We are off to......: 2016

Introduction

We are off to.... is our Blog to allow family, friends, and others that are interested to follow us on our extended RV travels.

We aren't full time RVers but like to take extended trips of a month or more as often as we can. We prefer public agency campgrounds like State and National Parks, US Forest Service, etc. We do use some RV Parks if they are the closest or most convenient place to things we want to see or do.

We will attempt to provide information on the various campgrounds we stay in, things to do in the area, and pictures of what we see.

Friday, September 9, 2016

Patrick's Point State Park, Trinidad, CA

We spent 9/2-8 at Patrick's Point State Park which we have planned on doing a number of times over the last few years. Something always came up and we had to adjust plans. We had planned to do an extended trip in August and September but medical appointments limited the window we had to make all the destinations. Patrick's Point survived the cuts.

Our good friends Kevin and Pauline are the hosts in the Abalone Campground and always wanted us to come up and spend some time with them. Even though the campground was packed for the Labor Day weekend we still really enjoyed our time. The campground was closed on Monday afternoon for replacement of the water system but we were allowed to stay along with the hosts until Thursday when the water and all power was cut off. It was heaven to be in a campground with 85 sites and only two occupied (us and the hosts).

During our stay we met most of the rangers, the supervising ranger, and most of the staff. On Tuesday Kevin and Pauline invited a number of them to come for a taco dinner and bring their wives. Linda pitched in and made rice and beans and a fresh peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream. I don't know how many tacos Kevin made but he filled at least three 9x11 pans.

It was obvious that all the staff really appreciated having Kevin and Pauline as park hosts. We observed them doing a great job of taking care of the park and campers relieving the rangers of dealing with smaller issues.

During our stay we went to the Samoa Cookhouse near Eureka for breakfast. It is the old cookhouse for all that worked in the lumber mills in the area. Each day they have a specialty such as French toast, hash browns or pancakes but also serve all you can eat biscuits and gravy, eggs, sausage or bacon etc. You won't leave there hungry. After feasting we went to the town of Ferndale to check out the shops and the Victorian homes. Oh.... and to have some pie and ice cream.

There is lots to do in the area with Loleta Cheese factory in Loleta and Clendenen's Cider Works in Fortuna as well as shopping in Arcata (Holly-Yashi) in the square. North of Patrick's Point is Fern Canyon, Redwoods National parks and Lady Bird Grove.

Our Campsite

View from the Rim Trail

Story teller at the campfire program

Craft projects at the visitor center

Sunset

Shopping buddies at Trinidad...

Trinidad Head Lighthouse

Views from Trinidad Head

Ferndale Victorian

Taco night

Taco master Kevin

Anticipating peach cobbler and ice cream

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Rally Wrapup

We arrived home on Monday about 2 pm to 94 degree weather. Certainly would like to be back at Wallowa Lake until it cools down at home. Overall it was a great trip and we really enjoyed connecting with old friends and meeting new people.

Below is a post covering most of the Rally.

2016 N.R.O.A. Rally
The year of the perfect weather! Seriously, we couldn't have done any better, it was gorgeous! We wont even get into how hot last year was....

Early bird Monday started with putting up the Big top, Northwood employees were there just shortly after 8, and our Big Top was up in a matter of minutes. Many thanks to the extra muscles that jumped in and helped move picnic tables, and set up chairs.

Right after we finished with the Big top a small group left for the motorcycle and ATV ride with Adam. He did his homework this year, and they should have had an excellent view of both the Grand Rhonde Valley and Ladd Canyon. We’ve had such a long cool spring that the scenery should have been really nice. (He said he only missed intrepid one of his directions...)

Evening brought our annual dinner out at Mamacita’s. They reserved the whole basement for us again this year, and we pretty much filled it. I think last count was 49. It’s sooo good to see so many familiar faces, and even several new ones!

I think after dinner a bunch of us had the same idea, we stopped at Safeway, and kept laughing every time we ran into yet another rally member.

When we got back to the park Vernon had the fire going, and the kids grabbed S’more fixins and they were gone.

Tuesday was gorgeous with mid 70's and a light breeze (just enough to keep the mosquitto’s away!) The park is starting to fill up! Rigs just keep coming in, and there are small groups gathering and catching up. At 1pm Bingo started, with a table full of prizes. Several games were played and Blackout finished out the afternoon.

At 7pm it was the official start to the rally with the Meet and Greet. We have a few travelers among us with Colorado, Florida, Arizona, and Brittish Columbia all represented (just to mention a few.) Adam made a few announcements, and then each group introduced themselves. Hot Lakes Park Owners Mike and Tamarah and kids were there also.

While it may have been hard for some to hear, we appreciate your patience, as the PA system is not wireless so the mike could not be passed around. Its on the wish list.....

Wednesday morning came with a bang! Scott had the coffee going to wake us all up. Thanks Scott, you take care of us every year! Classes started with Plug it right. Dutch and Di have been with us almost every year for as long as I can remember, and you know every time I see Di, she is working away either on the phone with a customer, or taking care of one in person.

Ladd Marsh walk with Cathy Norwalk started at the same time, and a good sized group met outside of the building. We walked out into the marsh area on a dike. We saw Blue Heron, Yellowheaded Blackbirds, American Coot, Swansens Hawk, and Cathy taught us to listen to the songs of the birds. A lot of the times they hide, so you have to listen for them.

We got back to the park, and Northwood had been bringing in the display models. We had a 25W, 35-5z, 235RL5, 32A, Nash 26N, and a 21Sw.

The ladies had also set up in the extension of the building, and had quilts and projects going. They really create some beautiful pieces. We still have one in our trailer that will be treasured for years and years.

At 10:30 Donna Smeal’s Genealogy class started with information on going paperless and using drop boxes. She was helping everyone to utilize today’s technology.

At 1pm, (yes this is a very full day!) Cathy Norwalk came back and did a slide show on the painted turtles in the area. She had attached transmitters on several and tracked their movements. They can cover miles in a day! That’s really amazing considering some of the terrain. The largest she found was 3 ¨ö pounds, and their shells get to dinner plate size.

3pm ICE CREAM SOCIAL!! Yay!!

Do I need to say anything more on this event? =)Watermelon, grapes, Cantaloupe, Fresh Pineapple, Strawberries, Brownies, Hot Fudge, Peanuts, Gummi Bears, and Vanilla Ice Cream....what more could you ask for?

4pm...I think this is the most entertaining event of the whole rally. You really don’t know what kinds of things are wrapped in all of that paper....This years event went just over 2 and ¨ö hours which was long, but it was fun. Some of the gifts were camo, and bright orange toilet paper, stuffed puppy slippers, a few bottles of wine, a gorgeous red white and blue towel (We love you Di! ) a very nice picnic set, ....um and envelope sealer....(?) and an M&M canister with a bag of M&M’s, and guess what?!!?? The purple pig is back along with the plastic doll! Haha! There was a lot of stealing and several gifts were frozen.

The rest of the evening was spent relaxing and visiting. Several of the kids met at the fire for Smores.

Thursday morning ....coffee coffee coffee! Thanks again Scott–you keep us going!

The ladies are busy with sewing machines running, and sharing ideas, projects, pictures of past projects, and new materials!

10am Skymed set up in the building and brought donuts for all.

Skymed shared information on travel insurance that covers you anytime you are traveling whether it be in the R.V. or a cruise ship or even just at home running to the store. It is insurance that goes way beyond your normal medical. Not only do they provide you with emergency transportation they also will bring your unit home and if you don't want them to drive it back then they will pay to bring out someone you trust to bring it back! This service does so much more then I thought.

11:30 is Celia’s with Tom and Jill Stuntz.

These products are sooo good. They sell flavored vinegars and oils. I’ve personally tried several of the flavored vinegars, and I love them. Tom and Jill fed the entire room showing examples of how to use these products. We tasted a dessert nacho, pizza, a rice dish, and then there were the bread squares so you could taste the individual flavors.

A good example mentioned during the class was that most people use granny smith apples to make apple pie, and they add sugar. If you use their vinegars, you would do the opposite. You buy the sweet apples like fuji and add the cinnamon vinegars to take some of the sweet out. This way you are not adding refined sugars. Tom also went over proper storage of things like olive oils, and the differences between what you buy in the store, and what they sell.

Next class up was the L.E.D seminar with Mike Philips. His class was quite informative and I think he did a great job with the Q&A session afterwards.
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5:30 is potluck! We usually have to add tables to the serving tent as we (always!) Have amazing cooks in camp. I think we had 8 -6 foot tables set up this year, and every one of them were full.

If you can imagine it, I think you could have found it on one of those tables.

We finished off the night with a few more games of Bingo.

Friday is the big excursion to Sumpter! Buses were suppose to be there at 8 am to load and leave at 8:15....we made the announcement the night before so everyone would be ready....AND....in spite of even confirming just 2 days before....the buses were late. *sigh*

No worries it all seemed to work out. 3 tour buses loaded with rally goers and we were on the road. We made it to McEwen station and with 107 of us we rode the old Steam train 6 miles into Sumpter. Some of us in open cars, and some on enclosed ones. We could see old trailing piles from the Dredges in the past on the way there along with the gorgeous mountains in the background. The weather was perfect. Rain was predicted, but we had sunny blue skies. Once we got to Sumpter we toured in 3 different groups. Each got to see the Museum, do a walking tour and go on the Old Sumpter Dredge to see how it worked back in the day. Then a sack lunch and a bottle of water was provided.

7 pm we finished the day with a Social. Many snacks and different kinds of wines were shared. Bill Zawlocki showed a slide show from the previous years, and we all got a good laugh or two. Adam also presented Bill with a bottle of one of his favorite wines (we found out later –what luck!) And an Arctic fox throw blanket.

We really appreciate all of the slide shows you’ve done Bill, they will be treasured.

Saturday–as always the rally goes so fast. Fun times and great memories, and it just flies by way to quickly.

The ladies have set up in the building again and it’s all sewing machines and elbows as beautiful projects take shape.

I had to take pics of all of them this year.

10am Torklift got there presentation started - Showing their latest products

By 11:45 Northwood employees were there and set up putting out raffle prizes, and handing out tickets and free hats.

Lunch was served, and it was great as always. Afterwards a little presentation was made from the group to Adam. They had an N.R.O.A flag made, and unbeknownst to us had been signed by many many attendees. Thank you guys, we love it!!

Now the raffle begins! Prizes included a charcoal grill, Arctic Fox doormats, Patio mats, Walmart gift cards, Ninja blenders, Electric wine bottle openers, roadside tool kits, and many many more. Plugitright and Torklift donated raffle prizes as well.

The grand prize you ask??

A Traegger grill ....wow!

That’s a big day to top, so at 7 we met for popcorn and an oldies but a goodie. The movie was Road to Singapore with Bing Crosby, Bob Hope & Dorothy Lamour.

Now it’s time for our last campfire. The teenages are all congregated at the playground, and the Screech owls are starting their song behind us (it sounds more like someone being tortured!)

Sunday morning potluck breakfast is always a smaller group, in fact we all fit into the building! Clean up afterwards goes so fast I think my head spins. Thank you to all of the helping hands that just jumped right in. We got the building cleaned, the tent taken down, and the chairs and tables loaded up.

Before we knew it all was done and the trailer was packed up and ready.

Adam does an amazing amount of preparation for this rally each year, but you know we walk away each year with amazing memories, and happy hearts. We are so blessed to have such wonderful people in this group. By the time we pull out Sunday we are tired, but it’s such a "good" tired. Thank you to each and every one of you. May you have safe and happy travels until we meet again. Hopefully next year!!

A few photo's in no particular order.

http://s1341.photobucket.com/user/nr...w/2016%20Rally

Disclaimer. Above was written up by Donna but I could not get her to post it under her own username.....

We plan to do it all again next year!!!!

Friday, June 24, 2016

NROA Rally< La Grande, OR

We are currently at Grande Hot Springs RV Resort in La Grande, OR. It is at the same location the 2015 NORA Rally was held but it was called Eagle Hot Lake RV Park then. New owners have taken over the facility and have made some improvements with more planned or in the works.

There have been a number of activities this week and we have participated in some of them. Others we passed on as we have done them before, such as the tour of the Northwood factory.

The maximum number of sites for the Rally is 75 and it was full or very close to it so there was at least 150 people attending.

In the background you can see several models that Northwood brings over for all to look over and inspect. Each year there is a different mix of units.

The red and white striped canopy is for outdoor activities and the tent next to the building is the overflow from the main meeting room. A large garage style door opens up to make it one large room.

This is just the first row of trailers and ours is the second one behind the silver truck.

On the northern edge of the park is Hot Lake fed by hot springs.

Every year we have attended there has been a pair of Osprey raising a couple chicks.

Last year Kevin was letting his truck idle while he was taking care of some other tasks. One of our group yelled to him to turn off the threshing machine. Dodge/Ram trucks are noted for being noisier than the newer model GM trucks. So I made up a couple International Harvester logos with magnetic strips and we put them on his truck when he wasn't looking. Two others were blamed until I admitted that I was the culprit. All got a lot of good laughs.

Each year we have an ice cream social one afternoon and a white elephant gift exchange afterwards. It is a lot of fun with many funny items and a few that are really nice which get stolen until they are frozen.

I got 100' of new rope but it was stolen and then wound up with a hand mixer of sorts.

Most days the tent portion was used by the ladies for crafts, sewing and quilting.

Linda said that with the quilting they did at Wallowa Lake and here she felt she has been on a long quilt retreat. She has really has been enjoying it and visiting while doing so.

Eight of us having dinner at Mamacita's on Friday night.

Tomorrow is the Northwood sponsored barbecue and raffle. Each trailer gets a prize and there are several very nice prizes. Last year the grand prize was a MacBook.

Sunday we will start for home with a stop for the night in Winnemucca, NV.

Monday, June 20, 2016

Last few days at Wallowa Lake (Updated)

It isn't often you find an RV Park that is located in such a beautiful location. It is ever rarer to find one with ample spacing between sites and great views. Park at the River is just such a place and the owners and staff are fantastic!!!!

Kevin & Pauline's site on the left and our site on the right.

We wound up eating at Vali's Restaurant on five nights and this was our last dinner there. Left to right: Sheryll, Linda, Pauline, me, Kevin, Al, Ken and Paula.

On Father's Day we had a potluck dinner with marinated chicken and vegetable skewers, pork tenderloin roast, baked beans, green beans and salad. Great meal. Linda is checking to see that everything is ready.

Deer are everywhere and this buck wandered in to see if we had set a place for him.

Relaxing after a great meal.

On Monday we had reserved a pontoon boat for a couple of hours so we could cruise around the lake and view the sights.

Sheryll was taking the picture.

The pontoon boat is in the upper left of the picture.

Cruising

Captain Kevin

We saw a Bald Eagle fly over and land in a tree but couldn't get a picture of it. Further down the shore we saw a nest that we are pretty certain had two Osprey in it.

It was just a perfect day to be out on the water.

This picture and the one below show why this is called the Alps of Oregon.

As we returned to the marina we went by the nest area of a Bald Eagle pair but saw no birds.

One of the interesting things in Joseph is its bronze foundries. There are a number of beautiful bronze statues around town, some quite large. This is a statue of Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce tribe that the town was named for.

Would you believe these two ate all this pizza? Well maybe not all without the help of two other couples. This was our last night in Joseph and dinner at the Embers Restaurant. Great pizza!!!

Tomorrow we will move on to LaGrande, OR for the Northwood RV Owners Association (NROA) Rally. We have certainly enjoyed our time here in Joseph and at Wallowa Lake.

Friday, June 17, 2016

Wallowa Lake and Hells Canyon

The ladies continue to use the Park meeting room as their personal sewing room. They won't be able to use it after Thursday as the room is booked for the weekend.

There are Bald Eagles nesting near the lakeshore and fly up the river in search of fish. While sewing Linda saw one landing near the river in front of the meeting room. Sheryll grabbed her camera with a telephoto lens and got a great picture.

Friday turned out to be a nice day with temperatures in the mid 60s and partially cloudy.

There is a road from Joseph to Halfway, OR that is part of the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway. When I was working an calling on a customer in Halfway I always wanted to take the road. In those days it was a gravel road and as it was usually later in the day they advised against it. Last year construction was completed and it is now completely paved and open for the season as of June 15th.

Linda and I decided to take it after checking with the Forest Service as it is still a Forest Service road (FS 39). We didn't go all the way to Halfway but to the Hells Canyon Overlook which was 50 miles from Wallowa Lake and our RV Park.

There is a beautiful valley at the beginning of FS 39 or more commonly know as Wallowa Mountain Road. The road climbs from 4000' to just over 6000' at Salt Creek Summit. On the south side there are a series of switchbacks that take you down into the Imnaha River valley and then back up to the ridge with the overlook.