Barview Jetty, Rockaway Beach, OR

Today is Sunday and we've been on the road for 7 days.   Gary says it is starting to feel like home and not just a fancy toy to him now.    It rained last night!   That's been something I have wanted to have happened in the MoHo and I wasn't disappointed.  I loved hearing the rain hitting the roof.   We both slept well again and slept in until almost 9!   Wow up here in Oregon it stays light late.  Still light at 10pm, so we've been awake a little later - that's my story and I'm sticking to it.  

After breakfast and watching the news got ready to leave for the day and Gary found that our ice-maker is leaking outside.   May be a loose fitting or cracked hose, we turned it off for the day.  Not a big deal but something to watch.

We headed to Tillamook to the Cheese Factory.  Yesterday we drove by and we were shocked at the number of cars and people milling about.    They are open in the summer from 8am to 8pm.   I have to say I was a bit disappointed.   I expected to actually see the cheese making process, but the cheese making process is pretty much automated!   You go up the second floor to an observation area and watch the factory floor.   There are large stainless steel vats making cheese - duh!  Of course there is. On the other side was an assembly line where large blocks of cheese are being cut into smaller chunks packaged in shrink wrap then into boxes.   From the looks of the long lines the main attraction is free samples.   They have samples of all kinds of their cheese.    They were selling their ice cream too - now that looked mighty yummy.   Of course as a severely lactose intolerant person I had no samples of anything in that factory!  I did buy some grilling sauce and bbq sauce and had the grilling sauce tonight - it was delicious.  I'm thinking of stopping there tomorrow on our way out of town for another jar.   

Next stop was the Latimer Quilt and Textile Center - a small old schoolhouse that has been preserved and converted to facilitate the local quilt guild and large weaving looms.   They periodically have demonstrations on the looms - that would have been awesome to see.  I had to buy some fabric to help support their endeavor!

All throughout the town of Tillamook there are quilt blocks in wood on businesses and homes.  I've seen this in other areas of the country as well.   I love it!  Gary got a few pictures of some of them.

Then it was on to the Oregon Coast Scenic Trail Steam Locomotive ride!   Caleb - you would have loved this and I thought about you the whole ride!  

 And I had my first fire and S'mores!    Yummy

Before dinner tonight we went down to the beach in our campground and took a few pictures.  I love being at the ocean.   It continues to be cool and overcast and I'm not complaining one bit.

 Well it was a busy day!  We head out tomorrow for Florence, Oregon.   I'm driving the CRV since it's just a 100 miles or so and will probably just drive to Gold Beach after that as well, since we are going to be there for seven days.  Time is flying!   Miss my babies but we are really enjoying ourselves.

FORT STEVENS STATE PARK, HAMMOND OREGON

As we left Tumalo State Park we drove individually to a church parking lot in order to hitch the CRV to the MoHo on an even surface,  Gary had a deer run across the road in front of him, again.   He had plenty of room and no need to even brake and he was glad I wasn't with him.    So that's our third deer this time.    We've seen a lot of signs warning of ELK but have not seen those yet.

Hitched the CRV first try,  Gary is getting better at that!    Hit the road on US 20 headed for Fort Stevens on the very northernmost Oregon Coast at the mouth of the Columbia River.   We travelled about 250 miles or so and crossed the Cascades.   Most of the mileage was two lane roads, which were good roads, lots of trees and lots of ups and downs as Caleb would say.   We skirted around Portland and hit a bit of traffic there but nothing like we are used to.

Arrived at Fort Stevens State Park in Hammond Oregon about 1ish.    Great check in area, plenty of room to maneuver and unhitch the CRV.  Very nice, very large park,    About 550 sites I believe.  The park is heavily wooded and lots of shrubbery and lots of mosquitoes!    We were prepared for that with our bug spray.   I managed to get just one bite!    But I did not sit outside much.   They also have yurts and deluxe cabins for rent. 

After getting settled in we took a ride through the park and we headed to see the Peter Iredale shipwreck which is still sitting in the sand with the front bow is visible and is all that's left.
The Oregon coast is very different than our Southern California coast.    There are very wide swaths of hard pack sand and vehicles can drive on certain sections of the beach.   There are a lot of rocks and a lot of wood debris in some areas.   Very breezy, very cool and definitely not a sunbathing beach that we are familiar with.

We then saw a  sign for one of Fort Stevens' gun batteries and we stopped to take a look.   Gary got some pictures and will be guest posting here with all the details.   Fascinating fact:  at this battery in June of 1942 a Japanese submarine fired on it.   The battery returned fire.  That was the first time since the war of 1812 that a foreign nation fired on the Continental United States.   In 1992 , the 50th anniversary, survivors of that Japanese submarine and Fort Stevens personnel dedicated a memorial to "everlasting peace between our two countries"

We also drove to the South Jetty and got some pretty pics of the ocean.  They have a wooden overlook built so you can see over the rocks that form the jetty.  

We then returned to MoHo and cooked dinner.  We were able to pull in about 5 channels using our antenna.  We had no Internet and very weak cell service.

On Friday we slept in late, cooked pancakes and sausage, and then hit the word for Astoria.  I took Gary to the Astoria Column commemorating the end of the Lewis and Clark Expedition at the mouth of the Columbia river.   As you can see in picture the column is "sheathed"  (get it Mo?) as they are restoring it.    The views are incredible and I thank Debbie Dunsworth for sharing it with me the first time.

We then went to the Columbia River Maritime Museum.   Money and time well spent.   It was a very interesting look at the life of the fishermen on the Columbia and the pilots who steer the large ships into the channel.   The channel is a very treacherous area for ships because of the large sand deposits that are constantly shifting.  Interesting fact;   since 1792 there have been over 2000 shipwrecks on the "bar" which is a sandbar.

We headed to Seaside and ate lunch at the Crabby Oyster - same place the girls and I and Debbie ate!
Then had to take the obligatory picture at the Seaside sign!   Gary had to buy some fudge and then we headed home.

Had dinner, watched Seinfeld on the Blue Ray and hit the hay.    Side note - I have slept like a log every night.   Amazing for me.   Of course I wear my ear plugs and can't hear a thing but it's working.

Bend and Three Sisters, Oregon

First day we actually slept in!   Beautiful weather, slept with the windows open, got down to 60.  We had our breakfast then headed for the High Desert Museum - rated the #1 thing to do in Bend, Oregon and boy were they right on the money.    A beautiful museum, very interactive for the kids, with live animals and lots of history and antiques.  Listened to a docent speech regarding the Apex predators (that being the bears and large cats, like cougars) and the lack thereof and how that impacts the entire ecosystem and animal kingdom.  Very interesting.   A large focus on the Indians of the northwest and high desert region, which we learned today includes Colorado/Montana/Idaho as well as Oregon east of the Cascade Mountains.

We watched two otters frolicking in their habitat, which is going to be remodeled and enlarged to include more otters.   There were displays of covered wagons and all the equipment the pioneers carried, to include chests with all their eating/cooking utensils, chests for their clothing and all the weaponry.  I found the place to be very thought provoking.   Thinking about the Indians and how the white man displaced them and eventually totally eliminated their way of life - is that what we call survival of the fittest?  They really are and were the true first Americans and it's a shame we don't pay them more homage.    I really felt a little sad at being a descendant of the people who almost wiped them from the earth!   Pretty deep - eh?   What's happening to me in my old age? 

Look at this handsome guy posing for me!

Here's the cute little otters "frolicking" - don't ya love that word - don't ya want to "frolick" from time to time?

We left there and drove about 18 miles to Sisters, Oregon.   If you are a quilter you may know it.  There is a big outdoor quilt show in Sisters every year on the second Saturday of July and this year is their 40th!   Wow - the town's population is 2000 something but during that weekend it swells tremendously.    The big attraction is they hang quilts outside on the buildings for everyone to see and people enter quilts from around the world.    Amazing!   I've known about it for several years so just had to drive through town and stop in at the Stitchin Post Quilt Shop and check it out.   Gary wandered the streets a bit while I browsed.    He found a shop that sells fudge - his favorite!  Highway 20 is lined with quaint little shops and eateries.   Very cute little town and a very nice quilt shop that also sold yarn.   I restrained myself and just looked!   He took a pic of the store for me -

On the way to Sisters we stopped at a Vista Point.   There are three mountains in the Cascade Range that are known as the Three Sisters - get it?   So here's our pic of the Three Sisters - still with snow - not very good pictures but you can see the snow. 

Well tomorrow is a travel day - headed for Fort Stevens State Park in Northern Oregon on the coast, so we will be driving up and over the Cascade Mountains tomorrow.   

Redding CA to Bend OR

We travelled from Redding, CA to Bend, Oregon.  Beautiful drive up and down mountains but MoHo did fantastic.   Mt Shasta still has a scattering of snow - beautiful to see.

For Roger and Val - we saw signs for Black Bear Diner!   And there is one in Bend!  We drove by it tonight

We are at Tumalo State Park.   Now this is a campground - lots of trees and big boulders and a fire pit!  Here's the site

And look what wandered in while we were outside enjoying the fresh air -

On the road today as we were heading into Bend, one of these beautiful animals sauntered across the road in front of us.  Thank goodness we had lots of time to allow him/her to cross without causing us to take any evasive action - whew!

Backtracking a bit when we left Redding we crossed over Shasta Lake - it looked really low but it is a huge lake

We got to Face Time with our babies today.   Caleb is killing me with the "wish I could have gone with you Mimi" and baby girl reaches her finger out to touch me!   I miss those little critters.

We are here in Bend for two nights - which is really nice - I don't like the travel some place different every day routine.   

Connie had quite a scare last night.  She had four tornado warnings for her area - she spent a lot of time in the basement stairwell between a mattress and box spring!   Her, Zach and the cat.  We so desperately need some of the rain they are getting hammered with.  

Someone asked about our headsets.   We each have a headset we can wear when we are "landing" at our camp site.   I'm on the outside giving Gary some help with spotting him and the MoHo etc.  In the old days when we did this we were yelling at quite a distance to each other and that didn't work well at all.  He's hearing impaired and I'm getting that way - so it's so nice to talk to him and he to me with our headsets.    So very civilized!

Tomorrow we will do some exploring locally and we are going to take the CRV into Sisters, Oregon. There's a few quilt shops on my "to see" list!  

Patterson, CA to Redding, CA

Day 2 found us up at 6 and on the road by 7:30.   I slept soundly (ear plugs are the best thing!) and felt well rested.   We had little to do to prepare for the road - unhook electricity/water bring in the slides and we are good to go.  We didn't unhook the car because we had a pull through site and not much in Patterson we needed to see.

Here we be at our spot in Patterson, CA!  Not much at this campsite to write home about for sure. 

Stopped at a Pilot Truck Stop for gas - after pulling into the end pump and getting filled up we realized there were two pumps specifically for RV's at the other side of the station.   Something we didn't know Pilot did but we will look for them in the future.

We arrived in Redding about 1pm and set up with no issues.  We have a sewer hook up here so we will be dumping tomorrow.    Gary tired - had some high wind areas today and that requires both hands on the wheel - so he napped when we arrived. Gary used the cruise control so we were sailing about 62MPH.  Figured out the TV.  There is an antenna booster switch near the front passenger seat.  We now know that it must be off when we are trying to use cable and turned on when we are using our antenna!   Whew glad we figured that out - tonight is the Bachelorette!!!  We are using our headsets effectively for set up - no yelling at each other!

Nothing much to see on this leg of the trip - lots of agriculture and very brown, barren lands.

Last night we had a bit of a struggle with the night time roller shade on our door.  So a screwdriver or two came in handy and we were able to pull it out and wind it by hand then replace it.   It was in a difficult spot to get to but working together we did it!

Tomorrow's location is Tumalo State Park in Bend Oregon!    It's a back-in site (fun times) with FHU.
It's about 289 miles away.   

THE ADVENTURE HAS BEGUN

Day 1 - we have arrived in Patterson, CA at the Kit Fox RV Park.  Not much to talk about regarding the park gravel pads, FHU, freeway close.   Very convenient for a one night stopover.  $23.00 with our Passport America

Our day began with some issues related to hitching up the CRV.   Apparently the hitch wouldn't lock in because we live on a slightly sloped street.   We drove the partially hitched CRV (scary I know) over to the high school where after several attempts we were successful.  Just a few bad words were used - so not too bad!  We were off just about a half hour late.

Nothing to report on the travel - did the Tejon Pass with no trouble.  Very happy about the performance of the MoHo going both up and down the pass.  Of course we aren't used to going so slowly but there's no hurry now is there?

Got gas and found a TA station with nice big area to turn into and nicely spaced pumps.  Able to
turn away from pump with no issues!  Yay - I've been stressing about our gas station stops since this is the first time we will be getting gas in lots of different places.  We use the same station at home.  Since we are approximately 40 to 43 feet in length total - it's a task that you need to think about for sure, especially since there is no backing up this puppy with the CRV behind us.  Yikes

Gary did a great job driving - I was able to keep my mouth shut and not make any scary noises.

We still are having issues with tv - so no tv - but we don't need tv.   Tried using the rv park cable and got no signal or channels.   Haven't  even tried antenna just not worth it. 

Adios - until tomorrow night!  No pictures today - for some reason can't get them uploaded to Google Photos from my Iphone   Maybe tomorrow I'll try taking some with big camera and uploading to my comptuer directly.   

Meet the babies as they look today!   Sweetie pies......