Summer of '08

As we headed back to Oregon, the fuel prices were at an all time high. We topped off in Mesa, which was the lowest price at $4.65/gal (diesel), and the highest paid was in Pendelton at $4.79/gal. We paid a total of $708 for 149 gallons for 1535 miles, which averaged 10.3 miles per gallon. We traveled the Mesa-Vegas-Salt Lake City-Boise-Portland route. Just before Provo, Utah, we discovered that we had lost our hydraulic fluid reservoir for the jacks. So we couldn’t put the jacks down for the rest of the trip and several weeks while in Salem. When we eventually got it replaced and installed it cost about $700.

We did make it almost home before we stopped in Hillsboro for granddaughter Emily’s graduation party from Art Tech High School in Wilsonville. Then it was on to the Salem Elks for the summer.


In mid June, David Smith (Desert Belle owner) called and asked us to take a trip to Klamath Falls to evaluate a side-paddle boat for sale that they may purchase for Saguaro Lake. We asked Dick and Colleen Bonney (the other captain) to take the trip with us and examine the engine. The boat needed work and we gave David our opinions.

Shortly after that, Molly & I headed down to the South Umpqua Lighthouse at Winchester Bay to visit Nada and Dorsey Hensley. They had volunteered as tour guides and office help for a month. It was a great outing and we stayed in a nice little motel on the Winchester Bay waterfront.

On July 1st, Molly and I took our real vacation and flew to Chicago to visit Dan & Cathy. They picked us up and then drove to their new place in Elkhart, Indiana. We had a book of 1000 things to do before you die, and asked them if they didn’t have any specific agenda, if we could see some of these places. We got to check off: Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Shipshewana, Amish Acres in Nappanee, and The 100-mile Heritage Trail. Along the way we also did and saw many other interesting things such as the RV Hall of Fame Museum. We spent the fourth of July out on their pontoon boat watching the fireworks, and also did a poker run on their lake.

The last few days before flying home was spend in Chicago marking off some of the 1000 things there. We stayed in a high rise condo over looking the harbor that we had reserved through a friend of a friend of Cathy’s. Some of the 1000 things included: Viewing Chicago’s Architecture, Chicago’s Comedy Scene at Second City, eating Chicago-Style Pizza at Uno Pizzeria, Millennium Park (which we over-looked from our condo), the Shedd Aquarium, Wrigley Field, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Home and Studio in Oak Park, and on the way to the airport we stopped at Superdawg for their well known hot dogs. One of the neatest things experienced in the city was their transit system. We bought a two-day pass on the Elevated Railway (the EL) and traveled all over the city by getting on and off where ever we wanted. It was a great time filled with a lot of activities.

The Frank Lloyd Wright Home was one of several of his houses that we have visited now with Cathy. She got us into appreciating his architecture when we were on our Route 66 trip and visited the Dana House in Springfield, IL. When she visited us in Mesa we toured his studio in Phoenix, Taliesin West. So when we got back to Salem, we decided to visit his only house designed in Oregon at the Oregon Gardens. It was called the Gordon House and was an example of his inexpensive production models.

In August, we decided to travel to the Long Beach Peninsula in the RV to visit Pat & Susan Canniff and Tom & Kathy Edward’s RV lots there. We also visited Dick & Colleen Bonney who lived just across the lake. The weather was rainy and blowing during the visit, but we had a good time. Then we three couples with RV’s headed down to Cathlamet, Washington to the Cruiser’s Rendezvous and the annual pot-luck dinner. It was fun reminiscing with the old Mexican Cruisers.

Bud and Lisa Root invited us to stay in their Time-Share in Rockaway Beach on the Oregon coast during early September. The weather was beautiful and it was nice to just kick back and relax for a week. Thank you Bud & Lisa!

In late September, we finally had to say goodbye to Oregon again and head back to Mesa for the winter tourist season on Saguaro Lake. We decided to head down I-5 through California and then over to Mesa on I-10. With careful planning I only had to stop for fuel once in California. The fuel price was less than this spring ranging from $4.02 in Roseburg, Oregon to $3.61 in Quartzite, Arizona. We paid a total of $533 for 139 gallons for 1377 miles, which averaged of 9.9 miles per gallon. This appeared to be a better route even though it was through California.

When we got into our normal space at Apache Wells RV Resort, I gave David a call to let him know we were back in town. He quickly told me I could do a charter the next day if I wanted. The charter, to make a long story short, was less than ideal. Those people will probably not get the same annual charter that they’ve gotten in the past for their Rosh Hashanah holiday.

Molly flew back to Oregon to attend a quilting retreat in the Cascade Mountains with her sister Joann. Molly had left her machine in Oregon so she wouldn’t have to take it on the plane and Tom & Sue Stose had offered to drive her back to Mesa since they were heading down right after the retreat. Molly had a great time and has already signed up for next year.

While they were driving back, a lady we had talked to about buying a Park-Model here in the park last season, stopped by and made us a very reasonable offer. I called Molly, and she said, "Buy It"! So when she and Tom & Sue arrived, they had a nice furnished place to stay for several days while visiting. They like to tell friends that Molly and Brent are really nice, they even bought us a place just to stay while visiting. It was entirely furnished and had a very comfortable Arizona Room attached with it's own bathroom and large closet.

While Molly was still in Oregon, her sister Joann called. They had had so much fun that she treatened that Molly wasn't going to come back to Mesa until I could find her a place that she could have her sewing machine up all the time rather than continually having to put it away after using it in the RV. So we HAD to buy it! Now Molly has her own sewing machine table in the Arizona Room where she can quilt to her hearts content

Jeanette (Molly’s daughter) had previously been arranging with me for a surprise for Molly’s up coming birthday. Jeanette and Lynda (other daughter) were going to fly in and surprise her. Strangely enough, I kept the secret! At about 9:00 pm on October 31, I got up and said I though I would go get her a birthday present. Molly looked very quizitive and unbelieving. We normally go to bed about that time and watch TV in bed. I told her that I would be gone about two hours and that she may want to stay up and get dressed. More quizitive looks! She though maybe someone may be flying in to surprise her, but the airport is only 20 minutes away. After picking up Lynda from the SW terminal, we waited for about 45 minutes for Jeanette to arrive at the Alaska terminal. When we drove in Molly couldn’t believe it and was showing great emotion, seeing both girls together and knowing they loved her enough to travel a great distance to spend a few days with her on her birthday. The stayed for three nights in our "new condo" so they could have some time to themselves as well.

Shortly after that, our Tucson friends Nada and Dorsey came to spend a night in the park model. We had owned it now for three weeks and we hadn’t even spent a night in it ourselves. Although on Sunday 11/9 we had our HD satellite installed, so on Monday the 10th we finally moved into our "new condo".

I’ll stop our "Summer" summary here with this news. I will continue to update this blog as new events unfold or when I get time. Thanks for caring enough to read it.

Brent