If Ya Gotta Be Stranded, This is NOT a Bad Place to Be!!

Yup, we are STILL in Pendleton.  We are STILL waiting for the Fit to be fixed.  We are STILL getting the run around between the dealer and the insurance…but not to worry, it will all work out in the end I am sure.

We have had a great visit with Kim and Don and they are getting ready to pull out first thing in the morning to continue their journey home.  The guys sat outside some today and had a good chin-wag but Kim was busy getting ready for the border crossing and I woke up with a migraine from our night in the looney bin last night, so kinda laid low.

Monday we went out to breakfast with Kim and Don to our favorite little breakfast spot in Pendleton, the Main Street Diner.  Highly recommend this place if you are ever in Pendleton.

Hey, where’s breakfast?  This is just an empty tray!

  Breakfast must have been good cuz those are some real empty plates.  Thanks Kim and Don for breakfast.

Later that evening, we combined resources and shared a great meal at our place.  I made beef stew in the crockpot, Kim and I both contributed to the salad, and Kim brought onion rolls, plus strawberry shortcake for dessert.  YUM!  No one went away hungry.

The last two evenings, before the thunder showers start, we have sat out in the grass and watched deer, quail, and pheasant in the fields beyond the RV Park.  The pheasants are quite vocal and get rather upset when the thunder and lightning start.  But, if ya gotta be stranded, you couldn’t ask for a better view.



Those innocent looking clouds go from gentle to nasty in 6.53 seconds…

Oh yeah, storm’s coming now.

Our night in the looney bin last night was directly related to these clouds.  Poppy was doing okay, hunkered down on the bathroom floor – there’s only room for her and no more.  Russ sat down on the floor right outside the door to keep her company.  The wind was blowing pretty good and the coach had a little sway going on.  Then the BIG ONE hit.  It sounded like it was right on top of us and it seemed to go on forever.  Russ started yelling…”Poppy get off that toilet.”  AS IF she could understand him.  He’s on the floor in the doorway, I can’t get past him to get to Poppy.  He’s yelling at her, she’s making all kinds of scrabbling noises and when I am finally able to get Russ off the floor and out of the way, I find Poppy with one leg caught in the bathroom trash can (next to the toilet) while she is frantically trying to climb into the toilet or onto it and out the window I guess.  Her eyes are wild and bugging with sheer panic but I can’t help but see the humor in her pose.  I am able to grab her and pull her out of the trash can and off the toilet, all the while trying to calm her down and soothe her panic.  There is NO ROOM for two of us in that tiny bathroom but we manage to make it out finally.  Poppy is shaking and panting and all I can do is soothe her and do my best to calm her down.  Today we called the vet for anti-anxiety meds for her.  I hate to do that but if you could have seen her panic, you would understand.  The weather called for more thunder storms tonight and even the pharmacist was saying there would be more thunder.  So I gave her a pill, she is calm and relaxed and guess what – all is quiet on the eastern front (where the storms come from).  Oh well!  Maybe we will get some sleep tonight.


Here are a few pictures from around Pendleton.

Main Street

NOT typical!!

From downtown to a residential area.  It’s steeper than it looks here – there is another part to the steps that doesn’t show in this view.  WHEW!

Etched glass at the Dairy Queen!

 

Another camper’s dog.

Wild Horse Entrance

Wild Horse – part 2

It was late when we were told there was no room at the inn – or campground as the case may be.  I knew Russ had gone just about as far as he could go for one day. 

I put on my best poor pitiful look and asked the nice lady if there was any place she could recommend where we could spend the  night.  Not until I asked did she inform me that they also allowed dry camping in the parking lot.  I could not see anything from where we were so I asked where that area might be.  With a disinterested  wave of her hand she said, “Just over that way with the rest of the RVs.”  OOOKAY…thanks!

Construction and the setting sun made it difficult to see but we wended our way through construction zones and serpentine parking lanes until we spotted the dry lot.




It was actually pretty nice – level and laid out with well defined spaces and easy to maneuver into a site.  There were only two empty spaces so we grabbed one and called it good. 



Otherwise we would have ended up in the car lot where it was NOT level or in a field where the rodeo visitors had set up an encampment.



Security drove by on a regular schedule and Russ talked to the lady driving the the route.  She said she could order a shuttle for us if we wanted to go into the casino.  We declined and just rested.  We felt very secure here.  And it was free…that’s always good.

Thank goodness we had full water and propane and empty holding tanks.  While I made an impromptu dinner, Russ snapped a few photos of the setting sun.






To save battery power, and just because it sounded like fun, we broke out the camp lanterns and dined by lantern glow.  The gentle light soothed our tired spirits and we enjoyed the evening.  I was even able to get on the casino free wifi, with the help of my booster device, and check a bit of email.  

The only downside to a nice evening was the idiot who left his car parked about two rows from where we were.  His car alarm kept going off, and it was one of those intermittent ones.  It would squeal like a stuck pig and then go off and then about 15 seconds later it would start up again.  We located the car and Russ talked to security.  She said she had called it in five times already but no one would respond to the page.  It finally quit after a couple of hours of the nerve jolting noise so I guess either the owner finally heard the page or his battery died.  I’m kinda hoping it was the latter.

In the morning we treated ourselves to the breakfast buffet at the casino and we were sure glad we did.  We got there early and the place was almost empty.  We were so early, I was the first one into he scrambled eggs!!  That’s always nice.  This was one of the best breakfast buffets I have encountered.  Everything was fresh and tasty and the wait staff was so considerate and kind.



All of this and much more for $7.15.  I think that was quite a deal.  They even had hot fry bread and puff pastries that were fresh and flaky.  YUM!

A quick trip tot he Pendleton Woolen Mill was in order after breakfast.  It’s only about 10 minutes from the casino and was easy to get to.  Don’t try to park your RV there though unless you are under about 25 feet and not towing. 



The Pendleton Woolen Mill has been in operation since 1863 and makes shirts, blankets, vests, and all manner of beautiful woolen item.  I have to admit I was a bit taken aback to read the labels on the shirts.  They all said Assembled in Mexico – but the wool was produced and the cloth made here in the USA.  Hmmmm.  Times have changed.






We didn’t buy any shirts but we did buy a couple of small blankets – Made in the USA!!  Mine is just a small lap robe.


Russ got a stadium blanket – a bit bigger but not as heavy as mine.



It was a great stop but it was crowded with all the people in town for the rodeo so we didn’t linger.  We made our purchases, hurried back to Therapy, hitched up and headed for the beautiful Wallowa area in northeastern Oregon…but that’s a story for another day.