November 5, 2005

November 5, 2005

Chimacum, Washington to Interstate 5 mile marker 205 near Eugene, Oregon

YEAR 2 DAY 141

 

Since we began travelling, we have often discussed how this lifestyle affords us the opportunity to escape bad weather and / or natural disasters like floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc.. Just hitch up and drive away. Well, enough is enough ! We've endured about 3 weeks of this Pacific Northwest early winter cold rain. The forecast calls for another week of this kind of cold rain storms along the coast where we are, with continued heavy snow storms on the other side of Puget Sound, in the Cascade Mountains. Forget Mount St. Helens, forget the Columbia River Gorge, forget Idaho, forget Utah ! We're driving south, as fast and hard as we can. I'm not slowing down until we reach some decent weather, probably northern California or maybe we'll head for the dessert in Nevada. Goodbye, Washington ! Bonsoir la visite !

I'm typing this first thing in the morning. It's another cloudy, cold, rainy day. I've walked the dog, fed the cat, showered, and now I'm having a cup of tea for breakfast.

I did preventive maintenance, drained the holding tanks, refilled the fresh water tank, prepared for departure, hitched up, and we were on the road about 10 A.M.. West on Anderson Lake Road to Hwy. 20, south on Hwy. 20 to Hwy. 101, south on Hwy. 101. Hwy. 101 is the Pacific Coast Highway, lots of hills and curves. It was raining heavily, and I felt as if the front tires of the truck were hydroplaning. I shifted from rear wheel drive to all wheel drive, and that seemed to improve things. However, in 4 x 4 ( all wheel drive ) mode, there is a slight sensation that transmits through the steering wheel at highway speeds, almost an imperceptible vibration or hum in the steering wheel. I found it tiring to my fingers and wrists. After a couple of hours on Hwy. 101, we got to Olympia at the bottom of Puget Sound, where we got onto Interstate 5 headed south.

We stopped for lunch at a road side rest area. I chatted with a trucker from Winnipeg, running a load from Los Angeles to Edmonton. He said he left L.A. yesterday, and the weather was poor all the way. After lunch we continued south on I-5. Joanne drove for awhile, her first time driving the rig in heavy rain and wind. Just before Portland, Oregon the head wind was so strong that the bug deflector on the front of the truck shattered and a big chunk of it flew off. When we stopped at the next rest area to change drivers, I removed and discarded what was left of it. At Portland, we stopped to fill Dee-Dee with diesel. Just south of Portland, we passed a Camping World. I took the next exit, and we back tracked to Camping World. We had a list of RV supplies we needed, that we couldn't find anywhere else. We got most, but not all, of what we needed, including a very expensive folding ladder. It was much more expensive than I would have liked to pay, but we realized some time ago that we really do need to have a ladder from time to time, for washing the trailer, or doing repairs up high. There's no good place to store a regular ladder, so the folding RV ladder was the most practical way to go. Up until now, every time I've needed a ladder, I've had to find someplace / someone to borrow one from.

When we got back into the truck at Camping World, it refused to start. The starter wouldn't engage. That problem only occurs after driving long distances, when the engine and starter and everything else are hot. When I did preventive maintenance this morning I noticed that the alternator to battery cable has deteriorated and needs replacement. A couple of weeks ago I noticed that the starter to battery cable has deteriorated and needs replacement. I wanted to wait until I got a new battery before replacing the starter to battery cable, so that I wouldn't mangle the side terminal connection on the new cable by connecting it to the old battery with the temporary top terminal modification I did last summer when the battery side terminal nut pulled out of the battery. I'm now hopeful that replacing both the starter to battery cable and the alternator to battery cable may solve the problem of the starter failing to engage. I dug out my 2 foot long half inch drive breaker bar, reached in through the wheel well over the front tire, and tapped the starter while Joanne turned the key. One little tap and it started.

Back onto I-5 we continued south. As it got dark, the rain got even heavier, and visibility was poor. We finally stopped for the night at a rest area south of Salem, north of Eugene. Joanne prepared supper. I walked Bo, and started working on my journal entry. We had supper and I continued working on the journal entry, then today's accounting.

We drove further today than we usually do, but we're both fed up with the weather. We covered enough distance today that the temperature is about 10 degrees F. higher. That's about right. Hard driving southward produces an increase of about 10 degrees F. per day of driving.

DSK