MEANDERING MOOSE

     We are almost to the Oregon coast but have had a lot of interesting experiences along the way.  On our way from Sisters to Eugene, OR we decided to hunker down in a campground for the 4th of July weekend.  We drove into a dumpy looking campground and almost left before we discovered an open spot right on the McKenzie River.  Our site was 15' from some heavy Class II rapids with tons of cfs (cubic feet per second) shooting through.  It was instantly mesmerizing just like staring into a campfire.  We ended up just sitting there staring at the river and reading for 4 days. The McKenzie River. I had the chance to run the river.  It was the 1st time running a reasonably challenging river since 1989.  The river had standing waves up to 6' which used to be a "piece of cake." However, now I found it a little intimidating.  It was a fun run!      On the 1st day at the campground we met a couple, Julie and Tony, wh...

     Do I have your attention?  First, we finally made it to Oregon for our appointment to upgrade our electrical system.  Oregon is one lucky state as it has everything Nancy and I could want for a vacation.  Spectacular mountains, beautiful rivers, fantastic beaches, great breweries and wineries, and non-stop entertainment/activities (music, hiking, biking, fishing, etc.).  We can drive from desert to lush forests in less than an hour while traveling over breathtaking mountain passes.  This state is perfect!      On our way to Oregon we stopped at Bear Lake State Park in Utah.  Bear Lake is near the Wyoming border and is shared by both Utah and Idaho.  It is a large, turquoise lake, surrounded by red mountains, and is in an very dry region.  Of course, Nancy went rocking hunting and discovered tons (emphasis on "tons") of beautiful rocks.  Great, more weight to haul around the country! A small sample of Nan...

I can't believe we finally made it to "the west."  Things seem so different here.  Not only is the environment and geology dramatically different, but there seems to be no people around, even in town.  The most exciting thing is that upon entering Wyoming, the Colorado Rockies appeared on the horizon.       Cheyenne, Wyoming turned out to be a fun western town.  We enjoyed a free wagon ride around town and some unique western museums.  On Friday nights it seems that all the locals in Cheyenne gather on the downtown plaza for some free music.  Good music and good people watching. Nelson Museum of the West Cheyenne, Wyoming        We took a day trip to Vedauwoo (Vee-dah-woo) in Medicine Bow National Forest, Wyoming. Vedauwoo is a small area with weird rock formations.  We stayed all day climbing the rock mountains and hiking around the rock formations.  I climbed about halfway up one of the ro...

     We have now been on the road for 2 weeks since Acacia and Adam's wedding and, with the installation of a WiFi antenna and booster, we are now able to post.      The wedding was a complete success and it was as close to perfect as possible.  Acacia and Adam have now returned from their honeymoon and had a great time.  Also, their spirits seem to be soaring as the results of Adam's latest tests showed that his ordeal is finally at an end.  We are so happy for them. Congratulations Acacia & Adam! Thanks for the pic Carol.      We finally made it to the west and are now in Cheyene, Wyoming!  Cowboy hats, cowboy boots, and cowgirls-what's not to like.  It wasn't until we got 1 hour west of Chicago that we felt as if we finally broke away from the tentacles of the east coast as the massive hoards of trucks declined to a mere trickle.  Also, once we hit Iowa the highway started featuring gentle hill...

     We are now back in Connecticut for Acacia's wedding.  As many of you know, Acacia (my daughter) purchased our house in February.  We left for our full-time RV adventure in April.  So after a month of being away we returned to our former home to find a reorganized interior.  We are now relegated to the small bedroom and the small bed.  More importantly, we have been mildly scolded about neatness--hummm!      The 2 weeks prior to returning to CT have been dominated by the "big stink."  We started noticing a  smell of rotten eggs, similar to the smell of grey water, in the rig.  The odor seemed to be on the exterior of the rig and infiltrated the rig from the outside.  The smell became so intense that we could not live inside.  I was able to alleviate the odor by creating a positive pressure inside which kept the stink at bay.  However, the stink was so pervasive that we cancelled the remaining days ...

     Wow!  I wanted to publish this earlier; but a good internet connection on-the-road is either very difficult or super expensive.  I am now in a campground with good WiFi, so yay!      We finally left CT on April 23 in a heavy rain and 30+ mph wind gusts resulting in some stressful driving.  Our start was ominous as Nancy (no, not me!) didn't close the RV door, so we entered RT 91 with the door swinging open and the exterior steps down.  Yikes!  Nancy jumped to the rescue and got the door closed before I could give her the boot, so all was well.      So far we are having a good time, but the road is never smooth.  Our rig drives like a truck.  When we use cruise control and hit a hill the engine automatically increases its rpms to create a sudden, deafening roar.  The only way to avoid this is to give the rig more gas before hitting the hill or to quickly disengage the cruise control before the eng...

     As many of you know, March 12 was our planned departure date.  Recall the famous Yiddish proverb "man plans and god laughs."  Yes we are still in CT helping Acacia & Adam.  However, before we decided to delay the trip, we had the rig 99% packed.  Now we have been living with A&A for the last 6 weeks wearing threadbare clothes (front, back, inside, & outside).  Also, all our toys are safely packed away in the rig.        Since I am not a happy "couch potato," we decided to use our free time doing household chores and visiting places in CT.  There are a lot of interesting places in CT that we never visited.  Our first stop was the Carousel Museum in Bristol.  This turned out to be a much more interesting experience than I expected.  Admission was inexpensive and included a private tour.   Nancy enjoying the indoor carousel      Next I decided to visi...