Month: July 2013

Day 66 – Rubicon Springs

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jeepersPart of the deal of my 50th year is that I get to try new things and go to new places.  The Rubicon is part of that.  Last year we attended Jeeper’s Jamboree, a great little camping trip, they provide three meals a day, a band, a raffle, in other words, a great party.  In 2012, there were 1700 people there for an anniversary year, it had been 60 years since the first Jeeper’s trip.  We were excited to attend, I had never been on the Rubicon before, but because we were traveling from Tennessee to get there, we were late getting there.  It was Friday before we arrived, so we snuck in the back way, down Cadillac to find a camping spot right near the helipad.  It was a great trip, but we didn’t have time to run the whole Rubicon trail.  Enter 2013, we planned better and only had to come from Washington this time.  On top of that, only 600 people were there, so there was a whole lot more room.

Of course, Rich still thought we were late, we ended up delayed for a day in Redmond with some repair issues, but nothing serious.  We got parked at Donner Ski Ranch on Wednesday night, packed the XJ and on Thursday morning we headed in to Georgetown, California to pick up our wristbands.  A quick stop in Auburn for groceries and we were on our way.  The first stop after Georgetown was Uncle Tom’s.  It’s a little beer joint at the end of the road, dogs are welcome, as long as they live there, people are welcome, as long as you can behave and have $3 to pay for a beer.  We milled around for a bit, talked to the locals and then headed to Loon Lake, the start of the trail.  Four hours later we found ourselves swimming at Buck Island, an hour after that we were pulling in to the historical Rubicon Springs.  The area has been traveled for a hundred years, it has been improved, but it is not a road.  Much of the area goes through National Forest, other pieces are private property, including the Springs.  There are many parts of the trail that are named, some still open, some not.  Little Sluice, Chappie’s Rock, Gatekeeper, Ellis Creek, Walker Hill, Soup Bowl, Thousand Dollar Hill, Indian Trail, Big Sluice.  Rich pointed them out to me as we passed either through or by them.

The weekend was great, just as last year was.  Lots of fun, lots of laughter, we swam in the river daily, talked with great friends, made new ones.  A recommended trip for anyone.  The best part for me was finally being able to check off The Rubicon Trail from my life list.  This was the first time I got to go through the whole trail.  If ever you are looking for a “wheeling” trip, this is one that you should consider.  Jeeper’s Jamboree takes care of all the hard parts, as a participant, you just need to come with a capable rig, a great attitude and a little bit of party spirit to have a good time.

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Day 73 – Retail Therapy, kinda…

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dress1Shopping is just not the first thing that comes to mind when you arrive in a city like Goldendale, Washington.  Most of the store fronts are empty on Main Street, lots of “We’ve Moved” signs, it looks like everyone moves around to find cheaper real estate.  Although I saw signs advertising $0.69/sq ft, that’s pretty cheap already.

When you go to the local market, everything is a bit over-priced compared to what I find elsewhere, but that is to be expected, we aren’t near anything.  One of the things I ran out of before we got here this week was white paper, for my printer.  So we called our local auto parts store (Terry is our go-to guy) and asked what he suggested.  He recommended the General Store, on Main, across from the Chinese restaurant.  Since we were at the Laundromat around the corner, Josh and I walked over.  The General Store has just about anything you ever thought you might need.  We saw people buying hacksaws and office supplies and birthday supplies, and…truly, whatever you could think of.  Except for white paper, they were out.  Now, keep in mind, I also made copies on their copier, filled with white paper, but when I asked for some, the guy just shook his head, and said, nope, we’re out.  Alrighty, then, I knew I could get it at the local market, but $7.79 for a ream of paper had seemed a little steep, I guess that just depends on how bad you need it.

Next stop was back to the laundry where Rich was keeping an eye on things.  Two minutes in the chair and I was up again, “I’m going next door,” I called as I hit the door.  Next door is an antique shop.  In my previous life, I spent a lot of time around antiques, I appreciate them, admire the craftsmanship, thrill to the unique find, but I don’t buy.  I have no room, but I still like to look.  As I browsed, I found mostly run of the mill stuff, but reasonably priced and things I would love to craft with, again, if I had room.  I made my way to the back of the store and came across something I needed.  Imagine, here I was in Goldendale, Washington, a place with no clothing stores at all, not even a WalMart, and I found a cocktail dress.

I had just told Rich I needed a new dress, we are going to the Off Road Hall of Fame dinner on my 50th birthday, an extension of the Off Road Expo in Pomona.  I wanted a new dress, something to celebrate in, something to dress up in.  The two little black dresses I have left over from my corporate days are boring, I wanted something new.  And there it was, in the back room of an antique store, just off main street in Podunk Washington.  A little black dress (actually more black with gold overlay and SEQUINS) for $20.  Yep, $20, and the best part is, I didn’t have to go to no stinkin’ mall!

 

 

Day 79 – Is my weekend over yet?

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fridayWhew!, we made it, the weekend is finally over.  You know every weekend we work hard, I laugh when people say TGIF, I think the same thing, but only because that means everyone is coming together for an event.  I love how hard we work and the people we get to spend it with in the offroad world.

This past weekend was a little bit different, my daughter Kayla opened her pizza truck on Friday night at the Relay for Life event with a second opening scheduled for 9 a.m. on Saturday at the Farmer’s Market.  We spent most of the week dealing with details, bank accounts, shopping, licensing, etc.  Mom was on hand to get through the little stuff, the business stuff.  On Thursday, we hit the stores and bought food supplies, ready to prep, prep, prep.  Five kinds of dough were made, including Original, Gluten-free, Whole Wheat, Sourdough and Parmesan; seven sauces were made, including Marinara, Garlic Cream, Alfredo, Ranch, BBQ, Pesto Cream and Vegan White.  Vegetables were chopped and diced, everything was made to be super clean and shiny.  I love stainless steel.  And then we were ready…almost.

The generator we had purchased to run our food truck world was struggling to keep up, this was already the second purchase, the first had been returned.  At the last minute, my resourceful husband arranged a rental generator so she could proceed with the opening.  It should have worked flawlessly, but alas, it was not meant to be, each pizza had to be run through the conveyor twice to complete the baking process.  Not ideal, but it worked.  I love how with a little thought, a lot of hard work, some creativity, all challenges can be overcome.

So proud of Kayla, she had a great opening, made great pizza and hopefully created some life long customers.  Thanks to everyone who came out and supported her.  Special thanks to my husband, Rich, and his buddy, Drew for dropping everything to rescue her when it was necessary.  I always think my weekends are whirlwind, but they are nothing like how this one was.  I am so glad I’m not in the food service industry everyday.