Inked

Aug. 19-28, 2013 Jim & Mary's RV Park, Missoula, MT

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RV LIFE:
I got my first and only tattoo when I was 52 years old. Scott has wanted to get one for the past 4 years and probably before that, but never voiced it.
Being on the road, it's difficult to find a tattoo artist by word of mouth. I do depend a lot on "Yelp" reviews.
While strolling through the busy, but still quaint town of Missoula, we came upon a tattoo parlor, Bound by Glory. We have had some false alarms with Scott's decision whether to get a tattoo or not. He keeps 2nd guessing. I gave up on encouraging him. A tattoo is a permanent piece of art or disfigurement, so let Scott decide when and if ever he'll get a tattoo.

Scott had a general idea of what he wanted. Some kind of Celtic knot and a dog paw print.
This is to represent our love of Irish Setters, especially his "heart dog", Ryley who passed in 2011.


We passed another tattoo parlor while driving. We opted out of stopping at Every Mother's Nightmare tattoo parlor. We naively decided on Bound by Glory  tattoo parlor simply on looks and speaking with the artist.
He just recently opened this store after moving from Austin, TX.

 This is not the way to choose where and who will be sticking you thousands of times with a needle, but...

I had a good feeling about this place.

This parlor was beautiful!

I got my tattoo at Electric Tattoo in Bradley Beach, NJ while still living in NJ. I was still working at the time and one of my co-workers was covered in tattoos. He was a really nice guy so I asked where his artwork was done. I figured with that many tattoos, the guy must be good, clean and safe.



We walked in about 12:30pm and discussed possible designs. Once we FINALLY decided on a design, we put down a $20. deposit to hold our appointment later that day. Now the question is, WHERE will the tattoo be inked? Scott wanted on his shoulder/upper arm area where many old timers got their tats. Yeah, I'm cool, I said tats! He felt he could easily cover it up if needed. What? Cover it up? Huh? I wanted it on the inside or outside of his forearm. Inside would be the compromise. It's noticeable, but not always seen. I dropped Scott off, leaving the final decision up to him. Well, after all, it IS his body. I was hoping for the inside forearm, but figured he'd play it safe and do the shoulder.

Inside forearm $200.00 approx. 4" x 4" 1.5 hours

BUSINESS REVIEW:
Bound by Glory (Facebook page) - Missoula, MT
Our rating 5 out of 5
See above review. Since we don't have much experience our rating doesn't really mean too much.

We're still enjoying this RV park. Mostly quiet with just a couple of noisy "neighbors", meaning, there is a train that goes by within site of the park, but doesn't really bother us. There is also some distant highway noise, but also doesn't really bother us. And once in a while there is a baby crying. Yep, that bothers us. We have some nearby neighbors (not right next to us) that are in a travel trailer. They remind me of the scene in Mary Poppins when she arrives at the house and starts pulling things out of her bag.

Mary has one carpet bag and she pulls out all kinds of things. How DO they all fit in there??? That's what I wonder about this family in the travel trailer. They were here when we arrived. Their trailer is in good condition, their site is kept clean. But throughout the day I see so many different people. I'm so confused. Ends up there are 3 children, a baby, a toddler, and a 10? year old. The kids seem to be well behaved. I saw the 10 year old boy walking their dog, then feeding the dog, then laying in the grass reading. The baby screams/cries a few times a day. It's really not that annoying. I'm just not used to kids.
So the airstream (no slides) is about 25' long and there are 3 kids, 1 20 something girl, and 2 adults, plus a chocolate lab! All in this trailer. If they can handle those close quarters, fine. I'm amazed.
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RV MOD:
Extra light and outside switch for closet.
A while ago, Scott put in an outside switch for our light in the closet. We no longer have to fumble around and feel where the toggle switch is on the light in the dark closet.

See the white switch on the top right?

It's now super easy to turn on and off the closet light. But, there is only one light in the center of the long closet. With clothes hanging up, this does not reach to the drawers on my side of the closet. I'm been using a dedicated flashlight for the task.

Whenever I need a t-shirt from my drawers, I could just blindly pick one out, but sometimes I'm more in the mood for this shirt which means leaves me alone. (Thank you for the shirt Carolyn)

Or maybe I accidentally pull this t-shirt out for meeting a potential adopter of a Setter. Tsk, tsk. That wouldn't do!
The solution? A 2nd light over the drawers on my side of the closet.

Let there be light!

Now there is no excuse for wearing the wrong t-shirt. If you see me wearing the above shirt, say hello to me at your own risk. You have been forewarned!

My, my. I thought Scott & I were somewhat conservative. After all, we are old retired folk. So don't judge us by this blog post only. Getting tattoos and an "R" rated t-shirt. We're a nice quiet couple...really we are!
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FOOD:
Since we ate a large & late breakfast. I was done for the day. No dinner...only dessert!

I went to the Big Dipper and had a double scoop cone of chocolate and white mint chip. The Chocolate was good, but the white white chocolate mint is wonderful! I will be stopping there the day before we leave and taking a pint home!
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RESTAURANT REVIEW:
Uptown Diner - Missoula, MT
Our rating 2.5 out of 5
Can only rate on breakfast.
Very cute decor with lots of memorabilia and turquoise all over.
Waitress very friendly, attentive and efficient. Our breakfast took quite a bit longer to arrive than expected.
Omelet: Fillings of jack cheese, mushrooms, sausage. Delicious fillings, but the omelet itself was very dry. I didn't finish.
Pan Fried Potatoes: Slices of potatoes fried with an "old bay" seasoning on top. Pretty good at first, but after a while, they seemed just like overcooked potatoes.
Pancakes: Very average, to maybe below average. These were also dry.
Huge portions, but I did not bother to take any home because it wasn't good enough.
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SIGHTS:
Garnet Ghost Town -
Our rating 4.5 out of 5
$3.00 per person. ("Free", We used our Nat'l Parks Interagency Annual Pass $80.)
Very dog friendly! The dogs were allowed everywhere including in the visitor center and all the buildings. So nice to sightsee together instead of one of us having to wait outside and take turns touring.
This is another old mining town, like Bodie, CA. Between the ebbing of the Gold Rush and a devastating fire, the town of Garnet was deserted. This is now BLM land and the gov't is also adhering to arrested decay to preserve this town in it's "natural" state.
"The BLM manages Garnet in a state of “arrested decay.”  This simply means that we are attempting to freeze the buildings in time in order to retain an authentic ghost town atmosphere.  We do not bring in buildings from other places to fill the town, and we make every attempt to retain every board in each building.  In that way, when you visit Garnet you can touch the authentic historic fabric that makes the old town an authentic ghost town. "
Bodie, CA Ghost town has many more buildings still standing and a lot of mining equipment to view, but Garnet is still well worth the trip.

Ringer washing machine. I'm NOT old enough to remember these.

Of course being a retired Postal worker, I needed a photo of the Post Office

Wallpaper

 In one building, they had a table set up with items displayed. Next to each item was a flip card. You were to guess what the items were. Do you know what this is on the right? At first I thought it was a large lampshade, but if you look closely, there are tiny wheels on the bottom.


It's a baby walker! I remember them! I think a safer version is probably still used today.

Kitchen

Salon or Parlor or Sitting room

Hotel room

Maid's quarters. 

What was nicer about Garnet than Bodie, is we were able to go INTO a lot of buildings. We were able to go up and view all THREE stories of the hotel. What a treat! Really interesting.
There is a visitors center for cold drinks and info and touristy stuff. There are bathrooms and water fountains. There's even a dog bowl of water for the dogs.
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PETS:
Both dogs enjoyed going into the old buildings of Garnet. Lyla especially liked the ice house which had a floor of saw dust and was at least 15 degrees cooler.
Devin found his own way to cool off.

Someone dumped their ice from a cooler. Devin snatched it up and carried it around for a while.

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WHERE WE'RE GOING:
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

West Coast

May 8 - 19, 2013 (12 days) - Azalea Glen RV Park, Trinidad, CA

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RESTAURANT REVIEW:
We decided to venture into the little town of Trinidad. Really not very large and not much to see. There is a museum which we did not visit, there's a couple of seashore gift shops, a small but decent grocery store, and a few restaurants...oh and a Post Office.
We stopped at The Lighthouse Grill for lunch. This is the same place that was set up at the Arcata Farmer's Market selling their Mashed Potato cone.
The Lighthouse Grill, Trinidad, CA
Our rating 4.5 out of 5
Very casual little restaurant with no waitress service & clean up your own table. Also there is just as much or more outdoor seating as inside. Unfortunately, dogs were not allowed at the outside seating. So much for the "dog friendly West Coast". They have baskets with blankets available in case you want  to eat al fresco when there's a chill in the air.
Inside there were art pieces for sale, both paintings and handmade jewelry. Scott especially liked this painting.

I liked the light wall sconces.

Scott was in the mood for fish and chips. The fish was your typical batter fried. Typical not meaning blah. They were very good and what we were hoping and expecting. It came with homemade fries which is always a treat.
I knew I wanted to splurge on the homemade fries, so I opted for just a Greek Salad, plus a side of fries.

Excellent salad with homemade croutons. Unfortunately the idea of homemade croutons is nice, but they were so hard, I couldn't bite into them.

The fries were above average, but somewhat soft & saggy. I prefer mine crispier.
The next day we returned for their home made ice cream. They only have a few flavors and it changes day to day according to what they make.
I chose French Vanilla and Dark chocolate in a home made waffle cone. Scott had Banana Cashew ice cream. The waffle cone was excellent. The ice cream flavors were great especially the Banana. Fresh banana flavor with just a touch of cashew. I think walnut or pecan would have been a better choice, but it was still excellent. The vanilla had great flavor but was a little grainy/icy for my preference. The texture reminded me of ice milk instead of cream. The chocolate was very chocolatey. Yum! The chocolate has a better texture also.
I would definitely return for both a meal and desert.
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BUSINESS REVIEW:
Katy's Smokehouse, Trinidad, CA
Our rating 4 out of 5
Very expensive, but this is a small business run behind their home. The seafood is all caught locally and they smoke it all themselves.

We haven't tried everything we bought, so difficult to rate. So far we've had the maple smoked salmon which was delicious.
We also had their canned tuna. Do you remember when you could get the fancy tuna in cans and it actually looked like fish meat? Well that's the way this is. At $7.99 for a 7.5 ounce can, it's pricey, but I think it's worth the splurge..
The man behind the counter was very informative, but also a little gruff. I asked if the smoked fish means I don't have to cook it. He looked at me as if I was stupid. Maybe it was a stupid question, but he shouldn't have shown it. But he did answer my question. Then I asked about the canned tuna and he told us how it is canned and the quality and care taken. He was very passionate about his products. I would definitely buy the tuna on a regular basis if we lived around here.
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SIGHTS/RECREATION/VIEW:
When we arrived at Azalea Glen RV park, we were given a nice cheat sheet of things not to miss in the area. This sheet stated how far from the park the sights were & also if dogs were allowed off leash, on leash or not allowed. We had a number of items checked to explore. We started with the closest spots with the dogs and the next day we would venture further without the dogs.
First day was Dry Lagoon, Agate beach and Redwoods. Second day was to be about 20 miles away in a forest where you have a good chance of seeing Roosevelt Elk. Roosevelt Elk were on the way to extinction with only a couple of hundred left. With conservation efforts, they are now in the thousands.
So off we go to Dry Lagoon...
Stop! STOP! LOOK! Roosevelt Elk are in the field!

I love the way they lay down with their necks all stretched. Reminds me of our Setter, Devin.
After seeing this herd of Elk so easily, I started wondering if they were here all the time and this was not a big deal. When we passed by a couple of days later, the field was empty. So we were very fortunate to see this large herd of over 50 Elk so close. I was surprised at how relaxed they were. There did come a point while I was taking photos that a "bull" took notice of me and kept a watch on me as I walked back to our truck across the street.

Check Elk off our list for the 2nd day. Been there, done that!
Arriving at Dry Lagoon, I was again car sick. Bleck! I can't handle these curvy roads.
We had a great time at Dry Lagoon beach. Totally different than New Jersey beaches. There are flowers growing all along the beach in the sand.

There are huge pieces of driftwood. They are beautiful! I would love to have some in my backyard.

This inspires me to plant flowers in the crevices of this beautiful chunk of driftwood.

Well, if only I had a permanent yard! I'll just keep that garden idea in the back of my mind for potential future use.

Isn't this grain gorgeous??? 

I have no i imagination but this sure looks like it would make a beautiful piece of furniture or art piece. Just imagine it with a layer of poly on it to make it glow! I almost would like to frame this photo above.

Of course, Scott had a couple of geocaches to find while on the beach. You lead Honey, I'll follow. Oh Sweetie, did you plan this ahead of time?

I wonder what the story behind this is.

No Scott didn't plan this, but he did find this stone and gave it to me.

Can we all say Awwww?
There are rocks and stones all over the beach. Ever since New Mexico, I've really gotten into collecting pretty rocks. What's nice about the rocks and stones on this beach is that the sand and Ocean have already started the finishing process.

What kind of rock is this?

Did I fool you? This is actually a smoothed out piece of driftwood, not a rock. It fooled me until Scott picked it up.

Wouldn't that green stone make a beautiful pendent? Hmmm. I wonder if I'll ever get into simple jewlery making and get some use out of my collecting. That would be a great way to use tokens of our travels.

Here's my rock stone stash I collected.

My favorite is the black & white speckled stones.
Check Agate Beach off our list since we got our fill at Dry Lagoon.

MORE SIGHTS:
While visiting the town of Trinidad, we stopped along the beach. In order to get down to the actual beach we had to go down a slew of stairs.

But if we go down, that means we have to climb back up. Ugh!

Don't worry about me Honey, I'll catch up.

My trusty Setter, Devin who loves to pull on a leash will help me up. Don't you know, he did not pull at all! So much for help. I'm so out of shape.
We all had a great time exploring the Trinidad Beach. I'm so glad we took the dogs along. They had a blast with all the smells and rocks to climb.

Both dogs were fascinated with these long things.

But they must taste pretty bad, because Devin would start to carry it around and then suddenly spit it out and look at it like yeck!









At this beach we also saw some animals.

Sea Lions and Seals

??

Starfish

All in all, we've had a really nice time in Northern California. I was definitely prejudiced against California. I generalized it and threw all the bad parts of Southern California to all of California. Northern California is definitely a nice place to visit, but still wouldn't want to live there because of the taxes, government, etc.

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May 31 - Jun 13, 2013 (2 weeks) - Diamond Lake RV Park, Diamond Lake, OR

June 14 -23, 2013 Armitage County Park, Eugene, OR

WA, ID, MT, ND, SD, WY, then south for the Winter of 2013/214

Homeless or Hipster

May 8 - 19, 2013 (12 days) - Azalea Glen RV Park, Trinidad, CA

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Just a quickie post. I just haven't felt like posting, but I sure have been reading blogs! We'll be on our way to Oregon and I'll catch up with you there later. 

RV LIFE:

It's been really nice to stay at a beautiful and relaxing area for almost 2 weeks. This RV park is quiet, lush greenery, with hiking right across the street.

I've enjoyed just sitting outside with the dogs. We even had a campfire a couple of cool afternoons. We should do that more often. I'm still amazed how little time Scott & I spend together. If he's upstairs in the bedroom watching TV, I'm downstairs in the living room reading, or on the computer. Then Scott comes downstairs, turns on the TV, so I then head outside.  I like quiet. So it's nice when we have a campfire. We spend some "quality" time together.

Northern California is a beautiful area of our country.

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BUSINESS REVIEW:

Harper Motors Ford Dealership, Eureka, CA

We had more truck maintenance/repairs to be be done. It seems every 2-3 months we're handing over $300-$500. for something. Scott brought the truck in to get the oil changed. The dealer found the water separator drain on the gas filter disintegrated. So we ended up replacing that and the fuel filter, air filter, etc.

Nice dealership started, in the winter of 1912 Harvey M Harper and his family drove a Model T from Phoenix, AZ to Eureka, CA to establish a Ford dealership.  Over 100 years later that dealership is still owned and operated by the Harper family.. 

The part had to be ordered, and were told we shouldn't drive the truck. The part should be in the next day. They have a free shuttle service, so they brought Scott back to our RV and the next day picked him up. This is a 1/2 hour trip each way. Nice service.

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SIGHTS:

"When I drive through Hillcrest, I play a game: homeless person or hipster." 

-- Maggie J. Little Rock, AR

That's exactly how we feel here in Northern California. There are so many people riding bicycles with packed saddle bags or people wearing heavy clothing and carrying large tote bags while trying to hitch a ride. Many are really scruffy looking young people. Are they homeless? Are they here in California for the experience? They mostly look homeless to me.  A lot of hitch hikers!

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BROWSING THE WWW://

You Tube Downloader is a simple free program that enables you to easily download You Tube and some other site videos and save to your computer.  I mainly use this to save Craft instruction videos.

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AUDIO BOOK REVIEW:

The Racketeer by John Grisham
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Decent mystery investigating the murder of a judge. A little drawn out at times, but interesting to see all the different avenues taken to find who murdered the judge & why.

RV Park Review: AZALEA GLEN RV PARK, Trinidad, CA

RV PARK REVIEW:

May 8 - 19, 2013 (12 days)

Azalea Glen RV Park, Trinidad, CA

Site# 37   Price $34./night

Our rating 4.5 out of 5

SITES: Sites are tight, BUT because they have them divided by lattice fence and at this time of the season, covered with ivy, or trailing flowering vines, the sites were beautiful and private.

Our site

HOOK UPS: FHU

BATHROOMS: Very clean and private shower.

LAUNDRY: Nice little laundry room that was clean.

PETS: Pet friendly. Two areas for dog business.

WIFI: Free and very good.

VERIZON INTERNET: Very Good

SPRINT INTERNET:

VERIZON PHONE: Very good

AT&T PHONE: Good

BOOK EXCHANGE: Nice book exchange in laundry room

ACTIVITIES: Relaxing.

MAIL DELIVERY ACCEPTED: Not sure, but I think so.

AREA/TOWN/SIGHTS: Lots to do in the area. Redwood forest, Pacific ocean, lots of hiking.

This park would have gotten a perfect score if the sites were a bit larger.

Owner's were very nice and have a great Golden Doodle. Ed said they hope to have a dog park by next year!

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BROWSING THE WWW://

Regarding my Kindle vs. paperbacks post prior:

Kerri M. commented:

"I also love my Kindle and totally agree that free trumps all. :) That's why if you haven't already you should check out One Hundred Free Books! They offer free or low cost books for your kindle. It give you the chance to meet new authors, discover unexpected gems, and rediscover old favorites. I highly recommend it!"

So I signed up for One Hundred Free Books and I'm already overwhelmed. So much to read! Thanks Kerri for the site reference!

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PETS:

I'm finding that California is not as "pet friendly" as I thought. Many of the campgrounds allow dogs, but charge extra for each dog daily!

Also, it seems the State Parks do not allow dogs on the trails. I was walking in Patrick's Point State Park, which is right across the street from our RV park. I took the dogs with me and followed the paved roads which led me to what sounded like what might be a dog park. I heard a lot of what I thought was barking. But the sign stated, no dogs beyond this point. As I listened more carefully I got so excited! I THINK I'm hearing seals! I thought I wouldn't see them until we went to the Oregon coast. Sure enough, there are seals all over the huge mounds coming out of the Ocean. I'll be back without the dogs for a closer look and photos. Also while in the state park, there were signs for hikes on the rim with distances. So inviting, but again, no dogs on trails. Sigh. 

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WHERE WE'RE GOING:

May 20 - May 30 (11 days) - Humbug Mtn. State Park, Port Orford, OR

May 31 - Jun 13, 2013 (2 weeks) - Diamond Lake RV Park, Diamond Lake, OR

June 14 -23, 2013 Armitage County Park, Eugene, OR

WA, ID, WA, MT, ND, SD, WY, then south for the Winter of 2013/214