WOODLAND SHORES RV PARK - WOODLAND, WA

We made good time from Emigrant Spring to Woodland, WA.  We pulled into a station in Oregon to get fuel and it was so tight we have a bit of a problem getting to the pump and then a bit bigger problem getting out--a very sharp turn and lots of cars and people walking, etc.  We made it but I was holding my breath while Bob maneuvered the long beast out of the tight spot. Whew!  We learned to go to the pumps for the big rigs after that.

We are in a very pretty RV park next to the Lewis River.  I'll take some pictures for you later -- we have been busy.  As soon as we got here, we set up camp and headed to Keri's.

Keri's house with the Rhododendrens in bloom

We had a nice visit the first afteroon and a very good meal with the family then came home and fell into bed exhausted.  The next day we spent at Keri's.  On Saturday Keri and some of the kids came to the RV park to see our new home.  After they left, we did some shopping and returned to our RV for a relaxing evening.  Papa decided to go out and attach the cable TV to our unit and while he was doing it, he got his foot tangled in the cable and tripped and fell -- face first into the gravel.  He yelled for me to come and help him and I found him face down with blood running all over the gravel from his nose.  I hate to post this next picture.

I took this picture shortly after I got him cleaned up.  I took another picture of him

 with his eyes closed but I didn't want to post it because he

looked like he was laying on a slab in the morge.

He refused medical assistance and one of our neighbors came over and helped me get him to his feet and the people who run the park were very helpful.  He walked around the RV and climbed up the steps just fine.  Once the bleeding stopped, he insisted that he felt fine and we didn't have any problems afterwards.  His nose was so swollen he could hardly breath -- might have broken it again.  His forehead had scrapes but looked much better on Sunday.  His chin was very red but has since healed.  He must have bitten his lip when he hit because his top lip was swollen as well. He really did a number on his glasses--they've got to have new lenses made and the nose pieces smashed into his face very badly. Hope we can reuse the frames.  He was lucky he didn't land on the cement which was about 8 inches away.  He was also lucky he didn't break any teeth.  He didn't skin his elbows or knees--just fell flat on his face.  He says he feels fine except for feeling really stupid.

This is how he looked on Memorial Day.  Notice he is smiling.  He is able to breath much better now and his lip is about back to normal.  He has to wear his sunglasses to see and they help cover up some of the bruising.  His nose is by far the worst but it is looking much better, just really scabby.


On the brighter side:
We spent Memorial Day with Keri and family. We had cinnamon rolls and rice pudding for breakfast and some really, REALLY delicious BBQ ribs Jeff made for dinner and we also had a most excellent "frog eye" salad.

NEXT STOP -- EMIGRANT SPRING STATE PARK IN OREGON

We got to Emigrant Springs State Park just out of Meacham, Oregon (the "ch" in Meacham is pronounced the same as in Charity) early Tuesday afternoon.  We got off at the wrong exit and had to turn around -- lots of fun on a narrow road but we made it.  Found out we were going in the right direction after all and had to turn around again but this time we found a parking lot to do it in.  We got into our camp spot and then decided to drive back to Meacham for dinner as the locals recommended the only cafe in town as a good place to eat.  It happened to be "Taco Tuesday" and they only served Taco related things on that night.  We ordered the taco salad and then watched all the locals gather and soon the place was filled.  Everyone knew everyone else so we felt very out of place but they soon introduced themselves and made us feel welcome.  One good old boy walked in and asked, "Who drove all the way from Utah just to have a Taco".  It was no mystery who the foreigners were.

We loved this campground

One minute it was sunny and 30 seconds later it was snowing

It was also very cold

Our campsite

We could have stayed another day or so but we were anxious to get to Keri's so we packed up and moved on.

THE ADVENTURE FINALLY BEGINS!

We finally left home after many delays and last minute problems.  We hitched up and headed northwest on May 20 about 9:30 a.m.   We encountered some very rough roads around Brigham City and figure that is where we lost one of our wheel chocks which was riding in the bed of the truck.  We regretted not having Mike install the air bag shocks on the truck.  Hope it bounced off to the side of the freeway so no one else hit it.

Anyway, we made it to Mountain Home, Idaho without incident and found the Bruneau Dunes State Park.  We did not have phone service because we were too far off the beaten track.  We did have internet service...just no phones.  We really enjoyed our two days there.  It was a very nice campground, a little barren but otherwise very pleasant. 

Our Campsite at the Dunes

We went to the picnic area by a small lake

One of the many sand dunes in the area

Double dunes both with the knife edge where the sand has drifted

We took a drive out the the Bruneau Canyon Overlook.  About thirty miles from the campground on a dirt road for the last eight miles.  The view was spectacular and we could hear the roar of the rapids up on the top where we were standing.  Worth the drive out there.

We could hear these rapids

More Canyon in the opposite direction

Straight down to the river

We really did enjoy our stay in this area.  It was very hot the second day and the wind blew very hard during the night but gave us no rain.







WHO ARE MAX AND BIRDIE?

For those of you who don't already know, our Chevy Duramax Diesel is "Max".  Our RV is an Eagle (by Jayco) and will become our nest when we turn into snowbirds.  Therefore, we named her "Birdie".