Category Archives: Washington

Contingency Plans

It was nearly 2pm by the time we pulled out of Celilo Park on the bank of the Columbia River on Friday. While Donna worked on a project, I changed our fuel filter before we packed up and left. I change the fuel filter annually and always mark the month/year with a permanent marker so I know when it was changed.

Diesel fuel filter

Diesel fuel filter

Before I changed the filter, a COE employee stopped at our rig. He asked how long we planned to stay. I told him we would be leaving in an hour or two. He said he expected a lot of wind surfers to arrive for the weekend and said we were taking up too many parking spaces to stay over the weekend. Good to know for future reference.

We planned a short drive of about 35 miles to the Walmart in Hood River. I had looked at it on Google Earth, the lot looked large and I could see a few RVs in the image. When we got there, the lot was large enough, but it was posted “No Truck or RV Parking.”

The thing is, you never know when the Google image was taken and things can change. We had a plan “B”. We would continue west on I-84 to Troutdale, a suburb east of Portland. We stayed at the Fairview RV Park on Sandy Boulevard there two years ago and saw RVs overnighting at the Walmart. It was another 45 miles away.

The parking lot at this Walmart was a nightmare. It was busy and I had drivers in cars cutting me off, other drivers stopping and waving me through when I couldn’t possibly get by them – I even had a car pass on my right when I had my right turn indicator on and swung wide to make the turn. It’s a good thing I checked my mirror or I would have pinched the car.

Then we saw that the lot was posted – no overnight parking. Donna called the store and was told a city ordinance had been passed prohibiting overnight parking in public areas. I could go on a rant about politicians taking control of corporate business decisions. On the other hand I’ve seen too many people taking advantage of Walmart by setting up long-term, not just overnight. Bottom line: we needed to find an overnight spot.

Donna phoned the Columbia River RV Park to see if we could move our reservation up one day. No dice, they didn’t have any open sites. Next, I called the Elks Lodge across the river from Portland in Vancouver, Washington. They very friendly as always and told me they had one back-in site with electric and water open or I could dry camp in their lot. The lodge was about 15 miles away.

It was 4pm by then and the rush hour traffic was building. I was already feeling tired from maneuvering through Walmart lots. The bumper-to-bumper traffic getting on I-205 didn’t help. The 15-mile drive took about 40 minutes. I missed the entrance to the Elks Lodge – it’s hidden in what appears to be a residential street. I made a loop through a residential area and found the lodge. We went inside and were welcomed to stay in their lot. I paid a dry camping fee of $10.

When we’re traveling and winging it, looking for cheap or free overnight stays, it pays to be flexible and have contingency plans. If the Elks hadn’t worked out, I’m not sure what our next move would have been, but we would have come up with something. There are a number of state parks along the Columbia River, but we’re too large for most of them. Sometimes a smaller rig can be advantageous.

We had dinner in the Elks Lodge – it was a busy Friday night there. The lodge is next to I-205 so we had traffic noise throughout the night, but other than that, we had no complaints.

Ozark the cat has been acting strange the past few days. When we were at Celilo Park, the passing trains with their loud horns frightened her. She took to hiding behind the vanity in the bedroom slide or hiding behind the sofa. We had to entice her out before I could pull the slides in. I won’t move the slides until I know where the cat is. The slides are powerful and trapping the cat in the mechanism would not be good.

Donna went out for a quick bike ride in the morning and then we left the Vancouver Elks Lodge a little past 11am and arrived at the Columbia River RV Park just past noon. It’s off Marine Drive, right on the river west of the airport. We’re looking forward to biking on the paved paths in the area. Checking in gave me a moment of concern. The guy behind the counter asked for my last name and said, “Mike, right?” Then a cloudy look came over his face and he said, “Uh-oh.” The sign on the door said no vacancy – I wondered if they overbooked and our confirmed reservation maybe wasn’t so confirmed. Then the woman at the counter said we may have to wait as check-out time is noon and they had to see if our site was available.

It turned out the people had already left site 109 and we had a choice of taking either 109 or 101. We looked the sites over and decided to take 109 – it had more space for the trailer. The site is a 50-foot pull-through. The concrete pad for our coach is level, but it’s narrow. There’s a shorter pad beside it for the trailer.

I pulled all the way through, then Donna directed me as I backed the trailer in place and dropped it. Then I backed the coach into the site. We had a few obstacles to overcome. There’s a four-inch steel pole protecting the electrical box that extends at least 12 feet high. Our first position would have the bedroom slide hit the pole, so I moved back. Now the slide was clear, but I couldn’t open the wet-bay door. I need to open this door to hook up water and sewer and access it when I dump.

I ended up parking the coach at an angle that gave me clearance for the slide and wet-bay. Then I moved the trailer slightly by hand to allow us access to the large basement compartment on the passenger side. It’s tight but it all worked out. Our neighbor was impressed by the way we dropped the trailer and got everything positioned.

Steel pole on utility box

Steel pole at utility box

Not much room

Not much room

Trailer and coach staggered to allow basement access

Trailer and coach staggered to allow basement access

The skies were overcast all morning and wouldn’t you know it, as soon as we started to back the trailer in, the skies began pouring rain. By the time I had the coach positioned, it stopped raining. Donna was drenched from directing me and I was wet from disconnecting the trailer.

After we set up, I went for a walk in the park. I couldn’t believe it when I saw a coach that was painted black with spray paint. I thought it was the Black Coach Guy from Mission Bay that I wrote about two years ago. I also saw a rig I recognized two sites down from us. It belongs to Eric and Brittany Highland (RvWanderlust). Eric has a Facebook group called Full-time Diesel RVers. I met them at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta last October. Their car was gone, so they must have been out for the day. I’m sure we’ll get a chance to visit before they leave.

Could it be the Black Coach Guy?

Could it be the Black Coach Guy?

Later, when I took out trash to the dumpster, I met a long term park resident. He told me the black coach had been there for two years and was occupied by two women. So, it wasn’t Black Coach Guy, but it had a similar paint job.

Today the weather forecast looks good. Partly cloudy with zero percent chance of rain and a high in the upper 70s. Donna plans to write an article this morning, then ride her bike to meet up with her friend Marlo at a coffee shop. I’ll start with the Formula One race from Baku, Azerbaijan. Then I’ll get my bike out or explore on the Spyder.

 

 

Patio’ Kings

Our time is winding down here in Mesa. I’m a little behind on some of the tasks I wanted to complete before we move. Thursday I rested my leg, I never got around to sealing the bedroom slide-out trim. Donna rode her bike with her friend, Dara in the afternoon. She rode to Lana Jansen’s house at the end of her ride and picked up Lana’s car – she had generously offered to lend it to us for the weekend. While Donna went out shopping on Friday, I hit the pickleball court. Afterwards I put my leg up and iced it for a while. It was very warm in the afternoon, near 90 degrees. Other than dumping the gray water tank, I didn’t accomplish anything.

Yesterday Donna and I played pickleball again in the morning. I can’t move at full speed yet and playing two days in a row left me with a sore leg again. We quit playing around 11am, then we got ready to head over to Andy and Donna King’s house in Gold Canyon. They were having a St. Patrick’s Day party (a few days early). People still living in the workaday world schedule parties on the weekend. Donna made Irish soda bread the night before to take to the party.

I thought the drive to Gold Canyon would take about 25 minutes. I didn’t realize the 27th annual Arizona Renaissance Festival was happening in Gold Canyon on the weekends through March 29th. The traffic on eastbound US 60 was stop and go from Apache Junction to Gold Canyon. The drive took over an hour, it was 1:30pm by the time we arrived.

We weren’t the only ones running late due to the traffic. The party didn’t start rolling until about 2pm. Andy was expecting guests to arrive shortly after noon. Many of the people attending the party were musicians – mostly bluegrass players. The party started when Andy and a few of his friends sang Seven Bridges Road. Andy picked the guitar while three others harmonized with him. They sounded great!

Getting started

Getting started

Donna at the bar with her St. Patrick's Day bling

Donna at the bar with her St. Patrick’s Day bling

I took a seat at the bar and sipped Guinness and enjoyed the music. Donna fixed plates of corned beef, cabbage and soda bread for us.

Our bartender, Seth and

Our bartender, Seth and Kylie

There were a lot of talented people rotating in and out of the band. It was lively but low key and fun.

The band changed personnel often

The band changed personnel often

Some members of the new bluegrass band Andy is in showed up.

Mavis really ripped on the fiddle

Mavis really ripped on the fiddle

At one point, Andy set me up with his Alvarez Yairi acoustic guitar. It’s a beautiful instrument. I stayed in the outer circle and and followed the chord changes and improvised on a couple of songs.

Strummig along on Andy's Alvarez Yairie guitar

Strumming along on Andy’s Alvarez Yairi guitar

People were spread out all over the backyard. Most people stayed under cover on the patio. A few took to the pool to cool off.

Cooling off

Cooling off

I didn’t stray too far from the bar – I claimed a sore leg required me to sit on a barstool.

Plenty of activity at the bar

Plenty of activity at the bar

The shots of Jaegermeister washed down with Guinness were catching up with me. We called it a day and Donna drove us home around 5pm. My right leg was sore from pickleball and standing around all afternoon. I iced it when we returned home.

The forecast calls for temperatures in the 90s for the next few days. I’ll need to start organizing the trailer and prepare to depart on Wednesday. We’re still not sure of our next destination.

Smart Heat

Happy New Year first of all. We rang in the new year with Bruce and Debbie Bednarski and Kim Chapman at their place. Kim arrived from Poway around 6pm after traversing the snow-covered summits. She said the road was snowy from Alpine on the west side to Jacumba on the east. Jacumba is at the foot of the mountains near the Anza Borrego desert.

We started with cocktails and hors d’ouevres. Bruce shook up martinis. Debbie put out some cheese and crackers. Donna brought homemade jalapeno-cilantro hummus and veggies and I grilled prosciutto-wrapped scallops.  It was a great start to the evening.

Later, Debbie and I put a tri-tip on their grill. Unfortunately, the grill was uncooperative. It wasn’t hot enough and the flame died altogether a couple of times. I took the golf cart down to our site and brought our little Weber Q to finish grilling the steak. It worked out fine.

In typical New Year’s Eve fashion, we drank and got a bit silly by midnight. We even went for a midnight ride in the golf cart! It was very cold outside. It was a fun time celebrating together.

The overnight temperature was the lowest we’ve seen since we left Michigan. We prefer to sleep under a pile of blankets and don’t run the furnace or heat pumps at night. When we woke up around 9am, it was 47 degrees in the coach! Donna turned on the heat pumps. Our Duo-Therm Comfort Center controls the heating, ventilation, air condition system (HVAC) for the coach. Heat pumps aren’t very effective when the temperature drops below the mid-30s. The Duo-Therm Comfort Center is a smart HVAC controller. Sensors on the two 15,000 BTU heat pumps provide ambient air temperature signals to the controller. When Donna activated the heat pumps, the controller sensed it was too cold outside for effective heat pump operation. It automatically switched to auxiliary heat from the LPG furnace. Once the outside air temperature warmed up a bit, it switched off the furnace and activated the heat pumps.

Donna went out for a hike and climbed a steep hill to the north of us and then down the other side to the river. Some of the hike was so steep and slippery with loose rock, she had to crabwalk and came back covered in dust. She took pictures, but I can’t access them right now as our connection is so bad, I can’t load them. I puttered around for a while, then watched college football bowl games. The Cotton Bowl was a thriller with Michigan State making a comeback and scoring the winning touchdown with 30 seconds left to defeat Baylor 42-41. Then the Oregon Ducks trounced Florida State 59-20 in the Rose Bowl.

Later, I watched Ohio State overpower Alabama 42-35 in the Sugar Bowl. This sets up a championship game between the Oregon Ducks and the Ohio Buckeyes.

I woke up this morning at 7am to the sound of shotgun blasts. Duck hunters were out on the river. Once again, it was cold in the coach – 48 degrees. I fired up the heat and went back to bed. It was after 9:30am before the outside air warmed up enough to switch over to the heat pumps. The weather guessers tell us it will begin to warm up as the cold air mass moves east. We have clear, sunny skies and I hope the thermometer reaches 60+ today.

I may not post again until we leave here on Monday. The slow, intermittent Internet connection makes it too frustrating. I can’t even upload photos right now. Our plan is to pull out of here early on Monday and go to Casa Grande, Arizona. I want to have our coach serviced there at Speedco. I’ll have the motor oil and filter changed, the chassis lubed and the fuel filter on the generator changed.

We’ve booked a full week in Casa Grande so we can explore the area before we move on to Mesa on the 12th. Our plan for 2015 is to spend about two months in Mesa before we work our way back to southern California for Shauna’s graduation from law school on May 1st. From there, we know we want to be in Minneapolis in early July. We’ll continue east and see if we can visit friends in Michigan before we travel to the northeast where we’ll visit Donna’s family. At some point I want to make it to Texas to visit my daughter, Jamie. We’ll be back in the southwest before the cold weather finds us. That’s our current plan for 2015.

 

Southbound from South Bend

We left South Bend, Washington yesterday. Our place by the river was really nice, but we had reservations at the Portland Fairview RV Park in Portland, Oregon.

Selfie by the river

Selfie by the river

It was very quiet overnight, but it seemed like everyone was heading out of town to work at 6am. The road noise was constant and I couldn’t sleep.

The clouds formed a low ceiling over the river. It was almost a fog bank, but it was more than a hundred feet above the river. We were a little out of sync, but we made our goal of departing by 9:30am.

Low clouds over the river

Low clouds over the river

Our route took us west on US101 to Willapa Bay where the road turned south. We turned east on WA4 and followed the two-lane highway to Longview, where we hit I-5 south. Highway 4 is a narrow two-lane road with a surface that dips and undulates constantly. It seemed like the roadbed wasn’t properly prepared and the road sank in areas. This made it an uncomfortable ride. The narrow shoulder and lack of rest areas gave me no choice but to press on.

By the time I found a rest area on I-5, I had been driving for two and half hours. This is not my usual habit. I like to take a comfort break after an hour and a half or so and stretch my legs.

Traffic volumes were building as we approached Vancouver, Washington. There was road construction and signs warning of a lane closure ahead. People ignored the signs and zoomed along in the left lane, trying to gain some kind of advantage until they came to the barrier blocking the lane. Then they would come to stop and slice their way between cars in the open lane on the right, bringing everyone’s progress to a halt. It’s idiotic, but typical. A tractor-trailer rig about 100 yards behind us straddled the line, blocking the left lane. This forced the left-lane drivers to merge behind him. This quickly cleared the jam ahead of us and we were on our way again.

We crossed the Columbia River on I-205, then headed east on I-84 and found the Fairview RV Park on Sandy Boulevard. Check-in was very efficient and we moved into site 99 in a matter of minutes after our arrival.

Fairview RV Park - site 99

Fairview RV Park – site 99

This RV park is large, clean and very well-maintained. Amenities include a swimming pool and exercise facility.

The Alpine Coach Association has a rally scheduled here beginning August 7th. We decided to attend the rally and registered for it in March. Then we decided to arrive a week early to see Portland and visit friends in the area. So I made a reservation for our early arrival here at the same time.

After I set up and dumped our holding tanks, I noticed the placard they gave us at the office showed a departure date of August 7th. I walked back to the office and told them we were staying for the rally through the 11th. They looked up my reservation and said it was two different bookings. I would be in a different site for the rally. I showed them an e-mail on my smart phone where I asked to stay in one site for the duration and their reply to my e-mail assuring me that would not be a problem.

It didn’t make any difference. At the end of next week, we’ll have to pack everything up and move a few hundred feet to a different site. This is very annoying. To move a few hundred feet is no different than moving few hundred miles. Everything has to be secured and slides brought in. Then we have to set everything up all over again.

Our set up

Our set-up

I took the scooter out in the afternoon to reconnoiter the area. There’s plenty of shopping nearby in Troutdale. Donna and I also looked at maps of bicycle paths. They consist of roads with bike lanes interspersed with dedicated paved bike trails. We could ride all the way to downtown Portland from here.

Last night I grilled salmon with miso rub on a cedar plank. Donna served it over sauteed spinach with fresh white corn on the cob and garlic-smashed red potatoes.

Cedar planked salmon with miso rub

Cedar planked salmon with miso rub

The salmon looks undercooked in the photo, but it was actually grilled perfectly.

Delicious dinner

Delicious dinner

Today I think we’ll look for a farmers’ market and kick around the area.

Willapa Bay Oysters

I awoke yesterday morning to the sound of a raucous flock of crows around our motorhome. At 7am, one or more of them started hopping around on the roof of our coach. Very noisy.

About 15 minutes later, I heard the sound of chains. It sounded like someone was unclipping the safety chain on our trailer. I got up and put on my shorts and t-shirt to investigate. A flat bed trailer with a porta-potty on it had been left in the lot overnight. Some county employees were hooking the trailer up to their truck.

By now, I was fully awake with no chance of falling back asleep. I posted to the blog, then headed outside. The weather was glorious – not a cloud in the sky – warm, but not hot.

I walked back up the highway, retracing the the way we drove in. I was looking for the Ace Hardware store Donna saw when we arrived. It was about 3/4 of a mile up the road. I was in search of 5/16″ self-tapping sheet metal screws to secure the loose compartment cover on the coach. They didn’t have any though. I’ll have to make do with safety wire until I can find a suitable fastener.

On the walk back, I shot a couple of photos. The first one is looking across the river, upriver from downtown. On the hillside across the river, you can see the aftermath of a large slide. It reminded me of the devastating mudslide near Darrington, Washington.

Upriver from downtown - evidence of a slide on the mountain in the background

Upriver from downtown – evidence of a slide on the mountain in the background

I took another photo looking toward the downtown area. I’ve marked the city dock and the city boat launch. As always, clicking on the photos will enlarge them.

Looking downriver toward downtown

Looking downriver toward downtown

When I reached the downtown area, I walked up the hill to the Pacific County Courthouse. This stately building was completed in 1910. It’s a beautiful piece of architecture.

Pacific County Courthose

Pacific County Courthouse

The view from the hill is very nice. I shot a photo from the courthouse steps.

View from the courthouse steps

View from the courthouse steps

When I returned to the coach, Donna was out perusing some of the shops downtown. She found a nice set of exercise dumbbells in a thrift shop. It has three pairs – 2lb, 3lb and 5lb with special grips that allow them to be doubled up – all in a nice carrying case for $10! She’s been wanting something like this. She also picked up some clay pots for her herbs.

I was getting anxious to move our rig out to the boat ramp. I saw several RVs pull through town and two coaches stopped in the lot where we stayed overnight. I was worried about someone taking the spot we scouted out the day before. Around 2pm, we moved. No worries. The primo spot on the river was open. We’re the only ones here.

Our new dry camp site

Our new dry camp site

The site is fairly level. I had the slides out in no time and walked down to the boat ramp to pay the $10 fee. We have a million dollar view for 10 bucks!

View from our living room

View from our living room

Donna fixed a salad for lunch, then did some work on her laptop. She walked back to town a little after 4pm to check out another little shop she that was closed the day before.

I put the chairs out for cocktail hour. We sat outside, enjoyed adult beverages and watched the oyster dredging boats come in with their day’s haul.

Oyster boat coming upriver from Willapa Bay

Oyster boat coming upriver from Willapa Bay

I mentioned the Willapa Bay oysters in yesterday’s post. Willapa Bay is said to be the cleanest bay in the USA. This is primarily due to the work of the oystermen who work closely with various conservation groups and government agencies to maintain the water quality. The tidelands with oyster farms are actually owned by the oystermen. This gives them a vested interest in maintaining the quality of the tidelands.

The Willapa Bay estuary, where the fresh water from the Willapa River meets the salt water from the Pacific Ocean, creates an excellent habitat for oysters. Oysters are filter feeders. They siphon water and feed on miniscule algae in the water. They can strain 20 to 30 quarts of water per hour. This makes them very sensitive to water quality. If the water isn’t clean, the oysters will die off.

Pacific oysters were brought into Willapa Bay from Japan in 1928. The oyster larvae are started in what are called seed beds. They search out a hard substrate to settle on. Oftentimes, this is a bed of old oyster shells. At some point, they are moved to what are called grow-out beds. As oyster production in the US declined (especially in the east), the Pacific oysters in Willapa Bay flourished. Today, one in six oysters consumed in the USA come from Willapa Bay.

Raw oysters are a polarizing food. You either relish them as a treat or find them disgusting. There’s no middle ground. While we were enjoying happy hour, Donna served oyster shooters. The first one I tried was made in the style suggested by Bill Frahm (Donna’s cycling buddy back in Michigan). The oyster was in a shot glass with vodka, tomato juice and Tobasco. I drank the elixir and the oyster slid right down. It wasn’t a favorite for me. The second one I tried was a larger oyster with Donna’s homemade salsa verde. I had to chew it. That settled it. I’m not a raw oyster fan. It seemed like I was drinking from a tide pool.

We’ve had a blast here in South Bend. I’m sure we will find ourselves here again. Today, we’ll travel south along the eastern shore of Willapa Bay, then east to Kelso and on to the Fairview RV Park in Portland, Oregon.

 

Day’s End at South Bend

The RV parking area at Cabela’s worked out fine for an overnight stop. Donna was bothered a bit by the road noise from I-5, which is just to the south of the parking lot. I didn’t notice it much and slept well.

Donna went out for a power walk before we headed out. We hit the road around 10:30am. We stopped at Uhlmann RV in Chehalis to see if they had the proper size bolts for the loose compartment door. Uhlmann was the highest sales volume dealer for Alpine Coach. They didn’t have any idea of what size bolts were needed.

I backtracked a few miles to Home Depot. I guessed the blind holes the bolts came out of were either 6mm (if metric) or 1/4 inch. I bought two of each size with lock washers and tried them in the parking lot. The 6mm bolts threaded in, but the threads felt loose. The 1/4 inch bolts didn’t fit. I think when the original bolts came loose, they vibrated and shook in the threads enough to partially strip them. I tightened them as much as I dared, but I wasn’t confident about them holding. I left the temporary safety wire fix in place.

While I was doing this, Donna fixed a green salad with leftover roasted chicken for lunch. Then she looked at the Escapees’ Day’s End Directory for a place to stay. She found a promising free boondocking spot about 60 miles west of us, near the coast.

We decided to detour west and check it out. The Day’s End Directory is updated by Escapees members and is only available to Escapees members. The directory is the only way we would have found this place. Because of that, I don’t want to give away too much detail of the location. But finding places like this in the Day’s End Directory makes the Escapees membership worthwhile.

We drove west on WA6 and followed the Willapa River to the town of South Bend. We found the gravel lot described in the directory and parked in a fairly level spot. There was a sign stating that overnight RV parking is allowed.

The Willapa River flows southwest from the nearby town of Raymond. It quickly picks up volume from tributaries and then it abruptly bends to the northwest before emptying into Willapa Bay. The small town of South Bend is located at the southernmost point of the river, right at the bend.

Donna and I took a walk across the street and found a small park and the city boat dock.

View upriver from the dock

View upriver from the dock

View down river toward Willapa Bay with Donna on the dock

View downriver toward Willapa Bay with Donna on the dock

We walked along the dock and saw an interesting looking boat tied up to the dock. When we came to the boat, we saw the owner sitting on the aft bench. He was waiting for family members to arrive for a boat ride down to the bay.

Steve Rogers and his Ranger Tug

Steve Rogers and his Ranger Tug

His name was Steve Rogers and he’s lived her all his life. He’s a Pacific County councilman. South Bend is the county seat. Steve told us a few interesting facts about the town. South Bend, WA is undergoing a period of renaissance after being sleepy for a number of years. They are encouraging tourism and are also profiting from the legalization of marijuana in Washington.

New boost to the local economy

New boost to the local economy

The population has remained steady at around 20,000 people, but the local economy is growing. One of the things that held growth back was the lack of wastewater treatment. This has been addressed through a cooperative effort with the town of Raymond. A new wastewater facility has been built, which has allowed the town to issue more new building permits.

Harvesting oysters from Willapa Bay is another driver for the local economy. Steve told us that the bay holds 10,000 acres of oyster beds. Oysters are processed at Hilton’s Coast Seafoods, a few hundred feet downriver from the dock. South Bend modestly calls itself “The Oyster Capital of the World.”

After we left Steve, Donna and I walked about a half mile down the road to the city boat launch. They allow RV dry camping in an area there, right on the river for $10/night. It looks like another good find. Last year we drove through this town but didn’t have a clue about how RV-friendly it is.

Steve's Ranger Tug passes by as we walked to the city boat launch

Steve’s Ranger Tug passes by as we walked to the city boat launch

We walked back into town from the boat launch. We were thirsty, so we stopped at the Chester Club and Oyster Bar. It’s a small tavern and oyster bar. I had a Dick’s Pale Ale from the tap while Donna had a Bud Light. We decided we should eat. Donna loves oysters, so she ordered half a dozen oyster shooters. I’m not so much of an oyster guy, so I had fried halibut and chips.

Oyster shooters

Oyster shooters

The oysters were fresh from Willapa Bay. Donna said they were the freshest oysters she ever had, big but delicate. The oysters in Willapa Bay are farmed. Local oystermen began seeding the bay with Pacific oysters from Japan in 1928 after the native oyster population crashed. I’ll have to try the oysters while were here.

Today, we want to explore the town. The weather at this time of year is near perfect. The forecast for today is a carbon copy of yesterday – sunny with a high of 72 degrees and an overnight low in the 50s.

We’ve decided to move to the city boat launch later this afternoon and stay for another night, right on the river!

$50 Flip Flops and Free Blackberries

Yesterday was a bittersweet departure day. Gabi was mostly quiet as she hung out in our coach playing Subway Surfer on her tablet. Lainey woke up with a badly swollen eye that needed medical attention. Alana had to get to work.

We had breakfast with Gabi and Alana before Alana left for work. Alana’s stepfather Jerry picked up Lainey and took her to the clinic in Darrington to have Dr. Schillhammer check out her eye. This was her second episode in recent weeks. It turned out to be an infection in her eyelid. A course of antibiotics should be the remedy. It’s a good thing that it happened today. Tomorrow, Gabi and Lainey are flying to San Diego for a two-week visit and she might not have been able to get immediate attention.

Pulling out was an emotional moment for Donna. She had set up projects for Lainey and Andrea on Monday to help her with some upcoming book projects. At least this will keep them in touch. The bittersweet part of it for me is the excitement and anticipation of getting back on the road at the same time coupled with the realization that I don’t know when we’ll be together again.

On the way out of Arlington, I stopped at Island Crossing and topped up our fuel tank. I like to keep the tank topped up to prevent condensation and moisture from collecting in the fuel.

I-5 south through Seattle was the usual nightmare. Traffic slowed to a crawl on the Ship Canal Bridge, even though it was midday. Through downtown, there’s a section where you need to move over to the left lanes or you’ll end up on I-90 east. I saw a gap in the lane to our left and indicated a left turn. As I pulled into the lane, a car in the next lane over decided to occupy this space at the same time. I heard the driver honk as he panic-braked to avoid hitting our trailer.

The road surface from Tukwila to Puyallup was appalling. It was a washboard surface with a series of rollercoaster whoops. In places, I could see where the concrete surface had worn down to the rebar reinforcement. It’s hard for me to accept how badly the infrastructure of our great country has deteriorated.

We rolled through Tacoma and made our way to Lacey, just east of Olympia. We found Cabela’s there after a missed turn and recalculation by Nally (our GPS).  Donna spotted a semi-tractor trailer rig in the lot to the west and we headed over there. I found a level spot to park. Then we saw a “No Overnight Parking” sign.

We went inside the store to get something to eat for a late lunch. I asked the greeter about parking overnight. He said he didn’t think it was an issue, but he directed us to the customer service desk. The gals at customer service were super-friendly and told us we were fine to stay the night where we were.

After we dined upstairs in Cabela’s, Donna stayed behind to work at the table on her laptop. I went downstairs and found a great pair of leather Teva flip flops that are anatomically shaped with arch support. It kills me to spend $50 on flip flops, but I wear them more often than I wear regular shoes and wore out my last good pair. Good quality, anatomically shaped flip flops make sense for my lifestyle.

We had a SNAFU that we found once we parked. There’s a compartment on the right side of the coach, behind the entry door. It’s not a storage bay. It’s a compartment that’s bolted shut and houses the holding tanks.

When we arrived at Cabela’s, Donna noticed this compartment wasn’t secure. The bolts that normally hold it closed were gone. Presumably, the pounding on I-5 between Tukwilla and Puyallup shook them loose and they departed the coach. By the way, I had fun quizzing Donna on the pronunciation of the many Indian names of towns around here, such as Tulalip (Too-LAY-lip) and Puyallup (PEW-al-up).

I wired the compartment closed with safety wire. The bolts that secure it thread into blind holes. I’ll have to find the right size bolts. I think it’s going to be either 6mm or 1/4 inch. I’m hoping I can figure this out when we reach Chehalis today.

Donna rejoined me at the coach around 6pm after doing some shopping as well. We took a short stroll and found wild blackberries growing along the edge of the Cabela’s parking lot.

Wild blackberries ripining on the vine

Wild blackberries ripening on the vine

Donna picked a container full to have for breakfast with her cereal and who knows what else. She mentioned something about making a wild blackberry galette.

Container full of wild ripe, wild blackberries

Container full of ripe, wild blackberries

Our itinerary is open for the next couple of days, before we check in at the Fairview RV Park in Portland. We’ll just play it loose.

 

 

Until Next Time

It seemed like everyone believed the forecast for a warm, sunny weekend as the Lake Goodwin RV Resort was packed with campers by Friday night. The forecast was correct – the temperature reached the upper 70s on Saturday and well into the 80s on Sunday.

Alana and Gabi visited on Saturday and enjoyed the lake while Lainey and Andrea took the bus into Seattle with some friends. We grilled fresh wild sockeye salmon and halibut Saturday night. Gabi stayed overnight with us.

On Sunday, Donna and Gabi drove Alana’s car to Arlington. They picked up Alana, Lainey and Andrea and they all went to the farmers’ market in Everett. Donna brought back lots of fresh vegetables. She made an outstanding salsa verde from tomatillos she bought there and roasted on the grill. She also picked up organic Walla Walla onions, raspberries and peaches.

I stayed home and watched a very entertaining Formula One race at the Hungaroring in Hungary. The girls enjoyed the lake again in the afternoon. Alana grilled boneless, skinless chicken thighs with a spicy rub and orange glaze for dinner. Later, we built a campfire and the girls made s’mores.

Donna, Andrea, Gabi, Alana and Lainey with S'mores around the fire

Donna, Andrea, Gabi, Alana and Lainey with s’mores around the fire

The campground cleared out by Sunday evening as everyone went back to their workaday world.

On Monday morning, we prepared to move on. The trailer was in the storage yard, so it made it a bigger job to get packed. Once I had everything loaded in the trailer, I put the wheel on the front jack. The maintenance guy hooked the trailer to a tractor and pulled it over to a gravel lot by the exit. This made it easy to hook up to the motorhome on our way out.

We drove about 10 miles to Alana’s house and parked in her driveway. Her driveway was long enough for me to back into without dropping the trailer. Alana’s landlord texted her this morning to tell her he saw the motorhome in the driveway and wanted to let her know that there’s a 30-amp hook-up in the garage!

Overnight accommodations at Alana's house

Overnight accommodations at Alana’s house

While Alana, Donna, Lainey, Andrea and Gabi went shopping at Costco and Target, I took a walk through old downtown Arlington. The thermometer hit a high of 87 degrees!

Donna came home with lots of goodies including a three-inch memory foam mattress topper from Costco. We had a thick mattress pad, but it wasn’t foam and both of us have been waking up with sore hips. We figured we needed some extra padding.

We added the mattress topper last night and it made a huge difference. I slept soundly and comfortably. It was well worth the $110 price. Gabi stayed out in the coach with us. Since I didn’t put the living room slide out, she slept on the sofa. This morning Donna and I woke up to the sound of a loud bang. Gabi had rolled off the sofa, onto the floor!  No damage done, she climbed back onto the sofa and went back to sleep.

This morning, Donna, Alana, Gabi and I ate breakfast in our coach. Alana had to go to work, so we said our goodbyes until next time. There’s always a bit of sorrow when we have to say goodbye, especially when we don’t know when we will get together again. It was great spending time with the girls over the last two weeks. I’m sure Gabi will always remember her ride in the motorhome and the nights she spent with us at the RV park.

We’ll pull out around noon. I need to fuel up and I want to get through Seattle and Tacoma before there’s too much traffic. Seattle can be tough to get through. I’m not looking forward to that part of the drive. We’ll boondock for the next few nights before we check in at the Fairview RV Park in Portland, Oregon.

Sunny Outside, Frosty Inside

The blue skies and warm weather returned yesterday. Summertime in western Washington – hooray! We had a chore to attend to though.

RV refrigerators are usually a heat absorption type instead of the household compressor type. This allows operation with electricity or propane. However, this type of refrigeration tends to build up frost on the cooling fins.

The climate here in western Washington has a high level of humidity. Humidity increases the amount of frost build-up in the refrigerator. I noticed the frost accumulating at an alarming rate since we arrived here. Something wasn’t right. I inspected the door seal and found a problem.

Door seal deformed and not sealing

Door seal deformed and not sealing

The door seal was deformed. It looked like something must have been caught in the seal and the deformation set. We had to wait a few days to reduce the amount of groceries in the refrigerator before we could defrost it. Yesterday, Donna and I emptied the contents of the refrigerator into coolers and turned off the unit.

Frost build-up on the cooling fins

Frost build-up on the cooling fins

After Donna cleaned the inside of the refrigerator, I made a temporary repair on the seal. I used two short sections of rubber tubing and glued them into the groove on either side of the seal where it was deformed. The rubber tubing forced the collapsed section of the seal in place.

Rubber tubing forces seal back into shape

Rubber tubing forcing seal back into shape

While the refrigerator was defrosting, I checked the outside drain tube to make sure it was draining outside. These tubes can come off the fitting behind the refrigerator and the melting ice will drain on the floor under the refrigerator. I placed a cookie sheet on the shelf under the cooling fins to catch ice falling from the fins.

Hopefully my temporary seal repair will slow down the frost. Meanwhile, I’ll try to find a replacement seal. I certainly don’t want to replace the unit. Our refrigerator is a Dometic New Dimensions side-by-side unit. Replacement cost is about $2,700!

While the refrigerator was defrosting, Donna drove to Arlington and picked up our granddaughter, Gabi. When they returned, they went for a walk through the county park. Later, Gabi and I walked down to the lake and went out on the dock.

Gabi on the dock

Gabi on the dock

Alana stopped by after work. We watched an old Austin Powers movie (Austin Powers 2). Gabi stayed the night. We didn’t pull the hide-a-bed out this time – she crashed on the sofa.

The forecast for today calls for another warm, sunny day with the temperature reaching the mid 70s. Donna’s going for a bike ride this morning. Later, I’m sure Gabi will want to spend some time in the lake. I’ll get started on organizing the trailer. We’ll be leaving here on Monday.

RV Awnings and Wind

Yesterday was another rainy day. We spent most of the day indoors. There was a short break from the rain around midday. Donna took advantage of the break by taking a walk on East Lake Goodwin Road. I drove Alana’s car to Costco and picked up a few items.

While I was out, I thought about wind. Although it’s been raining for two days, we haven’t had much wind. Wind can be a powerful and devastating force. This was demonstrated yesterday when a tornado touched down in a Virginia campground. RVs were overturned and trees were blown down. Two people were killed and more than 30 were injured.

I also saw a post on Facebook yesterday about a marina destroyed by a storm. There was a photo posted showing part of the dock on top of a boat.

The reason I was thinking about wind was because I left our awning out while Donna and I were away from the coach. Wind can quickly destroy an awning and damage an RV. I usually pull the awning in if we’re going to be away from the coach. I’ve become too complacent about it. With the rain, the awning is a nice convenience. It keeps the area around the door dry, making it nicer to exit and enter the coach while it’s raining.

Our awning is an AE WeatherPro power awning. The awning is electrically operated and opens or closes with the touch of a rocker switch. It isn’t hard to operate.

I prefer not to close the awning while it’s wet. If I have to close it while it’s wet, I’ll open it at the earliest opportunity to allow it to dry and prevent mildew. Although the fabric of the awning is mildew-resistant, dust and dirt can build up on the fabric and quickly create mildew if it’s rolled up wet.

The AE WeatherPro awning is supported by articulated arms. The design is clever. The support arm has a joint (the manual calls it a knee) about two and a half feet away from the coach. There’s an air spring that maintains pressure on the arm to hold the awning open and pull the fabric tight.

If the wind catches the awning, it billows up like a sail as the arm articulates at the knee (maybe they should call it an elbow), compressing the air spring. Once the wind passes, the air spring extends the awning back into position. This is a clever “bend don’t break” approach.

Linkage supporting the AE WeatherPro awning

Linkage supporting the AE WeatherPro awning

Our old coach had a manually operated awning. The arms were rigid and locked into place. I’ve seen people tie down or hang weights on the ends of the arms to keep them from banging around in the wind. In my opinion, if it’s windy enough to need tie downs or weights, the awning should probably be pulled in.

With a manual awning, I would extend one arm out higher than the other. This caused the awning to tilt to one side. When it rained, water would run off the lower end of the awning instead of pooling on the fabric.

The AE WeatherPro has different spring rates on the air springs. When water pools on the fabric, the spring on the left arm (the one with the lower spring rate), collapses up to nine inches from the weight of the water and the water runs off the left end of the awning. This happened many times over the last two days!

The AE WeatherPro comes with a wind sensor. This device will automatically retract the awning if sustained winds above 18mph are detected (that’s the factory default setting and it’s adjustable). Our wind sensor was turned off when we bought the coach. I’ve read many complaints on forums about erratic wind sensor operation, so I never bothered to activate it.

After thinking it through, I think I’ll activate the wind sensor and see how it works. The AE WeatherPro manual says that erratic operation is most likely due to an obstruction blocking or partially blocking the sensor.

That’s what I know about RV awnings.

Last night, Donna thawed a package of sea food medley, marinated the seafood for five minutes in lemon juice and then sauteed it with garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and white wine. She served it over whole wheat pasta. With a little grated parmesan and fresh basil, this simple meal was delicious.

Lemon - garlic seafood medley

Lemon-garlic seafood medley

This morning, I had written about 500 words of this post when it disappeared from my computer. I don’t know how it happened or why I couldn’t call up an autosaved version of it. All I could do was start over. Oh, well. I won’t let that ruin my day. Sunshine is in the forecast for today and the rest of the weekend.