Millersylvania State Park, again!

Autumn has arrived here in the northwest. The trees are taking on a more golden shade of green, the poison oak and vine maple are turning red, salal berries ripening, and only us retired and full-timers are out and about in the campgrounds.

Last night we stopped for the third time at Millersylvannia State Park. It's not that it's the most fascinating place we've ever stayed, though it is nice. The draw is that it's about a 4 hour drive from Eugene, about the max we like to do in one day. We wrote about this park the first time we stayed here (see September 9 entry). This time, due to the close of their registration season, most of the loops in the campground are closed. The one loop that's open has over 40 sites, some wooded, many open, so there's something for everyone. Most of these are the sites with utilities. There's also a host in residence, which there wasn't before, and they're back to using a self-registration system which to us is an improvement to the convoluted registration system they were using during the summer.
We actually had sun the day we arrived. Out of three visits it's the first time we've seen the park without rain! Molly and I took a walk in the portion of the campground that's closed to camping and it was beautiful. The air had that lovely balmy fall feel, and the ferns and other understory shrubs were all fresh from recent rains. The trees in that part of the park are so tall you can hardly see the tops, and the campground has been established for years so it has that comfortable "old cabin in the woods" atmosphere. Two of our neighbors in the campground were here during our last visit, in mid-September, so we caught up with where they'd been visiting since then, how their rig repairs are going and all the other typical RV concerns. (Seems those coaches are always in need of some kind of repair!) Tonight we'll be at Vasa Park, near Bellevue, WA.

Changing horses in the middle of a stream

What a project - not changing horses, but changing satellite systems - it feels like changing horses though.

Our previous provider (Dish Network) had suddenly decided to stop providing many of the channels we like, no change in the monthly charges of course, so we voted with our $$ and went elsewhere. After several convoluted telephone conversations with Direct TV our tech department (that would be Steve) made the decision to shift to that system. Unfortunately, they don't seem to get the drift that RV folk don't always have a shipping address - and they weren't about to help solve the problem. So, while I was doing the laundry he drove over to see an RV installation company and picked up the hardware there. Once in hand, it seemed like it would be the proverbial piece of cake to get up and going.

With cardboard boxes and packing parts everywhere in our little space the process began of getting the system set up - it didn't go quite as quickly as he planned (does anything?) We had project stacked on top of project as we shifted around the livingroom to work on the set up, fix supper, and accommodate my current sewing project. It was rather comical at one point, resembling a small bomb having been exploded in the rig!  After taking most of the day for set up and recovery we thought it was a good idea to spend an additional day here making sure everything works correctly and getting ourselves organized so we can leave at a reasonable time tomorrow. So far we're happy with the new system, but as soon as I get the remote away from him I anticipate there will be a learning curve figuring out the new system. Gotta keep up with that technology!

Yeah! Ducks win again!!

Wow, what a game. Our opponent this time was Stanford. We didn't look so good in the first half, but the final score, 52-31, was very much to our liking!
Stanford's nickname is The Cardinal, and they have no mascot, so The Tree, a member of their band, steps into the role now and then. I have to say, this was the oddest looking creature I have ever seen at a game. The Tree has always been a pine tree, but this time a shrub showed up and tried to keep up with the Duck's antics.
No such luck.
The Duck did his usual round of pushups, only now the cheerleaders lift him up on a platform, so they all get a good workout!

We really do love our Duck here at the U of O. Last year a group of students made a move about him, unauthorized, and got in a bit of hot water over it. The powers that be got together and realized the movie was actually a pretty cool thing, approved it, and work things out with Disney (who had always been pretty restrictive as to what the Duck could do). The day before this game the same group of students released a new movie, I Love My Ducks (Return of the Quack) featuring Joey Harrington. It's a great little production (4 minutes) and you just may find yourself up and dancing before it'sover! 



It's great fun watching the fans come and go in their various versions of fan-wear. There's a contest among students for the best outfit, so you see some pretty creative get-ups. This is "Shawn" who was outside the bookstore when we went shopping before the game.

We had a great tailgate party, as usual, only this one included a yummy banana birthday cake for me!


We all brought Mexican food and had quite a feast. Game Day was here to broadcast in the morning, so the parking area opened up early, making this an especially long day for everyone.

It took most of Sunday for Steve's voice to recover. It was several octaves lower after the game - not from cheering, he has Duck lips for that, but from yelling at the refs. It was a late game too, so we all slept in on Sunday. Our friends from Portland had booked a space in the same campground we are staying in so we had a leisurely breakfast before they left for home. Today we're catching up on chores and shopping so we'll be ready to leave in the morning.

One of our friends at the game gave us a huge bag of tomatoes and peppers from their garden. I strung the cayenne peppers and they are hanging by the stove, and the Anaheim peppers are in the windowsill waiting to be cooked. Tomatoes are stashed in flat bowls and baskets on every flat surface waiting for that fried green tomato dinner I've promised my sister when we get to her house. It looks like a farm kitchen in here!