WORLD CLASS CYCLISTS RIDE BY OUR FRONT DOOR

The Tour of Missouri (a smaller version of the Tour De France) crisscrossed Missouri in August. The time trial leg passed within ½ mile of our house. There were 115 world class riders. Here are a few shots of riders who have ridden the TDF, some on one of Lance Armstrong's team. We're told that Lance may ride here in next year's Tour of Missouri. Very Cool! Cyclists pictured here are: Christian Vande Velde (white/blue/orange); David Zabriskie (red/white/blue); and George Hincapie (blue/black). Oh yes, that’s Lee mingling with and sharing camera secrets with the Tour Photo Corp!

OUR 2008 TRIP TO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST- FIVE SHORT PARTS

Our trip started July 8 and ended August 21, 2008. Our route, roughly, was Branson, MO > Byron, MN > St. Paul, MN > Little Falls, MN > Red Lodge, MT > Couer d’ Alene, ID > Oregon City, OR > Ft. Stevens, OR > La Push, WA > Sequim, WA > Seattle, WA > Moab, UT > Branson. We covered over 4,000 miles in our motorhomes – yes that’s plural – motorhomes. Little did we know when we left that we’d return home in another coach. But more about that later. This trip did fulfill one of our goals in owning a motorhome and traveling the country – we saw and visited with literally dozens of family members and friends living all over the country. It was an amazing part of the trip, seeing someone dear to us almost every day of our travels. Overall the weather was grand – modest amounts of rain and not too sweltering. The cats survived nicely. The pictures here were taken on the road to the Family Motor Coach Association International Rally at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds – almost 3,000 motorhomes: then near Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

PART 2 - MONTANA

The main layover destination for this trip was Red Lodge Montana. We stayed a few days and were joined by a few thousand motorcyclists in town for a local Sturgis-type “Rally.” Nevertheless, it was all great fun. Red Lodge is north of Yellowstone . . . we had stayed here before and wanted to enjoy the community again - great art, food, and scenery. We took our tow car up the Beartooth Highway, considered one of the most beautiful sections of road in the US. We weren’t disappointed. On another short jaunt we visited the Smith Coal Mine where disaster struck in 1943, killing 73 men and triggering early and new mine safety rules. A great night out for a steak dinner at a local pub and their famous pig races was a highlight of our stay.

PART 3 - THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST: OREGON

Oregon City, Oregon was our westerly target to visit with daughter Chris, husband Mark and grandkids, or should I say grand-adults. We could fit the coach in the big backyard and stayed a week followed by some side-by-side camping at Ft. Stevens State Park. On the drive out from the Midwest we began to get interested in Country Coach Motorhomes. We really got hooked in Red Lodge . . . destiny called . . . the folks across from us had a Country Coach, where we spent hours and were sold on the product. They recommended a dealer and salesman in Junction City, OR (close to Oregon City naturally!). The rest is history. The tight economy on houses also applies to motorhomes, so we got a nice deal.

PART 4 - THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST: WASHINGTON

So much to see! The rocky coasts of Oregon and Washington. The Olympic Peninsula and Hoh Rain Forest. Sequim, WA the lavender capital of the US. Seattle, Puget Sound, Whidbey Island. Our anchor was Seattle, where we spent close to a week, during which Jeanne attended the Pacific Northwest Quiltfest. Then we were off on a dash to Moab, Utah.

PART 5 – MOAB, UTAH

We camped just outside of Moab and within easy reach of town as well as National and State Parks. The terrain around Moab reminded us of Sedona, Arizona. The development of Sedona versus Moab couldn’t be more different - Sedona is the upscale art, other worldly area while Moab is the rough-and-ready, dirt-bike haven. One of the features of our campground was a church-like building which was used as a location for three John Wayne movies. Arches National Park was phenomenal. We also saw petroglyphs, a number of which we’ve seen in reference books and magazines. Dead Horse Point State Park overlooked a Grand Canyon like area.