I think I mentioned in the last post that we went to Panguich to a NAPA store to get a new radiator cap for the motorhome. I also got some antifreeze to replace part of what was lost when the radiator erupted and eliminated about 5 gallons of boiling antifreeze and water onto parts of my body and all over Diane’s truck. Had I been standing a little further away from the action I might have enjoyed the spectacle. I’m sure it was something to see. Anyway, we got the new cap, got a Subway sandwich and ate it in a small park along whatever road we were on, let Max run free on the grass in that same park, then headed back to Cannonville. It was a fun and relaxful drive. Yes, relaxful, is really a word even if I just made it up.

Once back at camp I added one of the two gallons of antifreeze to the RV and installed the new cap. The gal at NAPA looked up the RV by VIN and sold me a 16 lb cap. The one that was on it was 9 lb.

Then, yesterday we broke camp and headed down the road. I use the word “down” loosely because there isn’t much down in Utah. Pretty much every road we traversed was uphill. Little did we know that the worst was yet to come.

The very first large mountain we encountered caused the RV to overheat, but it took a long time for that to happen. We almost made it to the top before the light came on and went right out when I used Terry’s advice to slow way down. It worked. From then on we made it the rest of the way with no incident even though we went all the way up to 9600 feet. I have to admit that I was holding my breath quite often on the way up those mountains, but we finally made it to I-15 South to St. George. To celebrate that feat we stopped for lunch on a handy pullout on the on ramp to the freeway. I even took Max for a celebratory walk. Once that was done we joined the 80 mph traffic as we trundled along at our chosen speed of 60 mph. Surprisingly, quite a few joined us and no one tried to push us off the road. It was an uneventful trip, all the way to Temple View RV Park on I-15. I was happy to learn that our assigned spot was about 30 feet from the check in office. How handy is that? The spots are very nicely laid out. The RV goes on one side of the patio and the towed car on the other side. Really handy. I have photos but can’t add them until I figure out how to transfer them from my phone to the new computer.

Oh, ya! I got a new computer. This morning we drove up to Best Buy in Washington, Utah and fixed the problem I created when I poured a cup of milk on my MacBook. Kinda a dumb thing to do, right? It was one of many dumb accidents I’ve experienced over my lifetime. I actually think I can rectify the problem, however, because I have another MacBook at home that works, but no one can log in to it. No one remembers the user name or password. So, I’ll tear them both apart and see about swapping keyboards. That will be the topic of another post one of these days. Until then I’ll be busy learning how Windows 11 works. It’s been a long time since I’ve had to use a Windows computer so it’s a challenge. It types nice which was my prime concern.

Tomorrow we plan to leave here early for a pickup ride to Surprise, AZ, 6 hours long. We’re going to stay 2 days so we can make the 6-hour drive back to the RV. I told Max about the pending trip and he wasn’t happy. I took the above photo to document his displeasure. I think it’s evident he’d rather to to a water park, or just a nice green field of grass. He loves grass fields to run in.

This morning (9/21) we got up early at 0700 and left the RV around 0900 and headed south. The trip took us through Las Vegas which wasn’t pretty. There’s a very LA smoggy layer of air hanging over the city making it totally unattractive. I took a photo but won’t add it because I don’t want spoil any good thoughts you might have about LV. Also, I still don’t have a workable solution for making photos available to the new laptop. The above photo was made available via some magical set of circumstances that I’ve been unable to replicate. It’s a mystery I need to resolve.

We’re in Surprise, AZ right now and I’ve talked with my brother Jack alerting him that we will connect tomorrow. The drive down wore us both out. Max, too.

Now, for supper. Then I’ll maybe get to work on that mystery a little before slumber overtakes me.

Ciao.

Left Green River around 2:30 pm. Arrived in Loa around 6:30 pm. There was a dispute are our arrival time because we were heading west, and we had conflicting information from all the clocks available to us. Since there was a dispute, I tossed a yellow flag and made a judgement call. We arrived at 6:30 pm. Normally it’s a 2-hour trip but we did it in 4. I think that a new record. I blame it on the GPS for getting us heading in all the wrong directions. Took a couple of stops to figure it out. The last one took us from 1.5 hours to our destination, down to less than an hour. What a trip, but we saw some incredible country because of the error.

Upon our arrival we were blessed with rainbows and an excellent view of a comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF).

Getting to Loa with our trucker GPS made it a long day because we were directed away from I-70 due to construction and routed too far north for everyone’s comfort. Diane called the RV park at our destination and got good info for a faster way to get there. In the end, everyone was happy to be in Loa. Gary, the owner of Fremont RV Park met us as we drove in and directed us to our assigned spots. He saw us coming because he lives just across the street from the RV park. Pretty handy.

Diane and I slept well in the cooler air. Loa is just over 7,000 feet elevation which meant we were in for a much cooler night. Matter of fact, it downright cold the next morning. didn’t get a temperature, but my body let me know it was cold even though I didn’t wake up until 8:45 am.

We fiddled around pretty much all morning then saddled up and headed to Capitol Reef National Park. It was pretty awesome. We didn’t drive down every road but saw enough to make the trip worthwhile. I have hundreds of photos of rocks, hills, and mesas.

On the way to the park is a small village called Torrey where we stopped at a knick knack store that had a front yard crammed full of interesting items. Diane was going to get a whirligig thing but changed her mind when she learned that all the stuff is from Mexico. That’s not a bad thing. She was more interested in things made locally.

This first one is for all the kids in the family:

This next photo, though probably not appropriate, has a story. While walking to this building we had to walk along a very fast-moving irrigation canal. Not a big one, about 3 feet across, and it looked to be about 3-4 feet deep. Hard to tell because the water is the same color as all the hills surrounding the town – the color of Max’s ears. Grass grows right up to the edge and the water is about a foot below the ground and there is no gradual slope on which to rest tired little dog feet. So, Max must have marched to the water thinking he might get a drink and took a header into the water. I wasn’t aware of this until I felt some strange tugging on his leash. I was talking to someone. When I turned to see what the commotion was there was little Max struggling to get out of the water, but he couldn’t quite make it. He was wearing his harness, so it was easy to pick him up with the leash and put him on high ground. I know, I should have taken a photo, but was more concerned with getting him out of the water. He was a happy camper and shook most of the water off very quickly. There’s something about his fur that repels water so he dries fast. The below photo is simply a representation of how that little event scared the crap out of him. Yes, I cleaned it up.

Now for some random photos I took while Diane buzzed around some roads in Capitol Reef.

I don’t know who that is in the below photo. I just needed a photo of the sign because I kinda cut it off in the following photo of our group. Some of you know these guys.

This pile of rocks is called “The Castle”.

Max really enjoyed the trip and riding with his head out the window helped dry him off. Diane said he smelled terrible, but I couldn’t tell. He smelled fine to me but then, I eat stuff I’ve dropped on the floor.

I love this big gnarly. It resides in an orchard of various kinds of fruit that were planted by early residents of the space. Anyone riding through can stop and pick fruit. There is a cost, but I don’t know what it is. Lots of people stopped to partake. The area is called Fruita. I read somewhere along the line how that name came from but darned if I can remember it.

I have to stop this now because for some reason I poured milk on my laptop keyboard and that didn’t go well. After pouring the milk off I dried it as best I could but some keys are rebelling, failing to function. Specifically, the 6 and 7 keys don’t work and neither does the “m” key. Turns out that those particular keys aware absolutely necessary for some passwords and words like mumble, mommy, for example.

I know you are wondering how I can possibly continue as I am obviously doing right now. We’ll, I’m finishing this up on my iPad. I could continue but there would be no photos. We’re going shopping tomorrow to rectify my interlude with that glass of milk.

Tip, next is our trip from Cannonville to St. George and some minor maintenance on the RV.

This morning we packed a couple of sandwiches (that I made), gathered up the dog, and headed for Canyonlands. The entrance to this park is down the same road as Arches, but it’s farther from Moab and on the right instead of the left of Highway 191. That’s my kind of exit. I’m kind of anal about NOT crossing oncoming traffic lanes to view “something” because getting back on the road could be problematic and fraught with danger. If it’s right turn, I’m good to go. Getting back on the road safely is solved by going to a traffic light and waiting for everyone on your left to stop and let you out. Simple and safe.

Unlike Arches, the Canyonland entrance is much further off the road. Arches is like, right there, as soon as you exit Highway 191. And it’s a right turn! Apparently, that’s the reason Arches requires entrance passes because the traffic would quickly back up, blocking Highway 191, keeping people who had already seen Arches from getting to lunch in Moab. Backing up traffic to enter Canyonland isn’t an issue. The backup could be miles long and wouldn’t interfere with folks going to lunch in Moab.

Thankfully, there was no long line of cars entering the park, so we sailed right through the gate. Just zipped right past the ranger as if she didn’t know we were there. excerpt, she gave us maps and told us some rules about parking ONLY in designated area, like between the lines. Turns out that about half the visitors ignore that rule.

Although the views from our vehicle were stunning, some of the more interesting views required long walks. I did 3 or 4 of them and logged over 5 miles on my Fitbit. I got many photos to prove my prowess. I also have tender legs and a sore back from hiking up hills and down gullies. It was fun, though. Most of the time I was alone in the wilderness because I chose to follow Robert Frost down the paths least traveled. None of my fellow travelers knew where I was so it was a bit exciting until I got to the part in my head where it said, “if I collapse, or fall down out here, I wonder how long it would take to find me?” It wasn’t something that concerned me. It was just a curiosity.

After seeing what we wanted to see we headed for the exit and were greeted by a tremendous thunderstorm that washed all the dust off the truck. The water running off the mesas did so in the form of impromptu water falls that was quite nice. It was a demonstration of how the surfaces of the plateaus are so smooth. I tried to get photos, but it was raining too hard to get the camera focused through the rapid swipe of the windshield wipers, and there was no way I was going to roll down my window.

Before we left for this day’s travel, Diane broke out the crock pot and started the base for tortellini soup. I chopped up the vegetables she needed. The pot was on low so cooked nicely while we were gone. Upon return from our journey, she added the tortellini’s while I did something else. Don’t remember what it was, but I did something.

Then we gathered at the Unger’s residence for a nice dinner on their patio. The rain was long gone, and the temperature was just perfect of us Oregonians. The soup was so awesome that I plan to have more for lunch before we pull the plug on this location and head for Loa, Utah, our next stop on this adventure.

Now for some photos.

This is us . . .

This was my first walk. I don’t know what it’s called but, oddly enough, it sits on the edge or a deep canyon.

The un-named rock up close . . .

I got close to the left side discovered that it’s a long way down with no barrier to keep uncareful people from falling off. So, I went back to the truck. It was more safe there.

A little further away is this view of a dirt road that daring people are invited to take to the bottom of the canyon, 1400 feet away, and drive all over in the canyons. Looked fun but Diane didn’t want to do it. Had she agreed she would have had to tell me later how it went.

Driving on we encountered a trail to Mesa Arch. Feeling frisky I decided to see what it was like and what Mesa Arch actually looked like. Prickly pears were abundant.

The trail went ever upward with large slabs of stone steps on the steepest. Each step is composed of three pieces of stone about the size of a railroad ties. Sand in the area fills the space between the pieces. It’s evident that many people choose to talk around them. Me? I used them. There were literally hundreds of these steps. Making them must have taken a considerable amount of time.

I finally made it to Mesa Arch. Many people were standing around talking and taking in the view, so I took this picture.

It doesn’t look like much until you get closer where you can see how it frames the vast area below.

Then I went back to the truck, but I did it by continuing on around the formation that leads to Mesa Arch. On that part of the trek I didn’t encounter even one other human being. More than once it crossed my mind that if I fell down, for any reason, I might be laying there for some time before someone found me. It made me more careful than I normally am.

I made it out safely and we wandered around a bit before heading back to camp. Before we made it back to the park entrance, we were blessed with a tremendous thunderstorm that made it necessary to see if our windshield wipers still worked. It came on slowly, then blossomed into something to behold. It was kind of nice, it was.

Once we got away from the park we were out of the rain, and it was smooth sailing back to Green River.

After a restful night we woke to the prospect of seeing the wonder of Arches National Park. It’s about a 40-mile trip from our RV park but it was a nice drive. We even got rained on part of the way. That was refreshing for us wandering Oregonians. It didn’t last long, though.

When we got to the Arches entrance, we were confronted with a dilemma we hadn’t anticipated, nor had we been forewarned. It turns out that Arches is one of 6 or 7 national parks in the USA that requires folks to get a reservation for a specific entry time. We there were vague instructions about how to obtain one. It included a phone number but I went to work on the proffered web site thinking I could figure it out. Turns out I couldn’t and missed the 2 pm entry slot. Then I called the number and got permission to enter at 3 pm. So, having time on our hands, we went to Moab for lunch. We were with Cliff and Susie because they missed the 2 pm slot, also. Carolann and Terry got in at 2 pm so we had to split up. It worked out OK in the end.

Lunch was a cheeseburger for me and dead fish for Diane. Hers looked really good but I refrained from begging for a bite. She finally offered a bit to me but I opted out and just ate my cheeseburger. It was good, too. We ate outside so Max could sit with us and not have to stay in the truck. He got a lot of attention in many different languages from people who live all over the planet. Moab is a busy, busy place. You should all visit this place at least once. I didn’t take many photos in town because I was enthralled by the scenery that surrounds the town. They do have some interesting street signs and apparently there are wires inlaid in their roads that allow everyone to drive hands free. Diane tried it out and it worked great until we got to a corner.

I have a photo of the street sign on my phone and it will be made accessible at a later date. Just trust me.

After lunch we returned to Arches and spent 2.5 hours driving through awe inspiring rock formations. I only took 193 photos, some of which I will add shortly. First, however, since pretty much everyone in the world has seen the sculptured arches at some point in their lives, I won’t dwell on them. We didn’t even get very close to the real thing, but we got within a mile or so and took a pretty good photo, if I do say so myself. I’ll just toss a few of them out here for you to ponder. After finishing Arches, we returned to our RV, had supper with our friends, then called it a day.

On the way to Arches the landscape started changing from flat to lumpy . . .

By the time we entered the park at 3 pm the threat of rain had passed, and we enjoyed beautiful weather . . . Max didn’t care . . .

Then things got interesting . . .

Many of the formations looked as though they were frozen beings from a Star Wars movie . . .

We named this one “Peeps” after the little yellow marshmallow things Diane loves.

I think you get my drift. It was all quite amazing seeing all these rocks carved by the weather. Stunning. Then we finally ran across the one everyone’s seen. It takes a hike to get close to this one, but we were OK just viewing from a distance. We’re all old, you know.

The stay in Wells, Nevada was a nice rest for us after the grueling trip over the mountain. I’m healing nicely, in case you’re wondering, and looked forward to getting on the road heading east. We did that yesterday and made it to Provo, Utah without any incident, as far as I can remember.

Here are some photos of the Wells stop:

Oh, wait! The RV overheated a few times on that trip because we climbed a lot of hills (mountains) again. Went down a lot of them, too. Kind of evened things out. The end result was a long trip across the Great Salt Lake Dessert where the Bonneville Salt Flats reside. It was an hours long trip on a I-80 that goes straight like an arrow all the way from Wendover, Nevada or Wendover, Utah (take your pick) to Clive, Utah. Actually, there’s a curve out of Wendover, but after that it went straight for the next 50 miles. Or so. The entire way we were surrounded by salt flats that kept a history of all the people who had driven off I-80 for one reason or another. My suspicion is that the tire tracks and ruts we saw were made by folks with 4-wheel drive vehicles who needed to see if they could get in and out of all that salt.

After the Clive exit the road gets a little more interesting to the point where we figured we’d entered Freeway Hell as we entered the outskirts of Salt Lake City. The traffic is incredibly bad there and gets worse, the deeper one goes into the city.

Thankfully, we turned south on I-215 toward Provo. Our destination was Elks Lodge 849 where we hoped to score 3 of the 5 RV spots that have full hookups. Sadly, after navigating some of the worst afterwork rush hour(s) we arrived a wee bit late, and they only had 2 remaining. We were leading the pack so missed the entrance to the lodge which wasn’t very well marked.

When we arrived Cliff and Terry, who didn’t miss the entrance, were hooked up and we were prepared to spend the night dry camping. But, Cliff had a better idea. The spaces were long enough that we could park two RV’s in one spot so we got permission to double up. The lodge manager agreed and that’s what we did.

It was imperative that we get electric, at least, because our fridge decided all the sudden that it wouldn’t work with propane. It needed AC power. So, we ran our generator most of the way to make sure our food wouldn’t spoil. We were also looking at running it all night, too. Cliff saved the day.

We spent the evening in the lodge, which is quite nice. Actually, it’s hands down the nicest lodge we’ve ever seen. It has an elevator and lives on a few acres of city center property.

We would have had dinner there but there no cook. So, we got permission from the bartender to get something from Wendy’s and bring it in to eat. After that we retired to our vehicles and had a restful night. While waiting for our orders to arrive, one of the customers showed up with this …

This morning we had planned to leave at 9 am but didn’t leave until 10 am. Or later. First stop was a Love’s refueling depot for fuel. As you might expect, I got confused about how to get into the pumps and didn’t make it until Terry and Cliff were finished. As we were finishing up, Terry showed up behind us at the pump and followed us out. Thinking he and Cliff were coming along behind us, we headed for I-215 south to the exit toward Green River, Utah (our next destination) we learned that Terry had pealed off to wait for Cliff and Susie who were at the nearby Cracker Barrel for some reason. We were already committed to entering I-215 so chose to continue on and let everyone know we would wait for them at a likely turnout, or rest area on up the road.

We made it a long way out of town and wound up on a lookout overlooking the windy road we’d traversed to get to the top. Setting up some chairs we lounged comfortably behind a barrier, searching for our friends as they climbed the mountain.

Even Max took his turn as a lookout.

We were surprised when everyone showed up fairly quickly. Once we were joined up we sailed non-stop into the Shady Acres RV Park in Green River, Utah.

The landscape made a dramatic change as we travelled, revealing a little of the scenes we looked forward to seeing on a grander scale. Our plans for tomorrow were hashed out over a wonderfully spaghetti dinner at the Unger abode. By the time the girls were done talking it was dark and we were looking at a scary walk home. It was only about 40 feet, but it was scary. Just ask Diane. We had to use my phone flashlight which revealed that ants like to work at night. There were many of them trotting around our feet on that short trip.

That’s it for now. Tomorrow starts a new journey as we begin our quest to visit all the national parks we can in Utah.

Just for fun, in case he reads this, I wanted to show Les how dirty our truck got as we dragged it across Utah.

Hmmm. Not so dirty after all.

Today we decided to do some exploring of the area, so that’s what we did. We’ve travelled through Twin Falls many times in the past but never stopped. This time we did. Cliff and I alerted our Elks Lodge bartender about our plans, and she suggested that we go to Shoshone Falls. It only took a little bit of investigation by Diane to get those directions.

All six of us piled into Terry’s new (2015) suburban and headed south from Jerome, crossing over the bridge spanning the Snake River that trickles serenely through the deep canyon it carved on its way to Kennewick, Washington where it flows gently into the Columbia River on its way to the Pacific Ocean. Whew! That was a mouthful.

Before crossing the canyon, we stopped to investigate a field filled with 3,000 American flags on display next to Highway 93. It’s called the field of healing, honoring those who died in 9-11, and other tragedies our nation has suffered. I spoke with a VFW member who was currently on guard and learned that the field is filled with flags every year at this time. VFW and American Legion members mark out the flag locations and the High School football team places all 3,000 flags. He said it only takes them about an hour to complete it. That would be worth watching.

The Snake River Canyon is quite beautiful. There are lookout points on both ends of the Perrine Bridge that you should take advantage of if you ever pass this way. Our goal this day, as mentioned above, was Shoshone Falls.

The website link above shows the falls when the water is plentiful and flowing fast but this time of year the falls are not nearly as stunning. But the land over which it flows is stunning in its own way. Nestled safely above the waterline in the canyon are a number of homes that make me wonder how loud it must be to live there when the river is at its best. The falls were reduced to a trickle for our visit.

After this it was all downhill as we headed back to the RVs on the other side of the river. Carolann then took Terry back to the hospital emergency room to get some relief for his brutally painful back. That’s a story for another time. Short version is they returned ‘home’ around 8:30. Cliff and I teamed up to drag Terry to their abode and got him situated in a prone position on his bed. He appeared to be comfortable but it was hard to understand him because of the medicine they gave him. Hopefully he’ll be on the mend tomorrow because we have a fairly long drive to Wells, Nevada.

Now, for that long drive … Turns out Highway 93 from Twin Falls south to Wells is all uphill. No one told us that. At the very tippy top we crested over 6700 feet. I blame the rarefied air for causing our engine to overheat and give us fits. On some hills we dropped to 30-40 mph to avoid engine damage.

Finally, we started back down the mountain and made it to a small village with a fuel station where I thought it would be a good idea to add some more water to the radiator. Not thinking, something I do quite often, I opened the cubby hole where the overflow tank lives and twisted the cap off to gain access. Turns out that diesel rigs have pressure caps on their overflow tanks, like a radiator, and when the water’s hot it expands rapidly to escape when the pressure is released.

The cap blew out of my hand as the boiling water ejected, splashing really hot antifreeze all over me as I attempted to escape the fountain. It lasted a long time and pretty much emptied the tank all over Diane’s pickup. I couldn’t believe that no one took a photo of this rare event. It was very exciting.

The main damage to my body was limited to my left hand that received the initial outpouring of super-heated water, so Diane and others stood around me pouring cold water all over the burned areas. It felt really good. Then I slathered my hands and face with aloe gel to keep the skin from falling off. It worked nicely. Nothing fell off. Yet.

Wrapping a wet towel around my hand I resumed our drive to Wells which was about 30 miles away. After making only one wrong turn we finally made it to the Welcome Home RV Park where Diane had previously made reservations. It’s a beautiful little oasis along I-80 West about 15 miles from Wells. We all got parked, Susie cooked supper and all was good with the world. I was even able to get the Dish antenna situated where it connected to the two remaining satellites available and got to see the Ducks and Texas Tech game. My hand hurt a little, but we don’t think it’s going to fall off. It seems to be working just fine as I hammer on my keyboard.

In parting, here’s a shot of Max feeling sorry for me …

Oh, and that place where I mentioned that Cliff and I manhandled Terry into their rig was a lie. All of it. He’s still in pain after the doctor’s visit but he can still navigate pretty good. We think he’s going to make it.

Cheers

To start this off I gotta tell you I’m a teensy bit frustrated because somewhere between having completed this post, and Diane giving it her stamp of approval, the computer froze in the middle of ‘auto save’ and everything except the first paragraph was lost in the ozone. So, I will start again.

We made it all the way to Jerome from Caldwell without incident. The speed limit increased from 70 to 80 mph somewhere along the way, but we maintained our stately 55-60 mph pace anyway. It’s better for us to travel at a speed that allows for impaired drivers to correct driving errors (watching the scenery) in a timely manner less likely to lead to a disastrous wreck or, possibly, divorce in the near future. We were passed by everyone, but we were comfortable watching them buzz on up the road.

Before leaving Nampa, I got up early so I could join Jim and his friends at their favorite Burger King for their weekly coffee clash. I’ve met all the guys during previous visits to the city, but I still don’t remember any of their names. It was OK. We had coffee, told lies to each other, ate a breakfast sandwich, and generally had a good time. The last time I got to do this was when we visited to attend Maryssa’s and Matt’s wedding. I think that was just a couple of years ago. Seems like yesterday. If I’d been a little more coherent, I would have snapped a photo of the coffee group, but I wasn’t so I didn’t.

After coffee I jumped in Diane’s truck and headed back to Caldwell. I’m happy to report that I made it without getting lost even one time unlike the trip to Burger King. Yes, I got a bit turned around because I’m not used to driving without a navigator.

Before going further I’m going to add a few photos from yesterday. I was unable to do that previously because I didn’t have a power cord for the laptop. Thankfully, Nampa is a modern city and had a handy Best Buy close by where I managed to get what I needed. So, here they are.

Birk and Max waiting for something to fall on the floor while Bob & Steffani visited us upon arrival in Nampa.

Max getting acquainted with Steffani. He’s a bit shy …

Jim & Donna’s new home …

The day before yesterday, while Birk and Max spent the afternoon playing in the yard, Steffani took us on a tour of Jim and Donna’s new home (see above) while, at the same time, spent her spare time making a fantastic lasagna dinner. It was just like a large family reunion that included our adopted family with whom we are traveling. We all had a great time, a good way to spend our last evening together. It even rained a bit which was refreshing..

Jim & Donna at Bob and Steffani’s.

Jim always giggles just like a little girl when I kiss him.

So, do I.

Birk, Steffani, Bob, Tyler, and Carlos.

The evening ended and we made our way back to Caldwell to see about getting a good night’s sleep in preparation for the grueling drive to Jerome the next day. Thankfully, the trip was uneventful, and we made it safely to the Snake River Elks Lodge. It was good we arrived when we did because the few spaces available are first come first served. We needed three spots and only six were available. Shortly after we got all settle, three big rigs from California showed up and filled the remaining spots that had power.

The Jerome Elks Lodge is situated on a pretty spectacular golf resort which it owns. It’s a pretty nice place. Oddly, the parking spots do not have running water because it’s all used to keep the course nice and green. The is no RV dump, either. Just electricity. You’d think they could have run a hose from one of their many spigots, but they didn’t. Wouldn’t even consider it. Still, it was good to be parked.

After a nice steak dinner, we gathered outside to watch the beautiful sunset. We stayed long enough to watch it morph into a spectacular thunder and lightning storm that was about 20-30 miles away. That’s a guess, of course, but it’s pretty flat here and we can see a long way.

That entire black cloud was lit up by many lightening strikes as we watched. Pretty nice stuff out here in the country.

This last photo is from this morning after everyone else in the park left. Just the golfers buzzing around, now. Later, we’re going to Twin Falls to look around. I checked, and there’s a Harbor Freight there and I desperately need to get Diane and high-tech fly swatter so she can quit arguing with them. We’ve learned that this if probably all flies from miles around come to visit. The bartender at the elks lodge told us that the fly population will expand greatly once the corn blossoms. Everyone sitting at the bar had their own flyswatters, but they wouldn’t give us one to use at our site. So, it’s off to town we go.

The day before yesterday found us parked in spot A4 at Emigrant Springs State Park. For some reason the folks who built the park, and a good one it is, were obsessed with the history about the migration west via the Oregon Trail. Everywhere you look in this part of the country there are reminders of the trials and tribulations of those who carved their way across this great country, seeking a better life. Seems to be the story of humanity in general, always looking for greener grass.

Reading the stories posted along the trail make me feel blessed that the only discomfort we suffered getting to this spot was the fleeting fear of the engine in our RV seizing up due to excessive heat. Kind of petty, huh? The original travelers in this area, I’ve learned, had to cope with cattle and oxen that wandered off in the night seeking greener grass. Sometimes they found them and continued on, but some got away for good. Consequently, those strays eventually found each other and formed one of the largest herds of cattle and oxen that freely roamed the Blues. That’s what locals call the Blue Mountains on which we are currently parked. Stories abound about the hardships suffered during the arduous crossing of the Blues. Up here the time of years means nothing because it’s always cold at night and hot during the day. When laying safely in our bed, however, one can only wonder why they didn’t anticipate the construction of I-84 and either put the park further away,nor convinced those guy with the bulldozers to carve the road out a little farther north. The traffic on 84 lessens at night, but it never stops. So many people travel it still seeking greener grass.

Yesterday afternoon, the other two members of our wagon train arrived after successfully scaling the treacherous twists and turns of Cabbage Hill from Pendleton to Meacham. That’s the hill that gave us a bit of concern two days ago. It’s also called Emigrant Hill.

I’ve got photos to share but cannot add them yet because I’m forced to use my iPad instead of my laptop. Sadly, the power cord has gone missing and it’s pretty dead at the moment. Adding photos require that photos reside on my iPad and not all of them do. I’ve got over 80,000 photos on my phone but they seem to be really slow getting to the iPad. Photos will come later.

Diane served a classic Labor Day Picnic yesterday … hotdogs, beans, potato salad, and watermelon … it was really good. Then we lit the portable fire pit and sat around talking until we’ll after dark. It’s a fun routine.

Today we are headed to the Elks Lodge in Caldwell, Idaho where we plan to spend a couple of days visiting with family. My brother, Jim, and his wife, Donna, live around there somewhere. Since our last visit they sold their house and bought a condo. We know where the old house is, but not a clue where the condo is. I figured they heard we were dropping by and kinda went off the grid to avoid us. Fortunately, their daughter, Steffani, and her husband, Bob, live in a location we know and will help guide us to the proper place.

We’re interested to see how Bob and Steff’s dog, Birk, and our little Max, get along. They are about the same size so we’re hoping they’ll have fun together.

The plan was to depart Meacham at 10:00 am. That didn’t happen. It was more like 11, but that’s OK. We’re on Retirement Time. We arrived at the Elks Lodge in Caldwell, Idaho around 4 or 7pm. I’m not really sure. I do know that we were all dinner hungry so we stopped by a place close by. Shortly after we got our menus Steffani called Diane to find out where we were. We had left Max in the RV where Steff terrified him by banging on the door to see if we were home, then she called Diane. We weren’t far away so they motored over to join us for supper. It was kinda funny that half of us ordered breakfast.

Today, Wednesday, Diane and I took Max to Bob and Steff’s so he could get acquainted with Birk while we visited with big brother Jim and his bride, Donna. We had a great visit and decided to call it quits when our discussion devolved into two old guys trying to help each other remember words and places related to our conversation.

Then we had to find a place to get bread and dessert for dinner at B&S’s. S cooked dinner for the entire bunch of travelers which was pretty nice, I’d say.

It was a great dinner. The dogs got along famously and are now fast friends (BDFF). It’s my understanding that they plan to write each other, to keep in touch. right now, Max is resting up for tomorrows trip to Jerome, Idaho.

We’re two days in to a trip that is scheduled to last for about six weeks and already it’s been a ton of fun. Really.

The first stop was Memaloose State Park near The Dalles, Oregon. It’s not far from home, a few hours, but that’s the way the trip was planned. Short driving days so Jerrie won’t get all tuckered out so quickly. He’s nudging 80 and is the only one on the trip who knows how to start the motor home so his well being is critical to a successful trip. During our two days here we met up with Cliff, Susie, Les, and Sophia who were tethered to power at The Dalles Eagle Lodge. We spent the day together and then they came to the park where we had dessert on the shores of the Columbia River. Well, it was almost on “the shores”. All that kept us from dipping our toes into the river where the salmon play was a very busy railroad track and a couple of steep gullies. The view was still magnificent and enjoyable as we visited on a fairly level spot behind the RV.

On this trip we’re pulling a 1/2 ton pickup instead of the little Equinox we previously had so doing that was an experiment of sorts. The RV is 35 feet long and the truck is 20 so we’re pretty long on the road.

The first time we hooked the truck to the RV was in the Fred Meyer parking lot in Scappoose. That’s where we rendezvoused after Diane went to the post office then to the gas station, and I visited the fuel station near home for a few gallons of diesel.

Not having ever hooked the rigs together turned out to be quite an education involving shifting the truck transfer case to neutral and disconnecting the battery. It only took three attempts to get the sequence right so it would tow properly. The first try revealed that the emergency brake was engaged on the truck. The RV could still pull it but it would have rubbed off the bottom halves of the rear tires. So, round two was better but the steering wheel on the truck was locked with the front wheels turned a bit to the right.

The third effort was successful because Jerrie read all the instructions and discovered how important it is to perform all the steps in the sequence provided. Doing so makes things a lot easier.

Then, we were off. Getting on to Highway 30 was not a problem. Things went very smoothly all the way to Pendleton where we stopped to top off the RV tank at the Wildhorse Casino east of town. That’s just before I-84 heads uphill into the Blue Mountains, a trip I knew was going to be slow.

Not only was it slow, but the added weight of the truck caused the diesel to run hot and the “Check Engine” light to shine brightly. We were over halfway to the top when that happened so Jerrie made the decision to push on to the finish line. Stopping, he felt, would just prolong the agony of wondering if the rig would catch on fire.

It didn’t, and as the Highway leveled out, the “Check Engine” light went out and the engine temp went down quickly. Things were looking up. There was hope for a successful trip after all. We smiled at each other and did a couple of high fives while sitting at a turnout, waiting to see if anything would happen. Nothing did.

At this point we were only a few miles away from Emigrant Springs State Park, our destination where we will spend the next two nights as we wait for the remainder of our convoy to arrive. While waiting we’ll visit the village of Meacham, Oregon. We need some glue to fix a couple of things.

Next entry will be from somewhere in Idaho.

Cheers.