Aug17
Posted on Aug 17 by Ruth Davis
Last week we were still in Montana, awaiting a fix on a faulty tire sensor on our tow vehicle. We spent the night in the Walmart parking lot with a dozen other motor homers, and chatted with a young couple traveling across the country in an SUV, visiting every National Park. On Wednesday at noon, we finally hitched the car and headed west. It was a long three days of driving, 789 miles through Idaho and Washington, and we finally pulled into the marina in Newport, Oregon on Friday after 5, tired and happy to have finally arrived. We drove over to the seafood market for dinner to go, came home and prepared fresh Dungeness crab meat on a bed of romaine for me, the best clam chowder and smoked oysters for Marika, and a kid’s portion of local fish and chips with extra tartar sauce to share. We spent the night in the dry camping area behind the marina buildings, across the bay from the active fishing port, then moved into our reserved spot...
Aug10
Posted on Aug 10 by Ruth Davis
I am writing this on Monday morning from Basin, MT, where we are still waiting for the car to be ready. The wheel for the car DID arrive on Friday. But the tire pressure sensor got lost in the shipment, and they still need some clips, so they had to reorder the parts. Maybe they’ll show up today. Maybe the car will be done by the afternoon, or Tuesday. They reminded us that we’re in a rural part of the country, and things take a little longer to arrive. I started to freak out that we’d be here another week and Marika suggested the word surrender. She assured me that we will get to the Oregon coast in time for my Dream Altars class next Tuesday. It’s a 4 day straight drive, which I’d rather do in 5 or 6. But we will get there. Once I settled into the facts and let go of our original plan, I was actually glad we didn’t leave on Friday. We had the weekend to accept the not knowing, to ease...
Aug03
Posted on Aug 3 by Ruth Davis
After our immersion of 11 days, 3 times a day treatments in the radon mine, we were both excited to have some free time to get out and start exploring the area. On Thursday morning we went to the tiny Farmer’s Market in the next town. On the way, I said, “I think I’m finally going to find my silver earrings today. And for a reasonable price.” And I DID. A retired man named Bob makes chain-maille earrings, different designs, different colors. Only $12. And if I lose one, I can send him the remainder and he’ll make a new one for $6. WOW! We also got delicious snow peas from the youth garden, and beets, apricots, baby carrots, zucchini, a bag of purple, yellow and white cauliflower, and a quart of relish pickles, all from nearby Conrad, MT. We had fun going up and down every aisle in the hometown hardware store, past crock pots and BBQ grills, fishing lures and poles, glue sticks, rubber gloves, knives, bullets, and contact paper that looked...
Jul27
Posted on Jul 27 by Ruth Davis
As you read this, we are on our last day of the 11 day radon mine treatment. It has been an amazing experience to fully commit to doing this 3 times a day for the last 11 days. Our days revolve around our visits to the mine, with simple things like walking the dogs, gentle stretching, making meals and doing laundry added to the mix. There is no time to go out and sight see, and little energy to do much else. This act of immersing myself in an activity, fully committing to a single purpose, brings me face to face with all of my fears, excuses, insecurities. There are no distractions to keep me from feeling the feelings, or doing what I came to do. But when I embrace the discomforts and dive deep into this thing I’ve given myself time and space to do, so much becomes clear. Like what’s really important to my heart. And the stories I tell myself in the midst of my busy life. And how it really feels to...
Jul20
Posted on Jul 20 by Ruth Davis
Last week Marika and I camped at Lewis and Clark Caverns, about an hour north of Yellowstone. From there, I had no idea where we were going, just a general direction westward. After the high priced campgrounds, we both were hoping to find some free or less expensive camping for a few days, but every forest campsite I checked would only accommodate RVs up to 20 feet. I felt stuck and frustrated, and finally, I stopped looking and went to bed. In the morning, Marika talked with the park ranger about birding in the area and came home with a beautiful brochure of nearby birding spots. And then I remembered that I always imagined we’d plan our route by where the birds are. And sure enough, there was a large refuge listed in the pamphlet in the direction we were going. I had a new town name to research, to find a camp site. According to RV Park Reviews, the Merry Widow Mine Campground got 9 out of 10 stars. Sites were shaded with full hookups, and some backed...
Jul13
Posted on Jul 13 by Ruth Davis
We have never camped over a summer holiday weekend. We’ve always figured, let the working folks enjoy the crowded campgrounds – we have the flexibility to go anytime. But, as full-timers, we needed a place to stay over the long July 4th weekend. As timing had it, we would be near Yellowstone National Park so we committed to being there for the holiday, with the crowds. All of the state parks were booked and, with the afternoon temperatures in the mid 80’s, we needed a campsite with electricity so we could leave the dogs at home while we ventured out. After all kinds of online searching, a woman in an RVing Facebook group said she owned a campground 20 miles west of Yellowstone’s west entrance. I called and we got a space for the entire weekend, from Thursday through Tuesday. Yes, it was our most expensive campground at $58.32 a night, but, compared to the $80+ at all the other options near Yellowstone, it was the best choice. The park was nice enough, with full hookups, a few...
