September 24

Hello all you followers, I hope your are OK patiently waiting for each installment. With the Holidays it seems to be hard to find the time to put together a post. Not to mention trying to get some of our house projects done. So here is the next episode of our Big Adventure.

Carol and Millie went into town to check out the quilt shops and some other things they did not tell me about. Millie said they had fun and found some neat stuff, whatever it was. Ed and I talked about times long past and I learned a bunch about his military service.

After a quick small lunch Millie, Lefty and I went to the beach. When we left the camper it was low 70’s, sunny and a light breeze. When we got to the beach, 4 miles away, 

it was low 60’s, cloudy, foggy and a stiff breeze off the ocean. We did walk and Lefty got a good run in the sand, but did not like getting his feet wet. Sat in the truck for a while, watched the waves and let the ocean breeze blow though, till we got cold and went home. 

When back at Ed & Carol's, the sun was out and it was a bit cooler and hardly felt the breeze. Not sure I would like living here. Although November through March is not always pleasant in West Fargo.

Not a real exciting day and it was nice to see one of the many moods of the Pacific Coast.

Make your day great.

Tom, Millie and Lefty.

 

 September 21

Big “Mod Tour” today. Spent a little time getting the rig in order, probably just like everyone did. WOW, lots of new ideas for us to do after seeing what some very imaginative, talented people have done.

A rematch of Pictionary, men vs women, and the women walked away with it tonight. Millie and I only lasted till around 8PM. Watched an episode of Northern Exposure and went to bed. 

Tomorrow is time to say "good bye" and move on. It was our first and hopefully not the only Arctic Fox get together we can attend. Just would be nice to have one closer to the central part of the country. Weather was fantastic, even though it was windy most of the time, mostly sunny skies, temps in the 70’s and great people to share with. Thank to those who started, those that took over when situations changed, and all who attended.

WE HAD A GREAT TIME!

 

September 22

Made the move to Ilwaco, WA. All set up to “Moochdock” at my cousin’s property. Got settled in and visited for a while then made supper and crashed.

That’s about it, long day and lots of traffic.

 

September 23

Nearly perfect weather for us. Mid 50’s overnight and upper 60’s daytime. Light breeze and occasional sunshine.

Drove into Astoria, OR for some thrift store shopping with Carol. 

Hit several stores then stopped at Bouy Beer for a shared lunch. Interesting fact, their previous location on the wharf collapsed into the river. Was a neat place, and they are now at a temporary location while the new location gets fitted up. Hope it is as nice as the old one.

Stopped at Josephson’s Smokehouse for some smoked Salmon, Tuna and Scallops. Expensive, but oh so tasty. Then picked up some groceries and headed back across the big bridge between Oregon and Washington.

Supper was smoked fish, cheese , crackers and a nectarine, was really great and easy. Then over to Ed and Carol’s for puzzling and conversation. Millie stayed and puzzled, I headed back to the camper and got sidetracked by Chris. He was working on a problem with his car’s backup camera. I helped him, (second set of hands) to figure out what the likely problem was.

That was it for the day.

 Make your day great.

Tom, Millie and Lefty

 September 20

The group hoped to do a hydro tour at the Dalles Dam on the Columbia River. Well, after 9/11 and then Covid, they no longer allow the public to tour the facility. However the Visitor Center woman did a great job of presenting about the river history, dam construction and mostly the dam operation. She was a wealth of info and answered nearly all our questions, spending better part of an hour with us.

After the Dam, Millie and I went into The Dalles, OR for fuel, hardware and thrift stores. Then home about 1PM for a light lunch, some small projects and documenting the modifications we had made to our “Fox”. Tomorrow will be the “modification tour” of a few rigs, so we also did a little cleaning. Was due anyway.

After supper it was “Men vs Women Pictionary”. The men smoked the women and we all had a great time. Lots of laughs and fun as a group till the wee hours of 9PM. On the way back to our RV several of us decided to "show the lights". Looks a bit like the aliens have landed.

Another great day with some great people.

Make your day great.

Tom, Millie and Lefty

 

 September 19

Sunny and windy morning. Normal get up, make coffee, make breakfast, listen to hometown news and get ready for the day.

WINE TASTING at Maryhill Winery a few miles down the road. Great views of the Columbia River valley. 

Millie and I split a “Flight” of wine and a sandwich. When ordering, the young lady behind the counter looked at the credit card and asked “Do you know Eddie?”. When I said I did and we are on our way to visit Ed and Carol. She then told me she was my cousin Ken’s Granddaughter (Ken’s mom and my dad are half siblings), why she was not sure of a relationship, different last names. Short visit and quick photo since she was working.

From there, Millie and I went Thrift store shopping in Goldendale, WA. Millie found a few small items and I struck out. Fun to look around the town. After that we went back to the Park. Millie took a nap and I joined the group in the sunshine and fresh air, circled up and getting to know each other. About supper time we all contributed appetizers and a bottle or two of wine. 

Visited and told stories until the wee hours of the evening. Watched a couple episodes of Northern Exposure and headed to bed.

Fun day and so happy to spend time with wonderful "new" friends.

Make your day great,

Tom, Millie and Lefty

 

September 17

Full day in Pomeroy, WA and we spent much of the day looking for something to do. Tried the museum, thrift store, bakery and a book store, all closed. Found a neat Quilt shop and visited with the owner for a bit. 

Got fuel for the truck and some groceries. Rest of the day involved sewing, napping and laundry. Pretty quiet day in Pomeroy. Supper, treats and streamed some entertainment.

 

September 18

Up early and I went to the Bakery for cinnamon rolls while Millie got the last load of laundry done. Packed up, stowed gear for travel and got on the road about 10AM.

Strong head wind, curvy road and pretty plain scenery. Lots of grass, rolling hills and blue skies. Arrived at Maryhill State Park in Maryhill, WA. Got set up in the row of Arctic Foxes for the three day rally. (We are the one under the flag.)

So far there are about 15-20 rigs here. Meet and greet after supper to go over the agenda for the rest of the rally. Nice to meet people I have communicated with on Facebook for years. So far seems like a great group of people and should be a fun few days.

Moonset at Maryhill State Park, WA.

Make your day great!

Tom, Millie and Lefty

 

September 15

Travel was uneventful today. Butte, MT hasn’t changed much, from I90. Enjoyed a bit of lunch at a nice Montana Rest Stop, they do have some nice ones. Through Missoula and stopped in Lolo, MT and proceeded into Idaho over Lolo Pass. Highway 12 across Idaho is for the most part a great road, just have to like curves. It is a slow road, speed limit mostly 50mph. Stopped for the night at a great USFS campground that surprised me by being nearly full on a Sunday night.

Enjoyed sitting outside with the very comfortable temps, even needed a long sleeved shirt. Visited with a retired couple from California. We shared campsite and things to see info, and a few wildlife encounters.

Early to bed so we can early rise.

 

September 16

Moving on a little earlier, that’s usual for us. Only about 160 miles for the day to Pomeroy, WA. Trip was slow because of a 10 mile construction zone, 35mph speed limit and a pilot car wait. Beautiful country all along Lochsa River to the confluence with the Selway River and becomes the Middle Fork Clearwater River. Would be a fun drive on a motorcycle. Then negotiating all the construction through Lewiston, ID/Clarkston, WA and on to Pataha Creek RV Park in Pomeroy, WA. 

Finally back to good cell service and the fastest RV Park WiFi I have ever encountered. Thanks to the Port of Garfield.

Just staying two nights so we can do laundry, empty tanks and add water. Will check out the town tomorrow.

Make your day great.

Tom, Millie and Lefty

 

September 14

Sunrise at Red Mountain.

After breakfast we went into Four Corners, just on the West edge of Bozeman. Found a great Artisan Bakery and after tasting a few items got a  great looking Basil, Rosemary, Olive loaf and a couple of treats. Then off to Thrift stores and even a, so called, Antique store which was more flea market than just antiques. Millie did most of the looking, although I did a quick walk through then joined Lefty in the truck and got caught up on emails and news. Last item in town was to top off the fuel tank and be ready to head out tomorrow.

Back at camp we enjoyed a scone (from the bakery), Millie set up to sew “squares” together and I got the generator fired up to fully charge the batteries and some other trailer related stuff. Cooked up a couple of hamburger steaks, sautéed some onions for a light meal and an adult beverage to round out the day. A couple more episodes of Northern Exposure and off to a good nights sleep.

Make your day great.

Tom, Millie and Lefty

 

September 13

Lazy morning drinking coffee , made a great breakfast and headed to Ennis, MT for some shopping and general sightseeing. 

Millie found the Thrift Store and made a few purchases, and I took advantage of cell service to catch our kids up on our travels. I found Willie’s Distillery. 

From Ennis we headed to Norris and the Hot Spring. Spent a few hours soaking in the glorious warm water and meeting Clint and Vicky. They are “full timers” and we visited about travels and places we have stayed.

So far the weather has let us know why we pack so many clothes. Upper 80’s when we left home and now the highs are barely reaching upper 60’s. Living off grid and dry camping it is better to be cool, since we cannot run the AC from out Solar and batteries.

Back at camp, Millie made a potato beef soup with lots of veggies. It was a great supper and she even had cut the recipe in half so we only have one or two more meals. We also do not have much fridge or freezer space so it was a good choice. It is a really good recipe. After supper we watched the last DVD of Northern Exposure, season 5.

It was a great day. Make yours great.

Tom, Millie and Lefty

 

September 11

More travel day from Medora to Billings, MT. Swanky RV Park right on the edge of town and within walking distance to fine dining (Burger King) and Sam’s Club. OK, it was Cabela’s RV parking next to their store. Other than noise from I90 it is a great spot to overnight and shop in the store. After fast food supper we played a few games and took advantage of great cell service.

 

September 12

Last travel day till after the weekend. Good old Red Mountain BLM Campground about 15 miles East of Norris, MT. This will be the fourth time we have utilized this campground. Spacious level sites with views (some right on the shore) of the Madison river. Almost always windy, yet so lovely when it is not.

Make your day great.

Tom, Millie and Lefty

  September 10

HI ALL and welcome back.

As some of you may have noticed, there was no Big Adventure last spring. We had two reasons.  Number one, started and completed a full Master Bath remodel and began replacing all the flooring on the second level. Number two, kind of really didn’t have much winter, so I never got tired of moving what little snow we had.

So now we begin our new adventure with a non-eventful trip across ND. Other than the smoke from the fires West and North, the drive was pleasant and a good way to get into travel mode.

Sunrise at our favorite first night campground, just West of Medora, ND.

All set up and trying to relax with a nice breeze and 85°. Nice Chefs salad, a glass of vino, play a couple of games and get a good nights sleep.

With all the smoke the half moon was blood red, kind of spooky. Unfortunately the camera I have does not do well with night images. Oh well.

Make your day great.

Tom, Millie and Lefty

Welcome Back to Fall 2024 BigAdventure

 Hi all, we are back.

I will be starting to publish our travels this fall, and as you will notice it is delayed. Changing plan so I publish after we return from travel. Sort of a safety concern so it is not so obvious our home is empty. Can only have so much security with cameras, alarm systems and automatic lights. 

We had a great time visiting some great people and wonderful places and I will publish often for you to follow.

Enjoy the trip, hopefully as much as we did.

Tom, Millie and Lefty