Everything Going Smoothly - and find the hidden Alfa

 Sometimes the moon doesn't have to be full, or the sunset briliantly colored to be peacefully beautiful.

We seem to notice more sunset skies as we travel than we do while in Jojoba. There our western view is somewhat obstructed, and only the more spectacular colors are noticeable.

 

One of the joys of fulltime RVing is being able to vist RV community friends we have met over the years. When we were in Grant's Pass Oregon we met up for a nice Sunday night dinner with Sue and Mo, a pair of delightful ladies we met through our mutual blogs. I hope to see them again the next time we come this way.

It is always good to take care of a maintenence problem before it becomes a problem. Recently, Craig noticed the black tank valve was leaking a little when he dumped. Knowing we had an easy travel day on Monday, I called around about a week ago and found an RV place that would shift their schedule so that we could just drive in, get the one hour valve replacement job done, and be on our way. South Country RV Repair, in Myrtle Creek, did a good quick job of it. The tech also noticed that a row of screws had broken, so that the lower part of the side fiberglass was no longer firmly attached to the frame. They fixed that too and charged us for 1/4 hour labor to do it. Always good to know you have a tight bottom!

I had planned on overnighting at Timber Valley, the SKP park in Southern Oregon, but they do not take reservations, and all they had available when I called that morning, was in their boondock area. Since the daily high temperature was still hovering around 100°  I called our planned alternative, the Polk County Fairgrounds, near Salem to get a space for the night. We have stopped there before and I knew that there were no events going on, and so was sure we could just drive on in. However, since they have locks on the power and water it is a good idea to call before the office closes for the day to let them know you are coming.

Craig sent me out to take this picture. Notice the big space between our Alfa and the Rig to the left. He called it "Social Distancing for RVs". It is a very basic place, but it did have water and power for air conditioning. For $25 a night with no reservation needed, it was great for an overnight stop. 

Note: We can boondock in the Alfa, but prefer to have power when it is so hot. I don't mind listening to the generator running for a few hours in the morning, but not at night. We did consider solar panels in the begining, but knew we wouldn't be boondocking enough to make them worthwhile.

Alfa owners: There are three Alfas here.  Can you find them all?

 

Tuesday's drive of 210 miles, was to Puyallup Washington just east of Tacoma. The Washington State Fair Campground was totally full, but we had reservations. It is not a "pretty" park, but it is convenient to a couple of urban things we want to go to. 

 

We tried to go to a farmers market on Wednesday, but it wasn't open. Thursday we are planning on a trip to the Aquarium in Tacoma, and a stop at Trader Joe's. 

 

Friday is another "drive day", the last on I-5.

Valley of the Rogue State Park,Oregon

Knowing the daytime temperatures were going to be very hot, we decided to get up early (unusual for us) and take a walk along the Rogue River, which borders our campground.

It was in the 60s F when the sun began climbing the sky. We really should do this more often, it was very peaceful.

The local walking trail was not very long, but we did get a nice view of the river and there were no mosquitos.
By 1 PM the temperature was over 100°, so we took a nap in the air-conditioned coach. 

Later that day we went on the Hellgate jetboat dinner excursion. 

As we boarded, the boat pilot gave me a towel to use to protect my camera. There was quite a lot of splashing and water spray when we were moving fast, so the only pictures I could take was while we were stopped or cruising slowly.

This, of course, was one of the other boats. 

The ride was a good mix of exciting speed, spinning, and crossing the wakes of other boats to give us drenching splashes, which were welcome in 100 degrees.  These alternated with stops and slowdowns, when the pilot pointed out wildlife or told us about the land and properties we passed.

On the outbound trip, we saw deer, Canadian geese, eagles and osprey. I did not include any of their pictures, because they just weren't good enough. 



Sometimes it is hard to combine an activity with photography. This was a perfect activity for such a hot day, and I quickly settled into just enjoying the ride and feeling the wind in my face! 

The turnaround spot for our cruise was in Hellgate Canyon. Earlier in the year, when the water level is higher, the jetboats can go beyond this area through some really great whitewater. 

But if we had done that, the rocks would have ripped out the bottom of our boat, and our pilot, Mike, would be out of a job! I guess it's good to have something to come back for in the future!

I sometimes wonder why people, myself included, like to look at rocks. I often think of the tremendous energy and forces that were at work when they were being formed, and of the ongoing changes they go through from erosion of wind and water.

Our boat held about 40 people, but there were at least five boats on the same trip, and we all stopped for the same included dinner at this delightful chalet above the Rogue River. 

The walk up to the chalet was aerobic; non-hikers could ride a wagon up.  Near the chalet I said "why didn't we take a wagon?".

We were served family style: salad, ribs, chicken, potatoes, corn bread, muffins, and dessert. At the tables were large pitchers of beer, water, ice tea, lemonade, and carafes of white wine. When a platter of ribs or a pitcher was empty, another was promptly brought out, until everyone was full and satisfied!

I have never been known to be shy when among strangers on a trip like this. So, as usual I treated our end of the table as old friends. By the end of the meal we had exchanged stories and good vibes. I really like to learn more about the people I see in our travels, and hope we enrich their lives just a little as well.

I was so full after that wonderful dinner, I was glad the trail back down to the river was all downhill! 

As we waited for our turn to head back down the river, we noticed this heron fishing on the other side of the river, quite undisturbed by a couple hundred tourists on the dock not far away.

All in all, it was a very nice boat ride and dinner, and we are very glad Sue Malone suggested we look into going on it, when we were making plans for coming to the Grants Pass area. 

We raced one of the other boats back to the docking area. 

By my count we have taken at least ten boat trips since we bought our RV. Each has been special in some way. I wonder where the next one will be.