July 31st We left for the North - Oregon & Washington - for a few months. We are both excited to get back on the road. This trip will end in Pismo Beach a week or two before Thanksgiving. We are excited to see new places that we haven't seen before, and see some of the places we have visited.
Our first stop was over night in Red Bluff. Matt and family have moved, so no one to visit this year. But we did go to our favorite Mexican food restaurant in town, and didn't even unhook the trailer. The meal was great.
The next day we headed for Klamath Fall, OR and Collier State Park. The park had a lot of open spots, but filled up for the week-end. About half of the park is first come basis, the rest are for people that plan ahead. We had a great spot. They have old movies about the state on Friday & Saturday nights. Full hook ups and only $22.00 per night.
They have a great logging museum on the opposite side of the street. The is a path about 1/2 mile from the campsite under the road, along side the river. Lots of old vehicles, log cabins, and story line along the way. Stop and see this when your in the area.
Vonna's cousin, Jannette, lives in Klamath Falls, and she drove out to see us at our campsite. We had a nice visit, and met again at the farmers market in downtown Klamath Falls. We got to see one of her sons and a granddaughter. John was out fishing, so we didn't get to see him. Maybe next time.
Vonna and I really enjoyed our visit with Jannette and catching up on what has been happening in her life and how her family has grown.
One of the places we knew we wanted to see was Crater Lake National Park. We had heard so much about the lake and we were not disappointed. The day was not a clear as it could have been, but the views were breath taking. There have been a lot of fires in the southern half of Oregon, so the air quality is not what it normally is. We decided to take the guided trolley around the lake with a ranger on board as the guide. This was a very good way to see the lake and hear about the area. The is a drive around the lake 33 mi. and about 30 stops. We stopped about 7-8 times, and the ranger pointed out areas of interest and told stories along the way. We had one other family - grandparents with 4 grandkids on a grandma trip. They asked a lot of great questions along the way.
We eat lunch at the coffee shop, and shopped for a while. We stopped at the visitors center to watch a movie. Then drove back to the campsite. This is one place that we could return to. We were off the Oregon City to see Annie & Ervin the next day. This has been a great stop and I'm sure we will come back this way some day!
The next day was a travel day. We had decided to drive all the way, 250 miles or so, to Annie & Ervin's house. We knew the route we were going, but had to make a couple of changes because of road work, and drove through Bend. We talked about our good friends Nick & Ellen not living there anymore, but on an adventure to Asia. (Special note here - they have a blog at http://middelplaats.blogspot.com/ and are having a wonderful time. Ellen writes and puts on pictures. You feel like you are there.)
Anyway, after a long day we made it to Oregon City, got the rig setup beside Annie & Ervin's house, and relaxed on their deck. It was great seeing them again. Seemed like yesterday that we saw them, but it had been almost a year. 
Annie had meals all planned and ready to heat. She had deserts for us, on her counter and read to eat. Plans made to see things and time on the deck to visit. We had a great time. We spent an afternoon in Portland, looking at art galleries, dress shops, lunch at a small Mexican Resturant, coffee at Starbucks, and on and on, until it was time to head back. A great day.
They had planned a day to take a railroad trip to Parkdale. It was a great ride up on the side of Mount Hood. Great ride, lunch at a nice BBQ Resturant, and museum in town. Then we headed back. We stopped on the river and stopped to look at the salmon ladder at the Bonneville Lock & Dam. It is underwater and you see the salmon swimming upstream. It was a great stop. We didn't have a lot of time there and would be a great stop to make next trip to the area.
We drove past a couple of waterfalls, and to the old highway. There was a Resturant there called Tad's that we stopped at for dinner. Chicken and dumpling the old way. They were the largest (Vonna & I shared an order and still had some left over) we had seen. We were right on the river, people rafting, in kayaks, and on tubes, drifting down the river. It was very peaceful, and the company was great. We had a lady come over and want to take a picture of all of us. She was a funny little lady, and wanted to keep taking the picture, but Annie said it was fine. She was having fun drinking wine. The lady, not Annie. 
Oh, I forgot to tell you about Ervin's new Dodge Truck. It is very nice, and I'm a little jealous. It has everything, including heated and AC seats. I wanted to trade him, but he wasn't ready to get rid of it. It is a special truck, and should last them for many years. He is a lucky man.
They also have a '37 Chevy. It was Annie's when she was 17 and has been redone over the past few years. We took a ride in it and that took us back to the past. A great ride, and Ervin even has a hat with a story to fit right in.
Our last day with Annie and Ervin was spent at a Antique Street Fair in a little town near their house. We walked and looked and laughed till we were very tired. Lunch at a local pub, and walk some more. We really enjoyed it, even stopping and getting an ice cream on the way to the truck. We had a great time.
The first two weeks on our trip have been great. We will miss Annie & Ervin as we travel on, but may see them later on towards the end of our trip. (They are awesome host's)
