New Friends and Bananas

Yesterday we drove from Eugene to Roseburg, OR (about 90 minutes). There was some fog most of the trip and it was beautiful in the mountains. This picture doesn't do it justice, but it was really pretty.

Today we will take the car to Crater Lake. It is a beautiful area. It will be a big day and we should have lots of great pictures. Yesterday we went for a walk in the campground and there was a MH with a sign that said they were wagon master of a Christian camping group. We stopped by and talked with Sue and a few people from their group came by and talked. They invited is to the clubhouse for a carry in at 6 PM. Kim made a salad and I cooked some bratwursts on the grill. When we first met Sue, her friends were teasing her about keeping an apple that was going bad. Somehow I asked them if they knew how to peel a banana. It became a joke when I told them how so I told them I’d bring bananas and they said they would have me demonstrate. After the meal last night they asked me to give a demonstration. Most people break off the stem or use a knife to peel a banana but if you ever get a chance to watch an ape, they will show you the easy way. At the end opposite the stem just put your thumbnail in the center and pull outward and back. This is the easiest way to peel a banana and because the stem is intact, you have a handle to hold while eating. I coupled the banana opening with a Christian teaching and it was fun. They are a really nice group of people all from the same church and they camp together monthly. They usually have 13 or so campers each month. This is the last campout of the season and they will meet for Christmas for a party. They really made us feel accepted. We laughed and had a good time – and there was lots of good food.

Just about ready to go again

This is Kim and our Bulldog Molly (pic taken last summer) that we left with Kevin and Patti Sommers. Kim really misses Molly (Molly is the one the right).
At a Harley dealership this bike was for sale. it had originally been owned by Evil Knievel.
Another shot of the bike.
This is a whale gun that was in a museum. Ouch!


We have made plans to bring the kids to San Diego at Thanksgiving and for Kim and me to fly home for Christmas. We will be home from Dec 15 – Jan 3. We also went through the Country Coach Motor Home Plant today. It is interesting to see how manufacturers do things differently. Overall we were impressed with the factory. When we got done with the tour they let us tour an $830,000.00 motor home. They could press a button and all the shades on both sides and the windshield shade go up or down electrically. The blinds can also tilt in unison throughout the coach. It was a pretty fancy coach for me.

We brought the MH back to the Cummins Coach Care shop today as they got our fuel pump in. We left to do some things and the technician got our coach from the parking area, worked on it and had it put back when we got back. He saw my Christian Motorcyclists shirt hanging on a chair and left a note that he was a CMA member too. When he got off work he stopped by and talked for w while. His name is Dennis and he is a really nice guy. Hopefully we can get our work done tomorrow at Quality Coach Care and we will be on our way again. It has been rainy and cooler and we haven’t been getting out that much, just running errands, getting the oil changed in the Miata and getting our hair cut.

Eugene, OR

Here are the guys installing the new air conditioner on our coach. That's Curt in the yellow hat. He's our tech.
If they had these when I was a kid I probably would have liked school. We saw this a while back on the west coast of Washington.
Lumber is king here. There are so many semi's, barges and even helicopters used in transporting logs and lumber. Most of the truck traffic is involved with the lumber industry. Look at the piles of logs in the background, rail cars of sawdust in the foreground and you can't see it in the picture, but there are barges of logs to the left of this picture.


We are at Quality Coach care in Eugene, OR. They are super people and doing a great job with our warranty work. We went to a Mazda dealer today to get the oil changed in the Miata. They showed us an 2006 Miata with nine thousand miles but I think we'll keep what we got.

We got a nice card from Jeremiah and Marcie Olson. They have a music ministry called 40 Miles North. Jeremiah is also the worship pastor at Grace Community Church , where we are members at Goshen, IN. We really miss worshiping with them. Check out their web page at 40milesnorth.com.

We may go to the west coast on a day trip with our car. It was calling for 90% chance of rain today so we didn't go - and it didn't rain after all. We will be hanging around town for the next few days while they work on the coach.

Farmer's Market in Eugene, OR

Kim at the market in Eugene, OR
One of the over 300 booths
Banjo Time!
Kim with her flowers and the flower lady. They had huge bouquets made up and we asked them if they would make a smaller one. They didn't speak English so I showed them our card with the motor home and gestured and the lady and her husband caught on right away, smiled and talked very fast and made this for Kim.
Gentlemen, Start your chainsaws. This man was making a beaver and had a display of many other things. His shirt said, "Got Jesus?"

Yesterday we went to yet another farmer’s market. It is one of our favorite things to do. I believe there were 300 vendors with crafts, produce and food booths. There is always a lot of natural home-grown and organically grown produce. We bought some mushrooms that we had never seen before, green beans and some flowers for Kim. We also bought some lunch and a big cup of fresh hot apple cider to share while we were walking around. One of the things I like most is the local musicians that set up on a street corner and play with their instrument case open for tips. Yesterday there was a young lady playing a violin and there was a note on her case that said she would use the money for graduate school. We stood and listened to her for a while and really enjoyed it. Another man played the banjo (see picture above). He was good also and we tipped them each $5. I like doing that. They are always appreciative and thank us.

We came back home and took a nap and then headed for Albany to an RV and Home Show at the fairgrounds and exhibition center. We were hoping the RV part would have vendors but it was just a dealer or two selling RV’s. Still, we wandered through them and enjoyed it. I was surprised that a pickup camper can cost over 40 thousand dollars. This one had one slide out. They make them with two slides and they would cost even more. I may have seen one on the Internet for 70 thousand dollars. The home show was fun and we talked to a lot of people. When they would ask us to look at their product or sign up for something I would tell them we are traveling and don’t have a permanent home. A lot of the people were very interested, welcomed us to Oregon and said they wished they could go with us. I think all we bought there was some popcorn. It’s interesting all the things we don’t buy since we don’t have a home. There also is quite a bit of chainsaw art here in the northwest. We watched a guy work on a beaver (see above picture). It was fun just to watch and not feel we had somewhere to go or something to do. Other than church today, I’m not sure what we’ll do. Friday they worked on the coach at Cummins Coach Care (where we are now) and they need to order an electric fuel lift pump. We are going to another service center tomorrow to have some warranty work done and then we will stop back here and they will put on the new lift pump. The engine runs, it just puts out an error code from time to time that says it has low fuel pressure. We may be done with repairs by Wed or Thurs.


F.A.Q. Many people ask us these things:

Do you like the motor home? Yes, we are really happy with the motor home we purchased and DeMartini, the dealer we purchased it from. We like the model we selected also.

Do you like the lifestyle? Yes, we both do. We are noticing that with some couples, one person enjoys it more than the other. We have also met A LOT of full timers that both love the lifestyle.

Do you miss your home in Indiana? No. It will be kind of weird to drive by and see the home but we don’t miss all the things that go along with owning a home. We have so much less maintenance and daily care with this lifestyle. I have chores to do – check the batteries once a month, keep and eye on tire pressure, wash the windshield after traveling, etc, but overall it is a lot less to do.

Don’t you feel crowded? No. Happiness is a decision and we are very happy with what we have. Our MH is nicer (and possibly larger) than most homes in the world. I think a big home is the American dream – I’m not sure why – but that is what we strive for. Having our big home was OK when we were raising our three kids in it, foster parenting, starting a church in it and having a business there.

Isn’t fuel expensive? According to a full time book we read, if you are spending too much money (which is entirely objective), you are traveling and or eating out too much. Most full timers don’t travel as much as we do. For us, this first year is an overview of the USA and we acknowledged before we left home that we would spend more than an average year on fuel and eating out. We will probably spend 8 to 10 thousand dollars on fuel for the year. Our taxes, utilities and upkeep on our home were about that. The fuel cost could dwindle to only a few thousand next year.

One question people don’t ask but sometimes insinuate is that they think we believe everyone should do this. A few people get defensive about it. This is great for us but we will be the first to say this obviously isn’t for everyone. Some people enjoy having roots – some for a season or longer would rather not. Some people don’t get along well enough to be in an RV full time. In a full time book, that is one of the first things they discussed. I think a few people might wish they could do this, but can’t part with their things so they get aggressive and defensive about it. There was one incredibly honest person who said, “I would love to do what you’re doing, but I don’t have the courage to do it”.

Roadtrip Nation

This is David of Roadtrip Nation
This is Katie. She is on top of their RV looking at a pretty sunset.
This is their green RV. The picture is blurry, but you get the idea.


We just keep finding the most interesting things. We are a Cummins Coach Care facility in Coburg, OR. It is across the road from the Monaco plant and next to the Marathon Motorcoach plant. At this Cummins repair facility they have RV hookups and we can stay overnight here for no charge. We had just gotten up from our afternoon nap and this green RV backed in beside us. I don’t mean green, I mean GREEEEEEEN! It had lettering on it that said “Roadtrip Nation”. I was online so I did a search and got intrigued with what I found. This is what their web page says:
It all started with four friends and one dilemma: "what do I want to do with my life?" Fresh out of college and unsure about the career paths in front of them, they were determined to expose themselves to more than just the traditional life roads. They hopped in an old RV, painted it green, and hit the road to talk with inspiring people from all walks of life to find out how they came to do what they love for a living. Today, Roadtrip Nation has evolved into a PBS series, three books, an online community, and a student movement. We send people on the road who are interested in exploring the world outside their comfort zone, talking with individuals who chose to define their own road in life, and sharing their experiences with our generation.

I went over and struck up a conversation with these young people and learned more about what they are doing. They are out recruiting for the PBS program “Roadtrip Nation”. We met with Katie and Dave and they are looking for college age students who don’t know what they want to do. The more lost the better. Their electric steps wouldn’t work so while I was fixing it we had a chance to get to know them a little and told them what we are doing. They asked if they could interview us and when they came over to our coach they had a TV camera. They asked us a lot of questions about what it is like to leave our comfort zone and try something new. They also asked us how we overcame hardships. They gave us some DVD, CDs, bumper stickers and pins. It was good to talk with them and to know that they are pursuing a life that has meaning and purpose instead of just plugging into the system. Here is their web page: http://roadtripnation.com/

Bonneville Dam and Fish Ladder Area

It's rainy, but still beautiful

Kim loves falls

Viewing fish going through the ladder

Yesterday we went to the Bonneville Lock and Dam. The most interesting thing for me was the fish ladder. I always thought the ladder was something that looked like a stairway with hollow steps and water flowed down it and the fish leaped from one step up to the next. That is only a part of it. There are also a series of cells with vertical slots that the water can flow through. The fish swims through a slot of incoming water and then gets to rest in the larger cell. Then the next slot and so on till they are in the upstream waters. This whole thing is necessary because the dam has blocked the natural swim upstream for the fish.

We also learned a lot about salmon. There is one species of salmon on the east coast but ten on the west coast. Salmon spawn upstream and have up to 8,000 eggs. The eggs hatch into baby salmon which are called alevin. When the alevin are ready to swim they are called fry. Fry look like tiny fish. When fry are silver and ready to swim to the ocean, they are called smolts. In the ocean, smolts feed and grow into adults. When adult salmon are ready to spawn (1 to 8 years depending on the species) they swim back to their home streams. They find their home stream by their keen sense of smell. A migrating salmon does not eat. It lives off the fat and protein stored in its body. At the streams, spawners lay and fertilize eggs. After spawning, most Pacific salmon die. Steelhead and Atlantic salmon swim back to the ocean. Most salmon die after one spawning, but the strong Atlantic salmon spawn up to seven times. There are one sixth of the salmon that there were 100 years ago. Salmon are one of the few fish that live in both fresh water and salt water.

We also saw many, many waterfalls. We hiked to a few and had a great time. This is the first non-ideal weather we’ve had on the trip. The last four days have been 55 – 60 and sprinkles or rain most the time. It does rain 80 inches a year here compared to 40 in Indiana. This is their typical winter weather.

Today we went to the “End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center”. We would strongly recommend this. It was so incredibly informative. Many wagon trains to Oregon happened in the 1840’s and 1850’s. It is estimated that 300,000 to 500,000 people migrated to Oregon during this time. It is estimated that less than 1000 died from Indians. Many were scared of Indians, but they caused little threat. They often helped the settlers with their wagons and other needs like food. Over 90% of the settlers lived to get to Oregon. The leading killers were accidents, drowning and accidental gunfire. Many of the people who went west insisted on taking a weapon, although it was rarely necessary. The reason we know so much about the travels is that so many of the people journaled their adventures. There were guide books that were to help one along but many were written by people that had never been on the trail. Oxen became the preferred beast of burden. They could eat about anything and were mild mannered and wouldn’t bolt on the mountains or in rapids like a horse. The three animals used to pull the wagons, loaded with up to 2000 pounds of cargo, were oxen, mules and horses.

There were so many things to absorb. There was a movie which was informative and a man named Rick who led three different talks on the time period. He was very good. Interesting things like if a woman schoolteacher got married, she could no longer teach. If a man taught school, he could court one night a week – two if he was an active church attender. If you taught for five years, you could possibly get a 25 cent raise per week if the school board approved. Until 1874 there were no standard books in school. You brought whatever books you had and the teacher taught you from your books. The McGuffey reader used then is still used in some schools today. It was reading exercises that taught morals. Students were required to stand and read from it if called upon in school. Rick read from a third grade level McGuffey Reader and it would be at least our high school level today. I’m sure many high schoolers would stumble with it today. There were just too many things to tell you about them all.

Kim does our books on Quicken which is really handy. She does a good job itemizing things and I looked up our fuel expense. Since we left Indiana June 3, (4 months ago) we have spent $2,800 on diesel for the motorhome and $280 on gas for the Miata. The coach seems to be getting better mileage all the time. The last we checked was about 8.4 and the car consistently gets 33 MPG with just normal driving. The motorhome and trailer with the car loaded weigh 41,000 pounds. The Miata is only 2,200 pounds of that weight.

Tomorrow we leave for Albany and then to the Eugene, OR area for some coach work for the next several days. While there we plan to go through the Monaco / Holiday Rambler plant and also the Marathon RV plant. The Marathon coaches go for about a million and a half dollars. Someone said that once ordered, it takes a year to custom build it. It should be interesting. When they work on our coach, they drive it outside at night so we can stay in it.

Leaving Astoria for Portland

They call this the haystack. It is over 200 feet high and was made when a volcano pressed it up out of the water.
The Octopus Tree
Beautiful Coastline
Powerful waves make for a majestic view.
This is a picture of a Coast Guard boat doing it's thing. These boats are so tough it is amazing! The people who man the boats are incredibly brave. They are called on to go out in the roughest seas and rescue people. In the museum display they had mannequins on the real boat and they were strapped on board. Even the pilot was strapped so he couldn't fall out.


We have been here at Astoria for a week now and will be leaving today and moving to the Portland, Oregon area. It is only about 100 miles. I get excited about moving on and anticipate learning about the next location and sometimes wake up early. I awoke at 1:30 and decided to come and write as I can’t sleep. I’ll go back to bed around 4 or 5 and sleep a little more. We have taken the car on trips up the coast of Washington and down the coast of Oregon. Northwest Washington and the Seattle area will have to be another trip. Yesterday we traveled down the Oregon coast south and back and saw a lot of pretty scenery. We stopped and saw the ‘Octopus Tree’ at cape Mears and that is 60’ around and some of the limbs stretch out horizontal 30’ before turning upward. Here’s a little info on the tree.
LEGEND OF THE OCTOPUS TREE AT CAPE MEARES STATE SCENIC VIEWPOINT
SITKA SPRUCE - (PICEA SITCHENSIS)
Tradition handed down by the Indians is that the eerie giant is a burial tree shaped when it was young to hold canoes of a chief's family. Such deeply-rooted lore passed from generation to generation is likely to be founded on truth, and Indian history of the area will corroborate it.
Archaeologists have found evidence that Indians lived along these shores for 3,000 years. The tribes in this area for generations back through the dim past placed their dead in the trees in canoes. But the trees had to be prepared to hold them. Branches of a forest tree normally reach straight upward, toward the light, but those on a burial tree were forced, when pliable, into a horizontal position beyond which they grew upward. Once the pattern was set, the tree might grow to a great size but always kept the shape, as did the Octopus Tree.
Burial trees (the oldest trees) for many years could be spotted here and there in the virgin forest. The Octopus Tree (which the Indians revered and called The Council Tree) is more than 60 feet at its base. No one can tell its age without counting the rings. Some theorize it could have been a young tree at about the time of Christ. No matter what the actual age of the tree may be, a visit to the prehistoric tree of mystery is truly an enjoyable visit.
The Columbia River Bar again. I keep thinking about the power of the bar in the Columbia River. A few things I remembered are that our pilot Joe said there are times when the Coast Guard will not let you into the river until it has calmed down. You have to stay in the ocean until it is safe. Another thing we learned at the museum is that the biggest mistake you can make is to start a boat into the bar at the wrong time. The bar can change in 5 minutes. I have also been thinking of the comparison of the bar to a water hose under pressure. Imagine millions of gallons being pressurized into a huge hose and then trying to maneuver a boat through it. The power of it is just awesome!