August 8, 2026 (Sat.) - Chore day.
We had nothing on the agenda today except chores.
Lynn was up at 0615. The air quality finally dipped into the “moderate” zone (AQI 85), a welcome change. She enjoyed her morning coffee outside overlooking the lake and headed out for her usual walk. The peace didn’t last long — at 0645 a nearby camper decided it was the perfect time to fire up a blower and clear his campsite. Before 7am…you really do wonder what people are thinking. How is that ok?! Although technically, quiet hours ended at 6am at this campground which is unusual. Usually, quiet hours end around 7am or 8am.
Kirk rolled out just after 9am. His main goal for the day was to investigate the water leak in the storage bay after last night’s alarm.
But first: breakfast. We rode our e‑bikes to The Beach House. Lynn ordered the bacon breakfast burrito; Kirk went for French toast with bacon and eggs. Lynn definitely won breakfast — the burrito was fantastic, and Kirk said it might be the best he’s ever had. We cruised around the campground a bit before heading back to the RV to tackle chores. Kirk dove into traffic school and finally finished (and paid the ticket)! We also booked our next campsite in Leavenworth, WA, hoping to meet up with the Mitchells as they head toward Canada. There’s a major wildfire nearby (Little Giant Fire), but fingers crossed everything works out.
The rest of the afternoon was spent on bills, blogging, chores, and catching up with the kids. Kirk still hadn’t gotten around to investigating the leak — but with temps hitting 94°, waiting until evening seemed wise.
Dinner was simple: a baked potato with chicken in the RV. By 8pm, we were outside with a beer and a campfire. It was a balmy 86* still and the air quality had worsened to an ‘unhealthy’ level (AQI 167). Even so, it felt wonderful to sit by a real fire again; it’s been a long time. A perfect way to end a quiet, chore‑filled day except investigating the water leak…that’ll wait for another day. Not many pics today.
Weather – High 94*, Low 66*. Winds 6-10/19 mph. No rain. No humidity.
Traffic – None. Didn’t go anywhere.
Food – The Beach House – excellent breakfast burritos!
Notable – The Beach House. Campfire. Traffic School finished!
Screen time – Worst House on the Block (series).
August 9, 2026 (Sun.) - Othello and Ritzville.
Since we didn’t do anything but chores yesterday, we decided to explore Othello and then check off one of Lynn’s Roadside Attractions in Ritzville, WA.
Lynn was up just after 6am to another beautiful sunrise — a bright red ball of sun rising over the lake. The temperature was a pleasant 64°, though the air quality had already slipped back into the unhealthy range (AQI 160). She still headed out for her walk, thinking about how she hadn’t seen a single animal on her early morning outings… and not a minute later, a bunny appeared! The animal gods delivered.
Kirk was up at 9am, right on schedule, and we headed to The Beach House for breakfast one last time. Today is the last day we’d be here during breakfast hours. He wanted his own bacon breakfast burrito after stealing bites of Lynn’s yesterday. We both ordered one, and it was just as good as round one.
Although our campsite is technically in Othello, it’s a good 20 minutes from the actual town. Since we hadn’t explored it yet, we drove in around 10:45. There wasn’t much to see — a quick lap around town and we were done.
Next up was one of Lynn’s Roadside Attractions: a license‑plate American flag in Ritzville, WA, about 30 minutes farther. We arrived around noon, and as we bounced along the rough roads, Lynn’s phone accidentally dialed 911. The bumps pressed the buttons just long enough to trigger her emergency settings. This is the second time it’s happened — the first was in the Razor — so clearly those settings need adjusting.
After assuring dispatch that everything was fine, we went to find the flag. It’s a large metal sculpture with license plates from each of the states representing the stars. They’re arranged in order of their admission to the Union. As we got out to take photos, a man offered to snap a picture of us — and it turned out he was the creator of the flag! John, the artist, was incredibly kind and shared the story of how he and his wife built it and how the community helped install it. A very cool surprise.
We grabbed lunch at Porky’s Clubhouse Grill on the golf course — seemingly the only place open in town. We both ordered street tacos, and they were excellent (forgot to take pics). Dessert was pretty good too! Ritzville had a lot of character; we really enjoyed it.
By 2:30pm we were back at the RV. The campground had emptied out — a nice change — but the smoke had thickened noticeably. In the photos section below, there’s a comparison of the sky 3-days apart at about the same time of day. Very significant change in the air.
The rest of the evening was quiet: TV, blogging, and relaxing. A calm finish to a small day of exploring.
Weather – High 91*, Low 64*. Winds 7-9/14 mph. No rain, no humidity.
Traffic – None.
Food – Street tacos from Porky’s Clubhouse Grill.
Notable – Ritzville – meeting John, the creator of the License Plate Flag.
Screen time – Moonshine.
