Smoke and Sisters

 

We left Dallas on Monday afternoon. Initially, I had planned to be on the road by noon, but as we were hooking up Daisy Mae behind Sadie, we encountered a problem with the new towed-vehicle brake monitoring system. After some troubleshooting, I determined that the problem was in the cable that connects the towed-vehicle wiring to the the coach wiring. It seems that one of the plugs on the cable was installed incorrectly and reversed the polarity between the two vehicles. Once I changed the wiring of the plug, the brake monitor light on Sadie's dashboard started working just as it should. I must say it is a comfort to know what Daisy Mae's brake system is doing, while I am towing her.

The other fly in the getting-off-by-noon ointment was that our neighbor, kitty-corner across the street from our home, came by to introduce himself. He is a pleasant chap and chatty. Did I mention that John likes to talk? We had not had the chance to meet him before, and by the time we were done chatting and got the brake monitor wiring figured out, it was closer to 2:00 PM when we hit the road.

There was a good deal of smoke from forest fires in the air as we crossed the cascade mountains on highway 22. Otherwise the scenery was breathtakingly beautiful. (I suppose you could say that even the smoke was “breathtaking,” but that is a different story.) Sadie found some of the steeper climbs a bit challenging in terms of keeping her speed up, but overall, she did just fine. It was a hot day, and I kept my eye on the water and oil temps, but we had no mishaps, and when we crested the pass and started down the other side, the temps dropped right back down to normal.

We arrived in Sisters, OR (named for the nearby Cascade Mountain peaks, Faith, Hope and Charity, which together are known as the Three Sisters) about 4:45PM. Since we hadn't made any plans to stay in any particular RV park, we were a bit nervous when we didn't find many RV parks to choose from. We made a fuel stop and inquired about parks and were directed to the Sisters RV Park and/or the KOA “on the other end of town.”

Before we encountered either of them, however, we stumbled on Sisters City Park, which is not only beautiful, but located within walking distance of the charming commercial district. It is a first come, first served park, with full RV hookups, nestled in a grove of pine trees. Nevertheless, we found a site where we could get a clear shot at the southern sky for our satellite dish. We have thoroughly enjoyed our stay.

Last evening, we had dinner at the Three Creeks Brewing Company pub, located on the southeast end of town. The atmosphere is family friendly, the food was spectacular pub food, and the ales, which are brewed on the premises, were quite competitive with the better microbrews we have encountered.

Tuesday morning, we had walked the commercial section of town in the morning and found it to be lots of fun. The people are friendly, and the architecture is all done in a fun “old west” theme. Having scoped out the shops yesterday, we had a plan for this morning. We walked into town and made a stop at the Sisters Bakery (not to be missed; get there early for bear claws, which are to die for) and then on to the Sisters Coffee shop. We sat under the pines on the patio to the side of the shop, sipping the hearty brew and munching our bear claw, maple bar and peach scone. All in all a very enjoyable, if not the most healthful, breakfast.

The weather is cooling off. It was near 90 yesterday, but it's only supposed to be near 80 today. We will bid a reluctant farewell to Sisters, but we will be back to visit, without a doubt. Our objective for today is La Pine State Park.