Cascade Peaks to Kelso/Longview Elks … It’s Been a Busy Couple of Days

We arrived at the Cascade Peaks campground and were promptly greeted by a grumpy woman who couldn’t find our reservation. I had the confirmation in my phone showing that I had already paid … but she made me pay again. Not the best welcome. They were having a big ABATE Motorcycle Rally on one part of the campground … but other than the music at night, loud motorcycles in the park and hearing a few gunshots … we didn’t even know they were there!

We weren’t very impressed with the park. The water pressure was all over the place … sometimes it was low pressure, sometimes it was normal, sometimes it was high … all I know is it kept slipping past our toilet valves and overflowing our toilets. Our satellite internet worked great. They have 2 pools. One was closed with a need for a heater repair and the other was open. The kids couldn’t even swim in it because the water was freezing. We asked about it and found out it has a leak so cold water continually pours into it.

The hosts of the campground were very nice. Grace enjoyed the zip line and the tree swing. I enjoyed having a place to put together puzzles in the clubhouse that also housed the laundry. Grace and I (mostly I) put 2 puzzles together while we were there. Brent is still doing work on the RV. He installed 2 Max Fans - 1 in each bathroom. Being up on that hot roof doing that work is hard on him, but he wants to get it done so he does it.

We decided to leave 2 days early and travel to Longview. Since we are members of the Elks Lodge in Moses Lake we decided to camp in the Elks Kelso/Longview Lodge’s RV Campground. Brent grew up in Longview and we really enjoy Longview. I went shopping at Fred Meyer to pick up a few things. Today Brent replaced the RV battery and found the problem with the running lights and fixed that. He is such a hard worker! Grace and I did much more fun things today while he worked in the heat wave. We went to the Kelso Catlin Rotary Spray Park. It was so nice! There was a lot of shade, a nice breeze and a bunch of kids for Grace to play and get wet with. I even started listening to a new audio book called The Edelweiss Sisters by Kate Hewitt. My favorite genre of books is historical fiction … what’s yours?

I am trying something new … intermittent fasting. I am eating between 11 am and 7 pm. I just finished my 2nd day and so far I like it a lot. So far it doesn’t feel like dieting because I can eat pretty much anything … think healthy but not restrictive … during my 8 hours of eating time. We shall see if I like it long term. Has anyone else done this? Did you like it? Did you feel better? Of course with 3 dogs, I am walking everyday several times per day. It is so good for me … when I was working sometimes I wouldn’t even get up from my desk to go to the bathroom all day! I know TMI!

We are ready to head to Long Beach tomorrow. We will be staying at the Thousand Trails/Encore Park in Seaview. We have been there before. We will be there for 21 days. I am looking forward to beach walks, riding our bikes on the bike trails, Dylan’s Cottage Bakery and much more.

Thousand Trails Crescent Bar RV Resort - Quincy, WA

We left Moses Lake on Saturday to go a whole 42 miles to the Thousand Trails Crescent Bar RV Campground. It is a very pretty location down in the canyon with the Columbia River flowing by. The Grant Co PUD has a big park down here too with hiking/biking trails. It is beautiful looking up at the canyon walls and seeing the river. There was a lot of wind in the evenings.

The Thousand Trails park was really nice. There was a clubhouse really close to our spot and Grace loved going in there and playing pool, foosball, basketball toss, play kitchen, board games and more. There were two really nice patios that one could sit on and visit. There was a nice pool and also a hot tub. Of course there are the usual amenities like laundry room, bathrooms with showers and friendly staff.

We made the decision to upgrade our Thousand Trails membership to the Adventure Package. We met Richard Anderson and his wife. If you are thinking of a Thousand Trails membership at any level or have questions he was so great to answer all my questions and was very knowledgeable. He was not a pushy salesman either! His phone number is 541.901.9002 and his email is richard_anderson@equitylifestyle.com. Please tell him you heard about him from me.

Grace and I went up into Quincy Sunday and found the Quincy Ward Meetinghouse. The members were all so kind and gracious. We were greeted by so many and we enjoyed our Sunday Sacrament Meeting and Sunday School.

Brent’s been working on the RV as we still have a few updated and modifications needed to be done. Grace has been playing with kids and the dogs. We’ve been walking them each day around the park. The dogs are getting more used to the RV life.

I had to drive back to Moses Lake both Monday and Tuesday for different things that came up. Starting tomorrow that will not be possible. I did get to have lunch Monday with my very good friend Lori. We had a nice time visiting and hoping we can catch up with each other during this adventure.

So as we sit here tonight we are ready for the next leg of our journey. We will be staying in an RPI Park called Cascade Peaks Family Campground up on White Pass for 6 nights. It’s about 170 miles southwest of here.

5th Grade Graduation … We have a Middle Schooler!

And just like that we have a middle schooler … time has flown so fast with this girl! I’m so proud of the young woman she is becoming. She is kind, loving, courteous, courageous and fun to be around! She loves to hang out with her parents and her dogs. She enjoys playing with other kids and makes friend easily. She is not shy. She is funny and has a quick wit like her father. 

She navigated Brick and Mortar school for Kindergarten thru middle of 2nd Grade and then we made the switch to WAVA virtual school. When COVID hit she didn’t even miss a beat because we were already fully engaged in virtual school. 

She is a great reader, excellent at math but really loves history!

She still has the same best friend Zoe! They met in preschool and even though Zoe moved 100 miles away they have kept in touch and love to be together. They text and FaceTime quite a bit too!

Grace we are so proud of you! We can’t wait to see what the middle school years bring for you! Stay Sweet! You are loved! You are enough! You can do hard things!

Love,

Momma and Dad

We Left Our Bricks and Mortar Home Today

 

From Bricks and Mortar to RV Full-Time … These last months have been a HUGE undertaking!

Today we finally drove away from  our home in our home on wheels. We didn’t go too far … a quick trip to fill up the tank with gas and the propane tanks with propane and then to Suncrest RV Park right here in Moses Lake. We will stay here until Saturday morning when we leave for Crescent Bar RV Resort in Quincy, WA.

We have set up the dog fence so the dogs can explore and Brent is setting up the Starlink Satellite Internet Service. Grace is out for a walk to explore the campground and play at the park.

Grace had tears this morning. Change can be exciting but also scary. We are excited! So here we settle for a couple of days. I’ll be in and out of the office the next few days buttoning that up … then we will be off!

Getting Ready For Our RV Adventure

We have been working tirelessly to get ready to start our RV adventure! Our business has sold. We have officially completed the transfer and training that we agreed to do with the new company.

Brent has organized the shop! With some help the sheds have been emptied. The tumble weeds,  “communist thistles” as Grace says, which have blown in from the winter and spring winds have been collected and burned. The yard is greening up … the dogs are wondering what in the heck we are doing.

35 boxes of old files were burned … well 17 and the rest were shredded. 

Then came packing up the house and moving it into the shop or the RV depending on what we needed in the RV. Lots of organizing and purging occurred.

The RV got some long awaited upgrades … a new window in the bedroom, new recliners in the living room, front and rear Sumo Springs, front and rear Bilstein Shocks, as well as front and rear Sway Bars. There is still a pretty extensive list of “projects” to do such as install a Max Fan in the air vent of the kitchen, hang curtains to give some privacy to Grace in the bunk, replace skylight in bathroom shower, change the oil on the generator, check the water in the batteries, install the tow equipment on the tow vehicle and so much more.

We found a tenant for our home … a lovely young couple with a baby boy on the way and a dog. They move in on the 15th of June … so we need to be finishing soon.

Marianne’s dad came for a visit. Brent’s mom and dad came for a visit. Marianne and Grace got COVID … so more pressure on Brent to get things done as the sickies slept and slept and tried to get healthy again.

Now we are just a 7 days away from our departure date.