Paws and Friends

Here are some pictures of battery installations on the Washington coast, at the mouth of the Columbia River from WWII. Cape Disappointment State Park (formally Fort Canby) is a nice place to stay in exploring the two lighthouses:  Cape Disappointment and North Head, the Lewis and Clark Interpretative Center and seven miles of the paved Discovery Trail along the southern section of Long Beach Peninsula. The Lewis and Clark Interpretative Center is located at these battery installations, offering a great view of the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse and the rugged mouth of the Columbia River. You can take the trail to this light house from the Interpretative Center/battery. It has been several years since our last visit to this light house, and we did not recognize this new configuration, which nicely highlights the Interpretative Center. There is plenty of parking, with a short walk up to the Center. We did not take the walk to the light house this time. We did visit North Hea...

We lost Puff, our special "calico dog"  cat who thought she was a dog, Monday night, May 16th. She had given us 15 terrific years--loving us, Bandit, Rusty and Rupert. She loved the grass as we camped along the way and especially at Valley Camp. She would let us know, however, that she had had enough and wanted back in her motor home. We know for sure that she has joined her beloved Bandit at that Rainbow Bridge.... Rupert reached acceptance....kind of....! Paws and Friends

We are in North Bend, WA, and will have our roof repaired by Tiffin July 25-27. We have adjusted our plans accordingly. Instead of heading east in August (we had originally planned for mid June), we will head slowly for the southwest, spending time in Ely, Nevada for explorations, arriving in Goodyear around the first of October. We are in beautiful Valley Camp, east of North Bend, right at the base of Snoqualmie Pass with snow on the mountains around us. Of course there has been rain, intermixed with partly cloudy days where the sun managed to almost dry out things... Yesterday the sun managed to burn away the clouds drying out everything! We even cooked steaks out on the grill! Rain is back today, however.... Here are a couple of pictures of "our meadow" with the snowy mountain in the background! Deer and elk frequent our area mornings and evenings. Rusty plops herself by the window by the door for elk watch. However, when she goes out when they are around, each just l...

A major asset of full-timing is flexibility! We have changed our schedule, and are waiting for word from the Northwest Tiffin Tech regarding warranty work on our motor home roof. We will make it to North Bend, WA on schedule--we are in "flex-mode" for this next week. We can stay where we are, or, should we need to, make our way to Washington state to meet with the Tiffin tech. Monday we will know a little more! We get so focused on the fact that we have campground reservations and that we must stick with them, that we don't think of possible options--like re-scheduling our reservation for this upcoming week...! Addressing issues such as warranty roof repair IS important....! Well, we "saw" the light, and have re-adjusted both physical and mental schedules...!  (still working on the mind schedule...!). Today is a glorious day in the North West....!  Temps up to 68 degrees!  Rain forecast for this evening and tomorrow....We have stowed all items outside--jeep ...

World War II and the Pacific Coast had to be a very interesting time. Lindy's father was a temporary "civil service" appointee at Sacramento Air Service Command, McClellan Air Field. We visited the new museum (California Aerospace Museum) and discovered that they had little information on that section of history of McClellan Air Field. In material Lindy found regarding her dad's training, they were not to talk about what they did, take pictures, etc. In the northern California Redwoods, as we drove along a gravel coastal road, we found a radar facility disguised as a farm that was manned by the army to guard the coast. Then south west of Coos Bay, Oregon, in Sunset Bay State Park, is this old battery installation. Fort Stevens, on the Oregon side of the mouth of the Columbia has extensive installations, and there are probably many more. It is interesting to see these sights and to begin to explore the depth of emotions of that scary time. Dim out orders wer...

We saw this park last summer, and really liked it! You can park looking out at Coos Bay! We saw one ship and a barge. Not quite like Tom Sawyer's RV Park in West Memphis, AR, right on the Mississippi--but still fun! We stayed two nights, and discovered Dutch Bros. Coffee--much better than Starbucks and so tasty in the chilly weather! The Casino had a small smoke-free room, where we had fun with our usual small amount for the slots. We came out even...! Rupert had green grass to play ball. He absolutely LOVES it! He would play ball until he dropped! It is so much better to play on grass than the desert of the South West. (one blessing of the rain...!) We departed Friday morning, after hooking up in the rain, and traveling through rain all day, and unhooking in the rain. We have been "fortunate" to be here during the wettest spring in some time....! Until next time! Paws and Friends

Our last day just east of Crescent City was partly cloudy, cool (50 degrees), and we spent it leisurely getting ready to head out tomorrow. It was very chilly last night....in the 30's...! We miss the warmth of the southwest sun!  Most outside jobs are finished:  jeep is packed and hooked up to FRED, tanks dumped and poop tube, etc., stowed. Rain is forecast beginning tonight, and looks like we'll have it for our journey into Oregon. Kind of reminds us why we both left the northwest for the sunny southwest 40 plus years ago! But, we shouldn't complain, for we have had sunny days to explore the Redwoods and ocean views. No whales were spotted, sadly. Another time, perhaps! The rain does give green!  The animals have enjoyed the green grass to play in and Puff really has enjoyed the time outside--just sitting in the grass! Until next time! We are moving on up the coast--Mill Casino RV Park, here we come! Paws and Friends