We arrived about 11am Monday at Lake Sammamish State Park, and it has rained 3 of the 5 days we have been here.
We were immediately greeted by Heather, the office park aid. There are 2 host sites and she told us to pick the one we wanted. We took the one we had last year. We were told that Wayne and Phyllis are coming back in July and they like the other site. It will be nice to see them again.
We got a surprise upon our arrival, the utilities have been improved. There is now 50 amp service, increased water pressure and a more permanent looking sewer connection.
After we had parked, Rick, the park mgr, Heather, the volunteer coordinator and Hugo, the chief park aid came by to say hello. We were happy to see them and they were happy that we had returned.
We finished setting up, cleaned up, then headed to Fred & Becky's house for 3 days.
We got to see and hold Gracie and admire how much she had changed since we had seen her. We went up to school to get Lindsay and spend the afternoon in the park (one of the days it didn't rain). We got reacquainted with some of Becky's friends while the kids played. Gracie sat in front of me on the picnic table and played with some toys. She is such a happy baby. They are so lucky to have had happy babies.
Becky, Brenda and Gracie were up at Lindsay's school Tuesday & Wednesday along with Becky's friends. Lindsay finished school on Wednesday and then they went to one of Becky's friends house for a gathering where the kids played and the adult women chatted.
Heather and I went to look at RV parks that were interesting and within our price range, We are looking at all options if we are forced to spend the winter here due to fuel costs.
We are also looking into the possibility of staying here at the park for the winter. We have been told that there is a possibility that that could be arranged.
We are just looking at all possibilities at this time.
Washington State has decided to put on a day use fee for state parks to start July 1st. They are following what other states have had in place for years.
To keep from closing parks, there has to some sort of revenue generated.
A day use fee was imposed a few years ago, but not enough time was given before the fee was rescinded. There was a lot of resistance to the fees and use of the parks diminished. The state legislators rescinded the fee before there was time for a leveling off, and the use of the parks returned to normal.
It is expected that there will be resistance again and the 4th of July weekend will be rather quiet.
Fireworks are not allowed in the parks, and along with the imposition of the fee, use is expected to be minimal. We shall see.
Ta ta for now.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Almost there
We are now in Moses Lake, WA. We arrived here just before noon. This is a nice park. It is an ROD park and for a change we are not in the least desirable section of the park.
We drove from Rapid City on Friday to Reed Point, MT. We have stayed at this park in the past and it is a nice overnight park. Cheap and it has no amenities. Wifi is non existent in this park or that part of Montana. There is no cable tv and you can't get local stations unless you have an antenna that is 30 feet tall. So we watched a movie and went to bed early.
It doesn't get dark until 10 pm there, so the night shades were closed in the bedroom.
We stayed in a park that we used last year in Missoula. It is a very nice park, well landscaped and well taken care of. It is a bit pricey, but it was close to town and church, yet very quiet.
Speaking of church, we went back to the church that we went to last year, It is old and Gothic with Frescoes on all flat or curved surfaces. It is ornate and beautiful.
The song leader for the 5pm mass, had a beautiful voice and he did not need a sound system.
We will be at Lake Sammamish tomorrow and we will see the family tomorrow also.
Fred called while we were on our way here and said just go ahead and drive the extra 165 miles today. I said I didn't think so as we had driven 300 miles today already.
The last 16 miles of I-90 in MT is very rough road. We had to be very careful when we opened the cabinets as much had shifted during that stretch of road. I even slowed down to 50 miles an hour with the speed limit of 75. Nobody was driving that fast though and one person followed us all the way into Idaho.
Nothing broke and we arrived in one piece, so all is good.
Ta ta for now.
We drove from Rapid City on Friday to Reed Point, MT. We have stayed at this park in the past and it is a nice overnight park. Cheap and it has no amenities. Wifi is non existent in this park or that part of Montana. There is no cable tv and you can't get local stations unless you have an antenna that is 30 feet tall. So we watched a movie and went to bed early.
It doesn't get dark until 10 pm there, so the night shades were closed in the bedroom.
We stayed in a park that we used last year in Missoula. It is a very nice park, well landscaped and well taken care of. It is a bit pricey, but it was close to town and church, yet very quiet.
Speaking of church, we went back to the church that we went to last year, It is old and Gothic with Frescoes on all flat or curved surfaces. It is ornate and beautiful.
The song leader for the 5pm mass, had a beautiful voice and he did not need a sound system.
We will be at Lake Sammamish tomorrow and we will see the family tomorrow also.
Fred called while we were on our way here and said just go ahead and drive the extra 165 miles today. I said I didn't think so as we had driven 300 miles today already.
The last 16 miles of I-90 in MT is very rough road. We had to be very careful when we opened the cabinets as much had shifted during that stretch of road. I even slowed down to 50 miles an hour with the speed limit of 75. Nobody was driving that fast though and one person followed us all the way into Idaho.
Nothing broke and we arrived in one piece, so all is good.
Ta ta for now.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Moving on
We are in Rapid City, SD and heading for Reed Point, MT today.
The trip was fairly easy from Mitchell to here. It was a short travel day and we gained an hour as we are now in MDT.
We stopped at Wall Drugs, which is just off of the Freeway. It was easy off & easy on. We enjoyed browsing through the different shops and reminiscing about our 2009 trip.
The campground here, in Rapid City is OK, but as with Thunderbird Park in Monroe, they tend to put the ROD people in a far distant and less desirable part of the park. But, the price is right, free is good, and it was just over night.
This is going to be another long day another 350+ miles. We will leave earlier than usual as we have 15 miles with road construction just to get back to the freeway. Smooth sailing the rest of the way.
More later----
Ta ta for now.
The trip was fairly easy from Mitchell to here. It was a short travel day and we gained an hour as we are now in MDT.
We stopped at Wall Drugs, which is just off of the Freeway. It was easy off & easy on. We enjoyed browsing through the different shops and reminiscing about our 2009 trip.
The campground here, in Rapid City is OK, but as with Thunderbird Park in Monroe, they tend to put the ROD people in a far distant and less desirable part of the park. But, the price is right, free is good, and it was just over night.
This is going to be another long day another 350+ miles. We will leave earlier than usual as we have 15 miles with road construction just to get back to the freeway. Smooth sailing the rest of the way.
More later----
Ta ta for now.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Mitchell, SD
We arrived at R & R Campground in Mitchell around 2pm. We drove about 400 miles to just catch up with our schedule. We have Reservations at an ROD park for tomorrow night.
We had departed Des Moines just before 8am and we fought a headwind all of the way.
It dropped our fuel mileage down about 2 mpg.
This CG is the one where Ted & Donna and we had planned to stay when we were here 2 years ago. It was full then so we stayed at Rondees which is just behind this one. Ted and I came up and checked this one out then.
This is a much nicer place as Rondees is almost empty. There is shade here and the sites look like a RV park as opposed to a parking lot. The office staff is very friendly and helpful.
We have a rather short drive today, less than 300 miles.It is mostly freeway so not too difficult. We will leave at our regular time.
More tomorrow.
Ta ta for now
We had departed Des Moines just before 8am and we fought a headwind all of the way.
It dropped our fuel mileage down about 2 mpg.
This CG is the one where Ted & Donna and we had planned to stay when we were here 2 years ago. It was full then so we stayed at Rondees which is just behind this one. Ted and I came up and checked this one out then.
This is a much nicer place as Rondees is almost empty. There is shade here and the sites look like a RV park as opposed to a parking lot. The office staff is very friendly and helpful.
We have a rather short drive today, less than 300 miles.It is mostly freeway so not too difficult. We will leave at our regular time.
More tomorrow.
Ta ta for now
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
A little detour
As I reported yesterday, we were to spend the night in Little Sioux, IA.
Brenda called the CG and we were told that they were flooded. After checking, I discovered that I-29 was under water in several places. The Missouri river runs along I-29 in MO and IA.
We found out about the flooding before we got to Kansas City, so we came up I-35 to Des Moines, IA where we are now.
This detour is many miles out of our way and made for a much longer drive than we had anticipated, and will make today's drive longer just to get us back on track. We plan to be in Mitchell, SD tonight as planned.
The campground here is large and is a member park that takes Passport America. This place is not worth $40 per night if we paid 50% PA rate.
It has rained here a lot according to some of the people that we have met, and there is water standing all along the passenger side of the coach. It makes for a messy entrance into the coach.
Oh well, only one night.
This trip is wetter than last year. But, all is good.
Ta ta for now.
Brenda called the CG and we were told that they were flooded. After checking, I discovered that I-29 was under water in several places. The Missouri river runs along I-29 in MO and IA.
We found out about the flooding before we got to Kansas City, so we came up I-35 to Des Moines, IA where we are now.
This detour is many miles out of our way and made for a much longer drive than we had anticipated, and will make today's drive longer just to get us back on track. We plan to be in Mitchell, SD tonight as planned.
The campground here is large and is a member park that takes Passport America. This place is not worth $40 per night if we paid 50% PA rate.
It has rained here a lot according to some of the people that we have met, and there is water standing all along the passenger side of the coach. It makes for a messy entrance into the coach.
Oh well, only one night.
This trip is wetter than last year. But, all is good.
Ta ta for now.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Our first stop- Montgomery City, MO
We had a pretty uneventful trip from Bolton to Lazy Day Campground. We drove further than I like to, 370 miles, but most was freeway.
St. Louis was a bit trying with afternoon traffic and some road construction.
This is a very nice park. The sites are level, and the whole CG is landscaped beautifully,
The lady who owns the park is in love with grasses. She has all kinds, Zebra, Little Dot, Evergold and some I recognize, but can't remember their names. Also many different flowering plants.
I would recommend the place if, if you are traveling on I70 through Missouri.
The weather is cool here and cloudy this morning. It is a nice change to the weather we have been having the last few weeks.
The weather looks a little threatening this morning as we proceed to Little Sioux, IA. We are staying at the Woodlands CG. We stayed there in 2009, while we traveled with Ted & Donna. The park is not spectacular, as I remember, but it is Passport America and we are only there for 1 night.
Ta ta for now.
St. Louis was a bit trying with afternoon traffic and some road construction.
This is a very nice park. The sites are level, and the whole CG is landscaped beautifully,
 |
| Rally Hall |
I would recommend the place if, if you are traveling on I70 through Missouri.
The weather is cool here and cloudy this morning. It is a nice change to the weather we have been having the last few weeks.
 |
| Our site |
Ta ta for now.
Monday, June 13, 2011
On our way
In a few hours we will be leaving Bolton for the great northwest.
It has been a short 4 1/2 months, but the yearning to see our girls and Fred is overwhelming.
Saturday, we turned the coach around and put it in Mike's driveway. We are now headed out, so we can hook up the carand just pull out.
The coach has been under trees since our arrival and the coach was filthy. I spent about 2 1/2 hours just on the roof. I did not complete the washing, but got 3/4 of it done.
It was hot and humid and I didn't have a dry stitch on me when I finished.
Brenda got the inside all spic & span. She also got most things packed away for the trip.
We had long goodbyes with family and friends yesterday. After church, we went to breakfast with the Breakfast Club, came back home to finish washing the coach and car. We then headed b
ack to church for the annual parish picnic. But this was also a goodbye to Fr. Mike. He has been transferred to Paris, TN. and is leaving the end of this month. He has been at the parish for 7 years. He and his humor will be missed by all.
We got to see and say goodbye to those who couldn't make breakfast, and Bev, Richard, Jessica, Vickie and Rena were there also to say their goodbyes.
Adam, Crissy, Rachel Brian and Austin came over last night to say their goodbyes.
We are so lucky to have such a loving Memphis family. Along with a great group of friends.
Alan, Ann and Jen will be at the nursery this morning, so we will say our goodbyes to them just before we leave.
It has been a wonderful time here and we will miss them all, but family calls.
Ta ta for now.
It has been a short 4 1/2 months, but the yearning to see our girls and Fred is overwhelming.
Saturday, we turned the coach around and put it in Mike's driveway. We are now headed out, so we can hook up the carand just pull out.
The coach has been under trees since our arrival and the coach was filthy. I spent about 2 1/2 hours just on the roof. I did not complete the washing, but got 3/4 of it done.
It was hot and humid and I didn't have a dry stitch on me when I finished.
Brenda got the inside all spic & span. She also got most things packed away for the trip.
We had long goodbyes with family and friends yesterday. After church, we went to breakfast with the Breakfast Club, came back home to finish washing the coach and car. We then headed b
ack to church for the annual parish picnic. But this was also a goodbye to Fr. Mike. He has been transferred to Paris, TN. and is leaving the end of this month. He has been at the parish for 7 years. He and his humor will be missed by all.
We got to see and say goodbye to those who couldn't make breakfast, and Bev, Richard, Jessica, Vickie and Rena were there also to say their goodbyes.
Adam, Crissy, Rachel Brian and Austin came over last night to say their goodbyes.
We are so lucky to have such a loving Memphis family. Along with a great group of friends.
Alan, Ann and Jen will be at the nursery this morning, so we will say our goodbyes to them just before we leave.
It has been a wonderful time here and we will miss them all, but family calls.
Ta ta for now.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Time is close
We have just over 1 week before we start our journey to the Northwest.
It will be almost 8 months since we have seen the family. Gracie is almost 8 months old, now, and we have not seen her since she was 2 weeks old. We are looking forward to our extended visit.
It is hot here. We are working only 5 to 6 hours a day. Yesterday it was 100 degrees in the building at noon. It was just too hot to work. It was 118 in GH 3. The plants in there just love it and I have not seen the plants look this good in the 4 years we have been coming.
We seem to be getting the watering right, and the weeds are under control.
Our annual 'golf week' was a success. Chris, Linda, Val & Tony came up for the week. Lots of family get togethers.
My golf game didn't improve, in fact, it has gotten worse. I just couldn't drive the ball and my fairway clubs were worse than ever. I just don't play enough to keep up what little skills I had. and time has also caught up with me.
This was the only time that we played since we have been here. Just no time for all of us to get together and play.
Ann and Alan are having a pool party at their house today. We plan to attend but, won't get into the pool. Brenda and I have not been pool people for a long time. All of Mike's kids will be there as well as Vickie, Vick and Rena. This will probably be our last chance to visit with family before our scheduled departure.
We are kind of looking forward to our trip north. We will be revisiting some of the places we saw during our summer trip with Ted & Donna.
We are staying in Mitchell, SD and maybe visit the Corn Palace to see what is different this year. The Palace is decorated with corn and native greens each year and the facade is different from year to year.
We may again stop at Wall Drugs for our 'free glass of ice water'. We were there several times during our last trip and enjoyed it immensely.
Our trip is pretty much like last year only we will not be going into ND this time. We will pick up I-90 in Sioux Falls, SD and head due west. All in all a pretty pleasant drive.
We plan to arrive in the Seattle area around June 20th and due to a volunteer camp host cancellation we will be able to go directly to our host site at Lake Sammamish. This will cut a lot of hassle out of our trip[ and help the rangers at Lake Sammamish at the same time.
Ta ta for now.
It will be almost 8 months since we have seen the family. Gracie is almost 8 months old, now, and we have not seen her since she was 2 weeks old. We are looking forward to our extended visit.
It is hot here. We are working only 5 to 6 hours a day. Yesterday it was 100 degrees in the building at noon. It was just too hot to work. It was 118 in GH 3. The plants in there just love it and I have not seen the plants look this good in the 4 years we have been coming.
We seem to be getting the watering right, and the weeds are under control.
Our annual 'golf week' was a success. Chris, Linda, Val & Tony came up for the week. Lots of family get togethers.
My golf game didn't improve, in fact, it has gotten worse. I just couldn't drive the ball and my fairway clubs were worse than ever. I just don't play enough to keep up what little skills I had. and time has also caught up with me.
This was the only time that we played since we have been here. Just no time for all of us to get together and play.
Ann and Alan are having a pool party at their house today. We plan to attend but, won't get into the pool. Brenda and I have not been pool people for a long time. All of Mike's kids will be there as well as Vickie, Vick and Rena. This will probably be our last chance to visit with family before our scheduled departure.
We are kind of looking forward to our trip north. We will be revisiting some of the places we saw during our summer trip with Ted & Donna.
We are staying in Mitchell, SD and maybe visit the Corn Palace to see what is different this year. The Palace is decorated with corn and native greens each year and the facade is different from year to year.
We may again stop at Wall Drugs for our 'free glass of ice water'. We were there several times during our last trip and enjoyed it immensely.
Our trip is pretty much like last year only we will not be going into ND this time. We will pick up I-90 in Sioux Falls, SD and head due west. All in all a pretty pleasant drive.
We plan to arrive in the Seattle area around June 20th and due to a volunteer camp host cancellation we will be able to go directly to our host site at Lake Sammamish. This will cut a lot of hassle out of our trip[ and help the rangers at Lake Sammamish at the same time.
Ta ta for now.
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