Final Post for the 2009 Trip

My dad's 80th birthday party went well and we enjoyed visiting with all of the family that showed up. My sister had made arrangements for a house on Okaloosa Island, so there was a place for most people to crash and meet to enjoy the sun & fun of the area. Although I did not remember my camera- pictures abounded so will hope to get some from others to commemorate the occasion.

We had spent the week prior with our friends Ann & Herman visiting all of the thrift stores, Salvation Armys and Goodwills in a 50 mile radius. We found a few things to add to our ever increasing "stuff" collection, but all in all, we reigned in the extraneous spending.

We stayed at Karik Lake in the Blackwater State Forest- and the weather remained good most of the time. There were minimal bugs and though it did rain every day it seemed- it was generally not all day and we had plenty of outdoor time. I have to say though- we were not used to the humidity after the 3 months in the west. We will definitely become reverse snowbirds in the future.

We left for home the Tuesday after Labor Day (9/8/09) and reached our final campground later that afternoon. As you can see, it is shady and has all the comforts of home- oh yea IT IS HOME!!!!, although Bruce did suggest leaving as we stepped out into the hot,humid day. Again- we will be leaving this area next summer too- summer is just too much for us here now that we have experienced the difference.

Everything was well in the house except for some issues with the wood flooring in the great room buckling - but Jeremy had already prepared us for that little bit of news. Stepping out of The Beast and walking into a house with an 85% relative humidity made us really realize very quickly why we had that buckling floor. Florida isn't really a place designed for glue down solid wood flooring on a slab floor, there is usually too much moisture in the ground and the concrete, and concrete is somewhat porous and always has cracks. We had put this floor down ourselves several years ago - before they stopped selling it in the state because of the moisture issues, and had never had any problems, even with tropical storm/hurricane rains. Let's add another stressor though - an air conditioner on the fritz. Our AC usually keeps the house and everything in it at 55-65% humidity - but Jacksonville had mucho rain while we were gone, causing standing water around the house and when the AC was nonperforming and the internal humidity increased to at least 85%, it was the rain of doom for that floor. There was nothing to offset any moisture creep- and a solid wood floor, unlike an engineered wood floor, has NO GIVE - my error - it gives, but it gives UPWARD. Now we are in the process (OK Bruce is in the process)of trying to repair the 2 large areas - one in the middle of the floor and one along a corner wall- but finding the correct glue in something besides a 2 or 5 gallon bucket seems almost insurmountable. I am having a problem even online- but will make a decision today (see - I am helping too) and get something here for early next week. We need about a quart- guess most people don't do repairs- they just rip it up and start over. Not us- we will persevere- but it could take awhile.

In the meantime, we are working on the house, I am trying to clean out ALL of my work clothes (2 store racks with clothes on both sides are currently parked in my dining room- full as I go through things) and of course- all of the quilt shows and programs are on the horizon.

So what is next? I have the Quiltfest with Maggi here in Jacksonville tomorrowand the 2 classes Friday & Saturday; I am off to the International Quilt Festival in Houston in mid-October where I will meet Julie & friends, visiting, shopping and again, taking some classes; and then I am taking another class in Paducah at the National Quilt Museum in early October. Bruce will be attending 2 'swap meets" with his friend Bobby in November (Moultrie, Ga & Daytona)looking for that elusive jeep fender and other "cream puff" items. He is already back to visiting the Wednesday flea market and am sure he will find other things to occupy his attention (I have quite a list you can be sure if he can't think of something) We have a short 2 week trip planned right after Christmas up to Prairie Creek located on the Bob Woodruff Reservoir near Benton, AL(between Selma & Montgomery on US 80 for you folks with an Atlas) with our friends Ann & Herman. In February I do a retreat here in Jacksonville and then then Maggi & I are venturing up to Lancaster, PA for the first AQS show there in early March (ooh - cold) & Bruce & bobby have the Spring swap meets - same places (probably same things too. I am pretty sure there are no new pieces, patterns, or projects let alone new materials for old vehicle projects- OK, maybe someone has come up with a new product.) Finally - we are already making plans to be back on the road for 5-6 months with The Beast no later than next April 2010 (with our fingers crossed that nothing goes wrong between now & then)- back to Oregon and other places, but that is for future blogs. I know- it seems I am the one off and he is the one staying all the time- but that is OK with Bruce. He just says- where are you going this week and for how long? - Gotta love this relationship.

So, Vaya Con Dios and I will start this up when we take our next trip in The Beast - unless there is something just so important I need to commemorate it in this blog.(You never know with all those quilt shows and classes!!!) Until then---------

All the Rest and Onward to Crestview

After Gavins Point we went to Whitebreast Campground on Lake Red Rock in Iowa . It is located SE of Des Moines and about 20 miles from Ottumwa. There is little in the area except farmers, hunters and fishermen. The nearby Dam, Red Rock Dam of course, after all this is a Corp Engineers Park, does not produce hydroelectric power but does provide a wonderful lake area for fishermen and other water activities from the Des Moines river. The closest towns were Pella (yes, it is the Pella of Pella Windows) and Knoxville (the sprint car race capital of the world). We explored Pella with its Dutch ancestry, ate breakfast twice at the local cafe and of course bought wonderful fabric at the local quilt store. We also spent some time in Knoxville but didn't do the Sprint Car Museum. Of course we drove over to Fairfield,IA the home of Vintage Power Wagons to see if they just happened to have a hood for his "cream puff" 1941 WC (that was for you Joan). They didn't have one in any better condition than he already owns so fortunately we didn't have to find a place in the already overstuffed HHR to bring it home. In addition to always looking out for old power wagons and of course trim pieces for my 57 dodge town wagon, we spent time in every location searching in all sorts of places for the elusive front passenger fender for a old Jeep CJ. All in all a nice time.

On Friday, 8/21 we left Whitebreast on the way to Grand Rivers, Ky (Paducah area) - via Hannibal, MO. Not ones to drive 500 miles a day if we can do otherwise, we opted to stay a few days on the way at Ray Berhens Campground on Mark Twain Lake (yes another Corp of Engineers park so there was a dam nearby). You can tell from the changes in my pictures, both content and amount, that I may have seen enough dams for this trip, although they continue to fascinate me as they all have wonderful history around them. This is another campground in the middle of nowhere - guess that is where they place dams and recreation areas. We did find a garage sale in the nearby town of Perry where we bought a 75 cent 550 piece puzzle and a $10 chair. Getting the chair into the little car was a feat in itself, the puzzle was no problem! The chair is an old style, upholstered with very wide wooden arms and legs. We had to almost empty the back of the car, put the chair in and then relocate all of Bruce's wheel finds and my quilting project cases to take it with us and Hazel had to ride back to the campground on my lap. That was an experience for both of us! She wasn't really too impressed with having to look out of the window on my lap - no standing or sticking her hared out as we drove. You surely suspect with that explanation that we don't have much room any longer in the car so riding the dog around for her daily tours is no longer an option. Just as well- we are getting so close to the hot muggy weather that having the car windows open is no longer and option.

Once we left Ray Berhens on Sunday we drove directly to Eureka Campground off US 62S just outside of Grand Rivers, KY. We have stayed there before on the same exact site so knew what we were getting into. The sites are on the side of Lake Barkley and are sloped and terraced, so getting level is not always easy. And to make things worse, the motorhome was cocked and on a hill when we pulled in so Bruce almost had to beat the poor HHR off the tow bar. That would have made for a wonderful visit to the area- but we managed all and ended up having nice weather and a wonderful stay. The next morning we had breakfast at the Cracker Barrel (hadn't seen one of those for months) and then popped into Paducah for me to buy some acid-free solid plastic fabric organizers to wrap my yards of fabric and store neatly once we get home (Stop laughing!!) After that purchase and again having to find room in the already overstuffed (that was a chair play on words) car, we hit Hancocks of Paducah for me to try to find some black fabric to finish one of my projects and Gander Mountain for a new 12x12 screen room (on sale no less). We ended up in the SAMs for a few staples (the best fresh salsa and some good sirloins)and then headed back to the campground. Bruce took off that afternoon on another jeep fender search, but again, there was nothing he wanted to pay to haul home. Now if they were giving these things away we would proably have had to buy another trailer to pull behind the motorhome with everything we had found and I would be driving the HHR instead of riding in the motorhome. The next day we ran into the little town of Eddyville for a box of Miss Neda's homemade donuts (her husband is up all night making them and at 5 AM she opens with hot donuts of all varieties - they are wonderful) and then explored one of the other Corp parks (Canal) on Lake Barkley. Once we reviewed all the sites there we decided we were at the better campground (Eureka), but they had the better bathrooms and showers. Guess you can't have everything all of the time. We ended the day with dinner at the Oasis Southwest Grill and got ready to leave early for Florida.

We left Eureka round 6:40AM on Wednesday, 8/26 (we tried to get out earlier but my internal alarm did not work and the air condition obviously drowned out the coffee pot when it beeped completion)trying to beat the work traffic through Nashville. It pretty much worked, but not because we got out early. Unfortunately, we had to stop to investigate a sudden, unexpected clanging noise from under The Beast. I just knew we had a real problem when I first heard it and could see the dollar signs flying out of our account and the days flying by as we waited for a part to fix it. Buce, on the other hand, just slowed down until we could find an exit to let him take a look, although when you are looking for one, they never seem to materialize. After a couple of miles we found a convenient Flying J and pulled, dragged out the moving pad and Bruce crawled under The Beast where he found a small metal cover over the AC had dropped down and was dragging. Apparently the area where the bolt went through to the frame had broken and one end of the cover had fallen down and was being dragged along the road, making all sorts of nasty noises. We were lucky it was that small, that it was visible and even better, that Bruce could take it, off with the tools he carries. We don't carry much to work on The Beast- it is a diesel pusher on a freightliner chassis and if something happens to any of the related parts, well we are out of luck, even to changing a tire (they are 22.5 RV tires- think big truck) - we would just have to call AAA. Anyway, that stop along with the inevitable Putting America Back To Work road constructions that are occurring on all Interstates delayed us enough that when we hit Nashville around 9AM and it wasn't too very bad. The worst place is the one lane merge from I-24 on to I-65 and since it is the only direct route into the city, everyone takes it. One lane from one interstate to another is enough of a problem by itself but the traffic jam there is made much worse because there is an exit as I-24 merges that many people on I-65 need to take, so they are trying to cross over in front of the I-24 mergers, etc. - as you can imagine it is quite a cluster in that area.

Once through the merge cluster, we made it through the rest of Nashville in good time, drove south on I-65 almost to the Alabama line and then stopped for a quick brunch of leftover Brats, coleslaw and home made donuts (remember the Eddyville trip the day before?). Alabama was the enxt state and we has most of the north to south route to drive, although we got off at the Georgiana, AL exit short of Mobile, and rove through Andalusia, AL and on towards Baker, FL. We arrived at the Karick Lake Campground (our last stop before we head home this trip) in the Blackwater State Forest mid-afternoon and will stay there about 2 weeks (through the Labor Day holiday). The campground is 7 miles north of Baker, Fl and about 15 miles from my dad's place in Crestview so makes a good stopping point for visiting before heading east towards home on I-10. We will celebrate my dad's 80th birthday with family and friends over Labor Day and leave shortly thereafter I suspect. Since my sisters Terrie & Janet and their respective family members as well as Jeremy, our son, won't be showing up in the area until just before the holiday, we will hang out with our friends Herman & Ann Parker at the campground, visiting and hitting all of the thrift stores and antique shops in a 50 mile area. I will post more on that stay and the family visit in a future chapter. Vaya Con Dios Mis Amigos

More Dams- Gavins Point

Tailwaters Campground at Gavins Point was our stop after Garrison Dam. Gavins Point is the last major dam on the Missouri and is just south of Yankton, SD on the SD/NE line. It was the second one built as part of the Pick-Sloan Plan and has the smallest lake - Lewis & Clark Lake. Again, it was built for hydroelectric power, navigation and water management/ irrigation. We arrived at the Tailwaters Campground after a quick stop in Yakton at Walmart for one of their rotisserie chickens to have for dinner and some staples (bread && milk and I just had to include a lemon cake). Tailwaters is of course on the downstream side of the dam (tail?)- but it is called tailwaters instead of downstream because it is situated right below the actual dam along the waters that flow out from the dam. The area is a fisherman's paradise because there is so much food that comes through the gates the big fish just congregate along the concrete walls to feed. There are so many they swim over each other- it is a real site to see. I tried to take some pictures show the melee but the contrast is not enough for you to actually see much of the fish.

Gavins Point was different from the other sites we had been previously because the spillway, powerplant and inlet gates were all built as one unit on the south end of the earthen dam. The inlet wicket gates were always open allowing water to turn the turbines, so they were generating electricity 24/7. The lake was just over the spillway and while we ere there, it was windy enough that the Lewis and Clark Lake waters were being pushed over the spillway gates. We went on the powerplant tour this time and there was quite a bit of difference in the actual generators at Gavins Point (2nd dam built) and Ft. Peck (1st dam built) in both heat generated and noise. Again, if you ahve the chance- take advantage of some of the dam tours- they are very educational and you learn quite a bit about how dams are constructed as well as hydroelectricity and its generation.

The Tailwaters Campground had about 33 spots with electricity, half reservable. There were an additional 15 or so primitive sites- and all of sties in the campground were strung along the side of the Missouri river just below the powerhouse a you can see from the first picture above. The bugs were horrible when we got there and since we were not in the open, the breezes were diminished. the view was wonderful though and we could watch the construction going on across the river using the Put America Back to Work money- they were expanding the baot ramp parking and paving all of the roads. The one thing we have noticed is that most of the Corp parks have been run down since budgets have been tight and no one really likes to appropriate money to the park service for "fun" when people are out of work, homeless and starving (but Congress will always find money for their pet pork barrel projects- but that is another issue). Now most have some type of improvement project in the works, especially if they are associated with a hydroelectric dam.

We spent time looking for the elusive front passenger fender for a jeep CJ- but to no avail. Seems that all of the really god stuff got crushed last year when steel reached one of its all time highs. That never makes Bruce happy wIen he hear that explanation- but it is what it is. Walmart saw us several times (i should buy stock in that place as much as we spent in that place on this trip - oh right, I have some of that stock.) We drove over the dam whenever possible- it jsut fascinated us. There was a one way road behind the powerhouse that went right over the intl gates and through the overhead crane used to pick them up when necessary. It was controlled by a light- so you never met anyone in the wrong place.As you drove up to the dam, you passed a lovely overlook that was filled with crab apples. I think it was the first time Bruce ahd seen those baby apples and of course he had to taste one- they were still sour, even though they were ripe. The trees are really beautiful- may have to think about putting one or two i when we get back home (Uhoh - more work for Bruce in the yard- he just loves cutting around different growing things!) The other fascinating part of the dams for us are the Godzilla training sites. You can almost imagine him stopping through tearing up everything. You can see the sparks flying and electrical lines tumbling - but not now- now they are pristine and doing their job of bumping up the voltage of the generated electricity to the high voltage needed for transportation over the lines.

Enough about Gavins Point - it was a nice place and we will proably come back to visit- although we will stay at Cottonwood- the Corp park on the downstream side of the dam on Lake Yankton (the lake created when they diverted the Missouri to build the dam). The sites are more open, they get the breezes and there is plenty of room to walk Hazel and to let her play with her fake frisbee.

More Dams As We Are Homeward Bound - Garrison

The next few posts will be summaries of the last few weeks since there has not been a great deal of activity and the weather has been less than stellar, keeping us inside more than anticipated. We left Ft. Peck, MT early Friday, 8/7 and drove the long way around to get to the Garrison Dam at Riverdale, ND to try to avoid road construction on US2 and supposedly multiple miles of gravel road, especially after the rain we had been having. MT actually posts signs about the gumbo the ground becomes after a rain if you get off on the dirt roads and how you will most proably need a 4 wheel drive to get out. Anyway, we went south from the campground at Ft. Peck on MT 24 until we reached MT 200. We followed MT 200 east, splitting on to 200S some ways out and then we went back to the Interstate. I-94 is a nice drive through eastern Montana and western North Dakota. Once you hit the western ND state line on I-94 you drive through thier badlands and part of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We stopped at the rst area there- and we were not the only ones "walking" our pets. No one but Bruce & I thought this was at all out of the ordinary - only in North Dakota.
While there we also walked along the Painted Canyon, although the weather was overcast and the colors not as vibrant as when sunny. Continuing on, we drove to Bismark, Nd where we turned north on US 83 to Riverdale, crossed the Garrison Dam spillway, went down the tow road on the side of the dam (yes it is another earthen dam) and arrived at the Downstream Campground. Have you noticed a similarity in the names of most of these Corp parks close to dams - Downstream, Tailwaters, etc. Can you guess where they situate them? The Downstream campground at Garrison was really in the middle of nowhere Everything around us concerned farming with wheat, corn and I think soybeans the crops we saw most of this time - and of course cattle. The wheat is actually quite beautiful in all of its stages. We saw both the golden wheat ready for harvest and some fields of green wheat- and both were the "waves of grain" of America The Beautiful. Speaking of that song, I think we may have seen all of the references so far on this trip, spacious skies, purple mountains majesty, amber waves of grain, fruited plains, etc.

Downstream Campground at Garrison Dam, ND is also along the Missouri River. Seems there are 6 major dams on the Missouri, with Ft. Peck being the first in Montana and Garrison being the second as the Missouri passes through North Dakota. There are 3 additional dams in South Dakota and then the final and smallest one- Gavins Point, on the SD/Nebraska border where we went next. The thing about all of these locations is that we seem to remain on the Lewis & Clark Trail - although we are moving backwards (eastward) instead of westward.

We didn't get to take the tour at Garrison as the last one that week was on Saturday just after we arrived so we drove around, read all of the informational postings, took pictures and educated ourselves. Garrison Dam is a 2 mile earthen dame and creates Lake Sakakawea (I know, we all grew up with it being Sacajawea but specialists today think that is incorrect- it is either with a hard g (guh) or k. This is a much disputed name- but North Dakota chose to use the K for the Lake)At 173 miles long, it is the third largest man-made lake in the US - only Lake Mead and Lake Powell are larger and is used for all of the usual water activities. The dam itself provides hydroelectric power, navigation control and irrigation management. The intake gates are not attached to the power plant which is located on the downstream side of the dam at the bottom of the first picture. They are in the lake and both are at located at the southwestern edge of the dam. The spillway is at the northeastern edge of the dam- and the water from it goes into Spillway Pond.

The campground where we stayed is also located on the downstream side of the dam, nehce its name- Downstream. The sites were spacious and the campground large, with 3 different locations. Our site as at the far end of the campground and backed up to the vegetation that grew along the high banks of the Missouri. We faced a large park-like circle so we had the benefit of being able to watch all of the on-goings of those residents during our 2 days of rain. The rain stopped late Sunday evening and the group occupying most of the sites around that inner circle got to celebrate Christmas in August outside. It seems they could never find any place at Christmas to accomodate them all, so moved that holiday to the Campground at Garrison and to August. fAfter the ususal christmas Buffet (with somked meat of some type) they all particpated in the gift game where the order is determined by your birthday or numbers sleected or soemthing like that, and the person can take (steal) the already unwrapped present of a prior selectee or select a wrapped present. If you look at the picture closely, you will note that all of this All of this joviality took place under a lighted and decorated Christmas Tree (that was set up when we arrived and in its own screen room with its 2 companions) and a lighted, animated reindeer and moose. It was great fun for all, inlcuding the o bservers and we were all happy they left the decorations until the next morning so we could all enjoy them once it was dark.

Enough of Garrison- those were the highlights and we are almost to Grand Rivers so I will bring you up to date with Gavins Point in my next update.

Ft. Peck Lake

We are still at Ft. Peck Lake campground (the green part of the picture left of the dam across the Missouri River) but are getting ready to move on tomorrow. We will be driving to Garrison Dam, another of the dams built by the Corp of Engineers, but until then a little more about Ft. Peck Lake. This lake is 143 miles long and is the largest lake in Montana. It spreads westward from here (Ft.. Peck) back towards Great Falls, MT. There are over 1520 miles of shoreline and the lake is 220 feet deep. The whole lake rests inside the Charles M. Russell Wildlife Refuge and much of the access is remote so much of the shoreline can actually be considered to be in the middle of nowhere. The lake is so large and there is so much wind in this area that small boats can at times easily be capsized by the waves. The whole area is included in what is known as the Montana Hi-Line, the 100 miles from the Canadian border south between North Dakota and Rocky Mountains in the west along US 2, As I stated in an earlier posting, this area is rolling hills and prairie, fields of wheat and herds of cattle with mountains in the distance. It is a sportsman's paradise for fishing and hunting along with recreational birding and of course hiking and all of the water sports on the lakes. It seems everyone has a boat of some kind and a four wheeler. As for Bruce, it is the place where there are more old trucks on the roads and sitting abandoned in the fields that are in pretty decent shape than in any other place we have been yet. He would move here in a minute just to be around all of that wonderful iron and steel, except the winter temperatures are in the minus 30-50 degree area for 30 or more days a year. That is just unthinkable for us- so we will stay in Florida and he can just dream about those old trucks- oh and come visit them in the summer.

Yesterday we rode to Wolf Point to visit a junk yard Bruce had heard about. He is always hopeful he will find that missing front passenger fender for his jeep, but it was not to be. He did find several old wheels (don't ask what they will be used for, he just loves them) to cart home and an old drill press at a stop in Glasgow the day before. He seems to think that he should be allowed to spend as much on junk as I have spent on quilting "stuff". Speaking of quilting stuff, we also found a new quilt store in Wolf Point called Fabric Attic. I wasn't going to stop - but am glad we did. This shop has more of what I would call theme/novelty print material than any shop I have ever seen. They also carried some of the brand new materials and I bought quite a bit of Mark Lipinski's oakdale line from Northcott as well as some of his Katmandu line - The Quilts from Pickle Row. Both are wonderful prints and the oakdale is as soft as silk. Now to find the perfect pattern for that material - the search is on!!

Bruce is done getting the outside area ready to leave tomorrow - putting everything away except the last bit of firewood that we hope to be able to burn this evening. It is overcast and raining a bit now, so who knows if that will be possible. We are off To Glasgow to visit the local RV place and proably hit Albertsons to see what is on sale today and of course one last look through the Plaid Square for me - who knows what wonderful item still waits in yonder town for my discovery. Later-------------

Fort Peck Dam and surrounding area

It is early Tuesday morning, August 4th and I am again late with this posting. We arrived at the Downstream Campground at Fort Peck Dam and Lake around 2 on Wednesday. We were fortunate that there were several walk-in sites available for the 4 nights we would need until our regular reservation kicked in. We had traversed US 2 east from Havre, Mt to Glasgow. MT. where we turned south on MT 24 towards Ft. Peck and then NE on MT 117 to the dam and campground. The road wound through the Montana farming areas where right now it appears hard ed spring wheat and the resulting hay once it is harvested seemed to be the biggest crops we saw and cows, horses and sheep the livestock of choice. We drove along the Milk River, following the Lewis & Clark trail. Isn't it amazing that so many of our cross county principle roads and interstates follow the old trails from east to west? Driving them and seeing all of the historical markers memorializing all the pioneers went through and their accomplishments is an eye opener. We did not plan this trip around those major pieces of history, so having all of this coincide has been a real treat. Today, even Bruce said that is was really amazing what you miss when you fly in a plane from one place to another, knowing nothing of what it took to get there in the past and never really seeing what this country may have looked like to those travelers or appreciating what it looks like today. As I may have have said before, the destination is nice, but the road traveled is the real enjoyment for us.

Downstream Campground is beautiful, even if you have to fill your water tanks instead of having water at your site. That is no big deal for us, we knew it ahead of time and came full and if we use it all then the closest water faucet is just across the road. The sites are well spaced, many are shaded and most offer all the privacy you would need or want. The Missouri River is just outside the park along with Ft. Peck Dam and also the Ft. Peck Interpretive Center where you can learn about the construction history of the dam, the C. M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge and paleontology, including a cast of the Tyrannosaurus Rex known as Peck’s rex. So, since Tuesday we have been enjoying the campground, doing some sight seeing of the dam and surrounding area and I found a wonderful Quilt Store where I went crazy Friday & Saturday. This store, Plaid Square, was having a great sale as part of Glasgow's Crazy Days celebration and I found so many things at 40 and 50% off that I went crazy for 2 days. Many of their kits were in the sale, so I had to buy a few and she had quite a selection of sale fabric for $3 yard. What a find!

Yesterday we actually toured the Ft. Peck Hydroelectric Plant that is part of the dam. This dam is one of the few in the country where you can get close to anything since 9/11 so we took advantage and spent time learning about the construction and the history surrounding it. We got to go down into the plant, see the generators, learned about the flood gates, etc. The tour isn't real long, but it is definitely worth doing. Ft. Peck Dam is the largest hydraulically earth filled dam in the world. Electrically operated dredge boats dredged Missouri River bottom sands, silts and clays which were then pumped through 28” pipelines to the dam site to build this dam. The picture above shows one of the generator units with it's surge tower and the dam stretching to the right across the whole horizon. The dam is 4 miles across, 250 feet tall and 1/4 mile wide at the base. The water diversion and control valve gates are 1/4 mile away from the power plant as you can see in the photo on the left. They are the small towers in the top right of the picture. The spillway is another 1/4 mile away and has only been used 3 times since it was completed and the the last time it was opened was 20 years ago. Even then, only 3 of the gates were used. It has been called the largest bowling alley in the world and its construction was the cover picture of the very first Life Magazine published November 23, 1936. That picture is copyrighted but you can find it by typing into Google search "Fort Peck Dam Life Picture". The dam was constructed during the depression, authorized by Roosevelt in 1933 and begun 9 days later. Over 40,000 people showed up in the area to support this endeavor and at its heyday almost 11,000 people were employed related to the dam's construction. There was an major accident in 1938 when 1/3 of the almost completed dam gave way, killing 8 men in the slide, but although the independent review committee said there was risk in continuing, they did recommend completion. The dam and spillway were completed in 1930 and began generating electricity in 1943.

The other notable thing about this area is that the Fort Peck Lake area is full of fossils. The only skeleton of an akylosaurus was found in that area and the the most complete skeleton of a T-Rex was found 20 miles from the Interpretive Center in 1997. That T-Rex fossil is now called Peck's rex. The T-Rex original bones are too heavy and fragile for a display so they are stored at the Paleontology Field Station at Ft. Peck although the replica in the Interpretive Center was cast from the original fossil. . Additionally, the center has the massive skull of a triceratops on display. All of the displays are wonderful and should you ever be in the area- go and see them. And here are 2 small bits of information I bet you did not know - no T-Rex has ever been found on any continent but North America and the Tyrannosaurus has a third finger which scientists had previously not known until Peck's rex was discovered.

OK- we are up to date and it looks like the rain is stopping and dawn is breaking. I might see if I can get in an hour or so of sleep before breakfast, although I will make the coffee now so Bruce just has to push the button when he gets up. See you later!

Oregon is gone and we are off to Montana

For all of my faithful travel voyeurs, I apologize for not updating this blog for so long, but we have been a bit out of touch with good internet service and I have not wanted to fight with unreliable connections and slow service to get things completed online. I will try to be more faithful in the future.

After settling into our camp site at the Valley of the Rogue State Park, we made plans for touring opportunities. One of these of course was to go to Crater Lake. We decided on Wednesday, since the weather in the whole area was perfectly clear and was supposed to remain so for a few days. All we could remember was our last attempt at a visit 20 years ago when we began in the rain and ended up in a full snow storm at the top with an actual white out (we never even saw the lake) We decided we would take no chances and would go as soon as possible. Although the weather was near or over 100 degrees at the campground on Wednesday, Crater Lake was a delightful 85 or so. The sky was clear, although it seemed there is a cover of haze over most of Oregon. Some of this is attributable to fires, some to dry weather and dust, but most I think to the impact we have on the planet with cars, industry, electricity generation, etc. It is a shame, there are no real clear blue skies up here that I have been able to find. But, it was still a very beautiful park. The water is clear and blue blue blue, even if my pictures do not faithfully reproduce the color. It comes only from snow melt and no streams run into or out of the lake so it is considered by some as the cleanest water in the world. Crater Lake is 5 miles wide and ringed by cliffs 2000 feet high and is 1943 feet deep and is the deepest lake in the US and one of the deepest in the world. It is a caldera, the remains of the volcano Mt. Mazama that erupted and collapsed into itself over 7000 years ago. We drove the rim road from southwest corner to the north and back along the eastern edge. The drive took about 3 ours with all of the stops and pullouts to view the lake and the surrounding volcanic mountains. I, of course, got more pictures than a sane person should ever take, but as I have said before, digital cameras make everything so very easy. Enjoy them with us.

The rest of our time in the area we just toured (you know- drove around and looked at things) enjoying the weather and the scenery and one day I actually stayed at the site and sewed. On one drive we ended up in the Applegate Valley Wine American Viticultural Area (AVA) and we were amazed that there are so many different wineries just in that area. Add to that the Rogue River AVA and you have hundreds of small wineries. We could have spent days in that area sampling the fruits, but decided the weather was too hot to spend much time consuming alcohol, so instead enjoyed the mountain drives. Another drive took us south on I-5 with plans to get off at one of the exits before the Siskiyou Summit, elevation 4310 feet, that takes you over to California. Instead we missed all of the exits we thought we wanted so ended up at the summit and found Old highway 99 S so drove it back down the mountain instead. Bet 99 was the original road between Ashland, Or and Yreka, CA in that area before the interstate. The old highway that comes down from the summit is steep, winding and very narrow and was a real surprise for us, but it was the kind we love to find when we end up exploring an unfamiliar area and don't know exactly where we are and where a road will take us. Some people would call that being lost, but lost to us means you have a destination and time in mind to arrive at that particular destination, neither of which apply to us so we just call our excursions exploring. Anyway, we explored the Rogue River Vally for 6 days and then headed northeast to relax (as though we needed more relaxation) along the Columbia River.

Sunday, July 19th, we drove north on I-5 to just short of Portland and then turned east on I-84. This was our real first driving on just interstates in this area and I have to say, if you want to pick a few that are gorgeous, these will both qualify. I-5 north from Grant's Pass is winding and goes up and down the mountains, loosely following the southern route of the Oregon Trail (called the Applegate Trail - imagine that). The scenery is serene and lovely, valleys and hilltops, farms and cabins. You can just imagine all of those pioneers in their wagons, or riding horses, driving animals, etc. The hardships they endured just to traverse those lands are unimaginable to me. I-84 on the other hand actually runs along the south side of the Columbia River Gorge and the scenery is wild and dramatic although again, the Oregon Trail was involved here too.

This drive took us to LePage Park (just east of Rufus, Or for you Atlas followers) which is situated at the confluence of the John Day River and the Columbia. The campground is about 1 mile east of the John Day Lock & Dam and is just south of the mouth of the John Day at Lake Umatilla. The Corp has both a day use area with boat dock and picnic tables as well as camp sites with water and electricity. It is a great water activity and fishing area, so we enjoyed boaters, jet skis, wave runners and fisher people for 8 days. It was hot, hot, hot (over 100 on many days) and the heat, although very dry, will still bake you given the slightest chance. Additionally, it was always (and I mean always) windy- some times so much so that we had to stay inside. As you can see, we were really roughing it, with a site right on the water and a view of the bridges from our front porch, although you would need to be a mountain goat to get in and out of the water over the shore rocks. We hung out with little or no internet connections, reading, relaxing and of course, looking at old vehicles whenever we toured, oh and I sewed a few days too. The time spent there was delightful. The park is small and close, but most water activity based properties seem that way, so of course Bruce chatted with everyone one and learned most of their life stories. Cocktail time is always a good part of the day for gregarious gatherings. We did find a wonderful old GMC panel truck we would love to have had, but could not get the guy to consider parting with it- who knows, maybe next year.

We did one nice drive along the Columbia east, crossed into Washington and rode up to the tri-cities (Pasco, Kennewick and Richland), did our Walmart shopping and then drove back along the Washington side of the Columbia on Highway 14. I was surprised to see all of the grape vines growing in what appears to be desert mountains, but this is the home of Columbia Crest and many others. In fact, apparently the Columbia River Gorge area (from Portland to just east of The Dalles on both sides of the Gorge, Oregon & Washington) is its own AVA and there are many wineries. We did not stop at any, unfortunately, so I guess we will have to wait until next year to enjoy those particular pleasures. We did find an interesting artifact on that drive and went back the next day to take some pictures and spend some time since the previous day we had needed to get home to feed the animals so had not stayed. It is a replica of Stonehenge built by a local man, Sam Hill,in 1930 to commemorate the veterans from that area, Klickitat County, who died in WWI. He erroneously thought that the altar stone in the original Stonehenge had been used for human sacrifice so decided that a replica would be a good war memorial. It stands on a plateau above the Columbia River at Maryhill, WA (he named the city after his daughter Mary). Talk about unexpected sites.

We are now in Montana. We decided to forgo Glacier this year (we were unhappy with all the people at Yellowstone so felt we would be just as unhappy with the park at St. Mary and glacier in the full summer) and instead are just driving over to the eastern part of the state to Ft. Peck. We hope to be able to get into the Corp park there early, even if we have to move because finding campgrounds out ere for the weekends that are not reserved and that will fit The Beast is not easy. We drove I-84 east to I-82 where we drove north to Richland and took US395 up to I-90 at Ritzville,WA. The one good thing about leaving when we did is that i got to see a herd of Bighorn Sheep grazing on the side of the mountain on I-84. I almost missed them as their coloring makes them look just like the mountain. Since there is no picture, you should assume of course that I was not fast enough to get things out and digitized before we flew past them and going back was not in the equation. At least I did get to see them and they are one of the 2 animals (the other being a bear and I am still waiting) that I wanted to see while we were out this way. We followed 90 east through Spokane and made it through Idaho to Montana and camped at Quartz Flat Campground about 25 miles west of Missoula, MT. Today, we continued through Missoula and then cut off I-90 on US12 E to Helena where we got on I-15 and went north to Great Falls. We left Great Falls on US 87N and are spending tonight in the Havre, MT on US 2 at the RV Campground at the fair grounds. The city is small and in the middle of the plains - we are definitely out of the Montana mountains that I can see and the wind will be our companion until we reach Ft. Peck. So- I am now up to date on our antics and whereabouts. I will post again once we get settled at the Downstream Recreation Area at Fort Peck Lake and Dam.

Living on the Road

So, the highlight of the trip so far (the Quilter's Affair classes and the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show) has passed and Sunday & Monday we did those things you need to do just to get by on the road such as shopping, laundry and of course the thing you don't want to happen, visiting a repair shop (thank goodness there was nothing really wrong, we thought we had a problem with one of the air valves for the airbags, but we didn't- yea!!!!). Additionally, we changed campgrounds and are now at the Valley of the Rogue River State Park outside, Rogue River, OR (bottom of the state between Medford and Grant's Pass for you looking at an Atlas). Since all of that was pretty much boring, (except the drive, but you can only take so many pictures of the trees and mountains on the road,) I thought I would just let you get a look the inside of The Beast when Bruce & I are camped. I am sure you are already getting the picture that it might be somewhat scary and resemble our (Bruce & I) lives at home, a very lived in environment with 3 animals, shoes every where , a kitchen the size of a postage stamp (not our home mind you) and maybe somewhat cluttered. So, without too much prelude - here is The Beast in all it's indoor splendor.

You enter The Beast through the door in front of the passenger seat (what a pain and it is a noisy door when we are on the road) and come into the actual living area. I guess the living area could be larger than I am describing since I have realized I can turn my passenger seat 90 degrees towards the center of The Beast and it opens up the front of the motorhome so I can sit in my chair and see the world through the "big screen." Additionally, the chair then gives Samantha (the cat with the love/hate relationship with Bruce and the slight weight problem- think a cat Linda) a place to spend all day and night and stay out of the way of a rambunctious Hazel and her Dat (dog/cat) friend Wolfy. Oh, and I forgot that the Wolfy, Hazel and sometime even the weight conscious cat Samantha all think the front dash (boy am I ever glad we covered it) is their personal space to relax, view the world and just hang out. Anyway, back on track with our tour - the living area includes the couch (Bruce & Hazel's retreat) along with a cheap euro-style chair and ottoman for me across from them and we all face the 26" flat screen above the dash that can only be used when we are NOT in the mountains. Next to my chair is a set of (invisible) kitchen cabinets we put in with a nice finished wood counter top that are used to keep my computer(oh there it is, on the ottoman not in the cabinet) and printer and of course 3 months or more of the cat and dog food. Have you ever tried traveling with animals that eat high end food you can't just find at the corner grocery? Why, you ask , are you traveling with 3 months of food? Well, miss fat cat (let's call a spade a spade, OK) throws up anything new- so we had better stick to tried and true. Boy, am I off track again. Yes, I still need to be a connected traveler as we have learned in previous posts so the computer equipment is necessary, wherever it may reside. In the back ground you see the lovely dining area- a booth with storage underneath. This had turned out to be more important than we gave it credit- we would have chosen a table because it would have been much more comfortable for people of size (OK- me), but then where would I have put a full complement of pots and pans? Even better- where to store the plastic cutlery, paper plates and plastic cups we use whenever we don't have sewer at the actual site. It does have lighting overhead and yes- it always probably has all that stuff on the table. We have to remember our daily pills, have the plates, salt, pepper, cutlery and napkins readily accessible, and of course have a somewhat Hazel proof night time feeding area for the wonder cats. both the couch and the booth are in a slide=out so it opens up the whole room to living size, what a relief. Can you imagine Bruce & I trying to get by each other with only 2 feet of maneuvering room? What a nightmare that would be- and what a divorce we would end up with!

Across from the booth end slide is my wonderfully equipped kitchen (and I am not being sarcastic). For such a small space, it is very user friendly. I have a double door refrigerator/freezer, with ice maker (unfortunately right now that is a set of manual trays) that we can get away without defrosting for 6-8 weeks. After that time we enter the "ice chest from He?? " defrost period and usually stop talking to each other. but, for those 6-8 weeks we are OK. To the left of that wonderful appliance is the all in one food prep and clean-area. I actually have a full gas stove (used for bread, onion and potato storage) and gas cook-top along with a convection/microwave oven, a double sink and covers for both to enhance the counter space. To make it easier we added the wonderful cutting board counter top that plays a central role in food & drink preparation as well as holding the various clean dishes that have not been put away timely. There are 4 drawers full of stuff we don't use enough to justify carrying (but when you need that potato peeler it better be there) and the counter holds our most important appliance - the automatic coffee pot. The morning routine revolves around the coffee pot and the pet feeding- and once that is done, I usually get up. OK, some times he rebels and the dog stands on us until I get out of bed and do the honors.

We will skip the bathroom, suffice it to say that it is a walk through, with a separate head on the right with a door and the shower and sink in the pass thorough to the bedroom. You can see it if you look closely at the first picture. The bedroom is very, very tight, at least on Bruce's side next to the window. Thank goodness the closet actually is in the slide-out next to my side of the bed (left in this picture and hidden) so I can actually get up and move around. Bruce, on the other hand, has the 9" (I know you don't believe that based on your view of the picture but I am sure that is what Bruce told me, but remember, men have a real problem with inches) side so most times he has to crawl over the end of the bed to get in. All I can say is Better him than me! Of course Wolfy and Hazel seem to find the bed just perfect for their late morning and early afternoon naps.

So, that is the quick tour of the interior of The Beast- in a blogger's nutshell. Next time I will try to find soemthing more scenic and interesting to relate since we are now camped for 5 more nights at the Valley of the Rogue River State Park and we will be visiting Crater Lake tomorrow and are only a short drive from the coast for later in the week when it hits 100 here. Adios.

It's a Qult Show and More

We spent this morning in Sisters at the 2009 Outdoor Quilt Show. It was great- but let me bring you up to date on my Thursday/Friday class first. As I indicated in my past posting- I took Sarah Kaufman's Folded Log Cabin class (Titled 99% Marimoko in the brochure for the fabric she used). I really enjoyed taking this class- it is the perfect work at your own pace and almost completely sewing. You cut the strips, pre-iron them, cut to fit the first 4 around the center square and that is the last time you cut to fit or press until the block is done. You just piece and use scissors. I will be making several more using this style.I got the 6 blocks above right done and still need to decide on sashing and then mounting, etc. Jeremy & cassandra - thoughts? We can discuss in an email. This is not a block for a bed quilt- these are definitely display or ornamental. You do not batt these blocks most of the time so that will be an easier finish also. I have also included 2 of Sarah Kaufman's "quilts" she showed us in her trunk show so you can see there is not much you can't do with them. I definitely want to return next year- these classes were a blast and I learned so much! Good thing we have already made reservations- now to finish what i did this year.

On to the show- this is a great venue. The weather was wonderful, clear and not too, too hot (high 80s by this afternoon). Bruce and I were up at 6:30 and on the road to Sisters for breakfast at The Gallery and then to wander the streets as they put up the quilts, taking pictures and chatting with the other watchers. The official start of the show seems to be after all of the quilts are put up on the Stitchin Post by the Sisters Fire department. As I have mentioned before, the whole city seems to participate in this outdoor show. These are traditionally the quilts of the Stitchin' Post employees who this year were challenged to do a quilt in the "style" of the Gees Bend Quilters. The Gees Bend Quilts hung on the front of the Stitchin' Post and the employee quilts are on the end. The hang the quilts from wires that are permanently mounted on the front of the businesses and in most cases just use clothes pins. The effect is perfect.

All of the quilts are great and I admire everyone who submits one to hang. they have 10,000 people viewing their individual expression of art and not just from a distance. My favorite part of the show was the Teacher's Tent. All of the Quilter's Affair (that is what the week of classes is called prior to the show)intructors displayed some of thier work in this tent. There was quite rush seeing all that wonderful inspiration, creativity, art and of course- quilting. All of you readers I hope realize that putting the top together is piecing and the quilting is when you put the bating and the backing on the top and then "quilt" it- and that can be done in a variety of ways. There is hand piecing and machine quilting, hand piecing and hand quilting, machine piecing and hand quilting and of course, machine piecing and machine quilting. Much of the work today is done by machine and it is definitely not your grandmother's flower garden, although there were quite a few traditional quilts at this show too.


With the advent of the long arm quilter- machine quilting took on quite a different look. Also, as art quilts came into their own, the whole face of quilting changed both what was pieced, what is considered a quilt, and how it is quilted. Surface embellishment is very popular and the variety is endless. This is a true art form- just look at some of the quilts in the album. I have included a few that will make you think twice about what is a quilt and who "quilts".

Well, enough of my chatter- lok at the pictures to really get the idea. This show is a wonderful street festival with people selling drinks, food, music in the streets, restaurants as part of the actual venue and the quilters part of the crowd. I have thoroughly enjoyed myself. I think that even Bruce had an acceptable time, although when we got back to the campground he found all of the other husbands didn't have to go in to see the show and were sitting around in the shade gossiping. Their wives went without them so I am sure he will probably think about this differently the next time.