Friday Morning........We Be Gone.........

to Sand Lake for the weekend with John and Charlene, Doug, Tami and the Twerps, plus they are bringing two more Twerps with them. Suckers for punishment! And perhaps the two new Twerps parents will come down on Saturday.

Heat wave is kinda getting over with..........it might reach 90 today; but, we'll be at the coast where it'll be in the upper 60s and maybe reach low 70s. Beach should be nice!!!!

When we arrive at Sand Lake no more cell phone service and if I'm too lazy to try and set up the internet dish we won't have any internet service either. Probably back on line sometime Monday when we leave S.L. and drive down to Coos Bay for another 3 days in the sand.

More later...........or maybe much more later yet. (At least I'll have my MTV......I'll set that up).

W&B

Still Kinda Warm...........

Yesterday we ran some errands, Costco, Wally World, Motorcycle Shop (got a new helmet for "B".......it sure is difficult to find the right size when one has a "itty bitty" helmet size). Made a run to the Laundromat this morning so we'll be OK on clothes until we get back from the Oregon Coast. Didn't get quite an early enough start today so looks like I'll be loading up the Rhino in mid afternoon heat. One more trip to Costco this afternoon to stock up on meat products and we'll ready to head for Sand Lake early Friday morning.

Will spend weekend at Sand Lake and then move to Coos Bay for another three days in the dunes and then to Bullard Beach State Park near Bandon, OR for 4 days. Should get back to Vancouver about the 9th or 10th. We're taking the Twerps and two of their friends for a day at the Fair on Tuesday before the four of them have to start taking care of their cows until fair's end on August 16. Becky and I will be in and out at the fair for about 4 days to watch the kids's show their cows and for the awards ceremony on the last day, Sunday.

Got 5 bracelets for unlimited fair rides on the Tuesday for all the Twerps (this includes Becky). They can take in all the rides and I'll try to find a shady spot to observe and take pictures.

Later, probably from Sand Lake. W&B

One Word For Today.........HOT!!!!

I guess we had a record high for this date.......106. Hell, we may as well head for Arizona if this keeps up. Weather advisory for continued heat through Thursday night.

Oh well, we'll probably head for the coast on Friday and freeze our butts off when we get there.

"B" and I took a trip about 80 miles North and spent a good part of the day at the Lucky Eagle Casino..............it only cost us about $20.00 an hour to spend time in air conditioning. Shoulda went to a movie.

Other then HEAT..........nothing happening around here. Gotta run a few errands in town tomorrow and stock up on grub and get ready to leave.

W&B

Sunday.........Nothing Happening...........

since Friday except we went to dinner, Mexican chow, on Friday evening with Dug, Tami and Twerps. Must have been Ok 'cause I heard no complaints from Becky about "authentic" Mexican chow. Actually, I thought it was pretty good. Trace is an easy one to take to a Mexican Restaurant...............he doesn't order anything..........just sits there and fills up on free chips and salsa!

Saturday morning we attended a funeral of one of Doug's friends who he graduated from high school with..........heart attack at age 44. He was one of a group of kids who hung around our house during the late 80s, we went duning and ATV racing with him for a good many years. Sad day.

Today Becky and I went to a movie about Dillinger with Johnny Depp. It was OK.........it became a little drawn out to reach the end; but, entertaining. We grabbed a couple of caches when the Nuvi beeped as we drove by and came home after a brief stop at Dug's house. One of their friends invited them out to cruise the Columbia River in their boat. Sounded like they had a fun day.

Right after the movie B and I drove over to Portland to look at a motorhome that was for sale. Nice unit, triple slides and about 4 foot longer than ours. They even offered to pay the sales tax; well sort of, you know they make statements like "How about if we pay the sales tax" but, we never really got down to any serious negotiating. I think we'll continue driving the Itasca until it's wheels fall off. It sure has a lot of room though.

Tomorrow Hot and on Tuesday the forecast calls for 102..............which is really HOT up here in this area. We might pack up and head for the coast earlier.........we're going down on Friday anyway. The weather might help us make a decision.

Later. W&B

Cow Time In The Old Cow Town................

........yesterday was the start of getting ready to show cow/calves at the Clark County Fair. Cassidy has shown a cow at the last two county fairs and this is the first year that Trace is old enough to show a cow. Doug's co-worker, Kevin, has two daughters and somehow or other he talked them into joining 4-H and they will participate in the fair also.

Becky and I headed out to the farm yesterday to watch the proceedings.

Trace is looking at his calf and seems to be pondering on his next move. All the kids started out by "attempting" to lead their cows around and getting used to handling them. It seems like some of the cow were winning that battle; but, all the twerps seemed to enjoy the activity. One little girl, I think she had the biggest cow out there, had a few problems. We all heard an "Ow, Ow, Ow" and the cow was standing on her foot..............this happened twice but the kid hung in there. Look in pic #5 and the kid who got stepped on is in the background behind Becky.......big cow......little kid!

Looks like, to me, they have a lot of practicing to do. Cassidy is the "old hand"; but, yesterday she cut her finger on the car door before they got to the farm so wasn't able to do all she wanted to do with her cow. She should be able to help the other kids out when the owyee is healed up.

I think they'll be working with their cows a couple of times a week so it should be interesting to follow their progress. The fair will start in August so they only have about 3 weeks to be ready.

Don't know what we'll be doing later on today. Larry, our friend from Arizona, stopped by and we went though the process of setting up the Garmin Nuvi and computer to use for geocaching. I got my little Netbook set up so will be carry it around in the car whenever we go someplace.

More later.............just hoping we won't have the "heat wave" that's predicted for this weekend.

W&B

Back To Paradise Point...............

yesterday afternoon. Dropped Rhino and trailer off at Dug's house and came out to get set up for the next 10 days............boy, it was HOT! Got things done that had to be done and then turned on the A/C until evening arrived.

Spent nearly 2 hours trying to get the internet dish set up. No trees in the way, would get connected for a few minutes and then lose the signal.........probably my problem at Sand Lake was not the tree as I had the same problem here. Finally got hooked up long enough to force the ranging and then the signal cleared up and no more problems. Still gotta live with this crap until early next year and then maybe I can tell Hughes to stuff it.

Wasn't nearly as hot today as yesterday; but, the weekend forecast is calling for high 90s or maybe into triple digits. I thought we left Corning to get away from the heat!

Ran a few errands today and even made a few stops to pick up some geocaches. I got my NUVI set up to sound an alert when we drive within 500 feet of a cache and we keep "beeping" every time we drive in to Doug and Tami's house. Found some of them so will be able to get rid of the beeps.

Collage pics were taken over the last few days. A deer came ambling though our campsite on Monday morning when we were getting ready to leave Sand Lake. We were looking for a cache on the hillside overlooking the casino and our parking spot. Never found that cache. Went down to the beach and found a cache on the rocks and a few more around town before we called it a day.

Only found 4 caches today; but, the fire hydrant was the neatest container that we found. Coordinates took us to the front of a fire station and the only thing there was this fire hydrant. I looked at it and could see that the cap probably had been unscrewed many times. Inside was the cache which was a tribute to a former fireman and a cacher. Nice tribute to the fireman.

That about brings us up to date. Don't know what we'll be doing the next couple of days. W&B

OK, OK.......Have Good Reason For Not Posting.........

any recent updates. We left Vancouver last Friday and headed for Sand Lake to play some more in the sand dunes. John, Dug and Cassidy were the only other nuts to make the trip after doing the same thing at Coos Bay for several days.

At least we missed some of the "heat wave" that has hit the Portland/Vancouver area.

Here are a few pictures taken at Sand Lake. The last three pics were kinda interesting and the picture doesn't do them justice........the clouds made for an interesting sight.......at least I thought it was.

We didn't get to reserve our usual campsite so was unable to set up the internet dish......a big assed tree was directly in my line of sight so never got a signal. Fortunately I was able to set up my Dish Network dish so at least I had my MTV. Becky nearly went into withdrawals without her internet connection. Couldn't even use the air card 'cause there ain't no phone service either unless you drive out to the right spot on the sand dunes. We did take the netbook out there but the service was so slow that I gave up on it after downloading a couple of emails.

Today we drove into Lincoln City and found a prime spot to park in the casino parking lot..........big mistake, it would have been cheaper to park at the most high priced RV Park in Lincoln City! .............. come to think of it, I guess that's what we did. At least the air card is working so Becky can get her internet fix.

We did manage to get out and find a few geocaches, at least enough to get Becky over the 2,200 mark. We outta stay a few more days, avoid the heat in Vancouver and find some more caches........only problem is I got a reservation at Paradise Point so I either show up tomorrow and claim my spot or lose it. Guess we'll leave tomorrow morning sometime..........at least the electricity is "free" when we get to Paradise Point so guess we can run the air conditioner.

Got our fill of fish 'n chips and clam chowder at our favorite fish house "J's". Fish is still excellent and the clam chowder was good............we've had better there. When we arrived the chowder was "sold out' and we managed to savor the fish 'n chips long enough for his second batch of chowder to be ready.

Sunday afternoon we drove into Tillamook to fill up on ice cream at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Everyone and his dog were there...........we looked at the line for ice cream, checked out the line for free cheese samples and then left. On to Garabaldi where we had some fish and chips at the Wheel House restaurant. The chowder was good and fish was OK but still not up to the standard at J's.

Later, when we get settled at Paradise Point. W&B

Nothing Going On Here In WA...............

....gee whiz, you miss an update for a couple of days and the emails start wondering what the heck you're up to.

Let's see.........we haven't done anything since last post, except the laundry yesterday, another eye exam today and shopping at Costco. Weather starting to warm up a bit; but, that's OK 'cause we're heading for the Oregon Coast south of Tillamook on Friday............or maybe even earlier if it warms up too much. It's also time to head for Lincoln City for some good fish n chips and then beat up my poor body some more playing in the sand dunes on the Rhino. Will also have to stop by and contribute to my Red Brothers at Chinook Winds. Seafood Buffet on Friday is a good possibility too.

Later. W&B

Got Back From Coos Bay............

late yesterday evening. Set up M/H, took long hot shower and collapsed. Woke up this morning with aches and pains (more than normal) and muscles hurting that I didn't know I had. This having "fun" in the sand dunes used to be more "fun" 20 years ago.

We took a couple of hours trying to adjust my new Rhino shocks to get the best ride...........well, Dug and John were making the adjustments..........all I did was run it up Boxcar (competition hill) as fast as it would go to see if the bumps smoothed out a bit. We finally got it dialed in pretty good; but, not until I beat myself to death on the whoops. Then I developed an electrical problem and that just about finished my riding for the week. I didn't complain about that. Becky and I made a couple of casino runs and I actually left the Mill Casino with some of their money for a change.

The drive home yesterday took forever............there was a wreck on the freeway and it took about an hour to drive 5 miles..........then we hit the usual Friday traffic trying to get through Portland.

Today we picked up the cushion we had made to replace the burned one, picked up some groceries and came back to the park and took a nap.

Maybe my poor old body will be moving a little better tomorrow. Have all week to recover from Coos Bay...................only to spend this next weekend at Sand Lake where we'll be "having more fun" in the sand dunes. Just a sucker for punishment I guess.

Later. W&B

Another Nice Day On The Oregon Coast..........

yesterday. We puppysat the pooch and found out his calling would be "puppy photographer" as he was dragging Becky's camera all over the motorhome.............any she wonders why she is having problems with the camera!

Yesterday was our annual run to Bandon for sweatshirts and crab sandwiches and to take a stroll on the dock. People were fishing and had crab pots sets; but, I didn't see anyone having much luck. The Bandon Lighthouse can be seen from the dock.

After we got back to the dunes we went down to the stage where they were holding their own version of "Price is Right". Doug, John and Lori were all selected to participate and Dug managed to win a couple of headlights which were valued at $129.00. He missed out on the Grand Prize when his guess was a about $12.00 off.

This big old truck was taking people into the dunes for a "tour"............I think it cost $35.00 and the last I saw of the truck it was stuck in the sand.

We were about ready to go out for a night ride and my Rhino began coughing and sputtering........good thing it happened in the campground. I think I need a new fuel filter so will have to make a speed run into town and buy some new ones and hope that solves the problem.

Sand Fest is starting to pick up with more people arriving every day...........bummer that we have to leave on Friday.

Oh yeah, Becky and I made a casino run about 2200 last night and I managed to win $57.00. Then we stopped at the snack bar and spent $18.00 for clam chowder and fishn 'n chips. Becky contributed to my Red Brothers; but, overall we're still ahead.

More later. W

Some More on Tuesday..................

afternoon while we were just fooling around. Cassidy and Trace racing some more.........as usual Cassidy wins until I became "official starter" and would give Trace a head start. That made the race a little more even.

We were just messing around in the sand and then in picture #6 Cassidy is getting "busted" by the local cop......seems she has no "red" in her flag!.........and that makes her illegal. No ticket......just a reminder to change her flag.

Came back in from the dunes and met a contingent of sheriff deputys all sitting at the entrance/exit to the dunes. There were at least 6 vehicles there. I just drove around them and they didn't pay any attention to me. I gotta keep the noise down (loud exhaust) when I leave and enter the camp area. Set a new speed record (for me) as I managed 53 mph without a passenger. That extra weight does make a difference.

Becky and Charlene went into town..........or somewhere 'cause the Suzuki was gone when we got back. Later. W

"The Racers".......Second Post For Today...........

Starting off the Big Race with instructions for the "adult" riders. Trace and Mom were up first. Trace started the race then riders were changed after each lap until both riders completed three laps. They were hanging in there; but, finally got outrun by the competition and that finished them in Round 1.

Cassidy and Lori up next with Cass starting the race. They were a little behind at the start of the race but rider skill, fans cheering and mega horsepower made the difference as they won their Round 1 and advanced for another race.

The next race Cass and Lori were pitted against the team that eventually made it to the finals and took the overall championship.

They did good!

At the end of the event all riders were lined up and showed off their trophies.

Fun start for the 2009 Sand Fest.

This afternoon there's an Adult Scavenger Hunt. Becky, Tami and Lori might partake; but it entails trudging through the sand to visit all the Vender Booths, so don't think I'll participate in that one. I think it's just a gimmick to get you to buy stuff that you don't really need..............the only thing I need is a $500.00 carb. So far no one has sent any Carb money!!!!

Will have to wait and see what the next couple of days bring. Unfortunately we won't be here through the next weekend so won't be around for the end of Sand Fest.

Later. W

Sand Fest Underway Today..............

and it got started with a "Treasure Hunt" for kids 12 and under. They had a large tarp spread out and a whole bunch of coins and washers were spread around and covered with sand. They had a Lemans start and the kids dove into the sand. Whenever a washer was found the finder was able to trade it in for a nice prize. They had remote control cars, shirts, hats and some other nice stuff for the kids. The "12 year old" in the 4th picture was certainly a "large" one (she was taller than I am). Cassidy found two washers and gave one to her brother. I think Cassidy got a shirt and Trace picked out a baseball cap. Becky tried to talk him out of it; but, no sale. I gave Cassidy an $100 bill, told her to dig around in the sand a little bit and then jump up and yell "Look What I Got". She agreed and then chickened out and wouldn't do it.

Next event at 1130 is an "Adult Kid" relay race. You have to have a quad of 90cc or less and the riders race around some barrels. Complete one lap and then change riders. I think they'll race around the barrels about 5 times. Cassidy is signed up with Lori and I think they are going out to practice right now. I think Trace and his Mom are going to team up unless Dad talks Trace into letting him ride. We need to scout around and find a 90 pound adult to race with Trace. It outta be fun to watch.

Will update today's events with pics of the relay race a little later on this afternoon. Stay tuned.

W

Monday..........Weather Improved At Coos Bay.........

Back to the beach again later in the afternoon. Here's Trace cutting cookies on the beach.

Part of the crew back on the beach again.

Dad decided that he would race Cassidy up Boxcar Hill.........he even jumped on the start to try to beat her; but, here she is making the pass.

All the practice in the world cannot overcome the horsepower advantage that Cassidy and her Quad have. They traded rides and that's the only way Trace could get to the top first.

I went out to the sand dunes and found Trace "practicing" his drag race starts. He weighs less than his sister; but, she has a newer quad that also sports a performance exhaust system. No amount of practice will help him overcome that disadvantage. Here's where we set up camp.

Becky and I went out to the beach earlier this morning.......there's only one route that we can take to get there and it's about an 8 mile haul to reach the beach. We found lunch on the beach.

Here's the beach.........it was nice and sunny today and the constant wind at Coos Bay died down so we had a very nice day. Neither one of us took a GPSr with us this morning. Mistake. I thought I knew my way around; but, unfortunately I don't. We went up and down the beach until we encountered "no entry" signs. I took a different route to get back to camp and I thought we would run into the Sand Road that would take us back to the area where we are camped. Short story..........we put over 40 miles on the Rhino, were running low on gas so I finally stopped some quad riders and actually admitted that I was lost!!! They pointed us in the right direction; but, we still had to go back to the beach and return the way we came out. After awhile everything looks the same. I would estimate that we had about 6-8 miles left in the gas tank when we got home.

Looks like tomorrow might be as good as it was today. We still have to make a run to Bandon for crab sandwiches for Becky and Tami and the Twerps and I will have fish and chips. Might be able to do that Wednesday. Also, that will be sweatshirt day............every year I buy the Twerps new sweatshirts.............used to buy one for Tami and Becky too; but, I have eliminated them so I can have more money to invest at the casino.

Speaking of casino.........we made a quick run in today and I guess I did OK............I only lost $4.00!

Later. W&B

It's COLD.......Very Cold...........

in the Sand Dunes near Coos Bay, OR. We left Cottage Grove on I-5 and it was 74 degrees.......just about right. Over a little hill and down to the Oregon Coast and the temp dropped to 60 degrees! We arrived at the campground about 1400, messed around and set things up.............searched for a sweat shirt while Becky dug out a winter jacket. After supper "B" and I headed out for a short run in the sand. This is "B" putting on her helmet, some duners in the sand and a view of highway 101 heading toward Coos Bay. These people air their tires down and haul everything into the dunes. This group were parked a looong ways from any paved roads.




This is the bridge leading to Coos Bay.......well North Bend actually. A couple of more pictures of the sand dunes and on the way back I decided to see how fast the Rhino would run in the sand. I installed a new clutch that was supposed to help things out and it actually did..........Becky and I reached 51 mph in the sand.........not bad. The new shocks are still pretty stiff; but, they seem to smooth things out a bit.

Got a fire going outside so guess I'll post this and go outdoors. More later. W&B

Getting Warmer Today.............

and we had to go into town to baby sit the Twerps and wait for a guy to install Comcast goodies for Dug and Tami. He got there about 0830 and finally finished up about 1130.

I recently spotted a segment on "Diner's, Drive-Ins and Dives" where Guy whatizhisname visited Otto's Sausage Kitchen in Portland. They had rave reviews on the hot dogs, sausages, etc., etc. that are prepared on site. They have a bar-b-que grill going outside on the sidewalk and tables and chairs for their customers. There was a big line when we pulled up so we went inside and browsed around looking the goodies they sold from their meat counter. When we went back outside the line was still as long as it was when we arrived!

We waited, ordered and ate. The Twerps had old fashioned hot dogs and Becky and I both tried a "sausage" dog. After that we split an old fashioned hot dog. Either we were awfully hungry or else the hot dogs were pretty good. We ended up buying two dozen hot dogs and two pounds of sausage to take with us. Will try the sausage at Coos Bay.

Posting pictures of our adventure. The guy let us in to see how the hot dogs were being made and posed for a picture with the Twerps..................I told them to go ahead and maybe they'd get a "free" hot dog...........unfortunately, no free hot dogs. They were standing in front of a big old smoker when they run the racks of hot dogs in for a couple of hours. Another guy was filling up a rack with salmon.

The food was good and the atmosphere was great. If you're in Portland and have the time check out Otto's Sausage Kitchen.

Later. W

Well Wednesday About Over...............

and looking forward to a "hot spell" for the 4th weekend. Well, not exactly looking "forward" to temps in the 90s; but, at least it won't reach triple digits. We're heading for Coos Bay on the Oregon Coast on Sunday and that'll certainly cool things down for us...............might even have to haul out a winter jacket!!

Spent Monday and Tuesday with appointments and think they're about over with except have an eye exam scheduled when we get back from Coos Bay. Stopped at Doug's house yesterday and then we picked up new front tires for our Rhinos. The tires outta make the Sand Dunes a bit more fun to navigate...........at least I hope so. It's tough to be getting older and older.........I was sitting on the ground while we were changing front tires, when I got up I managed to pull a muscle in my leg. Oweee.........came home and put ice packs on it. Don't think it helped much as I've been hobbling around all day long.............fortunately it only hurts when I stand, sit down, lay down or walk.

Think tomorrow is "domestic day" as we have a pile of laundry to haul to the laundromat so will get that taken care of in the morning. I'm still trying to find another seat cushion for the dinette set; but, I'm not having much luck. I talked to a lady who does upholstery............she figured she could do a new cushion for "about $175.00". Damn, I'll keep looking.

That's about it for now. Later. W&B