Rally Number Two

Leaving the campground in Elkhart can only be described as an unorganized fire drill.  But God looks after the feeble minded and we are all settled in an area at the Goshen Escapees rally. As I write this we are  into our second rally and it is by far the largest.  There are almost 800 rigs, which means there are a lot of people, yet it has been very well organized and there seems to be more than enough room in the seminars and the hall where the largest events take place also does the job.  And the weather is perfect. 

There is no “it” factor here, but we are having a great time.  Yesterday was the kick-off and there was a drawing for a cash prize of 2500.00.  Nope, we are not richer by that amount.  Tonight there were drawings for more door prizes, but none of those found there way into our RV either.  Have a few seminars that have peaked our interest over the next few days, and before we know it we will be waving good-by to everyone.

Lunch the other day took us to the South Side Diner, which has been paid a visit by Guy from Diners, Dives and Drive-Ins. We all had sandwiches and they were good, but the lemon pie was fabulous. 

 

We have been to Shipsawana several times,as there is a large flea market there on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  We have also paid more than a few visits to the Rise N Roll bakery.  They have have the most amazing caramel cinnamon donuts, and there sandwiches are all on homemade bread!  Talk about good.  As I’m writing this I’m almost drooling as it is lunch time and there was no breakfast this morning. Our last rally is also here so we will only be moving to a full hook up site.  We are actually looking forward to that one, as it is a Montana owners get together, and it will be interesting to talk with other owners and learn from there trials and errors.

Jenny and Don’s reaction to being presented a wedding gift of a day tour of Amish country.  They had just come from the daily door prize drawings and had won a trip to Dollywood, which is not far from were they live, so it will make a nice week end get away. Congratulations.  

After our Montana rally we will be heading down the road, sort of like a lost moose as we have not made up our minds quite yet.  Scratch that, we are headed to ‘Lisa’s’ gathering at Defeated Creek COE, in Tennessee, but just for 4 days, it is pretty booked up.  Glad that we could get that as there will be a few friends that will be there that we have not seen for awhile. After that though the lost moose effect kicks in till Thanksgiving, which we are planning on spending at Betty’s. It will all work it self out, so will go with the flow.

Life is Good.

New Furniture

Wow, how could I forgot to post pictures of the new cabinet/table & chairs.  We are very happy with the unit.  The table is free standing, with a leaf that is accessible in the table, for easy storage. We also have 4 chairs, wish those were easy to store, but we will find a hole some where.  

Think we will remove the desk chair for one, it is a little large for the area.  Two-Bits, (our cat) is hugging her scratching pole, she has taken a liking to sleeping there, but it won’t last, she likes to move around.  She is very good about scratching only where she is allowed.  

Yesterday was a movie, Eat, Pray and Love.  I’d give it neither a thumbs  up or down.  Being as the gang had decided it was a free day, Chuck & I thought we would try Lunkers for lunch/dinner.  And we ran into 8 of our group there, so that was great, along with the food.  Last night was cards again, 3 tables of 4 and 1 of 6.  Think it was girls winning 2, and loosing 2.  Or maybe the guys “won” 2, naaa, girls lost 2.  Tonight we are cooking out, sure we will eat too much.

Till next time…..life is good.

Time Fly's or I’m Downright Lazy

Can not even guess where the time has gone since my last post, but the first of three rallies is about to begin.  Most all the people have arrived, and or group has grown daily.  We have been spending most of the days eating, shopping, socializing and just having a great time getting caught up on all the travels and adventures.

Didn’t get very far with that up-date!  One rally down, two to go.  It was a very good, well thought out and informative time.  And we got away with just a few purchases, which was great.  Of course our main entertainment has been eating lots and often.  The second night was a beauty contest, Hoosier Hotties.  Hope posting the pictures does not damage the computer.

  Yes, my dear hubby

Opps

And the WINNER IS
   

Our children are probably looking into having us committed before we do harm to ourselves.

We also took in the RV Hall of Fame.  It was very interesting to see some of the first RV’s with all the comforts they afforded, which weren’t what we would consider as anything nowadays.

Mae West’s travel car

In the three city area are quilt gardens, done in flowers.  Quite pretty and very original.  There are maps with all the locations, plus the visitor center has a free cd giving all the information.

We have yet to do the entire drive,, but hopefully we will before we leave.

Wow, that about catches us up to the present, so can get back to watching some of the action.

 

Last night “hand & foot” out come, and I cringe to post this…..guys 2, girls zip.

All for now, life is good.

 

 

 

 

 

Looking ahead to “the move”.

Got a call the other day that our cabinet/table unit and chairs, will be ready Monday. So we will be leaving here and traveling 20 miles to the shop where it is built, and have it installed.  No way that it could be delivered, as Caryle is Amish, and his delivery service is very slow and limited.  Can’t wait, know that it will be great, his woodwork is marvelous.  We left our table and chairs in Colorado when we were there in June, and have been making due with a small picnic table ever since.  From there we will make the move to the Elkhart campgrounds in Elkhart. There are also Elkhart campgrounds in Goshen, hence my confusion on our arrival.  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.  As the time grows closer for Nicks rally to start it is great to visualize all our friends coming from so many locations heading this way.  Nicks rally is small compared to the Escapees one that takes place next month. They will have over 800 rigs!  Our friends, Bob & Molly are in training to be chief cat herders for the one next year.  Bless them, that will be one big job, but sure that they will do it justice.

Then just in case we aren’t rallied out, we signed up for the Montana one that follows a few days after.  Thankfully we have almost every “got to have rv dodad, must have, can’t hit the road without item”.  At least I hope so.  They are always coming up with something new, most of which are not quite a useful as advertised.

Fan Update….We were in Manards yesterday, and they had packages of blades, that were close to the right color, so we bought TWO packs.  Which means we now have 5 replacements!   That should last us till we come off the road, or the trailer falls apart, which ever comes first.  Our coming off the road will probably mean one of us fell apart, but that’s life.

Met Bob & Molly for dinner the other night,  they are in Goshen getting things ready along with the other folks who are in charge of putting on a major event.  And of course we had to finish the evening with a game of hand and foot.  Molly and I did manage a win, but will give the guys credit for making it a close but, well earned AND deserved triumphant WIN.  (Hope that stays warm, have a feeling I will be eating those words before too long.)

We are meeting up with a large group of early arrivals for happy hour and dinner tonight.  Honestly the rallies are not the main draws, it is the pre rally get togethers.  HEEEYAW, life is so good.

A Shopper I’m NOT

That is so right, so why for the past week, shopping has been my main activity?  Now they seemed to have more than a fair share of crafts fairs going on, plus today was a giant flea market at Shipsawana.  And I do like those.  This is a great market, and the prices are ever so good.  And they have it two days a week.  We got wore out early, the humidity was climbing fast and we decided that being as we are gong to be in the area for some time, the outdoor shopping could wait.  We went into Yoders, which is a meat, cheese and general Amish market.  The meat there is great, so stocked the freezer pretty good.  Then it was off to the Rise n Roll, only the best bakery/deli in the area.  We shared a sandwich, (which is more than enough)  on bread fresh out of the oven.  The best!  Sat with a couple who were here from Ireland on holiday, and had a great conversation.  They were totally amazed at the prices here, and they thought every thing was so inexpensive.  And their gas runs about 8 dollars a gallon.  Guess it depends on whose eyes we are looking out of.

A few flowers for sale, beautiful work, made of laser cut steel.

  The size of these blooms was amazing.

Chuck did get a golf fix the other day, and he had a great time, the course is just a few miles from us, but the best part is if you play before 9 it is only 20 dollars and that includes a cart.  It don’t get any better than that, and playing early in the morning is what we like, cooler. 

We had a few errands in Elkhart yesterday and met up with Kevin and Arlene for lunch.  Great deli.  Looks like they will finally get out of here, so they can get back here. 

Surprising that there seems like there are no bugs to speak of here, sitting out day or evening no problem.  Hope it lasts.

That is it for now, loving it.

Jacks Down/Feet Up

We spent a nice week in Wisconsin, but it was shorter than we had planned, as the state fair was coming to town, and the city campground is turned over to  the fair workers.  So we were “evicted” sooner than we had planned.  We did get in visits with  my few relatives that are still there, which was nice. RV parks are very scarce in the part of Wisconsin we were, so we just decided to come ahead to the Elkhart area early.

The trip from there to here was totally just ho hum. Like it that way!  Other than doing the campground hunt.  We have been full time almost 4 years and making reservations is not something we usual do when we are traveling.  Now when we are going to sit for a while then we do give it some serious thought, although even then, we may only make them for a short time and scout out the area.  Seems the pictures always look so much better on  the internet,  sort of like the pictures of the food at Burger King.  Guess I should have waited to do that here.  Got confused about the Elkhart campground and the Elkhart fair grounds one.  Could have booked into the Elkhart one, but being as I thought it was the fairgrounds one, and it was a no go there, we are in one outside of Elkhart about 12 miles.   And if this makes no sense to you, it doesn't matter, not sure I do, just me babbling.

Today we met Kevin and Arlene,  http://roamingwhenwecan.blogspot.com/    and went to a RV salvage business in Michigan, about 25 miles away.  Some unbelievable prices, but we did not have any sizes that we would have needed for a few things, so will have to go back.  Then we were off to Amish furniture builder, Carlyle.  Getting there took major patience as this is the home of mega road contraction, aka detours, plus they are replacing major sewer pipes all over.  It was a good thing we had two GPS’s as they kept getting over heated with all the rerouting, and “Alma” (Tom Toms sister) totally lost her voice. Carlyle  has some beautiful pieces and the quality is so good.  We did place a order for a desk/table unit.  http://focalwood.com 

It seems like we have been busy and on the go, mostly just all the usual “stuff.  Eat, sleep, doing nothing, busy all the time.  We are looking forward to sitting for awhile, internet card working like cable, satellite all set up, local channels, no problem, It might get better than  this, but this is sure hard to beat.

Craters of the Moon

A short drive from Hailey, Idaho we encountered this very unusual sight.  The name sure told the story, Craters of the Moon.

There was as loop drive but having the 5’er attached we were not too sure of taking it in.  "the Devil's Vomit" is how one Oregon- bound pioneer described his encounter with Craters of the Moon. Hundreds of pioneers travelled through the area on the Goodale's Cutoff section of the Oregon trail in the 1850's and 1860's.  Web site  http://www.nps.gov/crmo

We were planning on spending the night in Gardiner, Montana at the north exit to Yellowstone, as we had not seen the Mammoth Hot Springs, but when I called from West Yellowstone, that was not an option as all the campgrounds were full.  That also became a problem in West Yellowstone, so we decided to make a run for Bozeman, Montana.  We had the great luck to see a grizzly in the wild long the road.

 

Once again the same problem, but the campground host called another up the road and found us a site.  Now it was not bad as we were all set up by six, but for us it was a long day.  The next day was almost as iffy, although we did start trying to stop early, right after lunch actually.  The trouble today was other than full campgrounds, they had so much rain the night before that there was no parking other than on concrete, which most did not have.  We drove until we reached Medora ND, and it is a charming little destination town.  At night, during the summer,there is a great musical production in the pavilion up on the hill.  The view behind this stage is awesome as you can see for miles.  There are escalators that take you up and down…thank goodness. 

 

There were two large bull elk on a bluff behind the stage and the silhouettes were amazing, my pictures do not due them justice.

Which we decided that being as we were here was meant to be, so we took it in last night.  Great show, and the comedians bit about Rv’ers was roll in the isles funny.

  This morning we woke up to rain, and decided it was a kick back, relax day. We did go out for lunch, but that  was about it, the sun played peek-a-boo most of the afternoon,  but we  just snuggled in.  Life is Good.

 

 

Catching Up

We left Brookings Oregon, on the 13th, heading for Hailey, Idaho. Our friends, Bob & Barb Williams have a home there, but are in the process of getting ready to take to the road in their new motor home.

We spent two nights on the road, the first in Bend , Oregon paying 46 dollars, the second in Caldwell, Idaho at half the price, both Good Sam’s. The least expensive was a treat, they have two large gardens that are exclusively for the overnighters. Just a few more weeks and it will wonderful as they have a great selection.

Tomatoes, green beans lettuce corn squash, just to name a few. .

The three days of travel were uneventful, a lot of the area we covered is high desert, so not much to see.

Once we arrived, our cats were so excited to see each other…ah-ha, sure. The gray and white one is Gypsy, she was the pitiful kitten that adopted Barb at Nicks rally last year. She is so pretty now. And we did not push our luck we decided that it would be best if they did not spend time in the same house, as it did not get any better.

We started the hand and foot tournament the first night and the girls won the first one, and as the games went by it was not looking good. Then the last night we stole the guys chairs and won three, yes all three, to become the top dogs. Bob and Barb were wonderful tour guides and we seen some of the country side Which was spectacular to say the least.

The guys in the “lucky chairs”.

The mountains were so different, the weather was wonderful, just a little warm for a few hours, but the nights were very cool. Hailey is only a few miles from the famous Sun Valley ski resort. Barb had worked there years ago, so on the tour of the facilities she was very knowledgeable. There was even a outdoor ice skating rink that was being used. Pictures are on the camera, and it is in the truck, but the rain is coming down, so will add some later.

Some of the wild flowers blooming along the roadside. Glad that everything is running late this year, so that we get to enjoy it.

Thank you Bob & Barb for a wonderful time. Hope that all your “stuff” finds a new home, or at least it’s way into storage, cause we are looking forward to seeing you in Goshen.

Moving on down the road. Next destination, Park Rapids, Minnesota, some time next week. Life is Good.

“Fan”atics At It Again

Yep, they have struck again.  We have solved the mystery of how this happens though.  Our RV is haunted!  We thought that being as we were on our 3rd fan and it had almost been a year we had the problem solved, however we jinxed it by talking about  it.  Not only do we not have any idea how this happened, no one else can even give us a clue.  It happens when we are on the move, but the blades are a good 8 inches above the slides when they are both in. The other 2 fans were the cheap ones they put in the RV, but this one was a Hunter Douglas and the blades were real wood, which took a lot to break, as it almost tore the fan from the ceiling before breaking.  Any ideas????

Enough of that. 

A Week With Friends

 

We have spent the week with two couple who have been friends for many years.  They decided to take a little road trip with us, and they were hoping for some place cool.  And the weather has cooperated very well.  Today was the first day that we did not wake up to fog but brilliant sunshine.  With the scenery that we have here it is easy to let the days just go by. 

Beautiful

Being as this group is all golfers we did find a course here called Salmon Run.  As there were only four able bodied among us, leaving Ed & I on the disabled list, we decided that we would still view the course with out letting golf take our minds off the beauty of our surroundings.  This course was amazing, it was craved out of the woods in the most ingenious way.  We saw a lot of wild life, plus wild flowers galore.  And the views! Oh, the views.

Bonnie, Huff, Chuck and Donna

 

I was totally jealous at not being able to play this course.  It was awesome.

 

Below is my cart mate…Ed, aka Daisy Man

We also spent a day on a 80 mile, mail boat run up the Rogue River.  Our captain was very entertaining and had some  tall tales. His day job was a pastor, bet he never had a dull sermon. He managed to do quite a few 180’s, and a heck of a lot of nose dives, with the boat, that left us all wet.  But it felt quite good as we left the seaside the air warmed up rather fast. 

The six of us are in the very back row.

Some of the sights in the harbor

The captain’s dog that went along with us.  After we got under way he just made him self welcome any place he wanted to sit, but once we stopped, and he got wet, the captain wouldn’t let him roam.  Don’t think anyone would have minded, he was a real love, his name was PUP.  By the time the ride was over he was the only one who looked the same as when we started.  Half way through we stopped for a huge chicken dinner, and by the looks of the laundry on the line, everyone worked. 

This house was a good hike up the hill of at least 3 blocks and back in 1964 the flood waters were half way up this house. 

Grapevine

Heading home, great day, great friends, it don’t get any better than that. 

Tomorrow brings us to the end of the week, and we will be heading in different directions.  Thanks for the Memories. 

Life is good.

Good Try

 

Two weeks of practice, two games and it is over.  So disappointing for the boys, but they took it well, Anthony pitched some of both games and got some good hits, so he was mostly pleased with his game.  It was great getting to see his games, been a long time, hope he doesn’t think we were a jinks.

  Pitches right handed, bats left.

Come the next day we were off and rolling,  we debated taking Anthony with us, but he was not too keen on more of a road trip.  Being he is the only one with us makes it a little less fun when his only playmates are us “old” folk.  He had a really good time when there was anyone his age around, and his Mom & Dad had some fun things on the agenda. Think he made the right decision, sure he will have more fun.

Sunflower field

Driving through the redwoods.

Jack-in-a-box   Chuck-in-a-tree

The scenery was just breathtaking. We are just over the California/Oregon border in the town of Brooking, parked in a park overlooking the ocean, which is usually fogged in till late in the morning, but once the sun breaks through….wow.  Have to run now, so will save that for another blog.  We are here for a week and then are heading to Hailey Idaho, for a visit with Barb & Bob.  See you soon, Guys, we probably could not gotten in a worse location to get from point A to point B…LOL, but where there is a will there is a way and we are willing.

One Big Wish

Happy

4th

of

July

Be careful with the fireworks!