Along the way to our reservation in Fort Stevens State Park we needed three nights to vamp. Using Campendium.com I located a “city” park in Skamokawa WA that had just had a cancellation for one of their prime spots for the nights we needed. That was for July 5,6,7! 

This very nice park is both a large day use park and an the Columbia River with the main shipping channel just offshore. We explored to Longview WA to the east which has most of the big block stores and very little else to attract us. Getting there we took a bridge and a ferry across the river then proceeded east on the Oregon side crossing back on a bridge to Longview.

Eventually we returned  west on the Washington side of the river. We spotted a tiny museum and pulled in to find one of the volunteers just leaving. We only spent 30 minutes or so learning the history of this tiny niche along the road. Then continued on to the coach.  Back in the park we noted a sign for The Road Kill Saloon across the street so of course we had to walk over and take a look.

We pulled up the jacks on the 8th to take the very long 49 mile drive to Fort Stevens for the site we had been so lucky to get last minute. We stopped at “Dismal Nitch” so named by Lewis and Clarke because here less than a mile upriver from their goal of reaching the Pacific they were held captive by the weather for 6 days. 

Once set up we immediately headed over to the military site to meet up with Diana and George Ruelens who are spending  their summer volunteering giving tours on this 5 Ton Deuce 

I’m not quite sure where they found this driver. 

We have moved on since this post was written and will work on a “catch up” post in the next day or two. 

As I post we are in Evergreen Coho SKP park in Chimacum WA.

Our stay at Bend continued on until Madelyn and Geoff arrived on Friday and we had dinner together at Patrice and Norms place. Great fun, many tales, some tall, were told and we finally left and turned in with plans for more fun on Saturday. 

Saturday we continued to enjoy Deschutes Brewing’s 30th birthday  with a couple of groups in Drake Park – leaving with 4 more hours of music being offered, but we headed out to Sunriver Resort for different music – 60’s Rock in honor of the resorts 50th anniversary. 

Sunday we moved on having scored a site at Port of Newport Marina and RV Park for two nights. Getting there we completed a drive on a new to us section of US 20 from Bend to Newport. This leaves Bend to Yellowstone and Illinois sections of US 20 for us to complete driving the entire route. We have already driven US 1, 15 and US 90 completely. We find this is a way to explore areas we might never otherwise see if we just were going from destination to destination. I have not included any Interstates in the theme as most do not provide easy access to the smaller places off the beaten path. As others have said (including Charles Kuralt) you could drive across the country on any of those roads and at every exit you have to read a sign to figure out where you are, the chains are all lined up across the country at every junction. 

We have been in Newport before and have taken time to catch up with shopping and clean up after a week with no water or sewer hookups. This morning we had an unwanted excitement when the water heater failed. I immediately called Gary at Precision Temp and while waiting for his response the heater resumed working. His diagnoses, when he called, was a glitch that caused a lockout which was unlocked when shutting off the water.  I asked Gary how much longer I could rely on his being there he said through 2019.  And so it goes. We moved to another site in the park for 2 more nights.

We have just secured a place for 2 nights at Fort Stevens where the Ruelens, also from Jojoba Hills, are volunteering giving tours. We are looking forward to seeing them. This trip is beginning to look like visits with friends as we go. Still have a couple of friends to see further along and then family in Vancouver BC. 

From the Bay area we headed north toward Ashland OR where we found ourselves in an old campground with rather tight spots for our “modern” 36 foor 4 slide coach. This was Glenyan RV,  It is in the process of change of ownership, will take a look if we come back this way. We were in Ashland for two plays. The matinee was Sense and Sensibility.  We howled. The performance was wonderful and so was the staging. 

We were celebrating our 54th so went to dinner at Peerless Restaurant a 10 minute walk from theater. Had a marvelous meal with proper timing and attention from Justin (that name keeps appearing I know). Then on to the theater for Othello set in the US military with cellphones (which drew giggles from the audience). Iago is not any nicer nor is Othello himself in this setting. Somehow I have never enjoyed an performance or reading of this tragedy. Hamlet is easier to take. 

On to Bend OR where we are as I write. With the help of Tiffen Service I got the correct part from Tiffin Parts and found Coach Master of Bend to do the installation. Everything is working at the moment. Total shop time was an hour! They had the coach for a total of 3 hours. There is more to the story.

While here we have been parked next to Dan and Bev Armstrong at the Elks Lodge and went to Lava Cast Forest with them on Monday

and then on to Crux Fermentation for lunch and some fermented drink.

On Monday Carol and I went out to Newberry Crater where we took the shuttle to the top of Lava Butte,

 yes that is my finger intruding. From there we headed down the road to Obsidian Flow where we climbed the stairs and the trail to the summit

Words cannot do it justice.

We concluded the adventure at Pauline Peak a drive to the summit at 7984 feet most of the road being washboard gravel. 

Some trees actually grow in the field of obsidian and pumice.

I doubt I will ever get tired of snow capped peaks in the distance

and a lake up high in the crater. 

We concluded the day with dinner with Norm and Patrice Sundholm at their home. We packed in food from Costco and our own resources. 

It has been a while since there has been a report of various failures and my attempts, mostly successful, to get us back on the road. 

The latest round started in the campground at Redlands Truck and RV service. Friday late afternoon Dan the service driver brought the coach back to the campground after a day spent servicing the engine and the chassis, this is an annual event. With the coach back in our possession we set up for the night with the leveling jacks extended and the slides extended as usual. 

In the morning the first sign of trouble was the failure of the right front leveling jack to return to the stored position. This is a hydraulic system and the store command merely opens a valve to let the weight of the coach and two strong springs retract the jack. Very simple. Except the valve didn’t open and the jack didn’t store. Not going anyplace in that mode. I tried a couple of things to encourage it, to no avail. A call to Coach-net, the road service I have used for 17 years, brought the hoped for response, eventually they found a mobile tech who could get to us and maybe get us on the road. Justin , of SOS Mobile Truck Service, arrived with his truck and attempted to get it started, to no avail. He resorted to a tactic I had thought of but was not prepared to do. He crawled under the coach and with two wrenches he opened the hydraulic line and let the oil drain into a pan (mostly), mirabila dictu the jack retracted leaving Justin almost stranded under the coach. He squirmed out, after tightening the line and set about restoring the hydraulic fluid level so I could operate the two slide out rooms that depend on the system. End of part One.

A digression: While parked in a truck stop at the pumps I opened the door and a part of the door handle fell on the ground making enough noise that I noticed it. Fortunately nothing was broken, just a screw had come loose. Maybe in my head by then. Two minutes to find an allen wrench of the correct size and it was as good as, well it was in place and working.

Part Two: Arrival at the campground was uneventful, although I cannot use my jacks to level until I get the system repaired. When Carol went to extend the slides the hydraulic slides, which had worked when Justin left us, refused to move. The one mobile tech I reached wanted 3 hours minimum at $159 per. I verified with Tiffiin Motorhomes what fluid I needed and went to the nearest Napa to get the ATF and a funnel. This took two trips as I only bought a quart which was not enough. On my return I bought 2 more quarts of which I needed 8 ounces. The slideout rooms are now extended. 

Another Digression: The last tech to work on our coach at Redlands Truck & RV failed to secure the oil fill cap properly. We arrived with much oil on the front of the Jeep. I took the Jeep to a nearby car wash and many dinero later the car looks like this:

I know I left this off in Ireland. Short story we spent a week in Dublin during which we saw art galleries, museums and two more visits to the dark side with a visit to the jail where so many IRA members (they were called Volunteers then) were held and executed and then a visit to the cemetery where they are all memorialized and 1.6 million Irish of all beliefs are buried. I consumed my share of Guinness Stout and tasted some more Irish Whiskey – I’ll try to categorize them in another post.

We returned to Jojoba Hills with only the minor mishap of our luggage containing the laundry from the trip being delayed because it couldn’t make the flight we made in Chicago. Thank you United! They delivered it the next day.

Our week in Jojoba Hills was marred by the sudden death of Joe Gibbs, our immediate neighbor on our first site and one of the nicest people we have come to know. Otherwise the week was uneventful, with several Happy Hour gatherings and my playing a fair amount of Bridge

Yesterday we took the coach in for service at Redlands Truck and RV and they got everything we asked for completed in the day allotted and we spent the night in their campground fully expecting to be on the road this morning. It was not to be. Going through the routine we noticed that the right front leveling jack did not retract. I have tried all of my “rituals” to no avail. I suppose I could dance around the rig, but that seems unlikely to help. Naturally it is Saturday and all the Redlands people are enjoying their weekend. Called Coach-net and they are seeking a mobile tech to bail us out. Waiting. . . 

Quick Edit 1:45 PM about 90 minutes later SOS Truck service to the rescue and we are ready to roll.

How to begin? During the negotiations to bring the conflict to an end certain brave men, drivers of Black Taxis, drove through the gates to carry the negotiators and others to the meetings in the Monastery in the Protestant section. Gates? Protestant section? This was our tour as our Black Taxi driven by one of those brave men showed us where the walls are and drove us through those gates. The walls are still up 20 years later and they are the highest barriers you can begin to imagine. The gates still close at 9 or 10 pm every night. The Protestants, Unionists, feel safer separated by the walls from their Catholic, Republican neighbors and vice versa. There is a third area where there is no separation or walls, that is where the educated and well off people live. They too are either Protestant or Catholic, but they live entwined and they intermarry. 

The tour ended at The Felons Club. The credential for membership is  being  an IRA member and having served time in under the British. We sat for over 90 minutes with three men. A Protestant Unionist,  who served 16 years and a Catholic  member of  Sinn Fein who was a member of the IRA and served 17 years of a life sentence, and a British infantry man who served in Belfast during the troubles. These three men who would have been glad to kill each other in 1990 are now able to present there stories to groups like us and to share a friendship that seems unthinkable. None of them think that it is likely to be wide spread in the near future.

Terminology. Unionist wants to remain united with UK (well until Brexit anyhow) Republican wants to reunite Ireland into one country. Ireland is made up of 32 counties. 26 counties make up the Republic of Ireland and 6 are the Irish part of the UK in much the same manner as Scotland and Wales. Just to make it more murky, Ulster is a Province of Ireland and the 6 counties of Northern Ireland comprise 6 of the 8 counties of Ulster. By definition, most Protestants are Unionists and most Catholics are Republicans. They inhale this with their mother’s milk.

On Tuesday we set out  to see two of the “must see” attractions on the north coast of Ireland,  the Antrim Coast. Our first stop was the Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge which extends 70 feet over  the ocean to  a small island that fishermen used to reach further out into the fishery.

From there  we went back up the coast to The Giant’s Causeway. This is a product of vulcanism  followed by glaciation. The basalt formed hexagonal pillars which from above look like a tessellation and from the side look like giant pillars.

During the glaciation the retreating glaciers stripped  away any soil leaving the rock formations exposed.  Some of us went with Rowan for a rather extended  hike to a promontory well beyond the Causeway for a different point of view. This brought us back to the Visitor Center where we rejoined those who elected not to take the hike for the ride back to Derry.

Wednesday, today as I write, we retraced much of that route with a pause in Bushmills, the home of the oldest licensed distillery, for relief while we continued on to Belfast with another stop for lunch following a nice walk down to a waterfall in Glennariff Forest Park.

 Fortunately the bus came down to the lodge to pick us up so we didn’t have to climb back up with full stomachs.

You may notice that these images show bright sunlight and even people in summer dress. Yes this is Ireland! the land of cool moist days with rain at least once a day and four seasons every day. The Irish are overheated and hiding from the sun. The tourists, us, are reveling in it.

I have great notes on the trip which I will try to encapsulate when I have some time as well as pictures. 

Today was something very different, we crossed from The Republic of Ireland into Northern Ireland to the city of Derry, known among Unionists as Londonderry. We have been submerged in the history of Ireland since we arrived and an ugly history it is. The Great Famine was really the Great Hunger and there was plenty of food for export to  Great Britain and its colonies, but only potatoes were permitted to the Irish and when the blight struck the landlords would not permit the Irish to eat the food they were producing. 

In the early 1900’s Ireland was partitioned and the British kept the 6 northern provinces as part of the UK and made the rest of Ireland a part of their empire. Eventually the Irish were made a free state by revolution, but in the treaty they were not permitted to  keep  the northern provinces and a civil war commenced among those who wanted to keep the treaty and those who were prepared to fight to the death for a united Ireland. The Irish are (were?) primarily Catholic and the British  are Protestants. They have never gotten along. 

In Derry the divide was and is to this day rigidly maintained. Marching Season dates back to 1604 when King James – then Catholic -was stopped at the city gates by thirteen protestants who barred the gate. He laid siege to the city and every year the Catholics march down to the gate to commemorate  the event.had a recent history

In 1972 that march lead to Bloody Sunday when the British brought in paratroops to stop the parade. Of the 14 who died that day 8 were shot by one trooper known as “F” . Today we met the grandson of the first to die and he told us the history of that day in bloody detail. I asked him if he could imagine  free mixing of Catholics and Protestants in his lifetime – he is 21 – and he said no. They have no particular animosity, but the last of the fighting was only 20 years ago. 

The only thing that he, and others, see as bringing change is Brexit which will be devastating to the already poor economy of Northern Ireland. The creation of hard borders between the Irelands will be crushing to the tourism trade they are building.  

The history is long ugly and complex. There are at least four different sides. The pressure behind much of the fighting  can be found in our own Civil rights struggle and that of other nations around the world. They called for one man one vote and the end of Gerrymandering, which has a the same meaning as ours but was enforced at the level of household, religion and business. The Catholics with a majority in the population had only 12 seats in the government of 60! 

Here are pictures of some of the murals in Bog Side,  the Catholic area:

I’ll stop the convoluted story of the history there with only the one comment, we have yet to find a country to visit that has not  had a recent history of of violent abuse of members of the  society.

I will incorporate any corrections to details in this history, I am working from memory of several presentations over the past 10 days.

On our way to Slea Head we stopped at Edan’s farm. He raises Sheep and we got to pet, hold and feed baby lambs. Aw, Cute!  We also visited the Bee Hive Huts on his property which date back over 1,000 years. These are dry-stone structures which have with stood the weather for many years and have not been destroyed by interlopers looting the stone because of the remoteness of the area and the poor quality of the land for large scale agriculture. 

We proceeded from there to the Blasket Center Museum to learn the history of these islands which were evacuated in 1953 due to a declining population and increasingly dangerous weather. This was an Irish speaking community that had not been forced to 
English speaking because of their remoteness. We took a 3 1/2 mile hike along the coast from which we could see the incredible views of the ocean and across to the Blasket Islands themselves.

Oh yes, this is Star Wars territory so we climbed up to a site from which some of the scenics from one of the recent Star Wars movies was filmed.

This picture of the remains of a school house from yet another movie set in Ireland is for a quiz, answer next post.

The last day of our pre trip and the first day of the  trip coincided as usual. We mostly drove from Dingle to Ennis with a stop for lunch and shopping in Adair which must be the quintessential Irish tourist village with its street of shops and restaurants and cottages with thatched roofs. We ate in Good Room and we shopped without helping the Irish economy or incurring packing difficulty.

The major excursion for the day was Cliffs of Moher with a stop  at Bridget’s Well followed by a stop at a pub for lunch and return to the hotel.  This was a long bus ride, well worth it.

[Pictures to be added-someday]

As part of our historical walk in Ennis we stopped at Knox Pub where some delightful young musicians performed for us and talked about their instruments and their training. Following this the rest of the tour left and Carol and I stayed behind in our excellent seats for 1 1/2 hours of rousing Traditional Irish music. There is an Irish music festival o n in town this week and we were able to enjoy a taste of it.