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Diablo Deja Vu

After our early morning wake-up yesterday, Donna walked to the bakery downtown and picked up breakfast for us. She brought me a sausage, cheese and egg sandwich on a biscuit and bought a cinnamon pull-apart pastry for herself.

We pulled out of the Pine Near RV Park at 11am and headed west on the North Cascades Highway (WA20). We drove over this highway last year in our gasoline-powered Gulfstream coach. I remembered it being a slow struggle up Washington Pass. This year, it’s unusually hot. I took it easy climbing to the summit at Washington Pass, holding 40-45mph up the steep grade and switchbacks. The temperature gauge was indicating just under 200 degrees Fahrenheit – the hottest I’ve seen our Cummins ISL engine reach.

Windshield view as we climb the North Cascade Highway – yep, that’s snow in July

The North Cascade Highway is closed from around mid-November to mid-April due to the amount of snowfall. I crossed it once in the spring after the road had been cleared. The snow banks along the road were over 20 feet high.

Once we crossed the Pacific Crest Trail at Rainy Pass, it was downhill into the wet side of Washington. West of the Cascade Range, the climate is very different from the east side. The steep Cascade Mountains trap moisture from the Pacific Ocean. In the Seattle area, measurable precipitation falls 150 days per year. It’s cloudy more than 200 days per year.

We made a stop at the overlook above Diablo Dam. We stopped at the same place and took a selfie last year. We shot another selfie to compare our look a year later.

Selfie over Diablo

There are a series of three dams – Ross, Diablo and Gorge Dam. These generate electricity for western Washington, utilizing the water cascading down to the Skagit Valley. The water has a unique hue to it. The color comes from the glacial run-off that fills the reservoirs. Glacial action scrubs organic and inorganic matter from the mountains. This matter is suspended in the water, giving it a greenish color.

Reservoir behind Diablo Dam

Once again, the two-stage Jake brake on our Cummins ISL made descending into the Skagit Valley a breeze. It was a white-knuckle affair at times last year with our gasoline-powered Gulfstream coach.

After we passed Marblemount, Donna started to look for a place for us to dry camp. We found a WalMart in Smokey Point, near my daughter’s house in Arlington. Donna called and talked to manager. He said local ordinance limits the stay to 24 hours, but realistically two nights are fine. This was perfect as we need to hang out for two nights before we move to the Lake Goodwin RV Resort where we have reserved a two-week stay.

Donna programmed Nally (our GPS). Nally directed us to take Highway 530 through Darrington. I lived in Darrington, a small logging town in the north Cascades, for 13 years. This is where my three daughters grew up. When I talked to my oldest daughter, Alana, a couple of days ago, I asked about the condition of 530. There was a devastating mudslide recently between Darrington and Arlington that destroyed more than 30 homes, resulting in deaths and many injuries. The mudslide covered a stretch of Highway 530. Alana told me the road was open. She said there was a slow stretch with narrow lanes, but it wasn’t bad.

We took 530 through Darrington. The last time I came through Darrington was for my youngest daughter’s high school graduation in 2005. My youngest daughter, Shauna, attended school from kindergarten through high school here. Today, she’s a law student at Cal Western University in San Diego.

As we made our way to the WalMart, we passed the Arlington Airport. It’s a small general aviation airport. I used to live near the northwest corner of the airport from 2002 to 2005. We saw signs for the EAA Fly-in. This is a gathering of members of the Experimental Aircraft Association that takes place one weekend every summer in Arlington. They have seminars, vendors and planes on display. They also put on an airshow with aerobatic airplanes, warbirds and experimental aircraft.

After we set up in the WalMart lot, we walked back to a steakhouse called the Buzz Inn. It’s located at the south end of the runway. They had tables set up outside. We found seats and enjoyed cold beer and food while we watched the airshow. I had no idea that the EAA Fly-in was this weekend. I also didn’t know the WalMart was by the airport (it didn’t exist when I lived here before). Serendipity strikes again.

Last night, Alana stopped by with her eight-year-old daughter, Gabi (Gabriella). Her other daughter, Lainey, was out camping with friends for the weekend. We enjoyed the visit and will join them again today. We’re looking forward to spending time with Alana and our granddaughters over the next two weeks.

Early Morning Wake-up

We had a visitor for breakfast yesterday. A doe came into our site to graze on the clover. We’ve spotted a few deer around Winthrop. They seem to be fairly tame.

Breakfast visitor

The Pine Near RV park has a strange name. If you say it quickly, it becomes pinear (pioneer). At least that’s what I make of it. The park filled up with weekend campers yesterday. Winthrop is a popular destination. It offers river access for fishing, boating or tubing and there’s great hiking and biking in the area.

We were in site 14, but unfortunately it was reserved for the weekend. It’s a favored site, with good reason. It’s the largest site at Pine Near. It’s right across the street from the Shafer Museum with easy access to town.

We packed quickly and had the slides in and engine fired up by 9am. We moved to site 26 to spend another night here. Site 26 is also large and level. It isn’t a pull-through – it’s a back-in site, but it’s more than 60 feet deep. We had one SNAFU backing into the the site. I didn’t hear any advice from Donna over the CB radio. Through the window, I heard her yell, ‘Stop!” She walked up to the driver’s window and said I was about to hit the picnic table with the trailer.

I had her try her handheld Cobra CB. It worked fine. As I straightened out and started backing in again, I couldn’t hear her instructions on the CB. Later, I tested the handheld unit. It worked fine. We came to the conclusion that the way Donna was holding the unit positioned her finger over the tiny microphone opening. That’s why I wasn’t hearing anything.

Site 26 – Shaded and roomy

Site 26, living room slide out

After we set up, Donna went for a bike ride. She rode out on West Chewuch Road, then followed a paved forest service road through the Okanogan National Forest for 7-8 miles before turning back. She took West Chewuch Road to a river crossing and came back on East Chewuch road. It was about a 30-mile ride.

It was hot out yesterday. The temperature was in the 90s. In the afternoon we walked to town for ice cream. It was great! I had pistachio almond. Donna had the handmade coffee ice cream. We also browsed in a few shops.

I bought some cold beer and wanted to come back to put it in the refrigerator. Donna decided to walk to the west end of town to a winery for wine tasting. She headed that way while I came home and sat outside and read for a while.

Last night, we grilled a pork tenderloin. Donna marinated it with one of my favorites – a blend of sesame-chili oil, olive oil, fresh ginger and soy sauce. I also grilled baby bok choy that Donna bought at the farmers’ market in Hayden. Another nutritious and oh so delicious meal!

Grilled pork tenderloin, baby bok choy with a side of brown rice pilaf

A group of motorcyclists from western Washington set up tents in the area across from our site. They call themselves the Alky Angels. It’s a clean and sober group, so they don’t party into the night. But this morning, eight or ten of them were up at 5:30am, having coffee, milling about and yukking it up. They were unbelievably loud. This wasn’t my idea of a good wake-up.

Today, we’ll pull out of here and cross the north Cascade Mountains. We have two summits to climb. Washington Pass tops out at 5,477 feet above sea level. Then we descend a bit before climbing over Rainy Pass at 4,855 feet. Here in Winthrop, we’re sitting at about 1,700 feet above sea level.

I’m not sure where we’ll end up tonight. Our next reservation begins Monday at the Lake Goodwin Resort in Stanwood, Washington. I checked with them yesterday and they’re booked up for the weekend. I think we’ll head over to a truck stop at Island Crossing. My oldest daughter, Alana, gets off work at the hospital at 7pm. She can pick us up at Island Crossing and we can take a look at her driveway and see if we can fit the coach there for a couple of nights. If not, we’ll come up with something.

Pine Near RV Park

Yesterday’s post left us on the road Wednesday. We crossed Blewett Pass and drove north on US97 past Wenatchee. We stopped there and topped up the fuel tank. We were thinking about heading to the Twisp-Winthrop Rodeo Grounds to boondock for a couple of days. I like to have the tank full when we’re unsure of our destination and may need to run the generator. It won’t run if there’s less than a quarter of a tank of fuel. It’s designed that way so that you won’t run out of fuel and not be able to start the engine.

The quick turnaround at Aubrey’s RV left us with a few open days to fill before we cross the Cascade Mountains. After fueling up, we ran into heavy smoke north of the Rocky Reach Dam. A wildfire covering 28 square miles of the Wenatchee National Forest west of Entiat, Washington was burning. The smoke hung like fog over the Columbia River.

We didn’t know about the fire. There are two routes to the North Cascade Highway from Wenatchee – US97 on the east bank of the Columbia River and US97A on the west side. Since I wanted fuel, I chose US97 on the east side. This turned out to be the better choice. US97A was closer to the fire and road closures were a possibility. By Thursday, 30 miles of 97A were closed.

I began to have doubts about the Twisp-Winthrop Rodeo Grounds. When we stayed there last year, it was Labor Day weekend. The grounds were open for the rodeo. I asked Donna if she remembered a gate at the entrance. I was thinking the grounds might be closed and the gate locked up. I was trying to remember the road. I thought we could be in trouble if the gate was locked. I wasn’t sure if we could turn around if we couldn’t enter the rodeo grounds.

Donna opened the Escapees Day’s End directory on her laptop to look for information. The Day’s End directory has information on campgrounds and boondocking sites. She didn’t find any information on the rodeo grounds, but she found other points of interest. She found an American Legion Park north of us in Okanagan. It was only six bucks per night (no hook-ups).

Then she found an RV park in Winthrop that offered a 50% discount to Escapees members. Donna called the Pine Near RV park and inquired about availability. They had a large pull-through site available. We diverted from US97 to WA153 – a narrow two-lane highway that follows the Methow (MET-how) River. I made a wrong turn as we entered town, but we had no problem getting back on the right road. We found the RV park on a ridge above downtown Winthrop.

The owner, Anna came out to our coach and told us to walk to the site with her. She showed us the site and explained how we should orient the coach. The site is huge with a large grassy area, picnic table and fire ring. Next to road, a line of trees borders the site. There wasn’t anyone within 100 feet of our site.

This was a real score. Full hook-ups with 50-amp service for $21/night including tax. Winthrop is a cool town with lots of activities. It’s a popular destination for people from the Seattle area (Westsiders). The town was first built in 1891 when Guy Waring settled with his family at the confluence of the Methow and Chewuch Rivers. The place burned to the ground in 1893. In 1897, Guy returned and re-established the town. Click on the photo below to read his story.

Winthrop Story

The Pine Near RV Park is located across the street from the Shafer Museum. This museum is manned by volunteer docents and entry is by donation. It has old buildings and various implements used for farming and mining in the area.

Implements at the Shafer Museum

A very old tractor with iron wheels

They displayed a huge old diesel engine. Originally it powered a tug boat. It was re-purposed to run a mining operation.

Huge diesel engine

Donna and I walked through the museum grounds to access stairs leading down to the main street and downtown area. The museum and Pine Near RV Park are on Castle Avenue above the downtown district.

Downtown Winthrop is comprised of old western-style buildings and boardwalks covering about two blocks. The Winthrop area has about 2,000 residents, but fewer than 500 live in the incorporated city.

Winthrop gas station below the Shafer museum

Winthrop Emporium (general store)

Saloon and stores

Donna and I walked through town and found the Old Schoolhouse Brewery. I went inside while Donna window shopped at a few more of the stores.

Brewery in Winthrop

The brewery has a patio deck in the back, right on the Chewuch River. I found a table on the deck shaded by a tree. Donna joined me for a beer.

Donna enjoying a craft brew on the riverside

After sampling a couple of beer styles, we walked back to the Pine Near RV park. Did I mention our deluxe site?

Our site, shaded by trees

Another view of our site

Anna bought the Pine Near RV Park about two years ago. She’s working hard to upgrade the grounds and build her reputation. We heard from locals in town how much she’s improved the place. We absolutely love it. Nice sites, friendly service and a short walk to downtown.

When we set up, I put the living room slide out. Wow! After living with the slide in for the last five weeks, we’d forgotten how much of a difference it makes. Our space feels huge! I got the tape measure out and did some calculations. The slide is 16 feet long and extends about two feet. This adds about 32 square feet of floor space. That’s about 10% of the total floor plan of the coach.

But when you think about the living room, where we spend most of our time, the picture changes. Our living room, from the back of the driver’s seat to the bathroom entry is 16 feet long and about eight feet wide with the slide in. That’s 108 square feet. With the slide out, it’s 140 square feet, a 30% increase in area.

On Wednesday evening, we munched on hors d’oeuvres for dinner and watched TV in our luxurious, 140-square-foot living room.

Prosciutto-wrapped cantaloupe, crackers and labneh

Yesterday, Donna went out on her bicycle and explored the area. She finished off her ride with a stop at Pearrygin State Park and jumped into Pearrygin Lake to cool off. I asked Anna if I could wash our coach. She said she doesn’t always allow washing in her park, but she let me do it. I spent about three hours washing the coach and trailer.

Donna and I I walked back into town later and had a late lunch at the Mexican restaurant. Donna shopped at a consignment shop while I returned to the coach. It was very hot out – in the mid-90s.

We only booked two nights here as that was what Anna had available. Yesterday, Anna told me we could stay another night, but we have to move to a different site. Our current site was reserved for the weekend. It’s the best site in the park. Next time we’re in Winthrop, we’ll try to book site 14 again. This morning we’ll move the coach to site 26, another large, shaded site.

Nuclear Waste

We rolled out of Tamarack RV Park on Thursday morning and headed west out of Coeur d’Alene. We intended to make an early start and be on the road by 9:30am at the latest. I thought this would give us ample time to reach Aubrey’s RV in Union Gap, Washington to have our slide-out repaired. I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s start over.

I had organized the trailer and added another strap on the left side to secure cargo on Monday afternoon. It was hot in the trailer. The outside temperature reached the 90s and it was even hotter inside the trailer. While I was working in the trailer, we had visitors – Suzanne Holman and her boyfriend, Doug. This gave me a good excuse to take a break. Donna and Suzanne met through a random connection on Facebook. Donna learned from a recent post that Suzanne was taking Doug on a quick tour of Idaho and Washington and invited them to stop by so they could meet in person. We sat at the picnic table enjoying some of Donna’s homemade artichoke hummus and veggies and talked for about an hour. Then I went back to work.

Doug, Donna and Suzanne

That night, Donna prepared garlic scapes that she picked up at the farmers’ market on Saturday. She was excited to find them after trying them once many years ago. I’d never eaten a scape before. Donna massaged the scapes with olive oil, wound bunches of 4-5 in a loose knot, and sprinkled them with sea salt and fresh pepper. I grilled them in our veggie grilling pan.

Garlic scapes, hot off the grill

I should mention that before cooking, you need to break off the lower, thicker part of the stem and discard it. It’s tough and woody. The white garlic “flower” (it doesn’t really flower) and the upper stem are tender and delicious.

I grilled boneless, skinless chicken thighs marinated with the honey-maple dressing, another find at the farmers’ market. Served with the scapes and garlic smashed red potatoes, it was a meal worth repeating.

Honey-maple marinated chicken with scapes and garlic smashed red potatoes

On Tuesday morning, we were up early and walked next door to the Broken Egg for breakfast at 7:30am. We had a hearty breakfast. I ordered eggs benedict with hash browns and Donna had bacon, eggs and hash browns.

We were a little behind schedule. It was 9:40am when I was finally ready to fire up the beast. On our way out of the park, I stopped at the propane station. I wanted to fill our tank as I didn’t think we would see a better price on propane in the months ahead. That took another 20-minute chunk out of the morning by the time the tank was filled. We should be set on propane for the rest of the year now though.

Our next stop was the Pilot-Flying J truck stop at exit 2, in Post Falls (two miles from the Washington border). I knew fuel would cost more in Washington, so I wanted to fill up our fuel tank. The card reader at the pump wouldn’t authorize my Flying J card. This card gives me a discount on the price and allows me to put up to $500 worth of fuel in the tank. Many pumps will stop at $100 when you use a regular credit card.

I went inside and handed my Flying J card to the cashier and told her I was having a problem at the pump. She swiped the card and asked me for my PIN. I gave her the number and she said my PIN was wrong. I opened my e-mail on my smartphone and showed the e-mail from Pilot-Flying J with my PIN. She tried it again and said, “Sorry, it doesn’t work. You’ll have to call customer service.” Another 20-minute chunk of time gone.

I drove out of the Flying J and went to the Exxon station across the street. This turned out to be a better option anyway. My Chase Visa card is offering 5% cash back on gas station purchases (truck stops are excluded). So, the 5% meant about 20 cents off per gallon. That’s better than the Flying J discount. I filled the tank and found that my fuel mileage from Great Falls to Coeur d”Alene was 9.8 MPG. Not bad!

It was 10:45 by the time we hit the border. We had a 2pm appointment at Aubrey’s RV in Union Gap. We cruised west on I-90 at 62mph, then turned south on US395. I planned to follow US395 to Tri-cities (Pasco-Kennewick-Richland) and pick up I-82 there. I knew we weren’t going to be at Aubrey’s by 2pm.

I asked Donna to program Aubrey’s address into Nally (our GPS). I wanted to see if Nally would come up with a faster route. Nally had me exit US395 and follow a series of county roads. When I planned our route, I though it might be quicker to cross over to WA24, which runs right into Union Gap. This was where Nally was taking us. However, that route has to jog around the Hanford Department of Energy (DOE) site. I didn’t want to drive near Hanford.

Hanford is the biggest, most toxic nuclear waste site in the western hemisphere. The site was part of the Manhattan Project in 1943. It was the first full-scale plutonium reactor in the world. The plutonium for the first nuclear test (Trinity) and for the bomb detonated over Nagasaki was made there.

Today, the 586-square-mile site has more than 56 million gallons of radioactive liquid waste stored in failing containers. In 1973, 115,000 gallons of nuclear sludge leaked there. Today, at least 67 containers of radioactive sludge are known to be leaking.

The site was decommissioned in 1987, but many experts agree the worst is yet to come. Many of the leaking containers date back to the 1940s. There are many more containers that are sure to fail at some point. This waste will eventually find its way to the Columbia Gorge and contaminate the river. It could be potentially worse than Fukushima. If you’re interested in knowing more about Hanford, click on the links below.

Koin Article

Huffington Articles

As we skirted around the desolation of the Hanford area, the day became very hot. The temperature outside was 103 degrees. I fired up the generator to run the roof air conditioner as we drove along. The intense heat was creating thermal air streams which developed into dust devils. These mini-twisters were creating funnels of dust and vegetation swirling into the sky. We were slammed by a couple of the fierce winds.

Donna phoned Aubrey’s and told them we would be an hour late. They told her that 3pm would be okay. We arrived at their shop right at 3pm. I went inside to write up my repair order.

The woman I talked to two weeks earlier when I made my appointment wrote up the ticket. Then she asked me when I needed the coach back! I told her we live in it. When I made the appointment, I clearly told her we were full-timers and I wanted to be sure they could get the work done. We found out later that she was new to the position and misunderstood what I meant when I said we were full-timers.

This wasn’t good. She told me she only booked time to diagnose and make an estimate – they didn’t have time to do the work. Their technician was an experienced guy and he was very helpful. He asked me a few questions and then he pulled the coach into the shop with the hope of finding a simple fix. I told him I thought the seal had come loose and jammed the slide. He looked at the inner seal and told me he had never seen this type of seal jam a slide in over 20 years of RV experience. The inner seal is soft foam. He said the outer wiper seal is bonded to an aluminum strip and it could jam a slide, but our outer seal is intact.

You know how it is when you have a toothache. You make an appointment and go to the dentist. When you get there, the tooth doesn’t hurt anymore and the dentist doesn’t find anything wrong.

Well, that’s how it went. The tech operated the slide and it worked fine. He did find the hydraulic reservoir for the HWH jack and slide rams was low on fluid. His theory was the low fluid allowed air into the ram for the living room slide, as that is the last thing I operate when I set up. He topped up the fluid and operated the slide several times. I’m skeptical, but I didn’t have any other ideas. We’ve been living without opening the living room slide for about five weeks, and it’s working perfectly.

I paid for the shop time and fluid and drove to the WalMart in Terrace Heights. We were told at Aubrey’s that this WalMart is RV-friendly and we could overnight there.

We found a good spot near the end of the WalMart lot. There were a couple of semi tractor-trailer rigs parked there. It was beer thirty and I opened a cold one. About then, a security vehicle drove around our rig. A few minutes later, the security vehicle stopped next to our door. I stepped outside and greeted the security guy. He told me we were welcome to stay the night, but he wanted me to pull forward about thirty feet. He said it was a popular stop for truckers and he wanted to maximize the parking space. No problem. Free overnight parking with a security guard – I’m good with that.

Big rigs at WalMart

They weren’t all big rigs

We were up early Wednesday morning. We had breakfast at the McDonalds in WalMart and hit the road. We headed north on I-82 over the Umptanum Ridge to Ellensburg. From there we took US97 over Blewett Pass and continued on to Wenatchee. We were thinking about boondocking at the Twisp-Winthrop Rodeo Grounds where we stayed last year.

I’ll have to continue this story tomorrow – it’s getting too long-winded already!

Last Ride in CdA

The long weekend wound down for most people yesterday. The RV park was half empty once again by late morning. Donna went out for a bike ride around 10am. She rode out the Centennial Trail to Liberty Lake in Washington State. I didn’t get on my bike until 11am and it was quite warm by then.

I did the usual route down the Prairie Trail to Coeur d’Alene City Park. Along the way, there was an American Legion baseball tournament in progress next to the Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Center. I stopped and watched for a few minutes, then continued on my way.

When I reached the Spokane River, I was struck by the number of boats on the water. Boat traffic was lined up, heading downriver to the lake.

Boat traffic on the Spokane River

It seemed that everyone wanted to get one last boat cruise in for the weekend. The weather was great for boating with the temperature reaching the 90s.

When I reached City Park, all the hustle and bustle of the Fourth of July was gone. It was like the energy had been sapped out. Even the beach crowd seemed sparse in comparison to Friday’s throng of people. I stopped and reflected for a moment on how lucky I am. Sunday no longer leads into the beginning of another work week for me. At the RV park, the City Park and beach, I had the sense of everyone gathering themselves up for a return back to their workaday lives.

I didn’t ride back on the trail, choosing instead to ride up Government Way. I saw an interesting sign in front of a barber shop.

Great idea!

I don’t need a barber, but if I did, I know where I would go!

Donna came home from her ride shortly after I returned. Her route covered about 40 miles. I had changed her pedals – she wanted to go back the SPD pedal and cleat system that she used years ago. The SPD-style cleats and shoes are easier to walk in and Donna finds them easier and faster to clip into. The soles are also grippier and give her a more secure feeling when she has to stop and put her foot down. And her new shoes are more ventilated for summer riding. She’s happy with the change from Shimano cleats to the SPDs.

Later, I rode the scooter over to a self-serve car wash and cleaned it up. It was dirty from all the rain we’ve had since we arrived in Coeur d’Alene. Then Donna took the scooter over to the mall and shopped for clothing.

Kymco Downtown 300i all clean again

We finished the day off with the last two episodes from season two of Longmire.

Today, I have much to do. I need to replace the accessory solenoid again. The replacement solenoid I bought at NAPA is sticking. I checked voltages – it appears to be a mechanical problem in the solenoid. The trigger voltage is good and a light tap on the case activates the solenoid once it’s energized. These solenoids are manufactured in China these days. Apparently their quality control leaves something to be desired.

I bought a new Cole-Hersee solenoid, made in the USA. We’ll see how that works out. The Cole-Hersee product was actually a few bucks cheaper than the Chinese NAPA solenoid.

I’ll repack the trailer and load the scooter this afternoon. I need to clean the glass on the coach. It’s dirty from the rain. I’ll check all of the tire pressures, of course. All of this is in preparation for an earlier than usual departure tomorrow.

We have an appointment at Aubrey’s RV Center near Yakima, Washington at 2pm tomorrow. We haven’t addressed our living room slide-out issue yet. I wanted to take it to someone that’s familiar with Alpine Coach. Aubrey’s is located near the the plant where Western RV built Alpine Coaches. When Western RV went out of business, Aubrey’s bought most of their inventory of spare parts. So Aubrey’s is familiar with Alpine Coach and they have parts on hand.

I have no idea what the work will entail or how long it will take. We’ll have to roll with it as it comes. I won’t post tomorrow as I will be busy dumping and flushing tanks and breaking camp for a 9am departure. Hopefully, I can report good news and repair success in a couple of days.

Food and Brew

The temperature in Coeur d’Alene has been above average for several days. Yesterday was no exception. The high was in the mid-80s and I think the humidity was above 50%.

When Donna was at the salon on Thursday, her hair stylist told her about the Kootenai County Farmers’ Market in Hayden. It sounded good, so I looked it up. It wasn’t as far away as I thought – only a few miles up the road at the intersection of US95 and Prairie Avenue. Speaking of Donna’s hair stylist, here’s a photo of Donna’s new look.

Donna’s new hairdo

We rode the scooter and found the farmers’ market. It was set on the corner, shaded by mature trees. The vendor booths were wooden structures, all painted and well maintained. It was clean and inviting – a nice marketplace.

Entrance to the farmers’ market

Vendor booths

We wandered around and we sampled some of the food offered. I bought some aebelskiver, which are Danish pancake balls, with huckleberry topping and whipped cream. I’d never had them before. It was a delightful snack.

There was a stage with live music in the center of the market. Two guys with guitars played a wide variety of music, mostly classic rock. They were pretty good.

These guys were good

We bought a few items. Donna bought blue cheese and a jar of marinated labneh (pronounced LOB-in-ah) made from raw milk at a local farm. We sampled the labneh – it’s great on crackers. It’s made from Greek yogurt which is strained to remove the whey. It has a sharp, slightly sour flavor.

Locally made marinated labneh

I also bought spicy hot dilly beans. They will be great in a bloody Mary! From the same place, we bought a jar of honey maple dressing and marinade. We sampled it on a small cup of salad. It makes a great salad dressing, but I think it will be really good as a meat marinade for grilling. Donna also bought some baby bok choy and garlic scapes.

On the way home, Donna spotted a brewpub less than a mile from the park. We didn’t know about this place before. We always headed south into town and hadn’t ventured north.

Later, we went back and checked out Paragon Brewing. It’s a British inspired pub, serving traditional British pub plates and beers brewed in the northwest. It opened in May of this year, so it’s only been open for two months. Maybe that’s why no one mentioned this place to us. The brewery is under construction. They won’t have their own beer on tap until some time in the fall.

Donna had a pint of McCall’s lemon/ginger hefe brewed in McCall, Idaho. I tried an IPA from Worthy Brewing in Bend, Oregon. Both beers were a treat. Donna said the hefe was refreshing. The Worthy IPA was well-balanced with no over-the-top hoppiness. We ordered food while we sat at the bar and chatted with the bar maid.

I had fish and chips. The key to good fish and chips is the batter. The batter they make at Paragon does the job well. It’s light, but tough, not flaky. It came with aioli mayo for dipping.

Fish and chips with aioli mayo

Donna ordered a traditional British meal called bangers. Bangers are British sausages often served with mashed potatoes. Donna’s bangers were served with a beer glaze and potatoes gallette made with layer upon layer of thinly sliced potatoes, baked as a pie. Her plate also included a tasty side dish of polenta.

Bangers plate

The service was great – it’s a really friendly place. Very clean, good beer selection and excellent pub food. I’d give it five stars on a scale of five. When they get their own fresh brew on tap, it can only get better.

Today, the temperature is likely to reach 90 degrees. Donna is going out for a long bike ride. I plan to ride down to the park again. I’m starting to think about the road ahead. We’ll leave here early Tuesday morning.

Independence Day

The past few days have been busy here at Tamarack RV Park. By Wednesday, most of the campers who had come for the Ironman Triathlon departed and the RV park was about half empty. On Thursday, the long weekenders started arriving for the Fourth of July weekend. By Friday, the park was full again.

We had a busy day on Thursday. I scootered Donna downtown to the 5th Avenue Hair Salon (strangely named, as it’s actually on 5th Street) for her 10am appointment. Most of the streets along Sherman Avenue were closed for a kids’ parade. I was able to sneak past a barrier or two and drop her off.

I came home and posted to the blog, then read for awhile. I was expecting to receive a text from Donna around 11:30 or so, telling me she was ready to be picked up. It was almost noon when she sent me a message saying it would be another 60 to 90 minutes! Then she wrote, “Be prepared for a new look.” What?

I rode downtown at 12:30pm and kicked around. The streets were open again – the parade was finished. I parked the scooter in the alley next to the salon and walked across the street to look at the menu at a restaurant called Scratch. Donna finally emerged from the salon a little past 1pm sporting a new, short hairdo. I can’t believe I neglected to take a picture as she came out of the salon.

We had lunch at Scratch. I had the babyback ribs. Donna opted for the half sandwich – turkey pannini – with tomato basil soup and spinach salad. We agreed it wasn’t really up to scratch. I rate it no more than a three on a scale of five. I had some of the ribs left over and had it boxed to go. I forgot it on the table and didn’t bother to go back to retrieve them.

We stopped at a used book store on the way home and browsed. I bought a couple of books. It was well after 2pm by the time we returned home. I did a little fine-tuning on the Excel Workbook I put together to track my expenditures versus budget.

We rode the scooter down to the Riverstone Center to check out the farmers market that Donna’s hair stylist had mentioned. It turned out to be more of a carnival type midway than a farmers market. There were food vendors, crafts and other local products for sale. We only saw one produce stand. We bought some peaches that were brought up from Wapato, Washington. We’ll be heading in that direction next week.

Later, we scootered over to Fred Meyer for some groceries. Fred Meyer is a chain of superstores in the northwest. It’s a lot like a Super WalMart, but better staffed and provides better service. The row of cash registers have cashiers waiting to serve you. That’s one thing that peeves me at Walmart – a row of 20 cash registers but only three are open at any given time! I like shopping at Fred Meyer.

On Thursday, Donna marinated shrimp with fresh herbs and olive oil and then skewered them with zucchini and tomatoes and I grilled them for dinner. They were excellent served over brown rice.

Shrimp skewers with zucchini and tomato

Yesterday was Independence Day. The RV park was full. Lots of families with small children moved in for the long weekend. Kids were biking throughout the park.

Donna went out for bike ride in the morning. She rode out the Prairie Trail to the end and then backtracked to take the Centennial Trail to Post Falls and back. Before she returned, I went out on my mountain bike around noon. Our paths crossed at the intersection of highway 95 and Kathleen Avenue, about a mile or so from the park. Donna continued home while I rode the bike trail downtown.

I’ve been riding my mountain bike instead of my road bike because of my neck injury. The mountain bike keeps me more upright and puts less stress on my neck and shoulder. The mountain bike is less aerodynamic and has more rolling resistance than a good road bike. This makes it slower. When Donna and I ride on the road together, I’m pushing hard to maintain 12 or 13 miles an hour on the mountain bike while she’s just cruising along at a pace that’s slower than she usually rides. That’s why we haven’t been riding together much since we left San Diego.

The ride downtown was into a headwind. The upright position on the mountain bike makes riding into the wind a real chore. Once I reached the Spokane River, I was somewhat shielded from the wind. Traffic on the trail quickly picked up and the beach areas were crowded. People were out in force to celebrate the fourth.

When I reached City Park, the place had been transformed. It was busy last weekend, but nothing like this. People had canopies and tents on the grass and along the beach. Grills were everywhere along with coolers and blankets.

City Park

I rode to the corner of Northwest Boulevard and Sherman Street. The Fourth of July parade was coming around the corner and the streets were lined with people.

4th of July parade

The day was warm – well into the 80s. People were enjoying the lake. Kids were jumping from the boardwalk linking the park with the boat dock.

Kids jumping into the lake

In the park, there was a food court set up along one of the paved paths. All of the food vendors I’d seen the night before at Riverstone were there.

Food court at City Park

There was much activity in the park and on the lake. I saw the Brooks seaplane heading out for a tour while speedboats, canoes and para-sailers filled the same frame.

Much activity at the lake

The ride home was much easier, as I had the wind at my back. I saw the barge we watched heading downriver on Wednesday. It was anchored in the lake with a paddlewheel river boat tied up to it. I don’t know what was up with that.

River boat tied up to the barge

Last night we had grilled chicken with cilantro-lime butter. I also grilled green beans and Donna baked a sweet potato to serve with it. The cilantro-lime butter recipe is a keeper for sure. Donna says it will be good on fish as well. And it’s simple to make.

Recipe for Grilled Chicken with Cilantro-Lime Butter

In a small bowl, mash 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened) with 1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped cilantro, 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lime zest, 1/4 teaspoon of Green Tabasco sauce and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Mix until smooth. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the butter onto a piece of plastic wrap and twist the plastic to shape the butter into a short log. Refrigerate until firm enough to slice – about 20 to 25 minutes. Marinate thin chicken breasts (or butterflied breasts) for 15 minutes at room temperature in 2 tablespoons lime juice, one tablespoon olive oil and 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Grill chicken and serve with a few thin slices of the cilantro-lime butter on top.

Grilled chicken with cilantro-lime butter

We hung out in the park last night. Neither of us were inclined to go to the lake for the fireworks show. We had a full day of celebrating the independence of our nation.

Looking For Shade

As expected, the temperature reached the 90s yesterday. Around noon, Donna and I rode the scooter down to the lake. We enjoyed a ride along East Coeur d’Alene Lake Drive. We rode all the way to the turnaround at Higgins Point, near the east end of the lake.

View from Higgins Point

We explored and found a couple of boat ramps, but we didn’t linger in the area. We rode back into town and parked near the Visitor Center. We walked to City Park and found a bench. There weren’t any benches available in shady areas – the beach area was crowded. Sitting in the sun wasn’t comfortable and Donna wanted to find a place that wasn’t as crowded so she could go for a swim.

We walked back to the scooter and rode through North Idaho College to River Avenue. We found a beach with shade and fewer people, near the mouth of the Spokane River. Donna went for a swim to cool off. I relaxed in the shade.

Before we left, a tug boat called Kelly Ann pushed a barge loaded with construction equipment down the river. I wonder where it was going?

Tug boat and barge

We had been out for a couple of hours and I was hungry, so we left and headed back. On the way we stopped at a Mexican place called Atilano’s on East Best Avenue. Our friends, Allen and Crystal Hutchinson recommended the place. The strange thing about this is place is their sign. It proclaims to serve San Diego’s best burrito! I meant to ask the guy at the counter about that, but I forgot to. I had the pollo asado burrito. It was tasty and huge! Donna had fish tacos.

Later, in the evening, we had a surprise visit from fellow full-timers and bloggers (Hit N The Road), Joel and Esta Gardberg. We had never met before, just corresponded via comments on this blog. I checked out Joel’s Corvette and we chatted for a while. They’ve been on the road in their Holiday Rambler motorhome for two years now. It’s always interesting to meet fellow RVers. When they’re bloggers that have also read our blog, it seems like we already know each other. We made tentative plans to get together for lunch at some point.

There wasn’t any mention of rain in the forecast, but last night I was awakened by the sound of rain coming down hard. Today is supposed to be another warm day with the temperature reaching the upper 80s. Again, no mention of rain, but we’ll see how it goes.

Traffic Cop

We ran the air conditioners yesterday for the first time in over a week. The temperature topped out near 90 degrees.

Donna went for a bike ride for a couple of hours and put in 30 miles. I sat in the shade and read a book. I made a run to Costco for bottled water. Nothing too exciting.

I’m going to try to track my spending this month. I set up a budget last year, but I’ve been pretty loose with it. I want track my expenditures and see if I need to make any adjustments.

A big rig pulled into the RV park in the late afternoon. It was a 45-foot Country Coach Affinity pulling a car hauler trailer. He had to make a tight 90-degree turn at the end of the park road. When I say tight, I mean tight. There’s an eight-foot privacy fence on the outside of the turn and a wooden rail fence on the inside.

I jogged down to the corner. I knew what he was up against. There were a few people sitting outside their trailers in lawn chairs just watching. I stood where the driver could see me at the fence post on the inside of the turn. He had to swing wide enough for his trailer to clear this post, but his swing was limited by the privacy fence on the outside of the turn.

He moved slowly with the right side of his coach an inch or two away from the privacy fence. I watched his trailer draw closer and closer to the post I was standing next to. I started waving him forward like a traffic cop. His trailer was within an inch of the post when the rear axle of the trailer passed it. Once the rear axle passed, he was in the clear. I gave him a thumbs up and he accelerated down the side road.

He made a complete circuit around the park and turned into a pull-through site on the other side of the laundry room/rest rooms building from us. He had the same issue of turning wide enough to clear his trailer while being limited by trees. There was a post with the site number and night lamp at the corner of his site. I pulled up on the post and it came out of the ground easily. His trailer wouldn’t have cleared the post and he would have scraped the side of the trailer.

He jockeyed back a forth a couple of times and positioned the coach where he wanted it. He opened his window and asked me if his trailer was hanging out too far. I told him it was fine. He thanked me for the assistance. He told me his overall length with the 45-foot coach and car hauler was about 73 feet!

Tight quarters

73 feet overall length!

Most of the RVs in the park are fifth-wheel or travel trailers. I don’t think these people realize the challenge of driving a big rig pulling a trailer. A fifth wheel has its pin pivoting over the rear axle of the truck pulling it, making it fairly easy to maneuver. My rig has the trailer pivoting on a ball 11 feet behind the rear axle. This makes maneuvering the trailer more difficult, especially in reverse.

Later, I walked down to site with the Country Coach. The driver thanked me again and introduced himself. His name was Larry. He’s from Moses Lake, Washington where he ran a successful construction business. It was licensed in three states – Washington, California and Montana. He told me he did a lot of contract work in the oil fields.

Larry recently sold the business and is semi-retired. He’s only 33 years old and isn’t ready to quit working yet. He and his family are taking an extended vacation in their RV. They plan to see the sights in the western states, eventually going down to Texas. Larry is looking at an investment opportunity there.

While we were talking, he told me his generator wouldn’t run for more than a few minutes. As he described the symptoms, I told him it sounded like a fuel delivery problem. He told me the fuel filter had just been changed that morning. I thought the fittings on the filter might have a leak, allowing air to be drawn into the fuel line.

Right about then, a truck pulled in front of his coach. A man and a boy got out. Larry introduced me to Aaron. Aaron runs a repair business in Moses Lake, repairing autos, trucks and farm equipment. He made the 130-mile drive from Moses Lake to check out Larry’s generator. Aaron and his 11-year-old son went to work.

Aaron suspected a fuel pump problem and brought a new pump with him. After checking fault codes, he was sure the pump was bad. Getting to the fuel pump wasn’t easy. Getting the sheet metal cover off an Onan generator while it’s mounted to the coach is difficult. I was impressed by the way he and his son worked together. For an 11-year-old boy, he had some mechanical skills. He crawled underneath the coach and told his dad he needed a thin, 11mm open-end wrench and a pair of channel locks to get the fuel line off. Aaron didn’t have channel locks with him or a thin enough wrench. I went to my trailer and brought back a thin wrench and channel locks. About an hour later, they had the new pump on and the generator was running fine. I told the kid that it was great to have mechanical skills, but that he should be sure to get an education, too!

I grilled bacon-wrapped filet mignons while Donna made twice-baked potatoes and asparagus. She sauteed mushrooms and onions to put on the grilled filets. Yummy!

Bacon wrapped filet mignon with mushrooms and onions, twice-baked potato and asparagus

Today will be another air conditioner day. The forecast calls for a high of 93 and it’s already warm this morning. Donna and I plan to ride the scooter down to the lake.

Heart of an Awl

The weather guessers got it right. Yesterday was a beautiful day with mostly sunny skies, little wind and the temperature topping out at 75 degrees. The Ironman would have been a different race if we had that weather on Sunday.

I went for a bike ride and rode the Prairie Trail down to City Park. The Ironman vendors were breaking down displays and tents there. The beach was full of people enjoying the lake and sunshine again.

Coeur d’Alene is a resort town and relies on tourism. It has the usual tourist attractions. I rode my bike out on the dock by the park and saw a couple of examples. On the end of the dock, Brooks Seaplane offers airplane tours of the area. A 40-mile, 20-minute flight around the lake, over the Bitterroot Mountains and the Washington Palouse area, costs $60 per adult, $30 per child under 12. They had a de Havilland Beaver at the dock, waiting for takers.

de Havilland Beaver seaplane

I’ve been a passenger in one of these iconic planes several times in Alaska. We would be transported in one of these from Sitka to a floating resort on the Chatham Strait to fish for salmon.

Another interesting item on the dock was the Pirates of Coeur d’Alene cruise ship. This boat goes out on two 90-minute tours daily, from June 14th to August 24th. Departure times are 11:30am and 2pm. It costs $32.75 for adults and $22.75 for children three to 12 years old. Children two years old and younger are free. This is a family entertainment cruise with a pirate theme. On Saturdays, a two-hour adult cruise departs a 7pm. For $25, you cruise the lake with a DJ on board and complimentary pirate punch (rum).

Pirates of the Coeur d’Alene

The city of Coeur d’Alene sits about 30 miles east of downtown Spokane, Washington. Coeur d’Alene has a population of about 46,000 people. This isn’t a large city by most standards, but it’s the largest in the north Idaho panhandle. There are more than 30 hotels and resorts in Coeur d’Alene.

Donna and I were curious about the name of the town. I looked it up. The name was coined by French fur trappers early in the 19th century. It was the name they gave to the Native American tribe that lived along the lake. Literally translated, it means “Heart of an Awl.” It’s thought that the expression came from the tribe’s sharp-hearted or shrewd trading acumen.

Later in the afternoon, I saw Angela in the RV park. We talked about Sunday’s race. She told me it was rough right from the start. Swimming into the chop on the lake was very difficult. She was behind her expected time by 15 minutes when she left the water. The bicycle race through the mountains was worse, due to the winds in excess of 20mph. Swimming and bicycling are her strong points. She knew she was in trouble from the start of the run. She told herself over and over, “You don’t have to run fast, you just have to run” to keep herself from walking or stopping altogether.

We invited Allen Hutchinson and family to join us for dinner. I grilled chicken kabobs and we sat outside and talked for a few hours. Allen’s take on the race was much like Angela’s. He was philosophical about it though and said he learned a lot out on the course. He will race in another Ironman in August in Louisville, Kentucky. It’s likely to be hot and humid there.

The Hutchinson family and Donna at our picnic table

Today, the predicted summer weather has arrived. They’re calling for a high of 90 degrees today and 93 tomorrow. The following week will be in the mid-80s. Donna wants to ride this morning. I’ll probably get out later.

Flying The Koop

…from real estate to wheel estate and back again

Category Archives: Uncategorized

Diablo Deja Vu

Early Morning Wake-up

Pine Near RV Park

Nuclear Waste

Last Ride in CdA

Food and Brew

Independence Day

Looking For Shade

Traffic Cop

Heart of an Awl

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