ON THE BANKS OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER

Doesn't this look like a beautiful day along the Columbia River? I wish I could say everyday has been like this but, as was forecast, for every day of sunshine we have had a day of clouds and sprinkles or wind.

Our refrigerator door repair didn't go exactly as planed, but the job is done now. We spent two nights in Chief's lot then, with the new door installed, settled into a site at the Franklin County TRAC facility (that's Trade, Recreation, Agriculture Center), similar to a huge fairgrounds or Expo Center, but with more "recreation": softball diamonds, soccer fields, the stadium for the Dust Devils baseball team.

The county run RV park is in the center of the property, 48 sites with concrete pads, 50 amp electric, water, sewer and cable TV. Roomy, manicured and with a price to match - much higher than the usual county campground.

When we are waiting out weather, this is just the kind of place we like - all systems plugged in, close to shopping, quiet, well-managed, with lots and lots of space to walk when the weather allows.

We've done a little sightseeing (Lewis and Clark spent a lot of time here), but mostly the normal mundane details of life: paying bills, balancing the checkbooks, menu planning, grocery shopping, cleaning, laundry, etc. We did have a fun visit at a loal winery, though...

Boxed wines are an RV'ers dream: lightweight, easy to store, relatively inexpensive, and long-lasting after they are opened. We have found a red that we both like that is reasonably priced, but have not found a white worth "rebuying". At the FABULOUS supermarket within walking distance of our site (I left Odel at home this morning so I could spend as much time as I wanted browsing the store and studying new and local items), we found a local wine in a box, both a red and a white. Rather than invest in the white without pre-tasting it, we looked up the address and paid 'em a visit.

I am sure the young woman staffing the tasting bar that day was underwhelmed when we walked in, breezed past the impressive display of premium wine in bottles and asked if we could taste their boxed wine. On the other hand, we represented a diversion from her otherwise boring afternoon (no one else was in the tasting bar). We went immediately from boxed wine to premium wine, interspersed with crackers and chocolate truffles. She wanted us to taste EVERYTHING... and we couldn't, there was just too much (or we are just too old).

I think she had as much fun as we did, and we left with two reds, four whites, and a box (yes, a box) of cabernet.

This photo is the "Cable Bridge" over the Columbia, from Kennewick to Pasco. You can see the cool, cloudy weather, to which we are reacting as all mammals do: eating as though we were planning to fast while hibernating through the winter. We had a slow-cooked stew of beef, carrots, parsnips and onions for dinner, along with cornbread muffins...

... and opened our new boxed cabernet for a wine tasting with our old favorite boxed shiraz (which we usually buy on sale for about 35% less that we paid for the cab). The old favorite (Delicato Shiraz, usually on sale for around $15.00 for a 3 liter box - 4 bottles) won - as least as good as, and much less expensive than, the new one.

We have one more day here, then will move on next Monday. Once again, we are heading for southeastern Oregon, the high desert: wildlife preserves, hot springs, lots of sagebrush and not very many people. Probably not much cellphone/aircard service, either, so blog updates may be delayed.