Category Archives: Western RV/Alpine Coach

Across the Columbia

Sunday was our last full day in South Bend. We rode our bikes across town at mid-day and found Linda’s Fish and Chips on the east end of town. It’s a popular spot and has a large parking area that can accommodate RVs. It’s just a food trailer, but the food is good and the property is nice with a large lawn area and several picnic tables with umbrellas. The view downriver from the lot is nice. We stopped for lunch and ate at one of the tables.

From there we rode across the lot to the bike path to Raymond. The bike path is mostly paved, but there are several short unpaved sections. Donna is loving her Trek Dual Sport 2 – it handles the dirt sections almost as well as my mountain bike. Her bike is faster than mine on the pavement though.

About halfway between South Bend and Raymond, we found a small RV park right on the river. It had about a dozen sites and was next door to a boat shop specializing in catamarans. They had two very large catamarans on the lot – I wonder how they launch these behemoths. They looked like you could easily live aboard and cruise the ocean. I could get used to that!

We stopped at the grocery store in Raymond and Donna bought cereal and bananas before we rode back. We were within a quarter-mile of our coach when my front tire went flat. I must have picked up a blackberry thorn. This close to the trailer I didn’t mess with it on the side of the road, I just walked it back.

Sunday evening, I watched the Moto GP race – it turned out to be one of the least exciting races of the season. I had most of our things packed in the trailer – I only left Donna’s bike and our camp chairs out to pack in the morning. Donna wanted to ride her bike to the market in the morning. Our new set-up in the trailer is working well, but I have a few items I’d like to find a better place to store. This photo illustrates why I wanted such a small car. Midget-San is small enough for me to open the driver’s door and exit without any trouble once it’s inside the trailer. I keep a car cover on it in case anything gets loose in the trailer.

We were on the road again by 10:30am Monday morning. As we headed toward Bruceport on US101, I was behind a few cars that were traveling about 50mph. I kept a distance of about 100 – 150 feet behind the car in front of me and matched their speed. Behind us was a tractor trailer rig. Apparently the truck driver couldn’t see the traffic in front of me and decided he needed to get past me. When I noticed him swinging out to the oncoming lane to pass, I was shocked. There was a downhill curve ahead and he wasn’t going to get past me before we hit it. I braked to 40mph so he could overtake us and get back into our lane. For the next 20 miles he was about 150 feet ahead of us. His dangerous maneuver netted him a two-second advantage.

We cut south on WA4 and WA401 to the mouth of the Columbia River where we rejoined US101 and crossed the bridge to Astoria, Oregon. We had planned a stop there to pick up beer at the Safeway store – I had scoped out the parking situation on Google. We also wanted to walk on the Astoria Riverwalk.

Our timing was impeccable. They were repainting traffic lines on Highway 30 through Astoria and traffic crawled through town. We could have walked the three miles to the store faster than driving there, but that wasn’t an option.

We parked behind the Safeway store by an abandoned building. A travel trailer was directly in front of the building, so we were partially blocking a driveway. The driveway had a cable locked to posts in front blocking access, so I didn’t worry about it.

The Astoria Riverwalk is a paved multi-use trail along the Columbia River. On the south side of the trail, there are a number of office buildings interspersed among townhomes and condos. It’s gentrified and appears upscale.

I think this was a cannery – abandoned now

There were eight cargo ships we could see moored in the Columbia. Most of the cargo ships entering and exiting the river are bringing cargo to Portland from other West Coast ports or the Far East.

With few exceptions, ships entering the Columbia River are required to have a licensed pilot guide it through the treacherous Columbia River Bar. Pilots from Astoria take control of the ships and navigate past the bar. Then a licensed Columbia River pilot takes over for the remainder of the cruise to Portland.

When we got back to the coach, someone had unlocked the cable and managed to drive around us. I felt bad about us blocking it. Donna talked to the guy and he was alright with it though.

From Astoria, we continued south on US101 – it’s a scenic drive down the Oregon Coast. We checked in at Cannon Beach RV Resort around 1:30pm. They have a bit of a branding issue here – in some cases, the RV park is called Cannon Beach RV Resort, other times it’s called the RV Resort at Cannon Beach. In fact, their campsite map and information flyer has both names on it!

We dropped the trailer near the entrance. We decided to leave Midget-San in the trailer. We can ride our bikes to anywhere in town or up to the state park if we want. We have a full hook-up, 42-foot back-in site. It’s paved with a nice lawn area and the park is surrounded by mature trees.

I set up and immediately dumped and flushed our black tank. Over the last two months, I only got to dump it twice and both times, I couldn’t use the flushing system. With that done, Donna told me she was going to try the Dish satellite network. I thought “Good luck with that” as I eyed the trees. Five minutes later, she had satellite reception! The park wifi was also very good – at least at first it was. Verizon signal is not good here.

In the evening, when more users were on the park wifi, it totally bogged down. It was even worse first thing this morning. I’m typing this post on Word Pad, then hopefully I can successfully transfer it to WordPress for publication. I probably won’t try to post again until we move on to a better signal.

We’ll explore on our bikes today – I fixed my flat tire this morning. We’ll have another full day tomorrow before we continue south. This park is a little pricier than we usually like to pay, but that’s the coast in season. When we left Arlington, our first night at Cabela’s was free. Then we had three nights at South Bend for $10/night. So we averaged $7.50/night for the first four nights. Three nights here came to $165 with tax, bringing our total to $195 for a week. That’s an average of $27.85/night. Mixing it up like this keeps costs low. Thursday night we’ll boondock before we hit Newport and another pricey place.

The weather here is much cooler with highs in the 60s. The mornings are cloudy with a marine layer that’s expected to burn off in the afternoons.

Blackberries and Deer

We pulled out of Alana’s driveway as planned on Thursday. On Wednesday afternoon, we finished most of the trailer details, moving everything into the first third of the box. This left the rear two-thirds open for loading Midget-San. I parked the coach and trailer around the corner from Alana’s place Thursday morning after putting the last items away and loaded the Midget without any drama.

We drove out of Arlington through Smokey Point and entered I-5 north so we could stop at the rest area at mile post 207. We had a short wait for the dump station there. By the time I was finished, there it was nearly 12:30pm. Our plan was to go south through Seattle to Lacey and spend the night at Cabela’s there. The short drive was a good plan as traffic was a nightmare. The 90-mile run down the interstate took three hours!

We’ve stayed at this Cabela’s overnight many times. We stopped at our usual spot which is level and found several tractor-trailer rigs in the lot as well as a few other RVs. I think the truckers decided to get off the road for several hours until the northbound traffic opened up. Knowing this place as we do, Donna knew precisely where to go to find blackberry bushes full of fruit. She picked a bowl full.

It rained overnight and a few showers lingered in the morning. We hit the road around 10:30am and hit US101 in Olympia and had a few rain showers in the first hour. It was a pretty drive west through Montesano then south through Raymond and on to South Bend. We last visited South Bend five years ago. We pulled into the Ron Craig boat ramp area on the west end of town. Overnight RV parking is allowed for a $10 fee. I paid at the kiosk and we set up.

I retrieved our bicycles from the trailer and we rode into town. We had lunch at Chester Tavern and took a look around. South Bend is located on the Willapa River. As the river flows west from Raymond to Willapa Bay, it hooks south then turns north making a horseshoe bend. South Bend marks the southernmost point in the bend.

From the marina in town looking east where the river comes down from the north

Looking west from the same point – the river turns back north before continuing west to Willapa Bay

The skies cleared by late afternoon. There were a few other RVs here for night. Several boat trailers behind trucks were in the lot when we arrived, but they were gone by early evening. Donna took a walk back to town to pick up a couple of things at the store and also took a look at the county courthouse which is a beautiful property – I documented it in this post five years ago.

On Saturday morning, Donna rode her bike to the store in town and bought a plate of biscuits and gravy for me. It was a hearty serving and I finished it for breakfast. It was very tasty, but later I wasn’t so sure that it was a good idea. It ended up being a lazy day for me.

We got the Sea Eagle inflatable kayak out of the trailer and Donna paddled up river to town, then looped back past the boat ramp before coming back in. I paid for another night at the kiosk.

I recorded the Moto GP race from Czech Republic and the Formula One race from Hungary overnight. Usually I’ll add recording time to each race to ensure I get the end of the race, but with the schedules being back-to-back, I couldn’t extend the Moto GP race. Our set-up only allows me to record one channel at a time via the satellite. The Moto GP race had a rain delay, so I didn’t get the whole race. No worries – there’s a replay at 7pm – I’ll get the rest of the race then.

We had visitors this morning – a doe and her twin fawns came up to the coach to feed on the blackberries and shrubs next to us.

Doe and twins in front of our windshield

The weather has been terrific – highs in the upper 70s with clear skies. We expect more of the same today. As soon as I post this, we’ll ride our bikes on the trail to Raymond and get lunch out. We’ve paid for another night here. Tomorrow, we’ll pull out and head down to the coast. We’ll cross into Oregon at Astoria and we have a few nights booked at Cannon Beach.

*Just so you know, if you use this link to shop on Amazon and decide to purchase anything, you pay the same price as usual and I’ll earn a few pennies for the referral. It’ll go into the beer fund. Thanks!

Heading for the Coast

The great weather here in Arlington continues. Saturday was mostly cloudy and a little cooler with the high in the lower 70s, but it didn’t rain. My daughter, Alana’s, best friend since childhood, Angie Meece, is visiting her parents in Darrington. She reached out to Donna and invited us to stop by on Sunday afternoon.

Sunday was a bright, sunny day, so we put the top down and drove Midget-San up to Darrington – it’s about 30 miles east of Arlington up highway 530. The Meeces’ house is on a beautiful property next to the 6,841-ft. peak of Whitehorse Mountain. When we pulled up to the entrance to their property, we were surprised to find it lined with a number of cars. Obviously something was up.

We pulled to the end of the driveway and parked and found a party! It was a surprise party with two purposes – first was a celebration of the retirement from the Darrington School District of Angie’s mother, Diane. Secondly it was a celebration of Angie’s sister’s graduation from university. Unbeknownst to us, both of Angie’s sisters, Michelle and Lisa, were also visiting.

They wanted to keep the surprise party secret, so they just invited a number of people to stop by for a visit without letting the real deal out. Too bad for us – we ate lunch before driving up only to find a feast was spread. They had a ton of hors d’oeuvres and fresh seafood. Angie’s dad, Mark, also had a keg of beer on tap. We had a good time mingling and I got to visit with many people I haven’t seen in nearly 20 years. I was so caught up in various conversations that I neglected to take any photos!

On Monday, Donna got busy in the trailer taking on one of my tasks. She started re-organizing and getting rid of useless things that I keep hauling around. She’s better at that sort of thing than I am. Alana and Gabi returned from their Hawaii vacation late Monday night.

I spent the morning on Tuesday looking at route options and thinking about where we wanted to be in August. Originally we thought we would head east to Coeur d’Alene, then south through Idaho. After thinking about it for a bit, I thought maybe going west to the Washington coast and making our way south on the Oregon coast may be the way to go. August is the best month weather-wise to travel the coastal northwest and going east would mean high temperatures.

August is also the busiest season for tourism along the coast, so we had to plan ahead and see if we would be able to find RV parks that can accommodate us. We managed to make a couple of reservations and also found boondocking sites that should work along the way. Our plan is to pull out of our extended mooch-docking site here in Alana’s driveway tomorrow.

The first stop will have to be at the dump station – I haven’t dumped our tanks since we arrived here in mid-June. Our course we’ve been using Alana’s bathroom and have been careful about how much waste water we’ve generated. I’m anticipating a somewhat late start as we have to load Midget-San in the trailer for the first time and I’m sure we’ll have to take our time securing the car. We may only go as far as Lacey and spend the night at Cabela’s before we move on to South Bend. We’ll spend a few days there before we head south to Oregon.

Meanwhile, I still have the Verizon data usage mystery. We’ve been consistent in our data usage for several years. We use about 30GB/month and rarely have we gone over our data limit. For the last two months, our data usage – as metered by Verizon – has shot up. Meanwhile, I’m getting e-mails and instant messages from Verizon advising me to switch to one of their new data plans.

I don’t know, but this seems fishy to me. The new plans require me to enter a new contract with Verizon. What accelerated our current data usage? We’ve checked for anything running in the background on our laptops and haven’t found anything.

Today’s high temperature should reach 80 degrees and tomorrow is expected to be even warmer. I think heading for the coast is the right idea. I have much preparation to do today but we’ll get it done. I’m ready for the road again.

Wheelin’ and Dealin’

We made a lot of progress this week and have to start thinking about our next move. I mentioned in my last post that a thief stole the MG emblem off Midget-San. Luckily, they didn’t cause any damage, but it bothers me that the person had to know how the emblem was attached to steal it. They obviously opened the trunk lid and pulled the speed nuts off the mounting posts. If they had just yanked the emblem off, the speed nuts would have fallen into the trunk, but there weren’t any speed nuts to be found.

I ordered a replacement emblem from Northwest Import Parts in Portland, Oregon. They were great to deal with. I received an e-mail confirmation right away and they had shipped it via USPS Priority mail on Monday. I received the part along with speed nuts on Wednesday. Speed nuts are just clips that have angled tabs. The clips are pressed by hand over the mounting posts and the angled tabs grip the plastic posts and prevent the nuts from falling off.

Underside of MG emblem with three plastic mounting posts

Holes in the rear deck lid where emblem mounts

I put a thin bead of room temperature vulcanizing (RTV) silicone at the base of the mounting posts on the emblem. This serves two purposes – it seals the holes in the deck lid to prevent any water from entering and it also acts as an adhesive, thus making it tougher for someone to walk away with the emblem again.

Lifestyles Recreational Products in Mount Vernon finally got the ECM and installed it on the Spyder Thursday. They told me their mechanic thought it still ran a little rough. I didn’t understand how this could be, it was running perfectly fine until the ECM failed. So on Friday morning, I went up to their shop and road tested the Spyder. It ran perfectly fine, smooth, good acceleration and no fault codes. I settled the bill and promptly sold the Spyder.

Donna mentioned that this marks the first time in 13 years that she doesn’t have a motorcycle to ride. I thought about it and realized I had one or more motorcycles for the last 20 years and had motorcycles off and on for nearly 50 years. Maybe another will come along in the future, but for now we’ve transitioned to four wheels and Midget-San.

On Friday afternoon, we went to Arlington Velo Sport to pick up Donna’s new bicycle. They received the bike Friday and prepped it and installed the rear rack and special pedals. Donna ordered pedals that are dual-purpose – on one side they clip to SPD-type shoe cleats while the opposite side is a flat pedal for “normal” shoes. The rear rack holds a bag specifically made for it. It clips into place with a quick release mount. The side pouches hold fold-out nylon bags that become extra storage saddle bags. Donna loves the idea of riding her bike to the grocery store and not having to ride home with a full back pack.

The bike is nicely equipped – it has front suspension, disc brakes, three front chain rings and an eight-speed rear cluster. Trek describes it as a City/Trekker bike. It’s versatile and should serve Donna well, whether she’s riding on pavement or dirt bike trails.

Donna bought a bottle of amber ale for me, brewed by Ten Pin Brewing in Moses Lake, Washington. This was a far cry from the lousy ale I had at Ale Spike on Camano Island. The Ten Pin was brewed to style with a smooth, balanced malt character subtly bittered with 35 IBUs. This one is a winner!

We’ve had great weather this week with lots of sun and temperatures reaching the low 80s. Last night, we had rain showers overnight and it’s overcast this morning, but the skies are supposed to clear again this afternoon. Donna’s heading out for her first ride on her new bike. She’s going to stop at the farmer’s market in Arlington and also make a stop at the grocery store.

We’ll be discussing travel plans and figuring out where to go from here. We signed up for an Alpine Coach Association Rally – the Eastern Sierras Rally. We were there in the spring, but weather chased us away and we didn’t get to see most of the sights we wanted to visit. The 13-day Alpine Coach Rally has a number of tours set up and we’ll be able to explore. We’ll be following a similar route that we took on our way up north, but we’ll be going in the opposite direction this time once we hit the Sierra Nevada mountains. The rally starts September 5th, so we’ll have a month to wander as we make our way to the starting point in Carson City, Nevada.

Vintage Trailers and Cars

We’re still here in Alana’s driveway in Arlington, Washington. There seems to be light at the end of the tunnel though – Lifestyles Recreational Products expects to have the parts to complete the repair of the Spyder this week. Then I have to sell it.

We’ve been thinking about ways to increase available space in the trailer. I’ll need room to load Midget-San in there with enough clear space to avoid any damage to the car. After bicycling on Thursday, Donna came up with an idea. We were storing four bicycles in the trailer – her road bike, her beater bike, my road bike and my mountain bike.

I haven’t ridden my Orbea road bike in over a year. Donna isn’t planning to do any more long distance events like RAGBRAI with her road bike. She thought she should get rid of her bikes and replace them with one hybrid road/trail bike. I could get rid of my Orbea since I haven’t been riding it. That would take two bicycles out of the trailer but we would still have bikes to ride.

On Friday, we rode our bikes – Donna on her Trek Madone road bike, me on my Orbea – to Arlington Velo Sport bike shop. We did a little horse trading and ended up leaving both bikes there on trade and placing an order for a Trek Dual Sport 2 hybrid bike for Donna. The bike should be here by the end of the week.

The rest of this post is picture heavy. The weather has improved since my last post. Friday we had a high of about 70 degrees and enjoyed the two-mile walk back to Alana’s place from the bike shop. Saturday was another clear, sunny day with a high in the upper 70s. Donna and I drove Midget-San to Stanwood for a vintage RV (trailer) show. They had over a dozen restored RVs from the ’50s and ’60s on display. Some of the old rigs were very small, but usable for weekend camping.

Beautiful truck and trailer from the ’50s

You could find something like this in every suburban neighborhood in the ’60s

Spartan Aircraft Company Royal Spartanette

This 1951 Royal Spartanette was built by the Spartan Aircraft Company in Tulsa, Oklahoma. These were very expensive travel trailers and were considered “The Cadillac of trailers.” The floor plan on this one was laid out in such a way that it seemed roomier than our coach with the slides out! I wonder what they used to tow this rig?

We had lunch at the Chinese restaurant behind the Spartanette trailer at the Phoenix Pavilion. The food was great. After lunch, we took a drive over the bridge to Camano Island. Donna found free public access to the water on the island. We drove to English Boom Preserve and parked there.

The name comes from the 1920s-1930s when the English Lumber Company logged trees in the area and floated log booms into Skagit Bay here. We were there at low tide and the bay is basically a tidal flat here. This tidal flat is an important habitat for salmon. Smolts swim out of the rivers they were spawned in – mainly the Snohomish, Stillaguamish and Skagit Rivers – and the eel grass along this flat provides cover for them as they grow and enter the sea.

Tidal flat at English Boom – snow covered Mount Baker in the center background

We made a stop at Ale Spike Brewery on the island. Donna liked her porter but I wasn’t impressed with my choice there. I should have known better when the Firechicken Ale I chose was described as red ale – amber. Okay, which is it – a red ale or an amber? It didn’t taste like either one – it was bitter with a yeasty aftertaste. Although the bar maid said it was their most popular brew, I didn’t care for it at all.

After we came home, I went out to the Burger King parking lot nearby. When I lived here in the early 2000s, I had a couple of old Corvettes in the garage. On Saturday evenings, the local hot rodders would gather in the Burger King lot to swap lies and admire each other’s cars. I hadn’t been there in over 15 years, but I wanted to see if they still came out. They did.

A guy I knew named Jan Boyd once owned this car in Darrington – big supercharger

The rear license plate folds up to show off the chrome

The guys there told me there was a big car show the following day – Sunday – up in Bellingham. They said they expected around 400 cars there.

On Sunday morning, Alana’s boyfriend, Kevin, and his sons picked up Alana, Gabi and Gabi’s friend, Kennedy around 6:30am. They were off to the airport for a flight to Hawaii. They’re spending the week on the big island and are looking forward to time on the beach and the golf course.

I made the 50-mile drive up to Bellingham in Midget-San while Donna used Alana’s car to go play pickleball in Marysville. I’m still resting the groin pull – it’s been a bother for months now.

The car show in Bellingham was a fundraiser for veterans. I used to do car shows with my Corvettes – I had a 1965 big block roadster and a 1972 LT-1 T- top. I got tired of the car show scene after a few years though.

At the show in Bellingham, I found myself drawn more to the vintage and unusual cars instead of ogling all of the muscle cars – the Camaros, Corvettes and Mustangs.

Remember the mid-engined truck at Burger King? This is what it was originally like

Fully restored 1950s MGA – it even has the original tool kit and oilers

MGB with a supercharged 215ci aluminum block Buick V8

The 215 cubic inch Buick aluminum block V8 was developed by General Motors and brought to market in 1960. This engine was way ahead of its time. It was lightweight and durable and produced great power. But it didn’t catch on with the American consumer – bigger was always thought to be better. Eventually GM sold all of the tooling and rights to Rover in England and they used versions of this engine into the 1990s.

I talked to the owner of the blue MGA. He had pictures of the car as he found it sitting in a pasture – rusty, missing a rear quarter panel, no hood or grill. He and his son restored it to this condition and he bought the trailer so he and his wife could drive the car from Washington to Reno, Nevada for a week at the Hot August Nights car show.

It turned out his son was the guy with the supercharged Buick V8 MGB in the previous picture. Talented car guy – he can handle all the mechanical aspects, design and fabricate, weld and paint.

This Morris Minor was designed for the narrow roads of England. I think this coupe is smaller than Midget-San.

This Ford built in England is much smaller than its American counterparts. Small ruled the road in England while bigger was better here.

There was a downside to the car show. While Midget-San was parked there, someone decided they needed the MG emblem on the rear deck lid and removed it from the car. I can hardly believe someone would steal the emblem from the car, but there it is. I ordered a replacement and should have it in a few days. Sheesh!

The week ahead calls for rain Tuesday night. Otherwise, we should be in for warm, sunny days with highs around 80 degrees. Donna’s new bike should arrive on Thursday.

Going Topless

As expected, rain moved in during the past week. Donna and I are taking advantage of our time here in Arlington, Washington by getting caught up on dental appointments. I had my cleaning and check-up on Thursday and now I have another appointment next Monday. Head and neck radiation well over a decade ago continues to take a toll on my teeth. The dentist tells me it’s to be expected and overall he thinks I’ve done a good job of caring for my teeth.

Periods of rain and thundershowers Tuesday evening through Friday had us lying low. I have a few projects to work on and managed to knock a couple of things off the list. On our coach, the dash heater had a leaking valve that showed up during the run from Oregon. I don’t know why the designers of a 40-foot motorhome install a heat exchanger in the front to provide hot air through the dash vents. The heat exchanger is sized for a car and would never provide adequate heat for the interior volume of our coach. It might put a little warm air over your fingers and toes, but if it’s that cold, something more is needed.

The heat is provided by pumping coolant from the engine – in the rear of the coach – all the way to the front cap area. The supply line goes through a valve that has four connections. One is the inlet for the coolant coming from the engine, another is a return line to direct coolant back to the engine without entering the heat exchanger when the valve is closed. The other two lines allow coolant to enter and exit the heat exchanger when the heater valve is open. This valve was leaking coolant.

Rather than track down a replacement valve, I just disconnected the lines and plugged them with barbed plastic 5/8″ plugs and one-inch hose clamps. We’ve never used the dash heat anyway.

Although it was a wet week, the daily high temperatures were comfortable as they reached about 70 degrees. The weekend forecast was significantly better with mostly sunny skies and highs in the mid-to-upper-70s.

My daughter, Alana, and her boyfriend, Kevin, planned a barbeque at Kevin’s place on Saturday. The event was a celebration of our granddaughter Lainey’s 20th birthday. The weather was fine as promised, so Donna and I drove Midget-San to Kevin’s house up highway 9 with the top down. It was our first topless foray in Midget-San.

Earlier in the week, on Tuesday before rain came later in the day, Donna and I drove Midget-San up to La Conner for lunch. On the way back, Donna got some familiarization time behind the wheel.

Kevin had ribs and chicken in his Traeger all afternoon and they were delicious. They also served mac and cheese and an excellent potato gratin. Alana made baked beans which simmered for more than 24 hours. After a great meal sitting in yard while the youngsters played badminton and volleyball, it was time for a birthday cake. Happy 20th Lainey!

We’re in for another fine day today. The skies are clear and the forecast high is 78 degrees. Donna took Midget-San to Marysville to play pickleball. I’ve been resting a nagging groin pull and have stayed away from the courts for a while. I hope to get over it soon.

The Spyder is still in the shop in Mount Vernon. I hope to have some news on Tuesday, then I can move forward with selling it. Until that happens, our future plans are on hold.

Mission Accomplished

We borrowed Alana’s car on Friday morning and Donna dropped me off at Sea-Tac airport. When I did the Alaska Airlines online check-in, a warning popped up advising that due to construction inside the terminal, I should arrive two hours before departure. You just have to love commercial airline travel! The line at the security station was unbelievable, but I got through it – even with a butane torch cigar lighter in my backpack. Why was I flying to Billings, Montana? It’s a long story.

Lately, Donna has been dropping not so subtle hints about growing tired of dealing with helmet hair. Since we hit the road, our mode of local transportation has been a scooter or the Spyder which requires us to wear helmets. Getting a car into the trailer would be a challenge though.

First of all, I needed to find something small. Not only did it have to fit in the trailer, but I also needed to be able to get out of the car once it was loaded. It also needed to be lightweight. I thought about a few current cars, like a Smart car or a Fiat 500. But, there were issues. The Smart car checked the small and lightweight boxes, but its reputation for twitchy handling and general geekiness put me off. I just don’t see a Smart car as our style. I wanted something more fun and engaging to drive.

The Fiat 500 is small, but it’s portly with a curb weight of 2,700 lbs or so. I also wondered about reliability and serviceability of such a car. Modern cars are chock-full of electronic control modules and require expensive specific software to diagnose malfunctions. My recent episode with the Spyder illustrates this.

When I was growing up, cars made in the 1950s and ’60s were so much simpler. They had their drawbacks, but they also were fun and you could fix almost anything on them with simple hand tools. I bought my first car in 1972 when I was 15 years old. It was a 1959 Austin-Healey Bugeye Sprite.

It didn’t run – the engine was seized. I pulled the engine in our garage at home and set about rebuilding it. I’ve heard experience is what you gain when you learn from your mistakes. Well, I gained a lot of experience building that engine. That car was fun to drive – it handled like a go cart. But, it wasn’t comfortable. In fact, it didn’t have roll-up windows and the only access to the trunk was by entering a cave behind the seats! My rebuilt engine didn’t last long. I replaced it with a junkyard motor and sold the car – I swore off British cars at that point.

The Mk I Sprite was built from 1958 to 1960. In 1961, it was replaced by the Mk II version, which did away with the Bugeye look and added creature comforts. It had roll-up windows and a trunk lid to access the boot – England’s terminology for a trunk. It retained the diminutive 948cc engine and four-speed transmission. The Mk II was also marketed as a MG Midget. The Sprite and Midget were built on the same assembly line, but the Midget had different trim and cost a little more. These cars were built side by side until 1971 and cars from this era are sometimes referred to as “Spridgets.”

By this time, the engine displacement had grown to 1275cc. The MG Midget was produced until 1980. The British car industry was struggling in the ’70s and cost-cutting measures made their situation worse. It was a downward spiral for British cars. They refused to engineer and retool to meet the safety and smog standards in their largest market – the USA. The Mk III Midget with chrome bumpers built from 1972 to 1974 are considered by many as the most desirable of the line. But, it still had an engine built on ancient technology, poor electrical systems and a four-speed transmission that had the engine buzzing at any speed over 60 mph.

But, the car weighs 1,600 lbs and is very compact. It’s under 10 feet long and only five feet wide. I started poking around. The Mk I Bugeyes are collector cars nowadays and command high prices. Not anything I would be interested in. Then I came across an ad in Hemmings Motor News for a 1972 MG Midget RestoMod. The Resto in RestoMod means restored. The Mod means modified, not to original factory specifications. This particular RestoMod had chassis tweaks and a Nissan A15 engine and Nissan 60 series five-speed transmission. I was intrigued.

It was located in Huntley, Montana. After exchanging a few e-mails with the owner, I was on a flight to Montana to check it out. The Nissan A15 engine swapped into this Midget came from a Datsun 210 – before 1984, Nissan cars were known as Datsun. This engine is well-established as a reliable power plant and production worldwide spanned about 30 years. This one is set up with a Weber DGV carburetor and a hall-effect type electronic ignition. All straight forward stuff – easy to maintain and work on. No computers anywhere in the car unless I’m packing a laptop.

The owner of the car, Larry, picked me up at the Billings airport in the Midget. We drove to his place about 12 miles away in Huntley. The car didn’t rattle or shake and I was amazed at how easy it seemed to drive. We even crossed a railroad track at 40 mph without a rattle. We spent the rest of the afternoon going over the car. We put it up on jack stands and I looked at everything. Here are some pictures from the Hemmings advertisement.

Interior stripped and refinished during restoration

Suspension restored with new springs and bushings – new brake components

After a bit of dickering, we made a deal just in time to have the titled notarized nearby. I was the new owner and had a 900-mile drive ahead of me. I hit the road around 5:45pm and headed west on I-90.

The car was impressive. I cruised at 70-75 mph with ease and it was so stable, I could take my hands off the steering wheel and it continued straight down the road. I planned to drive to Bozeman and stop for the night. It was not to be. When I reached Bozeman, there weren’t any motels with a vacancy! I pressed on to Big Timber. I found a flea bag motel that wanted $139 for the night. No way! I went on to Butte. The only room available in town was a suite for $369.

I asked the clerk what was going on that had all the rooms in Montana sold out. He said it was the start of the summer season – many families rent rooms as a base camp for day trips into the north or west entrance to Yellowstone National Park. Who knew?

By 11:30pm, I made it to Missoula, absolutely exhausted. I found a room for $160 and paid for it. It was a king room with a jacuzzi. I cracked a bomber bottle of IPA and soaked in the tub. It was after 1am – I stayed on Pacific time for the trip – when I hit the sack. I woke up around 5am and couldn’t get back to sleep. After a Burger King breakfast burrito and coffee, I was back on the road by 6:30am.

I crossed a few mountain passes – Lookout Pass and Fourth of July pass in Idaho and the car didn’t skip a beat. I made gas stops every 150 miles or so and stretched my legs. Getting into and out of this little car takes some contortion. It’s not really suitable for anyone taller than about six feet or anyone with an ample waistline. I averaged only 31 miles per gallon on the first leg driving into a stiff headwind and climbing. Later I had 35 mpg and 37 mpg.

At a gas stop in Coeur D’Alene, a guy drove up and asked me if I wanted to sell the car. He said he’s been looking for a Midget, but not finding much. He asked me how I found it. I told him I did online searches. He said he doesn’t go online and doesn’t have e-mail – the government snoops on people that do don’tcha know! He said he was posting small ads asking for people to contact him with info about a Midget – he wanted the car to come to him! I wished him luck and drove on.

At a gas stop in Wenatchee, a Toyota FJ SUV nearly backed into the Midget. The driver couldn’t see the car through her back window – the SUV was high and the Midget very low. It was a heart stopping moment for me – luckily, a bystander called out to the woman driving the SUV as I hit my horn and she stopped about 2 inches short of my rear deck lid.

After crossing Stevens pass on US2 and 10 hours on the road, I pulled into Alana’s driveway at 4:30pm. I was whipped, but driving the mountain roads was fun – mission accomplished. Donna had reorganized some things in the garage and made room for the car. I shot a picture of Donna next to the car to give a sense of scale – this is a really small car.

So, now I have to offload the Spyder and make room in the trailer for the Midget. Donna and I don’t normally name our vehicles but in this case we came up with Midget-San. San (sahn) is an honorific suffix in Japanese. It can be the equivalent of Mr., Mrs. or Ms. For example, if I had a old buddy named Tanaka, I might call him that. But if I were introduced to his father I would address him as Tanaka-San. If I was dating his sister, I would introduce her to others as Tanaka-San. Since our Midget has a transplanted Nissan drivetrain, Midget-San seems appropriate.

I managed to miss rain storms all the way back to western Washington. I don’t think that will last much longer – we’re sure to have rain here in Arlington, Washington. It’s inevitable.

Alternate Routes Through Portland and Seattle

We were up early on Friday morning and hit the road with what had to be our earliest departure ever. We were on the road by 7:30am. I’d snagged an appointment for a chassis alignment on the coach at Brazel’s RV Performance Center in Centralia, Washington. I thought I could make the drive in four and half hours, but you never know what you might encounter driving through Portland.

I decided to take the long way around on I-205 rather than going straight through downtown Portland in I-5. This turned out to be a good decision as we only had a couple of slow-downs and no drama. We made good time and I had enough time to spare for a lunch stop in Chehalis. I went to the Subway sandwich shop while Donna fixed a salad for herself. We arrived at Brazel’s at 12:30pm and dropped the trailer in a pull-through site in their RV customer lot. This lot has full hook-ups for about a dozen and a half rigs. They took the coach into the shop right at 1pm.

The alignment job was a comprehensive chassis alignment that began with weighing the four corner wheel weight of the coach. They adjusted the ride height, checked rear alignment and thrust – no issues there – and front wheel camber, caster and toe. The front toe needed to be reset. Meanwhile, Donna used their 5G wifi to get some work done in the customer lounge area. With the work completed, we rolled out of Centralia at 4:30pm.

We got lucky and kept the wheels turning through Olympia with only a couple of slow-downs. The traffic came to a standstill just past the Martin Way exit where we left I-5. Our destination was the Cabela’s store in Lacey. We pulled into their lot around 5:30pm and called it a day. We’ve stayed at this Cabela’s before. It’s a quiet, out-of-the-way stop and good for a one-night layover.

Parked for the night at the west end of the Lacey Cabela’s

I’d planned on using the Cabela’s dump station but found they had removed it! Where the old dump station was located, they had poured concrete over the dump station hook-up. I don’t know what prompted that.

Donna made a favorite for dinner – pork tenderloin medallions with a dijon sauce, sweet potato mash and steamed asparagus.

The sun doesn’t set until well after 9pm this far north at this time of year. Consequently, we stayed up later than usual watching TV. Saturday morning we didn’t get rolling again until 10am. Once again, I opted to go the long way around and took I-405 instead of following I-5 through Seattle. I’m not sure how much it helped – traffic was terrible through Tacoma before we even got to I-405. Then we had a number of slow-downs and and full stops along the way. Once we got through and rejoined I-5 in Lynnwood, the slow downs continued. I-5 through Everett is poorly designed with traffic joining the Interstate right where lane closures or exit only lanes appear. It didn’t matter that it was mid-day on a Saturday – traffic came to a halt several times.

We stopped at the Smokey Point rest area at mile post 207 and used the free dump station there. They have three lanes for RV dump stations and we didn’t have to wait. From there, we continued north to Mount Vernon where I dropped off the Spyder. The shop there had a backlog of work, so it may be two weeks before they get to work on the Spyder. It was our best option though.

Now we’re parked in my daughter, Alana’s, driveway in Arlington, Washington. Her driveway is long enough to back in our 65-foot length of coach and trailer and set up for a couple of weeks of mooch-docking. Getting the coach and trailer lined up on the narrow residential street is a bit of a chore, but we got it done. I had us leveled and connected to the 50-amp electrical service I installed here a couple of years ago when I found out I couldn’t get Dish satellite reception. I had to pull the jacks up and move forward about three feet before the satellite antenna could lock in the signal. It’s all good now, but next time I’ll try to remember to check the satellite before I set everything up.

The weather has been outstanding. Mostly sunny skies with the high temperature reaching the mid-70s over the weekend and should be the same today. But, this is western Washington in June. Rain is forecast to reach the area overnight and we’ll have rain over the next few days.

Today is Alana’s birthday. We’ll be going out to celebrate over dinner at The Bonefish Grill tonight. Happy birthday, Alana!

Sway Goes Away

We’ve had a couple of interesting visitors here at Richardson Park.

The first was our neighbor who set up in site 39, next to us. His name was Paul Manuel and he came down from Tacoma in his National Tradewinds motorhome. He’s a bit of a traveling minstrel – he plays the flute and attends music festivals around the area. He once owned a deli and now he and his son set up a food trailer at festivals and are known for their Philly cheese steak sandwiches. They also make subs and other fare, but the cheese steak is the most popular menu item and their claim to fame.

He sat on a picnic table in the center of the park and played his flute – he’s very good. Donna went over to compliment his playing and then invited him to visit with us for a while. He has a six-acre hobby farm in southeast Tacoma and invited us to park at his place if we’re ever in the area. He left yesterday around noon, but will return for the music festival in Veneta July 12 -14th.

The other visitor came by around noon yesterday. His name is Mike Justice – a blog follower that has a farm near the park. He came bearing gifts – he brought hazelnuts from his farm that he roasted and seasoned with a barbeque salt and they are delicious. He also gifted us with two bottles of double IPA from Pelican Brewing on the Oregon Coast. I paired it with last night’s dinner of shrimp over cauliflower rice. Nice. Thanks, Mike!

Any time you see the word “double” in a beer description, it means the recipe has been kicked up a notch – just like adding “imperial” to the name. In this case, the beer has a higher gravity with a 9% ABV. Of course, to offset the maltiness of such a high gravity brew, additional hops are used for bittering.

With the afternoon temperature hitting 95 degrees, Donna took a floatie tube to the beach area of the lake and cooled off. I passed on going in the water as I have a small spot of dermatitis on my right foot. I took a short stroll down the path through the woods from our site to the marina area of Fern Ridge Lake.

There’s a nice grassy park next to the marina and a host with a 5th-wheel trailer set up there.

People picnicking in the park on the left – another marina on the right

Richardson Park is surrounded by working farms. There’s everything from hazelnuts to strawberries growing around here. We even have a cherry tree in our site that’s bearing fruit. I could hear a farm implement at the edge of the park and wondered what it was. It turned out to be a hay baler.

Source Engineering phoned in the afternoon and told me the sway bar links arrived. We made arrangements to have them installed this morning at 9:30am. Donna booked another night here, so we’ll move on Friday morning.

It only took about an hour to have the old links removed and new links with new bushings installed. What a difference proper tension on the sway bar makes – much better cornering and a smoother ride.

The sway bar is a “U” shaped steel torsion bar with the lower portion of the “U” flattened and elongated. The lower part of the “U” – a straight section – is attached to the front axle. At either end of the “U,” there’s a mounting point where links join the ends of the sway bar to the chassis frame rails.

Here’s how it works – picture making a sharp right turn. Centrifugal force will cause the body and chassis of the coach to roll to the outside of the turn. In this example, the body rolls to the left, compressing the suspension on the left side while extending the suspension on the right side.

With a sway bar attached to the axle and frame rails, as the chassis tries to roll to the left, the right end of the sway bar is pulled up. Meanwhile the left end of the sway bar is being pushed down. This creates a torsion – a twisting force – on the length of the sway bar attached to the axle. Of course the steel torsion bar resists this force and lessens the amount of body/chassis roll. It greatly enhances vehicle handling.

Today the high temperature should reach the mid-80s. Tonight should be cool with a low in the mid-50s and tomorrow should be sunny with a high around 80. We plan to head out tomorrow morning. The wind is forecast to be fairly calm and it should be a good day for travel.

Rolling the Dice

We’ve been without wheels since the Spyder came up with a dead cylinder Sunday afternoon. I detailed my diagnostic process in the last post. The new ignition coil module was supposed to come in on Wednesday, but when I checked with Valley Motorsports in Eugene, they told me the part wouldn’t be there until Thursday between 11am and 1pm.

Donna talked to our neighbor, Mickey, and found out that he and his wife were going to Roseburg Thursday morning. They said they could drop me off at Enterprise Rental Car in Roseburg. I called and reserved a car for pick-up Thursday morning.

I picked up the car around 9:30am and headed north – it was about an hour drive to Eugene. I had checked a map of the city and had a plan. First I stopped at Costco where I bought a few items including a new camp chair. It’s a folding director’s chair with a folding side table – not something I could easily carry on the Spyder, so I took advantage of having a car.

Next I went to the west side of town and checked out the Walmart. I wanted to see what the overnight parking situation looked like and I also needed to pick up aluminum drip pan liners for the Weber Q. From there I went to the Elks’ Lodge to see what it looked like for an overnight spot. The west side Elks’ Lodge is a no go for RV parking. The lot is tight and shared with several other businesses. I was hoping to find a place to dry camp Monday night so we could be close to Source Engineering in Veneta, Oregon where we have an appointment Tuesday morning.

After a quick stop for lunch at Taco Time, I found Valley Motorsports at 12:30pm. They said they would call when the part came in and I hadn’t heard from them yet. I checked at the parts counter and was told the day’s parts shipment had just arrived and was being checked in. I was going to sit in the waiting area and read a book while they did that, but a guy came out with my part after about three minutes!

I was 99% sure the ignition coil was the culprit for the lack of spark in the rear cylinder, but there was a small chance that it could be a fault in the Engine Control Module (ECM) which sends a signal to the coil pack. I couldn’t test for this signal without the proprietary B.U.D.S. computer program that’s only found at Can-Am dealers. Ignition components are not returnable once they’ve been installed. I rolled the dice and paid for the $170 coil pack.

An hour later, I was back at Timber Valley SKP Park and got to work. Mickey stopped by and offered to follow me to Roseburg when I returned the rental car. I told him that with any luck we’ll use the Spyder to get back from the rental car agency.

Well, my luck ran out on me and my roll of the dice was a loser. The coil pack didn’t fix the problem. I have no choice now but to take it to a dealer where they can interrogate the ECM and run through the diagnostic protocol to see why the rear ignition coil isn’t receving a signal. I know the primary voltage and grounds are good and the coil is new, so it must be a loss of signal to fire the coil that is the root of the problem. I took Mickey up on the offer to pick me up at the rental agency in Roseburg.

We’ve extended our stay here until Monday. Tomorrow morning I’ll drive the coach to Les Schwab in Sutherlin and have the tires replaced. Monday we’ll move to Richardson Park Campground on Fern Ridge Lake, just north of Veneta. After we have the work performed at Source Engineering on Tuesday, we’ll head north. Our original plan was to go to the coast, but now that’s changed.

We plan to get to my oldest daughter, Alana’s house in Arlington, Washington by the end of the week. From there, I can have the Spyder transported to the dealer in Mount Vernon and we’ll hang out in Alana’s driveway until it’s fixed. Sometimes the best laid plans go awry.

The days here have been warm – in the mid-80s until yesterday. Yesterday, the high was in the low 70s and a few rain drops fell in the afternoon. It rained overnight and showers continue today off and on. I need to bicycle into town at some point to pick up a general delivery package at the post office. We’ll be mostly homebound until we get the Spyder repaired. We’d hoped to check out some of the wineries and other sights around here, but that’ll have to wait until next time.

No post is complete without a dinner plate photo. On Tuesday, Donna prepared tortilla-crusted tilapia. This time she served it over a smear of avocado puree on the plate before she added the fish and salsa. She served corn with cilantro on the side.

Flying The Koop

…from real estate to wheel estate and back again

Category Archives: Western RV/Alpine Coach

Across the Columbia

Blackberries and Deer

*Just so you know, if you use this link to shop on Amazon and decide to purchase anything, you pay the same price as usual and I’ll earn a few pennies for the referral. It’ll go into the beer fund. Thanks!

Heading for the Coast

Wheelin’ and Dealin’

Vintage Trailers and Cars

Going Topless

Mission Accomplished

Alternate Routes Through Portland and Seattle

Sway Goes Away

Rolling the Dice

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*Just so you know, if you use this link to shop on Amazon and decide to purchase anything, you pay the same price as usual and I’ll earn a few pennies for the referral. It’ll go into the beer fund. Thanks!

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