This is the last entry until fall.
We had an uneventful trip in from Richland. Luckily we didn't hit a head wind until the Dalles. That allowed us to get some really good mileage (almost 14). We even got 12 going from the Dalles to the club.
When we got to the club I filled the tanks and messed with the Polaris. I think its battery may be toast. Ellen cleaned the trailer. She said that it wasn't as bad as last year. We could have moved in except the mice crapped on the bed cover. We'll have to wash it with the rest of the washing tomorrow.
The club looks really good. Vandy has redone everything and the new gunroom is fantastic even though it isn't complete yet. I went around with Dave to close the course. He's done a whole lot of work clearing out brush and setting up new shooting stands.
We went to dinner at this new German place with Dave and Vandy. The place was packed. The food was OK, but expensive. They charged me 3.75 for a glass of root beer that was mainly ice. When they gave me a refill they charged me for that, too. I won't be going back.
The allergies hit as soon as I got here. I took a pill and that has helped.
It looks like it's going to be a good summer.
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Saturday, May 9, 2015
Day 211
We went fishing again today. The day was sunny and warm, but the wind was higher. That made the trip back a little bumpy. It also caused us to quit a little early. We still caught 82 fish. At one spot I caught 4 fish with 5 casts. I caught a fair number of fish today. I would have caught significantly more except for nibbles I didn't hook and fish that got away before I got them on the boat.
I did a little more work on Patsy's computer. It now believes in both her iPod and her Shuffle. She's happy.
After we got off the lake I drained the trailer tanks. Then we went back to Dan's and gave the dog a bath. She wasn't excited with that, but afterwards she went nuts. She was running all around. We finally had to put her on a leash to calm her down.
After dinner we watched a movie and then said our goodbyes. Unfortunately I forgot to get the Thorny Dean sausage that I bought and put in their freezer. That will delay us a little tomorrow.
When we got home I lined up the truck for a quick connect, took a shower and went to bed.
I did a little more work on Patsy's computer. It now believes in both her iPod and her Shuffle. She's happy.
After we got off the lake I drained the trailer tanks. Then we went back to Dan's and gave the dog a bath. She wasn't excited with that, but afterwards she went nuts. She was running all around. We finally had to put her on a leash to calm her down.
After dinner we watched a movie and then said our goodbyes. Unfortunately I forgot to get the Thorny Dean sausage that I bought and put in their freezer. That will delay us a little tomorrow.
When we got home I lined up the truck for a quick connect, took a shower and went to bed.
Friday, May 8, 2015
Day 210
We got up a little before 8 (slept in). We went over to Annie's for breakfast. Bert was pleasingly busy.
Then we went over to Dan's. He was walking the dogs, so we watched Lawrence tape their house for painting. When Dan got back we went out fishing. I think we were out there for 6 or 7 hours. The weather was great - sunny, but with a breeze to keep us cool.
Dan had a new fish finder that he and his son installed yesterday. When we got out there, it didn't work. So I drove back to the park and picked up some implements of destruction. I used them to find a loose connection and fix it. The new finder is really cool. It has two sonars, and a GPS map.
We caught 104 fish. Of course Dan caught most of them, but Ellen and I caught a good number. They were all pretty small except for one 17" bass that Ellen caught. She was proud of it.
When we got back Dan cleaned the boat and the fishing gear while we BS'd. We had a late dinner and I fixed Patsy's problems with her iPod and iTunes.
It was a very good day.
Then we went over to Dan's. He was walking the dogs, so we watched Lawrence tape their house for painting. When Dan got back we went out fishing. I think we were out there for 6 or 7 hours. The weather was great - sunny, but with a breeze to keep us cool.
Dan had a new fish finder that he and his son installed yesterday. When we got out there, it didn't work. So I drove back to the park and picked up some implements of destruction. I used them to find a loose connection and fix it. The new finder is really cool. It has two sonars, and a GPS map.
We caught 104 fish. Of course Dan caught most of them, but Ellen and I caught a good number. They were all pretty small except for one 17" bass that Ellen caught. She was proud of it.
When we got back Dan cleaned the boat and the fishing gear while we BS'd. We had a late dinner and I fixed Patsy's problems with her iPod and iTunes.
It was a very good day.
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Day 209
We drove to Boise today. It wasn't a notable drive except for two things. First, fuel is highway robbery. Diesel is $3 or more per gallon. Second, the leg from Twin Falls to Boise bucked a strong headwind. I should have been getting over 13. Instead I got 10.8.
We got to Boise about 1:00. So after setting up I decided to go see some gun stores. We went to three. One had a lot of guns. They looked neat, but I didn't see anything I had to have. At another we got into a long conversation with the guys behind the desk (there weren't any other customers). I ended up buying some overpriced .22 there just to buy something.
On the way home we stopped at a park and ran the dog. She was really happy to do some running. She did 17 >40 yd retrieves before she called it quits.
There's no cable TV here. So I read in the evening while Ellen watched on-air TV.
We got to Boise about 1:00. So after setting up I decided to go see some gun stores. We went to three. One had a lot of guns. They looked neat, but I didn't see anything I had to have. At another we got into a long conversation with the guys behind the desk (there weren't any other customers). I ended up buying some overpriced .22 there just to buy something.
On the way home we stopped at a park and ran the dog. She was really happy to do some running. She did 17 >40 yd retrieves before she called it quits.
There's no cable TV here. So I read in the evening while Ellen watched on-air TV.
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Day 208
We started the day doing the laundry. While Ellen did that I worked to change the door lock. I didn't do it yesterday because it looked like it was going to rain (it didn't). When I took the old lock apart I found that there were a couple of loose screws in it. I tightened then up and the lock worked fine again.
Once the laundry was done the first order of business was to take the door lock back. The guy charged us a restocking fee, but at least we got most of our money back.
Then we went to Promontory Point. It's about 30 miles from the campground. The good news is that most of this is an isolated Utah highway, so I did 75 mph.
When we got there they had a bunch (76) of kids on a field trip. Apparently a lot of parents attended too in their own vehicles. The rangers were practicing for a reenactment they will do on the 9th (May 9th, 1869 was when the spike was driven). That meant we got to see them move the engines several time. Unfortunately I forgot to bring a camera.
After the show, the kids mobbed the gift shop. I still managed to buy three cool books. One is a picture book of current steam engines, one is a history of steam engines (with pictures), and the third is a collection of first person accounts of 19th century railroading. Two of the books were on sale.
After we left we went to drive the railroad. Unfortunately so did the school bus and the contingent of parents' vehicles. After a few hundred yards they stopped at a point of interest and totally blocked the way. So I turned around and went back. We stopped and ran the dog until the kids had left.
Lucy had a great time. It was chukar country and she knew it. She started hunting until I threw the bumper for her. She did a whole lot of retrieves.
Then we hit the road again. BTW they don't allow trailers on it any more. We stopped at the "Chinese Arch" again and I took a picture of Ellen 10 years after I took the last one. When we got to the end the kids and parents were jamming up the hiking trail. So I went to examine the bottom of the two fills at the end of the road. They both have amazing hand built stone "culverts" at the bottom. They were built without mortar. Very cool.
I would have liked to walk the "big cut" trail and see the trestle, but they kids were out there and Ellen was hungry. So we left just before the kids got back. We stopped at a little hamburger stand on the way back. They had great food, and wasn't expensive.
When we got back we just surfed and watched TV. Lucy is a very tired doggy.
Once the laundry was done the first order of business was to take the door lock back. The guy charged us a restocking fee, but at least we got most of our money back.
Then we went to Promontory Point. It's about 30 miles from the campground. The good news is that most of this is an isolated Utah highway, so I did 75 mph.
When we got there they had a bunch (76) of kids on a field trip. Apparently a lot of parents attended too in their own vehicles. The rangers were practicing for a reenactment they will do on the 9th (May 9th, 1869 was when the spike was driven). That meant we got to see them move the engines several time. Unfortunately I forgot to bring a camera.
After the show, the kids mobbed the gift shop. I still managed to buy three cool books. One is a picture book of current steam engines, one is a history of steam engines (with pictures), and the third is a collection of first person accounts of 19th century railroading. Two of the books were on sale.
After we left we went to drive the railroad. Unfortunately so did the school bus and the contingent of parents' vehicles. After a few hundred yards they stopped at a point of interest and totally blocked the way. So I turned around and went back. We stopped and ran the dog until the kids had left.
Lucy had a great time. It was chukar country and she knew it. She started hunting until I threw the bumper for her. She did a whole lot of retrieves.
Then we hit the road again. BTW they don't allow trailers on it any more. We stopped at the "Chinese Arch" again and I took a picture of Ellen 10 years after I took the last one. When we got to the end the kids and parents were jamming up the hiking trail. So I went to examine the bottom of the two fills at the end of the road. They both have amazing hand built stone "culverts" at the bottom. They were built without mortar. Very cool.
I would have liked to walk the "big cut" trail and see the trestle, but they kids were out there and Ellen was hungry. So we left just before the kids got back. We stopped at a little hamburger stand on the way back. They had great food, and wasn't expensive.
When we got back we just surfed and watched TV. Lucy is a very tired doggy.
Monday, May 4, 2015
Day 207
This was another travel day. It was a little over 300 miles all on I15. We got fantastic mileage. The first leg was 13.3 and the second was 14.4. Of course the second leg was a drop of 1,000 feet. The first had several 200 and 300 foot up/downs.
The traffic through Salt Lake was a lot better than I thought it would be. There were a couple of miles long construction zones that made things a little testy.
We got to Brigham City about 1:15 (after 5.25 hours). That was about 58 mph average. Not bad.
After we set up and unhooked we went to Walmart and I got my prescriptions filled. Then we went over to an RV parts place and got a new door lock. The deadbolt part of the one on the door has broken. We also stopped at a couple of old diners to check them out. The first had some really good ice cream. The second called itself a BBQ place, but it was really a hamburger joint. They had a great BLT though.
When we got back there was a wind and a thunderstorm threatening. We took Lucy to field next door with a bumper. She had a great time and did a lot of long retrieves. She ran hard both ways. I guess she was really happy since she hasn't run in several days. Now's she's occupying the couch with no desire to move.
After that we just surfed and watched TV.
The traffic through Salt Lake was a lot better than I thought it would be. There were a couple of miles long construction zones that made things a little testy.
We got to Brigham City about 1:15 (after 5.25 hours). That was about 58 mph average. Not bad.
After we set up and unhooked we went to Walmart and I got my prescriptions filled. Then we went over to an RV parts place and got a new door lock. The deadbolt part of the one on the door has broken. We also stopped at a couple of old diners to check them out. The first had some really good ice cream. The second called itself a BBQ place, but it was really a hamburger joint. They had a great BLT though.
When we got back there was a wind and a thunderstorm threatening. We took Lucy to field next door with a bumper. She had a great time and did a lot of long retrieves. She ran hard both ways. I guess she was really happy since she hasn't run in several days. Now's she's occupying the couch with no desire to move.
After that we just surfed and watched TV.
Sunday, May 3, 2015
Day 206
This was a traveling day. The first half of the trip (130 miles) was great. We had a little trouble with fueling up in Flagstaff, but other than that it was fine. BTW, there are plenty of places to get fuel all along the road from Flagstaff to Page. Through the whole thing we got 12.8 mpg.
Then things went to hell. The trip to Kanab was a lot of climbing, then going back down again. It was the same leaving Kanab until we got to about 40 miles from Cedar City. Then the shit hit the fan. We turned off if 89 to another highway (14?). This road sucked. It climbed from 6,000 to 9,600 in about 20 miles. The road was twisty with some up and down, but mainly up.
I knew we were in trouble when we started seeing snow on the side of the road. By the time we got to the top snow was covering the ground on both sides of the road. The worst was yet to come.
The road then starts to drop. There's over 10 miles of 6% - 8% downgrades with tight curves. I think it goes down about 4,000 feet. Some of the curves are marked 25 mph and they mean it. There were drop offs on the side of the road also. I used tow haul as much as I could to save the brakes, but it had a tendency to over rev the engine. We made it down, but that was the nastiest 10 miles I've ever driven with the trailer.
I'm never going on that road again.
The campground at Cedar City is nice, especially for a KOA. We unhooked and drove around the city. There's not much to see, but it was fun. The evening is surfing and watching about the goat fucker shooting in Texas.
Then things went to hell. The trip to Kanab was a lot of climbing, then going back down again. It was the same leaving Kanab until we got to about 40 miles from Cedar City. Then the shit hit the fan. We turned off if 89 to another highway (14?). This road sucked. It climbed from 6,000 to 9,600 in about 20 miles. The road was twisty with some up and down, but mainly up.
I knew we were in trouble when we started seeing snow on the side of the road. By the time we got to the top snow was covering the ground on both sides of the road. The worst was yet to come.
The road then starts to drop. There's over 10 miles of 6% - 8% downgrades with tight curves. I think it goes down about 4,000 feet. Some of the curves are marked 25 mph and they mean it. There were drop offs on the side of the road also. I used tow haul as much as I could to save the brakes, but it had a tendency to over rev the engine. We made it down, but that was the nastiest 10 miles I've ever driven with the trailer.
I'm never going on that road again.
The campground at Cedar City is nice, especially for a KOA. We unhooked and drove around the city. There's not much to see, but it was fun. The evening is surfing and watching about the goat fucker shooting in Texas.
Saturday, May 2, 2015
Day 205
We left the dog in the trailer today. We went to breakfast at Mund's Park this morning. It was pretty good, and very inexpensive. Then we went to Sedona.
Our first stop was the Forest Service. I got my $10 old guy's pass that lets me into everything for free for the rest of my life. Then we went to this shopping mall kind of place near the campground. They were having a chili cook off and a mexican dance festival. The dancers all ad these colorful costumes on. They were good.
We spent hours there looking at stuff. There were lots of good art galleries and jewelry shops. We also ate lunch there at a brew pub. The only thing we really got was a couple of toys (for us).
Then we went farther into town. We were on a search for hair clips for Ellen. After going through every shop for four blocks in both directions we had bought three. Now she's got a complete set.
We gassed up and then we went home. I drained the tanks and lined up the truck for tomorrow.
I looked over our route tomorrow. I'd been worried about fuel, but it turns out we have been there before. Page should have fuel even though it's Sunday.
All in all it was a good day. We had fun, but i wish we could have taken the dog. She was beside herself when we got back. After a really necessary pee she was jumping around and woofing and getting lots of petting.
Our first stop was the Forest Service. I got my $10 old guy's pass that lets me into everything for free for the rest of my life. Then we went to this shopping mall kind of place near the campground. They were having a chili cook off and a mexican dance festival. The dancers all ad these colorful costumes on. They were good.
We spent hours there looking at stuff. There were lots of good art galleries and jewelry shops. We also ate lunch there at a brew pub. The only thing we really got was a couple of toys (for us).
Then we went farther into town. We were on a search for hair clips for Ellen. After going through every shop for four blocks in both directions we had bought three. Now she's got a complete set.
We gassed up and then we went home. I drained the tanks and lined up the truck for tomorrow.
I looked over our route tomorrow. I'd been worried about fuel, but it turns out we have been there before. Page should have fuel even though it's Sunday.
All in all it was a good day. We had fun, but i wish we could have taken the dog. She was beside herself when we got back. After a really necessary pee she was jumping around and woofing and getting lots of petting.
Friday, May 1, 2015
Day 204
We went to Sedona today. Sedona is only 8 miles away as the crow flies, but it's 40 miles away by road.
We stopped at the ATV place in the morning and made reservations for the afternoon. Then we did a little shopping. We had lunch at this cool diner with an alien motif. The decorations were really clever.
We got the ATV at 1. It was a four seat Ranger. The two seat one was broken. We went up a steep road on the other side of the town from where we went last time. The views and rock formations were amazing. Both of us brought cameras and took a lot of pictures. There were a lot of tour jeeps on the road. There were some personal vehicles also - a Land Rover, a Toyota car (idiot), a Cherokee (also an idiot), and a Tundra. The Tundra had come in from I17 about 2 miles down from where we're staying. When we got to the top (probably 2,000 feet up) there was nothing to do but go back down. So we did.
We still had an hour and a half, so we took a trail that was close to the rental place. It had a lot of hikers on it, and a few rentals. The views were pretty good there also. There's actually a golf course back there in the hills. We didn't drive to it, but we could see it across the valley.
We drove back, turned in the rental, and drove home. We were home about 5:30. We ate dinner and then took Lucy to the park's dog park. It's really nice. It's 50 yds long and 15 yds wide. It has grass and trees. Lucy did several retrieves, but I didn't want her to overdo it.
The rest of the evening was surfing and TV.
We stopped at the ATV place in the morning and made reservations for the afternoon. Then we did a little shopping. We had lunch at this cool diner with an alien motif. The decorations were really clever.
We got the ATV at 1. It was a four seat Ranger. The two seat one was broken. We went up a steep road on the other side of the town from where we went last time. The views and rock formations were amazing. Both of us brought cameras and took a lot of pictures. There were a lot of tour jeeps on the road. There were some personal vehicles also - a Land Rover, a Toyota car (idiot), a Cherokee (also an idiot), and a Tundra. The Tundra had come in from I17 about 2 miles down from where we're staying. When we got to the top (probably 2,000 feet up) there was nothing to do but go back down. So we did.
We still had an hour and a half, so we took a trail that was close to the rental place. It had a lot of hikers on it, and a few rentals. The views were pretty good there also. There's actually a golf course back there in the hills. We didn't drive to it, but we could see it across the valley.
We drove back, turned in the rental, and drove home. We were home about 5:30. We ate dinner and then took Lucy to the park's dog park. It's really nice. It's 50 yds long and 15 yds wide. It has grass and trees. Lucy did several retrieves, but I didn't want her to overdo it.
The rest of the evening was surfing and TV.
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