Last Day in Bend . . .
Well, we had our first so-so weather here today with a light rain most of the morning. Luckily it’s supposed to be clear when we leave tomorrow.
I went outside just as it started sprinkling and put the canvas chairs up so I won’t have to put them away wet tomorrow. I also added some air to a couple of coach tires and plugged in the coach engine’s block heater since it will be in the high 20’s/low 30’s tonight. It went down to 29 degrees last night. With the block heater on, my engine oil won’t be the consistency of Jello when I crank up tomorrow.
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Several readers have asked for more info about the park files that I mentioned yesterday, the ones that show every park we’ve visited, TT park, places to see, etc.
Actually they start out as CSV (comma separated variable) database files
that I compile by hand.
Alyeska Resort,Arlberg Ave,Girdwood,AK,99587,US,N60.97058,W149.10495
Amarillo Ranch RV Park,1414 Sunrise Dr,Amarillo,TX,79104,US,N35.193021,W101.770971
American Sunset RV Park,N Montesano St,Westport,WA,98595,US,N46 53.973′,W1246.352
Antelope Valley Fairgrounds RV Park,,Lancaster,CA,93536,US,N34.72599,W118.1756
The form is shown below. Note that each item is separated by a comma.
Park Name,Park Address,Park City,Park State,Park Zip, Park Country, Park Lat, Park Long
They’re just text files saved with a .csv extension instead of .txt.
I then use the XData function on my Delorme Street Atlas GPS program to pull
them in and convert them into Delorme database files.
Whenever I need to, I just add the new park to the CSV file and then
re-import it to Delorme. Since I only do one or two new parks at a time, it’s not very time consuming.
Microsoft Streets & Trips will let you do the same thing with a slightly
different procedure.
Hope this helps. If anyone has any more question, just let me know.
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About 3pm Jan and I headed end for our last afternoon in Bend for this trip. First up, we decided to take a run at the summit drive up Pilot Butte, and this time we lucked out. The gates were open. In fact, Jan spotted a car on the climb from many blocks away so we figured it would be open.
The drive to the top was a little bit dicey a couple of times. The road is really narrow, and meeting oncoming cars is interesting to say the least. Then throw in the walkers and joggers along the road’s edge, and you’ve got your hands full. But the drive was worth it.
The view was great, but a little uncomfortable. It had started raining, and with the wind up there, it got kind of cold, so we didn’t stay long. But it was certainly worth the trip.
Leaving the Butte, we drove a few miles away to have our last meal here at Baldy’s BBQ. Jan had her usual ribs, with au gratin potatoes, and beans, while I went back to what I had the very first time we ate here. The Beef, Chicken, Pork Combo with a side salad. And of course, a side of their great beans.
After another great meal, we headed back toward home, with a couple of stops along the way. First up, we stopped and got gas. Oregon is one of two states, along with New Jersey, that will not let you pump your own gas. I can only assume that Oregon authorities figure that their residents are too stupid to be allowed to pump their own gas without setting themselves on fire.
The other problem I see is that large gas stations like the Fred Meyer’s with 16 pumps, is that there always seems to be a line of cars, because they don’t have 16 attendants, only about 4. So instead of 16 cars filling up at once, the 4 guys can only handle about 8 at a time, at most. Dumb.
Our last stop was at Wal-Mart for a few things before we hit the road tomorrow. Jan also wanted to get some more cherries at the fruit stand out in the parking lot, but they had already closed for the day. Jan’s hoping the lady will be out at the front of the park before we leave tomorrow.
We plan on leaving tomorrow between 9 and 10, getting diesel and hooking up the toad at the Shell station a few miles down the road. Then we’ll have about 170 mile trip down to Princeton, OR to stay at The Narrows RV Park for one night. Should be a nice trip.
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Thought for the Day:
"If one would give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest man, I would find something in them to have him hanged." – Cardinal Richelieu
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