The Saga Continues!!!!

Ok, so I know it's been a really long time since my last post. We got back to Edgerton and had a really great time hanging out with our families and since then, we've been back to Pella for a while to work on the house and yard to make it ready for sale. We are now settled into Iowa City but more about that later. Last I wrote, we were on the Oregon coast. Maybe the reason I haven't written again is because I enjoyed this trip so much I just don't want it to be over. Oh well, there is more story to tell and further adventures await



So here goes...



Where we last left off, Bambi and I had just had one terrific Gooney adventure!! The date was Monday, September 8 and we woke up this morning in Tillamook Oregon with the Pacific Ocean in our backyard. Another beautiful Oregon morning was upon us and our goal today was to head South down the 101 taking in as much of the coastline as we could.

We drove to a town called Newport when we decided to stop for lunch. By now, you all know that Bambi and I have a little affinity for Pizza. Well, we decided to stop on the edge of Newport at a little restaurant called Izzy's. Neither of us had ever heard of it before but the setting looked great. We drove uphill to the parking lot and entered the place to find that the entire side of the building was all windows with just an amazing view of the ocean. We got a seat by the windows and when we turned around, we saw another view that rivaled the beauty of the sea... that's right Pizza... and lots of it!! This place was nothing fancy but was easily the best pizza and pasta buffet I'd ever laid eyes on!! Now, I know that people will say... Oh, if you liked that place, you'll love such and such place. Seriously, I know that people will tell me of places where they've had the best pizza buffet ever, but just know that none of them compare to Izzy's. Ok, so maybe that's a little dramatic but it seriously was the best pizza buffet we could remember. Sitting there looking out over the Pacific with a belly full of pizza and pasta is a pretty cool thing!

We waddled out of Izzy's and headed back South on the 101. We drove into the next town where I placed a call to my Uncle Rod. See, one of the best parts of this trip was that I was going to be passing nearby to where my Uncle Rod lives in Roseburg OR. In my life, I'd never had the opportunity to go and see Rod's place so we weren't going to miss this chance. My uncle Rod (my moms brother) is a retired policeman who lives in Roseburg Oregon. We got ahold of him on the phone and he gave us directions to meet him at a cafe in Roseburg as he lives out of town and it can be dificult to find his home if you're unfamiliar with the area.
We met Rod at a place called Casey's Restaurant. This is Rod's regular coffee place and when we met and walked in, everyone inside knew him which was fun. Over the course of three days, we'd be at Casey's a few times which was really fun for us. The place had good food and reminded me a bit of Mel's Diner on that TV show Alice from back in the 80's.
Seeing Rod was really great and the time we spent on Roseburg over the next two days was some of the most relaxing time we spent on our whole trip. We didn't really have anything specific scheduled for our time together, we just kind of did whatever we felt like doing for a few days and Rod was a great host. He took us on a driving tour of the area and even made us a great supper the second night at his house. He lives in a really cool area, outside of town and his yard is huge and has lots of trees on it. He gets plenty of company from the local deer who come to his apple tree right behind his deck in the back yard to eat apples off the trees. There was always at least one deer on the yard at all times and at one point in the morning, I counted 14 deer under his apple tree. They seem to be very used to him there as we were able to sit out on the deck and just talk normally and they just went about their business eating apples and laying around on the yard.
While we were visiting Rod, he had a little construction project going on to install a carport next to his garage. Rod and I "Supervised" the project and we think the project went quite well because of our input!!
Rod really wanted to take a day and drive us up to Crater Lake. My parents have been there with him before and said it is just amazing to see. We wanted to go but unfortunately, there was a large forest fire blocking the road from the West entrance and going around to the East entrance would take us several hours out of our way each way.
All in all, we spent two nights and three days with my Uncle Rod and we had a really great time. Rod was a great host and the best part was that we just got to have a few days with him to visit and see where he lives and what his life is like in Oregon. He lives in a beautiful place and we will be sure to visit again - this time it won't take us 34 years to get it done!!

Goonies never say die...

Today is Wednesday, Sept. 18.

We have returned home to Edgerton just after midnight on the 17th. The trip has been great and God brought us home safely. It's good to be home.

Before I begin, I have some corrections to post about the last full blog concerning Mt. St. Helens. We were at Bambi's uncle and aunt Dennis and Linda in CO and she got out her copy of the newspaper article about Bambi's grandpa. The real story is that her grandpa was not in fact there on the morning of May 18th. Actually, he was there on July 21st. Turns out, they were in Portland and all the sensation was about the volcano but that it had quit erupting and had gone more dormant again. They rented the plane to get a good look and by chance, it erupted again just as they were nearing the site. Turns out, all the media had gone home and they were the only ones in the air at the time of the eruption so their pictures were the only ones taken of this later eruption from the air. Pretty cool. An Oregon newspaper interviewed him and even offered to buy his photos of the event.

Sunday, Sept. 7th.

We woke up today in Portland Oregon in a very nice RV park. The only trouble we had here was that I parked my truck and trailer next to the office to pay for the night and check out. Now, the park was nowhere near full and there was nobody else driving around the park at the time. However, we were in a no parking area next to the entrance of the park. While I was away from the truck, the parks assistant manager told Bambi that we were NOT to be parked there. He actually used a string of colorful language in the process. We thought it was a little excessive and unnecessary but he was pretty wound up about it. I thought about finding another sea shell to show him how to listen for the ocean but opted to just leave instead. He said that someone could have very easily come around the corner and $%&#* Smashed right into us!! Literally, there was nothing behind us for 200 yards and not another single car came or went in that time. Oh well, some people get wound up about the smallest things!! I have to say... prior to this trip, I would have gotten pretty wound up about this but having 3 weeks with zero stress kind of renews your buffer again I guess because we both just laughed about it. I did tell the other park employee that if he wanted to talk to my wife with that kind of language again, he'd need to be a man and come and talk to me about it but he never did come back out of the office. Probably saw the wicked mustache and sideburns and thought better of it!! lol

Other than that, we had a nice night and Portland was gearing up another beautiful day for us.

We headed for downtown where we got to go to the Saturday market. Saturday market is a Portland tradition which actually occurs every Saturday and Sunday from May until Christmas. It is mislabeled Saturday market because it is actually held on Sat and Sun. We drove down there and it is just like a big farmers market except they have food and all kinds of other stuff too. Portland is an extrememly liberal city filled with artists and the like. So, there was pretty much every form of artform known there from paintings to pottery to t-shirts to jewelry etc. After about 5 minutes of walking around down there though, I noticed an unusual sensation. I just couldn't stop thinking of cheeto's. That's right cheeto's. I'm talkig to Bambi and I'm all like... "Dude, I got the munchies something fierce!!" Turns out, I think were getting a contact high from all the hooch they were smooking there. Seriously, there was practically a haze and everything just smelled of it. It was funny because we walked around we noticed that we really didn't fit it. Here we are probably the two most conservative people in a 500 mile radius. That may actually be true in most places we go but it was pretty darn obvious here. We had to laugh because they were all getting people to register to vote and to get involved but it was pretty one-sided. We're not particularly politically active but i'm pretty sure if I'd have had on a John McCain shirt, I'd have been burned at the stake. It was fun to be there though and we really enjoyed just being in a totally different environment.

From there, we drove to the Rose gardens. Now we didn't know this until we read the foreword in the book "Through painted desert" that Portland is known for their roses. they have a huge hill on the north side of town overlooking the Pearl district where they have a huge city park area. In it they have the biggest rose garden I'd ever seen with every type imaginable and they were just in their glory. It smelled great - stark contrast to the smell at Saturday market that's for sure.

We decided it was time for lunch. Our AAA book told of an old pizza place we had to try. (Anyone starting to notice that we really like pizza and taco bell???) Anyway, the name of the place is Old Town pizza. The book said that celebrities like Jay Leno and Rachel Rae have been know to frequent the place while in town. Ok, we've got to try it. But wait, the story goes deeper and much farther back than just some famous clientel. The story on the back of the menu says:

"Don't be surprised if you are visited by an unexpected guest today. A constant presence at Old Town Pizza is Nina (prounounced Nigh-na). Our resident ghost. If you feel a spirit or smell a faint waft of perfume, you may have just been visited by Nina. She is often seen in a black dress observing diners and wandering in the basement below."

It goes on... "Nina's been her for over 100 years." Turns out, this restaurant is in an old hotel lobby - you can tell it too. The building was built in 1880 by lumber barons. However, the history is a little seethy. They go on to say that while the hotel catered to the wealthy, underneath the floors was a system of "Shanghai tunnels" connecting Portland via underground pathways, then used to nab unsuspecting sailors and transport them to ships docked on the river. As time went on, the area became known as "the Old North End", a section of city with an "rather questionable reputation." Turns out that the old hotel was a hotbed (sorry about the pun here) for prostitution. I'm like... pizza and prostitution... sounds great. Of course, I may have still just had the munchies!

Anyway, the story goes that Nina was a young girl sold into prostitution at the hotel. One day, some missionaries offered her freedom in exchange for coming forward with information on the hotel owners. Unfortunately, before she could do this... the owners found out and threw her down the shaft of the elevator where she remains to this day.

I'm like "whatever". I'm hungry, so we ordered a pie. We took a seat in the main lobby area and waited for our food. Bambi had to go to the restroom so she got up and said, "I'm going to take a look around" I said ok and she was gone. Afer about 10-15 minutes went by, I started to think - "wonder what's taking her so long?" Now, if it had been me in there for 15 minutes... that's normal. Anyway (TMI right?) I thought I'd see where she went and to see what she had been up to . I knocked on the womens bathroom door and nobody answered. Normally, I wouldn't do this but I opened the door. I'm like "Bambi?" No answer. I thought, that's strange. So I stepped inside. I opened the door to the stall and saw nothing. I went back out and as I was leaving, I leaned back in to shut off the light. When I did, I could see just the faintest crack of light back behind the stall. Curious, I crept back in and walked to were the light was coming from. Nothing but a stone wall but there was definitely light and when I put my hand up to the wall, I could feel cool air coming through the wall. I pushed on the wall but nothing. I searched the wall for a knob or lever but again nothing. This is strange I thought. I was about to leave but noticed that my shoe was untied. I put my foot up on the stool tank to tie it but my foot slipped and hit the flush lever. With that, there was an eerie groan and the crack in the wall opened a bit further. I pushed with all my might and sure enough, the wall slid back on tracks were there was a fading light down a long, damp tunnel. Wow, I thought. I decided to check it out so I tied my shoe and started down the tunnel. It wound down into the earth in a spiral staircase but I kept going, following the faint glow ahead of me.

At one point, I thought I could hear a muffled voice so I said "Bambi", like that, the light was gone. Dead silence. I didn't think to bring a light of my own and now it was pitch dark. I moved forward slowly and down the staircase and I could feel the air getting more and more damp. I kept moving forward and could feel the walls getting slimy and wet and could feel drops of water on my head. I pressed forward. I kept walking until suddenly I stopped, suddenly and frozen in my tracks. I could hear something... sounded like a tapping sound. I listened and it sounded like it was below me. I got down on my knees and felt the ground until I felt a small crack in the ground and next to it, a wooden plank. I lifted the plank and a faint light returned and I peered inside. As I did, I could see her, It was Bambi -bound and gagged and sitting along the wall. I ran to her and as I did, the light again disappeared down another tunnel. I got to her and took the gag out of her mouth and she said... Oh thank you!! I untied her and she told me that she had been in the bathroom when she suddenly felt someone reach around her and tie her up and pull her through that hole in the wall. "It was Nina" she said. I said, but that's just a tale used to drum up business. No, she said, it's real and she's evil. I said "what should we do now?" I don't know Bambi said but before she could get away, I got this from her. Bambi held up an old gold coin looking thing with holes in it. "She was wearing it like a necklace" she said but when she heard you coming, she set me down and I reached up and pulled it off her neck."

I was astonished. We checked it out and there were markings on it. "What do you think?" I said. I don't know... lets follow it and see where it gets us. Ok I said, but I can barely see. Bambi held up my ipod and said "I have an idea." She turned on the ipod and the screen jumped to life, illuminating the tunnel before us. "Great idea" "I said!! Lets go. We followed the tunnel for what seemed like a mile and a half until we could see a faint light again. We looked down and could see a gaping chasm in front of us. The only way across was a slight wooden plank and the gap was 20 feet wide... too far to jump. Will it hold? Bambi asked. I don't know I replied, but only one way to find out!! We began across when we heard the board creak and begin to crack. We lept forward just in time as the board broke and fell into the chasm. We were literally hanging by our fingertips. I said to Bambi, I have a good hold, just climb up using my shirt like a rope. Ok she said and she climbed up my back up to the top. I'll find something to help you she said, I'll be right back. Hurry I cried, I can't hold much longer. Suddenly, she returned with a rope. "hold on she said, this rope is connected to the wall over there." I pulled on the rope and was able to get up, but as I pulled one last time to clear the edge of the wall, the rope gave... didn't breat, just gave a bit. I was up but next came an eiry sound. It was a sound like chains going over a mechanical device... clank, clank, clank. We looked up and saw them... 5 huge boulders hanging in the tunnel above us. The first one was swinging. Hurry, Bambi shouted. We began running when the first one landed just behind us. Keep running!! she exclaimed. We moved faster down the tunnel as stones 2, 3, 4 and finally 5 fell, just behind us. "Whoa, that was close." Bambi said. Yeah, I said... Good thing Eric and Keith always make me run so far or I'd never have been in shape for that!!

We looked down and saw a bag... "what's this?" Bambi said. We picked it up and it contained some old candles and matches along with a map. We lit the candle and as we did, we could see that this bag didn't just get there on it's own. Next to one of the boulders was a skeleton. We crouched closer and could see the remnants of clothing beside it. "Look" I said. "A wallet!" We opened the walled and found an old id tag that read "Chester Copperpot." "Chester Copperpot!!" we exclaimed. Portland lore has it that Chester Copperpot was a skilled bounty hunter who disappeared back in the early 1900's while exploring the legend of Nina. Some say that Chester and Nina were actually engaged to be married before she disappeared into the hotel. "So" I said. Now what. We have boulders and an uncrossable chasm on one side, and solid rock on the other!!" I don't know, Bambi said. But I can barely see anything. "I'll light another candle I said" I lit the top and instead of a slow, steady light, it was like a sparkler. That's not a candle!!! Bambi Said. "That's dynamite!!!!" Quickly, I threw the dynamite and we got behing the boulder. There was a huge explosion and dust filled the cave, snuffing our candle. We waited a minute and the dust cleared. Suddenly we could see a light from a hole in the rock. We did it I exclaimed. We may have found our way out. We crept forward and pulled on some rock which gave way to a larger, well lit cavern behind it. We're free I said. We crawled through the hole and jumped into a crystal clear lake hidden in the cave. We kept going forward when it came into sight. There it was... Nina's pirate ship filled with gold and jewels. As we stood there to take it all in when we saw her... it was Nina. But someone else was with her. It was the pizza chef. We swam to the boat where we climbed the ladder. Once on board, we were suddenly shocked to see Nina and the Chef holding guns pointed at us. Wait a minute... we said. What is this?? Nina said, we've been plundering the Portland area for years and now we're leaving. This is my ship and me and Chef are going to the islands with all of our money and jewels and you can't stop us. They tied us up and made us walk toward the edge of the boat. Wait we exclaimed!! No, you are the only ones who know the truth about me and Chef and now you must die!! No we exclaimed.

Suddenly, from nowhere we heard a shout.... "HEY YOU GUYYYYYYYYYS!" It was our friend Chunk... and someone / something else. Chunk was an old elementary school friend of ours who lived in Portland. He was standing next to this HUGE guy who looked like an old wrestler and really, really, really resembled my buddy Chris Oien!! This guy was all misshapen and wierd looking but huge. CHUNK... we yelled. No, "Captain Chunk" he yelled. With that, they swung down on ropes. Chunk swang to us and untied us while Sloth Oien landed on Nina and the chef. Suddenly, the cave around us began to crumble and the ship started to move. A huge section of the cave crumbled. Apparently, Nina had lit a fuse of dynamite in the wall and hoisted the anchor before climbing aboard. We jumped for it; Me, Bambi, Chunk, Sloth Oien, and Nina and Chef followed. The ship drifted out to sea... gone forever with all of it's treasures and jewels. It's all gone... Bambi said... all the rich stuff. I know, I said, as I pulled Bambi, Chunk, and Sloth Oien close to me.... but this is the rich stuff, right here. With that, the police and the media swarmed around us and we watched the ship drift out of sight. The police arrested Nina and Chef but when they did, I said wait!! I walked up to them and grabbed them by the hair, gave a tug and sure enought, the Nina and Chef masks came off and wouldn't you know it!! It was Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee!!!

"What the" the police chief said. Yeah, Pam said, it's us. We've been trying to find this treasure for years and after Ross and Bambi saved those people in Vancouver last week, we knew they could find it for us... You see, our careers are nearly over and we needed this treasure to buy more tatoos and augmentations!! "We're addicted." said Tommy... "and we'd have gotten away with it too if it wasn't for you meddling kids!!" We grabbed Bambi in the bathroom knowing that she'd be smart enough to decipher the clues to the treasure. We've been looking for years but all those years of hanging out down at Saturday market have dulled our senses and clouded our brains.

Officer, I said. Take him away. I pointed at Pamela and said "that one can just go with us..."

Bambi slapped me in the mouth and I said... "ok, take her away too."

From now on... I said to Chunk and Sloth Oien... you guys are coming to live with us. I looked at Sloth Oien and he said... "Rocky - Road?" "Yeah" I said "We'll get you some ice cream you big animal!!" And so it came to pass, the day that Bambi and I saved the city of Portland and got two new friends to live with us...

Ok, so I am the biggest Goonie geek in the world, which is exactly why I made her go with me over 100 miles out of the way to see Astoria Oregon.

You see, Astoria OR is the shooting location of the movie "The Goonies". For any of you who have been living in a cave... GO GET IT!! Top 5 movies ever!!

It turns out that other movies like Kindergarden Cop (we saw the school), Short Circuit and Free Willey were also shot here. But for me there was only movie that mattered.

We were able to find the home of Mikey, the main character in the movie, and see exactly where the movie began. Of course the house is slightly different than in the movie, but it is remarkably the same. Data's house is still right next door too!! These are actually regular homes with families in them but a website said that if you are respectful, they don't mind if you come up for a picture.... yeah, you know I did it... Truffle Shuffle baby!! I'm willing to embarrass myself further by actually posting a pic of me DOING the truffle shuffle. Bambi was laughing so hard, she could barely take the photo!

Of all the things we saw on this trip, seeing the Goonie house was right up there for me. I had so much fun and even made Bambi watch part of the movie with me just outside the house on the laptop. It was really cool. while we were there, 3-4 other groups of people came by with their cameras too. I saw one couple drive by and they asked "Is that it?" The guy was doing the asking and the wife just looked embarrassed but I could share his excitement... Yeah, and Pam Anderson is locked away in my trailer!!

We left Astoria and headed to Cannon Beach. Actually, the footage in the Goonies of the beach and ocean near the restaurant and again at the end when One-Eyed Willie's ship sails away was taken at Cannon Beach. Fans of the movie will recognize the rocks (or monoliths) in the ocean just off the beach. Cannon Beach is really nice and would be a great place for a summer vacation for sure. Beautiful beach, clear water and nice little cabins and hotels and restaurants line the city streets. Anyone up for it next summer???? We could go on the ultimate Goonie Geek Quest!!

We drove on, south down the Oregon coast to Wheeler Oregon where we ate on the deck overlooking the ocean and setting sun at "The Sea Shack". Great fish for me. Bambi says the fries tasted like fish - "makes 'em even better!!" I said.

We continued south to Tillamook, OR where we stayed the night at the Bay City RV park. Nice park and was just across the road from the Ocean.

Oregon is gorgeous. If you've ever longed to see the Pacific ocean, see it along the Oregon coast. Follow highway 101 all the way from North to South and you will see some of the most beautiful and variable coastal shoreline ever. From warm sandy beaches, to tall foggy cliffs. Oregon is beautiful.

We had a great day today and best of all, I got to be a Goonie with my best friend. Who could ask for anything more?

Lunch with "Nina"

Check out the sign. You don't see that in Pella!!

"Kindergarden Cop" School

Happy news in the family

Here is another in betweener.

We received news that Travis and Jessica were blessed with a new baby girl.
We just thought we'd post a picture of the happy family here. Congratulations Trav and Jessica. We can't wait to meet her.

Tiana Marie Fey. Shown here with proud big brothers Devyn and Mason along with Travis and Jessica.

The Oregon Trail...

Today is actually Saturday, September 13th. After a very long two days of travel, we've arrived safely at Kyle's house in Longmont CO. Kyle is Bambi's cousin and the guy who got us hooked on triathlon in the first place. We'll be here tonight and possibly for the next day or two before pushing home to MN.

Saturday, September 6th.

Before I tell about our day, I have to give a big thank you to our friends the Owens'. Renae is from the Seattle area and she gave us a whole list of things to do while we were there and she had some really great suggestions. I only wish we had 3 more weeks so that we could have done everything on the list!! Thanks guys.

Anyway, we awoke to yet another beautiful Seattle morning. I was surprised to see Bambi up and feeling so well after her "carmel corn incident" the night before. She was chipper as ever and ready to sieze the day. What should we do I asked? "I don't know" she said... "I guess we could head for Oregon."
Oregon it is I said. We packed up our camp and waved goodby to our KOA home and got back on the I-5 and headed south. We had driven for a while and were getting a little hungry but we knew we were getting close to Mt. St. Helens. We pulled off the road in a little town called Castle Rock and ate at a restaurant called the Rose Tree. It was a nice little cafe off the side of the road who has some local business but also gets visitors for Mt. St. Helens as well.
We had a great breakfast and decided to get a closer look at this mountain.
Now, the Fey family (Bambi's maiden name is Fey) has a pretty cool history with the old mountain. I had heard this story before but while we were nearing the mountain, Bambi told it to me again. (Now if anyone in the Fey family spots an error in the story here or has anything else to add, please chime in via the comment section)
The story, as Bambi remembers it, is that her Grandpa and Grandma Fey were in Oregon visiting people in the Portland area. It turns out that while they were there, the mountain started rumbling and the news spoke of a possible eruption. Bambi's grandpa must have taken an interest in the story, and rather than just driving nearby for a look, they rented an airplane to fly up over and around the mountain for a really close look at the action. Now, they didn't know it...nobody did, but they were about to become a part of US national history. It turns out that the day they decided to fly over the mountain was Sunday, May 18th. For those of you who are not up on your history, that is the exact morning when Mt. St. Helens erupted. While in the visitors center, we read the accounts of that morning and the days leading up to that fateful day. It turns out that the mountain started having some activity already the weeks and months leading up to May 18 but nobody knew what was about to occur. You see, these mountains are active and have actually erupted several times over the last few thousand years. However, it is usually hundreds of years between eruptions. We read an account from the day before where geologists were measuring the earthquakes leading up to the eruptions and were still baffled. They new things were churning but they were unsure how big it would be and when it would happen.

Anyway, Bambi's grandpa is one of the few people who saw her blow... from the air. It turns out that their timing was perfect as they were there on that morning when the mountain was awakened by a 5.1 earthquake. The story goes that the North side of the mountain litterally slid down the side as the earthquake struck and as it erupted, it blew over 1600 feet off of the top of the mountain. All of this was followed by an immediate mudslide and a huge plume of smoke, soot and volcanic ash that erupted several thousand feet into the air. The eruption lasted for 9 hours and devastated over 230 square miles of surrounding forest. The blast erased one lake and created two new ones. Homes were devastated and erased from the face of the earth.


The quake and eruption litterally blew huge stands of trees to the ground, twisting them and snapping them at the trunk. The heat was intense, burning everything in it's path and they say there was a shock wave just like in an atomic blast. The eastern sky turned black during the middle of the day, the blast was heard well into Idaho, Oregon, and Montana, and within a few days, the ash had literally circled the earth via the jet stream. Now thats a big deal.


Anyway, Bambi's grandpa had quite a story to tell when he returned to MN. Actually, he was even quoted in some local Oregon newspapers as an eyewitness. Bambi says she got to take baby food jars of ash with her to school for show and tell.


To see it today, you can see that the mountain is healing. The surrounding forests have been replanted in places and the green is returning. However, you can still see the total devastation. The forest service has left everything just as it was. No clean up, which is great. They are using it as a giant petrie dish to see what happens and how the earth heals after this sort of disaster. Sure enough, the ash turns out to be a remarkable soil for new growth (ask anyone who sprinkles campfire ash on their gardens...) There is new plant growth and flowers returning to the area.


The cool thing, is that you can still see the vast acres of tree stands that were blown over during the blast. You can see how these huge 100 year old trees were twisted, burned, and hurled down the mountain to their final resting place where they will decay naturally, and return to the circle of life in this area. Truly God is amazing and you can see how he uses these types of events to reshape an entire ecological system. Through the devistation, there is beauty and regrowth. Kind of symbolic of life I guess. We go along with our lives knowing that we've got it all pretty well figured out. Then out of left field, BLAM! God shakes things up. How we decide to respond is up to us I guess but if we stand back and look for it, beauty really can exist even in the face of devastation. Given time, life goes on and the natural order of things returns to it's balance. I guess the lesson we took from this place is that God is always good... that we know. However, we could also see how he uses turmoil and devastation to wake us up to what is happening around us. As if to say... I know you have this plan, but I want this instead and if I can't achieve it through subtle notions, I'll just rock your world. When it happens, we can either cry for our losses or we can submit to his plan and utilize it as an opportunity for new growth.


(Ok, I know... Ross goes on this trip for a few weeks and turns into a hippie right? Not exactly, but having some time away from "life" does give you a chance to reflect a bit and start to see things a bit differently.)


Actually, Bambi and I just finished a book that was given to us from a friend of ours in Pella. Phil Stravers is a friend and also Anne's brother-in-law. In hearing that we were going on this trip, he gave us this book called "Through Painted Deserts." It's a book about two guys who take a trip similar to ours where they packed up a VW van, quit their jobs and traveled from Texas to Oregon. During the trip, Don - the main character, has a chance to take inventory of his life and starts to ask "why" questions about his life and his faith. It's a great read and the best part is that the places they go in the book are all places where we'd been just a few days prior which made it all real to us. (The name of the book is Through Painted Deserts: Light, God and beauty on the open road. By Donald Miller)


Anyway, in one part of the book, he talks about taking a trip of this magnitude.





He says "It might be time for you to go, it might be time to change, to shine out. I want to repeat one word for you... LEAVE. Roll the word around on your tongue for a bit. It is a beautiful word, isn't it? So strong and forceful, the way you have always wanted it to be. And you will not be alone. You have never been alone. Don't worry. Everything will still be here when you get back. It is you that will have changed." Donald Miller





I'll talk about this book more later as we read it and could see it unfolding before us. But for now, I'll move on with our story.





We decided to continue on in our Journey to Portland, OR. We arrived in Portland around supper time and drove downtown where we found supper at a Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery. Great food, and downtown Portland was alive. The kids are back in school and the whole downtown is just buzzing with 20 and 30 somethings. Of course, there are coffee shops on every corner as you'd expect... actually they are on every corner and half way down the block too just incase you can't make it a whole block without your favorite latte. Not being coffee drinkers, we walked the downtown and just took it all in.


After supper, we drove to Columbia River RV park where we spent the night. The next day, we'd take a closer look at Portland... interesting place. We were definitely not in Iowa anymore!

P.S. Hey Phil, if you're reading this. Thanks for the book!! We have enjoyed it thoroughly and it really spoke to us on this journey as you'll see in future blogs. Thank you for letting God work through your life and connecting to us through this story. I know when you gave us the book, you said "just keep it." I'll do it one better. I'll pass it forward to someone else.

Take me out to the ballgame...

Today is Friday, Sept. 12th. It has been 6 weeks since I left RRCC.
We are staying the night in a Super 8 just off the interstate in Salina UT. Tonight is our first night in a Hotel on this trip.

Friday, September 5th.

We awoke today to another in a long line of georgous mornings. Nice cool temps but not anywhere near what we'd call cold. Sun was shining brightly - a beautiful day in the works.
We got up at our KOA RV park in Kent Washington and ate breakfast that we had along which consisted of some cinammon rolls and fruit... yes the illegal immigrant fruit!!
Bambi and were talking that we'd like to spend another day in Seattle yet so she said, you decide what we should do today. What would be a perfect day in Ross' world. I think I got it pretty close as it turns out.
I decided to look into getting us some baseball tickets. We were in luck... the Mariners were in town tonight and they were just kicking off a homestand against the Yankees. I got online and looked at all my ticket options. Now, I could go Dutch and sit in the outfield bleachers. NAH - I found us some really great tickets 5 rows up from the grass and just past first base.
Now all we had to do was kill a few hours before heading back into the city as the game was set to begin at 7pm.
We began the day by getting the bikes out of the trailer. We were unsure of how far the trail went so I said that I'd go ride ahead a ways and find a trailhead with a map to see what it looked like while Bambi did some things around camp. With that, I took off. The trail runs along side the Green River and, it turns out, runs from somewhere south of Tacoma all the way into downtown Seattle. AWESOME!! It's a nice paved trail and it's wide and just meanders along the river all the way. I found the trailhead and decided to give Bambi some time to email for a while so I got in a quick 10 miler. I then got back to our camp and Bambi joined me for a 20 mile ride toward Seattle. The weather was great and it was really a nice trail to ride on. It was a Friday morning so there were a few people on it but it was flat and you could really fly. No problem holding a really nice steady speed.
We returned from our bike ride and took advantage of the showers. After getting cleaned up, I could tell that Bambi wasn't really excited about the baseball game. She was like, "we're not even baseball fans." I know, I said but there is nothing quite like sitting outside at a major league baseball game, surrounded by screamng fans in a city like this... on a day like this. She agreed and decided to give it a chance.
We headed in toward the city with a quick stop off at a Chipotle for some supper since we had time to kill. We arrived in the city at about 5:30 which gave us plenty of time to park and walk to the stadium.
We took our time walking to the park and just had fun soaking up the pregame atmosphere outside the stadium. There were vendors everywhere selling t-shirs and hats as well as every food known to man. Bambi had suggested that we wait to eat near the park but I wasn't sure what would be available, but now I'd wished I'd taken her suggestion (again!!).
Anyway, I was too full from supper but Bambi thought she'd have some room for carmel corn. There is always room for carmel corn I suppose. We bought a large bag and took it into the stadium with us.
We went up to the ticket agent and showed my ID. He printed off the tickets and looked up at me and said, "these are great seats, you'll have a good time here!" He was right. We entered the park somewhere near left field and started our walk around past 3rd base and home plate to the other side of the park. All this time, we were up on the third level. Once we got over by 1st base, we began going down to the first level and entered the park. We found our section and were becoming more pleased as we walked. Our tickets took us all the way down by the grass for a great view of the action. The players were just coming out of the dugout for some warm ups and we were on the side of the Mariners so we could see the players very clearly.

Just before the game, they gave away a car to one lucky guy. They had this contest all over the upper Northwest at the Dodge dealerships where people could register for a chance to win a new Dodge Challenger. They rolled the car out of Center field before the game and drove it over to home plate where 5 lucky contestants were holding key fobs. One at a time, they stepped up to see who could unlock their new Challenger. The first two were unsuccessful, but the third guy had the mojo. He hit the button and the horn sounded and the crowd just exploded. This guy was thrilled, as I could imagine... I'd be pretty excited too. He got to get inside and take a lap around the field as the whole crowd cheered him on.
Tonight they were playing the Yankees, so across the field, we could spot Derek Jeeter and Alex Rodriguez. The Yankees are not loved in Seattle. I imagine they get that response elsewhere too but especially A-Rod. Being that he started out as a Mariner and then moved to NY via Texas for more money, they held no love for him. Everytime he was up, the crowd just booed him terribly. I guess he's probably used to it... or maybe he just doesn't care. We didn't boo. Don't believe in it quite frankly. Maybe we just don't take it all very seriously. After all, he never did anything to us!

The game was great and we actually got to watch the Mariners pitcher throw a no-hitter all the way up to 8 and 1/3 innings, a feat in and of itself. Besides that, this was his first ever major league start and it was against the Yankees. It was fun to watch and by the time we hit the 7th inning, even at a fly-ball, everyone would stand to watch where it was going. At one point in the 7th, a Yankee hit a huge bomber of a fly ball to center field pushing the center fielder way back to the warning track where he caught it. While the ball was in the air, it was dead silence as we were all just holding our breath I guess. When he caught it, preserving the no-hitter, the stadium just erupted. You see, the Mariners really aren't very good this year and they apparently haven't had much to cheer about to this point so everyone was very excited to see this history in the making.
Unfortunately, after 8 and 1/3 innings, someone hit a long line drive to right center for a double that scored a guy who'd walked earlier. This broke up the no-hitter and was the end of the game for that pitcher. He left the field to a standing ovation though and the crowd continued to stay on their feet for most of the rest of the game.
I looked over at Bambi sometime after the 5th inning and she was all teeth. I could tell she was having a great time. She was hesitant, and up to tonight, we couldn't have told you one thing about the Mariners, but there we were, just cheering along with the rest of Seattle.

During the 7th inning stretch, we all stood up and sang "take me out to the ballgame." It was great and everyone was singing. (Hey Anne, I had to laugh during the singing because it made me think of Eliot and how you guys all sing this song at home. After we sang the song, in honor of Eliot, I yelled "lets go get some buns!!" Pretty sure people thought I was a little off but it made me smile.)

The only mishap of the evening had to do with that carmel corn. After the fifth inning, I looked over at Bambi and said, "how are you doing?" "Not so well", she said. "I ate that whole huge bag of carmel corn and now I have a bit of a stomach ache." I could tell that she was really enjoying it throughout the game but now she was feeling a little ill. This became known as "the great carmel corn incident." I still tease her about it. Since then, she's said things like "lets get ice cream" to which I reply... "will there be another incident?" We've been having some fun with it.
We left the field after the Mariners had won 3 to 1 and the scene outside the park was very festive. We had a great walk back to the truck among the crowd and decided that we really like baseball and could remember why it is such a great game.
We got in the truck and headed back to the KOA where we had a nice warm night, especially in the trailer where our little electric heater was just working away.
All in all, it was a great day... and other than "the incident"nearly perfect I'd say.

Back in the good ol' USA

Today is actually Thursday, September 11.

Happy first birthday to our nephew Kade!!

We are still in California... this is a really big state!! We are however, very close to the Nevada state line as we are camped in South Lake Tahoe. Bambi and I came here on our honeymoon 11 years ago and tonight we were able to have dinner at the same restaurant out on the deck overlooking the lake that we did 11 years ago.

Also, tonight I want to say congratulations to my Sister. We found out a few days ago that she and Jason are getting married on May 9th. I'm still not so sure about this Jason character. I guess Kyle and I will feel better about it all if we could spend some time with him first. I'm thinking the only logical thing for us to do is to go on a trip, the three of us, so that we can spend some time getting to know the guy... I'm thinking maybe in January???
Oh, by the way. I know it's still a ways off yet but regarding the wedding... I just got this new pair of brown shoes - they look great with shorts. Can I wear them to the wedding???

Also, Congratulations to Travis and Jessica. Travis is Bambi's brother and they just announced the birth of their third child, a beautiful little girl named Tiana. With two older brothers, I'm sure she'll have to learn to keep up fast!!

Back to our story...

Thursday, September 4th.

We woke up in our Vancouver RV camp to yet another beautiful morning. Not a cloud in the sky. We asked people while we were in Vancouver (Washington and Oregon too for that matter) if it was always this warm and sunny in September. They all replied that we were there at the perfect time as the previous couple of weeks had not been very nice at all with cooler temps and near constant rainfall. Could've fooled us we thought. Other than a couple of really quick rains during the night, and that one miserable morning in Cardston AB, we'd had nothing but sunshine and warm temps (during the day of course!!).

Bambi got up early, as usual and went on a walk. It turns out that she's been living on Central time this whole time so she's going to bed relatively early and she's up at like 5:30 - 6am most mornings. Not me though... I'm just loving this pacific time.
Anyway, she got up and went for a walk throught a few close by neighborhoods. When she got to the end of a street, she noticed a walking path going off into the woods so she decided to follow it. She says she was only a few hundred yards in when she saw something move in the woods ahead of her. The looked a little closer and, yet to this point, swears she saw a wolf. Now, you and I know that it was likely just a dog... maybe even a small deer moving through the brush, but a wolf??? She swears it. Anyway, she turned around post haste and double timed it out of the woods back into the neighborhood. She kept turning around to look and says, whatever it was, it didn't follow her. I told her he probably saw her and thought it would be a waste of time. Kind of like eating chicken wings... sure they're fun to eat, but you just don't get full.
She hustled back to the RV park and by that time, I was up and about so she regaled me with her story and I believed every word of it...
Anyway, it was time to move on. So, we packed up and set the GPS for Seattle. When we neared the US boarder, we had to wait in line this time. There was quite a crowd trying to enter the country. I figured there would be some sort of special express line for a guy like me... after all, I'm kind of a big deal... I have an office that smells of rich mahogany and is filled with leatherbound books...
No such luck. We just patiently waited our turn. Now, just as before, we had nothing to hide. However, we saw a sign as we got closer that said "To avoid unnecessary fines and jail time, declare ALL fruit." Wow, we said, that sounds serious. We decided that when our time came, we'd get out and unlock the trailer and take out the 2 peaches and 3 apples we'd acquired while in BC. We pulled up to the station and the lady looked us over and checked out our passports. "Where are you from?" Iowa, I said. "Iowa........potatoes???" she said. No, IOWA... CORN. "Oh, Iowa" she said. She thought a minute and then said in a low voice... "if you build it they will come???" Just kidding, she didn't say that but the guy at the RV camp the night before still makes me laugh.
"Iowa huh?" She said. Yep, I said. "What's in the trailer?" she said. Now, I figured this poor lady is on her feet all day long asking the same questions and getting the same answers. So I thought I'd make her smile a little when I said. "What's in the trailer??? Well, it's half packed full of illegal immagrants while the other half is tightly packed with rotting peaches and bug infested Dutch Elm." "Then, in the cracks, where there was still space, we filled it in with Heroin and Anthrax."
She looked me over and in less than the time it takes to crack a smile, I found myself across the front of my truck, arms handcuffed behind me and three border agents holding guns to my skull and screaming at me. Apparently, a sense of humor is not a prerequisite for this job...
Ok, so that didn't happen either. I just told her the trailer was full of camping gear and two bikes. I was about to tell her about the 2 peaches and 3 apples (really, I was!) when she looked at me and said, "ok." Just like that we were back in the States (along with our immigrant fruit).
So, if any of you see our pictures hanging in your local post office... wait until the reward is really high. I hear they'll pay through the nose for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a couple of fruit smugglers like us.
On we went to Seattle. We hit town mid-day and decided to see the downtown area before finding a place to stay for the night. We really had a good time as we checked out the local downtown marked and saw the famous Pikes Place fish market where they throw the fish. It was fun to watch them do their work as they don't just place the fish around, or hand them to eachother, they throw everything. I'm talking throw... even huge fish, they just rear back and let 'em fly. People gather all around this shop to watch these guys work and they chant and cheer the whole time too. You can tell they are having a good time. At one point, these 5 girls were getting close to get a picture together in front of the stand when one of the guys saw it and took a huge fish (must have weighed 25 pounds) and walked over and handed it to the middle girl and just walked away. At first I think she was a little freaked out, but then they started to laugh and all huddled around the fish for more pictures before giving it back. The guy just took the fish back, smiled, and hollered something as he slung it way back over the counter to another guy who put it back on ice. Bambi says there have been many books written about this place and they even teach about in business classes because their particular type of management style is so effective. Looked like they were having a good time.
We walked on and just were amazed at what you can buy at this open air market. Fish and all types of seafood, rows and rows of fresh cut flowers, food, jewelry, and it just goes on and on. It was a really fun place to just walk around and check out.
We went out back into downtown and then down to the waterline where you can watch the boats and ferry traffic come and go from the seaport. Overhead, seaplanes were taking off and landing in the nearby lake taking people in and out of the city by air. Just hustle and bustle everywhere and we really enjoyed just being among it all.
Finally, we walked our way over to the space needle. We bought our tickets and rode to the top. Again, just an amazing view of the city and it was fun to walk around and learn about the building. For instance, it takes 40 seconds to get up via the elevator... it really moves.
Our timing was coincidentally perfect. Just as we got to the top, we had about 15 minutes to look over the whole city and then watch the sun set over the western horizon. It was beautiful as you could Mt. Ranier just perfectly behind the downtown skyline. Then, as the sun dropped, it left a beautiful shade of orange and purple across the mountain peak. It was truly awesome, like God himself was painting the backdrop in long, broad strokes. Makes you understand where the phrase "purple mountain majesty" comes from.
We watched the sun disappear and then rode back down the elevator. We walked back to our truck and then drove to the nearby city of Kent Washington where we found a KOA RV park. Again, it was a nice place to stay and we'd had another beautiful day. It was good to be home, back in the good ol' USA.

"In Betweener"

Hey all;



This is not my official blog for the day but I just felt like we needed an in between blog to catch you all up on all the fun people are having at my expense!!



So, a few blogs ago, I posted a picture of myself (looking rather dashing I must say) in a mustache and sideburns. Bambi loved it!!



Anyway, I keep getting comments and emails about it from those who love me most... to make fun of my new look.



Dude Landshark has been having a good time ridiculing me and my brother Kyle told me that all I need now is a Ford Econoline van with the words "Free Candy" painted on the side to complete the look I was going for. Upon reading this, Craig (Bambi's brother) emailed us to let us know that their dealership had just gotten possession of such a van and offered it up for my use.



So, here's a picture of my new ride:

I can't wait to get the lettering on the side.










Just you all wait...
By the way Kyle, I'll be using this to pick you up from work when we get back. You'll hear me coming because I'll be the one with the stereo cranked way up blasting Sheryl Crow!

With friends like these...