Conversations with Myself

Another night in a casino parking lot. This time the Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City, on the Oregon Coast. Yep, we went back to the coast. We didn’t know where else to go and I was grumpy. It’s all good though because we both like the coast and know what to expect with the roads and this beast we are driving. Yesterday I referred to it as “inconveniently sized” and I believe that is an apt description. Although admittedly it is nice to have the extra room inside, which would be doubly appreciated if we were living in it, when on the road it’s just a bitch. Rob says it’s like driving a bus. It has no turning radius and talk about inconvenient to pullover! I find myself wanting to go fewer and fewer places, despite Rob’s reassurances that he can go anywhere. I miss the Corolla, but to be realistic in terms of comfort and camping, even the truck would do.

We just stopped at the Neskowin Beach so that the boys could do their business plus get some much needed exercise. They had a great time! Even though we kept them on their long leashes they were able to run and play and explore. Will is fascinated with the quickly flowing river and nearly dove in after a stuck tree limb. Thankfully he didn’t but it sure was cute watching him paw at the black rocks on the bottom of the river. Brutis and Solo won’t have anything to do with water. In fact, Brutis gets a bit panicky if a wave starts catching up with him. Oh no, I don’t want to get wet! I don’t want to get swallowed up by a big wave!

Once again, I am a bit behind in my writings. Oddly though, its hard to find the time to write sometimes. When we’re driving, I want to watch the scenery. At night we just want to collapse. Last night we had to drag ourselves to the casino (whose parking lot we were staying at) and once we got there I promptly got the hiccups! That was annoying (and embarrassing when I hiccupped loudly in the reverberating bathroom!). I tried my usually effective drink lotsa water trick but the water was too dang cold so I couldn’t drink a steady stream of it. I rarely drink cold water, preferring it to be at room temperature instead. The cold water was a shock to the system.

But that’s a bit of a tangent now, isn’t it? March 1 we stayed at a state park on its opening day, which meant we were pretty much the only ones there (other than the camp host and one other RV’er). It was a bit out of the way but ultimately worth it. Only $12 for Water & Electric (though the water was turned off due to freezing temps) in a pretty park with a lakeside view. We checked out the dam that made the lake and it was a giant earthen dam. Giant! It really makes me wonder how earthen dams work. What keeps the water from seeping through?

The next morning (after a great high pressure HOT shower using the parks facilities) we headed toward Central Point to visit Dogs for the Deaf. I was excited for this tour. About eight years ago I had tried to visit on my way to San Francisco, but ended up driving through late at night. Here I was, passing through again and I was determined to make this tour! I called early in the am and reserved two spots for the 10 am tour..and of course we were the only 2 there! But that’s okay because it was excellent! Training thise shelter rescued dogs to assist the deaf is amazing! They have mini-apartments set up where they train the dogs to recognize familiar sounds and alert their owners to the same. For Example, a dog will hear a knock on the door, run to their owner, paw their knee, then run and sit at the door. That is just one example of the many indicators these fantastic dogs can be trained to recognize. And every one of these incredible dogs is rescued from animal shelters. Not bred for this purpose, but rescued. Which is a risk, of course. How do you know that you are getting a trainable dog? They try to do an initial assessment at the shelter but even that can only indicate so much. So much so that only 25% of the rescued dogs become hearing dogs. But all is not lost for those dogs that don’t make it. No dog is ever returned to the shelter. Instead they may become “Miracle Mutts” or “Career Change” dogs. See their website for more information about that! Those dogs that do pass in 4-6 weeks finish training and are placed in homes. Right now there is a 4 year waiting list to get a hearing dog and no wonder—these pups are great!

Besides the obvious, the tour was interesting and informative. The organization got its start not all that long ago- in 1972. The founder has since died but his daughter has since taken the reigns. We met her briefly when she walked through the foyer with a very mellow poodle. Obviously she stays very involved!

We watched a short (12 min) video about the history of the organization and then visited a mock apartment to talk with a trainer and see a demo dog in action. Everyone we met was very friendly and happy to answer our questions. You can tell their hearts are deeply entrenched in what they do. I only wish I lived closer so that I could also volunteer, if not work, there! After visiting with the trainer and demo dog we saw where the dogs lived. Although they were in kennels with inside and outside runs similar to those at good shelters, they were flush with blankets, toys, and comfy beds, each with personalized name plates on the doors. They were definitely loved. Outside was a memorial park with daffodils and inscribed bricks of pups that have passed. Ultimately it was (and still is!!!) a fabulous facility.

After Dogs for the Deaf, we hopped back into the monster RV and hightailed it up to Coburg, just north of Eugene and nearly 3 hours away. We trucked on without stopping, our destination and intention to make the 2 o’clock tour at Monaco (a RV production plant). We were cutting it close! The GPS was telling us we’d make it there by 2:06, clearly 6 minutes late, and it’s hard to make up those 6 minutes in a big RV. But with Rob at the helm, anything is possible! And Rob did it! He’s an amazing guy. We reached the plant with minutes to spare. It ended up being just the 2 of us and admittedly, we felt a bit out of place, me with my new blue M&M shirt and Rob with his gruff, looking at the manufacture of an RV that ultimately would cost between $400,000 and $600,000!!! Awkwardness besides, the tour was fascinating. They essentially build the entire RV there, starting with the chassis and ending with the extensive paint job. To see these massive RV’s come together, with the hand tiled floors, security systems, washer & dryer even, was just amazing. It was how I imagined a car factory to be (and probably will be the closest I ever get to seeing a vehicle being made). Purty Nifty.

(The plant was off-line the day we visited. That is, no one was working. All was dark. We thought it a bit odd but truthfully didn’t think much of it, figuring it was just a day off. Silly us. Turns out that day was the day Monaco laid off most of its workers due to the company claiming bankruptcy. Whoops. That’s not good at all!)

That brings us to our night in the state park by the earthen dam.

Hedaing back home, where the puppies can run free, without harnesses, without leashes. Willy can dig, Brutis can play Frisbee. We all look forward to that.

One neat thing we saw near a state park near Dogs for the Deaf was a blue heron rookery- a bunch of their nests with birds in the trees. Awesome! I should have gotten a picture of that. I should have gotten a picture of a lot of things. As it stands, what I got was mostly “on the road” pictures with our little point and shoot camera. Not exactly photography at its finest but I suppose it is better than nothing. An inherent problem with these dang RV’s is the inability to easily whip over to the side of the road at a moments notice (but I guess I’ve mentioned that before).