Home Safe in Beautiful Green Oregon!

We returned home to our home in West Linn about ten days ago, after several long days of driving through Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon.  We decided to return home earlier than planned so that Pamela could see a doctor and have some tests about a gall bladder attack she had in Scottsbluff, Nebraska.  The ER there was wonderful and she is feeling much better.

We Didn't See the National Monument--Just the Emergency Room

We had a good trip, but we decided that we would not be making another trip across the great plains in the summer time any time soon.  We experienced 107 degrees in Nebraska and 105 degrees in Topeka.  We had a good visit with Neil's family and Pamela's family, so we are glad that we went.  Even though it is warm this summer in Oregon, it cools off well in the winter time and the house is comfortable with the air conditioning and shading of the house.
The house and garden was in good shape, and the only thing Neil had to do was cut back the wisteria on the deck with a hedge trimmer.  The long tendrils had actually wrapped around the patio umbrella to the point that he had to hack it away in from around it.  We had contracted with someone to take care of the lawn, so it actually is great shape.  We decided to keep the lawn company for the rest of the summer so we can concentrate on some other things.

Wisteria Tendrils Reaching Out to Grab Things!

Cheeseburger in Paradise at St. Josef's Winery

It has been a good week (or more) since we came back.  We have taken in a movie (The Lone Ranger) and went to the St. Josef's Cheeseburger in Paradise event this last Saturday.  We had buffalo cheeseburgers and listened to a Jimmy Buffet cover band play at the event.

A Good Movie - Johnny Depp is an Interesting Tonto!

We are planning do some more work in the garden before we make a trip to Juneau in August so that Neil can get some "boat time" in with friends in Juneau. Bringing some salmon back would be great, but it will just be nice to be on the water with friends in Alaska.

We are doing well, and hope that you are having a great summer.  Thanks for visiting,

Neil and Pamela

HagaFinn RV Travels: Heading West

We had a good day yesterday visiting Pamela's family in Rapid City, South Dakota.  We were able to have dinner with Floyd and Virginia Reidt, their daughter Linda, her husband Glenn, and their son Brock.  Their older son Stephan also stopped by and we had a chance to meet them.  It was a good visit and you never know if you are going to see these folks again.  Virginia made fried chicken and Neil ate enough to make her proud!

We left just in time to drive back to the Mount Rushmore KOA Kampground and return the rental car that we had rented for two days.  It was nice to drive the scenic loop in Custer State Park and see buffalo, antelope and other wildlife from a car.

We have decided to quickly return to Oregon over the next several days so that Pamela can keep a doctor's appointment, so we should be home by this weekend.  Today, we made very good progress as we drove from Mount Rushmore to Big Timber, Montana.

Attached below is a photo of the northern side of Mount Rushmore--most people don't get his view!

It feels good to be in Montana where there are trees and the temperatures are only in the 80's.  We will have to rethink these summer time trips anywhere but the west coast and Canada.  We are heat wimps!

Thanks for visiting,

Neil and Pamela

HagaFinn RV Travels Alive in Rapid City

At least one person has asked if we are alive and well because we have not posted on the blog in a while.  The answers are yes and yes, but we did not enjoy the 107 degrees in Kansas and Nebraska.

We had a good visit with Neil's Aunt Louise in Topeka and after fixing a propane hose fitting that burst in the heat. More about that later.

From Topeka we drove to Gaylord Kansas. Google Earth will find it but there ain't much there. We met Neil's cousins at the Gaylord cemetery and then downtown to see the classic cars that the Conrad's restore and collect.

We drove north through Kansas and into Sidney Nebraska to the Cabela's campground next to the Cabela's headquarters.   Fron Sidney we drove by ChimneyRock and on up to Scottsbluff, NE.

From there we drove up to Mount Rushmore KOA where we have been the past several days. We had a great visit to Mount Rushmore and Custer State Park to see buffalo.  We are visiting Pamela's Aunt Virginia for dinner tonight and plan to head into Montana tomorrow.  The weather is a lot better with temps in the 80's and cooling off nicely at night.

We are looking forward to our trip west.  Thanks for visiting,

Neil and Pamela

HagaFinn RV Travels: July 8-9

Monday was a South Dakota day, traveling from Aberdeen in the northeast part of the state, pretty much south to North Sioux City.  We got a late start in the day, because we decided to take the RV in to the Aberdeen Firestone tire dealer and have them look at our leaking tire.  It was time (about an hour) an money (about $20) well spent, as they found a split grommet on the tire valve extension and were able to replace it and we were on our way.

Very Similar Views on Our Way South - Corn Fields!

The drive south was pretty much the same view all the way, but we got into the KOA Kampground in time for Neil to take a dip in the pool and cool off.  Temperatures were in the high eighties most of the way, which we thought was pretty hot for us--little did we know.  We had a good night watching an old movie, "Some Like It Hot" with Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, and Marilyn Monroe.  It was filmed at the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, which we visited not too long ago.

Tuesday (today) was a bit more interesting as we followed the Missouri River south and east, and actually traveled through four states (SD, IA, NE, KS) on our way to Topeka.  While things are going fine, we are wondering if we are continuing what Pamela's brother called the "tour of the apocalypse" where we go from one Biblical curse to another.  For example, we were in Pismo Beach when they flooded out the campground next to us.  Well, this time, we had heat!  We knew that Kansas in July was gonna be hot, but today Topeka broke the all time record for the date with temperatures of 105 degrees!  With the heat index, it felt like 110.  It was so hot that when we parked in the campground, the propane tank began to vent and it vented off a lot of propane since the tank was hot.  We plan to visit Neil's Aunt Louise over the next couple of days, and are looking forward to cooler temperatures tomorrow--only in the 90's.  We hope that tonight's thunderstorm only cools things off and doesn't cause other problems.  Maybe we will find a curse of frogs later in the trip?

We hope that you are keeping cool wherever you are.  Thanks for visiting,

Neil and Pamela

HagaFinn's RV Travels - July 4-7

It has been a busy few days in South Dakota.  We arrived safely at Pamela's cousin Virginia's just east of Rapid City on July 3rd and had a good visit with Virginia and Floyd, and had a good meal.  On July 4th, we decided to keep it low key and avoid the crowds.  Virginia did take us downtown to the art gallery that she works at, and we visited a sweet shop and looked at all the presidential statues that are all over down town. It is a neat downtown area, and it was a good visit.

We were able to plug the RV in to 30 amp electric and water at Virginia's daughters just next door, so we saved ourselves the expense and hassle of getting a campground.  On  July 5th, we drove East to Aberdeen, South Dakota, which is in the northeast part of the state.

A Long Day Driving Across South Dakota

Along the way from Rapid City to Aberdeen, we stopped at a cemetery in Faulkton, South Dakota (population 736) to view some of the family grave sites for the Finney's.  As a result of the diversion, we arrived at our campground around dark.  We had a leisurely Saturday off, did some shopping and kept cool in the South Dakota heat (around 90 degrees).  

Here We Are in Faulkton, SD Cemetery

On Sunday, we attended a Finney cousin (and a lot more) reunion in Aberdeen and then spent some time with Pamela's Cousins Virginia and Dorothy and their husbands.  We got back to the campground before dark and are set up for the night once again.

Tomorrow, we will drive south into Iowa on our way towards Kansas and a visit with Neil's Aunt Louise in Topeka.  All is well except for a pesky tire leak that we have to keep an eye on.  We will have it looked at by a tire shop in Topeka.  Neil is pretty sure that it is one of the metal valve extensions he put on in Oregon that isn't sealed up properly.  We will have it repaired or replaced so we don't have to worry about it.

Thanks for visiting,

Neil and Pamela

HagaFinn's Great RV Trip: July 2-3

Here it is July 3 already and we are getting ready to leave Gillette, Wyoming and head East to Rapid City, South Dakota. We have enjoyed the Escapees Rally have learned a lot and met some wonderful folks, but we are looking forward to a little less "density" in our camping. Today (Wednesday) we plan to unhook by mid afternoon, get groceries and fuel in Gillette, and drive to Pamela's Aunt Virginia by dinner time.

Since we are getting ready to go, we are composing this on the iPad and won't bother with photos. We just wanted to check in and let you know we are doing fine. It sounds like the weather back home was just as hot (or hotter) as here. We have had mid to high 80's and we think it got into the low 90's at home. We hope our sprinklers are working!

Pamela found some RV "gadgets" in addition to Neil so we helped feed the Escapee vendor economy   while we are here. We saw a really neat PBS special on the carving of Mount Rushmore which was great timing for our trip.

Safe Travels,

Neil and Pamela

HagaFinn Midwest RV Trip - Day Eight (Gillette)

Here we are for another night in Gillette, Wyoming.  We are one of about 650 RV's here at the CamPlex south of Gillette.  If that sounds like a lot, last week they had about 2500 RV's here for the Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA) event.  It rained hard on them so for several reasons, we are glad that we are here now instead

Aerial View of the Gillette Camplex and Fairgrounds

Today we attended several seminars.  Pamela attended a seminar on highway history and backroad mystery (like who is really buried in Daniel Boone's tomb in Kentucky), and a session on RV cleaning with micro fibers.  She found out that microfiber should not be washed with cotton that sheds--like cotton, sheets, or towels.  You can wash it with polyester or jeans that don't shed.  Neil attended a seminar on RV electrical systems and the problems of under voltage and over voltage in a LOT of RV parks.  It turns out that RV electrical connections are kinda hit and miss.

This is Our New RV Power Protector for the RV

 He also attended a fire safety seminar from "Mac the Fire Guy" and we have decided to get a dual sensor smoke detector with hush button for the RV.

We are Going to Swap Out Our Smoke Alarm to Dual Sensor

It was another good day at the Rally, with great weather and good people.  We attended a First Timers reception and drank a bottle of wine between us and then had to navigate our way back to the RV on our bikes.  Since you are reading this, we made it back safely.

This Gives an Idea of How many RV Spaces there Are Here

So who was buried in Daniel Boone's tomb in Kentucky?  His wife--Daniel is still buried in Missouri where he moved when Kentucky became too crowded.  A US Senator from Kentucky insisted on moving the bones from Missouri to Kentucky, but they only got the wife's bones--not Daniel's.

So ends another day on the road.  Thanks for visiting--let us know how you are doing.

Neil and Pamela

HagaFinn's Western RV Trip - Day Seven

First week on the road.  We traveled from Devil's Tower to Gillette, Wyoming for the Escapees Rally here at the Cam-Plex.  This place is huge, and serves as the fairgrounds for the county as well.  There are well over 600 RV's parked here.  We are "nestled" in between two big Class A motorhomes--you know the type, about forty feet long.

We decided that it works OK to have the wind break and even sun break here in Gillette.  It is nice to not have to pack up everything and move like we have every other day so far.  Even in Salt Lake, we had to pack it up to get the RV worked on, so Neil isn't counting that one.

We Just Drove South and West to Gillette on Day Seven

We are enjoying the RV Rally so far.  Neil even decided to buy four LED reading lights to replace the stock Winnebago lights we have had troubles with.  Who in the world designs a light fixture without a replaceable bulb?  Winnebago, that's who.  Anyway some of the individual LED bulbs in the fixtures have been flashing on and off, and it is a pain in the butt.  The replacement fixtures are about the same size or smaller and have easily replaceable LED bulbs that are actually brighter than the originals.  Neil has replaced one, and plans to replace others as they fair or when he has the time.  He hasn't decided if he will retrofit the old fixtures to take the new MR16 LED bulbs, but he is enough of a packrat that he just might.  He can then give them to friends.

This is the New Reading Light that We are Installing

They Come with Replaceable Bulbs!

Anyway, day one of the Escapee Rally has been pretty good, and we have enjoyed the sessions and spending money on the RV.  Thanks for visiting,

Neil an Pamela

HagaFinn RV Trip Day Six (Devils Tower)

Eastward to the Tower

Today we had a short trip from Buffalo Eastward to Devils Tower.  Weather again was hot for us, in the high eighties, but it was a very pleasant drive and we arrived at Devils Tower in the early afternoon and our national senior pass did its work and we got in without a fee.  We haven't been using it too much so far, but plan to use it on this trip quite a bit.  Neil used to manage the federal lands pass program for the Forest Service in Alaska and knows that it is a great deal for seniors--probably too good.

Even though it was plenty warm, we decided to take a hike all the way around the tower (OK, it was only 1.3 miles) and had lots of photo ops along the way.  Here are a few photos:

As you can see, we had wonderful blue sky and it wasn't too hot for our walk.  We actually saw several couples with baby strollers, which didn't make sense to us, but to each their own.

We got back off the mountain and checked in to the Devils Tower KOA which is exactly where the army camp in the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" was filmed--in fact, it was proceeds from that movie that allowed the rancher to build the current KOA.  The movie was released in 1977, and the KOA Kampground has been showing it every night since, so we got ice cream cones and watched it again.  There were several parts of the movie we had forgotten, and it was pretty cool to see it in the shadow of Devils Tower.  It made for a great day, and we got exercise from the hike and enjoyed the movie as a topper.  Next, we back track to Gillette for the national Escapees RV Escapade.  Escapees is a RV Club that holds rallies and training across the country.  Learn more by visiing:  http://www.escapees.com/

Fair Winds and Calm Seas,

Neil and Pamela

HagaFinn RV Trip - Day Five

North to Buffalo (Wyoming)

We had a great run on Saturday from Rawlins, Wyoming to Buffalo Wyoming.  We saw several pronghorn antelope along the way--and a lot fewer trucks than earlier on our trip.  We enjoyed traveling fewer miles (228 miles) this day.  We arrived in time to visit the historic Occidental Hotel in downtown Buffalo, where a retired USFS colleague, Linn Young plays fiddle every Thursday night.  Unfortunately, we arrived on Friday.

Serving Beer Since 1880!

The saloon is located in a very historic building with some pretty famous guests, including Teddy Roosevelt himself.  It looks like it would be a neat place to stay, but we had reservations at a KOA and big plans for a buffalo steak dinner, so we left after only one beer.

We made reservations at a steakhouse near the KOA, and being a Friday night it was packed with locals and tourists alike.  Our plans were dashed when we found out that they did not serve buffalo steak.  Here we are in Wyoming--in BUFFALO Wyoming, and we could not get a buffalo steak at a steakhouse.  Ah well, we told you about making PLANS didn't we.  We settles for a prime rib for Pamela and a ribeye for Neil and took parts home for later dinners.

While we visited the Heritage Trails Museum in Casper, Neil took this recruiting poster for the Pony Express.  Talk about truth in advertising.  I am sure that it would not pass muster for the current employment gurus.

"Orphans Preferred"--Quite a Qualification

All continues to go well and we look forward to our visit to Devils Tower tomorrow.  Thanks for visiting,

Neil and Pamela

Great Midwest RV Trip - Day Four (SLC to Rawlins)

Today's Route:  Salt Lake City to Rawlins, Wyoming

Today we tried to get back on schedule after our extra day in Salt Lake City.  We drove East on Interstate 80 into Wyoming and to Rawlins, WY.  It was about 290 miles, which is still longer than we like, but we are planning to get up to Devils Tower in time for a reservation there on Saturday night.

It was a pleasant drive along the Immigrant Trails (Oregon, Mormon, and others) and the weather was down right HOT.  It was 94 degrees during much of the trip.

Fort Bridger State Historic Site

Along the way, we stopped at Fort Bridger State Historic Site where they have a reconstructed fort, a good museum, and several historic buildings.  One of the volunteers told us that they only raised two things in Bridger Valley--hay and Hell.  We had a good walk around the grounds and enjoyed our stay.  Today was a "fee free day" because of the dedication of a building from the Lincoln Highway Era.  The Lincoln Higway was the very first cross country highway and went from New York to San Francisco.  Fort Bridger was one of the stops along the way as they had converted the commanding officers quarters from old Fort Bridger into a motel in the 1900's.

We Had a Very Informative Guide at the Trading Post

There were several historic vehicles at Fort Bridger for the Lincoln Highway dedication, and we took photos of a few of them.  The Lincoln Highway association began in 1931, so this group has been around a while--and so have the vehicles.

Pamela Decided that This Automobile Needed Air Conditioning!

Another Classic Auto at Fort Bridger

Pamela Snapped This Photo of the Park City Olympic Ski Jump

We Saw Lots of Red Rock Along the Highway

Another day comes to a close.  We hope you are doing well where ever you are.

Happy Trails,

Neil and Pamela

Great Midwest RV Trip - Day Three (Net Miles = 0)

"Welcome to Utah:  Life Elevated"

Wednesday was not the most productive day of our RV trip--in fact we had net mileage of zero.  We took the RV into Freightliner of Utah near Salt Lake City, and spent from 0830 to 1600 in the truckers waiting area as they diagnosed the check engine light and did a warranty repair.  We are not sure how much time it should have taken, but it was a lot longer than we wanted.  Neil just about went stir crazy waiting, but we did have a pretty good breakfast and lunch in the trucker cafe there.

Had we know it would have taken that long, we might have done something with the day, but that would have meant a rental car, taxi or some such.  That plus the fact that it was about 95 degrees kept us inside in the Freightliner Dealer.  They finished around 1600 and we were able to meet our good friend Mickie Dutton who we worked with in Washington, DC and Juneau.  She is working in Salt Lake City after here USFS retirement and we had a great dinner in south Salt Lake City.

We returned to the Salt Lake City KOA for a second night and made plans for our escape into Wyoming.

The Oregon Trail

Much of our trip so far has been along the historic route of the Oregon Trail.  As we move into Wyoming, it also is along both the Pony Express Route and the Mormon Trail up to Salt Lake City.

We are having a great time and the RV is working out great.  We are still finding the best places to store things.  And we brought way too much "stuff".  This will be a huge surprise to those of you who know us and the way we like to travel ;}

Thanks for visiting,

Neil and Pamela

Great Midwest RV Trip - Day Two

Greetings from Salt Lake City.  What?  Why in the world are we in SLC when we should be in Wyoming?  Simple answer:  a dreaded check engine light.  That, plus the fact that Pamela wasn't reacting well to the higher altitudes and we thought that going up to 8000 feet wasn't the best of ideas.  So--we called ahead to a Mercedes Sprinter repair place in SLC area and decided to divert here.  We will miss Yellowstone, but can always go back or swing through on the way West.

Our Route Today - South and East (NOT North and East)

It was a very pleasant drive, but too much driving once again.  Today we had some more rain, but also some sunshine and warmer temperatures.  In fact it was in the 80's for much of the trip and 84 when we arrived in Salt Lake City.  We are right in the middle of downtown SLC on West North Temple, but it is a well shaded park with Wi-Fi and lots more.

We are changing our itinerary to give us more time and will skip Yellowstone going East so we can have more time in Wyoming before the big Escapees Rally in Gillette.  We will see the Mercedes Sprinter repair place tomorrow morning, but will probably spend another night here at a very nice KOA in SLC.  We will then have some short days of driving through Wyoming and points East.

We will include some photos of the trip so far in a later blog.  It is getting late, and tomorrow is an early morning for us retired folks.  Send us good thoughts about an easy fix for the RV engine--it can't hurt!

Thanks for visiting,

Neil and Pamela

N

RV Trip East Day One - Really!

After the false start of Day Zero (see earlier post), it was good to actually put some miles on the Winnebago Via.  Neil took the Via down to Les Schwab Tire Center and they found that the inside dual valve stem was not seated properly.  Now this "valve stem" is about eight inches long so it can stick out past the outside dual wheel for easy checking and inflation.  That works great--as long as it does not leak.  It even has a plastic stabilizer that fits into the wheel slots.  Anyway, they got the Via right in and worked for about an hour and finally got it to seat properly and dunk tested it to make sure it was not leaking.

We can't say enough about the service and professionalism of Les Schwab, and the guys at the West Linn store were great!

Our Day One was 426 Miles Long!

We got on the road around 1000 and drove to I-84 East and traveled about four hundred miles through rain, mist, clouds, and even a rainbow.  We crossed into Idaho and are spending the night in a KOA near Boise.  It was a good trip and we felt good to get as far as we did.  Pamela was reading about the Oregon Trail, and they averaged about 16 miles a day.  Our "covered wagon" is a lot more comfortable and gets better than 15 miles per gallon to boot.

Our "Wagon" Suits Us Better

Tomorrow, we plan to have another long day, but may get an earlier start.  Goal is to make it to Yellowstone National Park and the Fishing Bridge Campground, where we have reservations.  Wish us luck, and let us know how you guys are doing (assuming someone is reading this).

Happy Trails,

Neil and Pamela

RV EAST DAY ZERO

Pretend that this is Sunday.  That is when we started out on our RV trip to avoid traffic and to get part way down the road towards Yellowstone and parts East.  Ever hear the saying "if you want to make God laugh, just tell Him your plans?"  Well, someone must have told him because we woke up on Sunday and Pamela had a little bit of an asthma attack so we went to the Oregon City emergency room so she could get a script and a nebulizer treatment to help with her breathing.  So we went to the ER and four hours later she had the treatment and script and all was well.  We had a lunch and thought that we could still drive East to Pendleton and be on our merry way.  Not to be.

Pamela Was Hooked Up to Something Like This on Sunday

On our way down the hill, we stopped at the Post Office to mail some letters, and Neil decided to check the tires one more time.  He had checked them the night before and one inside dual was a little low.  Well, it went from 70 psi the night before to 40 psi the next day--not good.  So--discretion being the better part of valor, we drove back up the hill to home and plugged it back in.  Neil's plan is to take it to Les Schwab Tire Center who installed new, metal, high-pressure tire valves and see if they could get it fixed.

One of These Custom Sprinter Van Valves Was Leaking

We spent the night at home, watched the Discovery Channel "North America" series, and slept in our own bed.  Thus ended Day Zero of our RV Trip.  Stay tuned.

This is a Great Series--Look for it on Your TV Provider

Thanks for visiting.

Neil and Pamela

Beginning Our Great Midwest RV Trip

We are just about ready to depart on our RV trip back to Wyoming, South Dakota, and Kansas and parts in between.  We have spent the last several days sorting, packing, and getting the RV ready to go for the trip.  Neil has been getting new tire valve stems installed so he can check the inside and outside dual wheels.

We have been working hard to make sure that we take what we need, but not more than we need.  Our Winnebago Via has a lot of storage, but we don't want to overload it.  We will be taking all the comforts of home, including BBQ grill, tables and chairs, some adult beverages, DVD's and a good reading library.  We are looking forward to visiting some new places, visiting some old friends, and meeting new ones.

We will be starting up this Blog again during the trip.  Several folks have asked if we were going to start posting, so we will do it for those folks so that they can keep up with our travels.

This Will Be Our Home Away from Home for the Next Month

We have been also getting the house garden whipped into shape.  We finally broke down and hired a small crew to do heavy weeding and the spreading of compost/mulch in our large garden.  We had ten yards of the compost/mulch delivered, and they have spread about seven or eight yards.  Wow!  What a difference it has made.  We hope that it will keep the weeds down and allow us to focus on other stuff around the house and garden.

So!  Watch this space and we will try to share photos and let you know what we are seeing as we travel east and back west.  We will be spending the Fourth of July at Mount Rushmore, so that is patriotic, eh?  We hope that we hear from some of our "fans" who actually read these blogs.  Just send us a note at hagafinn@gmail.com

Thanks for visiting,

Neil and Pamela