105

Aug. 12-18, 2013 Coeur d'Alene RV Park, Post Falls, ID

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RV LIFE:
I'm finally feeling better. Only took Aleve in the morning and around 3pm.
We have internet! And it's fast! Our famine is over. We are back in civilization, well we're back in a more populated area. Which means we can grocery shop at a large SUPERmarket, we can get gas at a Flying J/Pilot instead of a little Mom & Pop gas/grocery stop.

A silly little thing that is a part of retirement life is, I so look forward to going to bed. When we lived in a house in NJ and were still working, I stayed up quite late even though I had to get up early in the morning. I didn't want to go to sleep. Why? Because once I fell asleep, the next thing would be having to go to my full time job. It's so much nicer waking up living our full time RV life! We have so little responsibility now.

We had an absolutely beautiful drive on Rt. 12 from Silverlake, WA to Yakima, WA. Scott was going to go the "safe" (to him) route North through Seattle which was on Interstate 5. This would have added almost an hour to our drive. Scott is the driver, so whatever he feels better about, I'll agree to...well, maybe I'll just suggest he try an alternate route. Why not? Our Rand McNally RV GPS shows to drive on Rt. 12. We have a POI program that lets us know of overpasses lower than our rig. Our RV GPS should not take us on roads that our RV can't travel. So Scott gave in (as usual) to my suggestion and trusted the GPS. I'm so glad we drove Rt. 12. Beautiful, beautiful drive. It is only a 2 lane road (1 lane each way), but traffic was fine, plenty of pull offs so we didn't hold up traffic. We went from green, beautiful, lush pines to rolling desert like to tall mountain views in the distance. There truly is a vast difference from the West side of the Cascades to the East side of the Cascades. I'll take the West coast, thank you very much! Remember Rt. 12 in Washington State.  If/when we return, I hope to camp along this road. The area around Rimrock Lake (Reservoir) is really beautiful. Quite a few campgrounds in the area. They looked nice from the road. In looking at RV Park Reviews, maybe not so nice. Silver Beach RV Resort looks like it might be a nice stop. Also in the general area is Yakima Sportsman State Park and BLM area Big Pines Recreational Area.

Be careful what you wish for! For about 3 weeks we have been in less populated areas. What beautiful surroundings. I was having a bit of a grocery shopping withdrawal. Our shopping list has been growing and growing. The grocery stores in the area we've been are small and a little higher priced. We really don't mind for the most part. We've been getting some beautiful local fish and produce. But for staples, we've been holding off for cheaper prices. Well, we've made it to the populated area again. After 3 weeks of little traffic and no strips malls, I'm experiencing a rude awakening. Get me outta here!!!! I'll pay the higher prices for the peaceful location.

We're now staying at Coeur d'Alene RV Resort. Nice enough resort, or it would have been in our opinion early on in our RV life, but now, it's way too crowded. A review will follow in a few days. After we registered, Scott showed me our site #....105. Uh oh! Is that a bad omen? Why you ask? Our house address in NJ was 105. I hated that house 18 our of the 22 years we lived there. So 105 is not a good number. And so the bad vibes of 105 continue. Our site is fine. No green area, but a decent patio space and a very important shade tree. But, and the big butt, I mean but, is their confining dog area rules (Pet Peeve). There are plenty of large and small dogs in this large park. We are only allowed to let them relieve themselves in 3 specific areas. This is a LARGE park and walking to these 3 areas we pass plenty of green areas. But NO, you're dog can't go there. How are we to prevent them from stopping to do their business? I basically have to hold them on a short lead and make them heal while walking briskly to the designated area. Sometimes when you gotta go, you gotta go. Lyla has been known to just stop in the middle of the street to poop. I've had to stop traffic so she could finish. And then I had to pick it up of course. Well, this time, Devin started circling and squatting to poop. A lady comes running out yelling, this is not a dog area!, you can't do that here! I can't let my dog there, so you can't either. The inside Debbie is saying FU bitch, but the outside Debbie just looked at her and said I thought this was a dog area. This area was along a fence, lined with pine trees and not mowed under the trees. I'm sure no one is walking in that area. When Devin started squatting, my first thought was, Ugh, how far into those weeds am I going to have to go to pick it up. So, I'm pretty disappointed in this park. Our overnight park yesterday, also only allowed dogs in certain parts.

Speaking of last night's overnight at Yakima River RV Park,
Sunday, 8/12/13, 9:30pm...Scott just came back from taking the dogs to do their final business of the night. Knock, knock knock. Two guys wanted to see our rig. Huh? Well, ok, I guess. One guy was parked next to us in a Silverback also, but his only had one slide, we have 3 slides. We invite them in and they ooh and ahh and say how great our rig is with all the room. They both have cowboy boot, beer mugs and yes they've been drinking. As they talk, we watch them gesture with their hands and the beer mugs are swaying with the movement. That's ok. We took out our carpet, so if they spill anything, it's easy to clean. They stayed for about 15 minutes. They said their wives were too embarrassed to come with them. They were funny guys and it was nice to get compliments on our simple rig compared to many other full time newer rigs.
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RV PARK REVIEW:
Yakima River RV Park - Ellensburg, WA
My rating 2 out of 5
This was just an overnight stop.
The bad rating is heavily weighed upon their restrictive dog walk policy.
$35. for Water & Electric $42. for FHU This is way too much money for this bare bones park.
Accepts Good Sam and Passport America, so we only paid $17.50 which is all it was worth.
A friendly atmosphere, but sites are close together and piggy back, although they did try to put rigs in every other site.

This is our site, which doesn't look too bad. But see our picnic table and the little low log post fence next to it? That is the boundary line for the next site. Very tight. But like I said. They do try to assign to every other site.
Only a port-a-potty.
Free WiFi which worked well.
Lots of rafting on the nearby Yakima River.
Dogs allowed, but only allowed to do their business in the enclosed 75' x 35' dog area. There are signs all over this small park stating this is not a dog area.

It's a nice area with fields surrounding the park with cattle and very friendly horses.

But noooo, your dog can't poop anywhere but the designated area. Ridiculous. That is the reason for the only 2 star rating. Would be a nice cozy social park to stay at if they would lighten up about the dogs.
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PRODUCT REVIEW:
McCormick Perfect Pinch® Salad Supreme Seasoning

I have finally gotten into the habit of making a salad almost every night. I'm actually enjoying the salad more than my meals.



My salad consists of chopped romaine lettuce, coleslaw mix (or shredded cabbage), cucumbers, grape tomatoes, broccoli, feta cheese, dried cranberries, unsalted sunflower seeds and Pinch Salad Supreme seasoning. Dressing is a good flavored balsamic vinegar with a touch of olive oil or fresh lime juice and a good flavored olive oil.
The salad seasoning makes up for not using regular seasoned salad dressing. It has a nice combo of spices and a touch of romano cheese. Yum.

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PETS:

Devin decides the contents of the dumpster smell so good, he's going to drag it home!

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CRAFTS:

 I hope I don't get to the point in life where I need to knit something like this. Although, if this was knit in a solid yarn, it might be a cool piece of furniture. Maybe I could knit something to cover my foot rest that has a hole in it. Hey Merikay, maybe cover it with some great plastic canvas artwork?

Scott said he can fix that. Cover it with duct tape. Ah yes, the man's solution to everything. Of course, duct tape has come a long way. It is now available from Duck Tape in many colors and designs.




There are many crafts that can be done with duct tape. You can make tote bags, wallets, dress forms. etc.

While "googling" for duct tape projects, I even found
A duct tape prom dress.
No way. I'll take soft silk and pretty lace any day.

I think I'll add this to Scott's "honey do list".

 I hope I put a smile on your face today. I sure needed it. Thanks for stopping by!
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WHERE WE'RE GOING:
Aug. 19-28, 2013 Jim & Mary's RV Park, Missoula, MT
Aug. 29-Sept. 1, 2013 Jennifer's Driveway Boondock, Bozeman, MT
Sept. 2-5, 2013 Mammoth Campground, Yellowstone, WY (Tentative)
Sept. 6-15, 2013 Horseshoe Bend Campground NFS, Lovell, WY (Tentative)
Sept. 16-30, 2013 Wheels West RV Park, Custer, SD

south for the Winter of 2013/214