It's almost the middle of July already!

 It's still hot but not over 100 anymore, for that we're thankful.    We've added a little more tacky silver insulation to Beluga's exposed glass and it has helped keep us comfortable.   The piece we had was a little too short so Dave cut it and taped the two pieces together.

think the airstream's sewer hose is long enough?

The sun was so intense that the tape melted and the pieces came apart.   He tried to staple them then, without success.     Jesse provided the perfect fix....heat resistent duct tape.   

We've been doing a little gentle exploring of the area and spending time with Jesse and Erin.    One day we followed the beautiful Spokane River to the Long Lake Dam in Tum Tum (giggle).   The drive was beautiful and we were able to get out and walk around in a few spots without our shoes melting into the blacktop.

 

these two were overhead waiting for lunch to swim by

We've enjoyed several dinners at some of Spokane's great restaurants.   On the way to Cochinito for some knock out tacos we stopped in for a quick, walk through tour of one of the grand old Hotels, the historic Davenport.   We strolled around the Mezzanine and ducked into one of the huge, fancy ballrooms, which was conveniently left open.....

Our meal (and margaritas)  at Cochinitos was all we expected.....Mmmmm.   We ate under the watchful eye of a very unusual woman.

 

When Jesse and Erin are busy we're trying to check out close to us places for dinner.     There are so many good places here, we're giddy with choice.    One night we scored a table at Italia Trattoria in nearby Browne's Addition.    Mmmmm    I took no pictures.

On Jesse's birthday, July 10, we met them for brunch at Chaps.   We sat outside in a beautiful garden setting and, once again, had a great meal.    Afterward we spent the day together.    Nice.

The next day Erin had planned the perfect birthday celebration for Jesse.....she rented a boat on beautiful Lake Pend Oreille for the whole afternoon.    She provided all Jesse's favorite things for the ride and we all enjoyed the most wonderful and relaxing day zooming around the lake, swimming, tubing and, of course, eating.    

Only a few of my pictures turned out well, I brought "the bad" camera along and I didn't want to to take my phone out of the glove compartment for fear of dropping it in the lake.

floating with a cup of Rose....what more could a guy want?

we boated under this railroad bridge, while a train was passing over it - cool!

Erin gets tubing instructions

Dave assumes the spotter duties

Yeeee Haaaaa
Erin's first time, ever!

We're having a wonderful time.    No need to try and "see everything" in a short time, we have the whole summer to explore.     Yesterday I finalized plans and reservations for our going home trip in September so now the pressure is totally off.    For the first time I'm finding the no vacancy sign out at some of the places I wanted to stay at.     I don't know if that is a sign of the times, or if it is because I'm not making plans far enough ahead.   Either way, I'm glad the planning is done.

July 5

  This was the first 3rd and 4th of July holiday, in many years, that we didn't host a party at the lake.

I have to admit it felt odd, but being in a totally different place this year, it didn't weigh on my mind long.....

Yesterday afternoon (4th of July) we enjoyed a bbq (complete with Erin's beautiful strawberry/rhubarb pie) at Jesse and Erin's house.    We met a lovely couple and their two cool young daughters.     Food and conversation flowed freely,  lots of thoughtful and interesting questions were discussed and the girls drew pictures of us as we talked and ate.  

look familiar?

We were back at Beluga in time to dab some lavender essential oil behind Lew's ear in an attempt to keep him calm for the evening's festivities.    We're staying at Northern Quest Casino RV Park and evidently the Kalispel Tribe is able to have a fireworks display when the rest of Spokane County is not,  due to high fire danger.      Lewis has become very disturbed by thunder and fireworks as he's grown older so we were concerned that he'd freak out with the big boomers being shot off quite close to us.

 They shook our walls......but either the lavender deal really worked or he's becoming deaf!    He stayed very close to me while I watched out the show out the window, but was just very very still.   Catatonic?

We survived it and had one of the best fireworks displays we've ever seen.   Perhaps that's because I'm usually running around making sure everyone's drinks are full, they have enough to eat, the food is replenished, the hot stuff is hot, the cold, cold, there is enough beer and wine on ice, enough glasses on the table, the garbage is emptied, enough toilet paper in the bathroom, the s'more fixings are brought out at the right time, coffee made,  etc.,  to just enjoy the show!     

This morning, while Dave was up on the roof, fixing and fiddling, he saw this in the distance....Oh my.

The fire is south of us, we don't know the cause yet, but it made our drive along the river today quite smokey.      A new reality for us.....

 

 

We've arrived

 Our last day at the COE campground in Plymouth, Washington was a hot one.      We hunkered down and tried to stay cool for one more day.

The few times we stuck our noses outside Beluga,  we had unpleasant surprises.    We had been watching a fledgling Cassin's Kingbird on the ground at the base of a huge Sycamore tree, right outside our window.   The parents had been attentive to it's calls and the little thing seemed to be fairing well, hoping around through the grass and looking alert, even catching it's own bugs.       Later that day, while Lewis was outside answering the call of nature, we found the baby dead.    I guess the heat was too much for it's little body to take.

Another quick trip outside to rinse out our dishpan revealed something that we hadn't noticed before.   Beluga had been impaled sometime during our trip from LaGrande to Plymouth!    Because it was so hot upon arrival  we did what we had to do quickly and got back in the air conditioning as soon as possible.   Dave didn't see the 16 " long piece of galvanized steel jabbed into the inside wall of one of the slide's basement compartments.  

On went the coveralls and under he went to try and dislodge the shaft.     Luckily, it came out relatively easily with a pair of channel locks and the hole it made was covered (temporarily) with a line of duct tape.  

We have no idea where it came from, what it was from and how it managed to impale the inside of the compartment as we drove down the highway.    A few inches in either direction and it would have hit the LP or the fuel tank.  

The last unpleasant event happened to poor Lewis and it happened so fast I have no photo to show you.    Dave took him out for the last "get busy" of the night and as he opened Beluga's door and unhooked the leash, a large sprinkler head rose up and a powerful stream of water absolutely soaked him, face first.   He was drenched in seconds, his eyes, ears, mouth, everything was dripping as he clambered up the stairs.   Poor boy.    We left the next day.

We had an uneventful drive to the last destination of this summer's trip....Spokane.     We're in a large, grassy monthly site at the Northern Quest Casino RV Park.    This is a relatively new park located where we want to be for the summer (not far from Jesse and Erin's new home)  with good services, pleasant staff and plenty of space between sites.   There are, however, no trees for shade.   Luckily, the temps have leveled off to the 90's (remember when we used to think 90 was sweltering?) .

We've been at Jesse and Erin's every day since we arrived.   It has been sooo good to see them and their beautiful home, filling in the blanks of each other's lives since we last were able to hug.

 It's fun getting reaquainted with their funny little cat, Dexter.    He appears quietly and observes us.  He knows he's beautiful and he places himself carefully to show  his best advantage.

Dexter enjoys Dave's shoes while we enjoy dinner above

 

he shows off his rainbow toenails......

 Their back yard is lush and beautiful with shady spots to sit and relax beside a burbling water feature beneath a thick grape arbor.     We've enjoyed several meals outside on the deck once the sun dips behind the huge pines.

Lewis joined us there today.   Dexter was not amused by his presence, and yet was curious, appearing in a doorway or around a corner.

 I  sat outside and read while my clothes were in the dryer.   While Lewis enjoyed the freedom of the yard,  he does not enjoy the heat.   He wants to be inside, on the bed, under the airconditioning vent.    The bubbling sound of the water intrigued him but he couldn't see it.

do you see him?

His search kept him busy for quite awhile but eventually he found his way through the Lily's of the Valley to the waters edge and had a long drink.     Back inside we went before he trampled all the flowers and took for a full body dip.

Last night Jesse and Erin officially welcomed us at a wonderful restaurant (Inland Pacific Kitchen) that offers fantastic and unusual small dishes.  We all sampled many of them, I lost count, and shared a couple bottles of good wine.   Dave even tried oysters - and liked them!!!!

Tomorrow we'll go back over and have a small barbeque with a few of their friends.   I know I've said this before, but it's so good to see them and spend time together again.   It's been way too long.

Beautiful ride

 Since we had one more day left at our LaGrande campground we decided to drive up into the mountains to check out the little town of Joseph, Oregon.   We had planned a motor home stay there two different times before  -  first COVID blocked our way and then Dave's surgery and our Arizona house purchase derailed the plans.     This time we only had one day but, since we were so close, at least we could get a quick feel for the place and then try for a longer stay later.

It was an absolutely beautiful ride along the rushing Wallowa River.    Through thick pine forests and alpine meadows, mammoth hay fields with incredible looking yields and  in and out of small towns that  seem to have hit hard times but obviously still have pride in their communities.       

switzerland?

We arrived in bustling Joseph around noon so we decided to drive through town to investigate the glacial Wallowa Lake, the end of the road.     It was Saturday, in the summer, in the triple digit heat so we weren't surprised to find the swimming area and boat dock at the lake's north end packed with people enjoying the cold, clear water.    We stopped for a few minutes and walked on the dock before following the road around the lake to it's end.    More people.

By then it was nearly 2:30 and the restaurants along the main drag were relatively empty.    We chose one (for no particular reason other than it was in front of the Jeep's parking spot), Embers Brew House, and settled ourselves on a shady picnic table on their patio.     We were far enough from the street to be able to watch the world go by without needing to participate.    We each enjoyed our meals enormously and the people watching was quite entertaining.

Joseph's streets are beautifully landscaped with lovely flowers and many bronze statues depicting things in the area.    In front of the Brew House was a realistic looking mountain lion crawling down some rocks under a shady tree.      The real entertainment was watching strolling dogs (who should not have been on that murderously HOT sidewalk at all - but not every dog owner has the brains they were born with....) do a double take at the big cat.    Some hurried by, pulling their human's arm out of it's socket (fair enough....) but some attacked the lion, barking and snarling at it.   It was a real hoot watching the different reactions.

Yesterday we left LaGrande and headed north to our next stop in Plymouth, Washington.    The landscape along the way was quite a departure from green and mountainous LaGrande and Joseph.     It was all so very blonde   

  

We're in a Corps of Engineers campground just on the Washington side of the mighty Columbia River until Wednesday morning.

Beluga hunkers down in the shade to try and keep cool

It is unbelievably hot here.   I've never been in such heat, and the humidity is higher than we've been used to lately.      Beluga is doing a good job keeping us comfortable but I hate to have her old systems running non stop, 24/7.

Our original reason for stopping here for a few days was to visit a few wineries and  do a little tasting, but the heat has zapped me and the thought of sitting on a patio drinking wine in 115 degree weather is not appealing to either of us.    We took a short drive around the area today just to see what was here and parked beside the river to watch a tug laboring to push two large barges against the strong current.      A quick turn down a gravel track brought us to a marshy area with several small ponds.    We watched birds and ducks for awhile and noticed a shy deer watching us from the shade.

so much milkweed surrounding the ponds - Monarch delicacy!

floating forest

 terrible picture of  mother Wood Duck with her huge brood
quite the responsibility.....

Tomorrow promises to be hotter so I doubt we'll do much more than another short ride around.   Better luck next time.

Uh Oh

During one of Dave's many walk around checks, he discovered that Beluga was bleeding!   Not gushing, but oozing.     Beluga shouldn't be oozing anything, especially in this heat, so he went to work mentally diagnosing, deciding on how serious a problem the red ooze was and how much time he had to fix it.    

He could certainly fix it himself, but had no parts.    Should we wait until we get to Spokane and  make an appointment at a Freightliner dealer,  would the ooze become a gush before then?

We're in LaGrange, Oregon for a few days so we decided to check out the local Freightliner shop on the off chance that they could order a new radiator overflow tank for us and get it in before we have to leave.    We could, perhaps, stay here a little longer to facilitate a later delivery? 

We must be living well because the Parts clerk here actually had ONE exact match tank for our "vintage" girl, in stock!    Our lucky day.

This morning, bright and early, Dave emptied our closet onto the bed, lifted up the floor and got to work.

 

He worked from inside and outside, going back and forth to disconnect, empty the antifreeze without spilling or dripping, remove the oozing tank and reinstalling the new one.   A couple quick trips to the hardware store for a new clamp, more antifreeze and a couple other small things and Beluga was good as new!    No more red liquid oozing from her back end.....and that's a good thing.