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?

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.