We pulled out of Alana’s driveway as planned on Thursday. On Wednesday afternoon, we finished most of the trailer details, moving everything into the first third of the box. This left the rear two-thirds open for loading Midget-San. I parked the coach and trailer around the corner from Alana’s place Thursday morning after putting the last items away and loaded the Midget without any drama.
We drove out of Arlington through Smokey Point and entered I-5 north so we could stop at the rest area at mile post 207. We had a short wait for the dump station there. By the time I was finished, there it was nearly 12:30pm. Our plan was to go south through Seattle to Lacey and spend the night at Cabela’s there. The short drive was a good plan as traffic was a nightmare. The 90-mile run down the interstate took three hours!
We’ve stayed at this Cabela’s overnight many times. We stopped at our usual spot which is level and found several tractor-trailer rigs in the lot as well as a few other RVs. I think the truckers decided to get off the road for several hours until the northbound traffic opened up. Knowing this place as we do, Donna knew precisely where to go to find blackberry bushes full of fruit. She picked a bowl full.
Fresh picked blackberries
It rained overnight and a few showers lingered in the morning. We hit the road around 10:30am and hit US101 in Olympia and had a few rain showers in the first hour. It was a pretty drive west through Montesano then south through Raymond and on to South Bend. We last visited South Bend five years ago. We pulled into the Ron Craig boat ramp area on the west end of town. Overnight RV parking is allowed for a $10 fee. I paid at the kiosk and we set up.
I retrieved our bicycles from the trailer and we rode into town. We had lunch at Chester Tavern and took a look around. South Bend is located on the Willapa River. As the river flows west from Raymond to Willapa Bay, it hooks south then turns north making a horseshoe bend. South Bend marks the southernmost point in the bend.
From the marina in town looking east where the river comes down from the northLooking west from the same point – the river turns back north before continuing west to Willapa Bay
The skies cleared by late afternoon. There were a few other RVs here for night. Several boat trailers behind trucks were in the lot when we arrived, but they were gone by early evening. Donna took a walk back to town to pick up a couple of things at the store and also took a look at the county courthouse which is a beautiful property – I documented it in this post five years ago.
On Saturday morning, Donna rode her bike to the store in town and bought a plate of biscuits and gravy for me. It was a hearty serving and I finished it for breakfast. It was very tasty, but later I wasn’t so sure that it was a good idea. It ended up being a lazy day for me.
We got the Sea Eagle inflatable kayak out of the trailer and Donna paddled up river to town, then looped back past the boat ramp before coming back in. I paid for another night at the kiosk.
I recorded the Moto GP race from Czech Republic and the Formula One race from Hungary overnight. Usually I’ll add recording time to each race to ensure I get the end of the race, but with the schedules being back-to-back, I couldn’t extend the Moto GP race. Our set-up only allows me to record one channel at a time via the satellite. The Moto GP race had a rain delay, so I didn’t get the whole race. No worries – there’s a replay at 7pm – I’ll get the rest of the race then.
We had visitors this morning – a doe and her twin fawns came up to the coach to feed on the blackberries and shrubs next to us.
Doe and twins in front of our windshieldBrowsing next to us
The weather has been terrific – highs in the upper 70s with clear skies. We expect more of the same today. As soon as I post this, we’ll ride our bikes on the trail to Raymond and get lunch out. We’ve paid for another night here. Tomorrow, we’ll pull out and head down to the coast. We’ll cross into Oregon at Astoria and we have a few nights booked at Cannon Beach.
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The great weather here in Arlington continues. Saturday was mostly cloudy and a little cooler with the high in the lower 70s, but it didn’t rain. My daughter, Alana’s, best friend since childhood, Angie Meece, is visiting her parents in Darrington. She reached out to Donna and invited us to stop by on Sunday afternoon.
Sunday was a bright, sunny day, so we put the top down and drove Midget-San up to Darrington – it’s about 30 miles east of Arlington up highway 530. The Meeces’ house is on a beautiful property next to the 6,841-ft. peak of Whitehorse Mountain. When we pulled up to the entrance to their property, we were surprised to find it lined with a number of cars. Obviously something was up.
We pulled to the end of the driveway and parked and found a party! It was a surprise party with two purposes – first was a celebration of the retirement from the Darrington School District of Angie’s mother, Diane. Secondly it was a celebration of Angie’s sister’s graduation from university. Unbeknownst to us, both of Angie’s sisters, Michelle and Lisa, were also visiting.
They wanted to keep the surprise party secret, so they just invited a number of people to stop by for a visit without letting the real deal out. Too bad for us – we ate lunch before driving up only to find a feast was spread. They had a ton of hors d’oeuvres and fresh seafood. Angie’s dad, Mark, also had a keg of beer on tap. We had a good time mingling and I got to visit with many people I haven’t seen in nearly 20 years. I was so caught up in various conversations that I neglected to take any photos!
On Monday, Donna got busy in the trailer taking on one of my tasks. She started re-organizing and getting rid of useless things that I keep hauling around. She’s better at that sort of thing than I am. Alana and Gabi returned from their Hawaii vacation late Monday night.
I spent the morning on Tuesday looking at route options and thinking about where we wanted to be in August. Originally we thought we would head east to Coeur d’Alene, then south through Idaho. After thinking about it for a bit, I thought maybe going west to the Washington coast and making our way south on the Oregon coast may be the way to go. August is the best month weather-wise to travel the coastal northwest and going east would mean high temperatures.
August is also the busiest season for tourism along the coast, so we had to plan ahead and see if we would be able to find RV parks that can accommodate us. We managed to make a couple of reservations and also found boondocking sites that should work along the way. Our plan is to pull out of our extended mooch-docking site here in Alana’s driveway tomorrow.
The first stop will have to be at the dump station – I haven’t dumped our tanks since we arrived here in mid-June. Our course we’ve been using Alana’s bathroom and have been careful about how much waste water we’ve generated. I’m anticipating a somewhat late start as we have to load Midget-San in the trailer for the first time and I’m sure we’ll have to take our time securing the car. We may only go as far as Lacey and spend the night at Cabela’s before we move on to South Bend. We’ll spend a few days there before we head south to Oregon.
Meanwhile, I still have the Verizon data usage mystery. We’ve been consistent in our data usage for several years. We use about 30GB/month and rarely have we gone over our data limit. For the last two months, our data usage – as metered by Verizon – has shot up. Meanwhile, I’m getting e-mails and instant messages from Verizon advising me to switch to one of their new data plans.
I don’t know, but this seems fishy to me. The new plans require me to enter a new contract with Verizon. What accelerated our current data usage? We’ve checked for anything running in the background on our laptops and haven’t found anything.
Today’s high temperature should reach 80 degrees and tomorrow is expected to be even warmer. I think heading for the coast is the right idea. I have much preparation to do today but we’ll get it done. I’m ready for the road again.
We made a lot of progress this week and have to start thinking about our next move. I mentioned in my last post that a thief stole the MG emblem off Midget-San. Luckily, they didn’t cause any damage, but it bothers me that the person had to know how the emblem was attached to steal it. They obviously opened the trunk lid and pulled the speed nuts off the mounting posts. If they had just yanked the emblem off, the speed nuts would have fallen into the trunk, but there weren’t any speed nuts to be found.
I ordered a replacement emblem from Northwest Import Parts in Portland, Oregon. They were great to deal with. I received an e-mail confirmation right away and they had shipped it via USPS Priority mail on Monday. I received the part along with speed nuts on Wednesday. Speed nuts are just clips that have angled tabs. The clips are pressed by hand over the mounting posts and the angled tabs grip the plastic posts and prevent the nuts from falling off.
Underside of MG emblem with three plastic mounting postsSpeed nutsHoles in the rear deck lid where emblem mountsNew emblem in place
I put a thin bead of room temperature vulcanizing (RTV) silicone at the base of the mounting posts on the emblem. This serves two purposes – it seals the holes in the deck lid to prevent any water from entering and it also acts as an adhesive, thus making it tougher for someone to walk away with the emblem again.
Lifestyles Recreational Products in Mount Vernon finally got the ECM and installed it on the Spyder Thursday. They told me their mechanic thought it still ran a little rough. I didn’t understand how this could be, it was running perfectly fine until the ECM failed. So on Friday morning, I went up to their shop and road tested the Spyder. It ran perfectly fine, smooth, good acceleration and no fault codes. I settled the bill and promptly sold the Spyder.
Donna mentioned that this marks the first time in 13 years that she doesn’t have a motorcycle to ride. I thought about it and realized I had one or more motorcycles for the last 20 years and had motorcycles off and on for nearly 50 years. Maybe another will come along in the future, but for now we’ve transitioned to four wheels and Midget-San.
On Friday afternoon, we went to Arlington Velo Sport to pick up Donna’s new bicycle. They received the bike Friday and prepped it and installed the rear rack and special pedals. Donna ordered pedals that are dual-purpose – on one side they clip to SPD-type shoe cleats while the opposite side is a flat pedal for “normal” shoes. The rear rack holds a bag specifically made for it. It clips into place with a quick release mount. The side pouches hold fold-out nylon bags that become extra storage saddle bags. Donna loves the idea of riding her bike to the grocery store and not having to ride home with a full back pack.
Donna’s new Trek Dual Sport 2
The bike is nicely equipped – it has front suspension, disc brakes, three front chain rings and an eight-speed rear cluster. Trek describes it as a City/Trekker bike. It’s versatile and should serve Donna well, whether she’s riding on pavement or dirt bike trails.
Donna bought a bottle of amber ale for me, brewed by Ten Pin Brewing in Moses Lake, Washington. This was a far cry from the lousy ale I had at Ale Spike on Camano Island. The Ten Pin was brewed to style with a smooth, balanced malt character subtly bittered with 35 IBUs. This one is a winner!
Ten Pin Angle amber ale
We’ve had great weather this week with lots of sun and temperatures reaching the low 80s. Last night, we had rain showers overnight and it’s overcast this morning, but the skies are supposed to clear again this afternoon. Donna’s heading out for her first ride on her new bike. She’s going to stop at the farmer’s market in Arlington and also make a stop at the grocery store.
We’ll be discussing travel plans and figuring out where to go from here. We signed up for an Alpine Coach Association Rally – the Eastern Sierras Rally. We were there in the spring, but weather chased us away and we didn’t get to see most of the sights we wanted to visit. The 13-day Alpine Coach Rally has a number of tours set up and we’ll be able to explore. We’ll be following a similar route that we took on our way up north, but we’ll be going in the opposite direction this time once we hit the Sierra Nevada mountains. The rally starts September 5th, so we’ll have a month to wander as we make our way to the starting point in Carson City, Nevada.
We’re still here in Alana’s driveway in Arlington, Washington. There seems to be light at the end of the tunnel though – Lifestyles Recreational Products expects to have the parts to complete the repair of the Spyder this week. Then I have to sell it.
We’ve been thinking about ways to increase available space in the trailer. I’ll need room to load Midget-San in there with enough clear space to avoid any damage to the car. After bicycling on Thursday, Donna came up with an idea. We were storing four bicycles in the trailer – her road bike, her beater bike, my road bike and my mountain bike.
I haven’t ridden my Orbea road bike in over a year. Donna isn’t planning to do any more long distance events like RAGBRAI with her road bike. She thought she should get rid of her bikes and replace them with one hybrid road/trail bike. I could get rid of my Orbea since I haven’t been riding it. That would take two bicycles out of the trailer but we would still have bikes to ride.
On Friday, we rode our bikes – Donna on her Trek Madone road bike, me on my Orbea – to Arlington Velo Sport bike shop. We did a little horse trading and ended up leaving both bikes there on trade and placing an order for a Trek Dual Sport 2 hybrid bike for Donna. The bike should be here by the end of the week.
The rest of this post is picture heavy. The weather has improved since my last post. Friday we had a high of about 70 degrees and enjoyed the two-mile walk back to Alana’s place from the bike shop. Saturday was another clear, sunny day with a high in the upper 70s. Donna and I drove Midget-San to Stanwood for a vintage RV (trailer) show. They had over a dozen restored RVs from the ’50s and ’60s on display. Some of the old rigs were very small, but usable for weekend camping.
Small travel trailer from 1969Cozy interiorBeautiful truck and trailer from the ’50s You could find something like this in every suburban neighborhood in the ’60sCustom Ford Victoria and pop-up trailer1950s pop-up camp trailer Spartan Aircraft Company Royal Spartanette
This 1951 Royal Spartanette was built by the Spartan Aircraft Company in Tulsa, Oklahoma. These were very expensive travel trailers and were considered “The Cadillac of trailers.” The floor plan on this one was laid out in such a way that it seemed roomier than our coach with the slides out! I wonder what they used to tow this rig?
We had lunch at the Chinese restaurant behind the Spartanette trailer at the Phoenix Pavilion. The food was great. After lunch, we took a drive over the bridge to Camano Island. Donna found free public access to the water on the island. We drove to English Boom Preserve and parked there.
Midget-San at English Boom Preserve
The name comes from the 1920s-1930s when the English Lumber Company logged trees in the area and floated log booms into Skagit Bay here. We were there at low tide and the bay is basically a tidal flat here. This tidal flat is an important habitat for salmon. Smolts swim out of the rivers they were spawned in – mainly the Snohomish, Stillaguamish and Skagit Rivers – and the eel grass along this flat provides cover for them as they grow and enter the sea.
Tidal flat at English Boom – snow covered Mount Baker in the center background
We made a stop at Ale Spike Brewery on the island. Donna liked her porter but I wasn’t impressed with my choice there. I should have known better when the Firechicken Ale I chose was described as red ale – amber. Okay, which is it – a red ale or an amber? It didn’t taste like either one – it was bitter with a yeasty aftertaste. Although the bar maid said it was their most popular brew, I didn’t care for it at all.
Is it a red or an amber?
After we came home, I went out to the Burger King parking lot nearby. When I lived here in the early 2000s, I had a couple of old Corvettes in the garage. On Saturday evenings, the local hot rodders would gather in the Burger King lot to swap lies and admire each other’s cars. I hadn’t been there in over 15 years, but I wanted to see if they still came out. They did.
Custom old Ford cabover truck…with a big Ford V8 mid-ship A guy I knew named Jan Boyd once owned this car in Darrington – big superchargerThe rear license plate folds up to show off the chrome
The guys there told me there was a big car show the following day – Sunday – up in Bellingham. They said they expected around 400 cars there.
On Sunday morning, Alana’s boyfriend, Kevin, and his sons picked up Alana, Gabi and Gabi’s friend, Kennedy around 6:30am. They were off to the airport for a flight to Hawaii. They’re spending the week on the big island and are looking forward to time on the beach and the golf course.
I made the 50-mile drive up to Bellingham in Midget-San while Donna used Alana’s car to go play pickleball in Marysville. I’m still resting the groin pull – it’s been a bother for months now.
The car show in Bellingham was a fundraiser for veterans. I used to do car shows with my Corvettes – I had a 1965 big block roadster and a 1972 LT-1 T- top. I got tired of the car show scene after a few years though.
At the show in Bellingham, I found myself drawn more to the vintage and unusual cars instead of ogling all of the muscle cars – the Camaros, Corvettes and Mustangs.
Remember the mid-engined truck at Burger King? This is what it was originally like Fully restored 1950s MGA – it even has the original tool kit and oilersMGB with a supercharged 215ci aluminum block Buick V8
The 215 cubic inch Buick aluminum block V8 was developed by General Motors and brought to market in 1960. This engine was way ahead of its time. It was lightweight and durable and produced great power. But it didn’t catch on with the American consumer – bigger was always thought to be better. Eventually GM sold all of the tooling and rights to Rover in England and they used versions of this engine into the 1990s.
MGA with aluminum Buick V8 and trailer
I talked to the owner of the blue MGA. He had pictures of the car as he found it sitting in a pasture – rusty, missing a rear quarter panel, no hood or grill. He and his son restored it to this condition and he bought the trailer so he and his wife could drive the car from Washington to Reno, Nevada for a week at the Hot August Nights car show.
It turned out his son was the guy with the supercharged Buick V8 MGB in the previous picture. Talented car guy – he can handle all the mechanical aspects, design and fabricate, weld and paint.
Morris Minor from the 1930s
This Morris Minor was designed for the narrow roads of England. I think this coupe is smaller than Midget-San.
English Ford
This Ford built in England is much smaller than its American counterparts. Small ruled the road in England while bigger was better here.
There was a downside to the car show. While Midget-San was parked there, someone decided they needed the MG emblem on the rear deck lid and removed it from the car. I can hardly believe someone would steal the emblem from the car, but there it is. I ordered a replacement and should have it in a few days. Sheesh!
The week ahead calls for rain Tuesday night. Otherwise, we should be in for warm, sunny days with highs around 80 degrees. Donna’s new bike should arrive on Thursday.
We’re still mooch-docking in my daughter, Alana’s, driveway in Arlington, Washington. I’m still waiting for Lifestyles Recreational Products in Mount Vernon to repair the Spyder. As many of you know, my career was in the automotive service industry for over 30 years. At one point, I was the manager of the Volkswagen of America Technical Helpline call center. We provided technical assistance including repair advice and instructions to Volkswagen dealers across the country.
Apparently, Bombardier Recreation Products (BRP) – maker of the Can-Am brand – has a technical call center in Quebec. What I’m facing with the shop in Mount Vernon is a service department that’s unsure of their diagnosis. They think I need a new Engine Control Module and I agree. The thing is, it costs over $500 and it’s not returnable. So, they’ve opened a ticket with BRP’s technical call center and are waiting to hear them say to replace this part! It’s also apparent the BRP doesn’t run a very efficient call center – the ticket has been open for days without a response. So, we wait.
Another issue irritated me this week. One of the challenges we face on the road is high speed internet accessibility. We use Verizon and have good internet access 99% of the time. Lately, Verizon seems to be pushing us to change from our 30GB/month plan to something new with a contract renewal. I’m happy with the current plan. It’s always allowed me to add incremental data – a gigabyte at a time – for a reasonable rate if it looked like we may exceed our 30GB allowance.
This week, with a few days left in our cycle, I received a warning that we were going to exceed our data allowance. This took me by surprise – I monitor our data usage every morning. Somehow we suddenly used a large amount of data. The next day our increased usage rate continued – I can’t explain it. I went to the website to add a couple of gigabytes of data and couldn’t find the page I used in the past. Instead, when I clicked on “add more data,” it took me to page where the only choices were to change my plan to a new format and enter a new contract. Something smells rotten here.
Maybe it’s just a conspiracy theory, but Verizon is the one that measures my data usage. Suddenly, without explanation, my daily data usage jumps to a higher rate. Then, my ability to add incremental data is removed and new plans are rolled out for me to sign up. I didn’t go for it, so they charged me an extra $15 for going over our allowance by less than one gigabyte. I’ll be keeping a close eye on our usage as always.
One of the things I’m taking advantage of while we’re here is ordering parts for a few projects. I mentioned the gas spring for the basement compartment door I replaced. We also have a blown gas spring on our Dometic AE awning. It blew out when we were in Sutherlin and I haven’t had a chance to address it. The thing is, where we’re parked now I can’t open the awning due to a tree next to us. So, I couldn’t measure the extended and collapsed length of the gas spring. After doing some research, I found a website for Dyers RV Parts and Accessories. They had Dometic replacement parts and I found this statement:
Standard style hardware awnings – measure the back-channel (that is the arm that attaches to the coach) but do not count the mounting bracket. If it measures 65-66,” you have Standard hardware.
*Note: If the above measures 62-63″ you have Basement style hardware and need Dometic strut # 3310555.000 instead.
I measured our back channel and it was just over 65″. I ordered the standard hardware and got the gas spring in a few days. It included the star-washer style fasteners that Dometic uses – a nice touch. I’ll install it as soon as we’re in a position to open the awning.
There was something I wanted to do to Midget-San. The trunk (or boot as the British call it) was nicely painted inside, but unlined. I wanted to add a liner so things wouldn’t slide around and also to protect the finish.
Trunk (boot) painted but no liner
Finding a trunk liner on Amazon required a bit of detective work. The descriptions often had contradictory dimensions stated. I had to read through reviews and figure out just how large each liner really was. The one I ended up ordering said it was very small – 17″ x 23″ – but the reviews revealed it was a much larger item. I needed about 25″ x 42″. What I received was about 48″ x 55″.
New universal liner
The trunk liner was easily trimmed with scissors.
Liner installed and collapsible boxes added
After I trimmed the liner to size, Donna added collapsible boxes to hold groceries or any other loose items we might pick up to keep them from rolling around in the back.
Donna found a great deal on chicken leg quarters – $0.99/lb. She made a marinade called Pretty Chicken Marinade – we don’t know if it’s called that because the chicken comes off the grill looking pretty with this marinade or if it’s because it’s pretty darn tasty! She served it with packaged cauliflower rice – we both agreed that the pre-packed cauliflower rice isn’t as good as the cauliflower rice she makes.
Pretty chicken marinade leg quarter
Ozark the cat spends most of her time in her window-mounted cat bed, watching the world go by. Our little kitty is getting husky – she’s chubby! Her exercise consists of madly dashing from her living room perch to the back of the coach where she flies up to the bedroom window to track something of interest. Then she runs back and repeats.
Another favorite activity is attacking a small burlap bag Donna wrapped around a piece of cardboard. Ozark will go to town scratching and tearing at it with all four paws.
Ozark attacking the burlapGoing to town on her favorite toy
When she’s done with her attack, she often rolls over and wants her chubby belly rubbed.
Rub my belly
I’m sure everyone heard about the big earthquake in southern California last week. It was a real shaker with a magnitude near 7, centered by Ridgecrest in the desert. When we left San Diego, we boondocked that first night in the desert south of Inyokern near Ridgecrest. Donna wondered what it would have been like if we were there when the earthquake happened. I grew up in southern California and have experienced several earthquakes, so I had a pretty good idea of what it would be like in the coach.
We had a simple dinner of beef ragu over spaghetti squash and watched Tour de France coverage before going to bed.
Beef ragu
Last night, I was awakened by our coach suddenly rocking and shaking. I said to Donna, “Earthquake!” She said, “Really?” I checked the clock – 2:55am. This morning I found out a 4.6 magnitude earthquake centered near Monroe – a few miles from here – was registered at 2:53am. Reports said it could be felt all the way to the Canadian border. This morning, it’s only a vague memory for Donna.
The weather has been typical western Washington – a few nice days followed by a few wet, dreary days. The temperature has ranged from the upper-60s to the mid-70s. The next few days are expected to be dry with mid-70s temperatures. I’d like to see that become a continuing trend.
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As expected, rain moved in during the past week. Donna and I are taking advantage of our time here in Arlington, Washington by getting caught up on dental appointments. I had my cleaning and check-up on Thursday and now I have another appointment next Monday. Head and neck radiation well over a decade ago continues to take a toll on my teeth. The dentist tells me it’s to be expected and overall he thinks I’ve done a good job of caring for my teeth.
Periods of rain and thundershowers Tuesday evening through Friday had us lying low. I have a few projects to work on and managed to knock a couple of things off the list. On our coach, the dash heater had a leaking valve that showed up during the run from Oregon. I don’t know why the designers of a 40-foot motorhome install a heat exchanger in the front to provide hot air through the dash vents. The heat exchanger is sized for a car and would never provide adequate heat for the interior volume of our coach. It might put a little warm air over your fingers and toes, but if it’s that cold, something more is needed.
The heat is provided by pumping coolant from the engine – in the rear of the coach – all the way to the front cap area. The supply line goes through a valve that has four connections. One is the inlet for the coolant coming from the engine, another is a return line to direct coolant back to the engine without entering the heat exchanger when the valve is closed. The other two lines allow coolant to enter and exit the heat exchanger when the heater valve is open. This valve was leaking coolant.
Rather than track down a replacement valve, I just disconnected the lines and plugged them with barbed plastic 5/8″ plugs and one-inch hose clamps. We’ve never used the dash heat anyway.
Although it was a wet week, the daily high temperatures were comfortable as they reached about 70 degrees. The weekend forecast was significantly better with mostly sunny skies and highs in the mid-to-upper-70s.
My daughter, Alana, and her boyfriend, Kevin, planned a barbeque at Kevin’s place on Saturday. The event was a celebration of our granddaughter Lainey’s 20th birthday. The weather was fine as promised, so Donna and I drove Midget-San to Kevin’s house up highway 9 with the top down. It was our first topless foray in Midget-San.
Midget-San in Kevin’s driveway
Earlier in the week, on Tuesday before rain came later in the day, Donna and I drove Midget-San up to La Conner for lunch. On the way back, Donna got some familiarization time behind the wheel.
Kevin had ribs and chicken in his Traeger all afternoon and they were delicious. They also served mac and cheese and an excellent potato gratin. Alana made baked beans which simmered for more than 24 hours. After a great meal sitting in yard while the youngsters played badminton and volleyball, it was time for a birthday cake. Happy 20th Lainey!
Cake timeGabi, Alana and Lainey
We’re in for another fine day today. The skies are clear and the forecast high is 78 degrees. Donna took Midget-San to Marysville to play pickleball. I’ve been resting a nagging groin pull and have stayed away from the courts for a while. I hope to get over it soon.
The Spyder is still in the shop in Mount Vernon. I hope to have some news on Tuesday, then I can move forward with selling it. Until that happens, our future plans are on hold.
We borrowed Alana’s car on Friday morning and Donna dropped me off at Sea-Tac airport. When I did the Alaska Airlines online check-in, a warning popped up advising that due to construction inside the terminal, I should arrive two hours before departure. You just have to love commercial airline travel! The line at the security station was unbelievable, but I got through it – even with a butane torch cigar lighter in my backpack. Why was I flying to Billings, Montana? It’s a long story.
Lately, Donna has been dropping not so subtle hints about growing tired of dealing with helmet hair. Since we hit the road, our mode of local transportation has been a scooter or the Spyder which requires us to wear helmets. Getting a car into the trailer would be a challenge though.
First of all, I needed to find something small. Not only did it have to fit in the trailer, but I also needed to be able to get out of the car once it was loaded. It also needed to be lightweight. I thought about a few current cars, like a Smart car or a Fiat 500. But, there were issues. The Smart car checked the small and lightweight boxes, but its reputation for twitchy handling and general geekiness put me off. I just don’t see a Smart car as our style. I wanted something more fun and engaging to drive.
The Fiat 500 is small, but it’s portly with a curb weight of 2,700 lbs or so. I also wondered about reliability and serviceability of such a car. Modern cars are chock-full of electronic control modules and require expensive specific software to diagnose malfunctions. My recent episode with the Spyder illustrates this.
When I was growing up, cars made in the 1950s and ’60s were so much simpler. They had their drawbacks, but they also were fun and you could fix almost anything on them with simple hand tools. I bought my first car in 1972 when I was 15 years old. It was a 1959 Austin-Healey Bugeye Sprite.
1959 Mk I Sprite – picture lifted from Flickr
It didn’t run – the engine was seized. I pulled the engine in our garage at home and set about rebuilding it. I’ve heard experience is what you gain when you learn from your mistakes. Well, I gained a lot of experience building that engine. That car was fun to drive – it handled like a go cart. But, it wasn’t comfortable. In fact, it didn’t have roll-up windows and the only access to the trunk was by entering a cave behind the seats! My rebuilt engine didn’t last long. I replaced it with a junkyard motor and sold the car – I swore off British cars at that point.
The Mk I Sprite was built from 1958 to 1960. In 1961, it was replaced by the Mk II version, which did away with the Bugeye look and added creature comforts. It had roll-up windows and a trunk lid to access the boot – England’s terminology for a trunk. It retained the diminutive 948cc engine and four-speed transmission. The Mk II was also marketed as a MG Midget. The Sprite and Midget were built on the same assembly line, but the Midget had different trim and cost a little more. These cars were built side by side until 1971 and cars from this era are sometimes referred to as “Spridgets.”
By this time, the engine displacement had grown to 1275cc. The MG Midget was produced until 1980. The British car industry was struggling in the ’70s and cost-cutting measures made their situation worse. It was a downward spiral for British cars. They refused to engineer and retool to meet the safety and smog standards in their largest market – the USA. The Mk III Midget with chrome bumpers built from 1972 to 1974 are considered by many as the most desirable of the line. But, it still had an engine built on ancient technology, poor electrical systems and a four-speed transmission that had the engine buzzing at any speed over 60 mph.
But, the car weighs 1,600 lbs and is very compact. It’s under 10 feet long and only five feet wide. I started poking around. The Mk I Bugeyes are collector cars nowadays and command high prices. Not anything I would be interested in. Then I came across an ad in Hemmings Motor News for a 1972 MG Midget RestoMod. The Resto in RestoMod means restored. The Mod means modified, not to original factory specifications. This particular RestoMod had chassis tweaks and a Nissan A15 engine and Nissan 60 series five-speed transmission. I was intrigued.
It was located in Huntley, Montana. After exchanging a few e-mails with the owner, I was on a flight to Montana to check it out. The Nissan A15 engine swapped into this Midget came from a Datsun 210 – before 1984, Nissan cars were known as Datsun. This engine is well-established as a reliable power plant and production worldwide spanned about 30 years. This one is set up with a Weber DGV carburetor and a hall-effect type electronic ignition. All straight forward stuff – easy to maintain and work on. No computers anywhere in the car unless I’m packing a laptop.
The owner of the car, Larry, picked me up at the Billings airport in the Midget. We drove to his place about 12 miles away in Huntley. The car didn’t rattle or shake and I was amazed at how easy it seemed to drive. We even crossed a railroad track at 40 mph without a rattle. We spent the rest of the afternoon going over the car. We put it up on jack stands and I looked at everything. Here are some pictures from the Hemmings advertisement.
1972 MG MidgetNissan A15 engineInterior stripped and refinished during restorationDoor panels sealed and replacedSuspension restored with new springs and bushings – new brake componentsCustom stainless steel exhaust systemUpdated seatbelt with shoulder strap
After a bit of dickering, we made a deal just in time to have the titled notarized nearby. I was the new owner and had a 900-mile drive ahead of me. I hit the road around 5:45pm and headed west on I-90.
The car was impressive. I cruised at 70-75 mph with ease and it was so stable, I could take my hands off the steering wheel and it continued straight down the road. I planned to drive to Bozeman and stop for the night. It was not to be. When I reached Bozeman, there weren’t any motels with a vacancy! I pressed on to Big Timber. I found a flea bag motel that wanted $139 for the night. No way! I went on to Butte. The only room available in town was a suite for $369.
I asked the clerk what was going on that had all the rooms in Montana sold out. He said it was the start of the summer season – many families rent rooms as a base camp for day trips into the north or west entrance to Yellowstone National Park. Who knew?
By 11:30pm, I made it to Missoula, absolutely exhausted. I found a room for $160 and paid for it. It was a king room with a jacuzzi. I cracked a bomber bottle of IPA and soaked in the tub. It was after 1am – I stayed on Pacific time for the trip – when I hit the sack. I woke up around 5am and couldn’t get back to sleep. After a Burger King breakfast burrito and coffee, I was back on the road by 6:30am.
I crossed a few mountain passes – Lookout Pass and Fourth of July pass in Idaho and the car didn’t skip a beat. I made gas stops every 150 miles or so and stretched my legs. Getting into and out of this little car takes some contortion. It’s not really suitable for anyone taller than about six feet or anyone with an ample waistline. I averaged only 31 miles per gallon on the first leg driving into a stiff headwind and climbing. Later I had 35 mpg and 37 mpg.
At a gas stop in Coeur D’Alene, a guy drove up and asked me if I wanted to sell the car. He said he’s been looking for a Midget, but not finding much. He asked me how I found it. I told him I did online searches. He said he doesn’t go online and doesn’t have e-mail – the government snoops on people that do don’tcha know! He said he was posting small ads asking for people to contact him with info about a Midget – he wanted the car to come to him! I wished him luck and drove on.
Not the way to find a car
At a gas stop in Wenatchee, a Toyota FJ SUV nearly backed into the Midget. The driver couldn’t see the car through her back window – the SUV was high and the Midget very low. It was a heart stopping moment for me – luckily, a bystander called out to the woman driving the SUV as I hit my horn and she stopped about 2 inches short of my rear deck lid.
After crossing Stevens pass on US2 and 10 hours on the road, I pulled into Alana’s driveway at 4:30pm. I was whipped, but driving the mountain roads was fun – mission accomplished. Donna had reorganized some things in the garage and made room for the car. I shot a picture of Donna next to the car to give a sense of scale – this is a really small car.
Donna isn’t big – the car is small
So, now I have to offload the Spyder and make room in the trailer for the Midget. Donna and I don’t normally name our vehicles but in this case we came up with Midget-San. San (sahn) is an honorific suffix in Japanese. It can be the equivalent of Mr., Mrs. or Ms. For example, if I had a old buddy named Tanaka, I might call him that. But if I were introduced to his father I would address him as Tanaka-San. If I was dating his sister, I would introduce her to others as Tanaka-San. Since our Midget has a transplanted Nissan drivetrain, Midget-San seems appropriate.
I managed to miss rain storms all the way back to western Washington. I don’t think that will last much longer – we’re sure to have rain here in Arlington, Washington. It’s inevitable.
We were up early on Friday morning and hit the road with what had to be our earliest departure ever. We were on the road by 7:30am. I’d snagged an appointment for a chassis alignment on the coach at Brazel’s RV Performance Center in Centralia, Washington. I thought I could make the drive in four and half hours, but you never know what you might encounter driving through Portland.
I decided to take the long way around on I-205 rather than going straight through downtown Portland in I-5. This turned out to be a good decision as we only had a couple of slow-downs and no drama. We made good time and I had enough time to spare for a lunch stop in Chehalis. I went to the Subway sandwich shop while Donna fixed a salad for herself. We arrived at Brazel’s at 12:30pm and dropped the trailer in a pull-through site in their RV customer lot. This lot has full hook-ups for about a dozen and a half rigs. They took the coach into the shop right at 1pm.
The alignment job was a comprehensive chassis alignment that began with weighing the four corner wheel weight of the coach. They adjusted the ride height, checked rear alignment and thrust – no issues there – and front wheel camber, caster and toe. The front toe needed to be reset. Meanwhile, Donna used their 5G wifi to get some work done in the customer lounge area. With the work completed, we rolled out of Centralia at 4:30pm.
We got lucky and kept the wheels turning through Olympia with only a couple of slow-downs. The traffic came to a standstill just past the Martin Way exit where we left I-5. Our destination was the Cabela’s store in Lacey. We pulled into their lot around 5:30pm and called it a day. We’ve stayed at this Cabela’s before. It’s a quiet, out-of-the-way stop and good for a one-night layover.
Parked for the night at the west end of the Lacey Cabela’s
I’d planned on using the Cabela’s dump station but found they had removed it! Where the old dump station was located, they had poured concrete over the dump station hook-up. I don’t know what prompted that.
Donna made a favorite for dinner – pork tenderloin medallions with a dijon sauce, sweet potato mash and steamed asparagus.
Pork tenderloin medallions
The sun doesn’t set until well after 9pm this far north at this time of year. Consequently, we stayed up later than usual watching TV. Saturday morning we didn’t get rolling again until 10am. Once again, I opted to go the long way around and took I-405 instead of following I-5 through Seattle. I’m not sure how much it helped – traffic was terrible through Tacoma before we even got to I-405. Then we had a number of slow-downs and and full stops along the way. Once we got through and rejoined I-5 in Lynnwood, the slow downs continued. I-5 through Everett is poorly designed with traffic joining the Interstate right where lane closures or exit only lanes appear. It didn’t matter that it was mid-day on a Saturday – traffic came to a halt several times.
We stopped at the Smokey Point rest area at mile post 207 and used the free dump station there. They have three lanes for RV dump stations and we didn’t have to wait. From there, we continued north to Mount Vernon where I dropped off the Spyder. The shop there had a backlog of work, so it may be two weeks before they get to work on the Spyder. It was our best option though.
Now we’re parked in my daughter, Alana’s, driveway in Arlington, Washington. Her driveway is long enough to back in our 65-foot length of coach and trailer and set up for a couple of weeks of mooch-docking. Getting the coach and trailer lined up on the narrow residential street is a bit of a chore, but we got it done. I had us leveled and connected to the 50-amp electrical service I installed here a couple of years ago when I found out I couldn’t get Dish satellite reception. I had to pull the jacks up and move forward about three feet before the satellite antenna could lock in the signal. It’s all good now, but next time I’ll try to remember to check the satellite before I set everything up.
Mooch-docking at Alana’s
The weather has been outstanding. Mostly sunny skies with the high temperature reaching the mid-70s over the weekend and should be the same today. But, this is western Washington in June. Rain is forecast to reach the area overnight and we’ll have rain over the next few days.
Today is Alana’s birthday. We’ll be going out to celebrate over dinner at The Bonefish Grill tonight. Happy birthday, Alana!
We’ve had a couple of interesting visitors here at Richardson Park.
The first was our neighbor who set up in site 39, next to us. His name was Paul Manuel and he came down from Tacoma in his National Tradewinds motorhome. He’s a bit of a traveling minstrel – he plays the flute and attends music festivals around the area. He once owned a deli and now he and his son set up a food trailer at festivals and are known for their Philly cheese steak sandwiches. They also make subs and other fare, but the cheese steak is the most popular menu item and their claim to fame.
He sat on a picnic table in the center of the park and played his flute – he’s very good. Donna went over to compliment his playing and then invited him to visit with us for a while. He has a six-acre hobby farm in southeast Tacoma and invited us to park at his place if we’re ever in the area. He left yesterday around noon, but will return for the music festival in Veneta July 12 -14th.
The other visitor came by around noon yesterday. His name is Mike Justice – a blog follower that has a farm near the park. He came bearing gifts – he brought hazelnuts from his farm that he roasted and seasoned with a barbeque salt and they are delicious. He also gifted us with two bottles of double IPA from Pelican Brewing on the Oregon Coast. I paired it with last night’s dinner of shrimp over cauliflower rice. Nice. Thanks, Mike!
Pelican Beak Breaker Double IPA
Any time you see the word “double” in a beer description, it means the recipe has been kicked up a notch – just like adding “imperial” to the name. In this case, the beer has a higher gravity with a 9% ABV. Of course, to offset the maltiness of such a high gravity brew, additional hops are used for bittering.
With the afternoon temperature hitting 95 degrees, Donna took a floatie tube to the beach area of the lake and cooled off. I passed on going in the water as I have a small spot of dermatitis on my right foot. I took a short stroll down the path through the woods from our site to the marina area of Fern Ridge Lake.
A variety of boats at the marina
There’s a nice grassy park next to the marina and a host with a 5th-wheel trailer set up there.
People picnicking in the park on the left – another marina on the right
Richardson Park is surrounded by working farms. There’s everything from hazelnuts to strawberries growing around here. We even have a cherry tree in our site that’s bearing fruit. I could hear a farm implement at the edge of the park and wondered what it was. It turned out to be a hay baler.
Baling hay next to the parkTrail through the woods from our site
Source Engineering phoned in the afternoon and told me the sway bar links arrived. We made arrangements to have them installed this morning at 9:30am. Donna booked another night here, so we’ll move on Friday morning.
It only took about an hour to have the old links removed and new links with new bushings installed. What a difference proper tension on the sway bar makes – much better cornering and a smoother ride.
The sway bar is a “U” shaped steel torsion bar with the lower portion of the “U” flattened and elongated. The lower part of the “U” – a straight section – is attached to the front axle. At either end of the “U,” there’s a mounting point where links join the ends of the sway bar to the chassis frame rails.
Front sway barSway bar link
Here’s how it works – picture making a sharp right turn. Centrifugal force will cause the body and chassis of the coach to roll to the outside of the turn. In this example, the body rolls to the left, compressing the suspension on the left side while extending the suspension on the right side.
With a sway bar attached to the axle and frame rails, as the chassis tries to roll to the left, the right end of the sway bar is pulled up. Meanwhile the left end of the sway bar is being pushed down. This creates a torsion – a twisting force – on the length of the sway bar attached to the axle. Of course the steel torsion bar resists this force and lessens the amount of body/chassis roll. It greatly enhances vehicle handling.
Today the high temperature should reach the mid-80s. Tonight should be cool with a low in the mid-50s and tomorrow should be sunny with a high around 80. We plan to head out tomorrow morning. The wind is forecast to be fairly calm and it should be a good day for travel.
My laptop has been giving me fits, so I haven’t posted for several days. I thought my hard drive was about to crash. The cursor would suddenly freeze and the laptop would become unresponsive for long periods of time. A couple of days ago, when it started working again after about 40 minutes of no response, I found Malwarebytes was running in the background. I ended the task once the laptop resumed working and the laptop seemed fine. Last night it happened again. This time I uninstalled Malewarebytes and the laptop has been fine. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.
The weekend weather was nice in Sutherlin – temps climbed daily from 70 degrees on Friday to mid-70s on Saturday and Sunday, hitting the 80s on Monday. Saturday morning we disconnected the 50amp electric service, water and sewer and battened down the hatches for a short drive into town. Les Schwab called around 9:30am and said our tires had arrived.
We pulled behind the shop and were directed to an outdoor covered work station. I checked the codes on the new tires to confirm the production dates – they were all 1419. As I wrote in my last post, tires have Department of Transportation (DOT) codes on the sidewall. The codes are alpha-numeric. The letters indicate the factory that produced the tire and the numbers are the calendar week and year of production, so 1419 means these tires were made the 14th calendar week of 2019.
DOT code on the new tires
Having fresh tires on an RV is an important consideration. Tires begin aging soon after they’re made – especially if they’re exposed to sunlight. Our old tires had lots of tread left – the tread depth was 13/32″ deep. Tires aren’t considered worn out until the tread depth is 3/32″. But, our tires had aged out. I found weather checking on the sidewall of two of our tires.
Weather checking
The checking was wasn’t deep and we would most likely be okay for a while longer. But I don’t like pushing such an important safety issue as tires. A blowout on a motorhome can be a catastrophic event.
The guys at Les Schwab did a fantastic job and had all six tires replaced in about an hour and a half. I had Equal Flexx brand balancing beads put in all six wheels. New shoes and a smooth ride!
With the Spyder down, we had nowhere to go and not much to do all weekend. Donna took the time to make a few dishes of “comfort food” so we would have some leftovers – we plan to boondock for a few nights as we head north. She made a Greek pork stew that was tasty and a big pot of pea soup.
Greek pork stew
Monday morning we hitched up the trailer and I pulled it into the street. I tried to back the Spyder into the trailer with its wounded engine thumping on one cylinder, but it wouldn’t go up the ramp without stalling. Luckily, a couple of guys were working nearby and helped me push it up the ramp into the trailer.
We drove about 15 miles up I-5 and exited near Anlauf. From there we hit a county road called Territorial Highway. This was a twisty road with lots of short, steep climbs and downgrades – and no shoulder in parts. All along this route, we saw signs for wineries. If the Spyder was operational, I could see us taking winery tours in this area.
Our destination was Richardson Park – a county park/campground on Fern Ridge Lake near Veneta, west of Eugene, Oregon. I had an appointment set for Tuesday morning at Source Engineering in Veneta – about 10 minutes away from Richardson Park.
Last summer, we had a cooling fan failure on the coach. The cooling fan is driven by a hydraulic motor. The speed of the fan is regulated by a wax-valve thermostat. The wax in the valve expands with heat and drives a tapered piston into a seat where the fluid bypasses the fan motor. When the piston fully seats and closes the bypass, the fan runs at its highest speed. When the wax is cold – meaning the coolant is cold – the valve is open and fluid bypasses the hydraulic motor and the fan doesn’t turn.
When our wax-valve failed, the only replacement parts I could find were in England and would take a week to arrive. So, I had a stop-gap repair made that was intended to be temporary. I had the line for the bypass capped off so no fluid could bypass the hydraulic motor. This meant the fan always ran at full speed regardless of temperature. This really wasn’t harmful – the coolant temperature in the engine block was regulated by the thermostat in the coolant passage. But it has drawbacks – it takes horsepower to drive the fan. The amount varies with engine speed, but it takes an average of more than 30 horsepower to drive the fan. This in turn reduces fuel economy. Also, there’s the wear and tear of running the hydraulic motor full-speed, full time.
Later, I found out that Source Engineering had the Sauer Danfoss wax valves. They make a conversion kit to retrofit the mechanical wax valve system into late model coaches with electronically controlled cooling fan motors. The electronic control units have a high failure rate – I often hear newer Monacos or Holiday Ramblers with their fans running at high speed at start up as they leave an RV park with a cold engine. The mechanical wax-valve system rarely fails.
On Tuesday morning, we left the trailer in our site and drove to Source Engineering’s shop. We arrived at 8:15am and they took our coach in straight away. It took about an hour and a half to get the hydraulic lines uncapped and sorted and the new valve installed. They also added a restrictor to the bypass line so the fan will always run at a minimum of about 800 rpm. This is a good idea – regardless of temperature, the fan will draw air across the charge-air cooler and condenser and if the wax valve ever fails, the fan will provide some cooling. At full speed with the wax valve fully closed – this occurs at 198 degrees of coolant temperature – the fan turns at 2,500-3,000 rpm.
In the service bay at Source Engineering
I had another issue for them to look at. Our front sway bar bushings are worn and the sway bar is loose. I tried to tighten it, but it seems the loose bushings allowed the bar to rub and damage the link rod threads. I couldn’t tighten it. They checked it out and confirmed the links needed to be replaced. The bad news was, they didn’t have the links we needed in stock. The good news was, they could get them from Roadmaster in Vancouver, Washington and have the parts in a day or two.
So, we extended our stay at Richardson Park until Thursday, possibly Friday. Richardson Park isn’t a bad place to be stuck. It’s a beautiful park with paved sites and grassy areas and lots of trees. And it’s right on the lake. Fern Ridge Lake is a reservoir on the Long Tom River. It covers over 9,300 acres and is a little over four miles long. It’s a popular spot for sailboats, power boats, water skiing and fishing. In the summer, the prevailing wind from the north is strong in the afternoon making it ideal for sailing. There are boat clubs and marinas on the lake.
Site 38 at Richardson Park – 50 amp electric service and water
Before we returned from Source Engineering, we made a detour to hit Walmart in west Eugene – about 12 miles away from Veneta. Donna needed to pick up a few items to meet her menu plans for the rest of the week and I took the opportunity to stock up the beer supply.
Between the Spyder, the sway bar links and my laptop troubles, it seems like everything is going down at once. We’ll get it sorted. Next week I’ll drop off the Spyder for repairs while we visit family in Arlington, Washington.
The weather here has been unusually warm. Yesterday the high was 91 degrees – about 20 degrees higher than average. Today will hit the mid-to-upper-90s before things start cooling off. Mid-70s should be the high by the end of the week.
