Chechalis Thousand Trails 08/29

Arrived here Wednesday, scored a site two spots away from our friends Lee and Elaine, so have been getting caught up since we stayed at their place in Yuma, AZ.  Wednesday night Elaine had prepared supper for us, such a nice jester after traveling that day.  We also met their friends Bruce and Susan.

Friday the 6 of us went to the Chechalis Garlic Festival, such a variety of garlic for sale.  Food court was interesting, garlic this and garlic that.  Len couldn't get past the garlic dog, it was more like a sausage.  Time for lunch and 3 of us had garlic dogs, added an order of garlic fires, another had a Trump burger and others had pulled pork, it was all delicious.  We looked for garlic ice cream but none to be found.  It was easy for Len to find the beer garden and before we left we sat and listened to a local performers who wasn't bad.  Big barns full of antiques, and garlic from different farms in the area.  Someone was doing metal sculptures and we just couldn't pass up the kitty one.  It is so cute and looks great in the campsite we are parked in.

Saturday Len and I went to the clubhouse for breakfast, they have the best bacon.  Later in the day was the ice cream social and after that was candy bar bingo (no we didn't win).  So the day was busy and we didn't even leave the park.

Sunday I fixed supper for everyone, Len grilled some brats and I made baked beans, potato salad, deviled eggs, relish tray, salsa and chips and "Len's little wieners" ( little smokies wrapped in bacon, sprinkled with brown sugar and bake, always a big hit)  Dessert was. an apple dessert I wanted to try and what better timing than when  there are friends to try it out on.

Monday morning it was breakfast at Lee and Elaine's.  On the menu was McMorris breakfast sandwiches served with hash browns great way to start the day.

Tuesday Len and Elaine decided it would be fun to take their kayaks out on Mayfield Lake.  We packed a lunch and once those two were launched and on their way Lee and I sat and enjoyed watching other water craft launch.  We were really hoping for a Kodak moment when someone fell it the lake but that didn't happen, nothing even close.  Enjoyed lunch once the kayakers were back safely on land.

And a lot of happy hours.

That's all for now.

Time to leave Mt. Vernon

                                 CLICK HERE TO SEE PICTURES OF THE AREA




We move tomorrow so thought I better update what has been going on here at Mt. Vernon.

Saturday afternoon the park had a get together to explain all the memberships.  What Len was told was there is wine and cheese this afternoon in the adult clubhouse..  We thought it was just a party.  Stopped in (on our way to the race track). Once they finished their presentation we got up to leave, was out the door and one of the gals said "we are going to do the door prize drawing right now, you have to be present to win". So we walked back in, they drew a ticket and it was MINE.  I won a $50 gift card.  More to this story but that shows up later in the blog.

Saturday night we headed to the local raceway, on the weekends you can hear the cars at the track from the campground, that is how close it is.  It was the Monster Truck Tour, and what a fun night.   We enjoyed the evening and when we come back to this area we will enjoy more weekend racing.

Sunday we met up with friends, Don and Della, for lunch (we always have such a good time with them).  Went to the Skagit Valley Farmhouse, first time any of us had been there. Walked in and in the display case was a lemon meringue pie that had more meringue piled on top than I have ever seen, they call it their "Mile High" pie.  Lunch was good, Della and I both had liver & onions, yum!  Len went for the buffet (it had prime rib)  Don had a sandwich and we all had a great visit.  I got a piece of the pie to go since it is Len's favorite and we devoured it later that night.  Decided to use the gift card I won at the wine and cheese party, it was refused, waitress said she ran it twice.  OK, so paid the bill, came back home and called the number on the back of the card.  I first dialed the toll free number with 800 and to my surprise I got a phone sex line, put my readers on and the number was an 888, so much for my exciting afternoon.  Did get the card straightened out yesterday, got a new one, and it worked when we went shopping.

We watched the eclipse yesterday, while it wasn't a total in this area it was an awesome watch.

So this raps up our stay here at Mt. Vernon, in Bow, Washington, and it's on to our next stop.  Back to Chehalis Thousand Trails and meeting up with  Lee and Elaine, more friends we have met during our travels.  Loving this life!

P.S.  Len had some small change tickets from the casino (Skagit) right down the road from us so we ran down to "return" them.  Last time we stopped in the entire bank of my favorites was down. Today 3 out of 4 were up and running.  Put my $20 in (that's my gambling limit)  three tries and I hit for $111.00, cashed that baby out and put another 20 in, but the machine was done being nice.  At least it's a win!

Update, Mt. Vernon

Staying busy here at Mt. Vernon.  Friday we enjoyed the bar-b-q lunch that they serve all weekend.  Nothing better than a good cheeseburger from the grill.  While we ate we chatted with 2 other couples and discussed the good and bad of parks all of us have stayed in.


Saturday evening was Blackberry time.  The park has blackberries growing everywhere and they are just ripe for the pickin' now.  Elaine, the manager, had a great time with kids and families.  First they did the blackberry throw and those that were lucky enough to get a blackberry in the cup, won a cup that changes color.  Then onto the pie eating contest, this was done by age group.  It was fun to watch the little ones under 5, what a mess some of them ended up being.  The older kids had to eat 2 pies and then it was adult time and they got the challenge to consume 3 pies, the winner was a bigger mess than the kids under 5.  Good thing the pies were just little tart size.  Next was the pie throwing contest.  It started out they were going to see who could throw one the furthest, wasn't long before some kids volunteered to get hit with them, then the fight was on.  I think the manager ended up with more whipped crème on her than anyone else.

We played bingo after all the fun with the blackberries.  Neither won of us got to yell B-I-N-G-O.

Sunday we tried the breakfast at the clubhouse.  It was slow starting but picked up before we left.  Did enjoy the buffet which had bacon, sausage links, pancakes, French toast, scrambled eggs and biscuits and gravy.  We were stuffed when we left but it was good.

We have hit the casinos a couple of times, no large winnings to report, darn.

Checked out the Padilla Bay Interpretive Center north of the quiet community of Bay View, Washington - 15 minutes west of I-5 in Skagit County. Here in the heart of the Salish Sea is a massive eelgrass meadow, 8000+ acres, and second largest on the Pacific Coast of North America. This is why Padilla Bay is one of 29 sites in the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) established to protect coastal areas for long-term research, monitoring and education, and stewardship.
At the Reserve you may find busloads of school kids (no kids, school hasn't started) learning about the importance of estuaries and exploring the intertidal mud flats. Or you may see research staff collecting data and processing samples in the laboratory. When you enter the Breazeale Interpretive Center, you're invited to browse through the exhibits and observe sea stars, urchins, and other marine life in the aquarium room. Nearby trails and an overlook will give you the opportunity to see eagles, herons, ducks, and other birds that live here year round or pass through on their migratory paths.

 

 

 

 

       


Len's birthday was yesterday and his choice for his dinner was Papa Murphy's take-n-bake pizza.  Cheap date this year. Did surprise him with an apple pie for his "birthday cake".

We are here for another week and looking forward to more adventures.

 

 

 

We got a real nice site here and it is a full hookup with good satellite. Some time we get lucky.

Bristol is having a great time here catching mice. He has gotten real good at too. Mostly he plays with them till they kick the bucket. But he still has not eaten any of them.





Mt. Vernon, TT, Bow, WA

                                GO HERE TO SEE PICTURES AROUND BIRCH BAY WA




Short drive yesterday from Birch Bay (40 miles) to our stop here for the next two weeks.  We didn't hook up since the distance was so short so I drove the truck while Len wrangled the motorhome down the highway.  We took a temporary site for the night and went looking for one with full hook-ups.  Lucky us we found one so we moved this morning when it became available.  Nice site C14, and we much prefer full hook-ups so we can use our own shower and run the washing machine.  After we got set up this morning it was time to hit Camping World, needed to replace the propane detector, plus I can always find something I can't live without.  Then it was time to restock the fridge but we grabbed a burger first, they say not to go to the store hungry.

 Lots of blackberries growing wild and I have told myself that NO, you are not going to make jelly this year. 
But guess what, blackberries are taking up space in the freezer now.  Maybe when we get back to Colorado I will make some, I give most of it away anyway.

A little history on Bow. It was originally known as Brownsville, after William J. Brown, who homesteaded the town site in 1869. The advent of the railroad resulted in a population boom and the need for a post office. Apparently inspired by the growth brought by the railroad, Brown suggested the new name of Bow, after the large railway station in London, England, which in turn was named for the bow or poplar tree. Although this is the most common belief, there are some who believe it was named after homesteader James T. Bow.

Will be doing some research to see what we should be checking out in the area.  One thing will be the Skagit casino, which you pretty much drive around their parking lot to get to the RV park.  Since it is Len's birthday month he gets an extra $5 play every week in August, it is also the casino where I won over $500 a short time back, that machine is calling my name once again.

Having beautiful weather

Lucked out when we pulled into Thousand Trails Birch Bay. Phase II was full but as we were driving through a fellow traveler stopped us and told us there was a 5th wheel about to pull out and we should wait as it was the only open site.  Parked the truck to wait and Len walked back to get the motorhome.  Think this is the best spot in the park, our front yard is large enough for another camper, in fact a gal stopped and ask how to figure out where to park.  Guess she thought our front yard would make the perfect spot for her. NOT!

We got a Mexican fix while checking out the town of Blaine. Hope to visit Paso Del North again before we leave the area.

Some friends, Fran and Russ, we met in California are also here and have enjoyed visiting with them.

Did some shopping in Bellingham when we first got here, it has the closest Wal-Mart.

Len launched his kayak from the Plover Ferry beach area. Across the water is Canada.  I told Len he might want to carry his passport in case the wind blew him that way.  (The ferry boat MV Plover plies the narrow inlet between the Blaine Marina and the end of Semiahmoo spit. Built in 1944 to carry workmen from Blaine to the salmon cannery on Semiahmoo, it was restored by volunteers of the Whatcom Maritime Historical Society. The Plover is the oldest foot passenger ferry in the State and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places).

The door on the motorhome has been giving us a few problems and then quit altogether, so while waiting for the replacement part Len had to fix it with the vice grips so we could gain entry.  While it was a "redneck" fix while we were waiting for the part, I am happy to report the parts arrived and the door is operating once again.  I do have to admit Len can pretty much fix any problems that arise with the motorhome, don't tell him I said so, as he is hard enough to live with. ha ha.

  

Len took a ride on the bike to the MT. Baker area and viewed the Nooksack waterfalls.
Nooksack Falls is less than a mile from the Baker Highway is one of the most visited falls in the state of Washington.  The waterfall plunges almost 100 feet in three different segments and at its widest measures almost 30 feet across. It has been said that many people fell to their death from Nooksack Falls as a result of carelessly getting too close to the edge.
(think this is the area Len told me he would of went further but had his boots on instead of his tennis shoes, I know he could read the don't go past this sign, but). The Nooksack Falls area is known for being picturesque with lush foliage and trees.
During the late 1800's the Nooksack Falls region served as a hot bed of several minerals. The most significant discovery was the Lone Jack Claim of 1897 that yielded thousands of dollars of gold. The mine was closed in 1924 and ended up yielding a total of a half a million dollars in gold. As a result of the Lone Jack claim the area became known as the Mount Baker Mining District. The Nooksack River is approximately 75 miles long. All of the forks originate in the Mount Baker wilderness.
The water from the Nooksack Falls once supplied hydroelectricity in the early 20th century. The plant operated for over 80 years before being shut down in 1997.

We are dealing with smoke from the fires up in Canada while the weather is nice for me, Len complains about the high 80's, seems the smoke is now blocking the sun from shining through also.  Hope it clears as we would like to take a trip up to Mt. Baker.

Sunset pictures through the smoke