A Sad Trip Followed by a New Adventure

Since we began our blog in July of 2016 to document our year on the road, we have faithfully recorded every trip in the Short Bus except our last one. In early May Rog’s mom called to let us know that Grandma Ardys had suffered a stroke. When it became clear that she wasn’t going to recover we quickly loaded up the rig and made a dash for Redding. Emotionally it was a hard trip and since we overnighted at rest stops there and back, adventure-wise it was a bust.

Beautiful blooms.

Our favorite spot at French Prairie Rest Stop, right next to the roses. 

We arrived in Redding on Saturday, 5/8, and went straight to the hospital. We visited Grandma again on Sunday and she had a brief period of lucidity where we had a chance to tell her we loved her. She even managed an understandable, “I love you too” and then drifted back asleep.  That was the last time she was truly conscious and passed away on Tuesday, 5/11. Rian was able to visit with Grandma Ardys before we arrived and then had to return to Sacramento to start her new job. The timing for that was really hard on her.

A hug and a last "I love you".

Randi arrived Tuesday evening and, while she was sorry to have missed saying goodbye, she was a great help. We gave what support and assistance we could to Rog’s mom, Barb. Services were held in St. Helena where Grandma had lived most of her life and she was interred next to Grandpa Oscar. She was loved by many and will be terribly missed, but 97 good years is something we can all aspire to. We are so glad we were able to spend time visiting with Grandma in March. You never know when a goodbye may be your last.

Grandma Ardys joins Grandpa Oscar.

 

Randi and Rian peruse the picture board highlighting Grandma's life.

We spent a weekend in Sacramento with Rian and then returned to Redding to help Barb empty out Grandma’s apartment. Randi’s boyfriend, Jose, drove up and they took some of the furniture back with them. They’ll be house hunting next year, and Grandma would be happy to keep as much of it in the family as possible. After we’d done what we could to help out Barb, we left Redding and arrived home on Saturday, 5/29. We immediately began attacking the neglected house and yard (the grass was a foot tall!) and preparing for a June 10^th departure.  

 

We can put Riley in the yard and charge admission for a jungle safari!

Which brings us to our new adventure. We are taking a leisurely route to Glacier National Park to celebrate the 4^th of July there with my brother Tim, Mike, and friends Mikey and Glen. Our planned route takes us through Eastern Washington and Oregon then into Idaho through the Bitteroot Mountains and then onto Montana. We have several new areas to explore and, of course, we included several water stops to keep Riley happy.

Our first destination was Big Pines campground on the Yakima River. We spent one night here on the way home in 2019 (remember when the slide broke?!) and we wanted to come back and try a float down the river.

 

Settled in at Big Pines campground on the Yakima River.

We arrived about 2pm on Thursday, 6/10, and had four nights booked. Thursday was very windy and we hoped for calmer weather or floating the river in an inflatable kayak may be more challenging than we bargained for! We managed to fill our days easily. We did a hike with Riley which was supposed to be a relatively flat trail next to a creek, but we missed the fork in the trail and ended up climbing a steep, scree covered trail wondering where the creek was. Lol. We called a halt after a mile when the trail disappeared in the scrub. Oh well, the views weren’t bad and the climb was a much-needed workout.

 

A few showers and a vibrant rainbow remnant.

A very cool suspension bridge crosses the Yakima River.

Not the hike we wanted, but fun anyway. 

We did our float on Saturday. We put in at Umtanum, about 6-7 river miles above the takeout at our campground. We weren’t too sure how Riley would do with the swifter river current, but folks do this section of the river on pool floaties so how bad could it be? Well it was a little windy and choppy in places, but we’re happy to report Riley did great! He sat up and watched the birds for a while and then laid down and took a little nap. It was sunny and warm and we thoroughly enjoyed the scenery and the float. Luckily the current was strong enough to overcome a brisk headwind or we might have been floating backwards. Lol.

 

Cool volcanic formation in the canyon wall.

Yakima Canyon from the river.

Riley, our favorite float buddy!

We also made two trips into Yakima. We hit a bike shop for parts so Rog could redo the rear brakes on his bike. (Very important because we have reservations for a 15-mile downhill bike ride on the Hiawatha Trail! More on that later.) A visit to Tieton Cider Works was also a priority. I had the flight and then stocked up on the cherry and huckleberry ciders (Note for Bob and Carol: Yes, I got enough to share!) Our second priority was a stop at Valley Brewing for their sours. They do a Very Berry Cherry Swirl that is one of my absolute favorites and also a limited edition. More stocking up! Lol. Imagine my devastation when we arrived at Valley to find the Swirl was totally gone. No amount of pleading and begging (trust me, I tried!) could produce a single can. Oh well, a very acceptable consolation prize was their Peanut Butter and Jelly Sour. Whoohoo. Fickle me has a new fav. Lol.

 

The cider flight at Tieton. Yum!!

Missed the Swirl, but Valley Brewing came through. 

Our next destination is Oregon’s newest state park, Cottonwood Canyon. The campground is all first come/first serve so we’re planning on getting an early start and hoping for the best. It’s the first of several new camping spots we’ll explore, so stay tuned.