A Fall Getaway

It is late Thursday night and the weather promises to be good. What to do and where to go. I pulled out the Campground book and scanned for something that would catch my eye. Then at the last minute, there it was, the Portland-Fairview RV park. Rated top 100 campgrounds in the US with over 350 sites. It was close to Camping World and Outlet malls. Just what we could deal with.

A quick load job and stock the fridge and we were ready to go. I had been called in early Friday morning to work, so with some luck, I could be out of there at around 1:30 pm.

We got home, hooked up and were off for a new adventure. Lori had been left out and had not had a weekend to ourselves for some time. We were looking forward to just hanging out. We loaded the address into the gps and were there in no time. Hooked up the cable and settled in for a good movie on HBO...ahhh the life! It is a beautiful and well maintained park. Easy to see why it is rated top 100.

Things went smoothly and Saturday, Lori shopped and shopped and shopped. I finally got to Camping world and Lori shopped some more. When we returned to the trailer, it seemed cold inside and there was alight odor of propane inside. I went to the furnace and saw the thermostat was set right, but no heat. After some checking, I found we had run out of propane. Lori, the 'camper' was upset we had no stove now and had to use the coffee maker instead of perking some coffee. What a rough life. The electric still warmed the water for a nice shower and the cinnamon rolls she baked the day before served well with that coffee.

Sunday morning, we awoke to high winds. It was blowing 30 to 40 mph out of the east. No problem except crossing the Columbia River bridge in Portland. It was a white knuckle run as we crossed the river. Never experienced the winds with our fifth wheel and the bucking was disturbing. I had emptied all tanks to prepare to winterize, so we were a little light. As soon as we got to the WA side and as the winds decreased, so did the blood pressure. It was a nice trip despite the whining from a wife with no propane. It was so cruel...she almost had to dry camp again! I promised as soon as we got home, the tanks would be filled and we would be ready to go.

Finally a weekend of peace and quiet

Several weeks ago, Lori and I reserved a site at Ocean City State Park. We were going to camp for the weekend while attending the wine festival at the casino. Then she found out about a convention in Seattle she was required to attend and all of the sudden it would be me and Walt. Not really though, our friends Gwen and Loren had the site right next to us, so I at least had adult conversation.

Friday Walt and I loaded up and after hooking up to the Mountaineer, we were off for our "trip". We had almost a 35 minute drive to our destination. A half mile out, bang, thump. What the...I looked and saw some white plastic debris in the road on the shoulder behind me. I thought, what fell off and what a great start to the weekend. I immediately pulled off. Luckily there was a wide spot in the road with plenty of room. As soon as I got out, I noticed my 5 gallon bucket was now missing from the back of the truck. It had ridden in the spot against the front bed forever with no problem. I checked and there appeared to be no damage to the truck or trailer. I could see down the road was this bucket on the shoulder. We continued. I was tired and stressed from a long, difficult week at work. This made it no better. The rest of the trip was uneventfull until we got to the state park. Walt was nervous as he was not sure why Lori was not with us. As I drove through the endless speed bumps, I made a wrong turn and found ourselves at the day site. Luckily there was enough room to turn around. We found our spot and with Lorens help, we were set up in no time. Only item of interest was during setup, I hear some loud noise coming from Gwen and Lorens trailer. I look up to see one of their motorcycles falling off the back rack on the trailer. All an embarrassed Loren would say was a strap came loose. Its always interesting with Loren around.

It was clear and getting cold as the sun set. Once set up, it was time for the experiment. I retrieved the satellite dish and set it up. turned on the receiver and tv and had signal in no time with Loren adjusting outside. I thought to my self, this is the life, roughing it in the RV and now with over 300 channels of satellite tv. Life is good.

As I was watching all the channels Lori wont let me watch (get your mind out the gutter, I'm talking Discovery/History/military type channels). I turned on survivor man. I thought, wow, what a coincidence, he is trying to survive in some desolate canyon and here I am in an RV with just SD (standard) channels and no HD. I watch further as he talks about the great temperature swings and I think, no remote for the furnace. I'll have to get up to turn it up a notch! Then he has to catch rats in a makeshift trap in order t survive. I had to put on my light jacket to 'grill' my steak on the outside barbecue. Later he talks about the lack of water and what he finds is not much better. I nod in concurrence as I had forgot to bring ice for my drink!. Ya, I think I could do an episode or two. Roughing it in our Mountaineer is a challenge, but I'm up for it.

Ok, back to reality. Walt and I went to bed and all I heard throughout the night was little whimpers from Walt. About3 am he bugs me thinking he needed out, but actually it was a move on his part to free the bed up. As we come back in, he bolts and is up on the bed and curled up on my pillow. After much coaxing, he relents and moves. I get in and he lays right up against me. I had the heat on for the low 60's and woke often to the poor thing shivering! Finally I placed a blanket over him and he slept good the remainder of the morning.

Saturday brought a cold, crisp morning. The TV said it was about 26 degrees out. I fired up the stove, made coffee and cooked an omelet for breakfast. Again roughing it, I only added mushrooms as I had no meat. We goofed off and later went to the wine festival. It was fun and I sampled some wine. We had steak and Chicken Fettechini for dinner and watched a movie. It was alot warmer tonight and was very pleasant.

Sunday we loaded up and were on the road about noon. When I got home, the dreaded backing job awaited me. I had no spotter as Lori was gone. I only hoped a neighbor would be around, but it was not to be. I knew if I hugged the left corner, I had plenty of room to swing into the driveway without hitting anything. I started backing and all the sudden I was in the driveway without straightening out or anything. I had done it. I finally was able to back in on the first shot. Wow, what a rush! I backed down the driveway, lined up on the plank I have to park on and backed right on. I have two orange cones to show me where to stop. I was in, dropped the jacks and unhitched. I was done and just in time to watch the Seahawks lose again. Another enjoyable adventure.

Dry Camping at Sand Lakes, OR

Now that we are becoming 'grizzled veterens' camping in our RV, it was time to try dry camping or boondocking. Every year, Shawn goes to Sand Lakes for his birthday. Most years entailed rough camping conditions with little food and primitive sleeping setups.

This year would be different. We now have the trailer, so Shawn being the schemer he is, talked me into taking the 5'r while he hauled the quads with his truck. His son Payton who is four, was going for the first time and was...lets say...wired! Shawn and Were set to go down Thursday night and get set up. We left town and made it to Sand Lakes just after dark. It was one of the most frightening drives I have made as it was raining, foggy and bad roads. US 101 on the northern Oregon coast is not in that great of shape right now. There were times, we were at 20 mph as we could not see in front of us. We made it finally and went to find our reserved campsite. As we neared the entrance to the campground, we found a large motorhome parked and shut off blocking the entrance. We had to turn in at the exit, which made for a tight fit for me. A couple tries and I was in the campgound. Again, so dark, you could not tell what was ahead. As we rounded the park, it was so narrow, I brushed up against a wood fence and had to stop, back up and hug the other shoulder. We found our spot and found it was very small, just big enough for the trailer. We left it there for a couple and went to the main parking lot which allows camping. We found a great spot and retrieved the truck and trailer. Soon we were set up and ready for bed. Shawn was immediately spoiled as I blew up the air bed on the couch and he slpt like a baby. I forgot to turn up the heat and it got very cold that night. We rose early to sun and warming temps. Soon the camp coffee was ready and after some really tasty omlettes, it was time to ride. It was great, get on and go about 150 feet and you are on the sand. We rode hard most of the day and had most of the place to ourselves. Lori, Jennifer and the fids arrived late in the early evening, just in time for Payton to go for a quick ride. Off they went to eat dust and sand. We cooked dinner and as we were finishing up around 9:30, we started to see one, now thre, patrol cars with lights and sirens go on the beach. Soon several units from the fire Dept followed. Jennifer and Shawns friend Neal decided to check out the 'action'. They returned a short time later with sullen faces to report the sad news that two sand rails had collided on the sand and two people were killed. Several others were hurt. About this time a helicopter flew over and landed a few hundred yards from us. A sobering moment and the mood around the lot was quiet and subdued.

Saturday morning was agin sunny and warm. Payton was out waiting to ride. I spent several trips with him and observed a steady improvement in his riding. It was very obvious towards late afternoon, he was running out of steam and I made him park the quad for awhile.

I had trained the crew on dry camping as best I could. Conserve water, use the lot restroom when possible and use minimal water for dishes. All went well. I took a GI shower in the am and it went well. Lori waited till Monday for a shower (phew). Somehow during her orientation on how to take a shower, she forgot to take a brief shower. Invigorated and clean after a 'normal' shower she comes out and finishes breakfast as payton and I went for a morning ride. I returned to find dishes in the sink (had not used paper plates) and Jennifer now in the showe. Shawn remarked about how nice his shower was. I ran to the display to find a full galley tank, grey water tank and no water in the fresh water tank. The shower was sputtering as Jennifer finished up. Glad we were leaving today, some people...

We hit the road for a much more visible and enjoyable ride home. A quick detour to the Elma rest area and my tanks were clean and empty. Back home and soon I'll be ready for our next adventure. It was a great weekend and I look forward to 'dry' camping again soon.

Labor Day in Oregon

As the week preceding labor day dragged on, I could see the weather was promising to be nice. Problem is, now that we have a 5th wheel, it becomes harder to drive in and camp. A check on the internet showed all campgrounds within about a 4 hour drive were full. Looked like we were destined to stay home. It was a last minute decision to camp as the cabin was going to be used by our son and family. I decided to call and see if perhaps there was a cancellation somewhere. I happened to call the Cascade Locks KOA and they had plenty of sights. The clerk did warn me that we would be on the back side and closer to the railroad tracks. She hoped we would be ok with that. I thought, no problem and reserved the sight.

I dont like being on the roads on the major holidays but felt it would be OK as traffic was not too bad. We hooked up and were on the road in no time. We made it to the campground at dusk and were set up and enjoying the trailer in no time. I could smell the camp fires and even marshmallows in the air. It is a nice campground and the sites are wide and roomy.

One thing that disturbed me was at check in, the clerk noticed our site and issued us ear plugs! I inquired in a nervous tone and was told the ear plugs were from the trains in case we have trouble sleeping. I thought this was a little over kill and we thanked her and went to our site.

About twenty minutes later, we heard the rumble of a train approaching. I watched out the window with anticipation at it neared. How many locomotives, would they be sd 40's...oh my god they are coming right through the trailer. We started to shake and rattle and as I looked out, I was eye to eye with the engineer only about 40 feet away. I didn't see the track due to the brush, but when she said we would be near the tracks... I thought, this was not too bad, no close horns blowing which would be...HONK, HONK... holy &)$@& that was loud. I pick up the brochure we got when we checked in and found some interesting reading. It told us that the rail line at the rear of the campground was the main east west line of the Union Pacific. As I read the article to Lori, I had to stop for the next train. I continued and explained how up to forty trains traverse these very tracks every day. I started to look for the ear plugs! It seemed the tv got scratchy every time a train came through. After a few trains though, we actually got used to it and learned to live with the occasional noise. We had some gaps almost twenty minutes long!

After a somewhat restful night, Lori and I baked cinnamon rolls and had breakfast. Walt the dog was still tired as the trains kept him on alert all night. It was going to be a nice day according to the weather. Everything was going good. Later in the morning, Roy and Opal arrived to spend a couple days with us. We later toured the area and found a latte shop for coffee. Arriving back at dinner time, we enjoyed a great dinner and settled in for a movie later that night. It was an uneventful night and I awoke to coffee brewing in the morning. Nothing like a cup of coffee brewed while camping. I really believe it tastes different.

We booked a trip on the River Boat (brunch) and toured the Columbia River as we sampled excellent food. It was cold that day and the clouds threatened, but what a nice trip. As we settled down to make dinner that evening, the clouds rolled in and soon it was cold and rainy. We sat in a nice, comfy trailer and watched tv...oh it's so rough...

Monday (Labor Day), we cleaned up and hooked up the trailer. As we entered the freeway, it was solid vehicles as far as the eye could see. It was slow going till we got on I-5 in Washington. Traffic cleared and we made our now traditional lunch stop at the rest area north of Longview. Soon we were home and issapointed another adventure had come to an end.

Vacation 2008

Hello from the woods of Idaho. Lori and I have embarked on yet another adventure, this time on our Goldwing. We are headed to Powell, Wyoming for a rally, but taking several side trips to get there. Here is how we have done so far:

Day 1:
Lori got off work and we were on thhe road by 3pm. Destination was Prosser, WA, about 200 miles. A very nice but cool ride over. I had spent the day readying the bike and didnot have time to get a 45degree adapter to make the sat radio work on the bike. It was a $2.00 part from radio shack and all we needed to do was stop and get it, plug it in and music to our ears. I had prgrammed Rosie (GPS) to take us to the wine country RV park in Prosser. Sounds easy enough. We got to town just after dak and after three u-turns, the rv park was nowhere to be found even though Rosi told us we were there. I looked it up and it had an address on the other end of town. Go figure. As we were setting up, now pushing 1030 at night, people were walking around and would stop and talk to us. I had to finally excuse ourselves so we could go to bed. The next day brought what must have been nearly half the park to our little spot to visit. It was incredible. We have always had a few come up, but this was weird. We later caught the shuttle to a wine and food festival. Not much there and very pricey for what you got. We were back after dinner with Goldwing friends and it seemed people were waiting to show others our tent trailer. Quite the deal.

Day 3:
We got up and made breakfast and later broke camp. Not a long day today, only headed for the Wildhorse casino out of Pendleton, OR. About 95 miles. We went back roads and dropped into Pendleton. Rosie found us a Radio Shack and once plugged in, we had great music, Got into camp and the crowds decended once again. Once most had seen it, they left, but the rv park manager kept comong over and talking. It was fun. Off to the casino and as I usually do here, left with more than I came with. I like this place. Back at camp, a couple glasses of wine and we were off to bed.

Day 3

Pendleton to Donnelly, ID about 285 miles. We worked country roads and zig zagged our way east through the lower Hells canyon gorge and across a dam into Idaho, We went up US 95 till it hooked in with ID 55 and into Donnelly. Temps were pretty good, upper 70,s most of the time. A great day and now I am getting caught up on our blog. Tommorrow across the mountains to Arco, ID.

Day 4

We rose to very cold weather this morning. We are in the mountains though and it was a bit chilly. We were off to Banks and then some forest service roads till we got above Sun Valley. I was a little nervous as we have never been this way and the term Forest Service road says gravel to me. I had been assured it was good road and we would like the ride.

We stopped at a small cafe right on the banks of the river. While watching rafters traverse the river, we ate a very mediocre breakfast. To be fair, they were very busy and only had one waitress. Our eggs were runny and cold. Only bad food since we left.

After breakfast, it was one of the best rides through beautiful scenery and roling hills. It seemed like the day went fast as we finally entered Arco, ID and finally found the KOA. It is new this year and there were no signs. A call to the campground and we were guided into a very nice KOA. The staff was very helpful and friendly and facilities top notch. Only downside was no pool, but he promised one by next year.

Day 5

Off across desert and looking for Hwy 33 just out of town. As we passed the intersection, Rosie was confused and there were no signs indicating this was the road. We stayed on 20 and ended up taking a very non scenic direct route into West Yellowstone. We really like this KOA as it has food and lots to do. We enjoy walking around checking out the different rigs.

As the sun was setting, several bikes came in and a lady came by asking about our trailer. We gladly showed it to her and her traveling friends. She became very jealous to learn we had a space heater to keep us cozy. We settled down to a cool evening and watched different shows on the computer via the television network websites. Most networks now have video archives of their popular shows and makes for great viewing when not watching a DVD.

Day 6

Through Yellowstone and to Old Faithfull. Not that many people and we drove the speed limit throughout with one exception. A great day and a awesome site as we neared Cody. A fire had burned the entire hillside. We could view fire operations as we continued down the hill. With the weather starting to get nasty, we decided to continue into Powell and the bike rally. We hit a short rain squall but that was all. Camp was set up and we spent the next couple days enjoying the company of old and new friends.

Sunday

We broke camp and had talked to some locals about ways to get to Red Bluff, MT. We were sent on a county road that went northwest from town and inbetween two sets of hills. It was a great ride and it brought us right to the road into Red Lodge. We love this town as you can walk and read the history of all the downtown buildings. We always eat breakfast here at I think the Timberline. Great food and service. Then it was on to Townsend. We had heard that this was a very nice area. We cme into Townsend and found a run down, unattractive and dirty area. It was up the lake to the KOA and a huge dissapointment. This KOA consists of gravel with power posts and an occassional tree. We could see maybe 10 or so other rigs in the park. We asked for a site with shade if possible near the restroom. We were told to take a particular site, but the people may still be there. If so take the one next to it. Ya, ok, both were being used. We decided to take another site nearby and Lori walked back to tell the clerk. She apparently was ok with our choice. We set up and tried to enjoy the nice view of the lake and surrounding dirt piles and gravel...As the sun decided to set, we were greated by some of the biggest and most aggressive mosquito's we have ever seen. I would try to spray repellent on and a couple would take the can and throw it at me and laugh. Within minutes, we were inside our trailer tending to our wounds and thinking of how much fun we were having. The wi fi would not work as the signal was so poor it could not lock in. We walked down to the cafe below the park and had a great dinner. Not a fish taco fan, but it sounded good and I waas treated to two great fish taco's. We walked to the lake (about .5 miles) and again the mosquitos ate us alive. We retreated to our trailer and stared at the park. It was now about 935 and we decided to go to bed as there was little else we could do. I pulled out the extension cord and went to hook up to the power only to find it only had a 30 amp receptacle. I didnot have a converter plug with me and as I walked to the store, only to see the lights go out inside. No one would come to the door. I need power for my sleep apnea machine. Great, now what. It just keeps getting better out here. I propped up with suitcases and slept almost two hours.

Monday

I awoke to a hot morning and a very grumpy mood. The clerk in the store refuses to adjust our costs and was unwilling to even talk about it. Mark that KOA off your travel plans.

We rode to Helena and after some food, hit the back roads. We were intending on Kalispel but were tired and decided to go to Missoula instead. A great KOA, great site and a nice pool. We went to the Montana Club for a great dinner and back for a somewhat smokey evening. There was a forest fire somewhere close and the hills to the west were smokey making for a great sunset. we settled in and had a great evening.

On Tuesday, we goofed off, went shopping and then settled in for a great cup of coffee at the local Starbucks. I am not hooked and could stop anytime I want to! As we sat outside enjoying the sites, a gust of wind hit, lifted the canopy from our table straight up and did an auntie em. Just flew off and landed in the parking lot. It was cool especially when it missed the cars and our bike. We got on the bike just as the weather alerts were going off warning of severe thunder storms. We headed back to the KOA and hunkered down. 40 to 50 mile per hour winds buffeted us and took branches down. We survived and soon were in the pool. We had heard from our sone that the weather in Spokane had been very bad the day beore. I checked the weather and saw a severe storm heading stright up fo Missoula towards Kalispel which just happened to be our route had we chosen to go north the day before. It stormed on and off all afternoon, but we missed 99% of it.

Wednesday we haded out and stopped in Superior for Breakfast. It started to sprinkle and turned into heavy and steady rain for the remainder of our travels today. We stopped to dry off and warm up in Cour Delane (sp) and as we hit Spokane, the sun peeked out and warmed us up. It was a motel room for the next two nights due to continued bad weather. We visited with my sister and our oldest son and had a great time. It went by fast and with one more night on the road, another vacation was wrapping up.

Friday

We wanted to stop half way and spend another night out. We decided to ride to Leavenworth and spend the evening there. As we drove in, we could see, we were not the only ones to pick this KOA tonight. We were able to get a spot and settled in. As we pulled in, there were several tents, a camper and a baby cib. We thought oh crap, no sleep tonight. On the other side was one of those VW van conversions with family of four. There was a strange 3x3x6 tent near the van and l;ater hwen the family came over to check out our trailer, I had to ask what it was. They told me their daughter is afaraid of bears and will not walk to the restroom by herself. (teenager) They had been camping in bear country and in order to get anysleep, they bought the portable latrine for her.

After a home grilled steak and all the fixins dinner at our site, we settled in for the night. Again watched tv on the internet which had become almost a habit in the evening. I was very impressed with the campers and the baby. They care for and made sure the baby was happy and quiet. We drifted off to sleep only to be awoken about 2 am. I could heare the van door slamming several times and then the zipper on the latrine going up and down over and over. Soon the zipping stopped only to hear the door slamming again. I couldnt believe how someone would need to do this so many times. The noise woke up the neighbors on the other side who started to hack and cough the rest of the morning. All we could think was who ever did this at the van was either OCD or wanted to make sure the bears were cared away! I thought I heard the bears running in Canada from all the noise. Some people...

Saturday

We took our time and rode home to two very upset cats. They missed us and let us know it was not a good idea to leave them alone so long. We had a great trip with a couple exceptions, but you need these moments for good stories dont you.

Installing A TV the Hard Way!

Yesterday, Lori and I went to Wally World and looked at Tv's for the bedroom of our RV. Ya, Ya, I know, what a couple of spoiled brats needing their tv for the bedroom...Ok, your point? Anyway, they had a Vizio for a decent price . We went ahead and bit the bullet and brought one home. This morning, while completing a long and growing list of Honey Doo's, I decided to hook up the tv. Now ya see, we have the trailer on the front jacks but not the rear and it bounces a little when you walk around. I opened the cabinet it goes in and pulled out the tray. I set up the TV on its stand and was not able to get any cable signal (damn cable company workers anyway) so I went down to the other tv and started to move cables around to see if I could get signal up there. I found the loop and had just hooked it up when Lori Ann decided to do something which made the trailer move! Yep, you guessed er, I hear this loud crash and cable all over the place. Seems the Tv fell off the cabinet, the cable goes tight and pulls the plug right out of the wall and everything is in a heap on the floor. With the second volley of potty mouth, Lori took off. I could see her and Walt as they rounded the corner onto Hill Rd! I was so upset with a mess all over that I was not a happy camper. Now it even gets worse...I pick up the Tv and see the cable plug is at an angle. As soon as I touch it, it falls out rendering the Tv useless. Another volley of potty mouth and I could see neighbors gathering to see who was being killed. As always in a calm and collected manner, I carefully package and quietly walk to the truck and after finding the receipt, decide it is better than nothing to see if they will exchange it for a non wrecked one. Much to my surprise, they gladly returned the item and I decided to buy a swing arm bracket to secure this one to. Dont think they will like it too much if I brought another one back!

Got it home and installed the bracket, hooked the tv on and set it up. Nice set up and we are ready to go again.

What a Nice Weekend

Thursday night, we finally got out of town at about 6:30. Some traffic, but no problems headed south. As we approached the area of Vancouver, we needed a potty break and Walt needed a run. We pulled into the rest area only to find the lot completely full. We decided to keep going and then saw a lane for the RV dump area. We pulled in and Lori told me it was too far to go to the bathroom. I mentioned to her we had a bathroom in the trailer and she was shown the water pump. We took care of business and Walt took a run in the woods. We were pretty proud of ourselves with this 'Fancy Inovation'. Back on the road and now traveling through Portland, Or in the dark. We found the Rv park ok and had the honor of setting up in the dark. A little adjustment in the site to line up for the connections and we were getting everything set up with little problem.

As I pulled the lid to hook up the water, I was shocked to see two connections. Now what kind of test is this. One was blue and the other red. Now what? There is nothing in the manual about the red and blue hookups! Ah, another camper drives in and parks a couple spaces down. I walk over, head lowered and acknowledge my rookie status. I was shocked when he gave me a blank look and told me he never had heard of this either. A flurry of phone calls, looking at other sites and lori finally reading the brochure found the blue hookup is city water and the red is well water. A near disaster (in our eyes) was averted. We were set up, tucked in and off to sleep after several attempts to get the TV to work right. I felt I was getting ripped off when the brochure tells me there are 30 some channels and I could only get 6 or so. I soon realized a quick change from air to cable on the setup makes it all work! We continue to learn. Lori dreamt of endless hours shopping at the outlet mall and me of relaxing and watching all those new found tv channels...

Friday morning was relaxing and after breakfast, Lori was twitching to hit the outlet stores. After about 30 minutes, we get a call that her mom and dad were already at the RV park. Soon they were shopping and we (dad and I) were doing alot of sitting and waiting! We had a great camp dinner and after watching tv, it was a very restful night.

Saturday, the ladies were off to to the stores and we were off to Camping World for a few small items. In the afternoon we headed to Silver Falls stae park. A nice hike and great scenery greeted us. We took some country roads back through grass seed country. The big rigs were working the fields harvesting seed. What a sight.

Back to camp for a barbecue and the walk across the field to Starbucks. Walt enjoyed the attention he got by hanging with us outside drinking coffee. He was so tired from all the exercise he slept all the way home.

As for the ride home, we were all hooked up and ready to go by 11 am. We had a white knuckle run through Portland as the traffic was very heavy. Once in Wa the traffic cleared and we only had to fight head winds. On the trip south we averaged 12.9 mpg and north, it was down to 11.6 mpg. The truck and trailer felt a little different in that wind as it caused what I call a little bucking like the trailer was tail heavy. Once we were on a road were the wind was not center on, it quit doing that.

Backing into the driveway was a little harrowing. As I stopped to set up the turn, a car sped up and was not going to cooperate, He drove around me and then my concentration was shot. Thee tries later, we were in and unhooking. We are getting used to what needs to be done to easilly unhitch and hitch the trailer. All in all, what a great weekend. We are hooked and enjoy the great times an RV bring. Dont forget our bike though. Stay tuned as we embark on a two week trip to Wyoming in August!

A Shopping We will Go

Preparations are underway for our first official campout (as in not a shake down or see how stupid we can look) with the Mountaineer. We are traveling to the Portland-Woodburn RV park located just feet away from the Woodburn Outlet malls. Lori has been in training and plans to be on a first name basis with shop keepers on the first day. Her parents are joining us on Friday and we will use the pull out/inflatable queen size bed on the couch. That should be interesting. The nice thing is this time, we have most of the regular stuff loaded and only need clothes and food. It took three days to get it all loaded last time and we were exhausted before we left. Weather promises to be good and a fun time is ahead.

A Rookies Tale part Duex

Posted: 06/29/08 04:35pm

Link | Print | Notify Moderator

---

Well, here I sit at home after a wonderful weekend and shake down cruise. Thursday was going fine except problems with installers...another forum...another day...and as I was about half packed. got called back to work. Thought, no problem, get off a little early and we can hit the road on our maiden voyage. Worked till o dark 30 and was very tired and about to blow over the installer problem. By the time I got home, my nerves were already shot.

We got on the road and not a word was spoken for almost half an hour! I was so stressed from other things that it reflected in my confidence on this trip. at first. We negotiated the hills south of us on US 101 and I began to settle down as I got used to those sounds and rattles. By the time we hit Astoria, OR, I felt like a grizzled veteran. My wife was talking to me again and we even turned on the radio.

We pulled into the Fort Stevens KOA with our friends the Falls waiting anxiously for our arrival and a fun weekend in our new trailer. OK, were was the advice from this forum about how to reserve a site at a campground...oh ya, I forgot to ask. Ok, I guess when you say 28 feet long they think you mean both truck and trailer. At least we got a quiet spot but away from our friends. Set up went well and within 30 minutes, we were getting diner ready and walked up to their site.

Only problem all weekend was the shower and oh ya the bathroom incident. The shower first. Did you know there is a lip on the door when you enter that you are supposed to step over? That hurt the first time. Oh ya and for the bathroom, lets just say my hint to anyone besides me who were not aware, ALWAYS use the fan! Nuff said...

A little anxiety over dumping the black water today. but we left on time and had a great drive home. Even worked the parking lots for a Latte and later for lunch. Getting pretty good with this stuff. Remember from my first story, the backing nightmare? First try with a slight correction and I was off the road. I even gloated to my neighbor who was disappointed at the non event. Some people. I dont remember who gave me the advice on this forum about placing your hands on the bottom of the steering wheel and turn the way you want the trailer to go, but thanks, it worked great. Thanks for puttin up with my ramblings...I am having fun now!!!

Posted: 06/25/08 03:29pm

Link | Quote | Edit | Print | Notify Moderator

---

(A Rookies story from RV Net)

My wife and I just purchased a new Montana Mountaineer last week (285RLD). They got it all ready and we were off to pick it up. Two sleepless nights of asking myself questions on everything from setup to backing had me pretty stressed. We got to the Dealership and had a wonderful and educational "walk Through" which took about 2.5 hours. They installed a new auto slide 5th wheel hitch put on and it was time to go. Bad thing was, they were so gracious and informative, it was now rush hour in Tacoma, WA traffic. Great, pulled small trailers but never a 5th wheel! We got out and onto the Freeway ok for the 1.5 hour trip home. Traffic was very heavy and I eventually started to gain confidence as the trailer was following great and I was purring along in our 07 Dodge 3/4 ton Diesel. Now the big problem...I needed to get something to eat. Never had to consider where I can and cant go. Ok, Wal Mart would work. We pulled in and hit the sandwich shop and were feeling like pros already. We and two motorhomes occupied the entire back lot except that one truck that parked right where I need to go. Now for backing 101 and again it went well. All that lack of sleep... Made it home the great backing down the driveway extravaganza. Friends and family had gathered to watch and offer backing advice. I even think there was a hot dog vender there. After a few trys, the trailer was parked, set up and we were putting those necessities in like matching plates. Wow, it's really different to have a trailer! Friday we leave for a two night shake down cruise not too far from home. Ya, you guessed it...not alot of sleep trying to remember what needs to be done. Well that's my story and I'm sticking to it! Thought you might get a laugh and possibly remember your "first Time".

Welcome to our blog

Welcome,

I started this blog to document our travels throughout the west. We want to share with friends and family the tales and tribulations of our 'Adventures. Enjoy and let us know if you have questions or comments.