Parting shots from our stay in Corvallis

August 15-18, 2013
Corvallis, Oregon
Chez Cook’s RV Pad



Saying goodbye to Corvallis, our former hometown, and all of our friends is never easy—even when the road beckons us to move on. It seems the last week of any place we stay for more than a month brings with it a mental pang of all the things we haven’t yet done or people we have yet to see. One other source of tension for me is leaving behind the local seafood, fruits, vegetables, and wine. The thought of being away from this bounty for almost a year makes me uneasy so filling our freezer and cupboards also becomes a big priority as we get ready to leave. Thankfully, our host, Ann, was gearing up for her annual canning and freezing, so we shared in pesto making duties and canning dilly beans.




Ann grows at least a dozen basil plants in her garden that by August were at least three feet high and three feet wide. As a result, this time of year we had the luxury of eating many caprese salads and the first of several batches of pesto. One of her tips for freezing pesto is to put it in ice trays (sprayed with Pam spray for easy release) until it is frozen, then popping the squares into quart size freezer bags. Another idea she used this year was to try walnuts in a few batches of pesto rather than the very expensive pine nuts. I doubt anyone would be able to tell the difference in the end product.

Next up was dilly beans, something I always used to make back in my mega-canning days as it was one of my sons’ favorites. I forgot to take photos of all the steps, but the recipe is simple: freshly picked green beans packed tightly into each pint, a dried chile or two, a couple cloves of garlic, one big "poof" of fresh dill, 1 teaspoon of mustard seeds, equal parts apple cider vinegar and water, and 1 tablespoon of canning salt. Process hot pack method with liquid for 20 minutes and voila!



Writing this post makes me feel extra blessed by the generosity of staying with our friends. Ann and Don, and the great times we had with other friends having special meals together. Breaking bread just seems to be something we naturally do when we plan get-togethers and this summer was no exception.

The dinner featured in the above photo was hosted by our friends Marilyn and Tom. Their home on Vineyard Mountain has an amazing view and one of its crowning glories is their beautiful garden.



Anytime I have dinner at their home, I have to indulge in a cappuccino, even if it might affect my sleep, just to enjoy sipping from their beautiful Italian pottery.



On our last day in Corvallis, I went out to Peoria Farm Market to buy their local pitted pie cherries and marionberries for freezing and I couldn't help but bring back a few other things for my last minute stash of valley fruits.



All good things must come to an end. What makes this day of goodbyes easier is that we are headed to Astoria, Oregon, where my oldest son lives. I am so looking forward to spending time with him fishing!

Working at the Northwest FMCA Rally

Aug 7-11, 2013
Corvallis, Oregon
Chez Cook’s RV Pad



Early in our full-timing travels we became members of Harvest Hosts, a program that allows you to dry camp at wineries, farms, and orchards all around the United States (and even a few locations in Canada and the Baja region of Mexico). Last March in their monthly newsletter, I read that the owners of the company, Kim and Don Greene, were looking for volunteers to represent them at the Northwest FMCA Rally in Albany, Oregon.  Knowing we would be staying only about ten miles from Albany during the time of the rally, Vic and I thought this would be a good opportunity for us to experience a rally without having to pay the $165 registration cost. I sent the Greenes an e-mail letting them know how much we have enjoyed our Harvest Hosts stays and our interest in volunteering to work at the rally.  About a week later, they confirmed they would like us to represent them and provided us with more information about what this commitment would entail.



They would pay our registration fees and we would be attending the rally as vendors. Our job was to set up a booth with all their materials to let people know about Harvest Hosts and sell memberships. One added piece was to hold a one hour seminar for those interested to see a slide show of the various locales available and get more details about the benefits of joining the Harvest Hosts community. Having done many presentations as an educational consultant during my teaching years, I nominated myself to be the seminar leader while Vic worked the booth. One negative aspect of this particular rally was that all participants would be dry camping at the Linn County Expo Center. With temperatures forecast to be in the high 80s that week, Vic and I decided to keep our motorhome at our friend’s home in Corvallis where our dogs could have air conditioning without the need to run a generator all day.



We have met many RVers who attend rallies on a regular basis, but so far it just hasn’t been something that sounded too appealing to us. We are members of FMCA but don’t belong to any special chapters; we just enjoy the occasional discount it provides and like reading their monthly magazine. We really didn’t know what to expect other than having a pretty good idea of what the exhibitors area would be like from having attended a fair number of RV shows. From what we can tell, people attend rallies for the camaraderie, catered meals, live entertainment, seminars, and RV showcase.



With plans confirmed months in advance, all we had to do was wait until the date drew nearer and the Greenes would FedEx a mega box of materials to us for our rally vendor debut. Kim also encouraged me to add any decorations of my own to make the booth look more inviting. Given my penchant for wine, beautiful tablecloths, and fresh flowers, I looked forward to the opportunity to embellish the display.



To be honest, as the date drew near, we started to wonder why this commitment once sounded like such a good idea. Some of our closest friends who now live in Mexico were going to be in Corvallis this week and we had to work! Our hours were 10-4 on Thursday and 9-4 Friday and Saturday, plus we had to arrive on Tuesday or Wednesday to set up everything. After two years of being retired, this little job made me realize how much I take our freedom for granted. In spite of a few last minute misgivings, we went with open minds to see what the rally experience was all about and with excitement to help expand the Harvest Host community.

The rally was very well-organized with about 350 people in attendance which I learned was about 100 fewer attendees than previous years. The national FMCA rally was held in Gillette, Wyoming in late June which, according to the organizers, caused a lower turnout for the Northwest gathering. Setting up the booth went smoothly and, thanks to “shopping” at a friend’s home, I had fun adding some pieces that enhanced the harvest theme.





Our first day of work, we each took a little time to walk around and check out the other vendors’ offerings and see if there were any seminars we were interested in attending. (Did I think to take photos—no.) Vic sneaked off to attend a tire and battery seminar presented by Les Schwab, a major tire dealer in the Northwest. He said there were about twelve people in attendance, something I was curious about as my seminar was scheduled for the next day. One piece of information that was new to him had to do with the manufacture date stamped on tires. Apparently, this date has no relevance for determining the 5-7 year window for tire replacement because tires can sit in shipping containers or warehouses for 6 months to a year before they are mounted on a motorhome or RV. So you should go with the installation date. Another myth that was debunked is the need to put a barrier between your tires and concrete or blacktop parking surfaces. The tire expert says he gets asked this all the time and there is no simply no truth to it; however, covering your tires to protect them from UV rays and weather is an important practice. Overall, Vic said attending the presentation was good for reinforcing what he already knew.

I was interested in attending a seminar on making pine needle baskets, but the time didn’t work out. Other than a few stretch breaks, I stayed in the booth most of the time freeing Vic up to check out the new motorhomes for trade-in possibilities—not!  Quite a few folks stopped by our booth to find out what the banner that said “Free Camping” was all about. Having a bowl of candy might have attracted more folks, but having a bottle of wine on the table lured in a few curiosity-seekers with hopes of a free wine tasting. We also had a good number of folks who were already Harvest Host members stop by to tell us of the fantastic places they have stayed. I kept a running list of hot tips from these folks and started to think about changing our fall itinerary to specifically seek out some of these places.

Like anything, if you really want to learn about a subject, teach it. Kim sent me a 5-page script and a DVD with a slide show for the seminar, but reading directly from a script is not my style. I reviewed the script a few times (happy to have it), then made an outline for talking points. I also previewed the slideshow so I would know what the photos looked like and could adjust the timing. I have to admit learning more about what membership in Harvest Hosts offers and seeing some amazing photos of the wineries and farms made me more excited about seeking out new HH overnight places as we travel across country this fall.

Lots of folks who stopped by our booth said they would be coming to the seminar, but I know that doesn’t always happen. In this case it seems like it did. I did a rough estimate of the number of folks in the room and it exceeded 50! This turnout surprised me as the cost of an annual membership is only $40 and it’s not hard to figure out how it works. Maybe since it was held on a Friday afternoon, they thought I would have something more than the root beer floats offered at the Sky Med session next door.
To help fill the hour and add a little personal experience to the presentation, I showed a mini-slideshow of our own photos from staying at Harvest Host locales. The photo I took of our dogs at Jaxson Keys Winery near Mendocino was a big hit.



I also told the story about enjoying a bottle of wine on the porch of their 100-year-old farmhouse after hours. For one sweet evening, we had the pleasure of pretending we owned our own winery as we had this gorgeous place all to ourselves.





Aside from some great stays at wineries, I also told the audience about our stay at Sunbonnet Farm in Fort Collins, Colorado. The owner, Pam, turned out to be a retired teacher like myself who signed up to be a host just to meet new people. She had a mini-farm with donkeys and horses that she rescued and, unlike most Harvest Hosts sites, she had nothing to sell. She offered us several different places to park depending on our preference for views and encouraged us to stay the whole week. She even brought us fresh chicken and goose eggs in the morning for breakfast and had a huge fenced pasture for the dogs to roam free. With her encouragement, we ended up staying three nights using her place as a base for exploring the area including Rocky Mountain National Park.





I ended my seminar with a Q and A session that included a short demonstration of how the on-line program works once you are a member. The funny part was that several folks left a little early to beat the rush back to the booth where you had to go to sign up and pay and Vic became a little overwhelmed as I forgot I had the computer with the credit card swipe. Everyone was very understanding and patient and seemed to be pretty excited about adding this new kind of overnight stay experience to their travels.



In terms of attending a rally, we might do so in the future but it would have to be during a lull in our travels. We didn’t get the full flavor of this rally as we opted to return to Corvallis after our shift so we could spend time with our Mazatlan friends rather than staying for the meal and entertainment. We both felt rather exhausted from being on our feet and talking to people all day long, but most folks were quite engaging and had valuable stories to tell from their own RVing experiences. The serendipitous benefit is being inspired to make more use of our membership and discover some more HH gems along the way in our travels from Washington to New York and south to Florida. Lastly, this experience also convinced us we are not ready for workamping as that idea flits through our minds from time to time. Maybe I should change the name of our blog to Freedom Seekers. . . . Thanks for coming along with us.

A lovely day floating the Willamette River

July 28, 2013
Corvallis, Oregon
Chez Cook’s RV Pad



The town of Corvallis sits on the Willamette River, one of the main Oregon rivers and one with the rare distinction of being a north-flowing river. Last year when we were here, we kayaked a stretch of the river from Peoria Road to just north of downtown Corvallis, about a ten-mile float downriver with fairly gentle currents. Local friends, Phil and Cheryl, who go back in my life almost thirty years, also have kayaks and were enthusiastic about doing this trip with us once again this summer. This trip required having multiple cars for a shuttle. Fortunately, they were able to bring their two cars along so we could get back to our cars at the put-in.

The Willamette is not known as one of Oregon’s swift moving rivers like the Rogue, Deschutes, or the McKenzie but there are places where the current would be too swift us—especially further south near Eugene. You also have to be careful of woody debris (logs, roots wads, etc.) or rocks as you kayak downriver but for the most part this stretch is a peaceful paddle with a current of about 3-5 knots. There are several places on the Willamette that require much more diligence in terms of fast currents, eddies, and riffles, so it’s important to do some research and know what to expect before kayaking most Oregon rivers. The Willamette Water Trail guide is a useful resource for help in planning trips and providing details about water conditions for paddlers.



The river and its tributaries extend almost two hundred miles forming the Willamette Valley, one of the most fertile agricultural regions in North America. This area spans an area south of Eugene all the way to Portland where the Willamette pours into the Columbia River. Before settlers arrived on the Oregon Trail, many Native American tribes--the Calapooia, Tualatin, Santiam, Yamhill, and Luckiamute—lived in villages along the river but their populations were decimated by smallpox and malaria epidemics in the late 1700s and early 1800s. As settlers arrived, towns sprang up along the river becoming the major population centers of Oregon today as 70% of Oregon’s population lives in the Willamette Valley. As a result, the river has faced many challenges in terms of bridges, dams, and pollution. When I moved to Corvallis in the 1980s, the river was highly polluted due to discharge from pulp mills, raw sewage from flooding, pesticide run-off and other industrial pollutants. In a state that prides itself in its efforts to promote sustainability, it always seemed somewhat shocking to me to learn about the severity of the pollution in the Willamette. One section of the river near Portland was even designated a superfund site in 2000 due to heavy metal and PCB deposits. The challenge of human settlement and industry has clearly taken its toll on the river but there seem to be many more action-oriented groups such as the Willamette Riverkeepers who are raising awareness and doing much to protect and restore this precious resource.

Seeing people out on the river enjoying its natural beauty is heartening in itself. Twenty years ago, I don’t remember seeing much recreation on the river due to its reputation for being polluted. Now it is common to see more people floating the river in tubes, paddleboarding, canoeing, kayaking, and even fishing. (I still wouldn’t eat fish from the Willamette though.) 



Maybe one of the best signs of the river’s restoration is seeing wildlife return to its natural habitats. This particular day was not great for variety but seeing two bald eagles made up for my disappointment in not seeing any beavers or blue herons.





We also came upon a row of merganser ducks but I struggled holding my camera steady enough to get a good shot as we flowed past them with the current.



Seeing the Oregon State Rowing Teams practicing along the river is also a popular sight, but you are less likely to see this form of wildlife (my apologies to the women's team) in the summer so I borrowed this photo from their website. It is beautiful to watch the synchronicity of the rowing. I think I would have enjoyed doing a sport like this in college.



Just before I retired, I learned about a local Corvallis Rowing Club that is open to adults who complete their 6 week rowing course. They now have over 50 members ranging from age 21 to over 70, so there is still hope for me.



I did manage to get a photo of the OSU crew facility which was just across from our take out area at what is known as Michael’s Landing near downtown Corvallis.



The weather for this day of fun on the river was perfect again with temps in the high 70s to low 80s and not a cloud in the sky. Although our Hobie kayaks have the mirage drive (pedal power), we opted to use our paddles most of the way due to some shallow depths and the ease of floating downriver with the current. The ten-mile float took us less than three hours. In retrospect, we wished we had planned to go another ten miles to the Albany take out at Hyak Park, but adding almost another hour for the three of them to drive back to our get our vehicles made it a fairly full day.



After they returned with the cars and we packed up all our gear, we headed to McMenamin’s, a local brew pub for some adult beverages and fish ‘n chips. A fitting way to end a great day with our friends.

Enjoying the bounty of the Willamette Valley

July 21-27, 2013
Corvallis, Oregon
Chez Cook’s RV Pad



The days here seem to be melting away—not in terms of heat, thankfully, but in terms of errands, appointments, gathering with friends, and getting in some daily exercise. Which, as I write this, sounds a lot more like normal life than one of travels and visiting new places. No complaints as I think we are both enjoying this break from spending time in the tourist mode.

Along with checking off a fairly lengthy list of appointments, we are also taking this time to go through all our belongings in the motorhome and donate some things we don’t use or put some items that we think we might use in our “next life” back in our storage unit. I am also trying to use up everything in our freezer, so we can fill it before we leave with some of Oregon’s summer bounty—especially berries. Our vision is to leave here with everything serviced, clean, and ready to take on another year of travels.

We will be in Corvallis until August 17, then we head three hours north to Astoria for a week to spend time with my oldest son. From there the plan is fairly ambitious as we head to Montana and Wyoming taking in Glacier National Park, Yellowstone, and the Grand Tetons before making a cross country trek to Niagara Falls, then down to Asheville, North Carolina. We will be spending the winter in Florida again  so we have about ten or eleven weeks to take in a wide swath of country before we get back to a tropical environment. Vic enjoys doing all the planning for this road trip, but we are in agreement that we are going '”reservation free” so we can edit our plans as the mood strikes us at least until we arrive in Florida. Wish us luck with this plan for freewheeling it!



In the meantime, our greatest joy in being here in the Willamette Valley has been visiting with friends and appreciating the ideal weather (especially this week with highs in the low 80s and lows in the mid-50s and zero rain). The humidity has been about 30-35%—so refreshing! We also have a goal of getting out on some local hikes, but so far have only done one to a nice viewpoint quite close to where we used to live. I had not done this hike in years as at one time it was a favorite spot for my high school students to have parties out in the woods. (Remember those days???)



We recently bought the dogs their own little Henry & Clemmies backpacks to carry their water and ours!  I have read that dogs like to feel they are doing something of value and adding a pack makes them think they are working. They also get more exercise when carrying some added weight and we sure know a tired dog is a good dog. Neither dog minded the pack one bit. They mostly just love being out with us so I suspect it will soon be something that excites them when they see us get their packs out.



This hike was just a little less than three miles but it did include some elevation so it was a good way to start the day. The views of the town of the Corvallis are the reward. The photo below is looking to the south. The day was a little hazy but on a clear one you could see the Sisters and Mt. Jefferson, snow-capped mountains to the east.



In the late afternoons or evenings, we have been busy getting together with friends to catch up on their lives. One of my teaching colleagues has a fourteen-month-old son whom I was anxious to see. We spent a pleasant time seeing the baby and their new house while sharing our travel stories and listening to the latest news of life in the English department at the high school where I used to teach.





Another fun visit was to see a friend (and former middle school teacher colleague going back to the 80s!) who bought one of our puppies. Our dog Rico is her dog Kai’s brother, so we always try to get them together for a puppy play date—even though they are already three years old. They raced and raced around her yard together until both they both collapsed. Of course, when I snapped a picture of the two of them, they politely hid their panting tongues.






Another special day for me was having lunch with a friend who turned 70 this year! She surprised me by making reservations at a favorite lunch spot Gathering Together Farm, an organic farm and restaurant out in the countryside. The place has become so popular that it is hard, even on weekdays, to get a reservation. I neglected to take a photo of my friend but I did get one of the café and their new Kiko Denzer earth oven.






The food at what is known as GTF is amazing as everything is local, organic, and fresh. We had a duck confit pizza with housemade mozzarella and a creamy polenta with roasted summer squash and red chard. The perfect wine for this lovely afternoon, a well-chilled glass of Pinot Gris from Lumos, came from a winery just a few miles away. I even know the winemaker as his father was one of my master’s thesis professors. It’s a small world around here.

One of out favorite pastimes here has been barbecues on the deck at the Chez Cook house where we are staying. The four of us have a long history of playing the card game Phase Ten and “skipping” Ann or Vic—the two of them particularly like to torment each other. Vic likes to wear his lucky hat when we play cards which he believes boosts his chances of winning.




The four of us have also been watching episodes from the first season of Mad Men together. Vic and I have seen several shows from later seasons, but never saw the series from the start. Our friends have Apple TV where all five seasons are available for anytime viewing (that’s 65 episodes!). When we go inside to watch TV, Vic has taken to wrapping himself in one of Ann’s quilts as we are not used to the cool evening weather—a sure sign those Florida winters have thinned his blood. 



One last pleasure to share. Back in our working days, we used to go Big River, our favorite restaurant and bar here in Corvallis on Friday nights where we would have a cocktail, listen to music, and enjoy a meal while always sitting at the copper bar. We did a repeat performance of this ritual last Friday night. The only disappointment was they switched the live music to Saturday nights!  Regardless, it brought back good memories of the early days in our marriage.  Here’s to the Good Times!