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