Back from the Land of Noservice, in the Valley of Nobars

I am writing to you from the Land of Noservice…in the Valley of Nobars, just adjacent to Noshowers and Nosewage. Oh my, whoever said camping in an RV is not real camping should smell me right now. Wait, I meant you should smell Mark right now! I smell like grass and flowers and pencil shavings. Okay, we are getting way off topic here.

This leg of our journey began as we left Bend, Oregon and drove to Ellensburg, Washington to visit my lil sissy.

Other than the fact that my beautiful great niece, would scream (as in cry hard) whenever she saw me. And my sister’s Chug, Izzy, would scream like a Banshee whenever she saw Cotye, AND her giant black and white cat, Riley, chased us out of her yard like it was a Rottweiler when we attempted to get to her front door; it turned out to be a wonderful few days, spent with my sissy and ALL five of her kids, who haven’t been together as a group since like, forever!

Wouldn't it be nice if family and friends all lived within driving distance of each other? Whadda ya mean, NO! Okay, well maybe in the same State, that would work, right?

Anyhoo ~ It was a momentous occasion, and I think we left just in time where we didn't over stay our welcome, so we are actually invited back! (Unless her animals have a vote in this.)

While in Ellensburg, we stayed at the KOA. On the weekends, I do believe everyone in Ellensburg with a camper or tent also stays at that KOA. It was crAzy! Children darting out of nowhere; mostly on some form of bike or scooter or strange little go-cart like cycles. Then when the weekend was over, the place became a ghost town. And I do NOT say that lightly. 

One windy night, I could hear what sounded like a child, circling our loop on a tricycle. You could hear as the child pedaled, that the trike had one squeaky wheel and an old-fashioned bell on the handlebars that barely worked. It would pass by the RV at specific intervals. I could hear it, plain as day, but there was nothing to be seen! I was up all night. Lots of strange noises that did not belong in the group of noises I have become accustomed to living in the RV. I would have liked to have solved this little mystery!

We had an early check out. I was beat, but I have to be that extra set of eyes, so I stayed awake. Driving out of Yakima I just have one question:

 

Yakima, what happened here?

Next stop; the boonies. Rimrock Lake Resort. Being in the woods is heaven…but where there is good, you will typically find equal amounts of bad. I have been begging for a REAL campground, you know, no paved RV pads, no neighbors staring out their RV windows into yours, to see what you are having for dinner. (Awkward moment when your eyes meet and you realize you are doing the same thing). This is it. Mark, at my direction of course, threaded that big RV like a needle through all these trees.

         

Nothing but green on all sides. Here is a shot from our dining table.

Trees are almost inside!

I could feel the weight of the world lift off of my shoulders. Then I picked up my computer to get on-line and found there was no connection. PANIC! Quickly tried our cell phones and found Mark was able to call me, so I calmed down a bit. I imagine this is the feeling an infant gets when the umbilical cord gets cut. A quick panic, unexpected slap, some crying and then the realization that you are still breathing; yes, that’s exactly how I remember it. We’ll be fine. Besides, I cannot complain, especially since I was the one begging for remote camping. (shoulders sag)

We got settled in, feeling like royalty in our large rig, when all we could see nearby was a pop-up trailer and some cabins the size of a loo.

The path in front of us led directly to our own private corner of the lake.

We sat and watched the sunset, while Cotye took in his new environment. Being a city boy, chipmunks, black squirrels, chirping birds, jumping fish and turtles were all new things to Cotye. It was fun watching his head turn quickly at each new discovery, like a tilt-a-whirl ride at the fair. He has decided he really, REALLY wants to taste a little chippy-chipmunk! But mom says no. Icky, bad taste. I don’t think he believes me though.

One of the reasons Mark picked Rimrock Lake as a stop along the way is because when he was a boy in Minnesota, he remembers visiting a great uncle, who had a cabin just below the dam here. Although his great uncle has since passed, we set out in search of this cabin. This area is nothing less than stunning!

Koochman Rock

Rimrock Lake

Stopping at the local store for a cold beverage,

 I felt like I had walked onto a movie set. 

Some of the items they sold seemed so surreal to me.

Although I no longer drink soda, I could not pass up a Black Cherry Cream Soda in a glass bottle (SO good!)

As it turned out, the road that angled down from the store to the water looked very familiar to Mark, so we followed it down. He was certain he was in the right area, but had no idea which cabin had been his great uncle’s. We stopped to ask a couple, working out in their yard, if they might know anything. They suggested we check out the signs at the end of each row of cabins; many of which had never been updated. Also, the placement of the name on the sign indicated where the corresponding cabin sat on that street.

Sure enough, there was Great Uncle Walt Fischer’s name, still on the sign. 

The cabin was on the corner and as Mark looked closer, familiarity seeped back in through 40 years of cobwebs. How fun for him to recapture such a delightful memory! Heck, I’d be happy just remembering if I took my morning meds!

After three days, the tanks on the RV were getting full and we were missing our internet. Pathetic. I know.

Well, we have a reunion scheduled in Chehalis on Saturday so time to get a move on. Here are some beautiful sights along the way.

Open your window, poke out your nose and sniff the green right off those trees!
One of Cotye's life lessons. It works; immediate bliss!

Mt. Rainier. One of God's best handiwork's!

We are now situated at a Thousand Trails in Centralia, Washington. This place is a zoo. Would not recommend it to the best monkey I know. Once again, we are without sewage hookups, but at least they have dump stations and clean showers handy.

I hate public showers but this one felt soooo good. I soaped up like three times and my towel still came out dirty. Better burn that one. Dang, and I thought I had gotten a good tan; all gone now!

There are no site reservations here. It is all on a first come, first serve basis. They don’t even keep track of who is in what site at the front check-in station! There are a lot of one-way loops, short sites that won’t take our long rig and no way for us to back up with our Toad connected at the back. We finally disconnected the toad and ended up pulling head first into a site (which is backwards, in case you didn't know) but we fit. We are plugged in. And the shower house is on our left; pool on our right…more importantly, forest out our front window. 

We’ll only be here for two nights. We will survive, after all, we have Internet!