We got our flu shots this AM at our campground (Walmart).
We drove in a cold wind all day and only stopped a couple times to explore -- saw some wagon ruts from the Oregon Trail. We are now in Jerome, Idaho and have lots to see tomorrow if it warms up. It is now 40/40 -- 40 degrees and 40 MPH wind. Cal put the jacks down here so we don't blow and wobble so much.

During the all-night rain I was reminded how much I hated that sound in the tent, knowing it meant finding a way to dry the tent or put it away wet and getting wet in the process. Sooooo much nicer sound in the camper!
We stopped at Pendleton Mills today for a tour and some Christmas shopping and discovered we couldn't afford anything in the store. I have never paid $350.00 for a blanket and don't intend to start now.
We are now in La Grande, OR and gradually getting closer to CO.

Yesterday we tried our trikes on all the bike trails we could find in the area and then today we did the waterfall circuit -- hiked to 7 of then in one day.
A wet, cold front is moving in, so we will head east tomorrow to the desert side of Oregon.

Since I last updated, we drove to the coast and actually drove the truck down the world's longest beach. Cal got a little close to the water (actually drove in it) and now the truck smells fishy.
We've spent the last 4 days at the very first Forest Service campground in the US. It is between Portland and Mt. Hood. We've been taking lots of day trips and hikes around the area, including a tourist train to the base of Mt. Hood. We are going to get the trikes out today and try some bike trails. The weather has been perfect (in the 70's), so we'll probably spend a couple more days here in the Columbia River Gorge.

We really enjoyed our 2 days at Mt. St. Helens. We got a good view from the east side and by the time we drove to the main entrance on the west side, the mtn had disappeared under a cloud of blowing ash. We are heading further west today to the coast.

NE view of Mt. Rainier at sunrise

We drove up to Sunrise Point this morning for a view of Mt. Rainier from the NE side. It is 31 and very very windy. I feel sorry for the climbers we saw going up yesterday. Crystal clear sky and fresh snow on the mountain make quite a sight.
We are leaving for Mt St Helens tomorrow.

Mt. Rainier. Wow!

Northern Exposure fans?

Northern Exposure fans?

We rode 26 miles in the Cascades yesterday and are now on the road, relocating the camper closer to Mt Rainier for the next few days. We stopped for lunch in Roslyn (Cicily, Alaska for Northern Exposure fans). Wow, just came over a rise and spotted Mt Rainier in the distance. What a view!.

We are back in the USA after a traumatic border crossing -- full search of the truck and trailer, including inside the fridge, oven and toilet. Can't imagine what they thought we were transporting!
We parked the trailer in a campground for a few days while we take some side trips through the Cascades. We met some cyclists today on their way from Seattle to Crested Butte. That made us want to start planning out next trike trip.

No sign of Ogopogo, so I guess we'll leave the Okanagan tomorrow and head south to the good ole USA. We rode another 35 miles on the trikes in and around Penticton and then rode the KVR steam train. We also watched the dragon boat races on the lake -- all ages from 10 to 80 paddling.

The last section of the KVR still in operation by a steam train

The last great KVR train robbery

View from the top of the pedestrian bridge over Lake Okanagan at Kelowna

We rode 28 miles on trails around Kelowna yesterday. What a beautiful city!! It is on the lake and surrounded by mountains so it has that Colorado feel, but the weather is perfect for the famous Okanagan orchards and vineyards. We are headed a little south to Penticton today to do some more triking and tasting at the fruit stands and wineries.

Mrya Canyon tunnel 2 and trestle 9

We rode 25 beautiful miles of the KVR today. Myra Canyon is the only section of the KVR that I would recommend. It has 2 tunnels and 18 trestles in 6 miles. What an amazing ride! The weather is finally perfect for riding.
We are living on local fruit from roadside stands and may end up vegetarians like Travis soon.

We are now sitting in our camper on the west shore of Lake Okanagan eating grapes we bought from a vineyard down the road.
We pretty much rode all the KVR trails near our last camp. Tomorrow we plan to ride Myra Canyon, the most spectacular section of the whole trail. The weather has been rainy and cold and has soaked us on the trail more than once. It is now clearing and we can't wait to get the trikes out again.

Our first train tunnel on the KVR

We've been out of cell range for a few days. We are camped at Otter Lake just north of Tulameen and using that as home base to ride several sections of the Kettle Valley Rails to Trails (KVR). We have found the trail pretty rough and slow going for us to ride on the trikes. Areas are torn up by ATVs and spots are pretty rocky and loose, sandy gravel. Today it is in the 40's and raining, so we are taking a road trip in the truck to Hope. We plan to stay at our campsite until after Labor Day because all campgrounds are full for the weekend and we don't want to lose our spot. By then we should have finished riding all the KVR trails in this area. Then we will move over to the Summerland area and set up a new base camp for more KVR rides.