Coeur D’ Alene, Idaho (05-28-14)

In keeping with our idea of staying off the interstates when possible, we chose  Rte 3/129 to get to Coeur D’ Alene, Idaho.  This road follows the Nez Perce Trail for a while, then goes up and down two mountain passes.

  At some point, between the two passes, in the middle of nowhere, we came upon Boggan’s Oasis,  a small restaurant that claims they have the best milkshakes in the world.  Well, we put the brakes on to stop and see for ourselves.  Yup, 26 flavors and you can mix as many as you want- even all of them- although the girl behind the counter didn’t recommend it.  I had Chocolate Oreo and Paul had Strawberry Butterscotch.  And they were both good!

  We spent a few minutes chatting with the young girl behind the counter and she said we were about to head up through Rattlesnake Pass, known for the fact that there are 110 turns in just 10 miles.  We sure were glad we weren’t towing anything!

It was a slow but beautiful trip through the mountains of Idaho, Washington, and Oregon.

Whenever we mentioned that we were headed to Coeur D’ Alene, we were told how beautiful it is in that area.  Well, we’ve been here for 2 days and we haven’t seen much, other than Kmart and Costco. 
The Stableload stabilizers that we added to the camper helped significantly with the swaying issue we were having, but the decision was made that we could do better if we also added a heavier duty sway bar to the truck.  The sway bar will help keep the camper from swaying in the first place. 

So, on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, we ordered the one we needed from Etrailer.com. We paid for expedited shipping so it would get here when we need it.  Soon thereafter we got a call from Etrailer saying the part wasn’t in stock and they were having it shipped directly from the manufacturer. We spent two days talking back and forth with them (highly recommend them by the way- Great customer service!) and Roadmaster- the manufacturer.   The sway bar arrived today- unfortunately, it was the wrong one. The package said it was the correct one but what was in the box didn’t match. When we called Roadmaster and gave them the info, the guy was hesitant to believe that we were right since according to his records we definitely got the right part.  So, technology to the rescue.  I snapped a picture, got his email address and while he was on the phone with Paul, I sent the picture.  Immediately he said- Oh oh- that's not the right part.

Bottom line- the part is being re-shipped to Spokane Washington, about 30 miles from here, and we will drive over and get it hopefully Friday. Where we go from there depends on how late it arrives and whether it arrives at all!

So, in the meantime, what else have we been doing here?  Well, the RV park we are staying is in the middle of town.  I was very happy to park the camper and get settled for at least a day or so.  We walked to Costco, Kmart and the grocery store.  Paul walked to the auto parts store.  He also did get the air compressor fixed, so that was a weight off our minds.  I got all the laundry done.  And then, we had to something that we don’t enjoy.  We had to plan.  We find planning reasonably stressful but sometimes it has to be done. 

I have completely cheated when it comes to planning our trip to Alaska- I fell back on something that happened last year.  When we were in Nova Scotia last year, we met a couple who had been to Newfoundland.  They were kind enough to sit down with us and a map and show us a good route to take, what to see, and even gave us a list of the campgrounds they stayed at.  It was invaluable information!

So, last week I put a note out on an RVing forum asking if anyone who had spent 2-3 months in Alaska  and had a written itinerary would be willing to share it.  Well, two people emailed me their itineraries, complete with campground information, mileage, routes and the highlights of their trip.  Both said I should email if I have any other questions. Not that I plan on following their route verbatim, but it gives us a great start. This makes my life so much easier!  Why re-invent the wheel?

Hells Canyon (05-26-14)

Hells Canyon is the deepest gorge in North America, and its located on the Oregon/Idaho border. The Snake River, which we saw while in Yellowstone National Park, runs through the gorge and there are 3 dams in this small area.

 
 
 

 

  We drove out and checked out Hells Canyon Dam. The drive out there was beautiful and we were excited to see hundreds of great spots to pull over for an overnight stay.

 
 
 

Our plan was to double back and drive up to the canyon overlook, about 2 - 3 hours away, and look for a place to spend the night along the way,  but we got bad information from the ranger, who was apparently unaware that the road to the peak is closed in that direction. We had to drive the long way around, and ended up at Catherine Creek State Park in Oregon.

 
 




 
No worries though, we figured we’d just spend 2 nights in this area instead of 1. We had reservations at a park in Coeur D Alene Idaho starting Monday, but we moved it back to Tuesday. We have ordered parts to be shipped there (more about that in the next post).
 
 

By taking the long way around, we were able to stop at two museums. The first one is an interpretive center for the Oregon Trail, which passed by this way. Tens of Thousands of pioneers came through this way in the mid 1800s, looking for free land and a better life on the Oregon frontier.

I think its cool that you can still see the wagon ruts in the ground even though they are 150 years old.









The second museum is in the town of Joseph, a really cute town, named after Chief Joseph, of the Nez Perce Indian tribe. Joseph was a well respected leader who spent most of his life trying to negotiate for the return of his tribe to their homeland here in Oregon. The tribe had been involuntarily "moved" in 1877 after gold was discovered in this area. Sadly, he was unsuccessful.

We drove deeper and deeper into this side of the canyon, down a windy, dusty gravel road, looking for the road to the Overlook. Unfortunately I was reading the brochure as we were driving and realized that the road we are looking for doesn't even open for the season until June. You would have thought the Ranger would have mentioned that when we said we were headed there.

 



 
 
Plans thwarted again, we were headed back to the small town of Joseph when we pulled over for lunch, and made a terrible discovery. The seal on the back window has rotted away due to old age and the inside of the camper was covered with a thick coat of road dust. Yuck!!
 


 

  Thankfully, Joseph has a decent hardware store, and it was open on Memorial Day. We picked up the supplies we needed and headed for Wallowa Lake, our spot for the night.

Once there, Paul worked on re-sealing the window, and I cleaned the camper, from top to bottom.
 
 






 
 
One of the other items purchased at the hardware store was a new screwdriver. The little heater we brought with us died while we were in Carson City, and we had to hunt all over for a replacement. Its pretty much the wrong time of year to buy a heater. Finally, someone in a store suggested we head to Goodwill, the store that gets all the "broken box" items from Wal-Mart.  Sure enough, we found a cheap, small heater. When we tried to use it a few day later it made an awful rattling noise. Paul needed to take it apart to look inside, but didn't have an appropriate screwdriver. The heater doesn't rattle anymore but it also has a mind of its own and only seems to work when it wants to....so, the jury is out as to whether we keep it or look for another one.

The First Few Days (05-24-14)

We've already experienced some of the differences between the camper and the trailer. After leaving Yosemite, we came across a small museum in Mariposa and easily stopped in to learn about the history of the area.

Mariposa became more heavily populated in the mid 1800s when gold was discovered here. The museum is home to many artifacts, including a collection of interesting letters- titled Dear Charlie- that were written by a young man who came here from Boston to Strike It Rich, and wrote of his adventures to his buddy back in Boston.

 
 
 





 
 
We moved to Carson City where we spent the night in a casino parking lot, a first for us. In the morning we met with friends Margie and Crys for breakfast before moving further north. The only picture I took was of the casino where we ate, because we actually got lost in there trying to find our way out.
 
 
Eventually we made it out and hit the road. Technically, I know that everything has to be stowed before we move anywhere, and yesterday I was reminded of how important that actually is. When we stopped for lunch, the coffee pot was on the floor and its contents were spewed all over everything. It took a bit to clean it all up. Apparently though, that wasn't enough of a reminder for me because when we stopped later in the day, the fruit was all over the floor. I had taken it out of the sink, where it travels, to clean up the coffee. Hmmm, hopefully I've got it figured out now.

Dozer is slowly acclimating to all the changes for him. He is still trying to find some spots to sit where he won't be in our way and/or get stepped on.

 
 
 







 
 
 
We didn't bring his huge automatic feeder, so he is re-learning to beg us for food. He eats so fast that he chokes on it ( you would think that after 12 years with us, he would know that there will always be food!) so we have been using his food ball to feed him. There are holes in the ball and he has to bat it around for pieces to fall out, which they do- one at a time. Keeps him from choking and serves as entertainment for him at the same time.




 
We have also managed to change his feeding times to 6:30 am and 6 pm instead of 5 pm and 4 am.


We hadn't decided whether Dozer would be better off traveling in the truck or the camper so I rode with him in the camper for a short distance to see what happened. What I discovered sent us to the internet searching for a solution. The camper rocks a lot. Too much. So we found a Lance dealer in Reno that was willing to order the stabilizers we need. They were shipped overnight to him and we picked them up.

When we left Reno we had no destination in mind. We have a basic route we plan on taking and we figured we'd just drive and see how far we get. We got to Oregon, where we spent the night on BLM (Federal ) land

. We pulled about a half mile off the main highway and just pulled over for the night. Once we were set up and relaxing, we looked and saw what we though was an approaching squall line, or fog, coming from the Cascade Mountains.





  We were glad we were off the road. The squall line turned out to be a dust storm that blew through, cutting visibility substantially. It was a fun storm to watch, since we didn’t have to drive in it!






The next day was completely clear- a beautiful day. We both thoroughly enjoyed our night on the BLM land. We were the only people for as far as the eye could see, and it was so peaceful, not to mention, free!  We couldn’t have made it down this road with the trailer and its exactly the reason we decided to make this trip in a truck camper.




We are about 2 days from the Canadian border and are trying to make sure the rig is functioning the way we want before we cross. Shipping anything we might need to Canada or Alaska would be pretty pricy! We already have another issue to address.

 The air compressor isn't working and will need to be fixed before we go much further. We bit the bullet and reserved a campground near the border where we can have the part shipped.  It’s been ordered and should be there Wednesday.  In the meantime, Paul has installed the stabilizers and we will determine tomorrow if they are enough of a solution.  If they aren't, then we’ll have to have some new sway bars shipped to us in Idaho, and that will delay us another few days.

….And we’re off to Alaska! (05-20-14)

After two months of sitting still…..although, come to think of it, that’s not really accurate…
Between projects and traveling around the country, we weren’t really sitting still much, but anyway, after two months of the rig sitting in one spot, we have moved on!

There was one thing that was of utmost importance to me as we prepared to leave California, and that was to take a trip down to L.A. to see Jess one more time. We elected to leave both rigs behind and get a hotel room, and were there just at the right time to help her apartment hunt, so we left knowing that she has a new place to live.

Preparing for Alaska meant going shopping.  Over the last month or so our new purchases include:

A new coffeemaker- one that does not require electricity- you just use the gas stove to heat it.  Works great, although we agree, Julie, it takes a fairly long time.

New low profile waterproof hiking boots for both of us.  These will be our daily footwear- more comfortable than regular hiking boots, but waterproof.

A custom cookie sheet- I couldn’t find a cookie sheet that fit in our tiny oven, so I bought a cheap one and asked Kirk to use his tools to chop one end off.  He did better than that- he welded a piece on, so it still  has four sides- awesome job!

Ok, I admit we are a little spoiled, and love our Dunkin Donuts coffee.  Paul heard that coffee prices are going up, so we bought enough to last the entire trip!













Monday was Final Prep Day:





The 5th wheel was completely emptied of all food and cleaned from top to bottom, inside and out, although I am sure it will be quite dusty by the time we come back.

In the afternoon we put the hitch back in the truck and towed the Mobile Suites over to storage.  Even though we scouted out and picked a unit ahead of time, things did not go smoothly.  The first day we were there, someone fairly new was behind the counter and she set us up with their biggest storage unit.  Sort of.  The one she originally gave us is 14 feet tall, but the door cuts straight across and is only 12’6” tall, and we are taller than that! After trying everything we could to get it in, we went to the office, where a more experienced counter person told us that we should have been given a unit with the taller doors.  He showed us a couple that were available and finally, we put the 5th wheel away!

Tuesday morning we loaded up the camper, had lunch with Kirk and Karen one more time, and took off for parts unknown.  We weren’t worried about going too far our first day, and spent the night near Yosemite National Park.

That night we did some route planning and decided to take the route that would take us through Tahoe and Reno, and on up through Banff to Dawson’s Creek, where we will find Mile One of the Alaskan Highway. 

We've made it as far as South Lake Tahoe, where the lake is beautiful…..

…..  and the snow is still on the ground!

Fresno Happenings (05-13-14)

Things have been winding down a bit in Fresno.  There are just a few more details for Kirk and Paul to finish and then Paul’s part in  Kirk and Karen’s condo projects will be finished.
The new floor has been laid, most of the cabinets have been painted (the bottom doors will be finished tomorrow), the appliances are in, and a lot of baseboard and walls have been painted.









Of course, life is never all work and no play…

  Last week, while Paul and Kirk were busy,  Kevin and I took off to Sequoia National Forest and hiked the Hart Tree Trail.

Hiking among the Sequoias is always awesome.  They are enormous! This trail was about 7 miles long, with maybe 500 feet of elevation gain.  The weather was perfect for being on the trail.

  At one point we were supposed to pass by Fallen Goliath (NOT the tree in this picture.)  Goliath has been on the ground since before any recorded history in the park.  Unfortunately when we got there, we could still smell the smoke from the fire that destroyed this giant Sequoia..  Apparently just a week or so ago someone set fire to the log and it almost all burned in the fire.  Too bad.

 
Mother’s Day weekend was spent relaxing at Kirk and Karen’s cabin near Shaver Lake.

The 6 of us always have a great time together, whether its cooking, hiking, working on projects, or playing cards.

Part of the reason we are still in Fresno is because tonight, Paul becomes an Elk!  I am sure there are many good reasons to become an Elk, but for us, the biggest reason is that many Elk lodges have small RV parks attached to them. This may come in very handy, especially on our trip to Alaska.

Speaking of Alaska- our scheduled day for bugging out of here is next Tuesday.  We are quickly taking care of all the last minute details required for that, and just today we rented the enclosed storage unit that will house our Mobile Suites for 5 months.

This weekend we’ll take off for a short trip to L.A. to see our daughter one last time before we leave.

Moving Mania (05-01-14)

  The last two weeks have been a blur of activity. As you can see from the picture, some of us were more active than others.
  I decided to fly back to Boston to help my sister move, so out came the suitcase again.











My visit this time around was only for 6 days.  I arrived a few days before the official move, and helped with the last minute packing, and the organization of the actual move.  I took absolutely no pictures on this trip, and stole this one from my sister.

The day of the move  the temps were in the 40s, and it rained most of the day.  Not a fun move- Once we got wet, we felt chilled most of the day. Still,  it all got done, and my sister and I went back to the old apartment the following day and did the last minute cleaning etc. 

I flew back to Fresno, CA a couple of days after helping my sister move, just in time to help our friends Kirk and Karen with the final two days of their move into their condo. Unfortunately, my luggage didn’t arrive back in California with me, and 3 days later, I finally received it this morning, after it sat in New York for 2 days.

The weather for the move in Fresno was almost as challenging as the weather in Boston, for different reasons.
And just when I thought the moving was all done, my daughter called to say she is going to look at apartments this weekend. I think by the time she moves we’ll be on the way to Alaska, but she doesn’t have much to move anyway, so she should be fine.






So, the next move is our move into the truck camper.  We are still working on Kirk and Karen’s condo for the next week or so, and then we can focus on fixing up the camper and actually moving into it.