Sunday ; Cape Lookout State Park to Ainsworth State Park, Oregon
This morning we prepared for departure, said our goodbyes to Julie and Triscuit, and left Cape Lookout State Park. We drove to Tillamook and headed east on Hwy. 6, then Hwy. 26 to Portland. We had quite a bit of shopping we wanted to do in Portland. First stop was PetsMart to buy Glucosamine treats to last Sully for the summer. Joanne had the address of about half a dozen PetsMarts in the Portland area because the last two PetsMarts we went to were out of stock. We found the first PetsMart. They didn’t have any. We found the second PetsMart. They had some. By then we realized we didn’t have enough diesel to make it through Portland and out the east side to where the Flying J was. I began to search for a service station with diesel. That’s usually easy. Occasionally it isn’t. Portland was one of those cities where finding diesel was difficult. Before I could find a station with diesel I was so low on fuel I had to pull into a station without diesel just to get off the road, put in my emergency two gallon supply, and get directions to the nearest station with diesel. We found our way to a station with diesel. The price was $3.399 a gallon ! ! ! I put in $20 worth, and hoped that would get me to the Flying J.
Next stop was Wal-Mart. Usually Wal-Marts are extremely easy to find, usually visible from the highway. Not so in Portland ! It was a long way off the highway, and difficult to find. We had a late lunch in the Wal-Mart parking lot then went into Wal-Mart to shop. I don’t shop in Wal-Marts on weekends, so I went in just long enough to select a couple of “guy” items, then left Joanne to do the rest of the shopping. I returned to the trailer hoping I might find a Wi-Fi signal in the parking lot so that I could enter a blog update. ( sigh ) There were four Wi-Fi signals reaching the Wal-Mart parking lot, but they were all encrypted, requiring a password. I started this journal entry while I waited for Joanne to finish the shopping. The Wal-Mart did not have much of what we needed, so our Wal-Mart shopping for “must buy before leaving U.S.“ items isn’t finished yet ! Fortunately she had better luck at The Dollar Tree in the same mall as the Wal-Mart.
From Wal-Mart we found our way to Interstate 84 and headed east to Camping World at Exit 16. Camping World did not have either of the two items I needed. Our next and last stop was to be Flying J at Exit 17 but near the Camping World there was a Safeway with a fuel bar with diesel. This year we have been disappointed a few times that the Flying J’s have not been the lowest fuel price in their area, as had always been the case in previous years. So we gambled that Safeway, which usually has very good fuel prices at their fuel bars, might be cheaper than Flying J. We refilled with diesel at Safeway. It was certainly much more difficult to enter and exit the Safeway fuel bar with the rig than it would have been at Flying J, but it paid off. When we drove by the Flying J a few minutes later their diesel price was indeed higher than Safeway’s.
It had been our plan today to boondock at a rest area on I-84 to position ourselves for a visit tomorrow with our friend Eilene who lives in Grass Valley. But we have phoned her every day for the last week and there’s been no answer. Joanne felt that we could not arrive for a visit without giving her some advance notice of our day of arrival. So … after a stressful day of driving in and around Portland doing shopping we decided not to drive as far today as initially planned, stop a little earlier in a nice state park, and have a campfire. We stopped at Ainsworth State Park. It’s very nice, as are all Oregon State Parks we’ve been to. And this one was quite inexpensive. I started a campfire, and realized as I was chopping wood how tired I really was.
Sitting around the campfire reading about the local area, we decided to explore this area a bit tomorrow, not drive very far, and stay at another Oregon State Park tomorrow night before crossing the Columbia River, which I-84 follows, into Washington. Washington’s State Parks are as nice as Oregon’s, but they’re twice the price. I cooked supper over the open campfire, something I haven’t done in quite awhile. We chatted briefly with out neighbours who are from Florida and are heading for northern British Columbia. We persuaded them to head north up Hwy. 97 through the Okanagan Valley, our route home and the dry, warm route, instead of their planned route up Interstate 5 through Seattle and into BC at Vancouver, the cold wet route.
We are more than 150 miles inland from where we started this morning on the coast. It’s a lot warmer and drier here ! After supper we took Bo for a walk around the campground as it got dark, which isn’t until 8:30 PM. I sat on the sofa with Sully cuddled in a blankie against my hip, and I worked on this journal entry and today’s credit card accounting. I even managed to work on our income tax returns for awhile tonight.
Monday ; Ainsworth State Park to Memaloose State Park, Oregon
Today was cloudy and mild. We decided to do a bit of exploring, do some chores and errands, not drive far, and have an easy day today. This morning before departing Ainsworth State Park I took care of some chores that I knew would get pushed aside if I let them wait until we got home. I drained the fuel / water separator filter on the truck. I “exercised” the generator. It needs to be run briefly on a monthly basis. I trimmed my beard. I repaired the trailer monitor panel faceplate that had come loose. I removed it, cleaned it, and reinstalled it.
We departed the campground and headed west on Historic Route 30 to see the series of waterfalls on this route along the Columbia River Gorge. We viewed Horsetail Falls from the truck as we drove by. We stopped at Multnomah Falls and took a relatively easy hike to a viewing bridge near the falls. We drove a bit further and viewed Wahkeena Falls from the truck. We stopped to hike a steep trail to see Bridal Veil Falls. Spectacular ! While on the viewing platform Joanne knocked her walking stick over the edge onto the rocks below. I had to climb down to retrieve it. She owes me for that one ! We had lunch in the parking lot at Bridal Veil Falls then drove back on Historic Route 30 to Interstate 84 where we continued eastbound.
At the city of Hood River we stopped to do more Wal-Martin’. While Joanne shopped I went into the trailer, cleaned up the cat vomit ( scowl ), then tried to find a Wi-Fi signal. No luck. I worked on this journal entry. This Wal-Mart did not have one item on our “must buy before leaving U.S.” list. Hopefully the Wal-Mart in Omak, Washington will.
We continued east on I-84 and stopped for the night at Memaloose State Park on the Columbia River. After getting set up in a site we went for a long walk with Bo around the campground. I had kept a few pieces of firewood to have one last campfire but as we finished our walk it began to rain lightly. Neither of us wanted a campfire in the rain.
I sat on the sofa and got Sully and Bo all cuddled up beside me, both tucked in under a blankie. I downloaded and processed today’s photos. I printed the list of all our winter season’s purchases that must be declared at Customs. After supper I worked on our income tax returns. Obviously I’m not going to complete them before we get home. But … I progressed far enough to know that neither of us will owe any income taxes. Which eliminates my motivation to have the income tax returns completed on time. Why break a streak that’s already lasted 22 years ? HA HA HA !
Today was sunny and warm. Our plan was to drive hard and put on a lot of miles today. We certainly did that ! Our objective was Wenatchee, Washington. We made it all the way to Omak. We drove 550 km. / 350 miles, much more than we usually travel in one day. As a matter of fact, that’s the most miles of any one day this entire winter season. Most of the day we followed the Columbia River, first east, then north, then the Okanogan ( American spelling ) River.
This morning we departed Memaloose State Park and headed east on Interstate 84. As we drove through The Dalles we spotted a Wal-Mart from the highway. We stopped to check if they had the final item on our “must buy before leaving U.S.” list. They didn’t ! We continued east on I-84 to Hwy. 97, turned north, and crossed the Columbia River from Oregon into Washington. In the middle of nowhere, in a lovely forest setting we passed a Greek Orthodox monastery … with an attached bakery / restaurant. I pulled a U-turn and went back. Their prices were surprisingly high. I bought a chocolate marble pound cake. As we passed through Toppenish Joanne saw a KFC and wanted KFC for lunch. We parked in the Safeway parking lot and crossed the street to the KFC. And there was … WOO-HOO … a panaderia. Who’d have thought there would be a Mexican bakery this far north ? ! ? I went in and bought a lot of pan dulce. MMMMM !
After lunch we drove north just a few miles on Hwy. 22 to Interstate 82, then northwest on I-82 which is also Hwy. 97 for awhile. At Ellensburg we stopped at Flying J and bought a gallon of Lucas diesel fuel additive. We didn’t refill with diesel at Flying J because we know from previous experience that the Ellensburg Flying J is not the lowest fuel price in the area. We refilled with diesel elsewhere then headed east on Interstate 90 to avoid the difficult mountain route of Hwy. 97 from Ellensburg to Wenatchee. At George we turned north on Hwy. 281 to Quincy then northwest on Hwy. 28 to Wenatchee. From there we resumed heading north on Hwy. 97.
Hwy. 97 is pleasant route, nice scenery, good road. I enjoy driving this route. Like our area back home, this is predominantly a fruit growing area, mostly apples. The apple orchards were all in bloom. Very lovely and fragrant. Last night because of the rain we didn’t use the last few pieces of firewood we had. I had to get rid of it before we cross the border into Canada tomorrow. We stopped at Daroga State Park to get rid of the firewood. While I carried the firewood from the truck to a fireplace beside a group picnic shelter Joanne took Bo to the nearby playground to do some Bo-gility. HA HA HA … Bo loooooves slides. There was a large play structure with a high spiral slide. Joanne climbed up the play structure with him and … ZOOOOOM ! HA HA HA … he doesn’t even look, he just leaps onto the slide, without even knowing where it’s going to lead because it’s a spiral.
It was such a lovely day, the road was easy, I felt rested, we just drove and drove, making it all the way to Omak, the final Wal-Mart before Canada. We had supper, then while I worked on this journal entry Joanne went into Wal-Mart to refill a water jug and shop for the final item. They didn’t have it which I think suggests it’s just not available anymore. She settled for an alternative … that we could have bought many Wal-Marts ago ! In Oregon with no sales tax !
The McDonald’s across the street from the Wal-Mart had an unsecured / open access Wi-Fi signal that reached our trailer so I was able to retrieve and send e-mail. But it was too late in the evening, and I was getting too tired, to post last week’s blog entry.
Wednesday ; Omak, Washington to Keremeos, British Columbia
Today was sunny and mild, windy at home in Keremeos. This morning we departed the Wal-Mart parking lot in Omak and went next door to the Home Depot. I wanted to look for a particular sealant that Camping World no longer carries. Home Depot didn’t have it, but they did have nice pressure treated wood. Nicer and cheaper than what I can buy at home. I bought two pieces of 12 foot long pressure treated 2 x 4 that I need for my new gazebo project. I thought it would actually be easier to transport 12 foot long pieces of lumber inside the trailer than it would be to transport it with just the truck if I bought it in Keremeos or Penticton. Before leaving Omak I adjusted the air pressure in all the trailer tires.
We drove north on Hwy. 97 to the U.S. / Canada border at Oroville. We refilled with diesel in Oroville because fuel is cheaper in the U.S. than in Canada. Crossing the border from Oroville to Osoyoos was a painless process that took no longer than about a minute. We had passports ready. I had a list of all our purchases and their value. We were within allowable limits. I had 2 cartons of cigarettes and 5 cans of beer, within tobacco and alcohol limits. We had no fruits or vegetables. The border agent did not ask about meats or pet foods. I don’t volunteer information not asked for.
Driving west from Osoyoos to Keremeos on Hwy. 3 through the Similkameen Valley upon our return each spring reminds me of why we live here. It’s beautiful ! In Cawston we stopped at the home of the service technician employed by China Creek Internet Service to pick up our Wi-Fi transceiver antenna. As is the case every spring, it wasn’t ready for me, despite an e-mail sent a month ago and a phone call made a week ago ( fume ). He will bring it tomorrow and configure it. We stopped in Keremeos to have lunch in the trailer, then Joanne went into the grocery store and I went to the community newspaper office to renew our subscription. About halfway from Keremeos to Riverside RV Park Resort Bo finally realized where we were. He went nuts ! HA HA HA … welcome home, Bo.
We got the trailer positioned in our lot, and I connected all the utilities. What a mess our lot was ! Tumbleweeds all over, lots of weeds growing. Joanne began working on cleaning the lot. I napped briefly with Sully. We reassembled and repositioned our steps and landing, placed our park bench, placed our picnic table … and hauled a truckload of tumbleweeds to the burn pile ! We visited with neighbours. Seems as if we are the last “Snowbirds” to return to the park. Well … DUH … why would one want to return in mid-March ( as some of our neighbours did ) ?
As per my request, Joanne prepared perogies for supper. AHHHHH … welcome back to Canada ! After supper I went to the clubhouse to access our park’s Wi-Fi signal to send and retrieve e-mail, check on the progress of some investment transactions, and update my blog.
Thursday ; This past winter season … 180 days out of Canada … we travelled 13,800 km. / 8500 miles, much less than a usual winter season. The lowest diesel price was $2.599 in Arizona. The highest diesel price was yesterday, $3.439 in Washington.
This is the fourth consecutive spring that I have been frustrated and angered by having to deal with the service technician employed on contract by China Creek Internet Service. He’s unprofessional ! He’s unreliable ! ! ! He doesn’t answer his phone ! He doesn’t return phone messages ! He’s an ******* ! ! ! If there was an alternative to China Creek, I would use it ! Not surprisingly he did not show up today as he was supposed to, to install and configure China Creek’s Wi-Fi transceiver / antenna. Since China Creek is now forcing me to purchase their equipment, instead of “renting” it, which means I won’t have to return it to them each fall, maybe this will be the last time I will have to deal with that *******. Let’s hope !
This morning while walking the dog, Joanne met our neighbour Betty, and she retrieved our April mail and mailbox key from her. Thank you, Betty, for a job well done ! Joanne then went to the swimming pool for the morning water aerobics session. I slept late, then did some outdoor work … in the cold rain. BRRRRR ! After water aerobics Joanne went to the office and reserved the guest suites for her family’s summer visit in July. I went to the clubhouse … twice today … to get online and make some phone calls. My phone calls were not very successful ( sigh ). One of “those” days, I guess. Joanne worked intermittently on cleaning and weeding our lot. I went through the somewhat frustrating process of programming our new TV to work with our satellite dish receiver’s remote control. ( sigh ) After going to the clubhouse to get online and download the manual for the remote control.
Because we left two days earlier last fall than initially planned, forcing us to return two days earlier, and I had already made arrangements for seasonal disconnect of our satellite TV service, it’s not programmed to resume until tomorrow. I phoned Star Choice to get it turned back on today so that we could watch Survivor tonight, but I didn’t have the patience to wait the “expected waiting time of more than 20 minutes” to speak to an agent.
I did eventually reach the owner / manager of the RV rental business in Summerland that I am hoping to obtain employment with as a delivery driver. We made tentative plans to meet on Saturday in Osoyoos. I reviewed April’s mail while Joanne cooked supper … and ruined the Arrowtooth fish fillets we bought in Oregon recently ! Yup … definitely one of “those” days ! Now we both remember why I cook fish … and she doesn’t !
I spent the evening working on our income tax returns. I finished the working copy of mine. Hurray ! I still have to finish Joanne’s, then copy both from the working copies to the copies to be filed, so … still a few more hours of work to do on them. We ended the evening by going to the pool complex to soak in the hot tub.
Friday ; Sully woke me up very early this morning, wanting food, fresh water, and affection. I decided to stay up and get my day started since I had to go to the clubhouse and make a phone call at 8 AM. I phoned for a doctor’s appointment then phoned Alliance Woodcraft to see if they could advise me of the expected delivery date of my gazebo. Next Thursday ! I did some computer work until it was time to go to town for my doctor’s appointment. Joanne came with me, dropped me off at the clinic, then went to do some grocery and produce shopping. She returned just as I was coming out of the clinic. Good timing ! I dropped some prescriptions off at the pharmacy to be filled and we drove home.
( FUME ) In the one hour we were gone, that ****** service technician from China Creek came by to install my Wi-Fi transceiver / antenna. ( INSERT A LOT OF PROFANITY HERE ! ) I guess he thinks showing up at 10:30 AM on Friday is close enough to his stated “Thursday between noon and 2 PM” ! ! ! I went to the clubhouse and phoned him. Why did I bother ? ? ? I know the ******* doesn’t answer his phone ! I had to go to the clubhouse either to get online or use the phone many times today. And the aggravation grew and grew each time ! I’m going to blow a gasket ! ! ! It’s a damn good thing they don’t allow Canadians to own guns ! ! !
Joanne did laundry and continued to work on cleaning / weeding our lot. I did a lot of computer work, online and offline. Late in the afternoon I resumed working on our income tax returns. I was hopeful that I could complete her working copy today, but nooooo … I have to download and complete a form T-2036 for her !
Saturday ; This morning I headed back to the clubhouse to make more phone calls. First was to RV Days, the RV rental business in Summerland that I hope will employ me this summer as a delivery driver. I was to phone to confirm tentative plans to meet for an interview in Osoyoos this afternoon, where the owner was going to be busy dewinterizing some of his trailers there. He postponed the interview ( sigh ). Next I phoned China Creek’s service technician and ( ahem ) left a firmly worded message instructing him to come today to “install” the Wi-Fi equipment. I got online and activated some new credit cards we had just received in the mail to replace the ones that expired yesterday.
Shortly after I returned to our trailer, the China Creek service technician showed up. He wanted $295 for the equipment, which I had already reluctantly agreed to pay, and … ( sputter ) … $125 for “installation”. I … ( ahem ) … instructed him to leave. That wasn’t quite how I phrased it. I hammered out an e-mail to China Creek advising them that we wouldn’t be doing business any more. Finally … good riddance to a thorn that’s been in my side for three years !
I went to town to pick up my prescriptions at the pharmacy. They weren’t ready ! I felt my anger rising, then I noticed that the pharmacist / owner seemed a bit overwhelmed with some high maintenance customers, some impatient customers, and an assistant who didn’t seem to know what she was doing. I decided if I was going to give anybody a break today it should be her. I’ll return for my prescriptions on Monday.
After lunch I napped with Sully. Joanne continued working on cleaning the yard. And true to her word of a month or so ago, she made a batch of holuptsi for me. Thank you, my dear. I made arrangements with a neighbour to share his Wi-Fi signal. We have arrangements with another neighbour to share garbage pickup service, so maybe it’s feasible to share a Wi-Fi signal.
Well, now that I had a Wi-Fi signal in our trailer, I really got busy. I downloaded April’s bank statements. I downloaded April’s investment statements. I downloaded the form T-2036 I needed for Joanne’s income tax return. I printed all of that, and more that was sitting in the printer queue. I reconciled the bank statements. I worked on income taxes ( sigh ). I finished Joanne’s working copy. WHEW … finally ! Now all that’s left is copying everything from the working copies to the copies to be filed. Copying pages and pages and pages of numbers !
I spent the evening updating and analyzing our investments.
DSK
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