Getting Warmer..........

with higher 90s coming up. At least A/C working like a charm.........now something else, Becky runs all over in her barefeet and discovered a "damp" spot in the hallway. We can't figure out where it's coming from so having it checked out. Old pipes maybe, had two water leaks in last two years and neighbor dug up and replaced pipes at his place also. Bummer.......sounds like the pipes may be giving up the ghost. Oh well, better we find out what's happening now rather than it happening while we're gone for an extended period.

Other than taking a couple of items off our "to do" list every day we've just been beating the heat, eating and giving our money to the casino. Same old stuff different day. We had another football game for "Brutus" on Saturday scheduled; but, an old 90 year old Granny Lady that Becky knows passed away and her funeral is Saturday so guess we'll miss the game. We'll be heading for Woodland next week anyway......probably about Wednesday. Have reservations at Lawson's Landing, Dillon Beach on the coast for the long weekend. We'll probably go down Wednesday or Thursday and see if we can rope off a space for a bunch of Woodland folks who are going down also. At least it'll be C O O L for that weekend.

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

Well, Enjoying Cooling Action of A/C..........

they checked it out yesterday and determined it to be "dead". New A/C installed today and everything seems to be running fine. Actually, it's barely getting up to 90 this afternoon so don't really need it.

Yesterday we made a run to the casino to "cool down".......plus I had a "free" five dollars worth of play on my player's card. My free money lasted about 2 minutes and I had to keep digging in my flat billfold to stay in the A/C spaces. I was getting beat up pretty badly and finally decided to try a machine I had won on before...............played it for about 5 minutes and cashed in $130.00. It was time to quit.

If I can get up early enough tomorrow I need to mow the weeds and that should probably finish my "to do" list for the rest of the week. Life is tough.

Got the Hughes Satellite dish up and running with no problems and it's actually been giving me acceptable up and down speeds throughout the day. Will wonders never cease. I probably just jinxed it!

That's all for now........just wanted to let everyone know we're still alive and kicking. W&B

Saturday.......Football Is Starting...........

so after arriving home yesterday afternoon we unloaded some stuff and got ready to go to Woodland where the Bryce Twerp was having his first game today. Well, actually, it was a round robin of scrimmages with teams from all over the area participating. Fortunately, the Woodland Wolves had a 1000 starting time so at least we were there while it was still cool. Pity those poor folks who were scheduled for afternoon games. It's hot; but, not as hot as it was yesterdsay.

The Woodland Wolves still don't have their uniforms so the Twerp was wearing his old number 57. I think the teams played a total of 32 minutes with two opponents. They were on offense for 8 minutes and then defense for 8 minutes.............then they switched teams. Bryce was playing offense and defense as he was one of 10 kids returning from last year. He had one carry of about 15 yards and defense is what he enjoys............he has that defensive lineman mentality. He was about ready to make a tackle and some idiot stepped in front of me.........last pic. I told him that he needs to eat raw meat the day before the games as that will help make him "lean and mean". I don't think Ma is going to go along with that diet though.

After the game we came home and Rhonda, Becky and the twerps headed for the fair while I head for the casino. I managed to entertain myself for quite awhile and then the casino gobbled up my last $20.00.

I think it was nearing triple digits when we got home yesterday and it took us about 2 minutes to discover that the air conditioner wasn't working! Some guy is coming to check it out on Monday. Hope it's something simple.

That sorta brings us up to date...........we're staying in Woodland again tonight and at least it's cooled down..........expected to be in the high 80s which isn't too bad. More later. W&B

Spent The Day Around Grants Pass...........

.......we grabbed three caches on our way into town and that finished our caching for the day. I was browsing the web last night and found a website on a Wolf Sanctuary located south of Grants Pass so we headed for that to check it out. The place was quite beat up and in need of repair..........also for sale. The kid who took us around was from Germany and had been a volunteer at the sanctuary since January 2009. He was quite knowledgeable about his wolves and wolves in general. We found one "black" wolf that was in a pen by itself and the wolf was constantly in motion in a path it had outlined for itself. The guide told us that a black wolf was rather rare and could be compared to an albino. The black wolves tend to be loners and are mentally impaired...........that was the reason it was alone and in constant motion. Kinda interesting. See Becky's Blog for some pictures of the sanctuary................................................http://beckystravels.blogspot.com/

We got back to town in time to make the 1345 Hellsgate River Trip. A couple of years ago we made a "Mail Run" on jet boats from Gold Beach and we expected a similar trip............it was getting hot so we figured this was a good way to cool down for a couple of hours. We weren't disappointed as the driver would make sudden stops and 360 degree turns that kept us on the edge of our seats............and WET! It was a fun trip; however, unlike our previous boat ride, we didn't see much in the way of animal life. A couple of Ospreys, one Eagle, turtles and tons of geece............we also saw some other "wildlife" as you can see from my pictures. All in all, it was a fun couple of hours.

Made a grocery stop and headed back to the park. Fortunately, I left the A/C running when we left so it was nice and cool when we got home. Leaving tomorrow for Corning; and, depending on when we leave, should get back to some real HEAT in the early afternoon. Gotta unload and repack as we'll be going down to Woodland for the twerp's first scrimmage football game early Saturday morning. Guess we'll be going to Folsom so we gotta drive down Friday night or EARLY Saturday morning. Will probably opt for Friday night.

More later. W&B

Made It to Valley of the Rogue SP...........

about 1600 today...........it was HOT! Quickly plugged in to electricity, hooked up water and then I ran into trouble with my MTV! Found one satellite quite quickly and then couldn't get the other one to come in. After about 3 resets of the receiver, and much cussing and swearing, it finally decided to cooperate.

So here we sit for the rest of the evening, the A/C is running and trying to keep up; but, not doing that great a job. Shouldn't have looked at it as it's hovering around 85 degrees. Sun is going down so it should start cooling down soon. Actually, it seems cooler outside with a bit of a breeze blowing.

Don't know what we'll be doing tomorrow as the heat is supposed to continue. We'll probably get up a bit early and drive into Grants Pass during the cool of the morning to see if we can locate a few caches. We haven't been hunting for any since we left the Oregon Coast about 2 weeks ago.

The air card is working fine............I saw a cell tower near the entrance to the park so Becky has her internet and is as happy as a pig rolling in poop.

More later, maybe.

W&B

Tuesday............Heading South Tomorrow.........

Pulled up stakes from Paradise Point this morning, got the M/H serviced and drove into Doug and Tamis for the night. Bad move............temps reached 90s today and can't run the A/C; however, it's cooling down so should be OK for sleeping.

Tried a restaurant in Portland, Ohana, a Hawaiian Cafe. They serve the chow you'd normally find in Hawaii. I tried the Loco Moco, others had Kalua Pig, chicken and it was pretty good. Prices were reasonable.

We're leaving tomorrow, stopping for two days at Valley of the Rogue State Park near Grants Pass, Oregon and should get to Corning on Friday.

Changed my mind about 12 times about taking the Rhino to California and then to Arizona for the winter. I finally decided to leave it in Washington.............of course that could change again when I get up in the morning. (???)

More later, probably from Oregon. W&B

Late News Flash From County Fair...............

"Trace Morris Wins Big Bucks At County Fair" reads the headlines.

I guess when Trace picked up his Leggo entry, Castle of the Future, he also received a check for his efforts. You can't read the info on the check; but, ..................are you ready for this?????

His castle received a Third Place Ribbon and a check for $.50..............yes that's right.........50 cents!! His first paycheck.

Fair Has Run Its Course.................

and yesterday was awards day. The Bossy Novas 4H Club picked up quite a few awards.......Cassidy was all smiles as she received a check. Trace was surprised to win a new halter, as did other members of his club. Got a shot of all the club memers and their leader, Lori. They did good.........guess we'll have to do a repeat next year.

Before the awards ceremony we headed over to the grandstand for pig races and the Monster Truck show. This is the pigs as they left the chute....naturally I was betting on the "yellow" pig who finished dead last.

We had one female monster truck driver who was worthy of a closer look. The trucks were fun to watch; but, if you've seen one, you've seen them all.

One truck managed to roll over everytime he came out, he would go back to the pits, fix it and roll it again. Seems he broke something the first time and everytime it got up into the air after that first wreck it would corkscrew and he would roll it again. He provided the most entertainment.

With that, the fair ends for another year. If we're lucky we might miss next year...........hoping for an Alaska trip before we get TOO old!! (Although it will be sad to miss the corn dogs, corn on the cob, Irish Sundaes (baked potatoes), elephant ears, funnel cakes, hamburgers, milk shakes, pies, popcorn, curly frys, turkey drum sticks and various bar-b-que.)

W&B

Saturday..................

Took the day off and went to a movie and then to Red Robins for a burger.............no fair food today. Tomorrow we're back at the fair for the awards ceremony...........they don't start until around 1600 so we'll probably go in time to catch the "Monster Trucks" at 1430. Last day.........at least it's been cool; but, on Monday the forecast is for 90. We'll be hitting the road on Wednesday heading back South. W&B

More Friday Fair Stuff............

These are the "city boys", fathers of the contestents, Doug and Kevin. They are trying to figure out which end of the cow is fed.........looks like Dug was attempting to feed the remains of a milk shake.

They couldn't figure out why one Holstein is black and white and the other Holstein is mostly white.

Trace's cow was unable to compete due to "warts" on its nose...........the vet said "no warts". He hung in there and helped take care of the rest of the cows. It came time for showing the cows and since there was no judging on showmanship for the handler he was able to enter the ring and show Cassidy's heifer. The heifer managed a blue ribbon and at least Trace was able to gain a little experience in handling the cow in the ring.

Hailey was entered in the Intermediate Class with her Roxy and she and Roxy came away with Intermediate Champion Showman! The best in her class. The judge asked Hailey if she chose a "white" cow to enter and if she didn't her 4 H Leader must not like her too much! A white holstein is a real bear to try and keep clean for the show; but, Hailey did a super job.

Chelsea and Lucy were in the Junior Class, the same class as Cassidy. Together they took Reserve Junior Champion Showman, which is 2nd place in their class. A super job by both.

Cassidy and Cory took the Junior Champion Showman award.

A lot of hard work for all and it certainly paid off for the Bossy Nova 4H Club!

Tomorrow is "kick back" and take care of the cows while fair visitors look them over and the kids field any questions that they might have. Sunday will be awards day and the final day of the fair's 10 day run. It's been "fun" (?)............well probably most of the time; but, I'm sure everyone involved is looking forward to that last day.

Becky and I will be attending on Sunday for sure and maybe again tomorrow as we still have more "fair food" to sample.

Later. W&B

Thursday Events..............

On Thursday the kids took their turn at being judges.........they judged the animals as they were being "officially" rated by the Judge. We won't have the results of how they did until the awards ceremony on Sunday. Trace looked like a judge.........we'll have to see how he did.

Last pic is Lori with one of the cows..........which one I don't know 'cause they all look alike to me!
Becky and I went to the grandstand to watch the motorcycle and ATV races and to see the high flying motorcycle "professionals" do their thing on the ramps.

Actually, they were pretty good, a few years ago it was rarity to see a motorcyclists do a "back flip" off the ramp and then land on his wheels. I managed to capture a few shots of the crazies doing their thing.

Of course we ate, and ate and then ate some more. We only found a couple of places that served roasting ears and Becky wanted to try the one where they were grilling the corn over a fire. I don't think the corn here was as good as the other place with their "corn on the cob" but Becky managed to down it all............the grilled corn also cost more!

The highlight of the day for me was seeing ELVIS!! I saw him twice; but, no one would believe me that I actually saw him......the second time I managed to capture an image of ELVIS on film...........he was moving pretty fast so unfortunately the photo is kinda blurred. ELVIS lives!!!

We arrived at the fair early (before 0800) today (Friday) as the kids were showing their cows earlier than they normally do so we got up early and tried out the biscuits and gravy at one of the local stands. It was pretty good...........I didn't actually have any biscuits but I had them smother my hashbrowns, scrambled eggs and bacon with country gravy. I'd give them about a 6 1/2 for the country gravy.

Will post some pics of the judging and showmanship when I get a chance. Later. W&B

More County Fair Time................

yesterday. We messed around the RV park until mid afternoon and Becky decided that she "had to have" some more fair food...........so off we go. We found a couple of mangy looking cows wandering around the fairgrounds and then to the dairy barn where Cassidy was shoveling cow poop and watering and feeding the animals. Her shift ended at 1730 so off we go to feed our faces with Dug, Tami & Cass. We spent a little time at the grandstand where the bull riding event was going on............cowgirls and cowboys. We didn't stay until the end. Lori, their 4H Leader was trying to keep track of everyone. Trace had the last shift and he finished up about 2030 so everyone went their separate ways. They tried to get a substitute cow for Trace since his wasn't allowed to participate due to "warts"; however, the standby cow was too jittery to be shown so Trace won't be able to show anything this year. Bummer!! He's taking it all in stride and looks like he's still having "fun" and I guess that's what it's all about.

Theme for the fair was "Jaw, Claws and Paws" and they had a display area with a few animals penned up...........this tiger was one of them.

Earlier Becky and I were browsing the Commercial area and stopped at the Washington Lottery Booth. They were giving away free T-Shirts if you purchased $10.00 worth of Seattle Seahawk Tickets so I purchased a couple. Becky had her pick of the tickets and didn't win anything...............my ticket was worth $100.00! I didn't share but Becky got the T-Shirt.

Today is overcast and it looks like we might get a few sprinkles later on. Becky hasn't had her elephant ear yet so we'll probably got back to the fair a little later on.........good think we got a free parking pass, Dug and Tami each got one as they each signed up a kid...... so we have one of them and we purchased advanced "senior" tickets so that keeps the price of food within reason. Would certainly dislike paying $20.00 for parking and admission just to stuff ourselves on greasy fair food!

Motorcycles performing today so guess we'll go in and see the "crazies" trying to do themselves in. Later W&B

Yesterday Was Fair "Fun Day"................

for the "five kids", Cassidy, Trace, Chealsea, Hailey and Becky. Naturally I got the pictures out of order..............they had this one ride that takes them up about a hundred feet and then the bottom drops out. They rode it a couple of times and I managed to get Cassidy and Hailey as they were nearing bottom.

I took a little time out to watch the "free" show at the grandstand while the kids continued to enjoy the rides. They were holding a "jousting" tournament complete with horses, swords, good knights and bad knights.

I didn't spend too much time there as there was nothing to write home about.

The kids continued on bumper cars, swings, whirly jigs and whatever else they had to ride. One of the small kiddie rides was formerly a part of Michael Jackson's Never Land.........I never figured out which one it was so didn't get a picture of it. I understand it was called "Lollipop".

This where we started our adventure outside the gate to the fair. Rides didn't start until noon so we had a hour and a half to kill.........we visited the exhibit hall and the kids learned how to sew a button on a piece of cloth.......I'm sure they'll never make use of this talent.

We found a leggo display that Trace had made.........."Castle of the Future" was its title. He got a third place ribbon for it.

Naturally there had to be fair food.......I'm addicted to the Irish Sundaes and managed to scoff down two of them while the kids chowed down on everything else in sight.......at least they tried to...........fair food gets to be expensive!

It started sprinkling about 1700 and then we got a call from Tami saying that all the parents were out at the farm making last minute preparations for getting their cows to show. So we loaded the twerps up and heading for the farm. When we got there we found out that Trace's cow had developed some "warts" on its nose so his cow may not be able to be shown. Bum Luck! Today is "man the barn and take care of the cows through Sunday". Show day on Friday. The Twerps had to be there at 0600 and then have to man the barn in shifts for the rest of the fair.

Becky and I may not go in today because it rained all night long and I'm sure the fairgrounds will be a muddy mess even though it hasn't rained for some time. Time will tell...........maybe the thought of fair food will overcome our good judgment and we'll have to drive in.

Later, W&B

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

early this afternoon. Arrived in Vancouver yesterday around 1400 and camped out in front of Dug's house since our reservation at PP didn't start until today.

Went out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant yesterday evening with D, T and the twerps........not bad Mexican chow even though the cook is Chinese.

Got all of our 10 days of laundry done this morning before coming out to the park.............well, almost all of it..........when we got back we found a garbage bag of stuff we forgot to take.

Tomorrow we're taking the Twerps and 2 of their friends to the county fair for food, rides, exhibits, etc. etc. Then on Wednesday they'll all have to camp out at the dairy barn to take care of their cows as the cows arrive early. They'll be taking turns feeding, watering, cleaning up the stalls, etc. etc. until they show the cows early on Friday morning. Then Sunday is award presentation day. I think Becky and I will probably attend about 4 fair days............that should be enough time to gain a few pounds on fair food.

Nice and cool today, we are at our regular campsite that's in the shade and there's a gentle breeze blowing so it's nice and pleasant. I think we'll drive in to Vancouver after awhile to pick up our parking pass and make sure we're all on the same page for tomorrows "fun day at the fair".

Later. W&B

Sitting In Casino Parking Lot...................

at North Bend (actually figured out today that the casino is in North Bend instead of Coos Bay). We had another night at Bullard Beach; but, we both wanted to try the seafood buffet at the casino, they have seafood on Friday and Saturday so we got underway this afternoon and arrived at the casino about 1400. Made a quick grocery run, hooked up the little generator and my MTV, fired up the air card and we're set for the night.

Got into the seafood buffet shortly after 1600...........no lines of people were waiting so I was beginning to wonder if their buffet was worth trying. They had dungness crab on the serving line so I painfully forked over $50.00 for two buffets...............they wouldn't even give me an old age discount!! About two hours later we both rolled out of the buffet and dragged our crab ladden butts to a slot machine. I found my favorite machine just waiting for me so I started playing it..................it wouldn't let me win very much and wouldn't take my money so I played it until I was falling asleep. Becky finally found me and I finally quit $17.00 ahead. Not enough to pay for the buffet; but, at least I was ahead.

The Seafood Buffet was worth every bit of the $25.00 per head!!! I chowed down on two large chowder bowls of crab (I crack and clean crab until I fill a bowl and then slouch melted butter over it) and eat it down. It takes about 30 minutes to clean the crab and about 3 minutes to eat it. Fried oysters, scallops, shrimp..........you name it.....it was all good. After the first round of crab meat I tried the prime rib..........it was delicious! The horseradish really lit me up though. After second chowder bowl of crab I slowed down and finished everything up with an ice cream sundae...........not your soft ice cream..........the good kind......Umpaqua!

This little trip to the Oregon Coast has been outstanding...........got a few rain drops the other night; but, every day was sunny and warm..........70s for the coast is warm.......for me it's just right. Doesn't get any better.

Heading for Vancouver tomorrow. More later. W&B

Geocaching Today..........

around Bandon. I think we found about 14 caches. First six pictures were taken around Coos Bay when we were caching down there the other day.

Last three pics were taken today around Bandon. Becky almost fell into a hole trying to retrieve a cache beside the water.........if she had fallen she'd still be there. Everywhere we go we seem to be in sight of the Coquille Lighthouse. I found my #2200 cache close to the lighthouse. I just about quit after finding this one as we had been hoofing it around the soft sand walking further than I had planned on.


Here are some pictures of the lighthouse taken from different angles. Last one was taken without any zoom from across the bay.

Fortunately, most of the caches around here were of a decent size until we finally ran across some "nano" caches placed on park benches.

Our travels took us back down to the pier where we had to stop for our fish n chips fix...............as least I had the fish fix while Becky opted for a dungness crab sandwich. We finally gave up on caching and got back to the M/H about 1700............here we stay for the rest of the night. Not sure what we'll be doing tomorrow except hit the grocery store for a few veggies, milk and buns and maybe grab a few more caches before we leave on Sunday.

All for now...........days are great, probably got to the low 70s today after clouds burned off this morning. Same thing tomorrow. W&B

Made It To Bullard Beach SP.............

around 1430 this afternoon. Good thing we had a reservations 'cause the "campground full" sign was going up. Little bitty parking places at most of these campsites; but, we reserved an ADA site which was a little larger. Still had problems backing into the spot with the trailer and Rhino hooked up; but, made it. The air card is working and I found a hole in the trees for my MTV so we're both happy. Just gonna chill out here and enjoy the electricity for this evening. Probably head into town, Bandon, tomorrow and do a little caching. Naturally we'll have to stop for fish 'n chips or a crab sandwich at our local fish place. No plans for anything..........we'll just see what happens.

We left Horsfall around 1100 and naturally we had to stop at the casino since we only had about 30 miles or so to drive. I managed to make enough to pay for lunch and had an extra $10.00...........that is until I stopped on the way out and gave it back to my red brothers. Oh well, I did OK at the Mill Casino this trip and the last one. That doesn't happen very often.

Will post this as Burn Notice is on the tube. More later if anything interesting happens.

W&B

Another Great Day At The Beach...........

but we didn't do any sand duning today.............at least not yet. Figured it was time to give our tired, fragile, old bodies a little rest. So we went caching today on the North Spit and then into town for a few more. I think we found a dozen or so caches. I need four more to reach 2200 and we'll probably get them at Bandon when we go down to Bullard Beach SP tomorrow.

Stopped at my favorite casino for lunch............at least it's starting to become my favorite casino. I'm not greedy..........I stopped playing after I had lunch paid for and a little extra change for my pocket. Today we DIDN'T have fish and chips!

Of course that will change when we go to Bandon.

That's it for now. W&B

We're At The Dunes..........Coos Bay, OR.........

Left Sand Lake and got here around 1400 yesterday afternoon. Weather still outstanding, clouds in the morning which burn off and the temperature might reach high 60s or low 70s by afternoon. Gentle NW breeze.........couldn't be better!

We stopped at Florence, OR for our second favorite fish n chips joint on the coast...........unfortunately our second favorite has dropped a few notches. Fish and chowder were good; but, nothing to write home about. If we go back up the coast on the way back to Vancouver we might give them another chance.

We took a short ride in the dunes yesterday after we got settled in place..........I now know why this spot was still available when I made the reservation. It's on a bend of the rv park and that makes this campsite pie shaped. The opening is much smaller then the back side. Fortunately a young couple from Sacramento are parked next to us in a tent trailer and told us to don't worry about taking up some of their space. Nice of them, so we're over the line a few feet.

We headed for the casino later in the evening.........the Mill Casino is continuing to be nice to me........I made enough to buy dinner, some groceries and still made it home with $35.00 of their money.

We sorta slept in this morning (at least I did) and finally we headed back to the sand. Made the 12 mile run to the ocean where we took these pictures. At Hyder, AK a few years ago I stuffed a dime into a crack on one of the posts..........I thought I had done the same here; but, couldn't find it. So I did it again. Even got the coordinates on this one.........if you're ever in the vicinity of N43 27.266 W124 16.607 you might check it out to see if it's still there.

The ride almost killed our afternoon and it's past 1600 right now so guess we'll hang around for awhile and then head into town again. I've got about 60 geocaches loaded into the Nuvi so maybe we can find a few on our way to dinner. Don't know where we'll go for dinner; but, I still got $35.00 to blow so we'll just head for someplace that looks interesting. Maybe we'll hunt down a fish n chips place in North Bend or Coos Bay.

Another day here and then we'll move down the road to Bullard Beach State Park. Gotta make use of those freebies.

We're using the air card for the internet, tried it yesterday and even with my signal booster hooked up things were very sloooow.............this morning I tried it again and now we be smokin' with our up/downloads. Go figure. It's nice not to have to set up the satellite dish.

Later, W&B

Saturday.......Got Internet Dish Up...........

although lots of problems getting it going. John and I spent a great deal of time with the dish yesterday afternoon and finally gave up on it. We'd get a signal and then lose it. Waited until late last night (after 2100) when the signal gets better and had it running in just a few minutes. Go figure.

See Becky's Blog for today's happenings: http://beckystravels.blogspot.com/


W