Sisters, Oregon, and Alpine friends

We met the Gaileys this morning for breakfast at a Sisters restaurant, after which we went to the Sisters Folk Festival concert. 
It was a blast, and yet another experience that is a vibrant part of life in this grand ole' country.

It was great to catch up with you Lori and John!

two quilts that caught my eye in the big tent

Hundreds of us were ushered into a large tent surrounded by quilts along the walls (and totally appropriate for Sisters, Oregon). 
We enjoyed listening to various artists, who rotated after performing one piece each. Several came from as far as North Carolina, Tennessee, Colorado, and Canada, with one group from our neck of the woods in the San Juan Islands. 
These are talented musicians and singers, with varied repertoires. 








The final number was performed by the Canadian group who had us up and out of our seats, singing along, clapping, and waving arms.  
It's the closest I have ever come to a revival gospel experience!

love the name! - so appropriate for this neck of cowboy land

Walking back to our cars, Lori led us right to the Sisters quilt shop. That was another memorable experience. No wonder there are so many quilters in the region, between the spectacular setting surrounded by several volcanic peaks, and a quilt shop that is overflowing with fabrics and patterns. 
My quilting muse smiled happily with so much inspiration about. 

I could have moved right in... the quilts, yardage, patterns.... drool, drool, drool...
I'll be back!

Sisters is a quaint little town, with a population of just over 2,000, that swells to more than double during festivals and the annual quilt show for which the town is renowned. 

quaint old western shop fronts

you can tell you are in horse country

this one's for you Gold Coast Jan!

Broken Top on the left and the Three Sisters

The 25-mile drive back to Bend was pretty, the scenery a mixture of pine trees and scrub land, flanked by the towering volcanic peaks of Broken Top and the Three Sisters. 
North Sister rises to 10,085 feet, Middle Sister is 10,047 feet, and South Sister the tallest of the three at 10,358 feet. 
Broken Top (9,175 feet) is just as the name implies, a series of craggy broken off ridges. 

loved this metal horse sculpture along the drive

This is our last day in Bend and tomorrow we head west to Amazing Creations in Junction City, where Scott and Bobby will be doing work to the interior of the Alpine. I am looking forward to the new vinyl wood floor which will replace the current carpeted area, and the desk unit, which will not only be our computer station but also a sewing area for me. 

I will be posting before and after pictures as I can.  We will miss our platinum site at Crown Villa in Bend (after we moved there from the dry camping area) because we will be parked in an industrial site where Bobby and Scott's workshop is located. Leda and Ray who had work done on their coach earlier this year already warned me about the noisy trains that chug past through the night. 

enjoying our cuppa' (what else?!)  - Crown Villa is a top notch resort with your
own patio and lots of room between sites

Camping out at Bend RV Repair

Alpine had two areas that needed body work.  Here is a "Before" photo of the areas that Jeff at Bend RV Repair fixed:

Jeff  talking to Michael about how he intends tackling the front bumper
which was looking the worse for wear from the paint chipping off

the previous owner had a bit of an altercation with the tree behind him while backing
into his spot, which left a puncture in the fiberglass cap, right below the first brown
stripe

Here are the "After" photos.  This is what Alpine looks like now after having its bumper recovered with rhino truck bed liner:

I asked Jeff if he could also do some "rhino-plasty" on me....but he just laughed.

Here is what Alpine looks like after having the hole fixed on the back cap:

Here are a few more captures of the transformation process:

work already begun on the bumper

rhino truck liner applied and ready for painting

delicate work with fiberglass

no more hole... now for blending in the swooshes 

Thanks Jeff... whom we call "the magician"...

After all was done, we moved on to Crown Villa for a few nights. It was a bit of a surprise to find out that Scandia RV Park was full and we felt lucky to get a spot in the dry camping area at Crown Villa. This was to be our very first dry camping experience.

Next stop: Bend, Oregon

It was a fun, memorable weekend. We experienced our first ever Rodeo and in between bouncing back and forth to rodeo events, we spent time with and got to know more NoWACA members.  Our rally hosts put on a terrific rally, with matching themed meals and games.  We enjoyed traditional American flapjacks, melt-in-the-mouth ribs, hamburgers, corn, chili, muffins, ice cream… the traditional American fare that suits the wild west and its cowboy culture. 
And not to be outdone by the rodeo events, the games and competitions at the Yakima River RV Park continued as Alpine members faced one another off at a game of ladder golf.  
The amusing part is that here at the RV Park, set among fields on the outskirts of Ellensburg, the bulls watched us from behind the fence in their pasture.

It was a perfect setting.

We have made new Alpine friends, and look forward to meeting up along the road again some time soon. For we are a travel-loving bunch, moving from destination to destination in our Alpine coaches, following the sun and warmth, and having different experiences. 
And as I found out yet again, there are quilters in every rally group. I met several more quilt-mates yet again at this rally. 

Rodeo and NoWACA Rally over, we left this morning for Bend, Oregon, after a last coffee and donut breakfast and mutual adieus. Route 97 was a straight run into Bend, a familiar run which we have driven several times.  The difference this time was that everything was bone dry and looked parched. 
I snapped photos of today's drive to Bend to capture the essence of the time of year. 

vineyards clinging to the hill

cresting one of two passes

wide open spaces

open gently rolling terrain

Mt Adams, sparsely covered now

approaching the Yakima valley

this is the land of fruit orchards and fruit packing cases

a Rialta passed us along the way... and rekindled fond memories of our travels in
our Rialta

entering a forested zone

previous fire damage remains still

Mt Hood with its distinctive pointy peak

Mt Hood up close

even in this remote area, there are cattle ranches

wind turbines signal the approach to the Columbia River

a glimpse of the Columbia River far below in the gorge

the downward approach to the bridge crossing into Oregon

the bridge across the river and Mt Hood in the distance

crossing into Oregon

We crossed the mighty Columbia, filled up at the Flying J across the border in Oregon, and continued on. 


There was a fire high on a ridge above us, the firefighters already hard at work putting it out. The areas east of the Cascade Mountain range have had a particularly difficult time this year with fires which started early in the summer. Hundreds of folks lost homes and several towns were evacuated.
It's a tireless job, and we are thankful for the constant vigilance and efforts of the firefighters.

Next on our agenda was an appointment with Bend RV Repair to have some body-work done.  So, our prime camping spot for the next couple of days will be in the industrial lot at Bend RV. The good thing is that Jeff will hook us up to 50 amp power. And the even better news is that Michael's sister lives in Bend so we will be spending time with the family as well.