Crunch Time!

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CONTENTS

TENNESSEE LIFE

RV LIFE

PETS

CRAFTS

BROWSING THE WWW

TENNESSEE LIFE:
It's been yucky hot here lately. But it doesn't feel any different than in NJ. Except here I have a huge porch and view of our green yard & woods to look at instead of looking into our neighbor's yard hoping they don't talk to me. Now that the cicadas are gone, the flies are here. I'm told it is worse than most years. At least they don't bite, they are just annoying landing here and there on my skin.

I've never seen THIS in NJ!!! 

Our property tax rate is going DOWN! What??? Yes down! The board feels they have enough to work with. In NJ, it's always more, more MORE! It's for the children. The middle school HAS to have an Olympic sized swimming pool. How can we deprive the CHILDREN???? Yea, it would be nice, but let the parent's raise the money for the pool and maintenance. We never had children, so never used the school system, yet had to paid the ridiculous school taxes. I have to think of it as securing our future, since the children are our future, but they don't need the best of everything to make theirs and our future bright.
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RV LIFE:
No, we don't have an RV life right now. Our RV is a mess and I really need to take the time to clean it up in case we need to get up and go in a hurry. But...
we did have an RV friend visit! Our 1st and hopefully not last.

Mary Anne of  Not lost, Just Wandering blog came by for a visit for a couple of days. How we met and how things ended up is just part of the wonderful full-time RV lifestyle and a part that I dearly miss.
We met Mike and Mary Anne while staying at Port Hudson RV Park in Port Townsend, WA. They were parked right next to us and the sights were very close. They had two of those itty yappy type dogs, but their dogs weren't yappy! Yea! Mike is very outgoing and will talk with anyone that comes along his path. He happened upon someone that had just caught a load of crabs. His new friend gave him a whole bunch of them! In turn, Mike doing the neighborly thing, shared the crabs with us. Little did he know he could kill me with that gesture since I'm allergic to shellfish. But that didn't stop Scott from enjoying them! From there we got to talking and somehow we mentioned Hidden Valley Ranch in Deming, NM as a great place to winter. Sure enough, we spent 2 months at Hidden Valley during our last Winter on the road and Mike and Mary Anne were right next to us and staying for 3 months!

Sadly, Mike had a heart attack after they left Hidden Valley and passed. What did Mary Anne do? Move to Kansas City to be near her relatives? Nope! She knew where she wanted to be. She had their 5th wheel moved back to Hidden Valley Ranch and leased a permanent spot. If something happened to Scott, I would seriously consider the same plan. Hidden Valley Ranch is our favorite RV park as far as hospitality. NM is not our prime environment, but the wonderful owners and residents there make up for the desert environment.
Mary Anne bought a little R-Pod so she could still travel and it seems to all be working out well for this independent woman. She came East to visit some Civil War sights and since we were on the way, she stopped by for a couple of days. It was great having her here.

We have since received an unexpected, unnecessary, but much appreciated thank you gift from Mary Anne. A package from Harry & David came the other day. Triple Berry Jam and Raspberry Jam survived. Mary Anne took note that I have toast with PB & J almost every morning, so she knew the jam was the perfect gift. That's one of the things we miss about traveling. At local markets, we usually were able to pick up some interesting and tasty jams. I also mix a touch of jam in cottage cheese to add a bit of sweetness and flavor. Yum!
On a sad note...only two of the 3 jars survived. The packing list said the 3rd jar was "Tart Red Cherry", but the jar that broke was Peach. Maybe it committed suicide because of an identity crisis! The triple berry and raspberry survived. Scott said that packing was very bad.

Have you ever tried their hot and sweet pepper relish and mix it with cream cheese? Addicting!!!!
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PETS: 
Crunch, crunch, CRUNCH! What is that sound? Hmm, it's coming from the living room. Ryan's probably just chomping on another stick. I better take it from him. We don't need any bowel obstructions.

Ewwwww!
Damn, that "toy" is really messed up! I don't remember a toy that makes a crunchy sound. Better make sure it's safe for our dogs.
Yeck! Yeck! Ohhhhh! Nooooo! It's a dead squirrel on our COUCH! Thank goodness we put old blankets on the couch to protect from our dirty dogs.
Scott was still asleep, so it was my job to clean up. Ewwww! Again, glad to have that old blanket on the couch. Off with the blanket and the squirrel inside. Open blanket over garbage and squirrel is gone. Thank your Ryan!

I am now admitting defeat. Between my hours on the computer doing dog rescue work and having 5 permanent dogs and 1 foster dog, I am overwhelmed.  Lesson finally learned...well, sort of.
Since I have 5 dogs and don't see that shrinking for a couple of years at least...I hope, I might as well continue to foster dogs. 2 dogs is perfect. 3 dogs is nice if you have a house. 4 dogs is still ok, but now getting to be a bit much. After 5, it doesn't matter because they are not going to get the attention and care needed anyway.

Setters need grooming. All but one of my dogs hate to be groomed, so it can only be done in small stages time 5 which means a lot of stages. One of our dogs has to be sedated to be groomed! So,  our Setters are not sleek, but fluffy, with spiked hair on their heads, flyaway hair on their sides, mats behinds their ears, and who knows what in the paws with all that hair to live in.

Training a foster? Difficult when there are 5 other dogs that want those yummy treats I'm using for incentive. I have to go off into one of our HOT garages to train and I hear my own dogs barking at the fence wondering why they were invited to the party.

I need a spreadsheet to keep track of who is due for the vet and for what. Heart worm pills must be given monthly and come in a 6 pack, so each month I practically use a whole pack at $50.00 a 6-pack. With a foster dog, I DO use the whole pack!

I'm not getting anything physical done. No woodworking, no preparing the RV for storage or traveling, no exercising, and on and on. I sit like a lump of lard (and look like it too) all day on the computer.

We currently have another foster dog. A 3 year old English Setter who is deaf. Deafness really isn't a big deal. Dogs learn sign language quickly. You just need to get them to look at you and you to give them a sign command and you cannot let them off leash in an unfenced area. Other than that...not a big deal. His name is Oscar and he's a sweet dog. He follows me wherever I go. But he's another dog that doesn't play nice with our dogs. So again, our house is split in two by an xpen to keep the dogs separate. Sigh. We've had him for about a month. He is getting adopted in about a week and moving to NY state.

Oscar

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CRAFTS:
I'm winding down on the Mystery Knit-a-longs I've been doing. I had two scheduled to begin in July. One was cancelled and the other I felt was too difficult for me to deal with right now with all the dogs and rescue work.
I finished a very boring MKAL called Alpine Scarf. Most MKAL are a challenge, whether a big challenge or small challenge, with a different pattern of knitting for each clue. There are usually at least 4 clues with usually more like 5-6 clues. This Alpine Scarf had 3 clues, but the 1st and last clue were the same. BORING!!! Then the long middle was the same pattern over and over. It's a nice scarf but I don't plan on joining this designers future MKAL's.
I have enough scarves. Anyone want this one? My gift to you for reading my blog. It's machine washable, made with 80% Acrylic, 10% Wool, 10% Mohair.

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BROWSING THE WWW:

Mom in back with 4 babies

I used to foster guinea pigs when we lived in NJ. We had a small house and 4 dogs already, so had no room for fostering dog. Me, being the rescue friendly person I am, found out about a rescue for guinea pigs! There is a rescue for just about any animal. I fostered piggies for about 4 yrs and had 2 litters born in my care. Guinea pigs do not eat their young and they are born fully formed. They look just like mini piggies!
Guinea pigs are great pets for children. Fairly easy care, rarely bite and usually just because they think it's food. Lives longer than hamsters/gerbils. More to cuddle with.Anyway, my reason for bringing this up under "browsing the www" is because there is a great you tube channel called "Talking Animals". This guy does quality work! There is no way you won't be laughing by the end of the video. I especially love the guinea pig videos, because they "talk" so fast! Here's a link to just one of his talking piggie videos. Laugh on! Just have to add another link. He got Ricky Gervais to help him with one. Check it out.

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BOOK REVIEWS:

The Color of the Season by Julianne MacLean
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A romance and working through grief. I kept waiting for this to turn into a religious book for some reason, but it never came to that.
The book leaves you wondering as you did probably prior to reading the book, if the dead can communicate with the living. Do people that have "died" and been revived really see the other side and can they make a decision whether to go on or give up?

Bowling Avenue by Ann Shayne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Was going to rate this 4 stars, which of course is a very good rating, but as I neared the end, my emotions took over and I realized what a great "self-help" book this was, but told as a wonderful story.
The book is full of words of wisdom to think on.
"...not talking is a great way to not solve problems."
"Misery shared, is misery halved." or "Joy shared, is joy doubled."
"Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards."
"Attention is the rarest kind of generosity."

Multiple characters all with their own secrets, emotional immaturity or maybe better called severely controlled emotions. Instead of sharing with a friend or relative, things are held in so not to hurt another person. So things fester and impressions are made because of truths not spoken. I found the book very thought provoking as well as entertaining.

Being a knitter, I enjoyed the references to yarn & knitting also.

Carved in Bone by Jefferson Bass
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I enjoy reading medical mysteries. I enjoy learning from the medical staff's point of view.
I was excited to read this. Being a new resident of TN and a "fan" of the concept of the body farm, I thought this book would be a slam dunk for me.
10% in and I was ready to quit. Boring! Too much detail into the actual medical procedures, reasons, effect, etc of death on the human body. Interesting, but just too much info. I felt like I was back in school, reading a textbook.
I plodded on. 20% into the book, now it was getting a little more exciting and was getting my imagination warmed up to what may be ahead. Murder, rednecks, corrupt police, backwoods entrepreneurs, danger...
Seems by 70% into the book, the author is learning how to write. Seems like a totally different book. Quirky characters, some extra twists, who's good, who's bad, who's just weird. A little bit of Carl Hiaasen like.
Maybe there's hope since the author improved greatly within the span of one book.
I will probably try his next in the series, but don't expect much. I hope to be pleasantly surprised.
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AUDIO BOOKS REVIEW:
The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Eh...
Two separate storylines, that I expected to intermingle at one point. Back and forth between two couples. One couple has been together for 75 years, the other is just beginning. This was an audible book and although the narration was excellent, the story of the senior couple, Ira & Ruth was quite drawn out. I get it, Ruth was Ira's whole life, his one and only love. Let's move on.
The younger couple, Luke and Sophia was more interesting, but almost too sappy, predictable. I thought I was reading a harlequin type romance.
The ending is what made this book. How the two couple eventually connected. And yes, in typical Sparks tradition, it was very romantic, very sad, yet heartwarming...at the end. A lot of slow moving to get to a sweet ending.

Wet dogs, wet people

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

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RV LIFE:
Ahhhh, blogging is good for the soul. I feel so much better after my rant about the RV park. Finding and editing images to post distracted me from what I was so angry about.
I am now on my 2nd glass of wine. One glass is usually sufficient to relax me. But today is a 2 glass day after finding out about the extra charge for our dogs.
I was so looking forward to visiting this area. Years ago we saw a real estate ad for a lovely piece of property reasonably priced. So our goal has always been to check out this area.
I think next time we are in this area, we will  stay near another lake that is less popular to get a better feel for the country life of Northern Idaho.
We did pick up a couple of free real estate mags. Droooool! There are still parcels of land with nice acreage and even a house on it. We are more interested in the land and area first. The house comes second. We are simple folks and don't need a 2500+ square foot house. But I would like a garage or barn for turn into a kennel to temporarily foster hard to place English Setters. We'd also like some kind of water element, whether it be lake, pond, river, or stream. I prefer being surrounded by pine trees, but open enough to hike through. We will have a good portion fenced for our dogs. Just thinking out loud. We're not ready to settle yet.  There's still too much to see.
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SIGHTS:
Coeur d'Alene Lake - Coeur d'alene, ID
Our rating 5 out of 5
What a lovely lake with so much to do.
Hovercraft Rides
Cruise Lake Coeur d'Alene on a double deck pontoon type boat.
Kayak on the lake
Fishing on the lake
Parasail over the lake
Hike along the lake which is what we did. We hiked Tubbs Hill, which is about a 2.5 mile loop.
One half is along the water and the other is inland through the woods.

Mudgie the Moose
Millie the mouse on antler

This trail is also called The Mudgie & Millie Trail. They have a sign letting us know of the adventure of Mudgie Moose looking for Millie Mouse along this trail. What a great way to get kids excited about hiking.

We were surprised that the path was so rustic. We were expecting blacktop, but it is packed dirt with roots and rocks making for an uneven walkway. We even came upon a swinging bridge!

My brave husband and not so brave Devin (see him creeping along?) walked the bridge first. Scott strongly suggested I take the alternate path around on solid ground. The bridge really wiggled and Scott had to keep Devin close for fear of him taking the lesser of two evils and jumping off! There were also gaps between the wooden planks that a dog's paw could easily get caught in. I took Scott's advice and walked around.
It was a beautiful walk with many areas to stop and take a dip in the lake.

The day we hiked was cooler, "only" 86° instead of in the 90's. Fat Debbie refused to wear shorts, so was hiking in jeans and a black t-shirt.
The water was beautiful and so inviting!

We found a spot that was actually like a mini beach. We were quite overheated by this time, so the water called. First the dogs went in, then Scott went in, then Debbie went in.  Devin wants to keep his feet on solid ground while in the water, Scott & Debbie waded. Then Scott went deeper into the water hoping to teach Devin that it's ok to not touch ground and actually swim. Slowly and repeatedly, Scott would throw a stick just far enough that Devin would have to swim to get it. Our baby swam! Scott got is shorts drenched.

And yes, I decided to not care what others thought and I slowly waded deeper and deeper until was over waist deep in the water, in my jeans. But oh, the water felt so good. And the lake bottom was covered in smooth small pebbles, so it was like a massage on our feet. Heaven on Earth!

After a few romps through the water, Lyla was happy to just observe.

This was our swimming spot. Nice, huh?

We were at almost the 1/2 way point of the loop. So the walk back was very comfortable with my wet jeans to keep me cool.

Scott found three geocaches along this loop. The final one he had a little difficulty with. Is it above or below? Dang, it's below. Here's Scott helping Devin down the little "cliff" to get to the geocache.

This is a great vacation spot. They have a high rise hotel or a beautiful wood Adirondack type hotel both lakeside with beach and marina access.

They are currently upgrading McEuen Park near the entrance to Tubbs Hill. There will be a splash pool, playground and dog park!
Hike around Coeur d'Alene
North Idaho Centennial Trail
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PETS:
We attended the Mutt Strut in Liberty Lake, WA. This brought back many memories of when I would set up for events on the weekends for A&B Eng. Setter Rescue.
We arrived around 10:30 and the "strut" was already over. The signs for the walk were taken down already. We were able to still see a couple of vendors/rescues. Angie, an A&B foster mom introduced me around. Networking is very important in rescue. How can a rescue based in NJ have a foster home in WA. And how can a foster home in WA, transport their foster dog to the adoptive family in TX? Through wonderful volunteers that have connected through networking.
The Mutt Strutt was put on by Pawpular Companions Pet Supplies. This is a great pet supply store in Liberty Lake, WA. Great food, lots of interesting treats, plenty of leashes and yes, even froufrou attire for the itty bitty dogs. The Strut (walk) was to benefit Higher Ground Animal Sanctuary. "Like" them on facebook!
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BUSINESS REVIEW:
Alsin-Finch - Spokane Valley, WA
"For the animals in your life"
Our rating 4 out of 5
Sort of like a PetSmart but with better quality food. They carried Taste of the Wild dog food, which is what we feed our dogs. PetSmart does not carry this.

I want him!!!

I gave Devin & Lyla a bath the other day. They both are not happy at all about bath time, but afterward, they love getting rubbed down with the towel. Then we need to make sure they don't roll in the dirt. So here is the alternative.

Wish I could edit to add what she's thinking, like this video below.

Actually, I picture Devin more hurt by how mean I could be , by thinking "I thought we were bonding since we now cuddle at night. How can you be so mean to dump that water all over me and humiliate me in public?"
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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

Doggie chaos

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

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Are you gathering the rosebuds of today or do they wilt while you wait for tomorrow?

"Stolen" from Mary-Pat of Butterflies and Heart Songs
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RV LIFE:
My neck and shoulder pain has finally subsided. No pains meds at all, not even aspirin.

It's a beautiful morning! Low humidity, cool temp and lovely breeze. Even with the garbage truck banging the dumpster right next to our site, I'm still enjoying the outdoors under a young, but still shade giving maple tree. Ahhhh.
Even so, I'm will not be sorry to leave this cookie cutter type resort.

I was able to meet up with another Above & Beyond English Setter volunteer. Angie J. is a fairly new foster mom for our dog rescue. She is very dog savvy and is great at evaluating and training dogs for future adoption. It was a big step for our rescue to expand way out to the state of Washington. Our rescue is originally based out of PA/NJ.
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PETS:
Foster Mom, Angie currently has 2 English Setter foster dogs. SARGE is now ready for adoption. He is about 1 year old and oh, such a sweetheart!!!! He just curls up to you and cuddles. He played great with our goofy Setter, Devin. Angie also has 4 dogs of her own, including a puppy. Quite a houseful, but all well taken care of and well behaved.

Sweet Sarge greets Scott

Service dog Chloe & Scott

Looks are deceiving. They are having fun!

Rut Ro! GSD puppy, Ziggy has my sunglasses.

Abigail? staying near Mom.

Lyla's ready to go home.

Bye, bye Sarge. You'll find a great home I'm sure!

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RV MOD/TIP:
Reflectix Insulation
Our rating 4 out of 5
Would have received a perfect score if it somehow looked nicer on the outside.
We finally gave in and joined the white trash look of RV'rs. We put up Reflectix over our RV windows. Reflectix is just like the silver bubble stuff you use to put on your car windshield to protect it from the sun.
We've been in 90° weather recently. Yes, it dry, only about 25% humidity, but it's still hot. Our AC keeps running and running and running to keep our indoor temp about 76 - 78°. That used to be fine for me, but since I am now a woman of a "certain age", I definitely NEED the temp cooler!
After putting up the Reflectix, our AC is running much better. It is cycling on and off and is keeping a wonderfully low of 72° consistently all day.
It may not look nice from the outside, but I sure do feel good inside. Comfort over beauty.
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PRODUCT/FOOD REVIEW:
Franz Lake Chelan Blueberry Strueusal Bread
My rating 5 out of 5

Franz bakery is based out of Portland, OR and has expanded distribution of their product throughout the Northwest.
When I first purchased this Blueberry Bread, I thought it was a speciality bread only found in the best of places. But I now have been finding it in local supermarkets.
My usual breakfast is a piece of multigrain toast with PB&J. That fills me up and I'm good to go until mid afternoon for a snack.
This Blueberry bread is irresistible! It's moist, packed with blueberries and topped with a light streusel topping. Unfortunately it doesn't have the filling power of whole grain. I end up eating 2 (shhh, and sometimes 3 pieces) of this blueberry bread. I originally spread butter on top, but wanted to try to be just a little healthier, so tried honey. OMG! Delicious!
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RESTAURANT REVIEWS (Fast Food):
Noodle Express - Post Falls, ID
Our rating 2 out of 5
When you walk into a Chinese restaurant 99% of the time you see Asians. Not at Noodle Express!. It could be anyone's son or daughter working there. I'm hungry and I'll give it a try anyway.
First, the egg rolls were expensive. About $2.50 EACH. They were actually pretty good, but skinny. I'm used to nice plump egg rolls.
Teriyaki Pork: Fair-Poor. Rubbery, lacked flavor. Came with white rice, which was fine, but since there was no sauce to mix in or pour over the rice, it was kind of bland also.
Chinese slaw? Sort of like a cabbage/cucumber salad, was surprising very good and refreshing.
I will not be back.
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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

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