Grandparent duties in Spokane

 After leaving Walla Walla, we set up camp at our regular Spokane spot, Northern Quest Casino RV Park.    It's perfectly located for us with large, neat sites and wonderfully accommodating staff.     It's owned and run by the Kalispel Tribe of Indians, who also operate a neat little raceway right down the road!  

We went over early last Friday evening and scored the perfect parking spot!  We could sit in the comfort of the Jeep's leather seats and watch all the action. Sure beat the cement bleachers!

sometimes Dave would sit outside and watch

aftermath of the Jet car's run!

The RV Park was great place for us and Beluga while we spent time with sweet Annie girl.

Before Jesse and Erin left for their vacation in France, and before we moved into the house to stay with the girl, we did a little exploring and restauranting.

our picnic spot on pretty Davis Lake

check out this great mural!

delicious Shrimp and Grits
(almost as good as Laurel and Eric's version)

interesting take on Mexican Street Corn at Kismet

Beluga had a checkup at the great Spokane Caterpillar facility while we were staying at Jesse's house.    Except for the expected aging problems, she got a clean bill of health.   

Grandparent duty is a hard but wonderful job.    Let me just say that we fell into bed and slept very soundly every night!    Here's Annie - and Molly too of course...

Molly helped Dave go over the care plan and household hints paperwork  

 a study in beige

Where's Annie?

PEEK A BOO!

Follow Papa

strawberry picking (aka strawberry eating)

We were able to enjoy some family time with Jesse and Erin also when they returned.    Annie was happy to see her mamma and daddy!

riding the big bike with daddy

family pie preparation

Our babysitting gig over, we left Spokane on Sunday morning.    We drove a little over an hour north to an ownership park on the Pend Oreille River.    We're close enough to visit often, but it's time for everyone to get back to normal.

This is a quiet, rural park right on the river.   Everyone is very friendly, except our closest neighbor.    She and her "husband" are very vocal and yell at us whenever we open Beluga's door.    We understand that she won't be here for much longer but we're trying to help them realize that we mean no harm.....we're really very nice people.

see her?

We sit in the gazebo every evening to watch the sun sink into the mountains across the river.

 

 

Verdi to Walla Walla

We left Verdi, NV under cloudy, rainy skies.   Evidently it had been raining most of the time we were in California because when we pulled in the living room slide we found lots of water pooled on top.    I dried as much as I could reach, and Dave finished the job before we drove away.    (For those of you who don't drive a motorhome with slides, if one doesn't dry any water that has accumulated on top of the now retracted slide before driving away, one runs the risk of the driver receiving a surprise and very unappreciated shower!   We learned that the hard way)

This was a new route for us, our next stop was Winnemucca, NV.    We didn't expect much but were pleasantly surprised.  

a Georgia O'Keefe ish picture of Winnemucca Mtn.

We drove to the top of Winnemucca Mountain and enjoyed expansive views of the desert below.     We even saw our campground in the distance.

Beluga is waiting at the distant campground, right below the little cloud

Another day we drove into nearby Water Canyon for our usual alfresco lunch beside the stream.     It was a lush spot of vibrant green in the tan and grey desert.

When you stop and look closely, color is everywhere.

After our usual overnight stop in Caldwell, we arrived in Baker City, Oregon.   We last visited the area in 2012 so we thought it might be time for another look.    They were paving the park, and we weren't looking forward to the usual disruption, noise and smell.   Mt. View RV Park did a stellar job of minimizing the unpleasantness and the result was a beautiful and well-kept park.   We'd definitely stay there again.

Baker City is a nice, small city with beautiful flowers everywhere.     Some cultivated in people's yards and parks, and some growing on the mountain slopes.

OH DAVE!

 

Oh Dave

We drove mountain roads, ate beside the rushing Power River, wandered pine lined trails, explored the shores of Phillips Lake and watched a new to us bird - American Dipper - walk underwater looking for a meal!       We enjoyed a good breakfast and a few delicious Cardamom rolls at Sweet Wife Bakery in the pretty downtown area.     More left to do there for sure.     Dave always says if we do it all we won't have a reason to come back!

Powder River

a lone Sandhill Crane

I wondered what the story behind this is......

Larch leaves

a Wigwam burner in Pine Valley

a resting American Dipper 

three ladies

downtown Baker City

public art on Main Street

he doesn't always bring me flowers, sometimes its baked goods....

On our last day there we decided to try and drive the Elkhorn Scenic Byway.   The mountains looked pretty snow-covered, but we thought we'd just go as far as we could; if we were lucky, we'd make it the whole way!

We weren't lucky.    A little more than halfway through we ran into relatively deep spring snow on the road ahead.   End of the road for us.   We turned around, content with what we'd seen thus far. 

uh oh

I thought I had seen a possible alternative road at a lower elevation, so Dave indulged me, and we turned off the byway to check it out.    

nope

End of the road, again!   A Pine tree blocked our passage, so we decided it was "a sign" that it was time to head home!  

Actually, the "sign" was right, it was time to head back home the way we came,  and that decision allowed us time to stop at an interesting sight we'd passed by.

Sumpter Valley Gold Dredge

it was a monster

inside the dredge

The Sumpter Valley Dredge was assembled on the Powder River in 1935 to facilitate large scale gold mining in its rich riverbed.   For various reasons, the dredge's mining operations were shut down in l954.   It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and opened to public viewing as the Sumpter Valley Dredge State Park in l974.  It continues to be restored.      Phew!      We were blown away by its sheer size and complexity!     It was late in the day and there was no one around to give us a tour, the visitor's center closed.     Next time for sure!

We left Baker City last week with a vow to return.   Lots more to see and do.

Tonight is our last night in Walla Walla, Washington.   It's a regular stop for us on our way to Spokane and family.   We really enjoy it here, the restaurants and multiple wineries surrounded by the oddly beautiful and soothing, rolling hills of grain.  

We'll be in Spokane tomorrow!

Dave is a happy man with a bowl of Bouillabaisse

it's fun people (and hot rod) watching at Brasserie Four

a huge Dutch baby with strawberry/rhubarb sauce

our new favorite - Zerba Cellars

Zebras at Zerba Cellars

he sneaks out the back way....is that a case?

And....here's Annie!