And we’re off! Wait, what day is it?

 

The route is planned. Let's see how that goes. Lol.

We have an awesome trip planned – over 10K miles, 23 states, 6 National Parks, lots of state and local parks, and so much more. We’re using a lot of Harvest Host sites for our travel days and there are so many craft breweries on the itinerary that I’m too embarrassed to count them. For anyone new to the blog, we’re traveling in our 33’ motorhome, affectionately dubbed “the short bus”, with 400 pounds of dog and towing a Honda Element (the Pupwagon). Yep, Riley and Raney, our English mastiffs, do not get left behind. I hope you are willing to tag along too and share our fun and (mis)adventures. 😊 I’ll send an email when there’s a new blog post, usually once a week or so. Sign up or send me a note if you want to be included. No spam, no ads, and no pressure – just tales from the road and some amazing photos. Although I do love to hear from you and comments are highly encouraged and welcome. It’s a beautiful country, come along for the ride!

And we’re off! Our route is mapped, our stops are planned, reservations are made, but there’s still one thing that needs a little work. Me! Lol. We will be meeting up with our friends, Bob and Carole (and Ruby, of course) along the way. We finished our last planning session with them on Sunday, 3/1. On Monday, we finished packing the RV and prepped the house for a Tuesday morning departure. Our reservations were made for our first stop on Tuesday, 3/3, at Hazelnut Haven, a Boondockers Welcome site south of Portland. We also planned to stop along the way at 19 Acres Cidery to pick up some of our favorite and hard-to-find Brazilian Limeade.

With the fridge empty and just a few details left to take care of in the morning, I plopped down at my computer Monday evening to play with the new trip planning software I’m using. I printed out an itinerary and was looking at the first few stops. WTF??!! The departure date was wrong! I’d mapped out the entire trip based on leaving Wednesday, 3/4. For months I’ve been saying the 3rd. How did that happen?? After a heart stopping moment, I realized we could just add a second night at one of our early stops. Crisis averted and cardiac arrest avoided. Whew! But really, I was stumped as to how I’d screwed that up.

We pulled out Tuesday morning, and Rog asked me to double check the hours for 19 Acres. Uh, they’re closed Monday and Tuesday! Head slap. Ok, now it’s starting to make sense. Apparently, I’d switched our start date to Wednesday ages ago when we decided to stop at the Cidery and totally forgot all about it. Just the latest episode of, “She Who Cannot be Trusted.” Stay tuned, I’m sure the season is just beginning. Lol.

On the road. We decided to stay two nights at Hazelnut Haven, instead of the one we’d planned. On Wednesday, 3/4 (Hello, the day we were supposed to leave home!) we drove over to 19 Acres Cidery. It’s a fun place with lots of tasty ciders on tap. I opted for a flight, while Rog stuck with our favorite Brazilian Limeade. Unfortunately, our plan to stock up was totally foiled. Not a can of Brazilian Limeade for sale in the place. Nooooooo! They can’t keep it in stock and are working on ramping up production. Apparently, we’re not the only folks who love it. We filled a small growler as a consolation prize. Better than nothing, but not the haul we’d hoped for. Sigh.

Hazelnut Haven is a favorite Boondockers Welcome spot with yummy treats too.

19 Acres Cider Co. Where's the Brazilian Limeade??

Our next stop was an overnight (3/5) at Timber Valley SKP Co-Op, another place we’ve stayed at before. We stayed in their boondocking area, which is just $5 a night. You must be an Escapee’s RV Club member to stay here, but it’s a great value. Folks are so friendly, the welcome wagon stopped by with handmade fleece tug toys for Raney and Riley. How sweet is that? We also enjoyed the show from the resident flock of turkeys. These guys were huge and very busy keeping tabs on their harem.

The Toms were on full display. 

On Friday, 3/6, we pulled into Jackson Wellsprings Mineral Hot Springs and Campground. We stayed here last year to attend a couple plays at the Ashland Shakespeare Festival. We decided against soaking in the mineral springs this time around. The pools were busy during the day (family time) and we passed on the evening (clothing optional) soak. What is seen cannot be unseen, and once was enough for that. Lol. It is still the land of derelict schoolies, but this one was pretty cool looking.

One cool Schoolie. 

We were a few weeks too early this year for the Shakespeare Festival, but we did book tickets for the Oregon Cabaret Theater. The Cabaret is housed in a renovated church and includes a full-service restaurant. Dinner and a show! The production was Ken Ludwig’s Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood. A very tongue-in-cheek take on the Robin Hood legend. Hilarious. The cast was excellent, as was dinner where the menu and cocktails are themed to the production. I had venison tenderloin (poached from the king’s land by Robin’s band of Merry Men, I’m sure. 😊) and dessert was served at intermission. The Cabaret has been in business for 40 years and we’re giving it two thumbs up!

Before the performance.

We had great seats, front and center on the first balcony.

Mom’s Marvelous Moochdock. We left Ashland on Sunday, 3/8, heading to Roger’s mom’s house in Redding, CA. Her partner of 20 years, Ed, had been diagnosed with cancer a few months ago and passed away on February 18th. We offered to come down early, but Mom waived us off and seems to be handling things pretty well all things considered. When we pulled up to the house, Ed’s daughter, Vickie, her fiancé, Andrew, and son, Dalton, were taking a load of Ed’s things back to their home in Santa Clara along with his Corvette. Mom and Ed had been active members of a local Corvette club for many years and have fond memories of group rides and wine tastings with their sporty wheels. The Vet hasn’t had much run time the last couple years and Mom is glad it will get used again. Vickie reported that it ran like a charm and seemed to be happy to be back on the road.

Saying goodbye to the Corvette, the end of an era.

Speaking of happy, the pups are thrilled to be back in Grandmaland. Growing up, our daughters loved to spend time at Grandma’s and hang out in the pool. Riley feels the same. Raney stays out of the water but is taking full advantage living leash free for a few days. We love that Mom has a full hookup moochdock site, so we can enjoy her house and yard but still have all the comforts of our own home on wheels.

Chilling in Grandmaland.

Around the house, we are doing what we can to help Mom out. We cleared out 10 bags of clothing to donate to the local Cancer Society thrift store and cleared a few boxes out of storage. Vickie will be coming back for another load, so there’s only so much we can do for now. We had dinner at Final Tap, one of our favorite spots in Redding. Good fun and an incredible tap list. You see I went for another flight. Why pick one when I can pick four? Lol.

Final Draft - good food, great beer!

Rog and his Mom, Barb.

We also found a place to play Pickleball! I was so excited to play, but it turned out to be a bit of a letdown.  Enterprise Park has 12 really nice outdoor courts. We’re used to folks using the paddle rack to queue up teams for play, it turned out this was a little less organized. A lot of people knew each other and just played with their friends. It made it harder and less welcoming for newcomers. We did manage to get two games in, but it made us appreciate our group of players at home all the more. Miss you guys!

 Pickleball at Enterprise Park in Redding!
(Photo: Pickleheads)

Let it snow! So let’s talk for just a second about the weather. The first few days of our trip it rained off and on. By the time we made it to Ashland we had blue skies and sunshine. Temps in the 70’s in Redding and 80’s in Sacramento. Perfect. Things are looking a little dicey when we head to Desert Hot Springs. They are expecting a heat dome event that could bring record highs – I’m talking 105°! Meanwhile on the homefront, IT IS SNOWING. Riley has obviously lost the favor of the snow gods and they are taunting him. So bummed that we missed the only snowfall this season. Sigh. I know, you are sad for us. Lol. 

This also seems like a good spot for a shout out to our housesitter, Jess. Leaving our home vacant for an extended period of time is always nerve wracking. Jess was a Boondockers Welcome guest last year and we instantly hit it off. She is a full-time RVer, working from the road. I was talking to her about our trip and it turned out she could use a base of operations and place to park in the PNW while she had some repairs done to her RV. Talk about serendipity. Thank you Jess for making our trip much less stressful and for the snow pictures, bet you hadn't planned on that! Lol.  

View from the doorbell camera.

This was early in the morning and it was still snowing hours later!

Before lift off… Our next stop is Rian’s in Sacramento. But I wanted to catch you up on some fun things we did before this trip. Rog and I decided to make a conscious effort to plan more fun things to do when we’re home. For Christmas I got him a box of scratch off cards from Research International Outfitters with fun dates/things to do in the Seattle area. We did our first one, which was a trip to the Space Needle. We added the Chihuly Glass Museum, because how could you not? I’ll try not to go too crazy, but the pictures are just so much fun that I wanted to share. 

I just love the colors!

A chandelier - color and form. 

Whatever floats your boat. Lol. Get it?

Glass jungle?

Space Needle.

Another mini-trip was a quick hop down to Vegas, where we met our oldest daughter, Randi, to look at wedding venues. If you recall, the official proposal was captured under the aurora in Alaska in February 2025. (Aurora Hunting in Alaska) They live in Texas, Randi’s family and friends are in Washington, and Jose’s family and friends are in California. So where to wed? How about Vegas?? It’s centrally located, has lots of venues, and folks can plan a mini-vacation around the wedding. Sounds like a plan to me!

The Sphere is amazing! The exterior is constantly changing.

The High Roller.
It's 550' high and takes 30 minutes for one rotation. Fun!

Randi in "I Love Sugar" on the Linq Promenade.

We haven’t been to Vegas in decades, so things had changed quite a bit. We’re not gamblers, but we had a great time seeing shows and exploring the strip. We saw the Wizard of Oz at the Sphere, a true technological marvel. Were enthralled by the skill and acrobatics of Cirque du Soleil’s Ka, and had a blast with the Blue Man Group. And most importantly, Randi found a venue she likes! Now to get a date set. Lol.

The Wizard of Oz in the Sphere was very cool!

Cirque du Soleil never fails to thrill. 

Blue Man Group is just a blast. 

Officially Old, Family Fun, Fresh Hops, and a Yakima River Float

 

Lovely views from Port Townsend, WA.

Rog assures me that I’m under no obligation to blog every time we move the rig, but, geesh, wouldn’t you miss us? Lol. So, here’s a post to catch you up on our activities and document our quick trip over to Yakima, WA for the Fresh Hop Festival. (Besides, as our friend Bob reminded me, if you don’t post, how will you remember anything. Dang, he has a point.)

So let’s backtrack to August for our annual girls only camping trip. My friend, Elaine, does a magnificent job of event planning and herding cats. This year we spent three nights at Fort Flagner, near Port Townsend, WA. The state park rents out the officers’ quarters and other buildings as overnight accommodations. We had an excellent time exploring the historic fort and roaming the beach where a bald eagle was kind enough to pose for us. One of the park residents took note of our interest and brought by an eagle egg she had found. How cool is that!

Fun times at Fort Flagner State Park and Port Townsend.

Such a majestic bird.                                         I'd never seen an eagle egg before! 

Carole and Diane take aim! 

We spent a perfect sunny summer day in Port Townsend, taking in the sights and, of course, visiting the shops and sampling both adult beverages and the local ice cream shops. 😊  

Florene checks out the whale exhibit on the pier.  

Now there's an unruly bunch. Lol. 

In early September, I did a quick trip to Sacramento to visit Rian and… drum roll please…meet my adorable new grandpuppy, Gwendolyn. Rian and I had fun hitting estate sales and an antique fair. But, what I liked most was curling up with Gwen on the couch or watching her bound around the backyard flinging her toys in the air and then pouncing on them, then zooming around to do it again. Pure puppy joy is a delight to behold.

My grandpuppy is the cutest!

Two gorgeous girls!

Wait! Is that a puppy or a baby seal? 😂

Now I want to give some serious kudos to my brilliant daughters, family, and friends for pulling off a fast one.  My brother Tom and his wife, Kim, came for a visit on September 24th from Virginia. Since we don’t get to see them often, I also asked the girls if they were able to join us. Randi flew up from Texas, but Rian said she couldn’t get the time off work. The law firm she works for has the crappiest PTO policy I’ve ever seen. Sigh. I was bummed but understood.

You know you are an honored guest when Riley shares the couch. Lol. 

On Saturday, 9/27, we were scheduled to descend on my brother Tim and his partner Mike's lovely glamping spot at Lake Connor Park. We were snatching a quick breakfast and coffee when I turned around to see an extra body in the kitchen boldly grabbing a coffee mug out of the cabinet. I did a double, then triple take, and had a WTF moment. Then Rian turned around. Surprise! I was so happy she could join us. She does love pulling one over on me.  

We had an excellent time at Tim’s and took lots of family pictures, since it’s rare to have all three of us siblings together, and a special treat to have both the girls home too. We ate too much and shared stories and told lies. A fun time was had by all.

Not lying about the Glamping! We even had a personal chef - thanks Mike!

Where are Riley, Raney, Gwen, Flint and Cleo? Humph!😁

All the usual suspects. 

This must be the telling stories and lies part. Lol.

On Sunday, Rian said she was meeting a friend for lunch while we planned to meet Bob and Carole at one of our favorite places, the Brewmaster Taproom, for an early happy hour. I blithely strolled, paying no attention, and was met with SURPRISE! OMG, not only did Rian pull off a surprise visit but she orchestrated a surprise 65th birthday party for me! Color me floored – the picture says it all. Lol.

Aaaaaaaah!

Apparently, she had started planning in July, stealing contacts off my phone when we were working on her deck. She’d originally scheduled it for my birthday (10/10), but when the dates for Tom and Kim’s visit were announced, pivoted to include them. What an amazing feat! Rog said he was a nervous wreck for weeks, worrying he’d accidentally let the cat out of the bag. No cats were left to roam and all I have to say is my entire family and friend group are far sneakier than I ever imagined. (I’ll be watching you all more closely from now on!) It was truly wonderful, spending time with folks I rarely get to see. And check out the amazing birthday banner that Randi made! It all made getting officially old totally worth it!

What a special surprise!

Friends, Family and Fun.
Takes the sting out of being officially old. Lol.

On Monday, we loaded up the family to go see one of the Thomas Dambo trolls. Dambo, a Danish environmental artist, has created more than 150 troll sculptures located in over a dozen countries. The NW Troll project, themed “Way of the Bird King,” includes six sites in the Pacific Northwest. I’ve been wanting to go troll hunting for ages and was thrilled to finally make it out to Issaquah to visit Jakob Two Trees. The sculpture was much larger and more complex than I’d imagined and beautifully done! If you have a chance to see any of them, don’t hesitate. Now I really want to start hunting down the others in the area.  

Hello Jakob Two Trees.

Successful troll hunters.

Jakob is waiting to meet you too!

Sadly, our family time came too quickly to an end. Rian was only able to stay for the weekend, and it wasn’t long before Tom and Kim, and then Randi were on their way home. It felt like we’d barely dropped them off at the airport before we were loading the RV for a trip to Yakima for the annual Fresh Hop Festival, which was held on Saturday, October 4th.

The Yakima Valley accounts for over 77% of the total United States hop crop. Given those stats, hops are a really big deal! Rog loves craft beer and looks forward to fresh hop season every year. We’d never attended the Yakima festival and were excited to check it out with Bob and Carole. The festival was held this year at the Yakima fairgrounds, so we were able to park our rigs at the fairground’s RV park just a short walk from the festival. Excellent idea!

We opted for general admission, so promptly at 5pm we headed over to collect our wristbands and beer tokens. I’m not an IPA fan, so the appeal of fresh hops is lost on me. (Sacrilege, I know. Sorry.) I was a little worried I wouldn’t find anything I liked, but happily those fears were totally unfounded. With 51 brewers present there was something for everyone! Along with a vast array of IPAs, pilsners, ales, etc. there were a few ciders and sours (my favorites!) and even some wine on offer. We would definitely go again and probably opt for VIP tickets which get you early access, additional tokens, and dinner. Yay!

Rog sampling the wares.
Love the nod to the Etsy Witch. Go Mariners!

On Sunday, 10/5, we moved from the fairgrounds to Big Pines, A BLM campground on the Yakima River. I think this was our third stay at Big Pines, but Bob and Carole had never been there, and we were excited to float the river with them. We had a leisurely day in camp on Sunday and then waited until early afternoon on Monday, timing our float for the warmest part of the day.

Big Pines campground - just a short stroll from the rig to the river.

We’ve done this float twice before, (once with Riley!), and loved it. We put in at Umtanum and take out about seven miles downriver at our campground. Usually there are plenty of folks floating the river in everything inner tubes to inflatable unicorns. But we’d never gone this late in the season, and it turned out the river was pretty low, making it a bit more of an adventure than we anticipated. We saw several people fishing, this stretch of the Yakima is well known for its trophy trout (all catch and release), but no casual rafters. Now we know why. Lol.

The scenery really is lovely and we saw several blue herons, a deer, and I spotted tons of smaller trout and one huge granddaddy. Then things got a little sketchy as we hit several very shallow areas where if you weren’t careful (or lucky) you’d drag butt or end up totally high and dry. We drug bottom and Bob and Carole got stuck a few times. Bob had to get out and try to pull their boat over the rocks, while we tried to paddle upriver (not recommended!) to offer assistance. They ended up with several inches of water in their boat and Bob’s seat malfunctioned which made his life interesting, but they got going again without incident. Then one of our pontoons got noticeably squishy and we had to pull over and pump more air into it. Odd, but then it happened again, and it was clear we had a leak. Ugh. It was still a fun float, but maybe we’ll double-check the water levels before doing it again. Lol.

Bob & Carole near the put in spot at the Umtanum Bridge.

Can't complain about the Yakima River scenery!

The locals are charming too.

Bob and Carole had family commitments, so they headed back home on Tuesday morning. Rog did some fishing and we just enjoyed hanging out with the puppers until Thursday, 10/9, when we also packed it up to head home. It’s amazing how just a few hours’ travel to the other side of the mountains can make it feel like you’re in a different state. Sunshine and high desert vs. drizzle and evergreens, yep, we can do that again. 😊

Rog doing the fishy thing. :) 

I think he looks like a character from "A River Runs Through It".

This was probably our last RV trip for the year, but planning for our “big trip” in 2026 is progressing nicely. So far, we have a tentative route and about 45 stops mapped out from home to the Escapade RV rally in Fryeburg, Maine. The return portion needs some work, but we may leave some of that open and adopt Rog’s go with the flow travel vibe. We still need to make reservations for the national parks and most of the east coast sites since there’s not much in the way of boondocking there. We’re excited for another long trip and who knows what (mis)adventures await. I’m looking forward to sharing them with you!