Hi all, back to internet so I can bring you along on our journey again.

Day 17 (Sept 30)

Coffee, breakfast and pull together laundry. Head to town and get clothes washed, propane and a few groceries. Arco, Idaho claim to fame is “The First City to be Powered by Atomic Energy”. Only one beef with that statement…………City? It’s a small town in the middle of nowhere that was a good place to build an atomic reactor. OK, they have 3 gas stations, a couple of places to get a sandwich a grocery store and a park. I have to admit we were not looking for much more and even missed the museum, so I will check the internet to see if and when they are open. Good be a worthwhile stop. Got our stuff done, minus the propane. Back home for a couple of walks with the Boyz and a quiet evening to close out the last day of September.

Day 18

First day of October! Morning coffee as usual then I walked about a1/4 mile down the road to get a good cell signal. Updated my phone, sent texts, made a couple of calls and had a good long conversation with one of our daughters. Did some cleaning today as the dust is everywhere. My cousin, Rob and his wife Chris came to join us for the weekend. Did the park drive and even climbed a big cinder cone. Good view of the lava fields all around. 

Made tacos and had a fire after sunset. Great afternoon and evening of conversation and catching up. Got chilly sitting around the fire and called it a day.

Day 19

Coffee as usual, walking the Boyz and visiting with a couple of other campers. Fellow from Connecticut and his horse with 2 goats. Somewhat unusual travel pets and we can add them to the folks we came across a few years ago with the duck. 

Rob and Chris came for breakfast and after cleanup we headed into the park. Did the caves portion (actually just lava tubes) and had a good walk along with some rock scrambles. 

Plenty of exercise so back to camp and rehydrate sitting out enjoying the sunshine and cool breeze. Rob and Chris treated us with grilled teriyaki salmon for supper. Not often we get to eat that well when camping. Cleanup and conversation around the campfire until the propane ran out, then watched the stars, satellites, airplanes and even a few meteorites. Finally got chilly and called it an early evening. Such a great day and I think we were all a bit tired.

Day 20

 Moving day! Rob and Chris had to head for home (somebody still isn’t retired) so we decided to move on also. Still spent time having coffee and conversation before packing up. Millie had gotten a text from our youngest that she had some exciting news. Well, our imaginations ran wild and the consensus (a. a new puppy, b. a marriage proposal or had eloped, c. a cousin for Jo). Rob, Chris and I encouraged Millie to walk over to the cell service site and find out. She came back and said both of us had to be on a video call to find out. Well, of course we had to get in the truck and head to cell service.

Our first pick was correct. So our family is now a six dog family. We have our 2 little Boyz and each of the kids have 2. Will be wild at the lake next summer. Finished the drive across Idaho to Oregon and stopped at a Great State Park along the Snake River. So good we actually decided to stay 2 days. Having power and water seems like such a luxury. Of course we just put water in the tank, but using the Microwave to make nachos was almost decadent.  A bit of Netflix, some catch up on email and off to bed.

Day 21 (Oct 4)

Coffee, breakfast and some trailer cleaning for the morning. Decided to take a drive to get fuel and propane while we were not connected to the Li’l Fox. Millie visited a thrift store, we got our fuel and just toured the little town of Weiser, ID. 

On the way home we stopped and picked a couple of onions out of a field. Unfortunately we don’t know the variety other than yellow. It appears they raise a lot of onions around here. Back home for supper, relaxing, a bit of Netflix and off to bed.

Day 22

Travel day! Made it to Central Oregon just outside of Riley. A BLM campground on the Chickahominy Reservoir. 

It was a windy drive and still windy when we set up camp. After distressing from the drive and supper, the wind was way down and going to be a quiet night. Cloudy and virtually no ambient light so it will be dark tonight. Maybe watch a bit of Netflix and off to bed. We do have cell service which surprised me. Thought being so far into the boonies would be off grid again. Short day tomorrow, only about 100 miles to Bend, OR. Means we can laze about in the morning and enjoy coffee on what I hope to be a beautiful day.

Make your day great, be kind and smell the flowers.

Tom and Millie