To Grandma’s House We Go… One Last Time.

It is bittersweet to think that this will be the last time we see Grandma Ardys in the house she’s lived in for 66 years. Her home in St. Helena was a large part of Rog’s childhood, especially during the summers and holidays. That said, there are a lot of advantages to the move. She will be much closer to Rog’s Mom, there will be more opportunities for socializing in a group residence, and the burden of maintaining her house and property will be lifted. Unfortunately, the safety measures required during the pandemic add a whole ‘nother layer of complexity to the move. Still, after years of waffling (yeah Grandma, talking to you! Lol.) she is ready, so here we go.

Even though Rog’s mom was already in St. Helena with Grandma Ardys, we stopped in Redding on 7/21 for a couple nights at her awesome moochdocking spot. On the way we got a gorgeous view of the backside of Mt. Shasta from Hwy 97.

Mt. Shasta

We had only planned for a two-week trip, so we needed to grocery up, do laundry, and work our way through a long to-do list. Riley got a bath and we enjoyed her back deck as the evening cooled. We were sitting outside around dusk and all of sudden Riley alerted and got real interested in movement in the ravine behind the house. We heard a low growl and Riley started barking. We saw something run away but there wasn’t enough light to get a good look. We found out later that we’d likely been visited by a bobcat that has been sighted in the area. Rog heard it again in the morning. I thought it was very cool, but Riley wasn’t a fan.  

Bath time or play time?

Sunset on the deck in bobcat country. :)

The only downside to the moochdock at Mom’s house is the narrow gate Rog has to back through. It’s a white knuckler (at least for me!) but he’s managed it numerous times without a hitch. Which made the little oopsie when we arrived at Grandma Ardy’s house on 7/23 all the more surprising. To be fair, backing into Grandma’s has its own challenges, the driveway isn’t that wide, the street is busy and I can assure you California drivers are not known for their patience. Rog didn’t quite get the angle right and the back of the Short Bus had a minor disagreement with Grandma’s mailbox. Dang, a little something to remember St. Helena by. Lol.

Suck it in!
Only a few inches clearance on each side. 

Ouch!!

Grandma Ardys and Grandpa Oscar purchased the lot in St. Helena for $1300 and built their house in 1954 and have lived there ever since. Grandpa passed away several years ago and, although Grandma would have liked to stay, it just wasn’t working well. We arrived on Thursday and met with the realtor who said it would be best if the house was emptied and all personal items removed. (We’re talking a lifetime’s accumulation here!) What followed was four long days of hot sweaty work, punctuated by laughs and sweet walks down memory lane. We sorted and culled and packed up everything Grandma was taking to her new home in the Vistas in Redding.

Sorting and culling.

The grandmas supervise.

Rian does a Grandma. Lol.

Rog’s sister, Nancy, and her children, Lexi and Max, came on Friday to help. Randi made the 6 ½ hour drive from her new digs in Rancho Cucamonga and Rian came from Sacramento. Everybody worked and once the family had picked the things they wanted, the rest was given away. On Monday the movers came and we had a hauling company clean out the garage and outbuildings. I’d say we were about 85% done. Mom and Rian will return to finish the areas we just didn’t have time to deal with.

Friday's work crew.
Rog, Randi, Lexi, Nancy, Max, Barb and Grandma Ardys seated.

The door where generations of kids recorded their height.
Memories.

Rian relaxes on the Riley pillow at the end of a long day.

Mom and Grandma drove back to Redding Monday afternoon and we followed in the RV. We had a 9am date with the movers at the Vistas Tuesday morning. No rest for the weary. 😊 After being screened by the staff, we spent Tuesday and Wednesday unpacking and setting up Grandma’s apartment. We were very happy with how it turned out. It’s a bright, airy space filled with the things that mean the most to Grandma. We were super sad to find out that we couldn’t accompany her in and help get her settled. Once she arrives, the staff will help orient her and the 14-day quarantine begins. I’m glad they take the pandemic threat seriously, but Covid-19 restrictions really suck.

Grandma Ardys' new digs at the Vistas. Nice!!

She was supposed to move in Thursday but had a rough night. She perked up by the afternoon, so Friday, 7/31, is the big day. We also delayed our departure a day to help out. It wasn’t hard to convince Riley since he got a little extra pool time. When Rog moved Grandma’s document safe, he couldn’t figure out why it was so heavy until he opened it up and found 8 ½ pounds of Grandpa Oscar’s old coins! He remembered playing with them as a kid, as you can see not much has changed. Lol.

Grandma shares her pizza crust.
Riley loves Grandma. 

Pool time.

Still a kid.
Rog plays with Grandpa's old coin collection.

We are pulling out of Redding early on Friday, 7/31. We have a date in Klamath Falls to get all new shoes on the Short Bus. Assuming that goes well, we’ll probably return to the Williamson River campground and possibly retrace our steps home. Or, who knows, maybe choose a new route. We’ll keep you posted!

Williamson River - Riley is the Kayak King.

We left Lincoln Rock on Friday, 7/17, and instead of heading home, turned south to visit Grandma in St. Helena, CA. We spent the first night at the Sherman Co. RV Park in Moro, OR. We’ve stayed here before and it’s a screaming deal. Full hook-ups with 50amp service, a large pull-through spot so we didn’t have to unhitch the toad, access to the fairgrounds for puppy playtime, and a nice view of Mt. Hood – all for $25 a night. Oh, and best of all, excellent wifi so I was able to upload the last blog post without chewing through our data plan. Whoohoo!

Mt. Hood from the campground.
(Borrowed this pic from our last stay because I forgot to take one this time.)

Our plan for our second night was a BLM boondocking spot outside Bend, OR called Badlands Rock. Along the way Rog decided he needed more adventure in his life and had me take the wheel for awhile. Hwy 97 is easy driving, so I put another 50 miles or so under my belt. Gotta do it every now and then to remember which pedal is go and which is stop. Riley, being the helper dog that he is, even assisted by leaning against the power seat controls to adjust my seat while I was driving. Feeling your seat tilt away from the wheel as you’re driving the short bus at 60mph - now that’s exciting! Lol.

Momma takes the wheel.

We pulled in at Badlands Rock on Saturday, 7/18, and took the Acadia scouting. There were several perfectly acceptable sites, but we found an even sweeter spot just up the road at the Horse Ridge Trailhead. The BLM trailhead did not prohibit overnight camping and this one was spacious, shady and totally empty. Score!

Horse Ridge Trailhead, a quiet spot for a night.

We set up camp and whiled away the afternoon reading, eating, and playing with Riley. Around dinnertime we loaded up the boy and headed into Bend for a stop at one of our favorite breweries, Crux. We opted not to take the bike rack off the back of the Acadia, so Riley got to ride in the back seat. He doesn’t usually get a chance to hang out the open window and he certainly enjoyed the ride.

Riley enjoys the breeze.

Crux’s “sundowner” is quite popular and with social distancing in affect we had to wait in line a bit to get in. In addition to their excellent taps and menu, Crux has a huge outdoor area with picnic tables, food trucks, and circles chalked on the ground with the requisite 6ft of distance. Totally worth the wait. We had dinner, enjoyed a few brews and Riley even negotiated a sip. Hey, he’s 3 years old now (21 in dog years) and at a 190 lbs, I assure you a lap of my sour did not affect his sobriety. Lol.

Crux Sundowner.

Riley is a Crux fan too.
He may be old enough, but from now on he has to buy his own. Lol.

Back at camp, we sat outside as the evening cooled. The sky was absolutely filled with stars, you could see the Milky Way and several planets. It was a real treat. At home the light pollution drowns out half the show. Rog was even able to pick out the comet NEOWISE. We could see it without the binoculars, but it was even more impressive with a little magnification. Very cool! One of these days I’m going to get the right equipment and learn how to do night sky photography.

Our next stop was another repeat, the Williamson River NFS campground near Chiloquin, OR. The neighboring campground which we also really like, Collier State Park, has hookups and takes reservations and was completely full. Luckily Williamson River is all first come/first serve and, arriving in the early afternoon on Sunday, 7/19, we scored an excellent spot to stay for a couple nights. You see, I have a plan. 😊

Williamson River.

We’ve kayaked the Williamson River before and I had high hopes for Riley. The river is pretty shallow and slow moving, so if things go sideways a dump in the drink wouldn’t be a catastrophe. We checked out the water access at our campground, but the river was too shallow even for our inflatable kayak. So we scoped out the nearby state park day use area. The swift running Spring Creek joins the Williamson at the day use area, which meant the first thing we had to do was navigate across the stronger current to get to the slower-moving Williamson. We parked and Riley waited patiently while we prepped the kayak and toted it to the water. He got in without an issue and we were off.

Ready and waiting for his big adventure.

Hoofing it down to the water.

And we're off!

We are so proud of Riley. He is the Kayak King! He was calm and sat up looking around, interested in the birds and scenery. He was comfortable enough to lay down and rest his chin on the side of boat just watching the riverbank go by as we paddled along. What a good boy! We didn’t want to push our luck, so limited our excursion to about an hour on the water. We were so impressed and are happy to report Riley’s kayaking debut was a total success. Yay Riley!

Doesn't he look like a natural?

Chillin' in the kayak.

Happy kayakers!
The best family shot we got. 

Proud Momma and Riley the Kayak King! Lol. 

We had planned to spend a night at a new to us boondocking spot, Deer Park Snow Park near Weed, CA. But Rog’s mom is eager for us to get to grandma’s. So we decided to skip Deer Park and drive straight through to Redding, for a few nights at Rog’s mom’s ultimate moochdock.

Lincoln Rock – Fun in the Sun and We’re Not Going Home!

First, a shout out and thank you to our friends, Bob & Carole, for the Lincoln Rock recommendation. Lincoln Rock State Park is an oasis of green about 8 miles outside of Wenatchee, WA on Lake Entiat (an impoundment on the Columbia River). It’s a very popular state park, especially with boaters, and was full almost every day of our stay. The campground has three loops, one with full hook-ups, another with water and electricity, and a third with no hook-ups. We stayed in the dry camping loop, so no air-conditioned splendor for Riley in spite of the 90° days, but the upside was we were just steps away from the water! We’re hoping this will be Riley’s kayaking debut.

Lake Entiat (Columbia River).

We can kayak almost to our doorstep!

The rock formation the park is named for.
It really does resemble Abraham Lincoln in profile.

We arrived on Sunday, 7/12, after setting up camp we explored the campground and reveled in 4-bars of Verizon 4G. There are lots of recreational options here so we decided to bike the 11-mile Apple Capital Loop Trail on Monday. There is a 5.5 mile spur (Rocky Reach Trail) that connects it to the campground, but I didn’t think my butt could handle 22 miles in the saddle. Gotta know your limitations! The Loop Trail parallels the east and west sides of the Columbia and winds through the very beautiful downtown Wenatchee Waterfront Park. I loved all the outdoor sculptures! We did the Rock Reach Trail on Thursday after my butt bones and I had a serious discussion, but it was a fun ride with a great view of the dam.

On the Apple Capitol Loop Trail.

Loved the sculptures in the Wenatchee Waterfront Park.

A grass fire on the outskirts of town.
Luckily, not near the campground.

Rocky Reach Dam viewed from the Rocky Reach Trail.

Monday evening we were treated to a good deal of unnecessary drama as domestic bliss imploded in the space adjacent to ours. It is really hard to know at what point it’s necessary to get into someone else’s business. The tipping point came when the parents sitting in the car started hitting each other and the 10 year old daughter was trying to intervene. Rog and I and campers from other nearby sites converged. I took the girl into our RV while Rog and the others talked to the parents. While the parents calmed down and settled their differences, I got an earful from the daughter. This certainly wasn’t their first rodeo. No matter how lovely the setting, people still are who they are. Sigh.

On Tuesday we broke out the kayak and started Riley’s training. Step #1, sit with mom on the bouncy rubber couch on dry land. We didn’t make it into the water since we got side-tracked with travel planning (more on that in a minute).

Step#1 - Get Riley comfortable in the kayak on solid ground.

Wednesday, Step#2 of Riley’s kayak training: sit on the bouncy rubber couch in the water. He did a great job getting in and then glued himself to me. We just had him sit there for a few minutes in the shallows. We want him to like the kayak so no “sink or swim” scenario for the boy. Especially since we’d likely be the ones swimming! Lol. When Rog and I took the kayak out for a paddle, Riley wasn’t invited. We’re all about those baby steps. Lol. If things work out, we might get a chance to try Step#3 (actually paddling!) before our trip is over.

Step#2 - Try Riley in the kayak in the shallows,
so nobody goes swimming if this turns out to be a bad idea. Lol. 

I must confess there was some serious spoiling going on this week. Hey that kayak was scary and brave boys must be rewarded (and mom isn’t above bribery!), so we made a few sojourns to the camp store for treats. An ice cream cone, shave ice (hold the syrup), playtime in the sprinklers, lots of water time with dad. This has been a great spot for Riley.

Whole lotta spoiling going on. 

Post-ice cream bonding. 

Ball time is the water is best!

Considering how busy the park was we had some fun, unexpected wildlife encounters. The resident Marmots took their job as the camp alarm clocks seriously. About 6am they would start a high-pitched trill that was guaranteed to bring you right out of a sound sleep. The locals are yellow-bellied marmots, the largest member of the squirrel family reaching 2 feet in length. Speaking of sleep, we also had a nighttime visitor. Before Riley’s tummy trouble finally resolved itself, I was taking him out for a 2am potty walk. As I groggily stepped out of the RV, a huge owl perched directly overhead loudly questioned my identity. The deep WWWHHOOOOO, WWWHHOOOOO nearly made me jump out of my skin. But the coolest thing we saw was on the Rocky Reach Trail. Rog spotted something near the bridge, so we paused to look. He thought it might have been a bobcat. We didn’t see anything in the brush and were about to leave when I looked down. There sat an adult bobcat about 3 feet away from me still under the bridge and looking up right at me. As soon as I saw him and made eye contact he ran off. He (or she) was beautiful, so bummed I didn’t get a picture!

Meet our furry alarm clock. Lol.

Early light on the water.
These three shots were all taken at 6am - thank the marmot. :) 

On Thursday we made a run to buy produce from the local farm stands. They ranged from a tweenager selling peaches in his front yard to the well-established year-round commercial endeavors. The fancy stands had fun displays, but you know who got our business. 😊 We also had a visit from friends, Jim and Kim May, who both retired from the Tacoma Fire Department several years before Rog. They are avid and adventurous travelers and it was great to catchup and exchange stories.

Gorgeous floral displays at the commercial farm stands, but we preferred the kid with the card table. 

We were supposed to head home on Friday, 7/17, but that has changed. Rog’s 96-year old Grandma Ardys is moving from her home in St. Helena, CA to an assisted living residence near his Mom’s in Redding, CA on July 27^th. Once Grandma moves in, the Covid rules restrict any in-person visits. Since it certainly doesn’t seem like the pandemic will be under control any time in the near future, we didn’t want to miss a chance to see her before she moves. Hence, several hours of internet research, maps, phone calls and texting to extend our travels. Our revised travel plan will have us trying out some new boondocking spots since any place that takes reservations was pretty much booked solid. We lucked out and have one night with hookups after we leave Lincoln Rock to get everything charged, filled, emptied, and fluffed and then we rough it. Lol.

A Quiet Week at Johnny Creek

It’s so nice when Plan A works out. Johnny Creek Campground is located about 13 miles from Leavenworth, WA in the Wenatchee National Forest. The campground is all first come/first serve with two sections, the 15-site Lower Johnny Creek, situated along Icicle Creek and the 49-site Upper Johnny Creek which is across the road. Coming in on Monday, 7/6, we were pretty confident we’d find a spot but we were really hoping to score one of the waterside sites. We pulled over at the pay station in Lower Johnny Creek and walked the campground. There were only 3 or 4 sites large enough for the Short Bus, but the best of those just happened to be open. Score!! It was especially nice since we have 6 nights here before our reservation at Lincoln Rock State Park near Wenatchee.

Icicle Creek.

Plan A is awesome!

The sites are huge and it’s just a short walk along the river to spot where Riley can wade in the shallows. Icicle “Creek” is really a good-sized river with lots of rapids and boulders. Oh, and it’s absolutely gorgeous too. The much smaller namesake Johnny Creek also runs through the campground, and Riley made sure to explore both. Another unexpected treat – there are ripe huckleberries all around the campground! A few minutes of picking and we had plenty for a huckleberry pancake breakfast. Delicious!!

Good thing Riley loves cold, Icicle Creek is aptly named!

Huckleberries! Huckleberry Pancakes! Huckleberry Heaven!

Tuesday we spent a lazy day in camp, Rog did a little RV maintenance and I worked on organizing my pictures and drafting a blog post. Getting anything uploaded though required a trip into town. So Wednesday we loaded up Riley and headed for Leavenworth – a fun, picturesque Bavarian-themed tourist town. We had lunch at Icicle Creek Brewery and found a shady spot in Waterfront Park to catch up on email, the blog, and all things internet. Of course, we made time for a stop at the Whistlepunk Ice Cream Company, but neither Rog nor Riley were interested in checking out the shops – so I was outvoted two to one. Dang, and here I was committed to doing my part to stimulate the local economy. Lol.

Hey Dad, whatcha got? Wanna share?
Riley is the eternal optimist. 

Leavenworth in all its Bavarian-themed splendor. Lol.

Wednesday we packed a light lunch and took Riley on the Icicle Gorge River Loop Trail. It’s a little under 4 ½ miles and one of the few trails in the area that isn’t straight up and then straight down. The trail is a shady walk through the woods with several creek crossings. The day was cool and overcast, we even had a bit of rain – perfect hiking weather for Riley. The scenery was stunning, so put this hike on your to-do list when you’re in the area.

Gorgeous views of Icicle Creek.

White water!!

On the trail.

Brave Riley!
He wasn't too sure about this narrow log bridge, but he did great. 

I don't think we'll do any kayaking here. Lol.

A delicate wild rose and intricate bark patterns on a Ponderosa Pine.

Under the log, across the bridge, and we're almost home. 

We had planned to do some more hiking over the weekend, but Riley ended up with tummy troubles. Not sure quite what set him off, but Thursday and Friday nights he woke us up every couple hours to take him outside. We certainly weren’t going to leave him in the RV with a case of the runs, so we opted to hang out in camp. I picked more huckleberries and we all played in the creek. Rog put up the hammock, it was the first time he’d tried it out. Riley wasn’t too sure what the monkeys were up to though. Our initial attempts at entering and exiting the tree taco were hilarious. Once settled, we found it comfy enough for an afternoon nap together. We also were delighted to have a hummingbird visit our site, so Rog put up the window feeder. Another accessory we’d never used before. It’s been nice to have the time in camp to play with some of the stuff we carry but rarely use.

Camp day!

Dad! What are you doing??

Double trouble. :) 

Lots of butterflies along the river.

A welcome visitor.

While I don’t particularly like being out of touch with friends and family (I missed my virtual happy hour on Friday ☹!), the total lack of cell service also meant a welcome respite from the daily deluge of doom and gloom. It’s a slower, calmer life and, you know, all my ranting and raving has not and will not change the insanity one bit. We left our bubble of serenity on Sunday, 7/12, heading closer to civilization. Ahhh…internet connectivity, both a blessing and a curse. But without it, I can’t post the blog! Lol.