Hello again everyone! Wow. Do you believe it is early October already??? It does not seem possible. The days and weeks are flying by in a blur. Grab a cup of tea and let’s get caught up….it’s been awhile!
I mentioned my brother Danny and my sister-in-law Christine were visiting us in Oregon, at Bay Point Landing, just outside Coos Bay, Oregon. They had a cabin at the RV resort, just a short walk from our RV, right on the water. Very nice. Then, the plan was to move after a week to Klamath, CA, near the Redwoods National Park. After much discussion and talking to the RV park in Klamath, we decided to cancel that part of the trip, and we all stayed another week at Bay Point Landing in Oregon. The fires were fairly close by Klamath, CA, and, all of the national forest lands were shut down due to fire threat, so no hiking in that area. And, the one road that went from Klamath to the airport they were scheduled to fly out of was closed due to a fire. So, it seemed prudent to not go there. We were all disappointed to not get to Redwoods National Park, but it will have to wait for another time. So we settled in where we were and had a lovely time. It is absolutely wonderful having them come visit again – you may remember they also visited us last summer in Colorado. We are so glad to spend this time together, the fun of exploring and experiencing new things is all the more special when shared.
We spent our time enjoying several of the beautiful beaches, and even took a side trip to the southern most part of the Oregon coast, and rented a cabin for a night near Port Orford, Oregon. The Oregon coast is stunning there – we found the southern coast the most beautiful and least crowded. Here’s pictures from our “side trip” to the southern coast: https://photos.app.goo.gl/XRneeumzekbX2bAu7
One big adventure we did was renting ATVs and hitting the Oregon Dunes for a day. Wow – that was quite the experience! Oregon’s central coast has giant sand dunes that run for 42 miles along the coast. All kinds of ATV rental places around and basically you just go out and run around any part of the dunes you want. There’s no real roads or trails through the dunes. I was a little afraid at first, then I got over it and enjoyed it a lot! Steve drove our ATV, and Danny drove theirs. Here’s some pictures of that adventure: https://photos.app.goo.gl/WyMExHvbYQSujGWA8
Getting ready to head for the Dunes!
Don’t they look like professionals???!!!
The 2 weeks they were visiting just flew by. We loved just spending time together, cooking, watching the waves on the beaches, relaxing, talking. Really, there’s nothing better than just being together and sharing time in a beautiful place. Even though we had to change our plans up a bit, everything was perfect. Isn’t that what it’s all about, after all? And even though we “live on wheels” sometimes staying put is what is best. Taking time to enjoy right where we are.
Pictures are worth a thousand words….and pictures don’t begin to capture the fun and love shared. Here’s my attempt to sum it all up in pictures – enjoy! https://photos.app.goo.gl/TzzEUe7GN5q3KKKL7
Howdy everyone! First, let me apologize for my slightly grouchy last post! We had just gone through the long ordeal of squeezing into our too small RV site and I think the stress of that was still hanging around when I wrote the last post….SORRY!! And you know what? That spot ended up being one of our favorites! We really enjoyed the campground and the location was perfect. The campground was located on a bay, and there were seals out on a sandbar in the bay everyday. How can that be bad?? And, right before we left, we had a neighbor trying to get into the spot next door to us, and had the same problem we did – almost went into the culvert ditch. We noticed a few guys standing around outside, watching, but no one was helping this poor couple struggling to get into their spot. And they were blocking traffic on the road, just like we did. So – Steve went out and helped the guy out. He told the guy to go around the block like we did, and come in and back in, just like we had to, there’s just no way to pull through if you have a big rig in these spots. So they went around the block, and then were trying to back into the spot, but were having trouble. So Steve is giving directions about how to back up, which way to turn the wheel and he got him in! Yes, the same Steve who always is hoping someone will come help him when he has to back up, was able to help someone else do it! And, don’t you know, the very next day, when we moved to our new spot, which was a back in spot, our neighbor there came straight out and guided Steve in. He was a retired trucker – love those guys, they are always so helpful! What goes around comes around….. 😊
We have thoroughly enjoyed the central Oregon coast. It is magnificently beautiful! I was a little worried when we were on the northern part of the coast – it was pretty, but not as spectacular as I was expecting. But once we got to the central coast – WOW! We have been meandering our way south along the coast, moving 40 – 60 miles at a time. We love the dense forests, covered in ferns and moss, and the rocky coast. It’s great to just explore and be out in it!
Our current spot, just outside Coos Bay is very nice. We have a direct, right-on-the-water spot. Yes, a back in spot, and the nice campground host guy helped Steve back it in! Here’s a picture out our back window of our current spot in Coos Bay, Oregon:
Our current RV site in Coos Bay, Oregon. Bay Point Landing RV Resort.
And here’s a picture out our back window in another RV site we had a couple weeks ago:
Waldport, Oregon. McKinnley’s RV Park
A video of Seals we watched while having lunch a couple of weeks ago: (hope this link works!!) https://photos.app.goo.gl/Uncsgsr2i9AbwhcAA They were so fun to watch, and loud!
I’m going to make this a short post…my brother Dan and my sister-in-law Christine are here visiting (yeah!! so happy they are here!!). But I wanted to get you some pictures of our exploring the central Oregon coast. I’ll have a nice long post of all the fun things we’re doing with them later, and will have lots of pictures to share, I’m sure. Just to keep things interesting, our laptop decided to crash about a week ago. I spent about 2 days trying to figure it out, getting help from friends back home, to no avail. So, luckily, we have a Staples close by, and we purchased a new laptop. They had a great Tech Support service and they were able to recover our data files from the old laptop and transfer to the new one. They also helped get the new laptop set up for me which was great, since I’m no good at that kinda stuff. Anyhow, I’m learning my new laptop while writing this post!
A quick update about the fires – we’ve received a lot of calls and inquiries about how the fires are affecting us…the quick answer is they are not impacting us very much, at least not yet. We had one day a couple of days ago, with a lot of smoke and ash, and it was dark as night outside by 6:00 in the evening. Very weird. But otherwise, we’ve only had a little smoke in the air, and it hasn’t stopped us from doing things we want. I’ve called ahead to our next spot, which will be in Klamath, California, right by the Redwoods National Park, and they are reporting some smoke in the area, but not a lot. Seems we should be able to move down there in a couple days as planned with no problem. I’ll keep you up to date as things progress!
Howdy everyone! Another update for you, grab a cup of tea and let’s catch up! Last time I wrote you we had moved to Silverton, Oregon, and we were enjoying all the produce of the region. We also did a couple small hikes in the area, there really wasn’t a lot of hiking around. We had to get a tire on the RV replaced before we left Silverton. Yes, our RV tires were just all replaced right before we left Ohio in early June. We are still getting excessive tire wear on the curb side (passenger side) front tire on the RV. We had the axles aligned before we left too. Our best guess is that the axles are out of alignment again, or something is defective with that axle to keep causing the tire wear. Anyhow, Steve noticed the tire was very worn and we didn’t want to keep driving with it that way. So we found a place that could replace it for us and we stopped there on our way out of Silverton. They didn’t have a waiting room, we just sat in the truck, they changed the tire with the RV hitched up. About an hour, then we were on our way!
Seems tires are our thing these days! Here’s some more pictures from the rest of our time in Silverton. We drove around through the orchards which were really interesting to see (and we got more fruit!) https://photos.app.goo.gl/UzfhyXgxPT7UoPHD8
We left Silverton and moved to Astoria, Oregon. Astoria is in the very northwest corner of Oregon, on the coast, where the Columbia River begins. We enjoyed several days in Astoria, then moved to Long Beach, Washington, which is just north, still on the coast. We were in Long Beach for 9 or 10 days, and arrived at our current spot, in Netarts, Oregon just yesterday. I’ll give you the run down of our last couple of weeks in Astoria and Long Beach.
Astoria was a nice little city…right on the coast, and some commercial fishing operations there. We also visited the Lewis and Clark National Historic Park there – the museum was closed, but they had a replica of Fort Clatsop there, and a few people dressed in period clothing, doing live demonstrations of what life was like back when Lewis and Clark were there. They built Fort Clatsop as their winter home during the expedition in 1805. It’s amazing what they did and was fun to learn more about how they lived off the land. Pictures of Fort Clatsop: https://photos.app.goo.gl/aNL3jgC9D6zCNwrj6
We went on one hike – there’s a state park not too far away – Ecola State Park – it has some very nice hiking trails, and is part of the Coastal Mountain range. But it was SUPER muddy! The forest was very dense and damp, even though it had not rained for several days, I think it is always wet in there. Made the hiking difficult with all the sinking into the mud. But the forest was beautiful, heavy with moss and ferns, and a few spots we could see through the trees to the Pacific ocean. Never a bad day when we’re out in the forest! Hike pictures here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/cMMqwPwQHDh4LFTG6
We also spent an afternoon in Cannon Beach. Love it there!! Three years ago, when on our way home from Alaska, we stopped in Cannon Beach and loved it, which is the main reason we are here this summer, spending so much time in Oregon. We have been hoping to find more coastal towns like Cannon Beach. It is a cute little town (touristy, but in a good way), with beautiful coast views everywhere. Cannon Beach pictures here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZGKTxoP7dbP7zezo6
Otherwise, our time in Astoria was pretty uneventful – a good Farmer’s Market, some good grocery stores in the area, and there was tons of seafood available. Steve is eating his way through the state! I’m doing my fair share too, trust me – but he is the seafood lover! I love the fresh fish and we’ve had lots of it on our grill for dinner. But he’s eating his way through all the oysters, clams, crab, smoked fish, you name it. 🙂 Here’s some more pictures: https://photos.app.goo.gl/zqUwGWzCZdALyHSX6
We moved from Astoria, across THE BRIDGE to Long Beach, Washington. It’s on a small peninsula on the very southern tip of Washington. In a word, our time in Long Beach was….disappointing. If you look at it on a map, you may think, as I did….ocean on one side, bay on the other….a little town on the peninsula called Oysterville….how can it be bad??? Well….it wasn’t really bad, it was just disappointing. First, I have to tell you the story of THE BRIDGE:
There’s this big bridge that connects Astoria, Oregon to the Long Beach, Washington peninsula. We saw this bridge 3 years ago when we made a couple of stops in Washington and Oregon on our way back from Alaska. Back then, we drove the 2 hours around to avoid using THE BRIDGE. Steve does not like heights, especially if he is driving and he can see over the edge. This bridge is very high for part of it, then it slopes down, near the water, for about half of it. All together, it’s 4.1 miles long. Here’s a picture of THE BRIDGE:
Here’s where the bridge then slopes down by the water
So, for the week we spent in Astoria, Steve kept looking at THE BRIDGE. We decided we would drive around and not do THE BRIDGE…we have plenty of time, why do that to ourselves, we asked? Then, when the moving day came, he decided he wanted to do it…and we did! He was really nervous, but all was good. In the end, we drove back and forth across THE BRIDGE several times during our stay. I don’t think he would say it is his favorite thing to do, but, he did it!
Our RV park in Long Beach, WA was really not very nice. Super small sites, all crammed in, no landscaping or anything to try to look nice. We couldn’t put out our awnings without hitting the guy next door. The people on the other side of us had a fire one night in their fire pit, which was literally right under our window. I was afraid the paint was going to peel away on our RV from the heat! Not to mention we had to close our windows to keep the smoke out. Ugh. It happens sometimes, not all RV parks are nice, try as I do to find good ones. But, it was right on the ocean – we just walked through some sand dunes and were right on a big beach (it was 28 miles long, they say it is the longest beach in the US). We walked every day on the beach which was great. It was never super warm – always a jacket or sweatshirt for me, Steve managed a couple of times without a sweatshirt, but it was mostly around 69 or 70 degrees and windy. Actually perfect weather, with cool nights too. But, the weird thing about the beach – they allow cars to drive on it! We had never seen this before. There are several entrance points where cars, jeeps, trucks, you name it – enter the beach. Then they drive up and down instead of walking! We actually saw several cars driving, with their dog(s) running behind them, instead of walking their dogs. Yikes! So when you’re walking like we were, with Gerry, you have to constantly be on the lookout for cars and trucks coming from behind you and in front of you. And depending on the tide, it could be pretty narrow. This really made no sense to us and really took away from enjoying the beach. People would bring their vehicles, set up camp for the day next to their car. Others would just cruise up and down the beach. Here’s a couple pictures (not very good but you’ll get the idea):
Dodging cars on the beach!
So….”what about Oysterville”, I hear you asking. We read in a brochure that 1 in every 4 oysters eaten in the US is from Willabay (where Oysterville is located). Well…we went the first time, it was closed. Found out they were only open Friday-Sunday. Oysterville is about a dozen homes, and one seafood shop where you can buy oysters and sit on their deck to eat them. So we went back on Saturday. Guess what??? No Oysters in Oysterville!!! They had a sign up that said the water was too warm and harvest was not possible. So you could buy pre-made, packaged clam chowder (yuck) or some berry jams. That was it! It was a cute little place, and a nice location on the bay. But no oysters for Steve that day!
All in all, we made the most of our time there, walking the beach every day and enjoying the sunshine. We found a Farmer’s Market nearby too which helps. But we weren’t sad when moving day arrived! It’s all part of the grand adventure, and we always have fun and enjoy where we are one way or the other. And the less than great places are still wonderful because we’re out in our RV, enjoying life and exploring together. And that’s what really matters! Pictures here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/6R5kasK3hBeJiPn86
So we’re getting settled into our new spot in Netarts Bay, Oregon. I’ll have an update for you from here, I’m sure. It is a very, very tight RV park (are you sensing a theme, here!). In fact, getting into our actual parking spot yesterday afternoon took over an hour. And the manager had to come help us. And we were blocking the street with our RV for awhile, while traffic backed up. Yes, loads of fun! And the drive through space we reserved turned out to only be drive-through-able if you were a small rig. Oh wait…I hear you asking…didn’t they know how big we were before they gave us that spot??? Yes! When I made the reservation, and again, one week before we arrived, when I called ahead to inquire again (based on what we have been experiencing with small, cramped campgrounds) – went over our size, length, etc with the nice lady on the phone – “oh yes, it’s a 45′ site” Wait – I say – our 5th wheel is 41′, not to mention our truck… “oh, it will be fine, and you can park your truck up at the office”. Well. It ended up not being possible to pull through the site. Long story, involving culverts, a drainage ditch and trees. Luckily I was out of the truck, watching and directing Steve and stopped him before our RV ended up in the ditch. That’s when we were blocking the road. The regular road, not inside the campground….they had you drive down the road and then (attempt) to turn into your campsite, over a culvert in a drainage ditch, to your site. Nope. Not us. Way too big to be able to make that turn. So I go back up to the office and ask for help. The manager comes and says “yeah, these sites don’t work for rigs your size. You’ll have to back out, go around the block, come back into the park, and back into your site”. What??? Now Steve is sweating. But we did, and the manager guy helped Steve maneuver until we shoe-horned ourselves into a way too small spot. Ugghhhh!
Our general impression of the Oregon coast RV campgrounds so far is that they are old (our current one was built in 1969), small, cramped and not very nice compared to what we have experienced in other places. It seems the thinking is the crowds come anyhow, so why invest in making the campgrounds nicer?? And by the completely full campgrounds we’ve been in, that seems to work. Our current location is on the bay, and I think it’s going to be pretty, with some of those rocky Oregon coast beaches we’ve been waiting for. And we’re not too far from the Coastal Range mountains, so there should be some hiking nearby.
So now you’re all caught up on our adventures. Hope you enjoy the pictures, and more adventures coming soon!
Hi folks! Ok…I told you in my last “quick update” post we were moving to a remote mountain RV park in the Oregon Cascade mountains. Well….we didn’t. We had a beautiful drive through the mountains to get to this RV park. We were getting really excited, it was looking like our kinda place, lots of hiking and beautiful, heavy green forests all around. And then, we pulled into the RV park. It was the only RV park around for miles, which we thought was part of the appeal. We like being out in the remote areas a lot of the time, closer to nature. Except this place had nothing appealing about it. In fact it was quite terrible. And small. There’s no way we would fit in any of their spots, in spite of being advertised as “big rig friendly” and my having provided our size info while making the reservation. Weeds everywhere, I don’t think a lawn mower had been used for at least a couple of years. “On the river with mountain views” was promised – the river banks were so overgrown you couldn’t tell there ever was a river there, and, unless the mountains moved recently, there never was a mountain view from there. Amazing what photo shop and some creative writing can do to make anything look good online. Anyhow, we pulled in, looked at each other and both said, “we’re not staying here!” So the owner (who was not very warm and fuzzy let’s just say) was nice enough to let us out of our 8 day reservation without charge. I said our plans had changed (that is true!) and I think he knew from looking at our rig we were never going to squeeze into a site anyhow. So we headed on down the road, with no cell signal available to find another spot. As it turns out, we were only about 50 miles from Salem, Oregon and that’s where we headed. And we found a very nice, in town, RV park we stayed at for 2 nights while I figured something else out. And today, we moved just 10 miles down the road, out of Salem, to a very nice RV park just outside a little town called Silverton, Oregon.
We’re right in the middle of the Willamette Valley. Produce growing region galore! Cherries, berries of all types, peaches, nectarines, plumbs, melons, and all kinds of veggies are grown all around here. We’re in hog heaven! We have been finding all kinds of great produce while in Oregon, and I think we just landed right in the middle of it all. Here’s a picture of the fruit we bought yesterday at a farm stand around the corner:
Really, we have been eating so much fruit, but who can resist when it’s grown right here and the real deal?? I have the freezer stocked full of bags of berries too! Silverton has a farmer’s market on Saturday, can’t wait to see what is there, I’m expecting it to be full of great produce. We explored Silverton today and had lunch in town – it’s a cute little western town and I think we’re going to enjoy it a lot.
So, yes, our Plan B is working out. And, why not take advantage of being mobile? It’s part of the fun and the journey, and it always works out just the way it should. ☺
Before we left our spot near Crater Lake National Park, we rented a pontoon boat for half a day. They allowed doggies, so Gerry came along which is great. It was called Odell Lake, located in the central Cascade mountains. We enjoyed the day on the water, but, the boat was not very nice! In fact, I think the last time this boat could have been referred to as “nice” or “cute” or “not ugly” was about 20 years ago. Yes, really. It was bad. But, it floated! I guess that is what is most important! So we’re getting the run down of how to operate the boat before we take it out, and the guy says, “don’t pay any attention to the gas gauge, it doesn’t work. In fact, the gas tank gave out awhile back, and we have it hooked up to an auxiliary gas tank.” Hmmm, we wondered, do we have enough gas?? He says, “yes, unless you’re going to do laps around the lake I think you’ll be okay.” Comforting. So we get going, and I discovered the “auxiliary gas tank”:
We didn’t run out of gas, and we ignored the broken seats and the gross carpet and enjoyed our day on the water! Some pictures here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/7gr7GWofQ9c4G7aXA
Another highlight is our hike on the Pacific Crest Trail (the PCT). It’s the trail in the movie “Wild” with Reese Witherspoon. I know we talked a lot last year about hiking parts of the Continental Divide Trail, and talking to through hikers on it. I was eager to experience the PCT too. So we did a great day hike (about 9 – 10 miles) on the PCT, near the Odell Lake boat adventure. This section of the PCT went by 3 lakes, called the Rosary Lakes, and Pulpit Rock stood towering over the lakes. It was a great day, and we met some very nice folks who were camping for the night by one of the lakes and they shared all kinds of good info about places to go in Oregon. We also met 3 guys through hiking on the PCT. One from Michigan, one from South Carolina, and one from Australia (yes, he had a great accent!) The Australian was a former Rugby player, he and Steve swapped some Rugby talk. They had all started at the south end of the PCT (the Mexico border) in early March, and were in the last month or so of their hike which ends at the Canadian border. So impressive seeing these hikers with all their gear, hiking day after day, no matter the weather or how they’re feeling, they are on the trail.
Walking on the PCT made me think about all the footsteps that had fallen on the same trail I was on. People from all over the world, from all walks of life, coming to hike. All the contemplation that has been had on that trail, all the self reflection. And all the beauty that has been soaked up, walking through the woods. We all walk through the woods and over the mountain for different reasons, but in the end, I believe, we all are better for the walk. I know I am. Here’s some pictures from our PCT hike: https://photos.app.goo.gl/hdbtxx5xbxbRkCar8
So that brings you up to date on everything going on here! Hope everyone is enjoying summer, all the daylight and sunshine, and I hope you are all able to find some local produce bounty too!
Hi! We have been enjoying the southern part of the central Oregon Cascade mountains for about a week now. We visited Crater Lake National Park, got in a couple really nice hikes (including doing a section of the Pacific Crest Trail – a real highlight for me!), and we enjoyed a day of boating on a nearby mountain lake.
We’re moving today to the northern part of the central Oregon Cascades, to a pretty remote RV park. Not sure if we’ll have good enough cell or internet service there to do a blog post, so I wanted to share this quick one. I’ll give you a full update when I can, I promise! In the meantime, here’s some pictures from our visits to Crater Lake National Park. We went twice, once with Gerry, and drove around the rim, stopping several times to take in the views. We went again, without Gerry (since he’s not allowed on any of the trails in national parks ) and hiked down the rim to the lake and enjoyed a day (it was Steve’s birthday!) with our feet in the water.
Howdy! I know I say this all the time…but seriously….where does the time go? Seems like just a few days ago I posted an update, and now I realize it’s been quite awhile – Sorry!
We have been in Oregon for about 10 days now. First in LaGrande, and now in Bend. We’re going to be in Oregon until about mid-September, we are meandering our way all through the state. LaGrande is in the northeastern part of the state, not far from Idaho. We really enjoyed our time in LaGrande, nice small town with a good farmer’s market and a good restaurant we frequented more than usual for us. The RV park we stayed at (Grande Hot Springs RV Resort) was a few miles outside of the town, in a very nice setting with lots of acreage. They also had hot springs that fed two pools for soaking which we enjoyed. We got in a couple of hikes while there, and just hung out enjoying our views of the big sky and relaxing at the RV.
But, just to make things interesting….we got a flat tire on the truck! Luckily, we were not pulling the RV when it happened. We had just driven to a trailhead to hike. It was my birthday, and my request was a long beautiful hike. So we had one all picked out and while we were getting our backpacks on, Steve heard a Pssssssttttt. That’s a technical term for air leaking from the front tire on a truck. So Steve says, “hurry, get back in the truck, we’re going to drive as far down this mountain as we can before it gets completely flat!” And so we did, and we made it several miles back down the gravel forest service road we were on, to a forest service campground. We still didn’t have a signal on our cell phones but we were able to get off the road into the campground and had a good place to get to work changing the tire.
So – any one who knows us knows this is not something we know how to do. In fact, neither one of us has changed a tire on a vehicle. Ever. And so we knocked on the door of the campground host (they were in a RV) and asked for help. He came over and looked at it and said, “I have no idea how to fix that”. But, he did offer to call AAA for us – they had some sort of cell booster and could get a weak signal on their phone. So they called AAA for us who promised to send someone out in the next hour. Then AAA called back twice asking more questions, and the time estimate became 1.5 – 2 hours for arrival. So we got to work on it our selves and, we got it done! Took off the flat tire and put on the spare. It was a true team effort – me reading the instructions in the manual (I don’t think the people who write these things ever have to follow their own instructions!) and Steve doing all the heavy lifting. But we ran into a snag in the process: There was one lug nut that was different than all the others and it didn’t come off. And the wheel was clearly “locked” on, even after following all the instructions and taking off the other lug nuts. No mention in the instructions anywhere about this different lug nut. We checked the other tires – they all had one too. One of the questions the AAA people called back to ask was about a “tire lock and did we have one”?? What’s a tire lock? Never heard of it. Did we have one? Not that we knew of. But, yes we did as it turns out. While we were stuck, unable to get the wheel off, I started rummaging around in the truck hoping we had missed something, and I found an open package with one hexagon shaped “nut” kinda thing in it, down in the bottom of our center console. And 4 missing pieces in the packaging. Hmmm…no label on the package saying what it was, and no instructions in the packaging. But we tried the hexagon shaped nut kinda thing on the one different wheel lug and it was the magic unlocker thing we needed! How did we end up with wheel locks that we didn’t know we had??? Who put them on and then put the open, unlabeled, no instructions, magic unlocker thing into our truck console with out us knowing anything about it???? We’ve had tires changed on this truck before and no one ever said anything about wheel locks or the magical unlocker thing…those guys must all know about them and maybe there’s a master unlocker thing they all use. I don’t know. We’re guessing the dealership must have done it when we bought the truck. Probably an “upgrade” to add the wheel locks that we didn’t know about. Anyhow, we had never heard of a wheel lock before, and now we know we have them and how to unlock them. 😆
Took 3.5 hours. And AAA still had not arrived. We learned a lot – and I hope we never have to do it again, but if we do, we’ll know how to do it next time. We were safely off the road, we were not pulling the RV down the interstate when it happened, it wasn’t raining…all kinds of ways it could have been worse. There was a lovely creek running by and we had food and water with us. Gerry was bummed out being leashed to the picnic table all day instead of out hiking, but, he got a quick romp in the creek at least. And we did the hike the next day and it was perfect – a favorite so far.
Then it was on to Bend. We’re staying at an RV park right in town. It’s tucked away in a lot of trees and mostly you wouldn’t know you were right in town. It’s a very nice RV park – considered a “luxury” type park. The parking spots for the RVs are all pavers, the driveways are all paved (really cuts down on the dust and grit tracked in and blowing in the windows). They have a nice doggie area and the space between RVs is very generous. But I have to say, we really prefer being out more, away from town, more in nature. But, we had to get the truck serviced (new front tires and an oil change) and we needed to restock on groceries and of course the inevitable Walmart run. Here’s a picture of our current spot:
We’ve enjoyed exploring Bend, but it’s VERY busy. We’ve read it’s one of the fastest growing cities in the country. About 100,000 people now and growing by the minute it seems. Lots of construction, houses and roads. But the mountains are literally right next door. I can’t get used to looking up while driving down a city street and – boom – right in front of you are snow capped mountains. So close it seems you can reach out and touch them. These are the Cascade Mountains and they are beautiful. We will be staying in a few places all through the Cascade Mountains during the next few weeks and I’m sure we’re going to love it. We did a very nice hike yesterday just a short ways from Bend – it was beautiful. Here’s a picture from the drive to the hike – this is just a few miles out of town:
I feel like all our pictures must seem the same – hiking through the woods, reaching a view point, or a lake, streams or creeks along the way, Gerry having fun. But, this is what we love doing and the hikes don’t seem boring or the same to us at all. They all have unique challenges or something interesting and we just love being out there doing it. And of course, pictures never do justice to the real view. But we keep trying to capture the beauty and love sharing it with you!
Hello again! Hope everyone is having a great summer – do you believe it is already the middle of July?? Where does the time go? We have been enjoying mostly sunny, not too hot days and cool nights for the last couple of weeks. After leaving Missoula, Montana, we stayed at a nice RV park in St. Regis, Montana. St. Regis is along interstate 90, in the far western part of Montana, near the Idaho border. We enjoyed the area very much – nothing around but mountains and pine trees and plenty of hiking. The RV park was very nice, but crowded over the 4th of July. Not surprising I guess, but it was a little busier than we would have liked. But the weather there was great – needed the furnace in the early mornings, it was so cool. Then sunny and pleasant in the afternoons. We got in a few really nice hikes in the area, I have pictures and some short videos in the link here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/64zqoNqdqDsPrWiaA I hope the videos work, I’m never too sure about that!
After St. Regis, we moved to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, in the panhandle. We have never been to this part of the state before, and we’ve been enjoying exploring. Our RV park is average, not great but is waterfront, which is nice. Its a very large RV park (182 sites) and we are very far in the back, no water view for us. The Spokane River runs into Lake Coeur d’Alene, and our RV park is right where river and lake meet. Lake Coeur d’Alene is 50 square miles, very long and narrow. We rented a boat yesterday and toured around, admiring the very nice homes all along the shore. Unfortunately, the weather did not really cooperate – it was cold! We wore sweatshirts and pants, and had a blanket to wrap up in on board, but, I still needed more, so we stopped at a resort along the lake and I bought a sweater to add to my layers and some hot coffee. It is always surprising to me how different things look from the water – a total new perspective.
There’s not a lot of hiking near here, it’s about an hour drive in any direction to be in the mountains. We are enjoying being tourists in the area instead. We’ve sampled some local coffee shops and Gerry got to spend a day at a nice doggy day care while we went boating (he was not allowed on the boat, which was disappointing). We went to the Coeur d’Alene farmer’s market last evening and found tons of great produce and more strawberries and cherries. We have been eating so many strawberries and cherries, it is crazy, but they are soooo good! We love being in the produce growing region, and I think most of our trip will be full of wonderful, fresh, local fruits and veggies. There’s another farmer’s market tomorrow evening, in Spokane, Washington (just about 30 miles west of here) that we plan to go to also. Lots of cooking and baking with all our bounty!
I hear you asking….what about the RV repairs? And what about those stitches in my head??? Happy to report both worked out very well. The RV repairs went very smoothly in Missoula, the guy we found was very good. He adjusted the 2 electric cable slides (the other 2 slides are hydraulic). The cables had become somewhat slack and needed tightening. Kinda like a chain on a bicycle…we hadn’t had a problem yet, but didn’t want to worry about one developing, so he took out the 2 electric slides, they are both in our bedroom, and adjusted the cables. He also replaced the electric water heater element and fixed our living room window latch. So, at the risk of jinxing us by saying this….everything is working perfect in the RV and we feel great about all the maintenance we’ve had done, it is practically brand new again! We do have a running conversation about possibly getting new furniture and carpet put in someday. We’ll see. Right now we still love it and are very comfortable here. Here’s a picture I took just now of us all set up at our RV park in Coeur d’Alane:
And I had the stitches removed from my forehead when we arrived in Coeur d’Alene. They put some type of glue on it and is still covered for a couple more days. So I haven’t gotten a good look at the damage yet, but I’m sure it’s okay. But, to keep things interesting, while we were on our way to have the stitches taken out, a crown broke in half on one of my teeth! So I had to go to the dentist and have a new crown done… 😣 The good news is I really liked the dentist I went to, she was super nice and I was all fixed up in just a few hours. Hoping that’s it for me!!
Hello again everyone! So nice to chat again. I’ll bring you up to date on what we’ve been doing and share some pictures of our time here in Montana. We spent 12 days in the Columbia Falls/Whitefish Montana area, near Glacier National Park. We got in several hikes in the area, and also had our friends Don and Patty come visit us along with their two yellow labs, Hunter and Kody. We were so glad to have visitors, and Gerry could hardly contain himself, having two furry friends for a sleepover! The dogs quickly settled in and everyone was comfortable…. 🙂
Don and Patty have a beautiful place in southern Montana that we’ve had the pleasure of visiting several times, and they have taught us so much through the years about being outdoors, hiking and camping. In fact, it’s the time we spent with them, bringing the kids out on vacations and enjoying the Montana wilderness that was a big influence in our decision to experience the great outdoors so much, living in our RV for part of the year. We went on a couple of hikes while they were visiting, and one of them was one of our favorites yet – here’s a link to pictures of that day: https://photos.app.goo.gl/aBStwg1Puim4UbpL8
After our friends left, we tried to spend an afternoon driving through Glacier National Park…we only made it 2 miles into the park and turned around and left. Half of the park is closed, so all visitors were crammed into the one half; they were limiting visitors to prevent overcrowding, and so they closed the roads going further into the park. It was a zoo! So many people, nowhere to go, so we left! Luckily, we’ve been there before and had seen most of what there is to see anyhow. So then it was off to our next stop, Missoula, Montana.
We’ve never been to this part of Montana before, so we’ve been excited to explore. Unfortunately, the weather has had other ideas. We arrived on Saturday afternoon, got a very nice hike in on Sunday, and just as we were returning to the RV on Sunday the rain started, and today is Tuesday and it’s still raining. Here’s the view out our window right now:
Has not stopped since Sunday….it’s 50 degrees, dreary and wet, and has been in the low 40s at night. Good sleeping weather, but that’s about it. So we’re catching up on some chores and grocery shopping and we have driven around Missoula a bit to see what there is to see. Here’s pictures from the one hike we have done here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/TrFpFLh5izJsKY92A
And then there’s the RV repairs….let me give you an update on that. I know I gave you some background in my last post. We scheduled an RV mobile repair for while we are in Missoula, to get the window latch repaired, and to replace the hot water heater electric element (we’ve been using the propane water heater since the electric heater element is burnt out). Well….I noticed yesterday the carpet in the dining area was very wet. The dining area is in a slide…so I went outside to investigate and figured out the slide seal that runs up and down along the slide is kinda bent, and it is letting water run into the underside of the slide room. And the subfloor of the slide room (dining area) is soaking up the water, and soaking up into the carpet. So that got added to the mobile repair list. But, that is not where it ended….I decided I should walk around the RV to look under the other side. So I walked under the “5th wheel” front end of the RV – where the hitch is that hooks into our truck bed. I do this all the time – you just duck under the hitch and don’t have to walk all the way around the RV – well, it was raining, and I had my rain coat on with the hood up, which was blocking part of my view. I couldn’t see the hitch very well, underestimated the amount of ducking to do, and wham! my forehead ran right into the hitch! It did not feel good, and ended up requiring 7 stitches at the nice Missoula urgent care Steve took me to. Yes I’m ok, just a nice bump on my forehead and some stitches that will come out in a few days. 🤕
So the mobile RV guy came out today, looked everything over and is going to repair the slide seal for us on Thursday. Thursday is our moving day, and our next spot is only a couple hours away, so we have a few extra hours and are taking the RV to his shop so it can get replaced. He’s also going to maintenance the cables that operate the 2 bedroom slides – we noticed some of the cables are looking loose and need tightened. And he’ll put in the electric water heater element then too. So much to learn about maintaining an RV, but it’s all good. The carpet will dry easy enough, and we’ll feel good about having the slides maintained. I always learn a lot spending time with these RV repair guys, and from friendly RV neighbors who are ready to help and pass along what they’ve learned.
So there you have it – a rather boring update, but sometimes it’s just every day life stuff out here too. Hoping for better weather as we meander our way west. We’re moving to St. Regis, Montana on Thursday, near the Idaho border. I’ll be sure to give you the report from there!
Howdy everyone! Its mid June 2020 and we are in northern Montana, near Glacier National Park. So wonderful to be out again in the RV, and in the mountains. There’s something about the mountains and the big sky out west that we just love.
We left June 2, 2020 for our 4th (do you believe it???) season of RV travel. We have not been in the RV since we returned back to Ohio last November. Feels like a very long time and we’re happy to be back in our home on wheels. Lots to update you on!
First, the RV: we almost traded in our Mobile Suites last fall/winter. We visited the factories of 2 other manufacturers: New Horizons and Luxe. We liked both makes, and were tempted to buy a new 5th wheel. But, in the end, we decided ours was still in very good condition and we will wait another year or so before we trade in. We’re glad for our decision since we would likely have had a significant delay in the building of a new RV had we moved forward, since the manufacturing plants shut down for awhile.
We did, however, have quite an adventure with our RV this spring . I’ll give you an overview and try to keep it short (you know I’m not very good at that! 🙂 ) We took the RV to our dealership in November when we returned, as usual. We had a list of things for them to repair/look at, as well as our usual “we’re not mechanical so please look everything over including brakes, wheels, etc to be sure it is in good condition for the long travel we do” request. They had it in service until mid-February. Seems the holidays and an RV show in Cleveland every winter get in the way of our service appointment. Anyhow, it was “done” and we picked it up at the dealer in Medina, Ohio, and drove it to our indoor storage unit in Springfield, Ohio – about a 3 hour drive. Our storage unit is about 1 mile off the interstate, and, literally as we pulled into the driveway of the storage facility, the RV skidded to a stop, lurching the truck. Big skid marks in the parking lot. Turns out a brake line had broken. We were extremely lucky this happened after we got off the interstate. We were pretty shaken about what could have happened. Anyhow, a phone call to the dealer, a couple of pictures sent and we figured out the broken brake line. We managed to “rock” the RV a little, and got the wheels unlocked and managed to get into our storage unit. So unhappy to say the least. We ended up hiring a repair shop, Andy’s Big Rig Brakes, locally, who came to our storage unit and replaced all the brakes, the entire wheel that was ruined from the brake line failure, and also replaced all 4 tires. Our extended warranty people came to examine the RV twice and ended up only paying for a small part (I know….shouldn’t be surprised….but we were anyhow!) We also took it to Cleveland to a special alignment place that determined our axles were out of alignment and corrected. I’ve written about this suspicion in other posts…we kept getting excessive tire wear – hoping this alignment fixes that issue too. We spent a lot of time on these repairs and discussions with the dealer about how unhappy we are with them not even looking at the brakes, in spite of our request they do so.
So, that was a big project and would be nice if that was all. But – wait! – there’s more! So we get the RV out of indoor storage in May, to get ready for our trip. The RV was winterized while at the dealer since it sits outside while it waits for its service there. I’m not a fan of the winterizing process, they run this pink stuff all through the water lines and it takes forever to get it all out again. Which is why we pay for an indoor storage unit. And, last year, when we picked up the RV from service, it was full of mice from being outside at the dealer so long. Alas, that is another story and I will save you that one! Anyhow, back to last month when we took the RV out of our indoor storage unit and brought it up to Columbus to get ready for this trip. I started the “unwinterizing” process, hooking water up and running water through all the pipes.
You may recall in previous posts how we had problems with our fresh water tank filling sometimes, even when we didn’t have it set to. I researched an found the check valve in the water system had a recall for a faulty valve. So, that was one of the things that was replaced when it was in for service this last time. They replaced the entire water hook up system, which included the water heater valve. When they winterize an RV, they set the water heater to “bypass” so you don’t get pink stuff in your water heater. Then, when you “unwinterize” you change it to “normal” on the water heater, to get the water heater tank to fill up. So I did this. And, after giving it ample time to fill up, I turned on the water heater. It kicked on, but water never got hot. So, I called a mobile RV repair guy who found out they installed the “bypass” and “normal” settings backwards for our hot water tank! Yup! The tank never got water into it because “normal” was really “bypass”. So when I turned on the water heater, it burnt out the heating element since there was no water in the tank.
We hear stories like this a lot. Really, I don’t know how things can get done so poorly all the time. But, lucky for us, we have a back up water heater that runs on propane, so we are doing without the electric heating element for the time being. I’m going to get it replaced somewhere along the way this summer. Oh well, I’m learning a lot!
Now on to the fun stuff! Our first destination this year was Minnesota to visit with Guy and Katelyn. We stayed again at Crystal Springs RV Resort. We love it there. It’s about 80 miles from Saint Paul, but it is beautiful and lots of acres for Gerry to run. Guy and Katelyn stayed with us for a few days, and Katelyn’s parents came to visit also. So nice to get to know them and spend a day together! I’m also happy to report that Aspire Sober Living added it’s 3rd home – we closed on the house the end of March, and it has been up and running one day after Guy moved in. Even with all the business closures, the sober community supports each other and many went out of their way to help Guy furnish the house and make repairs needed so the home could be occupied as soon as possible. Amazing stories of people helping way above and beyond. So thankful.
After leaving Minnesota, it was on to Bismark, ND to visit some Lewis and Clark sites. A nice museum and a replica of the fort they built in 1804 when they spent the winter there. Then on to Montana. First we went to Great Falls, Montana – we had this idea of kinda following the Lewis and Clark trail. So I had booked us into a RV park for 3 nights, thinking we would explore the area and maybe get in a hike. Well, I didn’t research the area enough, and we got there and were terribly disappointed. It is not a pretty area (despite the name sounding pretty!), and it is not in the mountains like I thought it would be. And the RV park was terrible. So, we left after one night. That’s one of the advantages of traveling by RV, we can be pretty flexible with our travel plans. So we arrived in Columbia Falls, Montana, where we are now, a couple of days early. We stayed in this same area 3 years ago, when we were on our maiden voyage, to Alaska. It’s fun to be back and remember places we visited then and to reminisce; and to realize how much we really didn’t know then about RVs! Not that we’re experts now, far from it, but we have learned a lot!
We’re spending a few weeks in Montana, at a few different locations. We love it here and are so glad to be back out in the mountains. We got out yesterday for our first hike – a beautiful hike through the pine forest up to an alpine lake. Wonderful. I think we all (Steve, me and Gerry) needed that hike! Now we’re going to relax and enjoy this area. Columbia Falls, Montana is also very close to the little towns of Whitefish and Kalispel. Each town has its own farmers market, so there are 3 each week. Perfect in our book!
Hello Friends! This is going to be a long post, so I suggest you get a cup of tea for the journey! I just made a cup of Vanilla Chamomile personally…and here’s the view out my window right this minute:
We’re in Angel Fire, NM, at about 8,400 elevation. Very windy and snowing off an on. Some strong wind gusts are rocking us a bit…I’m glad our RV is so heavy!! Mostly we’ve had beautiful weather for all of our time in NM. Sparkling blue skies, cool mornings, warm days and chilly nights. Perfect in our book! And the snow is pretty today. That’s a ski area you can see in the background in the picture. We have beautiful views right our our windows here. This morning, we had a herd of Elk in that meadow. Best guess is about 300 Elk. They were majestic, especially the males with their huge antlers.
Lots to catch up on! Sorry I’ve gotten behind (again!). I don’t know where the time goes, but it must go somewhere. It just flies by. After we left Chama, NM we headed for Santa Fe. The very first thing we did was have a tire changed on the RV. One of the curbside tires was wearing excessively (you may remember from previous posts this happened on our way back from Alaska too). We had the wheel hubs and shocks all replaced back then. And we had our tires and shocks all checked before we left on this trip. I am wondering if it is an alignment issue – we have an independent suspension, dual axle and I wonder if it’s out of alignment and that is causing the tire wear. Who knows. But, the tire worried us and we didn’t want to risk a flat tire on the road, so we made an appointment at a place in Santa Fe and went straight there from Chama. They got the tire changed, no problem. We’ll find out about the cause of the problem when we get back to Ohio and go to the dealership for our annual service.
We absolutely loved our time in Santa Fe. The New Mexico motto is “State of Enchantment”. I think it’s fair to say we are completely enchanted with New Mexico. At least the northern part of the state that we’ve traveled. Some day we’re going to have to go south and explore that part of the state. Anyhow, Santa Fe was fabulous. We hiked, explored galleries and museums and went to the Farmer’s Market. I know I said this last year when we went to the Santa Fe Farmer’s Market, but I have to say it again – it is AMAZING. It’s an adventure all in itself. And we’re like kids in a candy store, we buy so much until we can’t carry another thing. It’s held twice a week, and we made it to 3 markets during our time there.
We met so many interesting people at the market. We shared a table with lovely lady from Germany who spends 6 months each year in Santa Fe to write (she’s a published author); I bought a hat from a very nice elderly lady who raises Alpacas and Sheep, makes her own yarn from their wool and crochets hats and other items; we talked to countless farmers about their farms and how they operate; we purchased a painting from an artist who moved to Santa Fe from New Zealand because he found the scenery and light to be so wonderful. He’s had his art in shows all around the world and it was so nice he was there talking to us just like an ordinary person! I should clarify – we purchased a print of one of his paintings…we can’t afford the original! Here’s a picture of him with Steve:
You may have noticed Steve’s hat…we have totally embraced the culture here and hats are part of it! Everyone wears hats! I love it and we’ve had fun purchasing a couple of hats for ourselves. We also caught up with Steve’s high school friend Chris and her husband Bob again. We saw them last year when we visited Santa Fe also. One of the great joys of this lifestyle is being able to visit friends and family we wouldn’t normally get to see.
Then it was on to Angel Fire, which is about 2 hours north east of Santa Fe, about 20 miles outside Taos. We were here last year too. We think it is very pretty here, lots of mountains and good hiking. And Taos is a great town. Similar in many ways to Santa Fe, but much smaller. Very artsy, earthy, quirky, and fun to explore. They have a nice farmer’s market too which we have enjoyed. And guess what? There was a very nice lady there who raises her own Alpacas, and makes the wool into yarn. I couldn’t resist, I bought more yarn! I have purchased so much yarn I will be crocheting forever! But I can’t resist this beautiful yarn made with love from these ladies!
One of the highlights of our time here is The EPIC Hike we did a few days ago. We hiked Wheeler Peak, which is the tallest mountain in New Mexico, at 13,150 feet. We’ve been as high as 12,300, and have hiked 12,000 or higher several times. But we’ve never done a “thirteen’r” before. There are folks who hike all the “thirteen’rs and fourteen’rs”, there are many in Colorado – I can now safely assure you, we won’t be one of them! But, we did make it to the top and we’re glad we did! It was the hardest hike we’ve ever done. There’s a big difference between 12,000 and 13,000 I now know. Even though we’ve been in high altitude for several months now, we had a very hard time breathing at the top. We almost turned around several times during the last mile, but we kept pushing each other on and we made it! It was steep, rocky and difficult hiking for the last mile. Round trip, we hiked about 11 miles, and we climbed about 3,000 feet in elevation – we started at about 10,100. Gerry had no trouble at all, and when we reached the top, he ran right up to the peak and stood there looking at us. The view was spectacular – 360 view of the mountains and valleys all around. And very steep drop offs all around! It was freezing, windy and getting cloudy. We knew snow was in the forecast for that night, so we took a few quick pictures and headed down fast. An incredible experience and we’re thankful we could get it in before the snow moved in for the winter. Here’s pictures from the EPIC Hike: https://photos.app.goo.gl/z5vTnbqrtkFcDyZz9
Now for some updates on the RV: We’ve had some extreme cold temperatures the past several nights – single digits with wind chills well below zero. And that has created some challenges with RV living in this weather. Our furnace runs on propane. The propane tanks keep freezing during the night. We have 2, 40 pound tanks with a lever that activates one or the other. Several nights we have woken up during the night, cold, not hearing the furnace running. Steve has to go outside and switch from one tank to the other which has been fixing the immediate problem. For some reason, the tank that is in operation freezes. Steve made a trip to the local propane refill station and the guy there said it happens all the time. Steve got an insulation blanket thing and wrapped the tanks with it. It has helped a lot. And then there’s the water situation. I’ll do my best to explain it – I’m not mechanical so keep that in mind!
There are 2 ways to get running water in the RV – hook up to the campground provided water outlet (we always do this), or, fill up your fresh water tank and turn on the water pump installed in the RV. We almost never do it this way, since we prefer staying at RV parks with hookups. But, if you’re into more remote camping, with no hook ups, or need to spend a night in the Walmart parking lot, this is how you have water. Well, given the freezing temperatures, we cannot stay connected to the camp water outlet – it would freeze, break their pipes, and probably ours as well. So, when it’s this cold you fill up your fresh water tank during the day, and use it with the water pump for evening and early morning water, until it’s warm enough to hook up again. Simple enough – right? And our furnace runs heat through our underbelly, (a nice feature not all RVs have), so our fresh water tank and pump stay nice and warm and don’t freeze. At least that’s how it’s supposed to work. But a couple of mornings ago, we woke up to no water – the tank had froze. So we started leaving water drip from a faucet during the nights, and that solved that problem.
You may remember, during last year’s trip, we had the issue of the fresh water tank filling up even when we were using the camp water hook up. I had this checked out during our last service visit. They “couldn’t replicate the problem” so nothing was resolved. My research indicates there is a valve in the water pump that is supposed to stay closed when you’re using the water hookup – a check valve. Then, when you switch to using your fresh water tank, the water pump valve opens to allow water to flow through the pump. I think this check valve is failing and allowing water to get past the valve when we’re hooked up to the water outlet, therefore filling up the fresh water tank when we don’t expect it, then the tank overflows. Happened a couple of times last year. But hasn’t happened again until yesterday.
We spent the day yesterday hiking, and had the water hose hooked up to the RV and the camp water outlet. Was a nice sunny, warm day. When we got back to our RV, water was running everywhere outside. The fresh tank had filled up and was overflowing. Fortunately, there’s an overflow vent, so the extra water just kept flowing out of the tank onto the ground. So, even though we did not have the water set to go into the fresh tank, it did. I think it proves my theory of the check valve not working. That would have been bad enough, but, it doesn’t end there!
So, we figured we had our fresh water tank full for the night, which we needed anyhow, it was going to get very cold for the night. Steve disconnected the hose and set the water to be used from the fresh tank, with the water pump. The water pump turned on, and we could hear it, but no water would flow. We think the pump is completely failing. So, we had no water for the night or this morning. Luckily, the campground has very nice bathrooms and showers, and we brought water back to the RV and had our coffee and tea this morning (let’s get real – there are basics you just can’t do without!). I did more research, and found a recommendation to set the water setting as if you’re using the campground hookup, but don’t connect the hose, and turn on the water pump instead. It worked! We have running water, at least for now!
Sorry for the long story about the water, but it’s part of this wonderful journey we’re having and life in an RV! We have 4 more days in Angel Fire, then we’re off to Oklahoma City. Steve will do some work there, then we’ll head for Ohio and this part of the adventure will be over. We’ll be getting the RV serviced (and a new water pump installed) then putting it into storage again. It’s always a little sad at the end of the trip, we love our RV life so much. But we’re always happy to be back home again and see family and friends. We’re so grateful we get to do both!
It’s still snowing and blowing outside so I’m going to make a new cup of tea and sit by the fire and watch the winter wonderland out the window. The giant Ravens are flying around, so pretty against the white snow. Steve’s out getting our propane tanks filled, each tank only lasts about 3 or 4 days when we’re running the furnace this much. Gerry’s sleeping in front of the fire. Life is good.
