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.

SALT LICK ART

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you about the "art" we encountered in Baker City. Now that several of you have made your guesses...

Yes, it is "Salt Lick Art"!

Sorry this poster is not more clear (I shot through glass), so I have included a few links to view - it is a great story and fundraising idea.

Here is my favorite part, the rules. I added my own emphasis:

"All entries must be salt blocks licked by cows or other livestock. Range blocks licked by wildlife will also be permitted. Blocks licked by humans will not be permitted. Licks may also be subject to DNA testing. Blocks with human DNA will be eliminated and offenders banned from future contests.

"All entries must be submitted by October 3. No more than 2 entries per person. Judging committee will judge blocks for originality and artistic flair. All different types of blocks are eligible (mineral, selenium etc.) Blocks only. Drawings, photos, paintings of sculpted blocks will not be accepted. Cows caught using steroids will be canned."

Check out these links:

The Official Site for the Salt Lick Contest, Salt Like City

The Official Gallery of Salt Lick Art, ready to auction

Front page story in Portland's newspaper, the Oregonian, about the licks.

We found the whole thing fun and funny, and it added to our good feelings about Baker City.

CHANGE OF PLANS - ON TO WASHINGTON

This is how you know you have what it takes to enjoy full-timing: you spend the night drycamping in the parking lot of Chief's RV service center and think to yourself, "This is GREAT!"

Let's see... when I last wrote, we had moved from Wallowa Lake State Park to Pendleton, Oregon to avoid future snow. We had a beautiful day for driving, and settled into an expansive RV park next to an Indian casino, planning to wait out the weather (which would mean staying for five days or so). Cell phones worked, aircard worked... life was good.

Then Odel opened the refrigerator door and it just about fell off! Luckily, we have a 4-door refrigerator (two for the freezer, two for the refrig). We manipulated the left side door back into its proper position and decided not to open it again. This was Saturday night, and of course nothing is open on Sunday; we figured we could get along until Monday, then go to a repair shop in Pendleton.

On Sunday, it rained. And the wind blew. Then it poured. We drove into Pendleton to look around, but with raw, wintery weather, my attitude was not good. Pendleton is WAY smaller than I had pictured, only around 15,000 people... a small, western town that didn't seem welcoming in the rain (of course, what does?).

First thing Monday morning, we called the RV repair shop we had found in Pendleton. They seemed disinterested, and suggested we travel north to the Tri-Cities (this is what they call Pasco, Kennewick, and Richland, nestled side-by-side on the banks of the Columbia River in southeastern Washington) to a larger repair shop. So, we did.

Once again, a beautiful day for driving (though very windy). We found Chief's RV Center with no problem. While they made calls to find a new door, we drove around the Tri-Cities checking out RV parks and sightseeing - and liked what we saw.

Back at Chief's, we discovered that the door would arrive Tuesday (today); meanwhile, we could spend the night in their large lot (MUCH easier than driving to an RV park, checking in, setting up, closing up again in the morning and driving back here) to await the arrival of the door. Sweet!

Next on the agenda: Odel became concerned about stomach pains he had been experiencing all day, enough so that he wanted medical attention. Hooray for the aircard: we found a nearby urgent care facility and turned our attention from the refrigerator door to Odel. Two hours spent at the clinic (1:45 waiting, 15 minutes talking to the doctor) assured him that he was not in imminent danger. By then it was 6:30 pm; Odel discovered his appetite and we went off in search of dinner.

Here we hit the jackpot, deciding on the Bonefish Grill. This is an upscale chain of fresh fish restaurants that originated in Florida. I felt embarrassed going in to the well appointed dining room wearing rumpled clothes well suited for hiking, including a baseball cap covering hair that had not been washed for a couple of days. Odel look slightly better than I (at least he could take off his cap). To their great credit, none of the staff batted an eye - like everyone else we have encountered in this area, from the RV shop to the RV parks to the clinic, we were warmly welcomed and well tended.

All the concerns of the day melted away in the muted hubbub of the restaurant. We ordered an appetizer and a couple glasses of delicious local wine (this is a prime growing region) and took our time deciding which of the many fresh fish dishes to order. We people-watched, and evesdropped on neighbors' conversations. It was delightful.

Partway through dinner, I thought about the coming night, and laughed out loud when I realized how pleased I was that we could spend the night in the RV lot. Then and there I realized that fulltimers ARE a little bit different... I can only imagine that many of our home bound friends would feel very sorry for us if they saw our current circumstances. To us, it was an excellent combination of convenience, efficient use of our resources, and... FREE! Who could ask for more??

The new refrigerator door will be installed this afternoon, and we will move to the RV park we picked out yesterday, within walking distance of stores and movie theaters. Looking at the weather forecast for Oregon, we plan to stay here until Saturday. When it rains, we can go to movies; there is good walking along both sides of the Columbia River; maybe we will even be able to visit some wineries. Then, head south; winter is on the way!