A rather unusual question for y'all
- Thread starter Gofirstclass
- Start date
- Nov 4, 2019
- 2,485
- Boat Info
- 2010 Sundancer 500
2015 Brig Falcon 330T
- Engines
- Twin Cummins QSC550 w Zeus Pods
Still here Mike. Keep em coming please
JimG
Well-Known Member
- Nov 4, 2008
- 6,085
- Boat Info
- 2007 310 DA
Kohler 5ECD
- Engines
- Twin 350 Mags
Raw Water Cooled
V-Drives
Of course we are!
highslice
Well-Known Member
- Mar 28, 2008
- 6,157
- Boat Info
- 270 SLX
2013 Sea Doo 155 Wake
- Engines
- 496 Mag
Bravo III
Corsa
Just catching up.
Gofirstclass
Well-Known Member
I wuz jus wondering, got kinda quiet in here.
The drive south from Biggs which is where we got off the freeway onto a 2-lane highway was long and tedious. The first 50 miles or so is an almost constant climb in elevation, going from ~165' above sea level up to ~2400 feet at Madras then up to ~3600' at Bend. It's kind of a boring drive through dry land wheat farms with gentle rolling hills. One bright spot along the way is that you can see the snow covered peaks of Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, Mt. Rainier and Mt. Saint Helens.
After overnighting at Madras we continued on and eventually made our way to our campsite. It was interesting to note that they had posted a sign at the entrance to the campground saying it was full, but we noted numerous empty campsites.
Our days typically started out with breakfast at our place, a day of touring, happy hour at Jim and Erin's then dinner back at our place. We had bought a Coleman "Tailgater" propane grill for the rv and it worked great. The first night's dinner was smoked 1.5" thick pork chops. These are a specialty item from a small butcher shop (Owens' Meat) in Cle Elum, WA.
This is the town up in the Cascade Mts. Tina grew up in and we stop there every time we go to and from Seattle just to visit the meat store. Earlier this summer we took orders from our neighbors who have grown to like their meats and we ended up coming back with just over $700 in meat. Their motto is "The toy store for the carnivore" and it doesn't lie.
The second day at Diamond Lake we loaded up in Jim's truck and headed out for a drive around Crater Lake. The photos I took are shown above and the 4-hour drive was definitely worth it. The lodges and buildings were built by the WPA (Us old timers know what it was. You younger guys will have to google that.) and are simply magnificent. You can book a stay at the lodges but you'd better do it a year in advance.
The trip back was uneventful for the most part. The one "interesting" event happened when we saw a dust devil that was about 150' tall and was about a half mile from us. It disappeared as we rounded some turns but then it smacked us on the right side of the coach. We didn't see it coming because we were in a brushy area but when it hit us it pushed the whole rv about half way across the double yellow line before I could steer it back to our lane. Fortunately there was no oncoming traffic or there would have been a serious head-on collision and it would have been my fault.
We stopped at Biggs again to fuel up (You don't want to know!
) then back on the freeway and on to Umatilla. Our yacht club had planned a cruise to the Umatilla YC that weekend so we were able to hook up with them. We've stuck pretty close to home for the past year or so because of COVID and my cancer and this was our first chance to see everyone.
We got to the RV park and got all set up then wandered down to the docks to mingle. We enjoyed a nice catered BBQ dinner, catered by a company from our area. The dinner was provided by our club and was for our members as well as members of the Umatilla YC.
It was about 100* so not too long after dinner we hiked up to the rv and relaxed in the A/C. The next morning we went down to their dock for a breakfast they fixed for all of us and again, got to mingle and enjoy the company of their members and ours.
After breakfast we loaded up and headed for home, exhausted after a week on the go and ready for a swim in the pool.
The drive south from Biggs which is where we got off the freeway onto a 2-lane highway was long and tedious. The first 50 miles or so is an almost constant climb in elevation, going from ~165' above sea level up to ~2400 feet at Madras then up to ~3600' at Bend. It's kind of a boring drive through dry land wheat farms with gentle rolling hills. One bright spot along the way is that you can see the snow covered peaks of Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, Mt. Rainier and Mt. Saint Helens.
After overnighting at Madras we continued on and eventually made our way to our campsite. It was interesting to note that they had posted a sign at the entrance to the campground saying it was full, but we noted numerous empty campsites.
Our days typically started out with breakfast at our place, a day of touring, happy hour at Jim and Erin's then dinner back at our place. We had bought a Coleman "Tailgater" propane grill for the rv and it worked great. The first night's dinner was smoked 1.5" thick pork chops. These are a specialty item from a small butcher shop (Owens' Meat) in Cle Elum, WA.
This is the town up in the Cascade Mts. Tina grew up in and we stop there every time we go to and from Seattle just to visit the meat store. Earlier this summer we took orders from our neighbors who have grown to like their meats and we ended up coming back with just over $700 in meat. Their motto is "The toy store for the carnivore" and it doesn't lie.
The second day at Diamond Lake we loaded up in Jim's truck and headed out for a drive around Crater Lake. The photos I took are shown above and the 4-hour drive was definitely worth it. The lodges and buildings were built by the WPA (Us old timers know what it was. You younger guys will have to google that.) and are simply magnificent. You can book a stay at the lodges but you'd better do it a year in advance.
The trip back was uneventful for the most part. The one "interesting" event happened when we saw a dust devil that was about 150' tall and was about a half mile from us. It disappeared as we rounded some turns but then it smacked us on the right side of the coach. We didn't see it coming because we were in a brushy area but when it hit us it pushed the whole rv about half way across the double yellow line before I could steer it back to our lane. Fortunately there was no oncoming traffic or there would have been a serious head-on collision and it would have been my fault.
We stopped at Biggs again to fuel up (You don't want to know!
) then back on the freeway and on to Umatilla. Our yacht club had planned a cruise to the Umatilla YC that weekend so we were able to hook up with them. We've stuck pretty close to home for the past year or so because of COVID and my cancer and this was our first chance to see everyone. We got to the RV park and got all set up then wandered down to the docks to mingle. We enjoyed a nice catered BBQ dinner, catered by a company from our area. The dinner was provided by our club and was for our members as well as members of the Umatilla YC.
It was about 100* so not too long after dinner we hiked up to the rv and relaxed in the A/C. The next morning we went down to their dock for a breakfast they fixed for all of us and again, got to mingle and enjoy the company of their members and ours.
After breakfast we loaded up and headed for home, exhausted after a week on the go and ready for a swim in the pool.
boatman37
Well-Known Member
- Jun 6, 2015
- 4,256
- Boat Info
- 2006 Crownline 250CR. 5.7 Merc BIII
Previous: 1986 Sea Ray 250 Sundancer. 260 Merc Alpha 1 Gen 1
- Engines
- 5.7 Merc BIII
Just getting caught up here too. Think I posted earlier that my son has towed his 26' travel trailer (2018 Grand Design 2670MK) all over the country but it was for work. He was living in it on job sites for the pipelines. He is a safety coordinator so was traveling from site to site every few months. Went from here in Pittsburgh to Watford City, ND and back. Then to Baytown, TX to Thief River Falls, MN and a few sites in WV and Ohio and a bunch of sites in PA. 8500 miles towing. He had a 2018 2500 Ram 6.4 Hemi and just traded it in last week on a 2021 2500 Cummins. His truck had 95,000 miles on it...lol.
All that said, I went with him on the trip to Baytown, TX and it was a fun trip. I flew back a few days later but enjoyed it. I also have a 2018 2500 Ram 6.4 Hemi so all I need is a camper...lol. BTW-I think he is selling his now. He just got a new job close to home and if he does need to travel he will stay in a hotel
All that said, I went with him on the trip to Baytown, TX and it was a fun trip. I flew back a few days later but enjoyed it. I also have a 2018 2500 Ram 6.4 Hemi so all I need is a camper...lol. BTW-I think he is selling his now. He just got a new job close to home and if he does need to travel he will stay in a hotel
