The US border is just ahead and we are so ready to cross over.  Totally enjoyed our time in Canada and we will be back but we have a new adventure as Camp Hosts awaiting us in Oregon so we roll on.  Got a little bit of a surprise when we stopped to declare.  Didn’t know that we are responsible for knowing exactly what is in our refrigerator!   We knew that citrus was a no-no, but there are many more items and it changes often.  This time it was liquor, citrus, avocadoes, grapes, bell peppers, tomatoes and, of course, fire arms and weapons.  We forgot that we bought bear spray in Alaska but it wasn’t mentioned as a no-no on the way out of Canada, just going in, so we were OK.   Very thankful that our border patrol customs agent was nice as I had just bought avocados and bell peppers.  The avocadoes were OK but I had to cut the stems out of the bell peppers and tomatoes and then she allowed us to keep them.

A day’s drive and arrival at another “No way am I staying here” campground that falsely called itself a “resort”.   Drove on for another two hours to find something more appropriate with full hookups.  We arrived at gorgeous Blackwell Island Park that sits on the river and wished we could have stayed longer.  Paved level roads, Friendly staff, great neighbors, this park is a definite stop on our return to the area.   Would love to stay a few weeks to kick back and relax, take long walks on the paths by the lake and look out over the water.  The park has clean everything…laundry facilities, showers, sites and a half dozen highly rated restaurants close by.   We spent a relaxing evening doing laundry and taking long showers without having to pay for the water.  Nice being back in the good old US of A.

Slept late as check out time was noon, then drove to our next stop where we will be close to family.  We are staying at a little state park just a few minutes from our cousins.  A little scary snaking down the narrow entrance and exit roads that overlooked the river far down in the ravine.   It is a small, clean and quiet state park, Riverside State Park, Bowl and Pitcher.  Cousin Bob and Brenda are our generous hosts.  They caught trout that morning and grilled it for us the same night.  Yumm!  After dinner we drove the few miles back to LilyPad and slept fitfully through the night…no trains or traffic noise…whoopee!

KatieBug is off to Petco for a bath and a mani/pedi this morning and the rest of the day we will spend visiting family.  Brenda and I have similar camera’s so she’s coaching me on the finer points of up close and personal shots of birds in her back yard.  They have feeders out and Quail families, Yellow Finch, Blue Birds and a variety of other tweets visit the feeders daily.  That also means that it is a prime hunting ground for birds of prey although we didn’t see any.

Back to the LilyPad for house cleaning and other daily life chores to complete while we are settled for a few days.  Tried to replace the wiper arms but they sent us the incorrect parts so repair will be saved for later.  Cleaned the outside of the motorhome and car, got paperwork faxed for our host position in Oregon…then on to additional mundane household choirs.  Can’t get out of it even when living in sticks and bricks but there are always a few extra things involved with living in a rolling box.

After a few days it was time to get back on the road.  Wagons ho and off we go to the park dump to empty our tanks.  This time the “it’s always something” was a plugged up dump at the park, after John had already started dumping the black tank.  I’m very thankful that’s John’s job…eww, stinky!!  Closed our black tank back up, rinsed off and went on our way.  Stopped at a highway rest stop dump and were able to finish the job somewhere along the Columbia River.

We arrived for our last overnight, a 5 star RV named Hee-Hee-Illahee-RV-Resort in Salem, Oregon.  Pulled in, settled for the night and could not believe my ears!  I heard crystal clear whistles from trains.  Asked and found out that they run all night.  Focusing on our next two months being tranquil, now just hours away, makes sleep interruptions easier.