Spring Western Trip 2017: Oregon to Fort Collins, Colorado

Monday, 4/24:  81 miles and camped at Armitage Park Campground, Eugene, Oregon

Roseburg to Eugene

Armitage County Park, site #30

It was a short, cold and rainy 80 mile drive today, but we wanted to spend a night at Armitage County Park in Eugene.  We had the same site, #30 where we were married two years ago.  Armitage Park will always be a special place for us.

Tuesday, 4/25:  268 miles and parked at Boardman Marina Park, Boardman, Oregon

Eugene to Boardman

Boardman Marina and RV Park, site #2

We were all set to hook up the camper when we discovered a flat tire on the RV.  It is the same tire that has been giving us trouble off and on the entire trip.  I kept thinking the problem was a leaky valve stem core.  This time I took the tire off and took it to a nearby Les Schwab Tire center.  Good thing I did.  They found an inch long, thin nail in the tread.  An hour later it was all fixed, and on top of that, since I was from out of state and in a bind, they waived the charges.  Amazing customer service!!!  We finally got on the road about 11:30 and had a beautiful drive along the Columbia River.  We made a stop at Multomah Falls, and at 620 feet, it is the highest waterfall in Oregon.  The weather was cool and misty, but the falls were beautiful and well worth the stop.

Multomah Falls

We arrived at Boardman about 4:00 to a nearly empty park and quickly set up.  Our site, #2, was so level, we didn’t even have to unhook the truck.  The Boardman Marina Park is right on the Columbia River, and is a beautiful campground with large, paved sites.  We have stayed here before, and I’m sure we will again.

Wednesday, 4/26:  257 miles and camped at the Meridian/Boise KOA.

Boardman to Boise

Boise KOA

This KOA was a very nice park with a small manicured lawn at each site.  The sites were close, but very neat and organized.  The Boise/Meridian metro area has really expanded and traffic was busy.  We met Mike and Lyndsay Belt Elles for dinner at Sockeye Grill and Brewery.  Lyndsay is a former student of mine at Potsdam High School.  Both Mike and Lyndsay work in forest fire control, headquartered out of Boise.  I had salmon for dinner, but Judy’s trout dinner was absolutely phenomenal. As always, it is a treat catching up with Lyndsay and Mike.  We were back to the camper before dark.

Thursday, 4/27:   294 miles and camped at Willard Bay State Park, just north of Salt Lake City.

Boise to Willard Bay

Willard Bay State Park, Cottonwood Campground, site #78

Sunset on Willard Peak

We drove Interstate 84 the whole way.  It is a nice road with not too much traffic  We pulled into Willard Bay State Park about 3:00.  We did not have reservations, so we were free to pick our site.  It was self check in and we picked a spot in the Cottonwood section, site 78.  The park was nearly empty, but did notice that every site was reserved for the upcoming weekend.  The sites were large and paved.  Each site had a covered picnic table.  Interstate 84 runs right next to the park, so there is road noise, but it didn’t bother us.  We had a great view of the sunset on the Wasach Mountains.  Willard Bay is actually an extension of Great Salt Lake, but because of a manmade causeway, is a fresh water reservoir.

Friday, 4/28:   457 miles and parked at the Lakeside KOA in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Boise to Fort Collins

Fort Collins Lakeside KOA, in a snow storm

We originally planned to take two days to drive to Fort Collins, stopping in Rawlins as a half way point, but the weather forecast for Rawlins and Fort Collins didn’t sound good.   There was a winter snow storm moving up the Rockies and 4 plus inches of blowing snow was predicted for Friday night.  So we decided to make it a long day and drive straight through to Fort Collins and try to beat the storm.  We almost did.  For the most part, the drive was not stressful.  All of the road was either Interstate or divided highway.  Traffic was light, although we did hit light, wet snow most of the way.  We arrived at Lakeside to about an inch of heavy wet snow.  We quickly set up and hunkered down. 

Now for a four day layover in Fort Collins to catch up with friends.

Spring Western Trip 2017: On to Cory and Oregon

Monday, 4/17:  282 miles and parked at the KOA in Mt. Shasta City in northern California.

We left Anthony Chabot about 9:30 on an overcast and foggy morning.  It took a long time coming down off the Oakland “hills”  as they are called.  Judy thought they were more like mountains. The road was narrow, steep and full of sharp curves.  Finally off the hills, we were rewarded with travel through the flat farmlands of the Sacramento area, but then ended up climbing and descending the mountains of the Cascades.  We pulled into the KOA about 2:30 and set up in a nearly empty park.  By nightfall, the campground was still only about a quarter full.  The temperatures dropped into the low 40’s and it rained most of the evening and night.  Mt. Shasta itself is an imposing, and potentially active volcano, that can be seen from the campground.  We were rewarded the next morning with an amazing view.

  

Tuesday, 4/18:  181 miles and parked at Rising River RV Park, Roseburg, Oregon

We arrived at Rising River about 12:30 and quickly set up.  Because I had made reservations several weeks ago, we were able to score one of the riverfront sites.  This park is immaculate!  We have stayed here before, and it is only a quick 5 minute drive to my son Cory’s house.  Cory is at a conference in Bend, so we won’t see him until Thursday.  We got caught up on some laundry at his house, and then just relaxed for the rest of the day.  We did take time to glue up a cedar bench that I had made for Cory for Christmas and we brought out in pieces.

Wednesday, 4/19:  Roseburg

We drove over to Cory’s house and did some more laundry.  Also, he has a beautiful fenced in back yard so we were able to let the dogs run off leash.  That was a treat for them  I also had a few finishing touches to finish on the cedar bench.  After lunch, we did grocery shopping and then we looked up the Two Shy Brew Pub  for a visit.  It’s a very nice, small and local brewery owned by a husband and wife couple.  They gave me a quick tour and answered a ton of questions.  For dinner, Judy made a recipe that my sister Karen recommended, pasta puttanesca.  It has an interesting origin, and here is the basic recipe.

Thursday, 4/20:  Roseburg.  

Today is Judy’s birthday, and to top it off, her daughter Terri (and Terri's little Pomapoo dog named Oliver) are flying in today from Manhattan to visit us for the weekend.  We picked her up at the Eugene airport at 2:30.  We were to meet Cory at the Hop Valley Brewery in Eugene, and he showed up about 4:00.  He had been to a conference in Bend, Oregon and his ride dropped him off at Hop Valley.  Cory then rode back to Roseburg with us.  For dinner we grilled a London Broil at Cory’s and then made a campfire in his backyard.  A sudden rainbow made the day even more special, and then Terri and Cory surprised Judy with a birthday cake.  It was a fun evening.

Friday, 4/21:  Roseburg

It is a beautiful 75 and sunny day today.  Cory had some vacation time, so he had the day off.  He took us to the Lighthouse Cafe for lunch.  We have eaten there before.  The menu is all vegetarian, and it is fantastic.  I had a Reuben sandwich made with portabella mushrooms. The weather was beautiful, so we sat outside on the upper patio.  After lunch, its off to Becker Winery, our favorite Roseburg winery.  It is a small, mom and pop run vineyard owned and operated by Charlie and Peggy Becker.  The last time we were here was October of 2015. Yet when we walked in, Peggy immediately remembered our names.  As usual, we purchased a case to take home, this time all whites.

Then we made another stop at a well known Roseburg winery, HillCrest Winery.  As Oregon’s oldest estate winery and the birthplace of Oregon Pinot Noir, this is a stop not to be missed.  It was a beautiful day, and they have a beautiful view.  We even bought a few bottles.

Next we made a quick stop to show Terri the Two Shy Brewery we had discovered a couple days ago .

 We ended the evening at Backside Brewery for wood fired pizza and wings for dinner.

Saturday, 4/22:  Roseburg and Eugene

It was overcast and cooler today.  Terri’s favorite Oregon winery is Sarver Winery in Eugene, so off we went. As usual, the wines tasted great, but to Terri’s disappointment, they have quit shipping to New York State.  Terri bought a case anyway and we will bring it back east in the camper for her.  

Cory recommended Oakshire Brewery which is in Eugene also.  We tasted a couple, and of course, I bought a a growler to add to my collection.  :-))    Later, Cory took us to one of the fish ladders used on the Umpqua River to allow salmon to migrate upriver to spawn.  Really neat.

We ended the day in Roseburg at the Roseburg Station Pub and Brewery for dinner.

Sunday, 4/23:  Roseburg and Eugene

Terri had to be at the Eugene Airport by noon.  We went to the Plank Town Brew Pub  for an excellent brunch.  Then we got Terri to the airport and said our goodbyes. After we got back to Roseburg, it was time for naps.  One of the RV tires has had a slow leak, so I took some time to replace the valve stem core.  Then was over to Cory’s to grill steaks for dinner.   After Terri left, the remaining three dogs were lost.  "Where's Ollie"  they wondered  :-))

Since we were leaving the next morning, we said our goodbyes to Cory and his dog Porter.

Monday, we start the turn back east.  The trip is half over.  Bitter and Sweet.

Spring Western Trip 2017: Oakland, California

Friday, 4/14:  227 miles and camping at Anthony Chabot Regional Park, Oakland, California

Traffic was very busy today, probably because of the Easter Weekend and everyone, including us, was traveling.  The closer we got to Oakland, the more congested the roads.  The drive into the park was an adventure.  Thanks to Judy's sleuthing, she discovered that the south entrance to the park was closed because of a road wash out.  That meant we had to drive an extra hour and come in from the north.  While we were prepared for the crooked roads, we were not prepared for the elevation climb.  The truck could handle it with no problem, but the corners, narrow shoulders, and overlooks did provide a thrill.  Once in the campground, we had a large paved site with lots of privacy, and all kinds of places to walk the dogs.  My sister and her husband, Karen and Bob, arrived a short time later with pizza and wine.  We had a great evening catching up.

Saturday, 4/15:

We met Bob and Karen at their house about 10:00 AM.  After a cup of coffee, we headed into San Francisco for some site seeing.  As it turned out, thousands of other people were doing the same thing.  Bob and Karen said they had never seen so much traffic.  We stopped at the Farmers Market at the Ferry Building. Of course, we had to include the drive down Lombard Street, supposedly the most crooked street in the world. Later, we drove across the Golden Gate Bridge at about a 10 mile per hour crawl.  We then circled back around to Oakland and stopped at Dashe Cellars for some wine tasting.  The weather was warm enough for us to sit outside in the garden and enjoy a glass.  Then, less than a block away, we ate a wonderful dinner at Nido’s.  We got back to the campground about 8:30.  It was a long day, and we were exhausted.

Easter Sunday, 4/16:

We joined Bob and Karen again at 10:00 AM.  The weather was overcast with “on and off” showers.   First stop this morning was the de Young Art Museum in Golden Gate Park. Their current featured exhibit is called "The Summer of Love Experience: Art , Fashion and Rock and Roll."  This is the 50th anniversary of summer of 1967 the turbulent times in the San Francisco area.  Later we tasted wine at Urban Legend Cellars.   We ended up buying 6 bottles.  Then we had a phenomenal early dinner at Bocanova,  a restaurant specializing in Pan-American cuisine. I had scallops while Judy had tuna, and they were each served in a way we have never had them.  The meals were amazing, both in taste and presentation.  Like last night, we were back to the camper by 8:30 or so.

Some reflections about the Bay Area:  The scenery is stunning, and there are tons of things to see and do.  The dining and wine tasting options are overwhelming.  There are many museums and parks.  HOWEVER, the traffic was mind boggling!  Unlike New York City, there is not an extensive mass transit system.  There are not even a lot of cabs.  So, everybody just drives.  Crossing any of the bridges involves 10 or more lanes of traffic funneling down to 3 or 4.  And while it did seem that most drivers are patient, I just can’t put my arms around commuting like that every day.  Yet they do.  I guess its all a matter of what you are used to.

As usual, we always have a fun filled time with Bob and Karen.  Monday we continue our trek and head north to Oregon.