Maxx has Valley Fever

Before leaving Sutherlin, we stopped to put gas in the Lazy Daze ($2.759/gallon) and fill up the propane tank.

We then stopped at the veterinary hospital to pick up Maxx's records, and found that they had just received the preliminary report from the lab in Colorado. Maxx has Valley Fever (Coccidiomycosis). Unfortunately, vets in regions other than the Southwest where the fungus that causes Valley Fever is present, don't know much about it and aren't on the lookout for it, so we've been delayed in getting a diagnosis. We were given Ketoconazole pills (one of several different treatments for this disease) and instructed to have our vet in Quartzsite do a liver enzyme titer when we get back.

Valley Fever can be a very serious disease, particularly in the disseminated state Maxx apparently has. Hopefully, we've caught it early enough that he can be cured. If you'd like to know more about Valley Fever, just Google "coccidiomycosis in dogs."

We're spending the night at Emigrant Lake Campground east of Ashland, Oregon.

Miles driven: 129.8
GPS coordinates: not taken

Maxx had the tubes taken out today. Oh, boy...now he can lick those areas all he wants! He's been a pretty good boy about the whole thing all this week. Although we had to watch him like a hawk to make sure he didn't lick the drain tube areas, he didn't fight having the cone put on him at night, or if we left for a while during the day. Even the vet and the people at the veterinary hospital have commented on what a good boy he is.

Maxx had his surgery today. We took him in early in this morning and picked him up later in the afternoon. Poor little guy...he has tubes sticking out of him and is finding it difficult to get comfortable!

We took Maxx back to the vet today for a recheck before leaving in the morning. This time, the main vet at the clinic, Dr. Mary Herrera, looked at him, and is concerned enough about what's going on inside Maxx that she suggested surgery.

So we've decided to stay in Sutherlin for another week, and have the surgery done on Monday. Hopefully, Dr. Herrera will be able to determine exactly what's wrong and prescribe a course of treatment.

Today is our 31st wedding anniversary. We celebrated by having the windshield in the Honda replaced and had dinner at Pedotti's, an Italian restaurant here in Sutherlin (OK, but not the greatest Italian food we've ever had).

We drove into Roseburg to do some shopping. Stopped at the DC Farmer's Co-Op to pick up dog food, a new collar and a new bed for Maxx. Had lunch at Applebee's.

We took Maxx to the vet today. He drained some fluid off the large lump on Maxx's rear thigh and is going to have it sent out for testing. In the meantime, he gave us more antibiotics.

Timber Valley

We're at Timber Valley, the Escapees park in Sutherlin, Oregon. We have our name on the list for a lot here...currently, we're 155 on the list. At the rate it's going, our name should be #1 on the list in about another 3 years!

We're going to spend a week here getting some stuff done (hopefully)...we'd like to get the windshield in the Element replaced and we need to take Maxx to the vet here to have him checked out and perhaps a blood test done. He's just not doing too well, but we don't know what's wrong. Hopefully, the vet can figure it out.

Miles driven: 64.1
GPS coordinates: N43 22.996 / W123 18.267

We stopped at the Fred Meyer in Florence for gas ($2.859/gallon). Ended up the day at the Eugene Elks Club and had a delicious Mexican dinner at Jalisco Family Mexican Restaurant.

Miles driven: 87.8
GPS coordinates: not taken

We toured Waldport and Yachats today, stopping at the Blue Whale in Yachats for lunch.

There wasn't much going on in Waldport...a couple of the shops that looked like they might be interesting to go through were closed (for the season, maybe?). Yachats was more interesting...there's a park there where we walked down to the waterfront and watched several Harbor Seals playing in the surf.

Yaquina Head Lighthouse & Tillicum Beach Campground

On the way down the coast today, we stopped at Yaquina Head Lighthouse, one of the places we were thinking about volunteering sometime. We had pictures of the volunteer sites overlooking the ocean. Well, they don't. The volunteers are stuck in an area with absolutely no view of anything! Additionally, we found out from someone who has volunteered there that the volunteers work 4 hours per day 5 days a week, which doesn't leave much time for exploring the coast. I like the schedule we had at Malheur NWR a lot better...8 hours per day 3 days a week. That left 4 days that we could get away.

We're spending the next couple of days at Tillicum Beach Campground, a Siuslaw National Forest campground between Waldport and Yachats. When we drove in, we saw on the sign that "regular" sites were $20 and "premium" sites (with water and electric) were $25 (of course, we pay half price with our Golden Age Passport card). We ended up in a premium site, not because we needed water and electric, but because it was one of the few sites where we would be able to get our satellite Internet dish set up (and all the ocean-side sites were full).

Later in the day, one of the hosts came around and wanted $5 more. Turns out that the small print on the sign as you come into the park says that if you actually use the electric and/or water in the premium site (for which you're already paying more), it's another $5 per day! What a rip off! Why don't they just make the fee for the premium sites $30 per day instead of $25 plus $5 for use of the utilities? Who's going to be in a premium site and not use the utilities?

Miles driven: 74.8
GPS coordinates: N44 22.008 / W124 05.537

Spirit Mountain Casino

Before leaving Salem, we did some shopping at Wal-Mart and Costco.

We're spending the night at the Spirit Mountain Casino in Grand Ronde. The casino has changed the RV parking from the last time we were here from the west side of the casino to the east side. While it is still a large area, this area isn't as level as the other side...not too bad, but just not as level. There is a dump available here with water to rinse out tanks and hoses, but no fresh water.

We went into the casino to have dinner at the Summit View Cafe...fish and chips.

Miles driven: 35.6
GPS coordinates: not taken

Evergreen Aviation Museum

We decided to stay another day at the Salem Elks Club.

After breakfast, we headed up to McMinnville to tour the Evergreen Aviation Museum, home of Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose...the largest wooden airplane with the longest wingspan ever constructed. Built as a personnel and materiel carrier during WWII, it was flown only one time on November 2, 1947, for a little over a mile at an altitude of 70'.

After Hughes' death in 1976, the Spruce Goose was almost disassembled, but was saved by the Aero Club of Southern California. Eventually, in 1993, it arrived in McMinnville after having been disassembled and transported by barge up the West Coast to Portland.

The entire Evergreen Aviation Museum was built to house the Spruce Goose...which is HUGE! In addition to the Spruce Goose (H-4 Hercules, or Hughes Flying Boat), there are many other airplanes in the museum and on the grounds.

After we returned, Ron and Anita came over to invite us over for dinner. We barbecued steaks, and had mashed potatoes and gravy, peas, plus ice cream with strawberries for dessert.

Salem Elks Lodge

When we left Prineville, our plan was to stop at one of the campgrounds along SR-22 northwest of Sisters. However, there is apparently a large fire somewhere in the Mount Jefferson Wilderness since we ran into a lot of smoke heading north on SR-22, and many of the roads and campgrounds on the eastern side of the highway were closed. The smoke was so thick that, even with the air conditioner on recirculate, we could smell it, making it hard to breathe.

So we drove on into Salem, and are spending the night at the Elks Lodge. When we pulled in, we saw a New Horizons fifth wheel, and an International medium duty truck that look really familiar. Turns out it belongs to Ron and Anita Wilson, friends we've known for several years, and who we met at one of the New Horizons rallies we used to attend. We had a nice visit with them, and we all went to dinner at Denny's.

Miles driven: 145.2
GPS coordinates: N44 54.538 / W122 59.526

John Day Fossil Beds National Monument

After breakfast, we headed west on US-26, taking a short detour north on SR-19 to visit the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument Visitor's Center.

The John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is broken up into three units: Sheep Rock Unit where the Visitor's Center is located, Painted Hills Unit north of Mitchell on Bridge Creek Road, Clarno Unit southwest of Fossil on SR-218. The national monument contains the richest cache of fossils in the world and an almost continuous record that spans 45 million years.

Inside the Visitor's Center is a museum that contains exhibits, text panels, and murals that help us comprehend the detailed series of rock strata in which the fossils are found.

After our visit, we continued west on US-26 stopping at the Elks Lodge in Prineville to spend the night.

Miles driven: 115.8
GPS coordinates: not taken

Clyde Holliday State Park

We left the state park early, driving back to La Grand to get gas for the Lazy Daze ($2.999/gallon) and do some grocery shopping at the Safeway.

Then it was back to the exit for the state park, but this time we took SR-244 west to Ukiah where we dumped our tanks and filled up the fresh water tank. After finishing those tasks, we drove south on US-395 to Mt. Vernon, and east to Clyde Holliday State Park where we unhooked in a rain storm.

This is a nice park...lots of trees, on the John Day River for people who like to fish and/or boat, and sites have both water and electric, plus there's a dump on site. We stayed here once before many years ago when we had a truck camper.

Miles driven: 136.4
GPS coordinates: not taken

We're back at the Hilgard Junction State Park north of La Grande, Oregon. We'll be here a couple of days resting up.

Miles driven: 105.0
GPS coordinates: N45 20.475 / W118 13.829

We picked up our mail in Clarkston, then drove south on SR-129. We'd driven this route a few years ago, but from the other direction. This time, the drive was totally different! The Washington side consists of about 9 miles or so of 6% grades with lots of switchbacks on a very narrow road...last time, we were on the inside on this stretch of road, but this time, we were on the outside...yikes! The Oregon side isn't quite as long, and since you're going uphill, it doesn't seem as bad.

We found a nice place to camp in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest about 1/4 mile north of the Joseph Canyon Overlook. It's not a regular campground, but has been used for camping in the past.

Miles driven: 125.9
GPS coordinates: N45 50.365 / W117 15.926

Northwest Passage National Scenic Byway

In Idaho, US-12 is the Northwest Passage National Scenic Byway. This is a very pretty drive with lots of things to stop and see. This time, however, the only thing we stopped to explore was the Lochsa Historical Ranger Station. Before US-12 was constructed, this was a remote ranger station. The log buildings and their furnishings are original. There is a short walking tour throughout the grounds explaining the purpose of all the buildings.

We ended up tonight at the Lewis-Clark Resort, one of our RPI parks...we were able to get one of the very few sites where we would be able to set up our satellite Internet dish! After exploring the town of Kamiah a little, however, we've decided that the next time we come here, we'll stay at the city park which is free for dry camping, or $5 per night for electricity.

Miles driven: 110.8
GPS coordinates: N46 12.772 / W116 00.286

Lee Creek Campground

Stopped at the K-Mart in Hamilton to pick up a couple more propane bottles for our Heater Buddy (mornings have been cold).

We are spending the night at Lee Creek Campground in the Lolo National Forest, west of Lolo, Montana on US-12.

Miles driven: 122.7
GPS coordinates: N46 42.331 / W114 32.205

Big Hole National Battlefield

On our way out of town, we stopped to put gas in the Lazy Daze ($2.989/gallon) and do some grocery shopping at the Albertsons.

We drove south on CR-569 to SR-43, which was under reconstruction, and muddy...so, of course, our rig got absolutely filthy! We found a campsite at Mill Creek Campground in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, unhooked, and drove back to Big Hole National Battlefield, where, on August 9, 1877, Colonel John Gibbons and 163 men of the 7th Infantry and 34 Bitterroot Volunteers attacked a Nez Perce camp of 800 men, women, and children.

Miles driven: 79.6
GPS coordinates: N45 39.136 / W113 46.839

We took a trip to Phillipsburg today. Walked around town looking into several shops, had lunch at the Gallery Cafe (where we had excellent fish sandwiches), and bought me a new (warm) sweatshirt.