NOTES FROM THE NORTHWEST

According to my wife, a few family members and the large audience of faithful readers.... (at least 3) have inquired about our whereabouts and well being.  So here is the bullet point version of what we have been up to for the last month.

1.  Had car repaired.  It was more expensive than I thought.  Two thousand dollars.  I have to say that Allied Insurance and the body shop were great to work with.

2.  Went to the Evergreen Aviation and Space museum in McMinnville to see the Spruce Goose.

3.  Joined the Elks.

4.  Had Thanksgiving with family.

Oh, did I forget to mention it rained.  It rained some more.   It kept raining.  It rained so much that we had moss and mildew growing in our window seals.  It rained so much even Mollie refused to go outside.  She just sat by the door with her legs crossed hoping for the rain to at least let up long enough for her to take care of business.

We also got to follow the antics of the Occupy Portland movement.  Based on what we saw on television I'm not really sure what they accomplished except to destroy a couple of beautiful parks and leave the taxpayers with several million dollars in repairs and overtime bills, not to mention the lost business for the local merchants.

I do understand the frustration that people are feeling right now, but there must be a better way to work for change. As a small business owner I am only too aware of our current governmental policies and lack of leadership.  I don't care whether you are Republican or Democrat, I think we can all agree that there is a giant void between most of us and Washington.  There that is my political rant for the rest of the year.  By the way did I mention it rained a lot in Portland.

We were packed up and hit the road while the part of Portland that wasn't protesting was shopping.  We were rewarded by our effort with a beautiful sunny day.  Wow Oregon is a pretty state when it stops raining.  Our first night found us in Yreka Ca. at a convenient but expensive park just off the highway.  Our second night found us in Chico Ca.  We decided to try out the Elks rv park.  We paid half the price as the night before, and were just as happy, so happy that we stayed two nights.  We then moved south to the Escapees park in Coarsegold.  We were here to visit Yosemite and did make one trip up to the park.  We had planned to go back, but with the high winds predicted, decided it would be best to stay home.  Other than losing power for a few hours the wind didn't really bother us.  I won't bore you with the details, since the national media covered the story pretty well.  I think because this park was built into the side of a hill, we were protected from the heaviest of the winds.  Just south of us in Fresno it was a very different scene.    

This morning we decided it was time to see the coast so we hooked up and headed west.  We made a quick stop in Medera to fill our propane tank and enjoyed the drive in the sun.  Things were going smoothly, too smoothly as it turned out.  We were less than 15 miles from our destination when our GPS thought it would be fun to mix things up a bit.  Normally I cross check our directions with Google map before we leave, but neglected to this morning.  Our GPS decided to take us the shortest way, not the fastest.  Never mind that the short route went up the side of a mountain.

Those of you that know me know that I am pretty fearless, or foolhardy depending on your point of view, when it comes to taking our 40 foot motorhome and towed Explorer down narrow country roads.  Well I think this may have been the most daring or foolhardy thing I've done in a long time.  By the time I decided this wasn't a good idea there was no room to turn around.  In fact there was barely enough room to go forward.  So for the next 10 miles we crept up the  one side of the mountain and down the other.  I'm sure the 3 or 4 cars that met us wondered who the fool was that decided to take a motorhome on this road.  So I'll finish by saying that if you find yourself in California, a little north of Salinas, you might want to avoid taking the San Juan Canyon road otherwise known as the Old Stage road.  Just saying....

We did manage to find our way to the Salinas Elks where we are safely secured for a few days.  So now you know what the TireSwing gang has been up to. By the way, did I mention it rains a lot in Portland.

Until later.