We put our house on the market December 30, 2013. We moved into the RV and proceeded to sell, donate, and toss most everything. As soon as Spring arrived, we had an offer on the house and the SOLD sign was up! We could finally start the next phase of our lives.
We left our hometown area on June 4, 2014 heading for the Northwest. Through Colorado and Wyoming our first longer stay was at Colter Bay in GTNP. We explored more of this gorgeous park and continue to count it as a favorite. Next stop was Yellowstone's Fishing Bridge. Since Victor had worked in the park the previous summer; we wanted to see some of the people he had worked with and visit some favorite places. We were again fortunate to see several bears. Not as close as the grizzly that visited our RV last year WHILE I had the dogs out - thank goodness! Love watching the animals! We also drove the Beartooth Highway while in the area. Such beauty everywhere in this part of the country.
Next stop was Polson, MT to visit a dear friend that we met last summer. She was a full time RVer for many years. Wonderful, fun lady! Had a great time visiting Rita and her dog Rio. We also spending a day with her in Glacier - my all time favorite national park.
On to Coeur d' Alene, ID for a quick visit with fellow Escapees that we met in Hondo, TX. Quick visit, but good to see them again. This area of Idaho is worth a return visit!
Washington has been on my list for years and we finally made it there. We both enjoyed the state and ended up staying longer than we had planned. We went to every National Park and other places we had just read about. Mount Rainier we saw briefly on the drive to its base, but it was not visible when we arrived at the Visitor Center. There was still lots of snow in the park. North Cascades NP is beautiful. Not quite what I expected, but we totally enjoyed our time there. Mount Saint Helen's was not visible the day we drove there. We could see it from a distance, but the fog kept getting thicker the closer we got. We took the RV and tow on the ferry to the Olympic Peninsula...that was fun! Enjoyed the Olympic NP and the diversity of the area a lot - Hurricane Ridge, Hoh Rain Forest, and Ruby Beach. Cape Flattery, the farthest NW point in the lower 48 states, was an quite a hike. Whew!!! (The farthest NE point is sure easier to get to!) The Lavender Festival was going on while we were in the area. Visits to a lavender farm were made. The gift shop smelled so wonderful! We also took a day trip into Canada to Vancouver.
Oregon is beautiful. We enjoyed Oregon even more than Washington. The Columbia River Gorge drive is beautiful. The waterfalls are gorgeous. The Multnomah Falls is the tallest and prettiest of the falls. It is a short walk to the falls from the parking area. One can climb on up and walk across the bridge if you so desire...I didn't. Crater Lake NP is an amazing place. Quite impressive! The Rim Drive offers several viewing places of the lake....all the same, yet all different. Then there is the Coast. Wow! Had a great time there. We loved visiting the many lighthouses. Hope to return to Oregon again someday!
Time to start our journey to Iowa and the Winnebago factory for a few repairs. A stop by Devil's Tower. We spent some time in Minnesota touring the Amish areas while we waited for our appointment. Back to South Dakota to become residents of that state. This was all accomplished very quickly. Our mailing service people at OurHomeAddress were so helpful with every aspect of what we needed to do.
On the way back to Oklahoma for doctor appointments we decided to stop and look at 5th wheels. Our 30 foot Class A seemed to have gotten smaller when we were full time. We found a Lifestyle Alfa Gold 5th wheel that we really liked and had the dealer tow us to Oklahoma. The search was on to find a truck. We found a Chevrolet 3500 dually that took care of that problem!
We had beautiful fall weather which lasted into the beginning days of winter. The holiday season was spent with family and friends. Precious times with special people. As 2015 approached it was time to hit the road again.
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