Category Archives: Restaurants

$50 Flip Flops and Free Blackberries

Yesterday was a bittersweet departure day. Gabi was mostly quiet as she hung out in our coach playing Subway Surfer on her tablet. Lainey woke up with a badly swollen eye that needed medical attention. Alana had to get to work.

We had breakfast with Gabi and Alana before Alana left for work. Alana’s stepfather Jerry picked up Lainey and took her to the clinic in Darrington to have Dr. Schillhammer check out her eye. This was her second episode in recent weeks. It turned out to be an infection in her eyelid. A course of antibiotics should be the remedy. It’s a good thing that it happened today. Tomorrow, Gabi and Lainey are flying to San Diego for a two-week visit and she might not have been able to get immediate attention.

Pulling out was an emotional moment for Donna. She had set up projects for Lainey and Andrea on Monday to help her with some upcoming book projects. At least this will keep them in touch. The bittersweet part of it for me is the excitement and anticipation of getting back on the road at the same time coupled with the realization that I don’t know when we’ll be together again.

On the way out of Arlington, I stopped at Island Crossing and topped up our fuel tank. I like to keep the tank topped up to prevent condensation and moisture from collecting in the fuel.

I-5 south through Seattle was the usual nightmare. Traffic slowed to a crawl on the Ship Canal Bridge, even though it was midday. Through downtown, there’s a section where you need to move over to the left lanes or you’ll end up on I-90 east. I saw a gap in the lane to our left and indicated a left turn. As I pulled into the lane, a car in the next lane over decided to occupy this space at the same time. I heard the driver honk as he panic-braked to avoid hitting our trailer.

The road surface from Tukwila to Puyallup was appalling. It was a washboard surface with a series of rollercoaster whoops. In places, I could see where the concrete surface had worn down to the rebar reinforcement. It’s hard for me to accept how badly the infrastructure of our great country has deteriorated.

We rolled through Tacoma and made our way to Lacey, just east of Olympia. We found Cabela’s there after a missed turn and recalculation by Nally (our GPS). Donna spotted a semi-tractor trailer rig in the lot to the west and we headed over there. I found a level spot to park. Then we saw a “No Overnight Parking” sign.

We went inside the store to get something to eat for a late lunch. I asked the greeter about parking overnight. He said he didn’t think it was an issue, but he directed us to the customer service desk. The gals at customer service were super-friendly and told us we were fine to stay the night where we were.

After we dined upstairs in Cabela’s, Donna stayed behind to work at the table on her laptop. I went downstairs and found a great pair of leather Teva flip flops that are anatomically shaped with arch support. It kills me to spend $50 on flip flops, but I wear them more often than I wear regular shoes and wore out my last good pair. Good quality, anatomically shaped flip flops make sense for my lifestyle.

We had a SNAFU that we found once we parked. There’s a compartment on the right side of the coach, behind the entry door. It’s not a storage bay. It’s a compartment that’s bolted shut and houses the holding tanks.

When we arrived at Cabela’s, Donna noticed this compartment wasn’t secure. The bolts that normally hold it closed were gone. Presumably, the pounding on I-5 between Tukwilla and Puyallup shook them loose and they departed the coach. By the way, I had fun quizzing Donna on the pronunciation of the many Indian names of towns around here, such as Tulalip (Too-LAY-lip) and Puyallup (PEW-al-up).

I wired the compartment closed with safety wire. The bolts that secure it thread into blind holes. I’ll have to find the right size bolts. I think it’s going to be either 6mm or 1/4 inch. I’m hoping I can figure this out when we reach Chehalis today.

Donna rejoined me at the coach around 6pm after doing some shopping as well. We took a short stroll and found wild blackberries growing along the edge of the Cabela’s parking lot.

Wild blackberries ripening on the vine

Donna picked a container full to have for breakfast with her cereal and who knows what else. She mentioned something about making a wild blackberry galette.

Container full of wild ripe, wild blackberries

Container full of ripe, wild blackberries

Our itinerary is open for the next couple of days, before we check in at the Fairview RV Park in Portland. We’ll just play it loose.

First Saturday Club Anniversary

My last post was a short blurb on Thursday, July 17th about computer trouble. I think this is my longest stretch without a post. My laptop runs hot. Several months ago, Donna bought me a Targus Laptop Chill Mat with fans to circulate cool air under the laptop. This seemed to help. Last week, my laptop started shutting itself off. When I restarted it, the laptop displayed an error message about a cooling fan not working and an overheat error message.

I bought this laptop about a year and a half ago. On Thursday, I rode down to Best Buy and talked to them about the issue. The warranty is only good for 12 months. They said they would need to send the laptop to their service center and it would take about 10 business days before I would get it back. The estimated cost to replace the fan was $150 minimum, plus any heat damaged components they find. This sounded expensive considering the laptop (HP Pavilion G6) costs around $300 new.

I was afraid to use the laptop. If it overheated and crashed, I might lose all of my files. On Friday, I talked to my friend and former colleague, Khaldoon Tufail. Khaldoon is very computer savvy. He told me fan issues more often than not are caused by dust and debris build-up on the fan itself. The fan is located underneath the keyboard. His advice was to start by trying to blow the area out with a compressed gas duster. If that didn’t work, I would have to open the case and replace the fan. I found instructions for this on YouTube. It requires nearly complete disassembly of the laptop.

I bought a couple of cans of compressed gas and blew gas through all of the vent openings for the fan and through the keyboard. After doing this several times, the laptop seems to function fine. In fact, I think it’s running cooler than ever. Thanks, Khaldoon!

My daughter, Alana, had Wednesday and Thursday off work at the hospital. We spent both days together with her and our granddaughters and their “adopted” friend, Andrea. Andrea is about Lainey’s age and she is currently living with them.

It was hot and sunny both days. They bought some floating mattresses on their way out to the lake. I cut the stem of a Presta valve out of an old bicycle tube and made an adapter to fill the mattresses with air, using our bicycle tire pump. This was better than trying to blow up four mattresses. The girls enjoyed time in the lake and we grilled dinner both nights.

We loaded Donna’s bike in Alana’s car and Alana drove Donna to her house on Thursday so she could ride the Centennial Trail, which passes near Alana’s house. The roads around Lake Goodwin aren’t wide enough for safe bicycling. Donna took a ride on the trail and put in 30 miles or so.

On Friday, Alana picked us up after work. She took us to a brew pub called Skookum Brewery near her home. We sampled a few brews and had nachos. Afterwards, Alana gave us her car for the weekend. We dropped her off at home and drove her car back to the Lake Goodwin RV Resort.

Donna enjoyed a hefe while Alana tried a sample flight

Donna enjoyed a hefe while Alana tried a sampler flight

Yesterday, our friends from Portland, DeWayne and Marlo Nikkila, were passing through the area. They had visited relatives in Bremerton and were taking the Bremerton-Seattle Ferry to continue their travels to Wyoming and South Dakota. The ferry would drop them off in Seattle at 11am.

We arranged to meet at an Indian restaurant called Bombay House. It was right on their route, just off of I-90 in the Eastgate area of Bellevue. DeWayne and Marlo are vegans and they love Indian food (as do we), so this restaurant fit the bill. We met at 11:30am and had lunch. I haven’t seen them since we visited them on a motorcycle tour back in 2010. They were living in North Bay, Ontario at the time. Donna and I rode our BMWs on an extended motorcycle tour that took us through Ontario. Since then, they’ve lived in Hawaii, where DeWayne was stationed, and now Portland. The last time Donna and Marlo were together was at a convention in Las Vegas in 2011.

We sat at our table and talked for over an hour. DeWayne is a retired military man now. We talked about adjusting to The Saturday Club (every day is Saturday).

Marlo and Donna

After we left them, we drove west on I-90 to downtown Seattle. I was a little concerned because there were signs warning of lane closures on I-90 and traffic delays. We took our chances and found the traffic was so light (everyone else must have heeded the warnings), we didn’t have any problems.

Our first stop was at the Esquin Wine Merchant south of the city center. This store is in an old warehouse. They have aisle after aisle of wine – great selection and great prices. Donna picked out a few bottles.

From there, we drove downtown and parked on the corner of 2nd and Pike. We walked down the street to Pike Place Market. Pike Place Market is Seattle’s original farmers’ market. It first opened on August 17, 1907. It’s located on a steep hillside overlooking Elliott Bay. You can find great prices on some of the freshest seafood there. Most of the vendor stalls are in a large building with six levels. The building houses vendors with everything from seafood, fresh fruit and vegetables to tourist trinkets, T-shirts and fine art to restaurants and bars. You name it, you can probably find it there.

Saturday crowd at Pike Place Market

There’s one fish monger in particular with a large selection of fresh fish. They always draw a crowd. While we were standing in front of their display, someone bought some fish. One of the employees hollered, “Four black cod!” He then picked up a large, whole black cod from the crushed ice and threw it to another guy behind the counter about 15 feet away. The second guy made the catch and wrapped the fish. This was repeated until all four of the fish purchased were caught, wrapped and delivered. It was a good show.

Fish monger

More seafood

We stopped at a fruit and vegetable stand and found garlic spears. These are like the garlic scapes we bought in Coeur d’Alene, but they are from elephant garlic plants. Donna bought a bunch.

Fruit and vegetable stand

We wandered among the stalls until I was feeling claustrophobic from the crowd. We walked outside the building and shopped across the street. Donna bought handmade cheese from a small store.

Fresh flower arrangements – from $5 to $20

After we left Pike Place, I drove us up to Ballard, a small fishing community north of downtown. I wanted to show Donna the Chittenden Locks (also known as the Ballard Locks). These locks are part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal. The locks connect the fresh water of Lake Washington and Lake Union to the salt water of Puget Sound. The locks maintain the fresh water levels 20-22 feet above the mean low tide level of the sound. This prevents salt water intrusion into the fresh water of the lakes.

We crossed the locks and went to the fish ladder. This is a unique ladder due to it’s location at the confluence of fresh and salt water. When the Corps of Engineers built the dam and locks, they blocked the natural flow of fresh water to the sound. The fish ladder provides flow from the lake for salmon and steelhead trout to return from the sea to fresh water. These fish hatch in fresh water. Then they migrate to the sea. At the end of their lifespan, they return to the fresh water to spawn.

The fish ladder has 21 weirs (or steps). The weirs are like large, square concrete buckets of water overflowing into the next lower weir. Each weir is about a foot higher than the previous weir. The fish are attracted to the weirs by the smell of the fresh water flowing through them. The fish jump up each weir, climbing to the level of the lake to continue their journey to the rivers, streams and creeks they originally came from. We could see fish in the weirs from the walkway above. We walked down to a special viewing room. Some of the weirs have a plexiglass wall, allowing us to look into the weir like an aquarium. We saw steelhead trout and Coho (silver) salmon working their way up.

Yesterday was a landmark day for me. Friday, July 19, 2013 was my last day of work at the office. I walked out the door, joined the Saturday Club and haven’t looked back. The time seems to have flown by. Paradoxically, it also seems like we’ve been so many places and have seen so many things, it couldn’t possibly have fit into a span of just one year. Wednesday will mark one year since we locked up the house for the last time and hit the road.

We ended the day by watching an old movie, Witness, starring Harrison Ford. All in all, it was a great anniversary of my induction into The Saturday Club.

Pine Near RV Park

Yesterday’s post left us on the road Wednesday. We crossed Blewett Pass and drove north on US97 past Wenatchee. We stopped there and topped up the fuel tank. We were thinking about heading to the Twisp-Winthrop Rodeo Grounds to boondock for a couple of days. I like to have the tank full when we’re unsure of our destination and may need to run the generator. It won’t run if there’s less than a quarter of a tank of fuel. It’s designed that way so that you won’t run out of fuel and not be able to start the engine.

The quick turnaround at Aubrey’s RV left us with a few open days to fill before we cross the Cascade Mountains. After fueling up, we ran into heavy smoke north of the Rocky Reach Dam. A wildfire covering 28 square miles of the Wenatchee National Forest west of Entiat, Washington was burning. The smoke hung like fog over the Columbia River.

We didn’t know about the fire. There are two routes to the North Cascade Highway from Wenatchee – US97 on the east bank of the Columbia River and US97A on the west side. Since I wanted fuel, I chose US97 on the east side. This turned out to be the better choice. US97A was closer to the fire and road closures were a possibility. By Thursday, 30 miles of 97A were closed.

I began to have doubts about the Twisp-Winthrop Rodeo Grounds. When we stayed there last year, it was Labor Day weekend. The grounds were open for the rodeo. I asked Donna if she remembered a gate at the entrance. I was thinking the grounds might be closed and the gate locked up. I was trying to remember the road. I thought we could be in trouble if the gate was locked. I wasn’t sure if we could turn around if we couldn’t enter the rodeo grounds.

Donna opened the Escapees Day’s End directory on her laptop to look for information. The Day’s End directory has information on campgrounds and boondocking sites. She didn’t find any information on the rodeo grounds, but she found other points of interest. She found an American Legion Park north of us in Okanagan. It was only six bucks per night (no hook-ups).

Then she found an RV park in Winthrop that offered a 50% discount to Escapees members. Donna called the Pine Near RV park and inquired about availability. They had a large pull-through site available. We diverted from US97 to WA153 – a narrow two-lane highway that follows the Methow (MET-how) River. I made a wrong turn as we entered town, but we had no problem getting back on the right road. We found the RV park on a ridge above downtown Winthrop.

The owner, Anna came out to our coach and told us to walk to the site with her. She showed us the site and explained how we should orient the coach. The site is huge with a large grassy area, picnic table and fire ring. Next to road, a line of trees borders the site. There wasn’t anyone within 100 feet of our site.

This was a real score. Full hook-ups with 50-amp service for $21/night including tax. Winthrop is a cool town with lots of activities. It’s a popular destination for people from the Seattle area (Westsiders). The town was first built in 1891 when Guy Waring settled with his family at the confluence of the Methow and Chewuch Rivers. The place burned to the ground in 1893. In 1897, Guy returned and re-established the town. Click on the photo below to read his story.

Winthrop Story

The Pine Near RV Park is located across the street from the Shafer Museum. This museum is manned by volunteer docents and entry is by donation. It has old buildings and various implements used for farming and mining in the area.

Implements at the Shafer Museum

A very old tractor with iron wheels

They displayed a huge old diesel engine. Originally it powered a tug boat. It was re-purposed to run a mining operation.

Huge diesel engine

Donna and I walked through the museum grounds to access stairs leading down to the main street and downtown area. The museum and Pine Near RV Park are on Castle Avenue above the downtown district.

Downtown Winthrop is comprised of old western-style buildings and boardwalks covering about two blocks. The Winthrop area has about 2,000 residents, but fewer than 500 live in the incorporated city.

Winthrop gas station below the Shafer museum

Winthrop Emporium (general store)

Saloon and stores

Donna and I walked through town and found the Old Schoolhouse Brewery. I went inside while Donna window shopped at a few more of the stores.

Brewery in Winthrop

The brewery has a patio deck in the back, right on the Chewuch River. I found a table on the deck shaded by a tree. Donna joined me for a beer.

Donna enjoying a craft brew on the riverside

After sampling a couple of beer styles, we walked back to the Pine Near RV park. Did I mention our deluxe site?

Our site, shaded by trees

Another view of our site

Anna bought the Pine Near RV Park about two years ago. She’s working hard to upgrade the grounds and build her reputation. We heard from locals in town how much she’s improved the place. We absolutely love it. Nice sites, friendly service and a short walk to downtown.

When we set up, I put the living room slide out. Wow! After living with the slide in for the last five weeks, we’d forgotten how much of a difference it makes. Our space feels huge! I got the tape measure out and did some calculations. The slide is 16 feet long and extends about two feet. This adds about 32 square feet of floor space. That’s about 10% of the total floor plan of the coach.

But when you think about the living room, where we spend most of our time, the picture changes. Our living room, from the back of the driver’s seat to the bathroom entry is 16 feet long and about eight feet wide with the slide in. That’s 108 square feet. With the slide out, it’s 140 square feet, a 30% increase in area.

On Wednesday evening, we munched on hors d’oeuvres for dinner and watched TV in our luxurious, 140-square-foot living room.

Prosciutto-wrapped cantaloupe, crackers and labneh

Yesterday, Donna went out on her bicycle and explored the area. She finished off her ride with a stop at Pearrygin State Park and jumped into Pearrygin Lake to cool off. I asked Anna if I could wash our coach. She said she doesn’t always allow washing in her park, but she let me do it. I spent about three hours washing the coach and trailer.

Donna and I I walked back into town later and had a late lunch at the Mexican restaurant. Donna shopped at a consignment shop while I returned to the coach. It was very hot out – in the mid-90s.

We only booked two nights here as that was what Anna had available. Yesterday, Anna told me we could stay another night, but we have to move to a different site. Our current site was reserved for the weekend. It’s the best site in the park. Next time we’re in Winthrop, we’ll try to book site 14 again. This morning we’ll move the coach to site 26, another large, shaded site.

Food and Brew

The temperature in Coeur d’Alene has been above average for several days. Yesterday was no exception. The high was in the mid-80s and I think the humidity was above 50%.

When Donna was at the salon on Thursday, her hair stylist told her about the Kootenai County Farmers’ Market in Hayden. It sounded good, so I looked it up. It wasn’t as far away as I thought – only a few miles up the road at the intersection of US95 and Prairie Avenue. Speaking of Donna’s hair stylist, here’s a photo of Donna’s new look.

Donna’s new hairdo

We rode the scooter and found the farmers’ market. It was set on the corner, shaded by mature trees. The vendor booths were wooden structures, all painted and well maintained. It was clean and inviting – a nice marketplace.

Entrance to the farmers’ market

Vendor booths

We wandered around and we sampled some of the food offered. I bought some aebelskiver, which are Danish pancake balls, with huckleberry topping and whipped cream. I’d never had them before. It was a delightful snack.

There was a stage with live music in the center of the market. Two guys with guitars played a wide variety of music, mostly classic rock. They were pretty good.

These guys were good

We bought a few items. Donna bought blue cheese and a jar of marinated labneh (pronounced LOB-in-ah) made from raw milk at a local farm. We sampled the labneh – it’s great on crackers. It’s made from Greek yogurt which is strained to remove the whey. It has a sharp, slightly sour flavor.

Locally made marinated labneh

I also bought spicy hot dilly beans. They will be great in a bloody Mary! From the same place, we bought a jar of honey maple dressing and marinade. We sampled it on a small cup of salad. It makes a great salad dressing, but I think it will be really good as a meat marinade for grilling. Donna also bought some baby bok choy and garlic scapes.

On the way home, Donna spotted a brewpub less than a mile from the park. We didn’t know about this place before. We always headed south into town and hadn’t ventured north.

Later, we went back and checked out Paragon Brewing. It’s a British inspired pub, serving traditional British pub plates and beers brewed in the northwest. It opened in May of this year, so it’s only been open for two months. Maybe that’s why no one mentioned this place to us. The brewery is under construction. They won’t have their own beer on tap until some time in the fall.

Donna had a pint of McCall’s lemon/ginger hefe brewed in McCall, Idaho. I tried an IPA from Worthy Brewing in Bend, Oregon. Both beers were a treat. Donna said the hefe was refreshing. The Worthy IPA was well-balanced with no over-the-top hoppiness. We ordered food while we sat at the bar and chatted with the bar maid.

I had fish and chips. The key to good fish and chips is the batter. The batter they make at Paragon does the job well. It’s light, but tough, not flaky. It came with aioli mayo for dipping.

Fish and chips with aioli mayo

Donna ordered a traditional British meal called bangers. Bangers are British sausages often served with mashed potatoes. Donna’s bangers were served with a beer glaze and potatoes gallette made with layer upon layer of thinly sliced potatoes, baked as a pie. Her plate also included a tasty side dish of polenta.

Bangers plate

The service was great – it’s a really friendly place. Very clean, good beer selection and excellent pub food. I’d give it five stars on a scale of five. When they get their own fresh brew on tap, it can only get better.

Today, the temperature is likely to reach 90 degrees. Donna is going out for a long bike ride. I plan to ride down to the park again. I’m starting to think about the road ahead. We’ll leave here early Tuesday morning.

Independence Day

The past few days have been busy here at Tamarack RV Park. By Wednesday, most of the campers who had come for the Ironman Triathlon departed and the RV park was about half empty. On Thursday, the long weekenders started arriving for the Fourth of July weekend. By Friday, the park was full again.

We had a busy day on Thursday. I scootered Donna downtown to the 5th Avenue Hair Salon (strangely named, as it’s actually on 5th Street) for her 10am appointment. Most of the streets along Sherman Avenue were closed for a kids’ parade. I was able to sneak past a barrier or two and drop her off.

I came home and posted to the blog, then read for awhile. I was expecting to receive a text from Donna around 11:30 or so, telling me she was ready to be picked up. It was almost noon when she sent me a message saying it would be another 60 to 90 minutes! Then she wrote, “Be prepared for a new look.” What?

I rode downtown at 12:30pm and kicked around. The streets were open again – the parade was finished. I parked the scooter in the alley next to the salon and walked across the street to look at the menu at a restaurant called Scratch. Donna finally emerged from the salon a little past 1pm sporting a new, short hairdo. I can’t believe I neglected to take a picture as she came out of the salon.

We had lunch at Scratch. I had the babyback ribs. Donna opted for the half sandwich – turkey pannini – with tomato basil soup and spinach salad. We agreed it wasn’t really up to scratch. I rate it no more than a three on a scale of five. I had some of the ribs left over and had it boxed to go. I forgot it on the table and didn’t bother to go back to retrieve them.

We stopped at a used book store on the way home and browsed. I bought a couple of books. It was well after 2pm by the time we returned home. I did a little fine-tuning on the Excel Workbook I put together to track my expenditures versus budget.

We rode the scooter down to the Riverstone Center to check out the farmers market that Donna’s hair stylist had mentioned. It turned out to be more of a carnival type midway than a farmers market. There were food vendors, crafts and other local products for sale. We only saw one produce stand. We bought some peaches that were brought up from Wapato, Washington. We’ll be heading in that direction next week.

Later, we scootered over to Fred Meyer for some groceries. Fred Meyer is a chain of superstores in the northwest. It’s a lot like a Super WalMart, but better staffed and provides better service. The row of cash registers have cashiers waiting to serve you. That’s one thing that peeves me at Walmart – a row of 20 cash registers but only three are open at any given time! I like shopping at Fred Meyer.

On Thursday, Donna marinated shrimp with fresh herbs and olive oil and then skewered them with zucchini and tomatoes and I grilled them for dinner. They were excellent served over brown rice.

Shrimp skewers with zucchini and tomato

Yesterday was Independence Day. The RV park was full. Lots of families with small children moved in for the long weekend. Kids were biking throughout the park.

Donna went out for bike ride in the morning. She rode out the Prairie Trail to the end and then backtracked to take the Centennial Trail to Post Falls and back. Before she returned, I went out on my mountain bike around noon. Our paths crossed at the intersection of highway 95 and Kathleen Avenue, about a mile or so from the park. Donna continued home while I rode the bike trail downtown.

I’ve been riding my mountain bike instead of my road bike because of my neck injury. The mountain bike keeps me more upright and puts less stress on my neck and shoulder. The mountain bike is less aerodynamic and has more rolling resistance than a good road bike. This makes it slower. When Donna and I ride on the road together, I’m pushing hard to maintain 12 or 13 miles an hour on the mountain bike while she’s just cruising along at a pace that’s slower than she usually rides. That’s why we haven’t been riding together much since we left San Diego.

The ride downtown was into a headwind. The upright position on the mountain bike makes riding into the wind a real chore. Once I reached the Spokane River, I was somewhat shielded from the wind. Traffic on the trail quickly picked up and the beach areas were crowded. People were out in force to celebrate the fourth.

When I reached City Park, the place had been transformed. It was busy last weekend, but nothing like this. People had canopies and tents on the grass and along the beach. Grills were everywhere along with coolers and blankets.

City Park

I rode to the corner of Northwest Boulevard and Sherman Street. The Fourth of July parade was coming around the corner and the streets were lined with people.

4th of July parade

The day was warm – well into the 80s. People were enjoying the lake. Kids were jumping from the boardwalk linking the park with the boat dock.

Kids jumping into the lake

In the park, there was a food court set up along one of the paved paths. All of the food vendors I’d seen the night before at Riverstone were there.

Food court at City Park

There was much activity in the park and on the lake. I saw the Brooks seaplane heading out for a tour while speedboats, canoes and para-sailers filled the same frame.

Much activity at the lake

The ride home was much easier, as I had the wind at my back. I saw the barge we watched heading downriver on Wednesday. It was anchored in the lake with a paddlewheel river boat tied up to it. I don’t know what was up with that.

River boat tied up to the barge

Last night we had grilled chicken with cilantro-lime butter. I also grilled green beans and Donna baked a sweet potato to serve with it. The cilantro-lime butter recipe is a keeper for sure. Donna says it will be good on fish as well. And it’s simple to make.

Recipe for Grilled Chicken with Cilantro-Lime Butter

In a small bowl, mash 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened) with 1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped cilantro, 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lime zest, 1/4 teaspoon of Green Tabasco sauce and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Mix until smooth. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the butter onto a piece of plastic wrap and twist the plastic to shape the butter into a short log. Refrigerate until firm enough to slice – about 20 to 25 minutes. Marinate thin chicken breasts (or butterflied breasts) for 15 minutes at room temperature in 2 tablespoons lime juice, one tablespoon olive oil and 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Grill chicken and serve with a few thin slices of the cilantro-lime butter on top.

Grilled chicken with cilantro-lime butter

We hung out in the park last night. Neither of us were inclined to go to the lake for the fireworks show. We had a full day of celebrating the independence of our nation.

Looking For Shade

As expected, the temperature reached the 90s yesterday. Around noon, Donna and I rode the scooter down to the lake. We enjoyed a ride along East Coeur d’Alene Lake Drive. We rode all the way to the turnaround at Higgins Point, near the east end of the lake.

View from Higgins Point

We explored and found a couple of boat ramps, but we didn’t linger in the area. We rode back into town and parked near the Visitor Center. We walked to City Park and found a bench. There weren’t any benches available in shady areas – the beach area was crowded. Sitting in the sun wasn’t comfortable and Donna wanted to find a place that wasn’t as crowded so she could go for a swim.

We walked back to the scooter and rode through North Idaho College to River Avenue. We found a beach with shade and fewer people, near the mouth of the Spokane River. Donna went for a swim to cool off. I relaxed in the shade.

Before we left, a tug boat called Kelly Ann pushed a barge loaded with construction equipment down the river. I wonder where it was going?

Tug boat and barge

We had been out for a couple of hours and I was hungry, so we left and headed back. On the way we stopped at a Mexican place called Atilano’s on East Best Avenue. Our friends, Allen and Crystal Hutchinson recommended the place. The strange thing about this is place is their sign. It proclaims to serve San Diego’s best burrito! I meant to ask the guy at the counter about that, but I forgot to. I had the pollo asado burrito. It was tasty and huge! Donna had fish tacos.

Later, in the evening, we had a surprise visit from fellow full-timers and bloggers (Hit N The Road), Joel and Esta Gardberg. We had never met before, just corresponded via comments on this blog. I checked out Joel’s Corvette and we chatted for a while. They’ve been on the road in their Holiday Rambler motorhome for two years now. It’s always interesting to meet fellow RVers. When they’re bloggers that have also read our blog, it seems like we already know each other. We made tentative plans to get together for lunch at some point.

There wasn’t any mention of rain in the forecast, but last night I was awakened by the sound of rain coming down hard. Today is supposed to be another warm day with the temperature reaching the upper 80s. Again, no mention of rain, but we’ll see how it goes.

Dodging Showers

It’s Saturday morning. I’m behind on my posts, so I’ll catch up on the last two days. Not that there’s much to say except that rain really hampers our activities.

It rained on and off on Thursday so Donna and I spent most of the day indoors. We walked in the park during breaks in the showers. Donna decided to make blueberry muffins from scratch. She doesn’t bake very often, but when she does, the results are outstanding. She gave a few of the muffins to the couple that manage the RV park. The guy made a point of stopping by our site to tell us that they were the best blueberry muffins he’s ever had. He said, “The blueberries exploded in my mouth!”

During one dry break in the weather, we walked down the road to the Safeway store. Donna needed some fresh produce and I picked up locally brewed Outlaw IPA. On our walk to the store, we passed an old VW bus that’s set up as a shaved ice kiosk. The windy, rainy weather had pulled the banner off the front. The VW looks to be driveable, but it’s been parked in the lot since we arrived. They were busy on Wednesday when the sun was shining.

Hawaiian Lion Shave Ice

We had street tacos for dinner on Thursday. Donna reheated some leftover pork tenderloin, sliced and drizzled with mojo garlic sauce and served it with shredded cabbage and avocado on corn tortillas. It really paired well with the Outlaw IPA. After dinner, Donna made her famous black bean brownies.

Taco plate

New neighbors pulled in Thursday evening. Three rigs lined up next to us. It appears to be a family reunion. There are two 5th wheel trailers with Alberta, Canada plates and a smaller travel trailer with Idaho plates sandwiched between them. It seems as though Grandpa and Grandma have the smaller travel trailer. The big 5th wheel trailer next to us is a Raptor triple axle toy hauler pulled by a big Ram 3500 dually truck. The woman who drove it in was supremely confident in her driving skills and jockeyed it through really tight quarters. I was impressed.

The rain returned with a vengeance on Thursday night. I was awakened several times in the night by rain drumming on the roof. We were out of bed by 8am. The rain had let up. I suggested a quick walk to the Broken Egg restaurant down the street for breakfast. I wanted to get out of the coach while we could. Donna was game and we headed out. The Broken Egg serves breakfast and lunch until 2pm daily. The breakfast portions are huge and very tasty.

It started raining on our walk back. Again, we had a day of variable and unpredictable weather. Actually, it was somewhat predictable. We knew it would rain – we just weren’t sure when or how hard it would rain. It rained off and on throughout the day without really drying out in-between.

Our plan was to grill chicken kabobs and have the Hutchinson family join us for dinner. I kicked back inside and read a book, keeping an eye on the weather. Donna spent a few hours writing her monthly organizing newsletter which included suggestions for rainy day organizing projects.

Around 3pm, I sent a message to Allen Hutchinson, telling him that we needed a Plan B. The weather wasn’t conducive to grilling and dining outdoors. We decided to meet at the Fish Market on Kathleen Avenue at 5:15pm.

Our timing was impeccable. It wasn’t raining as Donna and I walked to the restaurant. We arrived at the same time as the Hutchinsons. The restaurant wasn’t crowded and we put our orders in. They serve great seafood in sort of a fast-food fashion. You order at one counter and pay. When the meal is ready, you pick it up at another counter. As we placed our orders, a long line of patrons formed behind us. We just beat the dinner crowd. I had the daily special – sushi maki (spider roll) and a poki plate (ahi tuna). Donna had a steamer platter – two pounds of steamed mussels and clams in a garlic beer broth. The food was great. Allen, his wife Crystal, and daughters Gwen and Elsa had a variety of sushi and poki along with steaming bowls of miso soup. For dessert, Donna brought along some black bean brownies for the Hutchinsons to take back to their hotel.

Allen, Crystal, Elsa, Gwen and Donna enjoying dinner at the Fish Market

Allen and I worked together in Michigan. He and his family are here in Coeur d’Alene for the Ironman Trialthlon this weekend. Allen is an Ironman. This will be his third full-distance triathlon – 2.4 miles swimming, 112 miles bicycling and a 26.2-mile marathon run – all in one day! We saw his first triathlon in Lake Placid, New York where he finished in an astonishing 11 hours and 40 minutes. He finished before I could reach the finish line to congratulate him! I’ll be sure to be at the finish line this time.

One of the beauties of living a nomadic lifestyle is the ability to plan routes and layovers to meet up with friends and family around the country. We’re excited to witness another Ironman event and grateful for the opportunity to cheer for Allen and visit with his family.

Today, the weather looks to be variable again, but much drier than the past two days. Tomorrow should be clear for the race and warmer weather is predicted for the coming week. I want to get out on my bike and ride down to City Park to see how the Ironman course is shaping up.

Blow Out

Thursday’s weather was running behind schedule. The forecast called for clearing around midday. It rained all morning and well into the afternoon. The RV lifestyle isn’t all fun and games and sightseeing. We’ve been cooped up in roughly 300 square feet of living space for five days. We finally had a break around 3pm and rode the scooter over to the Holiday Inn to pick up Donna’s race packet.

A break from the rain

When we returned, I changed the inner tube in her rear tire, removed the aerobars (they’re not allowed in mass start races), and then I cleaned and lubed the chain. Everything looked good – she was all set for the Friday morning start.

On Friday morning, we were up at 7am. Donna had her pre-race meal while I had a cup of yogurt and coffee. I checked her tire pressures and set the front tire at 115psi and the rear at 120psi. We rode our bikes three miles to the Broadwater Bay Park to check in for the race. We arrived at the park at 8:30am, half an hour before the scheduled start.

We learned that the actual start/finish line was another mile upriver on Lower River Road. After a short riders’ briefing in the parking lot, everyone rode to the start/finish area. I was a feeling a little out of place, tagging along on my mountain bike. I wanted to see the start and see Donna off. The field for the 40k bicycle race was small – only eight riders. Three were women and Donna was the only woman in her age category. All she had to do was finish the race to win her age group and qualify for the National Senior Olympics next summer.

It was shaping up to be a beautiful day with plenty of sunshine and just a light wind though the race director warned of high winds up on top of the Eden climb. Right at the start of the race, the wind picked up along the river. I rode back to our coach, battling fierce wind across the Central Avenue Bridge and back up the trail to the RV park. I could only imagine how tough the wind would be on top of the hill.

Once I reached our coach, I locked up my bike in the trailer and got on the scooter. I was about a mile out of the park when I realized that I left the bike lock back at our site. Donna and I planned to have lunch after the race and I would need to lock up her bike. I turned around and retrieved the lock.

When I reached the start/finish line, it was already after 10am. I rode up the race course, expecting to find Donna riding back toward the finish line. After I made the climb up the first big hill on Eden Road, an oncoming pickup truck slowed and the driver frantically waved at me out the window. He stopped in the road. I turned around to see what he needed.

He said, “Do you have a tire pump?” I thought, why would you stop me and ask a question like that? I told him I didn’t have a pump. He said, “Your wife has a flat tire and no pump.” I told him we didn’t need a pump and asked how far away she was. He told me she was about four miles down the road.

I blasted off on the scooter, riding 70mph. Another oncoming pickup truck was waving at me as it approached. I blew on by without stopping. A few minutes later, I saw Donna on the side of the road. She said, “Did you get my message? My tire blew. I don’t know if it’s fixable.” I didn’t get the messages because I was riding the scooter.

Her front tire was flat and I could see part of the tire had come off the rim. I pulled the wheel off the bike and removed the inner tube. I installed a new tube and reseated the tire. I didn’t need a tire pump because we had an Innovations air chuck with CO2 cartridges to fill the tire in a situation like this. I filled the tire with a 16 gram CO2 cartridge. The tire inflated and then, after a few seconds, the tire bead blew off the rim. It blew off in the same place as before. I looked at the bead. It was damaged and wouldn’t seat in the groove of the rim. We were out of options. If I had received Donna’s message while I was still back at the coach, I could have brought the entire front wheel from my road bike.

That was it, race over. Donna was an official DNF (did not finish). One of the race staff volunteers put Donna’s bike in his truck – it was the same guy who flagged me down and asked if I had a pump. He gave her a ride back to the RV park.

Her race was over, but her goal of qualifying for the National Senior Olympics may still be attainable. We’re looking at a couple of options. Since our home state of South Dakota doesn’t offer a qualifying bicycle road race event, there are two ways for Donna to qualify. The Montana event would have qualified her without question. Now it seems we have to find another qualifier in another state (Washington is a possibility) or she has to complete two races and petition for inclusion. She’s already completed one of the two required by racing in the Tour de Mesa back in April.

After Donna returned to the park, we rode the scooter over to MacKenzie River Pizza for lunch. I think I was more bummed about the tire failure than Donna was. I should have changed her tires. They were old, but the modern tire compounds wear like iron. They looked decent, until the bead failed. I guess I need to treat them like RV tires – replace them based on age, not visual cues.

After lunch, we rode over to the Big Horn Outdoor store, which was recommended to us for high-end road bike gear. I bought new tires for Donna – Continental GP4000 S tires to be specific. These tires are hand-made in Germany and it’s reflected in the pricing!

New hand-made tires

We stopped back at the park and dropped off her tires. Then we went to the grocery store to stock up. Did I mention the weather? It was a partly cloudy, but dry day. We had a load of groceries to scooter back to the park. I think it was the biggest load ever.

After we returned, I installed the new tires on Donna’s bike. No issues, the bead seated with no problem. I still can’t get my head around the tire failure. I put a new tube in that tire last Sunday. Donna rode over 40 miles since then. How does the bead suddenly fail and the tire blow off the rim? I’ve changed hundreds if not thousands of bicycle tires and tubes over the last 35 years. I don’t recall ever seeing a failure like this.

Last night, I grilled Jamaican jerk chicken. Donna served it over brown rice with mango salsa and broccoli on the side. We were able to dine al fresco at the picnic table. Hurray!

Jamaican jerk chicken with mango salsa

Today, we have blue skies and a fair weather forecast for the coming days. Donna is planning to go out for a bike ride. I want to wash the coach and polish the wheels. We’ll pull out of Great Falls on Monday.

Tamale Tuesday

This morning I awoke to the sound of raindrops drumming on the roof of our coach – the same sound I heard yesterday and the day before that. The north and east ends of Dick’s RV Park are giant mud puddles. I’m happy to be in the drier southwest corner, even though we’re closer to the road noise.

On Tuesday afternoon, we had a break in the rain. The forecast called for about an hour lull in the rain showers. Donna went for a walk while it was dry out. I checked our batteries and puttered around. We had about 60 or 70 gallons of fresh water on board. I dumped the tank and refilled it with 100 gallons of the city water here in the park. Great Falls has great water! Much better than the water we’ve been carrying from the desert. When Donna returned, she told me she saw a tamale vendor on the street corner across the 6th Street bridge.

The next bout of rain showers hadn’t arrived yet, so I hustled over to check out the tamales. There was a trailer set up as a kitchen in the church parking lot at 6th Street and 10th Avenue. It had a sign that said “Electric City Concessions” on the side. Electric City is the nickname given to Great Falls, due to having the first hydroelectric generating plant on the Missouri River here.

They offered homemade tamales wrapped in corn husks. Two dollars each, six for $8.50 or $16.00 for a dozen. Tamales are a traditional Mesoamerican dish made from masa ( a corn based starchy dough). In Mexico, tamales are made with different fillings and can be eaten for breakfast (usually with a sweet filling) or dinner. The masa is wrapped with corn husks or leaves and steamed.

I bought half a dozen tamales. These were savory with a ground pork filling. I brought them back to the coach and split them with Donna. They were fairly small, so three each was about right for lunch. Electric City Concessions sets up every Tuesday at the church (Tamale Tuesday). We won’t have another opportunity to buy them as we’ll be leaving Great Falls next Monday.

Yesterday, it rained all day with only a brief break in the evening. Donna and I took a short walk through the park during the break. We avoided the muddy north side. Last night, Donna prepared fish tacos for dinner – one of my favorites.

I’m trying to use the RV park’s wifi as much as possible. With the rain and the park fairly full, their wifi is unreliable. Being inside all day means we are burning through our data allotment. Eight days into our cycle, we’ve used 59% of our current plan. I can raise our allotment and probably will before the cycle ends.

The rain is supposed clear up around noon today. I need to change the rear inner tube on Donna’s bike. I’ll also clean and lube the chain in preparation for tomorrow’s race. At some point, we need to scooter over to the Holiday Inn to pick up her race packet. We may have a shower or two this evening, but we should have clear, blue skies for tomorrow’s race.

White Sulphur Springs

I haven’t posted since Friday. I think this was my longest lapse. I had good reason – we were off the grid completely for the weekend, no Internet or cellular service. Throw in a couple of travel days and there you are. I’ll have to break the update into a couple of posts or it will be too long.

On Friday, Donna rode her bicycle into Yellowstone National Park. She rode all the way to the Madison campground and back – a round trip of 28 miles. On the way, she had a close encounter with two bison, one on either side of the road. She had to ride between slow moving cars to shield herself. She rode through most of the turn-outs and view points. In one turn-out, she spotted a bear across the river. It was a black bear. Despite the name, black bears come in a variety of colors. They can be blond, cinnamon, chocolate or jet black and every shade in between. This happened to be a sizable cinnamon colored black bear. Donna snapped a photo with her cell phone.

Cinnamon black bear

When Donna returned from her ride, we walked into town. It was lunch time, so we stopped at the Taco Bus. It’s an old Bluebird bus converted to a Mexican diner.

Taco Bus

Inside the Taco Bus

We ordered enchilada verde plates and dined al fresco at a table in the sun, next to the bus.

We wanted to walk through town and wander through some shops, but thunder clouds suddenly appeared. The weather in the mountains can change very quickly. We walked to the grocery store, bought a few goods and quickly returned to our coach. We didn’t want to be caught out in a downpour. I loaded the scooter and Donna’s bicycle in the trailer.

Saturday was a travel day. We did the usual routine and hit the road by 10:30am. We headed north on US191 through the Gallatin Range.

US191 along the Gallatin River. Snow covered peak in the background

US191 along the Gallatin River with snow covered peak in the background

We had two goals for the day. Our first stop was at the WalMart in Bozeman. We stocked up on groceries there. We dry camped at this WalMart last year. I also filled our fuel tank in Bozeman.

From there we drove east on I-90 past Livingston to US89 north. There wasn’t much traffic on US89. We enjoyed the scenery and amused ourselves by counting the antelope and deer we saw along the way. Our next stop was White Sulphur Springs. I told Donna about the motel and spa there. They have hot mineral water pools there. For a fee, you can soak in the mineral water.

I used to come to this area every year in late October and spend 15 to 20 days hunting big game in the Little Belt Mountains. While we were in the area, Jim Birditt and I would make a couple of trips to White Sulphur Springs to do laundry and soak at the spa. In late fall, it can be very cold here. Jimbo and I always soaked in the enclosed pool.

Things have changed. The enclosed pool is the same, but they’ve added another outdoor pool with jets. The water in the pools comes from natural hot springs. The pools are different temperatures, ranging from 96 degrees to 105 degrees on most days. They completely drain the pools every night and allow the springs to refill them.

Board indicates temperatures of the pools

Donna enjoying the jets in the 102-degree pool

Murals on the walls of the pool area

Before we left West Yellowstone, I was able to reach a dear old friend on the phone. When I used to hunt big game in Montana, we stayed in a cabin north of White Sulphur Springs. Bob and Shirley McBride own about 160 acres of land within the Lewis and Clark National Forest. It’s not uncommon for land to be privately held within public land areas. This is known as checkerboarding. In some areas, every other section is privately held (a section is nominally a square mile or 640 acres). Most of the private sections were originally railroad grants to develop the west.

Bob McBride is a Montana native – I think he grew up near Big Sky. He has an engineering degree and was commissioned in the Navy as a Seabee officer. I don’t think there’s anything that Bob can’t fix or build. When he bought the land, there was an old cabin on it. It wasn’t much of a cabin really – just walls without a roof. There was no floor and the interior was full of cow manure. Over time, Bob rebuilt the cabin, then started adding buildings. He built a log barn. He built a bunkhouse called The Annex. The Annex is where Jimbo and I slept on our hunting trips. He built a wood-fired sauna.

Bob always had a task for us when we came out there. He was always building or working on something.

When I talked to Shirley, she said we were welcome to come out to the cabin. No one was there and she didn’t expect anyone to come while we camped there.

We drove north from White Sulphur Springs about 15 miles. I haven’t been in this area since the 1990s. A few things have changed, but it’s not too different from what I remembered. I found the dirt road that leads to their land. I pulled off in a turn-out on the opposite side of the road. I wanted to walk in first and make sure I could get our rig through the gate. The road is tight and as you enter from the highway, it immediately turns 90 degrees to the left, followed by a 90-degree right turn through a gate.

I decided to go for it. But, I had a problem. I couldn’t turn around from the turnout we were in. The two-lane highway was too narrow and didn’t have a shoulder. I had no choice but to drive north in search of a suitable turnaround. I wasn’t feeling too good about it. I couldn’t remember much development until the town of Neihart, 21 miles away.

Eight miles later, I saw a motel on the left with a parking area the encircled the building. We were able to turn around and head back to the cabin. With some careful maneuvering, we entered through the gate. The first thing we saw was an antelope walking in front of us. I couldn’t believe it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an antelope here, only deer and elk.

The road to the cabin

The two-track dirt road meanders through a couple stands of pine trees. We barely fit through a few spots. A mile in, we came to the gate marking the entrance to Bob’s property.

Gate at east end of Mumbro Park

The compound with the cabin is called Mumbro Park. I don’t remember the story behind the name. We passed through a few gates on the way in. I told Donna the rule – if it’s open when you come through, leave it open. If it’s closed, close it behind you.

The cabin sits nearly two miles in from the highway. It’s totally remote. No cell service, no Internet connectivity, no electricity. The kitchen in the cabin has a spring-fed sink with good water. Other than that, there’s no plumbing. Everything is heated with wood-burning stoves and there’s a big old wood-burning oven and stove top.

I turned around in front of the barn and parked in a fairly level spot.

Parked in front of the barn

We couldn’t hear anything but the sounds of nature. There were tree swallows and blue birds flying around us. The view out our windshield was amazing. I took Donna on a tour of the place. That will be in my next post.

Windshield view

Flying The Koop

…from real estate to wheel estate and back again

Category Archives: Restaurants

$50 Flip Flops and Free Blackberries

First Saturday Club Anniversary

Pine Near RV Park

Food and Brew

Independence Day

Looking For Shade

Dodging Showers

Blow Out

Tamale Tuesday

White Sulphur Springs

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