Sight seeing and rain!

As the folks here at Timber Valley say
"welcome to Oregon,hope ya brought your umbrella."It is raining again this morning.The last two days have been sunny which we have taken advantage of with some sight seeing and leisurely walks around the park, but when we woke up this morning it was raining nicely! Well,at least I will get to see if my fix on the leaky passenger window worked.
We have sure enjoyed it here at Timber Valley. As always with any Escapee park, the members treat you like family.And here was no exception. There is a special bond with the RVing community that is like no other. a kinship that spans the U.S.No matter where you are traveling, an escapee park is like a safe haven for the RVer. Where friendship and camaraderie is always present.
Jeni and I did a little local sight seeing Saturday. We went to Copper Creek lake which is just east of town for a little picnic.It is a beautiful little county park surrounded by the forest. We took out our lawn chairs,found a spot along the bank, and watched the fisherman as we dined on Subway sandwiches. The warmth from the sun felt good and I was tempted to
take a nap but I just sat there enjoying the views.Jeni and I turned to each other and said "It don't get any better than this!"
We also checked out the "Rochester covered bridge" which spans the Calapooya river. The bridge is a couple of miles west of town on hwy. 138.
Friday night we went to dinner at the local Italian resturant.It was a bit pricey but the food was delicious. our favorite place though is "Diary Queen!" Were hooked on "Dilly Bars." Jeni likes the regular ones, I like the "Heath coated ones but with no stick. Yes,because of my phobia of eating ice cream on a stick, Jeni has to pull the stick out of the dilly bar before she serves it to me. I'm a weird little man!!! Today is Memorial day. It is a day we honor our brave men and women that have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Show your patriotism,thank a vet,put out your flag,reflect upon the freedom you have because them.
Tomorrow we will leave Timber Valley for Cape Blanco State Park. We are very excited about volunteering for Oregon State Parks and Jeni is real happy because she will be by the ocean. Yes,whether were sight seeing, driving to new places,volunteering,meeting new people,or just puttering,"it don't get any better than this!"

In Oregon

Wednesday afternoon we arrived at

Timber Valley escapee member park in Sutherlin Oregon. It was a long drive from Redding 270 miles in and out of rain. We arrived at 4pm and were warmly greeted and parked in our site(#13). The park has 206 sites and is beautifully landscaped and stair stepped up hill. It is surrounded by forest and sets in a clearing.

We slept in Thurs morning and debated as to would we site see today or just kick back and relax. Being the adventurers we are we took off for the Umpqua river scenic byway on hwy #138. This is a 100 mile drive from Roseburg to Crater lake.It has world class salmon, and steelhead fishing,rafting,kayaking,and waterfalls.

We stopped off at fall creek falls trailhead and hiked back in a half a mile for a spectacular up close view of the falls. There was a big Doug fir tree fallen across the pool below the falls. Of course I had to impress my gal by walking across the pool on the log. It was pretty high off the ground so I decided I would show Jeni my athletic prowess by jumping off the log onto a rock. A big wet rock! You know how your inner self tells you things, things

like"Hey DumbAss Don't do It!"Well I didn't listen, and I jumped,my feet went out from under me and down I went......I laid there all wet and muddy,my first thought....did Jeni film that? I looked over and she hadn't even seen it ,she was too busy filming the falls. "Thank God you won't see my fall on film!"Luckily I wasn't hurt.Just my pride. By the way a couple of days ago,when we were up at Burney Falls,I was filming Jeni and she took a little tumble.I did get that on film.We laughed so hard we nearly wet our pants.I should send it in to that show about bloopers caught on tape.

As we traveled the byway we were in and out of rain.One minute you are in sunshine and the next minute your in a rain storm.As we climbed toward crater lake it got colder and colder. We stopped at another trailhead to view Watson Falls. This time we didn't get too close as it was a pretty good hike to get to it,and it was pretty steep. We just took a picture of it from the the trail head.
As we got closer to crater Lake, we started seeing snow on the ground and even though it was still only rain, we figured it was only a matter of time before it turned to snow. We got as far as Diamond lake,and decided this was as far as we wanted to go today. Crater Lake will have to wait til next time. We found a little picnic pull off with a view of the lake so we had lunch.It was cold! we had our lawn chairs out bundled up but it was too cold for enjoying the view of the lake,we "wolfed down" are sandwiches and headed back to the park.We stopped in Roseberg at Denny's(it's always open) for dinner.
Friday we slept in late again but this time we just "puttered"all day. catching up on things.One thing I needed to take care of was a pesky leak on the passenger side window.When we were coming to Oregon,the rain was coming in the window so bad Jeni had to put a towel in the top to keep from getting wet.I climbed up the ladder to inspect it and found those darn woodpeckers at Park Sierra had pecked an acorn into the rubber around the window! I removed the acorn ,smoothed out the rubber,and caulked it for good measures. Hopefully that will do the trick.
At 3pm I went over to the "social "at the clubhouse.Cake,coffee,and good conversation.Jeni was busy with a project so she didn't come.I did meet a couple that have a lot here as well as one at Park Sierra.Their name escapes me but they remembered us from last summer when we camphosted. They have a beautiful park here and I can see why there is a 4 or 5 year wait on the list to get in.
Well tomorrow we will be on the "site seeing" trail again.We will be here til Tuesday then it is on to our volunteer job at Cape Blanco. Jeni and I hope we can stay on our feet when we head out tomorrow for new adventures because the camera will be rolling as always when we hit the "site seeing trail.....in Oregon.

in Redding Ca.

We are up and moving this morning even though the crane from the saw mill made it tough sleeping last night. The crane runs back and forth the length of the RV park......all night! Along with all the other machinery it was very noisy. No wonder the price was cheap!
Last night we took a walk along the river(Sacramento river). The fish were jumping and the water was swift. I think I'll do some fishing this evening.

Jeni and I set out for some site seeing today. Our first stop was Lassen National Park. There is still snow on the ground but the park was open. We stopped at the visitor center for info and maps and we toured the park. Probably the most spectacular site in the park is mount Lassen. It is at 10,500 ft. ele. It is a volcano that last erupted in 1915. changing the surrounding area forever.
We snapped a picture of mount Lassen through the fog and clouds. But even obscured, it is an assume site.
Lassen park is kinda like Yellowstone
park in that the park has a lot of geothermal,and geological features.
With so much snow, it was tough to get a feel for the devastation that the eruption caused, but we did see some giant boulders that were hurtled some 4 miles during the eruption.
On our way out we stopped by a privillian depicting the four regions of the park. We just hd to throw a couple of snowballs at each other!




Jeni and I enjoyed Lassen but we feel its best to see the park during the summer months. We will return again soon.
After we left the park, we headed north on hwy, 89 to the little town of Burney for some lunch. We found a nice little cafe in town that served the best burgers I've tasted in a long time. The secret ingredient was thousand island dressing, it was homemade and delicious.
The weather was turning ugly as we left the cafe. It has not started raining yet but it looked like it could start at anytime.
Jeni and I have never seen a full blown waterfall before. Oh yes we have been to Yosemite and the sierras to see them but always in the fall when the water had started to recide and the waterfalls become "puny", so we went to Burney Falls State Park where they are supposed to have a spectacular waterfall.



When we arrived ,it was open so we first went to the visitor center for a short film on the falls. We spoke with the volunteer about what there was to do at the park.He told us of the great fishing the park has in the creeks and at lake brittany in the park. They also have camping and cabin rentals.
Another great thing about the park..... we got in free! We had our "volunteer in the parks" cards we got when we camp hosted at Beals Point this last winter, so we just showed them to the ranger and she let us in. YEA!


Burney Falls State Park. East of Redding on hwy.89, 5 miles north of hwy299. We will be back. Maybe even to camp host some summer.

After we left ,the weather took a turn for the worse as it started raining hard. But the troopers we are we kept on site seeing. Next we headed north on 89 to the "MCloud loop where there is a series of waterfalls. With the rain pounding down on us we drove the 7 mile loop. We couldn't take any pictures as the rain was heavy so we just ran out to check them out and then scurried back to the car soaked to the gills. These falls were not as good as Burney Falls, but the area,even in the rain, was breathtaking.
We stayed on hwy89 to the I-5. What we didn't realize is we went way north to the tune of 90 miles north of Redding, so we had a 2 hr drive ahead of us,
About half way home we came to a screeching halt on the freeway! We were stuck on I-5 for an hour before we finally started moving, very slowly.After we snaked our way along the freeway for a time, we finally came upon the problem, an overturned "big rig". He was carrying bottled water and must of lost control in the rain.
We didn't get home til 9pm, and the rain was still coming down.
It was a "soup and grilled cheese sandwich night for dinner before we retired for the night.
I took a picture this morning of our site(#138) at Sac. River RV resort (in better weather). I would recommend the park only to my friends with insomnia!!
Were off to Oregon tomorrow but it was a great day in spite of the rain, the snow,and the delay on the freeway.

On the road again

Just like that ole Willie Nelson song, we are" on the road again!" After filling in for the assist. managers of the park this weekend,we put the golf cart in the storage shed(yes it does fit in there!) said goodbye to our friends,and we hit the road.

Our destination was Redding Ca. We had to make a pit stop in Sacramento for Jeni's eye exam,so I pulled the rig into the Mervyns parking lot across from the Dr's office,sent Jeni to her exam and I took a siesta.

We headed out again,this time with Jeni at the wheel and arrived at Sacramento River RV Resort in Redding at 6pm. We went to dinner at a greasy spoon nearby and took a nice walk along the river before turning in for the night.

Tomorrow we are going to explore Lassen National Park and the surrounding area. Hopefully we can find a better place for dinner.

My daughter Jackie and DJ visited us at the park last Saturday before we headed out. It was great to see them and we will miss them and all our family while we are in Oregon this summer.

We will be here a couple of days then we will head on up to Oregon. We heard great things about Sac.River Resort and when Jeni used to work in Redding,she would pass by the resort and dream of one day staying here. Well we are here now and you know how sometimes places aren't always what they seem.There's a big noisy saw mill right across the river! Oh ya, the mill is operational 24/7.....Its going to be a sleepless night!

Hitting the "Grandkids" highway

There's nothing like Grand kids to make a person feel their age.
Before we leave for Oregon we decided to visit all of them.
First, after "stagecoach days" we headed up to Sacramento to babysit DJ for a week while the parents went to "Cabo".That's Jen with a sleeping DJ. I'm not in the picture because I was asleep on the couch! DJ and I wore each other out at the park.Trying to keep up with a 3 yr old is like boot camp. Its good for you..... if you survive!
After 5 days of "grand kid"boot camp", we hit the road back to the park tired but with great memories of our time with the little guy.
Back at the park we have been sprucing up our site and planning future projects when we get back in the fall. We are glad we decided to become members.The people here are just like family,and the good times never end. I wish I was as lucky as one of our members John Ely was as he won 100 dollars at one of the raffles at" stage coach days". Him and his lovely wife Barbara were sitting with us.I tried to get a "table commission" from him but he wasn't having any of it. COME ON JOHN!
help an "ole" retiree out.
This past weekend it was time to hit the "grand kids highway" again. This time we headed down to Riverside to see Aiden and Nevin our son Dans sons.My brother Gary and his wife Martha also came up from San Diego. Our son made some "killer BBQ ribs" and all the fixings.We had a nice visit. Sunday Dan and the boys took Jen and I out to breakfast for mothers day/fathers day/Jens birthday. He is off the hook til Christmas now. That is Dan and sons Nevin (on the left) and Aiden. Jen and I weren't in the picture as we had nothing left in the tank, we were rode hard and put up wet, we were toast, you get the idea.
after breakfast,we hit the road back to park Sierra tired but glad we got to spoil the little ones.
Today I played golf with a couple of the members.We all had a great time(except for the rain) I could not take any pictures because of The weather but I'm happy to report that we made all 18 holes.George and Mert were my playing partners and we all became fast friends. They have golf sign ups here at the park every monday and when we get back this fall I will be taking part.
This is our last week here as we pull out a week from today for Oregon.We have agreed to volunteer for assit mgrs in their absence from thurs. thru Sat. Jeni will be working in the office and I will be parking rigs,reading meters, and monitoring the septic system. Those three days will go fast! That leaves us Sunday to prepare for our departure.
We will be camp hosting at Cape Blanco in June and then up to Dechutes in July and August.
We are planning on some site seeing on our way up to Oregon. Maybe Lassen and crater lake.
Well, we have traveled the "Grand kid highway"and survived! Some people never get to travel that road but for Jen and I it is a trip filled with joy, love, excitement,and adventure. We shall travel that road again, and again, and again,and again.