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Adventure Away from the RV
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| May 18, 2006: Something
that grandparents should do is go to the grandchildren's softball
games. Last night I got that chance in Klamath Falls at Courtney's
softball game. She got "squeezed" between third base and
home plate but managed to slide her way to a score. This is her first
year playing softball. She is 9 in the 8-12 year old league. |
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June 28, 2006: I had to stop by the
house in Grants
Pass, yes the cherries are ready to pick and I have plenty of neighbors
who are ready to pick them. Our tree has four different varieties
but I don't have the time for any of them. |
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| June 29, 2006: Today was
a day to travel to Reno, Nevada to visit my son Ben. Ben has taken a new
job in Reno and has bought a house which needs a little repair. The drive
to Reno from southern Oregon is about 6 - 7 hours and one of my favorite
drives. The drive takes me around Mt. Shasta on California Highway 89 through
a remote area of Northern California. Some incredible scenery of Mt. Shasta
and volcanic geology. No towns between McCloud and Susanville. Wide open
forest and meadows with a few campgrounds and RV parks along the way. There
are small towns located between 1 and 5 miles off the highway. Susanville
begins the travel along the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
After arriving at Ben's new house, we discussed the list of priorities needing
repair or remodel then went to dinner where Ben conveniently forgot his
wallet but promised to supply food for the rest of the weekend. The view
below is of the southern side of Mt. Shasta soaring to more than 14,000
feet. |
| June 30, 2006: Today's
job is to install a dog door for Jackson and Amber. Ben wants the
dog door in one of the walls next to the sliding glass door. These
walls were made with 2 x 6 fir covered with 1/2" plywood then
with 1/2" sheet rock. This makes it particularly difficult. Ben
has purchased a very nice two cover dog door to retain heat in the
winter and cool air in the summer. |
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Jackson is already investigating what
will become his door. This is the interior side of the door. |
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| This is the exterior side of the door.
Each side of the doors fit snuggly into the holes but Ben also caulked
all the seams to be sure no dirt, air or water will penetrate the dog
door. Each side of the dog doors has a sliding cover to seal off the
doors. |
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The interior side of the door is installed
and ready for Jackson and Amber. Both dogs used a dog door at the
previous house Ben lived in so it did not take them long to start
using their new door. |
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| July
2, 2006: During my trip to Reno to help Ben make some changes to his
new home, Mindy came to help on part of the weekend. Mindy lives in
Truckee, California, only a short drive to Reno. Mindy loves living
in the Truckee-Tahoe area. She has a new German Shepherd puppy named
Gunnar. Gunnar is the only focus in her life right now and she is
enjoying every minute. It has been 5 years since Morgan has been a
puppy so spending a couple of days with Gunnar brought back memories
of what puppies are like. Gunnar is a really sweet puppy and Mindy
is making sure Gunnar becomes a really nice companion. Part of Mindy's
plan to make Gunnar into her best friend is dog training classes. |
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It happens that Mindy has chosen to go to classes taught by Jeanie
Collins Duffield a Canine Behavior Consultant. You can check
out her Website here. Gunnar's lessons will start in about three
weeks. In the interim time, Mindy is having fun with short hikes,
and visiting dog stores like "Healthy
Tails" in west Reno where she could hardly keep Gunnar still
when she became the focus of attention. Jeanie Collins Duffield was
on a store visit and that's the reason for Mindy's visit. I'm glad
she took me today because it was a great little store that Morgan
would love. |
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| July 3, 2006: I drove from Reno to Lodi, California (about 2.5 hours) to visit with my parents during the July 4 holiday. July 3, however is a big picnic day in Lodi with a couple of bands, presentation of the flag and tap dancers. |
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The three of us above are intent on seeing and hearing what the bands had to play. The Lodi Community band played on .. and on.. and on.. and on.. |
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| From the band's perspective, the crowd looked like a mass of red, white and blue. Each picnic participant got a free American flag. |
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July 4, 2006: This was a good visit. Bands last night and a few repairs today. The light switch in the bedroom no longer worked but with my Mother's help we soon discovered it was the wall receptacle, not he switch. Can you believe the hardware store was open on July 4. Once the receptacle was replaced, the light worked again. Mom and Dad reluctantly decided to put their motor home onto Craig's list. It's time to sell or at least trade up. The photo to the left is our parting photo, you can click the photo for a larger view. |
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| July 5, 2006: Do you recognize this town? This is a night time view of Reno from Ben's deck. He has three levels of decks to choose this view. You can click this photo for a larger view. |
| July 8, 2006: Today my daughter, Mindy, sent me a photo she took of my son Ben and myself during a Mexican food meal in Reno, Nevada. I thought it was pretty good even though I look like a dork. This was after a long day of remodel and repair to Ben's new house. You can see a good photo of Mindy, here. I sure like Ben's shirt, I think he should give that shirt to his Dad! |
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| July 10, 2006: North of Yreka in northern California, you'll find a roaming dragon watching for tasty bugs and beatles traveling Interstate 5. There must not be many because the dragon looks skinny. Mt. Shasta is in the background across this long, hot valley. Click on the photo to see a much larger view of the dragon. |
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| July 11, 2006: Today was a special lunch day where I got to have lunch with Chapter 37 of the Escapees RV Club. It looks like a small club doesn't it but I guess everyone else is out on the road enjoying the country. Starting on the left is Tom the club President, then Dick, Joe, Yvonne-Treasurer, Phil, Carol, Dale, Isabel and Diane-Secretary. It was good to hear their stories and plans for RVing this summer. I still haven't found anyone who would like to meet us in Arizona in December however. Click on the photo to see a larger view. |
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| August 26, 2006: Today we went in search of the Iron Horse Reservoir south of us in Northern California. We stayed at the Klamath River Resort last year and the Iron Horse Reservoir is only about a mile from that resort. We were hoping to find the back way into the Reservoir and check the resort to learn of any new building projects. Instead we ended up "four-wheeling" in our Toyota Camry ... never did find the correct route. The Camry, however, has many new scratches and lots of dirt inside and out. |
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| September 15, 2006: Ah! Yes! The reason we live in Oregon ... the above photo is commuter traffic on Interstate 5 passing through Sacramento at 4 pm. I'm sure there are many who see this every day but I have seen more cars on this day than I see in southern Oregon in a whole year. Gwen and I are on our way to a wedding in El Dorado Hills California, about 10 miles from Placerville, California. The photo below the commuter traffic is of downtown Placerville, a historic California gold rush town. |
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September 16, 2006: My niece Shannon and her Father, Ed, are marching toward a gazebo at Sogno Winery in Shingle Springs, California about 10 miles from Placerville. Everything about this day was perfect. The weather was perfect and it was a perfect setting. Shannon is my niece (the daughter of my sister Sandy). She has married Forrest. We learned at the wedding that they met in an online dating location, emailing and telephoning each other before actually meeting. They have known each other for three years. They both have good jobs in Sacramento but live in Woodland, about 25 miles from Sacramento. |
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| September 17, 2006: On the return trip to Oregon, you will find Castle Craigs near Dunsmuir, California. These are always a surprise as you come around a bend in Interstate 5 into full view of the Craigs. They are left over from the volcanic activity in the area when surrounding hills have been eroded away. There is a California State Park just off Interstate 5 where many miles of trails begin into this rugged area. Gwen says she hiked to the top of the Craigs when she was "in her 40's". I've not done any hiking in the area but it will give us something to try once we can travel. |
| September 18, 2006: We are at an intersection in Mt. Shasta City, elevation, about 2,500 feet. Only a few miles from the end of this road is the summit of Mt. Shasta, 14,162 feet. This is the end of summer so the least amount of snow still remains on the mountain. Believe it or not, this is still NOT the highest peak in California but it is the most impressive. The highest peak is Mt. Whitney, a few feet higher but it gets to that altitude gradually as the Sierra Nevada Mountains build to the south. |
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October 11, 2006: Time to take the big Dodge Turbo Diesel into the shop, the check engine light came on and won't go off. According to the mechanic, it was a faulty battery sensor which was fixed by an ungrade to the truck computer software. They still got over $70 to change the fuel filter. |
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| October 17, 2006: Could I convince you that I pulled our King of the Road along this scenic route. There probably are roads like this in Oregon but, no, these are photos sent to me by a friend of the "road of death" in Bolivia. Our King of the Road is about 12.5 feet tall and I doubt it would fit through the tunnel. |
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The "road of death" is found in Bolivia. My first thought was what fun this would be on a bicycle. So why don't these photos show traffic on the road? This must still be much better than the alternative. |
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| October 19, 2006: This past weekend Gwen drove with three girlfriends to Portland for a special event. They used "Grandma's" Ford Escort station wagon for the trip. Problem is, they got only a few miles north of Grants Pass when the FORD quit. It was a mystery why it quit (remember, I said it was a FORD, you don't need to know anything else.) |
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It only took AAA 15 minutes to come to the rescue. It must have been a frightening sight for the tow truck driver to see these four women on the side of Interstate 5. They all sqeezed into the back seat of the tow truck. They switched cars and continued the trip. Still don't know what's wrong with the FORD. |
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| November 17, 2006: We are in Hood River, Oregon for one extra night following the conference I was attending. Today was a day to explore the downtown shopping. This view is over the top of the downtown shops, the Columbia River is on the edge of town. The state of Washington is on the other side of the Columbia. This is a town full of wind-surfing stores, the main activity in Hood River. |
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| July 10, 2007: If you check the Escapees Webpage for chapter information, you'll find a description of the Chapter 37 monthly luncheons. I'm a member of Chapter 37 so attended the lunch today along with 14 other campers. It's always special to get to visit with these folks. A couple of today's campers were headed out for trips after lunch. Dick and Doris are on their way to Alaska while Al and Sue are headed to the Oregon coast. It was 364 days ago that I was at another of the Chapter 37 lunches. |
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