19 October ‘08

Sunday

In response to my family’s comments regarding the lack of entries and photos, I’m afraid to say that for some reason I’ve had less enthusiasm in writing my blog lately.  It’s got to be a little boredom in my writings, but I will get over it soon.  Having been either at Farragut or here in Coeur d’Alene for the last 3 months (the longest we have ever stayed in one place since January 2004), I’ve found myself being too much of a “couch potato”… well maybe not, but it’s been pretty much the same ole chores, scenery, and…hell, it’s just that I really want to get back on the road !!!  Inevitably when writing a daily journal over the last 4+ years, I’m lucky this was the first real dry period.  I know, it’s all the politics…the economy…old age…who knows???  Actually it’s not all that bad.  We’ve really been enjoying ourselves a lot.  We’ve had a couple of wonderful meals (and I do mean “WONDERFUL MEALS”) at Frank and Lynn’s home, met Larry and Pauline for dinner in town a couple of times (great company, incredibly bad food) and had a chance to meet Sid and Julie, good friends of Lar and Paul’s.  Sid and Julie own StanCraft Boats here in Coeur d’Alene.  They build some of the most beautiful “Classic Custom Wooden Boats” you will ever see and I wanted to put their web address here for you to see (  www.stancraftboats.com  ).  Stan also has re-built a stunning 1934 Cadillac Sedan. 

Louise and I were invited to take a ride through town with them the other night.  We sat in the backseat in TOTAL LUXURY!!!  Not only is the exterior of this car PERFECT,

the interior is even better.  This was really a treat and one that we’ll remember for a long time.  Beyond that, we’ve had a chance to spend some great time with Bruce and Peg, especially since we’re sharing the same campground.  We did take a day and visit Spokane.  Finding a parking space that wouldn’t cost us an arm and a leg wasn’t so easy, but once we did we were out to see the sites.  First we had to make a phone call…Ann, Louise’s sister, works downtown in Spokane so we called to see if she wanted to join us for lunch. 

 We met at Spokane’s Antique Merry-Go-Round in the park and headed out to find the best hotdog stand in town.  I’ve got to tell you, this “German” hotdog I had was the best hotdog I’ve ever had and we even had to eat it while sitting at the curb right in front of the largest bank in town.  Heck, it was just like one of our best haunts in Cabo…  Louise and I even rode the tram which travels down over the Spokane River and the dam.  We haven’t taken that ride since it first opened with the Spokane World’s Fair in 1974…we had some wonderful memories.  The fairgrounds have changed considerably but I think to the best, it is quite beautiful, especially when it’s warm and the sun is shining.  Last night the campground had a special visitor…  A rider rode up on his bicycle, set up his tent, pulled out his cooking gear and quickly made his dinner.  Now I know that this doesn’t always indicate “a special visitor”, but Chris and his Nomad Adventure are. 

Chris has ridden his bicycle through 5 CONTINENTS and is still going.  He is from France and has traveled over 20,000 miles so far…summer, winter, spring, and fall.  You might want to check-out his web-site www.nomadno.overblog.com.  It’s all in French but his photography is unbelievable…check it out. 

                                   Our Last Campfire at Snowberry

1 October ‘08

Wednesday

Well our time at being a camp host at Farragut State Park has once again come to an end.  Heck, this is the second time in two months and the second time in 3 years.  I must admit, we’ve had a great time and sorry to see the summer coming to an end.  We received an email from Ralph and Susan (a couple that we met at a campground in Turkey).  On the subject line Susan wrote “In Idaho”, meaning that they were in Idaho.  What they didn’t know was that Louise and I were just 18 miles away.  They had come down from their newly built home in Calgary to stay a week in a timeshare condominium they had traded into. 

All of us were caught by surprise in this coincidence.  It’s been since the 4^th of November in 2004 that Louise and I pulled into a campground in Kas, Turkey only to find a white VW Campervan from Canada sitting right next to us.  We did see each other for a quick breakfast this last December as they were heading into the Baja for the winter.  Louise and I really enjoyed their visit, short, but very enjoyable…we’ve got to do it again soon.  Now back to Farragut…  This has been a busy time for the park.  Just like Gilmore in August, Snowberry in September has been unbelievably busy.  There were quite a few mornings that we had 25 to 35 campsites to get ready for the next camper coming in.  The other day, Louise and I grabbed our ladder, put it into the car, and went up to the “Rangers Residence” area.  They have some very old and not so very well cared for apple trees.  The apples are small and aren’t very sweet but Louise wants to make applesauce.  I’ve got to hand it to her, she knows what she’s doing…the applesauce is absolutely amazing.  Well our time at Farragut has come to an end, October has arrived, and we have made the 25 miles south to Coeur d’Alene.  We are now camped within the city of CDA and will be here until the end of the month.  As we pulled into the park (Riverwalk RV Park) we were met by a couple very familiar faces.  Bruce and Peg had just returned from their European camping adventure and had beaten us here by a couple of days.  I mentioned their trip and blog in my last posting…check it out, you won’t be disappointed.  Tonight Peg joined us for the “Vice Presidential” debates and doing so, gave us lot’s to talk about.  Oh ya, I forgot to mention, we finally got our wiring problem fixed after having our new inverter put in.  We now have our microwave back…thank God.  I made an appointment with Erickson RV prior to leaving Farragut so as we pulled into CDA, we went immediately over to Erickson’s.  It is amazing how good we feel now that we have the microwave in working order.