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Our Travel Adventures
Welcome to the Adventures of Larry and Connie Farquhar.
Home Is In The Shop
Having Lunch with Nephew Conner
Once our classes were finished, we left Sparks, NV last Thursday (Apr 18). Since then, we started heading towards Portland, OR. We stopped for the night at the Desert Rose Casino in Alturas, CA. Although this was a very small casino, the RV parking was great! Quiet, dark, and away from any trains and roads. Our next stop was intended to be at Kingsley Field ANG Campground in Klamath Falls, OR. However, all 5 RV sites at this small campground were taken. We ended up driving a little further to the Kla-Mo-Ya Casino in Chiloquin, OR. Another nice stop-over, although there was some road noise here.
We stayed at the Kla-Mo-Ya Casino for a couple nights while we visited nephew Conner Davidson. Conner is attending the Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls. Conner has another year of studying to become an "Alternative Resources Engineer". He's super-excited about working with wind, hydro, and solar energy.
We enjoyed our relaxing, slow drive. The scenery was fantastic, with wonderful sunny weather. We landed in McMinnville, OR on April 21st, Easter. We stayed at another Harvest Hosts destination, the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum. In reality, anyone can spend the night here in their back parking lot. It was another free, quiet, and dark location to spend the night. We spent a couple nights here, as the museum was closed on Easter Sunday. I was a little skeptical of the $27 entrance fee, but many friends had recommended the museum. The price is reduced to $24 for seniors, and to $20 with a military discount. In the end, we spent most of a full day viewing the MANY old and historical planes, watching a great movie on being a fighter pilot, and viewing MANY exhibits on the history of the USA getting into space.
One of the highlights of the museum is the "Spruce Goose". This is Howard Hughes' H-4 Hercules. A very interesting history and engineering feat, for a HUGE plane made out of wood. When finished, it did fly. Hughes flew it during a test for 7 minutes. That's the only time it's ever been flown.
The visit to the museum was well worth the $40 admission for the two of us. I've joined the ranks of those who recommend this museum.
Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum
We normally don't like to make reservations, but I have made a few for this summer. Especially for those locations that will get busy and full at times. Our first reservation is for May 2nd at the Navy's Pacific Beach Resort and Conference Center in Pacific Beach, WA.
For the past few years, the "Check Engine" light on our motorhome would come on whenever we headed up a steep hill. Once we leveled off, the warning light would go off. Since we're about a week ahead of our travel schedule, I decided to take the motorhome into the shop. Besides, it also needed an oil change. The error ended up being related to the Turbo Actuator.
We've been staying in hotels these past few days, waiting for the motorhome to be repaired. Of course, I've been given two different dates that it would be ready. It wasn't ready the first date.
Bonneville Dam
Mt. Saint Helens Volcanic National Monument
While waiting for the repairs, we've made the most of our time in Portland, OR. Our fist "tourist" stop was to Bob's Red Mill to tour their grain processing. Across the street was a visit to Dave's Killer Bread outlet store. Yesterday, we made a day trip to the Mount Saint Helens Volcanic National Monument. It was another fantastic and clear day for the drive. The road isn't open all the way to the end, yet, but we could drive back 45 miles. We got some wonderful views of Mt. Saint Helens. We were last there around 1986. The forests have come back in full force (with the manual planting of millions of trees).
Yesterday, we met Boomer friends Frank and Dianne Gruelle for breakfast. We "thought" the motorhome was going to be ready Wednesday morning, but it wasn't. Connie and I took another day drive to the Multnomah Falls. However, we drove right by them (by accident) and ended up seeing the Horsetail Falls. We then spent a bit of time at the Bonneville Dam and the Salmon Fish Hatchery next door.
The motorhome was supposed to be ready this morning (2nd time we were told this), but it wasn't. They hadn't even started on it yet. We decided to stick around the Freightliner shop and give them grief as we waited for it to be done today. Well... almost 4 hours after they finally started working in it, they just gave us the news that the entire Turbo needs to be replaced. The turbo shaft was seized. In their defense, they couldn't know this until they dug into the engine. They promised us it will still be completed today (by midnight), but the price just doubled! They did hint that they might be able to reimburse us for a couple nights in the hotel. I'll believe it when I see it, including the motorhome being done today.
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