Sunday ; Carnation, Washington to Portland, Oregon
After a bit more sniping and bickering this morning we were finally able to get ourselves back on track and function co-operatively and supportively again. Why does it seem so hard to do sometimes ? ! ?
We left the parking lot of the municipal park in Carnation, Washington this morning and sort of stumbled and fumbled around country back roads until reaching Interstate 90, then drove west on I-90 until reaching I-5 at Seattle. We refilled with diesel in Seattle. Diesel price too high ! We headed south on I-5 stopping at a rest area between Seattle and Tacoma to dump the grey waste holding tanks and refill the freshwater tank. We continued south to Tacoma then northwest up into Key Peninsula to see a truck camper for sale.
And a very nice truck camper it was ! A Lance Legend 990. On the way off Key Peninsula we stopped at a beach alongside Tacoma Narrows to take Bo for a walk along the beach.
We found our way back to I-5, and stopped in Tacoma to buy some groceries at Safeway.
I refilled with diesel again ( much more reasonable diesel price at Safeway in Tacoma than earlier in the day at a 76 in Seattle ) then worked online at the Starbucks in Safeway while Joanne shopped for groceries.
We continued southbound on I-5 until crossing the Columbia River into Portland, Oregon, then turned east on I-84. At the eastern edge of Portland we stopped for the night in the parking lot of Camping World. While Joanne prepared supper I walked about a block or so over to Burger King and did more online work.
Monday ; Portland, Oregon to Richland, Washington
Yes, yes, I know ... Oregon to Washington is the wrong direction !
Last night while online at Burger King in Portland I discovered a newly listed truck camper that was of some interest to me. After sleeping on it overnight, I decided I wanted to see it, despite it being about a hundred miles or so north of our planned route for today. What the hell ... let's go for it !
While Joanne shopped at Camping World for an item she needed, I used their free Wi-Fi to get online and quickly get a bit of work done. We headed east on Interstate 84 following the Columbia River Gorge. Very scenic, although the weather was gloomy and raining lightly. We drove and drove and drove and drove ! Slowly the weather improved. We refilled with diesel.
Eventually we turned north onto Interstate 82, crossed the Columbia River from Oregon back into Washington, onto I-182, then Hwy. 240, Hwy. 24, and Hwy. 243 to the town of Desert Aire. There we viewed an AlpenLite truck camper. As we began to "backtrack" from there we stopped at a rest area at dusk to dump the grey waste tanks and refill the freshwater. We do that daily, if possible. The OCD side of me wants the freshwater tank to be nearly full each morning for showers. By the time we left the rest area it was dark.
We drove for about an hour in the dark, back to the city of Richland where we stopped to boondock overnight in a Wal-Mart parking lot. While Joanne prepared supper I went to Taco Bell and used their free Wi-Fi to get online again. Oh, boy ... every day I find more truck campers to see !
Tuesday ; Richland, Washington to Baker City, Oregon
BRRRRR ! ! ! Snow and below freezing temperature in Baker City tonight. Snow and below freezing temperature all the way from Pendleton to Baker City this afternoon.
We left the Wal-Mart in Richland, Washington this morning and "backtracked" on Interstate 182 and Interstate 82 to the bridge over the Columbia River and into Oregon and onto Interstate 84.
I needed to pull over to the side of the road and pour my emergency two gallons of diesel fuel into the truck three miles before reaching the Arrowhead Travel Plaza at the Wild Horse Casino.
What a great place for RV'ers. We've boondocked there a few times. Today we refilled with diesel and refilled with propane, using our "Rewards On The Rez" card to get discounts. HA HA HA ! We dumped and flushed the waste holding tanks and refilled with fresh water.
The snow began as we headed east from Pendleton. Light snow and heavy winds all the way to Baker City. We drove through Baker City and about nine miles towards Sumpter to view a Bigfoot truck camper. After viewing the Bigfoot camper we returned to Baker City and parked in a truck parking lot behind a Shell service station / truck stop. After supper I walked over to a nearby McDonald's to use their Wi-Fi. It was out of service but I did have an interesting bilingual conversation with a Quebecois fellow. Our conversation flipped back and forth between English and French, much to the puzzlement of others nearby. I walked over to a nearby hotel and used Wi-Fi in their restaurant / bar.
Wednesday ; Baker City, Oregon to Boise, Idaho and back to Ontario, Oregon
It was cloudy and cold for most of the day, with light rain in the evening.
We left Baker City, Oregon this morning and headed east on Interstate 84, eventually crossing into Idaho. About fifty miles into Idaho we arrived at Boise, to view a 1997 Lance Legend 980 truck camper for sale. What a rotten piece of junk ! I'm hopeful the seller doesn't read this, but if he does ... < shrug >.
We refilled with diesel before leaving Boise, and headed back the same way we came, until reaching the Idaho / Oregon border where we stopped at a rest area for a late lunch. After lunch and a brief nap we went into the city of Orange and did our semi-annual tax free shopping in Oregon. By the time we finished our Wal-Martin' it was already dark, so we stayed in the Wal-Mart parking lot overnight.
Thursday ; Ontario, Oregon to Winnemucca, Nevada
Well ... we're finally travelling south, instead of mostly east or west. And it paid off. It was cold and raining this morning when we left Orange, Oregon, and by the time we arrived in Winnemucca, Nevada, it was dry and 20 degrees warmer !
Before leaving the Wal-Mart shopping mall area we refilled our fresh water tank and bought fuel for the generator at the Chevron station, then while I went into Home Depot to buy a tool I needed to remove the truck's taillight Joanne went into Sally Beauty and bought some hair care products.
We drove east just a few miles on Interstate 84, crossing from Oregon into Idaho, then turned south on Hwy. 95. We drove south on Hwy. 95 for the entire day, first in Idaho, then it crossed back into Oregon, and then Nevada. Endless scruffy high desert ! Fairly early in the day, at the village of Parma, Idaho, we stopped to buy a stamp and mail an envelope at the Post Office,
I bought a taillight bulb at Napa, and changed a burnt out taillight on the truck.
Due to extremely heavy winds most of the day, I barely made it across the 100 mile stretch where no fuel was available. And, of course, at the first fuel station after the 100 mile stretch, the fuel prices were 10% higher than elsewhere. HMPH !
We passed a billboard advertising the smoked meatloaf special at Winners Casino in Winnemucca. That seemed appealing, so when we arrived in Winnemucca and saw that Winners Casino had free overnight parking for RV's that was where we went. And ... their free Wi-Fi reached our trailer in the parking lot. WOO-HOO ! We went into the casino's restaurant and found that the smoked meatloaf special was no longer available. HMPH ! BUT ... now they had an "all you can eat spaghetti with meat sauce" special for $4.95 ! Garlic toast included. Okay ! Joanne ate two bowls of spaghetti. I ate three ! We finished supper just in time for the free comedy show in the cabaret. The comic was so bad ... how bad was he ? He was so bad ... we walked out after about five minutes.
Friday ; Winnemucca, Nevada to Sacramento, California
This morning we pulled out of the RV parking lot of Winners Casino and drove down the street to Flying J where we refilled with diesel, refilled a propane tank, and refilled our freshwater tank before heading southwest on Interstate 80.
We drove all day southwest on I-80. It was sunny, and as we slowly descended from Nevada high desert into California forest it became warmer and warmer. By the time we reached Sacramento, it was 70 degrees. WOO-HOO ! Just before we crossed from Nevada into California we stopped to refill with diesel again at Reno, surmising that fuel prices would increase once we entered California. Shortly after crossing into California we had to stop at the California Agriculture Inspection Station. Usually they are concerned about what fruits and vegetables are being brought into California. Today the female inspector's question was "do you have any firewood or game ?" HUH ? ! ? Firewood or game ? ? ? UHHHHH ... nooooo ! ! ! And she waved us through !
We intended to boondock overnight at Camping World on the east side of Sacramento, but when we pulled in there the parking lot was pretty crowded so we decided to head to a Wal-Mart we had passed a mile before. When we arrived at the Wal-Mart, we realized ... OH ! It's a Wal-Mart under construction, looked completed, but not yet open. No matter ... the parking lot was finished. We spent the night there.
Saturday ; Sacramento to Antioch, California
Sunny and warm, temperature reaching mid-70's. All of today's driving was on congested California freeways. It was stressful < taking deep breath and exhaling slowly > !
This morning we left the parking lot of the soon to be open new Wal-Mart and drove to a nearby Safeway to buy some groceries, then headed west on Interstate 80 into Sacramento. Through Sacramento and out heading south on Hwy. 99 to Galt, one town north of Lodi, to see truck camper no. six, another AlpenLite.
After viewing the camper we continued south on Hwy. 99, stopping at Love's in Ripon to refill with diesel, then heading west across to Interstate 5, and I-205, and I-580 towards San Francisco Bay. We took an exit off the freeway into the city of Livermore and stopped in the parking lot of the Elks Lodge to eat lunch. SHEESH ... no rest areas along these California freeways ! Interstate 680, Hwy. 242, and Hwy. 4 to Antioch where we found our way to the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds ... and their small, minimalist RV park. Oh, well ... the price was right !
We parked, set up, unhitched, then I got busy phoning about the two truck campers we are here to see tomorrow, one in Oakland, one in San Jose. To my very great chagrin, the Oakland camper owner is currently up in the Sierra Nevadas, mountain climbing. This after he confirmed by e-mail just a few days ago that this weekend would be a good time for me to view his truck camper for sale ! I'm not pleased ! ! !
DSK
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