"Jake, I Promise You Will Have Grass Soon"

All winter long and into the spring and summer in Yuma I have promised Jake nice green grass.  He was beginning to not even believe me anymore.  But yesterday I finally produced.  We reached Oregon and GREEN!

It is not the greenest green but it is not gray gravel either.  Jake is happy.  His mommy is happy!  We sat outside amid green grass and tall green trees and I was in heaven!  It caused me to have what I call my Happy Bubbles.  I haven't had them in so, so long.  Between breaking my foot last February and not being able to walk or bike and then the hot, hot desert days, I was feeling pretty low.  But by golly, I am back and it feels good.  All I needed was some outdoor time!  Yea!  I plan on having a couple more weeks of it!

So, yesterday we landed in Burns, Oregon after about four hours of travel from Winnemucca.  Burns is a small town in eastern Oregon.  It is right where the green and the trees seem to begin as you go west.  It is a sweet little town with the friendliest people.  Everyone seems to want to talk.  Or maybe it is me - now that I have my Happy Bubbles back.  Whatever, it is a nice place.

I did my research and I knew there was a small brewery here in town.  That was part of the reason for stopping here.  Well, wouldn't you know - they were closed yesterday and today.  I was quite upset!  I had brew plans!  Well, the Beer Gods were on our side.  As we drove down the highway after getting some fuel, lo and behold what did appear but a Growler Station at a country store!  I couldn't believe my eyes!  Kirby made a quick U-turn and we parked and headed in to explore.  They had 10 or 12 different local taps and about three different IPA's, which is our favorite.  The nice friendly owner of the store let us sample all that we wanted and we selected an IPA from Terminal Gravity and got ourselves a half a growler (a jug of beer).  We took that back to the RV park, sat out in the grass under the trees and enjoyed a nice glass each.  Now tell me, who wouldn't have Happy Bubbles with a life like that!

We (meaning Jake, really) made friends with our neighbors who are from Washington state.  They had two dogs and a little girl - all for Jake!

If you are familiar with Jake, you will notice that he has filled out a bit.  That is what 5 months of no walks will do to a dog - and his mommy!

These two pictures are what we saw on our drive yesterday.  It was another barren day but it was beautiful in it's own way.  The highway was not busy, had frequent pull-outs and life is good!

Heading North August 2016

Our summer was all messed up and we had too many difficulties that kept us stuck in Yuma for the first part of the summer.  But we finally are on our way and have headed north.  And just in time as I was about to scream for the hot weather.  Soon we will be north enough that the days will be a bit cooler and the nights down right chilly and then I will probably be complaining about the cold.

We timed our departure to travel through Las Vegas early on Sunday morning when the traffic was light.  So our first stop was back at Canyon Trail RV Park in Boulder City.  It is not their fault that it was hot and miserable when we were there.  It actually is a very nice RV park with pull through sites, large spaces, a new pool, off leash areas for dogs and nice showers.  We had been there before and like it.  But by the time we got there it was 100 degrees or more and our RV was HOT.  It took hours for it to cool down but when it did, we slept really really well.  We love the bed in our camper.

Jake is getting older and he doesn't travel quite as well as he used to.  He gets really tired.  He has his own sofa in the camper and this year we got him a cooling pad that he does not like but since I told him to use it he does.  He is a good boy and does what mommy says.

It was over 90 degrees in the camper when we first got set up and Jake was very uncomfortable.  So glad it cooled when the sun went down.

Today we are in Tonopah, NV heading north to Oregon.  Both travel days have been without incident and easy.  The countryside is barren and lonely looking.

We did see some wild burros which was a thrill for me!  I have never seen them before and was not ready with my camera so this is all you get!

And of course - this is Nevada folks -

I almost forgot the best part.  When we went for fuel this afternoon we just happened upon a local Brewery!!  We sat outside with Jake and had a great double IPA at Tonopah Brewing.  What a way to begin a holiday that is centered on good brews!

Montana!

We have been having way too much fun here in Montana and I have been lazy with updating the blog.  We are currently in Fort Benton which is in central Montana and pretty darned close to Canada.  In my next life I want to be born in Montana!  I love it here.  Actually, getting to spend part of my summer here is almost perfect.  When we left Henry's Lake in Idaho we went to Livingston and spent a week there visiting with Kirby's cousin, Melani.  She has lived there for over 10 years...a California escapee!  While in Livingston Kirby got outfitted for some trout fishing and we have been searching for that big boy ever since!

We have seen some beautiful country on our travels and Montana is probably one of the very best!  From Livingston we went a whole 75 miles north to White Sulfur Springs which sits just south of Lewis and Clark National Forest.  It is a tiny town that is quiet, quiet, quiet!  The RV park was our favorite this year.  We walked to town and back many times, drove all over dirt roads searching for that perfect fish, picniced and played tourist at a home that has been converted to a museum.

I loved the simplicity of this old abandoned farmhouse.  I found it interesting that the white paint was still so white.  I have to wonder what brand of paint they used to last so long! There was no vinyl siding when this house was built.

Kirby found us this canyon to check out.  It was all rock and gorgeous. 

We were just driving down the dirt road minding our business when I spotted these two deer sitting under a tree.  Kirby slammed on the brakes and backed up.  I started taking pictures and walking closer to them very slowly.  They let me get quite close before the bolted off.  I felt so fortunate to get so close to them.  Their antlers were gorgeous!

This was one of our many picnics.  Convenient tree stump to use wouldn't you say?

Why do I take pictures of cows?  I have always done it and I am not too sure why.  Maybe because they are there.  This young one didn't know yet that you DON'T sleep in the middle of the road!

One day there were lots and lots of butterflies and they each had a thistle.

Driving a big truck and pulling a 38 foot trailer can be a bit of a challenge.  We had no idea this was waiting just up the road for us.  The picture is no where near as awful as the real thing was.  Lumpy, bumpy and very narrow.  I was so proud of Kirby!

This is the house museum that we visited - Bair Family Museum in Martinsdale, MT.  There really is no more Martinsdale - only a handful of people still living in the old houses but it used to be a nice little town full of people  that the sheep rancher, Charles Bair, employed.  The house was furnished by his two daughters throughout their lives with travels to Europe to purchase antiques.  It was pretty gaudy with all the big picture frames and gold gilt on everything but I fell in love with the kitchen.  It was remodeled in the 1960's and stayed the same thereafter.  Isn't the color incredible.  That would wake you up pretty fast each morning!

Custer State Park - Wildlife Loop

Our last day at the park.  We will move north just a little bit today and I am trying to figure out why we are going north when it is mid July and 47 degrees outside.  We are experiencing a cold spell!!  I guess so!  Way too cold for summer!  We need to go south!

Anyway our day on the Wildlife Loop was also incredible and I took too many pictures again.  So, I use little collages to try to give you some of everything,  Now come along with us -

Wildlife Loop - we didn't see that much but we did get up close and personal with this Bison.  Shot from the car window!

Pronghorn Sheep

Prairie Dog

The Pronghorn Sheep photo was out the windshield and the Prairie Dogs just kept popping back into their holes as I got closer so the photos aren't very good.

This is what a lot of our trip looked like.  I loved it!  But I sure wouldn't want to be there in the cold!

A roadside stop

Then we saw the sign for the Lookout and both agreed that we wanted to go.  How stupid could I have been.  I can NOT handle heights!  By the time we wound our way up the cliffhanger narrow road I was almost in tears with my eyes shut.  I was on the outside the whole way up which was one mile and the longest mile in my life!  Thankfully we didn't meet a car coming the other direction or I know we would have gone off the cliff and died.

This is the lookout tower that I did not climb.

After our picnic lunch we followed a little trail that we thought might take us to the Badger Clark Home.  It wound around this little lake and did indeed take us where we wanted to go.

Badger Clark was the Poet Laureate for the state South Dakota in 1937.  He is the author of the famous "Cowboy's Prayer".  His home in the mountains is still there just the way he left it.  I thought it was beautiful!  I could live there.  No indoor plumbing, no running water, no electricity.  It would so peaceful - for a bit of time and then I would want all my modern conveniences again! After touring the house we took his trail around the property and enjoyed the same mountain views that he enjoyed for over 20 years of his life.

This is my normal view when we take walks!

If a Tree Falls In the Forest.....

Well, I still don't know if it makes a noise if no one is there to hear it but I do know that if there IS someone there, it does make a noise.  I saw a big pine tree just decide to lay down today.  A first for me.  Jake and I were out for an afternoon walk and I just happened to be looking right where the tree was and saw it fall.  It was an amazing sight.

Since we don't have sewer here we decided to use the campground showers today to save our holding tank as we want to stay until the middle of next week.  (we love Beaver Dam Campground in Louisiana!) And we needed showers!  The whole thing was very iffy but I was successful in the end.  The water pressure was good and I didn't have to keep pushing a button like so many of them. (Can you count how many times the floor has been painted?)  Just as we were finishing up (Kirby in one shower and me in the other) the park host arrived to do his daily cleaning and didn't know we were in there and thank heavens there was a little bitty clasp on my door!  We are both much cleaner this evening.

Jake and I took a walk after dinner.  Here are some of the photos.

The dogwoods are in full bloom!

I am in love with these seeds.  They look like red M&M's!  But I have no clue what they are.  Can anyone help?

Even the little weeds are blooming with color.

This is Beaver Dam Lake with Jake in the foreground of course.

Lodi, CA

When we realized that son, Lee, would be able to meet up with us we went looking for a perfect meeting place.  We were heading north on I-5, Lee was coming from San Jose, CA and our friend, Lou, would come visit from Grass Valley.  So we needed a place central for all of us and a decent RV park for Kirby and I.  We decided on Lodi, CA and Flag City RV Park.

No one was very excited about the location and the weather was forecast to be in the triple digits.  Wow, were we ever surprised at how our day played out.  We left Success Lake and drove about four hours and settled into our site.  Lee arrived about 4:00 and we enjoyed a nice evening together eating carnitas and getting caught up on family news and gossip.

We also met our neighbors who have a beautiful black lab, Lola, whom Jake thought was wonderful.  We found out that Flo and Larry are from Yuma and actually live just down the street from where we were last month.  I remembered seeing them walking Lola.  We all hit it off right away and now l have a new BFF!  We can’t wait to get back to Yuma next fall and enjoy their company again.

Lou came over on Saturday from Grass Valley and it was old home week at our rig.  Kirby and Lee have known Lou for about 20 years and I have known him almost as long….he is family now! 

Since it was already so hot we headed into town to check out the local brewery that we had found online.  Lodi Beer Company is located downtown Lodi on a tree lined street – beautiful!  We each ordered different beers and enjoyed them along with a plate of nachos.  (I got the Red which I loved and Kirby of course tried the IPA which was very hoppy – just the way he likes them!)

The streets of downtown Lodi are really lovely!

What would be your choice?

I love the bar and the beer taps.  Very unusual.

A great smile on Lee's face!

Then it was on to wine tasting.  I had no idea that Lodi was a great wine tasting area so what a wonderful surprise.  I love wine.  I really love wine – so this was perfect for me and the men enjoyed it to.

Our first tasting room was the Van Ruiten FamilyVineyards.  That is where we met Nicole who explained all about their wines (and that she is going to Hawaii on vacation very soon and taking her twin 17 year old sons for their high school graduation).  I think our favorite there was the Sauvignon Blanc. It was a beautiful tasting room full of people having fun and enjoying the wines.  Lou got a couple of bottles for his wife who didn’t get to come and then we went on to the next.

Thanks, Nicole for the fun time!

That's us!

Michael-David Winery was next.  We loved their various zinfandels and we even got to sample a $60 bottle that we would never be able to purchase so that was very special.  It was awesome!  All of the wines we tried there were exceptional and we would like to have purchased a case – but we just don’t have the space!

YUM!!

Tasting at Michael-David

 Then it was back to the rig – which was only about a mile down the road.  We hung out visiting until the power went out!  Yikes – 105 degrees and no AC!  So, what do you do?  You go outside and sit in the shade of the RV, get the hose and get wet and invite your neighbors to join you.  It turned into a great party!  What an awesome day we had!  I love this life!

This is our Jake

And this is his new friend, Lola!