South Jetty, Florence OR 8/10/09 - 8/17/09

It is a good thing that things were slow in Bend, because they were at high speed in South Jetty. The day after we got there, Terry's uncles, John and Gary Beutler, showed up. We had made reservations for them and when we got to the park, it was really full. We figured they would end up on the other side of the park from us. We couldn't believe it when that morning there were two empty sites, one between us and one on the other side of Ron and Alice. Someone moved into the one on the other side of Ron, but I think he sent them some type of weird vibes because they left after about an hour!

John and Gary, with Val and their granddaughter Hailey, got there and the fun began. the next morning we went to Old Town Florence to a seafood restaurant and they bought us breakfast/lunch. John couldn't believe Terry would go to a seafood restaurant and order a hamburger! Terry said it was a very good hamburger! Then we went shopping in the little shops. Val and I got a great deal on leather jackets (two for the price of one), and everyone cached in on the carmel popcorn, fudge, and ice cream.

I think the best meals we had were the ones we all cooked and shared. We had so much fun that I am sure that all of our neighbors were jealous that they were not part of us. We even had a couple of comments from them about all of the "happy noise."

Hailey had some huge marshmallows she wanted to try roasting, but none of us had any wood for the fire. The first night we didn't have a campfire, but the second night, she got ahold of her grandpa . . .

. . .and he (Gary) found some wood, although it was a little wet and smokey. I, Hailey, and Val had fun roasting the big marshmallows. We all kind of agreed that the marshmallows were a little better raw rather than roasted, but it gave us an excuse for a campfire.

The guys all went golfing, even though Terry and Ron complained a little about the 7:45 am T-time (you have to remember that they are retired), but they all made it there on time. They split off as partners, Terry and Gary--the young'uns, and Ron and John--the oldies, and played "best ball." Terry said they did actually count a couple of his and Ron's balls. John used my camera and took some great pictures. Here are Terry, Ron, and John getting ready to hit.

Terry, John, and Ron just finished a hole. The young'uns ended up winning by one stroke! Terry is hitting this ball towards the clubhouse where they ended having breakfast after the game. There was mention the night before that the girls would join them for breakfast, but we got stood up. Apparently, no one took it seriously but me, but they were still in trouble when they got back. It was okay, though, because they made it up to me by letting me cook waffles and eggs for everyone the next morning.

This is one of the great pictures they took on the golf course--a moma dear with her two little spotted twins.

Well, the next morning came and it was time for the Beutlers to leave. We were sorry to see them go, but made plans to meet up again down the road somewhere. John is "full-timing" in his motorhome, but it is usually parked at Gary's. He is having so much fun traveling around in it that he plans to take a trip across the United States (with Vall--although Gary will probable go along, too.)

We were proud of John because he doesn't usually "do dirt." Our campground has no cement pads or paved roads, but he seemed to handle it okay. After he pulled forward a little with his motorhome, he was finally able to get satellite, so he was pretty happy.

We have met up with Gary and Val several times on the road. They have a nice 5th wheel and we have had lots of fun with them, although I am not sure how Val is going to put up with both Gary and John on a long trip like they are planning. But, she will probably have them both whipped into shape before it is over!

After our company left, we got out the crab rings and headed to the wharf. We found two crab rings for sale at a yardsale in Emmett the weekend before we left! We couldn't believe that we would find crab rings in Emmett right when we needed them! We all pitched in for a license for Terry and planned on eating crab for dinner. Well, we caught a lot of crab, but they were either too small or females (they have to be over 5 3/4" and they have to be males), so we didn't get crab for dinner that night.

Since Terry has the only license, the rest us us just got to watch, but we had fun watching Terry, the seagulls, and the occasional sea lion that would pop it's head up.

This sea lion was a little friendly. The seagull didn't seem to mind sharing space with him.

One day we went back down to the wharf and there was a small flea market/farmer's market going on. As you can see, we loaded up on fresh vegetables and fruit, and kettlecorn.

We had been on the coast for almost a week and hadn't seen the ocean, so we took a ride to find it. Florence is separated from the ocean by six miles of river that runs between Florence and the ocean until it dumps into the ocean. There are huge sand dunes that also separate you from the ocean. But, we persevered and found it! Alice, Terry, and I walked out on the beach for a bit, while Ron sat in the pickup, nursing a sore ankle. We hope to see much more of the ocean when we get to Newport. See you there!

Sunriver, Bend OR 8/3/09 - 8/10/09

Well, we headed out of Emmett and Idaho with Ron and Alice. Ron even led the way because for some reason the lights on his 5th wheel were not working, or the brakes on his 5th wheel. But, we headed down the road towards Bend, OR, anyway and made it just fine. Following Ron, we got better fuel mileage than we ever got before. Terry said it was because he was "drafting" off of Ron. But then, it could have something to do with the $600 he paid to have the hippo serviced while we were in Emmett!

We even stopped in Burns and had lunch and visited with Alice's cousin, Bernice, who we all grew up with. We just can't believe we are all doing this together. What a great adventure we are starting!

I was really bad in Bend at taking pictures. But, we mostly spent our time doing one of our most favorite things--being lazy. Well, that was after Terry and Ron spending three days working on Ron's wiring from his pickup to his 5th wheel. But, they finally got it going. Before we left Emmett, Ron and Alice spent the retirement gift card he got from his fellow Road Department employees and they got two nice recliner chairs. The biggest problem with these chairs is that after just a few minutes of sitting in them, we hear strange noises coming from two of them (and that would not be mine or Alice's) and Terry and Ron's eyes are closed!

Ron and Alice wanted some cards made up they can share with all of the new friends they will meet along the road, so we took their picture with the "Black Beauty" in front of their trailer and put it on their cards.

We had fun while we were in Bend. We went into town and found the Young's Ole Volks Home, an auto repair shop owned by a couple of guys we all went to school with in Emmett. It was fun visiting with them. We went to a Manager's meeting at the Lodge, went on walks (Ron and Alice are getting in pretty good condition--we won't be able to keep up with them soon), played cards, Terry and I rode our bikes, and we did a lot of just sitting around and letting Ron and Alice get used to being retired! This is just the beginning of a great time!

Back to Cascade/Emmett 7/20/09 - 8/3/09

We left McCormick and went back to meet Ron and Alice back in Cascade. We were hoping to get some more of those big perch for our freezer!

Terry's brother Ron was able to get a newer pickup before he retired. He wasn't looking for a Dodge dually, but that is what he ended up with and is totally happy with it. Here is the "Hippo" alongside the "Black Beauty." Terry named it and I have yet to hear Ron call it that. It is two years newer than ours and has lots of fancy features with it, and Terry continues to remind him of it!

We went into Cascade to the LDS Church on the 25th of July. They had a pioneer breakfast for the whole community. We ran into some friends from Emmett--Don and his daughter Alise. We asked if they would like to go fishing with us and they took us up on it.

We fished the rest of the morning and into the afternoon. I think we wore them out. None of us even got a bite except Alise. She caught two nice coeho (that is not how it is spelled) and a really nice 17" bass! (Don later told us that the bass was really a tiger muskey.) She was pretty excited and even called her husband while we were out on the boat to let him know! Thanks for a fun time, Don and Alise.

Well, our summer in Emmett has come to an end. As you can see, the camper and boat have been put to bed, awaiting next summer. It is kind of sad to have it end, but now the adventure of our travels continue.

We are excited because my brother Frank helped us modify our hitch to we could put it on the 5th wheel. Now we can carry our bicycles on the back of it instead of strapping one on the ladder and putting the other one in the back of the pick-up. They are so easy to just throw on the bike rake, cover them, and we are done!

Terry aways gets antsy the night before we leave. He has the pickup all hooked up. All we need to do in the morning is pull in the slides and we are off to meet his brother Ron and wife Alice who are joining us in our two-month adventure to the coast of Oregon.

Come along with us on our travels if you have time to check out our BLOG once in a while.

McCormick, Hells Canyon 7/13/09 - 7/20/09

Shay's and Sarah's families left on Saturday after Baby Nettie's funeral and went back to McCormick camping with the Fishers. We and Jill's family went on Monday and spent the day there before they left to go back to Rexburg on Tuesday.

My niece Danielle always brings crafts for the kids. She does a lot of work getting them ready and helping the kids with them. Clockwise from the bottom are our grandkids Boe, Alexia (Danielle's daughter), Emily, Jenna, Kamber, Destiny (Danielle's sister), a little bit of Luke's head, Danielle, and JT.

It seems that Bill never gets "his spot" the first day he gets there, so he usually makes a move at some point. This was the day. My sister-in-law Kathy and Terry are helping? him.

Here is his trusty "old" tent he has been using now for 21 years, duct tape and all. He has been given new tents and bought new tents for his kids, but it seems to be tradition that this tent is put up. It would not be the same if he didn't have it!

Shay helped Sarah and Ryan move their camp, since they were sharing Bill's spot.

Terry and I came back on Friday and stayed the weekend. There wasn't anyone left there but us, Bill, and Larry and his son Andy from Boring. So, we had lots of time for more fishing. We actually caught quite a few crappie. We had one fish fry and then we ended up taking about 10 bags home for the freezer!

This is a picture of my brother Bill, Larry and his son Andy, and Terry. Two years ago when we at McCormick, Terry, Andy, and Bill risked their lives saving two young boys from drowning. Since then, when we were camp hosts, we talked the park people into putting up a sign about how dangerous it is to swim there. That next Christmas, Larry gave Bill a life ring with a long rope on it. Bill brought it to McCormick this year and hung it on the sign. While we were there this year, a young boy (not wearing a life jacket) got in trouble. His mom went in after him (without a life jacket). People on the shore were able to through the ring to them and pull them to safety. Bill is a hero again!

We were fishing one day up by the dam and Bill caught a "big one." After getting it in, it turned out to be a carp.

Years ago when Bill was just a kid, he caught a carp in the river below our house. When he brought it home, Mom cut off the head and tail so it would fit in the oven and baked it. We always tell the story that she put it on a piece of cardboard to bake it and when the fish was done, we threw away the fish and ate the cardboard! Carp are not good eating fish, at least in our part of the country! But, they are sure fun to catch.

Rexburg/Baby Nettie Sue 7/8/09

As we were driving home from Cascade, we got a phone call from Jill. She said that her baby girl would probably be born within a few hours. Instead of going home, we just headed straight to Rexburg.

Baby Nettie Sue was born the next morning. She was born three months early and her little body was too small to stay in this world any longer than an hour. But during that time we held her and Dan and Terry were able to give her a blessing. What a priviledge it was to have Jill and Dan allow us to share that experience. She was buried three days later in Emmett in the same plot with her Great Grandma Nettie Fisher.

During the time we were in Rexburg, Kamber had a soccor game and Terry went and took pictures.

Kamber is a very agressive little player and the only girl on her team. She scored two goals and helped with several more.

Jill, Dan, Kamber, and Boe enjoy playing a game together as a family, the evening after Jill got home from the hospital. We are all so greatful to know that families can be together forever!

Cascade - 4th of July

We had so much fun last year watching the fireworks from the boat in the middle of Cascade Lake with our son Ryan and his family, and we had an "in" with the camp host again this year, we decided to go back this year.

At the last minute, Jill and her family decided to come to Cascade. They have some friends who were coming to stay in a cabin there for the weekend and they were invited to come. We were so glad to join them on the 4th of July.

We were on a beach that the best way to get there was by boat, so we "taxied" people and food and had a great time. The fishing was good, as you can see by fisherman Boe's catch. (I am really not sure if Boe caught this one.)

They had fun setting off their own fireworks while we waiting for the big show to start. Kamber has some sparklers.

All the kids had fun "writing in the air" with their sparklers.

Jill even got in the spirit, with the other adults, although they were not nearly as enthusiastic about it as the kids were.

Then Dan lit off some little larger fireworks for our enjoyment.

It finally got dark enough so Jill and her family got in the boat with us and we left the others on the beach with a good view. The fireworks were great and we were glad to celebrate the freedom of our country.

Jill and her family went home the next day and we were able to get in some fishing time. I know it looks like I have on one of those hats with the built-in hair, but I don't. This is my new "summer do." It is a wash-and-wear perm and is great because that is all I have to do with it. But, it is getting a little long so sometimes it is pretty wild. My picture doesn't appear too often on the blog, so I can get away with looking "wild" most of the time, until someone else gets ahold of the camera.

Ronnie (Terry's brother) and wife Alice were camping in Cascade with us. Terry, Ronnie, and Ron (our brother-in-law camphost) all tried our luck. Sorry to say, we didn't catch anything.

Later on, the guys went back out and caught a five-gallon-bucket full of really nice perch! We all got a package to put in our freezer!

Terry's sister Lolita and husband Bob, with grandkids, came for the day. They had dropped Teresa (their daughter) off to be a leader at girl's camp so they spent some time swimming and having a picnic at our campground.

Home to Emmett, ID 6/14/09-7/1/09

We hadn't been back to our home town of Emmett, Idaho, since last September. It seemed good to be going back, for a few weeks. The town of Emmett is in Gem County. You go 30 miles across the desert-like land from Boise. . .

. . . and come down Freezeout Hill into a beautiful valley with the Payette River running through it. It used to have many fruit orchards all along three sides of the valley, but most of them have been replaced by subdivisions. It is still a beautiful valley and is quite the site as you go through the hills that open up into it.

Terry had a birthday gift from Travis waiting for him. It was a little helicopter. He had a little trouble flying it at first. We ended up going to the mall in Boise where Travis bought it and Terry had a "flying lesson." He did much better after that. Except when he took it outside and it ended up on top of the roof of the house. Terry is not the one who had to climb up and get it! He owes me one.

My sister Lorrie had a yard sale and let us join in. Our biggest seller was all of our VHS movies. Together, we had over 325. We made $60 on them and then donated the rest of them to the Emmett Library. We did take the time to turn some of them in DVDs before we got rid of them.

Sarah and her kids came during the time we had the yard sale. Ryan's (her husband) sister got married that weekend. Afterwards, Sarah sent Ryan home and she and the kids stayed so when Ryan came back the next weekend, they could go camping at Hell's Canyon with my family, the Fishers. The kids were glad when the yard sale was over so they could use the carport as a race track.

While Sarah was with us, we spent an afternoon at Black Canyon Reservoir. When our kids were little, we spent lots of time there in the summers. We hadn't been back for a long time. Here is Sarah with Jenna and Luke.

JT thought it was great fun playing with grandpa's noodle.

Lindee didn't care too much for the water. She would just as soon play in the sand.

Terry's favorite pastime was holding the blanket down and munching on the snacks!

Later, Terry worked on getting the pontoon boat going. Each year he says we need to sell it because it takes him a while to get it going and then we only use it a few weeks before we take off again. I would be so sad to sell it. I think the few weeks we get to use it is worth all the effort. Terry's brother Verel gave him moral support and it wasn't long the motor was purring. We are ready to go camping and fishing!