CAMP ELKS LODGE, FLORENCE, OR.

From time to time, convenience is the deciding factor on where to stay for short periods. Walmart is popular with many road gypsies, but we prefer to stay at Elks Lodges when available. They typically have hook ups for the RV, dinners and a friendly bar. This one is smack in the middle of Florence, and a short hop from South Jetty.

OUR CAMP AT SOUTH JETTY, OREGON COAST

After all the rushing around since leaving downtown Jamul, this will be our home for a while. We plan to catch up on rest and relaxation for 2 or three weeks before we move on.
We are practically on the sand dunes here, old town Florence is fun to eat, drink, and play in, and there are good things to do up and down the Coast. We are just an hour and a half from the big city of Eugene. 

GETTIN DOWN WITH THE BREHMS, 6 FEBRUARY, 2014

       Sunsets are knockout gorgeous here at the Salton Sea.

MADISON AVENUE ADVERTISING

Y'all come now, heah? This is the community cultural center. Famous country singers can often be heard performing here, on the juke box.

THE BREHM CAMPING COMPOUND, SALTON SEA

Here we are smack dab in the center of ammenityville. Not! The West Shore RV Resort at Johnson's Landing is Spartan living, but the utilities, water, 50 amp electricity, and sewer access are good. There is no pool, no spa, no kiddies playground, no mini-golf, however, there is a desert golf course within walking distance, and a bar and grill available for breakfast, pub grub, and BBQ on Saturdays

PELICAN CONVENTION

Somehow, nature continues to thrive here in this forgotten resort area. Pelicans are always hanging around the beaches. Sea gulls and doves fill the air, and cotton tail and jack rabbits continue to taunt the coyote population.

DESERT FOREST

We come here every winter, and every winter we hear the same status on the rehabilitation of the Salton Sea Recreation Area. Millions of dollars have been granted to study the feasibility of flooding the "sea" with fresh water from the Colorado, refurbing the marinas, cleaning up the beaches and attracting more tourism. Every year, the grant is spent on coffee and studies and nothing happens. Politics!

HAPPY HOUR AT EL RANCHO BASURA

Late afternoons are made for socializing, telling lies, joking around and consuming adult beverages. We have occupied an empty campsite, absconded with an old washing machine tub for a fire pit, and ceremoniously erected a "It's always five o'clock here" flag.

AFGANI GENTLEMANS CLUB

No shortage of interesting folks here in the desert. This one that always catches my eye. This place belongs to a 91 year old widow who still drives and frequents the local watering hole, Capt'n Jim's.

VIEW LOOKING EAST FROM THE FRONT OF THE MOTORHOME

Even though the Salton Sea area has been neglected for some time, the views are often pleasant. Beyond the palapa is the take-off and landing are for ultra-light and powered parachute aircraft. Beyond the field is the Salton Sea, and on the other side, the Chocolate Mountains. At the base of the mountains, is the "Fountain of Youth".

MARILYN AND FRIENDS

As we are so close to Palm Springs, we decided to go see the FOLLIES at the old theater. Near the parking lot, this bigger than life statue of Marilyn Monroe stands. We could not resist a picture under her skirt.
The follies were very entertaining. Kind of a cross between a Las Vegas dinner show, and vaudeville. The performers ranged in age from 56 to 84. Many have played on Broadway, and as chorus dancers in Las Vegas and other venues. The women all looked like they were in their 20's even though all they had on was a couple of sequins and a feather.

SUNSET AT THE SALTON

We will be here at Johnson's Landing for about another month. We hope to visit friends in Yuma when we leave, then we will be heading back to Jamul for a couple of months, then will head out to wander aimlessly through this great USA.

GETTIN DOWN WITH THE BREHMS, 16 OCTOBER, 2013

     Willamette River right behind our camp.

POOL AREA, RIVERBEND RESORT, HARRISBURG, OR

Nice place, right on the Willamette River. We rarely indulge, but we had chores to do in Junction city and other campgrounds were further away, so we figured the difference in price would save on diesel fuel.

RIVERBEND RESORT, HARRISBURG, OR.

Combination resort RV Resort and hotel. Pretty ritzy for us, but what the heck....

BURGERS AT BUGSY'S

We stopped in Junction City, OR. to get a couple of tires for the coach, and to get measured for a residential refrigerator for the coach.
While there we were able to hook up with old friends from Rohr, Rose Corvin and Carl Thurman. We enjoyed their friendly company and a couple of dinners and cocktails with them.

MT. SHASTA IN SEPTEMBER

After leaving Oregon, we stopped to visit friends Jim and Maxine Dimick in the town of Mt Shasta. This is the view from their backyard.

DINNER AT CASA RAMOS

Jim and Maxine Dimick, Diane and I enjoyed mountain Mexican food at Casa Ramos in Mt. Shasta. We were fortunate enough to spend a couple of days with our good friends. We meet up with Jim and Maxine, along with several other couples every year at Salton City.

POLE STRIPPING

No, don't get all excited. This not a Gentleman's Club. This is a computerized piece of logging equipment called a "Limber". It picks up the fallen logs, and the head at the far end of the machine, pulls the log through the mouth at the other end which strips all the limbs from the log. There is a chainsaw built into the head which cuts the de-limbed log to standard lengths.

THE BUNYAN BOYS, PAUL AND JIM

On the right is one of our Salton Sea buddies, Jim Dimick. He and wife Maxine, own several hundred acres if timberland in the Mt. Shasta area. On the left is Dave Richardson, who owns the logging company that Jim hired to "selective cut" part of his forest.

LOADING LOGS AT DIMICKS FOREST

The equipment used in logging is very hi tech these days. These claws grab the de-limbed trunks as gingerly as a Chinaman picking up a shrimp with chop sticks, and place them strategically on the logging trucks.

OUR HOME FOR A WEEK OR SO.

A must stop for us anytime we are in North Central California. When we arrived, the were holding  Remote Control Hydroplane races. Fun to watch, those little gas engines really move those little boats. Fishing is also pretty good, if there are no races.

LAKE MINDEN, R.V. RESORT

This was our view everyday from our camp at the TTN Resort at Lake Minden, Nicolaus, CA. About 20 miles north of Sacramento

STATE CAPITOL, SACRAMENTO, CA.

Can't help but question how people of such inspiration and purity can build architecture of such awe to house people of corruption.

CALIFORNIA CAPITOL ROTUNDA CIELING

These dome ceilings are always amazing to me. Almost beyond man's capability. I have admired the ones at the Vatican and other European cathedrals, along with many in the U.S. This one is beautiful.

DIANE AT THE CAPITOL ROTUNDA

This picture is made on the second floor of the Capitol with the rotunda mezzanine in the background.

US VISITING THE CAPITOL ROTUNDA AND CHAMBERS

I lived many years in California, and have been to Sacramento many, many times, but never visited the Capitol until now. Californians should be proud of this fine piece of architecture.

RONALD REAGAN GUBERNATORIAL PORTRAIT

Are you old enough to remember honesty, honor, intelligence and leadership from a statesman.

"MOONBEAM" CALIFORNIA CLOWN KING

Yes, believe it or not, among all the dignified portraits of California's past Governors, their stands this 3rd grade oil painting of Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown. While we were visiting the Capitol, the Gov signed into law, approval for non-physicians to perform abortions in California. Home Depot, Starbucks, and Mr. Goodwrench started advertising immediately.

GETTIN DOWN with the BREHMS, 20 SEPT. 2013

       We named this guy Carlos. He spent a lot of time in our camp at Leavenworth.

WONDERFUL AREA FOR VIEWING NATURE

In the back country of Leavenworth, up Icicle Rd., there is a beautiful area for hiking, and seeing waterfalls, sheer rock surfaces and wildlife. Leaving the trailhead requires hikers to file a plan on an available form, and leaving it with the rangers.

WASHINTON ALPS

This is the reason Leavenworth took on the "Bavarian" theme for their town. The landscape is very similar to the German, Austrian, and Swiss alps.

A WELCOME RESTING STOP

LEAVENWORTH'S ICICLE BREWERY BEER GARDEN

We were very fortunate to have good friends stop by for a visit in Leavenworth. Here, Steve and Lauri Yager drove over on their way to Glacier National Park. We had a most enjoyable visit, drank some beers, ate some pretzels and swapped a few lies.

LEAVENWORTH WA. NATIONAL SALMON HATCHERY

One day, Diane wanted to get beautified at the hair saloon, so I took a little trip down the river to visit the salmon hatchery.

FISH LADDER, THE GREAT ESCAPE

What you are looking at is a rough, concrete spillway that the river flows down. As the fish mature, they escape to the river by swimming up the "fish ladder" and to the ocean.

FISH HATCHERY INCUBATION RACES

These races are shaped like elongated "S"s. They grow fingerlings according to age. The covered races are for the youngest. As they age, they move to the uncovered races, and are eventually released in the fish ladders and the wild.

FINGERLING NURSERY

These races are mass packed with young salmon. They are released as juveniles into the Wenatchee river. They swim down the river to the ocean where they mature. During spawning season, they return upriver to lay their eggs and die.

CARLOS THE CHIPMUNK

It would appear that Carlos the chipmunk, or the chikmouse, as our daughter Donna used to call them, has a foot fetish. Seen here riding on Diane's sandal, begging for a peanut.
Well, just one more day of summer. How the flime ties when your enjoying every minute. Time for us to start thinking about heading the ole Monaco South I guess. We are planning on leaving Chehalis on the 25th for Junction City, OR. Hope you all had a great summer. Look forward to seeing you down the road. God Bless.........

GREETINGS FROM NORTH CENTRAL WASHINGTON

               The Columbia River Delta at Crescent Bar

THIS SAYS IT ALL

Entrance to the preserve.

COLUMBIA RIVER AT CRESCENT BAR

This is where we camped at Crescent Bar Thousand trails. Because of the gorge project, agriculture is very big here. Nice campground, but the electricity and the internet were terrible, other than that, we had our usual inexpensive, but fun time here.

APPLES GROWING ON ESPALIER

We are definitely camped in apple country. Pears and cherries as well.
This is an interesting way to grow apples. We first saw this technique used in Germany several years ago.
The trees are timed and tied back like grapes in a vineyard. Makes them a lot easier to pick.

CAMP LEAVENWORTH

Here we are neatly tucked into the woods for a 2-3 week stay. Nice camp, good water and electricity, even able to get internet and satellite TV here.

TRHE FLUME HIKE, LEAVENWORTH

We have camped at the Leavenworth, WA. Thousand Trails preserve a few times before, and always enjoy taking this hike back into the woods where this flume of cold mountain water runs for miles.

TIME OUT FOR SCHNITZEL, BRATWURST AND BEER

We were very fortunate to have my sister, Mary Ann and her husband, Juergen visit us from Baden Baden, Germany. They were visiting friends in Seattle and decided to drive over for the day.

A VILLAGE WITH AN ARCHITECTURAL THEME, LEAVENWORTH

This little town has an interesting history. It is located in very mountainous area in North Central Washington. It was a mining town that got mined out. It was a railroad town until the railroad decided to move the tracks to Wenatchee, and it was a lumber town that pretty much went belly up. Trying to reinvent itself, they decided to take advantage of it's lovely setting, and recreate a Bavarian tourist attraction.

THE BAVARIAN RITZ HOTEL, LEAVENWORTH. WA

This is the hotel that my sister and her husband stayed in while in Leavenworth. It is typical of the architectural theme of the whole town.

AFTER THE RAINSTORM, LEAVENWORTH, WA

When we arrived in Leavenworth to meet up with Mary Ann and Juergen, the skies opened up and the rain poured like crazy for about an hour. The terrain around Leavenworth looks very much like the alpine setting of Bavaria. This scene would be typical in that area.

DAS IST DER BEERGARTEN

What good is visiting a German village without a stop at the beer garden? This called the Icicle Brewery Company Beer Garden in Leavenworth.
This has been a very nice place to visit. The weather has been great, no illness, no mechanical problems, and topped off with a visit from Mary Ann and Juergen. As summer days grow fewer and fewer, we hope you had a wonderful time, and look forward to our next rendezvous.