Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Oregon

Although we're now in Washington State, I have more Oregon activities to report on. We stayed for a couple of nights at the Timber Valley Escapees Coop, located in Sutherlin, Oregon.
From Sutherlin

They assigned us the first site on the corner, visible just past the office, by which everyone coming and going passes. We had a constant parade of Escapees walking and driving by, looking at our rig and noticing the satellite dishes on the roof.
From Sutherlin

The odd thing is that this site belongs to a couple I know from Hart Ranch. I noticed their names, Nullet and Sandi Schneider, on the shed, and a neighbor told me they had left for Hart Ranch not long ago!
From Sutherlin

From Sutherlin

This is a beautiful park, where the leaseholders obviously take a lot of pride in their surroundings. Flowers adorn everything, including the water supply.
From Sutherlin


And the Escapees trademark, a house in a wagon, is the means of delivering the water.
From Sutherlin


They even built a house to adorn the dump station!
From Sutherlin

Wild turkeys like it here.
From Sutherlin

And so do the deer.
From Sutherlin

They keep the grass watered.
From Sutherlin

And keep it from growing too tall.
From Sutherlin

Sutherlin is a peaceful, small town in Southern Oregon. They provide free WiFi at several places in town, and make sure you know where it is with frequently seen signs such as these.
From Sutherlin

From Sutherlin

They must have known we were coming, since there were businesses bearing our names. There's Digger Don's Diner...
From Sutherlin

...and Sharon's Upholstery.
From Sutherlin

We liked this unique mailbox made out of a transmission case.
From Sutherlin

Sutherlin is a small town, and I think it grew by several thousand that weekend because of the Blackberry Festival and Car Show. Here are several photos, out of the dozens I took.
From Sutherlin

From Blackberry Festival

If only I still had my Corvette...This one was for sale, priced $75,000.
From Blackberry Festival

From Blackberry Festival

Notice the dog.
From Blackberry Festival

Don liked this 1929 Ford.
From Blackberry Festival

There are a few more photos in my Picasa Web Albums, for those interested in cars. And I can add even more, if requested.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Petaluma, Santa Rosa, Mt Shasta, Medford

Wow! We've been really busy since my last post, so this entry will be a conglomeration of several things.

We stayed at the Petaluma Elks Lodge #901 for a couple of nights to visit Don's aunt and uncle in Santa Rosa. The Santa Rosa Fairgrounds, closer to their home, had an event going on and we couldn't get in there. After we left, some friends reminded us that they live about 10 miles from Santa Rosa and we're welcome to park at their place. So now we have another option when we return.

From RV Sites

Many Elks Lodges provide RV parking, and the donation $, usually set by the lodge, helps support their community activities as well as providing comfortable places to park. We often have meals at the lodges, and always meet friendly folks who can offer great advice about things to do and see in their area. Some only allow you to park in their parking lot, but others provide partial or full hookups (water, electric, sewer), as does this one. There was even a grassy area in back of the RVs where Shadow enjoyed rolling on his back.

The primary reason for coming here was to visit Della and Gene McKamey. Aunt Della is Don's late Mother's sister.

From Friends & Family


She fed us royally while we were there, including some traditional Swedish potato dumplings, called Kroppkakor, filled with salt pork and allspice. They were yummy! The next night she cooked the abalone that Don's nephew John raised in his aqua culture farm near Santa Cruz, and had saved in the freezer for us. It was the first time I'd eaten this delicacy in many years, and Della really knows how to cook them -- what a treat!

From Santa Rosa and Petaluma


We had lunch with Della and Gene at Dempsey's beside the Petaluma River in the historic part of town. More photos are in the web album.

From Santa Rosa and Petaluma


Driving further north in California, we spent a night in McCloud at Dance Country RV Park, a nice, quiet place near Mt. Shasta.
From RV Sites


After a brief visit with Don Moore, a friend of mine from the Montana Owners Club who lives in Mt. Shasta City, we enjoyed an authentic Mexican dinner at Casa Ramos and a drive out to Lake Siskiyou and around the area. The weather here is beautiful in the summer, but I wouldn't want to spend a winter here in the high country where lots of white stuff falls out of the sky. Remnants of last winter's snowfall are still on top of Mt. Shasta in August!

From RV Sites


Leaving California behind for now, we drove to Phoenix, Oregon, near Medford, to visit our good friend Sandy Baleria. Her husband, Dave, suddenly passed away a year and a half ago. She established the Dave Baleria Center for Victory Over Grief (http://victoryovergrief.homestead.com/), through which she helps others, as well as herself, deal with the loss of a spouse. Dave's mother Billie Raney, joined us as Sandy treated us to a wonderful Chinese dinner.

From Friends & Family


We stayed overnight in the same park where Sandy now lives in her 5th wheel.

From RV Sites


From RV Sites


It's beside a creek where there are places to sit and watch the water flow by.

From RV Sites


On that peaceful note, I'll close out this post and save our other adventures for my next entry.