June 24-27: Champoeg, Fort Stevens & Seattle

(Bridge over the Columbia from Oregon to WA in background)

Brick House....a favorite for Pinot

(Maysara)

I'll start by saying that I am having trouble (obviously) figuring out how to format this blog. But, instead of fret about it and never end up posting anything at all, I've just been doing it quickly. So, I am sorry for the odd layouts, misspellings and grammar issues!

We spent our last full day in the Newberg area visiting Maysara and Brickhouse (biodynamic) vineyards with the Harts. We had a great campfire our last evening together and polished off a yummy Sauternes (and then some more Abuelo). I also would like to put on record that I won the Cribbage tournament with Mary. It was good-bye to the Hart family on Thursday morning and they headed back to California as we headed to the coast and up to the Astoria

(Wreck of the Peter Iredale in background)




The Spruce Goose is huge!!!!

area at the northwestern point of Oregon at the head of the Columbia River. On the way, we stopped at the Evergreen Air Museum, home of the Spruce Goose,among many other amazing airplane displays and a new space museum as well. It was new territory for us north of Tillamook. Jake was excited to participate in the Junior Ranger program. He began earning his badge by attending a program about the various wild animals that live in Fort Stevens State Park (bears, cougars, etc.). We didn't see any of them, but we did enjoy eating the berries along the trails just like the bears do! Fort Stevens is a huge, beautiful park that is a historic military site. The reservation gaurded the mouth of the Columbia River from the Civil War through WWII. After a long stop at a local laundromat, we explored an abandoned gun battery and went out to the beach to see the rusting shipwreck of the Peter Iredale. Dinner consisted of leftovers on the raclette....this is getting alot of use this trip! We're discovering that just about anything tastes good grilled in bacon fat!

We headed to Seattle from Astoria for one night before we get on the Norwegian Pearl cruise to Alaska with the B'Nalley's (Jake's name for them) on Sunday. The cruise is not pet-freindly, so we had the very sad stop of dropping Clover off at the kennel today. She has been so fun to have with us this trip. She is the best dog ever! We took the tour of Boeing this afternoon, the world's largest building. It was A very interesting and incredible facility. No cameras, cell phones, etc. were allowed, so no pictures of that experience! It's Saturday evening and we are headed to bed. We are very excited about Alaska!!!!!

June 21-23: Father's Day and Champoeg

Scott spent much of Father's Day working on the Kyper. Luckily the tiny town of Parkdale has a great hardware store that he was able to ride the "sickles" to for parts. We once again had raclette for dinner and then again for breakfast the next morning before heading out. We took the beautiful drive along the Columbia Gorge through Portland and then on to Newberg, in the heart of the Willamette Valley...Pinot Country!! We are staying in Champoeg State Park, which is a wonderful campground. We stayed here 2 years agoand wanted to come back. Jake (and Bede) immediately befriended two boys and they have been having a blast riding their bikes through the park and surrounding trails. We took a long walk with the dogs this morning to the historic Butteville grocery...the first established store in Oregon. Mary and I played more cribbage and stayed close to "home" today and let the boys enjoy. Tomorrow we are starting at a biodynamic winery in McMinnville and on to more wineries, including Brick House...a favorite of ours!

Overlooking the Willamette River

"Arm Pictures"

Clover is comfy in the Kyper!

This is a typical site.....Scott working under the sofa area of the kyper. Hopefully it will be less typical as the trip goes on!

June 19th & 20th: Parkdale/Hood River

After a brief tour of Bend for supplies, we headed to the Hood River "Fruit Loop" area and are camping at Tollbridge County Park in Parkdale. Now the regular camping has begun. Jake and Bede immediately began riding their bikes and playing with the other kids from the campground. We spent Friday evening at the Hart's campsite for a great meal and campfire. We opened a 1976 Trentadue Pinot Noir to celebrate. On Saturday, Mary and I spent several hours playing Cribbage and drinking some Abuelo, my favorite Panamanian rum, the Hart's had brought us back from Costa Rica. Scott spent most of the morning dialing in a few things on the Kyper. There are many little details to tend to. We had to pull over on the way here. Thank goodness Scott is like "McGyver" and can keep it running!

The afternoon was spent biking and "cycling". Our Honda 90's are now named the "sickles" thanks to some humorous campers in our park. We went to the local brewpub, The Elliot Glacier Public House and enjoyed the fantastic view of Mount Hood. For dinner, we brought out the raclette grill......everything tastes even better when you're camping! Brickhouse and Siduri Pinot's and an AmByth Grenache were drinking pretty awesome too!

The view from the brewpub.....

The Raclette will get a lot of good use this summer. We discovered that ending with grilled plums is a perfect dessert!

June 18th: The Duge's Ranch in Sisters

We enjoyed the day "at the ranch". We went into the cute town of Sisters for supplies, then spent the day eating, drinking and getting a riding lesson from Cheryl. I hadn't been on a horse in years! It was a little scary when I forgot how to make him stop! The Duge's could not be nicer hosts and have shown us such a great time. Clover, Zorro and the boys have had a blast as well! Today we are saying goodbye and heading to Parkdale in the "Fruit Loop" area between Hood River and Mount Hood. Now, the real camping begins!








Lunch and dinner on the deck

Jake just loves the birds!

Jake with Snuggles

Cowgirls, Mary & Bobbi

Jake on Harley

Bobbi & Harley

Mary & Harley

June 17th: Klamath to Sisters, OR

We left before the Hart's on Wednesday morning, thinking they would catch up to us on the road. But, unfortunately they had a flat tire and didn't leave the campsite until hours after we did. So, we made it to Sisters last night and the Harts will join us today at the Duge's here in Sisters, OR near Bend. Our drive from Klamath through the Redwood National Forest was beautiful yesterday and we hit new a new section of road for us between Eugene and Sisters. The 126 was gorgeous along the McKenzie River with vistas of the snow-capped Mount Washington. Our very first guests at the B&B back in March of 2007, Zeke and Cheryl Duge, are now full-time ranch owners in Sisters and they invited us to stay on their property. We were so warmly welcomed, taken on a tour of all the facilities, got to meet their trios of animals, horses, yellow labs and exotic birds. Jake and Clover are in heaven here! And the Duges could not be more welcoming. They took us to a fabulous meal at the Aspen Meadow Lodge, which overlooks the three "sisters" that the area is named for.

June 16th: Santa Rosa to Klamath

We made an appointment at a favorite winery in the Russian River area, Copain, so we got off to a later start heading north. The wines at Copain were great, as usual. We then headed to Samoa Island, west of Eureka and had a great family style meal at the Samoan Cookhouse, an old loggers dining hall. Deciding against staying the night there, we continued on and camped overnight in Klamath.

June 15th: Melinda's Ranch in Santa Rosa

After a walk around the Montemaggiore property (beautiful Madrones!) we headed south ( I know, this was the wrong direction) to Santa Rosa to stay with Melinda on her horse ranch, which happens to be located near some great wineries. Jake and Bede had fun roaming the property and seeing her horses. We took a short ride (Harts on bicycles ans us on our 90's) to Matanzas Creek and spent the better part of the afternoon tasting their great wines and enjoying the deck outside the tasting room. Melinda invited her family over for the evening and we had a lovely dinner in her beautiful home. It was a very relaxing first full day of our vacation!

Sunday, June 14: We're off!

Montemaggiore

On Sunday, June 14th at 12:45, we were on our way and said goodbye to Templeton for 6 weeks! With no time to give the Kyper a real test drive, we just went for it and gave up lots of our precious cargo space for tools. For the first 10 days, we are traveling with our great friends, Phillip, Mary & Bede Hart (http://www.ambythestate.com/) and their Goldendoodle, Zorro. They are in their 36' RV, which is quite a contrast to the Kyper. Both Jake and Clover are excited to have friends along too. We had a few minor stops along the way to keep the kyper running, but she is making it! With a stop to overlook San Fransisco after crossing over the Golden Gate Bridge, we headed to the hills above Healdsburg, home of Montemaggiore vineyard and winery for the night. The Hart's had arranged for us to spend the night on this beautiful property as the owners are fellow biodynamic farmers and winemakers. Phillip made his famous spaghetti bolognese and we enjoyed the first of many bottles we'll be sharing with the Hart's, including a Venteux Barbera that is tasting great!

We're gearing up for the big trip!

We've been planning this trip for a very long time! Our six week adventure is through the Pacific Northwest, including a cruise through Alaska's Inside Passage. We're scheduled to leave Sunday, June 14th. There is lots to do this week in preparation for being away from Venteux so long and many things to get the Travco, aka the "Kyper", ready. Scott has spent countless hours to get our 1969 Dodge Travco running and ready for the 4,500 mile journey. And I am enjoying finalizing our itinerary and getting the limited interior space ready to roll. As for Jake and Clover, they're ready to go! We think this trip will be worthy of keeping a journal (and taking a few thousand photos!) and a blog seems to be the way to do it these days. Many places we are traveling to (state parks, etc) do not have internet access, so hopefully we'll be able to keep it up. So, barring any breakdowns (or killing each other in the tight quarters) we plan to keep you posted on what is sure to be the trip of a lifetime. There are so many beautiful places to see and new experiences ahead of us!