one of them.)


Oh, but it wasn't over yet . . .


Crawling into bed that night, we were surprised to find a well-licked but still mostly square brick of butter nicely tucked into our sheets.
_________________


As for Rosco, he has honed an art called, "Fake a Panic Attack in Order to Sleep on the Big Bed."


Once we hit seriously cold weather, I awoke one night to Rosco's heavy panting from the floor next to our bed.  He is normally a mellow dog--doesn't let much get to him, and I haven't heard him pant like that since his last airplane flight.  Being concerned that he was having a heart attack, I let him up on the bed to sleep at my feet.  (Remember, our bed is only 48" wide, so adding even a small dog to the mix is difficult.)


He promptly stopped panting and fell asleep.


He now does a repeat performance of this every night.  Sometimes I try to make him go back to his bed but he pants and pants and pants and I worry and worry and worry about that heart attack.  


I have taken to just starting the night with him at my feet.  


And they say you can't teach an old dog new tricks! 


-K

DITL - Cross Country Skiing in Nelson, B.C.

A Day in the Life movie - short but funny with lots of dogs working out how to walk in their new snow boots and just a little skiing . . . 

Nelson, B.C., Canada – Dec. 7-8, 2011

More Photos!


I love the phrase, “Happy Accidents” (a painting term used often by watercolorists when the water or paint goes a little further than anticipated but ends up looking great) and the Aventura has provided at least two so far: The first time I baked bread and ran out of flour, I turned to the most flour-like substance in our meager cabinet, Flax Seed, and thus was born my Flax Seed Bread; and now the discovery of Bibo. 


 But don’t let me get ahead of myself. 


As some of you may know, part of this trip is dedicated to looking at areas that might be Future Farmland of the Bryants. It was with this anticipation (and not the warning from a nice lady in Grand Forks that Nelson was great, “If you like dreadlocks”, which, of course, only made us want to go there more) that we entered Nelson, B.C. 


And what a lovely town it is to visit! Nestled next to Kootenay Lake and in the shadow of some of the largest mountains in the West Kootenay’s, Nelson is the epic mountain village. Full of great specialty stores like John Wards Fine Coffee (delicious!), Gerick’s Cycle and Ski (where we rented our cross-country skis and received the tip that Guiness was on tap at Mike’s Place Pub, and R.O.A.M (where The New Austerity was no match for the great salesmanship and product knowledge of Robin who decked Alan out in the latest hi-tech base layer from Arcteryx--highlighted in the product recommendation box to the left.) 


We stayed just south of town on Highway 6 at Kline’s RV Park, one of the few parks in the West Kootenay’s that are open all year. They happily provided a full hook-up pitch in a delightful spot along a creek for just $20/night. 


Only having one full day in Nelson, I was thrilled when Alan joined me for cross-country skiing (a DITL will be out soon!)  On the advice from the wonderful lady at the Visitors Center (oh yes, using all our resources yet again!) we headed up to the Nelson Nordic Ski Club on Highway 6.


Unfortunately, we did not start at the main gate but drove to a secondary parking area where there were fewer cars. We let the dogs run (first time in their Ruff Wear snow shoes--yes, another product recommendation, but they are great at keeping the snow from building up in their pads) and started out on Busk trail. This trail was described as a beginner trail, but it had way more hills (and, sadly, crashing-ly, valleys) than any beginner trail I had ever been on.  So after 90 minutes and many falls between us, we stuck The Noses in the car and headed to the main gate. 


There we were given a proper introduction to the trails and spent another hour on the truly beginner-level Apex trail. Delightful, although we both still fell at least once. (By the way, blame River for the fact that there are so few pictures of skiing – I just couldn’t carry around the large Nikon and ski at the same time, if only we had the small Nikon forever lost in the Rock Creek lakes area. Terriers!) 


We worked up a huge appetite so headed into town for dinner. First stop was to return the skis to the side door of Gerick’s at which point I looked up and saw the sign introducing “Bibo” (cue the harp music.) I walked up the stairs to the door of the most wonderful looking bistro—somehow elegant and rustic at the same time—like something you would find in the St. Sulpice area of Paris. They had me when I was simply peering in the windows, but I did pause to read the menu as well and, well, you just have to read it yourself here. Sadly, they did not open until 5 and we were in desperate need of a sun-downer (hey, don’t judge, it was dark at 4:00!) So we set out for Jackson’s Hole to quench our thirst. We were back to Bibo by 5:35 for dinner.


Bibo is a small place, maybe 10 tables, all effortlessly waited upon by Deidre whose talent at making everyone feel welcome and pampered is only matched by her talent displayed on the walls.


The food lived up to its descriptions and more: From the Speck Wrapped Scallops to the Rabbit Parpadelle and Chicken Cacciatore (with house-made gnocchi.) To top it off, the crème brulee had not the slightest taste of a hand torch (such a crime when it does.) Ahh, but if only this was a restaurant blog, I could go on and on. 


Suffice it to say that we awoke via our alarm at 5:30 a.m. with some pretty good hangovers but even better memories. 


-K


P.S.  A reader suggested that I add more pictures of the RV parks and I will, I promise!  I do wish I had some of Kline's - a very pretty spot.

Holiday Greetings!

Wishing you all a happy and healthy holiday season!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Castlegar, B.C., Canada - Dec. 4-6, 2011

Our visit to Castlegar was primarily to share in the joy of opening the Melbra Estate, which was indeed delightful, evidenced by the movie which you can view from here or via our Movies! page.


However, the Melbra Estate wasn't yet open for visitors so we booked three nights at the Twin Rivers Motel & RV Park.  Except for a short fence, it was like staying in someone's backyard, although far be it for us to complain as they were the only RV Park open this time of year in Castlegar--and they had excellent WIFI.  (Of note though, they only had one full hook up site for visitors [the rest of the small area is full of full-timers] and although they said they had water at the pitch, it was frozen so we had to borrow the spigot next door.)  


But we weren't concerned with what we could or could not see outside of Salt, especially when Deborah & Mel arrived as our first Cocktail Hour visitors!  After cocktails, they treated us to dinner at the Cuisine of India restaurant which was quite good with authentic and tasty food--the garlic naan especially was a delight.


Our first full day in town Alan & I stopped in at the Visitor's Center (yes, we are finally learning to use all of our resources!), and received some (turned out to be bad) directions to start our hike up the Brilliant Overlook Trail.  Despite the poor directions, we eventually found the trail head parking and set off.  A nice hike, hilly and rocky (and this time of year it was a little snowy and icy in spots), but they warn you at the start that it is not a hike for beginners.  It felt great to work up a sweat and we logged just over three miles before heading back to Salt.


Our main goal for that day and the next was to get some heat tape installed on our exterior pipes as we had been in below-freezing weather since leaving Grand Forks.  (OK, my main goal was to get Alan to install some heat tape.) So Alan headed off to four different hardware stores while I did a thorough Salt clean-out.



I spent the following day with Deborah visiting my cousin Sarah and her two beautiful children in Trail - a movie of Sadie and Sarah's dancing lessons and class at Steps Dance Center will be coming out soon.  It was great to see my incredibly talented cousin (her impressive dancing career includes teaching at Arts Umbrella in Vancouver) sharing her talents with earnest young dancers in tow.  


That evening we enjoyed a picnic dinner in Salt with Deborah and Mel.  It was a cozy and delightful time during which Mel promised to meet Alan for the Mongolian leg of the Aventura.


Hope he remembers.  


I will not forget.


-K

Scenic Drive - Coulee Corridor, WA, USA

A brief look at portions of the "Coulee Corridor" along Highways 17 and 155-N in Washington, USA.

Also posted on our Movies! Page

Grand Forks, B.C. Canada - Update

Two important stops on the way out of town:


1)  The Shell station where we negotiated our way through a very unhelpful clerk and managed to wash Salt & Pepper in the RV-sized washing area on the far side of the car wash bays.  This actually was Rookie Mistake #2,013 as we then proceeded to drive on a wet, sandy, snow and ice-filled road to Castlegar, leaving Salt even dirtier than before!


2)  Happy Days Donuts - Wonderful service, fantastic cinnamon cake donut and Alan claims one of the best cinnamon rolls ever--get them early as they sell out fast.


-K

Grand Forks, B.C. Canada - Dec. 2-3, 2011

More Pictures!


Our delightful stay in Grand Forks began with a warm welcome provided by Lawrence and Karen Radford, the new owners of the Victorian Motel and RV Park.  A nice little spot right on the Kettle River with only a few pitches (one bathroom/shower to share among them), laundry facilities, and the best WIFI connection we have had in an RV park.   As previously reported, they offer full hook ups most of the year, but in the winter it is down to electric only at the pitch (bathroom and shower remain open and there is a dump station on site.)


The Radford's hospitality and knowledge of the area was most welcome:  When I asked about hiking to Christina Lake from the park, they offered that yes, you can but the hike would be 20 kilometers one way--too far for our limited time.  Instead, Lawrence suggested the hike you see in the pictures.  Still on the Trans Canada Trail (oh yes people, Alan had to believe it existed now!) but we started 10 miles east of town at the intersection of Highways 3 and 395.  This starting point put us in a much less populated area so the dogs had some time off leash (which they exercised by racing after a deer.)


Grand Forks might be on my list for Future Farm Land of the Bryants:  Charming little town full of happy people surrounded by hills and the winding Kettle River.  I enjoyed a mocha at Jogas Espresso Cafe while doing a little shopping downtown.  (Don't laugh, we bought a hair dryer [neither of us have much hair] as we are headed into some seriously cold weather and they are very useful for defrosting frozen pipes.)


-K

DITL - Hiking Potholes State Park, WA, USA

A Day in the Life movie!

Moses Lake, WA, USA to Grand Forks, B.C., Canada – Dec. 1-2, 2011

Such amazing scenery!  We have travelled from Seattle to Canada many times before but never have we come this way—it is highly recommended!  We selected this route in anticipation of 1) enjoying the sunshine of Eastern Washington and #2) seeing the Grand (emphasis intended, as Alan keeps reminding me) Coulee Dam.  What we didn't anticipate was the beauty of the drive from Moses Lake to Grand Forks.

Starting out in Moses Lake, we hopped on the “Coulee Corridor” (Scenic Drive Movie coming soon!), Highway 17 North toward Soap Lake.  The beauty really does start at Soap Lake—driving through the coulee (which Alan learned is an ancient river bed formed by melting ice from the Ice Age) is quite impressive.  Just open, rolling hills above you as you drive near the bottom of the coulee—it’s like driving through the bottom of the Grand Canyon but on a smaller scale.  A must stop is Dry Falls, and you all know me, I am not fond of tourist-y stops, but it really is something to see.  (It is filmed as the ending of the Scenic Drive, but the light was getting low so I don’t know how much of the grandeur made it through the lens.)

After all this natural beauty, the Grand Coulee Dam, although enormous, was a bit of a let-down for me.  It is not pleasing to the eye like Hoover Dam, having at least four different sections with variable-looking concrete finishes.  Not pleasing to the eye at all.  But the Visitors Center is worth a stop to see all the photos from the 1940’s and the equipment used to build the behemoth.

After that man-made marvel (ahem), we set out along Highway 155 north to Nespelem where Simon (our GPS unit) directed us onto a questionable looking road:  The cut-through to Highway 21 (cuts through the Colville Indian Reservation.)  This stretch was sketchy—a nice road, but this time of year it held a bit of ice and snow so it was slow going.  But I love, love, loved the area leading out of Nespelem:  So gorgeous with their soft amber hills beautifully defined by the occasional copse of pine trees. 

Once we joined up with Highway 21 North, it became quite tree filled (i.e., can’t see much) until you leave the Reservation, then you are treated to some of the most gorgeous river-side farm land I have yet to come across.  There is not much in terms of services up this way, so make sure you have a full tank of gas when you leave the Grand Coulee Dam area.

Our second day (Coulee City to Grand Forks, B.C., Canada—my homeland!) we drove 120 miles, arriving around 3:00 p.m. at the Victorian Motel and RV Park, whose highway-front sign promised, "The most friendly staff.”  They did not disappoint (although try finding an unfriendly Canadian!  Even the border patrol was nice.)  The water is turned off at the pitches this time of year but the electricity, showers and bathrooms, as well as the fly-fishing store, are open year-round.   

Since we left Coulee City with a full tank of water and an empty grey tank (yes, we are learning!  See Carpe Diem posting) we were good to stay with just electricity.  We pulled in (over the ice and snow berm), turned the heater on, took the dogs for a short walk (along the Trans-Canada Trial in which Alan refuses to believe--yes, despite signs--won't he be surprised by that link!), then returned to a toasty Salt for sun-downers and chips to celebrate Salt's foray into a foreign country.

I do love my homeland.  I’m just saying.

-K 

Scenic Drive - The Farm (Northern Oregon)

Thanks again to Sue and Rick for their wonderful hospitality (and their permission to post this video!)

-K

Musings: On Carpe Diem - Dec. 1, 2011

This whole trip as been about Carpe Diem - seize the hiking day before your knees give out, seize the ability to travel the world before your funds run out and others we have learned along the way:


Carpe Sanitem - Seize a dump station when presented at your pitch no matter what.


Carpe Grocem - Seize the groceries and put them away before driving (don't just leave them on the floor of the trailer to be put away when you pull into your next pitch.)


Carpe H2Oem - Seize the ability to fill your fresh water even if your are "sure" you will be at a full hook up site the coming night.  (Yes, Neil, this is still on the list!)


Carpe Burgem - Seize the hamburger whose description promises, albeit in poor grammar, "the Cheeseburger you have been waiting for."  (Lunch stop at the Porterhouse Steak House in Moses Lake, WA, delicious!)


Carpe Laundrem - Seize the ability to do a load of laundry when your RV Park has machines.


Now I must go Carpe Showerem while we have plenty of hot water.

Potholes State Park, Othello, WA, USA – Nov. 28-30, 2011

Click here for more pictures!

Well we traded in the rain and wind of Western Washington for the sunshine and wind of the Eastern side.  The temperature only reached about 45 during the day and dropped to below freezing at night, but we loved the sun and the blue sky of Eastern Washington.  We stayed three nights at the Potholes State Park Campground which promised water, sewer and electric, although the foremost was missing at the pitch.  (Water is available at the main gate during winter.)

We were nice and toasty with the electric hook-up keeping our heater humming (yes, it looks like we’ll have to use electricity until we are out of the below-freezing area of the country—not even our solar can keep up with the demanding heater) and we celebrated being one of only three campers on the lovely grounds, letting the dogs run free and having a campfire each night.  It felt great to be out of an RV Park!

The area is filled with hunters during the day (duck, apparently this time of year, evidenced by a very calm, nice-sized deer wandering through our camp one morning.)  We did our own hunting trying to find a hiking trail, but the one we found only yielded only a couple miles worth of hiking—not nearly enough to justify the chips and Manhattan’s from the previous night.  So Day 2 found us hiking the Potholes area where we wandered until the fenced and posted “Wildlife Refuge” area stopped us.  (Truth be told, we did consider crawling through the fence, but River had already crossed over and was barking at something in the bushes.  We thought it wouldn’t be much of a refuge if terriers were allowed to terrorize, so we turned back.)  

It was an enjoyable hike, sunny but cold—a short DITL movie will be posted soon.  We stopped to fish twice in Corral Lake on the way back but caught nothing (I have yet to catch anything with my new rod—its ROI is going to take forever!)  A quick stop at the creek near the campground on the way back to Salt left us defeated and without fresh fish for dinner. Man, were we spoiled in the Eastern Sierras! 

A special note:  This was written on November 30, the three-month mark in our Three Months No Matter What Deal with each other.  So far we are still on.  I’m not saying it as has all been easy, and I will say it’s much easier to live in a trailer in 72 degree weather than in the rain or cold.   So come late January, watch out Texas:  We’ll be shedding Polartec and wool socks all the way to the Gulf!

-K 

PS:  If it is not warm at the Gulf in February, would someone please warn us?  Otherwise I fear we’ll be shedding more than just clothing.

Seattle, WA, USA - Nov. 23-28, 2011

Having lived in Seattle for 12 years, I came to town with my favorites already in tow--no pun intended.  I am happy to report that the top two were visited.


I realize I have some readers who follow this like a travel log, so let me start by saying that November is not the month to visit Seattle.  Seattle is gorgeous when the sun is out and you are most likely to find those days in September (yes, not even August is a totally safe bet--plus August has most of the tourists in town.)  


True to form for this time of year, it rained almost constantly on our visit.  We had the pleasure of spending most of our time with friends and family so the weather wasn't much of a deterrent to our plans, however Rosco & River felt very short-changed at the short, leash-on walks.


Food in Seattle is as delicious as it is pricey but you cannot go wrong at Matt's in the Market.  Get a reservation for this iconic restaurant looking out at the Pike's Place Market sign and you will be surrounded by the best of Seattle.  Food and service continue to be sublime, and the dress code is very Seattle:  Anything goes, but your wait staff will likely be in jeans.


My indulgence for the weekend was not the Mace Pecan ice cream at Matt's but a 90-minute facial with Ollga at Filipi Salon in Belltown.  I discovered Ollga's talents years ago when she was at Yaroslava and she just keeps getting better.  My skin was in heaven after 90 minutes of expensive serums, masks and her (should be patented) facial massage.  Simply delightful.  Ollga's husband, Ginci does fantastic hair - you can read more about him here.


A new favorite find is the Issaquah/Preston Trail, part of the Mountains to Sound trail system.  A welcome benefit from having to stay so far from Seattle.  (We were unable to find any RV parks inside Seattle city limits for some reason, so we chose Issaquah over Kent or Lynnwood as we'd rather drive I-90 to/from Seattle than I-405 or I-5.)


Our RV Park, the Issaquah Village RV Park, is reviewed in detail on our Campgrounds page.

Scenic Drive - Oregon Coast - Nov. 19, 2011

Rainy but still interesting . . . .

Also available on our Movies! Page

DITL - Oregon Dunes Hike - Nov. 18, 2011

The Farm and Mt. Saint Helen’s National Park (Northern Portland & Southern Washington) – Nov. 20-22, 2011

We had heard rumors about the beauty awaiting us at Sue & Rick’s farm in Northern Oregon, but we still were unprepared for the delight of it all.  They had invited us to stop by on our way up, well, it was more like, “You better stop by” and when Rick is part of a statement like that, you just listen.  (Retired from the State Police with a dog named Sniper, you see?)

We were unsure if the invitation included staying the night at the farm and, knowing the maintenance quotient of our two terriers, we just decided it would be best to assume we were camping nearby and arrive on Sunday for dinner.  So we dropped Salt at the Champoeg State Park (lovely, rolling hills near the Willamette Valley [i.e., wine!] region) before heading up to the farm.

Driving down the windy driveway, I was ever so glad that Salt was not in tow. However this decision was an immediate disappointment to Sue & Rick, followed shortly with more disappointment when they heard of our plans to sleep down at Champoeg.  Of course they had prepared their lovely guest room (King size bed!  Flannel sheets!)  which were indeed tempting, but little did they know that I was hooked the minute we walked into the living room and saw the giant HD TV broadcasting a football game.  (Oh, and by the way, there is an awesome view of the valley and a cozy fire in the wood stove in the corner.)

After a tour of the grounds in the Polaris (a short video of this ride will be available on Movies! soon), they graciously invited both dogs inside to meet their two dogs and two cats.  Ours jumped out of the car and immediately chased the turkeys before coming inside and messing on the floor (River) and jumping the cat (Rosco.)  I was back to being glad we were staying at Champoeg.  

It was lovely to visit with friends, enjoy good food and drink and the feeling of your arms flying out to the side and hitting nothing, nothing at all.  We showed up the next morning for breakfast, Salt in tow, but left the dogs in the car so we could truly relax.

Had we not driven more than 50 miles the next day, we surely would have been back at Sue & Rick’s to ride out the storm.  The weathermen predicted 1-2” of rain and they were not disappointed.  However, we had a goal if seeing Mt. Saint Helen's and stopped for the night in Castle Rock (Silver Lake RV Resort), hitting Mt. Saint Helen's the next day—yes, right in the middle of the downpour. 

We drove to the Johnston Ridge Observatory and observed the low clouds, rain and fog hugging the mountains so close you could barely see the snow piled at the edge of the road.   However, having woken up and weighed myself that morning, I was intent on getting in a hike (despite the rain and my cold) so we dropped down to Hummocks Trailhead and hiked 2.5 miles in the downpour.  We were soaked and couldn’t see much, but what we could see was spectacular:  Vistas of hillsides ripped of trees from the volcano now growing green with moss and grass, huge dunes of ash and views down to the Toutle River.  On a sunny day I could have spent hours on these 2.5 miles, as it was, it was the fastest hike we have done yet.

A note here:  The trail is listed as 2.3 miles but we had a detour to chase after R&R who, in turn, were chasing after two elk.  There is a $100 fine for having dogs on the trail, imagine what the fine would be for setting two free?  They eventually returned (River first, if anyone is counting.)

  

We returned to Salt soaking wet with the rain still coming down.  The Pacific Northwest is not an easy place to live in your trailer.  We have lots of good friends and family to visit in Seattle but I will be ready for sunshine soon after that:  Can anyone say I-90 to Eastern Washington?  Cold for sure, but I’ll take snow and sun over rain any day!

-K

PS:  There are no pictures of Mt. Saint Helen’s, but what we could see hinted at grand, so it is on our list for a re-visit.  And yes, that will be more like 2013.  We have seven days left of our “three months minimum” deal but neither one of us can find anything wrong with this life.  As a matter of fact, the Future Farm of The Bryants is beginning to look just a little stationary.

Oregon Coast, OR, USA – 11/17-19, 2011

More Pictures!

What a great ending to our longest drive day yet:  320 miles from Redding to the Oregon Coast, mostly on I-5, then cutting across Highway 138 to 38 to 101, ultimately finding our way to the campground at the Umpqua Lighthouse State Park.  (And, by the way, three cheers to the State of Oregon for putting out the easy to use and informative Oregon State Parks Guide - a must have for this area and free at ranger stations.)

Although I-5 through southern Oregon is undoubtedly the prettiest portion of that [usually horrid] Interstate, it simply does not compare to Highways 138 and 38.   Not only is the drive gorgeous but it also brings you through the lovely town of Elkton, which almost made my cut for Future Farm Land of The Bryants.   I say almost because, (as we have to keep reminding ourselves), this is the Pacific Northwest, the rain that feels so refreshing now feels equally as oppressive after nine months.  Ok, ten months.  Really, it is more like eleven months.  But I digress . . . 

The Umpqua Lighthouse Campground was almost completely empty our first night so we let the dogs run free.   They looked so happy running around we decided to hit the trail around Lake Marie (1 mile) to stretch our legs after that long drive.  Returning to Salt, we prepared the sun-downers, forgot where we were, and lit a campfire.  Just as the fire was getting really nice, the wind kicked up and the rain came down and we rushed inside.

True to form for this part of the country, it was raining the next morning as well but we didn’t let that stop us.  We had only one day to see the coast and, even though both of us lived in Seattle for many years, we had never visited the Oregon Dunes.  So we set off on the 5 mile John Dellencamp Trail across the magnificent dunes to the ocean’s edge.  (See the DITL on the Movies! page, coming soon.)

All alone out there the dogs were running around like crazy until the storm hit:  Not just rain, but hail coming down on us at the ocean’s edge!  So we dashed back into the woods for cover and wolfed down some PB&J’s for energy.

Also true to form for this part of the country, about 15 minutes later the sky cleared a bit and the sun came out.  Our hike back to the trailhead was delightfully warm and sunny and, even better, the dogs completely dried out before getting back into the car.

I wasn’t feeling well that afternoon so Alan went down to fish Lake Marie without me.  Have to admit, although I wasn’t feeling well, it felt marvelous to lie in bed and read a book for a few hours!  We thought we would have so much time on our hands during the Aventura but we never seem to have time to just sit around, one of the many odd things we have discovered so far.

Sadly, Alan returned fishless but he happily made dinner anyway; Chicken Posole which was perfect for a rainy night.   

The following day we headed up Highway 101 but not before a quick stop at the Windy Bay Bakery in Winchester Bay as we had been drooling over their "sourdough bread" sign for two days.  They did not disappoint!  Not only fantastic, fresh bread but they made a vegetarian pizza for us (wrapped to be baked later) on the spot.

It is a lovely drive, that part of Highway 101, and it will be posted on our Movies! page as a Scenic Drive soon.   We made a quick stop for some hiking at Cape Perpetua (in the rain, of course) before stopping for the night at the Lincoln City Premier RV Resort.  Unlike the Redding Premier Resort, this one had great WIFI and at $41/night for a pull-through full hook-up, it was a good deal.

-K