May 9 - 11, 2024 Mount Vernon, Washington

We debated on when to leave today (May 9th) because of the traffic situation in the Seattle metro area.  Oh My Goodness, it is always crazy here..

So after dumping our tanks, we were on our way.  Another great weather day - Mount Rainer:

Traffic, Traffic, Oh My!  We just moved very slowly for MILES!:

As we continued our journey and going north on I-5.. we were able to see Mount Baker - Beautiful!:

Once we got past Arlington, it was smooth sailing.. and the scenery was beautiful:

We arrived at the Mount Vernon Elks Lodge, talked with Sandy, the camp host, found our spot, and set up.  We needed some parts and supplies so Andy did those errands - thank you Andy.

We ended the day with dinner and drinks at the Lodge.

Stats for May 9th:

Miles Traveled: 94 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Washington: Main Avenue;  WA-167, I-405; I-5; E. Collage Way; Market Street 

The last two days were spent preparing and planning for our trip to Alaska.  Mostly it was planning our trip thru Canada.  The ALCAN is shut down around Fort Nelson because of wildfires so we will be keeping track of that.

So tomorrow we plan to cross the border into Canada and head north.  Not sure how much internet I will have but I will update when I can.  We are excited!!

Stay tuned and enjoy today.

Happy Mother's Day!

May 6 - 8, 2024 New Inverter and Preparations

On Monday, May 6th, we left our family and headed south.  The weather was rainy and "crappy".  We pulled into the Puyallup Elks, dumped our tanks and settled in.

After setting up we did do a check on where we needed to be tomorrow and just hung out.

Miles Traveled: 61 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Washington:  WA-9; WA-522; I-405; WA-167; WA-410; Main Avenue

On Tuesday, May 7th, we made our way to Infinity Coach in Sumner, Washington.  If you have been following, we have had issues with our inverter/charger for a while now.  Last month, it really gave us problems and we knew we needed something new.  I am not going to give you the details but we found Infinity Coach and made an appointment...over a month ago.

So today we arrived and there was not a record of our appointment BUT...the folks that we talked with do remember our situation and they did our assessment.  Honestly, I figured that we would have to wait a week or so but they did it that day!!!  WOW! 

Have to give a shout out to the young lady who did all our work.  I am always excited when I see young women in a field that typically were all men.  Good for you.

We spent some time talking with the owner, Jim, about his parents, the business and RVing.  What a great guy and we HIGHLY RECOMMEND if you have any problems with your RV.

We ended up back at the Elks later that day and decided that we would stay here another night or two - just to be sure everything worked.

Happy Anniversary to us - 36 years!  No we did not do anything special but that was okay.  

On Wednesday, we both did some chores around the motorhome and truck, phone calls, some future planning, etc.  

I did a grocery run and saw that "the mountain was out"!  Coming home, I called Andy and said "put your shoes on, lock the motorhome, and I will pick you up - we are going for pictures"!

Our spot at the Elks:

Me, coming in to pick him up:

Mount Rainer in all its glory!

It almost looks fake, doesn't it.

It is a nice weather day when the mountain is out.  The local news will say "Great weather today, the mountain is out."  Remember, this is the Pacific Northwest, where there is lots of clouds and rain.

But when you have a clear day, the view is SPECTACULAR!

Tomorrow we head north so stay tuned and enjoy today.

October 4–9, 2014 Keiser-Salem Oregon

Saturday, October 4th, we packed up, made a stop at the dump station, then at the gas station, and then headed south.  Our travels were on the I-5 and the heavy traffic continued.  OH MY! – This is Saturday, I cannot even imagine what it is like during the week.

We decided to go straight thru on the 5 instead of the 205.  The traffic continued on:

Passing an inlet of the Columbia River:

And then over it into Oregon:

We arrived at the Keizer Oregon Elks Lodge (near Salem) shortly before Bruce and Sue.  It is a nice RV Park with full hook ups for only $17.00/night.  After setting up and doing a few things, we headed to the Lodge for Happy Hour and Dinner.  Saturday nights they have prime rib as well as baked salmon.  Andy and Bruce had the prime rib and Sue and I had the salmon – YUMMY!

Stats for today:

Miles Traveled: 193 miles

Routes Traveled:

Washington: Main Street, Meridian Avenue; SR-512; I-5

Oregon: I-5; Lockhaven Drive; River Road; Manbrin Drive

On Sunday, 5th, we just hung out.  I was exhausted – didn’t know if I was getting sick or ? so just took it easy.

On Monday, 6th, Andy and I went shopping.  First stop was Best Buy for another GPS.  This will be our third Garmin – the other two were stolen – …   Since Oregon is a no sales tax state, we figured this was the place to buy it.  From there, we did a few more stops for a few more items.

This evening we went to Happy Hour and Taco Night at the Lodge.  YUM!!!

On Tuesday, 7th, we said our “See you laters” to Bruce and Sue.   It was wonderful traveling and spending time with them and we will see each other later on this year.  Travel safe, my friends.

The rest of the day found us just doing little things around the motorhome.  We decided to hang here for a few more days before continuing south to Yuma (a little too hot there yet).

As you probably noticed, we have been slowing down the last few weeks.  We have had an INCREDIBLE spring and summer – seeing some AWESOME sights and we feel very blessed to be able to live this lifestyle.  But now, we are ready to sit for a while and regroup so we don’t get burned out.  I think we have found that we do really well for about 3-4 months seeing lots of things and exploring and then we want to just nest for a few months to get refreshed to do it all over again.  So later this week, we will start to make the slow trek down to Yuma Arizona for a month and then Casa Grande for a month or two and then ?????

On Wednesday, 8th, found us doing more little things around the MH.  For those who have Verizon data plan, check out their new specials.  We had a 12 G data plan which is now a 15 G plan for the same price.  However, they will not switch you to the 15 G until you tell them (online or phone).  And for $20.00 per month more, you can get 30 G total.  WOW!!!  So we went for it!  I also did some research on a new health plan.  I am losing my healthcare at the end of this year so we will see what happens.

Thursday, 9th, was my Andy’s birthday – Happy Birthday to you – .  We continued just puttering and had a great steak dinner at Elks.  Our rib eye's were WONDERFUL!

Tomorrow we continue our journey south so stay tuned and enjoy today.

 

September 27 to October 3, 2014 Good Friends

Andy and I are very blessed to have good friends all over the country.  But sometimes, I do miss my hometown girlfriends.  And on Saturday, 27th, Gail and Tina flew into Sea-Tac airport and spent the next couple days with us.  It did my heart so good to see them.  We talked and hugged and laughed and cried and then did it all over again – for a few days – it was just WONDERFUL!

So here is an update from that time:

On Saturday, I picked them up from the airport then stopped at the store on the way back.  At home in Alder Lake, we were all welcomed by Andy, Bruce and Sue and we enjoyed supper over the campfire as well as enjoying the campfire well into the evening.

Since it was sunny on Sunday, 28th, all the girls headed to Mount Rainier.

Our first adventure was West Side Road – a dirt road that took us into the rain forest alongside the Tahoma River.  At one of the pull-offs, a nice young man volunteered to take our picture.

Sue, Tina, Gail, me:

Moss all over:

Huge trees and huge leaves – almost like Jurassic Park – :

The Tahoma River – actually it is called a Creek.  It is a glacially fed creek:

We came back to the main road – here is our first view of Mount Rainier:

We continued on the road to Paradise with a few stops along the way – the road is in the clearing in the picture below:

Our stop at the top near the Henry Jackson Memorial Visitor Center – BEAUTIFUL!

We took one of the little trails around the area:

Love those fall colors:

The Paradise Inn:

A hoary marmot posing for a picture:

Cute – :

We were having fun:

Back from the trail, we walked thru the Paradise Inn – just love the NP Inns and Lodges:

We also made a stop at the visitor center, then made our way back.  The clouds are rolling in:

Our last stop was Narada Falls:

Rainbows and Butterflies:

What a wonderful day.  Our greeters at the park:

The guys, Andy and Bruce, had a campfire going by the time we got back – .   We enjoyed another great evening and supper by the fire.

On Monday, 28th, we took a small trip to some of the various shops in the area.  We passed the “Recycled Spirits of Iron Sculpture Park” and just had to stop.  The works are done by Daniel Klennert and were very interesting.

More info here:

http://www.danielklennert.com/

http://www.visitrainier.com/pg/sculpture_park/Ex-Nihilo-Sculpture-Park-Near-Mt-Rainier-National-Park

Really cool!!!  Back home, Tina made us an incredible dinner – YUM!   And the rain started so we enjoyed ourselves indoors.

Tuesday, 30th

It rained most of the day.  We took a quick trip to the store and then just hung out.  The rain cleared enough for us to have a wonderful campfire.

Wednesday, October 1st

Happy Birthday, Tina

We woke to a beautiful sunny day, packed up, and headed about 30 miles north to the Puyallup Elks Lodge.  The girls enjoying the ride:

Lunch after setting up:

Early afternoon, we walked to Safeway, where we found a Forest Gump bench (Run, Forest, Run – )

Late afternoon, we celebrated Tina’s birthday at the Elks and then cake back at our place.  It was WONDERFUL having them here!

Thursday morning found me taking Tina and Gail to the airport for their 530 AM flight.  It was hard to say “see you soon” but I will be seeing them back home in the spring.

Back home, I was able to get a few more hours sleep, then did my cleaning and laundry.

On Friday, 3rd, Sue and I took off for Lacey, Washington to the Shipwrecked Bead Store.  We walked in and our mouths dropped – it was a HUGE warehouse full of LOTS of good beading STUFF!!  WOW!  They even have a place for breakfast and lunch.

We got there about 1030 AM and didn’t leave until 3 PM.  The picture above and below is only about half of that store – AMAZING!

So did we buy “Stuff”.  Oooohhhhh some…   …

We finished the evening by having dinner at the Elks.

Another great day and great week with good friends.

Tomorrow we are heading to Salem, Oregon.  And this begins our trek south to Arizona for the winter.

Stay tuned and enjoy today.

 

Yes, we are blessed!