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?