Bend and Sisters, Oregon

Next stops were Bend and Sisters, two great places in Oregon for the outdoorsy crowd. In Bend we did one of our favorite outdoorsy activities and another less outdoorsy one: visiting dog parks and brew pubs. We did two of each, and a good time was had by both humans and canines.  In Sisters --where Jim once fought a nearby forest fire -- we walked the dogs on two long trails and walked ourselves in and around the many tourist shops.  Jim bought a heavier long-sleeved shirt and Bev bought a sweater wrap. And we went to a brew pub. Of course.

In Bend we visited the Cascade Lakes and Sun River Breweries.   Above is  the sampler -- if you can call six 6-ounce glasses samples -- we got at Cascade Lakes.  Jim likes IPAs and I like stouts and porters, and we thought the beer at Sun River was better.

Bend is full of dog parks and people parks. This path of flowering sage was between the Deschutes River and one of Bend's 8 off-leash dog parks.

Riverbend Park in Bend, Oregon, with a view of Black Butte -- an extinct volcano -- in the background.

Arlo hanging out in the RV at Sister, Oregon.  We stayed at the Sisters/Bend Garden RV Resort.  It was pricey: $60 a night with an AAA discount -- if that's not the most we've ever paid, it's got to be near the top. But it was beautiful with lovely walking paths, lots of greenery and flowers, a long dog walking area, and access to a huge field for the dogs.

Tourism is a big part of the economy for both Bend and Sisters, and probably more so in Sisters.  Oregon State Route 20 goes through downtown Sisters; the street is full of shops like this garden ornament store.

A montage of license plates honoring Jim's favorite college team, as seen in a tourist shop in Sisters.  That's us outlined in the reflection of the store window.

Do Not Drink the Water

After one night each in Heyburn and Bruneau Dunes, we did two more one-nighters.

First stop was Bully Creek Reservoir Campground, a county-owned park about ten miles west of the tiny town of Vale. Vale was the first Oregon stop for pioneers on the Oregon Trail.

When we made reservations and again when we checked in, we were advised to NOT drink the water as it contains arsenic.  We were also told that it should take about 50 years of ingesting it before the water would probably cause any real damage.  But, added the camp host, "none of us drink it."  A flyer indicated that arsenic levels are nearly 30 times higher than what’s supposed to be safe.

So we didn’t drink the water. 

But we enjoyed walking around the tranquil, wooded campground, which has 40 campsites with electricity.

Next stop was Burns, Oregon, named for the Scottish poet Robert Burns, says the city website. Burns is the county seat of Harney County Oregon; the city website says Harney County is the seventh largest county (by area) in the US and bigger than some states.

Jim and I have driven through and near this area several times before, and decided that we would stay in as many new-to-us campgrounds/towns as possible.  So we looked for a place that had good reviews and chose the Burns RV Park. Only to realize when we pulled in that we had been there before. Oh well. 

Last time we didn't even unhook our tow car -- we just just hunkered in for the night. This time we needed groceries, so we found a nice Safeway and did some exploring.  But I didn't take a single photo in Burns. Sorry Burns.You are a very nice town.

On our way to Bruneau Dunes we drove behind a double semi truck load of straw, which created a windstorm of bedding until the truck exited I-84 after about 50 miles.  Then we followed the above big load of onions most of the way to Bully Creek, and onions flew off the entire time.  Jim was going to pass it, but stayed way behind because he wasn't sure how much windshield damage could be caused by a flying onion. If you look closely you can see the truck was still losing onions as it took the exit ramp.

Our camping spot at the Bully Creek Reservoir near Vale, Oregon.  Bully Creek is a tributary to the Malheur River, which in turn is a 190-mile-long tributary to the Snake River.

That's our rig and Bully Creek campsite near the center of the photo, which was taken from land that was once under water.  Obviously the reservoir  is way down. The dam that created the crescent shaped reservoir was built in 1963.

A boat dock at Bully Creek Reservoir is yards away from the water.

Going north for now

After a five month hiatus, we are on the road.  We had a great summer and I’ll blog a bit about that later.  But now I want to write about now.

We headed north from our home in Salt Lake City, pulling our shiny new-to-us tow car. Whose battery died after 100 miles.    

So we pulled off the road, detached the brake on the toad, pulled the lifeless car to the Riverside RV Park in Heyburn, Idaho, and called Triple A.  After a successful jump we settled in at a very pretty RV park. Then we explored Heyburn and nearby Burley.  Burley was named for a railroad official and has a population of about 10,000 people.  Heyburn has about 3,000 residents and was named for a former senator. Per Wikipedia, the region got a big economic boost when In 2012 Chobani opened the world's largest yogurt processing plant in nearby Twin Falls.

The next day we drove the car and the RV separately to Bruneau Dunes State Park near tiny Hammett, Idaho.  It was another lovely stop. 

Both days Jim did some research on our towing situation. Although our 2013 Honda CRV towed just fine when we did a test trip last month, apparently a fancier car needs a fancier brake set up.  So we'll work on that.

View of the Snake River from a bridge on US 30 and right next to the Heyburn Riverside RV Park.  What a great place to stay.  

Jim and Arlo on a path next to the RV park and along the Snake River.

Part of the path consisted of the Heyburn Arboretum, created about 12 years ago by the city and filled with 200 trees from all over the world -- including exotic ones like rubber trees that you wouldn't think could survive in southern Idaho.

Across the Snake River from Heyburn is the larger city of Burley, which is the county seat of Cassia County, Idaho.  Above is their very pretty courthouse.  When I first moved to Utah I heard a story on the news about "a Burley woman" and I thought "how rude."  But Burley is a well kept town and Burley women -- and men -- should be proud. 

People play on the big dune at Bruneau Dunes State Park, near Mountain Home, Idaho, and where we stayed the second night of our trip.  The big attraction is sand sledding; the park rents slides so people can cruise down the tallest (470 feet) single structure sand dune in North America.  Single structure means the sand hills are connected to one another instead of spread out.  Maddie and I climbed to the top of this one. 

View of our campground from the top of the dune.  At the right is a star gazing  observatory which we didn't visit as there was a full cloud cover the night we were there.

The pink and coral colored plants around the dunes were stunning. They looked soft and fuzzy but were actually hard and prickly -- but still beautiful.

Cattail Cove State Park, Arizona

Cattail Cove is a great Arizona State Park just south of Lake Havasu City. We stayed there April 3 through April 7. 

We really like it and hope to go back. Besides being close to the lake (created by a dam on the Colorado River about ten miles downstream from the park), it has 61 camping spots, a white sand swimming beach, a boat dock, lots of hiking trails, a dog beach (the only one I've ever seen in the years we've camped near water), a big dog walk area, a really nice staff, and ice-cream for sale at the office. Can't beat that. A marina, restaurant, and 70 more camping spots are supposed to be added by next March.

Jim and Arlo on the dog walk path at Cattail Cove. Last fall the Arizona State Park system was named the best managed state park system in the nation.  Runners up were Washington, Tennessee, and Wyoming.

Cattail Cove swim beach.  They must have trucked in tons and tons of white sand.

Maddie at the dog beach. Throw a ball at a dog park and Maddie will most likely ignore it.  Throw a stick in the water however, and she's right there. 

The campground.  It has water, electricity and a dumpsite.

Front entrance to the well-cared for park.  We talked with a couple who have been camp workers there for ten years. They were about to head home to South Dakota after their latest six-month stint.

We spent one afternoon in Lake Havasu City picking up supplies, then went to a brewpub called Hangar 24. It had a lot to choose from in porters and stouts (that I like) and in IPAs (which Jim likes) so we got a flight of four of each kind.

Jim paddling into Lake Havasu from Cattail Cove's beach. Right after I took this photo the small wave you can see forming rolled water into the kayak.  

Maddie near blooming blue palo verde trees. Up close the blossoms look like yellow cherry blossoms. 

Chandler, Arizona and friends

We spent the nights of March 31, April 1 and 2 at a pretty fancy RV park (their website calls it a "boutique" RV park) in Chandler, Arizona, a southern suburb of Phoenix. Chandler is home to lots of high-tech companies including Intel, where Jim used to work. Intel has a chip manufacturing plant there with over 11,000 employees.  It's also home to some of the autonomous (self driving) vehicle companies and we saw a lot of those cruising nearby.

We spent part of a day walking around downtown Chandler, which looks like its being torn down and rebuilt. Easter morning we hiked part of a nice trail at South Mountain Park, a Phoenix municipal park and the largest city park in the US per Wikipedia. And there was an outlet mall on the other side of I-10 from where we were staying so I had to go there. Our type of camping is usually closer to deserts and forests (which we like) but I couldn't pass up a trip to a very nearby outlet mall. I did more looking than buying.

But most fun were visits with two friends of mine from my former lives.

First was dinner with a friend from high school who now lives in nearby Mesa.  Another day Jim and I drove to North Phoenix to see someone who worked with me at the Postal Service. It was nice to see old friends and catch up.

Bev and April, who graduated from Wellington, Ohio, High School, class of 1969.  I remember going to an alumni meeting the year I graduated. When the 50-year class was introduced I thought "How do those people even walk?" April and I are walking quite well, thank you.  Thanks for meeting up with me, April.

We stayed at MotorCoach Resort in Chandler.  The 18-month-old RV park has beautiful desert landscaping, was very clean, and had level cement parking pads.  But it was the most expensive place we've ever stayed at $65 a night.  I find it hard to find a good RV park at a reasonable rate near Phoenix.  A lot of them have age restrictions on motor homes (rigs older than ten years not allowed) or weight restrictions on dogs (no dogs over 20 pounds.)  Our rig is a 2003 and our dogs are 40 and 50 pounds so we are a no go on those.  Motor Coach Resort disallowed trailers and fifth wheels.  Jim said he thought it was because none of their sites were pull throughs, but that's the first I've ever heard of a "no trailers" policy.

Arlo and Maddie looking for who knows what out the window of our RV. Maybe for a trailer trying to make an illegal entrance.

A fountain at  the RV park where we stayed.   The park was in an industrial area, just barely off of I-10, and across the freeway from a race car track.  But it was very convenient to shopping, restaurants, and all the stuff you need when you travel.

Craig and I worked together at a USPS Law Department in Utah.  He and his wife Maryanne now live in North Phoenix. Craig listened to the radio at work and was my news source -- he reminded me that he's the one who told me Elizabeth Smart had been found (just a couple of block from our office) nine months after being kidnapped.  When Craig retired I became way behind on the latest news.

Craig, Maryanne, me and Jim at Craig and Maryanne's lovely home in north Phoenix. I might never recover from the video Maryanne showed me of a snake slithering up a saguaro.  

Jim and the doggies at South Mountain Park Preserve in Phoenix, which has 16,000 acres and 50 miles of hiking trails.  We did only about a mile and a half, so there is plenty for next time. Unfortunately, it was also the site of the slithering snake mentioned in the above photo.  I'd still go back.