Planning the NW trip

It is months away yet, but the planning has me excited!  I think I enjoy that almost as much as the trip itself.  Planning can be so much fun and very educational due to the research of spots to stay and spots to visit and things to see along the way.  RVing is so great because it allows flexibility in the route, where to stop, how long to stop and what to see or do at each location. 

During the winter of 2014, while we were waiting for the house to sell, we spent 2 1/2 months in the Southwest and wow, that was the longest time we had been gone.  It was great and so much fun!   It confirmed our dreams; we enjoy the travel.  While we are also looking forward to some short (3-4 days) excursions around the near (to us) Midwest, it is the 3 month trip we have planned for later in the year that has us looking forward to warmer weather.  

Yes, while missing the children and grandbabies will be hard; the dream of traveling has been a part of my life for 25 years, so I just cannot give up that dream.  So fortunate that Dave feels the same. Someday we won't have the opportunity to go because of age/health, so we need to go now or not at all.  AND we are going now!!!

Things we hope to see or do this summer, that will be new to us:

Craters of the Moon NM

Mount Hood and the "Fruit Loop"

Columbia River Gorge and lots of water falls

Crater Lake NP

Newberry Volcanic NM

Cascade Lakes Scenic byway

Portland

Olympic NP and peninsula 

Wooden boat festival

Whale sightings, tide pools, shorelines and beaches

Light houses

Orchards, farm stands and fresh seafood

I hope to have a map available soon to show our tentative route and stops, but all is subject to change. 

So much to see and do, makes being flexible a top priority.  Doesn't it all sound fun? What a great blessing and privilege to live in a Country that has so much beauty.

Have a great weekend! 

Reviving the blog

It has been a long time since we have updated the blog.  But this year will be full of travel so I will give a few highlights from 2015 and a preview of 2016, Lord willing as only HE truly knows what's ahead. 

2015 

We left off on our arrival at the RV-Dreams Educational Rally in Sevierville, TN. WOW, what a great time! If you have any interest in going full-time or even part-time full-time then you owe it to yourself to check out their rally.  They offer a HUGE amount of information about RVing and all of it is beneficial.  We met some great people and hope to see some of them on the road. 

After the rally, we headed to Knoxville to check out some used fifth wheels, through the dealership that had brought units to the rally.  A wonderful Christian couple, who really know their RVs and were very informative, willing and able to answer all our questions.  They have a great team at "RVs for Less".

Well we left, strongly considering a fifth wheel they had on their lot.  We headed to Florida to spend some time with friends from Cedar Falls that had relocated there, to be closer to their children.  Exactly like we did in relocating to Ames.  We had a great visit, loved their new house and were so happy for them. 

After leaving them we head west to check out an RV park that we wanted to consider for possible visits in the cold months.  It was an ok park, but wasn't what I expected or wanted. 

After discussing the pros and cons with our friends and between the two of us, we made an offer on the fifth wheel.  One week at home and then another trip to Tennessee to purchase and take possession of it.  This was a whole year, at least, earlier then we thought we would buy a new trailer, but it was too good a deal to let pass us by.   

We had just enough time to clean it and pack it and then we headed west with my brother and sister-in-law for YELLOWSTONE and the TETONS.  

We had a good time as is usual in that area and enjoyed the time we spent with them.  I really was surprised, though I should not have been, at the large numbers of people, as it was very early in the season.  Another frustration were the roads in Yellowstone, as they are under construction and will be for the next ten years. Each year they will be working on a particular section of road, which also makes for heavy traffic that was already very busy. I said I won't be going back for a long time, famous last words, but that is for a later part of this update. 

Well, friends from Arizona heard we were going to be in Yellowstone, so we had made arrangements to meet up with them after our family headed back home.  Here is the great part! We are retired, so we did not have to head back for work, but could extend our time. Loving retirement, yippee!

After our time with them we headed home to see our kids and enjoy our house in the country. 

Here it is after one of the first snow falls this winter.  

We had an enjoyable summer, did a few camping trips in IA, WI and MN.  

2016

We have another grandbaby coming in April!  So excited, we just love being grandparents.  

We are hoping to go on a few short trips around the Midwest once the weather starts to improve.  Plans to attend an Airstream rally is scheduled for June. Yes, we still have the Airstream and have no plans to sell it.  We hope to attend some rallies in the SW in the future.  And we are still dreaming of a trip to Alaska with it. 

 Our big news is we have accepted our first volunteer workamping position for this summer in Oregon! We have talked for a few years, since attending a "Workamping Rendevous" about volunteering at a fish hatchery and this year will be our first chance to do so, but not likely our last.  On our way west we will be traveling with Dave's niece and her husband to you guessed it, Yellowstone and the Tetons. After some time there, we will leave them and continue on through Idaho into Oregon where we will explore for a bit until we are due at the fish hatchery. 

From there we will head north to explore the Olympic peninsula before heading home.  We have a very exciting summer ahead of us.  I will start updating the blog as our travel starts and continues.  

I have spent quite a bit of time planning our routes, camp sites and things to do, but still more planning to do.  I will be making more updates on the blog as things become confirmed. So check back for our updates, as I want to make a record of our year by using the blog and as a way to stay in touch. 

Yes, Nacho and KT will be along on the adventures and may even be giving some updates.  😊

Sniffing flowers at the gardens.