June 14 thru June 20, 2006 (Days 21 thru 27)

It’s been a week since our last update. My, how time flies when you’re having fun!

On Wednesday, the 14th, I took off the morning of work to take an in-town tour. These non-tourist tours had been arranged for the early workers by the Club. My place of interest was “Loose Ends”. This was a large store that serves artists, decorators, craftspersons, or people who just like “stuff”. They had many, many items--mostly organic and natural—that were of great interest. They sell their items all over the world, by internet, and they shop for these items from all over the world (at local marketplaces). A couple of their clients have been Martha Stewart and Oprah.

On Thursday, the 15th, I took off work in the afternoon hours to go to “Greenbaum’s Quilted Forest”. This fabric store carries beautiful materials and batiks, none like I’ve seen any where. A demonstration was held showing us how to make a wrap with fabric strips and enhancements. I could have spent a lot of money there buying fabric. (But, where, oh where, would we put it?!)

On Friday, the 16th, Dan and I both toured the Forest River RV Manufacturing Co., in Dallas, OR. They make RV’s and 5th wheels. We have never toured an RV factory before, not even Airstream’s. It was very interesting. They made over 500 RV’s for Hurricane Katrina survivors.

Last Saturday, the 17th, our friends from Clearwater, FL, Joe and Jackie Walker, came to visit with us. We learned from a phone call one week before we left Wentzville that they were going to be vacationing in the Northwest and would be in our area last weekend. It was so good to see them and visit, even if only for a little while. We had not seen them for over six years. We had lunch together, then they left mid-afternoon.

That evening we went over to Cousin Jim’s for dinner. We sat on their deck overlooking their beautiful flower gardens, sipping margaritas and munching on chips and salsa. Then Jim grilled steaks and Kathy fixed a great salad and steamed artichokes. We had a nice time visiting.

On Sunday, after interdenominational church services here at the rally, we drove about 40 minutes up into the foothills to a neighboring town for a strawberry festival. It was a small event, but we enjoyed eating strawberry shortcake and ice cream, all-you-can-eat style. We won’t say how many times we went back for seconds, and thirds, and, etc.! It was lunch.

On the way back to the rally site, we stopped and did laundry. (Such fond memories from college days!) Got a few groceries and then back to the trailer.

On Monday, the 19th, we had one more tour. Dan and I went thru a tortilla and chips factory, called “Don Poncho Foods”. It was interesting, and we even got to munch on chips, still warm off the conveyor belt! Yum!

Today, June 20th, Dan and I went on a professional tour that we had signed up for 4-5 months ago. This one was by motor coach with a professional guide. We went to Mt. Hood, at an elevation of 11,239 ft. However, the tour only took us to Timberline Lodge at 5950 ft. It is a beautiful lodge built with big timbers and iron. The tour was impressive. It is hard to imagine what it was like to build it back in 1939. Our lunch there was great with a view from the dining room out to the top of the mountain, and and we saw skiers coming down the slopes. There is still a lot of snow up there, and people ski year-round. Temps were in the 30’s. We were lucky, though, as the skies were so clear and blue, and we had great viewing of the mountain. The drive was beautiful. We also saw Mt. Jefferson in the distance.

Coming back, we stopped at a fruit farm and saw their operation. This whole area is called the “fruit loop”, as there are many fruit farms in the same area. They had bing cherries and strawberries in season. There were also beautiful flowers and flower pots for sale. Wish I could have bought one, but it would never make it through Alaska!

We stopped at Multnomah Falls, as we traveled through the Columbia River Gorge. These falls are over 620 ft. high. We saw several other falls, too, as we descended from the falls on one of the nation’s top 10 scenic drives.

Now tomorrow, it is back to work for both of us. Many more Airstreamers have arrived since last week. The fairgrounds are filling up. Yet, the rally doesn’t officially start until the 27th.

We miss all of you. Till the next time….

Sorry it took so long to get all of the pictures loaded. We have WiFi here but it is in a building all the way across the fair grounds. We couldn't load the the pictures the other night due to "Blogger problems" and I only had time for 2 yesterday. Now we're caught up. Thanks for your e-mails.

We thought we would include some pictures.
1) The one of our “rig” is shown. We have referred to it as Black Bear (the Suburban) and Silver Tent (the Airstream trailer).
2) Dan and I are standing inside a viewing area at the Lincoln Monument at the highest point on I-84. It is at 8640 ft. in elevation.
3) Here we are along the Pacific Coast. We sure enjoyed the views along highway 101 along the Oregon coast.
4) There is a section in Salem known as “Lancaster”. There is a Lancaster Mall, Lancaster St., Lancaster Car Wash, and this is the Lancaster Laundry. For those of you reading this that don’t know, “Lancaster” is my maiden name.



June 13, 2006 (Day 20)

Another day to report to work. Offices were open and equipment delivered, so no excuses to not work today, at least for me. Our days will pretty much be the same as this. Get up, eat pancakes, go to work, back to the trailer for lunch or go out and get a sandwich, back to work, quit at 4, get dinner.

Today was a great day, as mail delivery started today, and we got our first mail. Had a card and letter from Susan and a box of our personal mail and magazines from Renae. It has been a little strange not getting mail every day, and today, it was like opening Christmas presents. Renae had sent 5- year pictures of Becca. They are good and we are so glad to have them.

I give no guarantee that I will have anything to write about the next few days if they are all the same as today. We will keep in touch as things happen.

Love to all, B & D



June 12, 2006 (Day 19)

Today is Monday. We both reported to work at 8 a.m. The club served a pancake breakfast to the early workers from 7-8 a.m. That is a nice perk, but I’ll comment on that again at the end of the week, as they are to do this all week.

When we got to work, found that we were locked out of all the rooms (offices). It seems the fairgrounds personnel weren’t as intent to get going so bright and early! None of the properties that had been boxed up and transported to Salem from last year’s rally site were delivered, so with no records or items to work with, it was difficult. The copy center workers (where I work) went home at noon. Dan continued to work with the purchasing department until after hours. It was the first time he was ever “chewed out” by a boss for working after quitting time!

A group of us went out to eat at a seafood restaurant. Once again, I had oysters. They were so good. I really need to diversify and try something different next time! Dan has been lucky to find chicken or beef on the menu of these seafood restaurants, so he is not starving!

Till tomorrow……..


June 11, 2006 (Day 18)

Today is Sunday and we attended the interdenominational church services put on by the club. We spent the afternoon looking for city parks again, but have decided for sure to stay on grounds for our social. Later in the afternoon, we gathered at a unit member’s motor home for a get-together of whomever wanted to come. Snacked on peanuts and talked a lot. One can really learn at lot at these gatherings.

We were hungry for pizza for dinner, but settled instead for Mexican cuisine. To bed early tonight, as tomorrow we both report to work.


June 10, 2006 (Day 17)

Plans today were to drive to Portland with our friends, Ray and JoAnn, for a rose parade. We have marveled over the roses here. They are so beautiful and big and colorful. It seems every home has 4-6 bushes. It is said this rose parade is only second to the one in Pasedena, CA on New Year’s. It was learned that one half million people were expected and weather was threatening rain. So, we changed plans at the last minute and drove over to the coast again, and this time went north up the coast. Again, some beautiful scenery was evident, and we believe our drive a few days before the other direction was more enjoyable. Again, we had a nice lunch at Oceanside, OR, in a little place along the ocean. The fishermen were pulling in their nets in the bay. All the seafood served there was fresh. I had oysters again. They were fresh from the bay. Yummy.

We stopped at an air museum and then Tillamook Cheese factory. Enjoyed touring the cheese factory, sampling cheeses and ice cream. Bought some cheese curds to take home.

We got back to Salem around 9:15 p.m. Weather had been windy and cool, but sun came through a few times.




June 9, 2006 (Day 16)

It was another nice, sunny day here, with cool temps. Sure beats the 90’s I hear you are having in Missouri. We were both off work today, so since it is our 38th anniversary, we planned to go to a movie and eat dinner out. However, the parking crew decided to move us to our permanent site at 1 p.m. and that changed our plans. We and another trailer pulled out of Stable Estates and went to the dump station (the not-so-glamourous, but necessary, part of trailering) around 12:30. There the parking crew helped us and then got us to our permanent site. We have a nice spot near the buildings the events happen in, and close to the post office, church, and pancake areas. We are on nice thick grass. Many of the others are on asphalt. Sure can’t complain about our spot this year.

The electric crew was there immediately after we parked and got set up to install electric. We were promised water by the next day or Monday. That was no problem, since our water tank was already full and we could exist that long. By the time we left the grounds, it was close to 3:30 and no time to make an afternoon movie.

We scouted some city parks to see about picnic facilities, as we are planning a social gathering for our St. Louis Unit after everyone gets here. This is an event that is customary for the unit president to do each year. It is a chance to get all unit members together, since we are all parked all over the area.

There are parking areas for handicapped, doggie section, executive (officers) row, those with generators, and committee chairmen. We could have parked in the row with all other unit presidents, but elected to park with the committee and are next to two other unit members we know.

For our social gathering, we have decided to have a pie social and may have it on the grounds of the fair grounds. There is a “nature area” here with flowers, bushes, trees, picnic tables, water fountain that will be very pleasant for us and easy for everyone to get to. We have it planned for July 2nd, so I will have to get some quotes on pies from a couple bakeries. One pie we must have is a marionberry pie. This is a type of blackberry that is common out here and is in season now. The county we are in is called Marion County, so thought it would be appropriate!

By the time we got to a restaurant, it was close to 5 p.m. We found a steakhouse with wonderful food. The vegetable of the day was asparagus, very tender and delicious, as it is in season now, too.

We had our very own live drama while at the restaurant (didn’t need a movie theater). We were sitting next to the front windows. This restaurant had grassy areas all around the front. I looked up and saw uniformed police with K-9 dogs running through the yard. One of the police had his gun drawn. Soon the parking lot was full of police cars and police were soon in the restaurant. Like dummies, we enjoyed our steak so much, we just continued eating and enjoying our meal. As we got ready to leave, we asked the waitress what was going on with the police. She said they had been in pursuit of a man with a backpack and found him in the restaurant’s men’s room. He was handcuffed and taken out the back. The police found the backpack and think there were drugs in it. As we left the restaurant, we saw the police loading him in a police car. Later we got to thinking about how we could have been in a dangerous position and didn’t even realize it. But those steaks sure were good!

That night we were invited over to another St. Louis couple’s motor home to celebrate his birthday with cake. There were about 14 of us in their motor home.

Next day…..

We’re a little behind as this is Monday night. We’ll get caught up soon. I’m inserting a picture of the Oregon coast and one of our temporary parking in the horse stable (Stable Estates)--Dan

June 8, 2006 (Day 15)

We awoke today to cloudy skies and very cool temps. Both of us reported to our work stations, only to find very little work. So, I was gone by noon. Dan ran around Salem picking up some supplies for the Purchasing Department. Work ends promptly at 4 p.m., and he worked a full day.

We fixed a light supper in the trailer and just stayed in last night. Tomorrow we are both “off”, and since it is our anniversary, we will plan to do something special.

We will report in once again when there is something to tell! D & B


June 7, 2006 (Day 14)

Once again, we found ourselves being awakened with an alarm clock. Today we both go to work. An international rally does not happen without many people volunteering on different committees and work groups.

Right now the engineering group is measuring and marking off spots to park the Airstreams. The water and electric committees are gathering their equipment in order to lay electric and water lines for the Airstreams. Dan has volunteered for the Purchasing Committee. They will go around town to find businesses where they will need to set up accounts for purchases by different committees, officers, during the rally. I work in the Copy Center, where we make thousands and thousands of copies of various documents, forms, reports, etc. We also put together booklets, fliers, programs, bulletins, etc. We stay very busy.

Volunteers can work as long as they want, take off when they want, as long as the job gets done. The Airstreamers actually set up a little city. We even will have our very own post office, which works out of a refurbished Airstream travel trailer. It is amazing.

We both reported for work at 9 a.m. only to find out doors in the building were still locked, tables and chairs not delivered, and properties not unloaded. So we waited around until that happened and we could begin work. Within an hour after the copy machines were delivered, the copy center had copied over 1100 copies!

There was not much work after that, so everyone left at noon. I went with Dan and some members of the Purchasing Committee for lunch then to a couple areas in Salem (including the Chamber of Commerce) to get some information. We stumbled across a farmers market in downtown Salem, which we find operates on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Several area farmers bring in their produce, flowers, crafts, etc., and set up tents on several streets in the down town area that have been blocked off. We found some local strawberries and split a flat with Ray and JoAnn.

Before coming back to the trailer, Dan and I went to the grocery.

That is the extent of our day today. There probably won’t be much interesting activity from now on, so we may not be posting to the blog as often. We will keep in good touch, though. Until later…..

Beth and Dan
Zile’s on Wheels


June 6, 2006 (Day 13)

What a wonderful day we had today. We are still not working, as the properties have not arrived and there is nothing to do. So, our friends, Ray and JoAnn, took us with them to the Pacific coast.

When we got up, it was sunny and cool. Temp was 57 degrees. We went to a nearby Starbucks for breakfast and to use the internet in able to send our blog of yesterday. We were back at the fairgrounds and ready to leave at 10 a.m.

It was an hour’s drive to the coast through the mountains. Beautiful evergreen forests and curvy roads up and down took us to the town of Lincoln City, OR. We got our first view of the Pacific there. I didn’t realize it was such a deep and pretty blue color. We drove down the Pacific coast along Highway 101 until we got to where we stopped at a restaurant right on the water to eat lunch. It was called “Kyllos”. We had wonderful food. I enjoyed fried oysters for the first time in a very long time.

Then we continued on down Hwy. 101 and stopped at almost every lookout point. Every view was different and unique. We saw the waves crashing on the rocks, surfers trying out the surf, brave swimmers (we were freezing with 2-3 layers of clothing on!), and whales playing up close to the shore.

A drive back through the mountain forests took longer than we thought. We found a small town restaurant in Walport, OR, where we had supper. Once again, I found seafood abundant on the menu and ordered scallops, which were very good.

We were “pushing it” to get back before the gates were closed at the fairgrounds. We made it five minutes before they closed the gates. It almost felt like we had a curfew!

It was a great day, and we are so glad we went. Now tomorrow, we have to go to work (volunteer). Until later……

June 5, 2006 (Day 12)


We awoke this morning without an alarm clock blasting our senses. It was a very quiet morning and nice taking our time to wake up. After breakfast, we saw our friends, the Waters, had been moved into “Stable Estates”. We talked with them awhile, then got a call from Dan’s cousin, Jim Grubb, who lives in Salem. He wondered if we would like to take a trip up the mountain to a state park to see some waterfalls. We took him up on the offer. It so happens that his mother, Jean Grubb, from North Manchester, IN, and his sister, Marsha Groninger, from Kansas City, are in Salem for a visit. So we got to visit with them, as they went with us.

Before our afternoon trip, we went to a Laundromat. Guess the name of it… It was the Lancaster Laundry. In fact, in this area of the city, there seems to be a lot of things named Lancaster, including a major street. It cost us $11.00 in quarters to wash and dry three loads of laundry.

The park, Silver Falls State Park, was beautiful. It is actually a rain forest, is very green and lush with vegetation and flowers. We saw three falls at the park, each one beautiful in its own way.

We went back to Jim’s home, saw his wife, Kathy, who was just home from work, then we went back to the trailer. We went for dinner, then came back and talked with some friends from our St. Louis Unit.

Since back at the trailer for the evening, we both learned we don’t have to work until Wednesday. So, tomorrow we plan to go with our friends, JoAnn and Ray Kolley, over to the Oregon coast to sightsee. We also discovered that our refrigerator is not working properly and food is warm and freezer is thawing. Hope we can get that fixed soon. Hope it is fixable. This refrigerator is the original and is 28 years old. Doesn’t sound promising, does it?

It was partly sunny today, temps in the high 70’s, and cooler in the mountains. I’m liking this weather!

We will report on our day tomorrow, so until then………….


June 4, 2006 (Day 11)

We went to sleep last night and awoke this morning to rain on the roof of the trailer. It was a pleasant lullaby. We were in Stanfield, OR, with one final day of travel ahead of us for this part of our trip. Dan hooked up in the rain and our departure time was 8:25 a.m. The temp was 59 degrees. Our route up I-84 eventually led us along the Columbia River which separates the states of Oregon and Washington. It was a beautiful and very scenic drive. The rain finally gave way to blue skies and bright sunshine. We saw waterfalls coming down the mountain on our left side and the river on the right side. Our caravan was now down to five units. One unit decided to go to Mt. Hood, and two other units headed north into Washington. They will arrive at the rally site in a week or so.

We stopped for gas just south of Portland ($2.96/gal.), then turned on to
I-5 south to Salem. We arrived at the Oregon State Fairgrounds around 2 p.m. Permanent parking will not be available until the end of the week, so we are parked in the horse stable area. The Airstreamers have named it “Stable Estates”. We were told we could expect temporary parking for a few days. There were probably 30 trailers/motor homes there ahead of us.

A group of Airstreamers gathered together to go out for our evening meal. We found a “Marie Callendar’s”. I have never eaten at one before, but I can testify that the food is very good. I splurged for dessert and had a chocolate-covered strawberry pie. Yummy!

When we returned to the parking area, we joined another couple (Charlie and Nadine Kennedy) for a couple games of joker. They are from Kansas City. They had traveled with us on the caravan west. Then we went back to our “slot” at the stables and turned in for the night. We saw Darrell and Sharon Waters’ trailer parked and waiting to be put in the temporary parking. The attendants were gone by then, so they will probably be parked tomorrow. It sounds as if there is nothing on our agenda for tomorrow, so it will be good to have a leisurely day. Till later…………




June 3, 2006 (Day 10)

We awoke this morning in Mountain Home, ID, to a pleasant 59 degrees. Some times we have to think what day of the week and what day of the month it is! We left at 8:20 a.m. to partly sunny skies. We had cloudy skies almost all day, but some sunshine later in the day. We got back on I-84, heading northwest.

As we drove, it seemed the white clouds had “fallen” into the valleys with the mountain peaks eerily rising above them. We drove up and down big grades through the Blue Mountain range in northeast Oregon. The mountains now have bountiful pine trees covering them. The trees were mostly tall and skinny evergreens.

We didn’t see much wildlife all day. We drove through the Umatilla Indian Reservation, but saw no teepees! The summit of the Blue Mountains was reached at 4,193 ft. of elevation. We watched the changing altitude on the E-Trex (thanks M/R and E/M). There were some breath-taking views. It almost appeared as though we were in an airplane looking down at the cities and plains below. Grades were steep going up and coming down. There were a lot of warning signs about the grades, some at 5-6%. We now know that a 6% downgrade in 6 miles means some very steep roads ahead. We had downshifted into second and were still going 55 mph near the bottom. Truckers called one area “Deadman’s Pass”. They say winters on these roads are especially treacherous.

The whole caravan but two units stopped in Pendleton, OR, to visit the Pendleton Woolen Mills. They had some beautiful clothes and blankets, but prices were so expensive, even for “seconds”.

We arrived at the campground around 3:30 p.m. This was the Stage Gulch Campground in Stanfield, OR. The highest we paid for gas today was $2.99. In the State of Oregon, it is against the law for an individual to pump their own gas, so an attendant must do it. For that price, they don’t even clean your windshield or check your oil! Gas mileage is averaging 11.2 mpg., and we get gas almost daily. Ouch!

The group had a social hour around one of the motorhomes after everyone got set up, then we went together to dinner down the street at an authentic Mexican restaurant. The food was very good. We presented our caravan leader with a “thank you” and a combined monetary gift for leading such a good caravan.

Tomorrow we will cover around 240 miles before reaching Salem. We know we will be in what is called the “bullpen” (no hook-ups) until Monday when we hope the parking committee will be ready to park us early workers. From there on, it will be new experiences! So, we will report in the next time…..

This is a picture of the Morman Temple on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. The grounds here are beautiful. We toured here on June 1, 2006.

Marcia and Ben Woolley from Iowa and Dan and Beth standing in ankle-deep water in the Great Salt Lake. We walked about 3/4 of a mile to get this picture and have this experience.........

We are still trying to learn how to upload pictures. This is our first attempt and we are not exactally sure how we did it. After arriving at most campgrounds we gather for a social gab session. This one was in Paxton, Nebraska, May 28, 2006.

June 2, 2006 (Day 9)

For the first time, we awoke to clouds; not the bright sunshine we have been used to. But throughout the day, some blue appeared through the clouds and by late afternoon, we had sunshine again. Of course, we had also traveled about 300 more miles northwest. Temps today have been in the upper 80’s with some humidity we have not experienced except when leaving Wentzville a week ago.

I was quite stiff and sore from all the walking yesterday, so Tylenol is my friend today!

We departed at 8:30 a.m. from SLC (actually Ogden, UT) in a pleasant 63 degrees. The scenery wasn’t as breath-taking today as yesterday, but still a big difference from what we are used to in the Midwest. I think my favorite state for beauty so far has been Utah. Here in Idaho, there were miles and miles of nothing; yet as we traveled farther west, we began to see ranches (elk, goats) and crops in the fields. Most fascinating were the potato fields where they grow those Idaho potatoes we all enjoy so much. The ranchers rely a great deal on the large sprinkler systems they have in the fields.

We got into our campground here in Mountain Home, Utah, around 2 p.m. We plan to get gas and maybe visit our first Wal-Mart since gone. (Do we need a fix, or what?!) There are no special plans for tonight. Everyone will probably go out to find a place to eat supper. We want to clean up the trailer a little and vacuum. Tomorrow we will leave for our last overnight on this trip until we get to Salem on Sunday. Tomorrow night’s campground is in Stanfield, Oregon.

To all of you who are emailing, thank you. That helps us feel “in touch”. For those of you who gave gifts in our “travel bags”, thanks for everything. We are having fun with it all. I have to admit, I haven’t had much time to watch DVD’s. The secenery is too fantastic to miss.

To our family who created the special memory box, we thank you. We pull a slip and read one every morning. These are certainly special memories.

We’ve had trouble connecting to wifi to enable us to send the last three days of the blog. We hope to get a connection tonight, so we can send and you can read our updates. Thanks for your patience.

When more miles have passed, we will write again…..



June 1, 2006 (Day 8)

Wow! The first of June already. We’ve been on the road a full week now, and yet it seems we have been traveling a long, long time. Temp this morning was a pleasant 63 degrees. It is to get warm, into the upper 80’s.

Today was the first day we have not traveled. Some of us got together and fixed breakfast, since we didn’t have to leave. Charlie prepared sausage gravy, I baked 30 biscuits, Teressa fixed a fruit salad, and we shared juice; the coffee drinkers brought their own java. Our sites were all close, so we pushed three picnic tables together and enjoyed a good breakfast and fellowship together.

We paired up with Marcia and Ben and with Glen, then left for the Great Salt Lake. We drove out onto Antelope Island and toured the Visitor Center. Antelope Island is the largest of ten islands in the Salt Lake. It was a pretty drive, but everything is so barren and desolate. We learned that there were herds of buffalo and antelope on the island, but we didn’t see any. There are a lot of seagulls, which we learned later were God’s answer to the Mormons’ prayers many years ago to help control the plaque of crickets which was devastating their crops. The seagulls came, ate the crickets, then flew to the Salt Lake and regurgitated them into the water. Gross, but fascinating.

We then drove to the “beach” of the Salt Lake and walked through sand for almost ½ mile to reach the water. We all waded out ankle deep and took pictures of each other. After getting back to the parking lot, we were thankful to Marcia for bringing a jug of drinking water, ice and towels for wiping our feet.

We stopped back at the campsite, then went downtown Salt Lake City. We walked around Temple Square and toured several buildings. We were disappointed that we were unable to see the Tabernacle, as it is under renovation. The grounds are just beautiful with colorful flowers and water fountains. We found a restaurant and had a light supper.

After walking a bit more and touring Brigham Young’s, house, we went to the convention center to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir practice. That is their temporary headquarters until the Tabernacle is finished with renovation. This building is equally beautiful and hearing the choir and orchestra practice was a special treat. It had been a long day, and we were glad to get back to the campground by 9 p.m. (still light outside), then got showers and got ready for bed.

It’s “on the road again” tomorrow, so until then….


May 31, 2006 (Day 7)

We awoke today to bright blue skies and white fluffy clouds, no wind. Yeh! It got cold in the night, low 40’s. When we left the campground in Green River, WY, this morning, it was 46 degrees. We left at 8:40 a.m. We anticipated a short day, 160 miles, but we didn’t anticipate the most beautiful drive of the trip so far. We are definitely in the mountains now. We drove long grades up and coasted long grades down. We were in valleys, on the sides of mountains, over the tops of mountains and at the bottoms of mountains. There were a lot of mesas. They are fascinating. They are a range of mountains that are absolutely flat on the top for miles. It appears as if something came along and cut the tops off! There are snow-capped mountains on all sides of us. Beautiful! We were amazed with the thousands and thousands of wooden snow fences that are placed along I-80. These are to help control the snows that drift so bad in the plains.

The roads are good. They go on and on forever passing by acres and acres of scrub land. You see nothing but that. There are very few towns and almost no services along the way. We see very few billboards. There are no visible industries or businesses; no crops, just sage brush and dirt and sand. We saw herds of horses and cattle and goats. We once saw a cowboy and his horse looking over a herd of goats, as if he was counting them.

We were at over 7300 ft. elevation at one point. Black bear does very well pulling the silver tent. A chant on the CB today was:
“Uphill slow.
Downhill fast.
You pray and pray
Your brakes will last!”
Our group gets a little stir-crazy while driving!

We arrived at the campground, Cherry Hill Resort in Ogden, Utah, around 2 p.m. Temps were in the high 70’s. Got set up, then took our chairs, a bowl of peanuts, a drink, and had happy hour a short time later. Three other Airstreams pulled in during that time, and we invited them to join us for happy hour. Then another couple went with us to find a sandwich to eat for supper. We will be here all day tomorrow and plan to go into Salt Lake City to see the tabernacle and hear the organist practice at 2:30 p.m. Tomorrow night the choir will be practicing and we plan to go to that. It will be nice to have a day off driving.

Till then…….