Dang RV

Richland, WA

By Katrina Kane, on October 5th, 2009

After a month at home, it was time to say goodbye again. Off to Richland to see my son and his family. My son’s in-laws live near them and kindly offered the use of their driveway to stay in. They were smart enough to get with their next door neighbor and work out a deal to cement in the grassy area between them so both would have the use of larger driveways for RVing visitors, boats, etc. Very smart idea which makes both homes much more valuable in my opinion. They were able to provide electric which was all I really needed to be comfortable. Entertainment was provided by a squirrel scampering along their fence while he was also eating it.

Another good reason to stay at the in-laws is the food. Barb is a great cook! They threw one of their famous barbecues while I was there. Mmmmm! Mmmmm! There was also a birthday party for my daughter-in-law with excellent ice-cream cake.

My granddaughter has sure grown in the last year. My grandson was finally back for awhile with his father and is so tall now. He’s playing sports I hear. I got to see my newest granddaughter who was born while I was gone. My son is handsome as ever (when he tries) and his wife is looking really great too.

I got them geocaching. We went out for a day of fun and found a few. One night after dinner at their house, a geocache popped up on my gps screen as I was leaving and that led to some night caching fun for me. I skipped the one in the greenbelt next to the bank. Going after those at night tends to upset police for some silly reason. Snicker. I did nail the virtual at the high school though which would be easier at night. I found one in a mulberry tree that night as well that was interesting. You don’t look for the cache but rather a rope to pull the cache up out of the tree.

Osburn, ID II

By Katrina Kane, on September 25th, 2009

Had to go home finally after 2 years to check in with the family and friends. My old home actually since my current home is now on the road mostly and South Dakota is my homebase. Getting there from Utah is a bit weird since I had to drive through Idaho, through Montana, and back into Idaho to get there. I spent a couple nights at an RV park somewhere in the middle of nowhere in Montana. I got to cross the Continental Divide again. I noticed the $10,000 Silver Dollar Bar in Haugan, MT is now the $50,000 Silver Dollar Bar. That seemed like a precursor to other changes I might see back home. Lookout Pass seemed a lot easier to go over this time. Maybe 2 years of practice on the road has helped. 😉

I stayed at the Blue Anchor RV Park in Osburn once again. The owner is very nice and friendly. The price is right. My site was great with full utilities, cable TV, and wifi. I really enjoy staying at this park when in the area and will continue to come back.

I made it home in time for Pig out in the Park in Spokane, WA. My friend, Bernie, took me over there with her for the yearly food fest in Riverfront Park. There’s lots of food to choose from and really make a pig of yourself. There were some booths selling other things but not nearly enough. We didn’t make it on to the gondola over the falls in time before the weather turned bad. It was nice to finally get to go to this festival but not something I would want to do every year I think.

Continue reading Osburn, ID II

Salt Lake City, UT

By Katrina Kane, on August 29th, 2009

Salt Lake City happened to be on the way so I planned a stop there. Campgrounds really close in are a bit expensive but I found Circle L Mobile Home and RV Park in Layton, UT at a reasonable price. It is right off the I15 north of Salt Lake. The entrance is pretty strange since it is right between Big O Tires and a dry cleaner/laundromat and does not look like a street but rather a small parking lot. Turn in though and you will see the entrance to the park. There is no pool or clubhouse or Wifi. No camp store or other amenities. It is just like living in a normal house neighborhood. The sites are very nice though with full utilities and lots of parking at each site. They do have an inexpensive laundry of their own which is great since the nearby laundromat is very expensive. Walmart and tons of restaurants are nearby including a Hometown Buffet. There is even a Camping World just down the road in Kaysville.

I found my missing brother living in Salt Lake City. It’s been a long, long time. We got to spend a lot of time together while I was there for a week and I had to promise to come back for the winter so we could help each other out with various things.

I went out to Antelope Island one lovely day. Another of those long drives out over water where you hope the road actually is intact all the way and there is something at the other end. Being a state park, you have to pay to go out there. It is an island in Salt Lake that is full of wildlife including bison and has bunches of camping sites though no utilities. I stopped at the Visitor’s Center to get oriented. The birds love the Visitor’s Center too. They flock all around it and it is covered in bird you-know-what. I got some great pics of the bison herds in the marsh and out on the beach flats. There is an old ranch there you can tour which was pretty interesting. I liked the cowboy wagon, the cold house with a spring that runs through it, the picnic area, and the outside bath that was added on to the house for ranch hands to use.

Continue reading Salt Lake City, UT

Moab, UT

By Katrina Kane, on August 22nd, 2009

I just could not pass by Moab, UT with not one but two national parks nearby and not stop. That would definitely have been an RVer sin. 🙂 Sooo I found a campground just south of downtown Moab for a week. I stayed at Moab Rim Campark. Nothing fancy. No extras. Just a site with full utilities and that is all. Great view though and decent location. Passport America discount was nice.

Moab is another active spot for river rafting and ATVing. Don’t expect a lot of trees. It’s red rocks for as far as you can see and beautiful. I took a drive over to Arches National Park first. The first thing you learn there is to bring a bottle or two of water as there is none in the park except at the Visitor’s Center. You have no business being in the park without your own water on board. The other thing is to use the bathroom before you go because again bathrooms are in short supply. I suggest wearing hiking boots too if you have them as well as a hat and a walking stick or cane is nice to have. Don’t forget to bring your camera and extra batteries too because photo opportunities abound there. Since the park is huge and you can drive through quite a bit of it, be sure to fill up on gas before going in. There is a campground or two in the park with no utilities which were pretty full.

Most of the arches are not visible from the road. You are going to have to get out and walk if you want to see them. However, there are plenty of other great natural formations to view along the road through the park. Once upon a time, people did try ranching there and mining. That’s all gone now. I did get out and walk a bit. They have some great trails and there were plenty of others on the trail at the same time even though it was very hot out. At one point I had walked too far for me and dearly wished there was a tank of oxygen at the lookout point. I was not alone in that thought. It is easy to get lost in the beauty and push your limits.

Another day, I went to Canyonlands National Park. The formations are a bit different than the Arches so don’t skip either. Both drives are fairly easy with lots of turnouts and picnic spots. Again, take plenty of water. One thing I noticed about both parks was the accents of the visitors. There was a little French, a little Japanese, and a whole lot of German.