Rally at Myrtle Beach

Myrtle Beach CG

Tuesday morning Brad and Rudy went for a walk while I sat and enjoyed my coffee and only one ant to be seen.  Well that was short lived, Brad walked in the door with an 'Oh, my gosh' on his lips, the front, drivers side of the dash was covered with ants.  I had set one of the terro ant traps, and boy it looked like it was attracting them.  I quickly placed another there, hoping that it works, they are to carry the poison to their nest and kill the whole thing.  Well I could only take it about another half hour then I moved the traps and started with the spray, killing all I could see.  I then scrubbed the front dash and replaced the traps.  Well I'm starting to believe those traps work, we have only found one or two each day, and new traps have been set and we both keep a close watch on the front dash.  Back to the rally, a couple more seminars, but only one that we really wanted to attend.  Freightliner was there and it is always nice for what ever information they have to share and we had a few questions for the speaker, Dwayne.  He did a great job, but ran out of time, so we got his email address and phone number so we could handle the questions that way.  We just hung out for the rest of the afternoon, checking out the cafeteria and walking around some of the housing sections of the resort.  We met Buddy and Theresa for drinks and some chatting then headed to the recreation center for a meal of Chicken and Pork....it was ok, cold, but ok.  After that we had a demonstration from the 'Paws for Vest' organization, that was heart breaking and humbling, then we were entertained by 'The New Holiday Band'.  Now it's funny the band was good and I think all enjoyed, but remembering the average age of the people attending this rally, they played from 7:00 until 9:00.  We actually stayed until the end and enjoyed the night of entertainment.  Back home, walk for the dog and heading inside for our nightly routine.

 

Wednesday there are no seminars planned, so Buddy, Theresa, Lynn, Ken, Brad and I headed into the 'Strand' at Myrtle beach.  We walked around a while, shopped a little then decided to ride the 'Sky

ocean view from 200 feet

Wheel'.  What a view, it is 200 feet above the ocean and the sights were beautiful, a little nervy for me, but I survived, I think being totally enclosed helped.  We walked around a little while longer, then headed out for a lunch then back home to the CG.  Brad and I went and did some shopping then back home, walked Rudy, then we headed out for the Medieval Times, dinner and show.  What a great time, the meal consisted of dragon blood with a piece of dragon tale, 'tomato bisque with garlic toast', baby dragon, 'chicken', dragons tongue, 'potato', dragons rib, 'ribs' and the castle pastry of dragon scale, 'an apple turnover'.  The food was fabulous and the show was a lot of fun and the best part was

our knight of the of evening 'Santiago' won.  The night went fast, then back home, a walk for Rudy and our nightly chores done and off to bed with us all. 

 

Pics from the Medieval Times Show:  https://picasaweb.google.com/115574168101787483704/MedievalTimes?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCKfp6Y7l0eXjNQ&feat=directlink

 

Thursday Brad headed back to the recreation hall for the 'Firestone Tire' seminar then stopped to talk with the guy from 'Complete RV' while I  enjoyed my coffee, got cleaned up, did a load of laundry.  After that we he both headed over to the rec center to check out the swap/sale stuff the RV'ers had then we headed out to the 'Strand' and met Buddy, Theresa, Mary and Clarence for lunch.  We walked around the board walk for a while, then headed back to the CG as the Complete RV guy wanted to come over to look at the Moho to discuss some of the changes we want to make.  An hour later, with me sitting outside trying to keep Rudy calm, him and Brad finally finished.  We then took Rudy for a nice walk, then back to the rec hall for our last dinner of the rally.  After dinner and the calling of all the door prizes (no we didn't win) we headed home and had a night cap with Buddy and Theresa.  After that inside chores done and off to bed.  

 

Friday turned out to be a marathon Mini Golf day.  We had a free mini golf game at the CG, so at 10:00 Buddy, Theresa, Lynn, Ken, Brad and I headed over for our first game of the mini golf.  After

Mini Golf Crew

that game, we headed to the CG café for a light lunch then over to Lynn and Ken's RV to check that out.  They had just gotten it about 6 months ago and I must admit, I didn't realize the 'Super C' RV's were bigger than our Class A.  We headed back to walk Rudy, then the 6 of us headed out to Gilligan's Island Mini Golf, down the road about 4-5 miles for one more game.  What a trip, that game lasted over 2 hours, but what a great time and great laughs we had.  I do have to say, I think Lynn and Ken were holding out, they kicked our butts, and none of us played real bad.  Back home and a meal of snacks with Buddy and Theresa consisting of cheese, crackers (hogs head cheese, which Brad and I both tried), and a few other snack and then it's time to head off to the ice cream stand for our free ice cream.  We are to have a camp fire (propane), karaoke and our last get together, but the weather didn't agree, so it was ice cream and fare well, to Lynn, Ken, Martha, Tom, Mary and Clarence and we headed out.  Back home a walk for Rudy and we headed inside before the rain hit for the night.  Buddy and Theresa are leaving in the morning, so we will say our good byes before they hit the road.  We all turned in by 10:00 as it has been a busy/hot week and I want to get up early tomorrow before the Burketts leave. 

 

Saturday morning we headed outside to say good-bye to Buddy and Theresa, then slowly started the packing for our departure.  Now for the life of me I will never understand this, but we were ready to leave by 9:00 so we had to kill an hour before we wanted to leave.  For a travel day, it was just a short trip to get us out of Myrtle Beach and up the road to the Wishing Well Family CG at Sunset

The Wishing Well CG

Beach.  The ride was uneventful and before we stopped at the CG, we parked the Moho at a shopping plaza, had lunch at a really good bagel shop then did a short drive to check out the CG area.  Back to the Moho, Brad got gas while I headed up the road to get us check in, it is nothing great, but for the price it is well worth the stop.  We got parked and set up then did our usual laps around the park with Rudy.  This is a bare bones CG, but it is quiet and there are no golf carts.  We had burgers on the grill then headed out for a little walk, until the mosquitoes ran us inside.  Brad ended up going to bed about 8:30.....me I was up 'til about 11:00....we'll see what Sunday Brings. 

Diane and Brad

 

 

We made it to Myrtle Beach, and 90% Humidity

Tuesday we were back at it, on the road again.  We actually made it about 350 miles, almost the whole way across Tennessee when we stopped at a little place called the Bean Pot CG, in Crossville, TN.  It was small, but the sites were pretty nice, off the highway with very little noise.  It was a pretty uneventful ride, but we did see this neat looking castle along the highway, they should have to put up a sign as to what it is or who lives there.  Anyway, a stay at home night, dinner on the grill and an early night to bed for us all.

Wednesday we headed out about 9:00 heading to Tom Johnson's in Marion, NC.  We needed some parts for the Moho, sewer pipe, light for the water heater and one or two other small things, so we had another 2 night stay planned.  Brad killed a little ant in the bathroom.   Of course while we are there, we do need to check out the Moho's they have for sale.   I couldn't believe it, but I found a Class 'C' we both liked, except for the fact that it's made by Thor...I just don't like Thor.  The CG was about half full and it looked like they were having a small rally move in 'til we pulled out on Friday.  But it was a nice place to park for a couple of days and again, nice not to move everyday. 

We hit the road Friday, with two more nights until we have to get to Myrtle Beach we decided to get within about 100 miles and stay for 2 more nights and finish the trip Sunday morning. As we were packing up I saw an ant maybe two on the kitchen counter.   Well just our luck, we get to the SC border I call the 3 military bases and all 3 of the CG are full.  There is a state park on our way...no luck again, so we headed to Myrtle Beach KOA.  KOA is having a special of stay Friday night and get Saturday night free, but they had room so we traveled over 300 miles again on Friday.  What a nice place, big sites and lots of shade for the heat and humidity.  What a ride, soon after hitting SC we hit the rain, some wasn't too bad, but then we hit the torrential stuff, 30-40 mph was the speed of the traffic, but we made it, a little wet around the edges, but we made it. 

Saturday we had breakfast at the site, then headed out about noon, looking for the Ocean Lakes RV Resort (the RV Rally starts on Sunday at Ocean Lakes), then off to the grocery store for food and wine.  Back home a lazy day, Brad did see three or four more ants.   Dinner on the grill and a mad night of texting.  Monique went into the hospital Saturday morning, due to complications that forced them to induce labor.  Melanie jumped on a plane and almost made it before the baby was born, but was about 30 min too late.  My last text finally came in about 3:00 AM, so needless to say, Sunday morning we are both tired and were very slow at packing to leave

 

Oh well, we only have about 10 miles to travel Sunday, so it should be a nice slow morning.... but then the rude awakening, Brad yells, get up there are ants on the kitchen counter, and leaves to walk Rudy, ha ha.  What a mess, not only are they on the kitchen counter, but they are everywhere (I think they parked us on an ant mound), so the spraying and scrubbing and spraying and scrubbing ensued, for hours.  We had to end that about 10:30 and get cleaned up and packed up to get out of the KOA by leaving time.  We had to be out at noon and I think we pulled out of our spot at 12:05, what a morning.  Down the road to the next RV Park, pull down our street and there sits a travel trailer in our spot, so I called Brad on the radio to let him know.....too bad he just parked in the middle of the street and got out to talk with Buddy and Theresa, while I call the RV Park to report the TT.  Not a bad response, it is one of their rentals and they were here within 10 minutes to move the TT and we were able to pull into our spot.  We pulled in get settled and the spraying for ants ensued again, but they are a little slower in showing up.....not much, but a little.  Oh well, outside to visit with Buddy and Theresa then we head over to pick up our registration packet, signed up for the Medieval Dinner Show, then back to have a quick drink before dinner started.  Back to the rec hall for a pretty cheesy dinner, a little meet and greet, then back home for more talking until we all headed in about 9:00. 

 

Monday was a breakfast at 7:30, that Brad headed over for in between the down pours, while I stayed home, showered, did a load of laundry and cleaned up a little.  A few more ants, some more scrubbing and then off to the rec hall to check out the vendors and door prizes.....not the greatest door prizes.  We did find out that the pins to our tow bar had been recalled, so Brad headed back with the old ones and they gave him new ones to replace them while I swept and got my shower.  After that we did a couple of walks with Rudy checking out just how large this place is then sat out side for a while to chat with anybody that walked by.  After a while we headed over to visit with Buddy and Theresa when Clarence, Mary and Dave stopped in, so a dinner plan was made.  We all met up at the little store here in the CG, then headed out to Murrell's Inlet looking for a restaurant for dinner.  We stopped at the Wicked Tuna for dinner, good food, expensive but the food was delicious.  We then headed out to the pier for a stroll, chatted for a while, then headed home.  We got Rudy and headed out for a walk, running into Buddy, Theresa and Molly out for their evening stroll as well.  Back home, Brad headed to bed while I did up the dishes, made coffee and attended to the rest of the nightly chores.  Killed a few more ants. 

Diane and Brad

Colorado to Tennessee!!

We left Alamosa, Co, Thursday 9-4 heading into Texas or Oklahoma, but we settled on Texas, it had the first decent CG we could find.  It was a sunny, hot day for travel and you could feel it getting hotter as we headed down out of the mountains.  The one great thing that happened was I looked down over the edge (which I try not to do) and got to see 3 mountain lions crossing a dirt road, WOW!!  Sorry but Brad didn't get to see them.  We got to Dalhart, TX and stayed at the Corral RV Park, high ratings, but it was just OK as for as we were concerned.  We ended up having salad with left over steak (thanks to Jim) for dinner and then a couple of walks for Rudy and then inside with the AC running to drown out the road noise (we miss the mountains). 

 

Friday we left Dalhart, TX and crossed over into OK, just making it to El Reno before we stopped at a KOA.  As we were leaving Dalhart, Brad took a side alley to a gas station and hit a curb or a pot hole, not sure what, but the cupboard doors flew open dishes came flying out and it sounded like half of them smashed all over the floor.  Brad pulled into the gas station and got out, yea right and left me to check out the mess.  Well it wasn't all that bad, only one bowl smashed, but it made one heck of a mess, but I cleaned up the worst of it and now I just need the sweeper to clean up the rest of the mess.  After that we were headed through another small town, following the GPS when I noticed our Route number turning right for the truck route....what the heck.  It might have been a little shorter of a trip, but it was on cobble stone and at one point it sounded like something hit the front or top of the Moho, oh crap.  We finally get to Oklahoma, park get out and look at the roof, the front of the RV, the awnings and can't find anything that got hit....boy were we surprised.  This KOA is just a big gravel parking lot, right beside the interstate, noise, hot, tight and dirty.....no more stopping here.  Brad set up one of our little tables in our own tiny strip of grass and made a couple of sausage, then put it all away before somebody had to pull in beside us and could possibly knock it over (ha ha).  We took a little walk after dinner, there is actually a lake at the back of the CG and only a couple of the cabins have a nice view of.  After that back inside, dishes done and the rest of the evening chores done and off to bed.  Oh no, what's that, I think it's rain starting about 10:00, who cares, off to bed for us all. 

 

Well, here it is Saturday morning and it is still raining, not just rain, but pouring.  I stayed in bed until a little after 7:00, got up, packed up half the bedroom, then quit.  No hurry, a little yogurt, a shower and a discussion about leaving.  We have never driven in the rain before and we aren't sure we want to, but then again, there is no reason to stay where we are. We decided to head out and were on the road about 10:00, heading east, destination, Arkansas.  Well it rained, and rained and rained, changed drivers and it still rained and rained and rained.....ugh.  We switched drivers again and guess what, the rain slowed down and finally quit...yea.  After looking at the RV Review Site (which I don't think I trust anymore) we pulled into the Crab Tree RV Center Campground.  What the heck, it is a gravel lot in the middle of an RV dealer and repair shop and half of the sites look like the people have been living there for years.  We survived the night going to the Cracker Barrel right across the street for dinner, then a walk or two for Rudy, but the AC was on and the road noise still woke us up during the night. 

 

Sunday morning we can't wait to get out of the CG and were on the road by 9:00.  We traveled about an hour or so, then stopped for gas and a breakfast sandwich at the truck stop that had a Denny's.  I'm not sure how they can screw up a sandwich, but I hope somebody got the one's I ordered and they were better then the one's we got, but at least we were full.  I drove from there on, while Brad napped, and for the most part it was an uneventful drive.  The funniest thing was passing a state park named 'Toad Suck', I actually had to laugh out loud.  We switched drivers about 100 miles later and it is time for me to find a CG, so after searching the internet we finally settled on the Midway RV Military CG in Millington, TN, just outside of Memphis.  Not the greatest of rating, but after getting here, we decided we would come back again, the CG is very nice, great TV antenna reception and very close to Memphis and the sites are large with a nice picnic table area.  We got here about 3:00, parked and I headed to the commissary for creamer and burger rolls, back home a little rest outside, then off to the dog park for a run for  Rudy.  Back home, burgers, chips and pickles for dinner, another stroll for Rudy, then off to the nightly chores.  I did dishes, cleaned up, while Brad got his shower and ready for bed.  Now it's 9:30, Brad's in bed and I'm finishing the blog. 



What a nice CG

Monday was a stay parked day for us, after 6 days of driving all of us had had enough.  What a nice treat, we got up, sleeping in until 7:15, breakfast on the grill and just the chance to relax a little.  We did have to do a little shopping, but never headed out until about 11:30.  Our first stop was the Navy Exchange for wine and a hair cut for Brad, then about 5 more stops after that, and back home by 2:30.  Groceries and stuff got put away, 2 loads of laundry to the laundromat (nice one here at the CG), then Brad rinsed off the car so you could at least see out the windows.  A little more relaxing, and some planning for the rest of our trip then we started dinner.  A nice steak dinner with a delicious salad, not too shabby.  We headed inside to eat dinner, we are back in the east and the bugs are unmerciful.  Brad headed back outside after dinner to put the chairs and grill away, didn't want them wet with dew in the morning, while I did dishes and cleaned up inside.  Now we all are just relaxing, enjoying the last of our non-moving day. 
 

Thanks for the visit,

Diane and Brad

 

 

Good-Bye Utah, sad but exciting

Monday morning was packing, laundry and getting ready for the road trip the next day.  About 1:30 Fred and Judy came back from work at the Visitor Center, so we said our good byes and made sure we all had email addresses and phone numbers shared.  They gave us the last of their uniforms, hugs and good-byes shared then we headed to Dutch John to return uniforms and let them get on the road.  It was kind of sad turning in the uniforms, especially to an empty office building, then our next stop was the Flaming Gorge Recreation Store to look for sweat shirts...nothing.  OK up the road to the Flaming Gorge Lodge, where Brad found a nice shirt, I got a t-shirt and we both got the appropriate tourist zipper hoodie.  On the way home, one last stop at the Greendale Overlook to call dad, a short talk then we headed home.  Finishing laundry and packing then I headed up to the Visitor Center, with a glass of wine, which I never did before, but it seemed appropriate for my last Utah call to Lynne.  I ended up talking with her until my wine glass was empty then headed back home to find Jim and Brad sitting by a camp fire.  I said hi, then up to the laundry building to get the stuff out of the dryer and gather laundry detergent and softener, back to the RV folded everything, put it all away then joined the guys at the fire.  We had just brought out the brauts and were talking about cooking them when Don and Jan came home and decided to join us for dinner and an evening by the fire.  What a great night, we all sat out until about 9:30 then headed in for bed. 

 

Tuesday morning Brad got up and packed the last of the outside things while I got the inside organized.  We were ready to head out about 8:30 when Freida showed up and Rudy wanted out for their last play time.  Jim was right behind her and suggested a cup of coffee together before we hit the

Two of the 3 ship
rock formations



road....OK by us.  We got our coffee and Jim grab a container of biscotti and breakfast snacks and we all headed for the picnic area (sunshine on the tables there), when Jan and Don decided to join us for the good-bye social.  We all talked until 9:30 and then Brad prodded me to leave...what sad good-byes.  Jim thanked us for all our hospitality and seemed sad to see us go, and Jan and Don said their good-byes, excited about their trip out on Wednesday to Arizona via Wyoming (silly me, but that seemed like the wrong direction).  We finally hit the road, stopped at the end of Red Canyon Road, hooked up the car and were on the road for real by 9:40.  It was an uneventful ride down 191 to Vernal and Brad did so well, I didn't even have to gasp for breath on the steep , windy corners.   We did manage to get pictures of the rock formations for the 'Red Fleet State Park', which one of the family remembered from being here about 30 years ago, something about a 3 ships park.  As it turns out the rock formations around the state park is supposed to look like 3 ships and gave the state park it's name....kind of funny, we could only see it on the way down the mountain (thanks Greg, we aren't

Montrose CG,
we are already missing Utah

sure we would have noticed the formations).  We traveled about 240 miles Tuesday getting down to Montrose Colorado, going over Douglas pass, with some steep, narrow, and windy roads, but the Moho and Brad did well.  It was some beautiful scenery and we were glad we took this route and stayed off the interstates as long as we can.  We stayed at a little CG in the center of Montrose, not bad, but tight sites and a little noisy, at least compared to what we were used to.  We stayed in for the night and just had burgers on the grill, sat out until about 8:30, then Brad headed off to bed a little after 9:00 and me about 10:00. 

 

View going over the pass

Wednesday Brad was out walking Rudy, so I headed over to the shower house to shower, no sewer hooked up, so I decided not to make it an issue.  Funny though they got back before me and they wondered where I was.  Again we were on the road about 9:30, but by 11:15 we stopped for a nice break, a little grocery shopping and last of all lunch before we got back on the road at noon.  It was a nice, very needed break and the town, Gunnison was a nice place for a break.  We checked on the internet at the different routes available and decided to take 114 over North Pass at 10,149 feet, it was a beautiful ride and not bad at all in the Moho.  We had no problem with the pass, but once we hit the flat area of Colorado we both got tired and stopped at the first CG sign we saw after 200 miles.  It was only 3:00 but we just couldn't do any more.  We ended up at the Alamosa KOA still in Colorado.  We walked a while, then chicken on the grill, dishes and another walk for Brad and Rudy while I type the blog.  We'll have to see what tomorrow brings.  It's now 8:30 and we are all in for the night, we'll keep you posted.

We stopped at the
top for a break

 









Later, Diane and Brad

 

Utah Volunteer Time Ending

Monday 8-25 was a very slow day, it has been cool, foggy in the morning and drizzly all after noon.

Foggy sunrise at
Greendale Overlook

  We quit about 12:00 and headed into Dutch John to drop off the money from the Spillway, then headed to the Flaming Gorge Lodge for a nice lunch.  We were headed back to camp just coming up on West Green Lake, when the mountain lion/cougar ran across the road in from of us.  Wow, that was a first for us.  Back home a nap for Brad and Rudy then we headed out to do a couple of geocaches.  We managed to get 2 in about 2.5 hours, but it does help you find areas and things in your area that you would never have noticed otherwise.  Jim stopped over and invited us over for dinner with the family again, but after such a large lunch, we just stayed home and had burgers.  About 7:30 the rain started again, so we all headed in for the night.

 

Tuesday was another slow day, but the Vail Mountain School was there, they hired 6 guides from Flaming Gorge, so in the morning 12 kids went down the river to learn fly fishing and then about 12:30 the same guides came back, with 12 different kids....what an class trip.  After that the West Wyoming Community College brought a bus full of kids down for a raft trip.  Between the two schools, I think they made up over half of the counts for people going down the river.  Adam showed up about noon to do another afternoon raft trip and invited Brad and I to go along, so we decided to go.  A quick trip home, a short walk for Rudy, grab something to eat and back out the door we went.  It was an overcast day, no rain so the trip was wonderful once again, and it looked so different in the overcast compared to the bright sunny days.  Back home a quick dinner of sausages, then off to bed by 9:00 for Brad and about 10:00 for me.  

Elk on the run

Wednesday morning it is raining again, so we head to the Flaming Gorge Lodge for breakfast wraps and then went to the Greendale Overlook to eat.  After that we head down the mountain for a weekly shopping trip, in torrential rains.  Every parking lot was flooded, so we only made 6 stops and then headed back up the mountain, in the rain.  About 10 miles from camp the rain stopped for a few minutes and we managed to get a picture of about 6 Elk running back into the woods.  We carried groceries in the a light rain, then I swept the RV while Brad did a load of laundry.  At 5:00 it is still raining, our gauge has measured 3 inches of rain in a week, which is unheard of for this area this time of the year.  We hid inside and I just threw hot dogs in some baked beans and called it dinner...I think we are all tired of the rain. 

 

Thursday morning I am excited, I am going down Section 'B' of the river with Adam and Ben, and need to be at Little Hole by 10:00.  I left about 8:45, stopped for a breakfast sandwich at Trout Creek

Daily Sheep visit

Flies, called Mel and talked with her for a minute, then got to Little Hole early.  So I walked around with my trash picker and picked up trash, not much there but it kept me busy until the Old Moe girls got there and I chatted with them only to hear that the road to Indian Crossing is closed, and that is where we were to end our trip, but Adam and Ben showed up to say the road was open, but still a muddy mess.  They were a little late, so it was about 10:45 until we got on the river, but what a difference from Section 'A'.  The river is wider so the ride was slower and we didn't see another boater the whole trip.  We stopped and cleaned about 12 campsites on the way down and the ride lasted until a little after 3:00.  It was a beautiful day and I had a great trip on the river, Brad would have liked that section much better.  Back home to find that Brad had a busy day as well, cleaning out the last of the bins, putting tables away, fixing a hole in the laundry building, cleaning propane tanks and doing laundry....what a great guy. He worked so hard while I had a lazy day floating down the river.   Thursday night is our clean out the refrigerator and share with the other volunteers, but since ours was mostly cleaned out, we had bought shrimp to share and the last of the salsa Shari had sent us from the Wondervue Café.  There was plenty of food for all, and we all stayed and talked more than normal, it seems hard to believe that it is almost over. 

 

Friday was a work day for us, not a normal one, but they needed the extra help for the weekend, so we went in.  Surprisingly it was a slow day, only about 150 people, but Terra, the new intern, was in the booth with me learning what I did, so she could take over after I leave.  Jake, Adam and Ben were
at the spillway, heading down the river once again, but being a chilly morning, I didn't envy them.  Terra worked until about noon, then she needed to head out for another job, but Brad and I were there until 1:00.  Ben and Adam were going down the river again about 2:00, this time taking Don and Jan with them.  We just hoped the rain held out and they had a nice trip, which it ended up they did.  We headed home to watch the temperature drop then a quick lunch and Brad and Rudy's daily nap.  After that they headed out for a walk, but I picked them up at the visitors center as a storm had blown in.  We paid some bills, cleaned out the old magazines and then when Jim came home we headed outside for a very chilly happy hour.  Jim brought over some cheese and crackers and stayed for burgers on the grill.  We all headed in about 7:30, it was getting cold and the rain was back.  About 8:30 I headed out for a cigarette and heard the Elk bugling, so I told Brad and of course he thought I was crazy, but headed out the door about 5 minutes later and heard them for himself, what a great way to end the evening. 



On a 3 day camping trip,
but I liked the
'Hand' painted theme!!

 

Saturday the morning started out slow.  Jake showed up about 8:30 to help Brad on the ramp and about 10:30 he was ready to leave.  Thank goodness he didn't we ended up with almost 700 people going down the river.  Brad and I ended up working until about 2:00 and when we left Jake was still there...wow, what a change a few hours can make.  We headed home and watched the temperature go from about 75 at the ramp to 67 on our hill top, a bit cooler.  We had a quick snack of nachos and salsa then Brad and Rudy headed out for a walk....take notice 'no nap'.  About 4:30 I started the white sauce for Mac and Cheese when Brad asked me, over the walkie talkie' what Rudy was barking at.  Now I can't see anything since I am standing at the stove when Brad yelled it's a Badger, now they are really mean, so I throw the pan off the stove and run out the door, but by this time Rudy is headed back to Brad...yea.  Back to cooking, I made mac and cheese(with hot dogs) for dinner for Brad, Jim and I, then Fred took some when he got home, but there are leftover for our trip.  We all talked until just after 8:00 then headed inside to get ready for Sunday. 

 

Sunday once again started out as a slow day, but until we left at 2:00 we had just over 600 people go down the river.  Not a bad day for a Sunday.  We head home, no nap again, we threw our uniforms in the laundry and had a steak dinner planned with Jim.  Brad cleaned the car while I did some cleaning in the Moho, then about 5:00 we quit work and started dinner with Jim.  He brought over potatoes and onion wrapped in foil and I got zucchini wrapped in foil ready for the grill, then Brad got them started while we all enjoyed happy hour.  I kept checking on the laundry while Jim and Brad worked on cooking dinner and about 6:00 the steaks finally got put on the grill.  We had a great evening, lots to eat, with leftovers for Brad and I.  I think we stayed outside until about 9:30, none of us had to work on Monday so we had a nice night. 

Snow in August!!!



Traffic Hazard, you hit
them you pay for them!!

Monday and Tuesday were pretty slow days here at the ramp.  Monday after work we headed into Dutch John to talk with Nan for a little and Tuesday we left about 11:30 but decided not to stop for lunch and headed home to eat the rest of the grilled chicken on salad from the night before.  On Monday it was our normal routine, lunch a short nap for Brad and Rudy and then their daily walk. Tuesday we watch a movie staring Robert Redford, called 'All is Lost'.  It was a good movie, but a little strange at the same time.  We have not seen much of Jim lately, he hadn't  been feeling well and spent most of his time resting.  But, each evening we would watch Freida for about an hour so her and Rudy could run and tire themselves out. 

 

Wednesday was a gray day, so a quick breakfast and off we go to Vernal for our weekly shopping trip.  No Elk on this trip, but just as we were finishing our 8th stop, the thunder started rolling around

Our daily Long Horn Sheep

again.  We got home to a light drizzle, but managed to get all the stuff inside before the real rain hit.  Brad and Rudy managed to get a short walk in and ended up seeing Fred and CJ on their evening walk.  It seems that even though we are getting some rain, the worst of it has been in Vernal.  Fred usually golfs every week, but he called and the golf course is flooded, the back 9 were already closed and it was raining really hard and they didn't even think the front 9 would be open tomorrow.....poor Fred.  I made dirty rice for dinner and we all just stayed inside for the night.   

 

Thursday morning we awake to more rain.....I thought we were in the desert, but maybe they lied to us!!  We are having another volunteer dinner and I am making pulled beef BBQ and Judy, Jan and Jim are bring the sides, so everything was mixed and in the crock pot by 8:00 AM.  Brad and Rudy went for a short walk, then Brad actually managed to get breakfast made on the grill in between the rain showers.  We managed to get the laundry done and finished the 2 month puzzle.  That was a tough one, 4 of us working on it and it still took us 2 months to finish, made me think of mom!!  About 3:00, Brad pulled the beef apart and we put it in a pan with some of the BBQ sauce to keep warm, then 4:00 I headed over to the duplex, swept up the moths and got our little electric heaters to warm the place up before we all headed over there for dinner.  Judy just about followed me in the door, bringing her BBQ baked beans, and turned on the oven for pre-heat (or just to warm up the kitchen, I'm not sure which).  I finished bring the plates and things about 4:30, Judy and Fred showed up for cocktail hour, with Jim following about 15 min. later.  We all sat and talked for about an hour waiting for Don and Jan, and Fred and Judy warned us that a mountain lion was seen on Wednesday morning near the CG across the road from us.  Don and Jan got there about 6:00, just in time to sit down and eat with us......another good meal, with home made ice cream for dessert.  And again, the mountain lion/cougar was spotted Thursday morning chasing a young long horn sheep.  We all hung out at the duplex until about 8:00, then we each headed home for the night. 

 

The 2 month puzzle!!

Friday we had hoped to take a ride to Spirit Lake, but with all the rain, we decided the dirt roads were a place to avoid.  So first thing in the morning I threw all the rugs in the washer, and ran it twice, then hung them on the line to dry......no rain today.  Brad made breakfast on the grill again, and this time we got to eat sitting outside, yea.  After breakfast Brad and Rudy headed out for about a 2 mile walk, while I cleaned up the Moho.  About 11:00 we headed down to the Visitor Center to make a few phone calls and do some internet banking, finally finishing that up about 1:30 (I hate being off the grid).  Back home a little lunch. then some picking and cleaning around the Moho.  I gathered up uniforms while Brad cleaned his grill and swept out some more of his outside bins.  A nice supper on the grill and an early night inside, it's pretty chilly outside. 

Saturday morning is rainy and cold, so we waited until about 6:45 to leave for work and were glad we did.  Just up the road about 1/4 mile from our camp site a bull Elk crossed the road in front of us.  Brad did his best to get a picture, but you can only make out the outline of the animal in the

Snow capped mountains
August 24!

fog, darn.  We got to work and as you would expect it was a very, very slow day.  We had more guides go down the river than we normally would have on a Saturday, but I think with the cloudy weather the fishing is supposed to be a little better, and of course very few public launches.  About 10:30 Jake came around and was sending everybody home, so we closed up shop and were out of there by 11:00.  We headed home had lunch, then loaded Rudy into the car so we could head up to the visitors center to get a picture of the snow covered mountain, yes, snow!!  We walked around there for a while and took some pictures, then headed up towards West Green Lake and just before we got to the lake about 30 Elk ran across the road in front of us.  I didn't get a picture of them on the road, but I did get one of them running through the woods, the bull Elk was with them, but of course you can't see him on the picture.  After that we headed down Eagle Ranch Road hoping to see the herd again, but no luck. After that we headed back to the Moho and Brad pulled out the batteries to check the water levels....etc. and I headed out to call Lynne.  We talked about 45 min, then back home to see what else needed done, so we went for a short walk then headed home to get dinner ready.  We planned on burgers for dinner, but as we were sitting with a glass of wine, Jim came home and invited us to have dinner with him and his visiting relatives.  What a nice time, we had lots of cheese, crackers, and other snack foods, then brauts and baked beans (right out of the can) for dinner.  After that we had a camp fire which we all enjoyed, I left about 8:30 to get dishes done and the rest of my nightly chores and  Brad headed in about 9:00 and we were in bed by 10:00, 5:30 still comes early.

The Elk running through the woods!!

Sunday was a bit cool, but sunny so we actually had some river launches for the day....not a lot, but it was nice to have the people come through.  We were packed up and heading out about noon, when Chris stopped in to see how things were going and was headed down to the ramp to do some work.  Back home a little lunch and quick nap for Brad and Rudy, then off to the Greendale Overlook to drop them off for their 4 mile hike.  As I was leaving the overlook I spotted a couple of mule deer across the road, trying to cross to my side, but each time they tried coming down the hill a car came by.  I then stopped at the 3 campgrounds on my way home, trying to reach Brad on the walkie-talkie

Mule deer being chased
back up the hill!

and finally got a hold of him at the 3rd one I stopped at, but it ended up taking me about an hour to get home. Brad and Rudy got home about 5:30, a little glass of wine and a bark from Jim's camper. Most of the time Freida is with Jim, so we were all surprised, so Brad started dinner and I headed over to let Freida out to play with Rudy.  Jim got home about 30-45 min. later and thanked us for letting Freida out, 5 people and a dog in his car all day just wouldn't have worked.  His family was back over for dinner, but we stayed home for steak, mushrooms and garlic bread, yum.  After that we headed in to get our nightly chores done and get ready for our last Monday of work. 

Thanks,
Diane and Brad

We finally see some Elk

Monday 8-11 we saw about 20 turkeys on our way to work.  It ended up being a pretty slow day, but it was interesting watching 8 rafters prepare for a 9 day river trip, the amount of stuff that they must take is just amazing.  They prepped for about 2 hours up top, then headed down to the ramp and probably spent another 3 hours making sure everything was ready.  We left about 12:30 and headed into the Rec. Center Lunch counter for something to eat.  After that a quick stop to see Nan and drop off the register money and then we headed for home.  It was a beautiful day, but we headed up to the laundry area and worked on the puzzle, again.  After that Jim came over for a drink and dinner, Burgers, chips and water melon for dessert. 

Tuesday was another slow day, but about 9:00 about 50-60 students from the Utah Valley University showed up to do some volunteer work.  What a zoo, they were painting the lines in the parking lot,

Lola, the biker dog!!

picking up trash and a lot of them just got to stand around and watch the others work.....a bit crazy, but they did managed to get some things accomplished.  Sturgis Bike Week is over, so we have had a lot of bikers stopping in just to take a look at the place, but the one guy really got my attention.  He had a very small Chihuahua tucked in his vest, her name is Lola and she has over 25,000 miles racked up from traveling with him.  We didn't get out of here until 1:00, headed home for a quick lunch, a little nap, walk for Rudy and more puzzle work.  Jim came over for his nightly visit and then he stayed for a spaghetti dinner.  It ended up being a bit cool, so we all headed home by 8:00.

Part of the Elk Herd

Wednesday was breakfast on the grill, a quick walk for Rudy then about 10:30 we headed out.  First towards the Visitor Center to drop off the recycle, but on the way we did find a black bear, headed towards the one CG.  We stopped for a pic and away he ran, they just don't stick around for the photo-ops.  We then headed towards Vernal, but at the Cart Creek

Overlook we spied an Elk, then we noticed the herd of 20-30 of them behind a row a pine trees, what magnificent animals.  Thank goodness there was very little traffic, since there was no place to  pull over, Brad was creeping down the road, trying to find a break in the trees where I could get a picture or two.  Back on the road, we were going through the last of the big curves, when 2 mule deer stepped into the middle of the road and played the 'headlight in the eyes' stare with us, having to stop before the one deer moved, what a day for animals.  We finally get into town, complete our 7 stops and managed to get home before 4:00, our fastest trip ever.  Brad managed a short walk for Rudy, then about 6:00 we all headed to the duplex for a baked potato dinner, with all the toppings, including chili, Brownies and home-made blue berry ice cream for dessert. 

 

Thursday is our work at home day, first the Bedroom blind came down, 2 loads of laundry in and then breakfast on the grill.  After that laundry in the dry, check out a couple of switches not working right, boil eggs for tomorrows get together, cleaned all the fruit bought yesterday and made iced tea.  Brad and Rudy did an hour long walk, then we paid the taxes and worked on the puzzle.  Not a very exciting day, but the stuff needed done.  After that we had our nightly get together with Jim, then brauts on the grill.  A nice evening so we were all sitting out 'til about 9:00.

 

Friday we were going to do the museums in town, but the first priority was to get the bedroom blind fixed since our neighbors were coming home Friday.  We had breakfast on the grill again, 1 more load of laundry and then the better part of 3 hours to restring the blind, get it back together and hung up again.....ugh.  In between that, Brad started cleaning out the outside bins and getting the reorganized again, cleaned out the fire pit and did some bush trimming.  We re-leveled the RV, worked on the puzzle, made deviled eggs and a cheesy potato casserole to take to Nan's for dinner tonight.  She is the boss of all the volunteers and seasonal foresters, and had a Rib dinner for us all at her home.  The meal was great and her and her husband, Troy, were gracious hosts.  There were about 20 people at the meal and the Forest Service had a nice gift package for each of the volunteers, including a picture of each at their work place.  We stayed until about 9:00, but then headed home as 5:00 AM comes very early. 

 

Saturday was another busy day with over 700 people going down the river.  We had a lot of big

One of the young Sheep

groups, with one having about 70 people and we think the youngest of them was about 78 years old.  The Dam was having their 50th Anniversary celebration, so between the people launching and the workers from the dam coming down, the cars on the road pretty much non stop all day.  It was well after 1:00 when we headed out, and on the way home, the long horned sheep were in the middle of the road.  A quick lunch, little nap, walk for Rudy and Brad while I took out the trash and then worked on the puzzle.  For dinner we just had burgers and Jim brought over the Watergate salad left over from the night before.  It was an early night for us all, we all worked and had were tired from a busy day. 

Sunday was a pretty slow day, only about 200 people. but instead of working on the blog, I was trying to plan our trip home.  We managed to get out of here right at 1:00, then headed home for our daily routine of lunch and a nap.  Some time while we were resting the electric went out, and then

An Osprey coming into fish

never came back on until about 7:00 PM, I managed to call dad, but I couldn't finish the blog at the Visitor Center.  Brad and Rudy went for their daily walk while I stayed home and cleaned lettuce and got the salad stuff ready for dinner.  When Brad came home, he grilled up some chicken, but Jim didn't have dinner with us, his throat has been bothering him, so he headed home for some scrambled eggs, while we enjoyed a grilled chicken salad.  Not much happening this evening, Brad headed to bed about 9:00 and I followed about 10:00. 

 

Not much more to come from Utah,

we will be back on the road September 2.

 

Diane and Brad