June 24th to 28th - Montana

June 24^th - 28^th – Montana

Fri - Obviously we are having way too much fun here with no time – or inclination? - to keep the blog up to date! We woke to pouring rain early this morning so we didn't jump right out of bed. It continued to rain all morning which didn't interrupt our game playing at all. I did take enough time to post the blog. Happy hour was moved into the activity room as the weather was still threatening.

Sat – There is a big July 4^th party put on by the owners of this RV park and our new friends are saying we should stay but our site is booked 2 days after our week is up. So we got this site for 2 more days, move to a grass site with full hookups for 2 days and then move up the hill to WalMart for 3 days and they will let us come back for the party and happy hours.

We were invited to a party at Jim & Cathy's after happy hour today. Luckily all the camp hosts in residence were there as we were pretty noisy until quiet time of 10 and slightly quieter for a little while longer.

Sun – Another day that is lost from my mind! Guess it wasn't too exciting! Happy hour of course and Terry made a trip to the casino after dinner but unfortunately wasn't there long!

Mon – We went for a motorcycle ride around Flathead Lake today. We went up the west side and into Kalispell where we checked out a mall and bought some shirts. We stopped at a “casino” for lunch but the restaurant was too fancy & pricy and the casino was tiny so we continued on and down the east side of the lake. We stopped to eat at a Dairy Queen in Bigfork and then drove back. The lake is beautiful & clear and the temperature was perfect – not too hot. We were back in plenty of time for happy hour(s) where everyone was searching for shade. A couple (Dennis & Deb) came over to see the rig and have a Moscow Mule. We were still gobbling down dinner when 2 more couples (Mike & Brenda and Howard & Karleen) came over to take advantage of Terry's offer of Mules.

Tues – OK, it was Tuesday when I started this entry and somehow it didn't get done! Seems like we didn't do much but the day filled up quickly. We made a shopping trip to Walmart on the bike and I kind of forgot how much (little?) we can carry so I had a big bag in one hand and a huge box of Rice Krispies on the other side. Guess what's for the pot luck dessert on the 4^th? I got a jicama for happy hour and it was half brown on the inside so Terry had to make a quick return trip to take it back and get a good one. Good thing WalMart is just up the hill. We had leftovers for dinner and were sitting outside when 8 people (including 3 camp host couples) came over with big smiles on their faces to tell us that the people who were supposed to come into our site had just canceled and we could stay longer. Woohoo! Time for more drinks! I guess the new neighbors who pulled in today agreed as they joined us after they finished a late dinner.

June 21st to 23rd - Montana

June 21st-23^rd – Montana

Tues – We packed up and headed east. We stopped for breakfast at the 10,000 Silver $ Bar but hadn't accounted for the time zone change and had to settle for lunch. There were long stretches of road repair with narrow lanes but no waiting. We arrived at the Eagle's Nest RV park in Polson around 2:00 and set up in a nice pull-through. When I called for a reservation, the lady (Brenda) moved someone else so we could have an end site with a nearly straight approach. There is parking for the truck right behind us and room for the bike in front of the 5^th wheel. We stayed here before and it is a really nice, well kept park.

We were told about a daily 4:30 happy hour that was normally held outside but was to be inside due to cooler weather. We headed over at 4:30 and found a guy (Al) setting up chairs. We chatted with him for a while before we realized that everyone else was outside as the sun had come out! We joined them in their big circle on the lawn and met many friendly people. A lot of them stay here for the summer. Plenty nice enough to BBQ dinner.

Wed – Terry took the bike for fuel and to find a liquor store. Guess we should have stocked up more on inexpensive booze in Arizona!! Then we went to – what else – a casino. We signed up for players cards and found out it was senior day which included hourly drawings for $25 in slot play. I ended up winning the first drawing but it didn't help me much! Terry did OK so we will go back! We were back in time for a very late lunch before happy hour where we met more people. It is so nice that a group of people who know each other includes newbies right away.

Thurs – I made a lunch and we headed to the golf course for our 10:08 tee time. First I changed from shorts into long pants just so I could change back into shorts at the course before we teed off a bit early! The weather was perfect, too bad our golf games were not close to perfect! Oh well, the course was really pretty & well maintained with beautiful views of the lake. A group of three guys waved us through on the 13^th hole and we finished shortly after 1:00. We came back and ate our lunch at the rig. Terry went to get the truck washed and to pick up some cleaner while I made cookies. I got the recipe from Georgia but mine did not turn out like hers. I am blaming the oven and/or cookie sheets until I check the recipe with Georgia.  Terry got back, shined up the bike and it was time to go to happy hour. There we met the 3 guys who waved us through on the golf course! Dinner & a quiet evening.

June 19-20th - Spokane

June 19-20^th - Spokane

Sun – We all went to breakfast at the sprint boat race venue this morning. It was put on by a restaurant from Spokane – fried potatoes, gravy, eggs, bacon, sausage, coffee, OJ. Outside of course and the weather co-operated. Easy pack up & trip back to Spokane. We came back to the Elks club, signed up for 2 nights and got settled. We relaxed a bit and had a drink before meeting Bill & Georgia at Applebee's for dinner. When we hooked up today, Georgia asked Terry why he left the shin-knocker (tow ball) on our truck since we tow a 5^th wheel. Terry said it would prevent damage to the truck if someone backed into us in a parking lot. Darned if a waiter didn't come by asking if anyone owned a blue-gray (?) truck on the edge of the parking lot as someone had hit the truck and wanted to own up! Turned out she had probably hit the hitch as there was no damage to the truck.

Mon – We were lazy for a bit this morning and then went to visit Barb Fatzinger before her PT appointment. We had a nice visit with her and friend Karen. Barb is doing well or else she lies well. She has the neatest ice machine that pumps cool water through a hose that you place/wrap on your knee. No more drippy ice packs. They have probably been around for a while but I haven't seen anyone using it.

We stopped at Senor Froggy's for lunch, came back to pick up an empty propane tank, got the tank filled and did some grocery shopping. Shopping was an adventure as Fred Meyer was resetting huge sections of the store so we had to wander around to find a couple of non-food items. First thing when we got back – turn on the AC!! Uneventful evening with dinner & computer games.

June 14th to 18th - WA

June 14-18^th – WA

Tues- We had an uneventful morning and early afternoon – probably some shopping involved!! We went for dinner at Bill & Georgia's and then played Sequence to a tie.

Wed- We are going to St. John's on Thursday to watch sprint boat racing so we did some planning & a bit more grocery shopping. Julie & Natalie came to visit with us in the afternoon. Julie is doing very well (thanks a lot to Natalie) but we shared a few tears as we talked. Shortly after they left, it was time go to Bill & Georgia's and then to Texas Roadhouse to join their friends (Wally(1) & Linda and Wally(2) & Jan) for dinner to celebrate Wally(2)'s birthday.

Thurs- We packed up, dumped the tanks and drove to Bill & Georgia's shortly before noon for the trip to St John's which was a lovely drive through wheat fields once we left I90. We are going to watch sprint boat races here on Saturday.

We set up on the lawn at the fairgrounds which is just a short ways from the sprint boat track. We have 110 power and a water faucet if we need to fill the tank – for $5 a day. We walked into town to buy early passes and to check things out. Bill & Linda Schoeplin are going to join us so we looked for a balloon to tie to our sun shelter so they could find us. Unfortunately the only store with balloons was closed today. We had a lovely dinner on the BBQ.

Fri- We played 9 holes of golf this morning. Terry still had a sore back but figured swinging a club might help so he played too. The weather was great – think we all dressed too warm as we were shedding jackets early. None of us set any course records but we all had fun! We walked to town for a free lunch at the hardware store – hot dogs, homemade potato salad, chips, drink & brownies. The pharmacy was open so we got a helium balloon for tomorrow. This was also the “show & shine” for the owners to show off their boats so we wandered up & down the main street and then headed home.

We could have played golf all day for the same rate but we were all lazy so Terry & Bill returned the rented pull cart & we relaxed. After dinner we went to the sprint boat race venue and put up frames for “easy up” sun/rain shelters to reserve our sites. We got a couple of passes to allow us to do it today rather than trying to get a good location tomorrow morning.

Sat- Of course today dawned cool & cloudy since the sprint boat races are today. We shared a muffin, packed a lunch and left with Bill & Georgia just before 9 which was when the gates opened. We had quite a walk to our “reserved” site and we added the covers and got settled well before the first race. Bill & Linda found us thanks to the balloon. Wally & Linda came a bit later and were also guided by the smiley face balloon.

The races were great but unfortunately the weather was not. It did rain but at least we had “tents” unlike a lot of people. Bill & Georgia's son Dennis has a sprint boat and won his division today – as he has done several times before. Knowing someone personally in the race makes it a lot more fun. We had a super viewing location even though it meant walking up quite a hill. After the races we took ourselves & our gear to Dennis' trailer where we stayed out of the rain while Bill went to get the truck from the huge parking area – what a guy!! I made dinner for all of us and we watched TV until Bill went back to their rig, plugged in a heater & electric mattress pad and blew the breaker! No biggy – we were all ready to call it a day and Terry just fired up our generator for a while.

June 10-13th - Spokane

June 10-13^th – Spokane

Fri – Raining this morning so we watched TV in bed before getting up to be lazy some more and catch up the blog! We went to visit Dale & Patsy and then they took us to dinner – and to DQ! It is so nice to see long time friends and catch up with them.

Sat – We are going to have to get out of here!! Another visit to a casino – this time to Worley ID. We had to have their chicken fried steak before we left so I didn't have to make dinner. I talked to Barb Barker and she said Larry is in a rehab facility where they are working on his short term memory and generally getting him in shape for heart surgery. This is a very bad year for sickness, vehicle problems, etc. Guess that is a pitfall of getting older along with your friends!!

Sun – We tackled the lovely task of laundry this morning. Luckily a large, decent laundry facility is not far away so it didn't take too long. We got a GPS for the motorcycle (previous one wouldn't charge all the time) and Terry fought with the installation while I puttered around.

Mon – We got up at the unheard of time of 6:00 am to play golf at 6:30 with Bill & Vern. We played 9 holes at Liberty Lake GC. It is a short course and there was a twosome ahead of us so it didn't take long. It was quite obvious that we hadn't played for a while. We stopped with Bill at McDonalds for a sandwich & coffee and then came back for the serious business of computer games. Terry was antsy so another visit to the casino was next where I managed to keep our losses down again. Dinner & TV filled the evening.

June 6-9th - Spokane

June 6-9th – Spokane WA

Mon- After coffee & games, I caught up the blog while Terry visited with some neighbors. Julie stopped in for a visit in the afternoon after a doctor appointment. Then we went to Harlan & Barb's in Mead for dinner. Of course we had to start with Moscow Mules! Harlan proved again that he can cook very well.

Tues- It was time for a trip to Costco today as it is one of the few places that we can find Chinese Pork. Of course there was more than that in the cart by the time we were done. We stopped at a grocery store for a few items and headed home. I cut up jicama and pork to take to Bayview this afternoon where were having dinner with Larry & Julie, Terry & Tena and Barb & Harlan. Barb & Harlan came here and rode out with us. The weather was lovely and we were happy to be able to sit in the shade. Good friends, good food as usual. Terry had a little more fun than some of us and I got to drive home!

Wed- We had terrible news this morning. Tena called to tell us that Larry (Reglin) collapsed in the bathroom and could not be revived. It was even more of a shock since we had dinner with him last night and he was fine. We weren't in shape for anything productive so we went to the casino which didn't lift our spirits as it gobbled our money. We stopped to get our favorite “Sour Cream Lemon” pie and had a small piece for a snack before heading to Skip & Kathy's for dinner. They had a new house built and this was the first time we saw it. We took a wrong turn thanks to the GPS so, thanks to cell phones, Kathy was able to turn us around and get us to their place. The house is lovely and their son Nick joined us for a yummy dinner and a game of “3 to 13” which Kathy won.

Thurs- Terry took the motorcycle to a CanAm dealer in Coeur d'Alene and got the mirror fixed for the huge sum of $8.08! What a nice surprise. Then we took the truck to do some grocery shopping as we needed a bit more than would fit easily in the bike. I made lunch and got a roast in the crockpot for dinner and then we kicked back. Bill & Georgia arrived for dinner about 4 and we sat out on the deck in the gorgeous sunshine for a pre-dinner cocktail. We have been friends with B&G for many years and always have a great time with them. They just got back today from a camping trip and are leaving tomorrow to go to Seattle so they left reasonably early and we went to the Elks lodge for a drink.

June 2nd-5th - OR, WA

June 2^nd - 5^th – OR, WA

Thurs – Absolutely gorgeous weather and we “wasted” a bunch of it in the morning with our usual coffee & games. We invited Dee & Jan for dinner tomorrow so we did a little grocery shopping. A little because we took the bike to enjoy the sunshine and I didn't need anything for tonight as we went to the Elks for steak night with Dee & Jan. They go almost every Thursday and made a reservation as it is busy. We introduced them to Moscow Mules before walking over for dinner. The dinner was quite nice but my steak was the wrong cut and overcooked so I sent it back and waited for a perfectly cooked meal. Dee & Jan said the meal was not as good as usual.

Fri – Dee called this morning to say that Jan had a bad night and was not feeling well so they wouldn't be joining us this evening for a dance at the Elks. They were going to bring their truck & camper so they wouldn't have to drive home after drinks & dancing. We went for a longer bike ride to explore the area a little more. Salem is a nice little city with a clean, busy downtown area. We figured we had been out enough that we could find our way back from where-ever and we were right. The dance tonight was from 8 to 12 but we went shortly after 7 and were glad we did as lots of tables were already taken. We got a table right on the edge of the dance floor and chatted with 5 people at the next table. This is a very active Elks club with over 2000 members. The band was very good and we did lots of dancing including line dances. The only line dance done by others was the Electric Slide.

Sat – When we set up, I take down bars securing things in the pantry and set them in the corner of the bottom shelf. I dropped the first bar and the rubber end made it bounce a bit and it went right down a little slot on the lower half of the pantry where there are drawers. I couldn't get it out so we went shopping for a new tension bar. Of course Fred Meyer didn't have them but BiMart came to the rescue. When we got back, I decided to put double-sticky tape on the end of a bar and try to stick it on the lost bar. It worked! Now I have a spare bar. We had a fairly early dinner so we could go to a dance at the Elks again. Same band, same time as last night but a slightly different crowd – more band groupies and fewer people our age. Dee & Jan joined us for a while but Jan was still feeling a little puny so they left early. We ended up talking with a couple that sat beside us yesterday and then with another couple who we saw last night.

Sun – On the road again! After driving for a while, we decided to go all the way to Spokane which wasn't a huge day but longer than we often drive. We had a little mishap on the way when we hit some huge bumps in a construction area in Pasco. It was a section that had been ground down for new asphalt and had about 7 (felt like more) ridges running right across the highway. Lots of back & forth motion as 5 axles hit at different times. We stopped a ways down the road to check for problems inside and I found that a chair had fallen from the top bunk (storage) in the toy hauler and had taken off a side mirror on the bike. All else OK.

We stopped for fuel – truck & us – in Boardman and pulled into the Elks club on Pines around 5. Got set up and Terry worked on the bike mirror. We secured it temporarily until we can find somewhere to get it fixed. We relaxed, contacted people to make plans and I was finally making dinner when someone knocked on the door. I was totally surprised & pleased to see Dale & Patsy who have been friends for years. Their car club meets at the Elks. When they came out Dale recognized our truck & bike and came to say hi. Dale reads the blog so knew we were heading north. They couldn't stay but we will see them later.

May 31st to June 1st - Oregon

May 31-June 1^st – Oregon

Tues- We started the generator so we could have coffee & be lazy before going to the casino for breakfast. We spent some time gambling and went back to the rig where I used the opportunity to defrost the freezer before it was time for a drink. We caught the shuttle back to the casino and had the driver drop us off at the buffet that she recommended for dinner. It was excellent! We walked back through the hotel/shops/casino and watched a young woman winning at a machine that we had never tried. Terry said I had to try it and it ended up being a good choice as I cashed out with $500! Yes, I was excited! This was a penny machine (what we nearly always play) and I was betting 38 cents, sometimes 88 cents.

Wed- We had a short drive so we went for breakfast before pulling in the slides and continuing east on Hwy 18 which took us to Salem. We ended up at the Keizer (suburb of Salem) Elks RV park, found the host and set up in a nice long pull-through. The park has 74 sites and only a few vacancies. I had called a few days ago and they don't take reservations so we were happy to get a spot. I had noticed a taillight out on the truck and the weather was beautiful so we took the motorcycle to a Fred Meyer store that we noticed on the way in. They didn't have the bulb so we bought a few groceries and had the cashier direct us to an automotive store. When we left there we “took a long way” back – OK, we were slightly lost for a few miles. Dee & Jan Lee (from VVV, live in Salem) phoned and we met them at the Elks for a drink. One drink turned into more and by the time we got back we didn't even have dinner before crashing.