SATURDAY, 29 AUGUST 2020; MINDEN TO PAHRUMP

 Saturday, 29 August

We got up early, I was up by 6 and sat outside with my coffee.  We are right across from the grassy dog park which is nice for Bella

We hit the road by 8:30.  We decided to take our laundry with us to do at home, as well as some of the stuff that we have here in the RV that we haven’t used or no longer need.  There are a couple of things on the list that we need from the house as well.

It was a 6 and a half hour drive.  That’s more than we normally do in one day.  It was a pretty drive though, especially this side of Tonopah.  I even drove part of the way, until Beatty then Rob drove the rest of the way in.  

When we got to Pahrump, instead of going straight to the house, we went by the grill to see if they were doing Sunday Brunch and to find out if we needed reservations.   Bella was so excited when we got to Mountain Falls Blvd from the highway.  She recognized where she was and was very excited about it all.  She was a bit confused when we drove past the turn to our street though, but then she got excited again when we turned in to the golf course/grill.

Yes they are doing brunch, but it is under new management and things have changed.  Brunch is from 8 am to 1 pm and they are not taking reservations.

Next we went to the golf course to get a Tee time for tomorrow.  Unfortunately they have tournaments in the morning and the earliest T time was 10:45.  It is supposed to be 102 tomorrow so we were hoping for something much earlier.  Oh well.  We decided we would play just 9 holes.  The golf course is under new management as well.  We have punch cards and we are really hoping they are still going to be good under the new organization.  They should be, because we paid money up front for them.

We finally went home.  Rob had logged in earlier and turned our A/C on, so when we got there the house was nice and cool.  It was nice being there.  

We checked out all the tomato plants. And little citrus trees.  The tomato plant in the front is full of little tomatoes.  None of them are ripe at the moment.  The ones in the back are full of half eaten tomatoes.  We have a little bunny that likes to come and eat them.  Hmmmm.

We have a very weird looking, very bumpy skinned lime on the tree.  It is bigger than a golf ball but smaller than a base ball.  It is dark green and very hard.  Not sure what to make of it.

Rob went off to the gym.  He took my car and a block away he texted me to tell me I am really going to love my car now.  I think he means after suffering through the Jeep all this time. He had a good work out.  

We grilled a steak and had some yummy green beans.  

We watched some U tube videos of a couple on the Great Loop. This couple makes videos called Yacht to Do!  They answer people’s questions, and explain things, and show how to do stuff.  They are really good videos and are making us more excited about getting a boat and doing the loop.

It was nice sleeping in our bed for a change as well.  Its a King which gave all three of us more room than we’ve had for the past 3 months in the Queen on the road.

FRIDAY, 28 AUGUST 2020; SUSANVILLE, CA TO MINDEN, NV

 Furiday, 28 August

No rush to get moving this morning, it is only a 2 hour drive.  It isn’t especially hazy this morning, but you can smell the fire in the air.  

We did pack up and hit the road by 10:30.  That seems to be our normal time.  It was an easy drive.

We were led into our spot which was a really tight fit.  There is a pole and Rob had to try to pull wide enough to get in without the pole gouging out the side of the RV.  The man had to move the picnic table so that he could widen out his turn.  It worked.  Nice job.  The spot is just big enough for the RV so the truck and Jeep have their own parking space across the street.  We are also right by the dog park.  It is a nice fenced in, grassy area with a table and covered patio.  It is nice.  I will finally be legal in the mornings and evenings when I take her out.

We got everything set up.  Its hot though, so we just sat inside with the air conditioner on for awhile.  We ended up taking naps.

Finally Rob decided he wanted to go hit some golf balls.  I’m very motivated to do stuff in the morning when it is cool.  But, once the day wears on and I get hot, I don't feel like doing anything but being a couch potato and napping. Such was the case.  I told him to go for it and Bella and I would stay here and enjoy the cool.  So off he went.

Later we drove in to Reno.  It felt like being home, from all the years we lived in Tahoe and would come into Reno to shop.  I miss living in Tahoe.  Anyway, we went to REI to see if they had the bike sandals I want.  They didn’t.  Then we popped into Costco to see if they had Jose’s Vanilla Nut coffee that we like.  They didn’t.  Finally we went to Sushi Pier, our favorite Sushi restaurant.  It was not super packed.  They now have outdoor seating, so that helped.  It was good.

We drove back to the RV park and just read for the rest of the evening.  Didn’t watch the news or anything.

THURSDAY, 27 AUGUST 2020; KLAMATH FALLS, OR TO SUSANVILLE, CA

 Thursday, 27 August

Same ole same ole;  the sky is overcast due to the smoke.  It is cool but hazy.  We are heading to Susanville, CA today, but don’t think we will stay there long due to the fires in that area.

We took our time with coffee, but then started packing up.  Rob got into a big conversation with the couple next door.  It turns out they are from Truckee, CA.  They were chatting about our time in Tahoe and how we miss the mountains and all.

I pretty much finished what I could inside.  Rob hadn’t taken down the fencing (or anything else for that matter) so I couldn’t finish inside.

I went out and took down the fencing and helped with the other outside stuff.  We were on the road by 10 am as usual.  We have a 5.5 hour drive.

The drive was uneventful and seemed to go rather quickly.  I finished my book I was listening to, and of course it happened in a dead zone.  I had no service on my cell phone so couldn’t download another book.  I ended up listening to one that I keep going back to but haven’t finished all the way yet.

Susanville is smoky as suspected, but not as bad as we thought.  The directions kept saying we were headed for the fairgrounds which I was not really looking forward to, but it turned out that it is a really nice RV park.  All the spots have concrete pads with grass in between and mature trees.  It is hot though.

Rob was able to call to the place in Minden that we are going to from here to see if we could come earlier.  They said yes, so we will only stay here for one night.

We set up without un-hitching.  No fence or patio chairs.  We cranked up the AC and sat inside with lunch and our iPads. Rob went off to see if he could hits some golf balls at the local course, but it was closed because a fire was near by.  Apparently it is contained and the course will open again tomorrow.  Poor Rob.

He came back and we went for a walk.  Bella was getting stir crazy.  Rob had seen a trail earlier for us to walk, but when he came back he said he’d checked it out and it didn’t look very good.  So we just walked here in the RV park.  It was ok.  We came upon two different kitties which excited Bella and two puppies which we got excited.  They were really cute.  Little hunting dogs.  They were not happy when we walked away and didn’t take them with us.

We came back to the rig and watched a little TV (Rob had hooked up the cable and we got some really good channels).  We didn’t catch much in the way of news though because all the channels had the Republican Convention on and we really didn’t want to watch that.

We originally wanted to come to Susanville to check out the area.  We were scheduled to spend three nights here.  But, when we saw on the fire/smoke map how bad it was here we were going to by pass it all together.  But,....we had called to have our mail sent here.  So, we had to stop to at least get our mail. Fortunately, our mail was here when we arrived so we only have to spend one night here.

Since we are going to be in Minden three nights early we are thinking about leaving the RV there and driving the Jeep back home to Pahrump.  The Jeep really is not very practical.  It is only a two door with no truck.  Its hard to get selves or things in and out of the back seat.  It has been a pain in the butt to drive because the tires are wide and you get yanked around in the highway grooves.  We are hoping to spend a couple weeks in SoCal and it would be so much nicer to have my car rather than the Jeep.  So, we will take a day to drive the Jeep to Pahrump, hang out in Pahrump one day then drive my car back to Minden.  

From Minden we go to Fresno for a couple days and then down to Long Beach.

Anyway, in our mail we had two movies from Netflix.  We watched one called “Dark Waters”. It was very good.  It was about the law suit brought against Dupont for their poisoning everyone with their Teflon.  Interesting, I remember when we were living in Tahoe about how if you over heated your teflon pans it would release a gas that was harmful and could kill our parrot.  I remember telling Rob about it and that we needed to be very careful for poor Pepe!  Never once did we think that it might be doing something harmful to us.

It was a good movie and we went to bed afterward.  When we took Bella out for a pee before bed we could smell the fires.

WEDNESDAY, 26 AUGUST 2020 KLAMATH FALLS, OR

 Wednesday, 26 August

New day new dawn so they say.  I took Bella out to go potty and was greeted with a pretty amazing site.

A double sun as it was reflected on the water.  It was much more amazing in person.  The photo just doesn’t do it justice.  However, as we walked a little I was rewarded with this sight!

And while sitting there enjoying it and letting Bella do her thing, I was able to capture an even better shot.

I fixed cinnamon rolls and Rob grilled bacon for breakfast.  It was quite yummy.

Afterwards we went for a 4 mile walk.  We headed up the paved road that turned into a gravel road.  It went through the woods and at times you could see the water.  Nothing spectacular, but Bella enjoyed it.  We have plans for paddle boarding and figured she wouldn’t want to go so thought a nice walk would be in order.

We came back and Rob took the boards down to the grass by the water.  He has a plan which he executed perfectly.  A way to sit while paddling, or standing if preferred.  He strapped our little low-profile beach chairs onto the boards.  Mine right in the middle and his back from center.  For his he could either stand and be in the center or sit.

We wanted to do the Rocky Point Canoe Trail, or at least part of it.

So we set off from Rocky Point Resort (which is where we are staying) It is the red dot where it says “begin here”.  We were all set with our chairs and water, and Bella decided she wanted to go too.  She was fine the whole time.

The Midges are horrible.  They are like tiny mosquitos.  They don’t bite, they just land on us and are annoying as hell.  They were even bothering Bella.  Apparently the smoke is killing them.

Anyway, we paddled out through Pelican Bay.  We saw an Eagle sitting on a post.  As we got closer he flew away of course. But it was awesome to see it both sitting and flying.

We saw pelicans, although not as many as yesterday, sea gulls, and blue heron.  

We paddled the mile down to the opening through the marsh.

It was pretty cool in there.  There were Lilly type plants with yellow flowers on both sides of us.

There were more blue herons and other wild life as well.  We saw a couple of the “Canoe Trail” signs so we knew we were on the correct route.

IW

We paddled for about an hour before deciding to turn around.  We knew we wouldn’t be able to do the whole trail.  Rob took a picture of where we were on the map on his phone when we turned around.  

So we figured that we had paddled about a mile and a half before turning around.  It took us another hour and 10 minutes to get back to the dock.  It was fun.  Bella seemed better about it, probably because it was so smooth.  Still, she was happy to get back to land.

We took the boards apart and deflated them.  Then we dried them off, rolled them up and put them back in their packs.  We will be leaving tomorrow so we wont be using them anymore here.

Rob took a shower and then we went to the little restaurant here at Rocky Point.  We sat out on their deck overlooking the water.  There are still a lot of people out on the water. The are in canoes, paddle boards, row boats and fishing trawlers.  There are also a lot of people out fishing from the docks.  Earlier, while putting our boards away, we watched a young man on our dock pull in a beautiful 20” Rainbow Trout”.  While sitting on the patio we watched a man in a fishing trawler pull one in about the same size.  Happily, both of them released their fish after taking a picture with it.

I had two of the worst Bloody Mary’s Ive ever had at that restaurant.  The first tasted like just watered down tomato juice with nothing else in it.  She made me a new one which wasn’t as watered down but she must have put a lot of Worcestershire in it.  It was awful in a different way.  I couldn’t drink it either.

We had really good burgers though, grilled mushrooms and pepper jack cheese.  

It was a nice evening. Rob decided he wanted a new “profile” picture.  He likes his beard.  He says its the first time in his life he’s been “allowed” to grow one.  Im not crazy about it, but what can I say.  At least he is keeping it trimmed.

We went back to the rig and watched a movie.  It was one of the oddest movies Ive seen in a very long time.  It had Tom Hanks, Hugh Grant and Halle Berry,  so we figured it would be good.  It was called Cloud Atlas.  It was odd.

Tomorrow we continue south, down to Susanville.

TUESDAY, 25 AUGUST 2020; KLAMATH FALLS, OR

 Tuesday, 25 August.

There are blue skies this morning.  That makes such a difference for my psyche.  I already feel better.  

We left at 9 am for golf.  We are playing at Running Y Ranch Resort.  I knew there are homes there because I saw them when we drove by yesterday.  Since it says “ranch” I wonder if there is acreage and if any of the homes have horses.

As it turned out, no.  They are just giant homes on a golf course. There is a store there and a couple restaurants, a sales office and an HOA office.  And, the golf course is real pretty.

It is still smoky.  Oh, as a side note, let me show you what is gong on in the Western US with all our fires and smoke.

This map is showing the fires and smoke from the fires.  Most of the fires (over 500) are burning in California, but the smoke is all the way over to the East Coast.  It is real heavy in the Dakotas and Nebraska.  The dots represent air quality with the green being fewer particles and the red indicating high number of particles and really bad air quality. The blue dot (just above the high concentration of red dots) is indicating our current location. The bad thing is from here we are headed to Susanville for a couple days.  It is right smack in the middle of the horrible smoke and air quality.  We thought about just skipping it and driving straight to Reno area, but we have mail being sent there. Our next stop after Susanville is Minden/ Tahoe.  Rob has a flight physical appointment and I have an appointment to see our Dr there in Incline as well.  Also, we have friends in Genoa and we will visit with.  From there we go to Fresno to visit family.  We will stay three nights at the Elks there and then we go on to Long Beach.  We will stay there a week or so and try to sell the Titanium and Rob’s Prius.

Ok, back to today and the Running Y Ranch Golf Course.  It was a really nice course.  It was in really good shape.  Some of it wide open.

And some of it was totally in the woods.  Some of it reminded us of Tahoe with all the pine trees and the homes scattered and mountain cabinish. 

Some of it reminded us of the foothills around Oakhurst and Fresno with the scrub oaks and pines mixed together. It was nice.  You can see it is still hazy with the smoke, but it didn’t smell bad and there were patches of blue skies and sunshine so I felt much better.  I played fairly decently as well.

Afterward we went back to the RV Park.  We pulled out the paddle boards and inflated them.  Bella hid while we were inflating them so we didn’t even bother with her.  We went out on the water for about an hour.

We are on the western shore of Klamath Lake in Pelican Bay.  There is a wildlife refuge here with marshes, pelicans, eagles, Canadian Geese, ducks, fish and supposedly otters.  There is also an 8 mile canoe trail that you can paddle in and around the marshes.  Apparently some of the cross overs are dried up so you cant do all of it.

We just paddled around in the Bay for about an hour.

This is the restaurant in our RV Park.  We had planned on sitting on their deck and having an adult beverage when we were done, but they never opened.  Something is going on with it tonight.

We pulled the boards out and brought them up to our rig.  We will use them tomorrow (we have nothing else planned for the day) so we didn’t deflate them.

We Bar-B-Qued some chicken and then watched the last two episodes of Yellowstone.

OMG.  I had read a little teaser on the finale of season 3 of Yellowstone.  It said who will not survive the last episode, indicating someone was going to die.  Who would it be?  Will they threw us all for a loop and have let us totally hanging!  Jimmy got thrown off a horse and is laying in the dirt, Beth and her assistant received a package and just as Beth is saying “I didn’t order that” it blows up and we don’t know if they are dead or alive.  Casey is in his office and hears gun fire and throws his desk on its edge just as someone comes through the door blasting and we don’t know if he is dead or alive and John Dutton stops to help a woman and her son on the side of the road fix a flat tire.  Some one pulls up in a van and shoots John and the woman and leaves him sitting on the side of the road and we see he is shot up but he is still alive.  And then it ends!  Are you kidding me????? And now we have to wait how long for season 4 to start and find out which of them are still alive.  Just not fair.

By the way, we know the Yellowstone crew is in Darby Montana right now filming season 4.  We stayed at Traveler’s Rest when we were there the end of June beginning of July and were told that the crew was due to arrive mid July and would be there filming through the end of September.  I wish we could be there while they were filming.

MONDAY, 24 AUGUST 2020; ROCY POINT, OR

 Monday, 24 August

My funky, crappy, depressed mood continued. In fact, it got worse.  There are no blue skies or sunshine today. Just smoky gray.

We drove up to Crater lake.  It took almost an hour to get there.  We stopped at a pull off to look at some falls.  They were hard to see because they were way down the canyon.  It was eerie, because there was nothing to prevent you, me, us, dogs, anything from falling down the cliff. And I mean falling a heck of a long ways down.

I was thinking (because Bella wasn’t leashed) OMG if she fell, but wasn’t hurt, how would we go down and rescue her and how would we get back up?  The next time we got out of the car she was leashed.

The falls, as you can see are way down there and hard to see.  What was easy to see was this tree which is so undermined that only half of it is still rooted in place.  I wonder, if we were to return next year, would it still be in place?

We continued on. And got to the Rim Village. We walked around  it for a little while. 

We looked down at the lake, at the Island, which was difficult to see through all the smoke.  We could not see across the lake.

We went into the gift shop/ deli and grabbed some food.  There was really no place to sit outside, a lot having to do with Covid, plus it was smoky, so we went back to the Jeep and ate sitting inside.  Then we drove around the Lake.

We didn’t want to do any hiking due to the air quality, plus, there are only a couple places where dogs are allowed on the trail.  So we just stopped and viewed.

We did stop for a view and picture of Phantom Ship.  It is pretty cool looking.

We decided it was just to smoky and depressing so we didn’t stop anymore.  We decided we would have to come back on a clear day to see this amazing place.

We drove on into Klamath Falls to check it out.  We drove through the cute little town.  We stopped in at Walmart.  We bought some coffee, some carabiners so we could hook stuff on the paddle boards, and a rug to put down in the dirt back at the RV.  In Gig Harbor we were on rocks.  It would have been nice to have had the rug back then.  I’m not crazy about having a rug in the dirt since I don’t have an outdoor vacuum cleaner, but maybe the indoor one will reach some.

We went back to the RV Park.  We moved the table and put the rug down then put the chairs up against it.  It was much nicer than just sitting in the dirt.

Rob decided he didn’t have enough smoke in his lungs so he went off for a bike ride for an hour.  I stayed back and chilled and enjoyed the rug.

We had a nice dinner of left over lasagna and salad before settling down for episodes 5-8 of Yellowstone. 

SUNDAY, 23 AUGUST 2020; BEND TO KLAMATH FALLS

 Sunday, 23 August, 

We are moving on today.  We are starting to smell the fires around us.  They have issued air quality warnings as well as dry thunderstorm with lightening strike warnings.  There are over 500 fires burning in California right now.  It’s awful.

We chilled in the morning enjoying our coffee.  It was surprisingly cold.

We hit the road around our normal 10 am. It was an easy 2.5 hour drive, but it was depressing due to the smoke.

We arrived in the park with no problem, but I arrived in a funk.  I have a major depression going on.  Everything is gray  and dreary and smells bad.

We got settled in and walked down to the water’s edge.  We are at Rocky Point Resort and RV Park.  It is on Klamath Lake.  They have docks here where they rent fishing boats, kayaks, paddle boards, pontoon boats etc.  There are Cabins, tent camping and RV camping. It is in the pine trees and in the dirt and it is crowded and smoky and I’m hating it.  It is only because I’m feeling closed in by the smoke  it is causing my depression.  The people here in the park and the people running the park are all kind and friendly.  There is a restaurant here.  Their special tonight Is Italian.  That’s funny because we are having lasagna and green salad for dinner tonight.

We walked down to the water and found a little path, but it didn’t really go anywhere.  There is a lot of algae bloom in the water so I’m not sure where we’d launch our boards.

Rob suggested going for a bike ride but between the smoke and my funk I declined.  He went off for an hour or so.

We fixed the lasagna, salad, good bread and a bottle of Fat Boy from Tobin James Winery in Paso Robles.  I was very happy with dinner and my two glasses of wine.  I’m savoring it so I can have some tomorrow night as well.

We settled in and decided to watch Season 3 of Yellowstone over again.  Tonight the last episode airs and we won’t be able to watch it until tomorrow night.  So much goes on in each episode that I know we will glean more from watching them again.  Surprisingly, Rob is the one who suggested watching the season again. We watched episodes 1-4 before going to bed.

Part of me is glad this day is over, part of me wants to live every minute to the maximum fulfillment. 

SATURDAY, 22 AUGUST 2020; BEND OREGON

 Saturday, 22 August

Another busy day!

We got up and gathered up all the laundry.  It was quite a haul, so we drove it down to the laundry.  In between loads we enjoyed our coffee out on the patio.

Bella had a pedi appointment at 10:30 so we took her to that.  Her nails grow so fast and so long.  With all the walking and hiking we do I’m surprised they don’t wear down, but they don’t.  They get so long that they make her toes turn.  so, we have to find a vet who will cut them for her.  

After her pedi we went down the street a ways to a very nice little restaurant for breakfast.  We had decided at the beginning of this trip that we would go out to breakfast on Sunday mornings, but a couple things have gotten in the way of that.  One, it seems we always change locations on Sunday mornings (which will be the case again tomorrow) and two, with the pandemic and places only open at 50% capacity there is always a big line.  So, going out to breakfast on other mornings is just fine. Actually, the only reason we went out to breakfast this morning is because we are playing golf and there is a big time gap between Bella’s pedi and golf.  How better to fill it than by going out to breakfast.

While at breakfast Rob got a text from an old friend from Ukia.  He met her when he used to fly there Mon-Fri when he worked for Union Flights 24 years ago.  She owned a gym there and we got together with her and a group often for triathlons and hikes/camping in Yosemite.  Anyway, I had posted our encounter with the guy on the swing jumping into the river and the rafters yesterday on facebook.  She saw them and she and her husband now live here in Bend.  Small world.

After breakfast we went off to play golf at “The Old Back Nine” golf course.  It was a nice course  we enjoyed it and played fairly well.  

From there we went and visited Liz and George at their house.  They bought their home in Bend 5 years ago and used it as a vacation rental.  16 months ago they moved here full time and are loving it.  They have a cat who we did not meet, but Bella found his carrier and thought it was a great spot for a nap!

I’m not sure how their kitty is going to feel about the doggie smells and fur in his bed!

They had friends who they were expecting to arrive so we headed out.  It was a nice visit.

We out to REI.  Many moons ago I had s9me very cool Shimano bike sandals.  They had the clips for my pedals on the bottom.  They were great for riding around town without having to wear socks and mountain biking shoes.  Anyway, mine totally disintegrated.  REI carries them and I was hoping to be able to get a new pair.  Unfortunately they only have them online and not in their store.  

I was starving and a Rob was not.  I wanted to get a T-shirt from a local brewery.  Rob wanted to ride the bikes into town.  Whatever!  

We went back to the rig and grabbed the bikes  great idea, it’s only 5:30 as we are headed into town.

We rode to Deschutes Brewery and had a flight on their deck.  It wasn’t very pleasant, it was a bit sunny and the view was of the parking lot.  I did get a t-shirt there because we are in the Deschutes valley, county, river.

From there we rode to Bangers and Brew.  But, there was a long line so we decided to ride down to the Pine Tavern.  It is right next door to Bend Brewery and they have a nice patio, deck and lawn area over looking the river.  We had a nice meal there sitting on their deck.

Our last outdoor dinner in Bend.  It was really nice.  The part that was not so nice was that we had to ride back to the RV Park in the dark.  We have no lights on our bikes.  I was wearing a dark pink top which is better than a black or gray, but still not great.  We ended up riding on the sidewalks all the way back because Rob was afraid of us being in the streets.  We make it safely. 

We chilled for a bit before going to bed.

FRIDAY, 21 AUGUST 2020; BEND, OREGON

 Friday, 21 August, Bend

Another amazing biking day.  It is crystal clear again and cooler than it has been.

Rob sat outside with his coffee, but I stayed in where it was warmer.  We don’t have an amazing view, so Im not as compelled to sit outside.

We paid bills; yuk!  And then we got ready for the day.

The paddle boards and all their paraphernalia were still in the truck so we had to unload all that.  Then we had to load both bikes and all their paraphernalia as well.

Today we did The Deschutes River Trail.  As its name implies, it runs along the river. It is over 12 miles of trails along the Deschutes River and through some of the most scenic stretches of Central Oregon.  The trail meanders through the heart of Bend, but also through pristine portions of riverfront with pine, juniper and ponderosa forests - winding through canyons, basalt rimrock formations and other geologic wonders.  It’s located from Farewell Bend Park to McKay Park and the Bend Whitewater Park. Trails exist on both sides of the river in addition to an extensive private trail system throughout the Old Mill District.

Once home to tow large lumber mills today the Old Mill District is a mix of parks, trails, shops, restaurants and other businesses.  Three footbridges connect trails across the river, providing convenient loops for walking cycling and horseback riding.

The beginning of it was a bit rough.  It was right along the water, but it was a cliff trail, which I strongly dislike, plus there were some big jagged rocks that we couldn’t ride up.  My bike is so heavy that Rob has to come and get it to push up hill and over rocks.  I take his bike which is about a third of the weight of mine.  The new E bikes are still heavy, but they have a walking assist to help you when you can’t ride it.  That would be nice. While pushing it up one of these areas the people who were walking at us pointed out that there was an Osprey and its next at the top of this tree.  That was pretty cool.

We rode along the river and in some areas

Over the river.

We came upon this scene of a young man being talked through the safe way to go off this swing and into the river below.

Next we came upon rapids and were lucky enough to watch a raft go through them.

There were also waterfalls, but we didn’t get a close of view of that.  The trail became beautiful and really fun meandering through the woods and along the river.

It was supposed to be 10 miles to the little town/resort of Sunriver.  As it turned out, it was 14.6.  Did I mention that we didn’t start the ride until 1:00?  It was now 3:30 and I realized we hadn’t eaten anything all day.

We stopped in at the Sunriver market.  Rob got a wrap and I got a salad.  We sat outside to eat.  It was nice.  Just as we were finishing up Rob’s bike fell over while it was in the rack.  The front wheel was in the rack and everything else was not.  Well, when it fell over it tweeted the front wheel so it was no longer true. It had a horrible wobble.  Rob looked to see where the closest bike shop was, but it was 4 miles away.  I suggested he cal Grady, the young man with Velofix who did our bikes the other day.  I remembered that his van said “We’ll come to you”.  Rob called him and he was able to come to us to fix the wheel.  

We had to wait 45 min for Grady, but while waiting we chatted with a nice couple who were originally from Southern Calif, but were now (for the past  3 years) living full time in Sunriver.  We talked about the winters and all there was to do here in this area.  They love living here.

While we were waiting this guy drove up in a very odd looking camper.  It was like a home made bubble thing with solar panels on the front.  I should have gotten up and taken a picture of it, but I didn’t.  I did get a picture of the very cool sail boat he was towing though.  It reminded me of a small Ark!

Grady was able to fix the wheel and we were headed back to the truck at 6 pm.  It was 14.6 miles to get there, so I figured 29.2 when all was said and done, but we actually found a couple other trails that were actually a bit faster and shorter.  When we got back to the truck (about an hour and a half later) we had only gone a total of 27.8 miles.  Cool.

The parking lot is located in a little day camp area right by the water.  We actually rode our bikes through several of them.  We used the rest room (little outhouses) then walked down the to river’s edge.  We get filthy riding the trails.  I also had two small gashes on my shin and wanted to wash off in the river.  So we did.  

We got back to the rig and Bella was sooooo happy to see us, although she was also mad at us for being gone so long without her.

I sat with a glass of wine, unwinding while Rob had a shower.  Then it was my turn.  Ah, nice warm water on weary muscles. We grilled some steak and a small Salmon filet.  Yummmmmmmm!  It was really good.  We also grilled asparagus and broccoli to go with it.  Obviously it was a bit late when we finally ate, so it wasn’t long after that that we hit the sack.  

I love active days like today!

THURSDAY, 20 AUGUST 2020; BEND, OREGON

 Thursday, 20 August

Another beautiful sunny day.

We took Bella on a hike up Pilot Butte.  It is a lava dome that was created from an extinct volcano.

It rises 500 feet above the surrounding plains.  Bend is on of four cities in the US to have a volcano within its boundaries.  Portland, with Mount Tabor, is the only other city in Oregon with a volcano within its city limits. Jackson Volcano in Jackson, Mississippi, and Diamond Head in Honolulu are the others.

Pilot Butte is a popular hiking destination with two trails to the summit, each gaining about 490 feet in elevation.  There is also a 1.8 mile trail around the base.  The park had 949,968 annual visits in 2018.

We hiked a mile up the dirt trail.  It went in a circle around the butte up to the top.  

Mt Hood with the ridge on fire in front of it.  Taken from Pilot Butte

View of Bend, OR from Pilot Butte

Then we hiked back down along the road and then paved trail.  It was a nice hike and as usual, Bella loved being out.

We returned to the rig and took quick showers and then drove into town. 

We each got a heavenly, 90-minute massage.  Oh My,  it has been awhile and was much needed. I had knots in my neck, in my shoulders, and in my butt along the sciatic nerve.  Much better afterward.

After our massages we went to a Bar-B-Q place we passed along the way that advertised Tri-tip sandwiches.  They were delicious.

From there we went to Costco and then Rite Aide to pick up a prescription and a few items.  Then back to the rig.

I put groceries away and settled in for a nap.  Rob went off for a cardio work-out bike ride.

We didn’t feel like eating dinner after our late sandwich.  We went for a walk around the RV Park instead.  

We met a nice couple who had two Chiweenies like Bella.  One was a female, almost 10 years old and she was very friendly and liked Bella.  The other was a male youngster who they kept away from Boo as he is a bit unpredictable.  They are from Morgan Hill, CA and bought a house here in Bend two years ago.  He is a fire fighter on vacation.  They bought their house and then rented it out which is why they are here in their RV.  They will move here full time in two years when he retires.  They were a nice couple.

We continued to sit outside until bed time.  It was a wonderful day and a lovely evening.

WEDNESDAY, 19 AUGUST 2020; BEND OREGON

 Wednesday, 19 August

It’s crystal clear this morning.  A beautiful day.  I wonder if it’ll stay this way or if the clouds will roll in this afternoon.

We took Bella out for a walk in the area behind us again.  We went the opposite direction as yesterday to give her new smells.  We went on new trails as well.  Then we took her back to the rig.

Rob and I headed out to Phil’s Trailhead in Deschutes County.  It is a 12.4 mile out and back trail and is one of the most popular mountain biking trailheads in the Pacific Northwest. But off of it are a ton of other trails..

We started on Bens which is a 5 mile trail meandering through the pines and mesquite.  It was really smooth, curvy and nothing but fun.

 Then we climbed up D3-310.  It was about 4 miles of up hill some rocky areas, but nothing drastic.  At intersection 29

We headed down Upper Whoops!  What a blast.  Its 2.5 miles of twists and turns and bumps and dips.

It was so much fun.  Rob was ahead of me, so far ahead in fact that the only time I saw him on this trail was when he would stop and wait for me.  He was probably going fast enough to get air on a lot of those bump.  I’m a wheenie and kept my wheels on the ground.

Next we went on ext and climbed up a little ways and then turned onto Phil’s and rode it all the way back to the parking lot.  

There were some pretty areas in there as well. And the pine trees were whispering at us most of the time telling us about the breeze blowing through their needles.  It was such an awesome place and trails. We ended up riding 16.8 miles in over 2 hours.

When we got back to the parking lot this Bike fix-it van was there.  

We asked him if he had brake pads for our bikes.  He checked and he did, so we had him replace them for us.  My bike, as you might recall back in Wenatchee, WA needed lots of work.  As this nice young man, Grady, started working on my bike he told me my rotor was bent and should be replaced.  We said ok.  We chatted with him for a little bit while he worked. He was originally from New Hampshire then moved to Bellingham, WA and now lives here in Bend. He loves it here.  Anyway, he said he would deliver our bikes to us back at the RV park when he was finished.  So nervously we said OK. We wanted to get back to Bella and get something to eat.

We went back to the RV and Bella was sooooo glad to see us.  She hates being left at home.  We fixed some lunch, ate, and waited.  We started to get a little nervous.  Grady said he was going to do our bikes then leave the Trailhead for lunch then go back out to do more work.  He thought it would only be an hour or so.  Well three house later he still hadn’t showed up.  We were definitely concerned.  Rob tried to call but was placed on hold with robo music and “your call is very important to us”.  Then he emailed Grady.  He returned the call right away and told us he was just leaving the trail head.

He did show up about 20 min later.  He had changed all our brake pads, replaced my rotor, adjusted my derailed, did a couple other things and finally replaced my handlebar grips and did it all for $240.  The guy in Wenatchee wanted $1200.  Wow.

We locked the bikes up.  While we were waiting for him to arrive Rob had inflated my paddle board and loaded it and the rest of the gear in the pick up.  We headed down to the river.  

Rob picked his board up from the repair place and walked it over to me at the river.  Bella still is not so sure about boarding.

But we launched.  We paddled up river for about 40 min.  I was starting to get cramps in both hands.  The river was flowing pretty good, but the wind was blowing up river so it sort of helped.  I finally told him I needed to turn around.  So we did.

Funny thing, the current kept turning us around so that we were floating backwards.  I don’t know if it had something to do with the fins or what.

We got ourselves heading down stream and sort of connected our boards together.  We would still have to paddle to steer, but other than that we just floated.  It was nice.  It took us an hour and ten to get back to where we put in.

We deflated the boards and threw them in the back of the truck. We changed out of our wet clothes and headed into town.  We had heard that Bend Brewing Company was a really nice place.  Good beers, good food and right on the river.

There was about a 30 min wait for a dining table, but there were tables set up in the parking lot where we could sit and sip while waiting.  Rob got a flight of 6 to taste and I got a stout.  Our table was ready and we sat out on the lawn near the river.

The food was good, the beers were great and we had a lovely evening.  

Perfect ending to a perfect day.

TUESDAY, 18 AUGUST 2020; BEND, OR

 Tuesday, 18 August

It was a fine morning for sitting outside or staying in and catching up on the blog.

We took Bella out for a walk.  There is a big field just outside the RV park that has trails and an old road running through it.  There were several people out jogging or walking their strollers, or their dogs.  Bella loves trails.

We went off to play golf at River’s Edge Golf Course.  I have no idea why they called it this.  I never had even a glimpse of the river the whole time.  I was excited about the possibility of nice views, like the one in Leavenworth. It was a challenging course.  One of the especially challenging aspects of it was that we had to cross busy streets on two different occasions, and on two occasions we were on neighborhood streets going from one hole to another.  Very odd. 

I liked their signage.  Two said “steep hill, please use breaks”.  This was really sort of a waste because the carts were very slow and once you took your foot off the gas pedal it slowed down on its own.  No breaks were needed at all.  The other sign was at the intersection of the cart path and the busy street.  It said “please yield to auto traffic” Really?! 

I like one whole especially because it had a pond across it right before the green.  On both sides were these very large rocks with water coming out making waterfalls.

We had to wait on several holes again and ended up skipping a hole to go around a really slow foursome.  

The Jeep peeps called to let us know our Jeep was ready.  They changed the oil and filter, had to put a new connector and bulb in the headlight and a new gas cap.  The gas cap is what was causing the check engine light to come on.  We picked it up and then went back to the RV park and dropped off the truck.  We headed down to the river and to Anthonys.

We had a great meal out on the patio of Anthonys, but not a great view. Their patio is ground level.  We were right next to the walking path so got to see folks and dogs as they walked by, but the bushes on the other side of the path were to tall to see the river and those who were floating it.

After dinner we walked along the river.  We went by the place that is repairing Rob’s paddle board and got there just before closing.  They were able to repair his board.  It will be ready for pickup tomorrow.  Yippee!  No more renting!

We continue on down to the bridge where the rapids are.  From the river they is a big sign for everyone to stay to the left.  Kayaks, canoes, and paddle boards have to exit, but inner tubes can continue.  Up on the river we got to watch why.  There is a tunnel under the bridge road so you can walk to the other side.  The park continues after it.  The tunnel has been painted and is really cool.

 We went across to the center of the bridge and watched the action.  On the left is where the inner tubes get to go through the small rapids.  They can either get out at the beach afterward or continue on down the river.  To the right is a surfing spot like they have in Missoula.  Peeps are lined up to take their turn.

We watched for a little while and then walked back to the Jeep and headed back to the RV park.  It was still pretty hot and humid.  It does cool off at night thank goodness.  It reminds me of Colorado.  It’s clear and warm during the morning and then in the afternoon the thunderclouds roam in.