steved44

Linda & Dave, that's quite a change, but it sounds like you guys have figured out what will work with you. Life is all about compromises. We'll keep and eye out for you on the road. I just finished restringing one of our day/night shades. It was one of the bigger ones, and it was quite a project. Won't be near as hard the next time I have to do it. I got the repair kit from thedirtyblindman.com and it included springs, bushings and enough string to hang myself . Getting the valance, which contained the shade, down off the wall was the hardest part. I couldn't see the screws holding it up to the cabinet, because I couldn't get my head and my glasses in the right position at the same time. The directions said, "simply pop the shade loose with a flat screwdriver". I hate it when they start off with words like, simply, easy, quickly, and things like that. I couldn't do the first step. No amount of prying, crying, poking, cursing, cajoling would make the simple bracket pop loose. After I finally got enough lights up in there (read that 5) and the right mirror, I found out they put screws into each easy pop hanger, so that they wouldn't fall out on their own. Problem was the heads of the screws were facing outward at an angle you couldn't reach with a screwdriver. Then, just before I used the string to hang myself, I spotted the square headed screws that held the valance to the upper cabinet. They were brown and screwed into brown carpet material, so you couldn't see them at all. I got off the chair, put the string back and proceeded to get those screws out. Now, I read somewhere in the directions that once you got everything loose, it would probably fall on your head if you weren't careful. Weeellll, how did i ever forget that one? After putting the band-aid on the head, I got the whole mess into the bedroom and layed it on the only flat place big enough in the bus to sit something like that. Wind was blowing out by the picnic table by now. I had this CD with all the instructions on it, but when I got my shade apart, it was not like any of them. Anyway, aside from getting tangled up in the string 47 times, I managed to get the whole thing back together and it appeared to work. I went out to hang it back on the wall and found out I had put one part of the shade in back wards. That must have happened when I tried to go to the bathroom and the string caught on my shoe and I drug the whole mess off the bed onto the floor. Sigh! I took it back apart and flipped the center section to the right position and restrung it. Finally got it back on the wall and what do you know, IT WORKED! Woooo Hoooo! It's not really that bad a job once you get it off the wall, and it sure gives retirees a good reason to stay off the streets for a while. Now for an adult beverage. Hmmmmmmmm Steve

We just came through that area. There's a campground called TeePee RV park just on the south side of Rapid City that was inexpensive and a good place for a base camp. It's between Rapid City and Rushmore. Steve

Well, another great day in the PNW. We spent most of the day at the Wooden Boat Show that has been going on all weekend here in Port Townsend. Hundreds of old wooden boats and all the cool "stuff" that comes with them. They had a parade yesterday where all the boats came out of the wharf area and sailed or motored past the harbor. We were standing right where they all had to sail right past us on the way out of the dock and were able to get nice pictures and a good look at them all. Earlier you could wander around the docks and go aboard most of them, and that was a treat. Saw some really nice woodworking. There is a wooden boat restoring business/school right on the waterfront, and we were able to look at boats in all stages of repair. I had to be careful out there too as there were a number of "Joe Spiker spies" roaming around out there and I had to duck them all. IYQ, why don't you try hanging yourself up by your feet and see if that will straighten you out. Just a rope, pulley and an old pair of boots should do it. Holding yourself up with the rope would give you a good "upper body" workout too. Be careful that you don't fall asleep in that position and let go of the rope. Then your head will hurt too. Kay & Dan, glad to see you guys get out of the HOT LOCKER finally. We've sure been enjoying the cool weather in this area. Nice to have wheels. Steve

I don't like those MRI machines very much either. They are kind of like being put in a culvert and have someone beat on it with a jackhammer for a while. I was able to get one of the "open MRI" machines the last time and it was much better. I sure hope they find out what's going on with the hip. I had to get rid of one of my hips in 2006, and so far the new one has done fine. Maybe they can put you in a "grease zerk" so you can give it a shot once and a while. We're still hanging out at Ft Flagler, but will be moving to the Elks club at Port Townsend on Thursday. They have a big wooden boat show next weekend, so we want to be close to that, and the Elks is right on the edge of town. We still have to check out the SKP park at Chimacum. It's not far from here, but we needed to be as close to Ft. Flagler as we could and this place was a mile from the gate. It's called Smitty's Island retreat, and it is a nice park. The owners are SKP's also, and when they got this park they took out every other space, so it's nice and roomy. Full hookups and clear sky to the south for the sat's. Very quiet here too! We have a whale watching boat trip going out of Port Townsend on Friday, so that should be fun. They are going to the San Juans, Friday Harbor, and back. I may have to jump ship and swim over to surprise Joe!! Oh, did I mention that the weather here was perfect! Ok, the weather here is perfect!

OK,"pops" we'll promise to keep it clean. But don't stay away too long as we have a hard time remembering what we were supposed to "stop doing"! Had quite a busy day today. Got up early as we are next to Ft. Flagler at Smitty's RV park. Today was the day we had to take my brother's boat from Seattle to Ft. Flagler. I had to go back to Seattle to ride with him on the boat to be able to help him through the locks. That meant that Carol had to drive me to the ferry dock in Kingston at 7:55 to allow me to walk on the ferry. We didn't get an early enough start, and we were pulling into the ferry dock at 7:55 and I didn't think I would make it. When I actually did get to the ferry before it left, the attendant said "what's the rush, you had a couple of minutes to spare". Anyway I made it and they had a fine apple fritter and coffee on the ferry, so all was fine in the end. We took his boat through the locks and it took us about 4 1/2 hours to get to Flagler. Nice day out there, and smooth seas. We put out 4 crab pots when we got there and checked them in a couple of hours and limited out. Then we took them to the bus, cooked em and had them with corn on the cob. Butter was slinging everywhere . Went back to his boat for a nightcap, and watch the sun go down, and were filled with the thoughts that "this is the way to live"! Now I'm exhausted, so I'm going to "pull a Steve", nite all!! ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Lee, sorry to hear that the aleve didn't do you any good, it seems to help me more than ibuprofen. Sounds like you need a good hot tub to soak in. Thunder boomers are something we haven't heard since we left Oklahoma in June. They even promised me rain up here in Seattle and so far haven't been able to come up with any. We got through with my nephew's wedding yesterday. Our son flew in from Oklahoma for the wedding, so it was good to see him too. It was held in the Fremont Abby in North Seattle by the Zoo. We were the flower haulers, and we were on our way to the Abby with the flowers, when all of a sudden traffic came to a stop. Nothing was moving, and when we finally did get to move, we found out there was a house fire a block from the church! We were starting to get a little nervous about getting all the flowers there on time, but we made it OK, with a few minutes to spare. Nice wedding, and the groom had his "rock and blues" band there to play after the ceremony. I didn't realize he was such an accomplished guitar player, but he was great, and played a little in the "BB King" style. We "rocked the abbey", until about 10:00 PM and then started back for the bus. Turns out the tunnel we had been using to get back and forth through town was closed for some reason, and we got dumped right out in downtown Seattle. Our little GPS finally managed to get us home, but it sure was an interesting route. Saw some parts of Seattle that were sure not on the "tourist" list! We have to head out for Fisherman's Terminal this morning to take my brothers boat out on lake Union for a "hangover cruise", so that should be interesting. Steve

Well, I don't take ibuprofen, but I take Aleve every day with my aspirin. Hasn't killed me yet, but there's always tomorrow. Sorry you got your step all messed up. I have a good friend that is a welder and general fix it guy that I always can go to to fix things like that in Meeker Oklahoma. Now being in the wilds of Washington state I don't have that privilege any more. I know there are people around here like that, but finding them is another matter. Just have to keep my ears open I guess. Dealers charge way too much for servicing your truck. I had that problem all the time when I had my fleet. Yes, they do know the product better, but and oil change is an oil change and there are a lot of places that can do that sort of thing with reasonable competence. I think I may have "snuck" under Joe's radar net. He had Jerry & Janice posted in Leavenworth watching for me, but I ducked down and slid under them on I-90. I came into Seattle during "rush hour" and managed to find the Elks club before anyone crashed into me, but it was nip and tuck until we got here. BessyBus had to activate all of her "force fields" to keep the attacking local vehicles off her side. Phew! Now I'm relaxing with an "adult beverage" until my heart rate and blood pressure get back to normal.

Jerry & Janice, we are parked at the Elks club on 1st Ave on the NW side of the airport. Don't tell Joe though shhhhhhh!

Lee, so you need an adjustment for both you and your truck? I hope you get some relief from the bone cracker, and your truck from the steel whacker!! No fun being in pain all the time. We're getting ready to move out toward Seattle. Got to find a tank dump place first though. We have a list of places right near here and filed it somewhere. We seem to be just a little too efficient sometimes.

It sounds like waaay too much fun is being had at the Spiker Resort! We're trying to get our "bribe money" together for our "assault" on the island, but things like that take time. We had a fun time here yesterday in Coeur d' Alene. We started with breakfast in a diner called Jimmy's down the street! This was one of the places featured in the Diner, drive in, and dives, show last year and it sure lived up to it's reputation. The biscuits they served were about the size of the hubcaps on BessyBus, and everything else was great too. Then we toured around Lake Hayden, which is another smaller lake just north of town, and decided to put the little boat in and tool around. We spent the afternoon driving by the docks of fancy homes on the lake and enjoying the perfect weather. Next weekend is a big wooden boat show on Coeur d' Alene, and a few of the boats were being "checked out" on the lake we were on, so we got a little show too. Next week we will be heading to Seattle for my nephew's wedding on Saturday. We are going to get there Thursday, and will be parked in the driveway of the bride's parents home just north of Green Lake. Our son is going to fly in from Oklahoma on Friday, so we will be there to pick him up. They will be having a rehearsal dinner Friday night, so maybe we can sneak some crab there. My sister and her husband are coming in to the wedding from Colorado, so it will be nice to see them there too. Sort of a small family reunion! Well time to get ready to do a little more exploring around here. Have a good day and go work off some of that crab. Steve

Hey, Jerry, check out the Escapee park at Chimicum. We are going to ft. Flagler to meet my brother and friends and may try to stay at the skp park. We're not quite close enough to block the "ferry route" exit from Whidby yet, but working our way there. Oh, yeah we are in Canada, shhhhh, our GPS doesnt't even know where we are. We pulled into this town and the GPS said it had 3 Walmarts????? We finally tripped over the walmart while looking for a Costco! Aaarrgghhhh!

EH!! shhhhhhhhhhhh

And I won't say that we went to Canada yesterday, and could sneak into Oak Harbor from the North! I didn't say that!

Hmmmm lets see, you open the drivers side door, put some hamburger on the bake pedal, then go around and loosen the right rear brake bleeder. Now let Millie loose. When she jumps on the brake pedal to get the hamburg, you wait until the fluid comes out, then quickly close the bleeder before she finishes. Piece of cake! Now repeat three more times. Good luck!

Well, we drove the "Highway to the Sun" in Glacier today and got above the snow line!! It was about 70 degrees up there, but I got to throw a snowball at Carol. Don't ever take a photographer on that road, I think I'll have to get the brakes replaced before we leave. I can use my boat there, I just have to get it inspected for sea critters, and theres no charge, so I think I'm going to give it a try. We watched the tourist boat take off yesterday and it looked like a very pretty ride. And you don't need a fishing license to fish there, how about that. I got in free with my senior access pass, so life is good. Jim & Sandi, don't do too much in that heat, we don't want you melting on us! Congratulations on moving into your new home, exciting stuff! Don't run off too far Joe, I'm only 587 miles out

We tried to get stuck yesterday! Got a late start, so we didn't quite get to Ft. Benton. We were just past Stanford, which is the next town from the fort and found out the campground at the fort had just filled up. Whoops! Anyway, I remembered what looked like a small RV park in Stanford, so we had to turn around and go back. What no place to turn around! Finally we saw a small gravel path off the main road and a tractor parked there and decided to try to turn there. Well it seemed pretty hard ground when we started around the tractor, but then I could feel it start to sink in a little and floored it! We threw some dirt around, but made it out of there, and didn't even break a glass in the cupboard! Drove to the little park, and snagged a FHU spot in time to watch the sunset. Coach-net would have had a fun time finding me up here!! Nice and cool last night too, finally got to the end of the hot weather. BessyBus said if I would put some different tires on her she could enter in the mud bogs!

Yes, we had a great time with Jim & Sandi. Soooo good to see them again! We got to see their "new home" too along with riding in their new Chevy truck. Now they have the task of transferring all their stuff from the motor-home to the 5th wheel. Jim put a new tile floor in the 5th wheel and it looks great, nice job Jim. We got a nice tour of the city, and really enjoyed the different topography of the area. We are getting ready to head out this morning, (or the "crack of 11"), anyway move up to Glacier NP. We are thinking of stopping at the little town of Fort Benton for the night and then try to find a base camp in St. Mary, on the East side of the park. That's the jello plan anyway. Dave, I just had a "mental image" of millie with little pontoons on her feet. Hmmmmmmmm

Ha Ha, They must have been from Manhattan!

We are camped out at the foot of Devil's Tower. I think I see "ET" up there right now, or maybe it's just "swamp gas"?? Just finished a great meal of pesto and pasta, with a little cranberry juice. MMMMMMMMmmmmm Good! Carol took the hike around the monument and really enjoyed it. This park has no hook ups, but for $6 a night (with the old farts card), it's a real bargain. Weather is perfect, and we are parked by a little river with our front window filled with the tower. The spots here are not filled, maybe 50 or 60 percent, and it's really quiet and kept up. There is a store and a KOA campground just before you enter the park and it looked like there was a lot of activity going on there. They did "get us" for a couple of scoops of ice cream though. Didn't want to have to get "the machine" out for just an overnight stay We are going to take some morning pictures there tomorrow before we leave. Steve

We've been to Lake Shawnee too and it is a nice park. Our daughter used to row for Oklahoma University, and she had a couple of races there. Steve

Managed to double post

We toured the Badlands today, and on the way back we ran into a pretty good storm. We made it through it ok, but when we got back to the rig there was about 3" of SNOW on the ground . Actually it was hail, but it sure looked like snow, and the temp went from 92 degrees down to 61! Now we are looking for jackets Woo Hoo! No damage to the rig, but it sure looked funny around here. We have to leave tomorrow, so we will be looking for a team of "sled dogs" to tow us out of here. I can't tell any of my friends in Oklahoma that I'm standing in SNOW, that would be too much of a shock for their thought processes!! Jim & Sandi, we're heading for a place called "Billings", know anything about it?

We've been doing tourist things too, Lee. There was more air over here, and we found a "cloud leak" too, but it's been pretty nice here overall. We had a late lunch/early supper, with Jeff & Suzanne (Two Hams in a Can)yesterday. The last time we saw them was in Deming last winter in a snow storm. We had a lot of fun at, On the Boarder, and a couple of .99 cent margaritas in the process. They are a nice couple and it was a pleasure to meet them again and "break bread". Today we played tourist again and visited Sturgis and Deadwood. Nothing dead about those two places. Sturgis is gearing up for the big motorcycle extravaganza starting next week. There are a lot of motorcycles around hear already, and all kinds of events happening. We saw three gunfights, one trial, and a hanging in Deadwood, along with a rodeo. I think we are going to head out of here on Thursday, so we have another day to visit a few more places before we leave. We could easily spend a month or two around here as there are many things to see and the weather here is great. I bought a GPS yesterday for the truck. I wound up getting a Garmin 1490 at Sam's club,and I think it will do the job nicely. This one came with free lifetime map updates and blue-tooth for the phone, so we'll try it out. Got us back from Deadwood tonight, so it works! I was going to get one of the new Rand McNally RV ones, but no-one around here had one and it was $200 more than the one I got with not that many extra features. I does have a truck sizing /warning thing which I would have liked to try out, but I guess I will just have to look out the windows.. We are not sure about where we will be spending the winter yet, but one thing we will do is hunt some of you down where ever you are. More later Steve

Welcome, Jim & Jill from somewhere South of Rapid City. Ice cream machine? what ice cream machine? psssst I'll give you the combination to the safe that houses the key that unlocks the gate that that that, hmmmm what was I talking about? Anyway keep posting and let us know what's going on with you guys. We are getting ready to check out Mount Rushmore this morning as soon as we check in with our leaders. Oh, yeah, we ain't got no leaders!! Steve