We have been here a week today and had to go to the dump to clean out the Black (sewer) & Gray (shower water) tanks. Even though they are big tanks and they weren't filled, we don't like letting them getting to high. The day started out really overcast and we thought we'd get rain at any time.... so we kept putting off dumping of the tanks. But we soon we realized the rain was kinda stalling and we decided it was now or never. Since my daughter will be here tomorrow with her two boys we knew we couldn't put it off any longer. It doesn't matter if you're going .5 miles or 500 miles the routine is the same. Put everything that could fall off or roll around away, Clean off all counters and secure the cabinets, put down the antenna, bring in the rooms, and take up the jacks... Unhook the water & electric.
Drive over to the dump, drain the tanks, rinse them out, drive back to the site and set up the coach. Same as preparing it to leave but in reverse. So that's our excitement for the day. We are still very cloudy & dreary but no rain... Guess it's a great afternoon for reading and watching old movies. For my honey it would be Gunsmoke reruns!!!
We had tacos for dinner and pretty much still waiting for rain... Where did it go???
So there you go... a day in the lives of Rvers'
Have Fun, Travel Safe & Stay Healthy!!!
We have been at Stephen Foster Folk Cultural State Park in White Springs Forida for the last 2 weeks and had to leave for a few days before we could go back for another 2 weeks. So just 3 miles down the road on SR 136 is Lee's Country Campground (Click to go see my review of the park). We decided to stay here as it looked like a very nice & clean RV Park. While here we'll do some heavy duty cleaning and since they have sewer we'll get all of our wash done. That is one of the cons of staying in beautiful state parks and Corps of Engineering parks. The majority of them have no sewer
Tomorrow my honey is taking me to see the movie "Green Lantern" and out to a nice Italian Restaurant in Lake City. I am looking foward to that very much!
Have Fun, Travel Safe & Stay Healthy!!!
We were driving around a couple of days ago and found the cutest little town of Snoqualmie. Just outside of town are the Snoqualmie Falls is one of the most stunning waterfalls we’ve come across on this trip. The crashing falls are a sight to behold -- The waterfall is on the Snoqualmie River dropping 268 vertical feet over volcanic rock and sending a thundering mist back up the canyon walls and into the fir-covered hills. The Falls were also featured in the popular cult television show "Twin Peaks"..jpg)
At the top of Snoqualmie Falls, there is a luxury mountain lodge hotel -- the Salish Lodge. Renowned for 4 star service and Northwestern style, the hotel features a famous dining room looking out onto the falls. A great place for lunch!
We then drove through town and first thing we saw was all the old trains on a track. Lots of them! There were many old engines & cars all waiting for someone to restore them. Also there was the Victorian Snoqualmie Depot. The Snoqualmie Depot was built in 1890 as an arrival point for tourists coming to hunt, fish and view the already world-famous Snoqualmie Falls. Just down the road from that was a train museum which we didn't go into but will when we come back next year
Train Depot and one of the restored engines
The town of Snoqualmie was built on the route of the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway (SLS&E). The railway started on Seattle's waterfront and wound around Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish (now the route of the Burke-Gilman Trail) on it's way to a planned crossing of Snoqualmie Pass
train museum
When the Snoqualmie Falls Lumber Company (now Weyerhaeuser) began it's operation about a mile north of town, the mill was set up to handle the huge Douglas-fir, sitka spruce, western hemlock, and western red cedar trees which covered the hills and mountains of the region. On display today is an example of those type of logs. Unfortunately, time and uncaring people have defaced this log. Logs 10 to 15 feet in diameter were carried by train to the mill, through a huge band saw, cutting timbers up to three feet square for trestle bridges and warehouse floors.
Sample of the logs processed in the lumber factory
The Snoqualmie Falls Lumber Co. Powerhouse and Brick Stack are key surviving components of an innovative, early 20th century milling operation that was the most expansive of its kind ever to operate in King County. The brick powerhouse and 211-foot brick stack functioned as the heart of the all-electric plant. According to the Weyerhaeuser Co., the Snoqualmie Falls Lumber Co. (SFLCo) mill was only the second such all-electric mill operation in the nation, and the first of its kind to employ electrical powered cutting operations in the woods. Today, the mill complex itself has all but disappeared. A large open space remains on the level valley floor previously crowded with buildings and structures containing machinery and operations for log cutting, planing, processing, and lumber sorting. Today the power plant serves as the last tangible symbol of the community of Snoqualmie Falls and its social and economic legacy. The Snoqualmie Falls Lumber Company Powerhouse was designated a King County Landmark in 2005. remains of the old Snoqualmie Falls Lumber Co
Until Later... Have FUN, Travel Safe & Enjoy Everyday!
While visiting the Oregon Coast we had the opportunity to visit & tour many of the spectacular Light Houses. This was a great experience for all of us and we thoroughly enjoyed each one which had their own personalities. It is one of the things we really enjoy doing in our travels. Rocky coastline and angry oceans can be a recipe for disaster. That's where lighthouses come in. For over one hundred years, these life saving bastions have been helping mariners safely navigate along the Oregon coast.
Heceta Head Lighthouse is located on the Oregon Coast 13 miles north of Florence and 13 miles south of Yachats. It is located at Heceta Head Lighthouse State Scenic Viewpoint and is the most photographed lighthouse in Oregon. The lighthouse has been guiding ships with Oregon’s most powerful light since 1894. It houses an English made first order Fresnel lens with a rotating beam that can be seen 21 miles out to sea. For many years the lens rotated by a weight being lowered on a cable, similar to a grandfather clock. It was the responsibility of the keepers on the nightly watch to periodically rewind the weight to continue the rotation. Today the lens turns with the aid of a 1.5 horsepower motor. The light is maintained by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, while the assistant lighthouse keepers' house is now a bed and breakfast maintained by the U.S. Forest Service.
At ninety-three feet, Yaquina Head Lighthouse is the tallest tower on the Oregon coast and is also a sibling to Pigeon Point Lighthouse in California and Bodie Island Lighthouse in North Carolina. The light shines 162 feet above the ocean and can be seen nineteen miles out to sea. The light was automated on May 1, 1966, and the two keeper's dwelling, which had been boarded up and abandoned, were demolished in 1984. The original lens is still in place, but is now illuminated with an electric 1,000-watt globe. It has a signature of two seconds on, two seconds off, two seconds on, then fourteen seconds off. Just south of the lighthouse are amazing tide pools where seaweeds, seals, sea stars, hermit crabs, purple urchins, and anemones can be seen.
A piece of Oregon history sits atop a bluff at the mouth of the Yaquina River. It is the Historic Yaquina Bay Lighthouse, built in 1871 and decommissioned in 1874. It was officially restored as a privately maintained aid to navigation on December 7, 1996.
It is believed to be the oldest structure in Newport. It is also the only existing Oregon lighthouse with the living quarters attached, and the only historic wooden Oregon lighthouse still standing. The Yaquina Bay Lighthouse is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Spiral Staircase up to bedrooms upstairs & one of the bedrooms
Sadly on the night of January 9, 2010, vandals struck the Cape Meares Lighthouse. Several rounds were fired at the lantern room, breaking fifteen panes of glass in the lantern room and several prisms in the priceless Fresnel lens. The estimated damage was $500,000, and a $5,000 reward was offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators. Twenty-six-year-old David Wilks Jr. and twenty-three-year-old Zachary Pyle were arrested on February 10, just over a month after the incident, and charged with first-degree criminal mischief, a class C felony, and four misdemeanor charges.
Spiral staircase leading to light and information on lighthouse
The beautiful Stellar Blue jay & another spectacular sunset
Until Later... Have FUN, Travel Safe & Enjoy Everyday!
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