Yakima River Festival 2011

The young people stayed in tents on the river

What's this about the Yakima River Festival? Just kidding--I'm titling my post today that way because we had all the ingredients of a festival---great food, BBQ chicken and ribs, music, festivities, lots of people, tents and dancing! AND, it took place on the Yakima River shoreline. But today was really all about my youngest brother Charlie's wedding, and what a beautiful wedding it was!

The scene was at the river cabin of Charlie's good friend John and Kris's sister....they have a beautiful house on the river and it was the perfect setting for a summer wedding. White paper lanterns hung from the trees, Charlie's fiancee, Kris, made an arbor decorated with baby's breath to say their vows under and the tables were decorated with vintage linens and plates. Kris's dad is a grill meister extraordinaire, and along with help from his son, Josh and my brother, Bill, they did a fantastic job cooking the chicken, and boneless pork ribs. Friends made fantastic salads to help feed the guests that numbered over 100. Delicious!

the grill meisters

Kris and Charlie's girls walked in with their family's beloved dogs on leashes, and then Charlie and Kris shared their vows....It was obvious that Charlie and Kris are very very happy together, and that both families are very happy they found each other. T

The weather was perfect...there was a slight wind rustling through the trees that kept the bugs away, and temps were in the 70's....The table were decorated with mason jars with roses and many photographs of Kris and Charlie throughout their engagement....

We had lots of fun dancing...I got to see my sister and her husband dance, something I've never seen. Somewhere my oldest brother found a Bob Marley type of headgear and brought it out and placed it on Charlie's head. Well, that just brought out Charlie's ham-it-up side even more, and we just laughed and laughed at this antics...Well, maybe they were laughing at mine, too! The young people had fun, and the older people had fun! I think my young nieces were surprised that Aunt Jeannie could get out on the floor and boogey! And that I even knew how to do the Cha-Cha Slide! (Those girls didn't know how to do the cha-cha, however! I turned around to see what they were doing and they were just all wiggling and shaking their cute little butts!)

Silly Charlie and silly me!

All the families and friends pitched in to help from making grocery store runs to decorating, to making salads and getting ice.....and when it was all done, we came together again to help them clean up so they could rest and relax.....Here are Kris and Charlie placing their rings....

There was so much love and joy radiating everywhere, it just made my heart so happy. Charlie got choked up several times and so did we as his family....I had tears of joy from laughing so hard and then tears from having to say goodbye to my family as they scattered, but I know I will see them again, probably more so now that we are traveling the country....Here are a couple of photos sharing the joy of the day.....

It was wonderful for all of my four siblings to be together today...we traded more stories, and more anecdotes about our childhoods...since we are all spread out over the country--Massachusetts, California, Michigan, Washington and Indiana, it's hard to get all of us together at one time. Not everyone was able to be at the family reunion a couple of weeks ago, so the wedding yesterday was where we all came together. We got some great photos and reestablished our connections with one another. I got to talk to my nieces more and got to know them better, and their friends as well. Our family is the kind of family that doesn't do very well with phone calls or emails, or remembering birthdays but when we come together, the love just comes pouring out. We KNOW the love is there.....It was hard to say goodbye to everyone today, the day after the wedding, but we know we will come together again, hopefully for a happy occasion, and not a sad one.....

- August 6, 2011

And I just want to say a very public thank you and I love you to Eldy, who drove 1300+ miles from Washington to Arizona the first time so I could see my family at the reunion in Arizona, then 1300 miles BACK to Washington again, killing our fuel and monthly budgets so I could be with all my brothers and sister for the wedding. Thank you, honey!

Here Comes the Bride....But Not Quite Yet!

Gosh, it's great to have my whole immediate family here...all three brothers are here (counting the youngest, Charlie the groom) for his wedding, AND my sister! Charlie is right in the middle.

We spent the day running around, going to the grocery store at least three times today, setting up for the wedding and just catching up with each other. It was wonderful to talk about what we remembered as kids, and the boys get so animated when they tell stories, you just have to laugh and laugh. They are the kind of guys that get really wound up when recounting funny things they did as kids. Lots of gesturing, and voices get louder and louder and we just all end up laughing our sox off! Eldy enjoyed hearing their escapades as much as we enjoyed remembering. Here's Charlie, the groom, with his fiancee's dog, Frank.

Isn't he a cutie? Charlie, that is, and well, ok, so is Frank.......
There were many hugs all the way around....

It takes a lot to get ready for an outdoor wedding....put up the arbor, tents, lights, and get ready for the music.

Charlie, working hard!

After dinner, Kris, Charlie's fiancee, started getting her groove on for the big day tomorrow.....Kris is on the far right.....

They practiced volume control on their vows, competing with wind in the trees and traffic from the nearby interstate.....

"NOW is it loud enough?"

One by one, the girls started gathering on the log.....

Then a bunch the girls, along with Kris, decided to brave the icy cold river and float down a little bit!

It was a wonderful day, and it's going to be an even more wonderful day tomorrow......See you at the wedding!

Off to Historic Rosyln, WA

interesting building in Roslyn, WA

We had some grocery shopping to do today but when we spotted a Chamber of Commerce little building on our way into the town of Cle Elum, we stopped to see if there was anything going to be happening in town this weekend--a festival maybe? We LOVE those books that say, "101 Things to Do in ________". We found out that after three major festivals three weekends in a row, this weekend was going to be a slow weekend. Well, not really, my brother is getting  married, but until Saturday, we thought we might find a farmer's market or something else to pique our interest. The lady at the Chamber said be sure to check out Roslyn, the location for the TV series years ago called Northern Exposures. I never saw that series but once or twice, but we thought we'd go see the town anyway...It used to be a big mining town in its day.....

What a great little town! It's what I call a REAL town, not the full of tourist stuff that overwhelms the senses, costs an arm and a leg, and it all comes from China. No, siree...this an old coal mining town with LOTS of history, a cool little museum, and 26 separate cemeteries that tell the history of America repeated all over small towns, here in the small town of Roslyn--the coming of immigrants to work the mines, and the mining disasters that foretold the end of mining for this town in the 1960's. Even the deceased residents have stories to tell in the cemeteries. Their stories are in the monuments and headstones and the variations in the artwork on the headstones. The language and the symbols used (like a lamb to symbolize innocence), the way the plots are shaped and organized tells the customs of the town's residents. Many of the individual plots are raised above the earth with concrete or stone borders to separate the sacred grounds from the more earthly surroundings. So we walked around the 26 cemeteries a little bit to see some of the history of the town from a different perspective.

We talked to a couple of old timers in the museum, and they had some interesting stories....One was that this town was the location for a badly made movie called "Joyride" made in 1977, starring the sons of Desi Arnaz, and the daughters of Tippi Hedren and June Lockhart. Apparently, after the cast left town, checks bounced all over the place!

Another story told to us was that a man named Tony worked in the mines for eleven months at the back breaking job of coal loader before anyone found out that the guy was really a 19 year old girl named Gloria! They found out one night after "he" had been drinking in a tavern with the guys and went to use the ladies room!..Newspaper clippings were posted about this feisty gal..(It was a state law at the time that a woman could not work in the mines.) There were tons of really great items in the museum and we spent quite a bit of time looking at all the interesting stuff. Something that caught my eye was an electric curling machine designed to give gals in the twenties a "bob" if they didn't have naturally wavy hair. A photo of Miss America in 1926 in the chair getting her hair curled said that she had to endure the procedure for 12 hours to get "the look" in that day!  (Remember those smelly home perms, gals?) We learned that "your number's up" came from the miners who hung their tags every day on a board as they went down into the mines. If your tag was left on the board at the end of the shift, that was not a good sign!

Number 9 mine entrance on the winery grounds

We learned a lot about the mines, the men who worked there, how dangerous it was, the equipment they used, the explosions, the history.....We took some photos of the buildings in town, not knowing which ones were on the TV show, but maybe somebody who watched a lot of that show, will recognize some of them. You can see the mine entrances at a beautiful resort area called Suncadia. That is an amazing resort! Miles of hiking/bike trails in the forest, homes, condos, lodge, restaurants, golf, etc. The entrance to the number 9 mine is there on the resort grounds at the Swiftwater Winery. That's another place we stopped in and looked at. There's a beautiful restaurant at the winery as well, but we didn't sample the menu, just checked out the beautiful facilities there.....

After the trip to Roslyn, back home again to head over to the cabin for preparations for Charlie's wedding. I worked on cleaning it inside from top to bottom and then hung curtain rods and curtains. They did a great job refurbishing the trailer--all original woodwork and appliances except for a couple of storage bins and a new fridge. Charlie had it sandblasted and repainted on the outside and here it is...waiting for some homey touches!

Before

Here is the infamous little trailer, about finished with the inside touches, the Aloha trailer that's going to be Charlie's honeymoon suite. It was originally made in Beaverton, Oregon.  I'm gonna call it "The Love Bug".

after

It was fun fixing it up for them! I'm going to get a table runner or mats today, get some flowers, some wine and glasses and put the final finishing touches on the "Love Bug" today. The wedding is tomorrow, but family is coming in tonight and we're all going to have dinner at the cabin tonight! The weather is going to be great for an outdoor wedding and the cabin (Charlie and Kris's friend loaned them the use of the cabin for the weekend) is GORGEOUS! The wedding will take place at the river's edge.....It's gonna be a GREAT day!  See you Saturday at the wedding! (Might not be a blog published till Sunday morning if we are enjoying ourselves late into the evening!)

Sun Country Golf & RV Park

The course is very beautiful!

view on a bike ride around the golf course and side roads

Interesting concept! Put in some RV sites on the sidelines of a golf course/residential development while developing home sites and sales. This park is located in Cle Elum, WA, and has good ratings on RV Park Reviews. It's very pretty--there are some amazing homes around the course and on the Yakima River which runs behind the golf course and the homes. There are forests surrounding the park and course and we've seen deer every day that we've been here! You can ride a bike all around the development covering about 3 miles and get some great exercise, so Sparky is happy about that...There is a little gazebo on the river for homeowners and park guests to sit and watch the river go by should you feel so inclined....

We have 50 amp service, although the posts are farther away from the site than normal. The rate for full hookups here is about 29.00 during the week, then the rate goes up a little on the weekend to about 33.00. We are staying for five days through the wedding weekend and hope to play some golf on this beautiful 18 hole course. The RV sites themselves are basically on the side of the golfing parking lot, which is ok..it's not a super busy course so we don't feel hemmed in at all. Sites are a little closer together than what we like, but overall, this is a very nice place to stay.....The Cascades are in view, the scenery is beautiful looking out over the course, and the weather is cooler than many places in the country this week, so we are loving it! And family is returning again for the wedding, only not as many this time can make it.....

This deer walked out of the woods the first night we came here, crossed the parking lot right in front of our coach, and meandered off onto the golf course to munch some trees at the side of the course. I followed him on my bike for a little bit and it didn't faze him a bit! Eldy saw five deer on the golf course today.....

This is a great overnight or golf destination. We do play golf but just not very often. Hopefully, Eldy is going to get his clubs out while I'm busy helping with the wedding, or I'll get out on the course with him. I'm a newbie, so that should make for blog fodder if I do go out and play. I've noticed there are a few homes with protective netting over their patio or sides of the house, depending on which angle they face to the course. I guess I'd want to know if the golfer is responsible for errant balls, or the homeowner has to worry about it. Different courses have different policies on that. Eldy says the GOLFER pays...oh, dear! So we'll see if Sparky gets out on the course or not in the next few days.....

Tomorrow, I'm going to help Charlie get his honeymoon trailer ready...He bought an Aloha little travel trailer camper for a song. It sat out in a farmer's field for years, with the sprinkler system raining on it, and got thoroughly limed, but he took it home, fixed it up inside and out, and they are going to be camping in it soon. Photos tomorrow of this little cutie and our trip to Roslynn, WA a National Historical place and the site of the TV series, Northwestern Exposures. See you later!

The Joys of Maintaining an RV

Ah, yes! Time for the 15,000 mile checkup. We hope this is a quick deal, get in, get the oil changed and mark off all the items on the manual provided check sheet. This is the same manual that lists "change transmission fluid and filter" instead of "check" it. We handed over the copy of the check sheet at our 6 month checkup and darned if the Elkhart, IN Freightliner dealer didn't go ahead and do the transmission fluid and filter change and charge us about 300.00 to that, when in reality, they knew better. The transmission fluid and filter don't need to be changed until roughly 50,000 miles. At least, certainly NOT at 5500 miles when we went in for our 6,000 mile checkup. That's right, Elkhart is the RV capital of the world and the Elkhart Freightliner dealer took advantage of some newbies! We were shocked at the bill, handed over the cash, and after stewing about it for a few days, we started making calls. The check sheet stated "change" the fluid and filter, which was obviously a mistake. Somebody screwed up in the printing of these tear out sheets in the back of the manual. After a couple of calls to the main headquarters, and a letter, we were told that that should have NOT been done...DUH!

And yes, we got some of our money back...the cost of the transmission fluid mainly....So, this time we are armed and dangerous! No, we are not carrying weapons or ammo....We are armed with knowledge and questions. Sparky and Eldo are going to be visiting the service bay, asking questions, poking our  noses into their business and making sure we have a quote BEFORE they start working. We're going to be probably the biggest pains in their patooties they have ever had. (Is that a real word? asks E.  Now, Sparky, he says, I don't think we have to be THAT big a pain in the a**. )  Well, ok, honey, I will be a little one. I can be a big pain, if necessary. As I've gotten older, I've gotten a whole lot better at sticking up for what I feel is right. And if somebody is doing somebody wrong, I don't have a problem sticking my nose in it and trying to make it right! That's what comes with age, the ability to speak your mind and not care what other people think! (Geesh, she's really not that hard on people, folks! Just me!) I'm not a you-know-what about it, I politely and firmly state my reasoning/solution/ fix as to what might be a fair solution and if that doesn't work, I rant and rave! Seriously, I write letters next to the chain of command until I get somewhere.  So here we go and here's how it all came out in the laundry......

Leaving the high desert country

Four hours later and we were good to go with about a 400.00 bill...so much better than the last time! Eagle Freightliner in Hermiston, WA did a great job for us even though it was quite a wait. We had to wait so long because they didn't have the right filters in stock so somebody had to go to Hermiston and get them...We left around 2:30 this afternoon for Cle Elum, WA about 20 min. where the wedding will be held Saturday in Easton, WA. We traveled a distance of about 175 miles today, a shortie trip for Eldo. (Works for me! says E.)  I'm so glad to leave the high desert! Back to greenery and forests and tall trees!

While we were rearranging everything back in its place after driving here, we noticed a fair sized crack in the refrigerator floor on the top section. Something during our travels in the last few places fell and hit the lining so hard it cracked it. It looks like a can lid could have made the crack. I'm assuming the floor of the top fridge section is fiberglass (?) and we're going to have to figure out a solution to sealing the crack with the cold and all. We don't want any other liquids or anything like that to get down into the crack and grow mold! We used to use those refrigerator bars in the old motorhome but this fridge is a residential one and the opening width is extremely wide from side to side with no center divider. Maybe I'll have to get some plastic baskets to hold loose items so they don't go rolling and crashing into the door as we ride down the highway.

Heading towards the Wenatchee Mountains, WA

It was great to see the scenery change and the temperatures drop from the nineties back down to the eighties---yay! We'll be in Cle Elum for four days and we'll tell you more about it tomorrow....See you then!

Driving the Columbia River Gorge Part 2

Yesterday we left you at the Vista House overlooking the Columbia River Gorge for miles and miles....There are several loops you can drive to see many waterfalls and fantastic scenery. We chose a shorter loop once we got to the more scenic areas for driving. We recommend The Gorge Guide even if it is a little confusing, because it has great descriptions of the towns and sights along the way as you drive the Gorge, along with other great places to stop and check out, like wineries and restaurants. (Sparky was avidly reading this guide this morning, but then wisely decided to pack a picnic lunch.) We just had a day to check out the Gorge, so.....

Latourell Falls

Here we are back on scenic highway 30 again, heading east doing the Corbett to Dodson loop back to Plymouth, WA where we are staying...There are SEVEN waterfalls on this loop, but not all are visible from the scenic highway...so come and explore the next time you are out this way! We saw the Latourell Falls (249 ft.), the Bridal Veil Falls (no height given) and the Horsetail Falls, 192 ft...These were awesome tall falls and breathtaking to look at, and very easy short walks to see them if not directly visible from the places to pull off......

Oneonta Tunnel/Gorge/Falls

At another stop, we had our picnic lunch. Life doesn't get any better than having lunch beside a thundering 192 foot waterfalls. At another stop we looked at the Oneonta Falls/Gorge area....a cool wooden tunnel was constructed through a rocky cliff and the falls were on a hike about a mile back through the stream. We didn't take the hike as we didn't have the right shoes for sloshing through the stream today. So we ate instead and enjoyed people watching for awhile before heading on to historic Bonneville Dam.

Bonneville Lock and Dam is a national historical landmark serving the Northwest. When you drive in the guard asked, do you have any guns or ammo? (!)  No sir, just all the junk in the back that we can't fit in our RV, I replied, and Eldy rolled down the back window so he could take a look. The guy was lucky stuff didn't spill out the window into his lap, the car was so full! He didn't see any humor in my reply. That's OK, you want your security guys who protect us from the bad guys to take their job seriously!

You can take a tour of the power plant if you like, see a fish hatchery on the Oregon side, view films and displays about salmon, hydropower, and river navigation or watch the salmon swim by at the underwater viewing windows or watch them jump up the fish ladder outside at a viewing platform. There weren't very many swimming upstream today, and some were even swimming backwards lacking the drive to swim forward so they let the current pull them back. Some haven't been to the ocean yet and don't have the spawning drive. A lady there had the official paid job of counting the fish that are swimming in the Bonneville Dam fish ladders. She counts fish EIGHT hours a day with a ten minute break each hour. Geez, what a job! She has to be able to recognize 30 different species of fish that are known to inhabit the Columbia River in order to have that job. For the record, 8,000+ steelhead salmon swam through the fish ladder yesterday, along with a couple hundred of several other species such as sturgeon. We chatted with her a little bit while she efficiently did her job.  I asked her what happens if the fish go by her backwards? She has a minus button to subtract the fish!

Horsetail Falls, 192 ft., where we sat and had lunch right next to it!

The Gorge is an amazing place to visit...We just scratched the surface...the geological history behind the making of the Gorge would make a great movie--fiery volcanoes, massive landslides, thundering torrents of water, tremendous upheavals...Forces of water swept through the volcanic rock digging a corridor that formed the Columbia River and its massive cliffs and it has one of the world's heaviest concentration of waterfalls....you name it, it's here.....wetlands, mountains, oak and pine forests and so much more. The historic scenic highway 30 is not to be missed--elegant stonework bridges and railings that line the two lane highway and there are just two parts left--a 22 mile section between Troutdale and Ainsworth State Park, (the one we drove today), and the 15 mile part between Mosier and The Dalles....We hope you enjoyed the drive with us!

Tomorrow we take the motorhome in for an oil change and its 15,000 mile checkup. Brace yourself, Eldy, it's gonna be some bills! (I know, I know!) but it's gotta be done.....hard to believe, we have over 15,000 miles on our rig since taking possession of the Tiffin last September.....Time and mileage fly when you are traveling and having the time of your life!

Driving the Columbia River Gorge Part I

Although we are on the far eastern side of the Columbia River Gorge, we decided to drive back west by car today and explore some of the scenic parts of it. There are over 70 named waterfalls in the area so we knew there were some wonderful sights to be seen. Many of them you have to hike into the woods to find them, but there are some right by scenic drive highway 30, which runs parallel to I-84, on the Oregon side. We had some literature in a book called the Gorge Guide, but it was confusing about where to pick up the scenic routes.

Multnomah Falls

What the heck! Let's just get in the car and drive, so we did! About three hours later, we were at our first stop, Multnomah Falls, a beautiful 620 foot waterfall located at exit 31 off highway 30. We were almost to Portland! These falls attract over 2.5 million visitors a year and is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Oregon. What's the big deal about these falls? They are really easy to find, very close to both highways, 84 and 30, and there is a beautiful bridge partway up the trail where you can stand and get awesome photos of the falls. There are scenic trails there, an information center, and gift shop.We got great tips from the guide person at the gift shop, and he gave us some additional stops we could check out along with a more understandable map.

From Multnomah Falls, we got on the scenic byway, historic highway 30 at exit 22 off highway 84 in Corbett. We drove up a 10% grade hill to stop at the Woman's Forum Overlook, where we had a fantastic view of the Columbia River Gorge. Just a little bit further, less than a mile, is a turnoff to Larch Mountain Road. On this road, is a viewpoint about 14 miles ahead of FIVE mountain views--Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Ranier, Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood, and Mt. Jefferson. We didn't drive down that road today...it was a long enough trip already! On to the Crown Point Vista House....This was one man's vision back in the early 1900's to provide an observatory where weary travelers could stop and commune with nature at a high point on a basalt promontory overlooking the Columbia River Gorge and to provide a memorial for those early settlers who struggled to come to Oregon. He wanted it to be a comfort station for tired travelers...and it is! It's magnificent! The observatory is 733 feet above the river.....It has unique architectural details like barred opaque stain glass windows, wrought iron hand railings, rare Alaskan marble stairs and floors--- it's just beautiful inside.... There are restrooms, a gift shop and historical information on several different levels and volunteers to give you more information. You can go to the top outside and look at the fantastic views of the gorge. We did!

Vista House built in 1916

We did so much today, we're pooped and going to call it a night...more tomorrow about our trip!