Sandpoint, Idaho

October 14-16, 2011 Days 258,259 260

Sandpoint, Idaho


Our good friends, Candy and Rick Lubansky, asked us to meet them in Idaho, approximately half way between our house and theirs in Belgrade, Montana. Harris is always eager to go, regardless of the weather…(except perhaps if there is snow in the passes.)

This trip could be called Unfortunately/Fortunately…..

Harris replacing the turbo resonator on Howie



We planned to leave on Thursday, the 13, to give ourselves a nice, easy trip over two days. We were waiting for a part to arrive, so we could fix the hot water heater. It was scheduled to arrive on Wednesday, so that would be no problem. Unfortunately, we forgot that Monday had been a federal holiday, and the mail was delayed. Fortunately, we had an extra day to get the part and do the work. Unfortunately, we had had our mail held starting on Thursday. So, while we were waiting for the mail to arrive, it never did for us. Fortunately, Harris was able to get to the mail annex where mail is held before closing and pick up the part. He put it in, and we packed up ready to get an early start on Friday.


Our spot at Farragut State Park



Which we did! (For us!) We were on the road by 8 AM. It rained some, seemed gray and uninviting, but we hoped things would improve on the eastern side of the mountains. The fall colors were beautiful, even in the rain. Lots of gold and yellow, and bits of red, especially just over Stevens Pass. But the temperature was dropping fast. It was actually 34 at the top of the pass, and there were some snowflakes mixed in with the rain.
We did a quick stop in Leavenworth, then on we went on Highway 2 through Wenatchee. We dropped down to Interstate 90 near Moses Lake. Fortunately!


The "Payoff Breakfast"



As we were going along, Harris kept looking at a gizmo on the dash and frowning. When Judy queried him, he said that Howie wasn’t responding like he should, and we were losing power. Not good. What did he think it was? Fortunately, Harris does lots and lots of reading on the internet, and knew that the turbo resonator could be responsible. Also fortunately, Harris had an extra one in Howie, just in case this ever happened. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the right tool along to fix it.
We stopped someplace for internet access, and Harris looked up the nearest Dodge dealer. Fortunately, there was one in Moses Lake, and we weren’t too far from it. We drove there and Harris talked to someone named Dan, who lent him the tool, and even helped him replace the resonator. Yay! It worked! We were on our way in less than 30 minutes with full power and no repair bill or hassle. Harris did give him a good tip for his help

Chef Rick and Sous chef Candy



So, on we went. We were headed for Round Lake State Park, near Sandpoint , Idaho, and we reached there about 6, just before it was getting dark. We discovered that the water had been turned off to the park, so no showers or flushing toilets, or water from the taps. Hmmm. We called Candy and suggested that we meet in Farragut State Park, about 30 miles back. It is a much larger park (actually it is h-u-g-e) and we were sure it would be more suitable for all. We got there just before the office was closing up, and secured a site that would hold us both. It had power, but, unfortunately, the water was turned off there as well! Time to get ready for winter, we were told. By this time it was getting dark, so we drove to our site and cooked our dinner. We called Candy with specific directions to find us, because, as mentioned, this park is h-u-g-e, and if you miss certain turns, you’ll be lost!


Green algae on the lake



Unfortunately, Candy and Rick did get lost. Fortunately, our new phones get service and we were able to help them find their way back in the dark. They arrived about 10:30. We talked for a brief time, then everyone headed for bed.
Harris and Rick had both become disgusted and discouraged with the Mariners and the Twins baseball teams. (Meaning their losing seasons.) So, just to keep their interest going, they had made a bet on which of the two losers would have a better overall record. Who would have guessed the Mariners? Harris did, and Rick had to cook a breakfast for the four of us the next morning. And what a breakfast!
Steak, grilled over charcoal, scrambled eggs, hash browns, fruit cups, and huge cinnamon rolls they bought earlier at Wheat Montana. It was a feast!

Judy and Candy in the early morning



After this brunch, we decided to go back and check out Round Lake again, since neither park had water. Once there, we picked our sites, plugged Howie in, and set off for some geocaching around the park. The weather had turned sunny, and it was great to hike around, although it was still cold! After we found four, we headed into Sandpoint to do some exploring.
Sandpoint turned out to be a much bigger town than we expected, and we enjoyed looking at some shops, doing a little more geocaching, and trying out the local watering holes. We found one place that was pretty empty at about 4:30, so we ordered drinks and played cards while watching Texas beat Detroit for the AL title. By 6, the place was filling up fast, so we decided we had to relinquish our table for families coming in for dinner. Harris had brought some chicken enchiladas for dinner, but we snacked so much in town that we didn’t need dinner that night. So, back at camp, we just ate cookies and played more cards. (Harris wants it noted that out of four games, he didn’t win one. Judy won one, Rick won one, and Candy won one. He says Judy always whines about his luck, so please put this in.)


Candy and Rick "adopting" Jacob



Did we mention we are starting to believe Candy and Rick are directionally challenged???? When they left Howie to return to their rig, (Goldie), they got lost! Fortunately, they had headlamps, so they found their way back to us. Judy grabbed another flashlight and showed them where they were parked….on our left….
It was another cold, cold, night, and we were grateful for power and our little electric heater!
Sunday morning, Harris cooked an excellent breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast for us all. We walked around the park and lake a bit in the sunshine, and then Candy and Rick had to head home. (We can’t convince Candy to retire just yet, and she has to go back to work Monday morning. Poor thing.) We decided to drive towards home and see if we wanted to stop anywhere along the way.
Instead of going back up to Sandpoint and over to Highway 2, we turned left out of the park and met up with Highway 2 at Priest River. It was a gorgeous drive through the wooded countryside, following rivers and streams. We stopped at one geocache a few miles from the camp and found it rather quickly….it was rated a 4 out of 5 for difficulty so we felt smug.


Harris and Judy by Round Lake



As we drove west through the sunshine, we kept saying that if the temperature rose just a bit more, we’d consider stopping somewhere. It did get up to 64, briefly, but then the shadows started forming and the temps started dropping again, so we decided to just go all the way home. We stopped in Spokane for a bit of gas….good thing because when we stopped again in Monroe, we were down to our last gallon! Harris has a lot more faith in the “empty” signal than Judy does! We also stopped in Wenatchee for an early dinner, splitting a breakfast at Denny’s. Harris wanted to make it snappy, because the last game between St. Louis and Milwaukee was due to start on the radio. We listened to most of the game before we made it home about 8. The weather was great except just west of Stevens Pass we ran into heavy fog and a bit of rain.


Stopping at Albeni Falls dam in Idaho



(Side note: before the games, we were listening to Tina Fey read her book “Bossypants”…hilarious and informative!)
It was a quick trip, but fun to see a new part of Idaho and as always, to spend time with good friends.
Day 1 miles driven =393
Day 3 miles driven =393
Total miles =786 Wow!

Wenatchee to see the Olsons

October 3, 2011 to October 5, 2011 Days 255- 257

Wenatchee


Where the hitch snapped





Our "bike rack" while heading back home



Judy’s sister and brother-in-law, Marilyn and Gene, were going on a 2 week camping trip, and making a stop in Wenatchee, which is just over the mountains for us on highway 2. So, of course, Harris says, “Why don’t we go join them?” Any excuse to go in Howie, right? (Or is it the fact that Judy usually makes oatmeal raisin cookies for our trips? Hmmmm.)

Our first spot at Wenatchee Confluence State Park



We started off from Lake Stevens rather late on Monday morning, since we knew Marilyn and Gene wouldn’t get to Wenatchee until the afternoon anyway. We stopped in Monroe for gas and groceries. Good thing we did! As we were leaving the parking lot, going slowly over the big speed bumps, we heard a great crash. “What in the world?” we both said, looking in the back of Howie, and then in the mirrors. We saw our bikes lying on the ground in the parking lot! Our bike rack had just broken off, clean in two, at the hitch! We pulled over and grabbed our bikes which seem to be okay. BUT!! We were just so thankful that it happened in the parking lot and not on the busy freeway going over Stevens Pass! We could have caused a very serious accident.

4 or 5 people fishing?



. We put the bikes inside Howie and went back home to unload them. Then we left again. We didn’t arrive in Wenatchee until about 4 PM….cocktail hour. We met Marilyn and Gene at the Wenatchee Confluence State Park. It is a great park situated where the Wenatchee River meets the Columbia River. We were surprised that it was so full. After all, this was a Monday in October, and the weather was just so-so. The sites are spread out across grassy fields, and our first site was a little ways away from Marilyn’s. (The next day we were able to move right across from them when someone left.)

Wish this sign was posted on more trails



Harris cooked a great meal of barbequed chicken, salad, bread, with Judy-baked oatmeal cookies and spumoni ice cream for dessert. It was a little chilly, eating outside, so we went inside Howie to play cards afterwards. Harris beat us all at Quarters.

We spotted a White Heron on our walk



We discovered our electric hot water heater wasn’t working, so we had to use our gas heater to get hot water. No problem there, just wondering what’s wrong with the device Harris installed a year ago to use electricity to heat the water. About 5 AM on Tuesday morning, the carbon monoxide alarm went off! That woke us up in a hurry. We had windows open already, but opened the door and the ceiling vent and tried to mute the alarm. It stopped, we went back to bed, it went off again! We did the drill one more time, but this time Harris took it apart and shook it around a little and that seemed to do the trick. But of course, we were up for the day at that point.

A side benefit of "Click Clack" cache site



Tuesday was a bit of a cloudy day, but not bad. We went for a morning walk on a nature trail around the park with Marilyn, Gene and their dog, Trix. Then Marilyn wanted to go into Leavenworth , a cute Bavarian tourist town about 10 miles back toward the pass to shop. She hadn’t been there for many years. Harris decided it wasn’t his cup of tea, and he stayed back in camp to relax and do some geocaching.

A clever cache near a Home Depot



While Marilyn, Gene and Judy shopped their feet off, Harris borrowed Gene’s bike and found about 11 caches. Using the bike, he was able to find caches along the train tracks, some others scattered around a nearby commercial area, and on the way back to camp loop through a couple of riverside parks. Harris had a great time.

Low lying morning clouds (at least it was dry)



We met up again for dinner, which we ate inside this time, and cards. We played Whist, which Judy and Gene won. Then Gene almost beat us all at Quarters, except! We added a new rule that if you hit a multiple of 100 during the game, your score reverts to zero….which Marilyn did. So, she was the winner.

Another clever cache hiding spot in a small park



It rained a lot that night, and we discovered a new leak by the ceiling fan the next morning. As it continued to pour, we decided to skip the garden tour we had talked about doing and just come on home. We hoped for better weather, but of course, that’s silly. If it’s raining in eastern Washington, it’s raining even harder in Lake Stevens! But at least we got out a little bit. Even though we call ourselves Sunseekers, we do go camping in the rain…..now that we have our little House on Wheels!

Our 2nd camping spot



Total miles driven over 3 days (including extra 34 for bikes = 286

Shelton, WA

September 16 and 17, 2011 Days 253, 254

We left Brookings bright and early (for us!) at 7 AM to make the journey home again. We went the highway route through California to I-5 to avoid construction delays along 101. We made a few stops for food and gas, stopped at a huge quilt shop in Portland, and then reached Glenda’s in Shelton about 6, just in time for dinner. It was raining when we left the coast, so we weren’t too sad to be leaving. (Still, just a bit, the Oregon coast is just so beautiful, even in the rain).


Our sleeping site for the night



Glenda made us a great dinner of salmon, corn, tomatoes, zucchini, and beans. All the veggies were from her garden and so tasted so fresh and wonderful. We had some peaches for dessert that we had brought with us from Oregon. We stayed up late talking and visiting….as usual.

Back in the Washington rain!



On Saturday, Harris did a few minor things for Glenda, and we took a morning walk in the pouring rain…first time we’ve done that in a long while. When we remarked on this to Glenda, she asked “How?” and we replied, “Oh, if it’s raining hard, we just wait awhile for it to clear…no hurry, you know!” which just about sums up our retired lives. It was raining most of the way home, and that seemed a fitting end to this little trip. We started out in hot and sunny weather and ended up in the rain. Harris is ready to go out again seeking the sun as soon as the laundry’s done!

Our hot breakfast provided by Glenda



Total miles September 16 = 475 miles
Total miles September 17= 130 miles

Robin Hood

September 14 and 15, 2011 Days 251 and 252

Sliders by Harris, veggies by Helen, peach cobbler by Judy



We spent the last two days being very lazy and enjoying our visit with the Donahues. We’ve taken walks on the beach, watched the waves for hours and talked and laughed and played farkle with our friends.

Stairway to the private beach



Harris made dinner on Wednesday night. We had eaten at Ruth’s Chris Steak House (happy hour) in Seattle a few weeks ago, and loved their tenderloin sliders. Harris looked up the recipe on line and decided to give it a try. Wow! It was a huge hit, a most delicious dinner. We had fresh peaches for dessert. They are so delectable this time of year!

Starfish with a view



The main reason we came down to Brookings was to see Joe in his stage debut. He was in a little theater production of “The Somewhat true tales of Robin Hood”, playing Little John. He did a great job and we really enjoyed seeing the show. Helen treated us to dinner at a Chinese restaurant and then the show. Who knew Brookings was such a cultural scene?

Joe Donahue as "Little John"









Tomorrow we plan to get up bright and early and head back north. It’s been a wonderful trip and a restful break!

Total miles driven last 2 days= 0 miles

Brookings, OR

September 12 and 13, 2011 Days 249-250


Our campsite at Honeyman State Park near Florence



We didn’t go as far as Sunset Beach. Next time! On Monday, we just meandered down the coast, stopping at quilt shops and view points along the way. We camped at Jessie Honeymoon State Park, which has the largest coastal sand dunes in North America. We were about 2 miles from the ocean, but right up against humungous sand dunes.

On the trail to the sand dunes



We rode our bikes around the campground, and along one bike path, then came back to Howie to make dinner. While we were finishing, a woman came up to us and asked us questions about Howie. We were glad to show him off. We got to visiting, and found out this woman and her husband were leading biking/hiking tours around the western US.

The high road we'd rather not take



They were currently biking from Astoria down the coast, and then going to Seattle to do a tour in the San Juan Islands. Quite impressive, especially because they both looked older than us, at least their faces and hair did…their bodies were in great shape! After they left, we looked at each other and had to laugh about how we had griped biking up little hills and climbing on the dunes.

Judy, the trail blazer, leading us



Tuesday morning we hiked further up the dunes and across some trails, then headed towards Brookings. We did the usual stops for quilt shops, overlooks and lunch, and pulled in here about 4:30 in the afternoon. We’re visiting our good friends, Joe and Helen Donahue. Joe was just heading out for play practice…which is the reason we came.

On the very cloudy road to Brookings



We’re going to watch his community theater production of “The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood” on Thursday night. We can’t wait to see him in tights!

Hearty surfers catching some waves



Helen gave us a great dinner, we visited til late in the night, and went to sleep in their parking lot. Quiet and peaceful!

Our breakfast cook for today



Total miles driven these 2 days= 150 miles

The view from their condo looking northward

Camping at WI-NE-MA

September 10 and 11, 2001 Days 247-248


Our true beachfront campsite



Last October we had at an overlook and spotted an RV campground on the Oregon coast that was right on the beach. Before we left home on this trip, we called them and found out we could stay there on Saturday and Sunday nights, but would have to be out Monday morning because they were expecting a group for the whole week.

Judy walking on the beach



So, we made plans to leave Mt. Rainier, even though the weather was unbelievably beautiful and warm, and head for the Oregon coast so we could stay at Wi-ne-ma camp. It is a Christian camp used mostly in the summertime for kids, and the RV part is not very big. But, as we stated, it is right on the beach. There is just a little bit of beach grass between Howie and the ocean. So we’ve traded the peace and quiet of the mountains for the peace and roaring of the ocean. Both are heavenly when it’s time to sleep.

View looking north



We ate lunch along the way, and arrived here in the late afternoon. We are about 40 miles south of Tillamook and about 16 miles north of Lincoln City. Barefoot and shoeless, we walked on the beach in the dazzling 78 degrees sunlight, enjoying the crash of the waves. While we were sitting on our chairs after dinner, just gazing out at the ocean, we noticed some plumes that seemed to go straight up in the air, not curling over like the waves do.

Howie from the water



Hmmm, we thought, those look familiar, but it seems the wrong time of year for whales. After spotting several more plumes, we knew we were seeing whales! A quick check of the internet confirmed that there are about 40 gray whales that stay around this area year round. Most gray whales migrate through here in the winter and spring. We watched the sun go down over the water and Harris took pictures with the time exposure so he could jump in the frame. How technology has improved! Many years ago, when he’d set the timer, we‘d get pictures of his back as he ran to get into the frame. Now, we never seem to miss!

Enjoying the sunset



Let’s see…Judy beat Harris at cards on our second night out, so we had to play again for the championship game. It was close, but Harris won. The Mariners didn’t.

Group of fishers along the river



On Sunday, we went into Lincoln City for some geocaching and looking around. The shops weren’t anything special, but we found 11s caches, and ran into another couple from Portland when we were trying to find the cache at Catherine’s Garden. They were celebrating their 36th anniversary (same as ours) and It was fun to talk “geospeak” with them and compare notes. They use their I-phone to find the caches. Harris listened to the Mariners lose again while Judy looked around the shops.

Wasted view from L.C. Safeway's loading dock in back of store



Back to camp for another walk on the beach before dinner. The wind has picked up and since the temperature was at least 15 degrees cooler than yesterday, we had to put our windbreakers (aka rain coats) on. It was still sunny, although we see some clouds rolling in. No whales today! We had a great steak and salad supper.

Clever cache hide in 30 by 30 foot neighborhood cemetary in Lincoln City



Tomorrow we think we’ll head for Sunset Beach State Park, further south along the coast. We will miss being this close to the ocean. Harris will miss the showers here (they had fantastic water pressure especially after showering in Howie at Mt. Rainier).

A cache site where we had lunch



Total miles driven last two days = 295

A seagull's lunch which Harris would have enjoyed sharing

Off to Mt. Rainier

September 8 and 9, 2001 Days 245-246


Tasha got married on September 3rd, and it was a glorious affair. We spent most of the summer preparing for it, and poor Howie only got out of the driveway once, over the fourth of July. We had prayed and prayed for good weather for Tasha’s wedding, and were rewarded with almost a month of sunshine.

So, after all of our friends left, we just had to get into Howie and take off. Judy usually likes to go to Mt. Rainier in August, but we were busy then and there was too much snow on the trails anyway. But this glorious September weather was just made for a trip to the mountains and the ocean, and that’s where we headed.

One of 2 caching sites we stopped at but didn't find



Thursday morning we headed out. We stopped for gas and a quick fix to the passenger seat…it wouldn’t latch in place and stay that way! Harris rigged something that would work until we return home. He’s so good at that! We headed south into the sunshine and up to the mountain. We originally wanted to go to Sunrise for a day, then head down to Paradise, but the road in between them is closed for some work. Fortunately we knew that before we left, so we just went to Paradise, and camped at Cougar Rock. It wasn’t too full on Thursday, but Friday night was a different story!

A great wood carving at cache site



We brought our bikes on this trip, and biked around the various loops in the campground to get the kinks out, picking out good campsites for future visits. Then Harris cooked a great steak dinner with rolls and green beans from Marilyn’s garden. Perfect. After dinner we strolled around some, then when it got dark returned to Howie for the night. We wanted to take showers, and for a while it seemed we weren’t going to be able to, because we couldn’t get the gas heater going. Harris fussed around a bit, looked at the book, went back and forth inside and out, then finally figured out he had to reset it because it had previously been run by electricity when we plugged in. Eureka! Hot water and showers! Then he trounced Judy at cards, yet again, while listening to the Mariners beat the KC Royals. He was a happy camper tonight!

Our campsite at Mt. Rainier



It was a glorious night. We had to take another stroll before bed. The moon was shining so brightly that we watched our shadows move before us on the road. The trees were silver tipped with the light. There are no streetlights here, and the only sound is the Nisqually River In the distance, roaring away. Such peace! That’s why we love it here.

Lupines



On Friday we went up to Paradise to see the new visitor center and hike a bit. We went up to Myrtle Falls and a ways further along the Skyline Trail, probably about 3 miles in all. It was hot! The wildflowers were beautiful and abundant, particularly the lupines, which filled the meadows with a sweet, almost grape-like smell. We hiked until we found a small patch of snow, then turned around to head back for some lunch. We made sandwiches and ate them on a bench which faced Mt. Rainier. Could you ask for a better view? Don’t think so!

Steak, toasted rolls, Olson's beans



After we lingered there for a while we came back to camp and sat outside to enjoy the peace and quiet. Perhaps it was too quiet…Judy started to nod off, and Harris said, “We have to do something!” So we went for another short bike ride, and discovered that the bottom 2 loops of the campground had been opened up for the weekend. Hmmmm…..maybe there’s a better site than ours! We thought we found one, and Harris went back to get Howie. Alas, when he came back, we discovered the beautiful site was quite uneven, and not really worth the move. So, back to loop B again, which really was fine to begin with. Harris thought we should be getting hungry, it must be time for dinner, but it was only 4:30!What to do? I know, let’s walk down to Longmire and the lodge there, just to go somewhere.

Our lunchtime view from the new lodge



It’s a mile and a half from the campground to the lodge if you take the trail through the woods. The trail parallels the Nisqually River and the road, and is a great walk….almost all downhill. We were not looking forward to the return trip! We got to the lodge, looked around, and debated the merits of hitch hiking a ride back up the hill to the campground. Would anyone stop if we stuck out our thumbs? We didn’t want to chance it, but did decide to walk along the road, even though it added a half mile to the return trip. It was a steady uphill climb, but gentler than the trail. So up and up we plodded along, not daring to stop because a pesky fly was just waiting for us every time we did.

A snow boarder in Mid-September!



Harris made a great dinner tonight. He pounded some chicken breasts with the hatchet, dipped them in egg and breadcrumbs, then grilled them along with some beans. Who cooks like this on a camping trip? (Besides Marilyn!) Good thing we walked so much today!

Howie posing...



Total miles driven these 2 days= 160