Yesterday the temp got up to 92.
John arrived around noon.
Patti, Becki and John went to Bend to the CostCo there.
Samantha and I stayed in Redmond.
Samantha walked to Fred Meyers and stopped along the way to get her hare cut.
I checked the oil level in the jeeps transfer case. It was low so I topped it off.
Patti bought some pre cooked ribs at Costco so we had ribs and corn on the cob for dinner. Good ribs!
Today the temp is supposed to be 96.
Yesterday was hot. We even had to turn on the AC.
We didn’t do much.
Patti did a couple loads of laundry and I took a ride to find the local RV dump station.
The rest of the day we just hung out enjoying the air conditioning.
Today is supposed to be even hotter than yesterday.
Our Grandson John is arriving from Alaska today around Noon.
The rain finally stopped and the temperatures are rising. It was in the mid 80’s yesterday and will be even hotter today.
Yesterday was our Granddaughter Samantha’s 21st birthday.
We had a small party for her, complete with hamburgers, hotdogs, salads
and a cake.
Her other Grandparents, Sue and Mike were there.
Samantha's mom Becki, on the left and her (Samantha) friend Katie.
Neighbors, also attended.
After the cake
Samantha opened her presents.
They included clothes,
money,
cosmetics,
an Ipad mini
and accessories.
Happy birthday Sami!
The ride to Redmond Oregon was pretty easy.
We left the Plymouth campground around 10:00.
We crossed the Columbia River and headed west on the Oregon side of the river.
As we drove along the south side of the river we saw a set of barges being pushed upstream by a tugboat.
When we got to US 97 we turned south 
We passed through rolling farmland
small towns
and by abandoned farms.
We got to Redmond around 2:00. and parked the RV on the street along side Samantha’s apartment. I ran an electrical cord from a receptacle in the apartment, through a window and across the lawn to Plan “B”.
I don’t know how long we will be able to stay here but we will stay until someone tells us to leave. We talked to a neighbor of Samantha’s who is a city cop and he said that “officially” we have to move the RV after 24 hours but he suggested that we just wait until some one tells us to move. He also said that we could move to the Lowes parking lot across the street if we needed to. So we do have options.
Today is Samantha’s 21st birthday. Later today we are going to have a small party in her honor.
Yesterday it rained off and on all day.
We took a ride to the Mc Nary dam.
We drove to the Oregon side of the river and went to the dam visitors center and watched some salmon swim by the fish counter on a monitor.
From there we went to the town of Hermiston where they have a Walmart where we picked up a few things.
From Walmart we went back to plan “B” and had lunch.
Around 3:00 we took a drive west on the Washington side of the river. We saw a bunch of wind generators across the river.
At the time none of them were turning.
I thought that the windmills were a bit superfluous with all the Hydro Power that the river produces.
The ride wasn’t very exciting so after about 40 miles we turned around and headed for home.
On the way home we noticed that the wind mills were turning. I’m not sure what controls whether or not they turn, it may be just a matter of wind speed.
We decided to take a look at the Locks which are on the Washington side of the dam.
We sat for a while watching the river and saw several Pelicans,
Cormorants, and Gulls flying, floating and sitting on posts near the locks.
While we were watching the water and birds we could hear some loud booms coming from the opposite side of the river. I figured that it was a Carbide or Gas cannon being fired to scare off the birds.
After a little while we could hear a different boom coming from our side of the dam.
As it turned out it was a dam worker standing on the top of a wall near the locks throwing fireworks toward the water.
All this noise didn’t appear to disturb the birds a bit.
We watched for a while and then went home.
Today we are leaving here for Redman, Oregon.
We planned to meet with Suzanne, Roy, Donna and Greg at the Sweet Grass Cafe for breakfast but when we got there the cafe was closed until 11:00. After everyone showed up we decided to have breakfast at the buffet.
The buffet breakfast was good. All the food we have had at the casino was very good.
After breakfast we said our good bye’s.
Of course Patti had to try one more machine before we left. When her $20.00 was gone we headed back to the RV to hook up the jeep and take off.
We left around 11:30.
The trip to Plymouth, WA was uneventful. We hit some rain around Spokane, WA but a little south of there the rain tapered off and we only encountered occasional light showers for the rest of the trip to Plymouth.
We traveled down Hwy 395 from Spokane to Pasco where we turned off onto Hwy 12 and followed the Columbia River around the bend to the Oregon side.
When we got to the 395 bridge we crossed it going north back to the Washington side.
We turned west to the town of Plymouth where we turned toward the river and entered Plymouth Park (a Corps of Engineers RV park). Bill told us about this park and we are very grateful to him. The park is small but very nice with lots of trees and lawns. If you have a Golden Age Pass it only costs $12.00 per night for full hookups.
The park is just downstream from the Mc Nary Dam.
As we crossed the river we noticed a large barge being pushed upstream by a tug boat. We got to wondering if the dam had locks to raise the barge.
Today we are going to go to the dam and see if we can get some pictures of the locks at work. We are also planning to take a ride down the Oregon side of the river to see if we can find some waterfalls.
It rained last night and is raining now. The forecast is for more rain for the next couple of days.
It was not raining yesterday.
We went to the Sweet Grass Cafe for breakfast with Shirley, Bill, Suzanne and Roy.
After breakfast Shirley and Bill left for Spokane.
Later, we hung out at Suzanne and Roy’s for a while waiting for their friends Donna and Greg to arrive from BC. Around 3:30 we went back to our place. As soon as we left, Donna and Greg pulled up. Around 5:00 we went back to Suzanne and Roy’s to visit again. At 6:00 we all went to the Sweet Grass for dinner. Patti and I recommended that they try the Rib special. They ordered the special and were very pleased with the result.
Patti and I had the excellent clam chowder.
After dinner Patti gambled a little and then we went back to the RV.
We are leaving this morning after breakfast.
We are planning to go as far as the town of Plymouth on the Columbia River. There is a Corps of Engineers RV park there with full hookups.
It was raining when I got up this morning and is supposed to rain through out the day.
Yesterday started out with a little fog which burned off early leaving a clear blue sky.
We went to breakfast with Suzanne, Roy, Shirley and Bill.
Suzanne and Roy went to Coeur d’ Alene to visit Roy’s aunt.
Shirley, Patti, Bill and I took a ride in Bills Jeep Cherokee. We went around the south end of Coeur d’ Alene Lake.
We drove through some pretty green country
and several small towns where Bill spent his youth.
We crossed the St Mary’s River
and drove along a creek with a pretty little waterfall
and we passed some interesting yard art.
As the day progressed the clouds increased to where it looked like we were going to get some thunder storms but they never developed.
By the time we arrived back at the RV the clouds had cleared off.
We went to the casino last evening to have dinner. The restaurant had a special that really was a special. For $25.00 for two people we each got a half rack of ribs, fries, corn, coleslaw, a outstanding cup of clam chowder and a large strawberry short cake with ice-cream to share. We were stuffed.
We didn’t do as well at the machines. Patti lost $90 and I donated $3 and change.
As soon as I finish this post we are going to breakfast with the gang.
Well, it didn’t rain yesterday. It was cloudy and cold though.
We took a ride to Coeur d’ Alene with Suzanne and Roy in their new jeep.
We didn’t realize that this weekend is the IRON MAN competition. The town was a hairball. There were people and traffic every where and many of the streets were closed. We couldn’t even get to the restaurant where we were planning to have lunch. We drove through town and stopped at a Texas Roadhouse for lunch. It turned out to be excellent We all had ribs and were so full when we left that we didn’t have to eat again that evening.
When we got back to the Casino Shirley and Bill were there. After about an hour, Patti, Shirley, Suzanne. Roy and Bill went into the casino to do a little gambling. Patti came back after about three hours and said that she had won a little money.
I spent the time reading and napping.
It looks like today will be sunny. There is a little thin fog right now with blue skies peaking through.
I’m not sure what we are going to do today but I hope we go for a ride somewhere.
We left Missoula, MT around 9:30.
The first part of the drive was dry.
We could see fresh snow on the mountains from Wednesday’s night storm.
The mountains were green and beautiful.
We crossed the Clark Fork several times.
After about an hour it started to rain.
It rained all the rest of the day and is raining still.
We stopped at a tourist trap that advertizes 50,000 silver dollars.
The dollar’s were displayed in frames on the walls.
We arrived at the Coeur d’ Alene Casino around 1:00. After we got set up in the RV parking lot we called for a shuttle to the casino so we could have lunch. The first time Patti called the casino they told her that if we were going to spent the night we would have to register and pay $20.00 per night. WHAT!! Twenty dollars per night to park in a parking lot with no hookups? WTF?
The shuttle arrived after the second call and as we were riding to the casino I mentioned the twenty dollar thing to the driver. He said that that didn’t start until July first.
It still seems like a rip off. We had lunch. Patti and I put some money in the machines. We both lost 20 bucks. That is all I will contribute to them. Even if it was Patti’s money.
Patti wanted to stay and play a while so I went back to the RV.
When I arrived I noticed we had new neighbors.
As I was unlocking the door I heard some one yelling obscenities at me I turned to look and saw Suzanne making faces at me from the window of their RV.
I went over to their place and we had a happy reunion.
One thing that threw me off was the car they had parked in front of their RV was not their Ford Explorer.
It was a newer four door Jeep Rubicon.
Yes, they bought a Jeep!!
We would have lost money on that bet.
Shirley and Bill stopped by at around 5:00 and we all went to the casino for dinner at the buffet. it was pretty good.
The couple on the left is Shirley’s Cousin Mary and her husband Larry.
Shirley and Bill are coming back today with their Trailer.
Patti Shuttle driver if there was any way we could get electricity and he said that we could plug into a receptacle on the light pole next to our RV. It took us a while to find the right adaptors but eventually we got plugged in.
Other wise this blog would probably not get published today.
This will have to be short because we are operating on batteries only.
We left Idaho Falls yesterday around 9:30 and headed north on I-15 toward Butte, Montana. The plan was to spend the night at Butte.
We got to the Butte area early so decided to continue on to Missoula, MT. We arrived there right at 5:00 and our GPS took us right through the center of town to the Walmart where we spent the night.
The trip from Idaho Falls was pretty scenic.
There were some pretty red flowers along the road,
and fields of mustard.
As we got closer to Missoula it began to rain.
By the time we got to the Missoula it was raining pretty hard.
This morning it is cold and grey and it will probably rain today.
We are going to leave here after the morning commute is over. It is only about a hundred and sixty miles to Coeur d’ Alene so we aren’t in a big hurry.
