One of the things I thought about this summer while traveling in Alaska was whether I should move my base up north near my grandson and his parents. I would still travel in the winter but not as far away as New Mexico. Sometimes it feels like I am on a different planet from them.…
Each night, I hope for a monsoon breeze by bedtime. That is the most I can hope for – a slight breeze that will seep in through my tiny RV windows and clear out the overheated plastic smell that builds inside all day. Last night a breeze blew in along with some real rain clouds.…
I seemed to have things backward this summer, at least weather-wise! During the cold, wet spring I bundled up in Canada and Alaska. During the dog days of summer, I stripped down as much as I dare, a few miles from the Mexico border. I planned the Alaska trip, but my trip to New Mexico…
One week ago, I decided that I was finished with my tent camping trip. I was on the Oregon Coast and had vowed to stay there until the heat wave and wildfires tapered off. Then, I began to feel bored. Then, I started missing my little house, which was in storage, in Deming, NM. It…
As I traveled north, Highway 101 curved away from the mountains and towards the ocean. I finally found beach access in the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area and just south of Yachats, a small but trendy town on the coast. Oregon owns most of the day use areas and they are free. The Forest Service sites…
Tango and I began our walk around the campground, and we were only a few steps from our site when I sensed that this morning was different. Silence! I did not hear the crackle of a morning campfire or the sound of someone cooking breakfast on a Coleman stove. No soft whines from sleepy children.…
After a week on the Oregon coast, I am still looking for the beach. I have glimpsed some of the coastline while driving but have not plopped down for the day on a blanket, in the sand, with a good book. I have not even walked onto a beach. Geography is the biggest problem. The…
I managed to be useful to my friend, Gennie, who is getting ready to RV fulltime. After a week of easy living in her place and in the wake of 90 degree days in the Willamette Valley, Tango and I got restless. It did not take long to figure out where to head next after…
I have been to Oregon once before, in the 1970s, when I came to Corvallis to check out graduate school. I stayed in Arizona, so I have no practical knowledge about the state and its people. Based on news stories and political trends over the years, I pictured Oregon as one big, liberal college town. I…
So, after 2 months in wild Alaska, how am I adapting to mainstream life in the lower 48? Here are the highlights! Greatest convenience (besides a flush toilet): plugging in my computer and phone every night and finding them fully charged in the morning! Best Kitchen Moments: Washing dishes with soap, water, and a sponge, instead…