Vegas...

We came down to Vegas for one reason...Family, and we're glad we did. It has been so very long since we've been able to see Vic's Mom, Jack and his Sister Gwen, husband Dwayne, kids Chase and Caitlin as well as Erika whom I haven't seen in over 23 years.

It was definitely worth the stop and I feel it was a little too short but the weather forced us to move on. Neither Petra nor I could physically handle the extreme heat.

We visited the Shark reef at the Mandalay, unfortunately Petra's Camera was out of commission so we'll have to post here later the pictures from our phones. Meanwhile here are a few from Mom's house and the pics along the road.

We had some trouble with the new Rig which Findlay RV screwed up at every turn. NEVER GO TO FINDLEY RV IN LAS VEGAS!

Kaylee celebrated her 6th Birthday in Vegas and it was a hoot!

Redding, Lodi and on to Vegas

Well this was an uneventful leg of the trip. California is beautiful and expensive. On to Vegas we went into the hot hot desert but also on to see much missed family.

06/10 What a great place

We stopped for a night at a beautiful spot for a night. Check out the beautifil waterfall

06/09 African Safari

We stopped in Winston OR for a SUPER treat. A wildlife conservation reserve has created an incredible outdoor drive through experience of mostly African wildlife. Everything from Thomson's Gazelle, Elephants, Tigers, Cheetah, Wildebeest...and VERY FAT SQUIRRELS!!! Definitely the stars of the show were the ultra fat local squirells who have exploded in this food rich environment.

You know how when you see a squirrel cross the road, mostly you say.." Wooo what was that? A squirrel?" Mostly because it's running so fast. Not these squirrels. They stop in the middle of the road to pick their teeth as their bellies drag across the road! A peek in some of the feeders turns up teams of the belly draggers! Too funny.

The tour took about one hour 1 hour to get through the park. Andrew and Kaylee took turns steering the big truck and the sun was out to the tune of about 85 degrees.

Chack it out.

06/06 Stuck

What a great weekend! We got to spend the weekend camping in the RV Dealership in Eugene Oregon. Heavy traffic and loud trains all night made for a peaceful stay in this otherwise paradise! Uuugg! Tomorrow we go on Safari!

06/04 After MUCH ado...

Whew...

We've been stuck in Oregon for almost a week now. Between the trouble with the 450 and the trouble with the 5th wheel we have decided to trade it all in for an RV and a little tow behind car. The Fuzion just isn't made for long trips clearly, at least ours wasn't!

We've bought a Winnebago Tour and a little 2004 used Saturn Vue. Pics to come Saturday.

We have fought with financing companies for many days now, since no one is lending money now, even when our payments will be less than our payments now and so we've been biting our nails for days waiting to hear from AK USA Credit Union. Bless them for coming through for us!

Saturday we'll walk through the new rig and get on the road. Until then...keep watch this space!

May 29 - Woo it's hot - Stuck in Salem OR

It's hot here today and yesterday. We've been waiting to hear from the Ford shop when the truck will be ready to pickup and yesterday was supposed to be the day...not happy about that but it's still better then a day working!

After many positive references to the Enchanted Forest adventure park here we decided to go...I would say that it was not only a frightening experience for our littlist one Andrew, but it's an old, worn down place with little to no real lighting in any of the rooms that one is left to wonder what REALLY lives there?

Here are some pics of that glorious place:

We stayed there for about two hours and went through the most painful version of Snow white and the seven dorks ( really that was the name they called it) ever experienced. a 1/2 hour of excrutiating pain and the worst slapstick comedy ever witnessed this century made us question our sanity at about minute 25. At minute 26 we were close to babling idiots!! The kids were close behind! The wicked witch was a transvestite and the woodsman was straight out of the Free Credit Report.com's spot and the cinderella was...nevermind...you get it. These were the vultures looming overhead waiting for us to drop so they could pick our tourist bones clean!!

We jetted out of there at high speed straight to McGrath's Fish house which was a great place. Great menu and great food.

We went downtown to take a look at the big golden statue that sits atop the State's capitol Building. He's the Pioneer represented in very shiny gold.

It's a beautiful town, quiet and very well maintained but it's time to move on!

May 26th - Salem Oregon

Well another beautiful day with few clouds in the sky! We're staying at thePremier RV park in Salem and it's a great place. Fairly full but all the parking spots are very nice.

Went out to eat at a place called the Best little Road House that was not really up to its namesake.

We all had a great time in the pool today under the sun. Massive water guns made for a wild morning!

We set up camp last night. Had to re align the trailer UUGAIN because the slide was pushing out too far!

TROUBLE WITH THE TRUCK

The ABS light kept coming on at speed and that was worrisome. Turns out, after taking to the local Ford dealer that two HUGE bolts sheared off in the rear differential damaging the tow wheel and meaning a three day delay for us and a new entire differential and housing to be installed! Luckily all was under warranty. Can't complain tho...we've got some time and it really doesn't matter where we are...we'll have fun anyway.

After Dinner we had a nice long walk around the park with the kids who learned about spiky plants, moles and mole hills and generally enjoyed the warm night!

Sunday May 24th 2009 Fairview Oregon

Today is the 2nd day in Fairview Oregon. We decided to check out the waterfalls everybody is raving about here. We were not the only one, you couldn’t come near them.
We saw a glimpse of one and felt that we would have more fun in the swimming pool.
It was a nice day; slowly we are starting to get settled in. Today we bought a printer; because we still have to do some work it’s not all vacationing...........
It’s a real nice area here, green, beautiful flowers and trees. But we are curious about tomorrow when we are traveling to Salem. We will also stay there for 2 days. We read that there are some awesome vineyards and also a family park.
For the last 10 minutes I’m looking at the clock and it doesn’t want to move. Hihi it’s only 8 but I was up at 6 so still a full day. It’s nice to get up with the sun and go to bed early, must say I like that schedule and more important, the kids have no complaints. Drew went to bed this afternoon by himself to take a nap and Kaylee put her pajamas on tonight and went to bed without asking. Too funny I knew we would finally make them tired………
Outside air, sun and endless fresh fruit, that actually saw sun and taste sweet, a treat for us Alaskans.

05/23/09 to Oregon

65 miles down I5 and we arrive at Fairview RV Park in Fairview WA. Home of Honda's specialized Crash Test facility for testing pedestrian imact. Sounds like fun!

Beautiful area, quiet for the most part and sunny too! We're here for two days. We're still provisioning for the road, food, printer extra airco unit etc. All seems to be going well apart from the F-450's ABS light keeps coming on. I hope we don't get stuck somewhere for a week while a dealer figures it out!

Sunday we'll be visiting the Historic Columbia River Hwy Falls along the way. Horse Tail falls, Pny Tail Falls, Latourell Falls and more. More pictures to come!