Mov'n on!

Hi all
Today we head for Gresham, OR
Hoping for dry roads and looks like it will be sunny conditions.

Had a great day with Roger and Mary.
We are just so lucky finding the best local guides.
Great conversation, great food and good scenery.
Drove part way up to Mt Bachelor
leaving Bend with partly cloudy skies.

After about 20 minutes we got up to snow and the clouds closed in on us.

Since we could see very little, road was OK, we turned around and went back to town.
Toured a bit then found a place for lunch.
Fish tacos for 3 of us, each had a different kind and they were all great.
We then had to try out the distillery.
Tried lots of different selections and settled on their Bourbon.
Then headed to a quilt shop for the ladies to do some looking.
Decided to take a drive East of town and see some of the High Desert.
Turned around at Millican, OR, if you are interested it is For Sale.
Two buildings and one needs to be torn down.
So different for going west into the Cascades,

the high desert is so different from the Pine forest of the mountains.
Back home after a wonderful day.
I got some trailer duties done and Millie went to enjoy the hot tub for a bit.
TV and off to bed.

Make your day great
Tom and Millie

All the way to Bend

Hi all
No, it is not a yoga move for me as I do not bend well.
We are here in Bend, OR with some still mild weather.
Lefty found a new place to hide when I am after flies.

The trip here took us 2 days, you all know we don't always travel far or fast.
Left La Grand on a windy cool Friday morning.
Most of the trip was I-84 so we moved along fairly quickly.
Then we turned south from The Dalles, OR on Hwy 197.
This road mostly goes up hill, just like how I had to walk to school, both ways.
Seriously impacted our fuel mileage.
Country was scenic, and lots of hills and valleys
with highway grades of no less than 6%.
For us flatlanders, that is kind of steep.
We just slowed down and enjoyed the trip to Tygh Valley.
Here we stayed at the Wasco County Fair Grounds.
Very nice local park.

Had full hookups, we did not use, and a nice bathroom and showers.
Again, we did not make use of the facilities, other than electricity and a place to park.
Sun and clouds with lots of fall colors.

Quiet with only 2 RVs occupied.

Saturday AM we moved on to Bend.
Lots of burn areas on the hills from Tygh Valley,
and the valleys had lots of fall colors.
Easy drive, only about 100 miles so we were slow to leave
and didn't get to this RV park till mid afternoon.
Cleaned the trailer, relaxed, showers and watched TV till bedtime.
Even though this is a bigger RV Park, it was quiet and not crowded.

Most sites are occupied, but all the RV's are not occupied.
A rain shower or two came through during the night.

Today we are going to meet up with my Cousins, Mary and Roger.
Grilling at their house and I expect some wonderful conversation
and a few laughs.

Make your day great
Tom and Millie

La Grande

Hi all and good morning!

Had a great day yesterday,
relaxed in the morning then off to the
birthplace of our LSF.
Factory tour at Northwoods Manufacturing.
Great guide, and we were the only ones on the tour, he answered all questions,
was knowledgeable about all the processes and work stations
and a nice guy, thanks Rob.

Although they were not making the 27-5L, like ours, at the time,
the construction was the same and I learned a lot about ours.
Found it very interesting that the build is kind of like from the inside to the outside.
Build the floor then put everything inside,
interior walls, cabinets, appliance and most of the wiring and plumbing
is done before the walls and the roof.

After the tour we visited a few Thrift stores.
Millie also found a fabric store for a short browse.
Stopped for a bite of fast food,
Then on to a local brewery for a shared "flight" of beers.

Came home, walked the dogs then soaked in the hot spring fed pool.
Simple supper, a little TV and off to bed.
Had a good sleep and now need to figure out what to do today.

Make your day great.
Tom and Millie

Back to reality

Hi all
It is morning in La Grande, OR
Traveled here yesterday from Sooteney Reservoir Park near Othello, WA
which was our overnight stay on the trek from Osoyoos, BC.
So to catch you up on everything.

We had a great time in Osoyoos with Lee and Gaye.
They were our wine tour guides, wealth of area information
and knew the prettiest spots.

Kind of easy with the fall colors in the two valleys we visited.

Started out seeing about 1 out of every 25 wineries the first day.
Great wines and lots of fun with our hosts.

Gaye put together a near smorgasbord and tacos for supper.
Had brought the Boyz and with their two adorable little ones.
It was "puppy fest".
Was surprised Lefty did not take to Gaye.
Maybe he could tell her two gave her all the attention she needed?
Making him needed elsewhere. Only my guess.

Day two, Saturday, more wine tour.
Nope, not tired of it yet.
Went over to the next valley, Similkameen River Valley.

Beautiful scenery, weather and company.
Excellent wines, even bought Apple juice, nope, just juice.
Talked with a couple of the winery owners.

Dinner at a local restaurant, The Branding Iron.
Again with such good guides we had great food.
Home to the Boyz and early to bed.

Sunday we stay a bit more local,
Visited a winery a couple of blocks from Lee and Gaye's home.

Then out to Area 27.
This is a formula 1 race track.
Were fortunate to watch about 6-8 cars on the track.
Not formula 1 cars, but one was a Ford Focus.
Out there with a Porsche, Corvette, Lamborghini, a few Toyota
and a early 70's Chev big block Chevelle.
Watched for a while and even took some video.

One more winery
Then burgers at Dairy Queen.
Visited for a while, said our goodbyes and headed back to the LSF.

A few more shots from our visit.
The rare Blue Sonoran Quail.

Monday we packed up and traveled to the Scooteney Reservoir.
On the way we came across Dry Falls State Park.
At the end of the last ice age, the melt waters carved this out of the Washington landscape.
It is estimated that this would have been the largest waterfall in the world, dwarfing Niagra Falls.
Those little white spots on the lake are fishing boats.

Found the campground closed at Scooteney.
We got lucky and found the caretaker who told us
we could park in the boat landing parking for the night.

Dark and Quiet, just perfect for a good nights sleep.

Tuesday on to La Grande at the Grande Hot Springs RV Park.
Waiting for a bit of construction.

Got all set up and t-storms rolled through.

Stopped just before dark so we got in a good walk with the Boyz.

Today, off to the Northwoods Manufacturing Plant.
Birth place of our LSF.

Make your day great.
Tom and Millie

Ill be back soon

Hi all
So busy with Lee and Gaye that I have barely had time to transfer images.
Haven't processed for posting either.
Today we left Oroville with 3 days worth of memories with Lee and Gaye.
Such great people and a wealth of knowledge about their area.
We will miss sharing time with them.
We also know it is time to move on before the colder, wetter weather shows up.

We are at the Scooteny Park boat ramp parking.
We talked with the caretaker and since the campground is shut down......
he allowed us to stay in the boat ramp parking.
Quiet and dark, just the way we like it.

Tomorrow on to La Grande, OR.
The birth place of our LSF earlier this year.
Factory tour and an extra day to do something else.

Make your day great.
Tom and Millie

The end of our northerly direction.

Hi all
We are here at an RV park that is just "holler'n" distance of Canada.
Oroville, WA in the Bains RV Park, a little happy surprise gem.

It is about a half mile from the border, maybe a half mile from the highway
up on the hill with a great view of Osoyoos Lake.

Yesterday afternoon we met up with our friends Lee and Gaye.
Local pizza, sandwich and bakery, for supper.
Is so great to meet back up with people we enjoy.
Made plans for today and some tentative plans for our stay.
Some wineries, maybe a brewery and definitely some sightseeing.
Again, since this is their home territory, the guide service is spectacular.

Trip over was uneventful, which is nice, a pretty drive with the fall colors.

In the 100 mile journey, we went over 2 passes
and the truck performed well on 6% grades.

Time to get ready and go see what the day brings.
Make your day great
Tom and Millie

Kettle Falls

Hi all
Well we did poke around a bit here.
Drove up on the hill to overlook the town
and the smoke in the air is so bad I couldn't even get a good photo.
But, it was a nice view.
Went to the thrift shop, only one in town.
Did the Antique store and grocery store.
No, it was not antique groceries.
To the Visitors Center and chatted with the workers there.
Lunch time and we found the Northern Ales Brewery.
Had a nice beer and pretty good bar pizza.
The service was great, but unless you are here
not really worth going out of you way for the beer.
It is the best craft beer in town. Albeit, the only craft beer in town.
Millie found DJ's Second Hand Store, WOW
All I can say is what he said, "What ever your looking for, try here first".
Of course you have to dig through like "American Pickers".
You may find it, but I assure you, you will get dirty.

Back to the LSF and beverages on the lake shore.

Late afternoon sun kept the chill away and with the smoke, provided very warm looking photos.

Mother Nature provided a pretty view and some insight as to her engineering.

Fired up the pellet fire ring and when down to coals,
roasted some brats for supper with other camping food.
Played a round of Cribbage, made a few phone calls,
and got to video call with Chelsey.
Off to bed kind of early, reading for a while first.
Surprising how quick an evening can go by without TV.

Up early this morning with everything still working.
Batteries can supply us with all we need for two nights easy.
They will need recharging today.

Heading for Oroville, WA today and plan to enjoy the scenery along the way.
Hope on the other side of the mountains the air has cleared of the smoke.

Make your day great
Tom and Millie

Good morning from Kettle Falls

Hi all
Well, we made it another 100 miles.
Here at Kettle Falls Campground on Roosevelt Lake NRA.

We even have neighbors, one 3 sites away and one in the next loop.
Mid week is definitely the time to camp.
Sunshine, 60's day and 30's at night, little wind and lots of sunshine.

Not sure what we are going to do today.
We will go to Kettle Falls and see what the town offers.

Make your day great.
Tom and Millie