Four more days in Glenns Ferry, ID

I decided to pay for four more days here at Three Island Crossing State Park in Glenns Ferry, Idaho.  A lot of people are leaving today, so it will be a quiet week and the cost will be half price from Monday through Thursday, and then we'll leave on Friday around 1:00 - the check-out time.  I'll do some laundry and shopping somewhere along the way,  and then drive to the nearest Walmart or Rest Area on Friday evening to spend the night.

Katie is back to normal.  Thank you for the nice comments hoping she's better soon.  It took a while this time, she hasn't been eating much, but did have some food yesterday and today she is hungry and full of energy, so I think she's feeling fine.  Next time we're near a PetSmart, I'm going to see if their vet can give me something for motion sickness for her and we'll see if that takes care of the problem.  She's been pretty mopey, looks at me with such sad eyes, I knew her tummy wasn't feeling good.  Thank goodness she's her old self again!

Yeaaa, she's eating again.

When my neighbor in the next site was packing up to leave, Katie and I were just getting back from our walk, and he came over and knocked on my door.  He's from California, too, the Stockton/Lodi area, but he moved his family to Idaho and they love it here.  

He told me he and his wife were talking about how much they admire my courage, being able to drive an RV and traveling by myself.  That was really nice of him to say, and I realized I don't even think about it as having courage anymore.  In the beginning I did, I tried really hard not to have any fear about this adventure I was undertaking, just to go with the flow and enjoy it.  Now, after four months, it feels pretty normal, and that's a good thing.  And since I have Katie with me, I don't feel like I'm traveling alone. 

This is a tree outside the restroom/shower building - isn't it pretty?  It has long vines instead of branches.  I looked at it up close and inside the vines, and it looked kind of like grape vines.  Very different and pretty.

Katie and I took a longer than usual walk today, since she's feeling good again.  We went up the hill to the upper loop of RV sites.  It was an easier walk than I thought it would be.  Losing 25 pounds in the last few years and walking so much every day since we've been on the road is making a big difference in my stamina.

There is a golf course next door to the RV park, and they were having some sort of car show today.

 

A helicopter buzzed over us and landed at the golf course, then buzzed over us again.   It looks like a private helicopter - I wondered if a rich and famous person was attending their function.  But now, a couple of hours later, it's back and making many trips around the area and landing again.  They must be giving helicopter rides today.

While taking our walk, this guy had Katie's attention.  She sniffed it, and I got close to snap a photo, but he just kept walking.  He has wings, but just kept walking.  He's pretty big, some kind of beetle.  Can you see him in the rocks?  When Katie notices a bug, she gets really close to it, probably to see if it's edible, and usually jumps back quickly when it moves. 

I know they have deer here because some of the younger trees are wrapped in wire, but I sure haven't seen any.  That beetle and swarms of little flying gnats are about all I've seen since we've been here.  A few birds, there were some doves yesterday cooing nearby.

 Rate Page

 Companion Site

 Another companion site

I haven't seen this kind of site in the other parks we've stayed in.  It's a double site with two tables, two water faucets and two electrical hook-ups.  It works out to only $20 per rig if you have two people paying for it.  There are quite a few of them, and when I came in I asked if people can reserve a companion site and just pay half, and have someone else come in an pay for the other half.  He said no, if I reserved it, I would pay the entire $40.28. 

It doesn't seem like a good plan to me.  How many people travel in pairs or groups?  I know some do, but you can reserve sites in advance that are next to each other.  Having companion sites eliminates them for single RVers, unless you want to pay the premium.  Surprisingly, there were quite a few occupied while I've been here.  A 1965 High School Reunion was going on when I got here and they had a few of them next to each other.  A couple of families have reserved a few. But for the most part, the single sites are being used, and many of the companion sites are not.

There are also some cabins:

I peeked into the windows when they were empty, and they are pretty bare.  Bunk beds, a couch, table and chairs and not much else. I guess when a camper moves in, though, they look more homey, and they'd be a good thing for people who don't RV and don't want to tent camp.  They have A/C and heat, no water.  They have picnic tables and water hook-ups that are the same as the RV sites. Nice looking little cabins.

It's going to be a quiet Sunday for me and Katie, other than taking some good walks.  Most of the RVs on this lower loop are gone, only a few are still here.


From Me and My Dog, have a great Sunday, everyone!  :)

Three Island Crossing State Park in Glenns Ferry, ID

We are happily settled at Three Island Crossing State Park in Glenns Ferry, ID.

We started out from the Walmart late morning after getting a so-so night's sleep.  It really is bright and somewhat noisy in Walmart Super Centers, so I never count on sleeping soundly.  As I pulled out onto the street leading to the freeway, I noticed a weird sound coming from the right rear tire every time I braked.  It sounded like paper rubbing on the tire well,  like I had something caught.

I pulled in to the K-Mart parking lot which is large and was empty, and I stopped and got out.  I got on my hands and knees and tried to eyeball every part of the tires in the rear, especially the right side.  I didn't see anything amiss.  So I got back in and drove and braked, and it was still there.  Then I backed up, braked, and no noise.  I drove forward again in gear 3, braked, no noise.  Drove in gear 2, braked and no noise.  Weird, huh?

I put it in Drive again, went forward and braked, and the noise was gone.  I was afraid to go out on the freeway again, though, where the speed limit is 75 mph, so I called my son and told him what was going on.  He said it sounded like I'd be okay, but to listen and monitor the brakes, and if they started doing it again, I should have them looked at.  He said that even though the brakes are in a closed environment, they could have picked up some dirt.  Maybe backing up dislodged it.

So off we went, listening intently, but everything was fine.

Highway 84 between Nampa and Glenns Ferry, ID

Donna, of Travels in Therapy, wrote in her blog post today,  "I am filled with a feeling of peace and contentment. I feel a small measure of the emotional tug of oneness with the land."  I've been trying to find the words to describe what I'm feeling sometimes as I drive along, looking all around me at the beauty of the States I'm driving through. When I read that, I said to myself, "That's it!"  Sometimes I have tears in my eyes from the emotion I'm feeling.  Thank you, Donna, I know exactly how you feel and the photo above was one of those times.

 Roadwork on Highway 84, driving beside the lane.

This was kind of funny:  I was driving along, the speed limit went from 75 to 55 because of the roadwork going on (see photo above).  They had us blocked from the actual lane, and we were driving outside the white line at the edge of the road.  I was being really careful, driving at exactly 55, with about 6 or 8 vehicles behind me.  This was going on for a while and I was getting tired and decided to pull over at this exit and rest for a bit, before going on to the rest area where I planned to spend the night.

So I take the turn off, and so do the next few cars behind me.  I pulled over right away and pulled out my "RV IDAHO" map that I got at a rest area to see if there were any RV parks here.  As I'm sitting there, all the vehicles that followed me turned around and went back to the on ramp to get back on the freeway.  They all followed me off, because they couldn't see around me, and didn't realize I was on an off ramp.

That brought a smile to a tired traveler.  But it was a quick turnaround and back on the freeway for them, so no harm, no foul.

Looking at the RV IDAHO map, there were actually four RV parks here, and one was a State Park, so I headed for it, and found Three Island Crossing State Park.  It had reservations posted for all but three sites, so I chose one through Sunday night.  The site cost for a single site is $23.32, which includes taxes, but on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday people with a Senior Pass get half off, or $11.66 per night.  I wanted to secure my site through the weekend since it's so popular here over the weekend.  On Monday I will probably extend at least through Thursday since the cost is half price.

This is the view from my cab window:

And here we are:

As I've found before with Sate Parks (and COE parks), this one is clean, well groomed, the grass is super green and thick, and the rules are enforced.  My kind of park.

After two days of driving and a poor night of sleep at Walmart, Katie and I slept until 10:30 this morning.  We've taken a couple of walks so far today, but Katie has been vomiting again.  Last time this happened was after a couple of days driving, too.  Katie doesn't eat much when we drive, and today she hasn't eaten at all, except a treat, which came back up.  I'm hoping she will be back to normal tomorrow after we've been here for a full day.

My son sent me these photos of his two older kids today:

 Gavin (6) as Goalie - look at that concentration!

Gavin is a super athlete and plays soccer and baseball.

 Kennedy (8) wearing a hat she bought with her own money. 

Cute, cute, cute! 

Tom said this is the first thing she's paid for with money she saved.  She also lost another tooth.

When I got those photos from Tom, I checked Kristy's Facebook page to see if she had any photos of Lauren's birthday.  This one was there:

 

 Lauren on her very own balance beam!  Happy Birthday from Daddy!

My son-in-law, Matt, made a balance beam for Lauren for her birthday.  Now that she is four years old, she has been invited to join a competition gymnastic team, Dream Extreme.  They asked Kristy last week how old Lauren was, because they wanted to ask her to join their team, but they have to be four.  So Lauren will be on a team and will compete.  I'm really excited for her, because she loves it.  (Her cousin, Kennedy, competed last year on a "Cheer" team, and actually traveled a little, and her team was invited to a competition in Las Vegas.  They live in San Diego, so that was pretty exciting. She also competed in Los Angeles.) 

 Drew (6) and Lauren (4)

This photo was also there.  I knew Drew was playing soccer, he 's played previous years, as well as baseball.  He's also a great athlete, pays attention, concentrates, and does really well.  I didn't know Lauren was now playing, too, though.  They look pretty happy!  Lauren's shin guards go up to her knees. :)  So cute.  You go, girl!!

Those are four of my five grand children, we're missing Graydin (2 1/2).  They all play sports, and even Graydin is amazing at kicking a soccer ball across the lawn, so I'm sure he'll love sports, too.  It's time-consuming and expensive for parents, but I'm glad my kids are encouraging their children to play sports.  Especially the girls. 

From Me and My Dog, have a great Thursday evening, everyone!  :)

Happy Birthday, Lauren!

WELCOME to our two new followers!   Carolyn doesn't show a blog listing, but I think she may have one.  If so, Carolyn, let me know in my comments, and I'll give you a plug. :)   My other new follower is "rain," who also does not show a blog listing.  I thank you both for becoming Followers of Me and My Dog - Welcome aboard!

Also, quick note:  One of our new followers, Texcyn, does have a brand new blog, Texcyn Life, check it out. I'm enjoying following her posts.  Clever title, too! :)

Happy 4th Birthday to my youngest granddaughter, Lauren! 

 Lauren is 3

 Lauren is 2 (and baking her own birthday cake at Grammy's)

 Lauren's 1st Birthday Party

Lauren, I hope you have a wonderful birthday today, and lots of fun at Chuck E Cheese tonight.   I'm looking forward to adding more birthday pictures to my photos!  Grammy loves you, and Katie does, too!

Well, I can honestly say I haven't met a state I didn't love.  Idaho, from what I've seen so far, is very different from California, Oregon and Washington, in it's vastness.  As I drive along Highway 95, all I can keep saying to myself is - Beautiful!  Gorgeous!  God's country, for sure!

We drove through forests, but for the most part, this is what we've seen:

Driving through farming and cattle country, this was in front of me - talk about a wide load.

The vistas went on forever.  Across vast farm and ranch lands were hills, with higher hills behind them, and then more until a huge mountain cut off the view.

 Layers and layers of hills and mountains as far as the eye can see.

 Katie was looking out the windows most of the day.

Unfortunately my camera just didn't do justice to what we were seeing, so I couldn't use the photos I took.  I'm going to get a new camera, I think.

We stopped at a rest stop on top of a mountain to have lunch and relax.  We finally had cell phone service, so I returned some calls and went on-line.  It was warm with nice breezes.   At least until a HUGE big rig with two trailers pulled in right next to me.  We were the only two vehicles in the entire parking lot, and he had to park next to me.  I had both of my windows open to get the nice breezes and cool off the warm interior of The Palms.  With that huge rig next to me, I got all his heat from the generator, or whatever was running, and he completely blocked my window from any breezes.  What a duffus.  So, since I was about done, anyway, we packed up and drove on.  

The pet area of the rest stop has this sign:

You can bet I had my eyes open while Katie was having her potty break, and we didn't linger outside.  No long walks here.

During the day we crossed over into a different time zone, and also crossed the 45th Parallel, halfway between the Equator and the North Pole.   I thought both were kind of cool.

The only problem with the time zone change was I needed my computer to be on the correct time to receive a download from my library.   The e-mail they sent said I had to put the right time zone, if we were on daylight savings, and the correct time.  I thought my computer and GPS would automatically change the time since they are off satellites, but I wasn't sure.  Part of Idaho is Pacific time and part is Mountain time, and I wasn't sure where the cut off was, or if I had changed again driving south.  Also I didn't know if they are on Daylight Savings Time.  My cell phone said it was past midnight on Wednesday, and I was totally confused.  I think my loss of cell service might have also changed the date/time.

When I called my daughter I had to ask her what day and date it was.  Her daughter, Lauren, turns four on Wednesday the 21st (today), and because I was using my cell phone for info, I thought it was already Wednesday, but it was Tuesday.   I wanted to make sure I called on her birthday.

I finally googled the nearest airport and called them and asked which time zone we were in, whether they were on Daylight Savings Time, and what the time was.  Turns out I was off by an hour, and a day.  Really Weird!  But the good news is, I get an extra day this week. 

What I learned from all this is:  when I crossed into Mountain Time, I figured it would only be for a day or two, so I wasn't going to change all my clocks.  If I found a good campground, I'd do it then.  Who cares what time it is, really?  Does an hour make that much difference when I'm retired?  Well, yes it does.  For one thing, the TV programs.  At 10:00 last night, I checked all the channels, and nothing good was on, so I went to bed.  I checked the time on my cell phone and it was actually 11:00.  (The only clocks I changed were my computer and cell phone).  Also, my car radio and Garmin GPS still have the old time.  I don't know why, but I can't get my brain around it when I have the wrong time, even if I know it's an hour off.

How do you guys handle time changes?  Do you change your car clock, GPS clock, computer, watches, cell phones, and any other clocks you have around when you enter a new time zone?

I continued driving until I got to Nampa, ID, where there is a Costco, Target, Super Walmart, and every other store I can think of.  I didn't really need anything, but this Walmart allows overnight parking, so we stayed here.   I went to a far corner of the lot where no one was nearby and turned on my generator for a couple of hours and watched TV and played on my computer, then I turned everything off and drove to the corner where they ask RVers to park overnight.

Today we will continue on down the road.  I'm willing to overnight at Walmarts and Rest Areas the next few nights, but I'm hoping I'll find a nice RV campground where we can stay for a week or two.  I don't want to pay a lot, but I want electricity for TV.  I got good TV antenna reception here at Walmart, I think any good sized town will have good reception, but I don't want to run my generator that much if I don't have to.

So, now I'm going to call Lauren to wish her a Happy Birthday, then I'll make the quick, obligatory trip into Walmart for a few things, and then we'll take off again.

From Me and My Dog, have a nice Wednesday, everyone!  :)

We made it to Idaho!

Welcome to our newest Follower, whose name when translated is "Letter of an Alchemist."  Although he has blogs, none are RV related that I could see, but some are written in Spanish.   Thank you for following along with Me and Katie, we're happy you are along for the ride!

Well, we made it to Idaho!    I set my alarm for 7 am so I could use the public shower since I was almost completely out of water.  I got ready for the day and stashed everything in The Palms for traveling.  The fresh water and dump area is on the way out, so as we were leaving I filled the fresh water tank, since I didn't know where we'd end up today, dumped both grey and black tanks, and at 8:30 we were on our way.

I wasn't sure if we would find a nice park on the far south-eastern part of Washington, or if we would continue into Idaho.  It was a really nice drive, and I didn't see any obvious RV parks, so we kept going on into Idaho.  Very little road repair going on, and very little traffic.  Lots of fields, lots of mountains, lots of clouds - we even had a little rain with some dark clouds.

 Isn't this sky just gorgeous?

 Love those clouds.

 No real reason for this photo, I just thought this building was neat.

It was really tall.

Anyway, if no Washington RV parks came up, I had a plan.  I don't always have a plan, but I had a really good one today.  Not knowing anything about Idaho, I thought I'd better do some research for exact parks.  I had three on my list, but one was out of the way, so I crossed it off.

The first one was Bear Den RV Resort in Grangeville, ID.  It was highly rated and had everything - looked good on-line.  But when I got there, it was really plain.  Flat, pretty empty, not much in the way of trees, it really didn't look like a park I'd want to spend more than one night in, and it was around noon, so I pulled out and kept going. 

 I could see this field fire starting from far away, 

it turned out to be right across the freeway from Bear Den RV Resort.

The next one on my list was Angels Nook in White Bird.  This was a very strange park.  Right off the freeway, it was in a little valley.  There is a small town that was very depressed, and the park was right in the town, on the edge. The woman who came out to meet me was very nice and friendly, but honestly, it was kind of scary.  There were some nice houses that I could see right out of the town, but the town itself was mostly a ghost town, not at all well taken care and lots of empty buildings.  They only had dish TV and I don't have a dish, so there would be no TV, no phone (my Verizon had no cell service there), no Internet.  I decided to keep going.

That was the end of my plan, which didn't work very well, so we kept driving.  We followed a beautiful river to our right, and it was easy driving. I saw some nice parks along the road, but I didn't have cell service,  and I wanted to be able to get Internet.  Then I saw a Ranger Station, so I stopped.  The Ranger suggested I drive another 20 minutes to Riggins, where there is cell service.  "Right in town," she said. I didn't understand that she meant there is cell service ONLY in town.

Finally around 2:30 I came through Riggins - no cell service.  Tonight is the beginning of some of the new seasons on TV and  I wanted to see Three and a Half Men, so I pulled into this park, Riverside RV Park in Riggins, which has cable TV.  It's right on the river, I can hear it flowing right outside my door, and I have a great river view from my dinette window.  It's just beautiful - looks like a good fishing river, too.  I decided to stay here, probably for only one night.

The site cost for a back-in site is $22, and they have no discounts.  There are also pull through sites.  This is a very small park, nesteled right between the freeway above, and the river below.  I can't hear much freeway noise, though, I think the river is masking the road sounds.

The Cable TV works great, my Verizon cell phone doesn't work, but I was able to get Internet,  which surprised me.   Hence, the post tonight.

 The river is on the passenger side.

 Every site is on the river.

 This is our little yard area with picnic table overlooking the water.

 We started walking and Katie was acting weird, 
kept stopping and looking at me.  

See anything wrong?  Poor thing.  :)

 Katie just loves rolling around - but this might be the last time!!! 

Phew! :(

 Katie and I walked to the end of the park, a very short walk, and came back to The Palms where she decided to roll in the grass.  The grounds are really pretty and well watered and cared for, so I thought, why not?  Let her have some fun.  She rolled and wiggled and rolled and wiggled.  When she came over to me I bent down to sniff her and almost passed out.  She STUNK!  WHAT DO THEY PUT ON THESE LAWNS???  I'm sure glad I have that outside shower, because I stripped her vest and collar and leash off and got the shampoo and a towel, and she was sudsed up before she knew what hit her.  She is now a very nice smelling, sleepy girl.

I just looked up at something moving in the corner of my vision, and there were three deer walking down the road right in front of The Palms!  That's the best animal sighting I've had so far.  I grabbed my camera, ready to snap, and a boy in an orange shirt drove down the road behind them.  They got scared and ran up the hill into some trees and bushes.  I kept watching, and one came back down and hung around for a while, but she was too far to get a good shot, and it's getting dark.   That was exciting!

We crossed into a new time zone, but I'm keeping everything the same time because we won't be here long, and none of my clocks, phone, computer, etc, re-set themselves.

From Me and My Dog, Katie, in Idaho, have a great evening, everyone!  : )

Last post from Hood Park, WA

WELCOME to our newest Follower, Texcyn!   According to her "About Me" (she doesn't list a blog), she shows dogs, and has an RV that she uses mostly to travel back and forth to the dog shows.  Hopefully more RV travels are in her future. Texcyn, Welcome Aboard, we're happy to have you following along with us! :)

On Friday we moved over one site. The one we were in had already been reserved for this weekend, but the one next to us was vacant, so we were lucky.  We had to leave our site by noon, and couldn't check into the new one until 2 pm, so we had a couple of hours to kill.

Around 11 am, I unhooked the electric, put things away for traveling and went into town again for a few errands.   We needed propane, so we got that filled up.  We were about 1/4 down on the gas tank, so I topped that off, now we don't have to stop on our way out.  Coffeemate - completely out - stopped at Albertson's for that and a few other things.  I got a huge artichoke, which was my dinner last night - it was soooo good!

I have an offer on my condo.  It's a little low, but all cash.  My realtors e-mailed me the offer, I printed it out, signed everything, and went to the Post Office to send it back by overnight mail.  As you might remember, this will be a short sale, so my mortgage company will have to approve the sale.   If they DO, that will be great.  If they DON'T, then we'll know what they will accept, and that will determine our next steps.  We'll see what happens.

When we drove back into the park, there was a sign saying "No Vacancies."   There were lots of boats and fishermen here this weekend; there's only one more weekend before the park closes for the year.  This morning (Sunday), many rigs pulled out, so the park feels much more open again. 

Yesterday was WINDY, and we had some rain, and more last night.  Not a lot, but I could definitely hear it on the roof.  Exciting!!!  I've been waiting for rain.  Now, today, it's again calm, warm, the sun's out, and we're back to nice weather. As much as I'm looking forward to the rain, I'm sure the campers here, especially those in tents, would prefer dry weather, so I'll be happy for them that we have such nice weather.   Hopefully all the kids in tents enjoyed the exciting rain and wind last night, though.

 New view from my dinette window

New view from my couch window 

Friday a huge toy hauler rig pulled in and completely blocked my view of the lake - they pulled out this morning, and this is now my beautiful view.  That's the lake between the trees.  That's why I like weekdays better.  :)

Tomorrow we are leaving Hood Park.   I've really enjoyed this campground., but our two weeks are up.  It's so clean, quiet, and well taken care of.  Lush lawns, nice campsites, etc.  The next campground, I think, will still be in Washington State.  There are two I'm interested in, both closer to the Idaho border. There are no reservations in these campgrounds, so we'll just wing it.  If they are full, we'll just keep going.  Since tomorrow is a Monday, I'm thinking we won't have a problem getting a site.

From Me and My Dog, have a great Sunday, everyone!  :)