Rufus to Spokane...Following the Kardashian

We had a good second day drive from very rural Rufus, Oregon up the Columbia Gorge and then north through Spokane.  We are in a KOA in Spokane Valley, and are having another warm day, but it should be cooling off for at least a few days.  Timing is everything;  when we left home it was in the mid eighties, which is what is is today near Spokane, but it is 70 degrees back home.  We were reminded the Pamela's Uncle Pat never passed up a rest area, and we hit most of them on the way

Crossing the Columbia River

Vista RV at I-84 Rest Area -- Pat Would be Proud

From here, we drive north and west up to Missoula where we will stay for two nights.  We plan to visit friends and see some new sights.  On the road on the way here we followed a truck with a Kim Kardashian mural on it (see photo).  It is the most we have seen a Kardashian in any form, but we were not able to change the channel on the truck!

Our Kardashian Truck Mural

KOA Spokane with Water Tower

Here is the route we took today.  We improved on our first day performance, which should make Scott feel better.  He said a 9000 mile trip at 120 miles a day would take a while.  Please leave any comments on the blog page so we know that someone is actually reading these posts.  Best wishes to all--wish us safe travels.

Another Great Day on the Road

Around the United States in Eighty Days

We're off!  All of the planning and packing (and repacking) came to an end and we left home today on Day 1 of what we know will be an interesting and enjoyable 80 Days Around the Country -- US and Ontario, Canada.

Our First Gas Stop in Troutdale

Our first day only brought us into the Columbia River Gorge to windy and burn scarred Rufus, Oregon, east of The Dalles.  Along the way here, we saw a lot of burn scars beginning at Multnomah Falls from last year and continuing to this past years week.  We even saw the reddish stains on the hillsides where the aerial fire tanker dropped retardant, stopping one fire near I-84.

Day One from Home to Rufus. Oregon

Here in Rufus, we are in a space that is just about 100 yards from the burn scarred hillside just outside the RV park.  It was about 95 degrees and blowing about 15 mph when we arrived, but it has cooled down nicely.  We like it a whole lot cooler than 95!

Fire Retardant Stain on Hillside from I-84

Camped in Rufus, Oregon - No Fires Here Thankfully

We celebrated our first night with St. Germain champagne cocktails (which Skyler and Brittni got to try out last weekend) and shrimp, along with pizza from last night.  The frig and freezer are stuffed with goodies. This morning, Pamela's wonderful friends from Prayer Shawl group sent us on the road today with GF blueberry muffins and a lovely send-off. Thank You much!

We have dreamed, planned and packed for our Great USA Adventure, beginning August 1st!

We have packed the RV FULL and even taken out a few items! The last several months we have researched the places we want to visit -- both new and old favorites along our 8,000 mile journey! We have researched sights along the way and booked the campgrounds through August to Labor Day. We are blessed to have a good friend house sit for us while we are gone. Susan will enjoy our garden, trim the roses, feed the birds and squirrels, and harvest the blackberries and blueberries while we journey east.

You can help us by reviewing our trip plans and recommending places and sights to visit along the way

With thanks to Vicki Hansen for her great MS Excel spreadsheet, Pamela has figured out our travel, doing about 250-300 miles a day, and longer stays with family in Rapid City, South Dakota and then to explore the area around St. Ignace, Michigan, before going north above Lake Huron across Ontario to Ottawa, where we will explore a new city for us in Canada. By late August we will drop into Vermont to Burlington and southeast to Conway, New Hampshire, where we hope to ride the Conway scenic railroad. Then, drive east to the shores of Maine to follow the coast north to Freeport to explore Camden and coast lighthouses before going north for a week on Mt. Desert Island and Bar Harbor, Maine, where Neil went to high school.

By early September, we will drop into Massachusetts to visit Concord area for Walden Pond, the Alcott House (where Little Women was written), early American Revolution history before driving west to Hyde Park, New York to visit West Point and the home of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. There is time for several days to go west to visit the Finger Lakes region around Seneca Falls, an area new to us. Then, we drop south through Pennsylvania to eastern Virginia to follow the Shenandoah parkway south, along the western edge of Virginia. After a stop in Charlottesville to see Monticello again, we will visit friends in Blacksburg, Virginia in the southwest corner of the state.

What started this plan for epic journey is the late September national reunion of Forest Service retirees in Ashville, North Carolina. Held every three years, this fun gathering of 500-800 retirees offers an opportunity to reconnect with old friends, learn what is new across the agency and forests, and visit both historic and natural sites. While there, we will be touring Billy Graham's Chatlos Memorial Chapel and Ruth's Prayer Garden and the Biltmore estate, with a new Chihuly glass exhibit.

As we begin our journey west toward home, we will explore Tennessee around Knoxville and Nashville, before journeying north to Land Between the Lakes in Kentucky. Then, we will continue westward toward St. Louis for visit with a cousin and cross Missouri. By mid October, we will be following the Oregon Trail pioneer path across Nebraska and southern Wyoming into Ogden, Utah. At this point, we will visit some friends and then head west toward home through Idaho.

Please let us know if you have ideas for us along the way! We look forward to your comments on our posts and suggestions for places to see, good food to purchase, easy travel meals, good movies and series on Netflix or Amazon, and other helpful travel ideas. We appreciate your prayers for safe travels and good health for our journey.

Baking in Oregon - Getting Ready to Roll

Below is a graphic of the Portland area weather this week.  We transplanted Alaskans are not enjoying this kind of heat. 

We are hoping that we get to cooler weather when we get to Montana, Minnesota and Maine.  We are well aware of the other challenges we might be facing, including fires, floods, and winds.  Sounds like the biblical plagues--maybe a plague of frogs would be better?

We are both working hard on getting ready for our three month RV trip that will take us as far east as Maine and as far south as Asheville, North Carolina before we head back west.  We have a friend who will be house sitting while we are gone, making sure that the homestead is watered and that our pets (outside birds and squirrels) do not starve.

Neil is making sure that the RV and Forester tow-car (Toad) are ready for the trip.  We will be taking our new Enzo E-Bikes and have found a new hitch mounted bike carrier that should work well.  The Enzo ebikes are electric assist bikes that are built on a heavy duty, folding frame with about a twenty mile range.  The Swagman bike carrier folds down out of the way when not in use and to aid in loading the bikes.  Pictures of both are below.

One of the things that Neil is trying to figure out is the TPMS for the RV and Toad.  These are small sensors that screw on the end of the air valves on all ten tires (six for the RV plus the Toad) and send a signal if there is a loss of tire pressure or an increase of the temperature inside the tire.  It sends a wireless signal to a small receiver on the dash with an alarm and a read out of the pressures.  It takes a bit of work to get them programmed, but they will give us some reassurance for tire safety.  Here is what they look like.

We are both working hard to select the items we will need, but not too much stuff that we will not need.  As Pamela's brother, Seth always says, "there is always a store down the road if you forget something".  Please let us know if you are reading this and if you have any questions.  Wish us safe travels!

Greetings from Hot and Dry Oregon

It has been a long time between posts for this blog, and we are trying to get back into the swing of more frequent posts.  We are trying to keep cool during this very hot and dry July in Oregon.  

We have already had a 100 degree day and about fifteen 90 degree or more days.  The fire season is about three weeks early, and the highest priority fire is the Substation Fire near the Dalles, Oregon.

We recently returned from Klamath Falls, in the very southern part of Oregon where we had a graveside service for Neil's father, Richard Hagadorn.  We had a small family service with the VFW and Masons in attendance.  He was 98 years old and had a good long and full life and it was a great send off.

One the way back from Klamath Falls, we drove through Crater lake National Park.  It was a fantastic day and we took a lot of photos and videos and had a nice lunch in the historic lodge.

We are getting ready for our big cross country trip to Montana, Minnesota, Canada, Maine and down to North Carolina and return.  The 30 foot Winnebago RV is just about ready and we are getting the Subaru Forester ready as a tow car.  We even have set up a wireless printer in the RV so we can print maps, photos and other items during our 9000 mile journey.

Please let us know if you read this blog--we sometimes wonder if anyone is listening.

Best wishes,  Neil and Pamela 

Preparing for Our 2018 Cross Country Trip

GETTING READY FOR OUR 2018 CROSS COUNTRY TRIP

THE FIRST POST IN OUR "NEW" BLOG

Above is an approximation of our mostly planned trip across country from home, to Maine to the US Forest Service Retiree Reunion in Asheville, North Carolina and back home to Oregon.  It will be about 9500 miles in length and will take about three months.

Between now and when we leave in late July, we are busy working around the house and RV getting things ready for an extended vacation.  We hope to post photos and comments frequently during the trip, but you never know.  If we do, please comment to encourage us to do so!